Reaper's Touch

Lucas: NA

"Nothing makes a room feel emptier than wanting someone in it."
– Calla Quinn

By the time Marcus picked him up at the bus stop, Lucas was regretting washing that dope down the sink. He'd thought he would feel proud of himself, and he had at first... at least for a few hours. But now he felt like he'd cheated himself out of his one chance to feel good, maybe for months to come, and that just felt stupid.

It was even colder here in Chicago than it had been back home, a cold that took Lucas's breath away and stabbed through his clothing like knives. He tried to put on a smile when he saw Marcus, but luckily his cousin was nothing like Jeff. Lucas could get away with lies here, could get away with pretending he was fine.

Marcus was twenty-eight, a cousin on his mother's side, but he and Lucas had always been friendly at the family gatherings. Lucas hadn't seen him since his father had died, but they'd stayed in touch despite not having much in common. Marcus worked for a bank downtown and had a perfectly average life. He was gay but single, and he knew nothing about Lucas's addiction or the craziness he'd gone through. He didn't even know about the overdose and how close he'd been to death.

"Lucas! You've really grown up!" Marcus exclaimed as they embraced.

"Yeah. Eighteen now," Lucas said.

"You look tired," Marcus said with concern.

"Twenty two hours on busses will do that to you," Lucas replied lightheartedly.

Marcus had a wave of brown hair that curled across his forehead in a way that made him look very young, and he had a pretty face and a graceful, feminine way of moving. Despite that, he'd only had two boyfriends in his life and was so shy about meeting new people he never went out by himself to enjoy the city.

"What's new with you?" Lucas asked as they walked away from the bus stop to Marcus's silver Audi. Lucas was carrying his bag and both guitars while Marcus carried the amp.

"Well, believe it or not, I met somebody," Marcus said with a smile.

"Seriously?"

"His name is Dylan. We met at the office. He works two floors above me."

"That's cool. Is he gonna live with us?"

"No. We've only been dating for two months."

Lucas was secretly relieved. He needed plenty of space for himself and didn't feel like meeting anyone new.

"What's up with you?" Marcus asked.

Lucas shrugged. "Oh, you know, not much."

"Are you finishing school virtually?"

"Getting my G.E.D."

Marcus nodded. "So you wanna work here?"

"Oh yeah. I wanna help with the bills and stuff, and when Nora gets here in May we'll be getting our own place," Lucas said.

Then he remembered that Nora might never come at all, and he stopped talking.

"Well we have an opening at my bank. We need a data entry kid. You know, filing, errands, that sorta thing. It pays minimum wage," Marcus said. "I already told my boss you were coming, and the job's there if you want it."

"Seriously? That's awesome! I'll take it for sure!" Lucas said excitedly.

"Cool. You'll start next Monday then. That'll give you a week to get settled and figure out the city, or at least our section of it."

This was the first good news Lucas had heard in what felt like weeks. Still, it didn't come close to touching the darkness that had filled him up.

Marcus's downtown apartment was sparsely decorated but nice. It had old wooden floors and big windows that looked out over the city. It was a tiny space with just two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, and a closet sized kitchen. Each room was half the size of Lucas's bedroom back in Virginia. The beige sofa in the living room seemed to take up half of the space, just enough room for a small white rug between it and the flat screen TV on the opposite wall.