Page 89 of Just a Footnote

Archer pauses for dramatic effect then innocently asks, “What word?”

Aiden anxiously looks towards the closed bathroom door. “The b word.”

The only thing Archer does is sigh dramatically, as if resigned to deal with Aiden instead of loving him. The annoyance is almost palpable through the phone. Aiden can practically picture his face looking constipated and annoyed at the same time. If he was there in person he’d probably even relish it. “Anyway…can you meet with her when you get back? That way you’ll be done and maybe we can move on.”

“Whatever.”

“Heads up…you’re going to have to write a victim impact statement.”

“Yeah, no.” Aiden sits up on the bed, feeling like the room is starting to spin. “You know I’m not doing that. Neither of us are victims.”

A weighted pause stretches between them.

“It’s just the term for describing the abuse,” Archer reassures him.

Yeah, likely fucking story. “Get some records from the social worker.”

“Aiden,” Archer says firmly, like he’s calming a rabid raccoon. In that moment Aiden does kind of feel like a rabid raccoon. God, he needs a cigarette. “They want to see how it affects younow. How her showing up affected you. We can present the facts from when we were kids all we want but we have to prove why she’s a threat to us now.”

“Archer,” Aiden mocks him. “I’m not going to go into detail about how she beat the shit out of me for a year or how she took me to drug dens with her.”

“Just meet with the lawyer. She’ll tell you what to say to get her put away for the rest of her miserable life.”

“Fine,” Aiden agrees even though he wants to keep fighting.

Liam chooses that moment to come out of the bathroom, slightly damp, sweatpants slung low across his waist. He shakes his head slightly so that fat drops of water drip down his chest, over his firm pecs. Aiden licks his lips without even meaning to do it. Distracting.

“Let me talk to Liam,” Archer orders.

Aiden holds the phone out to Liam who takes it without a second thought. “Hey.”

Liam looks over Aiden as he listens. The conversation is short, kind of stilted even, but he can hear the low hum of Archer’s voice through the speaker. Aiden might only catch one side, but the end of the conversation perks him up. A deep red flush spreads across Liam’s cheeks and he whispers, “Not yet.”

Liam places the phone in Aiden’s outstretched hand once he hangs up. Aiden nods for Liam to step closer to the bed, he places a reverent kiss just above Liam’s belly button. He gazes up at Liam, feeling grounded just by being in his orbit.

“What was that about?”

Liam runs a hand through Aiden’s hair, smiling. “Nothing.”

The phone call didn’t sound like nothing to Aiden. But he forces a smile so that Liam won’t know he’s worried.

Snow falls in heaps outside the windows, giving the cabin a coziness that settles Aiden’s anxiety. The fire keeps the living room warm even when the rest of the house is chilled. Liam plays music on his phone as he recounts Aiden with more stories of his childhood.

He talks less about his mom and more about growing up the son of Simon Walsh. He talks about playing hockey, how his mind focuses as he plays and how he never felt smart except for when he was on the ice. He tells Aiden about his mom dying, but he smiles as he does it like maybe he was trained to do that at a young age. Aiden likes listening to Liam tell him about his childhood, because despite the pain of his mothers death, it’s obvious he grew up in a home full of love. How the home he grew up in shaped Liam into the man that somehow made Aiden fall in love for the first time in his life. Maybe the only time.

“So…when did you know you were bi?” Aiden asks while they eat dinner later that night.

Liam coughs around his food, patting at his chest. “How do you know I’m bi and not gay?”

Aiden rolls his eyes, then stares Liam down. “You had that girlfriend, right? Before me.”

“Yeah…I guess I just like people? I’ve been attracted to her and now you. Maybe I need to know the person, feel comfortable with them before I can feel that way.” Liam swallows loudly. “I thought I was broken for a long time.”

Aiden continues to stare at him. “Why would you think that?”

Liam fiddles with the napkin beside his plate. He alwaysfiddles with things when he’s nervous, now it’s the napkin, usually it’s the edge of his shirt. “Well, I never felt normal like my peers. I think I need to have a bond with someone before I can be into them sexually? Like I knew you for years and I felt that attraction to you so suddenly. I’d only ever felt that for Claire before. It didn’t really scare me. It scared me more that you were Archer’s brother, than the fact you were a man.”

“Huh.”

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