Page 62 of He's the One

“What about removing chewing gum? Iron over cardboard.”

“That’ll do. Your shoe, okay? Get it from the door.”

Theo brought one of his shoes into the bedroom. “You’re not actually going to iron it, though.”

“No, but Mum is sharp enough to notice if the shoe isn’t moved.”

“How often can you go to see your brother?”

“More often now he’s in a hospital. I’m desperate for him to be freed. He should never have been given a twelve-year sentence. He was only fifteen years old and he did it for me.”

“And himself,” Theo said quietly.

“That night, he did it for me.” Col pressed the iron down onto the paper and ran it back and forth. The words emerged like magic and he switched the iron off and read “The pills are dangerous. Careful how you dispose of them. Too many for me to get rid of safely. I’m okay. But I need to be here and not Oakhurst even if I have to stay inside longer. I pissed a guy off. Keep your face out of the paper.”Col groaned. “Shit.”

Theo could feel panic on the rise.

Col put his arms around him. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Theo! Don’t. No one knows who I am or where I am. The only ones who do are my parents and now you. I’m careful. I’m always careful. Not because I constantly worry that some arsehole Dominic has clashed with is going to come after me but because I have a story to tell and people have a lurid fascination with any major crime story, particularly those involving children and a cut-off cock.”

“Sorry.” Theo pressed his face into Col’s shoulder.

“But now I’ve told you, maybe you’re at risk as well. If you want to walk away and forget you met me, then—”

“No.” Theo pulled back. “I want to kiss you but I’m not going to. This isnotthe moment for the best kiss you’ve ever had or that I’ve ever had or given. Not when I’m all anxious and when your mum and dad are a few floorboards away. I might be noisy.”

“Noisy?”

“Slurpy and stuff. And I might get carried away. Who knows what noises I’ll make then. What if I growl or sound like a howler monkey?”

Col laughed. “Then let’s go back upstairs. We’ll have that kiss later.”

The meal was lovely. Theo tried really hard not to babble, but failed. Without his mother’s constant glares or his grandmother snapping at him to keep him quiet, he couldn’t help himself. He talked too much about everything, including himself, though he did manage not to give away quite how much of a mess he was. He hoped. Or maybe it was obvious.

Col’s mum and dad were kind and funny, and they laughed when Theo had hoped they’d laugh. He’d worried that things might be awkward because of who he was, but they weren’t. Though he was glad that Col had told the lie about why they’d needed the iron because he was pretty sure he’d have messed that story up.

Only when Merle, as she’d asked him to call her, asked if he was in line for the throne, did Theo’s throat become blocked. She’d meant it as a joke, but Theo had to say, “Yes.”

That silenced the table. A piece of chicken fell from Col’s fork and sauce splashed the cloth.

“I told you before,” Theo glanced at Col. “But you were semi-conscious. My father’s a distant relative of the king. We don’t get asked for dinner.” He turned to Col. “And you won’t get asked if you splash the tablecloth.”

Everyone laughed.

Theo offered to wash up but Col’s mum wouldn’t let him.

“I’m going to take Theo for a walk,” Col told them.

“Don’t overdo it,” his dad said. “You had a nasty blow to the head.”

“We’re going down to the sea.”

Theo’s heart thumped.Oh shit.

Col grabbed a jacket from his room, and Theo retrieved his from the car. When Col took his hand, Theo almost forgot about where they were going.Almost.

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