HORNS (BoyXBoy)

Chapter 41

Chapter Forty One

It was only fifteen minutes later that Aerin came to get me. He appeared in the broken doorway--courtesy of Tiffany's spectacular entrance earlier--like a wraith and fiddled with his hands before knocking. I saw him out of my peripherals before he did, I just chose not to say anything.

"Horst?" Aerin called, and I glanced at him to see a nervous look on his face. "Hey, lunch is ready and waiting for you in the kitchen."

I salivated and had to swallow so I wouldn't drool, because my stomach was cramping from hunger pains. I attempted to pull away from Echo, but he tugged me back and once again slid his arm through mine, keeping me pinned all while he watched the video playing on my phone. I sighed, trying to tug away, but he made a sound of complaint and jerked me back.

Irritation bubbled inside my stomach but I smothered it because I had to.

I didn't bother telling him I needed to go eat, and since he wasn't hooked up to any needles or machines yet, I leaned around him, pulled the blankets off his legs, and scooped him up beneath the knees, which got his attention. He raised his eyes to stare at my arm when I pulled his legs on top of my own and tugged myself free of his breakneck grip on my other arm.

"What are you doing?" Echo asked, blinking curiously when I slid my arm beneath his back and secured him onto my lap, bridal style. He held the phone in his hands, cocking his head when I slid off the mattress and rose, rolling my shoulders. "Where are we going?"

I snorted and gently pulled one of the headphones out of his ear.

"I need to eat," I told him, wiggling my ears with a patient smile. "For whatever reason you're set on keeping me near you and having close physical contact. I'm bringing you along."

"It is true that you need nourishment," he said, nodding once before popping the earbud back in and snuggling down against my chest, getting comfy right there in my arms with his long black hair bundled around his cheeks. He plopped his head in the crook of my pit. "Carry on."

I scoffed when he returned to watching the video, crossing his ankles and swinging his legs. Aerin gawked with wide, interested eyes when I carried Echo towards the door.

"Hey," he said, reaching out and snagging the sleeve of my hoodie with tiny white fingers that barely poked out from the sleeve of his sweater. "Hold up for a second, okay?"

I stopped immediately, glancing down to see eyes as transparently worried as glass gazing back at me. His irises were like shards of ice but despite the frigidly light color, the warmth and empathy in them was unmistakable. I wondered for a second if Echo would ever look at people as openly someday.

"What is it, Aerin?" I asked, furrowing my brows when he anxiously looked behind him and peered out into the hall before waving me down closer. I cautiously bent lower, bringing my long, furry ear closer to his mouth.

"Something is wrong," he whispered directly into my ear, and I blinked, turning to see that he was flustered and upset and actually rather scared. His eyes were nervously darting around and he looked over his shoulder, licking his lips before glancing back at me and leaning even closer. "Horst, whisper as quiet as you can, okay?"

"Why?" I whispered right back, not understanding what he was trying to keep secret. "Is there something you don't want the others to overhear?"

"Yes," he murmured, breath tickling the fur on my ear. "I... I have a bad feeling. The feeling I get when I'm in danger, or when something is wrong. You know how Bash thinks I'm precognitive to some extent because of my instincts when danger is coming, right?"