Not long after lying down, in a daze, Lance heard a slight movement, sat up suddenly, and instantly entered a state of consciousness from chaos, looking at the darkness in his sight, his muscles were tensed, and the bad memories in the depths of his soul swarmed like a tide, devouring him with lightning speed, he grabbed the baseball bat that was placed behind the bedside table, sat up straight, and looked at the room motionlessly, although he couldn't see his fingers in the field of vision, his eyes were still wide open, Little by little, I searched the silhouette in the darkness.

Sid So...... Sid So...... The soft sound was like the sound of a poisonous snake slowly sliding on the ground, making every hair on the surface of his skin stand on end, and Lance's hands were holding the baseball bat tightly, so tight that his muscles began to ache, but he didn't have time to pay attention to it, just held his breath, uneasily and apprehensively discerning every sound in the air, trying to catch the clues, and then attack.

"Lance, you're awake." The sound from the depths of hell spread slowly in the darkness, with the vastness and desolation of death, echoing faintly in the narrow space. Lance subconsciously stepped back, his back was firmly leaning on the head of the bed, cold sweat covered his entire back, and one shiver after another was like countless ants slowly climbing up, but Lance couldn't react at all, he could only grit his teeth tightly, suppressing the trembling that couldn't be controlled at all.

"It's me, Lance, it's me." The familiar and unfamiliar voice startled a wave of air, like dozens of crows flapping their wings at the same time, and a cold and biting cold wind swept in. With a crisp "pop", the lights in the hall lit up, the milky yellow light poured down like a waterfall, and the darkness faded quickly like a tide, Lance subconsciously closed his eyes, and the scorching light shrouded his eyelids. The heart stopped beating in an instant.

"Lance, it's me." There was an eagerness in the soft voice that could not be concealed, "Ian, I'm Ian." The light footsteps walked to the door, then stopped, "I'm sorry...... I, I was just thinking, maybe you're not done with the shoot yet, so come here and lie down. Sorry, I should have called first...... Reims. I'm Ian. ”

Ian's voice was fragmented, and there was lingering chagrin and worry between his words, and he looked at Lance in front of him, who was shrunk into a ball of fear, his pale cheeks were covered with sweat, and he clutched a baseball bat in his hand, like a drowning man grasping the rope that held him alive, and he could still see his eyes moving in panic under his closed eyes, and the bloodless lip flap could clearly see the vitality disappearing little by little.

Ian felt as if his heart had been pounded and curled up in a ball. So much so that he couldn't breathe at all. Memories came flooding back in my mind, that afternoon, that hot summer afternoon like falling into an ice cellar.

He should protect Gawain, he should protect Lance's. Theo wasn't at home, he was supposed to be the one to protect them, but he didn't. Frank's anger came so quickly and so suddenly, and in an instant, he overturned the table. He was crushed under the table, unable to move, and watched as Gawain collapsed in a pool of blood to protect Lance. Watching Lance pick up the baseball bat, which was almost taller than him, and slam it at Frank, he was thrown into the corner like a punching bag as Frank waved his hand fiercely......

When Theo found Lance, Lance was covered in blood, like a bloody man, hiding in the corner of a makeshift toilet cubicle in a daze, trembling all over his body, as if it only took a gust of wind to destroy him lightly. He couldn't even make out Theo's voice, and his pretty eyes were devoid of focus or focus, like rag dolls that had lost their souls, thrown into a corner, lifeless and rotting little by little.

It's all because of him, he should have protected them, he shouldn't have let them get hurt, he should have stood up quickly, he should have killed Frank, he should have taken responsibility, he shouldn't be so vulnerable, he shouldn't have been knocked down so lightly, he shouldn't let go so easily......

Take a deep breath, take a deep breath, Ian suppressed the turbulent memories in his mind, he was not qualified to grieve, he was not qualified to fear, he should be the one who stood behind Lance and Gawain to protect them, he should be strong.

"Lance, it's me, Ian."

Hearing the familiar voice, Lance slowly opened his eyes, the blurred light blurred in the air, and then he saw Ian standing in the doorway of the room. Ian stood cautiously in the doorway, the lines of his shoulders completely tense, his turquoise eyes hidden in the shadows, but with guilt that could not be concealed.

Lance let out a long exhale, only to find that the fingers holding the baseball bat were a little stiff because they were too hard, "Yi...... Ian," his throat was so dry that he could barely speak, and he had to cough lightly twice, "Why did you come back on a red-eye flight?" ”

Ian tugged at the corners of his mouth, but his usual chic smile seemed a little restrained, and Lance knew that Ian also remembered those bad memories. Actually, Lance hasn't remembered it for a long, long time, and even if he recalls, he won't be excited anymore, it's been incomparably far away, but the habit of not being able to sleep peacefully can't be changed, especially last night an all-nighter, so that tonight Lance became more sensitive.

"Are you going to keep standing still, or are you going to go over and pour me a cup of hot water?" Lance pulled a smile and looked at Ian with a blank look.

Ian wasn't in the mood to joke, turned around and went to the kitchen to boil water. After a while, the sound of boiling water could be heard from afar, but Ian did not come.

Lance knew that Ian was guilty, and Ian tried to take all the blame for that afternoon, but Lance never blamed Ian because they were all victims.

Lance had vague memories of that afternoon, and later heard from Gawain that he knew that Frank was about to hit him with a baseball bat when Ian hugged Frank's calf and told him to run away. Frank vented all his anger on Ian and smashed Ian wildly with a baseball bat, and finally Ian broke three ribs and stuck one in his lung, and if the ambulance was ten minutes late, it would have been too late......

They are all victims. More importantly, in that family, they were the only ones for each other, and if there was no Theo, no Ian, no Gawain, and no Lance - literally, his fragile life might not last that summer at all, and then there would be no Li Jin's wear/Yue and Lancelot's rebirth.

In fact, Theo is the eldest brother who silently supports the whole family, and Ian is always by his side and Gawain, guarding the two of them. Lance still remembers that Ian chose Stanford because it was only thirty-seven miles (sixty kilometers) from San Francisco, and he would return to San Francisco almost every weekend just to keep him and Gawain company; In Lance's memory, Ian never said "no" to him, never.

Lance had tried to exonerate Ian, and had tried to convince Ian that what had happened that afternoon was no one's fault, and that the only man who had to take responsibility for that afternoon had been left forever on that midsummer afternoon. Ian always smiled and said, "I don't care anymore." But Lance knew that this was Ian's knot, and he had carried this heavy cross until now.

"I'm sweating so much, do you want to take a hot shower?" Ian came to the room again, turned on the bedroom light, stood on the edge of the bed, and handed over the cup of hot water in his hand.

Lance took the glass of water, lowered his head and took a sip, the smile on the corner of his mouth couldn't help but rise slightly, and honey was added to the water. Seeing the soothing smile on the corner of Lance's mouth, Ian pursed his lips, wanting to make a joke, but the words were so dry that they didn't have any taste, "Remember not to tell SùTheo." ”

Lance drank most of the cup of hot water in one go, his tense muscles finally relaxed, and when he looked up, Lance saw that Ian was still standing at the end of the bed, even if Ian didn't speak, Lance knew that Ian was still blaming himself, and he wanted to turn around and leave. "I just don't like having strangers in my private space, you're not."

Ian didn't move, he knew that Lance couldn't sleep well, and he would wake up almost immediately at the slightest movement; He knew that Lance didn't like outsiders in his private space, which would make him feel insecure...... But he still came here in the wee hours of the morning, and it was all his fault.

Ian avoided Lance's gaze, "You better go take a hot shower, or you're going to get sick, Theo will definitely keep rambling when he knows." Ian tried to speak in a relaxed tone, but found that he didn't get a response from Lance at all, he turned his head and glanced at Lance with some embarrassment, and then saw those blue eyes looking at him motionlessly, which made Ian a little embarrassed, "So, you're done drinking?" I'll pour you another glass. ”

Ian stepped forward and wanted to take the cup from Lance's hand, but Lance shook his head, "Ian, I'm fine, at least I'm fine now, I'm not a porcelain doll." Trust me, if I'm not good, I'll definitely get revenge, remember the last time Gawain woke me up? Lance secretly adjusted Gawain's scale, making Gawain think that he was overweight and had to train harder, until he realized two weeks later that Gawain had no temper at all.

Lance's words made Ian hesitate, and Lance continued, "So, you took the red-eye flight back because of the financial issues I mentioned earlier?" If it weren't for his own business, Ian wouldn't have rushed back in such a hurry, let alone taken a red-eye flight - their brothers both knew that Ian was the one who knew how to enjoy the most, and red-eye flights were never an option for him.

Ian stood in place, his muscles tensed, and he raised his head to meet Lance's calm and peaceful blue eyes, the corners of his mouth slightly loosened, gently outlining a faint arc. (To be continued.) )

ps: Today's fourth update, nine 10,000 tips, the eighth wave of the series!