No Tears with Him

by K. Webster

  “You got it, honey.”

  I exit the bathroom and hear cursing coming from my office. Stalking in there, I’m not surprised to find Wade. I am surprised to find him yanking papers out of my filing cabinet.

  “What the fuck are you doing, Wade?” I bellow, waving my hand at him.

  He appears to find what he’s looking for because he holds up a file. “I fucking knew it, you sick bastard!”

  What?

  “What the fuck is your problem?” I roar.

  “This,” he screams, thumping the file. “I fucking knew it.”

  “Everything okay?” Mal asks from the doorway.

  “Call Len for me,” I bark out, never taking my eyes off Wade.

  Mal scurries off, leaving me with this drunk bastard.

  “Explain why the fuck you’re wasted and tearing up my office,” I grind out. “Right now.”

  “Fuck you, homo lover,” he snarls, stomping past me.

  I charge after him. “That was way out of line,” I yell at him. “What Mal and I do is none of your goddamn business.”

  “You and Mal?” he barks out. “You fucking disgust me.”

  That’s it. I’m about to kill this asshole.

  “I was talking about it, not you two fags!”

  It?

  Sorro exits the bathroom, her eyes wide. As soon as she sees Wade’s rage directed at her, she cowers against the doorframe.

  “Get the fuck out of here,” I yell. “You’re fucking fired, Wade. This is insanity. I want you out of my goddamn building!”

  Ignoring me, he charges for Sorro. He swings out a fist, but he’s wasted and slams his hand into the wall instead. She screams, trying to scramble away from him. He manages to get his hand around her throat before I’m on him.

  “You nasty little shit!” he yells in her face. “Fucking prancing around here like you’re a goddamn woman! But you’re not! You’re Michael Washington, a queer little boy dressed as a fucking girl!”

  I grip his wrist too, digging my fingers into his flesh to try and get him to let go of Sorro’s neck. She wheezes and scratches at his face.

  “I heard you and the file proves it! You have a dick, you sick piece of shit!” Wade screams.

  Grabbing hold of his thinning hair, I yank his head back and wrap my other arm around his neck. He chokes and releases her. Mal rushes over to her and they disappear from sight while I manhandle Wade to the ground. He swats at me, but I’m stronger. I refuse to let go of him.

  My blood runs hot with fury as I try to come to terms with the fact that my long-time friend and employee is a homophobic cunt. If I were a lesser man, I’d snap his neck for putting his hands on Sorro. She doesn’t fucking deserve that shit. I’m seriously considering it—getting all fired up again—when the door flings open. Thank fuck Lennon rushes in, a furious storm in all his policeman glory.

  It takes a minute for him to get me to release the fucker, but then he takes over, eventually getting Wade into a pair of cuffs. He reads him his rights and then escorts him toward the door.

  “Follow me to the station,” Lennon barks on his way out. “I’ll need you to make a statement.”

  When my eyes meet Mal’s, I let out a defeated sigh. “Can you get her home? I need to do some damage control.”

  He nods quickly, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Of course.” Then he hugs Sorro. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you home.”

  As soon as they gather her purse and leave, I curl into a ball on my side on the floor and fucking cry.

  Malcolm

  “You don’t have to do this,” Sorro says in a stubborn tone. “I already told you.”

  “I’m not doing this for Scott,” I reply. “I’m doing this because you’re my friend.”

  She flashes me a thankful smile. “Then, as your friend, I must tell you that you drive this gorgeous car like a damn grandma.”

  I laugh but don’t speed up. “Divina doesn’t like snow. I have to be careful.”

  “Divina sounds like a diva.” She snorts. “I like her.”

  We make it to her apartments near the University of Colorado Boulder. They’re nice and updated and expensive looking.

  “Wow. Fancy.”

  She laughs. “Surprisingly, they’re affordable. I mean, I can’t do it without Eli’s contribution, but it’s not ridiculous considering what you get for your money.” She gestures with her long pink nails to her body. “They have a gym free for tenants to use. How do you think I keep this bitchin’ figure?”

