| Antidote | Poison 2nd Book |

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟜

After nearly escaping with their lives, the two lovers had decided that they would stop at an inn in a small town about 4 hours away from their original location to gather themselves.

They got rid of their phones so they couldn't be tracked, Seonghwa even traded in his prized Porsche for some beater car so they wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb in a totaled luxury car, he even got quite a bit of cash from the trade-in as well. They couldn't use the money from Seonghwa's credit card, it would only leave a digital footprint and their location would be given away.

Sitting upon the musty, old bed of the room they bought for the night, the thoughts in Hongjoong's head continued to race at a million miles an hour. Seonghwa had stepped out to run to the store just a block away from the inn to get some food and hair dye, so he was left by himself in the deafening silence.

His fingertips clawed at the fabric of his pants, the nerves running through every inch of his body made him tremble slightly. Just when he thought that everything was going to be okay, just when he thought he was going to be able to get over the trauma of their past, it all came crashing down again. Both him and Seonghwa had been maimed by bullets, their home was completely bombarded, not to mention having blood on their hands once again. These things didn't bother Seonghwa because he was used to it, but Hongjoong would never be able to bring himself to accept these kinds of things.

Hongjoong had been able to deal with the trauma and the psychological disruption he experienced, but everything that day had awakened it all again. He felt paranoid, not safe, he felt as if he was drowning, all the frantic, unsettling thoughts racing around in his head. Hongjoong knew that Seonghwa wouldn't let a single thing happen to him, but that wasn't enough reassurance for him.

I can't go through this again, I don't even know if I can... What did we do to deserve this? What's going to happen to us at the end of the road? Hongjoong let out a deep sigh, leaning forward with his elbows resting upon his knees, and interlocking his fingers into his head as he held his head.

The sound of the door broke the silence of the room, dim evening light from outside flooding into the darkened room and disrupting the deep state of thought that Hongjoong fell into.

Seonghwa came walking in through the door with a couple of bags filled with clothes, a simple first aid kit, two boxes of hair dye, and a few things that would keep them decently fed at least until tomorrow. He had a black mask covering his face, and a jacket from his car to hide the bloodied sleeve of his shirt, neither of them had yet tended to their wounds.

The black-haired male let out a frustrated sigh, kicking the door shut behind him and placing the bags on the bed. "Sorry I was out a little longer than I said. The clerk and I had a language barrier issue, and it took a while to find the things we needed."

When Hongjoong didn't say anything or even look up at him, Seonghwa tilted his head at the smaller male who held his head in his hands. "Joong?" He said softly as he walked over to him.

Seonghwa squatted down on the ground before his lover, grabbing his hands gently and leaning his head forward so he could look up into his eyes. "Are you alright?"

Hongjoong took the soft flesh of his bottom lip in between his teeth, biting down on it a bit hard as he stared back at Seonghwa. "I never thought the past would come back to haunt me. I had completely brushed it off my shoulder, and now... Now I feel so disconnected."

Seonghwa let go of his hands, then reached up and cupped Hongjoong's cheeks in his hands softly. "You can't go all awol on me, not now... I need you to be strong, not only for yourself but for me as well. If you are weak, then I am weak. I know everything was just yanked from under our feet, but it will all be okay, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you, alright?"