Listen, Obey

47. Forty-Seventh Lesson

A lonely lamp glowed in a window on the second floor. Our bedroom. His. Ours?

The car neared the house, and I looked at Drew sitting in the driver's seat, his lips a thin line of displeasure. If he was displeased with us, I could only imagine what Marc would say.

Hands trembling in my knee, I squeezed my eyes shut and begged for some kind of miracle. I wasn't sure I could deal with anything if Marc's eyes darkened in disappointment.

Jace touched my face, forcing me to look at him. "You are such a downer. I'm free and we're going to celebrate." His lips quirked into a grin, making him look slightly crazed when matched with those blown up pupils.

"It's late, Jace. We're going to sleep. First your shower, then sleep."

"I'll never sleep." Jace looked out the window as the car stopped. "Man, this house must be loaded with stuff."

"Don't even think about it, J." I wanted to slap him.

"Right. Your home. I forgot." At least, he sounded regretful.

The car stopped and we both got out, not waiting for Drew to say something else. He could be as angry as he wanted—I couldn't let it bother me. Everything went fine, we had Jace and we deserved a to be relieved after the shit we'd been through.

When Drew glared at me, I glared back even if it felt wrong.

The door opened, revealing Marc dressed in full clothing that looked odd in the middle of the night. His dark blond hair fell in waves over his forehead, failing to hide the dark circles beneath his eyes. He nodded to Drew and smiled at me. "I was worried," he said, pulling me into a warm embrace. The slight strain in his voice told me exactly how worried he had been. 

"We're fine," I replied.

A few seconds passed before we broke apart. I let go with reluctance as Marc reached out with his hand, "You must be Jace."

Jace swayed where he stood, then he grinned. "And who the fuck are you?" 

I sighed, knowing he was still high, and Marc arched his eyebrows. "Marc Matthews. I'm Ethan's boyfriend."

Jace laughed out loud, clapping my back. "Always knew you were gay. Just waited for the day you would hit on me, man. Guess you moved on." He breezed past, still laughing, and entered the house. He didn't bother to kick off his shoes, instead, he let his fingers run along one of the walls, displacing frames where they hung. It was a miracle that nothing fell and broke in his wake.

Drew hovered beside me. "He didn't stay in the car. Damn near ruined the whole thing. Plus, he was probably caught by security cameras. Might want to have a word with him." He was obviously talking over my head, and I wished I could either sink through the floor or claw his eyes out. This wasn't the time. Not when I was too riled up from everything and still deserved to be damn ecstatic that Jace was free. I didn't want Marc to be mad.

He stiffened beside me, growing taller. "You did what?" He looked straight at me. Anger. Betrayal. 

"Please, don't me mad. Not now."

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath that revealed just how upset he was. Shaking his head, he opened up and pulled me into another embrace. "You're one trying guy, Ethan. Let's go inside and deal with this tomorrow."

"Aren't you going to punish him?" Drew asked. 

Marc stiffened again, but this time, I had a feeling that it had to do with Drew and no me. "Ethan is my boyfriend, Drew. What we do is none of your business." I let out a the breath that had become stuck in my throat. I hugged him harder and felt how he softened against me. The relief was indescribable.