Artificial Love (Thiam)

Chapter 25

Liam: Theo, please talk to me. I'm not mad about what you said. I know you're hurting... Just please. Please don't shut me out.

By the time a month had passed, Liam was sitting at home, his arms curled around his knees, watching the television with red rimmed eyes. He felt like he hadn't slept in six months, and based on the way Mason and Corey looked at him, he suspected he looked like it too. He knew they were concerned about him. He just couldn't find it within himself to care.

He felt like he was grieving doubly. Not just for Caroline, but for Theo as well. And it wasn't that he'd ever had Theo, it wasn't that Theo had ever been his, but he was still... Theo. He was still Liam's Theo and he wasn't sure anything would ever change that. Theo had been so callous with him, so cold, and Liam didn't have it in him to be angry, but he was deeply, deeply hurt. He saw his face in his sleep and he didn't know how to get rid of it. But he had called and texted so many times, and Theo wouldn't ever answer him. He would always get a voicemail, or a phone already switched off. At one point, he answered, only for a few moments, and when Liam gasped out Theo's name in relief, the phone went dead.

"Liam, are you... sure it's a good idea for you to watch this?" Mason's voice cut through Liam's haze, and he glanced up. His best friend. Probably his favourite person in the whole world. He wished he would shut up.

"I'm watching it." He answered flatly. He saw the two of them exchange a look. He'd always hated that. One day he'd have someone he could exchange conspiratorial glances with. One day he wouldn't be so alone in all this. One day it wouldn't hurt like someone had taken a fucking machete to his heart. That wasn't today though.

It was Corey who spoke up next.

"Li... We all know he's grieving, but the things he's said... the way he's ignoring you... maybe it's time to..." He swallowed hard, looking like he was nervous that Liam might snap at him. A fair concern, really.

He shook his head, but didn't speak again. He was glued to the screen.

On it, was Theo. A red robe hung heavy over his intricate and tailored suit. It must've all been pulled together in a fair rush. They had given him more than a month's grace, but he was their new King, and he had to take up that mantle.

He looked... good. Physically at least. He was clean shaven, and he looked like he'd been sleeping far more than the last time Liam had seen him. But he also looked... detached. He looked totally separated from it all, as if no one was there with him. Liam couldn't see a hint of the real Theo in his face. He couldn't see any of the snark, or mirth, or wit. All he could see was the cold stare of someone who wasn't really there.

He was desperately trying to find some sign that he was actually okay, and not just going through the motions, but he found nothing. The coldness in Theo was new. Even in their bickering, hateful childhood years, he had never looked quite like that. He had been mean then, but always amused by it, or irritated. He never looked quite so... detached.

Jenna sat down on the lounge furthest from them, and Liam had the sneaking suspicion that Mason or Corey might've texted her, let her know they were concerned, because he could feel her eyes on him while he watched the tv. People seemed to be happy though. No one seemed to notice how wrong Theo looked.

"Liam, my love..." She spoke softly, so gentle that Liam knew she was worried about him. "I know it's been a lot after what happened when you went to see him, and I know you're still mourning, but I'm concerned that..."

Liam didn't wait to hear what she was concerned about, he stopped listening, focused on the screen as they set the crown atop Theo's head. His gaze was about par for the course at this point, and he looked like some perfect model of what a young, handsome and cruel King should be. Liam knew him better, but there was such an emptiness there.