Page 145 of Hi-Voltage
“Fascinating creature.” Luka put his hands on Reno’s chest and gently pushed until Reno lifted away from him. “I’m going to shower.”
Reno hummed an agreement and moved the rest of the way so Luka could leave for the bathroom. He sat back on his heels on the couch and sighed at the damp spot they’d left behind before deciding that the entire flat should be cleaned anyway, now that Luka wasn’t sick.
He got to work wiping every surface and was finishing mopping by the time Luka emerged from the bathroom. He leaned against the hallway wall where it opened into the living room, towel around his waist, and watched with a small smile as Reno finished the floors.
“I love not having to clean,” Luka admitted and Reno chuckled.
“Lucky you found me then.”
“I think you found me, actually.”
Reno flushed, then turned to put his cleaning supplies away. “About that," Reno said while closing the closet door, “I think we need to talk.”
Luka’s arms crossed and Reno watched his smile drop.
“Not a bad talk,” he reassured him, and Luka’s shoulders relaxed a little. Reno stepped carefully over the clean floors, trying not to leave footprints behind. “Come sit in bed with me.”
“Okay.” Luka sounded nervous but he followed Reno into the bedroom, stopping at the dresser to pull on an oversized shirt before crawling into the bed with Reno. He accepted the invitation to lie on Reno’s chest and his damp hair was cold against Reno’s arm where it rested.
“I need to know if you’re staying.”
“So direct.”
“One of us has to be.” Reno shrugged and Luka pinched him in the ribs almost hard enough to hurt. “What? You love to dance around things. It’s extremely adorable.”
“I don’t dance, you do.”
Reno clicked his tongue. “See?”
“Okay, yeah.” Luka chewed on his lower lip. “I want to stay.”
“Really?” Reno tried not to get too excited in case there was a ‘but’ following Luka’s answer. When Luka nodded and didn’t say anything else, Reno squeezed him so tight it made Luka yelp. “I’m so happy.”
“Yeah?" Luka slapped Reno’s arm so he’d stop accidentally choking him. “I have to go back soon to visit and pack my stuff, I guess. Wow.” Luka hid his face against Reno’s shirt. “I don’t know about this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ah, it’s like. It’s a yes. It’s for sure a yes—but I need to tell you something.”
Reno held his breath, feeling like everything he wanted in life was balancing at the top of a pin. “You can tell me anything.”
“I’m choosing to believe that,” Luka said, turning back so he was no longer hiding. “When I was seventeen, I had a boyfriend. My parents kicked me out, partly because I wouldn’t listen to them about this boyfriend being bad news, and partly because my parents' first response to me doing anything they don’t understand is to cut me out of their lives. Doesn’t matter the reason, I guess.”
“I’m sorry.”
Luka shook his head. “I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I moved in with him. He didn’t live in Missouri.”
“Where was he from?”
“California.”
“How far is that from Missouri?” Reno tried to recall U.S.A. geography and failed.
“Driving, it usually takes twenty-five hours or so, but it took me almost a week. I had to stop a lot. I didn’t own much other than my car, so I just kind of packed up a bag and left. I’d already graduated from high school, I didn’t have a home, and the people I knew from my town were not the greatest.”
Reno tried to picture himself having to fend for himself at only seventeen and a rush of gratitude for his mother flooded over him.
“I had to ask strangers to help me fill my gas tank and feed me. It was…” Luka rubbed a hand over his face and sighed, “Whatever, that’s in the past. Just like, I don’t know. I moved into this guy’s house across the country and didn’t have shit to my name, and I let him control my life. I thought I loved him, but he saw me for what I was—an extremely vulnerable, trans teen,desperate for any kind of family or security—and he preyed on that.”
