Fic: Unleashed part 2
TWO
Brian sat with Gus on his lap, looking at each finger and each
toe, making sure he really was alright.
“I’m telling you Brian, he just
appeared, saved Gus and I. I brought him back here-“
“You brought a
stranger back here, after what happened?” He raised an eyebrow.
“He was a
kid, and from the state of him, abused. He was covered in scars. I’m worried
about him, Brian.”
“Sounds to me, like he can take care of
himself.”
“He’s barely fifteen, younger than Hunter-“
Brian rolled
his eyes at her. “Each time you mention him he goes down in age. Plus, there’s
not a whole lot you can do, you didn’t get a name or an address.”
“We can
ask about, he’s so distinctive someone has to have seen him.”
“You mean
he’s dog ugly?”
“Jeez, Brian, why do you have to be such an asshole? No,
I meant he has blond hair down to his waist, he’s delicate, feminine looking,
with bright blue eyes. Someone must know him.”
“Great, he sounds like
every dykes dream. You have one son already, you don’t need
another.”
J made it back to the house, but paused on going back down
into the basement. He didn’t want to go back down there. He unrolled the sketch
the lady had given him and smiled.
“There you are. I wondered when you’d
come crawling back.” J looked up quickly at the sound of Chris’s voice. “You
left the boss to die, you cunt. No one is sure he’ll make it, I bet that makes
you happy, doesn’t it? Well, I’ll make you pay, puppy.”
It was only then
J saw the metal adorning Chris’s hand. He didn’t flinch as it hit his shoulder,
didn’t cry out as he jabbed him in the stomach, didn’t scream as he fell to the
ground.
“The puppy is helpless until I give the order, and guess what?
I’m not gonna give it, you’ll have to lie there and take whatever punishment I
give you.”
Chris ripped the shirt off his chest, saw the plaster the lady
had put there and in a rage ripped it off, fingering the wound until it opened
up again, started to bleed and lead a crimson trail down his chest.
“I
could do whatever the fuck I liked and you’d not be able to do a thing about it.
I bet you’d even like it, you sick fuck.” He scratched at J’s pants until he
managed to open them and push them off his hips.
He grabbed his limp
cock painfully and squeezed. “Do you like that? Are you one of those queers, Jim
hates so much? I bet you, fucking, are. See, like that, don’t you?”
J’s
eyes were dull, that far off look he had whenever he wasn’t needed. He didn’t
react to pain, but this was different, a feeling he’d not felt before. Not nice,
not bad-confusing. He only understood things in terms of the collar and this
made his body react in a way it never had before.
His cock hardened under
Chris’s cruel touch, it wasn’t long before he came, a creamy white liquid
covering the other boy’s hand. Chris moved away in disgust and wiped his hand
down J’s ruined shirt. “You are a sick, fucking, queer! I knew it.” He hit J in
the mouth, blood spurting from his lip, and when that gained no reaction he
picked up knuckle duster again and hit him hard across the side of the head,
happy when the dog’s eyes closed, almost peaceful-like.
Chris stood and
spat at the unmoving body of the Mayor’s dog, wiping his hands down his jeans
and again ignoring the erection his work had brought on.
J came to
feeling immense pain, it had been such a long time since he’d felt anything. He
tried to sit, but his head throbbed so badly it took him a few attempts. He saw
his shirt, and realised his pants were undone.
It made him feel unclean
in a way he couldn’t comprehend. He put on his sullied shirt, the shirt the nice
lady had given him, and pulled up his pants. He had to get away, didn’t know
why, was so confused by everything.
The sketch the nice lady had given
him lay on the floor, his own blood ruining it. Tears filled his eyes and added
to the confusion. He didn’t understand tears, didn’t understand anything but
what to do once the collar was removed.
He stumbled out of the house and
into the darkness, not really aware of where he was going until he got there. He
banged on the lady’s door, holding the frame, unsure he would be able to stand
up on his own.
She opened the door, gasping at the sight of him, a man
stood behind her, holding Gus. He quickly took the baby back inside and J was
sure they would shut the door in his face, but the lady held on to him and
helped him inside.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” he gasped, trying to
stand on his own and annoyed that he couldn’t. The man came back and helped him
into the living room, placed a blanket over the sofa and made him lay down.
“What happened?” The lady asked, brushing his hair back from his face.
The action seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite remember why. J
hurt all over, and tears filled his eyes, made his lip tremble. “He put his hand
down my pants.”
The beating didn’t really register in his mind, he’d gone
through it before, beatings, training, collar, kill. But no one had done that to
him before.
“Fuck, I told you Brian, he can’t go back there, wherever the
hell it was. They’re doing more than abusing him.”
Brian stood, features
unmoving. “We should get him to a hospital.”
J scrambled up off the sofa.
“No, no hospital, they’ll send me back.”
“We don’t have to, do we
Brian?” Lindsey looked at him with the doe eyed expression she’d used when she
asked him to father Gus. He could never resist that expression.
“He needs
a shower though, so we can asses the damage, clean him up. I’ll take him.” Brian
helped the petite blond to his feet, not quite sure why he’d let himself get
roped into this.
