[BL] CRAVING HIM: Addicted to His Voice-Chapter 354: Fractured Families, Fragile Souls

~Evric’s POV~

Cursing under my breath, I reached for my discarded trousers and pulled the phone from the pocket. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the caller ID. I looked up at Zayn, who was still blinking away the haze of his climax.

"It’s your father," I murmured, the weight of the name instantly cooling the heat in the room.

Zayn sat up slowly, his eyes wide and the flush of his climax fading into a startled paleness. "Why is he calling you?" he breathed, his voice trembling.

"I don’t know," I said, staring at the flashing screen.

"Pick it up," Zayn commanded, his voice gaining a sudden, sharp edge. "Put it on speaker."

I swiped the screen and cleared my throat. "Hello, sir," I said, keeping my tone respectful but guarded.

There was a long pause on the other end, the sound of heavy, rattling breath filling the silence of the room. "Evric," Zayn’s father’s voice came through, sounding older and thinner than I remembered. "I know... I understand that Zayn doesn’t want to see me. I know I haven’t earned that right."

I didn’t say a word. I just looked at Zayn, who was frozen beside me, his gaze fixed on the phone like it was a ticking bomb.

"I could have been patient," his father continued, his voice cracking. "I could have waited until he was ready. But... I’m running out of time, Evric."

A chill went down my spine. "What do you mean, you’re running out of time?"

"It’s pancreatic cancer," he said, the words falling like lead. "The doctors... they aren’t giving me much hope. The surgery has no guarantees. The chances are slim." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Zayn’s eyes met mine, and in that moment, I saw the world shatter behind them. The man he had spent years resenting was suddenly fading away before they could even face each other.

"I pleaded with the doctors for one month," his father murmured, his voice breaking. "Just one month to make things right. That month is already gone. I need to see Zayn, Evric. I need to see my son. And I need to see Liana. If I can get Zayn to look at me, maybe then I’ll be allowed to see my daughter too. I just... I want to see both my children once, before—"

He broke off, unable to finish the thought.

"My surgery is in four days," he said quietly. "It might be my last chance."

He began to plead then, his voice breaking, stripped of every trace of pride. He sounded like a man who had already lost everything.

"Please, Evric," he begged hoarsely. "Please... help me make this happen. I don’t want to die without seeing them again. I can’t leave this world like this."

His voice dropped to a whisper. "Please."

Zayn couldn’t take it anymore. The weight of the confession, the terminal illness, the ticking clock, and the desperation, was too much.

He didn’t wait to hear the rest. He scrambled off the sofa, his face a mask of pure agony, and bolted for the stairs. I heard his frantic, heavy footsteps as he ran upward, followed by the echoing slam of the bedroom door.

I stayed on the floor, phone still clutched in my hand. "Sir," I murmured, my voice low and steady, "I hear you. I’ll talk to him. I promise, you’ll see him."

"Thank you," Zayn’s father choked out, his voice ragged and trembling. "Thank you, Evric."

I ended the call and sat in the silence for a heartbeat, my heart aching for the man currently breaking apart upstairs. The night that had started with laughter and passion had turned into a crossroads.

I didn’t bother reaching for my clothes. I stood up, completely bare, leaving my things scattered on the floor where they’d fallen in our moment of heat. I moved like a ghost through the house, my bare feet silent on the stairs as I followed the sound of the man I loved.

When I stepped into the bedroom, darkness filled the space, broken only by a thin sliver of moonlight through the curtains. Zayn was already on the bed, curled up tightly, his back turned to me as silent, violent sobs shook his body.

I didn’t ask for permission. I crawled onto the mattress behind him, the cool air of the room hitting my skin until I pressed my body flush against his. I wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling his trembling back into my chest, anchoring him.

"Zayn," I whispered into the nape of his neck, my voice thick with a sudden, fierce protectiveness. I kissed the back of his neck, feeling the frantic heat of his skin. "I’m right here. I’ve got you."

"Zayn let out a broken wail, finally turning around in my arms and burying his face in the crook of my neck. His hands gripped my waist with a desperate intensity. "Why now?" he sobbed, his hot tears soaking into my skin. "I spent years hating him... years wanting him to feel the pain he caused us. And now that he’s dying, I just feel... I feel like I’m losing a part of myself I never even got to know."

"It’s okay, Zayn," I murmured, running my fingers through his hair. "It’s okay to feel both anger and heartbreak at the same time."

"He wants to see Liana," Zayn gasped, his body shuddering with another wave of emotion. "How am I supposed to tell her? How can I bring her into that hospital room... to see a man she doesn’t even remember, knowing he’s dying?"

He looked at me through a thick veil of tears, his eyes searching mine for an answer that didn’t exist.

"Our family has been broken for so long, Evric," he whispered, his voice trembling with a bitter sort of grief. "Why now? Why does it have to be like this? Why do we have to finally come together only because someone is dying?"

He choked on a sob, the words dying in his throat as he struggled to breathe. "I don’t... I don’t know if I can face this."

"Babe, it’s okay," I murmured, pulling him closer until there wasn’t a breath of space between us. I smoothed the hair back from his forehead, my heart breaking for him. "You don’t have to say anything else. I understand you. I understand everything, baby."

Zayn tightened his hold around my waist, clinging to me as if I were the only anchor in a collapsing world. "It hurts, Evric," he whispered, his voice breaking against my skin. "It’s too much... I can’t carry this right now."

He pressed his face into my chest, his voice muffled and fragile. "I just want one moment of peace," he whispered. "Just one moment where I don’t have to worry about anything. I just want to stay here with you."

I held him with everything I had, rocking him gently in the darkness of our room. Nothing else mattered in that moment, my only purpose was to be his sanctuary.

"We have to hold on to hope, Zayn," I whispered, my voice steady even when my heart ached. "Let’s hope the surgery goes well. Let’s believe he can pull through, that he can recover. But more than that..."

I pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, searching his soul. "I need you to open the door to forgiveness. I’m not asking you to forget or to snuff out your anger, you have every right to that fire, but for your own peace, you need to find a way to forgive him, even just a little."

Zayn looked up at me, his face pale in the moonlight, searching for the strength I was trying to lend him. I brushed a stray tear from his cheek and gave him a small, reassuring nod.

"Let’s head back home tomorrow, okay? We’ll face this together."

He took a shaky breath and nodded slowly. "Okay," he whispered, the word barely a breath.

I leaned down and pressed...