Page 31 of Fanboy in the Falls (Devon Falls #3)

I cry harder than I cried at Christian’s funeral. —Tom Evers

“What do you think the sheriff’s going to say?”

Colin’s words are edged with the same tension that hums through my body.

In the eighteen hours since Jack and Benson left Gabe’s hospital room, Gabe’s barely said a word to either of us or anyone else.

He has been sleeping quite a lot, to be fair, but when he does wake up it’s only to stare at the ceiling, eyes despondent and dark.

Colin got him to nibble at a pudding cup this morning, and he’ll drink water when we place the straw in front of his face, but most of the time he keeps his eyes closed off or locked on the white tiles above him, his gaze empty and bleak.

And that’s why Colin and I are standing guard at his doorway right now, waiting for the sheriff and the county social worker who are coming over to the hospital to talk to Gabe. He’s due to be released from the hospital in a few hours, but it sounds as though they want to talk with him immediately.

Neither of us know whether this visit is a good or bad development in Gabe and Lou’s situation. And neither of us will let anyone into this room who’s going to do Gabe more harm than good right now.

“I just don’t know what to think, bestie,” I tell Colin.

I shake my head as I run one hand through my hair.

It feels greasy and wild, another reminder that I’ve barely slept in the last twenty-four hours.

Colin and I took turns staying awake in case Gabe needed us, but the barely-padded wooden chairs in his hospital room didn’t make for very good resting conditions.

“But Benson’s coming with them. And at least we both know Benson doesn’t put up with nonsense from anyone. ”

Colin snorts. “Yeah. There is that.”

A tall woman in a sheriff’s uniform rounds the corner with a younger man wearing a bow tie and carrying a briefcase.

They both look much more serious than I would like, and I can feel the tension in me start humming at a new level of speed.

Benson’s walking behind them. It’s clear from the wrinkled button-up he’s wearing, the same one he had on yesterday, and the dark circles under his eyes, that he hasn’t gotten much sleep either.

The sheriff arrives in front of us. “Hi. Maggie Sefferson,” she says as she holds out a hand for us to each shake. “You must be Colin and Tom. It’s not often we get famous people hanging around Devon Falls. This is Mario Ramirez, the county social worker.”

“Where’s Lou?” Colin demands.

“With Jack,” Benson says. “They’re outside playing on the hospital swings.” He glances over at Mario. “Mario may let Lou see Gabe for a few minutes.”

“Just a few minutes?” I blurt out. “Gabe’s losing his mind in there. Lou must be too.”

Mario nods. “I understand. Yes, Lou’s upset. But please understand that every step Maggie and I are taking right now is for Lou’s safety. Do you both believe me when I say that?”

Colin looks over at me.

Do we?

I think we have to.

Colin sighs, then nods. “Okay, let’s go in. But just know that Gabe’s still on some pretty intense painkillers, and he’s really upset about Lou. Just… remember that. Okay?”

The or I will personally destroy you goes unspoken.

Mario nods. “Of course. We both understand.”

Gabe’s awake when we walk inside, the bed propping him up from behind and his broken leg resting on a pile of pillows. “Is Lou here?” he says. The desperation in his voice circles the room.

Benson walks to the side of his bed and pats him on the shoulder. “Jack and I were granted temporary custody. He’s safe, Gabe. He’s outside with Jack.”

Gabe falls back against the bed, sighing. “Okay,” he whispers. “Okay.” He opens his eyes back up again. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know,” he says. “Please, please just don’t take Lou away from me. He’s all I have.”

Colin sends the sheriff and the social worker the same look he used to give reporters when they asked him stupid questions in the media pen after a race. I pity them both if this conversation goes poorly.

Maggie opens up a notebook. “Listen, Gabe. Everyone in Devon Falls knows you and Dave and Lou, so I’ll skip right to the down and dirty here. Dave’s saying that he left Lou in your care in good faith, but he believes you’ve been emotionally abusing Lou while he’s been away.”

“Excuse me?” I can’t help the volume my voice rises toward. “What on earth is wrong with that man?”

“Stay calm there, cowboy.” The sheriff sends me a quick half smile. She’s got miles of freckles across her face, I notice. “Lou’s teachers were also surprised by that accusation.”

Mario nods. “Dave had some things to say about the time he knows you’ve been spending with Tom and Colin, Gabe. He was particularly worried about Lou being influenced by the ‘Hollywood lifestyle.’”

I sigh. “Which in this case is code for ‘queer lifestyle,’ of course.”