He sat the boy on the toilet lid and turned on the
shower. “Come on, you need to get undressed.” Brian said impatiently. Dull blue
eyes blinked and looked up at him. “You need to undress for the
shower.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” he said softly. Brian moved him
quickly from the toilet and sat him on the floor, pushing the lid up and letting
the kid heave his guts up into the bowl.
He wrinkled his nose at the
sight and smell, but carefully helped him stand when he’d finished and took off
the remnants of his shirt. When the boy didn’t finish undressing himself, Brian
undid his pants and pushed them down, mindful of his earlier statement, keeping
his hands firmly away from the boy’s cock.
It obviously made no
difference to the kid and his hand clamped down on Brian’s wrist painfully. “No,
don’t touch me there.”
Brian pulled his hands away, feeling like a dirty
old paedophile. “No one should touch you there, or anywhere else unless you say
so.” Brian said. The boy looked puzzled, like he couldn’t quite understand it.
“I’m just trying to help you into the shower.”
“I can do
it.”
Brian nodded and watched the boy strip off everything but a silver
collar around his neck. He kept a mindful eye on the boy but refused to look
directly at him, didn’t want to invade his privacy or feel like he was a peeping
Tom.
J stepped into the bathtub and under the spray on wobbly feet,
letting the water soak his hair and sooth his aching limbs.
The man was
quiet, but stayed away as he promised. J kept glancing at him as he shampooed
his hair, rinsing out the suds, not sure if he could be trusted or
not.
When the water ran clear he switched it off and twisted his hair
into one long pony tail, ringing it until the water was squeezed
free.
“Lindz left some clothes for you.” Brian handed him a towel and
left the clothes on the toilet. “Give me a call if you need
anything.”
“Lindz.” Justin rolled the name over his tongue, liking the
lady’s name, it suited her.
He dressed quickly and limped back
downstairs, suddenly unsure of his place there. He didn’t quite understand why
he’d come here, but he couldn’t stay at the house, not without his
uncle.
“There you are!” Lindz said with a big smile when she saw him. “I
was beginning to worry. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make you a
sandwich.”
He did as she asked, sitting up straight, hands at his side.
The man looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “You can lean back you know. You’re
probably sore.”
J frowned, no one had worried about his comfort before,
just his fighting abilities. He leaned back, still looking as uncomfortable as
before.
Lindz came back with a chicken sandwich and placed the plate on
his lap. “So, do you have a name?” She asked as he picked up the sandwich and
took a large bite.
He chewed and swallowed. “J-ustin,” he said, not
wanting the name his uncle gave him to be uttered from her lips.
The
front door opened, shocking him, he stood quickly, the plate clattering to the
floor. He swayed and clutched his aching head, but managed to stay standing as
the stranger entered the house.
“Mel,” Lindz said, going over to kiss her
wife on the cheek. “We have a visitor, this is Justin, he saved Gus and I when
we were mugged.”
She looked J up and down, her eyes not as friendly as
Lindz’s. She walked over to him and held out her hand. J looked at it for a
while before placing his hand in hers. “Thank you for coming to their rescue
Justin.” The words were all there, but her voice sounded cold.
“I’m just
going to wash up in the kitchen, a word Brian.”
Lindz’s face dropped and
she gave Justin a small smile before following them into the kitchen. “What’s
wrong Mel, he saved our lives.”
“That may be, but we don’t know anything
about him-he can’t stay here.”
Lindz folded her arms and pouted. “Did I
even ask?”
“You don’t need to ask, I know you, remember?”
“You
don’t know what he said to us, someone is abusing him, Mel. We can’t send him
back out there.”
Mel put her arms around Lindsey, trying to comfort her.
“And I’m not suggesting you do, but he can’t stay here, think of Gus. May be he
can stay with Brian?”
Brian’s eyes widened and he shook his head
adamantly. “Oh, no, a world of no. He’s not my responsibility. Let him go back
out on the streets for all I care.”
“Brian, you don’t mean that. If it
wasn’t for that boy, I could be hurt right now, your son could be dead. Let him
stay with you for a few days, until we can think of something
permanent.”
“I don’t take in strays. Take him to Mikey if you’re so
bothered.”
“Please, Bri, just for tonight.” Lindz gave him the look and
he knew he was screwed.
“Fuck, fine, tonight only, after that, you find
him somewhere else to stay.” He strode back into the living room, motioned to
the kid to stand up and walked to the front door. “You’re coming with me kid,
hurry up.”
He ran to catch up with Brian, staying one pace behind him
until they reached his car. “Get in.”
He opened the door and went to
climb into the back, Brian stopped him. “Sit in the front.”
Justin’s eyes
widened at the sight of Brian’s apartment, all crisp lines and cool colours, so
clean and open. “You’re sleeping on the coach.” Brian moved about the place
angrily, disappearing to find his guest an extra blanket and pillow, he threw
them towards the kid, and rolled his eyes as Justin let them fall to the floor
in front of his feet.
“Don’t get used to this, you’re not staying
here.”
Justin stared at him, wide eyed, before breaking his gaze away and
picking up the blanket.
Justin started to strip in front of Brian and he
backed away in distaste, this was different from the shower episode, and he
wasn’t in to girly boys.
Only, he caught a glimpse of skin, his eyes, so
used to picking up tricks couldn’t stop assessing him as he did other
men.
The slight body beneath the baggy, borrowed clothes was anything but
girl-like. Creamy skin only marred by bruising and old scars covered a compact,
lean body that held no inch of spare flesh.
Brian felt his cock harden
and groaned, there was no way he could find that boy attractive. He was barely
out of childhood and there was an innocence about him that made Brian feel like
a dirty old man.
He retreated into the bedroom and shrugged his own
clothes off, climbing under the covers and wishing Justin was anyone but who he
was.
Brian woke him by clattering about in his kitchen, making
coffee and toasting bread. Justin watched from under his blanket. “Are you just
going to lay there and stare?” Brian said, slamming a cup down.
Justin
sat up, and slipped into the clothes he’d been given yesterday. His hair was
tangled around his head, falling in silky strands down his back, over his chest,
twinkling like a spider’s web.
Brian glanced over and tried not to notice
the beautiful face under the bruises. “How old are you
kid?”
“Seventeen.”
Which was good, he wasn’t as young as Lindsey
thought he was. “Who hurt you?”
Justin bit at his lip, unsure of the
question. To him, the bruises didn’t count as a beating, it was who he was, what
he did. It was the other thing that bothered him, and he couldn’t call that
hurt, he wasn’t sure what it had been.
“Do you have a
comb?”
Irritated, Brian sighed and went in search of a comb, handing it
to Justin silently. The boy sat on one stool and shrugged all his hair over one
shoulder, taking it piece by piece and combing methodically, starting at the
ends and working upwards until it was free of knots.
Brian pretended not
to watch, but was entranced all the same. He’d never seen a man with so much
hair, never realised it could be so masculine.
He knew when the front
door opened it would be Lindsey; he didn’t expect her to bring her husband and
Gus though.
“What is this? A mothers, fucking meeting?”
“Don’t be
a grouch, Brian, we came to see Justin, wondered if he might like to go to the
diner for breakfast.”
“Would you like that, sweetie?” Justin carried on
brushing his hair, “Justin, would you like to go out for breakfast?”
He
looked up when she said his name and smiled, eyes that had been so dull
yesterday suddenly alive. “Yes.”
“Are you feeling better this
morning?”
“I’m feeling much better. Did you bring your
sketchbook?”
Lindsey laughed, “I see you found your voice. I did bring my
sketchbook, here, take a look.”
He flicked through it eagerly, eyes
widening as he came to a picture of himself. “That’s me.”
“You’re an
interesting person to draw.”
“I used to draw on the floor.” Justin
remembered back to his doodles and wished he could do something as good as
this.
“You can have that sketchbook if you want, I have some extra
pencils, you can draw what you want.”
He grinned up at her, his swollen
face becoming distorted, but not diminishing his happiness at the simple gift.
“Thank you.”
He turned to a clean page and let his hand get used to
holding a pencil and putting marks on a page. “Are you coming to breakfast,
Bri?” Lindz asked.
He gave her one of his famous looks. “What do I
usually do every morning before work?”
Mel smiled at him, almost showing
her fangs. “Then you’d best hurry up and get dressed, and while you’re at it,
daddy, you can change your son.” Mel handed him Gus and Brian grumbled all the
way to the bathroom.
The diner was bright, multicoloured banners hung
from the walls and many different people piled into small booths.
A dark
haired man waved at them and Brian made his way over. “Brian, you’re
late.”
“Mikey, you know I’m never late, I just like to make an
entrance.”
“And what an entrance that was, Brian Kinney, family man.”
Mikey looked over at Justin, who was still clutching Lindsey’s sketchbook to his
chest. “Family man, plus one.”
Lindsey butted in before Brian could say
anything. “This is Justin, everybody, Justin, these are our friends. Justin
saved my life yesterday.” Mel ushered Justin into the booth while Lindsey told
Mikey, Ted and Emmett of her and Gus’s brush with death. It sent shivers down
her back the more she heard it.
“And you’ve just taken him in?” Mikey
looked dubious too, that made Mel feel better for standing her
ground.
“He stayed with Brian last night.”
Justin opened the
sketch book and started to draw, not sure what he was doing, just happy to be
moving his fingers.
“Doesn’t he have a family to go back to?” Lindsey
frowned, not wanting to talk about Justin’s private life. “He’s having
problems.”
“What happened to your folks?” Mikey said, he was an expert at
this kind of thing, if Justin was having trouble at home, it could be no worse
than what Hunter went through.
“They didn’t want me.” Justin didn’t look
up.
“Then who has been caring for you?”
“My uncle.”
Lindsey
had to admit, Mikey had a gift for getting people to open up, she’d learned more
about Justin in the last two minutes than she had the previous day.
“And
where is he now?”
“He was in a car crash,” He looked up at Lindsay,
“could I get paint?”
She chuckled softly, “Of course you can,
sweetie.”
“It looks like you’ve taken in an orphan, Bri.” Mikey smirked
and jabbed his best friend in the ribs.
“Watch it…it was a one night
only thing, the girls are looking for a more permanent place for
him.”
Lindsey looked at Mikey, using the big doe eyes that worked on
Brian so well. He shook his head. “Don’t look at me, we have a full house as it
is.”
Debbie walked over to the table, furry topped pen in hand. “Who has
a full house?” She popped her gum and looked around, noticed the new face. “And
who’s this cutie, and what the hell happened to him?”
