The room was colder than usual, even though the AC wasn't on.
Daddy—Robert—sat quietly in the armchair, arms folded tightly across his chest, eyes fixed on the door. He hadn't moved in almost an hour. His mind was racing, heart thudding against his ribs like it wanted to escape. Michel's reappearance had shaken him, but it wasn't just that. It was him. The boy. His boy.
He didn't even have a name for what they were anymore.
Because this thing between them wasn't love. It wasn't normal. It was raw, dangerous, something he couldn't explain. A twisted bond that gripped him from the inside.
Suddenly, the door creaked open.
Robert's eyes snapped toward it—and there he was.
The boy.
He walked in like he owned the room, shutting the door behind him with a soft click. His shirt was half-unbuttoned, revealing just enough skin to tempt, to tease. His eyes met Robert's, and that devilish smirk curled on his lips.
"Missed me, Daddy?" he whispered, tossing his keys onto the table and walking slowly toward him.
Robert didn't speak.
"You look tense," the boy said, crawling onto his lap without permission—like always. He straddled Robert, fingers trailing down his collar, lightly scratching his chest through his shirt. "Is it Michel that's bothering you… or the fact that I'm not scared of him?"
Robert finally moved, gripping the boy's wrists tightly. "You don't know what you're messing with."
The boy leaned closer, their noses almost touching. "Oh, I do, Daddy. I've always known. I just like playing with fire."
He pulled his wrists free with ease and wrapped his arms around Robert's neck. "Michel is just another ghost from your past. I'm your present. And I'm not going anywhere."
Robert closed his eyes for a second. "You should."
The boy tilted his head. "Why? Afraid I'll find out more dirty secrets?" His voice dropped. "Or afraid you'll fall even deeper for me?"
That hit something.
Robert's hands dropped to his sides. He looked up at the boy. His lips parted like he wanted to speak but couldn't find the words.
The boy leaned in, pressing his forehead to Robert's. "You think you've been controlling this… but you haven't. I've had you wrapped around my finger since day one."
Robert inhaled sharply. "You're a child."
The boy chuckled, low and dangerous. "I'm not. Not when it comes to you. I've watched how you react when I touch you. When I look at you. When I say your name in that whisper you pretend to hate."
He moved his mouth closer, letting it ghost just over Robert's lips. "Daddy."
Robert jerked his head away, standing up abruptly and making the boy stumble back onto the bed.
"This has to stop!" he barked. "You don't know what Michel is capable of. He's not like you. He doesn't play games—he destroys people."
The boy sat up, brushing his hair back. "Then let him try. He can't break something that's already bent."
Robert turned his back, running a hand down his face. "I've done things I'm not proud of."
"So have I," the boy said softly, standing and walking behind him.
"And I don't want you to become like me."
The boy wrapped his arms around Robert's waist from behind, resting his cheek on his back. "Too late."
Silence.
For a moment, the room felt too still. Robert stared out the window, breathing slow and heavy, the boy clinging to him like he was afraid of being pushed away again.
Then the boy whispered, "What did Michel do to you?"
Robert stiffened.
The boy didn't let go. "Tell me. I deserve to know."
Robert sighed. His voice was a low murmur. "Michel and I… we weren't just friends. We were lovers. Obsessive, violent lovers. He wasn't safe. Neither was I. We fed on each other's madness."
The boy didn't speak. Just listened.
"One night, it got too far," Robert continued. "He nearly killed me. And the worst part? I let him. I didn't stop him. I was addicted to him. To his pain. To the control. It took years to run from that. To bury him in my past.*"
The boy turned Robert to face him. "And now? Do you feel the same with me?"
Robert didn't answer.
His silence was louder than words.
The boy's hand slipped under Robert's shirt, fingertips tracing the scar across his ribs. "Did he do this?"
Robert nodded.
"And now I'll do worse," the boy whispered. "Not by hurting you. But by making you need me."
He pushed Robert back until his knees hit the bed, and they both fell onto the mattress.
The boy pinned him down, knees on either side of Robert's hips. "You think you're still the Daddy in this equation?" he asked with a dangerous grin. "Sweetheart, I own you now."
Robert tried to push him off, but the boy leaned down, biting lightly at his neck. "You're not scared of Michel. You're scared of me."
Robert's breath hitched.
The boy chuckled. "Because I'm the new addiction you can't quit."
He slid down slowly, lips brushing skin with every move. "And Daddy... addicts don't get to choose."
TO BE CONTINUED…