Page 82 of Broken Obsession

Ares was right about one thing.

Eden was a fool for climbing into bed with a Black Hart.

And an idiot for wanting to stay there.

Chapter 18:

According to Fisher, Inzer had almost immediately gone to find Sedos after his run-in with Eden and Ares. It confirmed that the guy had lied to him on purpose when he’d claimed he hadn’t traveled to the school with anyone.

Which was a good thing, because that’s what Eden wanted.

He wanted the two of them to lose sleep over whether or not Eden was here for more than a dream job.

Ares had mentioned that Sedos was on the hypovolley team, and Eden found himself standing on the outskirts of the field during his lunch break.

His first two classes had gone better than expected. There’d been a ton of questions from students about his role in Vanity and the ins and outs of being a voice actor, but they’d been respectful and polite. At least, up until the inquiries about his relationship with Ares were asked.

Always from students who were terrible at hiding their desires.

The desperate hope that Eden would deny the rumors and say he and Ares weren’t an item was palpable each and every time, pricking at his possessiveness in ways he wasn’t proud of.

Certainly ways he’d never admit to Lucifer.

Especially not after their fight this morning.

Eden was embarrassingly aware of what he’d been doing now that he’d had time to sit with it. Subconsciously, he’d seen all the gifts and thoughtfulness Ares had afforded him, and he’d panicked that the other shoe was going to drop.

It’d been one thing when he’d agreed to this thinking he wouldn’t fall for the man, when he’d thought he could be satisfied walking away once they’d taken care of Inzer and Sedos. But Ares was unexpectedly making him feel things he hadn’t felt in a really long time.

The delicate touch of another.

The attentiveness of someone who cared for him.

Eden hadn’t experienced those things since his family was still alive, hadn’t realized that he’d missed that type of consideration and connection.

This mortifying revelation had spurred him from the classroom and out into the cold, hoping the chill might snap him out of it. He was given a two-hour block of time between now and his final class of the day, which left plenty of time to explore more on his own, and somehow he’d ended up peering at the field.

He’d been in the process of wondering where Lucifer currently was when he’d looked down and realized the whole team was at practice. Thirteen guys dressed in jerseys that were definitely too light for this weather moved about the green, tossing and kicking a crystal ball amongst themselves in predetermined plays Eden couldn’t even begin to follow.

He had very little interest in sports in general, let alone one as barbaric as hypovolley. Still, he’d descended the stone steps, drawing closer as his eyes scanned the unfamiliar faces, seeking out the one on his hit list.

Ares had shown him photos of Sedos, and it didn’t take long to pin him.

Especially since he was the only one currently with a bloody nose.

Sedos was hunched over, both hands covering his face as crimson oozed between his fingers. He was glaring at a fellow teammate, a strong-looking young man who was openly laughing at his injury.

Either Eden was getting better at picking Black Harts out of the crowd, or there was a certain air about them that gave them away. The one mocking Sedos had to be Ellery.

Was he responsible for the broken nose?

Hypovolley balls were made from fringe crystal. Their flat surfaces were somewhat flexible and would bend slightly under force, but the edges were harder than steel. Getting hit by a ball left a fifty-fifty chance of serious injury.

“Dude, what’s with them?” a team member started up the steps then, talking with another one a pace behind him. “Ellery’s been riding Sedos’ ass for days now.”

“He must have done something to piss Ell off.” The second team member sprinted to catch up and took notice of Eden first. He bowed his head respectfully, but didn’t bother lowering his voice, clearly uncaring if some unknown staff member listened in on their conversation. “I heard he dumped his coffee all over Sedos’ breakfast tray this morning at the cafeteria.”

“Seriously? Last night I saw him spit in his food at dinner.”