Justin looked up,
“he put his hand down my pants.” Debbie’s eyes widened and she glared at
Brian.
“Not me!”
Debbie looked at Lindsey for confirmation, she
shook her head quickly, motioning she’d explain later.
“I’m sorry about
that, sunshine. So, what’s this about a full house, who’s looking for a
place?”
“We’re looking for a place for Justin. He can’t go back to where
he was, look what they did to him.”
“Well, I’m sure Vic won’t mind him
using our spare room.”
“My bedroom,” Mikey pouted.
Debbie slapped
him over the head. “When have you last slept there, you spoiled brat? I swear
it’s ‘cos he’s an only child, never did like to share his toys, until Brian came
along that is. So, what do you say, Justin, you happy to stay at mine for a
while?”
“Yes.” He carried on drawing.
“Well, that’s settled
then.” Debbie leaned over and ruffled Justin’s long hair, causing it to tangle.
“Do you have a comb?” He looked over at Brian and Brian rolled his eyes,
hand going into his back pocket, pulling out a small comb.
“And I thought
only lube and condoms were kept down there,” Mikey smirked.
Brian ignored
him and watched as Justin righted his hair. He went to give it back, but Brian
shook his head. “Keep it.”
“So what’s everybody eatin’?” Deb started to
write their order down before they’d even uttered a word; she knew exactly what
her kids ate every morning.
She looked over at Justin, face swollen, skin
turning that horrible red colour it usually went before turning blue. She’d seen
Brian’s face like that on many occasion and her heart went out to the new
boy.
“What about you, Justin? What do you want to eat?”
He looked
kind of startled to be asked. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to a diner before.”
He’d been to places with his uncle, but he’d never been allowed to eat, or order
something he wanted. He had to sit quietly and wait for the
signal.
“Never eaten in a fuckin’ diner before?” Deb’s eyes widened.
“That’s it, you’re having the breakfast special. Waffle, sausage, syrup, you
name it! You’ll love it, kid.”
It took hardly any time at all for Debbie
to be back, a large plate full of waffles and sausage, put in front of Justin.
His mouth dropped at the size of it. He prodded the waffles with a fork, he’d
never seen things like that before.
Lindz handed him a squirty bottle
full of syrup. “You pour that on top, makes it taste sweet.” He squeezed the
bottle, coating his waffles with a yellowy, clear liquid. “Wo-w, that’s enough,
you don’t want to rot your teeth.”
Finally ready, he took a big bite
full, his eyes closed in bliss and he smiled around the food, soon digging his
fork in again to take another bite, and another.
“I take it you like
that?” Mikey watched in amazement as the petite blond devoured the contents on
the plate.
“It’s good.” It was his favourite food in the entire world. He
wondered why Uncle Jim had never let him have this type of
food.
Everyone’s food was brought over and they all ate in a sedate
manner, not able to take their eyes of Justin and his enthusiasm.
Debbie’s house was nice. It was small, cosy and nothing
matched. Trinkets and photographs covered every possible space and Justin took
his time looking at the pictures showing Mikey’s journey from childhood to
adulthood.
He wondered if his own mother and father had started a
collection of him like that, before he did that-before he turned bad.
He
couldn’t remember his own parents, or the sister he used to have. And perhaps it
was better that way, from what his uncle said about them, and about what he did,
it was best he didn’t remember.
But, maybe he would be different now, he
had new people to take care of him, and they were nice, even Brian. Who was
constantly crotchety, said mean things, but he lacked the coldness, the bite,
his uncle’s words always came with.
He wondered if Uncle Jim was dead,
wondered if he should feel something about that, but death and violence was an
every day thing to him, he couldn’t mourn for the one man that had taught him
that.
“Hey, Justin.”
Justin jumped as Vic descended the narrow
staircase, clad in a stripy dressing gown and fluffy slippers. Justin grinned,
he liked this man.
“Have you had breakfast?” He shook his head. “You can
help yourself, you know.”
“I can’t cook.”
“Not even
cereal?”
“How do you cook that?”
Vic laughed and motioned for
Justin to join him in the kitchen. “Looks like you need a few lessons in Cooking
101.”
“Great. Lindsey is teaching me Art 101, Mikey is teaching me Comics
101. Debbie told Brian he wasn’t allowed to teach me How to be an Asshole 101,
though.”
Vic laughed and opened the fridge, taking out the milk. He
sniffed at it. “We’ll start small, with cereal, OK? First, sniff the milk, to
make sure it’s not bad. If it smells horrible, it’s off. Here, smell.
Good?”
Justin sniffed over the open milk bottle and nodded.
“Now,
there are all kinds of different cereal, but Deb is convinced the added minerals
and vitamins in Total cereal are good for me. So we’ll start there.” He opened a
cupboard and picked up the box of Total cereal, pouring a small amount into a
bowl.
“There. Now, you just add milk.” He poured the milk. “Now, why
don’t you try?”
Justin managed to drip milk on the table, and a few
crunchy flakes found their way to the floor, but all in all, he managed to cook
his cereal.
“Of course, cereal is usually a breakfast food, and
it’s…mid-day now, but I don’t see the harm in it.”
