The First Three Rules (7 page)

“Ellis?” Jon stepped inside.

Ellis braced an arm against the tub like he was going to stand but he wound up slumped against the wall. “I told Rudy not to let anyone in.”

“I threatened to break the windows.” Jon knelt.

“You should go.”

“And you should be at the hospital. What the hell happened?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Rudy said someone named Lenny did this.”

“I said don’t worry about it.”

“Have you called the police?” The look Ellis gave Jon was all he needed. “Ellis, you’ve got to report this.”

“No cops.”

“Why not? Are you in trouble?”

Ellis laid his head against his arm. “Please, just go.”

“I won’t.”

One gray-blue eye glared at Jon.

“Tell me what happened.”

“Why?”

“Because I need a very good reason not to call the cops.”

“At the superstore.” Ellis grimaced and shifted his weight. “Rudy touched a woman’s hair. She had long pretty hair. He’s always touching things. Rule number three; no touching. But he broke it and she freaked. Then Lenny came after him. I couldn’t let him hurt Rudy.”

“And who’s this Lenny guy?”

“Just some guy. Moved here a few years ago.”

“He cause you a lot of problems?”

“Not really. Called me a few names over the years. Nothing else.”

“I still don’t understand why you won’t call the police and have him arrested.”

“It won’t do any good.”

“Why not?”

“Lenny has friends in the department. I can’t risk something happening to Rudy.”

“And what would happen to him?”

Ellis closed his eye and licked his cut lip. A drop of blood formed along the split skin. “I caused some problems several years ago for a few deputies. George was still sheriff at the time. He fired them and they took it to court. In the settlement the city had to pony up some money and they got to keep their jobs. They remind me on a regular basis that they haven’t forgotten.”

“They bother you?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

Ellis sighed. “They pull me over a few times a month for busted tail lights or headlights.”

“Are you accident prone?”

“What?”

“Unless you’re accident prone why are you getting so many busted lights?”

“They break them. When they pull me over they break them.” His exhaustion painted his face in deep lines across his forehead and dark smudges under his eyes. He breathed and it seemed to take more effort than it should have. “If I call the cops, they’ll find an excuse to take Rudy to jail.”

“Is that what they told you they would do?”

“More or less.”

“You know they can’t just do that.”

“The people around here are tight. Their kids go to the same school, their families go to the same church. I may live here but I’m an outsider. I don’t associate with them. I’m not like them.”

“You mean because you’re gay.”

Ellis wouldn’t look at him. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take the chance of them coming after Rudy. And they would. Trust me, they would.”

Jon brushed his knuckles across Ellis’s cheek. He opened his good eye and held his gaze. Under the fear, under the exhaustion, burned courage. This was a man who would suffer anything to keep his brother safe.

“Let me help you get cleaned up.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“You’re tired and I think if you get cleaned up Rudy won’t be so upset.” The silence was a momentary rift.

“Is he okay?”

“He’s fine.”

“I should be keeping an eye on him.”

“I think he’s too worried about you to do anything.” Jon offered his hand. “Let me help you.”

“Why?” It sounded almost like a challenge.

“Because I want to.” Ellis didn’t resist when Jon took his hand. He sat Ellis down on the toilet lid. “Can you stay here on your own?”

Ellis nodded.

Jon looked around for something to clean Ellis’s face. He checked under the sink. There was only a roll of toilet paper. “Where do you keep the washcloths?”

“They’re in my room on the shelf. There’s also a first aid kit.” He made a face. “It’s not a real first aid kit. It’s in a plastic tub. I have extra stuff in there, you know.”

“Is it in the closet?”

“No. Under my bed.”

Jon stood.

“Wait.”

He did.

“Check on Rudy first. Make sure he isn’t getting into anything. Maybe get him some crayons and a coloring book from his room.”

“How about I just set him down and fix him a plate of pizza?”

“That will work, but cut up his food.” Ellis held up a hand and made a space with his first finger and thumb. “No bigger than that. He eats too fast and gets choked.”

“Got it.”

Even though Jon wanted to get Ellis taken care of, he checked on Rudy. He sat at the dining table. His stare all but burned a hole into the aluminum covering the pizzas. He looked up when Jon walked in. First he smiled then he frowned. “You left them on the swing so I brought them inside. But I didn’t touch it. Rule number three.”

