The following days were nothing like what Eli had expected. He thought that after confronting J.M., after telling him to leave, things would return to some semblance of normality. But they didn't.
If anything, everything had spiraled out of control in a way he couldn't understand. It was as though J.M. had become a constant shadow in his life, one he couldn't escape. And no matter how many times Eli told himself to move on, to let go, he couldn't.
J.M.'s presence lingered like an unspoken promise, impossible to ignore.
Eli found himself staring at his phone more often than he cared to admit, waiting for a message, an excuse for J.M. to reach out again. But there was nothing. Silence. For days.
Yet, somehow, the silence felt worse than anything. It gnawed at him, and he couldn't shake the feeling that J.M. was waiting. Waiting for him to break. Waiting for him to reach out first.
And then, just when Eli thought he could finally breathe without that weight on his chest, J.M. appeared again.
It was late at night, the kind of time when everything in the city felt muted, like the world itself had slowed down. Eli was sitting on the couch, flicking through the channels on his TV, when the knock on his door came.
His heart stuttered in his chest.
For a moment, he hesitated. His first instinct was to ignore it. Pretend he hadn't heard. But that wasn't an option. Not anymore.
He stood up, taking a deep breath, and walked to the door. When he opened it, there was J.M., standing there, his face as unreadable as ever.
"You're late," Eli said, trying to keep his voice steady. He didn't want J.M. to know how much his sudden presence rattled him. He didn't want to give him that satisfaction.
J.M. didn't reply right away. He just stepped inside, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His eyes, dark and intense, locked onto Eli's.
"I wasn't sure you'd let me in this time," J.M. said finally, his voice smooth, but there was an edge to it. "But I had to come. You and I… we have unfinished business."
Eli froze at the words. Unfinished business.
"I told you I don't want anything to do with you," Eli said, a little more sharply than he intended. He hated how his voice wavered when he said it. He hated how J.M.'s presence made him question everything.
"I don't believe you," J.M. replied, taking a step closer. The space between them seemed to shrink with every word.
Eli's heart thudded in his chest. He wanted to step back, to escape the suffocating proximity, but his feet felt glued to the floor. The tension in the room was palpable, thick and heavy, making it hard to breathe.
"You keep saying you don't want this," J.M. continued, his tone low, almost teasing. "But your actions say something else entirely."
Eli swallowed hard. His hands clenched at his sides, but he didn't know what to say. What could he say? J.M. was right. There was a part of him a part that he couldn't deny that wanted J.M. to keep coming back, to keep pushing him, to keep testing his limits.
But no matter how much his body responded to J.M.'s proximity, he couldn't let it happen. He couldn't let J.M. win.
"You don't get to decide what I want," Eli spat out, the words tasting bitter on his tongue. "I'm not yours. I won't be."
J.M.'s lips curled into a knowing smile. He reached out, his fingers brushing lightly against Eli's cheek, sending a jolt of heat through his skin.
"Tell me, Eli," J.M. murmured, his breath hot against his ear. "How long do you think you can keep lying to yourself?"
Eli's breath hitched. He wanted to pull away, but J.M.'s hand cupped his jaw, holding him in place. His touch was so soft, so gentle, that it almost felt like a caress rather than a demand.
"I'm not lying," Eli whispered, barely recognizing the words as his own. His heart was beating too fast, his thoughts too clouded to make sense of anything.
J.M.'s thumb stroked his skin, sending shivers down Eli's spine. "You are. You've been lying to yourself since the moment you met me. You want this. You want me."
Eli's pulse surged. He tried to step back, but J.M. wouldn't let him. His grip was firm now, but not rough just enough to keep him in place, to make sure he didn't run. And for a moment, Eli wanted to stay. To let go. To give in.
But then, just as quickly as the thought had come, Eli pushed it away. He couldn't.
"You're wrong," Eli said, trying to keep his voice steady, even though his heart was threatening to give out. "I don't want you."
J.M. leaned in, his lips just a breath away from Eli's ear. "But you do," he murmured, his voice thick with something Eli couldn't quite place. "And I know you're not going to be able to resist much longer."
Eli's body tensed, every muscle screaming for him to pull away, but something inside him—a darker part of him, the part that had been starved for attention, for affection, for touch—wanted to close the gap between them. To let J.M. take control.
But he couldn't. He wouldn't.
With an effort, Eli took a step back, breaking the spell. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to collect himself, trying to make sense of the chaos inside him.
"I'm not yours," Eli said again, more forcefully this time. "And I won't be."
J.M. didn't answer immediately. He just stood there, his eyes never leaving Eli's, and for a moment, Eli thought he saw something flicker there. Something deeper than the usual arrogance.
"Maybe," J.M. said slowly, his voice low. "But you're already tangled in my web. And the more you fight it, the harder it's going to be to break free."
Eli didn't know if it was the threat in J.M.'s words or the raw emotion behind them that made his heart race. All he knew was that he wasn't ready to surrender. Not yet.
J.M. watched him for a long moment, before he finally stepped back, a slight grin tugging at his lips.
"We'll see how long you can keep up that resistance, Eli," he said, turning toward the door. "I'll be back."
Eli didn't know whether he was relieved or terrified. He wanted to shout at J.M. to leave and never come back, but there was a nagging feeling deep inside him, a pull he couldn't ignore.
As J.M. closed the door behind him, the room fell silent again. But this time, Eli didn't feel the weight lift. He felt it grow heavier, suffocating him.