"I love this place," Eli hummed to himself as he came out of Sinclair‘s Diner.

"Me too." Cameron's voice startled him. He jerked around to see Cameron and Kayla leaning against the building. "You always talk to yourself?"

Cameron's last comment of 'good boy' ran through Eli's head. "I met your brother last night."

Cameron raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. Kayla glanced up from her phone, with a similar expression. "Really?" She peeked around Cameron. “Where?"

Eli immediately chided himself. The more people who knew where he was last night the more likely it could get back to his dad. Given how Kayla and Noah were friends, he didn't want to risk it. "Oh, you know." Eli moved his eyes away from her, “Just around?"

"Around where exactly?" Cameron pressed, and Eli felt his gaze on him.

"Just around. Don't you know where your brother usually hangs out?"

"I doubt you were in his room," Cameron answered, his tone discontent, “But who knows? you can be very forward."

"Aw, would that make you jealous?"

"It would make me something."

Eli couldn’t help but look back. He was expecting Cameron's amused expression, the one he wore when he was teasing Eli. There wasn’t one. Eli tried to gleam what exactly he'd meant, but Cameron merely stared back at him without revealing anything.

"Noah's here." Kayla interrupted the silence.

Eli put his confusion aside and examined the jeep pulling up. "What’s he doing here?"

"Picking us up," Kayla answered before bounding towards the car.

Eli looked to Cameron for further explanation. "He's having people over, and we needed a lift."

"People?"

"Big group."

"He's having a party?"

"No, just a gathering." Cameron kicked off from the wall and started walking towards the jeep. Eli hesitated before following. "He didn’t tell you?"

"If he had, I wouldn’t be asking you."

Cameron glanced back, and this time there was amusement curving the corners of his lips.

"Sorry," Eli apologised, "I didn’t mean to snap."

"It’s fine," Cameronsaid , "you're usually moody when we talk."

Eli scowled at him. "I'm not—"

"There it is" Cameron nudged him with his shoulder.

Eli forced his mouth shut before another angry retort came out. He glared up at Cameron, who looked delighted with the response.

"What?" He taunted, “Cat got your tongue?"

"Just get in the car.” Eli refused to look at him as he climbed into the backseat. Kaylen had already claimed the front. As he put on his seatbelt, he caught Noah frowning in his direction. He waited for him to say something, but he didn’t.

Eli tried to shake off the feeling of unease that settled into his skin, bringing his nerves to high alert. He noticed Cameron glance between the two of them, and Eli wondered if he picked up on something. Eli figured that’s why Noah didn’t say anything; there were other people present.

As they pulled away from the diner Noah and Kayla fell into conversation, and Cameron turned to Eli. “How was it?”

Eli’s recalled his short time at the party last night. “How was what?”

Cameron raised an eyebrow. “Your first day. What else would I be asking about?”

Eli cleared his throat. He really was too on edge. “Sinclair’s mom is a dote and her dad‘s the same. They fed me about five times while I was working, so it was pretty good.”

“Charlotte definitely just thinks you’re too skinny” Charlotte’s name rolled off his tongue with a used familiarity, and he told her intentions as though he’d heard them personally.

Eli felt a small tightening in his chest. He ignored it and leaned back into the seat and forced his muscles to relax. “I’m not skinny”

Cameron let out a snort of laughter.

Eli narrowed his eyes at him. His outburst of amusement was pushing it a bit far. Cameron caught his eye and his smile widened. “Come on now, don’t even try deny it. Kayla, Noah – isn’t Eli scrawny?”

“He’s slight,” Kayla cast him a glance, “It’s your build but you could do with putting on a bit of weight.”

“Maybe some weight training?” Noah suggested.

Cameron turned to Eli with a proud expression. “See?”

“Yeah,” Eli said dryly as the tightening in his chest morphed into a more unpleasant sensation. It became a ball of unease. “Thanks.” Something about the moment made his gut twist. He couldn’t pin down what it was. He was on the slender side, and that was obvious to anyone—including himself. That’s all they’d been pointing out.

Why did it bother him that much?

As they pulled up to the house, there were a few unfamiliar cars parked in the driveway. His dad’s car was absent. Eli glanced into the living room as he went by, spotting familiar faces. Most of them were on the football team. After a quick glance, he trotted up the stairs to his room. He could feel the grease from work on his skin and all he wanted now was a shower.

Behind him he heard everyone greeting each other, and even in his room the hum of conversation reached him. It was like being back home, where there were always people in the house.

Just before Eli got into the shower, he stopped in front of the mirror. He scrutinised his frame, and the shadow of his ribs that were visible more than they should be. He ran his fingertips over the bumps and slowly realised why he’d been upset earlier. He’d lost weight. Since moving here he’d been losing weight.

Eli thought back to everyone’s responses in the car. It was obvious that he was skinny. If they could see it, then a lawyer would notice it too, and even if they didn’t, his mom would certainly be able to point it out.

“Shit.” Eli’s started making plans immediately. He needed to put the weight back on. Noah’s suggestion hovered in the forefront of his mind. It wouldn’t do him any harm to gain some muscle either. When he came out of the shower he went straight for his journal and jotted down the addition to his schedule. It was starting to get packed.

“Eli?” Noah knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Eli called. He tugged his shirt off the bed and quickly pulled it on.

