Fat tears spilt from Jag’s eyes onto his cheeks.
“But it looks like he didn’t have a chance to do anything about it before…” He trailed off. They all knew the gist of what had happened. “He thought it might help if you knew he cared. He might not know why he didn’t contact you after getting kicked out of school, but he almost certainly tried to find you.”
Jag put the note onto Michael’s desk. His entire face crumpled as he stared at the sketch of the seagull. “It’s similar to the one on the book,” he whispered hoarsely.
“It’s a design for a tattoo,” Kyrone explained. “He had it inked on his back.”
“Before the accident,” Jag muttered.
“Yeah.”
Jag’s shoulders shook as he broke down into tears. Michael moved from the desk to embrace his partner, holding him tightly.
“It feels like I’m losing him again,” Jag said between sobs. “It hurt so much to have him ripped out of my life, but I held on to the hope he’d given me. Through the ‘therapy’, when I was on the streets. And now…Now…” He turned into Michael and cried against his chest.
Kyrone didn’t feel comfortable witnessing his friend’s distress. He stood before remembering the reason he’d come; he needed to deliver Jared’s message. He only hoped it wouldn’t be painful for Jag to hear. “Jared wanted you to know that he won’t mention your name to his parents. He won’t ask them to fill in any of the blanks for him about why he didn’t contact you after getting kicked out of school.” He leant across to pat Jag on the back. “He wants you to feel safe.”
Jag’s sobs became harder and louder. Kyrone stepped back, glancing at Michael.
“Thanks, Kyrone,” Michael said. “Do me a favour and tell Mac that Jag won’t be dancing tonight?”
“Sure.”
“And if you’re not up to it, take the night off. You can tell Mac I okayed it.”
“Thanks, but I’m good.” As much as he would have loved to have sought Jared out, simply to hold him, he knew his lover needed some space. “Dancing will be a good distraction. Take care of Jag.”
“I always do,” Michael said softly. He pressed a kiss to Jag’s head before smiling at Kyrone, dismissing him.
Kyrone shut the office door behind him and then leant against it, breathing away the tears that were threatening to break free of his eyes. That had to have been the hardest thing he’d ever done. Not giving those things to Jag or even explaining their probable significance, but telling him that the boy he’d probably been in love with didn’t want to see him. He understood Jared’s reasons. He even agreed with them. But he hadn’t realised quite how devastating it would be until he’d seen the look on Jag’s face and heard his sobs.
Once he was sure he wasn’t going to cry, he checked in with Mac and then joined the dancers who had already arrived in the changing room. A night of banter and dancing was exactly what he needed.
21Jared
There probably wasn’t much left of Jared’s lunch break, but he was feeling woozy from having blood taken. He was lying on his back on a wide, low wall around a green space in city square, with his head on Kyrone’s lap. The adorable man had insisted on taking his coat off for Jared to lie on. Their conjoined hands were resting lightly on Jared’s chest. They were surrounded by the noise of traffic and the clatter of footsteps, but it still felt oddly serene.
“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Jared said. “And the day before.”
They’d been quiet for a while, so he wasn’t surprised when Kyrone stiffened a little at the unexpected sound of his voice. He hoped that was all it was.
“Why are you sorry?” Kyrone asked.
Jared used his free hand to shade his eyes so he could look up into Kyrone’s face. The sun wasn’t strong, but it was directly above his lover, casting deep shadows on his dark face. He could still see the sparkle and warmth in Kyrone’s eyes, even though the rest of his features had blurred in the sunlight.
“Sunday was probably one of the hardest days I’ve had since I woke up,” Jared admitted, trying to sound casual about the whole thing. “I forgot that I wasn’t alone in dealing with it, so I’m sorry if I pushed you away.”
Kyrone started to stroke Jared’s hair. “You did a bit,” he said. “But I figured you needed space.”
Jared smiled sadly. “I did, but I was also a little afraid.”
“Afraid?”
He lowered his gaze, focussing on their joined hands on his chest. “That if I leant on you too hard, I really would push you away.” He sucked in a breath. The cool spring air hit the back of his throat, momentarily paralysing his voice. “In the space of a few days, you found out that your boyfriend is a brain-damaged amnesiac and then had to witness that scene with Jag. A lot of guys would have run for the hills.”
“I’m sure I’ve already told you that I’m not most guys,” Kyrone said.
“I know, but—”
