Echo

by Crafter, Sol

  If Mary hadn't been there...

  * * *

  Answering questions for the police was a painful process, though it was more a formality than anything else. Mark had been cold-caught trying to kill him and he was facing some serious prison time, at least, that was what the DA was pushing for.

  From what Cole understood, Mark hadn't been able to get another job after his firing, so he'd taken to following Anderson around, which is how he'd found out that he and Cole were dating. So he'd decided to take Cole out to show Anderson just how easy it was to lose everything.

  He'd also been the one to egg Cole's door.

  So from a juvenile act of annoyance to an all-out murder attempt... it was some kind of fast progress.

  Cole spent two days in the hospital, then he was allowed to go home. With his two cracked ribs taped up and warnings not to mess around with his fractured cheekbone.

  He was just glad to be alive.

  Anderson came to pick him up from the hospital and drove him home to his apartment. The man still seemed shaken up, but the devastation had faded somewhat from his eyes and he was at least able to function.

  "Your place was a real mess," Anderson said, parking in front of Cole's building, "but I had it cleaned up."

  "But I had it cleaned up," Cole echoed in his rasping voice. The doctor said it would be weeks or maybe months before he would be able to speak normally. "My place was trashed. He wrecked practically everything I own."

  Anderson reached out to pat his hand. "Don't worry about it. I had all the ruined stuff taken out and replaced and Anne had a great time buying you all new clothes." He chuckled softly, though his eyes were tragic. "She went a little crazy when she saw your socks and underwear and realized just how much damage he didn't do to them. She said she was going to talk to you about it later."

  Cole flushed in embarrassment, but couldn't help laughing. That would be his mother's response to the idea that he'd been needing new underclothes for a while. She had a thing about clean underwear.

  Anderson jumped out of the car and hurried around to open Cole's door and help him out. Cole wanted to tell him that he wasn't an invalid, but he knew that Anderson just needed to do something.

  The guy had been totally wrecked, even more than Cole's apartment had been.

  Anderson was solicitous as they went through the lobby and took the elevator up to Cole's floor. There were new cameras everywhere, shiny and expensive. No one was going to be sneaking into the building again.

  When they got to his apartment, Cole was pleasantly surprised to find just how good a clean up job had taken place. Everything smelled fresh and all the furniture was new. And the TV was larger than the original had been and there was even a new Xbox set up and waiting.

  He winced a little when his mother seemed to pop up out of nowhere and wrap him in her tight embrace, but he just laid his head on her shoulder. "I'm all right," he said. "You did a good cleanup job."

  Her smile was tremulous. "Like I was going to let you come back to live in filth. Anderson helped." She slanted a fond look toward the other man. "He's a good guy."

  "He's a good guy. I know," he said, smiling at her.

  She'd been nothing but nice to Anderson since they'd met, but she'd kept him at a distance. Cole knew that there was no one in the world that she would ever think was good enough for him, so he'd just kind of accepted her formality toward Anderson. But all that seemed to have been melted away by circumstance, probably when she'd realized just how much Anderson cared about him.

  "This place looks great," he said, walking around the room and peeking into the kitchen and his bedroom. "It looks better than it did before. Someone should break in more often." He winced when he saw their expressions. "Sorry, kidding."

  Anderson came over to wrap his arms around Cole. "It wasn't a funny joke, but I guess I just have to get used to your sucky sense of humor."

  "It doesn't get any better," Jeremy said, appearing in the open apartment door. He was carrying two shopping bags that he handed to Anne. She'd obviously done her usual trick and sent him on an errand. "How you doing?"

  Cole shrugged. "How you doing? I'm just glad to be out of the hospital. It's given me a new appreciation for normal clothes." He winced and gripped his neck as a twinge of pain went through his throat. He really wasn't supposed to be talking too much.

  "Let me get you something cool to drink," his mother said, bustling into the kitchen.

  "Yeah, why don't you sit down." Anderson led him to the new couch and pushed him down before sitting next to him.

  Cole fingered the fabric of the couch, liking the feel of it against his skin. He was a bit regretful for the loss of his old one, but there was nothing he could do about it.

  He let his family move around him and just relaxed backward. He got tired so easily, partly because of the pain medication, but mostly just because he felt exhausted.

  Being choked out wasn't quite like on TV. It was taking him longer to bounce back than he'd ever thought it would. Movies and television had lied to him.

  He curled up against Anderson's side, trying to absorb the warmth from his skin. He wrapped his arm across Anderson's chest, liking the solid strength of him.

  "You guys did a good job," he rasped. "Thank you for fixing it up."

  "Like we were going to let you come back to a dump," Jeremy snorted, flopping down in a chair. "Auntie Anne had me over here every day helping her clean up. There was no way you were ever going to come home to pee soaked carpets."

  Cole chuckled weakly. It was kind of funny.

  "I helped," Anderson said, nuzzling the top of Cole's head. "I got the graffiti off the walls and got you all new furniture."

  Cole blinked up at him. "Got you all new furniture. You didn't have to do that," he said. "Just because you're rich doesn't mean you have to buy me everything. I can take care of myself."

  "Yeah, but I like to buy things for you. It makes me happy to take something that doesn't mean a whole lot to me, and use it to buy things that will make you happy. So to have you sleep on a bed I gave you or sit on a couch I picked out, it makes me feel good because I love you."

  Cole wanted to cry; instead he burrowed his face against Anderson's chest. "It makes me feel good because I love you. And I really do love you."

  There was the creak of the kitchen door and his mother's loudest voice, "Food's ready. Cole, you go sit at the table. Jeremy and Anderson, you help me carry things to the table."

  "Yes, ma'am," Anderson said, pulling Cole up with him. "Let's go."

  Cole let himself be set up at the table while the other two went to cater to his mother's whims.

  He felt a bit drifty and out of control, but he didn't feel like he had to do anything about it. Everything was so dreamy that he was just happy to sit there and wait for the world to come to him.

  It was actually a kind of nice sensation.

  * * *

  Being as quiet as he could manage, Anderson went about making a pot of coffee. He had some reports to go over and would probably be up late, but Cole was already sound asleep. He had been tired out by the visit of his mother and Jeremy.

  Anderson maybe could have gone back to his own place, but he didn't want to leave Cole alone. He'd already arranged for Anne to come by tomorrow while he had to be at work. He was just so nervous about something happening to Cole when he wasn't there, and probably would be until the choke marks disappeared from around Cole's neck.

  Whenever he thought about Mark Etty he wanted to beat the crap out of him, but there was no way he was ever going to be left alone with the man. He could at least sooth himself with the thought that Mary had really dealt the man a good one. She'd cracked his skull and it was going to be a while before he was up and around. Then he was going to be spending awhile in prison. Where he belonged.

  Anderson shook his head, walking across the kitchen to reach up into the cabinet for a mug. It had a picture of a generic cartoon cat on the side.

  He gra
bbed the carton of milk out of the refrigerator and waited the few minutes until the coffee maker stopped dripping. He poured a splash of milk in his cup, then topped it with coffee, stirring it with a small spoon.

  As he stirred, he felt the tension releasing from his shoulders. Cole was safe and sound in the bedroom with no idea how crazy Anderson had driven himself, and everything really was going to be all right as long as he stayed calm.

  Dropping the spoon on the counter, he carried his coffee into the living room and set it on the coffee table. He had so much work to do; all the things he'd blown off because he was more worried about Cole than getting anything done.

  But now that Cole was out of the hospital and he knew for sure that he was going to be all right, Anderson needed to play catch-up. Which kind of sucked, but was reality.

  Heaving a sigh, he sat down on the couch and pulled his laptop toward himself. If he was lucky he could get all caught up tonight.

  After four and a half cups of coffee--the rest of that fifth cup was congealing in the mug--he was finally able to relax with the knowledge that he was pretty close to done. He wasn't going to be getting anymore phone calls from his dad demanding to know when he was going to get his head back in the game.

  "You look like you're hard at work."

  Anderson twitched and jerked around to see Cole standing in the hallway, one hand against the wall. He looked incredibly fragile, dark bruises standing out against his pale skin and his pajamas looking a couple of sizes too big. "What are you doing out of bed? I would have thought those drugs would knock you out."

  Cole quirked a little smile and cocked his head. He didn't say anything though, and it took Anderson a second to realize why.

  He winced. "Sorry. I'm an ass."

  With his throat so sore, Cole was already having a hard time speaking. With his echolalia forcing him to repeat what Anderson said before he could say what he wanted, long sentences must have been a bitch for him.

  "You should go back to bed," Anderson said. "I'm pretty much done here. I'll be in in a minute."

  Cole padded across the living room to curl up next to him on the couch. He tucked his bare feet under him like a small child. "I'll be in in a minute. You have a lot to catch up on. I can sit with you for a while. All I've done is sleep anyway."

  Anderson leaned over and pressed a kiss against Cole's forehead. "I love you," he said, staring into Cole's dark eyes. "You don't even know how scared I was when I got Mary's phone call. And while you were in the hospital, all I could think was that if I had only been there you wouldn't have gotten hurt. I wouldn't have let you."

  "I wouldn't have let you. The minute I saw the place was trashed, I shouldn't have come inside," Cole said. He shrugged. "It's a mistake I won't ever make again."

  "Still," Anderson drew in a shuddering breath, "you could have died and there's no way I can let that thought go." He rested his palms against Cole's thighs and pressed his forehead against Cole's. "I think we should move in together."

  Cole blinked in surprise. "I think we should move in together. You want me to move in with you?"

  "No, I think I want to move in with you," Anderson said, smiling. He pulled back to gesture around the room. "This place is so cozy and homelike, while my penthouse is fancy, but cold. If you'll let me, I want to move in here."

  "I want to move in here." Cole licked his lips. "Okay. You can move in with me."

  Anderson huffed a laugh and wrapped his arms around Cole, hugging him close without squeezing too tight. He didn't want to hurt his ribs more. "You make me so happy, and you don't even seem to realize it. That's why I love you."

