Monday:

Hunter

It was a typical pre-lunch Monday. Except that Jove had decided to not go to school and was still hiding in the bedroom. Hunter was sitting on the couch watching television with his leg propped up. Nothing was on television worth watching, but it beat sitting staring at the walls. Hunter was sure that would drive him batty. His sketchpad lay on the coffee table from where he had attempted to do a little drawing earlier, but his mind kept wandering to Jove, more specifically, Jove and his bruises. The sketch that was on top was a pair of bound hands, grasping at nothing, or everything, he was not sure which. Hunter just could not get the image out of his mind of his baby brother bound for the pleasure of another. It made him ill to think that he sent him out there to find such a man, and he was sure Jove was taking it poorly from his not wanting to go to school today, although Odessa called him in with a fever and headache. She did not even ask him to do extra chores, just told him to feel better. Hunter looked at the sketch again. Odessa was worried about him too.

The knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts. “Hang on!” he shouted, then began to maneuver himself off the couch.

Jove opened the bedroom door, “You need something?”

“Can you get the door?”

“Yeah, hang on.” Jove came out of the bedroom a minute later with his book in one hand, pulling on a hooded sweatshirt before opening the door. “Oh hi Cliff. Hunter is on the couch.” He let the man in and closed the door behind him, then excused himself to go back to ‘his’ room. The one he no longer occupied.

“Hey Cliff.” Hunter greeted his lover. “What brings you out to this side of town?”

“Oh I thought I would come by and see how you were holding up. Still got that flat tire?”

Hunter tapped the cast. “About as flat as you can get, have a seat. Would you like anything to drink, I’m sure Jove wouldn’t mind.”

“You act as if I don’t know my way around a kitchen.” Cliff teased as he sat opposite of Hunter, “Why isn’t he in school?”

“Home sick.”

“Ah. He looked pretty well to me.”

“Woke up this morning with a fever and headache, you know how the school is about those kinds of things. Send you to the nurse, asks a bunch of questions that are no one’s business, try to give you innocs you don’t need. Easier to stay home.”

“Yes, I can see your point.” He reached over and picked up the sketchbook. “Nice image, anyone I know?”

Hunter shrugged. “Just drawing what comes to mind.”

“Feeling trapped again are you?”

“Just a little.” Hunter was relieved at the direction of the questioning, anything but Jove.

“You know Vincent never meant for you to do this alone.” Cliff said softly.

“I can’t leave them.”

“No one is asking you to leave them, Hunter, not completely, just honor your father’s contract. I will not keep you from seeing other clients if that is what is bothering you, but the contract is to protect the girls.”

“I know what it is, Cliff. I would have to live with you.” Hunter looked away, then back again. “Not that I would mind that at all, but then who would look after these guys? Who would be home when Jove is sick or when Elaina gets home from school? Mama isn’t going to be here to do it anymore. I promised.” His shoulders were trembling from the emotion he was feeling. “I promised them, Cliff.”

“I made him a promise too, Hunter.” Cliff moved around the coffee table to kneel next to Hunter. “I promised him I would take care of you. Just you. You know I can enforce the contract until you are twenty-one.” He cupped Hunter’s face in his hands.

“I know.”

“And you know your father contracted you so that you wouldn’t have to deal with this pressure all by yourself.”

Hunter nodded.

“Then let me help you.” Cliff whispered as he kissed him gently on the lips. “Tell me what you need.”

“I don’t know.” Hunter admitted. “Mama did everything until a few months ago, all I did was give her my money.”

“Yes, Geraldine was a very capable woman, we all respect her very much. Do you have any money saved?”

“No, my account emptied out with last month’s rent. I never kept much in reserve, Cliff; I just gave my money to mama. I asked Franko for emergency funds and he laughed at me. I don’t know why, I’ve always been steady before I messed up my leg and the doc doesn’t expect any permanent damage.”

“So that leaves you all surviving on just Vincent’s benefits.”

Hunter nodded without meeting Cliff’s eyes.

“My contract will pay rent and leave some left over for the other bills.”

“But there will be no adult in the house. Odessa is trying to maintain her Hesti status to keep papa’s benefits for as long as possible. I have to stay, and the contract is very clear.”

“Cordell is old enough for his guild card.”

“Mama isn’t even dead yet.” Hunter whispered. “He may be old enough, but he knows as well as I do how against she is of any of us following in papa’s footsteps. It’s bad enough I had to, to help out with the bills, but not Cody.”

“Just to pay the bills?” Cliff asked softly.

Hunter blushed. “No, not just to pay the bills. It was difficult keeping up the facade for everyone. Especially mama.” He lowered his voice, “You know as well as I do what we did was illegal. If we had been caught we would have both gone to jail.”

“Your father was willing to put the contract into effect immediately if that happened.”

“I know, but it still didn’t make it any easier.” Hunter looked at the picture he drew. “Not easier at all.”

“How can I help you today, Hunter? I’m not above a little domestic work.” Cliff said gently as he caressed his lover’s shoulder.

“You doing dishes and laundry?”

“Yes, me doing dishes and laundry. Do you need the help or not?”

“Well I was going to get Jove to help with the laundry, but if you want to…” he leaned over and kissed his lover.

“I want to. Now where is it?”

