Chapter Twenty
Kaiden spent the week on cloud nine, practically floating into the gallery every morning despite working an additional twenty-five hours a week in retail hell and dealing with Alison’s incredibly sour mood.
She rarely smiled leading up to events, and the impending Thanksgiving gala served as a way for the super elite to celebrate in style while also being charitable.
Honestly, October, November, and December were about to piledrive Kaiden’s free time with all the soirées he had to account for at the gallery. Thanks to his part-time gig, he’d even cut back on his gym routine. Not too much, though, since he found joy in working out.
It was all about to pay off, though, quite literally. He’d survived Alison’s wrath, he’d crawled through the first two weeks of juggling his new retail gig, and he’d mentally prepared himself for the upcoming horror of holiday sales.
“The catering service sent over a revised menu for your approval, I’ve sent invitations to your exclusive donors, and there’s a few documents that need your signature.”
Alison made a garbled sound in response, keeping her eyes locked on her computer as she typed a flurried response to some benefactor.
“Just a reminder, I’m not going to be in tomorrow,” Kaiden added. “Which you approved because—”
“Why are you still talking?” Alison paused her message, looked up at Kaiden, scowled, then returned to her email. “And make sure the truck isn’t damaged, or there will be hell to pay.”
“Of course.” Kaiden nodded, backstepping out of the office.
She might’ve been a headache during galas, but she’d already been very flexible with Kaiden’s schedule since he needed to fit his part-time gig into his daily routine. Plus, she even let him use the work truck for his own personal needs.
When Kaiden finally got home, he went directly to the basement. He wanted to pass out after a twelve-hour day, to crash, to immediately sleep because tomorrow meant freedom.
Dylan sent a flurry of GIFs with wide-eyed stares and slow blinks. Some had “huh” written in bold caps.
Rus followed up with a crying laugh emoji.
Kaiden stayed up late scrolling through videos and sending at least ten different absolutely hilarious posts that he needed Rus and Dylan to watch immediately.
The group chat was nice when it came to sharing videos.
Rus sent nearly as many as Kaiden. The two of them always responded with a laugh or a one-liner in response, whereas Dylan never acknowledged the videos.
Social media had never been his thing. Many of the videos were locked behind login screens to apps Dylan always downloaded and then deleted from his phone.
So, Kaiden found this little connection that only he and Rus shared quite entertaining.
Especially since he could still share it with Dylan, and now he had to deal with this insufferable spam from both his boyfriends.
The next morning, Kaiden woke up and cooked himself breakfast. His scrambled eggs sizzled quickly, and he quelled them with a slice of pepperjack cheese.
While Kaiden didn’t like adding milk to his eggs, he did enjoy the creamy spice of the right piece of cheese.
He added some already-cooked sausage crumble to the mix and took one look at the mildewy veggies before tucking them back in the crisper.
Usually, Kaiden kept the fridge tidy and organized the produce on the sides, so they’d be used quickly. But in the last few weeks, he’d dropped every responsibility he’d taken on to benefit the house. Kaiden prioritized himself.
“If you’re going to use someone else’s food, you could at least make them breakfast too.” Sandra glowered, dragging her feet across the kitchen floor.
Kaiden didn’t know if the scratchy sound came from her old slippers rubbing against the linoleum or brushing against the dirt tracked into the house by his nephews on a daily basis.
It didn’t matter. Kaiden took a deep breath and ignored his sister’s jab.
He could prioritize himself without being a selfish dick.
He’d made his family thousands of meals over the years.
He’d ignored the complaints about his cooking, the disappearing meal prep boxes he’d arranged for the week, the ingredients used and left out to spoil because someone couldn’t be bothered to put back a bag of deli meat.
There were hundreds of examples funneling through his head, opportunities to counter, to protest, to argue.
But Kaiden didn’t want to pick a fight. He wanted to quietly disappear and move forward with his life.
Sandra intentionally poured Kaiden’s black coffee into the sink and rinsed his mug before setting it on top of the mountain of dirty dishes.
Then she made herself a cup, using the last of the coffee.
Of course, she forgot to tuck the creamer back into the fridge before leaving.
Kaiden left the creamer where it was but double checked to make sure the fridge door was sealed.
He stood by the table, too wound up to sit, and scarfed down his meal.
