by Skyler Snow
Lukas knew how much I hated cigarettes. The smell of the smoke was enough to make my stomach turn, but it was more than that. The one family member I'd gotten along with, my grandmother, had smoked every day of her life for forty years. And what did it get her? Lung cancer, chemo and a slow death. I didn't want it in the house.
"I sound like an asshole?" I pushed into the bathroom after him. "You know why I hate cigarettes."
Lukas held his toothbrush in his hand, frozen. He glanced back at me. Yeah, he knew exactly why I hated it. I'd been patient for years waiting for him to kick the habit and all that time he hid it from me and told me that he was done. I wasn't happy.
"I'm sorry," Lukas shoved the toothbrush under the water and dabbed on some toothpaste. "I don't like disappointing you, but every once in a while I just want a smoke. It wasn't Reece's fault."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "You're too soft on him."
"And you're already being too hard without even talking to him." He jammed the toothbrush into his mouth and talked when it was full. "E's een through a ard ime!"
"I don't care how hard of a time he's been through, this isn't acceptable behavior." I turned on my heels. "I'm going to have a talk with him."
The sound of Lukas spitting followed and he ran after me. "You shouldn't go in there right now! He's been out of it for the past week again. I've tried to help him, but I think he just needs time."
I kept walking. "I'm going to talk to him about this."
Lukas sighed. "Carsen, you kind of have a very straightforward way of dealing with things. This might not be the best way to handle it..."
I opened Reece's room and slapped a hand over my mouth. The room stank of food, smoke and a distinct aroma of marijuana. My eyes cut to Lukas. He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest before he glanced away at the wall. He'd definitely known this was going on and had been hiding it.
"Reece, get up." I walked over to the bed and shook the body wrapped up in a thick blanket. When I got nothing but a groan, I shook him again. "Get up, boy!"
Reece whimpered. "I don't feel good." He writhed around on the bed. "I haven't been sleeping well and my head hurts."
"Could it be all the beer and weed?" I pointed to the pile on the nightstand. "Get up."
Lukas grabbed my arm. "Go easy on him."
"No, no, I'm not going to go easy on him." I scrunched up my nose. "This room smells like ass and death. Reece."
When he didn't move, I glared at the bundle on the bed. Alright, I'd given him a choice to take the easy route, but he obviously didn't want that. I ripped the blanket off of his body and Reece stared up at me with wide eyes. He started to speak, but I had no time for it. I scooped him out of the bed, tossed him over my shoulder and carried him across the hall to the bathroom where I plopped him down on the closed lid of the toilet.
"W-what are you doing?" He snapped.
"Getting you off of your ass." I flipped on the water to the tub and plugged it. "You can either take a bath, clean up that room and have a discussion with me like a man, or I can treat you like a kid."
Reece glared. "I don't need this shit."
I whistled. "Let me guess, you don't give a damn if I throw you out on your ass either, do you?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "I bet you would love that.” I pushed a finger against his temple. “I’m sure in your head it would just prove that the world is out to get you and you’re doomed, but it's not going to happen. Get in the tub."
"You are not in control of me." Reece shoved a hand against his chest. "I'm the only one that gets to tell me what to do anymore. I don't want to take a bath and I'm not going to."
"I'll give you until the count of three."
"Carsen," Lukas whispered from the doorway. "You can't just make him do something if he doesn't want to do it."
"One."
Reece's arm tightened over his chest. "No."
"Two."
"Reece, just do what he says so we can all go to bed." Lukas urged.
The boy lifted his head. "I'm not moving."
"Three."
Reece's eyes narrowed. Alright, I'd given him all the chances in the world. That was the end of my patience. If being in the military had taught me one thing, it was discipline, and Reece needed it.
I picked him up from the toilet seat and dropped him into the bathtub fully clothed. He scrambled to get himself back upright, his eyes wide as he stared at me in disbelief. I smirked.