“I can see that. Good job. Do you want me to fix you a plate?” The grin Rudy gave him almost split his face in half.

“No anchovies.”

“Nope, no anchovies.” Jon looked through the cabinets till he found some plates and then cut up two slices for Rudy. “What does Ellis let you drink with dinner?” There was milk and juice in the fridge.

“Soda.”

“There aren’t any sodas.”

“In the top of the pantry. Ellis thinks I don’t know where they are, but I know. I always find what I’m looking for.”

Jon stopped, hand on the doorknob of the pantry. “If Ellis lets you have soda then why does he hide them?”

Rudy chewed his food. In spite of the pile of napkins red sauce coated Rudy’s chin and shirt.

Jon waited. “Rudy?”

Rudy swallowed. “I’m not really supposed to have them. But I like them. He puts them on the top shelf in the back because sometimes I forget and drink them when I’m not supposed to.”

Jon went back to the fridge. “Milk then?”

Rudy gave a one shoulder shrug. Jon fixed him a glass. “Now I need you to stay here, okay? I’ve got to go take care of Ellis.”

“Is he okay?” A crumb of pizza fell out of Rudy’s mouth and onto the table.

“He’s fine. But he needs you to be really good. Don’t move from this spot.”

“Okay.” Rudy started to take another bite then stopped. “What if I have to go to the bathroom?”

Jon scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Uh, just go, then come back.”

“Okay.”

“We good?”

“Yeah.”

There were no pictures of family or friends in Ellis’s room and nothing decorative. The blank space felt more like a pause between events than a place in a home.

The only thing that told Jon for sure that Ellis slept there was his scent; almost sweet and slightly woodsy. Jon didn’t know if it was his cologne or just his soap, but the smell permeated the air and created heat in his groin.

What the hell was his problem? Ellis was beat to hell and Jon was acting like a horny teenager. He gathered up the supplies and returned to the bathroom.

Ellis sat slumped over right where Jon left him. He put the washcloths and first aid kit beside the sink.

“Ellis?” Jon shook Ellis and he threw up a hand guarding his face. Jon caught his wrist. “Easy, it’s just me.”

Ellis looked around then back at Jon. His brow furrowed. “Is Rudy okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine.”

“Are you sure? I should probably go check on him.”

Jon pushed him back down. “We already had this discussion, remember? Let me get you cleaned up first. He doesn’t need to see you like this.” Jon wet the washcloths and laid out the towel. “I need take off your shirt.”

“Why?”

“First of all, it’s bloody. Second, I need to see if you’re hurt anywhere else.” Ellis pressed his arm against his ribs. “I take it your side hurts.”

“Some.”

“We really need to get that shirt off.”

“Fine.” Ellis struggled to lift his arms to pull the shirt over his head.

“I don’t mind helping you.”

“No. I can do it.” Ellis lost his grip twice and cursed.

“The offer still stands.”

“Give me a minute.” His peeled the shirt from his skin with a sticky sound and dropped it on the floor.

Black patches bloomed across Ellis’s chest and ribs. The ones on Ellis’s lower back were the worst.

Jon clenched his jaw.

“Is something wrong?” Ellis said.

“No, I’m just trying to decide where to start.” Jon used the lightest touch he could to clean Ellis’s cheek, but he still hissed.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

It wasn’t, because this should have never happened. If Jon had been there it wouldn’t have happened. He found a knot about Ellis’s ear. “Did he hit you with something?”

Ellis touched it. “I think that’s when I hit the van or the SUV. I might have even hit it on the side mirror of the truck. I can’t remember.”

“You can’t remember because it’s a blank spot?”

“No, because it all happened so fast. I’m not exactly in fighting condition.” He pinched the bit of belly fat at the waist of his jeans. “Unless you count the occasional spider web, that’s the first fight I’ve ever had.”

Jon cleaned off Ellis’s neck. With the dried blood out of the way a handprint emerged. The sense of failure condensed, turning into the rock hard weight of anger. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help.”

Ellis laughed. “It’s a big store. And it’s not like you stood in the window and watched.” Jon cleaned off Ellis’s chin and lip. He winced. “Besides, who am I to you?”

