Their Marred Boy

Chapter 19

The drip of Harper's IV echoed through the silent room. Four pairs of eyes were trained on him and he felt antsy under their worrisome gaze.

Harper, only decked in Elias' too big clothes, felt exposed and uncomfortable sitting on his hospital bed.

He'd woken up a little while ago and this time he'd been alone. The small space of his recovery room had felt all the more empty without anyone to help him sit up or bring a glass of water to his lips. He'd felt tears prickling his eyes as he realized that his breakdown had probably pushed his mates away. He hadn't blamed them and tried to reason with himself, but that had done little to ease his aching heart.

Skyler had been the first to enter the room and notice his mate's tears. He'd hurriedly hugged him and assured him that they'd only left for a change of clothes. After Harper had calmed considerably, his mate informed him that they'd all been incredibly worried, and maybe filling their mates in on what had happened.

Now, after a miserable while of reciting to his mates everything he'd told Skyler, with the help of the said boy, everyone had fallen silent.

Harper saw Elias clenching his fists and jaw in anger. While attractive no matter what, Harper decided he didn't like how anger influenced his handsome face. If possible, his onyx eyes would get even darker, a sharp line would form where he furrowed his brows and no sign of his gentle heart could be detected.

While Felix on the other hand tried to be as composed as ever, he was tugging on the collar of his shirt one too many times to seem unbothered. His blue irises had warmed with the burning rage expressed in them, and not how they'd often do when they landed on one of his mates.

Bennett... Well, Bennett was livid, to say the least. Harper had expected the blonde to be sad, not angry so he was a little surprised himself. He couldn't lie and say their protectiveness and care for him didn't warm his heart, however, the way his misery affected them wasn't something Harper liked at all.

"One of the first times it felt... wrong being there." He admitted.

He recalled how he'd insisted the place had been home for him while speaking to Skyler, however that sense of comfort and safety had been tipped over the minute his bandaged eye had opened to reveal nothing but darkness. It was the first time he'd faced a heavy consequence for their actions and it'd be futile to say he hadn't felt betrayed.

After that, the unconditional trust he'd previously placed there, had to be fabricated by him to make the place a little more tolerable. To make the pain worth feeling. Otherwise, he couldn't be so sure that he wouldn't have sneaked a surgical tool and slit his wrists like many other subjects had done to escape.

Perhaps his delusions were what had kept him mentally afloat years after leaving. It had been easy to convince himself that he was just like a kid who'd left for college.

Now, as his mind reeled from the aftermath of his episode, he found himself thinking that maybe the blissful ignorance of his lies was finally fading away, and in turn, the heart-wrenching nightmares were catching up to him.

He now understood why so many others had taken their lives to escape the mental toll the place had taken on them. Knowing they were easily disposable was heartbreaking, and the painful truth of not being of value to the people they admired and thought of as family made them feel... worthless.

It hurt knowing they couldn't have cared less about them.

An incredulous expression morphed the anger on Elias' face. "First time?"

Harper nodded.

As Elias was about to object and express how crazy that sounded, Bennett interrupted, "How did you get out?" he asked softly.