Flip the Coin [BL]-Chapter 219. Advance and Retreat
This was better than the snowy mountain; the hot water and body that warmed me from every angle were much more comfortable and felt far more real.
"No. Their bullshit won’t do a thing to me. But I can help you if you want to get out of here."
Henry’s hand, which had been holding me, sneaked into my hair, gripping it forcefully and turning my head to the side so he could speak directly in my ear, preventing us from seeing each other’s faces.
"I’m staying where you are." It sounded like a warning, a threat.
"Right. By. Your. Side." Yet it echoed in my ears as the plea of a desperate man.
I grinned and rested my forehead on his shoulder.
What a dumb and stubborn dog.
So incredibly blind. I am giving you a chance to flee from the monster as long as you are able to, but you just won’t take it, will you?
Fine.
I leaned against him and emptied my mind while Henry’s hand still gripped my hair.
I glanced at the violet-shimmering blank coin in my mind on the wooden table—not wanting it—and continued to feel the hot water on my skin, the damp clothes of the dumb dog against my cheek, and his heartbeat, which sounded much louder than the shower could.
I am so sleepy.
Closing my eyes, I dozed off while standing until I felt Henry fumbling behind me. Then his hands returned to my hair, this time applying shampoo to it and massaging my scalp.
"We’ll get you to bed," he said before positioning me more in the middle of the stream and rinsing the shampoo out again.
Then he stepped outside and undressed.
I watched his muscular back once more, and when he was fully naked, I averted my eyes and stared at the tiles of the floor in a daze.
He put on a bathrobe and walked out, returning with dry sleepwear for me.
"Do you need help?" He asked, already knowing my answer.
I shook my head and watched him leave the room, but not before he looked back one last time, as if he had to force himself to tear his eyes away.
When he finally left, I removed my wet clothes and showered, contemplating this crazy group therapy session.
Maybe running away would have been better. For me to know which was the right choice, about everything I needed and didn’t need to know, I just had to do one thing:
Flip the coin.
Though, what would happen if I did it with the power of a giant?
Would I directly appear in the future instead of just seeing it? I don’t want to risk it, but running from the only friend I had since I was born, from the ability that guided and saved me so many times, wasn’t that the absolutely dumbest thing to do?
But not now, not today. I turned off the shower, dried myself, and put on the clothes Henry had brought me.
When I exited the bathroom, I found him speaking to someone on the landline attached to the wall beside the door. He stopped when he saw me and waved me over.
I took the receiver.
"Hello?" The old voice spoke in annoyance after not hearing anyone talking.
"Grandma." I answered.
"And?" She asked as if it would kill her to behave like a human and ask how I was doing normally.
"Fine."
"And the truth?"
"This place is shitty, but it’s okay for now."
"Good. A perfect place for a tattooed convict. I’ve found someone who can get rid of all of them."
"CHHJH. Sorry, I’m driving through a tunnel and can’t hear you." I hung up and broke into a chuckle.
Henry also laughed, and I went to my bed.
"You don’t want to eat?" he asked, walking over and taking a seat on the ground. He was already changed into the pajamas they provided here.
"Nah. Go and do your thing or get some sleep yourself." Though I didn’t know if he could leave the room again to eat something after we had entered under the nurses’ watchful eyes,
I wanted him to at least try, fearing he really wanted to play dog and curl up by my feet.
There was no space for that.
I looked into Henry’s blue eyes as he placed his chin on the mattress, at his mole that stubbornly stood out against his pale skin, and at his perfectly shaped thin lips.
Well, perfectly shaped for a man.
When he looked at someone with his face bent down and his eyes turned up, it was like a believer would do while looking at his god, yet at the same time reminding of a demon that was eyeing its prey. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Strange fellow.
"What are you looking at?" I asked him, finding the deep eye contact increasingly uncomfortable.
"I am searching for the car and the tunnel." He smiled cheekily.
"Ahahaha!" I broke into laughter.
Good job! See how smart this dumb dog was, knowing when to advance and retreat?
That was how he managed to worm his way in, even making me believe in his heterosexual nonsense for some time.
What a smart, dumb dog.
Not so bad to have someone like him as an ally. Not so bad for me, but what about him?
"What do you think they intend to do in this center?" Henry asked me innocently, looking like a young, curious boy.
"Brainwash us into their soldiers, then use us." I answered.
"What do you think?"
"Brainwash us into their soldiers, then use and later kill us." He repeated, adding a nice little something.
My gaze wandered to the ceiling behind him. There was a really prominent camera hanging there, but it shouldn’t be the only one; this should be here so that we let our guard down when not facing it.
"I won’t stop talking just because they are listening to us," Henry said quietly, seeing me turn all paranoid again.
I knew what he meant. It would be stranger for us not to talk about our opinions. It was different if we planned to run away from this place; then it wouldn’t be good if they heard us—hence, the talk in the shower under running water.
Though there was an even simpler way: I could just teleport us away from the bathroom; however, I am unsure if I could take Henry with me, and then there is the problem with the ankle monitors that would show our location changing.
"I know. We will see if we are right after going to a few more lessons." I patted his head.
"Now I’m going to sleep, so go away and do something else." Closing my eyes tiredly, I felt Henry not moving an inch and instead watching me fervently.
"I’ll wait until you are asleep," he whispered.
Suit yourself.
