Thanatophobia (H2OVanoss)

Chapter 22

Luke sat staring at his computer, his eyes gleaming. The call ended a few minutes ago along with the proud façade he had been putting up.

This new development was something he had been anticipating for many weeks, but he was anything but pleased. Evan and him had been friends, but they weren't the most compatible of people.

Ever since Evan had broken Jonathan's heart, he had been more of an acquaintance than a friend. It sounded mean, sure, but Luke's protective streak was a force to be reckoned with.

  Luke wasn't selfish, despite how it might seem. He was smart, cunning enough to know that he shouldn't tell Jonathan his true intentions. Some things were meant to be done in the shadows, and Luke had a plan.

  He would keep up the act of the supportive best friend, and he would make it seem like he supported the relationship with all of his being. Then, he would use some good old fashioned sabotage.

  He'd set Evan up gradually, make it seem like a natural progression, so that Jonathan's heart would be broken once again. But this time, he would be ready.

  Jonathan would crawl to his big brother, and Luke would nurture his dependency until Jon would never leave him ever again. They would be together forever...that's how it was always supposed to be.

  He was planning on letting his Jonathan have a bit of freedom, so his fragile mentality would be coddled. But now, now he knew that Jon was never meant to do his own thing.

  He was too innocent, too pure, so he needed Luke's strong hand to guide him, to let him know to make the right choices, the choices that would let them stay together.

  Jonathan was like a kit, always following its parent. He wouldn't consider himself to be a parent, but more of a protector, a soul watcher.

Evan would no longer be a threat. No one would take Jonathan ever again. He could feel his sanity...slipping. He had been away from Jonathan's radiance too long, and a simple Skype call wasn't enough.

  He needed him. It was like an addiction, but he knew in his heart that it was so much more than that. They were bonded beyond just this life, beyond what normal, banal humanity could understand.

  He clutched the photo frame of Jonathan sleeping closer to his chest, running his hands over the pale skin and imagining he was really there. He sighed to himself and shook his head.

  He had a few phone calls to make before he could feed his yearning. After he got his work done and his plan in action he could relax. Maybe he would go to his beloved shrine, a room hidden with a trap door under his bed.

  He smiled to himself and set the picture down, picking up a peculiar black flip phone; the symbol of a hand drawn devil with an eyepatch engraved with red ink into the metal, gleaming in the morning sun.