Chapter 21 #4
They sat in silence for several minutes, Taylor chewing on his lip whilst William downed another bowl of cereal.
William’s eyes flicked across the table then towards the back door, he cradled the bowl of cereal as though Taylor was about to snatch it off him. Swallowing, he said, “Dad said something was gonna happen. I heard him laughing about it with his friends.”
Taylor frowned. “Did you now. And which friends would they be?”
“The weird ones.”
“Near the place JP got attacked?”
William shook his head, taking another spoonful.
“Who, then?”
William rolled his eyes like an obnoxious brat. “As if I know the address.”
Taylor leant back in his chair, throwing an ankle across one knee. “Well, what does the place look like?”
William shrugged. “Dunno. I tried to take you there, but you wouldn’t follow.”
Taylor drew a long breath through his nose. Shit. “Near the stream?”
William shrugged again. “Not exactly near.”
“House or flat?”
Shrug.
“What’s the front door like?”
Shrug.
Sucking his teeth, Taylor reached across the table and poured William another bowl of cereal.
“Does it have a garden?”
William picked up his spoon. “I guess.”
He’s only eleven. He’s only eleven. He is only eleven. We are not getting mad with an eleven-year-old.
Taylor pressed his lips together. “Anything in the garden?”
“Like what?”
Jesus, it was like pulling teeth.
“Like, I dunno, a swing? Shed? Kennels? Shifter hut?”
The question was met with yet another shrug.
Taylor looked up at the ceiling. “Come on, dude, give me something here.”
William’s eyebrows pulled into a deep frown. “Are you gonna arrest my dad again?”
“Depends what’s there, doesn’t it, mate?”
William chewed rapidly. “I’m not telling you.”
Gripping the edge of the table, Taylor tried not to let his frustration show. “Will, stop being awkward.”
“I changed my mind,” he replied, chucking his spoon into the bowl, causing milk to splash everywhere. “I’m leaving.”
“Oi!”
“Tay” came Johnny’s quiet voice from the bottom of the stairs. He’d changed into a pair of running shorts and one of Taylor’s T-shirts that had a cartoon picture of an ice-lolly with the words Stay cool man printed across the front.
He looked better; less tense and softer around the eyes.
Taylor rose, relief flooding his body at the sight of him, at home, in Taylor’s clothes. Exactly where he should be. Taylor crossed the room and pulled him into a tight hug, his fingers finding the nape of Johnny’s neck and the other hand fisting in his T-shirt.
Johnny let out a soft breath, patting Taylor’s back. “Okay. Ow. Ouch. Ribs, Tay.”
Taylor grumbled, letting him go, but Johnny slipped his fingers around Taylor’s jaw and pulled their faces together. “Shower,” he said, nostrils twitching.
Taylor frowned. “Later.”
“I said shower.” Johnny blinked slowly, his eyes unmoving.
“And I said later.”
A little rumble emanated from Johnny’s chest, his eyes flicking towards William. “I want to talk to William on my own.”
Taylor pulled his jaw from Johnny’s grip. “JP, you aren’t kicking him out.”
Johnny’s nostrils flared, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I’m not going to kick him out. I just want to ask him some questions about his dad’s friends, and you have all the tact of a monkey crashing cymbals.”
Taylor studied Johnny’s eyes for any hint of a lie. When he found none he huffed and turned towards the stairs. “Nice T-shirt, by the way,” he said over his shoulder.
Taylor showered as fast as humanly possible before wandering into Johnny’s bedroom. He tugged a pair of boxers from his top drawer, some shorts and a dark green gym vest that clung to his chest and showed off his arms. Maman always said green was his colour, and he had to say he agreed.
Five of Taylor’s little painted orcs were lined up on Johnny’s windowsill, and he grinned mischievously as he took a couple and placed them under his pillow. By the time he got back downstairs, the cereal had been put away and both Johnny and William were standing next to the cooker.
“You have to cut with the grain of the meat,” Johnny said, pressing his uninjured hand over William’s as he awkwardly hacked at a slab of beef. “Like this.”
Taylor took the opportunity to dart outside and tug Johnny’s bedding off the line before running upstairs and bundling it into his wardrobe.
After remaking Johnny’s bed with some of Taylor’s spare sheets, he trotted back downstairs, cracked his knuckles and smiled like everything was totally normal.
“Smells good, dude.” Taylor nudged William’s elbow, which earned him an annoyed growl.
He doubted William had ever prepared a proper meal in his life, and whatever Johnny had rubbed onto the meat smelled fucking divine.
“Get to work,” Johnny said, handing Taylor some skewers. “And when you’re done, start on the plantain.” He sounded irritated, but gave Taylor a small smile over the top of William’s head.
“Aye, aye, Captain.” Taylor sighed, picking up a few strips of meat. William looked at it nervously, his blue eyes widening. “Don’t worry, looks great,” Taylor said, smiling.
When they’d finished preparing dinner, Taylor gave William a spare set of clothes and sent him upstairs for a bath. “Roll the waistband up if the shorts are too big,” he called as William disappeared onto the landing.
When he was safely upstairs Johnny let out a long sigh and slumped into one of the kitchen chairs. “Jesus, he stinks,” he said, inspecting the bandage on his arm. “Didn’t the foster home give him a bath?”
Taylor tutted. “It’s not his fault. You should have seen the state of the house—that type of smell doesn’t come out after one wash.”
Johnny shook his head. “Fucking hell, Tay. What a mess.”
Pulling up the chair opposite, Taylor pressed his head into his hands. “I didn’t know what to do. I just panicked and before I knew it we were back home. I’m sorry I didn’t pick you up but my brain did that thing where it goes into a black hole and I couldn’t think about anything else.”
Johnny rested his injured arm on the table, and Taylor couldn’t help but stare at his fingers as they poked through the bandage.
They looked angry and swollen and the strapping underneath was digging into his skin.
Taylor leant forwards, turning his hand palm-side up and brushing his nose against the bruises.
Johnny’s skin was clammy, and he could still smell the blood under his nails.
Before Taylor knew what he was doing he dropped to his knees on the kitchen floor and just hugged Johnny around the middle.
“Jesus, you’re a baby,” Johnny said, sighing as he patted the back of Taylor’s head. “You’re too big for this shit.”
“You said I was hot and scary,” Taylor murmured into his lap.
Johnny chuckled, carding his fingers through Taylor’s hair.
“William said his dad’s friends live in a barn in the woods.
He said there’s a curvy metal door with barbed wire and dogs patrolling the outside.
Said one of them’s called Stan. He described some big drums in the back garden, but I’m not sure what he means. ”
Taylor hummed, silently enjoying the way Johnny petted his hair. “Sounds like a drug factory,” he said, extremely aware of how Johnny’s cock was stiffening against his cheek. “The pond must connect to the stream in the shifter woods. I’ll let Isla know.”
Johnny shook his head. “I called her when you were in the shower. She’s jacking up a surveillance team from Falkington. We need help, Tay. This is too big for us to handle on our own.”
“And William?”
“Isla called Kat. She wasn’t happy but said it was better than William running away again. She’s meeting up with us tomorrow. Everything… everything else can wait until tomorrow because I just don’t have the energy to deal with any more shit today.”
Taylor looked up at him, studying his face. “Okay,” he whispered, brushing his lips across Johnny’s stomach before returning to his own seat. “Do you think William’s ever watched Tropic Thunder?”
Johnny laughed, flicking him between the eyebrows. “Not appropriate for an eleven-year-old, pal.”
Humming, Taylor glanced over at the TV. “Lord of the Rings marathon?”