"You know, little one, you can never really
escape me. No matter how hard you run
or hide. I'm always going to be here."

Dario jerked upright, reaching underneath his pillow for his gun and frantically pointing it in the dark. His eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room, darting around in search of an intruder. He was met by the distant hum of the air conditioner and the residing silence of the room.

The bed dipped beside him as Mattia moved to turn on his side lamp, his sleep-ridden voice barely above a whisper as he asked, "Another dream?"

More like a nightmare, Dario thought, releasing a breath as he stuffed the gun back in place and leaned against the headboard. "Yeah, but I'm fine, you can go back to bed."

He knew better than to expect Mattia to ignore him especially when the nightmares crept up. Sometimes he feared that Mattia cared more about the occurrence than himself.

The man in question rolled out of bed, brown wisps of hair ruffled and his lavish body on display, albeit for the silk sheets that clung to his waist. "Just sit tight, I'll get the pills."

"I can walk, thank you," Dario mumbled, getting up and bypassing him to the bathroom. He shut the door in his face and rubbed a soothing hand over his temple. No matter how hard he wanted to mask it, creating boundaries seemed to be the only way to work with whatever he and Mattia were doing now.

Sure, they hooked up once in a while — maybe more than that, and tried to be as civil as possible. But it didn't change the fact that they weren't lovers anymore. Courtesy of the same man who often acted like they were still entangled in some relationship. And Dario had much more to deal with than juggling complicated feelings whenever they spent the night together.

So yeah, shutting the door in his face seemed like the most effective way to get his message across.

He moved to the cabinet, retrieving the bottle of antidepressants and swallowing them dry. He hated the lingering taste of the drugs but welcomed the bitterness. It was the third night in a row that he'd woken up from that voice.

The same one that haunted him in his sleep, while awake and most especially when making love. Fucked up as it was, the pills were simply numbing the pain for him, clearing his mind. But when He showed up, there was just so much the pills could do.

"You okay in there?" Mattia called, hovering at the door like a warden, ready to jump at the sound of anything amiss. Dario hated it.

"I'm fine, Dad. Just taking a breather."

Mattia cursed under his breath, "It wouldn't hurt you to be serious for once."

Dario opened the door, placing his brightest smile on his face. "And it wouldn't hurt you to fuck off completely, but you don't see me complaining."

An amused look settled on his features, "You love it when I'm here."

"Cause I haven't found another worthy fuck buddy yet," Dario shot back, flopping on the bed and reaching for his phone. He needed to inform Lindsay — for the millionth time this month — about the reoccurring nightmares, it hadn't even been a full month since his last spiral, he didn't need a relapse.

The room had fallen silent as he typed. Mattia slipped into the bed, edging closer to him. "Who're you texting so early?"

Dario shrugged, reading Lindsay's quick reply, telling him how they needed to meet urgently tomorrow. He didn't like the sound of that.

"Who the fuck are you texting?" A dark edge rang through Mattia's tone, dragging Dario's attention to his twisted face. One thing about him, he was an attention whore.

"Lindsay," Dario responded dryly and snuggled back up in bed, He was in no mood to entertain Mattia's jealousy.

"What'd she say?"

"Go to sleep, Mattia." Dario quipped, stiffening when a firm hand encircled his middle. His body, the great betrayer of his strong-willed mind, instinctively leaned into his embrace. Warmth covered him and in the moment, he pretended that everything was simple and safe. And when he finally fell asleep, the voice didn't return.

☆☆☆

"You look like shit," was the first thing Lindsay said as she stepped aside to let him through.

"Good morning to you too." He muttered, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets and settling in his favourite armchair.

Lindsay Parsons was the first shrink he'd ever taken a liking to. The young blond had made a name for herself as the best psychologist in the tri-state area with outstanding patient reviews and awards to stake her claim.

Being the executive director of the psychology department in the St. Renata hospital, Dario had been reluctant to approach his subordinate, though she was quite older than him, for help with his deteriorating mental state. Now, five years in and there was no shrink or person really that he could trust with his well-being.

She was frankly, his only friend.

So, seeing the piles of brown boxes littered around her once-occupied office, sent a sour taste of bile lingering in his mouth. Lindsay followed his gaze and sat on her spot opposite him, a sad smile gracing her lips. "I wanted to tell you earlier, I just didn't know how to start."

