Rochdale | LGBTQ+

.Twenty One.

"Okay, so what the hell was that?" Maddie hissed. We knelt down outside her house, in the shadows where no one could see us. 

I was blushing, but she couldn't see it in the dim light, so I pretended I wasn't. "I couldn't help it Mads. And  I'm serious, we're going to get him out of there. Somehow."

"Did you really have to smooch him?" Maddie questioned.

I shrugged. "No. But he does taste fuckin' awesome."

Maddie groaned. "Yuck!"

I smiled to myself and turned away. "Okay. We need some place to set up where Samantha won't follow us or Lucas. A safe place where he can get away from her and we can plan our next move."

"Like what?"

"Like... getting him an apartment in the city or something."

"Can't he stay with us?"

"Not if you don't want Samantha bringing your dad to the Barker household," I responded. "It would put the littles at risk. So that won't work. Your dad is fine with you being there because he thinks we're getting hitched soon or something."

Maddie patted the ground around her until she found my hand and squeezed it tightly. "Okay. So we need a safe spot for Lucas to escape his psycho wife. Where would that be?" 

My first thought was the garage, but I knew Samantha would check there. "The Bargain Mart. As long as he actually buys something, Mrs. Wu won't suspect a thing, and we'll be good to go. He can bring home food and convince Samantha he's just picking up snacks for her. Bonus points if they're things she asked for."

Maddie nodded. "Yeah. Like pregnancy craving food."

"Perfect. So he can crash at the Bargain Mart for a few hours each day... but he'll still need to go home each night and act like nothing is wrong until we can get him out of there."

Maddie snapped her fingers. "We kill her."

I groaned. "You and your brother think alike. We can't kill Samantha! Especially if she's pregnant!"

Maddie winced. "Oops. Yeah. Forgot, sorry."

"We need some dirt on her. Some way to blackmail her back. She drinks at Greg's bar sometimes, I'll ask him to try and find something out."

"Yeah, maybe when he stops watching cartoons," snorted Maddie.

"Good point. I'll talk to Chester then," I corrected myself. "If we can find something bad enough, we might be able to make her leave Rochdale altogether, or at least leave Lucas alone. Something that will make her drop the threat of telling your dad that Lucas is gay."

Maddie nodded eagerly. "Great. Talk to Chester tomorrow." She drummed her fingers on my arm. "I just worry that if we don't find anything... and Samantha catches us snooping... she snitches anyways."

I suddenly sat upright. "Right. We'll need to be discreet." I tapped my chin. "I think you need to move back in."

"Are you crazy?!" Maddie exclaimed.

"Lucas needs the company, and the help, and I think you might be able to catch her doing something if you're at the house constantly. If you stay on your dad's good side, you might even be able to convince him that Samantha's lying about Lucas being gay."

Maddie groaned softly. "Oh, alright! But only because I love my brother."

"Good. We'll move your shit back here tomorrow. Tell your dad we're on a break or something."

Maddie gave me a mock salute. "Yes sir."

***

Penny was rushing around the house, trying to get everything ready. I hurried down the stairs, trying to pull on my boxers and pants at the same time. I tied the strings as I grabbed a piece of toast and shoveled it into my mouth. First day of school, and we were running late. Penny was going to drop Libby off at preschool, and take Wynnie with her to work. I had a shift after school, but Maddie and I had most of our classes together to plot how we were going to take Samantha down.

"All ready?" Penny asked me. 

I nodded. I tried to smile without showing her the contents of my mouth. Penny got the hint. She grabbed Libby's backpack and ushered the girl out the door. Libby was wearing a pretty green dress to match her eyes and the new white shoes I'd gotten her with Ned's money. "Don't scuff the shoes!" I called after her. Libby said something back, but I couldn't make it out. Wynnie was already in the car and in her carseat. Once the door shut, it was just Maddie, me, and Greg.

I hurried into the living room and switched off the TV. I grabbed my shoes from the front door and pulled on my sneakers. I was wearing a gray t-shirt, my brown jacket, and my black jeans. A perfectly average school day outfit. Greg hadn't moved from his chair all morning. "Bye Greg!" I called, hurrying back into the kitchen to grab my backpack, stuffed with last minute books and my chunky notebook. Post its, bookmarks, highlighters, pens, I'd boughten it all weeks ago when we first got the lists, and now I was panicking that something was missing.

Maddie came hurrying downstairs. She was wearing a plain black top with a frilly hem and flared blue jeans. She grabbed her denim jacket off of the hook and slipped it on before grabbing her black backpack. Her dark brown hair was done up in buns and her makeup was neat despite only taking her twenty minutes. 

"Okay- remember to take your shit back home after school," I said, gesturing at the pile of belongings Maddie had stacked by the door to remind her that she was heading back to the Sampson home. 

"Remind me again before we leave school," Maddie chirped. She swung open the door, letting in a rush of cool fall air. I shut the door behind me and locked it, stuffing the key into my pocket and hurrying down the porch steps after my best friend. We were seriously late now, and only had twenty minutes to walk to school before the first bell rang. We took off running.

***

God, I hate school, I thought, kicking a small rock as I made my way down the sidewalk, headed for the Bargain Mart. 

"Cory!"

I turned my head when someone said my name, and saw Ned approaching me. Oh shit. I thought he'd taken the hint when I blocked him. He hadn't come by the store or anything, I thought I'd never see him again. Or at least, never see him looking for me. 

Ned's frail body was swaying slightly in the breeze, like he might flutter away. "Hey cutie," he said. 

I wanted to gag.

"I've missed you. Where have you been? Same room, every week, you haven't been stopping by."

"Yeah, because I'm a minor, and you're like fifty," I snapped.

"Oh, come now. That was never a problem before," Ned whispered in my ear, pressing his body against mine.

"Dude, back off! Someone's going to see me and think I'm a faggot."

Ned smirked. "Aren't you?"

"No- now get off!" I shoved him, hard, and he staggered backwards. "I'll have you know, I can pay to have you trafficked. You better come with me right now or you'll regret it young man-"

"Yeah, I think the key words there were 'young' and 'man', but I could be wrong." Lucas came out of nowhere and grabbed Ned by the neck, yanking him backwards. He drove his knee into his back and Ned cried out in pain. Lucas spun him around, raised his fist, and rammed his hand into Ned's nose. Ned bellowed like a cow that's been turned over. He stumbled backwards, holding a hand to his bloody nose, trying to keep it off his suit.

Lucas grabbed my hand then and we took off running down the alleyway. "Where do we go?" he panted as we ran. 

"Bargain Mart," I said instinctively.

Lucas shrugged. "Fine with me."