by J. M. Lamp
***
“Why can’t your parents help her?” Elliot asks Sam.
“They don’t support the fact that she’s moving to Chicago,” he says. “Thinks it’s too dangerous—“
“Which it is,” I say.
“And,” he says, “they think there are better schools out there.”
“Schools in Wisconsin, you mean?” Elliot says.
“Correct,” he says. “I think it’s great. It’s better that she gets away from them.”
I look over at Elliot from the middle seat and he shrugs his shoulders.
As we pull up to Ethan’s parent’s house, my jaw immediately drops as I look at the mansion sitting in front of me.
“What the fuck?” I say. “You didn’t tell me you were rich.”
“I’m not,” Sam says, putting the U-Haul in park. “My parents are, but I’m not.”
We get out of the U-Haul and I make my way up the multi-colored, stone-laden path that leads to the doorway. The driveway opens on one part of the road and ends on the other, and Sam is parked directly in the middle where a car couldn’t get past him if it wanted to. I can’t wait to meet his parents and see why exactly his sister shouldn’t be around them. There’s nothing like drama to make a trip more exciting.
Sam knocks on the door and I raise my eyebrows because with every family member I’ve ever visited, I’ve always just walked on in. The door opens and standing in the doorway is a girl with blonde hair, deep-green eyes and a huge smile on her face as she throws her arms around Sam’s neck.
“Hi, Kels,” Sam says.
“I can’t believe you’re actually here right now,” she says.
“Guys,” Sam says as she lets go, “this is my sister, Kelsey.”
Kelsey’s eyes grow wide as she sets eyes on Elliot and then me. She blinks a few times and says, “Jesus, Sam, your friends are hot.”
Elliot and I laugh while Sam turns her around and shoves her back into the house.
“I have everything ready to go,” she says, pointing to all of her boxes. “I know you want to get out of here as soon as possible.”
“Are they here?” Sam asks her.
“No,” she says. “I told them that you’d be here tomorrow, so they went away for the day with some of their friends.”
“Kissing ass I’m sure,” he says.
“They aren’t as awful as you make them out to be, Sam,” she says.
“Well,” he says, “let’s start.”
***
“So,” Kelsey says, putting the last box in the U-Haul, “you went all the way over to London and your boyfriend actually went with you?”
“Yep,” Elliot says.
“I want to meet someone like that,” she says.
“You will,” Sam says. “When you’re out of school and ready.”
“Samuel,” she says, rolling her eyes, “don’t act like you don’t get around.
I laugh and Sam punches me in the shoulder as I close the door on the U-Haul.
“I don’t, actually,” he says.
Sam makes his way make into the house and Kelsey stands with her hands on her hips.
“He really doesn’t,” I say to her. “He’s the good one of us all.”
“I have a feeling that he is going to be stricter than my own parents.”
“Probably,” I say, laughing. “He means well, though. He’s really happy that you’re coming to Chicago.”
“For now,” she says, laughing. “I’m sure within the next few weeks he’ll be shipping me back here.”
“I had no idea you guys were so loaded,” I say, pointing to the house. “Sam doesn’t talk about your parents at all.”
“Sam doesn’t exactly…get along with our parents,” she says. “He’s the total opposite of both of them. He comes back for Thanksgiving and my birthday and that’s about it. I have to come visit him if I want to see him other than that.”
“Oh,” I say, looking down at the ground as we make our way back inside. “Is that why you want to move to Chicago instead of go to school around here? To see him more?”
“Yeah,” she says, smiling. “I didn’t get to grow up with my brother because I’m so much younger, but I’d like to figure myself out around him. He’s doing so good, so I figure he’ll be a good influence. Someone to help me figure things out unlike my parents who want me to just go and become doctors like them.”
“My boyfriends a nurse,” I say. “Personally, I don’t get the appeal of a hospital. It’s loud and sad and dirty.”
“I also don’t want to be in school the rest of my life,” she says.
“I think that’s everything,” Sam says. “I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”
“Yes,” she says, giving Sam a hug. “Once I break the news to them, I’ll be on my way to the apartment.”
“Okay,” he says. “The earlier the better because I’m moving all my stuff tomorrow, also.”
“Yes, sir,” she says.
Elliot and I laugh as Sam makes his way back to the U-Haul.
“It was nice meeting you guys,” she says. “Take care of him for me.”
“Good luck tomorrow,” Elliot says.
“I’m sure they’ll be thrilled,” I say.
We wave goodbye to her and make our way back to Sam.
“So,” I say, “you want to explain the deal with your parents?”
“No,” he says, turning the volume up on the radio. “It’s not important.”
“Can we go eat now?” Elliot says, bumping into my shoulder.
“Yes,” Sam says, smiling. “Thanks for coming up with me, guys.”
“Of course,” Elliot and I say at the same time.
***
“What do you think it is?” Cody says, handing me a bowl of cereal.
