Home and Away (28 page)

“Mr. Shaw,” Grady said in a voice so cold it should have frozen John’s blood in his veins. “You were warned. I’ve now witnessed multiple assaults and am certain that this child, if left in your custody, would be in danger.” He pulled out his cell phone.

“Wait! Wait!” John cried desperately. He turned to Rupert, his face a mask of disgust. “What do you want?”

Grady looked at Rupert and waited.

“It’s not what I want, John, it’s what Christian wants. What he needs.
A father
.”

Rupert thanked god that Christian couldn’t see his father’s face, though maybe he could guess. He didn’t plead with his father to love him. To be a good person. To understand.

“I want to live with Rupert,” Christian said, his voice quavering but clear.

“And you want that, too, don’t you?” John asked.

“I would be honored to have Christian be part of my family.”

Two hands, one big, one smaller but with a grip no less fierce, curled into the back of his shirt. For the first time since they’d pulled up in front of this house, Rupert felt calm. All doubt was gone.

John glared at Rupert and sneered. “Fine, you can keep him. What do I have to do?”

Callum walked out to the car on legs made of rubber, his hand on Christian’s shoulder as they waded together through the tall grass.

As soon as they reached the sidewalk, Christian turned and wrapped his arms around Callum, hot tears immediately soaking through his shirt. Callum held on tight as Christian shook apart in his arms.

Callum had never felt less
worthy
.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, rocking them in place and rubbing Christian’s back, all if it so fucking inadequate. “I’m so sorry.”

Sobs racked his slender frame and he held Callum tighter. Callum wished desperately Christian was still Oliver-sized, small enough to carry around for as long as he needed.

He looked back at the house and worried. He wouldn’t be able to relax until Rupert was out of there. Wished he could go back in and stand by Rupert’s side and support him.

But then, Callum had already been given the chance once, and all he’d done was lie. It made him feel sick. Furious. He
despised
the man he’d become, who would put his career and his privacy before the truth and supporting the boy who clung to him.

Christian thought Callum was strong, when in truth he was a complete fraud. Thank god Christian had Rupert, who was brave and honest and worthy to be Christian’s legal guardian.

A dark sedan with tinted windows pulled up to the curb a few feet away and Reese and two other men Callum didn’t recognize climbed from the back seat.

The lawyers had arrived. Thank Christ.

Reese stood on the sidewalk and watched Callum slowly rock a still-distraught Christian. The lawyers went up the driveway and through the front door without knocking.

Reese kept his distance, perhaps sensing this wasn’t the time for him to be introduced to Christian. Callum didn’t think the boy was even aware of his audience. When it became clear Christian wasn’t going to be able to pull himself together anytime soon, Reese tipped his head toward Callum’s rental and mouthed,
go on.

Callum nodded. “Let’s go home,” he said to Christian, gently urging him around the car and into the passenger seat.

“What about Rupert? And Grady?”

“They’re all set,” he assured Christian. “They have another ride.”

Christian nodded and slumped back into his seat, silent for the short drive to the warehouse. He perked up a bit when Callum triggered the massive doors and drove right into the first floor of the building to park next to Alexei’s truck.

Christian looked around with wide eyes. Callum was still trying to get used to it, too, vaguely nauseous every time he rode in this stupid wobbly elevator.

“What is this place?” Christian asked.

Callum chuckled. “Your new home.”

“Does Rupert live in a storage unit?”

Callum was pleased to see Christian crack a smile at last. “You’ll see.”

They came to a stop, and Callum quickly opened the elevator doors, revealing the luxurious hallway that always seemed wildly incongruous compared to the rest of the building.

“We’re in Unit 2,” he said, pointing at Rupert’s door. “Mike and Alexei live in Unit 1.”

Christian looked up at him. “Do you live here, too?”

Callum frowned, stopping in the middle of the hallway. It occurred to him, here in the eleventh hour, that he hadn’t given this a whole lot of thought, beyond
must get Christian safe
.

“I’m visiting for the summer,” he hedged.

“Oh. I kinda wondered if you were Rupert’s boyfriend,” Christian said, “But then you told my dad you aren’t gay.”

Callum’s rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Yeah, um…I lied.”

