Chapter 118: You Read People’s Mind.

Vincent looked at Bryce as though he wanted him to help put into words what the three of them were actually there to discuss, but Bryce remained silent.

Finally, Vincent drew a breath and spoke.

"I’m thinking we should make things official between us. I mean, if you both are already okay with it, we should make it official that we’re together. I don’t know, that Bryce is together with us, or that we’re together with him. I want to call him my boyfriend, if only for now, as things settle between us."

Dave said nothing.

He was still hesitant about what he had begun to feel toward Vincent, refusing even to acknowledge what it might mean because he could not imagine how Vincent would react.

What frightened him even more was how clearly Vincent had made it clear that the two of them were there because of Bryce.

It meant there was no room for anything else to happen between them.

Dave could not tell exactly what he felt about that, but whatever it was, it certainly was not pleasant.

Vincent’s arrangement was not what he had been hoping for, but it was something he was supposed to be grateful for. He had been given a place between them, a place he could count as family, surrounded by people who genuinely cared enough about him to let him stay and involve him in something like this.

Last night, he had slept peacefully beside them after so many nights of lying awake.

For days, he had been unable to quiet his thoughts, constantly thinking about their situation and about his own family.

The night before yesterday, he had spent the night shedding tears over losing all his people at once, the same people he had once believed he could rely on, only to discover that all those laughs, all that pampering, and everything else they had given him had been nothing more than an act.

And as if that were not enough, he had spent the entire night consumed by the fear of losing Bryce, who had become so deeply woven into his life that Bryce’s presence could determine whether he had a good day or a miserable one.

Then there was Vincent, the man who had shown him so much kindness that the thought of no longer having him around already felt unbearable.

He could not imagine what would become of him if those two were taken out of his life as well.

Without them, there would be nothing left for him but the huge mansion he had once been content to disappear into, where he could drink himself numb day after day and wander those empty halls until death finally dragged him under too.

He had never known himself to be a vulnerable man, apart from what Bryce had made him become. Now, however, his entire being had become vulnerable, and it was no longer because of Bryce alone.

He should not ruin the opportunity he had been given. Getting over what he had started to feel for Vincent should be easy enough; it was not deep yet, and it had grown only from the kindness Vincent had shown him.

From now on, he would focus on letting those feelings go and give his attention to Bryce.

His resolve was made.

But the moment he lifted his eyes to respond, he caught Vincent staring at him with an expression that was almost concerned, mixed with confusion.

His heart immediately began racing for no good reason.

If his heart thought there was a good reason, then the two of them clearly had different opinions, because Dave certainly did not think there was one.

"Is something wrong?" Vincent asked.

Dave caught Bryce’s gaze on him too. His expression was filled with pure worry, as though he was afraid Dave had changed his mind again.

"No, I was just... comprehending it all. It feels like I have a family I’m welcomed in, so it makes this a special moment for me, a bit overwhelming." Dave said, not daring to explain the other thing that was bothering him.

"You’re not welcomed in. You are part of it. You belong in it. I mean, it is originally yours too." Vincent said, clearly struggling with his words as though he could not find the right way to make Dave understand what this actually meant.

His words only made things harder for Dave.

They seemed to go straight to his heart, strengthening the place Vincent had already begun to occupy there.

Dave did not understand how it was happening, but Vincent was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore in that way.

"Why is your heart racing so fast? It makes me feel like you’re actually not okay, or there’s something important you’re just not letting out. And it makes me wanna find out myself. If we are going to be together, then we should stop hiding things from each other." Vincent scolded.

For a second, Dave’s breath seemed to stop, followed by his heart beating harder.

"What do you mean, find out on your own?" he asked.

"I mean getting into your head and reading your mind since you don’t want to speak up." Vincent answered without hesitation.

"You read people’s minds too?!" Dave asked, completely stunned.

Panic immediately took hold of him.

He turned toward Bryce.

"Why didn’t you tell me about this?"

"You didn’t ask about what we can do and what we can’t. I couldn’t have just approached you and said we can read people’s minds. Besides, we haven’t had that kind of space to talk about things like that." Bryce answered.

"Have you ever gotten in my head and read my mind?" Dave asked Bryce as soon as he finished speaking.

"No," Bryce answered.

Dave immediately turned to Vincent.

"What about you?" he asked.

Vincent did not answer.

He simply looked at Dave with an expression that said yes, he had, and Dave caught it immediately.

He shot up from the chair, trying to hide his panic and failing miserably.

"Shit!" he muttered, ruffling his hair before pacing once across the room.

"Okay, now you’re just making me more curious. What are you so worked up about? What are you actually thinking that you refuse to let out? You’re making me suspicious, and it’s the last thing I want to feel about you now. Are you planning something that you know isn’t right, or what is it exactly?" Vincent asked, his expression filled with curiosity and confusion.

"I’m fucking worked up because a person’s mind is like their diary, and in case you don’t know, people are not supposed to just open someone’s diary without permission, and you just get in my head as though it was some natural adventure."

"I know, and that’s why I’m trying not to get in your head right now, and I’m sorry about the times I did it."

The apology suddenly left Dave speechless.

Vincent had just apologized to him.

And the way he remained so calm made it clear that Vincent did not seem to know what Dave had actually been thinking about him. The frustration that had accompanied his panic subsided almost immediately.

"When, and how many times have you done it?"

"Days ago, twice, and it was necessary." Vincent answered.

"Okay, let me make this clear. Stay out of my mind, please. I swear there’s nothing I’m planning or thinking that affects either of you in any negative way that I’m hiding."

"Okay." Vincent lifted his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender.