The clock of the closing door had me opening my eyes. A small tray stood next to me filled with pastries that once I could only dream of. A small piece of paper caught my attention, quietly sitting in the corner beneath the mountain of sweetness. I groaned in pain as I shifted to pick it up. Sleeping on the floor had left permanent numbness in my butt.

'I'm sorry.'

Written in beautiful calligraphy, it had me catching my breath. My arm chose the moment to twing in pain. Clutching the bandage, I looked down to the tray. It was well into the night and the buttery light of the candles filled the space.

Did he think that I was child, that I would so easily get swayed by sweets?

Well... It would be ok to have just one right?

Just one...

They were so perfectly enticing that they should have been sin. Or illegal. Whichever comes first. A mouthful of the sugary delight and before I knew it the entire tray was empty. Not even the crumbs were spared. It seemed that the apology had been accepted.

I stood up dusting off the powdery sugar that I had scattered all over myself. The first few steps I hobbled like an old man as I bent down to lift the tray. Tucking it under my arm, I knocked on his door. There was silence before sharp foot steps could be heard and the door opened with a creak. Abigail, the dusting lady peeked out of the small crack and immediately brightened up when she saw me. No, she didn't throw out light! Ugh, forget it.

"Mr. Beau! Are you looking for master?" She asked as she swirled her feathers around rather shyly.

"Do you know where he is?"

She shook her head before answering.

"I'm not sure but he left sometime ago, heading upstairs."

I had an idea of where he could possibly be. I thanked her and turned to leave but she stopped me.

"Leave your tray Mr Beau. I shall take it for you."

I smiled as I thanked her, not before confirming if she was indeed fine with it and I turned to leave. Up I went the familiar path that lead me to where I had been a few hours ago, the place where I had seen his biggest break-down. I turned the corner and immediately hid myself to be a mere observer at the scene in front of me.

Adam leaned down on the ground in front of the gargoyles in bloody clothes as he caressed the rose in his hand. His hand had just left the rose when something happened.

A petal fell down.

***

Adam stared at his room, his eyes remained unseeing as his mind rolled in turmoil and regret. He lifted his hand to see blood coating his claw tips with disgust.

He had hurt Beau.

A part of him refused to believe what had happened. His parents, hurting Beau, it all had to be a bad dream. Adam clutched his hair in dispare as a low mournful howl escaped his throat and immediately rip his hands away. He felt like a mad man, his emotions swirling around like a terrifying hurricane threatening to blow away his sanity.

"Adam?" A soft knock had him tensing up.

"Adam, open the door."

How could he do that? He wasn't in the least stable frame of mind. The knocks came again but this time as thudding fists. Low pants of frustration echoed the room before a loud crash sounded. Adam looked down at the fragments of the once beautiful vase. His heart felt like that. Shattered into pieces. Only difference was that it had been like this from a long time. Just that he had chosen to ignore it.

"Stop it. Let's talk about it! I understand that you are in pain... Adam!"

"Leave!" He couldn't take it anymore. Picking the first thing he found he hurled it to the fireplace.

"I'm not leaving until you come out!" Beau shouted from the other side of the door and that only feed the flames in Adam. It hurt.

It hurt that he was hurting someone. It hurt that the old memories were coming back. It hurt to know that his parents were still here and chose to talk to Beau instead of him. It hurt and he was going insane with no way to handle the feelings that had laid dormant in him for so long. By the time he came back to his senses, he stood in midst of the once posh and now ruined room. Falling to his needs howled in dispare to what had come to be.

Time passed as he vented all his rage, but the sadness didn't cease. He slowly stood up ignoring the shooting pain from his wounds and limped to the study. Blood trickled down sticking the clothes to his skin as he rummaged through the ruined table at last finding a pen and a price of paper.

'I'm sorry.' he wrote.

He knew that was in no way enough to compensate what had happened today, but he couldn't face Beau. Not yet.

He cracked the double door open to find Beau fast asleep on the other. Slowly he crept to the kitchen, with the coast being clear and found a plate full of pastries that he brought back up. He set the plate next to Beau, wincing as the wounds pulled. His hand went to pocket and fingered the note that laid there before softly placing it in the tray. He raised his hand to tuck way a stray hair on Beau's face and hesitated. He had no right to even talk to Beau, forget touching him. Giving a soft sigh he stood up and turned away.

His legs carried him to the one place that he didn't want to go but had to. Soon enough he was standing in front of the cursed rose, short of one petal. One petal, every day. He was Adam's salvation, he was Adam's curse and slowly he was becoming his everything despite trying to resist. Slowly he lifted the rose and walked out of the room and stared at the two gargoyles that stood guarding.

"Why? Why couldn't you tell me? WHY?!" He roared in pain and collapsed on the floor.

"I forgave you for all the mistakes you both did and still loved you with all my heart and th... this is what I come to know at last? Why? Why..."

Tears ran down his face as he slowly caressed the rose only to see another petal detach and drift to the floor reminding him of the short time he had.

♥️