Chapter 77 Chapter Seventy Seven: Don't Shut Me Out

Chapter 77 Chapter Seventy Seven: Don't Shut Me Out
(Adrian's POV)

For two weeks, I had watched Lior slowly pull away from me.

It wasn't dramatic, that was what made it worse. He hadn't told me he wanted space. He hadn't become cold or rude. He still smiled at me. He still allowed me to kiss him whenever I caught him alone.

But he no longer came looking for me, he stopped lingering after work, when I asked to go home with him, he always had an excuse; “I'm tired.” “I have something to do.” “I want to be alone.”

He's taken days off three times over the past week, without telling me why. Our conversations had become shorter too.

“How was your day?”

“Fine.”

“Did you eat?”

“Yes.”

“Are you okay?”

“I'm fine.”

I knew he wasn't.

I'd asked him several times.

Every time, he gave me the same answer.

“I'm tired.”

Or:

“I don't want to talk about it.”

And I respected that. I didn't want to force him to tell me something he wasn't ready to share.

But after two weeks of watching him slip further away from me, I was beginning to realize that respecting his silence was becoming unbearable.

I missed him.

I missed the way he used to walk into my office and immediately fill the room with his presence, I missed his pointless little stories, I missed him complaining about work, I missed him stealing food from my plate, I even missed his tendency to roll his eyes at me. I miss everything.

The distance was eating at me.

So tonight, I made a decision. I was going to find out what was wrong.

I gave him enough work to keep him occupied until the rest of the office emptied.

I sat behind my desk and waited.

Eventually, I picked up my phone.

“Lior. Come to my office.”

A few minutes later, he appeared at my door. “Yes, Boss?”

“Come in.”

He walked inside.

I watched him close the door before turning toward me.

“Sit.”

He hesitated before sitting on the edge of my desk.

I remained standing.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then I asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

I stared at him.

He looked away. “You want something to be wrong?”

“Don't do that.”

His eyes returned to mine.

I moved closer. “Lior, you've been keeping your distance from me for two weeks.”

“I've just been busy.”

“Don't lie to me.”

He sighed. “I’m not lying.”

“You haven't let me come home with you, once, in two weeks.”

He said nothing.

“You barely stay after work anymore. You're putting so much distance between us, it's getting me worried.”

His expression changed slightly.

I swallowed. “It would be a lie if I said the distance isn't eating me alive.”

Lior looked down at his hands.

I crouched slightly so we were closer to eye level. “Whatever it is, I'll fix it.” I said, thinking maybe he's pulling back because he thinks Vivienne suspects something.

His lips trembled. “You can't.”

“Try me.”

His eyes filled with tears, and he quickly looked away.

I froze, confused.

“Lior?”

“My father is dying.”

The words rolled off his tongue, barely audible, but heavy enough to immediately push down all my assumptions.

Then the tears started falling.

I didn't hesitate, I pulled him into my arms.

He immediately grabbed the back of my shirt and buried his face against my chest.

“My father has liver disease,” he choked out. “It's bad. The doctor said it's decompensated cirrhosis.”

I stroked his hair.

He continued speaking between broken breaths.

“He drank for years. He still drinks. He says he's cutting down, but the doctor said that's not enough.”

His fingers tightened around my shirt.

“I don't even have a good relationship with him. I hated him.” His voice broke. “He used to hurt me. I was scared of him all the time. When he drank, I'd hide. Sometimes he'd chase me around the house. He'd hit me. He'd scream at me.”

My jaw tightened.

I held him closer.

“I spent years wishing I could get away from him.”

He pulled back slightly, tears covering his face. I wiped one away with my thumb.

“I thought I hated him. But now he's sick, and I can't stop thinking about him dying.” His voice became smaller. “I don't understand why it hurts this much.”

I gently touched his cheek.

“You don't have to understand it.”

He looked at me.

“You can love someone who hurt you. You can hate what they did to you and still not want them to die. That just means you're not as evil as them.”

His face crumpled.

He buried himself against me again.

And I held him. There's nothing wrong with crying, so I simply stayed rather than try to make him stop.

I ran my fingers through his hair until his breathing gradually became less frantic.

When he finally quieted, I said,

“I'll get the best doctor available.”

He lifted his head. “What?”

“Your father will get the best treatment available to him.”

“You don't have to—”

“I'm not asking permission.”

He stared at me. “Adrian…”

“Your father will get the care he needs.”

His eyes became wet again. “You don't have to do all that for me.”

“I know.” I brushed my thumb beneath his eye. “I want to.”

He stared at me for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around me again.

I held him tighter.

His weight against me felt strangely heavy, but not physically.

He had been carrying all of this alone for two weeks. And I'd been watching him grow distant thinking he was pulling away because of Vivienne.

My chest physically hurts. If I paid attention more, I'd have noticed the pain and burden on his face.

I hated seeing him cry.

After a while, he finally whispered,

“Can I come home with you tonight?”

I looked down at him. “You mean can I come home with you?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

I smiled. “Yes.”

__________

I drove us back to his house.

Neither of us said much during the drive.

When we arrived, Lior went straight to the kitchen while I loosened my tie.

“You should sit.” I said, trying to keep him in the kitchen while I make dinner.

“I'm fine.”

“I know.”

He gave me a tired look. “Then why are you telling me to sit?”

“Because I want you to.”

He rolled his eyes but climbed onto one of the stools at the kitchen island.

I opened the refrigerator. “What do you want?”

“Anything.”

“That's not an answer.”

“Then surprise me.”

I smiled. “Fine.”

I cooked while Lior watched me from the island.

Every now and then, he said something. Mostly about nothing, but I didn't mind, I preferred hearing his voice over silence.

When I finished, I placed the plate in front of him.

He stared at it.

Then picked up his fork.

He took a few bites before slowing down.

I nudged the plate closer. “Eat.”

He looked at me. “Bossy.”

“That's the opposite of what I'm trying to be right now.” I sat beside him. “I'm begging you. Please baby, eat.”

A tiny smile appeared on his face.

He took another bite.

“Better?”

“A little.”

I watched him eat until he had managed enough to satisfy me.

Afterward, he suddenly looked toward the living room.

“Can you set up the TV?”

“Of course.”

I connected everything while he chose something to watch.

When I sat beside him, he immediately started talking.

“Jay made me watch this series.”

I looked at the screen. “He did?”

“Yes. And that night, I couldn't sleep because I wanted to watch everything. But it's too many episodes, I couldn't finish before sleep claimed me.”

I watched the screen for a few seconds. Then frowned. “What is this?”

Lior looked at me. “It’s the series.”

“I can see that.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“Because I'm trying to understand why everyone is speaking like that.”

He laughed. “What's wrong with how they're speaking?”

“I don't know.” I watched one of the characters. The man's mouth moved several seconds before the words came out.

I frowned again. “All I see is poor acting. And why do they talk like that?”

Lior laughed. “I think they're speaking another language and the English was recorded over it or something. I don't know.” He pointed at the screen. “But the drama is interesting.”

“The drama is being delivered poorly.”

“Stop talking. You don't know anything.”

I chuckled. “Yes, I don't watch TV.”

He continued watching.

A few minutes later, his head slowly leaned against my shoulder.

I glanced down, and saw his eyes were already closing.

I didn't move.

Soon, his breathing became slow and steady. He had fallen asleep.

I looked at his face. For the first time in two weeks, I didn't feel that terrible distance between us.

He was here, against me, safe enough to sleep. I could feel my heart grow bigger at the sight.

I rested my cheek lightly against his hair.

Whatever happened to his father, I would make sure Lior didn't face it alone.

I loved this Omega. And I wanted to take care of him.