25. Knox
Chapter 25
Knox
I came home after three in the morning to find Finn’s car in the garage. He wasn’t due to be back for another two days. Did something happen? Was he sick?
I rushed upstairs to check on him, expecting him to be in my bed, but he wasn’t there. So, he must have been sick. That was the only time he didn’t sleep with me whenever he was home.
His bedroom door was shut, only confirming my worries. I hoped it wasn’t too bad, but flu season was coming. Although we’d had our vaccines because we had to work in public spaces so much.
I gently rapped on his door with a knuckle, but there was no answer or response, so I quietly opened his door and found a lump in the bed. With a glance around the room, I saw a box of tissues and some used ones wadded up on the nightstand.
Saddened that he wasn’t feeling well, I closed his door to let him sleep. Then I planned to take care of him when he woke up.
After a quick shower, I crawled into bed, missing having my boys with me, but I managed to doze off.
The next morning, I made some breakfast for Finn consisting of fresh fruits, orange juice, coffee, and some oatmeal to help get him back on his feet. Then I carried the tray, with a small vase and a little flower from the garden and carried it up to his room. On the side, I had two little pills of cold medicine for him.
It was difficult to finagle the tray and open his door, but I managed. I set the tray down on a little table with two chairs by the window where he sipped coffee sometimes and opened the curtains to let fresh light inside.
“Good morning, Precious. Did we get sick?”
Finn pulled the covers over his head and didn’t answer.
I walked over to his bed, sat on the edge, and pulled the covers down, but he yanked them back and rolled over away from me.
“Finn?”
“Thank you for breakfast. I’ll eat it later, but I’d like to be alone for a while.”
I winced at the sting of his harsh-sounding words, but I didn’t let them push me away. Perhaps he wasn’t sick. Did something happen to him? Maybe he lost a modeling contract. Regardless, we always talked to each other.
“Finn, if you’re not hungry, that’s okay. I brought this, thinking you were sick. Are you?”
“I’m… not sick.”
I rested a hand on his bare shoulder, but he shrugged me off.
That wasn’t good. In fact, that was bad. He’d never reacted to me like that before. His lowest was when he came to me the most. I’d always been his emotional support system.
Did I do something that upset him? Something I was unaware of? Shit, did it have to do with Ryder? Had he changed his mind?
“Just… leave me alone.”
Before I jumped to conclusions, I put on my ‘ Daddy ’ voice to get him to respond.
“Absolutely not. You know how it works in this house, young man. You’re going to sit down, eat breakfast, and tell me what’s going on with you. I won’t accept anything less.”
His sigh was heavy, and he kicked off his covers, climbed out of bed, and walked over to the small table, wearing only his underwear.
Finn sat down and dropped some blueberries and strawberries into his oatmeal. He dug in and took a small bite. He didn’t look so good. His eyes were swollen with dark circles, and he wouldn’t look at me.
I poured myself some coffee from the carafe and added some cream to it.
“Now, tell me what’s going on. Does this have to do with Ryder?”
He shook his head. His blond hair snarled everywhere, as if he’d tossed and turned all night.
“Then what is it?”
His hands rushed to his face as a sob escaped him.
Shit.
I was instantly on my feet and lifted him off the chair. I sat down on the bed, rocking him back and forth, holding him as he cried on me.
“Talk to me, Precious. What happened?” I asked when he started to calm down.
He reached around him to grab the tissues to blow his nose and wipe his eyes.
“My career is done. It’s over. I got Casey fired, too.”
“ Jesus . How?”
“And I would do it again, dammit!”
He rested his head on my shoulder and ran his fingers through my cropped hair.
“Marc Laurent… photographer and pervert extraordinaire.”
I instantly tensed. It was no secret how the modeling industry could be a sexually harassing career.
“He didn’t just threaten me, but he threatened Casey, who desperately needs this job. His mom is reliant on his income. This asshole used that against me, and to protect him, I… I…”
“He made you do something you didn’t want to do,” I said, my voice harsher than I intended.
Finn nodded on my shoulder, and I held him tight as if I could protect him from the harshness of the world. At the same time, I was ready to kill a certain someone.
“He touched me, Father, and I fucking let him, thinking I was protecting Casey. He made me…”
“That fucking bastard didn’t rape you, did he?”
“No, but he tried to make me suck him off. I was so angry when I left the shoot, wanting to stop Casey from going in there. I couldn’t take it anymore. I broke in and found Casey being fucked. He said it was consensual, but I know the bastard manipulated him. That man has a lot of clout in the industry, and his behavior is… well known, yet no one does shit about it because it’s become the norm these days. He said our careers were over, and now Casey is pissed at me for ruining his life.”
“I’m going to fucking kill that bastard. I swear to god…”
“You won’t. It’s over. Casey may not have a career, but at least that fucker can’t touch us anymore or threaten us.”
I rubbed my hands along his back, pulling him tighter against me.
“Something has to be done, Precious. What about the other male models?”
“Who’s going to listen? Everyone already knows what he’s like, and they protect him. Why do you think he’s so bold? We live in rape culture everyone chooses to ignore.”
“What if we get other models to come forward and sue the asshole? What if someone has outright proof?”
“I smashed his camera and took the memory card, but it only had photos, not what was said. There’s no way to prove he manipulated and extorted Casey or me.”