  Cole nuzzled close, ducking his head under Anderson's chin.

  "Let's go to bed," Anderson said, reaching out to close the lid on his computer. "I can finish the rest of that tomorrow. Let's go to our bed."

  Cole made a murmuring sound that could have been words.

  They went into the bedroom to lie curled around each other in the quiet darkness. Just drawing comfort from human warmth and the idea that they could have this feeling every day.

  And that was really kind of nice.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  It should have been weird, having another person live with him full time, but honestly it was just incredibly comfortable. As though Anderson had always been there in some way.

  Over the course of the week, Anderson packed up his penthouse and had movers deliver his belongings to Cole's apartment. He said he was going to rent his penthouse out so he didn't have to go through the trouble of selling it.

  They settled in together with only a few hiccups, mostly due to the way Anderson tended to hover. But as soon as Cole was feeling well enough to go back to work, things just seemed to settle down.

  Cole nearly had a panic attack the first day he went back to work, but no one made a big deal about the now common knowledge that he was living with Anderson so he was able to relax into the safety of anonymity.

  He ate lunch with Anderson every day, both of them wanting to enjoy the way things were before Anderson was reassigned to another department where they might not be able to eat together the way they'd grown used to. Cole kind of dreaded that day, but Anderson assured him that it wouldn't change things as much as he thought. They would still be able to go home together and that was something.

  The biggest argument they'd had so far was when Cole thought to be nice and washed some of Anderson's shirts--ruining three of them forever. Anderson was more irritated than angry and they were quickly able to laugh about it. And the rag bag got some fancy new additions that Anderson eventually used to wash his car with one sunny day.

  Cole had never thought he could be so happy.

  It just seemed as though everything in his life was falling into place. Not just for him either.

  His mother had finally admitted that she had feelings for the librarian she was always chatting up, and he'd asked her out to dinner. Jeremy was on location in Australia for a leading role in a feature length movie. He was on the brink of a big breakout and he was very excited about it.

  So when George invited them to visit, he was happy to make the trip. Besides, it would give them a chance to hang out at Anderson's house and christen some more rooms.

  They left Friday afternoon and drove the forty-five minutes to get there where they were met with delicious barbecue and the best Greek summer salad he'd ever tasted. Plus he got to continue the conversation he'd been having with Laura on the phone earlier in the week.

  They were really getting along and it gave Anderson and George a chance to talk.

  Cole kept one eye on them as he walked with Laura around the yard. There was just something so fascinating to him about the father-son dynamic, probably because he'd never experienced it for himself.

  He'd had his mom and the visits of his uncle, but he'd never had a father of his own. It was just this strange relationship that maybe seemed a bit alien to him, while also making him feel a bit regretful.

  "George is really happy that you and Anderson are doing so well," Laura said, holding his arm. "It's kind of funny how he treats Anderson like he's still a child. He's always been such a hard ass, but anything to do with Anderson and he melts into a pile of mush."

  Cole laughed with her, slanting a glance back at Anderson and his father. They looked like some kind of before and after picture, the only real difference between them their ages.

  "He melts into a pile of mush. I'm glad that I can be pretty sure that Anderson's going to age well, if his dad's anything to go on." He grinned. "He's going to be good looking forever."

  "From the cradle to the grave," Laura said.

  They laughed.

  * * *

  "Well, they look happy together," George said, lifting his glass to take a sip of his iced tea.

  "I wonder what they're laughing at," Anderson said, frowning a little. "Do you think they're talking about us?"

  George snorted, "Of course. What else could they be talking about?"


  Anderson shook his head. "Nice ego, Dad."

  "I'm not going to pretend to be anything less than me," George said. He pushed his glass a little away, the tips of his fingers dipping into the little puddle of moisture left behind. "So, have you thought about children yet?"

  Anderson rolled his eyes. "Unless you haven't noticed, neither one of us is exactly equipped for the child production business."

  "You know what I mean," George said. "Have you given any consideration to a surrogate pregnancy? Neither one of you is getting any younger, and the older you get the more energy kids seem to have."

  Looking across the yard at where Cole was pointing something out to Laura, Anderson couldn't help the warm feeling that went through him.

  Standing in the sunlight, Cole was so sexy in his jeans and button front shirt. He looked like he could have been in a magazine or something. He maybe needed a haircut because the ends of his hair were beginning to curl appealingly. He looked so young and full of life that it almost made it hard for Anderson to breathe.

  Seeming to feel Anderson's gaze upon him, Cole looked up and smiled, displaying that dimple in his left cheek. He gave a little wave that Anderson returned with an upraised hand and a helplessly goofy grin.

  Just seeing Cole made him feel happy. And once again he couldn't help thinking about a little girl or boy with Cole's black hair and sweet smile.

  "Not yet," Anderson said, really considering the idea of letting his father arrange a surrogate mother. "But someday. Not like tomorrow, but soon."

  Real soon, he couldn't help thinking when he saw Cole throw his head back and laugh at something Laura said. It was such a bright, cheery sound.

  He could listen to it forever.

  ###