Chapter 3 #2
“Be careful,” Kaden said. “If you turn this on, you might get burnt.” He pointed to the controls.
“Or if you touch the knives, you might cut yourself.” He pointed to the knife block.
“Don’t go down the drain because I won’t be able to get you back.
This thing, okay? Don’t push your finger in an electric socket.
Those things.” He pointed them out. “They’ll zap you. ”
Moments later, Joe was turning the lights on and off. When he came back to Kaden, he slithered up his leg and finally settled on his shoulder. When Kaden felt a tendril stroke his neck, he sighed. I shouldn’t have done this, but I’m glad I did. He hoped he continued to think that.
While he was waiting for the pizza to cook, he typed up his notes. He was going to have trouble making this day-in-the-life sound more interesting than it had been because he could hardly add in what he’d got up to. But he did his best.
When his phone rang, he saw it was Harris and gulped. Did he know what Kaden had done?
“Hi,” Kaden said.
“Where are you?”
“My place.”
“Thought you wanted to talk. Come over.”
“I’m tired. Just going to have something to eat, then I’m going to bed.”
Harris huffed. “I’ll meet you at Neon tomorrow. Eight.”
“I have a gig. I told you. Upstairs in the Old Vic.”
“No, you didn’t tell me.”
Kaden knew he had. “Come and watch me and we can go to the club after.” Am I already backtracking on my decision?
“Watch you make a fool of yourself? Not my idea of fun.” He ended the call.
Kaden sighed. He definitely needed to end things with Harris. This was going nowhere. The coward in him wanted to send a text, but he knew how he’d feel if he got dumped like that so he’d wait until he saw him.
Joe loved pizza. Kaden had cut it up into small pieces and Joe consumed an entire slice.
Kaden could actually see him getting bigger and firmer.
Closer to a mini football than a tennis ball.
It was like watching bread rise. Though Joe growing fast could turn into a problem.
He was easy to hide at the moment, but wouldn’t be if he got big.
Which brought on another worry. How large could he get?
Big enough to fill the whole building, so that he oozed out of the windows?
Fuck! There was more of a shape to him sometimes, a sort of head and body with limbs.
He even mimicked a cup, then the pepper grinder, but he kept reverting to the shape of a ball as if it was hard to maintain the other forms.
Kaden used his laptop to watch one of The Blue Planet series, with Joe sitting on his knee.
Every now and again, Joe changed shape to imitate what they were watching on the screen: a small penguin, a seal, a narwhal.
It was so cute and more mesmerising than what they were viewing, especially when Joe somehow turned white when he was the narwhal.
He went to bed with his head buzzing. Joe had indicated yes when Kaden asked if he needed to sleep, so he’d put one of his winter hats on the desk for Joe and placed the water container next to it.
He wished he had someone to talk to about him.
If he told any of his friends, they’d think he’d lost his mind.
Maybe I have.
Until he decided what to do, he needed to handle this scientifically. Teach Joe how to communicate. Monitor his physical and mental progress. Keep him alive and ask him where he wanted to go. Find out where he was from and what he could do.
Except where was there to go for a blob called Joe? How would he survive? If anyone saw him, they’d probably stamp on him. He swallowed hard. Kaden felt responsible for him now. He’d saved him from the incinerator and the enemy blobs so now he had to look after him and protect him.
Or confess to Harris and ask him what to do?
He could imagine the result of that. Lixian would be sealed off.
The army would be called in. Harris would be furious.
Kaden would be arrested and Joe might be dissected.
Especially if Kaden told them how he’d healed that cut.
He lay awake, thinking and fretting, and was still awake when he heard the buzzer.
Just after eleven and he could guess who was outside.
None of his friends would come at this time of night.
Even if it wasn’t Harris, he couldn’t let anyone see Joe.
He pushed to his feet, padded across to the door and checked the screen.
Kaden sighed when he saw Harris glowering.
