DAMIR
The morning was quieter than it should've been.
The golden sun spilled across my bedroom floor like spilled champagne, warm and soft, yet it didn't reach my bones. I stood at the bathroom sink, splashing cold water on my face. The marble counter felt colder than usual under my fingertips, grounding me in a reality that didn't seem real yet. My heart was still racing with everything that had happened last night.
Eli.
His name echoed in my chest.
My best friend's son.
And yet… my lover now.
He'd given himself to me completely. That fragile, beautiful, breathless confession that he was a virgin had broken something inside me. Or maybe awakened something. I hadn't just made love to him. I had taken him….claimed him…in a way that made my entire being feel branded by him.
I leaned against the sink, staring at my reflection, trying to make sense of who I was now.
The guilt and the need warred inside me. The man I was, the loyalty I owed Juseon….Eli's father and the man I became the moment I felt Eli's arms around me, his lips on mine, his body shivering under my touch.
I ran a hand through my damp hair, sighing.
Just breathe, Damir. Just breathe.
I stepped out of the bathroom and into the bedroom again, prepared to crawl into bed with him, hold him close and kiss his forehead while whispering apologies and promises only to stop dead in my tracks.
The bed was empty.
The sheets were messy, the scent of our night still lingering on the pillows, but the boy himself was gone.
My heart jumped.
No. No. No. He didn't just leave.
I scanned the room quickly. His clothes…gone. His phone? Not there. My chest tightened as dread twisted in my gut.
Where would he go?
Before I could reach for my own phone, it buzzed from the nightstand.
Juseon.
I froze. My thumb hovered before I swiped to answer. "Hello?"
"Where the fuck are you?" Juseon's voice was a growl, colder than a Russian winter. "Get to Southview General Hospital. Now. Eli is sick."
I blinked, confusion and panic setting in. "What? What happened?"
But he'd already ended the call.
No.
No.
I dressed in a blur, keys snatched, heart pounding as I stormed out of the apartment.
The hospital loomed over me like a monument of dread. I stormed through the glass doors, ignoring the receptionist's attempt to stop me. I followed the directions Juseon had sent, my boots pounding against sterile white tiles. Every step closer, the knot in my chest grew tighter.
The waiting room was quiet. Too quiet.
Then I saw him.
Juseon.
Standing tall and furious, arms crossed, jaw clenched.
Our eyes locked, and I barely had time to inhale before his fist crashed into my jaw.
The impact sent me staggering, the taste of blood coppery on my tongue.
"You bastard!" he shouted, grabbing my collar and shoving me against the wall. "You fucking sick bastard! My son?! My only son?!"
I didn't fight him. I couldn't. I stood there, guilt and shame swallowing me whole.
"It's not what you think," I whispered, but the words were feeble, broken.
"Don't you dare!" Juseon's eyes were wild, tears clinging to his lashes. "I trusted you! I brought my son to you! I left him in your care while I broke my back working night shifts….and this is what you do?! You… you touched him?! You fucked him?!"
A nurse gasped in the corner, but Juseon didn't stop.
"Do you know what he said? He said he ran back home in pain, Damir! PAIN! He didn't even know what was wrong! His stomach hurt so badly I thought he was going to die in my arms. And you know what they found?!"
His voice cracked.
"You left your goddamn cum inside him! He didn't even clean it out because he didn't know any better!"
I stared at him, my own breath stolen from my lungs.
Oh my God.
"His body couldn't take it. He didn't even know why he was in pain. And you…" His hand dropped from my collar. "You call yourself my friend."
"Juseon, I didn't mean to hurt him," I whispered, my voice raw.
"You should never have touched him in the first place!"
Then I heard the sound of running feet. The slap of skin on tile.
"Dad, STOP!"
We turned.
Eli.
He looked fragile and flushed, his hospital gown fluttering around his legs. His eyes were glassy with tears, his arms wrapped protectively around his belly.
"Please!" he sobbed. "Don't hurt him!"
Juseon took a step back, stunned.
"Eli, go back to bed," he ordered.
Eli shook his head, tears streaming. "I seduced him. It was me. I wanted him. I kissed him first. I climbed on him. I said I wanted it. He tried to stop it, but I begged him."
"Don't do this," Juseon growled. "You're just confused."
"I'm not!" Eli cried. "You always told me to be honest. So I'm being honest. I love him!"
"Eli," I choked out, stepping forward.
"Don't you move!" Juseon barked, shielding Eli.
The doctor entered then, calm but concerned. "Excuse me," he said gently. "But we need to speak privately."
Juseon glared but nodded.
The doctor stepped closer to me, lowering his voice. "Mr. Volkov… the boy… his body reacted to prolonged exposure to leftover seminal fluid. He didn't clean himself. There was minor tearing due to… well, your size, frankly. He's sore and overwhelmed, but stable."
I stared at him, all blood draining from my face.
"He didn't know," I murmured.
"He didn't understand. He thought it was normal discomfort. But the pain became severe."
I turned to Eli again, but he was already being led back to his bed by a nurse, still crying softly.
"Juseon…" I whispered.
He stepped forward, eyes blazing. "Get out."
"Please. Let me see him."
"You don't get to speak to my son."
"I love him," I said, broken.
"He's 18!!!."
"He knew what he wanted."
"And I trusted you! I let you be around him. And you….you took advantage of that!"
"I didn't plan it. It happened…it happened because I fell for him. I swear I never meant to hurt him."
"You don't belong near him anymore," Juseon spat, backing me toward the exit. "Our friendship is over. I don't want to see your face again. You hear me?"
He shoved me hard.
"You destroyed everything."
And then he turned his back.
I stood frozen for a second. Then I walked away.
The weight of Eli's tears. The betrayal in Juseon's eyes.
And the unbearable ache in my chest.
I lost them both.