Chapter 5

CAM

‘Okay, Cam, let’s go!’ Julius shouted from ground level. ‘You’ve got this. Remember, you need to arch on the last flip!’

Cam gave a thumbs up signal and took a big breath.

As much as he hadn’t wanted to leave the cottage and Max, there was no denying that Cam did enjoy playing and practicing his acrobatics. There was very little in life that matched the thrill of high-risk, explosive acrobatics. Cam had always dreamed of reaching the very top and being able to pull off the toughest maneuvers and now he was able to, so it felt like a crime to not do it.

But something was on Cam’s mind.

Tuning out the sounds of the other performers and the blaring music in the big top tent, Cam’s mind couldn’t help but wander…

I should be with my Daddy.

I’ve worked hard for so long.

I just want… some kind of real life.

‘Cam! Let’s move!’ Julius shouted again, a hint of impatience in his voice.

Julius was a nice guy, and a veteran of the circus. He was a former acrobat himself in his younger years and had pretty much seen and done it all. Now happily retired from performance and giving expert instruction, Julius was firm but fair – a far cry from Tobias, that was for sure.

‘Hurry the fuck up!’ Tobias hollered via his loudspeaker. ‘Don’t make me dock your wages for wasting time. This is a circus, not a God damned playroom.’

Tobias’s shrill voice was enough to prompt Cam into action. The last thing he needed was the threat of losing some of his weekly pay cheque.

‘Okay, let’s do this,’ Cam said, his mind still not entirely focused as it should have been.

And Cam’s lack of concentration immediately came back to haunt him as one misstep saw him flung from the high wire and down toward the ground. Fortunately for Cam, all practice sessions took place with the appropriate safety wires attached. But that didn’t mean Cam came out of his fall unscathed…

‘ Owwww ! My ankle!’ Cam squealed, hopping on one foot at he hauled himself to his feet. ‘It must have twisted as I fell.’

‘Idiot!’ Tobias bellowed, prompting an awkward look from Julius. ‘I knew it was a mistake to allow any break time ahead of the performance. Never again. And where do you think you’re going, Cam?’

‘I… I… I need to sit down and get some ice on my ankle, Tobias,’ Cam said, his eyes filling with tears as pain shot through him. ‘I’m hurting. I need a rest.’

‘No!’ Tobias roared, drawing fearful looks from the other acrobats. ‘You keep on practicing. You do not stop. I don’t care how much pain you’re in, you keep going. It’s the Majesto’s way.’

Cam wanted to speak out.

Desperately, Cam wanted to stand up for himself and the other exhausted performers and fight back against Tobias.

But… he couldn’t.

And it didn’t appear that Tobias was done talking either…

‘I haven’t liked this town from the second we pulled up here,’ Tobias ranted, waving his hands and gesticulating wildly. ‘Once we’re done on our final performance, we’re out. No afterparty. Nothing. And we’re not coming back here again either. Not in six months. Not in a year. Never .’

Cam wanted to scream. But he held is voice inside himself and suppressed a sudden wave of anger and distress that he felt rising up inside him. Tobias was a bully and horrible boss. While it was true that Tobias was the man to give Cam his break in the circus world, that truly didn’t mean that he owed him a debt for life. And it certainly didn’t mean that Tobias could treat him like crap.

But just as Cam was about to get up and tell Tobias how he felt, he found himself paralyzed. It might have been fear of losing his career. Or it could have been a deep seated fear of what Tobias might say or do. Whatever it was, all Cam could do was bow his head and avoid eye contact with his cruel circus master.

I hate him.

But without Tobias I’m nothing.

I wish Max was here to help me. I wish he was my Daddy for real…

After somehow managing to finish his practice session without any further injury, Cam trudged back to his trailer and pretty much collapsed onto his hard, worn-out bed.

‘ Urgh . Today sucks,’ Cam said, sounding almost defeated. ‘But it started so well…’

Cam thought back to waking up to the touch of Max all over his body as the pair of them romped and had fun with one another before a sumptuous breakfast. In truth, it felt like a lifetime ago. And in some ways, Cam even wished that it hadn’t happened.

Meeting Max had been like a window into another kind of life.

A life without Tobias, poor working conditions, and a relentless schedule.

Life with Max could be so different, and Cam wished more than anything in the world that his Daddy would swoop in and save him. But Cam had been in the circus too long to believe in miracles. The harsh reality of circus life on the road had taught Cam that happy endings rarely came about. Life on the road was all about performing, surviving, and keeping the show going forever.

‘Tinsel, what should I do?’ Cam asked, reaching up to his pillow and bringing his dear turtle stuffie up close for a comfort snuggle. ‘I wish life wasn’t so hard. I wish…’

Before Cam couldn’t finish his thought, he saw his phone flash up with a message over on the other side of the bed.

‘Please tell me that’s not Tobias…’ Cam sighed.

Fortunately for Cam, it wasn’t his dreaded circus master. It was someone far more welcome – and yet still very demanding indeed…

MAX: Boy this, is your Daddy talking so listen up. I want you back home with me right now. I couldn’t give a single crap what that asshole circus master says. We’ll talk about this in more detail later, but this is a direct order from a Daddy to his boy. Meet me outside the circus ground in five minutes – and that’s Daddy’s Orders.

Cam knew that Max wasn’t fooling around. Having tasted the full force of Max’s wooden spoon on his naked butt cheeks, Cam knew that it wasn’t a wise move to even contemplate going against his Daddy’s orders.

Such was the intent of Max’s message, that Cam forgot all about his fears over Tobias. Cam simply picked Tinsel up and grabbed his backpack too. It was time to move stealthily off the circus camp and meet up with Max.

Cam may have been going directly against Tobias’ orders, but right in that moment he had something far sterner to fear – and that was his demanding Daddy!