Chapter 3:
Sleepovers and Escape Attempts
Teenage Javier shifted on his feet. He felt awkward standing in the middle of the spotless home. "Come on in Javi, you don't have to stay there." Ryan grinned and gestured for him to sit on the couch. "We can watch the game while we wait. If I'm actually going to play on the team you'll have to teach me all the rules. My mom will have dinner finished soon."
He eyed the couch, it was so clean. He didn't want to mess it up with his dirty clothes. They usually hung out at his mom's apartment but Kevin's parents wanted to meet the friend he'd been spending so much time with so they had invited Javier for dinner. He was reluctant to accept, but somehow, Kevin had convinced him. He perched on the edge of the couch and wiped his sweaty hands down his pant legs. "Man, why am I so nervous? I feel like I'm on a date or something, meeting the parents." He gave a nervous laugh.
Kevin laughed, it went higher in pitch than normal, Javier had learned that meant his laugh was sincere. "That's a little weird but I suppose I'm flattered." He paused for a second and smirked. "But don't be expecting me to put out at the end of the night." Kevin laughed louder, rolling on the couch. Javier punched him in the shoulder. "But don't worry." Kevin continued once he had contained his amusement. "There's no need to be nervous, my parents are cool, they just like to know who my friends are."
He leaned back into the cushions, feeling a little more relaxed. They sat and watched television for a while, Javier explaining the different plays on the screen. Soon they were gathered around the table with Ryan's mother, father, and older sisters. They asked him simple questions, where was he from, did he have any siblings, hobbies, favorite foods, and so on. They really did just want to get to know him, there was no catch behind it. It was a normal family dinner with warm, friendly people.
With the people Javier tended to find himself among, peaceful family dinners were not a normal thing. With every school he jumped between, Javi always found himself running with the bad crowds… the trouble makers. Who else was a low income Hispanic kid with a short temper supposed to hang with? It was only natural. Other kids never gave him the time of day, they never even gave him a chance… not until Kevin. He was different, he was always different. Javier found himself relaxing during dinner, enjoying this new setting that was foreign but nice.
"See, I told you they weren't so bad." Kevin said when they were back on the couch watching a bad action movie.
Javi rubbed his full stomach. "Yeah, they were okay. And your sisters are kind of hot."
Kevin punched him the shoulder a little harder than he thought the skinny kid was capable of. "Not cool." He warned.
Javier laughed. "Relax bro, I was just kidding."
Kevin froze and narrowed his eyes. "Bro?" He questioned.
"Yeah, you know... bro, brother."
"Oh." His eyebrows rose. "It's a term of endearment."
"Uh… yeah sure." He sighed and shook his head. "I guess if you have to make it sound nerdy."
"I can't help it." Kevin punched him awkwardly and followed it up with a just as awkward grin. "Bro."
Javier laughed. "We need to work on your level of cool man, you're terrible at it."
"Man this place is a dump." Ryan said as soon as Esposito had the door to his apartment open. He walked straight to the couch as if he'd been there a thousand times and plopped down. Ryan had clammed up about the case, they couldn't get another word out of him so they decided to call it a night in hopes he would be more talkative tomorrow.
Javier busied himself in the kitchen. It was only separated from his living room by an island counter so he could keep a good eye on the other man. He planned on keeping very close tabs on Ryan while he was in his custody. "Oh I'm sorry, as opposed to that classy place you called home up until a few days ago." Kevin's eyes fell to the floor. "That's right, we went to your last apartment, now that place was a dump. My apartment is the Ritz compared to that place. And get off my couch, you're a mess."
Ryan leaned back into the clean fabric just to aggravate him. "It's nice, where'd you get it?"
"No place you could afford." A little harsh but it was true.
Kevin snorted. "You should have just scored yourself some roadkill, that's what I do."
Esposito raised an eyebrow. "Roadkill?"
Kevin smiled. "Hey, it's an accepted practice bro, when you're done with your old stuff you leave it on the street for those less fortunate, like me. It's trickledown economics at its finest."
