by Rob Hunter
“Wait here,” he ordered, leaving the bathroom and searching through the cupboard under the stairs for the black bags. He pulled a few bags off and walked back to the bathroom, to the sight of Daveth tangled up in his shirt and cursing profusely as he struggled, about to fall off the seat before Ellis moved forward to prop him back up. He grabbed the bottom of the shirt with one hand and gently lifted it up, making sure to gently untangle Daveth’s injured arm and pull the shirt over his head.
Ellis couldn’t help the way his eyes darted towards Daveth’s bruise-littered torso. He brushed his hand gently over one of the bruises across Daveth’s ribs, which was still a dark shade of black with a faint crusting of blue around it. Daveth shivered under the soft touch.
“Take your pants off if you can,” Ellis suggested, turning towards the bath and turning the taps, feeling the temperature carefully with his hand.
“Wouldn’t a shower be quicker?” Daveth suggested, his hands wrapped self-consciously over his chest.
“You could slip,” Ellis pointed out. He stepped up, seeing that Daveth had yet to make a move to undress himself further. He stared at the shoulder sling, trying to figure out a way to prevent it from getting wet. “Fuck it,” he muttered to himself, wrapping the black bag around the arm, ignoring the way Daveth stared at him in confusion, and trying to ignore the way it didn’t fully cover the sling where it wrapped around Daveth’s shoulder. “Try to stay sat up in the bath,” Ellis advised, not certain how careful he had to be to prevent the sling from getting wet.
Daveth was really skinny. Ellis hadn’t fully noticed the extent to which his ribs pressed up against his skin, making the outline obvious, and the way his stomach indented inwards, instead of having a normal, healthy pouch. It wasn’t surprising, not when Daveth had a small frame anyway and had spent the last month or more homeless. But it still made him worried.
“Liking what you see?” Daveth teased. Ellis glanced up at him, smirking when Daveth blushed.
“You’re skinny as fuck,” Ellis pointed out. “Plus, is it even possible to have that much chest hair?” he mocked, plucking a small hair and laughing at Daveth’s spluttered squawk.
“It’s insulating!” Daveth exclaimed, slapping his hand away. “It keeps me warm,” he claimed with a small smirk.
“You know what? I could see that. There’s basically enough there to make a fur coat,” he teased back.
“You’re mean,” Daveth grumbled, mock insult spreading across his features. Ellis smirked.
“Come on, take your pants off,” he said, glancing towards the bathtub that was rapidly filling. He walked over to it and tested the temperature, before turning the hot tap on full force.
“You perv,” Daveth grumbled, pulling at the top of his pants with one arm, and failing to make any significant progress. Ellis rolled his eyes.
“Here, let me do it,” he suggested, walking back and tugging Daveth’s pants off with a swift tug, mindful of his ankle. Daveth squeaked and blushed.
“You’re not meant to look!” Daveth complained.
“I’m giving you a bath, there’s no way I can avoid looking,” Ellis pointed out. “Besides, you’re still wearing underwear.”
“You’re still wearing underwear.” Daveth retorted childishly. Ellis quirked an eyebrow.
“I usually go commando.” Daveth spluttered, staring up at him with wide eyes, before his gaze trailed downwards. “Don’t get excited, I’m joking,” he mocked, laughing at Daveth’s indignant expression. “Anyway, take your underwear off. The bath is basically ready.”
“You have to turn around then,” Daveth grumbled.
“I’m going to see it anyway.” Ellis sighed, exasperated. Daveth glared at him. “Fine!” he said, resigned as he turned around. A few moments passed. “Can I turn round now?”
“Okay, but you can’t look,” Daveth said.
“I can’t do both, genius,” Ellis pointed out, turning around anyway and ignoring Daveth’s stuttered complaint as he dropped to his knees in front of the younger man and wrapped his cast in the black bag to prevent it getting wet. He stood up sharply, and gestured for Daveth to get up to.
Daveth stumbled upwards, blushing furiously as he limped towards the bath, leaning on Ellis most of the time. Ellis pretty much lifted him up to get him over the edge, which was frustratingly high, before gently dropping the younger man into the water, getting the sleeves of his shirt wet in the process.
