Page 6 of Glass Jawed
Not just physically. Existentially.
Shame slithers under my skin, rotting whatever confidence I thought I’d earned back. My hand clutches the blanket tighter around me as I rise to my feet, legs unsteady.
He’s still staring. Not saying a word. Just looking.
Tim lets out a choked, pitiful,“Lucian—”
“Don’t cry now, baby,” the man—Lucian—says. His voice is somehow deceptively calm. “You’ve done it.Ownit.”
Tim flinches like he’s been slapped.
So do I.
“Lucian—”
“Just...” Lucian’s hand shot up, trembling as he tried to steady himself. “Jesus fucking Christ!”
He paces away for a moment, his hands clutching his dirty blond hair tightly. “I need... I need to find the right frame of mind before I try to understand your reasoning behindfucking awomanwhen you’ve always—always—been fucking gay!”
He ends on a shout, and the word cracks like a whip. Echoing in the small apartment.
My head spins.
What the hell is this?
Am I—was I—some kind of experiment? A curiosity? A test subject?
My mouth opens, trying to find words, but nothing comes out.
“I wasn’t sure,” Tim stammers, wrapping a hand around himself. “I thought I was bi. I just—I needed to see—”
Lucian lets out a harsh, bitter laugh. It isn’t humor. It is heartbreak folded into fury.
He turns toward me, and that’s when his gaze fully shifts.
The grief disappears. The betrayal evaporates. And all that remains is disgust.
Atme.
His eyes drag over my body like I’m not even human. Like I’m a mistake that has taken shape.
My eyes cower under the weight of his contempt.
“You absolute piece of shit.”
I don’t know whether that is for me or Tim, but I keep my head down.
“Baby, please. I’m so—”
Lucian steps closer. “You brought a random fuck intoourbed!”
I force myself to look up. Just enough to gauge where the hell my clothes are.
Tim sobs. “I didn’t plan it, I just—I didn’t know how to talk to you about this. I’ve been confused, and—”
“Confused?” Lucian snaps. “You could’ve just broken up with me. Why? Why did you—fuck!”
Tim opens his mouth, but Lucian steamrolls him, every word landing like a slap.
