Chapter 120 Mac's seed
Alex lowered his voice, “Come on, just tell me. Did you tell…”
“No,” Lucas responded, cutting him off. “It’s a secret I've carried all my life. I let you in because it's you. So why will I share such a secret? The hospital was involved because it's necessary.”
Lucas paused, “Alex what's going on?” Lucas asked, searching his eyes.
Alex ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. “Has anyone been contacting you? Anything strange? Calls, messages, anything at all?”
Lucas’s confusion deepened, slowly mixing with hurt and fear.
“No,” he said, quieter this time. “Why all these questions?”
Alex didn’t answer immediately.
His eyes scanned Lucas’s face, like he was trying to read something hidden beneath the surface. It wasn’t soft anymore. It was protective, guarded, and intense. And it didn’t feel good.
Lucas pulled back slightly, creating a small space between them. “Alex,” he said, more firmly now. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Alex replied quickly.
Lucas let out a short, disbelieving breath, his lips pressing together. “Don’t do that.”
Alex frowned. “Do what?”
“Act like everything’s fine when it’s clearly not,” Lucas shot back, his voice still calm, but strained. “First the call, now this interrogation.”
“It’s not an interrogation,” Alex cut in.
“It feels like one,” Lucas replied, his eyes searching him. “You’re asking me questions like I’m in trouble or something.”
“You’re not in trouble,” Alex said immediately.
“Then what is it?” Lucas asked.
The question lingered.
Alex opened his mouth, then closed it again. That hesitation said more than words.
Lucas’s expression shifted instantly, something soft cracking just slightly. “You said it was just work.”
“Yes,” Alex insisted.
Lucas held his gaze for a few seconds longer. Then slowly, he nodded. “Okay.”
But this time, he didn’t pretend as well. He leaned back, putting a bit more distance between them, his arms folding loosely across himself, though not defensive.
“Next time,” Lucas added quietly, not looking at him now, “just tell me the truth. Even if it’s complicated.”
With that, he swung his legs off the bed and stood, grabbing Alex’s towel from the night before. He tied it loosely around his waist, then paused, turning back, eyes steady, voice firm.
“I’m not a child anymore. If I’m your Lucas, then what concerns you… concerns me too.”
The words hung in the air, heavy and unyielding, before he turned and strode toward the bathroom.
They hit harder than Alex expected. His chest tightened, something sharp and uncomfortable lodging beneath his ribs. He opened his mouth to speak, maybe to stop him, maybe to explain, but no words came out. And that silence spoiled more because it said more than anything he could have said.
And Lucas heard it, felt it, and understood it. Alex was shutting him out and the realization burned.
Frustration surged through Lucas, hot and immediate. His grip tightened on the door handle before he shoved it open and stepped inside, the tension snapping as he slammed it shut behind him with a sharp, echoing bang.
The sound jolted Alex.
He shot to his feet, walked naked to the closet. Picked up another towel and walked out to the sitting room. “Damn it, I need a drink.” He muttered loudly while walking about.
He walked to the kitchen searching around but could see only soft drinks. He cursed again, “Shit, fuck you Mac.”
He ran a hand through his hair, anger flaring, not at Lucas, never at him, but at himself, and at the name that had been haunting his thoughts.
“Mac…” he muttered, jaw tightening as his eyes darkened. Resolve, hardening into something dangerous.
“For starting this war, Mac,” he continued under his breath, voice low and edged with steel, “I promise you, whoever you are, you aren’t the one to finish it.”
His fists clenched at his sides.
“Your worst mistake,” he added, voice dropping further, “Was dragging my Lucas into it.”
This time, there was no hesitation in Alex’s tone, only a quiet, deadly promise.
At that exact moment, the sharp buzz of Alex’s phone cut through the tension in the sitting room.
He exhaled once, trying to steady himself, then walked back to the room and reached for it on the bedside table. The screen was showing Jason’s name.
Alex answered, pressing the phone to his ear. “Yeah?”
Jason didn’t waste a second. “Hey big bro, I don’t want to hear you’ve forgotten, so I'm calling to remind you.”
Alex frowned slightly. “Forgotten what?”
“My designer runway launch tomorrow,” Jason shot back, his tone half-annoyed, half-dramatic.
Alex rubbed his temple, glancing briefly at the closed bathroom door. “Oh, I didn’t forget. I’ve just had a lot going on.”
“Well, clear whatever it is quickly.” Jason snapped. “Because you’re coming. And you’re not coming alone. You’re bringing Lucas with you.”
Alex stiffened. His gaze lingered on the bathroom door again, his jaw tightening. “I don’t think Lucas can make it. He’s…”
“Save it,” Jason cut him off immediately. “I don’t want excuses. I thought you guys had made up.”
“Of course, we're good. It's just that…”
“Come on bro, your seats are reserved already, so no but.”
Alex’s voice dropped, controlled but strained. “Jason, I’m serious.”
“And so am I,” Jason interrupted again, firmer this time. “You seemed to be hiding that pretty boy like a national treasure. It’s a good event, not a battlefield, so bring him out.”
Alex’s grip on the phone tightened.
Silence stretched for a beat before Jason delivered the final push, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Make sure you come with Lucas, bro. Bye”
The line went dead.
Alex slowly lowered the phone, staring at the screen for a moment before it dimmed in his hand.
His eyes drifted back to the bathroom door.
Between the storm brewing inside that room, and the one waiting outside tomorrow, Alex could already feel the pressure closing in.
And somehow, he had to face both.
Alex remained standing in the middle of the room, his thoughts spiraling.
How was he even going to bring up the runway shows? In any other moment, Lucas would have been excited, curious, teasing, maybe even a little dramatic about what to wear. Alex could already picture it.
But now there was distance and it was so uncomfortable and unfamiliar.
Alex exhaled slowly, dragging a hand over his face. He wanted Lucas there. Not because Jason insisted, but because he always wanted Lucas by his side. But would Lucas even agree to go, especially after shutting him out?
Before he could figure out the right words, the bathroom door clicked open.
Alex glanced up as Lucas stepped out with a towel around him. He was composed, but something had changed. The softness was gone, replaced with a quiet restraint. His eyes didn’t linger. He didn’t smile. He just walked past.
That hurt more than the anger.
Alex swallowed, then moved toward Lucas. “Baby, I know you think that I'm shutting you out but it's not like that. I just don't want you worrying about my problem. I…”
“Come on Alex, I'm worried already, okay. Keeping whatever it is away from me is making it worse.”