“We can never keep track of him. One month we can’t get rid of him, then we won’t see him for weeks. We’ve learnt not to ask.”
I ponder this, wondering if I’ll get a straight answer or even an answer at all. “He had something to do with Simon and him losing everything, didn’t he?”
“You’ll have to ask him,” Royal says, neither confirming nor denying as he switches off the engine.
We open the door, and Royal holds it open for me so I can hop over the step and in. The noise is the same as always, everyone talking at the same time, just with different people. Royal goes ahead of me and, as usual, claps his hands to announce his arrival.
Then the cat calls and jeering follow.
But when I step through the door into the busy kitchen, silence descends.
Robin lets out a cry and rushes to me, patting all the uninjured parts as if checking I have all my limbs. “Oh, Memphis, we’ve missed you. I’ve been so worried.”
“I’m fine. I’m back now.” I look at Royal and know it’s true.
I thought persuading Memphis to move in with me would be a long process. Perhaps it would’ve been if Finn hadn’t turned up unexpectedly. He’d found out that it was Matt who’d been the one to hit Memphis’ head. Obviously, there’s more to it than that, but it’s his story to tell. Anyway, he took over Memphis’ flat, and I got my boy in my house. I’d forgotten how messy he was when he lived with us; age hasn’t improved him in that department.
“Memphis, please hurry up,” I shout up the stairs. His recovery has been hard work for him; he took his physiotherapy seriously and had Knox put together a strengthening program. He doesn’t have a hint of a limp anymore.
“I’m not going,” he says as he comes down the stairs dressed in sweatpants and an old Lincoln University hoodie. “It’s not going to make any difference if I’m there or not. The decision will be made and whatever it is, I can’t change it. So, I’m going to stay here and work.”
“Memphis, we’ve talked about this. Think of it as closure. The chance to move on without a moment of fear.” We’ve been over this so many times. I want to see Simon Mansbridge sentenced to life for attempted murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping. Matt Bennett has already been sentenced to three years for aiding and abetting, a charge he pled guilty to. Mansbridge refused to take a deal, saying that it was part of the scenes they played. It was a kinky game that went wrong.
Memphis has been the bravest man I know. When he gave evidence against Mansbridge, he spoke with a strength and determination I couldn’t have managed. Even on cross examination, he didn’t falter, he kept to the truth and wouldn’t be budged from it. Even when Mansbridge stared at him with a look of pure hatred, Memphis didn’t stumble or stutter.
“It’s not going to make a difference to me. I’m still going to have nightmares. I’m still going to afraid that he’ll get out one day. That man is not going to give up easily. I just don’t want to see him again.”
“Don’t you want to smile at him when he gets life in prison for his planned and premeditated attack? I want to clap when he’s led away.”
“Could that be a bit of your guilt coming to an end? That maybe if you hadn’t gone to see him, he wouldn’t have done it?”
“We’ve been over this, Memphis. I can’t be sorrier than I am. But he was looking for an excuse. His text messages demanded you go back to him; the voicemails said he’d make you pay for disobeying him. He was going to do it anyway; he just wanted you to hate me while he did it.” I sigh. “Let’s go and prove to him that he didn’t win, that we are still together, and I want you more and more every day. I love you, and I’m proud of you.”
I wait while he stares at me. I’m usually pretty good at knowing what he’s thinking, but not now. Now he’s goteverything tucked very close to his chest. Eventually, he nods. “Fine, I’ll come with you.”
“Go and get changed, the others will be here soon.”
By the time Memphis comes downstairs dressed in a pair of smart trousers with a button-down shirt and tie, the family is here. Pops hugs Memphis gently, whispering something I don’t need to hear to know it’s full of praise.
While the courthouse is a modernish building, the actual court room is still foreboding with its heavy wood furniture and raised bench for the judge. Memphis is seated with his barrister, and they speak every now and then. I wish I could be with him, but we’re all seated behind him in the public seats. Mansbridge is in the dock and the few months in jail have not been kind to him: his face is pale, his hair is in need of a cut, and his suit no longer fits him perfectly.
We all rise when the judge enters and wait while she goes through all the case numbers and the counts he’s here for. I don’t know how long I expected it to take, but this judge is not messing around with the deliverance of her sentencing speech. She lists the horrific injuries my boy suffered, the callous planning and inclusion of an accomplice to force Memphis into the car, and the way Mansbridge was trying to flee when the police caught him trying to book into a hotel, his car number plate giving him away. Then as Mansbridge stands up, she hands down the sentence of twenty-five years for the attempted murder and an additional seven for kidnapping and the same again for the sexual assault both to be served consecutively, with no chance of parole. She called him a menace to society and a danger to young men, and he needed to be kept off the streets. On release, he will be placed on the sex offenders list for the remainder of his life.
Mansbridge appeared to have not heard a word, his eyes focused on Memphis throughout the whole procedure, until the moment he was taken down.
As Memphis thanks his barrister, Drake stands next to me, his hand on my shoulder. “That was the best result, don’t you think?”
I nod, then walk forward to wait for my boy. When he reaches me, I wrap my arms around his shoulders and kiss the top of his head. “Thank you for making me come. You’re right; I needed to see that.”
Pops joins us, and he hugs Memphis in the tight embrace only he can get away with. “Good riddance to bad rubbish. Come on, I’ve booked us a table at the Italian on the High Street.”
When we walk into Bound, I breathe in deeply. I love the smell of hot male bodies, especially that of the man next to me. We’ve found the balance between us, my little still sometimes surfaces. After a stressful day, I’ll seek out my colouring books, or I’ll go and build whatever latest Lego I’ve bought. Sexually, I’m much more a sub now, albeit a bratty sub that likes to do naughty things to get spanked. I’m also very turned on by being fucked in public, and I know I’m looking forward to it tonight.
“Where do you want to sit, baby?” Royal asks as he looks around. “I don’t think the others are here yet.”
“The corner booth.” I point out the one with the low table.
“Good choice.” He bites on my ear lobe, and I shiver. We’ve been building up for tonight. It’s been a while since weplayed properly here. Work has been crazy busy, and I’m ready to let go.
