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Chapter Thirty-Six

LAIKEN

I’m not sure how much Lie actually has. I haven’t been beyond his bedroom door in years. I haven’t had a reason to. Since we’re only crossing the yard, I opt for borrowing totes instead of packing boxes. Why waste the boxes when there’s only a hundred or so feet to cross?

Though his bedroom is closer to the front door, we opted to use the back doors. There are fewer prying eyes this way. The neighbors behind our houses work during the day, so I think we can clear his room out before word reaches Nason or Miranda about what we’re doing, and one of them rushes home.

It’s been eight weeks since that day on the front lawns with a crowd of neighbors as witnesses. Eight weeks since I’ve seen my once-best friend. Since Lie has seen either of his parents more than simply glimpsing them leaving their house.

I can honestly say I didn’t think this would ever happen. I didn’t think there’d be anything that would end our friendship. Moreover, I thought that outcome would be more likely than Nason cutting Lie out of his life.

Maybe I did that. Maybe I got my point across when I punched him and told him to stay away. Is it my fault that Nason’s been absent? Would he have tried to reconcile with Lie if it hadn’t been for that moment?

Somehow, I don’t think so. We crossed an ugly line, and there’s no repairing it. For good or bad, Lie’s parents are no longer involved in either of our lives.

In a way, I’m relieved at this outcome. Not because Nason’s gone, but because the nasty rumors have stopped. His vile accusations have stopped. His anger and negativity are no longer a part of our days.

Lie no longer waits for Nason to come around or worries about what Nason will say to him next. He’s not newly hurt every single day.

He hasn’t come home crying since that day.

It still hurts. It’s always going to hurt. Especially since we live next door. A constant reminder of them no longer being a part of our daily lives.

However, it’s allowing us both to find peace. To heal a little. To create a daily routine where there are more and more moments of happiness between us.

If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure how we were going to create a life together with Nason always looming in the background. A dark, painful scar that we share. Every step of our relationship has had something driving it.

The forbidden aspect, sneaking around, made it hot. Exciting. Then we were united and found a safe space of comfort when we were both dealing with Nason.

But once both elements fell away, and we were just together, would we fizzle out? Would all the pain and trauma be for nothing?

If anything, everything we’ve been through has only made us stronger. It’s made me love him more. So much more than I ever thought possible. More than I thought I was capable of.

I’m relieved. I’m in love. I’m happy.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t hard days and difficult moments. We’re always going to face them because we both lost someone monumentally important who was a huge part of both of our lives every single day. You don’t just get over something like that. You don’t miraculously heal.

I planted trees between our properties a week ago. They’re little trees, but they’ll grow. I left enough room to add a fence too, which I’ll probably do at some point. Lie used to spend a lot of time outside. He loves the fresh air and sunbathing in skimpy bathing suits.

He hasn’t been outside in months, though. With the risk of seeing his parents, he’s remained inside. I want him to feel comfortable in the yard, so I’ll do whatever I need to make that happen.

Lie comes out of the room. “She’s gone. I watched her walk down the road.”

I take him in my arms and give him a tight hug. “You ready to do this?”

He sighs. “Yep. I’m ready.”

“Okay. Plan is simple. You pack and I haul. We’ll be done in no time.”

“Quick and clean. Give no one time to notice.”

I give him a curt nod. It’s risky. I know that. There’s a high chance of confrontation if someone sends word to either Nason or Miranda that we’re there. In Nason’s case, we have a solid half an hour before he can get back here. Which means that’s our time limit. In and out in thirty minutes.

Neither of us is concerned about Miranda. She’s been a non-player in this game, which speaks volumes about her as a parent. Something I’d been wavering on since she started her supposedly accidental pricks and prods on Lie for the past… decade? Has it been that long?

Oof.

Lie takes a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go.”

The door is unlocked, which I’m internally thankful for. I had this vision that the doors would be locked, maybe changed, so our keys no longer worked.

Like I did with my doors last month.

Thankfully, we get in without incident. The house is silent. Lie takes another steadying breath, and I follow him into his bedroom.

