Ice on Fire (Treble and the Lost Boys Book 1)

by G. R. Lyons

  Adrian lowered his head and didn't answer.

  Zac looked from father to son and back, the silence stretching between them. The more Mr. Frost straightened and grew stern, the more Adrian cowered under an unseen weight.

  Mr. Frost shot out his left arm and glanced at his watch. “Very well. You have five minutes to pack your clothes and vacate the apartment.”

  Adrian looked up in shock, and Zac's jaw dropped.

  The man wasn't serious, was he?

  Mr. Frost cocked an eyebrow at Adrian, still entirely ignoring Zac.

  Holy shit. The man wasn't kidding.

  Zac sprinted for the bedroom, throwing his towel aside and yanking on his clothes as fast as he could. He found a suitcase in the closet and hurled it onto the bed, then yanked open Adrian's drawers and grabbed all the underwear, t-shirts, and pants he could get his hands on, throwing them into the suitcase and stuffing them down to make as much room as he could without the time to properly arrange anything.

  Through the open doorway, he saw Adrian still hadn't moved, frozen in shock, and neither father nor son said a word.

  Zac raced for the washroom and threw open cabinets and drawers. He found Adrian's meds and gathered up as many of Adrian's toiletries as he could find, stuffed everything into an overnight bag he found in the cabinet under the sink, and tossed that onto the bed while he went to Adrian's closet, grabbing as many of Adrian's suits as he thought they could carry.

  He snatched up the shirt Adrian had been about to put on before Mr. Frost arrived, and ran out to press the shirt into his hands.

  “Baby, put this on, alright?”

  Adrian barely clutched the shirt and looked at it like he didn't know what it was.

  Zac let out a groan, grabbed Adrian's arms, and helped him get dressed. After that, Adrian seemed to come slightly out of his daze, and followed Zac back into the bedroom, where he managed to get his socks and shoes on by himself.

  Once that was done, though, he still looked completely lost.

  Zac got Adrian up on his feet, then pressed the overnight bag into Adrian's left hand and slung the strap for his suitcase over Adrian's right shoulder, and pushed Adrian out the door. Before leaving the bedroom, Zac shoved Adrian's texts and notebooks into his backpack, yanked the zipper shut, swung the thing onto his back, and grabbed Adrian's suits, slinging them over one arm while he hurried out the door.

  Mr. Frost still stood there in the middle of the living room, eyes fixed on his watch.

  The gods-damned bastard. How could he?

  Zac glared at the man as he rushed past and grabbed Adrian by the arm, steering him toward the front door.

  “Adrian.”

  Zac froze at the sound of Mr. Frost's voice, the tone low and commanding. He and Adrian both turned to face the asshole, but Adrian didn't lift his gaze from the floor.

  “If you give up this disgusting lifestyle,” the man said, “and promise never to see this…person…again…” He paused. “You may stay.”

  Shit. Zac felt all the fury drain out of him, and almost dropped Adrian's bags on the spot. There was no way Adrian would choose him over the kind of lifestyle to which he was accustomed. Why would he? Adrian had everything and Zac had nothing. There was nothing he could offer the man.

  Zac was just about to hand over Adrian's bags and let himself out when he saw Adrian finally move.

  It was slow at first, but Adrian straightened to his full height, his head coming up so he looked his father in the eye. Zac held his breath, waiting while father and son stared one another down.

  Without a word, Adrian turned to face Zac, stuffed his overnight bag under his arm so he could free one hand, then grabbed Zac around the back of the neck and hauled him in for a kiss.

  “Mmmph.” Zac flailed for a moment, then melted into the kiss, desperate to pull Adrian closer. He must have been dreaming. There was no way Adrian was doing what he thought the man was doing.

  Adrian broke the kiss, gave Zac a hint of a smile, then shot his father a glare, turned, and opened the door, ushering Zac out of the apartment.

  They were silent as they rode the elevator up to the ground floor, and on the walk out to the street where Zac's car was parked. Zac moved as quickly as he could, watching Adrian begin to shut down as they encountered people on the sidewalk. With all of Adrian's worldly belongings stuffed into the trunk of Zac's car, they climbed in and took off.

