Safe Hands

35. Secrets on the pool

Julian glanced at his phone with a smile. The day was very close, the day he got to see his mum. Best part! It was on his birthday, which was just around the corner. All Julian wanted was to see his mum. She was an actress, and he aspired to be like her, though he had never mentioned it to anyone. For most of his life, she had been absent, but he understood that she was chasing her dreams. Even his father respected that, maybe forcefully, but it was still better, at least they weren't divorced.

Moving in together after Damien's divorce was the best thing ever. He got a cousin and a big brother, Russell, who also needed a playmate at that time, as his parents were freshly divorced and he had a bad relationship with his father. They quickly bonded, not leaving each other, until Russell got better projects and more friends. A slightly bigger chest and—

Julian sighed as he stared at the picture of all four of them from his last birthday. Russell was growing, and he needed to grow too. When you grow, you fall apart; some relationships die and new ones are born.

"What's that?" A warm breath hit the skin of his neck, and he shrieked, almost dropping his phone. Grayson had a small smile tugging on his lips as Julian glared at him.

"You scared the birds out of me!" Julian whined as he continued glaring.

Grayson shrugged, hands in his pockets, he walked to Julian's bed, observing the covers. "Seriously? Batman?"

Julian rolled his eyes as he closed his laptop. "So what, I like the character, and Joker too." He added as he rose up.

"You're weird. What's so interesting about Batman and Joker?" Grayson asked as he brought his gaze to Julian.

Julian shrugged, going to his closet. "For Batman, he's like you. Serene, dead, not literally, but emotionally and—"

"Dead?" Grayson repeated, his tone showing interest.

Julian retrieved a towel from his closet. "Yup," He dragged on the 'P'. "You only show little emotion when you fight, and it doesn't count because it is a dark emotion, like evil," Julian stated with a pout as he started heading for the door.

Grayson shrugged. "And you show too many emotions." He tried to counter.

Julian sighed. "You're unbelievable, trying to get back at me for telling the truth." He headed into the hall, and Grayson followed. He descended the stairs, going to grab some floaters and a little plank from under the stairs. He turned to glance at Grayson with a smirk.

"I used to be very scared of you. The first day I met you, sorry to say, but you looked like a ghetto kid, who trusted no one and would do anything to survive." He explained. Grayson seemed to freeze before he averted his gaze.

"What about now?" he asked, his eyes boring into Julian's.

Julian shuddered. "Um, maybe a little." Then he walked past Grayson and went through the back door, Grayson trailed behind.

He got to the pool, and threw all the floaters and planks in, before taking off his t-shirt, revealing his flawless skin. Then he took off his sweatpants, leaving him in his swimming trunks. He plunged into the water, and Grayson stepped forward, alert. After a few seconds, Julian emerged from the water, shaking his wet curls with a giant smile on his face.

"Come on in!" he urged. Grayson backed away and shook his head.

Julian pouted. "Why not? Come on!" he encouraged.

"No!" Grayson snapped before looking away.

Julian's smile faded. "Why? Do you have a phobia?" he asked.

Grayson shook his head. "I just don't know how to swim," he confessed softly. "And I don't have good memories with water."

Julian's face softened, then he got out, approaching Grayson. "How come you never learned how?" Grayson shrugged. "Well, imagine a scenario: you're a giant troublemaker, and one of your haters—" He grabbed Grayson's hands, leading him closer to the pool.

"One of your haters thought, 'Oh, let's see how good he can swim,' and catches you off guard!" Julian shoved Grayson into the water. Grayson landed with a splash into the pool, and he started kicking and fighting for his dear life. "Grab the plank and try to float! Do not panic!" Julian yelled.

Grayson managed to follow his instructions, grabbing a plank that helped him to float, "I hate you!" he growled while panting.

"This is for your good, boy! You gotta learn the hard way." Julian laughed while Grayson glared. "Besides it is not deep, I could rescue you, if you want."

"No thanks!" Grayson yelled.

Julian tried showing Grayson the basic moves all afternoon, and he managed to convince him about the risk of having a common weakness. Grayson, for a reason he refused to share, seemed to not want to put his head underwater and seemed to hate the experience. After so much persuasion, Julian finally got Grayson to swim underwater.

Grayson emerged from the pool, going to the side on the edge, drenched in water. All his scars were on display, and Julian couldn't help but glance at them. He approached Grayson while swimming on his back.

"You had surgery?" he mentioned, noting the large scar on Grayson's abdomen.

Grayson looked down at it. "Got stabbed," he said in a firm but small voice.

Julian chuckled nervously. "You're kidding. Who?"

Grayson ran a hand through his hair, pulling back his wet bangs to reveal a large scar on his forehead. Julian froze. "What happened over there?" he asked.

Grayson met his eyes. "Got beaten," he said, his eyes cold and emotionless.

"How?!" Julian freaked out.

Grayson wiped the water off his face. "Where is your mother? I have never seen her around." He began swiftly changing topics with Julian barely noticing.

Julian paused, turning to look away. "Well, she's busy on set. She is on a tour as we speak. And she will be there on my birthday." He beamed.

"What about Russell's mum?" Grayson asked taking the topic as far from himself as possible.

Julian shrugged. "Uncle Damien got divorced because of infidelity. I know it is wrong to say, but I think she was cheating or something, and she filed for a divorce when he found out."

Grayson nodded slowly. "Did he go crazy?" he asked curiously.

Julian chuckled. "Nope, he was indifferent. Whatever was happening, he never showed it. But Russell was really down; he got sick and all, and he was weak. So Dad and Uncle Damien decided to move in together so everyone can look out for each other."

Grayson nodded again. "Hm."

"Uncle Damien is a particular man. He is difficult, but just. I mean, I felt bad for him when I heard the story while eavesdropping, but worse for Russell, who pretends like he doesn't know and loves his mother still."

"Hard to tell, he is a pain," Grayson admitted.

"Not really, you guys are similar you know. But what about you and your mum?" Julian asked.

Grayson shrugged as he kicked his foot in the water. "She was always busy, like your mother. She couldn't survive without her drugs, and when she took them, she was out. She was so busy that she never had time. But she protected me when she wasn't on drugs and tried her best, even till the very end."

Julian nodded in understanding. "She was ill?"

"Kinda," Grayson muttered.

"That's why she needed the drugs. Did she die from the illness?" Julian pressed further.

Grayson shook his head. "Crash." He almost whispered the word. Julian could see the pain flashing in his eyes.

"Sorry about that," Julian added. "You barely speak of your home, as if it never existed, so Russell thinks you lived on the street."

Grayson shrugged. "He's not very wrong," he said.

Julian frowned. "Why? What about your stepfather?"

Grayson tensed, and Julian observed him. "Stop asking questions. I have been patient so far; don't push it." Grayson warned.

Julian swam away without a word noting Grayson's reaction. Grayson got up, grabbed his stuff, and left abruptly.

A/N

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