blinked. Ezra never, ever cursed. It was a hallmark of his personality. He always used cute words to replace bad words, and it was adorable. Declan was stunned speechless.
When he didn’t respond, Ezra gave him a sharp nod. “You heard me. Fuck you.” This time, Ezra enunciated each word, leaving no room for doubt that Declan heard him correctly. “You are a sorry-ass mother-fucking bastard. You’ve spent years, and I do mean literally years, pretending to be my friend.” Ezra visibly swallowed and blinked back tears. “The truth is you don’t care about me at all. All you care about is your job and your cushy life, driving my brother around and playing the bodyguard. I’m just Jessie’s little brother. Some pain in the ass you’ve had to deal with as part of your job.”
Declan couldn’t breathe. “That’s not true.”
“Get out. You have nothing to say to me.”
Desperation scratched at Declan’s brain and skin. This was the most time he had spent with Ezra in ages, and the thought of leaving was tearing him apart. “No.”
Ezra stood, set Icarus aside, and leaned Declan’s way. His eyes swam with rage and malice. “Get the fuck out of my house. I will not spend another second loving you while you fuck everyone with a pulse. You are not my friend. We are nothing. I don’t know why you came here tonight, but as I said, you have nothing to say to me.” Ezra straightened and headed for the door, as if he intended to leave himself if Declan wouldn’t. He made it halfway before throwing out his arm, as if seeking purchase from anything. Declan shot to his feet as Ezra crumpled—like his spirit left his body behind.
Declan raced across the room and fell to his knees. Ezra was out cold, and his pulse was weak. His lips were rapidly turning blue and his skin felt like ice. Declan scooped him into his arms and headed for the door. His heart raced and his breath left him in rapid bursts. Ezra had always been tiny, but he felt like nothing but air in Declan’s arms. He was nothing but skin and bones beneath his large sweatshirt. The truth slammed into Declan so hard, his knees nearly buckled. Ezra had relapsed. He was starving himself again, and Declan might have known it if he wasn’t such a terrible person.
Waking up in the ER was never fun, but Ezra didn’t plan to be there long. He was patiently waiting for his IV bags to empty, and then he would be on his way. That was the strategy Ezra concentrated on while everyone else in his room argued. Theo, Jessie, and Declan stood in a circle, talking about Ezra as if he wasn’t there. Jessie had rushed in his room with Theo hot on his heels. He had taken one look at Ezra and then focused his rage on Declan. That fact let Ezra know exactly how angry Jessie was. Jessie had never been good at yelling at Ezra, but he had to let his rage go somewhere. Declan was the person standing closest, so he became Jessie’s target.
“Tell me what in the fuck is going on.”
Everyone was so loud, yelling incoherently while Ezra’s head pounded, but Declan sounded oddly calm. Ezra imagined he had been forced to remain steady during a lot of crazy moments over the years to keep Jessie safe.
Declan was the only one speaking in an even-keeled tone as he tried to calm Jessie’s obvious panic. “I came back from my trip early and I stopped by The Back Porch. Ezra was there, helping out Wrecker. Since he had walked there, I offered to give him a ride back home.” Ezra rolled his eyes at the lies but kept listening. “At his place, I went in so Ezra could play with Icarus. Once inside, he collapsed. I tried waking him, but I couldn’t. His breathing was shallow, so I freaked and brought him here. They’re saying he is dehydrated and low on some key vitamins. It’s nothing serious. Once they pump him full of what he needs, they’ll let him go home.”
“Fuck all that,” Jessie practically yelled, obviously not reassured. “Is he starving himself again? Is that what happened here? Because he swore to me that all that anorexia bullshit was over before he moved out. He’s not fucking going home if he can’t keep that promise to me.”
Ezra had heard enough. He was tired of being treated like he was