“Bubble bath!” Daveth yelled suddenly, snapping forward and reaching for a bottle of bubble bath mixture he had somehow managed to locate in the space of a few seconds. Why two grown man had bloody bubble bath mixture was beyond him, but he merely smiled as Daveth poured a gracious amount into the bathtub.
Getting him out of the bath was a lot more difficult, and resulted in Ellis getting splashed dramatically, to which Daveth merely giggled. Ellis had almost decided to simply abandon him in the tub, but he knew Daveth would still try to get out. He was still wiping foam out of his hair as he pulled Daveth, wrapped up snugly in a towel, towards the bedroom and on the bed with a huff.
The door to the room smashed open and they both jumped, with Daveth letting out a sharp yelp. Ellis blinked, taking a step back as Adam walked in, positively seething with rage, as his eyes seemed to glow and fixed on Ellis, something almost murderous in their depths. Roy stumbled in next to him, looking startled and suddenly very small next to the rage radiating off Adam, which was filling the room.
“Get the fuck out of here, Grayson, or I’m calling the fucking police, you complete and utter cunt,” Adam hissed. Ellis swallowed, widening the distance between them, wary of the way Adam kept clenching his hands into fists.
“Adam?” Daveth called meekly from the bed, wide-eyed, his hair was still dripping wet and clinging to the outline of his face.
“Adam, maybe you should wait for Solomon and Edwin...” Roy suggested quietly. Adam narrowed his eyes, his face burning red as he marched forward.
“Get the fuck out, Grayson,” Adam growled, leaning towards him, and even with the height difference, the sight was intimidating.
“What is this about?” he said, warily holding his hands up defensively.
“You, acting like you’re all innocent and kind and whatever the fuck you think you are, when you’re a complete and utter lunatic sociopath murderer!” Adam yelled, smashing his fist into the side of Ellis’s cheek. He stumbled back with a gasp, his back hitting the wall with a thud and preventing any further retreat. Across the room, Daveth and Roy were yelling, but the noise faded into the background as he met Adam’s furious gaze.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ellis defended, breathing heavily. Adam snarled, full animalistic fury flowing off him.
“Ellis ain’t your real name. There’s no one called Ellis Grayson. You’re Bernard Grayson, the fucking maniac who raped and murdered seven young men. And you can damn well choke on your own dick before you think you can do it again,” Adam yelled.
Ellis choked on his own breath, a strangled whimper escaping him as he clawed into the wall behind him. He closed his eyes, shaking his head pitifully and trying to ignore the shocked silence that had descended over the room. He didn’t want to look up and see the way the others were looking at him now.
“No, no, no, you don’t understand,” he muttered under his breath, opening his eyes and meeting Adam’s, his whole world suddenly focused on just the other man and right then, he felt his own rage bubbling up because how dare he think he had the right to search him up, to look into his personal life and bring this thing crashing down on him. How fucking dare he!
“There’s nothing to understand. It was all over the news,” Adam said with a smug grin that showed too much teeth. “I saw the picture. No wonder you try and hide your face.”
“Bernard Grayson is dead, you complete and utter fucking idiot!” he snapped, punching the wall behind him. Adam took a wary step back. “He was shot in two-thousand-five after escaping. Or did
you not figure that out in your fucking search?” he growled. “You saw the name, you saw the blurry picture or whatever, and you didn’t even think about searching further before you come in here and accuse me of things I didn’t fucking do!”
“There’s no one called Ellis Grayson that matches you,” Adam said defensively.
“That’s because Ellis is my middle name, you fucking cunt. My name is James Ellis Grayson, you dick,” he growled, lips curling downwards into a snarl.
“The picture...”
“The picture looks like me because Bernard Grayson is my fucking son of a bitch father,” he snapped. There was silence again, but this time he could hear himself panting. “He was my father,” he added again, quieter this time. His nostrils flared as he tried to calm his breathing, but he couldn’t. He could see everyone staring at him, and this was exactly why he didn’t make friends. Because it always came down to this.
“Well...” Adam stuttered, glancing down at the floor, but Ellis didn’t have any more time for this.
