Homecoming Hearts Series Collection

by HJ Welch

  “You don’t love him!” Rob screeched.

  Blake saw his parents flinch back. He was extremely comforted that they hadn’t run back inside to safety.

  Rob was close to hyperventilating he was breathing so hard. “You don’t know him!” he repeated. “The stupid show put you together, it was an accident! Jodi told me! You didn’t know Rodriguez at school either. You just need a chance, I can show you how good we’d be together!”

  “Rob,” Blake tried.

  “You ran off in that band, whoring yourself out,” Rob blathered on. He pulled at his hair and swung the bottle wildly again, a couple of droplets landing on the concrete. “You were never a singer, Blake. Why would you do that, why would you leave?”

  Blake was aware of all the people around them but they were all so far away. The sirens were so loud now and blue and red lights were flashing against the walls of the house, but they were still no help. All Blake knew was that he had to protect Elion and face off Rob. Even if that meant getting badly hurt.

  “I don’t remember you,” he said, his voice cracking. “I’m guessing we went to school together, but I’m sorry, I just don’t know you. That isn’t my fault. And it sure as hell isn’t Elion’s. So if you’re going to act out some petty revenge fantasy, leave him out of it. I’m here, deal with me. Give me all your fucking anger. He had nothing to do with it.”

  “He was just in the right place at the right time,” Rob yelled.

  He snarled at Elion. Blake tucked him in closer, wrapping both his arms firmly around his body and curling his legs up in front of him. He’d die before he let any more harm come to Elion. He knew that with startling clarity.

  “I told you to get rid of him, he could have walked away,” said Rob. He hiccuped and jabbed his finger towards Blake. “Heartbeat. Time’s stopped,” he bawled. “Take heed. My love. Endless looooove, underground! In our truuuuuth, hearts bound!” He let out a keening noise and stepped closer to Blake and Elion. “Oh oh oohh! I know all the words, for fuck’s sake!”

  Blake was furious and petrified and utterly helpless. He tucked Elion’s face into his neck. Whatever this deranged lunatic did, he wasn’t going to ruin Elion’s beautiful smile.

  He felt a tear run down his cheek. “You know those lyrics mean absolutely jack shit?” he spat out, somewhat hysterically. “Literally nothing. The guys were high when they came up with them.”

  Rob blinked and shook his head. “No, no,” he stammered.

  From the corner of his eye, Blake saw a shape emerge from around the side of the house. He was too terrified of taking his eyes off Rob to even think about looking properly. Whoever it was, Blake begged to the cosmos they knew what they were doing. If Elion got burned he would never, ever forgive himself.

  Watson, damn her, was still there too. She started howling again, scrabbling against Blake and Elion’s side, snarling at their attacker. Blake wanted to scream. If she got hurt he’d be responsible for that too, and she was being so damn brave.

  The blur behind Rob was moving fast now. Blake’s mom flinched.

  Rob turned, taking his focus off of Blake and Elion, enabling Blake to scramble backwards a few feet, dragging Elion with him. He looked up just in time to see his sister Jodi raise her softball bat and smack Rob square in the face with it.

  He spun away from her, letting the bottle of acid tumble to the grass. His body dropped like a sack of potatoes, an arc of blood spraying from his mouth before he hit the dirt.

  “You fucking asshole!” Jodi shrieked.

  Rob didn’t get back up.

  Suddenly everything was a frenzy of activity. Blake’s mom seized Jodi away from Rob’s prone form and hauled her over to collapse by Blake and Elion, steering clear of the acid. His dad started shouting out orders as the emergency services sprinted up the lawn towards them. Firefighters saw to the smoldering wreck of Elion’s car while paramedics ran for Elion and the police cautiously marked out the acid spill and approached the unconscious Rob.

  Kala led the film crew and they raced around Blake, Elion and his family. Blake hardly registered as the cold, black lenses flew around his face, soaking up the drama of one of the worst moments of his entire life.

  He ignored them entirely. He wasn’t mad, but he wasn’t giving them anything either. His sole focus was on Elion and Elion alone.