"The water is as warm as it's going to get." I shut it off. "I suggest you get stripped and cleaned in ten minutes. If you're not by the time I get back I'll have to clean you myself."
"You can't just—"
"You can do what you're told, or you can face the consequences," I snapped. "And even though you want to be big and bold and say you can go it alone, you can't right now." I pointed to the soap. "Clean up. Now."
I slammed the bathroom door after me and walked back across the hall to his bedroom. I shoved the window up to let in some fresh air. Lukas started collecting up a plethora of dishes, but I shook my head.
"No. He can clean them up."
Lukas frowned. "Don't you think you're being a little too harsh?"
I raised a brow. "No, I don't." I folded my arms over my chest. "Why don't you get started on dinner. I know you wanted to make it tonight."
"I did, but I think I should stay here with you two." He toyed with his fingers. “You’re in a mood.”
I frowned. "What do you think I'm going to do? Beat the kid up?"
"Of course not," Lukas rolled his eyes. "I just know how tough you can be and I want to make sure you two don't start fighting."
I pointed to the door. "Go on. You and I have our own talk coming about you lying to me and hiding your little habit."
Lukas' cheeks pinked. "I swear I'm trying to stop. For real this time."
"You know I understand that. If you need help, I'm here for you." I pushed my hand against his cheek. "Just don't lie to me, okay? If you need some time to wean off of the tobacco just tell me."
He frowned. "What if I slow down for now? Is that okay?"
I didn't love the idea, but it was better than nothing. I nodded. We could revisit the issue again some other time. Lukas wasn't my main focus at the moment. Reece needed to get his shit together first and then I was sure everything would be fine.
"Go ahead and get dinner started. I'm starving."
Lukas laughed. "You're just trying to distract me from this," he waved a hand around. "It hasn't worked."
"No?" I put my hands on my hips. "Is that why you're already on your way to the kitchen?" I asked as he started walking away.
He shoved his middle finger into the air. "I will divorce you."
"We're not married yet."
Lukas grinned. "Yet." He shook his head and turned on his heels. "I'll be in the kitchen. Don't scare Reece too much."
"I'm not going to scare him. I'm going to get him up and on his feet." I pulled at my uniform. "And then I'm going to take this thing off and get into my comfortable clothes so we can eat and watch a movie."
Lukas turned to me. "Sorry I called you an asshole."
I grinned. "You'll do it again sooner or later. I still love you."
"I love you too."
I smiled as he walked away. Once I was alone, I sighed. I still didn't hear the sound of much moving in the bathroom. I rapped on the door, but it was quiet. I opened the door and stepped inside. Reece sat in the tub, his eyes on the wall in front of him and he hadn't bothered to do anything at all.
"Are you giving up then?" I asked as I sat down on the closed toilet lid. "Really?"
"You don't know anything about me."
"Wrong." I shook my head. "You were kicked out by your family and it wasn't for drugs or drinking or at least that’s what you say. I can’t tell if that's true or not by the way you’ve trashed your room with booze and weed. So, are you a liar?"
He shivered. “Don’t call me that,” he mumbled.
&n
bsp; I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “No? It seems to me that they kicked you out because you refused to do anything and on top of that you’re a damn liar too.”
“Stop.” Reece stared down at the water. “None of that’s true.”
I frowned. Shit, I really hated to do it to him, to keep pushing, but he needed to get the shit out. If he kept stuffing everything down, he was going to ruin himself.
I laughed. “Sure. Blame your parents when all they did was kick your ass out for breaking the rules.”
Reece's head shot in my direction. "You don’t fucking know anything!” He screamed. “They kicked me out because I’m gay, okay? I was good, I did what I was supposed to do and they tossed me out into the street because they found out I liked men. Does that make you feel better? Does it?” He shoved his face into his palms. “Go away.”
There it was. I reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. He yanked away, but when I tried it again he didn’t move.
"I'm not stupid, Reece. I get it." I shuffled forward and laced my fingers together. "I went through the same thing."
