He was ten years old, staring at all the pretty Christmas lights as his mom and dad led him up the steps to his uncle's house. They had been living in Reese's ancestral country for the past ten years and had only just moved to Canada to be closer to their family. It was Reese's first time on a plane, flying from Nova Scotia to Toronto to meet his uncle and aunt for the first time.
It was his aunt who opened the door to greet them, a bright smile on her face as she led them inside. Their house was a bit smaller than Reese's own but that was to be expected when living in a big city.
They hung up their jackets and followed her out to the living room where Reese's uncle was waiting for them. He greeted his brother with a one armed hug before giving Reese's mom a kiss on the cheek. Then he looked down at Reese for the first time, a smile different from the one he shared with Reese's parents spreading across his lips.
"It's good to finally meet you Reese. I'm Uncle Kayin." He ruffled his hair, his fingers lingering in Reese's dark locks.
Reese gasped, eyes snapping open. He sat up, rubbing the sand out of the corner of his eyes and glancing at the clock. It was nearly noon but he supposed it didn't matter how late he slept anymore.
He pushed himself out of bed, the stranger's jacket crumpled up near his pillows. He winced when he noticed the drool he got on it.
He pulled the curtains back from his window, blinking away the brightness. Dread pooled in his stomach when he looked out over the snow covered ground. He shut the curtains, going into the bathroom attached to his bedroom and taking a long hot shower.
Two weeks.
He had two weeks before his uncle arrived. He scrubbed at his skin, as if he could wash away the memories with soap and water. Disgusting. He was disgusting. And every Christmas he was reminded of it.
He turned off the shower, wrapping the towel around his waist before stepping back into his room. He glanced down at the jacket on his bed, scowling at the memory of the male who gave it to him. He was full of arrogance, sure of himself. The type of person Reese was before he lost everything.
He still blamed Emmet for losing his best friend. Emmet, the boy who took Angel away from him. Who treated him better than Reese ever did, who showed him what it was like to have a real friend. If only he never let the corruption inside of him show then maybe things could have turned out differently.
He hated that part of himself that festered like a wound left alone to rot. The rot was inside of him and it had been ever since that Christmas when he was ten years old.
When he went downstairs, there was a note on the table left by his mom.
I'll be out all day today. There's cereal in the cupboard for breakfast and stuff to make a sandwich.
Love mom.
Not feeling very hungry, he got his jacket and left after sending a quick text. Outside the air was cold but the sun shone bright causing Reese to squint his eyes against the glittering snow. He tucked his hands into his pockets, catching the bus downtown.
He didn't expect him to be awake yet but by the time he walked into the coffee shop, his phone pinged with a new message.
I'll be there in ten.
"Your usual?" Reese looked up at the girl behind the counter. He worked with her a few times but she was usually on mornings while he was evenings so he had to glance down at her name tag. Anna.
Reese nodded and handed her the $5, shaking his head when she offered him back his change and watched as she started on his drink. Anna slid the coffee across the counter. "Coffee Mocha with hazelnut syrup."
Reese nodded his thanks and left the shop, walking a couple blocks to the less populated area of town. The buildings became fewer and far between, graffiti covering the walls of the unmanaged apartments. Reese ducked in between two of the apartments, coming to wait behind a dumpster that smelled like cat piss.
It didn't take long for footsteps to come thumping in the snow and the male to appear before Reese. He glanced around before taking the bag out of his pocket and handing it to Reese. He took it, quickly tucking it away and handing over the wad of cash that he had been saving up for weeks.
"You're becoming less frequent." The male said, leaning against the apartment building. He was a foot taller than Reese and had a hood covering his features but Reese knew it only hid a head of blonde hair and cold blue eyes. Reese had found him one drunken night when he had snuck into a bar, only to get kicked out when they realized he wasn't yet nineteen. At that point, Reese had already drank as much as he could and could barely make it home when this man found him and offered him something better than alcohol, something that he could actually attain. If he didn't look so much like Angel, Reese might have ignored him.
Reese had only planned on taking it until he came of age. But things changed and every-time he thought he was done with the powdery white drug, he craved more.
But it was expensive.
"I had to start helping out on rent. I don't have my whole paycheque to blow anymore."
"Aren't you a rich boy? Use your daddies money."
"I can't."
The male sighed, stepping in front of him. Reese looked up right before he was pushed back against the building. "If you can't pay me in cash, there are other ways to pay." The male breathed against his ear.
His heart sank in his chest. "What?"
"You heard me," he nibbled at Reese's ear. A year ago, he could have pushed him away no problem but he wasn't doing football anymore and he had fallen out of shape. It didn't help that this male was bigger than him and stronger than him.
"I paid, I don't-" The male cut him off with his mouth, hard enough to cause their teeth to clash together. He brought his hands up to push him off but he didn't budge, grabbing Reese's hands and pinning them behind his back while their mouths worked together. He had never kissed another male like this before and if he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend it was Angel...
He suddenly felt sick and twisted his head to the side, ripping their lips apart. "Stop."
The male stepped back, raising his hands in the air. "Just an offer. Think about it."
Reese watched him go, fingers playing with the bag in his pocket and wondering if it was worth it.
YOU ARE READING
Desperate Measures (On Hold)
Romance(Book 4) After losing everything he had in his life, Reese Gillian was forced by his parents to work at a coffee shop instead of wasting his life away at home. Here, he meets a mysterious stranger who seems to care a little too much about Reese's we...