Jon had no idea but Ellis was something. “Is your vision blurry?”

“Only on the left side.” Ellis touched his swollen eye.

“Do you feel sick to your stomach or dizzy?”

“Not really.”

“So you are.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t say you weren’t either.”

Ellis gave him a tired look. “Why are you here?”

“I came to eat pizza with you and found you kicked to shit.”

“How did you even know where I lived? I never gave you my address.”

“It was on the box.”

“Box?”

“The box of cards Rudy gave me.” He shrugged. “Now are you sick to your stomach or dizzy?”

“No.”

“I’m worried about that knot on your head and the black eye. You could have a concussion.” He examined Ellis’s side. “As soon as you can, you should try and urinate and see if you pass any blood.”

“Why would I pass blood?”

“Because you’re black and blue around the area of your kidneys. Did he kick you?”

“Not exactly.”

Jon touched the darkest part of the bruise. The warmth of Ellis’s skin seeped into his fingertips. He pressed down feeling for lumps or swelling. Darker points inside the bruise formed the pattern of a boot sole. No, Lenny didn’t kick Ellis, he stomped him.

Jon traced the pattern with his thumb, wishing there was a way to erase it. He’d been in enough fights to know just how much pain Ellis had to be in.

“Jon?”

He pulled his hand back and cleared his throat. “Sorry, just trying to feel for anything that’s out of place.” Jon got out the peroxide and cotton balls. “Since you won’t go to the hospital you need to have someone wake you up every hour tonight just in case you do have a concussion.” He dabbed the cut near Ellis’s eye. A white clump of bubbles formed. “If you wake up with nausea, dizziness, or confusion, you need to go to the hospital. No excuse.” He moved to the scrape on Ellis’s jaw.

“I’ll have to set my alarm clock.”

“That’s not good enough. If you have swelling on the brain and can’t wake up, you won’t be able to call for help.”

“I’ll have to take my chances.”

“Look, either get someone to wake you up or go to the hospital.”

Ellis’s gaze slid away.

“What?”

“I don’t have anyone.”

Jon stopped what he was doing.

“I’m sure I’m fine.” Ellis shrugged. “It’s just a bump.”

“There’s got to be someone.”

“There isn’t. So drop it.”

“Then I’ll stay over. I don’t sleep anyhow so it won’t be a big deal for me to stay up.” Jon went back to cleaning the last of the blood and disinfecting the cuts. “We need to get an icepack on your face. Do you have any Tylenol you can take for the pain? Anything stronger would be a risk.”

Ellis picked at a spot on his jeans with his thumb. “You never did answer me.”

“About what?”

“Why are you here?”

Maybe it was the wrong thing to do but Jon pushed Ellis’s bangs back. The shaggy length suggested he’d been putting off a haircut for a while. Ellis dropped his shoulders and some of the tension in his features smoothed out.

Why was he here? The only reason Jon could think of was because he had to be. He didn’t know why, but he wanted this man in his life. There was strength in his heart Jon needed. “I guess because I need a friend.”

Ellis didn’t think it was possible to hurt so much. He suspected it was more than the cuts and bruises, but his broken pride.

He didn’t even get in a decent punch. Lenny simply put him on the ground and whipped his ass. If Rudy hadn’t honked the horn and customers hadn’t gotten curious, he probably would be in the hospital right now instead of sitting in the bathroom waiting for Jon to bring him a clean shirt.

Jon.

Around Jon everything was louder, brighter, and smelled stronger. And the way Jon looked at him made meeting him in the eye almost impossible.

The phantom heat of Jon’s fingers moved across Ellis’s side.

Jon said he was here because he needed a friend, but the heat in his eyes suggested he wanted more than that. Or maybe Ellis had read too many trashy books and was seeing things that weren’t there.

But what would it be like to have a relationship? It couldn’t last. Someone like Jon would get tired of the life Ellis lived. Who wouldn’t?

Could he do that? Have a fling, knowing it was temporary and he’d be left all alone again? How long would he have to indulge in it? A week? A month? When it was over, could he survive the loss?

More importantly, how would it affect Rudy?

Jon returned with two shirts in his hand. A flannel button up and a t-shirt. He held up the flannel. “I brought this one in case you were chilled.”