  Since it’s snowing, I park under the awning in front of the building. She grabs her purse and I walk over to her side of the vehicle, offering my arm for assistance. Sorro may laugh and act like she’s fine, but her lip continues to tremble. Her fucking coworker just tried to choke her to death. Of course she’s not fine. We link arms and I lead her into the building. As we walk toward the elevator, a familiar voice calls out to me.

  “Mal?”

  I whip my head in the direction of the voice and gape to see my brother standing there. “Madden? What are you doing here?”

  His brows lift as he takes in the way Sorro clings to me, a smug, knowing look on his face. “I’m looking to get an apartment close to Boulder High School. It’s time I get out of Mom’s house, you know?”

  I do know.

  I just didn’t expect to run into him.

  “Is your girlfriend okay?” he asks, his eyes assessing us.

  “She’s not my—”

  “I’m fine,” she huffs.

  “Mr. Shaw,” the apartment worker calls out to my brother. “I can show you one of the open units now.”

  “No big deal, man,” Madden says. “Mal and his lady friend here can show me her unit. I’ll pop back down to sign paperwork later.”

  The man nods and then disappears.

  “Sorry,” I mutter to Sorro.

  “No problem, honey. Eli should be at work anyway.”

  She breaks from my hold to escort us to the elevator. Madden just stares at me with a stupid smirk on his face. He has it so fucking wrong. In so many ways. What happens when he does find out? Does he lose his shit like Wade did?

  The thought makes me sick to my stomach.

  For myself, but mostly for Sorro. Somehow, I feel like she has it worse than me. At least being gay, people see me as what I am. With her, she has to deal with people feeling betrayed or tricked, though it’s no fault of her own.

  “I’m on the fourth floor,” Sorro says, ushering us into the hallway. “Unit four-seventeen.”

  “Nice place,” Madden says. “I like it here. They have a pool?”

  “Yeah, but it’s closed.”

  “No shit?” Madden jokes.

  I can’t help but laugh. “You’re an asshole.”

  Sorro simply shakes her head, amusement on her face. “The place is a pigsty, but you get the idea.”

  We follow her into the nice space. It’s quaint, but it has high ceilings to offer a more spacious feeling and large, picturesque windows. It’s clear to see an altercation occurred because a chair is knocked over and a lamp is overturned. Clothes litter the floor in the living room, as well as a torn condom wrapper.

  She snatches it all up quickly and rushes to her bedroom. Madden gives me a questioning look as I right the lamp. He picks up the chair. Rather than demanding answers, he frowns and closes his mouth for once.

  “Sorry about that,” Sorro says, her voice bright as she bounds back into the room. “Eli is messy. Never mind him. I’ll show you the space right quick and then if you don’t mind, I have a headache and would like to lie down.”

  Madden, realizing we’ve had a helluva day, quietly takes the quick tour through her space. He thanks her and says he’ll see her around. I ask him to wait in the hallway for a minute. As soon as the door is closed, I take her hands.

  “You going to be okay?” I ask, worry churning in my gut.

  “I always am,” she says bitterly. “I’m going to sleep off this horrible day.
”

  “Can I come by and bring you dinner later?” And check on you.

  She smiles. “I’d like that. You’re a good man, Mal.”

  I hug her to me. “I’m sorry for those who’ve hurt you. I’m so fucking sorry.”

  Sorro sniffles and clings to me, nodding. I hold her until she composes herself. Then, with a wobbling bottom lip, she points to the door with her long pink nail. “Go on now. You’re suffocating me, honey.”

  With a wave, I leave her alone and then find my brother pacing near the elevators.

  “What’s wrong? I feel like I walked in on something bad,” he says, frowning as we step into the elevator.

  “Some shit went down at work. This guy Wade put his hands on her.”

  “He fucking what?” he growls.

  “Scott took care of it.”

  He nods, pleased with that answer. “Where’s the asshole now?”

  “Police took him. Scott had to go make a statement, so I took Sorro home since she was so shaken up.”

  “Is he the one who fucked up her living room?”

  “I think it was her roommate. She came into work wrecked.”