"I'm dumping you, could have been a great one." He let out, plastering his ever-playful smile across his lips to mask his despair. If he was scared of spiralling before, it was inevitable now. "Why are you leaving? So soon at that?"

She intertwined her fingers and fixed her gaze on them, "I got an offer for a job, D. One that I couldn't refuse."

"If it's the pay, I can increase your salary in a heartbeat, just name it."

She held a hand up, "You've done way more than I could've hoped for. I doubt any of my peers can proudly say they earn more than seven figures in a year."

"And you can earn more, and if you need something else, just say it and I'll get it. You can't just leave me," Dario tried but failed to keep the plea from his words.

He wasn't bluffing. At any point, he was willing to go the extra mile to keep her here.

Lindsay leaned back in her seat with a sigh, "You know I would love to stay, even if it's for you. But I got the opportunity to broaden my scope of work in one of the best institutions for psychology, this opportunity comes once in a lifetime."

Silence hung over them as Dario took it all in. First, the nightmares were getting worse, and now his one and only therapist was seeking greener pastures. It seemed the universe had proposed for him to lose his mind completely. Even his mother wouldn't know how to handle him if he let himself unto that road again.

He shook the thoughts away and turned his attention to her worried face. She looked at him like he was going to break any minute — which wasn't completely false since he was barely able to contain the scream lodged in his throat.

"When did you decide?"

"Three weeks ago." Great, when he was on his indefinite hiatus, the universe was plotting against him. "Ronald approved it."

Dario perked up at that. Of course, the vice-chairman was approving his shrink's deployment. If she wasn't here to curb his potential breakdowns, he could find a way to claim the chairman spot for himself and boot him out.

The sore loser had been pissed since a twenty-eight-year-old was appointed chairman over him. And after taking charge of the affairs while the last breakdown took place, Ronald was beginning to grow a pair.

And Dario was all too happy to cut them off.

In fact, he was in the mood to commit if not for his brother, Damian's constant surveillance, He wouldn't let it slide.

"But I think you'll love my replacement." She continued, "He's a friend of a friend, and he's quite talented for his age."

"I don't do male shrinks — "

The door to the office slid open then, followed by the appearance of a young man in a white lab coat.

Dario zeroed in on the man taking cautious steps in, a large brown paper bag nested in his grasp.

He had silky dark curls trimmed neatly, rich olive skin and the most breathtaking smile he'd ever witnessed in his short life.

"Sorry," The man said, smiling directly at Lindsay, "I didn't know you were with a patient, I brought lunch." He dropped the bag on the side table, much to her approval as she reached into the bag and squealed in excitement. They had an animated exchange for a few minutes, slowly forgetting the 'patient' in question.

Dario cleared his throat and they both turned to him. Lindsay let out a nervous breath and got up, threw a hand over the mystery man's shoulder and drew him closer to Dario. The man's smile was gone now. Replaced by a nonchalant display that was a far cry from a minute ago.

"Dario, this is Wu Hyun-Seok. He's the new executive director of the department," She said, nudging him to reach his hand out.

Hyun kept his hand tucked in his coat pockets even as Dario stretched out a hand to him. "I'm Dario Gianpiero, The chairman of the hospital. It's nice to meet you."

Dario half-expected Hyun's eyes to shine with recognition, trying to fawn over him to curry favour as most people did. Instead, Hyun gave a quick smile as a response to his introduction and moved to unpack the rest of the lunch he'd brought, keeping a distance as he sat to eat.

"He's not very keen on opening up to new people, but I'm sure you'll both get along," Lindsay muttered, a worried smile spread across her lips.

Her voice echoed in the background of his mind as he shamelessly watched Hyun dig into a salad.

He seldom called men beautiful, aside from certain exemptions like the man sitting not too far from him. From the tint of his lips to the smoothness of his skin. It'd been a while since he'd wanted to stake claim to someone since his time with Mattia.

A smirk quirked at the corner of his lips and he turned to a surprised Lindsay, "Yes, I can see us getting along just fine."

☆☆☆

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING, I CAN'T WAIT TO SHARE THE REST OF MY BABY'S STORY! (HE MAY OR MAY NOT BE MY FAVORITE — DON'T TELL THE REST AHHH) ALSO DON'T FORGET TO VOTE, COMMENT AND SHARE! MORE CHAPTERS ARE COMING SOON!