Chapter Eight #2
“There wasn’t a fundraiser,” Kaiden confessed, lost on the temporary solace he got from his sister. “We just wanted to have a little fun. It was a nice time, but then these guys, they—”
“Well, that’s horrible,” she said rather flatly, returning to the microwave to grab the breakfast she’d made. “Just awful.”
Sandra slipped out of the kitchen, bringing her boys their meal, then made her way back into the kitchen, standing at the counter and eating her bowl.
Kaiden’s relief was quickly replaced with dread.
“Shame, you know, those men attacked you.” Sandra took an aggressive bite of her egg bowl mix. “But it sure as shit wouldn’t have happened if you’d been here.”
“What?”
“Just saying. You flaked, you lied, and went where you shouldn’t have been.”
“I shouldn’t have been at a club downtown? A public place where people go to drink and have fun?”
“Oh, come on, they don’t just go there for that.”
“What are you trying to say?” Kaiden let out an exasperated breath, having no fight in him, and wishing he could take back his foolish confession.
“I don’t know,” Sandra mused. “Just seems a little bit like karma if you ask me. Which you did.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m just saying. You had a responsibility, and you blew it off to probably, I don’t know, blow some stranger.” Sandra laughed a little at her own play on words. “Maybe next time, you’ll think about that before ditching your family.”
“To be clear, your kids are not my fucking responsibility,” Kaiden snapped. “My free time does not belong to you.”
This had been a battle he’d waged with his sister for years, always surrendering because most of the time, Kaiden didn’t care to argue. Kaiden didn’t mind being the good guncle. But the more he offered, the more his family expected, the more they demanded.
“Look, whatever. You got drunk, you acted a fool, you got beat up by a couple twinks, or I don’t know, the bears? Whichever homos are the tough ones. I say karma has been served, and we can put this behind us.”
“I wasn’t assaulted by anyone in the club,” Kaiden fumed, practically snarling as he spoke. “I was outside, led away by—”
“Ooooh, that makes sense now.” Sandra nodded, connecting the dots to whatever bullshit version of events she’d concocted. “You were drinking, having a gay ole time, and then you went outside and started bringing that flirt game with drunk guys on the street. I have seen that happen before.”
“What? No!”
“It’s happened to Tommy plenty of times,” Sandra explained. “When it’s a girl, I handle it. But those gay boys think they’re cute, but that type of shit is not cute.”
“I…” Kaiden fumbled with his thoughts, with his words, sinking into a fit of frustration as his sister twisted what little she knew and turned it into a working theory based on whatever bullshit she’d experienced with her husband.
“Just saying, sometimes gays think they’re being provocative and funny, but they’re being aggressive and gross, giving unwanted attention,” Sandra explained like she was the authority on unwanted advances from men on men.
“You said you’d been drinking, right? Went clubbing or whatever for that.
Just saying, you probably did something to make those guys uncomfortable. Most men aren’t like you.”
Sandra gestured to all of Kaiden, as if every piece of him had been born wrong. He knew which parts she meant, though. His flamboyant behavior. His gay voice. His love for makeup. His need for flair. His stupid outfits that always drew attention. The wrong attention, according to his family.
Kaiden stared slack-jawed. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
He didn’t have the energy to explain how one of them had lured him outside, how they planned their assault, how they got him alone and away from everyone else before making their move.
Sandra had already made up her mind. She’d filled in the narrative and found a way to blame Kaiden for his assault.
This was exactly why he didn’t want to follow up on the report, why he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.
As much as he hated his sister’s reaction, it was normal and expected and not even the worst. Chances were his stepfather would say Kaiden brought it on by never learning how to act like a man.
His mother would express how God worked in mysterious ways, and to be grateful He was giving Kaiden another chance.
And the police? They definitely didn’t give a fuck about what happened.
They only cared in shitty TV shows and bad action films.
“I don’t have time for this. I have work.”
Kaiden spent the next few days working for as long as Alison would allow him. She didn’t want him to overexert himself and would’ve preferred Kaiden take some time to recover, but he assured her work was the best recovery. In a sense, it was. He focused heavily on the distraction it afforded him.
