Page 12 of Collin, Episodes 4-6 (The Residency Boys #2)

“It isn’t the first time she’s broken it. She’ll be fine. She’s normally smart about trying to rush through doors when no one’s looking, but…” Mr. Moreau shook his head. “It’s been at least three years since the last time she hurt herself.”

“Maybe she would like to go on a walk?”

“Like a dog?”

“Yes, with a leash.”

“If you can get a leash on her, good luck.” Mr. Moreau shook his head. “That cat refuses to tolerate even a collar. She’s microchipped for a good reason.”

Collin shook his head. “I think I’m going to rest in my room. I’ll come back and clean up soon.” He made good his escape.

Alone, he sank down onto the floor, his back to his bed, and put his head on his knees.

His bladder had given up complaining with vigor and simmered down to a low ache.

Which was probably not good but at least helpful.

What he was though was thirsty. And he probably needed to eat.

None of which he was going to do. Not till his dom came home.

He opened his phone and searched for YouTube videos on Chinese. At least he could do one thing right and get started on learning what he’d been told to learn.

Somewhere deep in a video explaining the history of different Chinese languages—Collin was getting it but also trying to figure out why not just call all these languages by their names instead of calling them Chinese—a knock came at the door. He scrambled to his feet and opened it.

“Sir! You’re back.”

“And so are you. How’s Ash?”

“I left him with Ellisandre, sir. And he hasn’t called asking for rescue, so I’m assuming it’s going okay.”

“Did he seem all right after the run-in with the police?”

“He was more worried about Ellisandre than the cops when I left and complaining about being told to eat. But I’ll call him later just to make sure.”

“Thank you. I believe you have something that’s mine?”

Collin blinked, mind blank. And then it hit him. “Oh, um, the key, yes, sir.” He stuck his hand in his pocket. It wasn’t there. He checked his other one and looked back at the floor. Not there either.

“Maybe…it’s probably in my coat, sir.”

“You haven’t relieved yourself since you got home?”

Collin dropped his eyes. “No, sir.”

“How much have you drank today?”

“Um…” Collin swallowed. “Just coffee this morning, I think.”

“But you served émeric and Damian lunch. Did you not eat?”

Collin shook his head. He couldn’t get his eyes off the floor. He reached for the molding around the door frame and dug the pads of his fingers into the edges.

Mr. Reevesworth slid the crook of his finger under Collin’s chin and tilted his head up. Collin closed his eyes, flushing. “Collin, have you relieved yourself at all since this morning?”

“No, sir.” Collin’s voice was just a whisper.

“Why?”

“I just…” Collin couldn’t stop the trembling in his limbs. His voice was trying to strangle itself in a bid to hide. “I don’t know, sir.”

“I sent you the key, did I not?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What did émeric say to you?”

“Nothing, sir, well…” Collin pulled up the memory. “Ash was there, sir. He just handed it to me.”

“And is émeric not my hand to care for you?”

If he’s your hand, he should have supervised me, not handed me the blasted key! “Yes, sir.”

“So, you came home, cooked for everyone, fussed over Damian, and came in here to do what?”

“I was studying Chinese, sir. Watching videos.”

Mr. Reevesworth stroked Collin’s cheek gently with his thumb. “What am I going to do with you, Collin? You’ve been both very good and very bad. You’ve both taken care of my property and interests in several instances and abused it.”

“May I get the key, sir?”

“Yes.” Mr. Reevesworth let go of Collin’s jaw and stepped back.

Collin tried to hurry down the hall, but his loins hurt.

He clenched around the pain and hobbled to his coat.

The key was right there in his pocket where he’d placed it.

He returned. Mr. Reevesworth was still standing in the doorway of his bedroom. He took the key from Collin.

“Kneel.”

Collin dropped to his knees. For a long moment, nothing was said. Collin’s hands fidgeted against his thigh. Was he in real trouble? How bad was it going to be? At least Mr. Reevesworth’s voice hadn’t sounded angry. More…sad.

Collin’s heart fell in his chest. He’d caused grief. On a day that had already been difficult enough. A strong desire to just crawl under his bed and stop being a problem for anyone suffused his skin.

Mr. Reevesworth stroked the side of Collin’s head. “Can you wait five more minutes?”

I can do anything if it’s what you want. Not that he could say that out loud. “I was desperate. Now it’s just…dull, sir. Like I don’t even need to go.”

Mr. Reevesworth’s fingers ran down to Collin’s lips and touched them with the tips of his fingers.

