Page 29 of A Thousand Cuts

It felt like a little vacation from reality, and even the fact that he had Fix to thank for it couldn’t ruin it for him. It was the first and last kindness he’d take from the cursebreaker. A sliver of something good done for him by someone he maybe, for a split second, allowed himself to like. It would be enough, he felt. It would have to last him a while.

He ate with King in calm silence and put the washed dishes away after. He worked on his latest costume for a while. He hadno idea what he’d use it for yet, but he wanted to have it just in case. He made himself busy just to avoid thinking about Fix. It wasn’t working the way he wanted it to, but it made him feel like he was trying, at least.

A knock broke his focus on embroidering the details onto his costume and made King jump up in alert.

He trailed after Liam into the hallway and pushed in front of him to inspect once the door was open. There was nobody there, but a large flower box sat on his doormat. The box was pale lavender with white stripes, and the flowers inside it were a firework of colors and shapes. It was stunning.

Liam’s heart refused to listen to reason as Fix’s large frame came to mind. His kind eyes and warm smile. Wildflowers were Liam’s favorite, and Fix had looked into him. While he was terrified of the implications of Fix digging into his past, Cane could have told him the information.

He picked up the small card tucked between the flowers and flipped it open.

Flowers for the prince.

You light up my world.

Liam frowned.

That didn’t sound like Fix at all. He couldn’t have said how he knew that, but he did.

King pushed his nose against his leg, stretching his neck up to sniff at the flowers. Liam lowered the box and the dog dove into it, sneezing at the scent before growling at the box. He eyed it with suspicion, stepped back from it before barking loudly, the sound echoing down the empty stairwell.

“Quiet, King,” Liam said, ordering the dog back inside the apartment, taking the flowers with him.

The disappointment settled low in his stomach but he ignored it. He was an idiot.

He tripped on the edge of his carpet. Took another step then tripped again. And it didn’t feel like it was the carpet. Or him.

The familiar chill rushed over his skin and he swallowed the tears that threatened to escape. He shifted the flowers in his hand and King barked at them again.

“King,” Liam warned, but the dog didn’t want to be told. He nudged against Liam’s legs and pushed him back into the living room.

The lights started flickering, and then a loud pop sounded before they went completely out.

They were back.

The curses were back. He hadn’t even gotten a day of rest from them after what Fix had done.

He sighed and hung his head before walking through the dim room to his small kitchen. He placed the flowers on the counter, not even trying to get King to stop hopping up to get at them. He did not like that gift at all.

Liam picked his costume back up to continue working on it. Each thread he tried tangled and snapped the moment it touched the fabric. He unraveled the designs over and over again, but he couldn’t get them right. They wouldn’t come out right no matter how many times he tried.

Eventually he shook his head in defeat, getting up and standing in the middle of his small apartment, feeling like he’d go out of his mind.

He needed something, anything to take his mind off of things.

His hair fell into his eyes and he pushed it back, only for it to return a second later. He tucked it behind his ear but it didn’t help. He blew it away, held it back, tried braiding it, but whatever he did, it kept falling back into his face.

He started to feel itchy with it.

Overstimulated.

He rubbed at his face trying to get it off, then ran to his bathroom to find a hair tie. He tried one but it snapped when it touched his hair. He tried another. A claw clip. A bobby pin.

None of it worked.

None of it would stay.

It was hair in his face and it was making him itch and he wanted it gone. He wanted to run away from his own hair and the thought made him snap.