Chapter 16

~Gabe

Things have been relatively peaceful for the last few days. I"ve done my best to resist Justin and mostly failed. Today Martin took Justin shopping and I couldn"t help feeling some twinges of jealousy.

Martin is strictly into rich men, a little too into them, but I wouldn"t put it past him to make a move on Justin. Or maybe that"s just my paranoia.

The two of them come back just as I"m leaving for a business meeting. I wonder if Martin will want to hang out with Justin now, maybe try something. He doesn"t, just says bye to Justin and leaves at the same time I do.

In the elevator he mentioned how Justin told him about the family dinner. "He said you stood up for him. How sweet."

I don"t say anything, but I don"t like how he seems to be insinuating that there must be something going on between me and Justin. He"s right, but I still don"t like it.

Justin was shaken after the dinner. I"m surprised he told Martin anything about it. Then I wonder, "So it wasn"t your friend, Tina, who heard about the dinner from my mom?" Tina is mom"s personal assistant and the two of them are quite close.

Martin laughs. "Fine. You got me. Justin wouldn"t say one word about it. Your mom said you were Justin"s knight in shining armor. I just wanted to find out how you really feel about him."

Now Martin suddenly looks serious, concerned. As we head to my car in the parking garage, I ask him, "What are you up to?"

"Look, I don"t want you to get hurt, but I don"t like breaking a confidence either," he says.

"What confidence?"

"It"s not exactly a confidence, and maybe you already know this, but I noticed Justin eying some girls, checking them out like a straight guy would. So I asked him if he"s into girls and guys, and he said he"s into guys who... pay. He made it pretty clear that he"s for sale," he says and gives me a pitying look.

I refuse to even acknowledge what he"s saying. I just try to move past him to get in my car, but he stands in my way, shifts his shopping bags to one hand and strokes my arm consolingly. "I"m sorry."

"I need to go," I tell him.

"One last thing. Justin said something that makes it sound like there"s some guy, like a pimp or... I don"t know, someone who makes the calls. I just want you to be aware of this," he says.

"There"s nothing to be aware of," I snap at him but immediately think of Royce. I get past Martin and into my car. But what he said fits with what I thought myself. Royce is pulling Justin"s strings.

The next day, Justin as much as confirms it. He announces he"s going out because Royce wants to see him.

"And you have to come when he calls," I say to Justin while he"s already putting his jacket on.

"Yes," Justin states.

"And if I don"t want you to go?" I didn"t mean to say that and now the words hang between us and Justin looks conflicted.

"I can"t just blow him off. I can"t," Justin says. He"s upset, shaken by the idea of refusing him, and now I have to know what ties him to Royce.

Justin leaves before I can question him. I want to follow him, see where he goes, what he does when he"s with Royce, but I refuse to sink that low. Instead I obsess about the two of them and what they might be doing and what Royce is making Justin do.

When Justin gets back, it"s evening and I"m in the office, working, or trying to. I"ve been consumed by Justin and Royce for hours. Anger and suspicion have been brewing inside me. Afraid of what I might do, I steer clear of Justin. I leave him alone and skip dinner.

When I hear Justin out in the living room, I go out there. My patience has run out. "I want to hear about it. You and Royce," I tell him in a voice that leaves no room for argument.

I"m about to tell him to sit down but the way he"s pacing stops me. He"s like a trapped animal.

"Why do you have to know?" he asks, his voice tight.

"Because it upsets you," I tell him though that"s only part of it, but I"m hardly going to tell him it"s because I"m jealous. "What ties you to Royce? Why can"t you say no to him?"

At first Justin just stands still and stares at nothing then he sets his jaw. "If you have to know, he saved me from something bad," Justin says in a rough whisper like that"s all he can manage to get out.

I need to know more but I don"t want to push him. Now I"m pacing and Justin is standing still, breathing slowly like he"s trying to get a hold of himself.

I want to put my hands on him, hold him, shake him, but the look in his eyes is panicked, like a frightened animal. He couldn"t even tell me what happened other than it was bad.

It makes me glad that Royce helped him, but I also wish he would drop off the face of the earth. He"s not good for Justin.

"Whatever he did, he"s holding it over you. What does that tell you about what kind of man he is? He"s using you," I tell him.

"He has a right to," Justin states and I feel my anger rise.

"Just because he saved you, doesn"t mean he owns you," I tell Justin. "It doesn"t mean you should do whatever he wants."

"I"m here because of him. Do you want me to leave?" Justin challenges me.

"Is that the only reason for everything you"ve done?" I ask and feel myself stepping on thin ice.

Justin gives me a bitter smile and his eyes turn cold. I think back to Martin telling me that Justin was ogling girls. Royce is the only reason Justin is here. He never wanted any of this.

"So Royce is your pimp," I say. I want him to deny it, to scream and curse at me for saying it.

He shrugs. "I do whatever job I"m told to do. I don"t care what it is as long as it pays," Justin says calmly, evenly, no emotion. "I do what Royce wants. I do what you want."

I shake my head at him. "I never wanted this. I was trying to help you." Even as the words leave my mouth, I can hear the lie in them. I always wanted him. He got under my skin so fast, coming in here lost, half alive, impossible to say no to.

"You wanted to use me, and you did. I"m a thing to you," Justin says, but that"s a lie too.

"Then you shouldn"t be here," I tell him purely out of anger.

He nods and heads for the door, grabs only his jacket and he"s gone without another word. The door shuts after him and the sound chills me. As I stare after him, I tell myself that he"ll be back. He"ll be back. And then what?