“Where have you been?” hissed Knight, stepping closer. In the dark Elliot moved almost like a snake, ready to bolt and sink its venom into flesh at any second. “I’ve been worried sick!”
Elliot took a few steps back, circling the kitchen island. “It’s none of your business anymore.” He held his chin up as if he wanted to show Knight just how much better than him he somehow was.
Knight gave a deep exhale that felt as if he’d just spat out his lungs, and he surged along the kitchen island, straight at Elliot, whose eyes got wider. Elliot’s wrist was so fragile in Knight’s grip, his entire body light enough to be thrown off balance with one powerful tug that sent Elliot into Knight’s chest.
“What did you say? You live here. You live under my roof. And you still hide from me—from everyone—like a cockroach.”
Knight’s mind was in turmoil, exploding with a sense of joy at having Elliot back and seeing him safe, and yet the hateful expression in Elliot’s eyes stabbed him over and over.
Elliot yelped, and the bag slid off his shoulder. “Let go! If you don’t want all of me, you can’t have any of me!”
Knight grabbed Elliot’s bony arms and shook him, backing the slim body against the closed fridge. They were so close now he could sense Elliot’s breath on his face, and he stalled, unsure what to do next. “Don’t be a bitch. Everyone’s worried for you. You couldn’t have answered a single fucking message?”
“No one’s worried. No one likes me here! Back off!” Elliot’s scowl deepened, and he grabbed Knight’s arms.
The kick straight between Knight’s legs came like out of nowhere, and a split-second before the pain exploded in his balls, Knight still couldn’t comprehend it.
He staggered to the side and grabbed the table top as needles of pain coursed up his stomach and down his inner thighs. His knee hit the floor, and he gasped for air, sucking it in despite the innate urge to just curl up into a ball.
“You... you fucking piece of shit...”
“I told you to back off!” Elliot grabbed his bag and walked off to fuck-knew-where. His fast walk soon turned into a run.
Oh, hell no. If Elliot thought he could disappear again after this, he had another thing coming.
Everything hurt, but Knight had been shot twice, had gotten his bones broken, and been beaten so badly he could hardly see through the swelling. If he’d survived those ordeals, then he could deal with a weak kick in the balls. He swayed along the kitchen island, his elbow sliding over the smooth surface for support, but the moment he left the kitchen, it was only his strength and endurance that mattered. Fighting through the lingering ache, he rushed past the seating in the common room and bolted into the long corridor, following the sound of Elliot’s rapid footsteps. He was still visible ahead, the dark silhouette passing a spot where light was allowed in through a large window.
Knight ran as fast as he could, biting the insides of his cheeks and gaining speed by the second. It was as if he suddenly had tunnel vision, and the only thing that mattered was catching up.
Elliot glanced over his shoulder, looking like a ghost in his makeup, and the one thing that was missing from the creepy scene was a storm with lightning raging outside. Elliot sped up, but his bag was heavy, and his shallow panting told Knight just how tired he was getting even after this pathetic excuse for a jog.
The food items thudded and jingled inside the bag, and the noise echoed in the empty hallway as they sped toward the front of the house. Strips of light lingering on the walls were like the ribs of a beast that swallowed them both, and they were now speeding down its throat, about to be burned alive by acid and anger.
“I’m gonna fucking kill you,” hissed Knight through his teeth, speeding up as the pain caused by Elliot’s cowardly attack subsided. He was gaining on Elliot, and soon enough he would grab him.
Elliot kept looking back, which was slowing him down as well, but only when the gargoyle statue emerged with the background of the moonlit hall did Knight realize where Elliot was heading. The cellar door was wide open, and Elliot disappeared in its hungry mouth. Did he think Fane’s ghost would help him against a living, breathing man?
Knight rushed past the monstrous sculpture and dove straight into the open staircase that lead to the very gut of the building where all the dirtiest secrets were hidden. He went in blindly and stumbled on the uneven stairs, but with the passage so narrow, he saved himself from a fall by extending his arms. The wall rubbed his skin raw, but he didn’t care. The light was on downstairs, and the door to Fane’s room was open, and...