Scum (Wrong Side of the Tracks 1)

“I don’t know. It’s happening too fast. I don’t even have a place to keep a dog right now.”

“I mean, there’s a lot of space to roam at the junkyard, and Frank even has a fence around the house.” Ros put his arm around Shane’s back, tickling him with his fingertips. “You did say you had some experience training dogs.”

Shane shrugged. “I guess.”

“Or was it a lie? Because you did tell me you spent so much time in prison—”

“Oh, so you think I’m a liar?” Shane asked, squeezing his hands together as the accusation stabbed its way under his skin. His plans for revenge were over if Ros couldn’t trust him anymore. A part of him would have been glad. But the other, the vicious and vengeful side of Shane, knew he should have never gotten so close to the boy in the first place. How was some shithead overdosing at the frat Shane’s problem? He should have let things take their course instead of revealing so much of himself to a boy he’d intended to use as a tool against his father. Too late for regrets.

“No. That’s not what I meant. I get why you were uncomfortable telling me about your time in prison. I just… don’t know what to think anymore.” Ros sighed but didn’t take his hand from Shane’s back, stroking him as if Shane was some marshmallow that needed soothing. After a damn decade behind bars, his soul was as hard as steel, and no bone in his body remained weak.

He didn’t need reassurance. But if Rosen wanted to offer support, then maybe telling him something about the last ten years of Shane’s life could repair the damage caused by this stupid fucking evening and reassure him that Shane was still worthy of his trust?

Shane counted to ten and leaned back against the wall, staring at the black and white photo of a cat and dog sleeping together hung above the empty reception desk. “I was in a program for inmates. We trained dogs for disabled people.”

Ros’s eyes brightened. “That’s amazing! How long did you do that for??”

Shane exhaled, and the painful cramps in his shoulders unwound somewhat. “The past four years. Life got much better once I started, since prison’s… well, you feel aimless while you’re in there. No one thrives in a cage.”

“Was it hard for you? Or were you such a tough guy already in your younger days?” Ros nudged him with an elbow. No matter how much Shane wanted to harden and only act as if the teasing worked on him, it most definitely did. Ros was so cute it was impossible not to notice. Like a Disney Princess, he was sweet, and wished everyone well, and if he started singing in the woods, birds and rodents would flock to him as if he were made of grain.

Shane shouldn’t have liked it. But he did.

He just couldn’t understand what a guy like that saw in him.

“It’s hard in there even when you’re tough. Unless you’re one of those people who just don’t care what happens to them, you want to be somewhere else.” Shane closed his eyes, remembering the cell that he shared with a guy he loathed, and the constant stink of the toilet.

He couldn’t believe it had only been a couple of weeks since he’d returned to real life. It was like being brought back from the dead.

Ros bumped his shoulder against Shane’s. “Does that scar on your back come from that time?”

“Got shived in my second year in there. Argued with the wrong guy, you know. I thought we’ve resolved things, but then he attacked me out of nowhere sometime later,” Shane said, rubbing his hands, because his skin felt oddly cold all of a sudden.

“That must have been so hard. To always have to watch your back.” Ros kissed his arm, and the softness of the gesture made Shane melt. He never thought he’d have access to a guy like this, let alone be the object of his affection. It felt undeserved, and the growing worry tightened the skin around his limbs.

“Doesn’t it bother you?”

“What?”

“You know what,” Shane snapped, rising to his feet, because the warmth of Ros’s body suddenly felt oppressive.

Silence extended between them for a while, and Ros ended up hanging his head with a sigh. “I’m still processing it all, but it’s not like I deserve a gold star from society. Especially not after tonight. I just want to understand you better and be there for you. Is that so strange?”

It was for Shane. In his experience, people who acted all nice always had ulterior motives. It was why he’d gotten together with Ros in the first place.

So maybe this boy was naive in ways Shane couldn’t fathom, but did that mean he could be trusted? His behavior was far beyond Shane’s understanding. “I don’t know. I’ve never met anyone like you.”