Tip of the Tongue [CMS Bk. 1 - BoyxBoy][Complete/Editing]

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 1

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 1

The damp moss was cool to the touch. The dew left by the afternoon rain soaked through Ren's jeans and blue jacket. His arms and legs were numb as he laid in the forest clearing. The lull of the creek not far off almost put him to sleep. The ache in his gums—the painful hunger in his stomach—kept him on the edge. He was tired enough to pass out, but as much as he wanted to sleep, he couldn't.

For weeks a need to kill, to rip a living creature apart, haunted him constantly. No amount of blood satisfied him. And paired with the need to kill was an unsettling feeling only cured by being in the forest. That was why he was there now. There was nothing interesting about the forest except maybe for the large mountain next to it named Crystal Mountain.

The small town Montis was built at the base of the mountain only decades ago—far back when his grandparents had been children.

Hours must have past since he'd wandered out here. But wandering meant he didn't know where he was going. The buzzing that rattled his insides every time he wanted to kill left a feeling inside of him. Other than the need to drain the life of living creatures, he had this sense of longing. As if he were waiting for something. The anticipation was almost as scary as the increasingly unstable blood thirst.

His eyes slowly opened. The moonlight filtered through the bony branches. The shadows flickered over his face as he pulled his tired body from the forest floor. A shiver went through him as the wind made his damp clothes freezing for a second.

The moon followed him all the way home. It watched over him as it had done since he was little. When he was feeling lost, he would stay out on the back porch, letting the moonlight settle into his skin. It made the buzzing under his skin better. The light eased the feeling of chaos that plagued him—which always urged him to do things he knew deep down he didn't want to do.

There were always times when it wasn't enough. Those nights he always found himself in the middle of the forest, not knowing how he'd gotten there, or if it was safe for him to leave. The small voice in the back of his head always talked him into sleeping out there until he was positive the buzzing was gone. Margret had to have noticed. But if she did, she didn't mention it.

He wouldn't allow himself in the same house his innocent mom was sleeping in when he got that feeling. It made him sick thinking about it. The walk back felt longer than usual. His eyesight was blurry with fatigue and a headache bloomed behind his eyes.

He wouldn't have to do this for much longer. He was turning eighteen next week and by the time his mom connected all the dots, he would be halfway to Sangui.

A gust of wind blew his jacket open. He shivered harder, catching the end of the jacket and trying to keep it together. The zipper had broken two years ago when Regan and his goons jumped him. They'd torn the blue jacket right off him. He'd hit the pavement as they poked and hit him with large sticks. Margret had been ready to fight anyone who'd touched him, but he argued to make it seem like it was her fault.

He wasn't proud of that either. But putting distance between them would keep her safe. He was okay with being the sacrificial lamb. She'd sacrificed enough for him.

It was time for him to pay his due.

❦

There was a knock on his door. It snapped him out of his sleep. He jerked to the side, almost falling over the edge of his small twin bed.

Bleary-eyed, he tried to rub the sleep from his face. "Yeah?"

The door opened. Margret poked her head through the crack.