Chapter 10 #2
A blush bloomed over Ezra’s cheeks and down his neck, and he ducked his chin. “Uh, thanks, but you didn’t have to come.”
“It’s Thanksgiving and your birthday, you bet your cute ass we did.
” Lucy handed Ezra the dish in her hand, covered in aluminum foil, and tossed a thumb over her shoulder.
“You take that inside and place it on the table. We’ve got more coming from the cars.
We’re going to rock your world and you’re never going to miss another birthday or Thanksgiving again. ”
Ezra opened his mouth, but Lucy was already heading back to Bee’s car.
Bee shrugged. “It’s best not to argue with her, E.
Trust me. She likes getting her own way.
” Despite her concern, her smile was soft and it was obvious that, like Lucy and Dalton, she did care for Ezra, too.
And I was grateful because in the short time I’d known him, he’d become mine in more ways than I’d expected. I wanted my family to like him.
“I brought the human cheese, too, so you can taste the difference,” Dalton said.
Ezra rolled his eyes. “Ha ha. Very funny.” He laughed and shook his head, backing away to let them into the house. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Never,” Dalton responded as they both headed to the table with the food they were carrying.
I watched them, warmth swelling in my chest seeing my cousin and boyfriend converse like best friends. My life had taken a turn I hadn’t expected.
Bee cleared her throat, and I glanced at her, head cocked. “Don’t look too lovey-dovey, Samael.”
Uh oh, she’d brought out the big guns by using my full name.
“We need to have a very serious talk about you thinking with your head, not your dick.”
“Bee!” Lucy came back with another dish of food and glowered at her girlfriend. “Not tonight. It’s Ezra’s birthday and Thanksgiving.”
Bee shot her an incredulous look. “So? This is important. We could end up in jail if this goes wrong.”
I signed, “This won’t go bad.”
She snorted. “Did I not say you were thinking with your dick?”
“Can we not do this right now?” I signed and pouted dramatically in a way that always got her to relent, and she glared.
“Stop it.” A few seconds later, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll shelve it for now, but we are going to discuss it tonight.” Then, she swept past me in an imaginary gray cloud of annoyance. She’d come around, she always did.
Lucy winked. “She’s only worried.”
“I know,” I signed.
She grinned as she nodded toward the car. “The turkey’s still in the back seat along with some veggies. The birthday cake is there for later, too. Be a dear and help me? I’ve been cooking all day.”
I plopped a kiss on her cheek before I swept past her.
Eleanor and Annabella were at the front of Eleanor’s house, both dressed for the cold as snow began to descend on us again. When they saw me, they waved, and I returned the gesture before getting the turkey from the car and making my way back inside.
There was laughter in the kitchen, and I followed the sound, a light and easy sensation filling my chest. Happiness.
It was a strange feeling, but I liked it.
While I always enjoyed time with my cousins, it was different with Ezra around.
He brought a purity but also upped the ante for me.
Everything I did from here on out affected him, and I needed to tread carefully.
I walked in on Dalton poking Ezra in the shoulder, and Ezra wriggling away, laughing while smacking at Dalton’s hand while he did. He’d grown comfortable around my family and I liked that. If I had it my way, he’d be around for a long time to come.
“I didn’t need all this.” Ezra waved his hand around at the feast we were setting up on the table.
“Selfish to assume it’s all for you,” Dalton joked, which earned him a slap on the shoulder from Bee.
“You literally admitted it was for me before you came into the house,” Ezra retaliated with a smug grin. “Can’t deny it, old man.”
Dalton gasped and wobbled like he’d been struck with a bullet. “The insult. This is the young man we’ve raised in the time he’s been here? I remember when he was so timid. Innocent! He was innocent.”
“Stop being a drama queen,” Bee muttered, mouth twitching. She bumped his hip with hers. “And get out of the way. Some of us have been smelling this food all day and I’m starving. I wasn’t allowed to have any.”
Lucy huffed. “It didn’t kill you to wait until this afternoon, did it? This is for Ezra.”
Ezra watched the exchange, his eyes slightly wet as he looked at the three of them.
I ate up the distance between us and laid a kiss on his forehead, and he leaned into me with a happy sigh.
