Behind the Lens (Behind the Lives) (27 page)

Sledge
grabbed Corey’s hands and jammed them into the bed. “Did Ant fuck you?”

Corey
shook his head vigorously. “Lemme go!”

“Did
Ant fuck you?!”

“NO!”

“Then
why did Ant order you a lift home?” Sledge said, still holding on tight.

“Photos,”
Corey said, remembering the clicking. “He took photos.”

“Of
you?”

“Yeah,
he gave me money for it.”

Sledge
let go of Corey’s hands and started searching Corey’s pocket, his eyes going
wide as he pulled out the cash. “What the fuck didja do to get this?”

“I
already told ja, he took photos of me, and he’s gonna gimme more money if I go
to a convention tomorrow.” Corey’s face dropped. “Shit, I think he told me not
to tell you, cos you would leave me for a girl, but I hafta go, he said I
promised, but I don’t remember promising, but at least Nike will take me, he
wuz so cool with his scar and gun, plus Tama lied, cos Nike has a big cock.”

“I
don’t give a fuck ’bout Nike’s cock and I’ll cut it off if it went anywhere
near you.”

“No
way, Nike wuz embarrassed, he didn’t like me lookin’ at it.”

“You
looked at it?”

“It
wuz just his pants, man, I didn’t actually see his cock, and not like I could
help it, cos Tama lied, and it looked really big, but not as big as yours, of
course—”

“Quiet!”

Corey
flinched.

“There’s
no way in hell you’re goin’ to that convention, and I’m gonna make Nike take me
instead, so I can bash the shit outta Ant.” Sledge pointed a finger at Corey’s
face. “And you will
not
see Ant again.”

“But
I hafta do what he says or he’ll get mad at me again, and I needa see if
Tyler’s alright, cos Ant made him cry.”

“You
were with Tyler?”

“Only
cos you left me without a ride, and I had to call him cos no one would answer
their phone. I wuz scared cos these boys from the party were following me,
saying they wanted to fuck me, so I had no choice.” Corey went to get up, but
Sledge placed a hand on his chest, holding him down. “Lemme go, I’ve gotta comfort
Tyler.”

“You
promised to stay away from him.”

“But
you left me, and I hafta help him. Ant’s mad at him cos Tyler told me to go
home. I think he thought Ant wanted to fuck me.” Tyler’s crying started filling
his ears again. Corey covered them, trying to stop the sound, but it continued.
“I can still hear Tyler crying, stop him crying, stop him. It’s my fault, it’s
mine, stop him!”

“He’s
stopped, he’s stopped,” Sledge yelled, removing Corey’s hands from his ears.

Corey
started crying. “It’s my fault, I made him cry; I know I did. It’s my fault.”

Sledge
let go of Corey’s wrists and took a hold of his face. “Shush, Tyler’s fine, but
you aren’t. You’re tripping.”

“No
I’m not, no I’m not—”

“Yes,
you are, and if you want someone to help Tyler, tell me where Ant lives?”

“He
doesn’t live there, it’s a studio, no, it’s a warehouse.”

“Where?”
Sledge said, letting him go.

“Mt.
Wellington, or Penrose, or Ellerslie, I can’t remember.”

“You
have to.”

“No,
I’m scared, you’re scaring me.” He started sobbing, everything now overwhelming
him. He didn’t understand why he was crying again, didn’t know why Sledge was
angry. He had lots of money for an X-box, which should make Sledge happy. He
reached for Sledge, who batted his hands away, upsetting him more. “I need you,
please I need you.”

“I
caused this, I left you alone again,” Sledge said, his face agonised.

Corey
started shaking, his stomach hurting again, like he’d swallowed a balloon
filled with spiders and it was about to pop, their tickling feet ready to be
let lose, their mouths aching to bite and eat away at his body like the cancer
had. He curled up. “It hurts. Please stop it hurting. Everyone’s scaring me: you,
the spiders, those boys, and that prick. He told me he’d beat me up if I didn’t
leave you.”

“What
prick?”

“He
knows you fucked me, says it wuz my fault, that I wuz vile, that I deserved to
get AIDS and die. He said he’d bash me if I touch you again, and that you
didn’t want me, that you want pussy. Do ya hate me? Is that why you left me
last night?”

“No,
and Ant knows shit, he’s lying.”

“Ant
didn’t say that, it wuz Tama.”

14

Sledge

That fucking sonofabitch!
He had warned Tama, he’d warned him! No one
threatened Corey, and got away with it
. No one!

Corey
continued to shake, with tears running down his face. Sledge knew he’d caused
this, the same as last time, which had resulted in Tyler’s father almost
killing Corey. He pushed off the bed and started pacing, wishing that Tama was
here now, so he could make the fucking prick pay, like he was going to do to Tyler’s
father.

Corey
reached for him: “Please forgive me.”

Taken
by surprise, Sledge stopped pacing. “This ain’t your fault; it’s mine
.
”

“But
you’re mad at me.”

“No,
I’m not, I’m mad at everyone,
but
you.” He lay down next to Corey and
pulled him close, his boyfriend’s trembling decreasing.

Corey
pushed his face into Sledge’s chest. “Please don’t leave me again,” he said,
his voice sounding small. “I can make you happy, I can. I can pay for
everything. I’ll get more money from Ant—”

“No!”

Corey
jerked back.

“Shit,
I’m sorry,” Sledge said, feeling bad for frightening him, “I didn’t meana yell,
but I told you, you can’t ever go near him again.”

“But
we need the money.” Corey’s eyes darted about like he was seeing things. “
Mafia
,
we need
Mafia
or Ant will get mad.”

“We
don’t need anything.” Sledge stroked a hand down Corey’s face, trying to calm
him down. Except for the meth reaction, he’d never seen Corey trip so badly. He
didn’t know what to do, other than to wait it out.

“He
said I wuz good,” Corey continued, “and that my dad won’t find out, cos Dad
would go berko, like he did with our photo.”

“What
photo?”

Corey
started babbling about sticking their heads on porn stars fucking. Sledge
exhaled loudly, now understanding why Mr. Connor had gone nuts at him. Corey
continued talking about his father, but everything fired out so fast that
Sledge found it hard to keep up.

“...he
smacked my arse hard,” Corey continued, “cos I wouldn’t spread my legs for
him—”

Sledge
eyes bulged. “Your father did what?!”

“No,
not my dad: Ant. He said he’d tie me to the bed if I didn’t stay still, then
the crabs started crawling all over me, but he wiped them off. He also stuck
his thumb in my bum, no, I mean my mouth, but I think he touched my bum, I
don’t know, but he definitely took photos of it, I think, maybe, I can’t
remember, everything kept changing, and I told him not to, but he wouldn’t
listen, said I had to cos of the contract.” Corey stopped talking, his face
screwing up like he was going to cry. “Don’t be angry at me, I can’t stop, I
can’t, I hafta talk or it’ll hurt my stomach.”

“I’m
not angry at you, I’m angry at Ant. You sure he didn’t fuck you?”

“I
don’t know, I don’t know...” Corey put his hands to his head. “My brain hurts,
it hurts...”

Sledge
pulled Corey’s head to his chest. “Sssh, calm down, I’ve got ya, you’ll be
alright.”

Corey’s
body relaxed a little, although he kept talking like his life depended upon it.

Sledge
removed his phone from his pocket, his hand shaking with rage. He rang his
sister’s number first, relaying what had happened. Juliet sounded horrified,
offering to come home straight away. He then rang Dante, going straight to voicemail.
He left a message, telling Dante to call him back asap, then he phoned Ash, but
hung up before his brother, cousin, whatever the hell he was now, answered, his
mind going to what Dante had told him:
‘You’re not to ask Ash for anything,
not even to wipe your fuckin’ arse, cos if you do I’ll kick it to Aussie and
back. He ain’t handling shit like he makes out. One thing can tip him over the
edge, so don’t risk it, not even if it’s sumpthin’ important. You come to me,
not Ash, I’ll sort things out. You understand?’
Yeah, Sledge did
understand, especially since what had happened to Corey was dangerously close
to Ash’s experiences. He searched through his contacts list, looking for his
Uncle Luka’s best friend’s number. He found it, then dialled through.