“Do you want something to eat?” Noah leaned in the doorway, “We’ve got pizza and… well pizza.”

Eli’s lips spread into a faint smile, “Thanks, but I’ve eaten”

“Right, sorry you said that. Five meals.” Noah nodded, “Then, do you want to come down? Everyone’s just messing around, mostly on the PlayStation.”

“Um.” Eli glanced at the school bag he hadn’t touched since Friday. He had homework and catching up to do. “Thanks, but I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Okay.” Noah hovered in the doorway, as if he wanted to say something else. He tapped his fingers on the doorframe. He gave his head a small shake and looked from Eli’s bag to him. “Do you want help?”

As he asked a roar of laughter came from downstairs. Noah looked behind him, peeking over the banister. Eli let out a small sigh. “Thanks for offering, but I think I’ll manage.”

“Just say the word if you need me.”

Eli could not manage. He couldn’t finish the homework in any of the subjects, and after trying and being faced with a wall of ‘I just can’t do it’, frustration took hold of him. He couldn’t sit still. The noises downstairs started to get on his nerves and discomfort creeped underneath his skin.

The door swung open. The face of one of the seniors Eli had never met popped in and looked around. “Wrong room.”

It shut.

Eli leaned back in the chair, and rubbed his neck, letting his eyes drift closed.

The door opened again.

“Bathroom’s second on the right,” Eli told them.

The floorboard creaked as they stepped into the room, and the door clicked softly shut, followed by the even softer sound of the lock clicking into place. Eli opened his eyes and turned to the doorway with his brow furrowed. He took in a sharp breath.

The man standing there was almost as tall as the door, his hair was long and untamed, falling in golden tangled strands, and piercing amber eyes stared at Eli.

Eli jerked out of the chair, immediately putting it between them. “Jackson,” His voice was several notches higher than normal, “What are you…” Eli couldn’t even finish the question. With Jackson staring him down, his words deserted him.

“Elliott,” Jackson took a step towards him, “I told you to come home.”

Eli flinched. Jackson’s voice revealed nothing of his mood, but if he was here, he was angry. He had to be angry. “This is…”

“This is what? Your new home? Your new family? Strangers who want you gone?” Jackson closed in on Eli.

He’d unconsciously been moving away from him, and now that his back hit the wall there was nowhere else to retreat to. Eli swallowed hard, lowering his gaze from Jackson‘s terrifying one. “I want to stay here.”

“Is it the house you like? The new stuff?” Jackson questioned, taking in the laptop sitting on the desk. “Or having a brother, maybe? You’ve got a few of them at home already, were they not good enough for you?”

“This has nothing to do with them,” The words flew out of Eli’s mouth instantly, defending his friends had been built into him since his mom and Jackson got together, and Eli had met everyone Jackson ‘hangs around’ with. It was a gang, but not everyone was terrible.

“I know,” Jackson let out a long sigh, and the hot breath rustled Eli’s hair. “You know I tried my best to be patient with you. I put in more effort than I have with anyone before, all because of your mother. But if you’re going to be like this…” Jacksons fingers slid through Eli’s locks and gripped his hair. “I’m going to stop holding back.”

Eli whimpered as Jackson squeezed his hand into a fist. Thin shots of pain prickled down his scalp. Instinctively he reached for the hand, trying to pry away the source of the pain.

Jackson chuckled. “Don’t tell me your ready to give up after just this?”

“There are people downstairs.” Eli’s heart hammered in his chest. Jackson, despite having terrified Eli since he’d met him, had never actually raised a hand against him. He’d seen him fight on multiple occasions, and he’d seen Jackson end fights without having to physically move a muscle.

“In that case, you’re going to have to be quiet.” Jackson’s hand tightened in his hair. Eli didn’t even have the time to blink. His forehead slammed into the desk, and spots of black exploded in his vision and pain vibrated through his skull. His copies flew across the floor as Eli grasped the top of the desk, trying to push his head off the surface Jackson was grinding it.

“Stop,” His voice came out in a breathy gasp.

Jackson released the pressure in his arm. “Are you going to come home?”

Eli’s eyes stung with tears, and the paper in front of him blurred.

Jackson let out another tired sigh. He pulled Eli back into a standing position and turned him around to face him. Eli did his best to swallow the tears, knowing that even if Jackson had brought them out, he would disapprove of them. Jackson clicked his tongue. “Your tougher than this, or you’d better be after what you’ve done. I’ll ask again, are you ready to come home?”

Eli’s throat constricted. He just had to get through a few months, and then he’d get to stay here for good. There would be no Jackson. No strangers in the house at all hours. If he went back now, he wouldn’t get another chance. “No.” It hardly came out as a whisper, but it came out.

Jackson backhanded Eli. His cheek stung, and he lost his footing as he stumbled back. His back smacked into the end of his bed frame. He landed on the ground with a thump. It took a few seconds for the pain to register this time, but it was his shoulder that was throbbing.

Jackson stepped forwards and took a hold of collar. He lifted him up and shoved him onto the bed.

Eli tried to scramble away, but Jackson put a knee on his back and shoved him down with his body weight. He took hold of his arm and twisted it. Agony exploded in his muscles. “Stop,” Eli cried out.

“Are you ready to come home?”