5
Silas
It wasunusual to takea patient on a field trip so soon into treatment, but then again, it was unusual to find an omega like Elijah. Most omegas who were brought into Stonecrest needed extensive therapy before they were confident enough to set foot into society on their own. Elijah did not lack for confidence.
Silas slid the paperwork across Torres’ desk as Elijah loitered by the door. Torres looked down at it, then back up at Silas, lips pursed.
“An excursion?”
“He’s ready,” Silas replied simply. The subtle force in his voice made Torres drop her eyes. “Do you trust my judgment?”
“You’re a good counselor,” Torres said softly. She gave the form a cursory glance, then signed off on it. “I trust you.”
Torres had more faith in Silas than he did in himself.
It had been a week since he’d taken on Elijah’s case. Owen’s heat was over, yet every night after work, Silas returned home and worked out a knot while imagining Elijah in his bed. Flushed cheeks and timid glances. Tender moans. Silas was knowledgeable enough on omega behavior to know that Elijah was interested in him—there was no mistaking the glances, the comments, and the way Elijah postured for him.
Elijah wasn’t the first omega in Stonecrest who’d shown interest in him, but he was the first whom Silas was interested in as well.
“Thank you.” Silas stepped away from the desk and turned to find Elijah peeping in at him. The excitement in his eyes was undeniable, and Silas couldn’t help but smile.
“Take care, Rutledge,” Torres bade him. Silas said his goodbyes, then stepped out into the hallway and closed the door.
Elijah was beaming. “So we can go?”
“It’s been cleared,” Silas said with a nod. “Is there anything in particular you want to do?”
“I don’t know.” Elijah looked in the direction of the main doors, then back at Silas. “I’ve never been to the place you were talking about before. I don’t know what to expect. Can we go and walk? I just want to get out of here.”
There was a good chance that getting out of Stonecrest would help Elijah open up, and if he did, Silas was certain that he could start to tackle some of his deeply ingrained issues. Elijah was difficult, but he wasn’t beyond saving. Making sure he was comfortable was his first step toward success, and it looked like getting him out of Stonecrest was the easiest way to put his mind at ease. At least, Silas tried to convince himself as much. A small, primal part of his mind insisted that he was taking Elijah out for ulterior reasons.
The urge to be close with him grew steadily, and with it grew Silas’ guilt.
Despite how he felt, Silas still hadn’t filed the paperwork to transfer Elijah’s case. There was so much promise in him, and he convinced himself it would be a shame to waste the trust they’d already established in each other. If he could get in and open Elijah’s eyes to the world, the rest of his rehabilitation would be simple. Silas hoped he could ward off his true feelings long enough to see that happen.
They headed down the hall and out through the front doors. The day was clear and the sun shone brightly. Silas squinted, eyes struggling to adjust to the influx of light. At his side, Elijah laughed.
“I never thought I’d love the sun so much.” Elijah took the stairs two at a time, bounding down from Stonecrest’s doors with abundant energy. Silas followed at a slower pace, the hard soles of his dress shoes clacking against each stone step. “How do you deal with sitting in an office all day? It doesn’t even have any windows. I think I’d go crazy if I had to stay in there any longer than I just did.”
“I don’t mind it,” Silas said simply. “I was never much of a sun worshiper. When I was younger, my brothers and I played outside, but as I grew older my interests changed.”
Elijah arrived at the path leading across Stonecrest’s grounds. When he arrived, he bound around to look up at Silas as he continued his descent. The smile on Elijah’s face was radiant, unlike anything Silas had seen while they were in session together.
It was a true smile, not something contrived.
Silas had no choice but to smile back.
“You have brothers?” Elijah asked. “How many?”
“Two.” Silas arrived at the bottom stair, and Elijah fell into place beside him. Together, they strolled across the path and toward the main gates. “We’re triplets.”
“Your poor mother.”
They hadn’t gone far—the front doors were still visible, and they weren’t off of the center’s grounds yet—but Elijah had already become a different person. The way he spoke was relaxed and conversational, where before he’d been guarded and combative. Rays of sunlight illuminated the gold in his hair, and Silas couldn’t help but look his way out of the corner of his eye.
Elijah couldn’t be much more than twenty. When he wasn’t resisting therapy with every fiber of his being, his features relaxed and his face lost the distressed look of a hard life. Happiness suited him.
“She had her hands full. If you can believe it, I was a handful as a child. As I aged, I settled down.”