“You take the closet hanging things,” Lie says. “I’m going to start on my drawers.”

He sets the stack of totes down and pulls one from the stack to set beside the dresser. He pulls open a drawer and starts dumping everything in without ceremony.

My stack of toes goes beside his, and I take all the hanging items in my arms, scooping them up so the hangers leave the bar. I laugh when I get stuck and Lie has to come rescue me.

It’s not quick work. I make more than a dozen trips before Lie’s finished unloading every drawer, the shelves, and under his bed. When we’re finished, we stand in the middle of his empty bedroom with nothing left but a single hanger in the closet and the furniture.

Lie makes another circuit, making sure we didn’t miss anything. Then he stands still and looks around. He sighs.

“I can’t believe…” His voice trails off.

I step up behind him and wrap him in my arms. There aren’t any words of comfort I can offer. Not this time.

After a minute, he pulls away. I watch as he takes his keys from his pocket and sets them on the top of the dresser. I add mine beside his.

In a way, this right here is the final goodbye. Not taking his belongings. Not cutting ties. But returning the keys. This is a statement. More than anything, it says we’re done. They’re no longer welcome in our lives, and we want no part of theirs. The access to come and go freely has ended.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a difficult time swallowing around the lump in my throat and breathing past the ache in my chest.

It hurts like nothing I could imagine experiencing.

I take Lie’s hand, and together, we leave his childhood bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind us. We don’t look around the house as we leave. We go straight to the kitchen door and slide it closed behind us.

Lie doesn’t take anything of sentimental value. Not his favorite lounge chair from the yard. Not a family picture on the wall. Not even the movie he watched more than a hundred times as a kid, that’s still sitting in the DVD player, because he likes to watch it when he’s sick.

Nothing.

We step inside my house, and Lie stops in his tracks at the totes everywhere. “How is that even possible?” he asks. “My room wasn’t that big! I swear, I don’t have a lot of things.”

I chuckle and kiss the side of his head. “My concern was getting out of there quickly. Not making sure you don’t look like a packrat.”

Lie huffs, shoving me.

“How about I take care of your clothes, and you set up all your dicks in the library?” I offer.

He smiles. “Sounds like I have a much funner job than you.”

“Funner, huh?”

He shrugs. “It’s a word. I’m sticking to that.”

I watch as he grabs a tote and heads for the spare room. I follow behind, picking up a tote of clothes on my way. For a minute, I stop at the door to the library and watch as he carefully takes out one of his dick figures and places it on a shelf.

Today was a hard day, even though it’s barely started. I try not to think about the implications of our actions today. In reality, I think everyone knew this was coming. It was the logical last step.

I also know that Nason, in his new fucked-up headspace, is going to see it as another attack. Hopefully, he’ll continue to be stubborn and keep his brooding to himself. No one needs another confrontation. This needs to be the end of it.

Unsurprisingly, the ache in my chest is heavy today. It’s hard.

But this is also a very important big step in my relationship with Lie. He’s officially moved in. This house is no longer mine. It’s ours. I step into the bedroom and look at the giant pile of clothes I’d dumped on the bed. All his hanging clothes from his closet.

I smile as I set the tote down and pick up the top hanger. It’s a suit that he hasn’t worn since he was… what? Fourteen? For some semi-formal at school, probably. Does he keep it for sentimental reasons?

I hang it in the closet and muse over the fact that I’m willingly, even eagerly, sharing my space with this man. I can’t help but reflect on the panic and irritation at Carter pushing to move in here. Into my space. At the time, the thought of sharing it with someone was horrifying.

Maybe I’d lived alone too long by that point.

No. I was just waiting for the right person. Lie has always been in my life. It’s no surprise that he fits so seamlessly into my space as if it’s always been his. Maybe it has always been his. The space has grown and evolved as he has. As I have.

I can’t see any rhyme or reason to the clothes he had in his closet, except that I’m sure I haven’t seen him in any more than a few of the hoodies and long-sleeved shirts in years.