  Once the authorities were sure Rob was no longer a danger they let a pair of medics tend to him while others swooped in and pried Elion from Blake’s grasp. “Be careful,” he stuttered.

  “We will, son,” said the guy as he began his assessment.

  Blake’s mom was shaking and hysterical, hugging him and Jodi to her as another paramedic draped a foil blanket over her shoulders.

  Blake didn’t take his eyes off of Elion as the medics did their thing, but he blindly groped for Jodi’s hand all the same.

  “Thank you,” he uttered.

  She squeezed his hand back. “Don’t mention it.”

  He laughed. It was totally inappropriate, but he took a moment to regain his composure. “I’m guessing you got that scholarship, with a swing like that?”

  He heard her snicker. “Damn right I did.”

  They watched as the team rolled over a gurney to Elion. Blake untangled himself from his mom and sister. His dad was still puffing around, trying to make himself look important in front of the neighbors. “I’ll ride with him,” Blake said.

  The paramedics nodded, not questioning his request, and he was eternally grateful.

  His sister pulled him into a hug before he could leave, not caring that he was covered in Elion’s blood.

  “It’s going to be okay,” she said as Watson wound her way between their feet.

  Blake nodded into her neck.

  It was going to be okay. He knew it.

  29

  Elion

  Elion felt like his skull was twice as big as his head. He groaned as consciousness crept over him and light permeated his closed eyelids. His mouth was dry and he felt nauseous.

  A warm, strong hand slipped against his and squeezed.

  “Baby?”

  His heart fluttered. He wanted to reach out for that voice.

  “Blake?” he croaked. Or at least he tried. His tongue felt numb and his throat like sandpaper.

  “Hang on, wait.” Blake sounded panicky. He slipped his hand under Elion’s head, tipping his head forward. Cool water touched his lips and trickled into his mouth. He swallowed gratefully.

  Slowly, he peeled his eyes open. They were gritty with sleep and stung against the artificial light. Blake face swam into his vision. “Hey,” he uttered.

  Blake broke into a relieved smile. “Hey yourself. How are you feeling?”

  Elion looked around at his surroundings. It was nighttime. The white walls and beeping equipment quickly told him where he was.

  Hospital.

  He couldn’t afford to be here, what the fuck was happening? He tried to sit up, but Blake quickly put the cup of water down and pinned his shoulder against the bed.

  “Hey, not so fast. You’ve got a concussion,” Blake said. His beautiful blue eyes were blazing with concern. “The doctor said you need rest, okay?”

  Elion blinked. It was slowly coming back to him now. Something had happened, at the house. “My insurance,” he said. “Can’t afford…” He wasn’t even fully conscious yet, but the burn of his embarrassment tried to pull him almost all the way into waking again.

  Blake shook his head and brushed his hair back. “You’re covered by the show,” he said, warmth saturating every word. “Don’t worry about that. You need to rest and recover.”

  Recover from what exactly? What had happened? At least he didn’t have to worry about the money if what Blake was saying was true. Elion found the hand resting on his chest and squeezed it. “Thank you.”

  Blake sat back down. He was gorgeous as always, but he also looked a wreck. He was covered in blood.

  The last of Elion’s fogginess was washed awa
y by panic. “You’re hurt?”

  Blake kissed the hand he was holding again, his lips soft against Elion’s fingers. “It’s your blood,” he said, shakily. He blinked a couple of times, his eyes glassy. “Do you remember what happened?”

  All he could recall was Blake’s dog going crazy at him. “Is Watson okay?” he asked. “She went nuts, then…” Then he’d hit the door step. No, he’d been pushed. It was loud and hot and…holy fuck. “Was there a bomb?” He couldn’t believe he was really asking that.

  But Blake nodded. “The stalker put a device in your car,” he said. Anger simmered in every word. He looked murderous. “The police think it activated when you opened the door. If you’d have sat inside…”

  His words trailed off as he furiously clenched his teeth. His grip had become vice-like around Elion’s hand. He used his free one to rub Blake’s fingers, urging him to ease up.

