#669 words

"Where d'you think you're going?"

Gavin clenched his jaw and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to suppress the wave of anger that washed over him at that voice. He took a breath in to try and calm himself then turned to see Ryan leaning against the doorframe, a half empty bottle of beer held lazily by his side.

"Since when did you care?" he shot back, glaring at the man.

"Oh, I'm only wondering why my son has been spending more of his time out of the house than in. That's all." Ryan's voice was cold, sarcastic. Gavin could tell he was mad even if he was keeping it in.

"I'm not your son." Gavin spat. "And why do you think?! You only ever treat me like shit!"

"I pay for the clothes that go on your back! The food on your plate and the shelter over your head! This is how you repay me?!" Ryan burst out, the anger Gavin had seen behind his eyes finally surfacing. Gavin almost flinched at the sudden raise of his voice, but he repressed the automatic reaction.

"I don't give shit what you do-!"

"If you really don't care then why do you still stay here?!"

"Maybe I never wanted to live in this shitty house in the first place!"

"Get out then! If you never wanted to be here in the first place you have no right to be here now!"

Gavin turned on his heel without another word, bag slung over his shoulder, storming over to the door.

"Don't you ever think of coming back!" he heard a voice yell before he slammed it shut behind him.

The night air was cold on his face as he marched down the street. He pulled his hood over his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets, the anger beginning to subside. He wasn't exactly walking anywhere in particular, he was letting his feet guide him, hoping to get as far away from the house as possible. He soon found himself standing outside of the local graveyard; a frequent hangout of his whenever he needed to get out for some air. He entered, the gate creaking a little, and began the walk between the stones to his usual spot. He slipped his bag from his shoulder and dumped it onto the floor next to a tree, collapsing down beside it. In this spot he was close to his grandmother's gravestone. She was the only person he had ever felt properly cared for him as a parent, she'd always been so understanding and accepting… But their relationship had been cut short.

Gavin pulled his phone from his pocket and plugged in his earphones. He leant his head back against the tree, closing his eyes and letting out a slow and slightly shaky breath. This wasn't how he had been planning today to go. A rush of exhaustion came over him as he sat there, mellow beats drifting around inside his head. Not long passed before he found himself slipping off to sleep against the tree.

He awoke on the floor, cold and wet. The first sound that greeted him was the pouring of rain around him. With a groan he sat up, looking at the floor around him, searching for his phone. He found it and checked it. 3:28am, 8%. He grimaced.

Pocketing it, he stood and swung his bag over his shoulder, then paused. Where should he go? He couldn't go back home… It was in that moment, stood under a tree, cold and shivering in the pouring rain, that the gravity of his situation dawned on him. He had nowhere to go.

No, that's not true, he told himself, shaking his head and trying to calm his racing heart. Max- He should call Max. He took his phone back from his pocket and found the contact, hesitating before he called. Would he even answer? He was probably asleep… Oh well, worth a try.

Apparently, living in the mountains reduced your ability to feel shame.

I was the slightest bit speechless.

“A blush also suits you very well, it compliments your eyes”, he tilted his head slightly, “At least I think so, it makes the grey shine”

Before he continued with this, I said: “Alright, I… heard you. I… should get to know you a little bit better, now that we have time and you’re actually sleeping in my house”

“Well, I do pay rent”, he pointed at me, “And it’s such a lovely place. With such lovely people inside”, he said, looking at me again.

Huh.

“Mhmh, well, still, for now I just know that you own dogs, like to read and live on a mountain”, I pointed back, because… he was getting ridiculous.

And then he laughed. Now I also knew that he looks like he was laughing a lot. And that his eyes were laughing with him. Since I paid attention. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

“Well, that is already a little more than most. I… also appreciate beauty and good company, if you must know. But I think I already confirmed that much”, he shrugged.

And I raised a brow, huffing: “That’s not what I-“

“Oh! I also don’t care much for thunderstorms, it’s a bit unsettling, so far away from people”, he piped up.

I looked at him until he was silent when I said: “What I did want to know is where all this money you throw around comes from. It’s unusual and for all I know you could be a highway robber”

“Oh?”, he grinned, “Do I look rogue-ishly handsome?”, he wriggled his brows, which…

“… maybe a little”, I admitted.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, beautiful”, and managed to look smug. At being called a highwayman.

A laugh bubbled up from my chest and I gave in, shaking my head: “Ahaha. I… you really have no shame, do you?”

He chuckled as well and lazily opened his eyes to look at me, attention all on me, and said: “Honesty is more important. And so… I might have to answer, don’t I? I inherited the house from the people that pretty much raised me the British way. They did mostly forgive me for turning out the way I did”, he winked again. And… yes, maybe he needed a bit of forgiveness, there.

He continued: “The money? Well, of course there was some attached to the house. And then some more came with my skills. It never hurt to barter and have friends, either. So, there’s that. The only robbery I ever did was theft of food. I would have been tempted by your cooking, certainly”

Mh. If you were rich already, you didn’t worry too much about money. Admittedly, I was the same, in some ways. I certainly worried less than most people: “So you just throw a month’s pay around because you got it?”

He shrugged: “I don’t get much opportunity for spending it. And I got a discount from Alexander this time around. Plus the information that a few bachelorettes are looking in the city. It’s information, not that I was interested in any news on that front”, and he looked at me again.