“I don’t need to tell you about every second of my life,” hissed Beast. “I can’t believe you played me the second time on the same fucking night!”
Laurent shifted his weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortable with the way Beast was gripping his wrist. “I told you everything!” he lashed out, feeling guilty beyond belief the moment the treacherous words left his mouth. But lying was a matter of survival. He couldn’t tell Beast all there was to know about his pact with the devil, or even the things he knew about King’s pact. If Beast knew, he would most likely leave this place and Laurent behind.
And Laurent couldn’t have that. There were still over two months to go until Laurent was free to live in this world, and only after his deal was finalized could he come clean to Beast about it.
And he would. Even if it meant Beast abandoning him, Laurent promised himself he’d be truthful.
But not now. Not yet.
Beast spread his arms. “And what, am I supposed to just gut myself for you, about all my thoughts? Do you want to know what my favorite color was in school, too? It doesn’t work that way. You can’t force people to give up their secrets like this. This is getting more fucked-up by the minute.”
Laurent glanced at Knight, but the man shook his head.
“You don’t expect me to support you in this against my best friend, do you?” Knight arched an eyebrow.
“Fine!” Laurent managed to pull out of Beast’s grasp, but it took so much force he stumbled against the sofa. “I’m sorry I’ve encroached on your privacy,” he hissed with no regret at all.
Beast clenched his jaw and stuffed his hands into his pockets so rapidly as if he wanted to rip them. “Go to sleep.”
Laurent swallowed and looked between the two men. “Goodnight,” he said in the end and turned around.
He would be sleeping in his old room tonight.
Chapter 21 - Beast
Beast was roused by a soft knock on the door followed by a loud whine and a banging that could have only been caused by Hound’s tail slapping against the floor. He groaned, rolling to his back and forcing himself to sit up, still groggy after going to sleep when it was already getting bright outside.
“Come in.”
The door slid open slowly, and Laurent, the traitor, came in with a wary look on his face and a tray of food in his hands. After yesterday’s outburst, the sight was enough to make Beast raise his eyebrows. The anger after having his privacy breached was still a burning presence in his body and awoke the moment he cast his eyes on Laurent’s pretty yet deceptive face.
“So, I… made breakfast,” Laurent said and sat on the edge of the bed. He put the tray between them, showcasing a steaming cup of coffee and toasted Poptarts with pink icing. “Your favorite, right?”
Beast looked at the treat and couldn’t help but be amused. He wordlessly commanded Hound to not jump on the bed when two front paws rested on the edge of the mattress. “Let me guess, you cooked them yourself?”
Laurent smiled and pushed his hair behind his ear. “Well, yes. You remember? You told me to toast them, not eat them straight out of the bag.”
Beast pulled himself up and leaned against the pillows, watching the meager offerings. He supposed that if this was meant as some kind of bribe to make him less angry then Laurent must have tried his best. “To what do I owe the honor?” he grumbled in the end, not really certain what to think of this. He couldn’t be appeased like a dog, with a morsel of meat thrown his way.
Laurent licked his lips, squirming under the scrutiny. “I wanted to apologize,” he mumbled without looking into Beast’s eyes. “I was angry yesterday, but I had a lot of time to think at night. I found it hard to fall asleep without you after all that’s happened, and… I came to the conclusion that you were right to lose patience after all that we’d already gone through earlier that day.”
That was new.
While Laurent wasn’t entirely bratty, some of his behaviors were hard to swallow, particularly the kind he expressed the day before. Beast had imagined Laurent would be nice and submissive until Beast’s anger evaporated, but an actual apology was the last thing Beast learned to expect from the boy. “It was not a good evening.”
Laurent nudged the plate closer to Beast. “I was frantic with the findings, but after giving it some thought, I realized you didn’t exactly have that much time to focus on what to tell me once you found out who I really was. I should have been just grateful that you believed me.”
Beast exhaled, rubbing his face and trying to ignore the sugary aroma of the Poptarts and the caffeine that seemed to already worm its way into his system, before he could even have a sip.