by Kelex
Silence fell between them. Was it another lie? Brody couldn’t recognize the truth at that point.
“I didn’t lie.” Noah paused, as if he was answering Brody’s question. “About not remembering you. I had no idea you’d once been married to my mom.”
“But you lied about everything else. Your name. Your age. The bad relationship you were running from,” Brody spat.
“Name and age, yes. But I was running from a bad relationship—only not the kind you assumed. I couldn’t say I was running from my parents or you guys might’ve guessed I was underage. And trust me… my relationship with my dad and stepmonster is really bad.”
“Had you told me your real name, I might’ve put two and two together. Before I took my stepson to bed.”
Noah scoffed. “Well, it wasn’t like we did much in a bed. It was a desk, a floor, a couch, a shower, and the back of your truck.”
“Jee-zus,” Lex muttered, turning to Brody. “You take a Viagra or something?”
“Stay out of this,” Brody spat. He stared back at Noah. “No one likes a smartass.”
“Yes they do,” Lex whispered.
Brody shook his head, flustered.
Noah approached him, running a hand over his chest. “Come on, daddy. I had no idea.”
Brody stepped back. “Do not call me that.”
“Mom said I was barely here when you were. You already told me you and my mom didn’t really have a relationship. It was a business proposition. Isn’t that what you called it?”
“He’s got you there,” Lex said.
“A few months doesn’t make you my stepfather,” Noah said. “I don’t remember you.”
“But I remember you. The little four-year-old who couldn’t say my name right. The kid that bounced around the house watching Sesame Street and playing with his Legos. The one that beat my ass in Go Fish before his father took him to Disneyland and never brought him back home.”
Noah’s face shriveled up a little. “Oh my god… I do remember that. The cards before Disney. You were on crutches or something like that.”
“I’d just had my knee surgery,” Brody replied.
Noah was silent.
“So I now have to process the fact I slept with my son’s brother. My ex-wife’s son. My stepson.”
“Well, from the sounds of it, you two didn’t sleep a wink,” Lex added.
“Not now, Lex,” Brody barked.
The door from the inside of the house opened, and he heard raised voices—namely Geena and Walt’s angry voices rolling over each other. Parker stepped through and dropped Noah’s duffel on the floor before Brody’s feet before whispering, “Mom said to sneak him to your house. There’s cops outside.”
“I can’t take him to my house,” Brody whispered back.
Parker shrugged. “Noah’s dad is saying he’s only seventeen and he has to go back home with them. The cops say he has to go.”
“That’s a lie. I’m eighteen,” Noah said.
Even though he trusted Stacey to realize the age of her own son, Brody still breathed a sigh of relief at Noah’s words. That’s all he needed.
Parker headed back out to his mother, closing the garage door behind him.
“They found me in a gay club in Nashville,” Noah murmured lowly. “Just before I ran away.”
“So sneaking into clubs is a trend?” Brody asked.
“The first one was me rebelling against them. I ran away because they were going to send me to one of those conversion camps. If they’d put me in before my birthday, they didn’t have to release me until the program was over. After I endured whatever brainwashing they were going to try out on me.”
“Now they’re saying he’s still a minor, so they likely plan to send him against his will,” Lex said, rising to his full height. “You need to get him out of here, Brody.”
“And go where?” Brody asked.
“To your house,” Lex snapped.
“No,” Brody replied.
“Please,” Noah begged. “I can’t go back to that hell.” He took a step closer. “You said you’d protect me… Please, Brody.”
The instinct to protect his boy urged him into motion. But Noah wasn’t his boy. Couldn’t be. And what if the kid was only lying again to get what he wanted?
Brody eyed Noah, unsure. Either way—lies or the truth—he couldn’t let Walt and his wife get their hands on Noah. He understood a little of what they were like and the lengths they’d gone to in the past to steal the kid from Stacey and Geena. They deserved his help, even if Noah didn’t. He lifted the duffel and handed it to Noah. “Come on.”
He, Noah, and Lex exited the rear garage door and headed for the woods lining the back of the yard. Once there, Brody stopped and saw a hint of the police presence out front. His phone rang. He grabbed it quickly to silence it and maintain their hidden position.
“I have his birth certificate here somewhere, Officer,” he heard Stacey saying. “He’s absolutely eighteen.” There was a pause before she whispered, “Take him, Brody. Please. I need time to find his birth certificate.”
“Yeah,” Brody answered before ending the call. He turned and peered at Lex. “Can you go get your truck? Meet us on the other side of the woods, up by Marshall Park?”
“Yeah,” Lex said. “Good plan.”
“We’ll meet you there as soon as we can.”
Lex nodded before departing… leaving him alone with Noah for the first time since learning the truth. He turned to stare at the boy. “This is a fucking mess.”
“I didn’t mean for all this crap to happen.”
“The current fiasco with your father and Abbie Lee isn’t your fault. At least, not most of it. The rest?” Brody replied. The lies had been Noah’s, and he needed to own those. “Come on… we’ve got a ways to walk.”