Many, many years. As I look at them, I realize that a lot of them are for a colder climate, which I find amusing.

It doesn’t get that cold in Kala, regardless of the time of year.

And he went to school in Texas, the south of the U.S.

, somewhere that I’ve been under the impression also doesn’t get too cold for long.

A strange collection of clothing he has. I turn to look at mine and muse that we could both probably live with parting with some of the things we haven’t worn in eons. I’m pretty sure that jean jacket is from high school. My high school years. More than twenty years ago.

“Ouch,” I mutter as I leave the closet and open a dresser drawer. Time to begin with the contents of the totes.

You can learn a lot about a person from their underwear.

I would have said I’d seen a lot of Lie’s over the last few months, but I’m realizing that I haven’t at all.

In hindsight, how could I have, when he’s barely been back in his room, where all his clothes were?

That’s why I’ve been doing so much laundry—so he has clean clothes.

I hold up a pair of sexy jocks and feel the heat that rushes through me.

God damn. Where did he even get these? I’m distracted by what looks suspiciously like lace in the totes.

I dig around until I pull out the cutest, tiniest little panties.

I’d have said they were women’s except there’s definitely a little pouch for his cock in the front.

I’ve seen that dick in his shorts. He has quite an impressive bulge. There’s no damn way this tiny little pouch contains all that. For scientific purposes, I really need to see him wearing these. Maybe there’s some magic field that keeps his goods in place once they’re on. That’s possible, right?

I’m semi-hard by the time I get through his underwear, and, weirdly enough, his socks. He has these high socks that must reach his knees. They’re shockingly slutty in my head.

Wow. I’ve had a second wave of teenage hormones.

With one tote empty, I head back for another, stopping to admire Lie on my way. He’s sitting on the floor with a chess set. Even from here, I can see that the pieces are different-shaped dicks. Where does one find a cock-piece chess set?

“It’s like rediscovering everything,” Lie says quietly. He glances up, meeting my eyes with a soft smile. “Thank you for letting me set up my collection in here.”

That smile. His happiness. His knowing everything about him isn’t just accepted but supported and celebrated, makes all the hard moments worth it in the end. I will spend every single day for the rest of time loving this man and making sure that smile stays on his face.

“I’m looking forward to seeing them all.”

Lie nods, turning back to his chess set. “I forgot I had some of these things. It’s been so long since I’ve seen them.”

“I bet you could say the same thing about some of the clothes in the closet.”

He snorts. “Yeah. I guess this is as good a reason as any to go through them and toss what I don’t wear.”

“Not now. You concentrate on that room. The clothes can wait.”

Lie offers me another smile.

Making sure my presence doesn’t make him feel pressured into sorting his clothes, I continue down the hall to retrieve another tote. Setting it on the bed, I begin refolding the shirts as I take them out. Once again, I haven’t seen more than half of these.

Amused, I shake my head and take my pile to the dresser.

“Laiken!” Lie yells.

The panic in his voice has my blood running cold. Chills cover my body as I drop the pile of clothes and run out of the bedroom. He’s just throwing the front door open when I reach him.

I don’t know what to expect. A fire? His father raging outside? A silent storm of some kind? People with pitchforks coming toward us for moving his belongings out?

I stop in my tracks when Cash comes running inside and straight into Lie’s arms. I don’t get a good look at him, but I definitely caught a glimpse of a bloody black eye, blood dripping from his nose, and his lip, and his face covered in tears.

For a second, I’m frozen. Unsure what to do. My brain tries to piece together what I’m seeing and why. Cash doesn’t get into fights. That’s not the kind of man he is. More movement outside has me looking up in time to see Onyx jogging down the road, cradling his hand to his chest.

“Cash, wait!” he calls.

I meet his eyes for a second, look at his injured hand, and slam the door. I don’t fucking think so. Everyone needs a safe place from those who would hurt them. Especially those you’d never believe in a thousand years would be the cause of their pain, emotionally or physically.

Cash’s sobs and Lie’s quiet assurances have me taking both men in my arms and hugging them tightly.