Everything was too focused and too jumbled. Too much noise from the college kids, and too little noise overall. The smell of coffee and baked goods that had been inviting and comforting now made Jack's stomach turn.

He kept his eyes glued to the table. They were talking about something. There was something about their conversation.

A conversation about Kieran. A conversation he was supposed to forget.

So much for not fucking with his head.

He wanted to laugh. Cry. Scream. Anything.

He settled on standing, cringing when the chair loudly screeched against the floor. Too much noise. Too much attention. He had to hold on a little longer. He needed to make it out and hide before someone noticed. Before he could fully panic about people noticing.

The college kids were no longer shushing each other.

"I have to go," he rasped as he grabbed his coat and clutched it tightly to his chest. He couldn't trust himself to pull it on without fumbling. He would just deal with the freezing wind.

He barely managed to dodge the waiter as he made his way to the door, and he could hear Augie pouring it on thick with his smooth drawl. They were all the same. Every last vampire was a selfish jerk out for themselves with no regard for those around them.

He should have given up and let Farragut have him. He was treated well enough when he behaved like a good little pet.

There was no point in fighting. No one cared enough to help.

Jack closed his eyes against the wind and hoped no one could see the tears that fell.

Hands were on his shoulders, and he stumbled in an effort to change direction. He was pulled tightly against a man's chest and gently guided to the side of a building. He couldn't deal with Augie chasing after him. He couldn't deal with soft promises that everything would be okay. That he was safe.

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It was all a lie.

There was no safety for him anywhere. He should have behaved. He had known what to expect with Farragut. No surprises, no suggestions of sharing.

"Just leave me alone," he begged. He shook his head in an effort to escape the fingers lightly brushing his hair.

"I will, but I need to know you'll be alright."

Jack frowned in confusion, staring ahead and trying to understand what he was hearing and seeing.

Farragut was dead, and Augie hadn't been wearing navy blue. And he definitely didn't speak like a damned leprechaun. That Irish lilt should have set him on edge, not ease his nerves. He groaned lowly and leaned back against the building. "Why are you here?"

"I was on my way to Lola's when I saw you leave," Kieran replied, his voice low and calm. "You looked distraught. I would have left you, but you were about to walk into the street."

Jack started to laugh and broke down into sobs. He buried his face in his coat as he shivered. Now that he thought about it, almost everywhere Augie had taken him were places Kieran had once offered or mentioned. Outside of that one dive bar, Kieran liked ritzy joints.

And he could take a guess as to why he'd been invited to a dive bar that just happened to have another vampire in it.

"What the fuck?"

Kieran pulled Jack into a loose hug. "It's all right, s— It'll all work out."

"He used me."

"I'm sorry. I should have said something, but I didn't wish to come off as jealous." He sighed and buried his nose in Jack's hair. "More jealous."

"Am I a bad person for skipping the body spray to break up with him?"

Kieran laughed softly and kissed the top of Jack's head. "Not bad. Vindictive, perhaps. I believe you're well within your right to be."

Jack closed his eyes, taking comfort in Kieran's warm embrace. "God, I was so stupid. I just wanted him to know how much he screwed up, and then he wanted to fucking share me with you! Why am I so fucking dumb?"

"Because you're trying to catch up with me?"

"I feel like shit," he mumbled into Kieran's chest.

"Would you like me to take you home?"

Did he want Kieran to take him home? Whose home? He couldn't bring himself to care. He was freezing, but he was too numb. "Sure."

Kieran pulled away and brushed his thumb against Jack's cheek. "You should put your coat on."

Jack's eyes flicked up and quickly settled on the edge of Kieran's right eyebrow. There was too much kindness in those eyes. "Thanks."

image [https://i.imgur.com/eZY0YUq.png]