For the first time in my life, I felt helpless. Regardless, I’d call my lawyer to see if there was anything we could do. Or I could pay a little visit to the fuck. That seemed like a much better idea.
“I’m so fucking angry, Finn. He touched you. He…”
“I feel so… dirty. No amount of bathing gets rid of that.”
“Jesus. If I ever see him, I can’t promise you I’ll be able to contain myself.” And I didn’t want to make that promise.
Finn sniffed and climbed off me to sit back down and drink his orange juice.
“Does Casey need a job? I can give him one at the bar, though it probably won’t pay as much as modeling.”
“I’ll ask him if he’ll even talk to me, not that I’m all that thrilled about it. He was a fucking asshole to me. When is Ryder coming home?” Finn asked, eager to change the subject.
“In a couple of days. Do you need him, baby?”
He poured himself a cup of coffee and nodded. “I need you both. I’m so sorry I pushed you away this morning. Processing this shit hasn’t been easy, but I already feel better talking to you.”
“How about we go visit Ryder in cow-and-corn country?”
That finally brought a small smile to Finn’s face. “I’d really like that if it’s okay with Ryder. I don’t want to disrupt his grieving and family time.”
“Let’s call him and ask.”
When we reached the baggage claim at the tiny airport, there was Ryder, looking so much better than he had when he left us to come back to his old stomping grounds for a few days.
The first thing he did was rush toward Finn and pull him into a fierce hug. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he said. “If I ever wanted to kill anyone, it would be that fucking bastard. He’s not going to get away with this.”
“Indeed,” I agreed.
Ryder eased off Finn and grabbed me. “It’s so good to see you both. I missed you so much, even though I haven’t been gone that long. It’s felt like ages, but… it’s also nice to be back and fix things with my family and best friend.”
He headed out of the airport, and we followed him, tugging our carry-ons behind us.
“I made arrangements at a bed-and-breakfast in Bennington,” I said. “Is it nice? Do you know it? It looked nice on the website.”
Ryder craned his head to look at me with a smirk. It was nice to see him smiling. “Yeah, I know it. It’s pretty quaint… nothing like your house or anything, though.”
I chuckled. “We’ll live.”
“We’ll get you checked in, then Mom and Dad are expecting you for dinner.”
That stopped me. “They’re… expecting us?”
He turned to face me, frowning. “Yeah, is that okay? I mean, I didn’t tell them about us or anything yet. They just know you’re friends of mine who have been supporting me through all this. You said it was okay to tell them, though, right?”
“Yes, of course. I just… I guess I need to be prepared. They probably won’t like me very much being your boss and so close in age to them.” For the first time, I had doubts they should know about us. I felt like a kid again who was about to get in trouble with my parents. What an odd sensation.
“Yeah, they probably won’t understand, but I love you and Finn. Nothing’s going to change that. Hell, I haven’t even come out to them yet, but I plan to do that while I’m in town.”
“It’ll be okay, Father,” Finn said, tucking a hand through the crook of my elbow. “
“If you say so,” I mumbled.
We had to cram into the old pickup truck, with Finn sitting in the middle.
“Sorry, Dad’s got his nicer truck today, so I got the old one,” Ryder explained.
It took about fifteen minutes to get to the bed-and-breakfast. The house was indeed quaint. It was an old Victorian farm home surrounded by thick trees that were turning color and lush landscaping.
After we checked in and dumped our carry-ons in the room Finn and I shared, we headed out to Jennings’ farm.
“God, I’m more nervous than when I was about to lose my virginity,” I said, staring out the window at the fields and fields of corn and other crops.
Ryder’s laugh was loud, which pulled a chuckle from Finn and me. What a great sound. “I hear you. I am, too,” he said.
“I’m glad to see you laughing and smiling, Rye-baby,” Finn said, reading my thoughts.
“Yeah, I’m definitely feeling better. It hurts still, but being surrounded by love is way better than isolation. I just… had to do what I needed to survive the pain for a while.”
When we pulled up to a little farmhouse painted in a pale blue, I swallowed the growing lump. Well, the house wasn’t that little, but compared to my home, it was.
“You know, maybe you should just mention you’re with Finn. It would make more sense,” I suggested.
“No way. You’re mine, too. I’m not pretending otherwise.”
“You’re very cute being all nervous, Father.”
I huffed at him and climbed out of the truck.
Ryder opened a squeaking screen door, and we stepped inside to the scents of home cooking and love. It wasn’t unlike the home I grew up in. My parents were never wealthy, but they loved me. They had both passed away, but I was lucky to have had parents who cared about me.
“I’m home,” Ryder shouted.
“We’re in the kitchen,” a woman replied.
We stepped inside to a dated kitchen, but it was cute and modest.
A woman turned around from the counter, wiping her hands on a towel. I instantly recognized Ryder in her, although she was much shorter.
“Hello, I’m Ryder’s mother, Lorraine.”
Finn and I shook her hand and said our hellos, then turned our attention to the older gentleman standing at the kitchen table. I say older, but he wasn’t older by much. Perhaps by a couple of years.
“I’m Ryder’s dad, Elias.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
Dinner was meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a salad—such a typical nuclear family dinner. I wasn’t a fan of meatloaf, but Lorraine was a decent cook.
“So you’re friends of Ryders?” his mother asked.
“It’s more than that, Mom,” Ryder said.
Here we go …