Normally, his sister moved through the house like a chaotic whirlwind first thing in the morning, preparing her kids for the bus, and screaming at her husband until he woke up.
This morning was just as loud, just as chaotic, but ticked by so much slower.
It seemed every minute lasted an eternity, and Kaiden wondered if Rus and Dylan would arrive before his sister left.
Then he’d be forced to hear about it from her.
Thankfully, Sandra dragged her family out of the house, and Kaiden had a bit of privacy. His mother had already gone off to work. John worked nights, and based on the empty beer cans littered across the kitchen table, he’d be out for the count this morning.
Kaiden went to his nephews’ bedroom, the room he’d finally abandoned, and started packing up his belongings.
He brought the boxes to the front hall and set them by the door, then made his way to the bathroom and did a quick sweep for his belongings.
By the time he’d finished, his phone buzzed with a text from Dylan. They’d arrived.
“Hey,” Kaiden answered the door with a finger pressed to his lips. “Stepfather is sleeping. Should be out cold, but I don’t want to hear his rambles if he wakes up and catches me taking my stuff.”
“Let him say something,” Rus scoffed. “I got a few choice words for your family.”
“Tempting, but you talk with your fists too much, so…” Kaiden pursed his lips and gave Rus a peck, followed by giving Dylan one too. “Thank you for dropping everything to help me move.”
“Of course,” Dylan said, revealing a vase filled with a bouquet of pink roses.
Kaiden found himself enchanted by the lovely gesture.
A sweet housewarming gift Kaiden would treasure, especially noticing the art of the vase.
It was gorgeous and far too expensive for Kaiden to ever consider buying.
He spotted it on one of their outings and refused to consider buying it despite Rus and Dylan encouraging the frivolous purchase.
Kaiden did his best to avoid trinkets that didn’t provide immediate value.
Money was far too tight for frivolous or sentimental things.
“Thank you,” Kaiden said, almost collapsing into putty. “Let’s put them in the truck and get everything else packed up quickly. I already know where I’ll set them.”
Kaiden directed them to the basement, where they’d grab the rest of his belongings, while he carried the vase and flowers down the street to the truck.
Yes, he’d parked his boss’s truck at the end of the block.
Chances were his family wouldn’t have noticed a random truck parked on the street, and pieced together that it came from the gallery, but Kaiden wanted to avoid any and all questions.
It was petty, packing up and leaving in the dead of morning without a word. But he’d exhausted himself on one-way conversations and guilt trips and pointless debates. All he wanted was to be on his own.
Rus and Dylan piled boxes into the back of the truck. Well, mostly alone. He could make room for his boyfriends. His friends. They were the most reliable people in his life.
Kaiden’s stuff proved easy to move. He’d packed most of it away before Rus and Dylan came over. He left behind his dresser and nightstand. Both were mostly filled with his nephews’ belongings at this point anyway, and he figured the little guys could use the furniture more.
“You sure you wanna leave the bed behind?”
“Absolutely.” Kaiden made a sour face.
He’d had that creaky, squeaky twin mattress since he was fifteen years old.
Every time he considered replacing it, something came up, funds ran low, or he simply couldn’t bring himself to waste money on another dreadful twin bed.
He wanted a full, a queen, a king. Anything with real space.
Mainly, he just wanted space, something he never got in this home.
“Be careful, please.” Kaiden directed Rus and Dylan with the only real furniture he needed help moving.
His vanity desk and collection of lights and mirrors had really started piling up in the basement. They’d become his very own treasure trove, a safety net when hiding, and the perfect makeup station when putting on his face.
Even so, Dylan managed to Tetris everything into the back of the truck, while Rus did the heavy lifting.
Kaiden climbed into the truck, Dylan ended up wedged in the middle seat, and Rus tried to light a smoke until Kaiden snatched away his lighter.
“Alison would kill me.”
Rus sighed.
“But don’t worry, there’s a nice little patio at my new place with your name on it.”
“So, we finally get to see the new digs, huh?” Rus raised his eyebrows.
Kaiden drove through the city and a little more out of the way than he preferred. It was definitely bordering on the other side of town from Rus and Dylan and work, but he’d already accounted for the extra travel time. In the end, it’d be worth it.