Worse Than His Bite

Chapter 20: The boy who cried nothing

Wherever Phineas went, Sebastian followed. If Phineas' suspicions weren't confirmed before, then they certainly were for. Sebastian shadowed Phineas' every move. Like a dog that was obsessively loyal to his master. Was that what Phineas was to him? AS tempting as it was to revel in the idea that Phineas might have any influence over this monster of a man, he didn't fool himself into thinking that assured him any sense of safety.

Over the past few days, Sebastian had become clingy and Leo had distanced himself from everyone.

Phineas sat in the living room, so naturally Sebastian sat next to him. The fire roared and sent waves of heat into the room. The pair sat comfortably on a red fabric sofa together. Phineas read a book written by an Oxford professor on the limited information there was on the gods of ancient Celtic society. Nowhere could he find any evidence of a moon goddess. Well, there were plenty of female goddesses or possible moon deities, but not any that fit the description of the woman on the mural at the manor. He suspected that Sebastian was also glancing at his book from time to time, but it didn't seem to interest him. Instead, he sat with his eyes closed and his arm draped over Phineas' shoulder. Phineas slouched under the weight of it. He couldn't be sure whether Sebastian was actually asleep or not. It made it hard to concentrate on reading when he was too busy making sure that Sebastian's appearance stayed exactly as it should. He wasn't sure where to look. To his left to keep a watch of Sebastian's face or to the left to ensure his hands stayed exactly that.

Leo sat opposite them. He was typing something on his laptop, he'd type for ages, reread his work, then delete everything and start over. A pensive look crossed his face.

"Are you alright?" Asked Phineas.

Leo glanced over the top of his laptop. He was chewing on his thumbnail before he stopped when he noticed Phineas' gaze. "Fine. I just... never mind. It's nothing."

The room lapsed back into silence apart from the crackle of the fireplace and the wind rushing past the windows outside. It stayed like that for a few minutes until the phone began to ring. Phineas jumped at the sound. Sebastian tightened his arm around Phineas. Was it meant to be comforting? Phineas wasn't sure if he saw it that way.

"I'll get it," he said. He managed to slip from Sebastian's hold. Those black eyes followed his every move. "I didn't realise people even used landlines anymore." He attempted to joke.

To his surprise, Leo gave a small chuckle to it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is that Phineas?"

"Yes."

"It's me, Callum."

Phineas turned round and looked at Leo. Leo raised an eyebrow at the attention. "Oh, hi Callum." He overemphasised. Leo's eyes widened. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks, Finny." Finny? Phineas smiled at the name. His Grandpa used to call him Finny as well, most people tended to call him Fin or Phineas. He let the nickname slide, finding it oddly endearing. It helped that he had a favourable perception of Callum. "I was just wondering if Leo was home?"

"Oh, Leo..." he looked at the man in question. Leo shook his head and mouth, 'No! No!" Phineas could've been cruel if he wanted to, but Leo seemed so down lately, he decided to be kind. With his spot in heaven secured, he answered Callum's question. "Sorry, Callum. Leo's out running some errands at the moment. We'd starve to death with out him, honestly. Can I pass on a message for you though?"

A defeated sigh came over the phone. "Oh, okay. can you just let him know that I called? I haven't heard from him in a while." There was a short pause. "I hate to bring down the mood like this, but um... gods I don't even know how to say this."