“You’re dehydrated.” He pulled Collin forward so that Collin’s head rested against his thigh.

Collin breathed out a sigh. He leaned against his dom, closing his eyes.

This, this felt good. Not that he deserved it, but being close…

He suppressed a shudder. It felt so selfish, but this was what had been missing all day ever since Mr. Moreau handed him that key, as if it was just some random item, and left on the elevator.

This being centered and seen and wanted.

“I’m going to get you some water now, and then you’ll need to go in a few minutes. ”

Mr. Reevesworth left Collin kneeling in the doorway for just a moment. He returned with a glass of room-temperature water and held it to Collin’s lips. “Drink.”

The liquid soaked into the inside of his lips first, moistening the inside of his mouth and pushing back the dry parchment sensation.

Then it softened his tongue, crested into the top of his mouth, and hit his throat.

He surged up on his knees and toes, reaching for more.

How had he not known how thirsty he was?

He needed that water. Needed it like breathing.

Collin gulped at it despite himself. Water got on his chin.

Mr. Reevesworth brushed it away with his finger. “I do have to punish you, you know.” Mr. Reevesworth kept up with the gentle touches in Collin’s hair, down to his ear, and over the back of his neck.

“Yes, sir.”

“Why did you not go to Damian? Was he not here all day?”

“He was busy, sir. And stressed. I didn’t want to bother him.”

“Even though we expressly agreed that if you were having a problem with our dynamic that he was safe to go to?”

“I…” Collin’s shoulders slumped. “I didn’t think of it as an us problem, sir. It was me. I was the one who just couldn’t use the key.”

“And you couldn’t text me?”

“You were handling an emergency, sir.”

“I was sitting in a waiting room for much of it. I could have answered a text.”

“Compared to a broken bone, sir…”

Mr. Reevesworth sighed. “I am at fault. I took your ability to ask for help in so many things as a sign you understood. But I think now you need to understand at a deeper level.”

“Sir?”

“You’ve only been accepting help when you think we can afford to give it, haven’t you? That’s not truly handing over power, Collin. That’s not truly trusting me to care for you.”

Collin’s chest tightened. His hand curled around the hem of Mr. Reevesworth’s pants. “But you were busy, sir. You sent me the key. That meant…”

“What did that mean, Collin?”

Air caught in his throat. He could barely breathe. Tears stung his eyes. He rubbed at them.

Mr. Reevesworth’s hand settled on Collin’s head. “Tell me what sending you the key meant, Collin.”

“That you didn’t…have the capacity…to hold it, sir.”

Mr. Reevesworth dropped to his knees. His arm went around Collin’s shoulders and drew him in. “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I communicated wrong.”

Collin’s shoulders shook. There were more tears, and he couldn’t hold them back. “It’s okay.”

“No, it is not. You gave me something precious and immense, and I appeared to hand it back carelessly.”

“But Artemis…”

“Was not dying.”

Collin rubbed his face. “Could you tell me, please, sir, what you did mean?”

“I knew you had just had coffee before going to see the police. I wanted to make sure you weren’t in pain, so I asked émeric to meet with you before going to the clinic. I did not communicate with him the gravity of his mission. He did not know it was the first time I’d made such an arrangement.”

“That still sounds like you didn’t have the capacity, sir, to hold it.”

“I could have not let you go out to deal with Ash’s situation on your own.

” Mr. Reevesworth wiped tears from Collin’s face.

“You’ve done so well, handled so much already, I didn’t think twice of it.

But you’ve done well partially because you don’t know how to do anything but be exceptional.

Not because you are truly that confident and secure.

I must remember that with you. You will do anything to please me. Including harm yourself.”

Collin tried to gulp back sobs. Why am I crying? I was fine like five minutes ago.

Mr. Reevesworth shook his head slowly. “I would revoke punishment, precious boy, except that you do not need any more uncertainty. So, this is what we are going to do. There will be two parts in addressing your choices. First, I will hand you over to Damian. As the main one here you should have turned to, you need to learn to trust him and his role in our dynamic more than your own need to not cause a disturbance. And then, tomorrow, after you are hydrated, you will be edged again, like you were before.”

Collin shuddered. Was it relief? Anticipation? It didn’t feel like fear.

“And you are not the only one who will be corrected.” Mr. Reevesworth pressed his forehead against Collin’s.

“I bear as large a role in this as you. I will clear communication with émeric. And with Damian. Now come, and whatever I say next, to Damian or anyone else, you are not to speak until given leave to speak. Follow orders but nothing else. Understood? This does require a verbal answer.”