  “Damn,” he grumbles. “Why the fuck did she get abused by two men in one day?”

  I chew on my inner bottom lip, unsure what to say. I want to confide in him, but I don’t know if I can. “I don’t know,” is all I say in the end.

  Hurt flashes in his eyes that I don’t explain more, but he lets it go. The elevator doors open and we step into the lobby. “I don’t know the full story, but I hope she’s okay. No one deserves that shit.”

  Before he walks away, I grab his massive bicep. “I want to tell you, but I’m not sure it’s my story to tell.”

  His gaze softens. “No problem, bro.”

  “I, uh…Sorro is a good person. She’s nice and there are layers to her. You may not like all the layers, but it doesn’t change who she is in her heart. Sometimes you have to look past the surface to see the person inside. They deserve love and happiness, even if you don’t understand it.”

  I know my message is cryptic, but he thankfully understands.

  “If you sign a lease here and you see her around, she could use a friend like you.” I mean that. My brother can be a dick sometimes, but he’s protective and good at heart. I know he’d never hurt my friend like those other assholes do. Even if he hated what she was.

  “You’re growing up, little man.” He smirks. “Over here making me proud. Don’t tell our sisters, though. They’ll think I’ve grown soft. I need them to stay in line if I have any hope of surviving teaching at their school.”

  I laugh. “Your good guy secret is safe with me.”

  He slaps my shoulder in an affectionate way and then saunters off. Now I need to get my ass to the station to check on my boyfriend. What a fucking day and it’s not even noon.

  Keys jingle and I jolt from my desk, rushing to the front door of the office. When I called Scott, he asked me to just meet him here, rather than going to the station. I’ve been obsessively cleaning the place and putting everything in order the whole time.

  “Scott,” I call out, rushing to him.

  I fling myself into his arms, hugging him tight the moment he makes it into the lobby area. He hugs me back, nuzzling his nose against my ear.

  “Shit day,” he grumbles, his voice hoarse.

  “Sure was.”

  “Sorro?”

  “She’s fine. Or, at least she will be.”

  He lets out a ragged sigh of relief. “Lennon is going to head over there and take her statement. Was that fucker there?”

  We pull apart and I shake my head.

  “No, but I ran into Madden. He’s getting an apartment there.”

  “No shit? Maybe he can throttle her roommate if he even thinks about touching her again.”

  “Madden’s not the type to sit around and let some man abuse a woman,” I agree.

  Scott scowls. “But Sorro’s not just any woman.”

  “True, but I still don’t think Madden would stand for it. Even if he doesn’t understand her like we do.”

  He seems satisfied with that answer. “Fuck, Mal. I’m so fucking exhausted.”

  I pull him over to the sleek couch in the sitting area. We sit and he drops his head into my lap. “You should go home,” I urge as I run my fingers through his hair. “You’re probably spent on adrenaline.”

  He lets out a deep sigh. “Can’t. Tom was going to come over tonight, but I called him while I was at the station. He’s coming over now.”

  “What?”

  Scott rolls over until he’s looking up at me. His usual smile is gone. Fatigue darkens the skin under his eyes. I’ve never seen him so ragged and lost. It breaks my heart for him.

  “You were right. Something was off,” he admits, frowning. “I didn’t want to think Wade would do anything, but we all think the best about our friends. I sure as hell didn’t think he’d put his hands on Sorro.”

  I smooth his hair back and gently caress his brow. The action has his eyelids drooping. “Tom says there’s a discrepancy?”

  He snorts. “More like a whole lot of shit that doesn’t add up. Earlier, while at the station, he asked me to call the banks and remove Wade from my accounts. Tom’s not an alarmist. He’s an easygoing guy. The urgency in his voice coupled with his findings and then how Wade behaved today, I did it without question. Now, we’ve just got to see how badly Wade fucked me.”

  My brave, handsome boyfriend tears up. It guts me to see him so broken. Where his tears just pool in his green eyes, mine freely leak out on his behalf. I sniffle and whisper assurances to him as I stroke my fingers through his hair. His eyes eventually close and his soft breathing lulls me into a relaxed state. I don’t dare move a muscle because he clearly needs the rest after the day he’s been through.

