Page 86 of A Thousand Cuts

The command offered simplicity, and Liam let himself concentrate on only Fix as he directed him around his apartment, hot tears still slipping from his eyes now and then.

Fix worked quickly and efficiently, slowing occasionally to check on Liam and offer him quiet reassurances. He only disappeared when he had to enter the bedroom to grab Liam’s clothes.

Fix bumped into something, thumps heralding something tumbling over. He quietly swore. “Sorry, honey. I’m as graceful as a bull in a…china…shop…”

Liam worried his lip when he trailed off. “Fix?”

He didn’t have to wait, Fix appeared in the door with a worn notebook in his hand, a severe expression on his face. “Liam…what is this?”

“My notebook,” Liam said. “Where I used to keep track of my curses. I think I mentioned it to you.”

“You did, yeah,” Fix said, walking in and sitting down on the sofa next to Liam. He flipped the notebook open and went through a few pages.

Liam noticed his knuckles turning whiter the more he flipped, shoulders growing tense.

“There have to behundredsin here, Liam,” Fix said, disbelief draining the strength from his words, making them airy and brittle.

Liam nodded, too desensitized to understand Fix’s shock. “I um…I told you there were a lot.”

“Yes but a lot is not the same asthis.” Fix gripped the notebook so hard Liam was surprised it didn't tear. “This is…this is insane.”

“A bit yeah.” Liam nodded, looking at Fix through his lashes. “I get that it’s a lot. If you—”

“Do not finish that sentence. You’re not getting rid of me. But I am taking this with me.”

“Okay.” Liam felt his cheeks flush at how protective Fix sounded.

“Okay,” he said. “I think we have everything, so let’s get you into some clothes and out of here.”

Dressed in his comfiest cream sweat set and fluffy boots, Fix guided him from the apartment with an arm around his waist, Liam’s bag slung over his shoulder while Liam held King’s leash.

“I’ll lock up, you go ahead and hold the elevator,” Fix said, his voice deliberately light.

It made Liam pause immediately, glancing up and searching for an answer. “Why?”

Fix squeezed his waist and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. “Let me protect you from this one thing. Please?”

Something had happened to the door that Fix was trying to shield him from.

Morbid curiosity made him tempted to look, like with the note, but Fix’s quiet plea superseded the desire. Liam licked his lips before nodding and handing over his keys. “Okay.”

He walked off down the hallway, deliberately keeping his head down while Fix closed and locked the door. He couldn’t go far—fear was already creeping along his spine—but Fix was at his side again in just a moment, guiding him along and giving him strength all the way to his truck.

They were quiet on the trip to the city’s edge, but this silence was nothing like the comforting one from just a few hours earlier. This was oppressive. It weighed on them.

He felt a gentle touch on the back of his hand and turned his palm up, allowing Fix to twine their fingers together. He didn’t look away from the window. They approached a long dirt road leading into a patch of trees, and just beyond that was a large house with various cars of all shapes and sizes parked out front. Liam had never seen so many close together. Fix parked in one of the open spots between a colorful Beetle and a beat-up-looking pickup, turning off the engine and killing the only sound that still existed between them.

Liam could almost hear his own heartbeat thundering in his ears.

“Talk to me,” Fix said softly and Liam finally turned his head away from the window.

“It’s just never gonna stop, is it?” he asked, lifting his eyes to find Fix’s. “I can move to the end of the world and they’ll come after me. They…they found my home and they took it from me. I don’t…I don’t have anything else left.”

“You have King, and you have me,” Fix said. “I know that may not look like much right now, but I promise you I’m good at my job. I’ll get back everything they took from you.”

Liam’s eyes watered and he blinked the tears away.

“I’m just so tired of being scared, Daddy,” he said, leaning across his seat until he was propped against Fix’s side. Fix’s arm wrapped around him, steady and strong.