“Get the fuck away from me!” he hissed, pushing past the other man and storming out of the room, throwing the door violently shut behind him and probably almost ripping it off its hinges. He heard the voices inside start yelling again, building up into a crescendo, but he didn’t care. He growled, stomping towards the front door and yanking it open, not even bothering to make sure it was closed before breaking into a frantic run.
He thought of not coming back. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d run away without a word. But he couldn’t do that now. Not to Daveth, not when there was still a chance that the younger man might have feelings for him. He couldn’t even do it to Adam, because even though he was furious and hurt about what he had done, Ellis knew that Adam and Daveth had a friendship that he didn’t have the right to break. If he left now, Daveth would blame Adam and that wasn’t fair to either of them.
But he felt horrendous as he crept back to the house. He hadn’t even thought to grab a jacket before he ran out, and now there was a chill frost in the air that sank into his bones without mercy. He shivered, wrapping him arms around his chest and approaching the door hesitantly. He didn’t want to knock, but God, he just wanted to get somewhere warm. He sighed, rapping his knuckles lightly against the door.
The door opened almost immediately. It was Adam.
“Holy shit, you’re frozen,” the younger man pointed out, grabbing his arm and dragging him into the warmth. The house was darker than when he had left it. Out of some petty irritation, he avoided looking at Adam, merely grunting in reply before stalking into the living room and sinking into the couch. Adam hovered awkwardly by the door.
“Okay, I get it, I’m an absolute dick.” Adam sighed, slipping into the living room. Ellis didn’t reply, just gritted his teeth together. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have searched you up. Dick move, I know.” Adam tugged a hand through his curls.
Ellis looked away, not interested in whatever it was the younger man had to say.
“I’m sorry,” Adam said quietly. Ellis frowned, turning to look at him in shock. “I know I’m a pretty shitty person, okay? And I’m really sorry.” Adam sighed, sinking into the armchair opposite and pulling his knees up into his chest.
“I just...I have issues with trust. I mean, just ask Roy, it took me months to even trust him, and he’s the most harmless guy in the world. So yeah, I didn’t trust you, because you surround yourself with these awful rumors, and so I searched you up, because if the rumors were true, there would be information on you, and your father came up, and yeah, I didn’t even think. I just panicked. The picture did look like you. And I mean, I was worried about Daveth mainly. I don’t know, it was a dick move, I get it, but...” Adam trailed off. Ellis stared at him for a minute or so whilst they descended into silence.
“I know where you’re coming from. You just brought up bad memories, you know?” Ellis admitted with a sigh.
“I mean, if it helps, my father was a son of a bitch too. Didn’t murder anyone, but might as well have,” Adam said with a shrug, his expression relaxing slightly.
“I’m surprised my father never killed me, to be honest,” Ellis admitted suddenly. Adam blinked at him. “It wasn’t just seven victims, by the way, but they could only connect those deaths to him. I think he started killing after my mum died, I’m sure someone will find some psychological significance in that, I don’t know, but that was when I was about two. I’m not really sure what I remember, whether it was dreams or not, but I knew I wasn’t allowed to talk about anything happening at home. And I know that he hated me. Maybe it would have just been too suspicious to kill me, I don’t know,” Ellis mused. He’d never really voiced those thoughts before and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.
“Is that why you’re homeless?” Adam asked, leaning heavily on the armrest.
“Kind of. I mean, he never let me leave the house, you know? Scared I’d tell the wrong person the wrong stuff, even though I didn’t fully know what was going on. So he wouldn’t let me go to college, even forced me to drop out of high school, and he was the only family I had, so when he got convicted, I didn’t have anywhere to go. And no one wanted to help me out, a few were convinced I must have known what was going on, that I had helped out or whatever. It was just easier to run away from it all, and then there was nowhere else to go.”
“Families fucking suck, man,” Adam huffed. “Like I said, my dad’s a dick. My stories a lot more typical; abusive household, ran away, found no support, ended up on the street. Fucking commonplace story, to be honest.” Adam snorted. “Also, what sort of name is Bernard? What the fuck? No wonder he became a murderer.”
