The Lies of Temptation

I was one breath away from ending it all when my dad’s estranged best friend walked in and everything changed.

Elliot
When my mom died, the world didn’t just fall apart, it swallowed me whole. I smiled when I was supposed to. Spoke when spoken to. But inside, I was numb. No one saw how close I was to the edge.
No one… except Anthony.
He saw through my mask. He looked at me like I mattered, like I was worth fighting for. He was older, confident, and his presence shook the foundation of everything I thought I knew about myself.
A solitary touch from him burned like salvation, and a single glance made my heart ache with the need to be seen.
I didn’t mean to need him. I didn’t mean to want him more than anything. But he made me feel alive, even when it hurt.
Especially when it hurt.
Like an addict, I’d do anything for one more hit.

Anthony
Elliot was drowning, falling apart in ways no one else seemed to notice. He was a boy bleeding grief, in a house that didn’t care. I told myself I was just watching out for him, that he needed someone.
But that was a lie. I needed him. I was drawn to him like a man starving, even though I knew getting close would destroy us both. He was too young, too raw, too close to the edge.
And I was no hero.
When he shattered, I was the only one there to catch him.
Now I didn’t know how to let go, even if loving him was the one line I was never supposed to cross.