Ace of Spades

Chapter 7: Flashbacks

TW: This chapter depicts sexual assault/harassment. Please tread lightly if these are triggering subjects for you. 

Warm sunlight splashed against Bray's burning hot skin as he carefully opened his eyes. He yawned as the smell of warm bacon entered his nostrils. That smell—it took him back to when Beth used to cook from him before she headed off to school—it brought a smile to his face. He pushed himself out of the bed and slung his upper body onto the railing of the loft. Leaning down slightly, the kitchen finally came into his line of sight.

He peaked at Atticus gracefully moving around the kitchen. He's been living here for a while and it showed—it showed in small ways, like how he could easily find the seasonings he needed without having to think twice about it. Bray noticed the black apron that covered his half-naked body—the only thing he wore underneath being a tight set of briefs.

Bray smirked, "Nice apron ya got there." he commented.

Atticus hummed and looked up at Bray, "Thank ya, it was a gift from my mama."

"I see you've taken a likin to my loft up dere'."

"It's nice up here, cozy." Bray complimented in response, causing Atticus to give him a warm smile.

Bray thought back to how fond Atticus must've been of his mother, simply off the way he softened when he briefly spoke on her just then. "Were you and your mother close?"

Atticus lifted an eyebrow at the sudden personal question, "Very, why?"

"Will you tell me about her?" Bray asked softly. He rested his chin on his hands that were attached to his arms sitting on the railing—he patiently waited for a response as he watched Atticus add cheese to the scrambled eggs.

He paused for a second more—Bray assumed that he was gathering his thoughts—before filling the silence, "She was a noble woman. Very kind, the type to not only feed her family but also the people in the neighborhood. Ever seen The Princess and the Frog?"

Bray cocked his head to the side, "That cute little disney movie?"

"That's the one. That one scene where Tiana and her father fed the neighborhood the gumbo—that scene was an exact replica of several nights in my neighborhood. My pops and I used to joke that disney was watchin' us and took inspiration."

A big smile spread across Bray's face as he imagined the scene. "She sounds lovely, Tic."

"Tic?" Atticus spun the top half of his body around in order to look up at Bray—a mix of shock and amusement swirled around in his eyes at the little nickname.

Bray lifted his head up as he realized his mistake, "Oh uh, I do this thing where I give people who have names that are more than one syllable a nickname. It's just easier..." Bray quickly explained. It wasn't a complete lie; Bray did do that quite often—that's why he referred to his sister as Beth and never really called her Bethany until serious situations.

"No need to get all jittery, it's cute. I like it." Bray slowly nodded at that.

"Why don't you go get more dressed and come join me for breakfast. I'm almost done."

Bray nodded once more before walking farther towards the middle of the loft. He retrieved some sweatpants that were laying idly in the floor of Atticus' closet. As he put them on, he realized that they were hanging off his hips as a result of being too big for his frame. He scratched his head and just decided to go with it, not like he had much of a choice anyway.

He descended the stairs before sitting down in the chair in front of Atticus. His eyes scanned the plethora of breakfast that sat on the table; eggs, sausages, biscuits, pancakes & waffles, and a big carton of orange juice.