"You did?" Reece whispered and slowly glanced up at me with a frown on his face. "You're just saying that. You already knew didn’t you?” His frown deepened. “Did Aylah tell you?”
"No, she didn't." I sighed. "And I’m not making this up either. I told my parents when I was in college. I figured it would be a good time because I was so confident and I was in love. I thought it would be alright, but it wasn't." I shrugged. "They stopped paying for school and I had nowhere to go until Lukas’ family took me in.”
Reece frowned. "Really?"
I shrugged. "I joined the army. Lukas’ family was great, but I wanted to do something for myself. I didn’t want to be a burden.” I glanced up at him. "I'm not saying you should join up or anything. It's not an easy life. What I'm saying is that I get it. I know it’s hard, but you can’t give up.” I gripped his chin. “Get up, get washed, get changed." I stood up. "Life goes on and all you can do is live it." I went to the door and opened it. "Ten minutes and I'll be back."
I closed the door behind me and gathered up some cleaning supplies. I didn't have to go back into the bathroom to get Reece. He came out on his own with a towel wrapped around his waist. My eyes fixed on a droplet of water as it rolled down his body and disappeared into the softness of the towel. Reece glanced up at me, his hair dripping into his face. There was so much innocence in that soft, lost expression that I completely understood why Lukas had caved to him more than once. I cleared my throat and quickly pointed around the room.
"Vacuum, trash bags, laundry bag." I placed a sponge on the nightstand. "Clean up anything that needs to be cleaned up and then come into the kitchen for dinner." I frowned. "If I find you smoking in the house again we'll have a problem. That goes double for the weed. Understood?"
Reece's teeth sank into his lip. "It's mostly legal now..."
"Do you have your medical card?" I raised a brow.
He averted his eyes. “No.”
"Exactly. Then it's not legal." I walked closer to him and it became clear how different our height was. "Sticking to the rules is kind of a big deal for a police officer."
"Alright," Reece sighed.
I held out my hand. "So hand it over."
Reece's eyes went big, but I wasn't going to budge on the issue. He went from innocent to angry in a split second. Reece yanked open the nightstand drawer and dropped a bag of marijuana into my palm. I took it with me when I left the room and the door slammed behind me.
"Hurry up. Don't be late for dinner."
I heard him mumble something, but I decided to ignore it for the time being. He was still on the edge, still looking for a reason to be punished. I wasn't going to give him one the way he thought I was. I'd promised Aylah he could stay, and he could, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be put in place any way that I knew how.
9
Reece
"Come on, you're never going to get it clean like that!" Carsen called into the backyard. He sat on a chair, lounging as he watched me pull weeds out of the yard.
"This is slavery!" I shouted back. "You can't force me to work every single day."
Carsen pushed down his shades. "Did you get a job yet?"
He knew I hadn't. And I was also sure he knew I hadn't even been trying. Was it my fault that I was depressed and exhausted? I thought I deserved a little break not to be worked to death.
"I finished it." I stood up and wiped the sweat from my forehead. "Now, am I done?"
Carsen looked at the list in his hands and pursed his lips. I groaned. That was an obvious no. That list and that look had been my biggest annoyance over the past few days. Lukas walked into the kitchen and placed a hand on his shoulder. He whispered something, but Carsen only smirked.
"Pool still needs to be done," Carsen called.
I groaned. "And what if I don't do it?"
Carsen's eyes narrowed. "Go ahead. Let's see what happens."
I shivered. Nope, I did not want to test the man that looked like he could bench press two of me at a time without even breaking a sweat. I guzzled down some water and trudged over to the shed to get the cleaning supplies for the pool. Even Lukas hadn't helped me the way he first did when I arrived. I had a feeling Carsen had told him not to.
"I should just get out of here." I mumbled as I banged around the shed. "I should get out right now and just go.. .go..."
I had no idea where to go. Back to the place that had rejected me? Nope, that wasn't an option. I had nothing of my own and I should have gotten my ass out of bed weeks ago and gotten a job, but instead I'd stared at the ceiling, smoked and stared some more.