“Officer
Maxwell Haughton speaking,” the man answered.

“Hi,
Max, it’s Sledge—”

“Is
Ash alright?”

Sledge
understood the worry in the man’s voice, since Max had been the cop who’d
rescued Ash from their stepfather, or more precisely, he’d found Ash chained to
a bed with Chaz lying stabbed on the floor, the latter courtesy of Tama, who’d
fucked off before the men in blue showed.

“I’m
not ringing ’bout Ash,” Sledge said, his gut clenching at what he was going to
say next. But he needed to stop being a coward and own up to who Corey was to
him, so nothing like this ever happened again. “My boyfriend wuz sexually
assaulted today.”

“Ah,
shit... I’m sorry to hear that, Sledge. Is he hurt bad?”

“He’s
tripping on some drugs the prick filled him with.”

“Did
the police get the bastard?”

“No,
I haven’t called them.”

“Why
the hell not?”

“Cos
Corey wouldn’t have gotten hurt if they did their bloody jobs the last time.”

“He’s
attacked your boyfriend before?”

“No,
he did it to Ash.”

“Is
Ash alright?!”

“Yeah,
that happened ten years ago.”

“Christ,
your poor brother. Give me the arsehole’s name; I’ll deal with him.”

“Anthony
Torres.”

“You’re
kidding me?”

“No,
why?”

“Because
I know who the bastard is, that’s if it’s the same guy. Did he take nude photos
of your boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“How
old is your boyfriend?”

“Seventeen.
Why?”

“My
mate arrested Torres on child porn, but the pervert got off on a technicality.
Can you ask your boyfriend if he’s willing to talk to my mate?”

“He’s
not up to it right now, he’s tripping bad.”

“Look,
Sledge, this is important, your boyfriend
needs
to talk to my mate. I’ll
get Matty to contact you as soon as possible.”

“But
I want
you
to take care of this.”

“I
can be in Auckland by seven, but Matty’s still your best option in taking
Torres down. He’s been after him for years now.”

“Okay,
I’ll talk with Corey, but only when he’s up to it.”

“Good,
and I’ll see you soon.”

Sledge
said his thanks, then hung up, his attention now on Corey, who was staring up
at him, looking surprised. “You alright, babe?”

“You
told him I wuz your boyfriend.”

“Cos
you are.”

“But
you admitted it.”

“I
shoulda done it sooner, then you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

Corey
smiled, then without warning, he flung his head back, his body going stiff.
Sledge’s hands shot away from him, not knowing what the fuck was happening.
Corey groaned deep, looking like he was coming, then his body melted into the
mattress, boneless and limp.

Sledge
glanced down at Corey’s pants. “What the fuck? You came.”

Grinning,
Corey closed his eyes, looking content.

Sledge
grabbed the towel that had been left lying on the floor and lifted up the front
of Corey’s pants, giving him a wipe, more than a little freaked out. Not about
cleaning Corey’s dick, but who the hell came that quick? He knew it must have
been the drugs, but still, that wasn’t right. But he supposed at least Corey
had calmed down, now looking like he was sleeping.

A
car door slammed outside, pulling his attention away from Corey. He pushed off
the bed and headed for the window, hoping it was Juliet. He looked through the
curtains, his back instantly going rigid. Tama stood at the gate as Jenna
Hamilton backed out in a flash red Corvette. She blew Tama a kiss, then drove
off. Tama turned and headed for the front door with a motherfucking huge grin
on his face, which Sledge intended on wiping off.

He
took off, heading for the lounge, slamming into Tama as his mate closed the
front door. Ignoring Tama’s shocked cry, Sledge jammed an arm across his neck,
yelling: “I told ja not to touch Corey!”

Tama
looked stunned.

“Why
didja do it after I warned you? Why?!”

Tama
snapped out of his paralysis, swearing as he tried to push Sledge away, but
Sledge jammed a knee under Tama’s crotch, making him yelp.

Baring
his teeth, Sledge moved his face closer. “Do ya know what I do to people who
threaten my
boy - friend
?” he emphasised the last word, making Tama’s
eyes widen. “I destroy them, like I’m gonna destroy that motherfucker who gay-bashed
him. I’m gonna become a prison guard and make his life a living hell. So, what
do ya think I should do to YOU?!” He raised his knee, causing Tama to grunt in
pain. “A beating? No, you deserve worse.”