He pressed the controller to open the door downstairs and went back to his desk.
“I need to hide you. Don’t let Harris see you or I’ll be in trouble and so will you. Okay?”
Joe touched Kaden’s middle finger.
Kaden put Joe and the hat at the bottom of his wardrobe with the water. He looked so vulnerable that Kaden’s throat tightened. “Stay still.” Then he shut him in.
He put on sleep pants before he opened the door of his flat. Harris pushed past, slamming his way inside.
“Why didn’t you unlock this door? You knew I was coming up.”
It was Kaden’s routine to release the outer door, then unlock the door of his flat so Harris could walk straight in. He didn’t see why it mattered that he hadn’t, but Harris wrapped his hand around Kaden’s throat and shoved him back against the door, closing it with the weight of their bodies.
“I just nipped to the loo,” Kaden croaked.
Harris had been drinking. Kaden could smell the alcohol. He sucked in a breath when Harris released his throat.
“Written the article yet?” Harris took off his coat and tossed it on the chair.
I don’t want you to stay. But the words remained in his head. Kaden’s courage was slipping away. “I’ve made a start. What are you doing here?”
Harris glared at him. “What do you mean, what am I doing here? You said you wanted to talk.”
“But I told you I was tired. I was in bed.”
Harris moved back to press himself against him, rocking his hips against Kaden’s. “Let’s get back into bed, then.”
“You’re drunk,” Kaden muttered.
“So what?”
Harris was cold and cruel when he was drunk. Kaden swallowed. Colder and crueller.
He wriggled free of Harris’ hold and backed away. “It’s not acceptable to come here drunk, wake me up and expect to have sex. It’s not the first time you’ve done this. And I’ve had enough. Go home.” Oh God. Did I manage to actually say that, not just think it?
Harris’ mouth had fallen open.
Yes, I did. “I’m not happy,” Kaden blurted, because what was there to lose now? “You’re not happy either. We should call it a day.” Not should. Just say it. “I don’t want to see you anymore.”
For a brief moment, shock lingered on Harris’ face before it went blank. Kaden hadn’t seen that dark, empty look before and fear flashed through him.
“Please leave,” Kaden said, while he still felt a little brave. Though not quite brave enough to omit the please.
Harris’ sharp backhand came out of nowhere. Kaden’s head snapped to the side and he bit his tongue, crying out as he stumbled backwards and collided with his desk. Shit, that hurt. This had to stop. He should have stopped it the first time Harris had hit him.
“For fuck’s sake, Harris!” Kaden wiped his mouth with his hand and saw blood on his palm. “What is hitting me going to do apart from piss me off?”
“It makes me feel better.”
“That’s sick. Get out or I’ll call the police.”
Harris stepped into his space and grabbed him by the throat. “You don’t get to dictate when this ends, you snivelling little fuckwit.”
Kaden grabbed at his hand, pulling at his fingers, trying to get him off. “Yes. I. Do.” He choked out the words. “And it’s now. We’re done.”
Harris threw him to the floor and Kaden cried out in pain. Would those in the bedsit below hear what was happening and call the police? They might hear, but he doubted they’d call the police. Harris kicked him and Kaden cried out as he curled up trying to protect himself.
“I’ll say when we’re done,” Harris snarled.
“Get out of my bedsit.”
“You need teaching a lesson.”
The beating was vicious and accompanied by name-calling.
Pathetic little shit. Useless wanker. Stupid fucker.
When it became harder and harder to drag air in through his blocked nose, Kaden could only curl up and try to protect as much of himself as he could.
This is the last time. That’s what he kept telling himself.
This really was the last time Harris would get near him, let alone touch him.
This was the price for being too nice a guy. Too weak a guy. His own fault. That was what echoed in his head as he finally passed out.
When Kaden came round, he was lying face down on the floor. He kept his eyes closed and didn’t move. He had a feeling that the slightest movement would bring a deluge of pain, but then he could feel that coming anyway. He didn’t sense Harris was still there, but he might have been.
