HORNS (BoyXBoy)

Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty Seven

I was so blind with panic and self-loathing and guilt and anger when I rushed up the stairs that I wasn't paying attention and wound up crashing into someone, who immediately snatched me around the waist before I could lose my balance and tumble back down, backwards.

I flailed, hovering over the stairs, and raised my eyes to see my father's battered face.

Shock immediately flooded through me since his left eye was swollen shut, his nose was as big as a radish from swelling, and his face was covered in cuts and bruises. His shaven head was littered with scrapes and bumps, too.

"Pop," I breathed, barely noticing how he stepped back and pulled me into a safer position. "Holy fuck, they said you got hurt because of the storm, but they didn't... oh, my God!"

"I am fine, Son," he said, raising his grip to my arms and patting; his amber eyes studied me and his nostrils flared as he inhaled. Dark brows furrowed. "I've been filled in on what happened and was just coming to check on you. I can tell how distraught you are. Would you like to talk?"

I swallowed and averted my eyes, guilt flaring up. "About what? There's not really much for me to talk about aside from the fact that I fucked everything up six ways to Sunday... again."

His hands immediately tightened on my shoulders, almost aggressively.

"That's a lie," Jak growled, making me shudder. "Talk to me. Please. We are past the point of keeping secrets from one another, yes? Confide in me, Horst... I am here to listen."

I swallowed hard, debating on what to say, but my resolve to make excuses slowly crumpled.

I sighed in exasperation.

"It's not a lie," I reluctantly admitted, pulling away from him and rubbing my face. "I made a stupid mistake, okay? Instead of staying put like Huang told me to, I went out and tried to play hero for a random damsel in distress. My stupid choice nearly got Kim and Adam killed, since they snuck in the van after overhearing my conversation. I wasn't paying attention."

"That wasn't your fault," my dad muttered. "You kept them safe--"

"They wouldn't have even been in danger had I not left the house!" I cried, whipping around in preparation to storm away, but my father snatched my chin and dragged my eyes up to meet his own, forcing me to make visual contact with him. I swallowed hard since he looked pissed.

"That's true," he said coldly, narrowing his eyes as he studied my face, "but you're forgetting that if you hadn't gone, two extremely young and defenseless people would have died. You may have put those babies in danger, however unintentionally, but the fact is they came out of the storm unharmed because of you and you alone."

"But--"

"No!" Jak snapped, tightening his grip on my jaw and forcing it to shut. I swallowed hard and hunched my shoulders when he leaned close to my face with narrowed eyes. "No, Son. You protected them and saved two helpless people who would have died without you. You were hurt the worst out of everyone, from what I've heard. You protected a woman with your own body."

"That's..." I began to say, then stopped, thinking as I stared at him. "Aerin would have done the same, Pop... and I know you would have, too. She was helpless, screaming, and I thought... I thought the kids were in the basement, so I focused on just protecting her... I didn't--"

"Didn't what?" my father asked, quiet but forceful. "What didn't you do that was so terrible?"

My mouth began to tremble as the memory of Adam and the other little boy sliding across the breaking floor as the house flipped end over end filled my mind's eye. I shuddered violently, face drawing tight as I recalled the way I'd flipped and fallen, landing on my back as the house had reared up like something alive and had folded down on top of us with a horrible crash.