The Broken Melody [malexmale]

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

I stood in the cafeteria at the hospital, waiting in line as I scanned the food under the plastic sneeze guard. Not everything was appetizing, but on the upside, none of it was processed junk food. Even the potato chips were freshly baked in the oven, so I grabbed a bag of those and tossed them on my tray.

I got to the register, swiping my card before leaving, heading back to Kieran's room. I passed by the front desk, nodding to the nurse on duty as she smiled and waved. I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me, walking around the corner to see that Kieran was sitting up, and was laughing with Madison, who sat in the armchair by the bed.

I relaxed. Kieran had just woken up that morning, a day after I'd found out about Madison. He'd been ecstatic to meet her. They hit it off really well and had a surprising amount in common.

Kieran's dark eyes lifted when he saw me come in and a smile spread across his lips. My heart skipped a beat and I stamped it down.

It wasn't so much that I was rejecting the feelings now as trying not to get carried away with them. Kieran and I had had moments before, one in particular being that his eyes had been glued to me when I was undressing that time in the guest room at his place, but it still wasn't confirmation that he felt anything mutual. You could check out anyone and not want to accept a relationship with them.

And fuck, that still made me uncomfortable.

A relationship. With another male. Who was also your therapist.

Was that even fucking legal?

"Oh thank the gods," Madison groaned when I came forward with the trays of food, "I'm starving!" She immediately tore open the bag of potato chips and chowed down as I set up the connecting table to Kieran's hospital bed, making him sigh and smile at me.

"Tristan, you know I don't need this anymore. I'm being discharged in a few hours," he pointed out. I shrugged and just scooted the tray onto the table for him and he smiled. He popped open the pre-made salad container and started to eat.

"What did you grab for yourself?" Kieran asked me. I held up a protein bar and a protein shake, making him roll his eyes.

"Again? Don't you eat anything else?" He asked me. I shrugged. Madison smirked, leaning forward on the bed rail as she munched away on her chips.

"Does he really just eat those two things?"

"Ever since I met him, yes."

"My girlfriend is the same way. She won't eat anything that isn't french fries or strawberry shakes. It's hell trying to go out to eat with her."

"Well," Kieran said, shifting in his seat as he crunched on some lettuce, "Once we're out of here, I'm going to get him started on a better meal plan. He can't live solely on those things." I'd like to see him try... No, really. I found myself oddly amused that he assumed we were still going to stay connected after this ordeal, and that he cared enough to make a meal plan. Even if it did entail things the likes of which I'd never heard of.

"So, did Hades say anything else before he left?" Kieran asked as he speared his salad. Madison shrugged, popping a chip in her mouth and handing one over to me. I took it mostly out of politeness, not particularly interested in eating it.

"He said he'd be back with more information. He needed to contact someone to confirm something," she shook her head, "He's a weird guy. I don't know what I was expecting from a god, though."

"They're just like the rest of us," Kieran replied, and at a quirked brow from Madison and I, he smiled, "Okay, some of them are weirder than the rest of us. Wow, you guys look so much alike when you do that." Madison blushed and averted her eyes, tucking some hair behind her ear and I cleared my throat, reaching up to rub at my hair uncomfortably. Kieran's eyes twinkled as he looked at me, and I felt anxiety clench in my stomach when he reached out and brushed his fingers by my hair.