Harlon, of course, being the dick he was, decided to tell everyone Cars was gay and pretended he wasn’t the one wanting to dick him. Tony thought it’d be funny to attack Cars and show him what being with a man felt like.
I beat the shit out of him, and after that, Cars became my best friend.
“Why did you save me that day?” Cars asked, his face full of every emotion prattling in his head. His forehead scrunched while sadness touched his cheeks.
“No one fucks with my friends,” I offered. Because there wasn’t an answer. Picking on others was a pet peeve of mine. Assaulting people, that was absolutely disgusting. “I don’t have a valid reason. I saw you and instinct took over.”
He didn’t ask for more but when he cuddled into my side, I let him.
“I don’t know what I’ll do without you,” he murmured into my chest. “People fucking suck.”
“They do.” I nodded, clutching him to me. “But you’re a senior and I’ll take a private jet all the way fucking back here if need be. You have my number and I’ll give you Andy’s too, so there will never be a time I won’t be here for you.” The soft sound of him crying hit my ears. An ache built in me, wishing I could fix this sadness, ease it somehow. “Text me constantly. We can video chat. You can go shopping with Ilya and send me selfies. I’ll hype you up, Cars.”
His tears turned into full sobs as he cried. Unlike my parents, who fully accepted my pansexuality, Cars’s parents didn’t understand him and constantly isolated him as punishment.
“If they fuck with you, at all...” I started, wanting to respect that they were still his parents even if they fucked up. “I’ll move you down there with me. Unlike most rich kids, my money has been mine for years.”
He peered up at me, his eyes glistening with devastation. The part of me that solely wanted to fix and help people rose to the surface and wiped at his tears.
“You promise?”
“On my goddamn life.”
Chapter Four
The Antidote – Simple Plan
Madden
By the time I arrived in Brightmore, my head pounded in a not-so-nice way, making my eyes pulse as I walked down the ramp. It’d been two days without caffeine, and the raging hard-on my brain had for energy drinks made zero sense. Guess getting addicted so young wasn't the smartest choice, especially when I hadn’t even started college yet.
The airport looked nothing like the last time I’d flown down two years ago. Yeah, I went private, but I still had to land at this airstrip. It seemed they remodeled it, modernizing, making it seem less nineties and more contemporary. What once felt like a psych ward now looked like a five-star resort. The walls were tiled with marble-looking, gold-laden designs. They had weird, yet unique art pieces on each wall directing toward their hangers, color-coordinated it seemed as I passed through.
I made my way down to the front of the pickup area, where Andy would hopefully be. My aunt was an airhead on her best days. It was mostly her college brain. Barely sleeping and studying did that to people. She’s studying to be a big-shot lawyer, wanting to make something of herself, even while having all the money in the world.
Her hair was longer than I’d expected. The last time I’d been here, she had a shoulder-length bob, almost too sweet for her adventurous self. It was brown, a russet color that seemed dull and normal. It reminded me of home. Because no matter how long we spent apart, we were best friends.
“Holy shit,” she stated in disbelief when I finally strode up to her. “You’ve grown.” All the cells in my body wanted to go for a dick joke, knowing my default setting was crude and inappropriate.
But this was Andy.
My aunt.
But also... this was Andy. My cool as fuck friend. Someone I craved to touch, tease, and consume, even though I fucking shouldn’t. Time changed so much and nothing at the same time. My skin tingled with the urge to move the random strands of hair floating in front of her eyes. There was always this yearning to press our skin together, no matter how wrong that feeling was.
“That I have,” I settled with, unable to look away from her. Already, I towered over her by six or so inches. Her vibrant cinnamon eyes ate me up and I coughed over the odd feeling it gave me. She looks so fucking good. It’s been two years and the way my chest vibrated for her had me adjusting my footing.
“Looks like it’ll be you, me, and the fucked-up schedule I forced upon myself,” she joked, rubbing her forehead.
Chuckling, I hugged her tightly, noticing the succulent smell of her perfume. It reminded me of that Bath & Body Works candle she loved. Cactus Flower. I didn’t understand the appeal until this moment. It was crisp, sweet, and somehow not overtly powerful. Inhaling as quietly as I could, my body tingled at the way her scent infiltrated me.
Fuck.
This wasn’t going how I’d intended it to.
“Where are you living now?” I asked, wondering if she still had her same apartment.
She pulled back and we put my luggage in her silver sedan. “Well, if you must know,” she teased knowingly, her face brightening with each word. “Dox thought I should have a secure place where he didn’t have to worry about my well-being.”
“Dad, ever the protector,” I mocked, bitterness lacing my words. She stopped, staring at me with sadness.
“He loves you, you know,” she assured, biting her lip. Did I know he loved me? Sure. Did he prove it in any other way than money? No, not really.
“You know, I’m grateful no one knows us.” As quickly as it started, I ended the conversation, not wanting to discuss my heavy level of daddy issues.
When we got to her new place, I wanted to gasp at the sheer size of it. Her condo was thirty floors up and it was larger than I expected it to be. It wasn’t too far from the one she had two years ago, but it was definitely higher up and near the beach. I rarely got to experience beaches, so it’d be a great change of scenery.
She had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, kitchen, and laundry room. These rooms weren’t small by any means. The one I’d be in doubled mine at home.
“Holy fuck,” I whispered. “This is massive.”
Turning toward her trailing form, her lips curved in amusement. “Basically, two bedrooms in one. Plus, the master bathroom is in my room. Which means you get this one,” she stalled, pointing outside my room, “all to yourself.”
For some reason, the thought of that made me happy. Andy liked clutter and I couldn’t do that. She always had makeup, hair supplies, and tons of face stuff scattered about. It made my sadness fester for some reason, and she hated when I cleaned it. Apparently, I never put anything back where it belonged.
“I know you just flew all the way out here, but I was thinking we’d go to the club. My buddy can get us in without you needing an ID. Like old times.”
I pulled out my wallet, waving the fake ID I’d had perfected. It cost a pretty penny, but it fooled all the clubs back home. “I have one.” She gripped it, her eyes widening with mischief as she looked it over.
“How the hell does this look so real?” She stared at it more, flipping it more than once with shock over her entire face.