“I don’t know,” I say. “He’s never really talked about his family. He hasn’t really talked about his sister, either. He’s a pretty private person, even to me and El.”
“Oh well,” he says, “we all have a past, right?”
“That we do. How was work?”
“Carrie’s sick so I pulled a double and worked for her.”
“That sucks,” I say.
“I got through it because I knew I’d see you later,” he says, kissing me as he sits down on the couch.
“You’re so sweet it’s almost disgusting,” I say.
“I know.”
“When are we going to go camping again?” I ask him with a mouth full of cereal.
“Whenever you want, lover,” he says.
“I still haven’t got part two of my reward.”
“Finish your cereal and we’ll see about getting you it,” he says, smirking.
“Actually,” I say, “I don’t think I’m very hungry anymore.”
“Well,” he says, “I am, so you’re going to have to wait until I’m done.”
***
Work was exhausting and I’m pissed as hell as I make my way out of the office and into my car. I lay my head against the steering wheel as I try to process all the information I received today about staffing and policy changes.
The CEO of the company was caught committing fraud and because of him, everything now needs triple-checked and they’re scrambling on who to choose as his replacement.
I park the car outside of my apartment and make my way up the stairs onto the second floor. As I make my way around the corner to my apartment, I see my door is cracked open slightly. I push the door open and my stomach instantly drops when I see my couch flipped over, my plates shattered across the floor, and my cabinets raided.
“What the fuck!” I say out loud.
There’s been a series of break-ins on my block the past few weeks, but I really didn’t think that I would be lucky enough to be chosen as a victim of it as well.
I make my way back to my bedroom and look under my bed, grabbing the small safe that I don’t hide at all. It’s been untouched, which instantly confuses me because they surely would’ve looked under
the bed and found it. The rest of the room is a disaster: clothes everywhere, all my worthless ceramic figures smashed into a million different pieces. A picture of Cody and I, which sat on the right side of the bed on the nightstand, is on the bed now and Cody’s face is cracked.
I go the bathroom, which is a cyclone as well, and instantly drops to my knees. I pull out my phone and call Cody.
“Hey, what are you—“
“Someone broke into my apartment.
“What?” he says.
“But…nothing was taken,” I say, blankly. “I’m confused and freaked out and I just need you here.”
“I’m just now leaving work,” he says. “I’m coming straight there.”
“Okay,” I say.
***
“Nothing was taken?” Cody says.
“Nothing,” I say. “I don’t get it.”
“Maybe they didn’t see anything valuable?”
“Because the TV and the thousand dollar laptop sitting right in front of you aren’t worth anything?”
“Either way,” he says, “you aren’t staying here.”
“I’ll just get the locks changed,” I say, “it will be fine.”
“Ethan,” he says, “pack a bag.”
We get to Cody’s apartment and I sit my duffel bag to the side by the kitchen table.
“Hey,” Carrie says, making her way over to me and giving me a hug. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s OK,” I say. “It’s been happening a lot around there lately. I just didn’t think they’d get me of all people.”
I look over to Cody and his face turns serious. He looks from Carrie to me and turns around, opening the fridge and handing me a drink.
“What?” I ask him.
“Nothing,” he says, shaking his head back and forth.
“You don’t think it was a random break-in?”
“I just don’t understand why they wouldn’t take anything, Ethan,” he says. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
I know it doesn’t make any sense, but I’m trying not to think about the other possibilities because I’m trying not to worry about anything. Besides, there have been a shit ton of break-ins lately and maybe it’s just for kicks and nothing is getting taken anywhere.
“Well,” Carrie says, “you can stay here for as long as you want. I love having you here and I know he does.”
She points over to Cody who forces a smile. I realize that we’re back at square one - he’s going to be protective and hesitant around me now. He’s going to worry about me, more now than before, and the only reason I’m not under surveillance is because he doesn’t know about the text message and for right now, he isn’t going to find out about it.
Chapter Ten
Cody
E THAN’S DENIAL ABOUT THE BREAK-IN at his apartment has me worried, but also pissed off. I don’t know why he thinks it’s just a coincidence because other places around him have had it happen as well. No one breaks into someone’s apartment, tears it up royally, and then takes nothing after the fact. I also don’t know why someone would break a picture of the two of us and my face is the only place where the picture is shattered.
“How’s he doing?” Carrie asks me a few days after the break-in.
“Fine,” I say, “I guess. He’s in denial about it and there’s something he’s not telling me.”
“He said that it was happening a lot around his block.”
“But they didn’t take anything, Carrie,” I say. “Who the hell breaks in somewhere and doesn’t take anything?”
“I don’t know,” she says. “If he is hiding something, it must not be good. Have you asked him if something else has been going on?”
“No,” I say. “He’s been a lot happier lately and he already told me so much about his past, so I don’t want to push him.”
“You make him sound so fragile,” she says. “He’s not glass, Cody. He won’t break.”