  Cold reality hit him as they turned onto the next street. Adrian was homeless. He had nowhere to go.

  Unless…

  He glanced over at Adrian, who sat staring blankly at the road.

  By the look on his face, it seemed reality had finally caught up with him as well.

  “Ade? Baby?” Zac reached over and gave Adrian's hand a squeeze, and got barely a response in return. “It'll be alright. Yeah? We'll go home and figure this out.”

  Adrian blinked a few times. “Where are we going?” he asked, his voice flat and lifeless.

  “Home, babe. You're coming to live with me until we figure something out.”

  A long silence followed, until Adrian asked, “Why?”

  Zac squeezed his hand again. “Do you have any money of your own?”

  Adrian swallowed hard, and shook his head tightly.

  “Then where else are you gonna go?” he whispered.

  Adrian's jaw tightened, and he looked out the passenger window.

  With no other plan available to them, Zac drove them back to his own apartment, and they hauled all of Adrian's clothes inside. Adrian slumped onto the end of the bed while Zac shoved some of his mess out of the way to make some space, but he knew Adrian wouldn't be anywhere near comfortable until everything was properly put away.

  He glanced around, seeing his apartment through Adrian's eyes, comparing it to what Adrian had given up.

  For him.

  Good gods, he wasn't worth it.

  He sat down beside Adrian and brushed the man's hair out of his eyes. Adrian's shirt clung to him, like he'd broken out in a sweat from the anxiety spike.

  “Baby,” Zac murmured, “why don't you go take another shower, just relax a bit, and I'll put clean sheets on the bed?”

  Adrian blinked and slowly turned to look at him.

  Zac waited, gently massaging Adrian's scalp. “Shower?” he suggested again.

  Adrian nodded slowly and stood, wandering off to the washroom in a daze, his movements slow and mechanical as he stepped into the tiny room and shut the door behind him. Zac watched him go, then let out a sigh.

  What the hells were they going to do?

  Zac took a deep breath, and jumped to his feet. One thing at a time. First, strip the bed and remake it with clean sheets. Then, get Adrian to take a nap.

  Then, figure out what the hells to do next.

  ADRIAN PRESSED his hands to the wall and bent his head beneath the shower spray, his eyes going unfocused as the reality of his situation really began to catch up with him.

  He had nothing. Everything was gone. His home. His family. His life. All of it ripped away in the blink of an eye, just because his father had happened to walk in at the wrong time. His entire net worth amounted to a closet-full of clothes.

  Which, technically speaking, was more than he'd had to his name before. Everything had been paid for by his father, down to the underwear he had on. He supposed he ought to be grateful his father had even allowed him to take his clothes with him. Otherwise, he'd literally have nothing.

  And it was still two months until graduation. Two months until he could have any way to support himself on his own.

  What the hells was he going to do?

  His ears rang and his vision tunneled down to almost nothing. He gasped for breath, but no matter how much air he sucked in, it wasn't enough.

  “Baby.” Zac's worried voice cut through the buzzing noise in his head. Adrian felt arms wrap around him from behind, two warm hands pressed firmly to his chest. “Breathe. You need to breathe, Ade.”

 
; Adrian gasped and shook his head.

  “Yes, come on. Here. Turn around. Look at me.”

  Adrian couldn't move. It took Zac physically shoving him around to get his legs working enough so he could face the man. Zac pressed his hands to either side of Adrian's face and pulled him close, then he moved one hand down to Adrian's chest and used the other to pull one of Adrian's hands to his own chest.

  “Feel that,” Zac murmured, holding Adrian's hand there, right over his sternum. “Breathe, baby. Just like this. It's alright.”

  Adrian shook his head again, feeling his throat close up more with every passing moment.

  “Come on, you can do it,” Zac encouraged him. “Just follow me. In…out. Just like that. Nice and slow. Just breathe with me.”

  Adrian sucked in another rattling breath, then forced himself to slow down, though it went against every instinct. He stared at Zac's chest, watching it slowly rise and fall, and tried to mimic the action with his own lungs.

  “In…out,” Zac repeated. “That's it. You've got it. Just like that.”

