Chapter 4 Ellis
ELLIS
The second that first tear fell, I was moving around the counter without thinking. My only thought was getting to Adam and making sure he knew he wasn't alone.
He looked so small standing there, staring at his bruises. His whole body was shaking, and when I reached him, he didn't pull away. He let me wrap my arms around him and pull him close.
"It's okay, Adam." I kept my voice soft with one hand on the back of his head and the other around his shoulders. "I've got you. You're safe now."
He made a sound that was half sob, half exhale, and his hands fisted in my shirt. For a moment, he just let himself cry. It wasn’t loud or dramatic. Just quiet tears that soaked into my shoulder while I held him and tried to figure out how to fix this.
I wanted to protect him from every bad thing in the world. If I could, I’d hunt down that piece of shit Derek and make sure he never came near Adam again. But my most immediate concern was helping Adam feel safe, and that wasn't easy when he worked alone in such a vulnerable position.
"I'm sorry." Adam's voice was muffled against my chest as he caught his breath. "I shouldn't be crying like this. I'm just tired and scared, and I don't know what to do."
"Don't apologize." I rubbed slow circles on his back, the way I would if he were mine to comfort. "You have every right to be scared. That guy's dangerous."
He took a stuttering breath and pulled back enough to look up at me with red eyes and a tear-streaked face. "He's never been physically mean before. I mean, he's been kinda rough but not where it hurt or left marks."
The bruises on his wrist were already darkening to purple. I gently took his hand and examined them.
My jaw clenched so hard it ached. "We should call the cops. File a report so you can get a restraining order."
"No." Adam pulled his hand back and wrapped his arms around himself. "I don't wanna deal with all that. I just want him to leave me alone."
"Adam, he assaulted you." As much as it wasn’t my place to force him to do anything, I couldn’t just ignore the fact that a psycho ex was harassing him and leaving marks on him at his place of business.
What would Derek be willing to do next? I wasn’t about to let Adam find out.
“He didn’t seem like he was going to just walk away. ”
"I know." He wiped at his eyes with the heel of his hand.
"But if I press charges, he'll just get angrier and make my life hell. He doesn’t live around here, so hopefully it’ll be too much of a hassle to keep following me around.
I just want him to move on and find someone he's actually compatible with. "
I didn't agree, but I also wasn't going to push. Not right now. Adam was barely holding it together, and he had a long shift ahead of him. “We’ll see.”
He nodded and some of the tension left his shoulders. "Thank you for getting him out of here.” He took a breath and held my gaze for a moment. “And for staying."
"I'm not going anywhere tonight." I meant it. The thought of leaving Adam alone in that store after what just happened made me physically ill. "I'll stay until you’re ready to leave."
His jaw dropped, and then he shook his head. "You don't have to do that, Ellis."
"I want to." I guided him toward the stool behind the counter so he could relax. "Get off your feet before you fall over. And when's the last time you ate?"
He sat down and cocked his head as if confused by the question. "I don't know. Yesterday sometime?"
"Dammit.” I groaned quietly and pulled out my phone. “You need to take care of yourself. What do you like? Chinese? Pizza? I'm buying."
He smiled briefly before hiding it. "You really don't have to buy. I can grab some chips from here."
"Adam." I waited until he met my eyes, and then I softened my tone. "Let me take care of you. Please."
Something shifted in his expression, and his eyes went soft. "Chinese sounds good. Anything with noodles."
“Perfect.” I knew of a place that delivered, so I ordered enough food for both of us, plus a few extra dishes in case he didn’t like something. While I waited for the confirmation, I grabbed one of the plastic chairs from the back and dragged it behind the counter, right next to his stool.
He watched me with a furrowed brow. "What are you doing?"
"Setting up camp." I sat down next to him and was close enough that our knees almost touched. "I told you, I'm staying right here tonight."
"Your back's gonna hate you in the morning."
I shrugged and glanced down at my phone when the order was confirmed. "Worth it."
He looked at me like he was trying to figure out if I was serious. Whatever he saw must have convinced him to just accept that this was happening because he relaxed a little and his shoulders dropped. "Thank you."
"Stop thanking me." I reached over and patted his knee.
"I can't help it." A small smile tugged at his lips, and he didn’t try to hide it this time. "Nobody's ever done anything like this for me before."
That made me want to hunt down everyone who'd ever failed him and make them explain themselves. He was too kind to be left vulnerable and defenseless. But I just nodded and changed the subject. "So, how long have you been working the graveyard shift?"
"Just a few months. Since I moved here." He picked at a loose thread on his work polo and averted his eyes. "The pay's better than day shift, and I needed the extra money."
"Where'd you move from?"
He bit at the inside of his cheek and shrugged. "About three hours south. I’m from a small town and needed a fresh start after Derek and I split up." He laughed, but it had no humor in it. "Guess that didn't work out so well."
My fist involuntarily closed around empty air. "He followed you here?"