“That’s all some homophobic bullshit,” Colin growls.

“Sure is,” Benson mutters.

“I wish I could say I thought you were wrong,” Mario says.

“But the fact is that Dave is Lou’s legal guardian, not Gabe.

He has the right to make decisions for his son.

However,” he adds, “Lou’s teachers tell us that you often seem to act as Lou’s primary caregiver, Gabe.

Is that true? If it is, we need to look at this as a possible situation of neglect on Dave’s part.

We’d need to know everything you can tell us about Dave’s absences and how you’re really spending your time with Lou while Dave’s gone. ”

Gabe opens his mouth and closes it again. He looks over at me, and then Colin, and then Benson. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say,” he finally says quietly.

I hear what he’s asking me and Colin. He wants to make sure we’re comfortable with whatever he tells the sheriff and the social worker about us. And I hear what he’s asking Benson: is it safe to tell the truth?

I look over at Colin. Do you care who knows about you? Us?

Not right fucking now I sure don’t. And I know you don’t either.

“The truth, love,” I tell him. “Just tell everyone the truth.” Benson and Colin both nod in agreement.

“Okay.” Gabe gulps. “Just… uh, sorry. My head’s still sort of pounding. It’s hard to get the words together.” Colin and I rush to get him more pillows and water, and I see Benson raise an eyebrow. “Don’t you start now,” I whisper to him.

“I said nothing.”

Gabe takes in a long breath and hands his water cup back to Colin.

“The thing is, Dave is gone a lot. And he’s been leaving more and more over this past year.

But this last time he left, I was actually relieved.

” He sighs. “For a while Dave had been saying things that really worried me. Things about Lou needing to ‘man up,’ whatever that means for a six-year-old. He hated certain clothes and shoes Lou liked and the toys he wanted, and he was starting to say some things about Lou’s favorite TV shows and movies.

Things that weren’t very kind, I guess is how I’d put it. ”

Mario’s typing something into a tablet. “I see.”

Gabe swallows. “He said some stuff about me, too. Pretty homophobic stuff. So I was worried about what would happen if… if he found out I was dating Colin and Tom.”

“Oh, you are? Huh.” Maggie nods. “And here I thought La Fierte had filled the county quota on throuples.”

Except we’re not exactly a throuple. I don’t bother to correct her, though. That’s certainly the easiest way to explain things right now, and Gabe and Colin don’t correct her either.

“Lou adores Tom and Colin,” Benson adds. “Jack and I can vouch for that.”

Mario nods as he takes some more notes on the tablet.

“Okay. Well. Dave says he’s on his way back to town and should be here in a few days.

Once we talk to him, we can move forward.

” He sighs. “Gabe, I know you don’t want to hear this, but for now, we need to leave Lou in Jack and Benson’s custody.

” Gabe makes a strangled noise, and Mario sighs again.

“I know that’s hard to hear. But Dave also made some…

he hinted at accusations of impropriety. ”

“Excuse me?” Colin hisses the words.

“After talking to Lou and Lou’s teachers, I’m not concerned about that,” Mario adds quickly.

“But we still have to act by the book here. I’ll let Jack bring Lou into the room to say hello because he’s worried about you, but after that I’ll have to ask you to go no-contact with Lou for a few days while we get things figured out. ”

I see something shift in Gabe’s face just then. Something dark and heavy that I’ve never seen before. “I want full custody,” he blurts out.

“I wondered if you might ask for that,” Benson says easily.

Gabe nods. “Dave’s not a safe parent for Lou.

And if he’s making accusations like that, his judgment really hasn’t gotten any better since he left.

He’s angry at the world. He’s been angry since my mother died, and he’s letting that anger cloud everything.

It’s clouding how he sees me and his son. Lou shouldn’t be with him.”

Mario adds something to his notes. “We’re aware of your drug charge in Connecticut. You do know a judge will take that into consideration if you’re asking for custody, right?”

Gabe frowns, and I grip his hand a little tighter. He needs to remember that he’s not alone in this fight. He won’t be. “You can do this, little fox,” I whisper. Colin nods from the other side of the bed.

“I was barely out of foster care,” Gabe says.

“The drugs weren’t mine, and I should have fought that charge.

But I was young, with no money and no support, and I did what I had to do then.

And you know what? I’m never, ever going to let my brother get stuck in a situation where he’s got no support.

I’ll die before I let that happen to him.

” He looks over at Benson. “We have a case, right?”