Drawn to the Sea

Chapter 25: Control

Nathaniel

As soon as the portal closed, Douglass's legs gave out. I lunged forward to catch him, but he fell too fast for me to catch. His knees slammed against the floor, but he managed to catch himself with his hands before his upper body could hit the ground.

I lifted his upper body up gently, cradling his face in my hands. "Are you okay?"

I was surprised to find he was crying. He let out a pained whine. "I'm sorry."

I pursed my lips, using my thumbs to wipe his tears. "For what?"

"For not being strong enough. I couldn't get you out. I couldn't--" His voice cracked and he sobbed. "I wasn't enough."

I shushed him, pulling him against my chest. "You're enough, Douglass. You'll always be enough."

"I couldn't protect you. I p-put you in danger! I knew I shouldn't have stayed, but I did and you almost got hurt and it would've been my fault and I should've been better and I--"

I pressed my lips to his, cutting him off. When I pulled away, he was staring at me, still crying. "It wouldn't have been your fault. It would've been Max's."

"But-"

"No buts." I wiped his face. "You could never not be enough. You're amazing and skilled and you're the best thing that could've happened to me, okay? You understand that?

He took a heaving breath, then practically dove forward. He pressed his face into my neck, wrapping his arms firmly around me. I hugged him back, careful of the cuts on his bare torso.

He pulled back after a while, wiping his face since he'd calmed down. He suddenly looked down at himself, swallowing thickly and frowning.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned. "Do we need to wrap up any of your wounds?"

He shook his head. "I, uh... I can't wear my glamour here. Everything that comes here is forced into its true form."

I pursed my lips.

The floor-length skirt he was wearing was stained in blood, and the black belt that held it up just above his hips was scratched up. The skirt had to wide slits on either side of his hips, esposing his legs. The only thing he had on under it was a pair of short black shorts that covered his bum and private area. He had a thick gold choker with black beading around the lower edge, and many gold rings and earrings. I highly doubted he chose to wear something so revealing, especially since he hated how he looked without his glamour.

Still, even with all of the blood, he was as handsome as ever. He never seemed to be able to look bad, I noticed.

I started to take off my jacket, and he looked at me. "What're you doing?"

"I know you don't like others seeing you without your glamour." I threw my jacket over his shoulders, pulling it shut in the front. "So you can wear my jacket."

"You'll get cold."

I shrugged. "The cold doesn't bother me. Besides, I'm more concerned about you right now. You've literally been living through hell."

He didn't respond. Instead, looked at me gratefully and pushed his arms through the sleaves, then zipped up the jacket. "Thank you."

I kissed the top of his head. "No problem."

I leaned against the wall, then offered my hand to him. "Come on. We can at least try to get some rest before Max comes back for us."

He took my hand, and I pulled him to me. He ended up between my legs, his side leaning against my chest. "I'm sorry you got wrapped into this."