Part Twelve
Jesse stared, terrified, at the man before him. He had been taken to store after store, and now owned more clothes than he’d ever owned before. Through the entire expedition, Mr. Cambridge had watched him, as though judging him.
Sitting on a couch in the lush apartment, Jesse tore his gaze from the man and studied his surrounding, in order to avoid looking at the lawyer who was now his guardian. Several pictures on the mantle caught his eye and he turned to get a better look. They were photographs of a family. The central photograph showed Vincent with a fragile-looking woman and a boy in his early teens. The woman had gold-blond hair and amber eyes, but when Jesse looked at the boy, he gasped. Long, honey colored hair and deep cerulean eyes with a hidden sorrow. It was Iam.
“You know my son?”
Jesse jerked his gaze back over to Mr. Cambridge and realized he must’ve said Iam’s name aloud. “He transferred to our school,” said a frightened Jesse. If this was Iam’s father, he was in a lot of trouble. Then Jesse realized he probably shouldn’t have told this man where Iam was.
Vincent moved to the couch and sat next the terrified boy. “Were you friends with my son?”
“We, uh, only really met a few days ago. My b- uh, friend introduced us.”
“And he knows about your parents?”
“Y-yeah.” Jesse fidgeted and worried about where this conversation was heading. “Obviously.”
Vincent narrowed his eyes, “No talking back.”
Jesse gulped, “Sorry.”
“So, what did he tell you about me? Did he tell you that used to beat him if he did the slightest thing wrong? Or maybe that he had to have a ‘different’ type punishment sometimes?”
“N-no!” said Jesse desperately. “Nothing like that!”
“Then what did he say?” the older man’s voice was filled with malice and anticipation.
When Jesse hesitated, Vincent slapped him, hard. “When you are asked a question, you answer truthfully, and you answer immediately. What did he tell you?”
“That you beat him and raped him, but that’s all!” cried Jesse, cringing away from his guardian. “No details or anything.”
The look on Vincent’s face softened, and he smiled, “See, that wasn’t so hard. Now, why don’t you go to your room, and put your new clothes away?”
Jesse got up and after grabbing the shopping bags, he all but ran from the room in his haste to get away.
Iam and Xander were curled on Iam’s bed. Iam was holding onto Xander,who was sobbing quietly. “Something bad’s happening, Iam. I know it.”
“How can you know?” asked Iam, trying to comforting the shaking boy. “He’s probably having a marvelous time.”
Xander wiped his eyes, and sniffled. “Really?”
“Of course, he’s getting a whole new wardrobe. He’s probably shopping right now, or maybe he’s going through his new things.”
“Mmm, I guess.” Xander wiggled a little, and snuggled closer to Iam. “You make a good teddy bear,” he said, a little sleepy after his hysterics and from his medication.
Iam blushed, “Thank you, I think. I suppose we had better get some sleep.”
The two settled down into the bed, and to Iam’s embarrassment, Xander did not relinquish his hold. He sighed, but closed his eyes, and hoped Xander would feel better in the morning.