“I like waffles for
breakfast.”
Brian sat with Gus on his lap, looking at each finger and each
toe, making sure he really was alright.
“I’m telling you Brian, he just
appeared, saved Gus and I. I brought him back here-“
“You brought a
stranger back here, after what happened?” He raised an eyebrow.
“He was a
kid, and from the state of him, abused. He was covered in scars. I’m worried
about him, Brian.”
“Sounds to me, like he can take care of
himself.”
“He’s barely fifteen, younger than Hunter-“
Brian rolled
his eyes at her. “Each time you mention him he goes down in age. Plus, there’s
not a whole lot you can do, you didn’t get a name or an address.”
“We can
ask about, he’s so distinctive someone has to have seen him.”
“You mean
he’s dog ugly?”
“Jeez, Brian, why do you have to be such an asshole? No,
I meant he has blond hair down to his waist, he’s delicate, feminine looking,
with bright blue eyes. Someone must know him.”
“Great, he sounds like
every dykes dream. You have one son already, you don’t need
another.”
J made it back to the house, but paused on going back down
into the basement. He didn’t want to go back down there. He unrolled the sketch
the lady had given him and smiled.
“There you are. I wondered when you’d
come crawling back.” J looked up quickly at the sound of Chris’s voice. “You
left the boss to die, you cunt. No one is sure he’ll make it, I bet that makes
you happy, doesn’t it? Well, I’ll make you pay, puppy.”
It was only then
J saw the metal adorning Chris’s hand. He didn’t flinch as it hit his shoulder,
didn’t cry out as he jabbed him in the stomach, didn’t scream as he fell to the
ground.
“The puppy is helpless until I give the order, and guess what?
I’m not gonna give it, you’ll have to lie there and take whatever punishment I
give you.”
Chris ripped the shirt off his chest, saw the plaster the lady
had put there and in a rage ripped it off, fingering the wound until it opened
up again, started to bleed and lead a crimson trail down his chest.
“I
could do whatever the fuck I liked and you’d not be able to do a thing about it.
I bet you’d even like it, you sick fuck.” He scratched at J’s pants until he
managed to open them and push them off his hips.
He grabbed his limp
cock painfully and squeezed. “Do you like that? Are you one of those queers, Jim
hates so much? I bet you, fucking, are. See, like that, don’t you?”
J’s
eyes were dull, that far off look he had whenever he wasn’t needed. He didn’t
react to pain, but this was different, a feeling he’d not felt before. Not nice,
not bad-confusing. He only understood things in terms of the collar and this
made his body react in a way it never had before.
His cock hardened under
Chris’s cruel touch, it wasn’t long before he came, a creamy white liquid
covering the other boy’s hand. Chris moved away in disgust and wiped his hand
down J’s ruined shirt. “You are a sick, fucking, queer! I knew it.” He hit J in
the mouth, blood spurting from his lip, and when that gained no reaction he
picked up knuckle duster again and hit him hard across the side of the head,
happy when the dog’s eyes closed, almost peaceful-like.
Chris stood and
spat at the unmoving body of the Mayor’s dog, wiping his hands down his jeans
and again ignoring the erection his work had brought on.
J came to
feeling immense pain, it had been such a long time since he’d felt anything. He
tried to sit, but his head throbbed so badly it took him a few attempts. He saw
his shirt, and realised his pants were undone.
It made him feel unclean
in a way he couldn’t comprehend. He put on his sullied shirt, the shirt the nice
lady had given him, and pulled up his pants. He had to get away, didn’t know
why, was so confused by everything.
The sketch the nice lady had given
him lay on the floor, his own blood ruining it. Tears filled his eyes and added
to the confusion. He didn’t understand tears, didn’t understand anything but
what to do once the collar was removed.
He stumbled out of the house and
into the darkness, not really aware of where he was going until he got there. He
banged on the lady’s door, holding the frame, unsure he would be able to stand
up on his own.
She opened the door, gasping at the sight of him, a man
stood behind her, holding Gus. He quickly took the baby back inside and J was
sure they would shut the door in his face, but the lady held on to him and
helped him inside.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” he gasped, trying to
stand on his own and annoyed that he couldn’t. The man came back and helped him
into the living room, placed a blanket over the sofa and made him lay down.
“What happened?” The lady asked, brushing his hair back from his face.
The action seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite remember why. J
hurt all over, and tears filled his eyes, made his lip tremble. “He put his hand
down my pants.”
The beating didn’t really register in his mind, he’d gone
through it before, beatings, training, collar, kill. But no one had done that to
him before.
“Fuck, I told you Brian, he can’t go back there, wherever the
hell it was. They’re doing more than abusing him.”
Brian stood, features
unmoving. “We should get him to a hospital.”
J scrambled up off the sofa.
“No, no hospital, they’ll send me back.”
“We don’t have to, do we
Brian?” Lindsey looked at him with the doe eyed expression she’d used when she
asked him to father Gus. He could never resist that expression.
“He needs
a shower though, so we can asses the damage, clean him up. I’ll take him.” Brian
helped the petite blond to his feet, not quite sure why he’d let himself get
roped into this.
