Defined By Deceit

“Let him go, Jamison!” Moss yelled.

“He’s violating his probation. He’s not supposed to be around you or your family,” Deputy Jamison snarled, pulling Llew by his collar.

“Stop it! He’s not violating anything. I pulled up after him. He didn’t even look at me. Release him immediately!” Moss’ voice was strong and confident; nothing like the weak boy he’d been eight years ago.

Deputy Jamison looked back and forth between them, obviously stunned that a victim would be sticking up for his attacker. That had to appear odd. But he reluctantly unlocked the cuffs. “We got a call from Janie saying that you were cornered by him, sir.”

Llew rubbed his wrist, looking up through the convenience store window at the girl in a paisley smock, who used to be the captain of the cheerleading squad, as she wrung her hands. He thought she was acting weird, but he’d shrugged it off. Everyone in this goddamn town acted weird. He hadn’t uttered one word to her though, and she’d called the cops. Yeah. He had to leave.

“This is your final warning, Gardner.” Deputy Jamison pointed his finger at him. “You stay away from Moss McGregor, his parents, or his lovely wife. If I get one more call regarding you I’m—”

“That’s enough Jamison.” Moss ordered.

Llew opened the door to his truck, but he couldn’t help but look back at his old lover one last time. Most likely the last time. He whispered only for him to hear, “Why couldn’t you say that before?”

Instead of waiting on a response that he knew wouldn’t come, he got in his truck and carefully drove off, extra cautious not to go over the speed limit, since Jamison was right behind him.

Chapter Thirteen

Llew’s couple of bags were packed and waiting by the door of their trailer when his brother got home the next evening. His smile dropped and his shoulders slumped as soon as he saw them. Llew appreciated that his brother didn’t try to talk him into staying. He knew this had to be done, too. It was either him or the business. As soon as Leslie went back to work the next day, he would surely hear what had happened between him and Moss, so he needed to tell him now. Tell him the truth. This town was not gonna give him a fair shake. It never had, and it never would.

“So, where you gonna go?”

Llew was stirring his spaghetti sauce when he answered. “Henderson.”

He heard the shattering of the glass vase that sat on one of the bookshelves, making him turn sharply. His brother’s face was a dark red, his hands balled into fist. “This fuckin’ sucks, man! You just got home, Llew. They can’t force you to leave.”

This is what he understood more than anything in the world. He understood unfairness. His brother had a right to be angry… he was, too. He’d lost so much time, time away from the only family he had, but this was the hand he was dealt. He wasn’t folding, but he knew when to hold. He and his brother would have their time, but first he had things to do.

He still didn’t speak as he let his brother kick the bags that sat against the wall and throw magazines across the room. When it looked like he’d calmed down and gotten most of it out of his system, Llew set their two plates on the table. His jaw was clamped tight while he waited for Leslie to join him. They ate in silence, the reality of Llew having to leave again heavy on their hearts. After they were done, instead of Llew going to his bedroom to explore his drafting software like he usually did, he decided to sit with his brother and watch the game. While he didn’t yell and bitch at the television, he did quirk his mouth up and smile as his brother hollered enough for both of them.

The game—and then of course, the post-game show—didn’t end until after midnight. Llew left his snoring brother on the couch, as he made sure everything was locked up and turned off. He’d thought about going outside to work out, but knowing how his late night rituals concerned Leslie, he chose to wait and do it in the morning, instead. He showered quickly, and sans any nightclothes or underwear, he stretched out on his floor. His thoughts went to a pretty blond, with green eyes and a beautiful smile. He wished he could’ve fucked him. Ate his hole until he couldn’t take it anymore, then sank deep inside him. He probably would’ve only lasted two minutes, but he’d be damn if it wouldn’t have been the best two minutes he’d had in years. Gene had been so eager to please, but deep down Llew knew it was because the man had no idea who he was with. He’d said he could read people. Was that why he’d taken Llew home? Because he knew Llew wasn’t a rapist, a bad person, someone who got off on hurting people? Well… he did love to give his lovers some raw passion, a bit of dominance, because there were some kinds of pain that were good. Gene probably would’ve welcomed it. He would’ve begged for it.