Chapter 8 – "Don't You Dare Run Again"
The study was dead silent except for Corvin's pacing. Heavy boots thudding, court papers crushed in one fist like he was gonna rip 'em apart. Dude was boiling. Veins in his neck, jaw locked, eyes? Pitch black with rage.
Silas? Completely clueless.
Walked in humming, hoodie over his head, bag slung lazy off one shoulder. "Hey, I'm home—"
Corvin snapped. Papers flew across the desk. "You really don't give a fuck, huh?!"
Silas froze. "Huh? What'd I do now?"
Corvin pointed at the mess. "This. All this legal shit. Court letters. They're questioning my right to be your guardian now. You caused this!"
Silas frowned. "What? Because of that picture? That ain't even my fault—"
"You RAN! That day after eating at the diner, you almost getting assaulted if I haven't saved your ass! You bolted like a damn kid. If you didn't do that, none of this woulda happened. That pic wouldn't even exist. Now they know you are alive. Now they're sniffing around."
Silas blinked, confused. "Who's *they*? Who the hell are you hiding from? Who's trying to take me? You keep sayin' shit without ever explaining anything."
Corvin clenched his fists, shoulders tight. "You don't need to know."
"Bullshit! I'm not a kid! You treat me like I'm breakable but never tell me why. You keep me locked away, guarded, like some damn secret. And now you're blaming *me*?"
Corvin moved fast. Too fast. He got up in Silas's face, heat radiating. "Yeah, I'm blaming you! You think I got time to play babysitter while you're out there making dumb decisions?!"
Silas's voice cracked. "You think I wanna be babysat? You keep me locked up like I'm some damn possession!"
"You're mine," Corvin growled. "You don't get to run."
Silas's whole face changed. He shoved Corvin with both hands. "I ain't your pet. I don't belong to you. You don't own me!"
Corvin grabbed his jaw. Not hard, but firm. Desperate. Eyes wild. "Then stop acting like you wanna be taken away. Stop makin' it easy for 'em."
Silas's eyes welled, but he blinked it off quick. "Maybe I *do* wanna be taken away. You ever think of that?! Maybe I wanna be far from this mess, from *you* always tryna control everything."
Corvin looked slapped.
And then… he kissed him.
Fast. Harsh. Angry. That kind of kiss that tasted like panic and heat and fear all mixed in.
Silas didn't move. Couldn't. For like two seconds his heart just stopped.
Then he shoved Corvin back so hard the man nearly tripped over a chair.
"Stop. Just stop. You say shit like 'you're mine' but then turn around and break me like I'm glass. I'm not doing this with you. Not again."
Corvin didn't say a word. Just stood there, breathing hard.
Silas stormed out the door.
---
Rain was spitting outside. Cold and messy. By the time Silas got to Eliot's dorm, he was soaked through.
He knocked like five times. Eliot finally opened, half-eating a granola bar. "Damn. You look like a drowned rat. Come in, idiot."
Silas walked in, dumped his bag, collapsed on the floor like life was too heavy.
Eliot grabbed him a towel, tossed it over. "So. Psycho Daddy finally popped?"
Silas snorted a tired laugh. "He kissed me. After yelling at me for 'causing everything.' Like I'm the one who started this whole shit show."
Eliot blinked. "Hold the fuck up. He *kissed* you?"
"Yeah. Like... outta nowhere. We were fighting. Next second, boom. Lips."
"Dude's off the rails. What'd you do?"
"Shoved him off. Told him to back the hell off. I didn't sign up for any of this."
Eliot dropped onto the bed, still chewing. "But you like him. Don't even lie. I see that look every time you talk about him."
Silas tugged the towel tighter around his shoulders. Whispered, "I think he's in love with me."
Eliot froze. "Okay... and you?"
Silas looked away. Hands shaking. "I don't even know who I am without him."
Eliot didn't say anything. Just stared.
"He controls everything. My clothes, where I go, who I talk to. But when he ain't around... I feel empty. Is that fucked up?"
Eliot sighed. "It's not love if it feels like a cage, Silas. Just remember that."
---
Later that night, Eliot went out to grab snacks from the vending machine downstairs.
Silas passed out on the bed. Arms sprawled, hoodie over his head. Breathing soft.
But he wasn't alone.
In the bookcase across the room, behind the stack of textbooks—
A tiny lens.
Blink.
Red dot. Silent. Watching.
Recording.
Zoomed in on Silas's sleeping face.
Red light pulsing.
Click.