I nuzzled his hair, breathing in the apple scent of the new shampoo we’d bought together.
I wished I could say the words I was feeling to him right now, but I wasn’t sure if either of us was ready yet.
It wasn’t about the pain that came with speech, but rather the fear of scaring him away.
I couldn’t imagine what I’d do if he ran from me.
Probably hunt him down. He was mine now. I couldn’t let him go.
“We have birthday presents, too.” Lucy yanked out a flat gift wrapped in paper with a bow. While I didn’t know what it was for certain, I could guess it was a gift card because it couldn’t be anything else. “Here.” She shoved it at Ezra, excitement lighting up her eyes.
Ezra’s cheeks burned a bright red, vibrant even under the fading bruises, and he took the gift shyly.
Everyone watched, enraptured, and he had no choice but to open the present with four pairs of alert eyes on him.
He cleared his throat when he pulled the gift cards out, the flush spreading down his neck. “Oh. Wow.”
Lucy beamed, obviously proud of herself. “I hate to say it, but we don’t know you well yet and I didn’t want to buy something you’d hate or wouldn’t use, so Bee and I agreed on gift cards for the mall. You can use them in any of the shops.” She clapped her hands together, rocking on her toes.
Ezra ducked his head and gave them a shy smile. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“Boring.” Dalton smacked his hip against Lucy’s, and she shoved him. He laughed as he pulled out a small gift from the inside of his coat, wrapped in red-and-white striped paper with a red bow. “Happy birthday, little man.”
Ezra frowned. “Who are you calling little?” His mouth twitched into a smile as he opened the present with more delight than I’d expected. He paused when he came across a piece of cheese and eyed Dalton suspiciously. “There’s no humans in here, is there?”
Dalton burst out laughing and crossed his heart. “I promise. Nothing.”
Bee stared at Dalton in exasperation. “Why did you give him cheese for his birthday?”
“Everybody loves cheese.” Dalton gave her an incredulous look. “Are you from another planet? Venus, perhaps? Get it? Because women are from Venus.”
I sighed loudly. If I could choose my family, I probably still would’ve chosen Bee and Dalton, but sometimes I wondered where they came from. They were certainly one of a kind.
Ezra chuckled and held up his cheese like it was a trophy. “I love it. I seriously do. Nobody can get enough cheese.”
Dalton pointed at him. “At least he has the right idea.”
Bee groaned.
Lucy clapped her hands, earning everyone’s attention. “Let’s eat!”
An hour later, I was stuffed. My stomach felt like it was about to explode, and Ezra must’ve been feeling the same way because he leaned against me with a yawn. He smiled at me, and I laid a gentle kiss on his mouth.
“Aw, you two are just so sweet,” Dalton cooed like a little old lady, blinking dramatically at us. “It warms my ice-cold heart.”
Bee snorted and leaned back in her chair, laying her arm around the back of Lucy’s seat.
She watched us carefully, and I didn’t miss the concern in her blue eyes.
She opened her mouth, then closed it again, and I wished this wasn’t such an issue with her.
I understood her worry about the situation, but our aunt had helped me when I’d murdered my father, the person responsible for my trauma, and now it was my turn to help Ezra.
“I’m going to walk a bit around the house so I can digest all this food.” Bee patted her stomach before she rose, and I watched her back as she left the room, and so did Lucy.
Lucy smiled sadly as she glanced at me, before she signed. “You know what she’s like. She cares about you and doesn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’m fine,” I signed.
“I know,” she said aloud, but she didn’t sound very convinced. Maybe Bee had been in her ear about the entire situation. The longer this went on, the more Bee would lament about my plan, so I decided it was time to have a talk with her.
I kissed Ezra on the cheek and made a gesture for him to stay as I rose from the table and followed the sound of the TV, which had been switched on. An anchorwoman on the screen greeted the audience before she went into her story.
“A new investigation has arisen regarding the three college students who went missing in New Gothenburg. Police have a possible location of the last time the young men were seen. Paul Swanson’s parents are calling for witnesses to their son’s disappearance, claiming that Paul wouldn’t leave the city of his own volition. Tahlia Morganson has the story.”
