“Showtime.” Knox stretches his arms out and above his head, showing off his large muscles and full sleeves of tattoos.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Mansbridge asks as we walk side by side to his door. His eyes are wide as he looks us over, the sneer in his voice an attempt to put up a front.
“Just a quick word, if you have time. It’s about a mutual friend of ours.” I smile, spreading my palms open as I shrug.
Again, he looks down his nose at us. “I’m sorry. I’m expecting a friend, and I doubt we have anyone in common. You need to leave.”
“That’s not very friendly. You haven’t asked who we know. I think we should go inside to stop the neighbours from staring. A cup of tea would be nice.” Drake smiles congenially, which makes two red patches bloom over Mansbridge’s cheeks.
“Absolutely not, please leave,” he splutters, but his eyes are looking around to the other properties.
“Mr. Mansbridge, this is not up for discussion. Now, invite us in, before we start explaining in very loud voices why we’re here.” I step forward until we’re face to face. I do enjoy him having to lift his head up to look at me.
“For fuck’s sake,” he snarls but steps aside.
“Good man.” Knox pats his cheek as he walks through the door.
The door shuts behind Drake, and I look around. It’s a nice place, tastefully and expensively furnished. I walk into the living room and turn to face him. “Very nice. Did Memphis help decorate it? He spent a lot of time with you here, didn’t he? I mean, you didn’t like to fuck him in the club, right?”
“M…M…Memphis? What’s he got to do with you?”
“Ahh, I’m glad you asked.” I smile and sit down on his pristine sand coloured leather sofa and spread my arms across the back rest. “You see, he’s my boy, and I don’t take very kindly to you harassing and threatening him. So, we’ve come totell you to stop. To forget you ever met him. Leave him alone, Mansbridge, or we’ll be having a very different chat next time we see you. Next time, we’ll bring our other brother along; he’s not as kind or as polite as me.”
“Are you threatening me?” He tries to sound intimidating, but I can hear the underlying fear in his voice. He looks from me to Knox and Drake who have taken up residence in the matching chairs.
“Don’t be silly. This is just a chat.” I pick a non-existent piece of lint from my trousers. “I’m waiting for your answer, Simon. Are you going to leave my boy alone? The texts and voicemails you’ve been sending him aren’t very friendly. I can show you or play the messages for you, if you’ve forgotten what you said.”
“What? No! I don’t need you to do that. I’ll leave him alone.”
“See, that wasn’t difficult, was it? Now, come and show us out, smiling to your neighbours.” I stand up and clap him hard on his shoulder. He nearly buckles under the force.
I step out first and can’t resist patting his cheek condescendingly.
“He’s a crap fuck anyway,” he mutters under his breath. But before I can turn, Knox has him pinned to the front door, lifting him up so his feet are barely touching the ground.
“One more word from you, you piece of shit, and you’ll be spitting out your teeth.”
“Forget about him. You hear me? Forget. Him,” I sneer.
It’s an odd weekend. I’m spending most of it alone, thanks to Matt whisking Finn away to a cabin he’s booked. He’s really laying the charm, proving he’s the perfect boyfriend. He really doesn’t like me. I don’t think he believes that I’m not trying to stop Finn from getting together with him again. I am obviously against it, but they’re both grown-ups, and it’s not up to me to control their lives. I spend my time sorting out all the possessions I dumped in Finn’s garage, deciding which to take back with me, which to donate to the charity shops, or sell on eBay. While the little flat I’m taking over has been furnished, I want my own things. Robin explained the boys had used the furniture for their own first places, and they’ll take it back when my stuff comes.
Royal is acting weird today, and last night, and now he’s completely MIA, and Saint is being very vague about his whereabouts. I can’t get hold of Knox at all. Something seems to be up with all the Foster brothers.
Eventually, I cave and call Robin. I start all casual, as if I haven’t ignored him since I got back here. “Hi, Robin, how are you?”
“Memphis, how wonderful to hear from you. How are you?” he says sweetly. This man doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.
“Yeah, I’m good. Work is going well. It’s keeping me busy. Um, do you know where Royal is?”
There’s a slight pause before he answers, not too noticeable, but I’m already on edge. “Sorry, sweetie, I haven’t seen or heard from him today.”
“Yeah, Saint said the same thing. I can’t get hold of Knox either.” There is something odd going on, for sure. Then a thought floods my head. He’s met someone else, and no one wants to be the one to tell me. It makes sense. I’ve hardly made it easy for him, for us, to get back together. My heart shatters at the thought of him with another man. Probably the perfect little who loves everything Royal wants.
I can see them in his house. Royal watching as the boy plays with the box of toys. How he’ll clamber up onto Royal’s knee and cuddle into him. They’ll go to bed, and he’ll be pliant in my lover’s hands, calling him Daddy as he spreads his legs.
I sob as my breath catches in my throat. Tears burn my eyes before they spill down my cheeks. “Okay, Robin. Sorry to have bothered you.”
Robin’s voice turns steely in a way I’ve rarely heard from him. “Memphis, whatever you’ve just thought is wrong. I’m sure he’ll be in touch.”