“I
didn’t touch him,” Tama squeaked.

“You
threatened him! He’s already been hurt enough; he doesn’t need a supposed mate
adding to it.”

“I’m
not his mate, I’m yours!”

Sledge
grabbed Tama’s cheeks, squeezing them hard. “You won’t be for much longer,
shithead.”

Looking
in pain, Tama grunted, “Let go.”

Sledge
removed his hand, then grabbed the front of Tama’s hoodie. “Time for
apologies.” He yanked Tama around and shoved him forward. Tama went to turn,
his fist raised, but got slammed back, a punch knocking him against the wall. Sledge
pushed him down the passage, giving him one last shove into Corey’s bedroom.
Tama fell onto the floor, then scrambled to his feet, launching himself at
Sledge.

Sledge
slammed him into the wall, then pushed an arm up against Tama’s neck once again.
“You forget one thing,
mate
. Since you’ve been in prison, you can no
longer take me down. When Ash beat me up, cos of
you
, I took up weights
and unarmed combat, so NO one could hurt me again. And you, you’re a fuckin’
pussy who picks on people smaller than yourself, and I ain’t small, fucker. So
start begging Corey for forgiveness.”

“This
is not my fault!” Tama yelled. “I wuz tryna protect you!”

“From
Corey? He can’t even win a fight against my sis. No, you don’t protect people;
you hurt them, like Nike’s sister. And didja lie ’bout raping his wife? Cos I’m
starting to wonder, and if you did, do ya know what I’d do?”

Tama
shook his head.

“I’d
cut you out of my life, cos rapists are scum who deserve to get held down and
given a taste of their own medicine. By the way, now I’m a fag maybe I should
teach you a lesson you’ll never forget, so you better tell me the truth or I’ll
fuck it outta ya.”

“No!
I didn’t rape Jess!” Tama struggled to get free. “I didn’t do it, I didn’t!”

Sledge
pushed Tama into the wall, knocking the wind out of him. “I wouldn’t fuck you,
I just wanted to make you crack, but you’re either a really good liar or you’re
actually telling the truth. But my problem is, I don’t know which, cos how can
I trust someone who goes behind my back, threatening my boyfriend?”

“It
wuz only words, I would never hit him,” Tama babbled. “I just don’t want him
warping you.”

“You’re
the one who’s warped, considering the homophobic shit that comes outta your
dirty mouth.”

“Fags
are the ones who’re dirty, they’re unnatural, they’re sick, they all deserve to
die from AIDS!”

Sledge’s
back bristled. “So, you want me dead now?”

Tama
shook his head vigorously. “No, not you, you’re not a fag, you can’t be, you
love pussy.”

“Yeah,
I do, but not as much as Corey, which makes me a fag, you fag hater, which also
means you shouldn’t wanna be near me. And I’m still waiting for you to
apologise to Corey.” Sledge pushed his knee into Tama’s groin, making him
holler in pain. “Apologise!”

“I’m
sorry, I’m sorry!”

“Say
his name.”

“I’m
sorry, Corey, I’m sorry,” Tama said, his voice high.

Sledge
pushed away from Tama, who crumbled to the floor, clutching his crotch. He
glared up at Sledge, his features laced with pain. “You’re sick for fuckin’
him. I saw it through the window. I forgave you, but you don’t know when
someone’s tryna help ya—”

“Fuck
your help!” Sledge bellowed. “Cos it’s shits like you who make Corey’s life
hell, and I’m sick of it, sick of hiding what I feel for him. I wuz too
concerned with what people thought, so I ran out on him, leaving him alone with
predators. Some sick fuck filled him with drugs so he could fuck him. Do ya
know how that makes me feel when people hurt my boyfriend, cos I wuz too
chicken-shit to admit to you what I felt? I feel like scum! He wuz hurt cos of
me, and cos of bigoted pricks like you, and fuckin’ predators like Ant Torres.
My number one priority is to Corey, not to you or anyone else. I love him! And
if you can’t handle it, then we ain’t mates anymore!”