Hold Me

Chapter 52

Sage woke up in an unfamiliar place. He knew it was unfamiliar even before he opened his eyes. He was comfortable and the clothing under his fingertips felt overly soft. 

Nothing in his apartment was soft and comfortable. 

He frowned as he opened his eyes. The boy immediately regretted it. The light from the ceiling was bright and it hurt his head. 

This damn headache! 

The omega cursed in his mind as he gripped his head. He slowly tried to sit up. His hand pushed on the surface he was lying on and he immediately looked down when it sank down on something soft. 

Sage was confused. He was on a big bed. So soft and comfortable. He looked around in panic. The room was big. It was bigger than his whole apartment. 

Everything in there looked expensive. The room was filled with the scent of oranges. 

His heart started to beat faster. He tried to remember what happened before and his stomach dropped when he realized it. 

He tried to get out of the bed and that's when he noticed he wasn't wearing his clothes. He was in an oversized black shirt that felt too nice on his skin and underneath it was his boxer briefs. 

What happened to his clothes? 

The omega looked around. 

Who changed them? 

He was about to search for the door when suddenly he heard the bathroom door open. Sage held his breath when his mate's scent suddenly hit him in full force. 

Damien stepped out of the bathroom half-naked and freshly showered. He was only wearing sweatpants and his hair was still wet, dripping little water droplets down his body as he tried to dry it with a towel. 

The alpha paused when he saw his mate staring at him. 

"You're awake," He said out loud, causing Sage to jump out of his dazed state. 

The omega looked away to collect himself. He was pretty sure his cheeks were flushed red. 

"Are you okay now?" Damien asked before putting the towel away. He walked closer to Sage causing the boy to take a few steps back instinctively. 

"W-Why am I here?" He gripped the hem of his shirt. Sage felt scared, angry, and confused. Sure Damien is his mate but he's still a stranger. He undressed the omega without his permission. 

And now Sage doesn't know where he is. He doesn't know what happened when he was unconscious. He felt vulnerable. 

It isn't something he should feel while he's with his mate. 

"You fainted. Don't you remember?" Damien raised a brow. 

"I do but why am I here? You know where I live. Why didn't you take me to my apartment?" Sage asked, mustering up all the courage he had. 

"I don't have the key to your apartment and also, it seemed more convenient for me to bring you here than… to your apartment, " 

Sage frowned. "The key was in my pocket. You brought me here and changed my clothes without my permission but you didn't think about looking for my key?" 

Damien sighed. "Look, I didn't mean anything bad. I was worried when you fainted all of a sudden. I wanted you to get some rest and a doctor's check up. My friend is a doctor. He came here to check on you. He suggested that I change your clothes because the ones you were wearing were all sweaty, " He explained. 

Sage didn't know what to say. A doctor checked him while he was unconscious. What else happened? 

Damien saw the omega's expression and he was quick to give an explanation to not let him overthink. "Don't worry, I was there when he checked on you. He didn't touch you anywhere other than your hands and eyes. Also, I didn't look… when I was changing your clothes. I didn't take off your underwear and… and I promise I didn't look at you inappropriately, " 

Sage bit his lips. He felt so confused and scared. 

"Can you sit down? I need to talk to you, " Damien asked, making his voice as soft as he can. 

Sage stood frozen. It took him some moments to understand what Damien said but he immediately shook his head. "I need to go home. Where are my clothes?" He questioned as he looked around. 

Damien stopped him before he could walk away. He caught the omega's wrist. "Please, I need to talk to you. This will only worsen if we don't communicate. You have to give me a chance to talk, "

Sage tried to free his wrist from the alpha's hold. "I gave you the chance to talk when you made me get into that car with you! I listened to you! You told me what you wanted me to do. But have you ever asked me what I wanted? Did you ever think about how I feel? What I am going through? You just want things to go y-your way. You don't care how it'll hurt me! Y-You don't care—You d-don't care about m-me…" His voice broke as he looked down. 

Damien sighed and gripped the boy's shoulder, effortlessly making him sit down on the bed. He kneeled on the floor in front of the omega so he could see Sage's face. 

His eyes were brimmed with unshed tears as he bit down on his lips, hard enough to form a bruise. 

"Sage… " He called the boy's name. "Please try to understand me with a calm mind. I told you that because my situation is like that. I'm not interested in marrying someone just because they're my mate. I want to fall in love with them." 

Sage looked up, his teary eyes filled with desperation. "T-Then give me a ch-chance… Can't you? Maybe we can… we can fall in l-love?" He asked, his voice breaking as he spoke. 

Damien saw his hands tightening their grip on the bed. 

"I… I don't want anything m-more." He tried to wipe away his tears. "I just want a chance… I-I lost everything…  I can't lose you too, please… " 

"Sage… I wish I could give this a chance," 

Sage gripped his mate's hands, pleadingly staring at him. "P-Please… I don't want you to take me out for dinner or anywhere. Just come to meet me after work. W-We can talk… we can get to know each other. I'm sure we'll get a-along well. I p-promise I won't ask for anything mo—"

"Sage, I have a girlfriend,"

____

My baby Sage 😭😭