“Neither do I, but we’ll do it together.”
The apartment looked slightly better, well no, not really. Cain threw the last of the rubbish in the trash and stood in the doorway, watching Robert and Anton. He didn’t want to interrupt them. He knew Robert needed time with his son.
He went back into the kitchen and put the kettle on, getting the cups and coffee out. He then checked the cupboards, because he thought maybe Anton could use something stiffer in his drink.
When the kettle boiled, he made the drinks and took them in, putting them on a box. The table was beyond repair, and he’d moved it to the side, replacing it with a cardboard box that had somehow survived the destruction.
Robert smiled and mouthed thanks when he passed him his drink, but Anton barely noticed him. He’d become so quiet that Cain shot Robert a questioning look, but Robert shook his head.
“Anton, have some coffee.”
Anton lifted his head, his pale face showing the tracks of his tears, his red rimmed eyes revealing the pain he felt inside. Cain grabbed Anton’s hand, and for once, Anton didn’t try to shake him off. Instead, he gave Cain a ghost of a smile.
There was a knock on the door, and Anton stiffened, tension radiating from his body. And fear. His skin paled further, his eyes widening and bouncing around the room. He swallowed repeatedly. “I can’t.”
“You can.” Robert straightened and held Anton’s face in the palms of his hands. “You can.”
Cain watched Anton’s eyes flicker between Robert’s, and he blew out a breath. “Don’t go,” he whispered in a trembling voice.
“I’ll never let you go, son.”
Cain left them and answered the door, giving the two officers a close-lipped smile. “He’s in the living room.” He closed the door and followed them inside, wincing at the look of horror on Anton’s face.
Robert moved so he was sitting in front of Anton. “I’m Robert. Anton is my son. You’ll speak to him here.”
“We need him to come to the station. This is part of an active investigation that crosses state lines.”
“What?” Cain gasped. He had no idea.
“We were informed by a Quince Hiscock about an ongoing investigation.”
“My stepson. He probably looked him up and saw the news report.”
“He did. I need you to come station, Mr. Summers.”
“Dad, I can’t.”
“You can, and we’re going with you.” Cain wasn’t leaving Anton now.
“I’ll get our lawyer to meet us there.” Standing, Robert helped Anton up off the sofa. “We’ll take my car and meet you there. I’m not leaving his side.” The officers exchanged looks, and Robert gave them a hard stare. “I am not leaving my son.”
Finally, one nodded. “We’ll see you there in ten minutes.”
Robert nodded and wrapped his arm over Anton’s shoulder. “Pack a bag for Anton, Cain. Quince said he can stay with him for a while.”
“I don’t need someone’s charity,” Anton whispered harshly, color coming back into his cheeks.
“It isn’t charity,” Robert said gently. “It’s family.”
Anton shrugged Robert’s arm off and paced the room. Cain shared a look with Robert and stepped in front of Anton. They needed to tread carefully. Anton was emotionally unbalanced right now. Too much was being thrown at him, and he was struggling to cope.
“You can stay with me if you want.”
Anton shook his head vigorously. “No,” he snapped.
“Then stay with Quince. He’s offered, he works stupid long hours, so you’ll have the place to yourself, and he won’t have to have the dog walker come in.” Robert sighed. “Why the man got a dog when he works the way he does is beyond me.”
“They were going to put him down.” Anton shrugged. “I overheard him talking about it.”
“So, the dog will have you for company, and you can talk to him, and he’ll listen.” Cain smiled. “No questions asked. As long as you pet him, walk him, and feed him, he’ll be all yours.”
Anton smiled softly for a second before it fell from his face. “It would be nice.”
“I heard you might have to share the bed with him too. Think you can cope with that?” Cain smiled.
“So you’d be helping Quince out, and he makes great food. He got the cooking genes from Lydia.”
“That would be nice.” Anton wrapped his arms around his waist and swayed slightly.
Robert put his arm over Anton’s shoulder again, and Cain caught to the look of relief on his face when Anton didn’t shrug it off. “We need to go. Cain will meet us there with a bag. I’ll drive your Jeep, Anton.”
“I don’t know...” Anton closed his eyes, his body trembling.
Cain touched him softly on the back of the neck. “Together, Anton, yeah.”
Robert and Anton left and Cain stood in the living room, staring at nothing. “Anton.” His voice was so quiet, so soft, but the emotion was there. The tremble in that one word. Cain blinked, felt his throat ache and his eyes sting. He’d failed and even though he knew he had no reason to feel that way, he still did. He was Anton’s brother, and he’d missed the signs.
Looking back, it was obvious when the changes in Anton’s personality occurred. The happy, outgoing boy becoming quiet and withdrawn then sullen and angry. Cain had put it down to hormones, the dreaded teenage years running rampant on the Summer home but now, with hindsight, he knew better.
He grabbed Anton’s backpack and threw in clothes then grabbed what he needed from the bathroom. Walking back into the bedroom, he spotted something sticking out from under the mattress. Pulling it free, he realized it was a journal and held it in his hands. Should he read it, the private thoughts of his brother? Maybe reading it would help Cain understand what Anton was going through.
He let it fall open, and after reading one sentence, slammed it shut again. Such torment, such self-hatred. Six words repeated. I love him. I hate him.
He was the very thing he’d come to hate. Anton was gay
Chapter Twenty-Five
ARCHER OPENED THE door and pulled Cain in, holding him in his arms. He looked drained, physically and emotionally drained. His shoulders were slumped, his face pale and etched with fatigue, lines bracketing his mouth.
Keeping his arm around Cain, Archer shut the door and led him into the apartment and straight to the bathroom. He knew Cain needed to relax, and the best way to do that was to get him in the bath and help ease some of the tension he could visibly see in Cain’s body.
When Cain had messaged Archer to say he was on his way, Archer had run him a bath and got a drink ready for him. He had no idea what Cain had heard or what he’d witnessed, but regardless, Archer was there to support him.
He knew Robert had reached at Quince’s with Anton after they’d finished at the police station, and from what Quince had messaged, Anton appeared numb. Barely communicating, it seemed that Anton had shut down.
He knew at some point the explosion would occur, the outpouring of emotion, fear, anger, pain, but for now they would all be there for Anton and provide the support he clearly needed. He had a long hard road ahead of him, but he wouldn’t be alone in this journey. He had family to support him.