Aftermath [manxman]

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

"Hey, do you have a second?" I asked, making Caleb flinch. "I would like to talk to you if you don't mind."

The nymph almost dropped the giant stack of plates he was holding, a panicked squeak escaping him as he jumped with fright. He carefully sat them down before he whipped around, pressing his back against the cupboard, eyes tearing up. He met my gaze with pure panic and despair, breathing heavily while the blood drained from his face. A frightened mouse came to mind as I watched him, wondering if I should have just dropped the idea of speaking to him to begin with.

During their two day stay at my place, the nymph had made sure he was never alone with me or my mother for that matter and unfortunately, he was being very efficient which made it very hard for me to talk to him in private. He always had my dad by his side, clinging to him like a lifeboat and avoiding me at all cost which made apologizing in private next to impossible. I had to set my alarm at dawn to be able to catch him preparing breakfast for all of us on his own, which seemed a bit crazy and stalkerish. 

I hadn't intended to trap him in the kitchen but in order for me to talk to him, I had to wait until he was in a room with only one exit that kept him from fleeing on sight. Then I had to sneak down as quietly as I could because teleporting in gave him a second to take off and stand in the door frame to keep him from running away. I knew this wasn't optimal but I hoped that apologizing for my behavior in the past and assuring him that he was now safe was at least making up for the fright I was causing right now.

"I'd be much more comfortable with Erebus around." He stated, eyes looking for an escape route. "I need him here with me."

I made sure to keep my distance as to not freak him out more than my mere presence already did. He was breathing panicked, kneading his blouse inside his hands and I felt horrible for putting him through this. I understood that he was afraid after how I behaved towards him but I thought it was clear that I'd never stoop so low as to physically hurt him. I was going to give him the option to have this conversation in private and if he decided against it, I was just going to have to suck it up and come clean in front of my dad. 

He was already disappointed with me and my behavior but once I told him the reason for being an ass to his boyfriend, he was probably done with me. I acted on base motives, behaved like a child without any regards for the other people involved and had only been interested in what I wanted. I was dead set on doing better but I wasn't sure if I could ever repair the relationship I had with my dad. It pained me but I understood if my dad was too mad at me for us to make up. I just hoped that was still going to be an option in the future.

Sadly, there was no way for me to not notice the parallels between my current situation with the nymph and what Thanatos had been through. Both times, I had been an idiot, only acting according my best interest without as much as thinking about what I had been doing to other people. Now I had two people on my hand that I had deeply hurt, that lost faith in me and that wanted nothing to do with me, no matter how hard I tried to make it up to them.

"I wanted to apologize, that is all." I explained to him as reassuring as I could. "And I wanted to do that in private if possible."

The nymph raised an eyebrow but didn't respond to that, eyes darting around the room. He chose silence, most likely because he was too afraid that opening his mouth was going to get him harmed. I took a step back to sit on the counter in an attempt to come across as non threatening as possible and to give my leg some rest. It had been hurting the past couple of days, a deep sitting burning sensation that just didn't seem to want to end. It kept me awake at night and irritable during the day.