“There is a hamper in my room, in the room where Jove is, you can ask him for it, and one in the bathroom. Jove can show you where the machines are.”

“Sounds like a deal to me.”

Hunter watched as Cliff got up and went down the hall to his room. It did not occur to him until after Cliff was inside that Jove’s things were also in his room. He might have some explaining to do, or he might not. Maybe Cliff would not notice.

Cliff

Cliff gathered the dirty laundry from Hunter’s room, pondering the sketch and Hunter’s strange behavior. He knew Geraldine Ward was on her deathbed, everyone down at the guild house knew it. Many of them worried over Vincent’s kids too, especially with them being so young still. Odessa, being the eldest, was just shy of twenty-one; and the others came about every two years after her, ending with Elaina who had just turned thirteen. It was not common knowledge the boys were contracted. Not even the boys knew it, only Vincent and the men involved, and maybe Geraldine. Cliff was sure Vincent would consult his wife on such matters. Each of the men had been instructed to wait until the boys had attempted to join the guild. Vincent had made it so that when their names were punched in, it would show up they were contracted, and who to contact. He did not have long to wait with Hunter, the boy had applied for his guild card on his sixteenth birthday. Cliff had been contacted, just like Vincent wanted, but instead of pulling the boy out of his home, he signed off on the paperwork, giving his consent for his contracted ganami to be on the streets.

He picked up one last pair of jeans that were tossed across the bed without considering that Hunter could not wear jeans with his cast on and carried the laundry out of the room. He knocked on Jove’s room door.

“Yeah?”

“Hunter asked that you help me with the laundry, you got any in there?”

Jove opened the door and hauled out the hamper that was full of his sibling’s laundry. “Just a second and I’ll get Hunters…”

“I’ve already got it.”

Jove looked down and saw his own clothes on top and blushed. “Oh ok, then there’s just the bathroom hamper to get.” He took off down the hall. Cliff watched him go and shook his head. That boy was acting strange, must be a stage all boys go through. He had begun sorting the laundry when Jove returned with the hamper from the bathroom.

“Thanks Jovanni, Hunter was telling me you weren’t feeling well.”

“No, Sir, had a bit of a headache this morning and you know how the nurses are at school these days. The slightest complaint is enough for a full physical.”

“Gotten that bad has it?”

“Yeah, the closer you get to your legal Cleansing, the more they seem to want to make sure you are under Protection. Makes no sense to me.”

“So you disagree with them wanting to make sure everyone is following the rules?”

“I disagree with the blatant disregard for privacy that all the adults in my life tend to share.” Jove snapped as he turned on his heel and went back to ‘his’ room.

Cliff arched an eyebrow at that little display of temper. Then he smiled. Of course, Jiovanni was to go to William and William would encourage the boy’s fire, and temper it with a fire of his own kind. Cliff would like to see when they first come face-to-face, Jiovanni and William. He wasn’t sure if the boy was Erebi or not, but the type of training William offered would benefit any boy with spirit, and that Jiovanni had plenty of.

Cliff was still musing about the coming meeting as he emptied the pockets of the dark clothing, putting them into the washer. In one pocket, he found a receipt with a statement on it. At first, he thought it was an old one, then he looked at the date, it was yesterday. It showed there was over twenty thousand dollars in Hunter’s account. He finished loading the machine, and turned it on. Then he took the receipt in to Hunter and handed it to him.

“You might want to hang on to this. I found it in your shirt from yesterday.”

Hunter looked up confused then looked at the receipt. ‘Mercy General Hospital - items purchased - 3 sodas - account remaining’ and that is where he looked up. “This isn’t right, I won’t accept your money Cliff.”

“That’s not my money. I did come here today to pay you for services though…” he looked sheepish.

“What kind of services can I do like this?” Hunter hit the cast.

“Well I was going to propose a blow job, but Jiovanni is here…”

“We can use mama’s room…” Hunter said softly.

“But Jiovanni…”

“Will understand.” Hunter said. “I need this Cliff.”

“What are you going to do about the receipt?”

“Deal with it later… after…” Hunter smiled.

“What do you think it is?”

“Either a mistake or Franko released the emergency funds like I asked. Either way I’m not going to worry about it right now… help me up… mama’s room is that way.”

Cliff laughed and helped his lover up. It had been a while since they had enjoyed each other for fear of aggravating Hunter’s injuries. Today there was no such fear.

Odessa

Odessa sat in the library waiting and trying to get mama out of her mind. Hunter should have gone to see her this morning, and Cody was supposed to be taking Elaina that evening to see her, too. So her visiting hours were covered, but that did not ease the guilt Odessa felt as she waited for her soon to be fiancé.

“Hey beautiful,” Sterling whispered in her ear as he arrived behind her. “Got something for you.”

“What?” she asked as he sat down.

“Well, remember that chemical you said you were looking for?” he teased.

“The cyanide?”

“That very thing. I got you some,” he smirked, “so are you going to tell me what you need it for?”

“Rats,” she said plainly.

“Rats?”

“Yeah you mix it with peanut butter and they eat it and die.”

“Why don’t you just get rat poison?”

“This is faster, you don’t have to go hunting down the rats or dealing with stinking walls,” she said with all seriousness.

He laughed. “All right, well if you need more let me know.”

“Thank you.”