Chapter 28
“Well you have a nice father” Justin commented
sarcastically as Josh walked to his locker, Justin only one step behind. Josh
turned his head, looking at him strangely.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“I dropped off your book yesterday, didn’t your dad
tell you?” Justin asked.
“He’s not my father” Josh growled angrily. He’d
never had a father; it had always been his mother and him together; no one else
till Henry showed up. Justin looked at him, confusion in his eyes.
“He’s my step father” Josh told him softly, not
meeting Justin’s eyes.
“Oh” Justin breathed, subtle Timberlake, he scolded himself.
“Is he treating you ok?” Justin asked a bit
concerned, the man hadn’t been exactly friendly to him. He didn’t know where
the concern came from all of a sudden, it just popped up but what he didn’t
think of were the bruises he’d seen. He still didn’t make the link between the
man and Josh’s injuries. It was not something you would think off quickly. It
didn’t enter his mind although it was a logical thought, the brain blocked that
explanation.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Josh
asked him angrily, he was taken aback by his own reaction; why the hell was he
defending Henry?
“Nothing” Justin told him, eyes wide with the reaction
he wasn’t anticipating, holding his hands up in surrender. Josh visibly backed
off.
“Sorry” he mumbled.
“It’s ok, it was just a question. I was just
concerned”
“Well no one asked you for your concern” Josh
lashed out again before he walked away, he couldn’t allow people to get too
close. He was already taking a chance by letting Lance into his life and if he
allowed Justin in as well they were bound to find out… find out what his life
was really like.
***
Another week went by and Josh finally forced
himself to start his assignment. He asked questions here and there, meaningless
questions for now but it paved the way for
the serious ones he would have to ask later. It prevented Lance from being too
suspicious and he really hoped it would work. It had to work; he’d been
thinking about how he was ever going to ask the most important question, where
is the safe, without being too obvious about it. He had a little more than a
week left but it had to work in that week. It had to. Henry would be asking
about it soon and he had to have an answer ready, a satisfying answer.
Justin had backed off, he hadn’t asked any
questions in the last week and he hadn’t bothered him in the whole. Josh was
relieved Justin hadn’t linked his step father with the bruises he’d seen
earlier. Josh was shocked when Henry had said Justin had stopped by for his
book and he’d cursed him inwardly. He’d been able to talk Henry’s plan of
robbing Justin’s house out of his head, just barely and he’d been scared Justin
now knew how he got those marks on his body. He’d been afraid Justin had linked
the two together and when Justin came up to him the next day Josh knew for sure
he’d found out. But till his surprise Justin hadn’t, the question if Henry was
treating him ok seemed strange and made Josh believe that he did in fact
suspect something but once again nothing else came of it. Justin hadn’t asked
anything else and Josh was relieved he hadn’t. But somewhere he was sad as
well; no one took the trouble of seeing that something wasn’t right.
No one made the link between Henry’s temper and
Josh’s bruises.
No one knew.
But Justin did and he probably thought he was not
worth the trouble of making the link and definitely not doing anything about
it.
He was just not worth it.
***
“Lance I…” Josh started slowly, he had the sudden
urge to tell Lance everything, it hurt more and more to lie to Lance. To ask
the questions that would lead up to the ‘where is the safe’ one. He hated
planning this, he hated scamming him into revealing where the safe was. He
hated it. The only person that trusted him, it wasn’t even rightly. He didn’t
deserve the trust. He wanted to deserve it though and that’s why he wanted to
tell him.
“I need to… um tell you something” he said looking
at his hands. Lance looked at Josh, curious what he had to say.
“Lance I …” Josh started slowly, he wanted to tell
him.
Go
on, he encouraged himself, this is your chance. He’ll
understand, he’ll appreciate you telling him. But that wasn’t really what
he was worried about. What he was worried about had a name; Henry.
What would he accomplish by telling Lance?
Sure Lance would understand and appreciate it but
then what?
He still had to go home at the end of the day. He
had to face Henry and take his molesting when he came home without the
information or the stolen stuff.
“I… I…”
Yes or no?
“Want to thank you” Josh finished, he couldn’t say
it.
He would sign up for a beating and who was he
kidding?
Sure Lance would like it and all but he wouldn’t
protect him from Henry, what could he do?
He couldn’t expect Lance to take care of him, to
save him. He needed to save himself, so he didn’t tell him.
“What do you mean?” Lance asked confused, he’d
clearly seen the intern struggle in Josh’s eyes. Or at least he thought he’d
seen it.
“For um… for hanging out with me I guess. But
mainly for giving me a chance. Not a lot of people gave me a chance at least
not after they heard of my reputation” Josh told him honestly. This sentence
started off as a subterfuge but every word was true. He was really grateful, he
just wished he could pay him back in some way instead of having to rip him off.
“What are you talking about?” Lance chuckled
lightly but Josh wasn’t laughing with him. He still had the serious look on his
face and it sobered Lance up almost immediately.
“I mean you’re my friend. I like hanging out with
you” Lance told him honestly.
Josh’s lips turned into a smile, “Thanks”
Lance smiled back, “You’re welcome”
***
He’d tried, he’d really tried to tell Lance. But
hearing he was his friend was like a stab in his heart. He was his friend, yes.
He trusted him, yes. And maybe that was Lance’s biggest mistake. That was the
exact thing Lance shouldn’t do, shouldn’t have done but he did. He did see him
as his friend and he did trust him. That made it all that much more complicated
and harder to rip him off.
If he didn’t know Lance, like the first time when
he tried to rob him, it would be so much easier. He wouldn’t see those green
eyes in front of him when he would enter his house. He wouldn’t see his smile
when he went to the safe. He wouldn’t hear the words that he trusted him and
that he was his friend when he would reach into the safe. And he wouldn’t see
the devastation in those green trustworthy eyes, he knew he would see when
Lance found out what he’d done, when he would creep out of his house with all
of Lance and his parents’ things.
But it was no use thinking this way because he did
know Lance, he did know Lance trusted him and he did know how he would betray
Lance if he did go through with this but he kept telling himself that he really
had no choice but to go through with it.
He had to… he had to but it didn’t make it any
easier.
