The Wrath Of The Ice King

35

Romeo stared down at the damage he had caused, his breath stuck in his throat in the form of a lump that he could not swallow no matter how hard he tried. He heaved, his chest tightening at the sight. Chris had safe worded, which was already horrible on its own, but he had also forgotten the word in the process. 

Romeo placed his hand over the scars he had caused, rubbing his thumb over them in a ghost-like manner, not pressing down at all. He had gathered the boy in his arms, rocking both of them back and forth, pressing kisses to his head. 

Punishing him should have eased the anger he had felt when he entered the room he was destined to be betrayed in. However, not only did this make him feel worse, but it also fueled the cracking of his soul. 

It hurt. And he did not want to hurt Chris. He just wanted to go back to this morning when he had woken up next to his boy, pressing soft kisses to his face and slowly waking him up, asking him to get ready as today was the big day. 

So much for the masquerade ball. So much for the plans he had thoughts of, the scenarios he would come up with during the night as his eyes landed on the boy that was sleeping on his chest. He could sometimes count the rhyme of his breathes, watch his chest rise up and down slowly. 

Now, he watched as Chris shivered and writhed underneath his touch, reminding him of what he had done. And still, all he could think of was "How will I be able to forgive him? How will I be able to forget what he has done?" Because he wanted to. God, if he could just erase his memory and carry on without knowing what his love had done, erase the memory of witnessing the road of betrayal Chris had decided to walk down, he would. He truly would. Because he wanted to continue where they had left off. 

But that wouldn't be possible. Chris did not love him. If he did, he would not have gone through such extreme measures to be with someone else, to please and get pleased by someone else. Romeo should have been enough for him. The Prince had started seeing a trend in his relationships now. He was never enough. 

Romeo picked Chris up, wrapping the sheets around him as best as he could. He choked on his own sobs as blood soaked through the sheets. Chris' back was extremely damaged, and Romeo could already see bruises starting to form, destroying the pale complex that was Chris' skin. Chris was stick knocked out, but tears still managed to escape past his eyelids, proving that his thoughts and feelings were tormenting him even in deep slumber.

He had asked Romeo to ask Sage. Hope bloomed in Romeo's chest. If someone could only reassure him, tell him that what he saw was not what was going on, he'd get down onto his knees and thank the heavens for doing so. But this would mean that his boy was as much of a victim as he was. This would mean that he had hurt him, send him through hell and back for nothing. That he had not trusted him, that he had silenced him and hit him. All for nothing. 

The thought made the hope that had started to mend the cracks disappear, which was replaced by feelings of guilt and horror. What if Chris was telling the truth. He was the victim of sexual assault, and instead of being there for him and beating the fucking shit out of the man who had calmly walked out freely, Romeo had turned his back to Chris and beat him instead. 

Romeo would not be able to live with that. And even if Chris forgave him for it, he would be deeply traumatized by his own actions. Either way, he was fucked.

As he pulled out a first aid kit to treat Chris' wounds, he sobbed for himself, for his lover, for the feelings of both betrayal and guilt he was feeling. He cried as he had never cried before, not even when Julian had mocked him for ever believing that Julien had loved Romeo, telling him that he was The Ice King and nobody warm and good would ever find comfort in his presence. He was told by the boy he loved most back then, that he was unlovable.