Alex blinked. He looked beyond Jason and noticed the third person in the room. His heart shattered. “Matthew?”
Matthew Gwynn, Laurence’s son, was standing not even two feet from his studio door. His baggy hoodie concealed the modest bump of his stomach. He tucked his hands into the hoodie’s front pockets and looked away from Alex… and away fromJason.
“I think it’s so sweet that you two are already acquainted,” Jason said with a chuckle. He paid no attention to Matthew, who only stood a few paces behind him, and approached Alex while Alex stood, petrified. “I didn’t plan it that way, you know, but when Matthew told me about his dad’s new boyfriend, I started to piece the clues together. You’re dating someone now, Alex?” Jason backed Alex up against the wall. He didn’t touch him, but he outstretched his arm and planted his palm on the wall just above Alex’s shoulder. “And he knocked you up already? I guess you got a taste for it when we were together. What a filthy little boy youare.”
Alex swallowed. He had a sharp-tongued remark ready, but his words had desertedhim.
Jason’s hand dropped from the wall to run down Alex’s arm. “If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing. Talentless, unemployable, and without prospects… might as well find an older, established man to knock you up and put a ring on your finger. Are you getting married, Alex? Are you going to marry his wrinkly ass and fuck your way into his bankaccount?”
Everything Jason said was meant to make Alex doubt himself. He knew he was being gaslighted, and yet, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that it was all alie.
He wasn’t ready to face Jason, and he’d found it out toolate.
“If you touch me one more time,” Alex warned, summoning all of his courage, “I’m calling thepolice.”
“Why would you do that? They’re not going to do anything when all we’re doing is standing and talking.Youwere the one who violated the restraining order. We have a third-party witness that’ll guaranteeit.”
Matthew.
Alex looked back at him again. He’d tucked himself against the wall, gaze directed at his shoes. It looked very much like he wanted to disappear. Alex remembered having felt the exact same way when he’d been withJason.
He felt that waynow.
Pregnant, afraid,and…
Alex gazed at the nearly concealed round of Matthew’s baby bump, then wrenched his focus back to Jason. Cold sweat broke out down his neck. “You’re the one who got Matthewpregnant.”
“It’s not like you should be jealous. You left, remember?” Jason frowned. Behind his false sorrow was the hint of satisfaction. “You lost our baby and you left me when I needed you the most. You hurt me when you did that, you know. I love you,Alex.”
No.
No.
Alex’s heart pounded. If he kept listening to Jason, he was going to fall to pieces… and with so much at stake, he couldn’t allow that to happen. He needed to show Matthew that being treated like this wasn’t acceptable. If he fell to pieces, Matthew might suffer the same fate he had. He already saw the fear and self-deprecation in Matthew’s eyes. How much longer would it be before he was beaten? Before Jason grew bored of him and threw himaway?
“Matthew?” Alex tried to step around Jason, but Jason sidestepped to block him. Alex remembered similar techniques when they’d been living together—hazy magenta nights in the hallway of Jason’s apartment, frustrated to tears, but unable to do anything about it. He’d forgiven those times, just like he’d forgiven so many others. But he wasn’t the same boy he’d been back when he’d lived with Jason. No matter how scared or frustrated he became, he wouldn’t succumb to Jason’s abuse. “Get out of myway!”
“Do you really want to do that, Alex?” Jason asked sternly. He tilted his head to the side and crowded Alex’s personal space, so close they were almost nose to nose. Flashes of red raced in time with his pulse, and he scrambled to take a step back.Panic.“Don’t be stupid. You always get so stupid when your emotions flare up. Don’t make me have to bring you back down to earth, baby. Besmart.”
Alex’s gaze flicked frantically from Jason to Matthew. His thoughts were slow to process, but once they started clicking together, he couldn’t stop them. As they slotted together, he found courage Jason had stripped from him, and he held it close to his chest. No one else was going to save Matthew. He had to bestrong.
Alex stepped around Jason, putting himself between him and Matthew. “No.”
“No?” Jason laughed. Alex watched him, waiting for the worst to happen. “You’re not going to be smart? You’re better than that, Alex. Be a goodboy.”
Alex’s stomach churned. The sickly yellow that tinted everything now flashed with magenta. He rolled his shoulders back and stood taller than before, remembering the kindness with which Laurence had treated him. Hewasworthy. Hewasvalued.
And Matthew was worthy and valued,too.
“Matthew?” Alex was done engaging with Jason. He turned to face Matthew, keeping his stance wide so Jason would have a harder time getting by. It didn’t matter how close he leaned, or if he touched Alex, or even if he started swinging his fists. Matthew needed to hear the truth. “I don’t know your history with this guy, but you need to know what he did to me. This is—mmph!”
A hand clamped itself over his mouth, and a firm, familiar body pressed against him from behind. Jason’s hot breath met the back of his neck, and he uttered words that Alex dreaded to hear. “You’re not going to do something that’s going to force me to hurt you, are you,Alex?”
Alex tried to jerk his head to the side to escape Jason’s hand, but Jason’s grip was toofirm.
“Do you really want to put poisonous thoughts in Matthew’s head?” Jason hissed in his ear. “Do you remember what happened when you came to the conclusion that I was a bad person? It got messy, and you got so stressed out that you lost thebaby.”
No.That wasn’t what had happened. Jason was distorting the facts and trying to downplay what had happened. He’d flown into a rage, and he’dbeatAlex until his body couldn’t take it anymore. He’d been the one responsible. It hadn’t been Alex’sfault.