  Adrian closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, expanding his lungs as far as he could make them go, then held the breath for a long moment before pushing it back out again, exhaling until he had no air left to give. He inhaled again and let out a sigh, opening his eyes.

  “That's it, baby,” Zac murmured. “You alright?”

  Adrian nodded slowly.

  “What do you need?” Zac asked.

  Adrian opened his mouth to answer, then shook his head. “I don't know.” He wanted his razor, but he couldn't do that in front of Zac, and Zac had managed to calm him sufficiently that he could probably do without it. Then he considered taking another pill—hells, two pills—but he didn't want to be a lifeless robot around Zac, either. The thought of sex was tempting, as a distraction if nothing else, but he didn't trust himself not to accidentally hurt Zac in the process.

  And in his current state, he needed to hurt something. Preferably himself.

  “I've got an idea,” Zac cut in before Adrian could say anything. Zac shut off the water and got out of the shower, handing Adrian a towel and grabbing another for himself.

  Adrian rubbed the towel over his body, cringing at the sensation. Nothing like the expensive, ultra-soft towels he had at home. The material grated on his senses.

  But he had no choice. It was this or nothing.

  Adrian finished drying himself as quickly as he could, then followed Zac out to the bedroom. Zac grabbed Adrian's bags and tossed them open on the bed, rooting through the messy heap of clothes within.

  “Ah, here.” Zac straightened and handed Adrian something. “Comfy pajamas. Put those on.” Zac darted over to his dresser and dug around until he found some flannel pants of his own, dragging them on as he returned to the bed. “Alright, let's get you unpacked first, yeah?”

  Adrian frowned, watching Zac throw open the closet and shove his own clothes aside.

  “Zac–”

  “I'm just gonna make some room–”

  “Zac.”

  Zac stopped and turned to look at him.

  Adrian slumped down onto the end of the bed, and sighed. “This– You can't– I can't–”

  Zac sat down next to him and took his hand. “Look. You don't have anywhere else to go, right?”

  Adrian's throat tightened again, and he choked back a sob. Gods, he really had nothing and nowhere to go. He shook his head.

  “So you'll stay here with me,” Zac said, giving a decisive nod.

  Adrian shook his head. “I can't do that to you,” he managed to whisper. “I can't–”

  “Ade.” Zac bent one leg and turned to face him. “You're staying.”

  Adrian shook his head again.

  “Yes, you are. You've got nowhere else to go, and there's no way in all seven hells I'm kicking you out on the street.”

  “But this is your home,” Adrian pointed out. “And we're–”

  “New. Yeah, I know. And I'm not saying it's going to be easy having you here, but I'm not leaving you homeless, Ade. Not when I've got a perfectly good bed here that we can both fit in.” Zac paused, grimacing. “Alright, so it's not nearly as nice a bed as you had, but…”

  “I have nothing, Zac,” Adrian blurted out, squeezing Zac's hands, afraid to let go. “I can't pay you…you know, for…food, or rent, or…whatever. I just–”

  “Hey. Don't even worry about that, alright?”

  “But you're–” Adrian stopped himself before he said it.

  Zac snorted a laugh. “What? Poor? Yeah, no shit. But I'm not destitute. I'm making rent, and I've got a job. Hells, I even have a couple hundred set aside from my last gig. More than enough to make sure we won't starve until we figure something else out.”

  Adrian leaned back just enough to see Zac's face, and studied his eyes. Something in Zac's tone left him questioning Zac's words. “What was the money for?”

  Zac frowned. “Huh?”

  “The money you have set aside. What was it for?”

  “Oh.” Zac waved a hand dismissively, the motion a little too careless to be anything but feigned. “You know, just…emergencies or whatever.”

  “Zac.”

  Zac sighed. “Alright, fine. It was for my folks. My dad. He needs surgery, and they can't afford it. They don't have insurance, and they're still in debt from taking out insurance policies on all us kids, so…” He paused, shrugging. “I just wanted to help them out.”

  Adrian slowly released Zac's hands. “And now you can't because of me.” He started to get up, but Zac grabbed him and pulled him back down.

