5
SHADE
On the fifth morning in our new home, I wake to the sound of Kai snoring soft and even next to me. Morning sunlight meanders through the gap in the blinds, catching the dust motes hanging above the dresser. There’s a security in the warmth and half-light. That this place is ours and we’re safe here.
Kai is curled into me, a possessive arm tossed across my waist, and I huff at the irony. I thought I was never going to have any kind of family of my own, because my parents had predisposed me to the notion that families were cold, explosive, and violent.
And my Wild showed me the exact opposite. He’s shown me patience, and what it is to love someone so completely, you can meet them wherever they are. He never gave up on me in that first year. When I wanted to push him away but kept dragging him back.
The first time I tried to break up with him was five months after we got together. My mother had tried to get in touch to tell me my father was ill. I couldn’t reconcile that there was even the smallest part of me that was concerned by the news after histreatment of me. I accepted a run for the club that would take two weeks and left a letter on the kitchen table telling Kai he needed to be out of my house by the time I returned.
When I got back, he was still there, roasting a fucking chicken. I still remember the way he casually turned to say hi and greet me with the smile that makes everything better. Over the miles I’d ridden, I’d come to the conclusion I’d just thrown away the best part of my life. When I saw him standing there, I was mad he was still there, for his own sake. Because even back then I knew he deserved a better man than me.
One less broken.
Instead, he listened when I wasn’t even saying anything, and he understood. He read between the lines. He asked questions about my past. He never let up or gave up.
He just decided I was his and he was mine and held on until I finally agreed with him.
And I’m the lucky fuck who gets to steal some of his sunshine, some of his warmth to get me through the day.
The vibration of both our phones annoys me and makes Kai twitch.
“If that’s Grudge at this hour, I’m gonna set fire to something,” Kai says. His face is half buried in my chest, hair smushed to one side.
I reach for my phone and read it. “Yup. Church in two hours. Says it’s mandatory.”
Kai curses beneath his breath.
“Where are you going?” Kai mutters as I slip my arm from beneath him.
“Bathroom, and then I’m making us some breakfast.”
Kai smiles and forces his eyes open. “French toast?”
It’s exactly what I was gonna make because it’s his favorite. “I’ll give you a shout when it’s done.” Playfully, I tuck the sheets back up around him.
I tug on jeans and a clean T-shirt. I’ll worry about underwear and socks later. The house is about twenty degrees too hot, as we’re still playing around with all the thermostat settings.
But as I walk into the living room, I stop cold.
A word, thick and dripping red, is slashed across the living room window. It’s an ugly gay slur.
For a beat, I can’t breathe, but the rage is fast to follow, burning hot and white. “Motherfuckers,” I whisper to no one.
I tug on my boots and open the front door. The cool air hits me, but I step out and take a photograph. The paint is still wet, dripping in places. This can’t happen in our first week in our new home. I won’t let someone else take away what Kai wants so badly.
A place to call our own.
Once I have the photo evidence, I call Wren.
“Hey, Shade,” Wren says.
“Are you busy right now?”
“Just in the truck with Catfish, we slept over at Willa’s so we could babysit the twins overnight.”
“Can you swing by?”
