Don't Let Go (BxB) {COMPLETED} ✔️

CHAPTER 27- Hurting.

DREW
I kneeled by Vee's head, stroking his hair and trying to comb the sleep knots out of his bangs with my fingers. Jessie laid down on the couch closest to Vee's and closed his eyes, his breathing slowing immediately. I couldn't help but feel sympathetic to them; You wake up in the middle of the night to someone ripping your home from the ground. I was surprised that Jessie had even let me help them at all. I could see the protective way he'd stayed right by Vee's side as soon as he entered the house and kept glancing apprehensively at the door.
   I never thought much about why Choronuses hid themselves from humans. Vee showed me and Summer what he was, and we didn't try to accuse them of taking over the world. But now that I think about it, they were hiding not only for protection, but in fear of us. We didn't know they even existed outside of fairy tales. But in every fairy tale that had a Choronus in it, the Choronus was like the Big Bad Wolf, trying to steal something from somebody else. Vee had explained to me that that was only the common depiction of the war-based breed of Choronus, whom are specially trained to be stealthy and quick from birth, then are sent into wars to fight on the front lines. His breed is also battle-focused, but they aren't trained from birth. If Choronuses had shown themselves earlier, the government would have had them killed.
    I glanced at the clock on the wall of the living room; the time read 12:30. Mom said that she'd be back before one o'clock. I glanced at Vee's face; his beautiful, pale features were calm, the same as he looked when he was asleep, which comforted me a little bit. At least I know he's not in too much pain. The scars covering his arms and the scars on the sides of his neck and chest were pink in the dimmed light, and his skin was ghostly pale in comparison. His back rose and fell with his steady breathing.
    He shifted a little bit, his face tightening suddenly. I put one hand on his shoulder and he put his hand over mine. His black fingernails had dirt stuck beneath them, probably from trying to dig his way out of the ground. His snow-white fingers intertwined with my fingers, and I could see just how much paler his skin was than mine. My skin looked a light shade of brown compared to his whiter-than-white complexion. I gently moved his hair out of his face with my free hand. His face had relaxed and went back to its usual angelic look again. Apparently that had been a short pain spasm.
    Suddenly the front door opened and Kilie came bounding into the room holding a little brown paper bag, shouting excitedly for me. Jessie's ears flicked back and he grunted, burying his face in the pillow when Kilie started shouting. Vee shifted a little bit towards me, our hands falling off of his shoulder still intertwined. She stopped dead in her tracks in the doorway, seeing me with Vee and Jessie on the other couch. I watched her and told her silently to stay quiet. Mom and Dad walked into the living room talking, but they stopped beside Kilie when they saw Vee and Jessie.
    "Oh, no," Mom sighed sympathetically. Mom came over to me and hugged me. Dad took Kilie to her room to see what was in the brown bag-- apparently it was a goodie bag-- while I relayed to Mom what had happened with the police.
    "They shot both of them, and Vee got these cuts," I lifted one of the damp towels off of my boyfriend's back to show Mom and she winced in sympathy.
    "I wish I had been there," I said. "I could have helped them get out."
    "Sweetie, I'm sorry," Mom said. "But if you had gone you could have ended up like this," she gestured at the gashes on Vee's back, "or worse. I knew that. Vee knew that, and he told you to stay here." She put her hand on my shoulder. "Imagine if you had gone to help and you were hurt, or killed. Imagine what he would have done to himself." I didn't answer.
    "I know what he would have done," Jessie said from his couch. He'd apparently woken up and was now sitting up with his back against the pillow. "He would have killed himself." Jessie watched my face for a reaction. "You're the only person he's ever loved. He'd be devastated if he was away from you."
   I stared at him in disbelief
  "You've never seen him when he's not with you," Jessie continued. "Just hearing your voice through the phone calms him down. I can tell when he misses you, it's obvious how unhappy he is." Jessie looked me in the eye. The look in his eyes said, 'Leave my brother, and I will personally make sure you stay as miserable as he is for the rest of eternity.' Vee shifted and grumbled something in French, pulling his arms under his chest and curling his head toward his shoulder.
   "Can you toss me that blanket?" I asked Jessie, indicating one of the two blankets draped over the back of his couch. He grabbed the blanket and tossed it to me. I draped it over Vee and he started purring quietly. I watched Vee's face, listening to his purrs, and felt a tidal wave of love for him wash over me.