Page 43 of Ky
I could sense it in my bones that this story was about to get worse. My stomach turned and a sour taste flooded my mouth. I tried my hardest to hold strong for Ky. I knew he needed to get this out. He needed to be free.
“They beat him, Chris. A defenseless sixteen-year-old. Right there in the middle of the town center for everyone to see. They stripped him down and continued to pummel him with anything they could get their hands on as he lay there lifeless in the dirt. I tried to help him. I ran through the crowd not even thinking about what I was doing, but they held me back. When it was all over they left him there and I received a punishment for what I tried to do. They chained me to a tree not twenty feet from him and left me there for three days. He wasn’t dead, Chris. You know how long it took for his body to finally give out? Nearly two days. I will never forget watching his body rise and fall with his last breath, and the feeling of waiting for him to breathe again. But it didn’t happen.”
I had no words. I don’t think he really expected me to, but I still wished that I could have comforted him in some way. I understood why he’d left and I couldn’t blame him, not even a little bit. That was some fucked up shit. I couldn’t believe how people could treat other people sometimes—how cruel they could be.
My lips found his shoulder and I placed a light kiss on his soft skin, thankful that he was wearing a tank under his cut. I didn’t mind the shop smell that still clung to him. In fact, I found comfort in it. My lips lingered against his skin as the minutes ticked on.
“I couldn’t stay there. I knew that much. I had this card that my grandma had made me way before my parents moved us to that place. It was a simple index card that she had laminated so that it wouldn’t get ruined. It had her address on it because she said that my parents moved too much to put theirs on there. She told me to keep it in my pocket at all times. I was a kid, you know, so I tried my hardest to remember to put it in the pocket of my pants every morning. It helped that she scared the shit out of me by saying that if I didn’t have it and I got lost, then no one would be able to help me find my way back home. That is scary to hear when you’re little.”
His lips tipped up for a second and I let out a short laugh. Then like the magic had disappeared and he remembered what he was talking about, his face went hard again. This time, I knew it didn’t have anything to do with me and so I didn’t move away.
“That card ended up saving my life, I think. I still would have left without it, but I can only imagine what might have happened to me. It killed me to leave Ingram behind, but you know all of that.”
“Ky,” I whispered and had all intentions of telling him that none of what had happened was his fault, but then his lips were on mine and I forgot everything I was going to say.
“Don’t,” he mumbled in between kisses. “Don’t tell me, because I don’t want to disappoint you when inside I know that I can’t believe your words, no matter how much I would want to.”
He rolled to half cover me, his body pressed tightly into the side of mine. I held him as our lips made lazy passes against each other’s. This wasn’t sexual, it was two lonely souls trying to hold onto one another's. It was beautiful and sad all at the same time.
Then he broke away and his head came to rest in the crook of my neck. I wrapped my arms around him, holding his body firmly to mine.
“I want to give Ingram a better life that we both had growing up. I want her to be proud to call me her family. But I have to be honest, I don’t have the first clue on how to be the man deserving of that title.”
“You already are,” I said after I cleared my throat. “You took her in. You didn’t ever make her feel like she was unwanted here. You never treated her like she was an idiot or weird. All the things you’ve done have been nothing short of being a good big brother.”
“Is it horrible that I want to lock her down in this house and never let anything bad happen to her?” he asked with a chuckle.
“No. I mean, you can’t do that—I won’t let you, but I get what you’re saying.”
“You’re amazing. You know that, Chris?” His head lifted and his eyes met mine.
I was suddenly choked up. I didn’t know what to say or how to respond.
“This is some heavy shit I’ve brought into your home, into your sanctuary. I bet you didn’t know it would be this fucked up.”
“No, but I didn’t care either. I didn’t offer because I felt like I had to. I did it because I care about you and well, Ingram looked terrified.”
“Oh, God, she did,” he said as he laughed at the memory and flopped back over onto the bed. “What was she thinking? What was my grandma thinking sending her this way? Oh, man.” He shook his head and it was good to see the smile on his face.
His hand found mine again and for a long time, we remained silent and still. It didn’t feel awkward or intense and I kind of loved the way we could just comfortably be around each other. Right then at least, who knew what was going to happen once the spell was broken beyond this room. I didn’t want to think about that, for right now, I just wanted to enjoy the closeness of Ky.
“If I stay here any longer I’m going to fall asleep. Today has been exhausting,” he said as he shifted to sit up.
“Okay,” I replied in a tone that said I didn’t mind if that happened.
His sad smile told me all I needed to know. He wasn’t ready and I wasn’t going to push it.
“Thank you, for listening and taking us in. For being amazing with Ingram. Just, for everything,” he said and his eyes looked down into mine.
I smiled up at him and gave a soft nod.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I said letting him know that I understood his need to flee.
“Goodnight, Chris.”
He got to his feet and it seemed like he was having to push himself with each step. Like he wasn’t quite sure that he wanted to go.
“Night, Ky.”