Another journalist came on the screen and she began broadcasting the scoop in front of a police station. She spoke about the three men—the same ones I’d murdered because they were picking on Ezra—and how their families missed them.
Then, two older folks appeared, wearing wool trench coats that looked more expensive than my house.
The woman had layers of jewelry on, from a pearl necklace, rose-gold earrings, and an array of rings on her fingers that I bet were real.
Her husband wasn’t lacking, either, with a thick gold watch and multiple gold chains around his neck.
The woman leaned into the microphones held out to them, dabbing crocodile tears from her cheeks. “If anyone has any information about our poor, sweet Paul, please go to the police. We want our son home. We miss him, and I know his friends’ parents miss their sons, as well. They’re good boys.”
Good? I snorted. Paul was anything but sweet. He’d punched Ezra for being homeless. He was the epitome of a bully, and by the looks of his parents, I could see why. They were great actors.
Bee shot me a look as she turned off the TV. “Overly wealthy white people are the worst kind, Sam.”
“I know,” I signed. And I was ready for whatever they threw at me.
Ezra was worth it.
“We need to rethink this. We can kill him, but not on Christmas. There’s not enough time.” Her eyes turned pleading. “Let’s do this in the New Year. Please?”
I sighed and squeezed the back of my neck, before nodding. Maybe she was right. It was too dangerous to rush this and I didn’t want to get anyone arrested for murder.
The other three made their way into the living room and I held out my arm for Ezra, who cuddled in under my arm.
His presence was warm, like a blanket on a cold night, and I savored having him beside me.
I’d never felt the need to have someone against me until now.
He’d changed the whole dynamic of my life.
Lucy clasped her hands together in front of her chest, gazing at us with wide eyes. “You’re too cute. Let me take a picture.” She yanked out her phone and pointed it at us, and both Ezra and I smiled for the camera. “So adorable. Damn, you two fit together perfectly.”
I pulled out my phone and opened the speaking app, typing into it so Ezra could hear what I wanted to say. “I have your birthday present.”
“You haven’t given it to him yet? What kind of boyfriend are you?” Dalton slid closer to Ezra and wound his arm around his shoulders, eyebrows waggling. “I could be a much better partner than Sam.”
I shoved him away from Ezra, and he laughed. I made a face at him as I signed, “Asshole.”
“Ezra, he called me an asshole. Is this the kind of guy you want to be with?” Dalton opened his eyes wide.
“Definitely,” Ezra answered without missing a beat. His grin widened. “And that sign doesn’t need much explanation.”
I snorted and kissed him on the temple before escaping the room.
I thought buying him a birthday present would be difficult, but it wasn’t, especially after the long conversations we’d had—or at least, with Ezra talking about his life.
I got a good sense of who he was, and it was a harsh reminder that he was still young.
I grabbed the present from the guest room.
The space didn’t have a bed, and the only thing I used it for was storage, which meant Ezra had no reason to go in there and it was the perfect hiding spot.
When I came back into the living room, he and Dalton were laughing about something while Bee groaned, leaning back on the couch with Lucy laying her head on Bee’s shoulder.
The sight sent a soft sensation through me.
It felt good knowing how easily Ezra got along with my family.
“Is that mine?” Ezra’s eyes widened at the large gift in my arms and he took a step toward me before hesitating.
I held out the present, and he surged forward with the kind of excitement that had me laughing. He ripped at the red wrapping paper with joy. The moment his gaze settled on the box underneath, he froze, mouth parting.
“Did you. . . get me a PlayStation?” His eyes shot up to mine, wide and uncertain, like this was one big prank. My heart ached. His family deserved death.
“Yours,” I mouthed to him, tapping him on the chest.
His bottom lip wobbled and he planted his mouth together as he stared down at the box for a long moment, before he gently rested it on the floor and threw himself at me. He buried his face in my chest, and I wrapped my arms around him.
“Thank you.”
I smiled, ready to tell him he was welcome, but he continued.
“Thank you for listening to me. Like, actually listening. You’re the first one to care.”
I swallowed around a lump that formed in my throat and glanced up at my family. They were all staring with their own version of sadness, and I hugged Ezra tighter. Even though it was painful, I said the word that he needed to hear. “Always.”