Page 52 of Psync
No, he just needed to hold himself together until he could get back to his room, get his meds, and catch up on all of the sleep he’d been missing. Then everything would be fine.
He stood up, and the world did a lovely, slow twirl around him, forcing him to stand still until he could get his bearings.
Yes, everything would be just fine.
Chapter Twenty
Haruka
Thunk!
Arrow after arrow went into the target. None of them even remotely close to where they were supposed to go.
“Are you okay, Haru? I’ve never seen you this off your game.” Aaron, the captain of the archery team patted him on the shoulder.
Haruka shrugged noncommittally. “Just tired.”
“I’ve seen you tired before, and you still make center shots nine times out of ten.” Aaron stepped back and took in his stance. “Your shoulders are stiff as a board, and you’re glaring at everything that moves. Dude, you don’t look tired, you look pissed.”
Haruka leveled a dirty look at his captain.
“See? Exactly like that. You know what? I need to . . . go over there now.” Aaron took off for the shelter where the team kept their gear.
Haruka breathed out a sigh. People had been running from him all week, but there was nothing he could do about it. He didn’t blame them, currently he wasn’t fit to be around. The only exception was the horde of women who seemed to be tracking his every movement.
It was a very new, very recent development. He’d never been a social person, so after the initial novelty of meeting someone from Japan wore off, most people left him alone. Some continued to stare from afar, but he could ignore it and focus on his studies.
But on Monday it was like every woman on campus suddenly wanted a piece of him. He couldn’t go anywhere alone anymore, and it was maddening.
Like now. The fence behind him was filled with students cheering him on even though he was having the worst practice session of his life.
All of this he could deal with. It was annoying, but after a few weeks of being ignored, they would get bored and find someone else to fawn over.
The problem was the timing of it.
Friday had gone better than he’d hoped. He knew Eli now and understood that when he encountered something too far out of his element, he ran like a frightened child. So, he couldn’t push him.
All Haruka needed to do was to get Eli used to being around him. To show him there was nothing to be afraid of when they were together. At this point Haruka would rather cut off a finger than hurt him.
Eli’s innocent blue eyes were hypnotic, his every movement—even the clumsy ones—did nothing but draw Haruka in more. As for the pull in his chest, it was so strong, it no longer allowed Haruka the option of staying away.
Haruka knew at some point Eli would run from him on Friday. What he hadn’t expected was confirmation that Eli felt the same pull he did. When they were saying goodbye, the look in Eli’s eyes matched the intensity building inside Haruka. The inexorable pull was drawing them both in.
Was Haruka a voice in Eli’s mind too?
Part of Haruka was relieved Eli had run like a startled rabbit when that fucker Ash had interrupted them. It was too soon, and Eli was so shy. Haruka wouldn’t push him. They had time.
Then he saw the look on Ash’s face when Eli helped him clean up his mess. It was predatory. Haruka should know. Like recognized like.
And if he acted on the impulse he’d had to rip the bastard’s head off when he realized Ash knew where Eli lived, it would have put a crimp in his plan to prove he was safe for Eli to be around. So, he’d left before he ruined everything.
It had been a serious mistake.
The next morning, he woke up from a nightmare Haruka knew belonged to Eli—Haruka didn’t have touch issues and had never been assaulted, but the dream had been a garbled mess of images of being beaten and trapped.
But when he’d texted Eli, the boy claimed to be fine, but busy.
What was Haruka supposed to do? Camp out in Eli’s hallway and wait for him to come out? He’d do it if he wasn’t positive it would send Eli running all the way home.