When he got off work, Kaiden spent extra time at the gym. Partially because his injuries required he take it slower at the gym. Mostly, though, he wanted an excuse not to go home, not to offer his assistance.
In the days that passed, Kaiden tiptoed around his house, doing his best to avoid his family and any ungodly remark they’d have.
His sister had already said her piece. His brother-in-law would go on not-so-vague tangents about how real men always have to be at the ready and alert to protect what was theirs.
His stepfather didn’t speak to Kaiden, so nothing had really changed.
His mother had a look of pity, but she didn’t bring it up when they spoke.
She’d likely already gotten a version of the story she preferred from his sister, and there was no point in Kaiden wasting his breath to tell her the truth.
When Kaiden rolled home in the evenings, his mother would plead with him to take over and watch the kids. Reluctantly, he’d agree. It wasn’t like he had anywhere to escape.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true.
After three days of folding to his mother’s pleas and surrendering to his sister’s whims of babysitting, Kaiden decided he’d had enough.
He’d looped them into a group chat. On the off chance that Rus wasn’t up to hosting a hangout, he knew Dylan would always offer him a bed. He’d just have to trade screaming children for angsty teenagers. Dorothy’s Home was never quiet.
Kaiden packed a bag with a change of clothes for the morning, which he’d leave in his car.
It seemed easier to stay a little too late and ask if he could crash again, as opposed to asking up front.
He felt a bit like a creep, plotting his escape from his home, but he needed a night away. Hopefully, Rus wouldn’t mind.
It turned out Rus didn’t care at all. In fact, he heavily encouraged the sleepovers, offering beers every time Kaiden dropped by. Dylan stayed sober and only crashed about half the time they hung out.
Days turned to weeks, and the month of September flew by without Kaiden having to offer his assistance to his sister once.
Between sleeping at Rus’, Dylan’s, and occasionally locking up and sleeping at the art gallery, Kaiden avoided his home except to drop by, sneak in, grab what he needed, and disappear before his family could complain.
After a particularly exhausting Tuesday, Kaiden languished in the gym shower—his least favorite place to clean off. But honestly, after years of sharing two bathrooms and one shower with his family of seven—well, eight including himself—he learned to get over his public shyness.
Once he’d dragged himself over to Rus’ apartment, he found Rus and Dylan sprawled out on the bed, controllers in hand, and eyes locked on the television as they continued playing the same video game they had for weeks now.
Something called Baldur’s Gate 3—which made zero sense since Dylan hadn’t played one or two yet was expected to understand how to play the third game in the series.
Rus introduced Dylan to it, and it had turned into their go-to way to pass time in the evening. Certainly not Kaiden’s favorite.
“How long is this game?” Kaiden plopped onto the edge of the bed, half paying attention to the screen and half scrolling through his phone.
“Sixty to ninety hours,” Rus said rather aloof. “Depends on how much exploration Dylan wants to do.”
Rus’ one negative quality was his obsession with video games and binge-watching shows.
Well, Kaiden enjoyed Rus’ taste in media.
He just didn’t get the obsession with video games.
His brother-in-law stayed glued to their couch at all hours, practically living in the living room to the point his parents moved their streaming stick into their bedroom exclusively instead of banishing the douche to his bedroom.
The perk of Dylan’s friendship came with the fact that he had never been introduced to video games and thus held no interest in them.
And for a guy who rarely indulged in anything much other than fresh air and fundraisers, he’d turned into quite the little gaming junkie since Rus introduced him to this co-op campaign.
“Right now, I’m still deciding who to fall in love with,” Dylan explained. “I’m torn between the chatty wizard and the charming warlock. They’re both so great.”
“You could romance them both,” Rus said. “But you’d eventually have to break one of their hearts.”
“Boo.” Dylan sighed.
“I thought this game was about aliens and killing monsters.”
“They’re not aliens,” Dylan said. “I think.”
“I mean, they’re squid-faced telepaths who pilot interdimensional flying ships,” Rus said. “They’re kinda aliens. Jus’ a lil bit.”
“So, shouldn’t y’all be killing monsters, not romancing people?”
“Absolutely not,” Dylan said. “I need the perfect boyfriend to save the world with. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
“Dating cannot be the point of this game,” Kaiden said with a huff.