"Well, I prefer not to be trickled on. That's gross."
Ryan's laugh went high pitched. "I found a red one once, it was nice, you would have liked it. I was pretty upset when I got kicked out of the apartment I had it in."
"Just how many apartments have you had?"
Ryan shrugged and pulled at the cuffs that still trapped his hands. "This year? Maybe five or six, I think I spent more days on the street than in a bed of my own though." The apartment fell deathly silent. Kevin's eyes shifted to Javier as he stared down at the counter top. "Relax Javi, I'm not telling you so I can get your pity. I don't want it." He grinned. "So do any of your cop friends know about your past?"
Esposito fidgeted. "No… and thank you for not telling them what I did… what I did to you."
"Well, you got me out of jail so I guess we can call it even." Kevin stood and placed his hands on the counter. "So how about you just take off these cuffs and I'll be on my way."
"What?" Javier gave him a stern glare. "Like hell I am! You're under my custody, I'm not letting you out of my sight."
Ryan stared at him, genuinely confused. "But… I thought that's why you asked for custody of me. I thought that you felt so guilty by our terrible past that you were going to make up for it by letting me go."
"I don't think so." Javier said firmly. "Sorry, but you're stuck with me." He grabbed Ryan's arm and escorted him to the bedroom.
"b-but come on, you should feel awful. You do remember what you did, don't you?"
Esposito searched through his drawers and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt he thought would fit. It was a good thing they were almost the same height. "I thought you didn't want my pity."
"W-well I don't but I'll take what I can get." Javier pulled him down the hall. "Maybe you could scrounge up just enough pity to convince yourself to let me go… I'd be okay with that."
Esposito tilted his head, pretending to think it over. "Sorry, the answer is still no." He pushed Ryan into the bathroom and took off his cuffs. "Shampoo and soap is in the shower, towels in the cupboard, and there's toothpaste and a spare brush in the drawer by the sink. Get yourself cleaned up, you're not sleeping on my couch like that." He shut the door on the Irishman's surprised face. Javier waited by the door just to make sure Kevin wasn't going to do anything stupid. But when he heard the water start to run he left to make them something to eat, keeping his ears open, just in case.
Javier began to fry some hamburgers and pulled a bag of chips from the cupboard. Not exactly fine dining but he was certain Ryan wouldn't complain. He sighed. This whole situation was a mess. As soon as he saw Ryan's name on that page, he knew it would be difficult, but this was more than he expected. All the memories had come rushing back, the most vivid being that night he left Ryan in the alleyway and what he had done to put him there.
Javier was just flipping the burgers when a faint noise made him drop the spatula. He raced down the hall, the bathroom door was open and the room was empty, the shower water still running. Ryan was halfway out the window when he reached the bedroom. Esposito grabbed the hem of his pants and yanked him back inside.
The Irishman tumbled to the floor with a surprised yelp, he growled and kicked Esposito's legs out from under him. Ryan jumped up when Javi went down and made a break for the front door. Javier popped up and chased Kevin down the hall, grabbing him just as they were passing the bathroom. Kevin was tossed roughly back inside and Esposito pushed him into the spray of water, clothes and all. "Dammit Kev, I am trying to help you!" He roared, fuming with anger as the water drenched the other man. "You try to run again and I will not hesitate to take you back to the precinct and throw you back in that holding cell to rot. Now get cleaned up!" He slammed the door shut, shoving a chair under it to jam the handle.
Javier stormed back to the kitchen, rubbing his now sore back. He swore out loud when he flipped his burgers to find them burned on one side. God what a mess! It was like an insane seesaw ride, one minute he saw the old Kevin and the next there was this stranger, the one that got high and tried to escape police custody. He didn't like this stranger, he only wanted the old Kevin back.
