Page 79 of Mercury Rising

They clinked and took sips. The bubbles exploded on his tongue. Every part of him wanted to throw his arms around Nick and never let go.

“I’m so sorry, Nick,” Mercury said. “That sounds horrific.”

Nick wiped his eye. “Yeah. I guess it was a bit easier for you?”

“Madeline Morrison couldn’t have been happier,” Mercury said. “She had the ultimate accessory plus would never have to compete with another woman for my affection.”

He realised he shouldn’t make light of it. What Nick had been through was awful.

“My father has barely spoken to me since but he’s a twat. Thinks he can judge me. Do you know the real reason why my mother left him? This didn’t get into any of the books.”

“If you want to tell me.”

Mercury found that he did want to tell him. He hid behind the lucky-rich-kid image most of the time.

“We lived in LA until I was eight. Such an amazing city when you’re a kid. Theme parks, sunshine, beach. One day, Mum was making us breakfast in the kitchen. We assumed that Dad had stayed out again. I’d left my Buzz Lightyear figure in the den. When I went to get him, I found my dad, buck naked on the couch with two girls. They were fast asleep or out cold.”

“Shit,” Nick replied.

“That’s not the worst bit. They’d left all sorts of shit out on the table. Needles, spoons, the usual crap. I picked up a syringe and took it through to Mum to ask what it was. We were gone by the end of the next week.”

Nick sat back. “That’s awful. Good on your mother for walking. How come she didn’t name and shame him?”

Mercury smiled. “Because Madeline Morrison knows the value of everything. When she released her first autobiography, my dad was in the middle of his very public rehab.”

“I remember that. He made a film about it, didn’t he?”

“Certainly did. The publicity machine had spun a tale that he’d had a terrible upbringing full of trauma. When he got wind Mum might release her side, that would put him right in the shit.”

“How did they resolve it?”

“Let’s say, I get an annual payment for the rest of my life. Mum also insisted that I had a relationship with my grandmother. She wanted me to have that special love. She never had anything to do with my scumbag dad again.”

Nick exhaled. “Just goes to show. We never know the true story.”

“Definitely not,” Mercury replied. “You thought you were getting a very different person from the one you got.”

Nick leant over the table and kissed Mercury. “I’m not complaining. It’s nice having you here. I know it’s not what you’re used to. It means a lot.”

Mercury shook his head. “You still don’t get it. I love it here. It’s a home. I’m only a lodger in my mother’s house. It didn’t bother me before because I was so focused on being out and about. Since the curfew…I don’t know, things feel different.”

Nick kissed Mercury’s knuckles. “Move in across the road and I’ll cook jerk chicken for you every day.”

“I’m not sure I’m cut out for this actual area. No offence. I think I’m going to spend a bit of time finding one that I am suited to. Where’s the harm?”

“Sounds exciting to me.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

Mercury’s life had careened off in a direction he never expected. He didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Yet, he had to find out. Nick’s words about him working with kids similar to those at Bodhi House were never far from his thoughts.

The idea that he could make a difference in the world was an attractive one. He couldn’t quite see himself as a social worker. There had to be something he could do. Mercury made a mental note to discuss it properly with Nick. Preferably when they were in each other’s arms.

Opportunities seemed to be presenting themselves every day. Mercury made a vow he wouldn’t waste any of them.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Mercury woke with a jolt.