He sat the boy on the toilet lid and turned on the
shower. “Come on, you need to get undressed.” Brian said impatiently. Dull blue
eyes blinked and looked up at him. “You need to undress for the
shower.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” he said softly. Brian moved him
quickly from the toilet and sat him on the floor, pushing the lid up and letting
the kid heave his guts up into the bowl.
He wrinkled his nose at the
sight and smell, but carefully helped him stand when he’d finished and took off
the remnants of his shirt. When the boy didn’t finish undressing himself, Brian
undid his pants and pushed them down, mindful of his earlier statement, keeping
his hands firmly away from the boy’s cock.
It obviously made no
difference to the kid and his hand clamped down on Brian’s wrist painfully. “No,
don’t touch me there.”
Brian pulled his hands away, feeling like a dirty
old paedophile. “No one should touch you there, or anywhere else unless you say
so.” Brian said. The boy looked puzzled, like he couldn’t quite understand it.
“I’m just trying to help you into the shower.”
“I can do
it.”
Brian nodded and watched the boy strip off everything but a silver
collar around his neck. He kept a mindful eye on the boy but refused to look
directly at him, didn’t want to invade his privacy or feel like he was a peeping
Tom.
J stepped into the bathtub and under the spray on wobbly feet,
letting the water soak his hair and sooth his aching limbs.
The man was
quiet, but stayed away as he promised. J kept glancing at him as he shampooed
his hair, rinsing out the suds, not sure if he could be trusted or
not.
When the water ran clear he switched it off and twisted his hair
into one long pony tail, ringing it until the water was squeezed
free.
“Lindz left some clothes for you.” Brian handed him a towel and
left the clothes on the toilet. “Give me a call if you need
anything.”
“Lindz.” Justin rolled the name over his tongue, liking the
lady’s name, it suited her.
He dressed quickly and limped back
downstairs, suddenly unsure of his place there. He didn’t quite understand why
he’d come here, but he couldn’t stay at the house, not without his
uncle.
“There you are!” Lindz said with a big smile when she saw him. “I
was beginning to worry. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make you a
sandwich.”
He did as she asked, sitting up straight, hands at his side.
The man looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “You can lean back you know. You’re
probably sore.”
J frowned, no one had worried about his comfort before,
just his fighting abilities. He leaned back, still looking as uncomfortable as
before.
Lindz came back with a chicken sandwich and placed the plate on
his lap. “So, do you have a name?” She asked as he picked up the sandwich and
took a large bite.
He chewed and swallowed. “J-ustin,” he said, not
wanting the name his uncle gave him to be uttered from her lips.
The
front door opened, shocking him, he stood quickly, the plate clattering to the
floor. He swayed and clutched his aching head, but managed to stay standing as
the stranger entered the house.
“Mel,” Lindz said, going over to kiss her
wife on the cheek. “We have a visitor, this is Justin, he saved Gus and I when
we were mugged.”
She looked J up and down, her eyes not as friendly as
Lindz’s. She walked over to him and held out her hand. J looked at it for a
while before placing his hand in hers. “Thank you for coming to their rescue
Justin.” The words were all there, but her voice sounded cold.
“I’m just
going to wash up in the kitchen, a word Brian.”
Lindz’s face dropped and
she gave Justin a small smile before following them into the kitchen. “What’s
wrong Mel, he saved our lives.”
“That may be, but we don’t know anything
about him-he can’t stay here.”
Lindz folded her arms and pouted. “Did I
even ask?”
“You don’t need to ask, I know you, remember?”
“You
don’t know what he said to us, someone is abusing him, Mel. We can’t send him
back out there.”
Mel put her arms around Lindsey, trying to comfort her.
“And I’m not suggesting you do, but he can’t stay here, think of Gus. May be he
can stay with Brian?”
Brian’s eyes widened and he shook his head
adamantly. “Oh, no, a world of no. He’s not my responsibility. Let him go back
out on the streets for all I care.”
“Brian, you don’t mean that. If it
wasn’t for that boy, I could be hurt right now, your son could be dead. Let him
stay with you for a few days, until we can think of something
permanent.”
“I don’t take in strays. Take him to Mikey if you’re so
bothered.”
“Please, Bri, just for tonight.” Lindz gave him the look and
he knew he was screwed.
“Fuck, fine, tonight only, after that, you find
him somewhere else to stay.” He strode back into the living room, motioned to
the kid to stand up and walked to the front door. “You’re coming with me kid,
hurry up.”
He ran to catch up with Brian, staying one pace behind him
until they reached his car. “Get in.”
He opened the door and went to
climb into the back, Brian stopped him. “Sit in the front.”
Justin’s eyes
widened at the sight of Brian’s apartment, all crisp lines and cool colours, so
clean and open. “You’re sleeping on the coach.” Brian moved about the place
angrily, disappearing to find his guest an extra blanket and pillow, he threw
them towards the kid, and rolled his eyes as Justin let them fall to the floor
in front of his feet.
“Don’t get used to this, you’re not staying
here.”
Justin stared at him, wide eyed, before breaking his gaze away and
picking up the blanket.
Justin started to strip in front of Brian and he
backed away in distaste, this was different from the shower episode, and he
wasn’t in to girly boys.
Only, he caught a glimpse of skin, his eyes, so
used to picking up tricks couldn’t stop assessing him as he did other
men.