Kaden waited, listening and not moving until a stab of pain made him shudder and suck in a breath.
He tensed for Harris dropping at his side, for apologies to fall from his lying lips, a flurry of sorries, endearments, noises of concern tinged with you made me do it, but there was silence.
He opened his eyes to see he was alone and released a shaky sigh of relief.
Except he hadn’t been naked and now he was.
Everywhere hurt. Kaden rolled onto his side and whimpered.
He didn’t really want to move at all but lying on the floor all night would only make him feel worse.
He was covered in blood and bruises and…
He stifled a cry. How fucking dare he! He didn’t feel as if Harris had…
Oh God, I don’t even want to think the word.
But if Kaden called the police, he had a clear view of a future he didn’t want.
Hospital, statements, questions, sympathy, scorn, disbelief…
and it would go on for months if not years, him having to tell his story over and over and Harris telling lies.
Kaden had to think about what he wanted and while he didn’t like the idea of Harris getting away with beating the shit out of him, maybe that was the lesser evil.
Kaden wanted to forget it had happened, forget he’d ever been seduced by a different version of Harris, forget how stupid he’d been.
He wouldn’t be able to forget, but he could try to push it deep into his mind because he wasn’t going to let this wreck his life.
It was a lesson learned. A painful lesson and part of it was his fault.
He could hear his friends railing at him for that.
None of it is your fault. Maybe not, but Kaden still wasn’t going to the police.
He was alive. He hurt but nothing was broken.
He didn’t think Harris had done more than beat him up and…
Not going to think about that. He’d get better.
But he had to crawl to the bathroom, walking was beyond him.
Stretching up to switch on the shower made him cry out in agony.
There wouldn’t be much hot water, but there’d be enough to get clean, enough to remove the chill from his bones.
He was covered in bruises and scratches.
He could see Harris’ fingerprints on his skin.
Water falling on him was a reminder that everywhere hurt.
He didn’t have the energy to do more than curl up on the floor of the shower.
Only when the water started to cool did he make the effort to switch it off and grab a towel.
Even drying himself was painful but he was already shivering with cold, maybe shock.
He crawled back into his room and pulled on a clean pair of sleep pants.
For some stupid reason that made him feel as if he was getting his life back to normal.
His room was a mess but he could ignore that, deal with it later.
He opened the door of the wardrobe. He couldn’t think Harris would have discovered Joe, but he wanted to reassure himself that he was still there. He was.
Joe shot out of the hat, over to Kaden’s foot and shimmied up his sleep pants, over his chest and stopped on his shoulder. One tendril came out and he stroked Kaden’s cheek. Kaden released a ragged breath. Did Joe know what had happened? His gentle touch almost made Kaden cry.
“I’m okay. I just need to sleep.”
He picked Joe up, put him back in his hat but left the wardrobe door open. When Kaden finally slid into bed, he sighed. He ought to have taken some painkillers but he didn’t have the energy to find them. He left the bedside light on. He’d never been afraid of the dark, but… Oh God.
~~~
Joe was torn between rage and worry. Harris was supposed to care for Kaden and he’d hurt him.
Am I any different? Joe had been supposed to care for Lanu and he hadn’t.
But he’d not struck him, not kicked him, he’d just not…
helped him when he should have done. He’d wanted to help Kaden and he couldn’t.
He’d tried to push open the door and failed.
But even if he’d got into the room, then what?
He was too small to hurt Harris, too small to protect Kaden.
Kaden had cried for help, called out in pain and Joe had never felt so helpless in his life.
None of his others had been kind to him.
No one cared. There was no one to complain to even if you dared.
Others were always right. But not here. Harris should be punished for what he’d done.
Except… A cold churning inside Joe made his hearts hurt.
What he was planning to do to Kaden could be seen as far worse than what Harris had done.