Aftermath

Elliot stumbled backwards, his back touching the wall as he slid down to the floor, horror sending a bolt of shiver down his spine as he gasped for breath.

Pressing a hand against his throat to stop himself from making a sound, the alpha took a deep breath, stomach churning as he braced himself against the wall before waking towards the puddle of fluids with shaking steps.

Suddenly, he felt light-headed, nauseous as though cold ice had settled into his veins. Every breath he took hurt. It stabbed into his lungs as he squatted by the puddle of blood, hot tears filling his eyes as his hand shook.

His tears came cascading down, unbidden as he shuddered, stifling a short sob at the back of his throat. His heart hurt, his chest hurt.

The thought of Felix being alone and taken advantage of just when he needed Elliot by his side the most hurt.

The alpha gasped, tears falling down his chin as he reached to wipe them away with shaky hands and touched the fluid gathered on the floor.

The blood had gone cold, the white liquid — semen — had turned sticky as it mixed with the viscous fluid. Elliot snatched his hand back, nausea hitting him with full force.

Not wanting to mess up anything on the scene, the alpha all but flung himself to the sink and threw up, emptying all of his stomach contents.

Anything and everything he had eaten was hurled out, thrown up and left him gasping, shuddering and shaking breathlessly as he clenched down on the sink until his knuckles turned white and creaked under his strength.

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. Repeated in his mind over and over again as bone-chilling cold settled in his spine.

Elliot's body felt weak, his knees shook as he fell on the floor once more, entire body shaking with the tears that fell in silence.

Just how much Felix must be hurting. Just what must he be thinking when all this happened to him. Was he thinking of Elliot? Was he hoping for the alpha to come and save him? Had he tried to fight back? Had he tried to scream? Had he managed to save himself, at all?

No. The clear, the most straightforward and bitter answer to all these questions was—

—No, Felix hadn't been able to save himself. If he had fought back, he had been subdued. If he had struggled, he had been restrained and if he had screamed, he had been silenced by the person who assaulted him.

Why? Why? Why?! Just why didn't Elliot trust his gut feeling and go look for Felix? Why did he ignore his own worries and try to convince himself that his best friend would be fine.

His omega best friend who had gone into estrous and was at his most vulnerable. Albeit unwittingly, Elliot did contribute to the pain Felix had gone through.

The alpha gritted his teeth, clenching them until they creaked as he balled his hand into a fist and slammed it down on the sink, letting out a raw, guttural and almost animalistic scream.

"AH—!"

By the time he stopped screaming, his throat felt raw and his heart— it felt empty. But it was not even a fraction of what Felix, his Felix must've gone through.

'No.' He thought to himself, holding on to the sink as he got back to his feet. 'I can't— I can't be… I can't be like this.' Harshly wiping away his tears, the alpha took a deep, choked breath.

He needed to go back, he needed to go to Felix and talk to him. His best friend needed him, Felix needed him.

… Right?

Shakily, Elliot closed his eyes, carefully avoiding the puddle of fluids that set off another wave of nausea in him, he walked to the discarded inhibitor and gently picked it up with his handkerchief.

Maybe, just maybe the one who assaulted his best friend had touched this inhibitor and maybe they could find him and make him pay.

Right? Surely, they would be able to make that person pay.

He has to… He has to pay for what he has done to the omega. An omega who was protected by the law.

And so, with purpose and determination leading his steps, the alpha — Elliot Asten — walked out of the washroom not giving a single glance to the place behind him.

He didn't want to look back at the place where his best friend's dignity was stripped away. He didn't have the right to.

Guilt, remorse, shame and helplessness. The four most dangerous things to feel at a time like this….

… And Elliot couldn't stop his emotions from turning into a howling storm as he ran out of the school, holding two bags and fresh tears in his eyes as he made his way towards Felix's house.

He could only hope for his best friend to be at the very least… Emotionally stable.

…

Felix curled up to himself, forcing his entire body into a foetal position as he lay motionless under the steaming hot stream of water from the showerhead.

Everything hurt. Every single part of his body hurt. Over and over again, he could feel the phantom of that person's touch on his body.

His body was dirty. He felt so dirty, his heart felt hollow, empty and numb. His heart was numb while his soul ached and his body protested.

No amount of scrubbing. No soap, no water was enough to wash away the taint on his body, much less the one stain on his soul.

His rear ached, the bruises on his person were glaring once red now turned blue. They seemed to mock him, tell him — remind him — of his weakness. Of How utterly helpless he had been under the person who had assaulted him.

How pathetic he felt. And later how… under the man's rough touches, how his weakened body had submitted, completely plaintive, begging and seeking pleasure from the violation of his being.

How like… like an animal he knew nothing but to submit under the disgusting violence, under the dominance of the… whoever he was.