The slight body beneath the baggy, borrowed clothes was anything but
girl-like. Creamy skin only marred by bruising and old scars covered a compact,
lean body that held no inch of spare flesh.
Brian felt his cock harden
and groaned, there was no way he could find that boy attractive. He was barely
out of childhood and there was an innocence about him that made Brian feel like
a dirty old man.
He retreated into the bedroom and shrugged his own
clothes off, climbing under the covers and wishing Justin was anyone but who he
was.
Brian woke him by clattering about in his kitchen, making
coffee and toasting bread. Justin watched from under his blanket. “Are you just
going to lay there and stare?” Brian said, slamming a cup down.
Justin
sat up, and slipped into the clothes he’d been given yesterday. His hair was
tangled around his head, falling in silky strands down his back, over his chest,
twinkling like a spider’s web.
Brian glanced over and tried not to notice
the beautiful face under the bruises. “How old are you
kid?”
“Seventeen.”
Which was good, he wasn’t as young as Lindsey
thought he was. “Who hurt you?”
Justin bit at his lip, unsure of the
question. To him, the bruises didn’t count as a beating, it was who he was, what
he did. It was the other thing that bothered him, and he couldn’t call that
hurt, he wasn’t sure what it had been.
“Do you have a
comb?”
Irritated, Brian sighed and went in search of a comb, handing it
to Justin silently. The boy sat on one stool and shrugged all his hair over one
shoulder, taking it piece by piece and combing methodically, starting at the
ends and working upwards until it was free of knots.
Brian pretended not
to watch, but was entranced all the same. He’d never seen a man with so much
hair, never realised it could be so masculine.
He knew when the front
door opened it would be Lindsey; he didn’t expect her to bring her husband and
Gus though.
“What is this? A mothers, fucking meeting?”
“Don’t be
a grouch, Brian, we came to see Justin, wondered if he might like to go to the
diner for breakfast.”
“Would you like that, sweetie?” Justin carried on
brushing his hair, “Justin, would you like to go out for breakfast?”
He
looked up when she said his name and smiled, eyes that had been so dull
yesterday suddenly alive. “Yes.”
“Are you feeling better this
morning?”
“I’m feeling much better. Did you bring your
sketchbook?”
Lindsey laughed, “I see you found your voice. I did bring my
sketchbook, here, take a look.”
He flicked through it eagerly, eyes
widening as he came to a picture of himself. “That’s me.”
“You’re an
interesting person to draw.”
“I used to draw on the floor.” Justin
remembered back to his doodles and wished he could do something as good as
this.
“You can have that sketchbook if you want, I have some extra
pencils, you can draw what you want.”
He grinned up at her, his swollen
face becoming distorted, but not diminishing his happiness at the simple gift.
“Thank you.”
He turned to a clean page and let his hand get used to
holding a pencil and putting marks on a page. “Are you coming to breakfast,
Bri?” Lindz asked.
He gave her one of his famous looks. “What do I
usually do every morning before work?”
Mel smiled at him, almost showing
her fangs. “Then you’d best hurry up and get dressed, and while you’re at it,
daddy, you can change your son.” Mel handed him Gus and Brian grumbled all the
way to the bathroom.
The diner was bright, multicoloured banners hung
from the walls and many different people piled into small booths.
A dark
haired man waved at them and Brian made his way over. “Brian, you’re
late.”
“Mikey, you know I’m never late, I just like to make an
entrance.”
“And what an entrance that was, Brian Kinney, family man.”
Mikey looked over at Justin, who was still clutching Lindsey’s sketchbook to his
chest. “Family man, plus one.”
Lindsey butted in before Brian could say
anything. “This is Justin, everybody, Justin, these are our friends. Justin
saved my life yesterday.” Mel ushered Justin into the booth while Lindsey told
Mikey, Ted and Emmett of her and Gus’s brush with death. It sent shivers down
her back the more she heard it.
“And you’ve just taken him in?” Mikey
looked dubious too, that made Mel feel better for standing her
ground.
“He stayed with Brian last night.”
Justin opened the
sketch book and started to draw, not sure what he was doing, just happy to be
moving his fingers.
“Doesn’t he have a family to go back to?” Lindsey
frowned, not wanting to talk about Justin’s private life. “He’s having
problems.”
“What happened to your folks?” Mikey said, he was an expert at
this kind of thing, if Justin was having trouble at home, it could be no worse
than what Hunter went through.
“They didn’t want me.” Justin didn’t look
up.
“Then who has been caring for you?”
“My uncle.”
Lindsey
had to admit, Mikey had a gift for getting people to open up, she’d learned more
about Justin in the last two minutes than she had the previous day.
“And
where is he now?”
“He was in a car crash,” He looked up at Lindsay,
“could I get paint?”
She chuckled softly, “Of course you can,
sweetie.”
“It looks like you’ve taken in an orphan, Bri.” Mikey smirked
and jabbed his best friend in the ribs.
“Watch it…it was a one night
only thing, the girls are looking for a more permanent place for
him.”
Lindsey looked at Mikey, using the big doe eyes that worked on
Brian so well. He shook his head. “Don’t look at me, we have a full house as it
is.”
Debbie walked over to the table, furry topped pen in hand. “Who has
a full house?” She popped her gum and looked around, noticed the new face. “And
who’s this cutie, and what the hell happened to him?”