  “Hey, hey,” he said. “I didn’t. Watson saved me.” He realized that was true, and he felt the tears pooling in his eyes. “She wouldn’t stop barking and running around. She herded me like a sheepdog back towards the house.” He chuckled and wiped some of the wetness from his eyes. “I think I owe her a steak or a bone or whatever she likes best.”

  “Carrots,” said Blake, covering his mouth as he laughed. It was laden with heavy relief. A couple of his own tears escaped and he brushed them off. “Are you serious?” he asked. “She pulled you away? She’s going to be the most spoiled dog in the whole damn country. I’m going to buy her a golden kennel.”

  They chuckled wetly for a few moments before lapsing into silence. Blake couldn’t take his eyes off Elion, but that was fine. Elion could stand to be looked at like that forever.

  “A bomb?” he said eventually. “From the person writing those letters?”

  Blake scowled again. “The guy was seriously deranged,” he said.

  “A guy?” Elion repeated in surprise.

  Blake nodded. “He had all these crazy fixations on me. I think he thought if you were out of the way that we could be together.” He took a deep, shuddery breath. “When you were passed out, he threatened both of us with a jar of acid.”

  If Elion hadn’t felt sick before, he was about ready to throw his guts up at that. “What happened?” he managed to ask.

  To his surprise, Blake laughed. “You might want to ask Jodi that.”

  Elion had too many questions. “Okay, but is he still out there, or-?”

  “No, no,” said Blake. He probably realized Elion was too overwhelmed for him to dance around the subject. “Jodi knocked him out cold and now the cops have him. We’re safe.”

  Elion blinked. Jodi had done what? He’d definitely have to ask her about that. But he had other, more pressing concerns.

  “Who was he?” he asked.

  “Some guy who said he went to school with me. Us, I guess.” Blake told him with a shrug. “My dad called him Rob.”

  Elion sat up so fast Blake didn’t have a chance to stop him. “Rob Matherson?” he spluttered.

  “Yeah, you remember him?”

  “Not from school,” Elion admitted. “But I’ve seen him recently, with Jodi. Is she okay? Is she here?”

  Fucking Rob Matherson. He knew there was something he hadn’t liked about that guy. So much for a harmless celebrity fascination.

  Blake rolled his eyes, his face darkening. “Everyone’s here. Oh!” he squeezed Elion’s hand. “I promised I’d go get your mom as soon as you were awake. She didn’t want to leave you but I made her go eat with Jodi. A nurse should probably take a look at you too.” He stood up and cradled the back of Elion’s head. “Will you be okay for a minute?”

  Elion looked around the hospital room again. He could now see all the colorful flowers on the bedside cabinets of his private room and on the window-sill. He was safe here. Everything was okay.

  “I’ll be fine, baby,” he said. “Just, hurry back okay?”

  He sounded a bit pathetic, but his nerves were still frayed. Having Blake near him made things better, as usual.

  Blake smiled and kissed him gently. “You won’t even know I’m gone.”

  Elion doubted that, but he really wanted his mom, as pathetic as that was for someone his age. Plus, the sooner Blake left, the quicker he’d be back. So Elion nodded and waved him out the door.

  He downed another couple of mouthfuls of water, then slumped back against his pillows.

  Rob had written those letters. Loser Rob. Elion snorted to himself. He guessed that Advanced Chem wasn’t so boring to him after all. Psycho.

  They were so similar in so many ways. Both left behind in this small town when the rest of their class had gone off into the world. Elion felt just the smallest bit proud he hadn’t turned out like Rob. Bitter and twisted.

  He was in love. And he had his whole life before him.

  Movement at the door startled him, but it wasn’t Blake. Jenna Jackson walked in with two cans of Diet Coke balanced in one hand and a bag of skinny popcorn in the other. At seeing Elion, she stopped short.

  “Oh you’re awake!” she cried with a smile. Then she leaned back out into the corridor. “He’s awake!”

  Elion winced, wondering what time of night it was and hoping not too many patients were asleep already. Very quickly though, his concerns swung right back around to himself.

  Kala and Marcus led half a dozen more crew members into the room. Elion’s mouth dropped open as they set up lights, sound and props with their usual clinical efficiency. More flowers and candy and teddy bears were pulled from nowhere and a makeup artist began powdering his nose without even saying so much of a hello.

