Breaking up roots (One Night Stand, Book 3)

Chapter 13: Guardian angel

Zane watched the bedroom door close behind his boyfriend and flinched at the slam that came with it. Everything was silent for a long beat, in which Zane and Ray exchanged confused and pained looks, until the older man hung his head in resignation.

Zane quickly offered to help. "Wait here, please. I'll talk to him-"

"No," Ray stopped the boy. "Don't bother him anymore. He's right, I cannot undo my actions..." The man sighed and picked up his jacket.

Zane panicked. The reunion wasn't supposed to end like this! Ray had come here to open up to his son so they could put their differences aside and, maybe within time, rebuild the loving relationship they once had. Of course, Zane had known it would be hard, but he knew his boyfriend too. Kai had a tender heart and, if explained properly, he would understand his father's personal issues that had led them to this point.

Or so he had thought...

Perhaps the hurt that had been inflicted on his beau's psyche during his most vulnerable years reached levels that Zane hadn't suspected.

"I'm sorry. I asked him to stay calm and listen, but..."

"It's okay," Ray slipped an arm through the sleeve of his jacket. "I know he's a hothead... He gets it from me." A weak chuckle escaped from the man's lips before the wrinkles around his eyes darkened with sorrow, making him appear several decades older.

"Mr. Smith, don't give up. Kai needs time to process your words," Zane assured. He didn't want the man to leave and feel like all his efforts to 'reprogram' himself had been in vain. By the looks on his face, however, Zane's tactic wasn't working.

"It's okay if he never forgives me... I don't think I would if I were in his shoes," Ray surrendered.

"Please, don't say that. I'll talk to him, I'll make him understand that you lov-"

"No. This has been going on for way too long. I don't want to keep causing him trouble. He deserves to have a peaceful life. I've got no room in such scenery."

"Mr. Smith..."

Ray flattened the low ends of the coat and looked at the boy. The spiritual exhaustion was obvious in his eyes.

"Thank you anyway, Zane. I don't think I could have done this without your help." He offered a hand, which Zane took hesitantly. "It comforts me that my son has such a supportive partner, at least. Take care of him for me, please."

Those were the last words Zane heard from the Smith patriarch before the man disappeared down the stairs of the apartment building.

Despondent and with little clue as to what he should do next, Zane remained by the door for a while. On and off, his boyfriend's muffled cries reached his ears.

He had made a terrible mistake, hadn't he? Paraphrasing his friends; he had screwed up big time. Not only had he broken Kai's trust, he had also made him cry. Hours ago, the boy had been so happy, enjoying a day off with his lover, relaxed and unharmed. Now, he was none of those things.

No, Zane reminded himself. Kai was not relaxed before, not fully anyway. The boy had been a mess ever since that last visit to Ignacia, and he was still dealing with the after-effects of that reunion to this day. That's why Zane had done this; because he couldn't let his boyfriend put another bandage over his untreated heart and pretend to go on like nothing ever happened. It was important to aim for happiness, as much as to look for methods to communicate one's suffering.

Zane stared at the bedroom entrance, his chest aching for the boy on the inside. Perhaps Kai didn't want to see him now, but Zane couldn't leave him alone at those painful and complicated moments. Risking being met with a violent fit of insults and yelling, Zane pushed the door open and slipped inside.