Dylan couldn’t imagine how awful it must have been for Callum to be the only one in his immediate family who hadn’t stood up for his dad.
“Bricks got thrown through our windows,” Callum said. “Graffiti was sprayed all over the house. Mum’s car was keyed and her tyres were slashed, but shestillstood by him.
We were forced out of our home and ended up moving to another part of the county. For a little bit, everything was okay, but when he got sentenced, Mum got her face splashed in the paper again, saying how she was going to keep fighting for justice for Andrew.” He blinked fiercely, but that only seemed to produce more tears. “Mum and Molly were so pissed at me for refusing to visit Dad that they stopped talking to me.” He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed in and out a few times. “Hemurderedsomeone, and they stood by him.Iwas akidwhonevergot into trouble, and theyignoredme.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry.” Dylan hugged him tight. He couldn’t erase the past, or take his boyfriend’s pain away, but maybe he could ease it a little.
“I just wanted to be seen,” Callum’s voice broke. “I wanted them to notice me and acknowledge I existed.”
“So, you got into trouble?”
Callum nodded. “I know it was stupid, and I wish I could take back all the shitty stuff I’ve done, but I can’t.” Fat tears trickled down his cheeks.
“Did it work?” Dylan asked softly, brushing the tears away.
“Mum had no choice but to give me attention, even if it was only to traipse down to the police station to drag me home and scream at me for being a worthless piece of shit. But it least it wassomething.” He sniffed. “You probably think I’m a complete and utter loser.”
“No, baby, I don’t.” Dylan cupped Callum’s cheek in his hand. “I know what it’s like to want attention. I know what it’s like to think that the only way to get it is by acting out in some way. What changed?”
“You mean aside from spending two years in juvie and not wanting to end up in an adult prison?” Callum shrugged. “I guess I slowly realised that Mum and Molly were never going to think any differently of me, no matter what I did, and that they weren’t worth wrecking my life over.” He scoffed at himself. “Any more than I already had done.” He rested his forehead on Dylan’s shoulder. “I almost didn’t ask for the job at Heaven and Hell,” he admitted. “I was so worried about whattheywould think, that I was willing to pass up the chance at a job.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you did start working at Heaven and Hell.”
“Me too. I wouldn’t have met you if I hadn’t.”
An exaggerated cough from behind them in the queue caught Dylan’s attention.
“We need to move,” he whispered. “The people behind us are starting to get annoyed.”
Callum looked up, his eyes widening. Dylan guessed he was registering that they should have moved along in the queue several times over while they’d been talking. They moved through the snaking barriers until they’d caught up with the back of the queue again, then they went back to hugging each other.
“So…your conviction will be spent right before you turn twenty-two?”
Callum nodded glumly.
“Then I’m going to throw you ahugeparty.” Dylan gaped at his own words, his eyes going so wide, he was sure they had to resemble dinner plates.
“Are you okay?” Callum asked.
“Yes.”
Callum stroked his arm. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“No. I just… Confession time—I’ve never been with a guy for this long before and suddenly I’m talking about throwing you a party in eighteen months’ time.”
“Is that a scary thought?” Callum asked. “Us being together in eighteen months?”
“Yes. A little.” It was scary because it meant he was serious about Callum. It meant he was falling for him; that he was probably in love with him. Dylan’s jaw dropped a second time. “God, that sounded shit. Fuck. I’m sorry, baby. I’m coming across like a selfish arse.”
“Itiskind of scary. In a nice way.” Callum grinned. “Like a rollercoaster. But we get to ride it together and hold each other’s hands through all the terrifying parts.”
Dylan laughed. “I like that analogy.”
“It seemed apt.”
They were almost at the boarding platform, although Dylan was debating letting people go past them so they could ensure they got to lay at the front of the ride. It was a rollercoaster where you faced the ground, to make you feel like you were flying.
He held Callum’s hand firmly. “You can imagine us together in eighteen months?” He trembled as he asked the question.
Callum squeezed his fingers. “Yeah, I think I can. Can you?”
A kaleidoscope of butterflies took flight inside Dylan, making his heart flutter frantically. “Yes.” He grasped Callum by the back of his neck and kissed him hard. “Are you ready to get on the rollercoaster with me, baby?”
A loving smile settled on Callum’s lips. “Definitely.”
