Chapter 81
Jack
I look at the alcohol and decide against it. No, I need my head clear for this. I grab a glass of water instead and down half of it in one gulp. This conversation needs me sober, focused, and… marginally less likely to throttle either of them.
I hear hesitant footsteps. They're slow—like two people walking toward their execution rather than a bedroom.
Why are they so scared? It's not like I'm going to eat them.
…Okay. Maybe I want to.
"Both of you. Sit on the bed."
They do reluctantly, like I just told them to sit on a ticking bomb. I turn to face them fully and almost—almost—laugh at the picture they make: Nolan looking like a golden retriever who accidentally chewed the furniture, and Ciel looking like he's contemplating an escape route through the window.
Instead, I grab a chair and pull it across from them, sitting down with deliberate slowness.
"Nolan. Ciel. This conversation is long overdue."
They don't respond.
Figures.