“Oh,” Christian said again, looking at his feet. “That’s okay.”

“Actually, it isn’t.”

Christian shrugged. “It isn’t really any of my dad’s business. You didn’t have to tell him.” He sighed, deflating a little. “I think maybe I should have just lied, too,” he said quietly.

“No!” Callum bent down until their faces were level and Christian stared back. “Don’t say that. You did a very brave thing today, Christian. Don’t let the fact that I’m an idiot make you question your decision.”

Christian appeared ready to argue, but their apartment door opened and Jack popped his head out. “Callum! Christian! Come on in. Alexei is making lunch.”

Christian’s eyes went wide. “Alexei…
Belov
?”

Callum smiled. “Yeah. He promised to make us omelets. I guess it’s a specialty of his.”

Mike stepped into the hallway. If possible, Christian’s eyes went wider.

“You’re just in time,” Mike said enthusiastically. “If you hurry, you can still tell Alexei what you want in yours.”

Christian stood still, mouth hanging open. “Am I dreaming, or are the Ice Cats making me lunch?”

Callum pushed him along with a hand between his shoulders. “Well, not
all
of them.”

“Oh, okay, that makes this totally normal, then.”

Rupert arrived back at his apartment hours later to find utter pandemonium had been let loose.

He stopped in the entryway with Reese and Grady at his back, each carrying at least two grocery sacks filled with Christian’s clothes and other belongings, and took it all in.

Christian and Jack were on the couch, trying to teach Oliver how to play MarioKart on a game system Rupert didn’t even own. This, from what Rupert could gather, required a lot of shouting at the television.

Mike and Alexei were moving in and out of what was to have been Rupert’s office, apparently assembling furniture that Rupert hadn’t yet purchased. Bags from Target lay piled beside the door, overflowing with sheets and pillows, and even some books and posters.

And Callum was in the kitchen. He was peeling potatoes onto a cutting board already overflowing with chopped vegetables, a steaming pot at his elbow. He looked up, apparently surprised to see them, and promptly attempted to peel off the top of his thumb.

“Fadoodle!” he yelped, dropping the peeler and jogging off toward the bathroom with his hand elevated over his head.

Rupert was sure this was his new house. He recognized the furniture, and the copper pots hanging above the island in the kitchen, and the books lining the wall. Not to mention the contents of his office haphazardly stacked in the hallway.

The rest of it, though.

“What the bloody hell has happened to my life?” he asked no one in particular.

Reese started to laugh behind him. Alexei turned and spotted them first.

“Rupert!” he bellowed, loudly enough to part Rupert’s hair. “Welcome home!”

Oliver leaped off the couch and bounded toward him, not bothered by the indignant shouts of his opponents as one of the little go-karts on the screen flew off into space. “Rupert!” he cried, leaping into the air.

Rupert caught him easily. “Hello, Ollie,” he said as he swung the boy around and then hugged him close.

Oliver giggled. “You called me Ollie! You’ve never called me that before.”

“Haven’t I?” Rupert asked.

“No! That’s what Callum calls me.”

“Oh, well, should I stop then?”

“No! I quite like it.” He shoved at Rupert’s shoulder, squirming. “Now, put me down, please. I have to finish my game.”

Rupert did as commanded, trying not to wince when Oliver took a short cut over the back of the couch and landed with a bounce.

Callum came out of the bathroom with a bandaged thumb, bypassing his work in the kitchen to come to the entryway. He was wearing an apron Rupert didn’t recognize, but could guess where it had come from by the “Caution: Goalie” symbol emblazoned across Callum’s broad chest. Callum’s t-shirt was just a shade too small, emphasizing his shoulders and biceps. He should have looked ridiculous, but mostly Rupert wanted to climb him like a tree.

“Definitely a step up from Sheldon,” Reese muttered.

Rupert was about to tell his dear friend to shut up when Christian arrived at their side.

“How’d it go?” he asked anxiously.

Bloody awful
was the truth. All that really mattered, though, was the outcome. “I’m happy to report,” he said to the young man worrying his lip with his teeth and fidgeting before him, “you’re allowed to stay here as long as you like.”

“Yeah?” he asked with a hesitant smile.

