Page 54 of Shadowman

After a few minutes of mindless chitchat, I sigh. “You know, we can talk about Ren if you want. I don’t mind.”

Luthor flashes me a look of vulnerability in between poking at his mac and cheese. “That’s not bro date conversation. That’s—”

“Girl talk?” I shrug, smirking.

He laughs, then shakes his head. “I don’t know, man… He’s confusing.”

“Uh-huh,” I hum in agreement.

“I mean, he let Gage fuck him in half while we were supposed to be…” his voice trails, and I witness him swallow.

“I remember,” I say softly, mind littered with memories of that time, three years ago…

The day after I arrived in Hell, my new friend had his heart ripped out and stomped on. And I focused all of my energy on trying to help him through it.

I’ve gotta say, it was a great distraction.

“But then he gets sent to solitary for kicking the dude’s ass??Twice, mind you.” He shakes his head. “He’s just… too fucking much. But I feel like I’m stuck with him, and the craziest part is that I’m not even mad about it. I love being stuck with him, even though I hate it and he drives me absolutely insane.” His green eyes lift to mine. “Hating that you love someone… How messed up is that?”

I blink at him, swallowing down the stuff I wish I could say.

It’s not as messed up as you think…

“Listen, you’ve obviously known Ren longer than I have,” I mumble.

“Yea, but you know him too,” he cuts in. “Just as well as I do… Maybe more. Because you can see beyond the Ren-daze.”

Those words stop me for a second, and I stare at him blankly.Can I, though?

I guess he’s right… Idoknow Ren.Really fucking well.

But why…?Whydo I know him as well as his own fated fucking mate??

I barely even remember what I was going to say, so I croak, “So then… You know as well as I do that Percy fucking Gage doesn’t mean shit to him. Just like Velle doesn’t, or Jasper, or Rook… or me.”

The way Luthor is looking at me right now has me immediately regretting those words, sinking deep into a hole ofJesus Christ, why the fuck did I just say that??

I’m about to start backpedaling, when the center of the goddamn universe himself comes traipsing into the cafeteria.

Jasper is standing by the doorway, having brought him up, but Ren isn’t cuffed and he’s just beelining over to us like he’s on a mission.

I find myself gulping and sitting up straight for some reason.

“Hey,” Ren breathes out as he plops into the seat next to Luthor.

“Holy shit… Are you alright?” Luthor asks him right away. “We heard you and Dash were in a fight in the showers…”

“Yea, we sorta took on Gage together.” Ren chuckles fondly. “Dash is… He’s a really cool guy.”

Luthor looks pleased by this statement. He likes when his friends are getting along.He’s sweet like that.

But now I can’t stop thinking about Dash.In solitary…

“Look, there’s something I need to talk to you about,” Ren says to Luthor, an air of dedication to him that’s stiffening my muscles for some reason. “And I know you might not want to hear it, but I just need to get this off my chest.”

My stomach twists up like a contortionist as I peek at Luthor. His eyes are wide, unnerved, but curious as he nods slowly. “Okay…”

Ren locks his gaze on Luthor’s, taking a deep breath, preparing himself to drop a bomb. I’m not breathing. “Lex, I’m…sorry.” He blinks slowly, posture relaxing a bit, like a ton of bricks just came off of his shoulders.