Page 95 of Stabby Little

"Everyone has different traditions and I respect that. But there's nothing wrong with decorating Christmas trees."

I take another sip of my hot cocoa. "I liked the silly ornaments the best."

Grant smiles. "Which ones were those?"

"The cartoon characters. You had Peter Griffin fromFamily Guyholding a beer. One time, Miles felt silly and placed him at the top where the angel should be."

"I remember that." Grant's eyes darken. "It was a mistake letting Miles watchFamily Guy."

"You also had aSimpsonsornament. Bart, Homer, Marge, Maggie, and Lisa were huddled together surrounded by a green wreath. I likedThe Simpsonsgrowing up so I snuck that one near Peter Griffin."

Grant shakes his head. "At leastThe Simpsonsis more appropriate thanFamily Guy. You were too young to watch a show packed with sexual innuendos."

Grant lets out a sigh. "I wanted to bring Miles up without a TV. I loved reading as a boy and I had a chest of books I picked out for him to explore.The IliadandThe Odyssey, for starters. I have the entire Loeb Classical Library in hardcover form. Both the green and red covers, so every major work from Rome and Greece. Linda let Miles watchJersey Shoreand a bunch of trashy reality shows that put bad ideas into his head. That's why he veered toward the wrong side of the tracks in high school. He never would've done that if Linda hadn't gotten her way. I'm livid I allowed her to sabotage my child's development."

I place my hand next to Grant's. "It's okay. I'm sure Miles will realize you wanted the best for him someday."

Grant turns to me and stares into my eyes. "Look, Ollie." He clenches his fists. "I'm so sorry about what happened to you."

"It's okay." It really isn't, but I feel guilty that I entertained the false notion that Grant didn't search for me even for a second. This man lost so much because of his refusal to let me go.

"Tell me about your captivity."

"Well…" I rub my eyes. "Men took advantage of me. I needed to manipulate guards to stay in their good graces. If I allowed them to have their way with me, they gave me special privileges. Extra dessert at dinner. I could get fresh air. That was a gift none of the other boys received."

A dark expression washes over Grant's face. "Tell me more."

"I got close to one of the guards. He started having sex with me when I was sixteen, but he pretended I was eighteen. He took me to a storage closet and locked the door so no one would find out. That's how I planned my escape. I discovered an air vent in this closet he didn't notice that I crawled through. I broke free."

I refuse to say Jack's name. Even though I killed him, he still terrifies me. If I hadn't convinced him to let me medicate the boys with extra HIV preventatives the night before I escaped, I never would've broken out. He'd have locked me in my cage and let the other guards rape me. He professed he wished to protect me, but it was only a matter of time before he double-crossed me.

I also leave out the part where I left Jack's corpse under the manhole. The warehouse explosion shouldn't have affected this underground cavern. The body should still be there, if the police haven't discovered it.

Finally, Grant places his hand on mine. "Who did this to you?"

I stare into Grant's eyes, wishing I could tell him the truth. But if I do, my cover's blown. I need to keep my captors' names away from Grant if I want to take them out.

I can't afford to have him call the police and have them intervene.

"I don't know. They wore ski masks."

Something flits in Grant's eyes. I don't know what to make of it.

Grant leans close to me and presses my hand to his chest. "When you were a boy, I swore I'd protect you. I never wanted to let anything happen to you. I failed my mission. But I intend to keep that promise now. If you tell me the names of your abductors, I swear to God I'll make them pay. You won't need to worry about them ever hurting you again."

Grant inches closer to me. Our lips are right next to each other's, less than two centimeters away.

My heart slams in my chest as I lick my lower lip and angle my head. I move even closer to him, so desperate to feel his lips on mine...so desperate to—

Reality crashes back with a vengeance. I pull away. I'm projecting onto this poor man. He's distraught over my disappearance and I'm forcing my fantasies from captivity on to him.

You have such a good connection. Don't fuck things up.

"I have to go." Setting down my fork, I push my half-eaten pancake away from me.

"Wait." Grant's voice is fierce.

This gives me pause. I spin around, questioning the déjà vu that wells up within me. I stare at Grant, his firm presence, his commanding stature. Why does it sound exactly like…?

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