  Whatever Wade did, we’ll get through it. I can help Scott fix this. He’s smart and clever. Wade may have robbed the company blind, but you can’t take the genius out of the company. Hawkins Group is what it is because of its owner. Scott Hawkins. He’s brilliant and creative and tenacious. This is a hurdle. A massive stepping stone. And I’ll get him over it even if I have to carry him myself.

  Scott does so much for everyone all the time.

  It’s time for us to step up and do for him for a change.

  Scott

  I rub at my temples, trying to ward off another migraine. I’ve had one every single day since the Wade blowup. It’s been a solid week of picking up the pieces. Goddammit, there are so many pieces. Wade was fucking me in so many ways, it makes me sick to my stomach. Truly. I’ve thrown up several times when the stress is too much. I know I’m worrying the hell out of Mal and I try to be strong for him, but I’m just at my wits’ end.

  “Hey, babe,” Mal says, walking into the room carrying a drink holder with four coffees. All for us, nothing for him. My sweet, selfless boyfriend.

  There’s a collective sigh to see him. We’ve been working tirelessly together to make sense of this madness. We being myself, Mal, Sorro, Tom, and Wendell. As soon as Wendell heard what Wade had done, he swooped in and has been a pillar of strength. He understands my company in a way the others don’t. It’s helped tremendously.

  “Tell me you put the real sugar in there,” Tom says, his cheeks wobbling as he talks. “Candace says I’m supposed to use the pink packets, but I think it tastes like cancer.”

  I snort. “You can’t taste cancer.”

  “I can,” he argues, graciously accepting Mal’s offering.

  “I totally taste that cancer too, honey,” Sorro agrees. “I’ll hook you up with a Martha special one day when it’s not so crazy.”

  Wendell smirks. “What’s a Martha special?”

  “Something your black ass don’t get,” she sasses. “You get cancer sweetness, honey.”

  He laughs and rolls his eyes. “I still don’t know what I ever did to get your adoring love.”

  “You know what yo
u did.” She purses her lips and ignores him.

  Wendell and I both laugh. He called her handbag a portable junk drawer and she about flipped a gasket. While he died laughing at his stupid joke, she was furious. Sorro is serious about her accessories. And he basically insulted her favorite one.

  “I thought I was forgiven,” Wendell says, unable to let it go. “I bought you sushi.”

  “Maybe I wanted Italian instead.” She looks down at her long fingernail as though it interests her more.

  “If I buy dinner again, you’ll let it go?”

  “Man,” I say with a chuckle. “Sorro needs a lot more groveling for her to forgive you. Once, I had to buy her a whole luggage set because I said her wig reminded me of Elvira.”

  She hisses at me. “Boy, you’d do best to let sleeping dogs lie. No sense in reminding me how pissed I was at you.”

  “You never make fun of a woman’s hair,” Tom agrees, barking out an obnoxiously loud laugh. “I made that mistake with your mother once.”

  “And he lives to tell the tale,” Sorro says with a shake of her head. “Surprising.”

  The banter continues and I feel lighter than I have all week. Maybe, with the help of these loons, we can pull Hawkins Group out of the hole Wade so carelessly tossed it into and get back on top.

  Fucking Wade.

  He made bail, the fucker, and has had the sense to stay away. As soon as I have the proof of his wrongdoings in order to give the attorney, I’m going to sue his ass for embezzlement. He just made such a fuckery of things that it’s taking forever to gather up all the shit we’ll need to bring him officially down. Thankfully, his assault charges will stick to his record like glue. Any little jab to ruin him back makes me happy.

  We spend the next several hours hard at work until Sorro has to leave because she has a singing engagement at Juno’s. Tom follows not far behind, eager to get back home to my mother. When Mal’s stomach grumbles loudly, I lift my brows at him.

  “Someone’s hungry,” I say with a chuckle.

  “Make that two someones,” Wendell agrees. “Come on, Mal. Let’s go grab some food. I’ve been dying to ride in that car.”