Justin looked up,
“he put his hand down my pants.” Debbie’s eyes widened and she glared at
Brian.
“Not me!”
Debbie looked at Lindsey for confirmation, she
shook her head quickly, motioning she’d explain later.
“I’m sorry about
that, sunshine. So, what’s this about a full house, who’s looking for a
place?”
“We’re looking for a place for Justin. He can’t go back to where
he was, look what they did to him.”
“Well, I’m sure Vic won’t mind him
using our spare room.”
“My bedroom,” Mikey pouted.
Debbie slapped
him over the head. “When have you last slept there, you spoiled brat? I swear
it’s ‘cos he’s an only child, never did like to share his toys, until Brian came
along that is. So, what do you say, Justin, you happy to stay at mine for a
while?”
“Yes.” He carried on drawing.
“Well, that’s settled
then.” Debbie leaned over and ruffled Justin’s long hair, causing it to tangle.
“Do you have a comb?” He looked over at Brian and Brian rolled his eyes,
hand going into his back pocket, pulling out a small comb.
“And I thought
only lube and condoms were kept down there,” Mikey smirked.
Brian ignored
him and watched as Justin righted his hair. He went to give it back, but Brian
shook his head. “Keep it.”
“So what’s everybody eatin’?” Deb started to
write their order down before they’d even uttered a word; she knew exactly what
her kids ate every morning.
She looked over at Justin, face swollen, skin
turning that horrible red colour it usually went before turning blue. She’d seen
Brian’s face like that on many occasion and her heart went out to the new
boy.
“What about you, Justin? What do you want to eat?”
He looked
kind of startled to be asked. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to a diner before.”
He’d been to places with his uncle, but he’d never been allowed to eat, or order
something he wanted. He had to sit quietly and wait for the
signal.
“Never eaten in a fuckin’ diner before?” Deb’s eyes widened.
“That’s it, you’re having the breakfast special. Waffle, sausage, syrup, you
name it! You’ll love it, kid.”
It took hardly any time at all for Debbie
to be back, a large plate full of waffles and sausage, put in front of Justin.
His mouth dropped at the size of it. He prodded the waffles with a fork, he’d
never seen things like that before.
Lindz handed him a squirty bottle
full of syrup. “You pour that on top, makes it taste sweet.” He squeezed the
bottle, coating his waffles with a yellowy, clear liquid. “Wo-w, that’s enough,
you don’t want to rot your teeth.”
Finally ready, he took a big bite
full, his eyes closed in bliss and he smiled around the food, soon digging his
fork in again to take another bite, and another.
“I take it you like
that?” Mikey watched in amazement as the petite blond devoured the contents on
the plate.
“It’s good.” It was his favourite food in the entire world. He
wondered why Uncle Jim had never let him have this type of
food.
Everyone’s food was brought over and they all ate in a sedate
manner, not able to take their eyes of Justin and his enthusiasm.
Debbie’s house was nice. It was small, cosy and nothing
matched. Trinkets and photographs covered every possible space and Justin took
his time looking at the pictures showing Mikey’s journey from childhood to
adulthood.
He wondered if his own mother and father had started a
collection of him like that, before he did that-before he turned bad.
He
couldn’t remember his own parents, or the sister he used to have. And perhaps it
was better that way, from what his uncle said about them, and about what he did,
it was best he didn’t remember.
But, maybe he would be different now, he
had new people to take care of him, and they were nice, even Brian. Who was
constantly crotchety, said mean things, but he lacked the coldness, the bite,
his uncle’s words always came with.
He wondered if Uncle Jim was dead,
wondered if he should feel something about that, but death and violence was an
every day thing to him, he couldn’t mourn for the one man that had taught him
that.
“Hey, Justin.”
Justin jumped as Vic descended the narrow
staircase, clad in a stripy dressing gown and fluffy slippers. Justin grinned,
he liked this man.
“Have you had breakfast?” He shook his head. “You can
help yourself, you know.”
“I can’t cook.”
“Not even
cereal?”
“How do you cook that?”
Vic laughed and motioned for
Justin to join him in the kitchen. “Looks like you need a few lessons in Cooking
101.”
“Great. Lindsey is teaching me Art 101, Mikey is teaching me Comics
101. Debbie told Brian he wasn’t allowed to teach me How to be an Asshole 101,
though.”
Vic laughed and opened the fridge, taking out the milk. He
sniffed at it. “We’ll start small, with cereal, OK? First, sniff the milk, to
make sure it’s not bad. If it smells horrible, it’s off. Here, smell.
Good?”
Justin sniffed over the open milk bottle and nodded.
“Now,
there are all kinds of different cereal, but Deb is convinced the added minerals
and vitamins in Total cereal are good for me. So we’ll start there.” He opened a
cupboard and picked up the box of Total cereal, pouring a small amount into a
bowl.
“There. Now, you just add milk.” He poured the milk. “Now, why
don’t you try?”
Justin managed to drip milk on the table, and a few
crunchy flakes found their way to the floor, but all in all, he managed to cook
his cereal.
“Of course, cereal is usually a breakfast food, and
it’s…mid-day now, but I don’t see the harm in it.”
“I like waffles for
breakfast.”