Page 120 of The Saviors: Part One

“When I was ten, my parents left me alone to go on vacation so they didn’t have to ruin their time. They were only supposed to be gone for the weekend, but they were gone for almost two weeks.”

“At ten?”

I shrug. “I took care of myself by that point anyway. They couldn’t be bothered with a kid. I got myself up for school, fixed my meals, and everything. The only time they had anything to do with me was when I did something wrong to embarrass them.”

She lays her hand on my arm in comfort, and I soak it in. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s nothing compared to what you guys went through.”

“Just because ours was different doesn’t mean yours sucks any less. Parents are supposed to love and protect us. None of ours did that.”

“So, we’re all just bonded over shitty parents?”

“Exactly,” Chelsea laughs. “What else happened?”

“When I was sixteen, my dad walked into my room, and I was making out with a guy from school. He lost his shit, called us a lot of awful names, and told me he wouldn’t have a gay son living under his roof. I moved into my grandparent’s the next day. That wasn’t any better, but at least they left me alone. I started at a new school and became the guy other guys used for many different things, whether it was for my computer skills or sex.”

“Your dad is a dick.”

I laugh. “You’ve got that shit right. My mom wasn’t much better. She didn’t say a word when I left.”

“Do you know where they are now?” I shake my head, and she grins. “Have you messed with them with your crazy computer skills?”

“Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind.”

“Maybe you should. It could be like therapy or something, fucking with them.” I open my laptop, and she claps, leaning closer. “What are we doing?” I love that she’s including herself in this, so I don’t feel alone.

“I’m going to freeze their bank accounts.”

“Oh! You know what else you should do? Link a bunch of gay porn to your dad somehow.”

“You’re a horrible influence. I like it.” I start with the bank accounts, freezing them for suspicious activity. They can fix them, but it will be a pain in the ass. Next, I overload my dad’s work email with every gay porn site I can find, and just for the hell of it, I send a website to my mom to help her deal with a gay partner.

“What else can we do?” she asks in excitement.

“You want to fuck with Ari?”

“A hundred percent, yes. But why?” I tell her about what the asshole did that had me shoving Axel into a fucking bathroom. Her eyes widen. “Do it.”

I pull up a dating site and start filling in a bunch of bullshit information, both of us laughing the whole time. “I need a picture of him.”

“What’s his last name?” she asks, pulling out her phone.

“His Savior’s last name is Smith, but his real last name is Levy.”

“Were you supposed to tell me that?”

“You’re a part of the team now.”There’s that fucking smile again.“Did you find anything?”

“Holy shit,” Chelsea breathes. “He has tons of pics on his social media.” She flips the phone for me to see, and my mouth drops. Ari has thirst trap pictures? “Use this one.” It’s a picture of him shirtless with a backward cap on and looking nothing like the Ari I know. She sends it to me, and I load it onto the profile. “You should put his email on there.”

I shake my head. “He never checks that. I can do one better.” I type in his number and hope that Axel doesn’t kill me for that.

“Nolan!” Chelsea giggles, and it’s becoming the best sound I’ve ever heard. “He’s going to murder you.”

“Nah. Pops likes me.” I fill out the rest of the profile and hit submit. “People are going to be rabid.”

“How long before he notices?”