"I don't know. I guess." Adam rubbed his face and sighed. "I thought I was being smart by sneaking away to a new city and taking a job where he’d never run into me. I didn't tell anyone where I was going, but he found me anyway."
Several customers came in for lottery tickets and cigarettes, so when the food came twenty minutes later, I met the guy at the door and brought everything back to the counter.
Adam's eyes widened when he saw how much I'd ordered. "That’s way too much food."
"Leftovers." I started opening containers as the delicious aromas filled the room. "You can take some home for tomorrow."
We ate in comfortable silence for a while. Adam demolished a container of lo mein and half the fried rice before finally slowing down. The color was coming back to his face, and he'd stopped shaking.
"Better?" I chomped into an egg roll and watched his eyes find mine.
"Yeah." He put his chopsticks down and looked at me. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Why are you being so nice to me?" He wasn't asking it in a suspicious way. Just genuinely curious. "You don't know me, and we've barely even had a real conversation before tonight."
I could have given him a dozen different answers, but I was done pretending. If he was gonna be vulnerable and open with me, the least I could do was be vulnerable and open with him.
"I've been coming to this gas station every morning for months." I put my hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed without letting up. "Not because the coffee's good or because it's convenient. I’ve been coming here to see you."
His eyes went wide as he inhaled deeply. "What?"
"I've been trying to work up the courage to ask you out since that first day I saw you.
" I slid my hand around and rubbed the back of his neck.
"But you always seemed nervous around me, and I didn't want to make you uncomfortable.
So I just kept showing up and hoping you'd give me a sign that you might be interested. "
"Oh." Adam's face flushed pink, and he looked down at his hands. "I thought you were just a nice guy."
"I am a nice guy, but I'm a nice guy who’s interested in getting to know you better." I held his gaze. "Very interested, if that’s okay with you."
"Yeah." He looked up through his lashes and smiled. "That's very okay."
A few customers came in for gas or snacks throughout the night, but it was mostly quiet. I stayed in my chair behind the counter and talked with Adam about everything, from his favorite foods to the random nature documentaries we both liked to watch.
The things Derek had said about “weird baby stuff” were at the tip of my tongue, but it didn’t feel like the right time or place for a conversation that might include diapers and other forms of control.
Even though I really wanted to know what that meant.
Was Adam into age play? Did he use diapers? Did he want a Daddy…like me?
Someday, I’d ask. But for now, Adam had been through enough without me pushing into territory that was clearly a sensitive subject.
There'd be time for that conversation when he trusted me more. When he knew I wouldn’t hurt him the way others had in the past.
Around six-thirty the next morning, Adam started the closing process.
He counted the register, restocked the shelves, and wiped down surfaces.
I helped where I could by taking out the trash and bringing him boxes from the back that he needed.
I even mopped the floor just to kill some time before he could leave.
His replacement showed up right at seven. Lisa took one look at me and raised an eyebrow. "You're still here?"
"Long story," Adam said quietly. "Everything's counted and ready to go."
She didn't push for an explanation. She just nodded and took over the register while Adam grabbed his stuff from under the counter, and we headed out together.
The sun was just starting to come up as I walked Adam to his car in the back lot.
I stopped beside him at his driver's side door and watched as he carefully looked around the lot to see who was around. "Adam." I waited until he looked at me. "I need you to hear me out before you say no."
"Um, okay." He slid the key into the slot in his door and then turned to face me. “What’s up?”
"I don't feel comfortable with you going home alone." I kept my voice gentle but firm so he knew I was serious. "Derek knows where you live, and he's obviously been watching you. You're too exhausted to be alone right now."
He was mid yawn when he caught himself and closed his mouth. "I'll be fine."
"Maybe. But I'd feel better if you stayed with me for a while." I could see he was about to protest, but I kept going. "I've got a guest room and top-of-the-line security system at my place. Derek doesn't know where I live, so you’ll be safe there."
His eyes looked like they wanted to say yes, but his mouth wasn’t on board yet. "Ellis, I can't just move in with you."
"You’re not moving in with me. You’re just staying with a friend, albeit a new friend, until we figure out what to do about Derek." I stepped closer and placed one hand on the car behind him, not exactly boxing him in but creating a bit of a wall around him. "Please let me help you."
He looked torn, biting his lip as he considered my offer. "I don't wanna be a burden."
"You won’t be, Adam. Not in the least." I meant it sincerely and hoped he could sense my honesty. "You could never be a burden."
Adam swallowed hard as he continued looking at me before he nodded. "I guess that would be okay. Just for a little while."
Relief flooded through me when he finally agreed. "Thank you."
"I need to stop at my house and grab some stuff." His hand moved up to my forearm, and he just held it in place, keeping my hand on him.
"I'll follow you." I wasn't letting him out of my sight until he was safe at my place. "We'll get what you need and then you can follow me to my house."
Adam nodded again, and this time, he had a small smile. "Yeah, okay."
I waited until he was in his car with the engine running before heading to my truck. As I pulled out behind his car, one thought kept running through my head.
I was going to keep this boy safe. Whatever it took.