  “Um, Kala?” he said, feeling like he was going to scream. “I was just almost blown up.”

  Kala stopped talking with one of the P.A.s to dart over and grab his hand. “I know,” she said dreamily. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Now we’re definitely in with a chance for an Emmy.” She fussed with his hair fondly. “I told you you were good at this.”

  Elion wanted to say something to the effect that almost dying was not a talent, but as she moved away Jenna walked back in, accompanied by a very unlikely pair.

  For once, the neckline on Nessa’s top was so high it was almost to her collarbones. It was still sprayed on, but that coupled with the full-length jeans looked like her attempt at demure. Next to her walked Karyn.

  Elion looked between the two of them. But they were definitely not pulling each other’s hair or even throwing the side-eye. In fact, they looked positively chummy.

  “What-” he said faintly as Jenna had a word with Kala.

  Nessa and Karyn glanced at each other. “Oh, we’re cousins,” Nessa said flippantly.

  “Yeah,” Karyn giggled. “Didn’t you know?”

  “Hey, who’s got our flowers?” Nessa asked.

  Elion just watched on mutely as P.A.s gave them both massive bunches as well as wiring him for sound.

  “No,” said Karyn. “We need to swap. If I have the bigger bunch, you can get jealous.”

  “Oh, right,” agreed Nessa with a nod, handing over her bouquet. “So you need to fangirl, while I flirt. Where’s Blake?”

  “Getting my mom,” said Elion. Of course their rivalry was fake. For fuck’s sake – nothing was real on this show. “Look, I know you guys want to make a good episode, but I really do feel lousy right now.”

  That was putting it mildly. The room was spinning, he was nauseous and the pain on the side of his head was becoming unbearable. He could feel the cold sweat all over his skin, despite the heat from the lights.

  “Oh honey, you’ve done so well,” said Jenna. She stepped over and went to touch him, but tactfully withdrew her hand when she saw how damp he was with perspiration. “Oh, can we, um, get some more powder?”

  “Or a nurse?” Elion mumbled.

  They were already filming though, and Nessa and Karyn were jostling to put their flowers the closest to him. They took turns fussing over him and the cameras circled.

&
nbsp; “Can you believe it,” said Karyn sympathetically, taking his hand. Nessa took the other one. Elion looked helplessly between them both.

  “Believe what?”

  “Rob!” they both said together, then scowled across the bed at each other.

  “The P.A.,” said Karyn.

  “The one who gave Blake the faulty shoes.”

  “You gave him the faulty shoes,” Karyn shot back.

  “No, Tyler did!” snapped Nessa. “You weren’t even there!”

  “Hang on,” said Elion. Their shouting was making his head worse. “Rob…was a P.A.?”

  Nessa and Karyn looked at Kala.

  “Uh, yeah, Nessa whispered. “Didn’t you see him with Seth? They were practically inseparable.”

  Elion hadn’t seen Seth in weeks. Fuck…were he and Rob in it together?

  He was cut off from responding by three more people trying to enter the already overcrowded room. “What the fuck?”

  Elion was stunned to realize it was his own mother who had cursed. She never swore in English. As if to prove his point, she let out a string of shocking profanities in Spanish as she stormed into the room, Blake and Jodi following behind her.

  “No,” she shouted. “No, no, no! My boy almost died, and you’re here for your silly little TV show still?”

  Elion sagged in relief. Blake and Jodi pushed past Nessa and Karyn to sit by his bed, and his mom squared off with Kala.

  “Get out, now. Elion needs rest. He is not here for your entertainment!”

  Elion liked Kala. He did. But he’d be a fool to think anything came before getting a great show to her. “Mrs. Rodriguez,” she said kindly. “I think you’ll find that Elion’s contract states-”

  Music blasted through the room. Despite his terrible headache, Elion snapped around to see Blake holding his phone aloft.

  Blake smirked. “Sorry, what was that?” he asked with mock concern. “I couldn’t hear you over Taylor Swift and her iron clad copyright laws.”

  Kala blinked. “Blake…” she said. There was no way she could film anything useable with this song playing and they all knew it.