Understanding seemed to set in, and Mason’s warm expression turned pinched and serious. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah. The closeted gay uncle. It’s a classic tale with all the usual narrative when he got confronted. He immediately went from hurling gay slurs to the ‘I have no clue what he’s talking about’ clear down to the ‘he’s the one that came on to me’ emergency lie.”
Mason shook his head.
“What?”
“You have an interesting way of speaking to be so young.” Mason’s eyes lowered to Jesse’s mouth for a brief moment before he schooled his features. “I like it. You have a kind of dark humor.”
“And you find that… attractive?”
“I was gonna say creepy.” Mason chuckled, then stared at Jesse as if he was a complicated riddle. “And maybe a little attractive. Where’d you go to college?”
“How do you know I—”
“Give me a break. I may not be a detective, but I’m a good enough cop to recognize the obvious. You’re well educated.”
Jesse’s chest swelled. It felt as if he’d been on his own, without comfort, without a compliment for far too long. And there was something so disarming about Officer Ellis Mason that Jesse found himself opening himself right up. “I graduated a couple weeks ago from Winston-Salem State with a Bachelor in Elementary Teaching and Education. Or should I say I had enough credits to graduate at the end of this winter session. I could’ve done another semester just for me and took all fun, entertaining classes… but it didn’t work out that way.”
“Do you want to tell me why?” Mason asked softly, soothingly.
Jesse closed his eyes. “I wanna tell you everything. And I don’t even know why.”
Mason was quiet. He knew all the right times to speak and the perfect moments to just sit across from Jesse and look beautiful while he listened. So, Jesse talked. He spoke some about his mother but didn’t stay on that subject long. He told Mason how he threw himself into school to deal with the grief of losing his only parent, and he also told him what he had to contend with whenever he came home on breaks. Without going into why Worm never made it to the bus station to pick him up, he still told Mason the truth… that he had to suck it up until his friend came back.
“I’m really sorry your plans were derailed, Jesse, but there’s always a way to get back on track.”
“It’s okay.” He nodded, feeling a bit more confident in such a strong man’s presence, hoping that Mason didn’t see him as a poor helpless victim. “I will be an elementary school teacher one day.” Just not today or tomorrow… or maybe even next month.
“I’m sure you will too. You’ll be one of those teachers that makes English bearable.”
Another long, comfortable moment of silence passed between them along with something else in Mason’s eyes that Jesse wouldn’t acknowledge right now. He just couldn’t. He’d seen that look in a man’s eyes plenty of times before, and for the first time in his life, he craved it, desired it, and wanted to reciprocate it. But Jesse was a complete mess and not worthy of a man like Mason. Not yet anyway. All Jesse would be to him was a charity case.
That’s why when Mason got up to use the restroom, Jesse scribbled on a napkin that he appreciated the meal and would love to return the gesture… in the future.
Erlene gave him a sorrowful wave as Jesse hurried out of the restaurant and back into the bitter cold.
Jesse
Jesse woke to someone roughly trying to get into his pants pocket. “Hey! Let me go!” He hollered, scrambling off the bench he’d been sleeping on.
It felt as if Jesse had just closed his gritty eyes before he was startled awake. It was still dark outside, and he realized as he struggled that he was fighting against several attackers. His big leather bag was snatched, but Jesse held on to it for dear life. It was all of his possessions, and if he let go, he wouldn’t even be able to wash up at a gas station or change into a relatively clean shirt.
“Stop it! Someone help me!” Jesse yelled into the darkness, but no one came and his attackers didn’t stop. “Please!”
“We just want the snow,” one of the men said, sounding desperate and winded. “We just need some more drugs.”
“I don’t have any goddamn drugs!” Jesse hollered at the junkie just before he was struck between his shoulder blades by something blunt and solid. He went down on his knees, tucking his bag under him. He was jostled and kicked until it all suddenly stopped.
Jesse heard grunts and shouts of pain, but he didn’t feel any more blows to his body. He was shaking fiercely, too terrified to look up to see if he’d be next.
“You can get up now, kid,” Jesse heard a man say. “They’re detained.”
Jesse glanced around him before gazing up and directly into the face of one of God’s men. He didn’t see the big guy anywhere, just the ones he’d called his team… his enforcers on the streets.
Jesse didn’t think he’d be saying this so soon, if ever at all, but thank you, God, for your men and their impeccable timing.
“Take some deep breaths, Jesse. You’re all right,” the one Day had called Tech said from his crouched position. “They can’t hurt you.”
Jesse turned his head to see several men on the ground, hands zip-tied behind their backs with one man standing over them like a guard. He pulled on a black cigarette, the orange embers illuminating his mysterious features for a second before plummeting him back into darkness. A plume of white smoke flowed from his mouth and billowed around his face, which Jesse couldn’t quite make out. What he also noticed was there were six men on the ground moaning and pleading to be let go and only two of God’s men. Tech and the smoldering one that was his partner—Jesse forgot his name. Stab, Strike… Steele. Something.
Holy shit. They’d taken down his attackers as if they were a kiddy gang. Jesse thought he was going to be beaten to death, but thank goodness he was freezing and wasn’t feeling much pain at the moment. Jesse stood on unstable legs as he tried to slow his breathing. It seemed impossible as his heart beat like a wild bass drum.
“H-how’d you guys do that?” Jesse stammered, staring at the men lying in a row like fallen dominos.
“That’s what we do,” Tech said, pushing his glasses higher on his nose. “We try to protect the residents from getting robbed by doped-up junkies.”
“Well, you guys must have a busy job.” Jesse brushed at some leaves and dirt that’d gotten tangled in his hair. He cursed, realizing he’d lost his beanie in the scuffle. “There seems to be a ton of those around here.”
“Yep,” Tech agreed. “But there’s only one supplier. And if we get rid of him and his synthetic drug that’s making people insane or flat out killing them, then maybe some of these addicts can get treatment. Treatment from a powerful drug that your best friend was selling.”
Jesse shivered, frightened, cold, and tired. He just didn’t think he could take much more. How had he gotten himself in such a shitty situation? Being leaned on by some narcs that’d basically just saved his life and were now asking him to do the right thing. To help them. Help the police fight a war they were obviously losing. Wasn’t it Jesse’s civic duty to do that? That’s how he’d been raised. But now when he was facing the fire, he was cowering. Oh god. His mom would be so disappointed. Jesse felt the tears welling but again held them close. Now wasn’t the time.