Page 60 of Fortress
Regretfully, Jake kept it short, licking his lips when he pulled away. Toby looked gob-smacked, wet lips parted tantalizingly. Jake was tempted to go in for seconds, but common sense (and Justin, likely to regain consciousness sooner than Jake could finish anything he wanted to do with the beautiful boy before him) got him moving. Still, it had been worth it: Toby was staring at him, alert and with him now.
“Let’s get out of here.”
They spun out of the gravel driveway a little faster than he’d meant to, but there was no sign of Justin in the rearview mirror. Jake had to talk to his baby for the first five minutes of driving, telling her how much he’d missed her and that he wouldn’t leave her again. Then he had to ask Toby for directions back to the motel. Every few seconds, he’d glance over to see Toby smiling at him.
He wasn’t an idiot; he hadn’t forgotten about Becca, the way Toby had talked about witches on the phone to Roger, or the look on his face as he’d stared at the back of Justin’s head like he was imagining carving it out like a jack-o’-lantern. But Jake couldn’t think of a way to broach the subject now, not when he was just so fucking grateful toseeagain, to press the pedal to the metal as they roared down the highway, on their way to get the hell out of this town. There were so many better ways tocelebrate getting his sight back and the relaxation in Toby that hadn’t been there for the last forty-eight hours once they got to their next motel. Talking could wait.
Chapter Ten
Roger stepped onto the porch as the first sounds of the Eldorado's engine announced its entrance into his yard. The July sunlight glared off of the metal husks looming over his property, prompting him to shade his eyes as the car rumbled to a stop.
He'd grown adept at gauging how the boys were doing from the second they got out of the Eldorado. Not just physically—counting limps, bruises, or other obvious injuries—but how things were between them. Some days, Jake would pause by the fender, cautious and anxious as he waited for Tobias to reach his side before they came up to the house together, watching each other's back against any threats.
Today was not one of those days. Jake grinned at Tobias as they slammed their doors almost in sync, then he ambled easily up the drive, sure that Tobias would catch him and be confident enough to follow alone. Tobias did, his stride longer and looser, shoulders more at ease, everything about him ten times more confident than the last time Roger had seen him. Roger couldn't keep a smile off his face, and he didn't really try.
“Jake,” he said, clasping his hand as Jake reached the top of the steps. “Tobias.” Roger nodded to him before following him into the house. “I'm glad you boys could come. Haven't had company up here for the Fourth in a dog's age.”
“Is that like dog's years?” Jake called, reappearing from the kitchen with two opened beers and a swagger. “Where it's really only one but feels longer?”
“Probably the holiday'sgonnafeel longer, with you morons lying around. Are you swiping my beer already?”
Jake gave him one of his cheekiest, most shameless grins. “Does it count as swiping if I bring you one, too?”
“Yes, yes it does.” But Roger accepted the second bottle and took a swig. “So, you boys want fireworks or anything? I've got burgers and beer, but you want anything special, we'll have to run to town and see what the weekenders haven't picked clean.”
“Nah.” Jake shrugged. “Much as I like them, by the third there's never anything really good, and it's expensive as shit, you know? Besides, between the three of us we could probably build something that'll be more impressive than those flashbangs.”
Tobias turned from studying Roger's bookshelf. “Oh, like that time you thought that leaving the gas can in the haunted house was 'basically the same' as tossing in a lighter? Is that the kind of impressive flashbang you're looking for? 'Cause we should at least make sure the Eldorado's out of range from any projectiles this time. You nearly fainted when you saw how close that pipe landed.”
Roger damn near dropped his bottle. Not only did Tobias have a whole new tone of voice (lively, confident, even playfully mocking), but he was looking at Jake with a light in his eyes that Roger hadn't seen before either, something amused and affectionate, balanced with a familiar exasperation.
Jake sputtered in outrage, which Roger well knew covered guilt.”Dude, I didnotalmost faint. And that was a one-time experiment!”
“You r-remember stuff like that,” Tobias pointed out. He looked at Roger, and his smile only dimmed by a shade. “There was a lot of fire.”
Roger squinted at him. “You've gottensassy.”
Tobias turned bright red as Jake laughed, and he stuck to monosyllables for the next hour. But for the first time sincethey'd met, Roger felt that the kid wasn'tafraidof him, just embarrassed.
There was something satisfying about embarrassing Hawthornes. He could get used to having two boys to practice it on.
Roger got a pan of chicken and potatoes in the oven for dinner, and Jake and Tobias settled onto the living room couch to watch TV with the volume low. The two of them leaned against each other from knee to shoulder, Jake's arm around Tobias's shoulders. They looked so damn comfortable and relaxed for the first time in Roger's house that he had to turn away, pretending to search his bookshelf.
But a glimpse of a bandage across Jake's forearm reminded him of something. “Hey, Tobias—I came across something that might be useful for you.”He went to his desk to retrieve a roll of medical tape he'd kept in the top drawer, then returned to offer it to him.
Tobias accepted it with only a little hesitation, looking more curious than apprehensive. “Thank you.” He turned the beige roll over once, picking at the end. “What's it for?”
“Well—” Roger cleared his throat. “I was thinking—it could come in handy to be able to cover that scarring on your neck when you're in public. It's not exactly a neon sign, but a few people might make a guess. And if you're someplace down south when it's frickin' hot, it might even draw attention if you're wearing turtlenecks. That tape's specially designed to go on skin, advertised not even to come off in the shower, as long as you don't pick at it.” He hadn't been sure he'd gotten Tobias's skin tone right, but as the boy held the roll in his hands, it was close enough that he didn't think anyone would question it. Not the way they'd question the scarring from a lifetime wearing an ASC collar.
Tobias's jaw dropped. He stared at the roll in his hands, then up at Roger.
Jake snatched the tape out of his hands, examining it close. “Holy shit, Rog. This is fucking awesome!”
His exuberance made Tobias smile, but he still looked a little uncertain. “Thank you. That would be . . . really helpful. But is it okay? I mean, is it . . . legal?”
“Of course it's fucking legal,” Jake said hotly. “Why wouldn't it be? No law saying you need to be flashing your skin at any ASC assholes that come along. You're out of that . . . you're not there, and you're not fucking going back, so it's got nothing to do with you anymore. Hey, wanna try it out?” Jake stretched out a length of tape and grinned.
Roger looked away from the emotion in Tobias's face, the determination in Jake's. There had to be something he'd been meaning to find in his bookcase.