Ellis snorted despite himself, letting himself smile ever so slightly, even though it dropped from his face quite suddenly. He sighed, lying down on the couch, content to try and sleep here, if only he could get rid of his insomnia for one night.
“Are we okay?” Adam asked suddenly, the chair he was on creaking as he shuffled uneasily.
“Yeah. We’re good,” Ellis answered, meeting Adam’s gaze with a soft smile. Anyone who could make him feel even the slightest trace of humor about his fucked-up family life was good in his book. It was miles better than the pity, or even the horror he usually got whenever he told the story.
***
Edwin crept into the living room, noticing that Ellis was still sleeping on the couch and attempting to avoid disturbing him. It was still early, but he didn’t mind being awake when he didn’t have to go to work later on. The others would probably be waking up in an hour or so, and it might be nice for them to wake up to a cooked breakfast, especially considering that Solomon had told him about the idiots not eating for a couple of days.
He searched the fridge and the pantry, trying to think of what he could cook, and whether he actually had enough for six people. He chewed on his lower lip, eventually deciding that he should probably settle for a fry up. He would have to stock up later today.
He almost jumped out of his skin, yelping as he closed the fridge door and saw that Ellis was staring at him. He placed his hand on his chest, sending the other man a withering glare as he tried to settle his rapidly beating heart.
“Sorry…” Ellis said with a soft smile, brushing a hand through his wild bed hair. He looked disheveled, wearing an oversized sweater and loose pants that couldn’t have been that comfortable to sleep in. His eyes were still tired, but there was something almost cute about the other man’s appearance.
“Don’t worry about it.” Edwin waved him off with a smile, pulling his gaze away from the other man. “I’m just going to cook breakfast,” he explained, placing the pack of sausages he had grabbed onto the counter as he searched the cupboard for a saucepan.
“I can help if you want,” Ellis offered. Edwin smiled.
“Nah, it’s fine. The kitchen’s really not big enough for more than one cook, to be honest,” Edwin replied. There was a reason why it was usually just him or Solomon that cooked, and not bo
th of them together. It was really a pain to maneuver in a kitchen this small, but then they didn’t really have the money to do anything about it. “How are you feeling, by the way? Roy told me a bit about what happened yesterday.”
“I’m okay,” Ellis said with a shrug. Edwin hummed, glancing back at the other man as he turned on the stove.
“Adam has trouble trusting people. Don’t take it to heart,” he added. It was true, the younger man had dealt with a lot of shit in his lifetime from other people, and that generally made it very hard for him to trust new people. It didn’t help that he definitely had some issues with anger.
“It’s fine. He apologized. I guess I’m not the easiest person to trust,” Ellis replied. Edwin quirked an eyebrow.
“I talked to Adam last night. He didn’t say he apologized.” He hummed. Adam wasn’t generally one for apologizing; not because he lacked a conscience or anything like that, he just knew it took a lot for the other man to actually say the word sorry. “If he apologized, then he generally feels bad. He doesn’t say sorry without meaning it,” Edwin pointed out at Ellis’s confused expression.
“He seemed earnest,” Ellis agreed with a soft smile. “I understand why he panicked last night. A lot of people have done worse when they’ve found this stuff out.”
“It’s not fair to blame you for what your father did. Especially when it sounds like you were a victim in your own right,” Edwin said, turning to face the other man. Ellis ducked his head, shrugging. “Seriously, you’ve shown yourself to have a big heart. We owe you that Daveth is safe right now. Don’t beat yourself up for something that isn’t your fault,” he continued, placing a hand on Ellis’s shoulder. The other man looked up at him, something startled in his expression before he smiled.
“Thank you....” He trailed off then, looking suddenly nervous and unsure. Edwin patted him gently, turning his attention back to the sausages that were sizzling in the pan.
***
Edwin dished up the food, just as the others drifted downstairs, lured by the rich aroma and hungry stomachs. He gathered up a plate and a glass of orange juice and headed towards Daveth’s room, instructing Ellis to sit down whilst he tended to the injured man. Ellis had been doing more than enough to help Daveth out, he deserved to take a break at least to just eat.