“Yes. We have your things,” he said, gesturing at the bags stacked beside him, “and we can talk about anything that’s missing. I also have your health card, passport, birth certificate, and the phone number for your guidance counselor at school.”

Christian gave a wholly unimpressed eye roll at that last item.

Rupert was just happy to see the anxiety from earlier gone from his face. He put his hands on Christian’s shoulders. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“I’m okay,” he said, too quickly. Because, of course, he wasn’t. But they’d tackle that, a day at a time, and figure out what was best. Christian wrapped his arms around Rupert’s waist and hugged him so hard it hurt. “Thank you.”

“No, Christian, thank you,” Rupert said gently, running a hand over tousled hair. “Thank you for trusting me to look after you. I promise to try very hard not to screw it up.”

Callum smiled at Rupert over Christian’s head. “You’re amazing,” he said, then pressed a quick kiss to Rupert’s lips in front of god and country and at least two people who hadn’t known he was gay.

He pulled away quickly and went back into the kitchen, his cheeks bright red. He returned to his potato preparations as if the fate of the nation lay upon his getting it right.

A great whoop went up from the couch. “I win!” cried Oliver.

Christian gasped with outrage and spun around. “You little sneak! It was supposed to be paused.” He launched himself at the couch to defend his honor and demand a rematch.

A gentle hand landed on Rupert’s shoulder. He shuffled to the side to let Grady into the house properly. “Sorry.”

Grady’s grip tightened, and he smiled. “You’ve got a nice family here, Rupert.”

Rupert looked out at the chaos overflowing from every room. Once, this would have been so foreign as to be unrecognizable to him. Now, though, he understood.

He’d made a home.

“Thank you,” he said to Grady, for at least the thousandth time that day.

Grady went to join the group on the couch, tucking himself in right next to Jack.

Reese leaned in, bumping his shoulder against Rupert’s. “Congratulations,” he said over the din.

“For what? Or which?” It was fairly amazing that Rupert had so many good things happening to him that summer, he couldn’t know for certain.

“You’ve just become a father for the second time in as many months.”

The word
father
sort of scared him witless, but Rupert couldn’t disagree. Not if he was going to do this right. “I have.”

“And you have a lovely new home.”

Which, thankfully, had another small bedroom at the end of the hall. He’d have to start moving the office in there. “I do.”

“And you’re in love.”

Rupert gave Reese a long look, his heart aching and full.

“I am.”

Reese hugged Rupert. “Does this help?” Reese asked.

“Help what?” Rupert mumbled into his shoulder.

“The panic.”

“Maybe a little.”

Reese squeezed tighter. “I’m kind of digging it, actually. I almost hugged Hodges the other day, but worried the shock would kill him and then I’d have to remember how to drive.”

“Perhaps it’s better that you didn’t, then,” Rupert agreed. “I’m sure you could practice with Matilda, instead, if you wanted.”

Rupert was abruptly released. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Rupert laughed, even more delighted when Reese pointedly ignored him and went to join the MarioKart competition. Rupert had Reese’s number now, but he’d let that stew for a while before poking at it again.

Turning to the kitchen, Rupert approached the still-blushing Callum carefully.

“I didn’t know you could cook,” he said, watching Callum pile ingredients in a bowl.

“My mother, and apparently your new neighbors, would tell you that I can’t. But I’m well-trained enough to do the prep work while Alexei tackles the new furniture.”

“Yes, speaking of, where did that come from?”

Callum shrugged, focusing down at the counter instead of up at Rupert. “I figured you’d want Christian to settle in quickly.”

Rupert sidled closer and put a hand on Callum’s back. “Thank you. You’re very good to me. To all of us.”

Callum frowned and pressed his hands flat to the cutting board. “No, I’m not.”

Rupert sighed. He’d suspected Callum wasn’t going to just shake off this morning. “Come along,” he said, nudging Callum toward the hallway. Callum put up a token protest before walking, his head down, into the bedroom. Rupert closed the door quietly behind them, counting on the battalion of adults invading his home to keep the kids entertained, safe, and away from this room for a few minutes.

Callum jerked with surprise when Rupert pulled him in for a kiss. Rupert didn’t let it discourage him, rubbing their lips together until Callum opened for him, then taking the kiss deeper.