He wakes up to find the boy curled up on his chest, still asleep. Eli sighs and pushes his own hair out of his face. That explains the dream, He thinks. He blinks slowly, observing the sun reflecting off the ceiling. The boy formerly known as Ashlyn is sleeping soundly, his dark purple hair framing his fair cheeks.
Impulsively, Eli reaches a hand down to brush the boy’s hair back. He watches as the slight figure shifts and slowly opens his eyes. It takes him a moment to register where he is, and as soon as he does, he sits up.
“Did I sleep on you?”
Eli nods and yawns, “You looked comfy so I didn’t want to disturb you.”
The boy scoffs, rolling his eyes, “You’re quite the bleeding heart, Eli.”
He shrugs, “I do my best. Especially when someone’s had a life like yours, Koby.”
Silence. The name thuds onto the bed between them like a body pushed from a balcony. Koby is frozen in place. Neither moves for what feels like forever, and no one dares speak.
Finally, a voice breaks the silence, “Where… where did you hear that name?”
If he hadn’t been the only other person in the room, Eli wouldn’t have been able to tell who was speaking, Koby’s voice sounded so foreign. It takes him a moment to think of a good response.
“You shouldn’t carry around notes with your real name on them.” Attempting to avoid eye contact, Eli stands and begins looking for clothing.
“I wasn’t expecting anyone to go through my stuff,” Koby speaks through gritted teeth.
The man shrugs, “You’re a young prostitute with an obviously fake name who knows my secret; of course I’m gonna try to find out about you.”
Koby moves to the edge of the bed, placing his feet on the cold floor. His eyes are downcast, and Eli can tell he’s trying to think of what to do next. He might make a run for it. His movements are small, but he’s so tense, Eli’s afraid to go near him.
“It was… to protect them…” Koby’s voice is barely a whisper, and he’s starting to shake.
It takes a moment for the words to register, and when they do, Eli feels the breath leave his lungs. “You did it?”
Koby nods but doesn’t speak. He stays completely still, barely even breathing.
“Well…” Eli’s desperate to break the murky silence. “Can’t say I’m not impressed.” He flicks his white hair out of his eyes and glances around the room for something to do, eventually deciding on picking up the medical kit. “I’m gonna change your bandages.”
The boy barely reacts when Eli sits next to him and begins unwrapping his arm.
“Looks better today,” Eli states, starting to clean the wound.
Koby stays quiet, only moving when he winces at Eli’s touch. His dark eyes are wide from fear… or memories.
“Should I ask?” There’s a level of concern in his voice that surprises even himself.
“My dad… he was a cop,” Koby doesn’t look up, and his voice is shaking. “I was always afraid that he wouldn’t come home some night, so…” He tails off.
“I see.”
“Same with my mom and sister,” He takes a breath to steady himself. “They were both so beautiful, and I saw how men looked at them.” A tear runs down his cheek, and he sniffles softly. “I thought… maybe if I could do it first, then I wouldn’t have to worry anymore.”
“And did it work?” Eli’s hands have stopped moving, and he meets Koby’s eyes.
The boy nods, not looking away, “I’m not scared anymore.”
Eli takes a slow breath in acknowledgment, finishing his work on the injury, “If it’s any consolation, not that you care, the first person I ever killed was my uncle.”
“Why?”
“He, uh…” Eli hesitates, searching for the words he used to hate to speak. “He liked to hurt my sister. Probably thought it made him made him more powerful or something.” The boy tilts his head slightly, finding the story intriguing. “I came home for Christmas, and the day before I was supposed to leave again, he beat her to death.”
Koby doesn’t respond, but Eli can tell he’s listening closely.
“I just sort of snapped,” He almost laughs. “I barely even noticed I’d killed him until it was too late.”
“Did it feel good?”
The question catches him off guard, and Eli realizes he’s never really thought about it. He’s always just assumed he’s felt good about it.
“I don’t know…” Eli crosses his arms. “Never really thought about it.”
The boy nods and picks up a pillow. He looks innocent, sitting there with his knees pulled up, holding a pillow close to his chest with his good arm. Eli finds himself leaning in.
Koby raises his head and meets Eli’s lips, soft as a kitten. It’s the kind of sweet and tentative kiss one would describe a first kiss as. Koby’s hands don’t move from where they are, and Eli is shockingly aware of every breath he takes.
They slowly pull away from one another; Eli’s ears are warm, and Koby has a pink tint to his cheeks.
“We could--” The boy is chewing his lip.
“Yeah…” Eli takes a breath. “Want to?”
Koby wraps his arm around the man’s neck, threading his fingers in the white hair. Their lips touch again, and Koby lays back, pulling Eli over him.
“I do.”
As he sits in the living room sketching, all he can think of is how different Koby was this time. He was much softer and seemed to be getting real pleasure from it. Eli loved it. He smiles to himself, adding shading to the drawing. I should get him to open up more often, He thinks.
The door to the hallway swings open and a sleepy-looking Koby steps into the room, rubbing his eyes. He yawns, asking, “What time is it?”
“Just around two,” Eli taps his pencil against his knee absentmindedly. “You slept for a while.”
The boy nods and settles on the couch, pulling his knees up, “What’re you drawing?”
Eli holds out the sketchbook for Koby to see. It’s a drawing of a girl. She’s beautiful. Her hair is done up in cute ringlets that frame her pixie-like face; there’s a ribbon sporting a large bow at the top of her head, keeping her bangs in place. Her face is round and soft like a child’s, but her nose and chin both have a distinct point that shows her true, young adult age. She smiles flirtatiously up from the page, her eyes seeming to pierce into Koby’s heart.
“Your girlfriend?”
“My sister.” Eli takes the book back and closes it muttering, “She was always so innocent.”
“Oh?” Koby moves closer, chewing his lip.
“Yeah…” Eli sighs. “She was really religious; we both were, actually. She took to it far better than I did.”
The boy nods, trying to imagine Eli as a man of God. He laughs softly and shakes his head, “Hard to imagine.”
Eli laughs, leaning back, “I was a lot different back then.”
They sit in silence for a moment; Eli thinking of his sister, and Koby searching for something else to say. Anything to break the silence between them.
Finally, he speaks, “Thank you for earlier. It’s been a while since someone’s made an effort to make me feel good.”
“Any time,” Eli smiles. “I shouldn’t be the only one getting something out of sex.”
Koby offers a barely-there smile; kindness of any kind is unusual for him.
“Do you want to help me with something?” Eli leans forward, awaiting the answer he wants to hear.
“Sure,” The boy shrugs. “What is it?”
“I have to collect some money from some people,” He waves his hand dismissively. “I could use the extra hands.”
“What’s in it for me?” Even now, Koby’s beginning to retreat back into his shell.
Eli thinks, eyes scraping over Koby’s form. “You get to have a gun?”
Koby lets out a bitter laugh, “Gee, thanks.”
“Anytime, babe,” With that, Eli pulls the boy up and points to the gun cabinet. “Pick anything you like, I’ll be back in a sec.”
Koby nods, watching Eli leave; as soon as he’s alone, the boy closes his eyes and holds himself tight. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s afraid of what this man could do.
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