  “Oh, no. Don't you dare. You are not leaving, alright?” Zac blew out a breath and tossed his hair back over his shoulder. “So it'll be rough for a couple months. Big deal. I've had worse. And it's only a couple months until graduation. Then I can work more hours and maybe get some more gigs. It'll be fine.”

  Adrian blanched. Graduation. Were they seriously looking at living together until graduation? Adrian and all his issues invading Zac's space until then? Maybe even longer?

  He gasped. No, it would be just until graduation. This school term was already paid for, something his father couldn't undo. If Adrian finished the semester and got his degree, he'd be eligible for his inheritance. All he had to do was make it through the next couple months, and everything would be fine.

  “I'll pay you back,” he blurted out, actually smiling at the prospect. “Whatever it is, I can pay you back as soon as we graduate. You just tell me how much I owe you for…whatever,” he said, waving his hand at the apartment.

  “Ade,” Zac sighed, chuckling and shaking his head, “don't worry about–”

  “Zac,” he insisted.

  Zac's smile slipped as he turned serious, and he gave Adrian a nod. “Alright. Deal. Now.” Zac jumped up and grabbed the stack of Adrian's suits, hauling them all over to the closet. “How do you want these done?”

  Adrian fidgeted, looking at the entirety of his belongings draped over Zac's arm. “It…doesn't matter, really. Just…however…”

  “Ade,” Zac scolded gently.

  Adrian sighed, looking down at his hands as he mumbled, “Blues, browns, then greys, then blacks.”

  Zac flashed him a grin and did just that, carefully hanging up all the suits, shifting a few around until they were all in a proper order. Adrian blew out a relieved breath when Zac finished. At least something in his life made sense.

  Zac turned and flashed him a wink, making Adrian blush. Gods damn it all, how did Zac just know?

  “Now,” Zac said, yanking open dresser drawers, “let's see if…” He shifted his own clothes around, stuffing them down into fewer drawers, leaving a couple empty and open at the top, then went back to Adrian's suitcases. “How do you want these done?”

  Adrian hesitated, ready to tell Zac again that he didn't care, then jumped up and started carefully lifting piles of clothes out of the bags, refolding them properly and organizing them into the drawers. It
was definitely more cramped than he was used to, but they managed to get the job done. Zac even made an effort to tidy up his own clothes, folding them better and picking up discarded items from the floor. By the time they were finished and Adrian was fully unpacked, he felt like he could actually breathe again.

  He went over to the closet and just stood there, fingering one of his suits, trying to get used to seeing them all hanging in a strange place. They didn't belong there, nor did he, but Zac was making room for him.

  Gods, he hoped he deserved it.

  “I could sell these,” he thought aloud, clutching the dark blue sleeve in his fist. “I mean, they're tailored, but…they're expensive. I'm sure they could fetch a decent price.” He glanced at Zac. “If it would help–”

  “Why don't we worry about that later,” Zac suggested, coming over to stand beside him, running his own fingers over the costly fabrics. He glanced up at Adrian. “Besides,” he said, his voice gentle, “you've lost enough for one day. No reason you shouldn't hold on to what you have left.”

  Adrian swallowed hard, struck again by the sudden void in his life. He took a breath and dredged up a smile. Zac was turning down the chance at a small fortune just for the sake of letting Adrian feel more comfortable and settled. How did he get so lucky? Good gods, he didn't deserve this man.

  “Now,” Zac said, shooting Adrian an apologetic look, “I'm guessing you haven't the slightest idea how to cook, do you?”

  Adrian ducked his head and shook it. Oh gods. His heart started galloping away again.

  “Baby,” Zac gasped, darting over to him and grabbing him by the shoulders. “Hey. Shhh. It's alright. It's–”

  “I don't know anything,” Adrian blurted out, his eyes wide as panic started to settle back in. “I can't cook. I don't know how to clean. Or…do laundry. Or…go to a market?” He barked a nervous laugh. “I've never bought my own groceries. Or clothes. Or–”

  “Hey, shhh.”

  “I never thought I'd have to know,” Adrian rushed on. “Never even thought about it. It was always just…there, you know? Everything. It was always just there. And–”