Titanium Promises

Eighteen

TW: abuse

Luke emerges from the closet soon after Maverick leaves.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

I must not be hiding my worry as well as I thought I was. "Yeah," I say, unsure why I'm lying.

Luke's eyes narrow. "What happened?"

I sigh out a breath. "It was Maverick." Luke gives me a questioning look. "He didn't do anything," I quickly add, "he just said that your dad and this person named Galvin are planning something. And that... Um." It won't sound as powerful or emotional coming out my mouth. "He thinks that I should leave."

"Then he'll be annoyed when he finds out you're not going anywhere," Luke says, stepping forward. "Not without me, at least. Now c'mere. I saw your tie on the seat, and you clearly don't know how to put one on properly."

He loops the tie around my neck and pulls me closer with it, giving me a mischievous look. I avert my eyes and wait until he's finished looping the tie neatly before looking back at him.

He looks hot in a suit, too.

Luke's replaced his cross earring with a black diamond that matches his hair. He combed his hair back so it's flat, and finished off the look with a bowtie. He looks like a high school version of James Bond.

"What was your relationship like with Maverick?" I ask. "You've talked about him before, but you didn't say much about your actual relationship."

"That's because there isn't that much to say," he admits, lowering his hands. "He was the one who taught August and I have the time, I guess. That was the main reason I spent any time with him."

"And he likes this life?"

"If he didn't, he didn't tell me," he says. "He wouldn't have told anyone. But I doubt he doesn't enjoy what he does. He's always been power hungry, and he's always been after taking my dad's place once he was gone. That's..." He sucks in a breath. "And I've always thought that's why my dad was so hard on him."

"Your father doesn't want Maverick to take his place?"

Luke thinks about this for a moment. "I think he's fine with it," he says. "I thought that maybe he was hard on him so that Mav would have the opportunity to prove himself. But... I also thought my dad was hard on him just for the fun of it. To push Mav to the edge then go just a little but further."

"You knew what your dad was doing?"

He bites his lip. "Yeah. I remember once I was waiting for Mav in his room to ask him where August was, and Mav came stumbling in. His shirt was torn, and I still remember all the blood. I tried to help him, but I was so young I didn't know what to do. And every time I tried to get closer, he would push me away."

"Your father... He did that to him?"

"To all of us," he says, his voice growing quieter. "But Mav's was the worst.

"My brothers and I would be watching TV in one of the living rooms," he continues, "and one of the maids would come in asking for Mav. The look that would cross his face was painful to see. And I tried to stop him from leaving, but he would always tell me he would be fine. That he could take it. He didn't even bother lying about what was happening to him."

His next words tear at my heart strings.

"I always waited for him to come back," he says. "After it started happening frequently, I would wait in his room with bandages. When he finally came back, he would stay silent as he removed his shirt and let me help him with the cuts."