Page 17

From the look on her face, she wanted to argue with me, but since the fate of their vacation rested in my hands, she held back. I knew about their cruise. They’d been saving and planning for it for years. They started long before I moved out. They never got a real honeymoon and since they worked for a living, saving for something like that took forever. They got close a couple times, but then something big would come up, like a shot engine or a new roof, and they’d be forced to start again. They were finally getting the chance to go, and only Ollie’s care stood in their way.

“Is he staying with me tonight? When do you leave?”

“No. We’re driving to the dock on Sunday afternoon. We’ll drop him off Sunday morning after church.”

Of course they would. Just had to squeeze in a little religious manipulation before they sent him to stay with me.

“Alright. I’ve got a client at noon, but–”

“You have an extra bed, right? We don’t…” She paused, trying to figure out how she wanted to word it. I saw right through her crap, though. I scowled at her, not bothering to hide my irritation.

“You’re serious right now?”

Her shoulders came up, and she took a step back automatically. “We don’t think you’d do anything. It’s just–”

“You’re afraid my gay will rub off on him somehow? Are you really that dumb?”

“Watch it,” Dad snapped. He’d been standing by the door, listening to Ollie chatter about his new friend at school. They didn’t have a problem with Ollie making friends with demons, but they had a problem with me. Apparently, gay was worse than demonic.

Swinging my attention to Dad, I glowered at him. We had this argument at least twice a year. They tried to convince me to ‘just try dating a woman’, ‘you won’t know if you don’t like it if you’ve never tried it’. We ended up in a screaming match every time and I would ignore them for afew weeks until the anger died down and things went back to normal. I wanted to go off on them again, but Ollie was watching us with a frown right beside my dad. I didn’t fight in front of him if I could help it.

“For your information, I have a pull out couch. That’s where he’ll be sleeping. All his movies will be child appropriate, and I will keep the rainbow flags at a minimum. Happy?”

I could read their response clear as day. They weren’t happy in the slightest. They probably would’ve preferred giving Ollie to the state instead of leaving him with me. They said they loved me and they were polite for the most part, but there was a big part of me that disgusted them and it would always taint our relationship. Once Ollie was old enough to take care of himself, I fully planned on cutting them out. I had no doubt they were looking forward to the same thing. All we had to wait for was him to be old enough to be out and about safely by himself. I wasn’t going to risk my relationship with my brother until he could visit me on his own.

Mom’s voice was tense as she forced a smile. “We appreciate you watching him. We know it’s last minute. We’ll be gone for a week. He’s got conferences coming up, so make sure to go to those.”

Like they’d go to them in the first place. It was always going to be me. They wouldn’t take off work for something like that unless they absolutely had to. I waved them off, giving Ollie a fist bump on my way past. “See you on Sunday, dude. Don’t forget your controller if you want to play against me. My spare finally kicked the bucket.”

“Okay, Dec. See you Sunday! Don’t forget the ice cream!”

My parents led him out with sour expressions. It was the worst thing on the planet to them to leave their son with a gay man. I wanted to find some kid movies with gay characters just so I can fuck with them a little.

The interaction with my parents left me in a foul mood. I was quiet through my appointments, my focus on my work and not the roiling irritation in my gut. I was working so hard to not think about it that I didn’t hear the bell ring over the door until Ben spoke.

“Uh, hey. Can I help you?”

“Have you ever done these things on paranormals?” was the reply. I sat up with a frown, wheeling my chair back a little to see who showed up. Three demons and a human woman stood just inside the door, but one of them was familiar. He looked uncomfortable and like he wanted to beanywhere else, but his friends were more relaxed, looking around curiously.

“Uh, I haven’t. I think Declan has. Hold on. Dec?”

The client in my chair was twisted in their seat to see the newcomers. She didn’t look bothered by the interruption, and when I murmured that I’d be right back, she gave me a thumbs up. Pushing out of my seat, I tugged the gloves off my hands, tossing them in the trash on the way. Since I was familiar with one of them, that was who I greeted first.

“Hey… You’re Dante’s cousin, right?”

He didn’t look like he wanted to answer me, but his friend elbowed him and he grimaced, gritting out a reply. “Yes. My name is Aziel. Dante told my friends about your shop and they were curious. And really annoying.”

That last sentence was muttered under his breath, like he didn’t actually want me to hear it. I bit back a laugh, offering my hand to the one closest to me. “I’m Declan. To answer your question, I’ve tattooed witches before, but never demons. I’m not sure if the process is different. I’d have to do some research.”

“Hendrix,” the closest one replied. “I know someone who can help answer that if you need it. He worked in the Other Realm when I was younger, but he hasn’t found a place to set up shop on this side yet.”

That was an interesting thought. Back before my run in with the witches, I’d been open to the idea of working with paranormals. My client base was small since I wasn’t well known yet, and I didn’t really care who I was tattooing as long as I was paid. I’d put that idea aside after the incident with the witches, and I wasn’t sure I was comfortable changing that, but Ben looked curious and I didn't want to be rude by refusing outright.

“Uh, sure… But why aren’t you going to see him instead?”

The woman, a tiny thing with a cocky attitude, nudged Aziel forward. “This one expressed interest, and he doesn’t trust people easily. Since your little brother and his cousin are friends, we figured he’d feel better with you than Hendrix’s… old friend? Acquaintance? I wasn’t really paying attention when he mentioned it.”

Aziel shot her a dirty look, but she ignored him. The guy never struck me as the type to get a tattoo. He was too uptight. But every interaction I’d had with the guy only left me more confused than before.