I grabbed the cleaning supplies and dropped them onto the ground near the pool. I frowned down at them. What the hell was my life turning into? I had no direction, no purpose. I wasn't even in school anymore.
My mind focused on the chores. One by one the list was taken down until there was finally, thankfully, nothing left on it. I walked over to the kitchen table and collapsed into a chair. The smell of sweat and dirt still clung to me. I smelled myself and made a face.
"Here." Lukas put a plate in front of me. He'd made me a sandwich and put some chips on the side. There was a bottle of water next to it. "You need to eat up."
I stared up at him. "Is he always such a dick?"
Lukas laughed. "Always." He grinned. "Usually for good reason too." He sat down at the table and put his chin in his palm. "You have to admit, you were being a bit of a dick too."
I got up from the table and washed my hands. Dirt swirled in the sink and I had to soap and wash them again and again until the water ran clean. I'd never done so much physical work in my life. My legs burned as I moved back to the table and flopped onto a chair.
"Yeah," I picked up half of the sandwich and I was happy that he’d cut it for me. "I guess I was being a dick before, but I'm just tired."
"You've been sleeping lately though." Lukas pointed out.
I guessed I had. Usually I was so exhausted at the end of the day that I took a shower and dropped into bed. There were no thoughts in my head, no worries, just the warmth of my bed and the softness of my pillows at night. Maybe Carsen's thousand and one chores a day actually had a point. I still didn't like them or him for that matter. He could be as hot as he wanted to be, but that didn't mean I was going to like him.
I took the last few bites of my sandwich with my eyes closed. My head dropped down and I quickly yanked it back up before I glanced around, confused. Lukas and Carsen sat there, eating their lunches with grins on their faces. I narrowed my eyes.
"What?" I asked.
"You're falling asleep in your food." Carsen grinned. "Maybe you should go lie down."
I wiped a hand over my face. "Need to shower," I mumbled.
"If you try to shower right now you're going to fall asleep on your feet." Lukas stood up and patted my head. "Take one when you wake up."
I didn't have the strength t
o argue. Instead, I stood up and nodded. I shuffled to my bedroom and passed out before I even remembered lying down. Good.
I stirred from my sleep when the Facebook app on my phone rang. The sound made me reach out for it and I pulled it against my ear. Aylah's voice came over the phone.
"Are you up?"
"No," I mumbled, and rubbed my face against my pillow. "My body feels heavy as shit."
"Is my uncle still working you to death?"
"I think he has something against me."
She laughed. "It's literally just him. My mom grounded me a few years ago and he put me to work there at the police station. I cleaned that place from top to bottom."
My body shuddered. "Fuck no. I don't want to do that."
"Then behave." She chuckled. "Do you want to take a little break and come hang out with me?"
"Yes!" I shot straight up and groaned when my muscles ached. "I need to get showered and changed, but that sounds amazing. Come rescue me."
"I'll be there in twenty. See you soon!"
I rolled out of the bed and grabbed some fresh clothes from the dresser. A pair of tight black jeans that I thought looked great on me, but my dad had often referred to as disgusting. I couldn't make him understand that it wasn't the jeans that were gay, it was his son. Not that I would have told him that anyway. I opted for an oversized black t-shirt with neon yellow lettering, and carried it all to the bathroom and stripped out of my gross clothes.
A quick shower came first and then I gathered up my sheets, blankets and dirty clothes. I put them into the washer and started it the way Carsen had showed me. Once it was all said and done I turned to the front door and found Carsen was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.
"And where are you going?"
Why did the man make me so damn nervous? I shifted from one foot to the other. I wasn't a child. I could go out if I wanted to go out. I knew that was logical in my head, but facing Carsen's muscled body and serious face was another thing altogether. I swallowed thickly.
"Aylah's coming to take me out." I fidgeted with my fingers. "Is that okay?"