They traveled through the wooded lot behind the neighborhood, soon finding the well-worn path teens had traveled for decades to get to the park. They walked in silence—except for the thudding of his heart pounding in his ears. As they moved, Noah kept falling behind. He spun, eyeing the kid. His bubbling anger needed a vent. “Would you come on?”
“I just walked across town, over multiple huge hills. My legs are sore.”
The instinct to lift Noah on his back swept into his mind but he forced it out. “Well, you need to hurry up before we’re caught.”
He spun back and continued moving, even as he worried about his boy.
Not my boy.
He heard the steps behind him. The crunching of twigs. The groan here and there as they moved up a steeper section of the trail. They got to a section that was a bit of a climb. A large stone had several worn spots in it—steps of a sort—but they were spaced far apart. Brody leapt up the stone before pausing at the top. He spun to face Noah and offered a hand.
Noah eyed him, silently, before sliding his palm into Brody’s. Their gazes locked for an instant before he helped haul the kid up the rock. When Noah managed to reach the top, they stood inches apart.
Neither of them moved.
“Brody,” Noah murmured.
“We need to go,” Brody said before spinning around and continuing along the old trail.
Twenty to thirty minutes later, they arrived at the park and saw Lex’s truck idling. After jumping in, Lex headed toward the club.
No one spoke, not even Lex.
They were on a mission, so the past wasn’t up for discussion in that moment. He was thankful for the silence. His mind was raging too much to handle anything else. Once home, Brody searched the horizon for police or signs of Walt and Abbie Lee. Nothing. He turned to his best friend.
“Thanks,” Brody murmured through the passenger window to Lex.
Lex leaned over a bit to eye him. “Gimme your truck keys. I’ll get someone to drive me over to their house and bring it back tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks,” Brody said before tossing his keys to Lex.
Without another word, he led Noah to his apartment ups
tairs. As soon as they were safe behind a locked door, he went to the windows and scanned the perimeter, searching for trouble.
All seemed quiet.
The opposite of the storm brewing inside him.
He turned to stare at Noah, this young man he knew so intimately—and shouldn’t. He was reminded of something Walt had implied many years ago—and it turned his stomach. Noah hadn’t been safe with him, after all.
How had he not realized who was standing before him?
Noah’s face was dark with shame, yet there was a glimmer of something else. Something Brody shouldn’t want to see.
“Why did you run from me this morning?”
“You wanted me to fill out the paperwork for the club. I didn’t have it. And even if I did…”
“It would’ve told me who you were.”
Noah nodded.
“Otherwise, you would’ve still been in my bed.” Saying the words caused him to feel worse.
“I hated lying to you. I hated hearing another name come from your lips. I’d almost told you the truth a few times… but I feared your reaction.” He paused. “But that was fear of you finding out I was only eighteen and had used a fake ID. I had no idea… who you were…”
“Nor did I.” He paused. “We pretend it didn’t happen. We tell no one.”
“Lex already knows. As does some of the people in the club. Word might get out.”
That very fucking public kiss. Brody closed his eyes, wishing he hadn’t done that. “We pretend it didn’t happen.”
Silence fell between them a moment.
“This doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
“It changes everything, Noah.”
Brody’s phone rang, cutting off Noah’s argument. He answered Stacey’s call, hoping for good news. “Yeah?”
“I found his birth certificate and was able to get the police to leave—but Walt and Abbie Lee are still outside. The cops said there’s nothing they can do about them. It’s a public street, and they can sit there all day and night if they want.”
“Noah says they were planning to take him to conversion camp.”
Stacey sighed. “Walt alluded to something along that vein when he was here. Started going off on a wild tangent about the homosexual threat. Brody, he was bad before—but he’s off his rocker now. I can’t imagine Noah living in that house.”
“What do we do now?”
“With Walt outside, I fear for Noah. Can he stay with you for a few days?” Stacey asked.
Brody closed his eyes, a denial on his lips.
She continued when he didn’t speak. “Maybe Walt’ll give up if he doesn’t see Noah here for a while. Maybe they’ll go searching elsewhere. I’m scared, Brody. Scared they’ll take him from us again.”
He heard Geena’s anger in the background. “Walt isn’t taking our boy.”
Our boy. Brody sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. “A few days, but only a few days.”
“Thanks, sweetie. I knew you’d take care of him,” Stacey said, a smile to her tone. “Let him know we love him… and we’ll see him soon. We’re going to avoid your place for a while. I don’t want to lead Walt there.”
“Good. That’s all I need.”
“In the meantime, I’m calling a lawyer to see what we can do on this end. We need to protect him this time.”
“Yeah, we do,” Brody said, clenching his teeth.
“I love you, Brody,” Stacey said.
Guilt slammed into him. “Love you, too.”
He ended the call and turned to Noah. “You’re staying here a few days—your mom hopes Walt will give up and leave.”
“Dad doesn’t give up easily,” Noah said, appearing hopeful.
“Well… he’s been out of town for a while. He likely has no idea about my connection to the club yet, so you’re safe for now.”
Noah lifted his gaze, a look of fear that stabbed Brody in the chest.
Distance. I need distance.