“I don’t mean to make him sound helpless or something,” I say, “but I know something is going on and he’s just trying to ignore it. I can’t help him if he doesn’t tell me.”
She takes a bite of her salad and points her fork over my shoulder to the cafeteria lunch line.
“What do you think about him?” she says.
“He’s cute,” I say, observing the new male-nurse that started a week ago. “Have you talked to him?”
“I worked with him last night,” she says. “He’s a really nice guy, but he isn’t sure if he’s going to stay around here.”
“Doesn’t like the city?”
“Not really,” she says. “But I don’t really want to even date him. He looks like he’d be some fun, though.”
“You sure you have time for that with school and all?”
“For him,” she says, sticking some lettuce in her mouth, “I’d make time. Are we still on for dinner tonight?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Ian is going to be a little late, but he’ll meet us there around eight.”
“Is Ethan sure he doesn’t want to come?” she says.
“He’s going over to Sam’s to help him sort all his stuff.”
“I wish at least one of your newly acquired friends was not gay,” she says.
“Hadley isn’t gay,” I say, smiling.
“You know what I mean,” she says. “Have you heard anything else from your brother?”
“No,” I say.
“Aren’t you the least bit excited that you’ll get to see him again?”
“Not really,” I say. “He’s just going to disappoint me some more.”
“Have you ever thought that maybe he didn’t come back for a reason?” she asks me. “Maybe he’s not just this big asshole that refused to come back and see your mom.”
“If so,” I say, “he probably should’ve told me that when he had the chance.”
“I want to meet him,” she says. “He played a big role in your life.”
“He helped me grow as a child,” I say, “not as a man.”
“Regardless,” she says, “you are who you are today because of him in ways you probably don’t even know. Maybe it’s because I have such a big family, but if it was just me and one other sibling, I just think I would try my hardest to be closer to him or her.”
“Family is not what it’s cracked up to be, I guess.”
“So,” she says, “why is Ian going to be late?”
“No idea,” I say, smiling, “Probably something to do with Hadley.’
“Well, good luck to her,” she says. “He’s a handful.”
“I think he’s met his match in her. I’m surprised it didn’t end after the first date.”
“Ian’s different from how he was years ago,” she says. “Maybe she sees something in him that I was never able to.”
***
“I’ll help you,” I say, making my way into the patient’s room behind the other nurse on duty. My shift ends in five, but I have plenty of time to be generous.
We unlock the bed and move all of the wires out of the way so we can wheel the patient into surgery. I lock the bed back in place and make a path as the other nurse positions the bed in the middle of the doorway.
“Thank you,” she says. She continues down the hallway and I turn around, making my way towards the time clock.
“Excuse me,” I hear to my left. I see a man about my age with brown hair and deep brown eyes. He’s dressed in a suit and tie and has a clipboard in his hand.
“Yeah,” I say, “how’s it going?”
“Good,” he says, “good. I’m doing a survey about the hospital and the overall safety you guys feel working here. Would you mind answering a few questions?”
I look at the guy’s nametag and nod my head up and down. We make our way over to the waiting room and sit down.
“My name is Adam, by the way,” he says.
He holds out his hand and I shake it and say, “Cody.”
He smiles and I feel uncomfortable when he squeezes my hand. He lets go
of it quickly and his smile turns into a grin as he looks back down to the clipboard and focuses in on the questions that are on it.
“How long have you worked here?”
“Four or five years this December,” I say.
“About how long does it take you to get to work?”
“Fifteen minutes, usually,” I say. “It just depends on how traffic is.”
“Do you believe you’re treated fairly here as a gay man?”
I raise my eyebrows and quickly look from him to the rest of the people in the waiting room, confused.
“How do you know that I’m gay?” I ask him.
“I asked around here about the community within the hospital,” he says. “The survey is for an LGBTQ magazine that I write for and I’m doing interviews on how safe people feel within their work environments. I only asked to talk to people who are openly out and comfortable with the fact. It’s up to them whether or not they want to talk me.”
“Shouldn’t you say that to people before you even start the interview?”
“Yeah,” he says, smiling. “I’m sorry. If you don’t want to continue I understand.”
“It’s fine,” I say. “Yes, I do feel like I’m treated fairly here. No one seems to care.”
“Awesome,” he says. “Has there ever been an incident that you were involved in where you were punished for your sexuality?”
“Like, was I beat up?”
“Yeah,” he says.
“No,” I say. “I’ve never been beat up for being gay.”
“So,” he says, “overall, do you feel safe walking to your car after a long shift?”
“Yeah,” I say, confused.
“Do you mostly work day shifts or night shifts?”
“Day,” I say. “What—“
“I think that should be all I need for now,” he says. He gets up off the chair and I’m confused as hell as I try to understand what just happened.
“Okay,” I say.
“It was nice meeting you,” he says. “I’m sure I’ll see you again at some point.”