“In the meantime, I’ve got a club to run.” He waved around the living room. “Stay here, out of sight. As you’re aware, there’s cable, as well as Netflix and Hulu set up on the TV to keep you occupied. I’ll have some dinner sent up from the kitchen later. Until then, there’s a few snacks in the pantry and fridge.”
“What about the job? I could help downstairs.”
“You’re not twenty-one. You can’t be in the club. You’ve already endangered my business enough as it is. No more.”
Noah seemed defeated. “But what if dad comes? And I’m alone?”
“I doubt that’ll happen,” Brody replied.
“But you don’t know for sure. How could you see if he came up the back stairs? They could have me halfway home before you came back up for the night.”
Halfway? Not hardly. But Walt would have one hell of a head start. Brody took another deep breath, shaking his head. He grabbed his cell and called his manager. “Hey, Carter—I’m taking a day off. The bar is yours to run tonight.”
“A night off? When’s the last time you had one of those?”
“Too long ago,” Brody replied honestly. He cast a glance at Noah. “I’ve got some babysitting to do.”
Noah glared at him.
“Oh, you’ve got your son tonight? Tell the little guy hi from me.”
Brody’s teeth clenched. “Will do.”
“And don’t worry, Brody. I’ve got things covered.”
“I know you do,” he answered before clicking off. He sent another quick text to Lex, making sure his head of security was aware. Once done, he tossed his cell to the large kitchen island before heading to the fridge. He opened it and glanced at the beers inside before changing his mind. After closing the door, he turned and went to his liquor cabinet and poured himself three fingers of scotch. One or two wouldn’t do the job.
Once downed, he poured another round.
Noah eyed him. “Is that a good idea?”
Brody swallowed the second pour. “Probably not.” He poured a third glass and downed that, too. If he couldn’t get physical distance, he’d take a little mental distance instead. He needed to forget what they’d done.
Forget the want that still lingered when it shouldn’t.
10
Noah watched as Brody downed the third glassful of liquor, and then the fourth and later the fifth. Dread filled him. Somewhere along the way, Brody had turned on the TV before going back to the window to watch for danger, he assumed. A random movie was on, midway through. Noah sat on one corner of the couch and half-heartedly watched it, trying to ignore the growing anxiety in his belly. Another movie started afterwards, not that he paid it much attention. He sat there, nonetheless, simply to pass the time and not be swallowed in the awkward silence.
There was a slight pause in drinking when Brody called down for dinner, ordering a few dishes sent up. Noah didn’t have much of an appetite, nor did Brody. He was focused more on his liquid diet.
After the eighth or ninth glass, he caught Brody staring at him.
“I haven’t let anyone into my life in a long, long time.”
Noah had no idea how to reply to that—or if he even should.
“And in no time, you got me twisted into knots,” Brody said. “Knots.” He shook his head and laughed grimly. “You bewitched me. It was those little red lace panties of yours.”
“Manties,” Noah corrected quietly.
Brody scoffed. “You knew what I meant.” He placed his empty tumbler on the glass coffee table with a loud clink that triggered a flinch from Noah. “You came into my life and decimated me in a matter of days.” He cringed. “I thought we could’ve maybe been something, you and I. But the lies… the fucking lies… look what you’ve caused.”
Noah sank into himself. Fear of what came next rattled him. “I had no idea who you were. You have to believe me. I’m sorry.”
Brody walked closer and dropped to his knees in front of Noah. He reached out and Noah flinched away.
“I
wouldn’t hurt you, Noah. That’s not who I am.”
“My dad drinks like that,” Noah whispered. “And then he gets really angry. And violent.”
Brody winced. “You said something about your dad drinking. I forgot.” He shook his head, anger mounting. “He’s hit you?”
“No… he’s never hit me. Not exactly.” His father had terrorized him. Furious words, tossed beer bottles, and a couple of rage-filled pushes, but never any actual hitting. He hadn’t needed to hit Noah. The rest was worse, leaving him to fear the day a fist finally came his way. His stepmother had always sat there, smiling at the display of fury. She never stepped in to help. Never. Sometimes he thought she was only glad he was there to take the brunt of his father’s anger.
What he truly believed was that she was a monster, relishing his torture. How many times had she called him wicked? Evil? Abbie Lee thought he needed punishment, more now that she realized he was attracted to men.
“Fuck,” Brody slurred before rubbing Noah’s arms. “Baby, I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t hurt you like that. I’m angry… of the situation we’re in. I know… I know you didn’t remember who I was. I simply wish you hadn’t lied to me. Had I gotten your real name, I probably would’ve figured it out. I could’ve stopped things before they crossed the line…”
Baby? That was the liquor talking. He tried not to let that word twist him into bigger knots than he was already in. “I used my fake ID so I was scared to tell you my real name. Afraid I’d be kicked out and have to face those guys outside. If you hadn’t ended up being the bar owner, I probably would’ve told you sooner.”
“When? Before or after we fucked the first time?”
After. Noah’s face burned. “Once we left the bar, I was going to tell you—but…”
Brody caressed Noah’s cheek. “If only we could go back in time and erase it all.”
“We can’t do that. What’s done is done.”
Brody dropped his hand and closed his eyes a moment. When he reopened them, there was such pain in his expression. “And what’s done is our secret. Right?”