Once the burgers were finished he pulled out all the fixings and grinned when he heard pounding and shouting coming from the bathroom door. He strolled casually back down the hallway. The door was shaking hard against the chair that held it. When Javi pulled it away the door flew open and Ryan stumbled backwards. Kevin's hair was wet and his dirty clothes were gone, he had finally done as he was told. He was wearing the clean pants but was holding the shirt in his hands. "I don't like this shirt." He said as he shoved it forward, eyes locked on the floor, embarrassed at losing the fight.
Javier's gaze fell to Ryan's stomach where a bright scar lit up his right side. Its rough edges showed a poor patch up job done all those years ago, stitching work not done in a hospital. He also had a few other, smaller scars across his shoulders, chest , and arms, evidence of a rough life. Guilt tugged hard at him, Esposito swallowed it away. "Wh… what's wrong with the shirt?"
Ryan held the shirt in front of him, "I don't like the Yankees." He said with a smirk, pointing at the team's symbol on its front.
Esposito rolled his eyes and dragged him back into the bedroom, passing him a plain back shirt. Ryan pulled it on and his hands were immediately cuffed. "What kind of New Yorker doesn't like the Yankees?" He grumbled as he clicked the restraints in place. "What's wrong with you?"
Ryan chuckled. "Sometimes I ask myself that question."
Esposito scowled, he was in no mood for Kevin's lighthearted jokes. "Well, at least you smell better."
"Yeah and something else smells good too, do you cook?"
He escorted Ryan back to the kitchen and sat him down at the table. "I can flip a burger… but that's about as far as it goes."
"You've come a long way from peanut butter and potato chips." Kevin grinned and Esposito couldn't help but laugh even though he was still furious. They were riding that see-saw again, Ryan seemed to jump between the extremes, it was giving Javier a head ache. He sat the burnt burger in front of him and Kevin grimaced. "Then again… you got any peanut butter?"
Javier's scowl returned. "You burnt it, you eat it." He snapped. Ryan groaned and covered his hamburger with enough ketchup to make it look like a murder.
A few hours later Esposito laid out several blankets across the carpet next to his bed. "I thought I was sleeping on the couch." Ryan stated as he watched.
Javier grabbed a pillow and threw it on the blankets. "You were, but thanks to your escape attempt I learned that I can't actually trust you." Ryan's face scrunched in disgust at the makeshift bed. "Would you prefer your own bench back in the holding cell?"
Ryan sighed and laid down on the blankets. Esposito unlocked one of his hands and cuffed him to the leg of the bed. "And don't even bother trying to escape again, I'm a very light sleeper." He grinned and flipped off the lights.
It was quiet for several minutes and Javier was just about ready to drift off when Ryan's voice cut through the air, just loud enough for him to hear. "I know you're disappointed in me Javi but I never wanted to be like this. I tried to fight it but…" He faded off and Esposito heard him shift.
Esposito stared at the dark ceiling. Kevin was worried about him being disappointed? After everything, that was what he regretted? Why wasn't Ryan angrier with him? Javier had ruined his life, he should be furious. But that wasn't Kevin Ryan. Even after it all, he still cared.
"I-I'm not so sure about this Javi." Kevin said nervously.
Javier placed the football helmet on his friends head. The uniform looked hilariously large on the skinny boy and the helmet did little to improve it, actually it kind of made him look like a bobble head. He tried hard to stifle a laugh as he pulled on his own helmet. "Come on, I held up my end of the bargain, passed my test with a B minus, now it's your turn."
"I don't know if you noticed but I'm kind of small." Kevin argued as he was pushed onto the school's field. "They'll kill me out there."
"Well what are you going to do when you become a cop? Run away from all the bad guys that are bigger than you?"
"I plan on being much taller by then." Kevin reasoned. "I'm sure I'll hit my growth spurt any day now, I'm hoping for at least six foot by the time I get to the academy."
Javier laughed. "Yeah, you and me both. Don't worry bro, I got your back."
"You promise?"
"Trust me. I'll always have your back."
And Kevin believed him. He finally stopped resisting and walked out to the other boys with a little more confidence. His faith in his new friend was unwavering.
The tryouts went fairly well, the coach ran them through several plays and put them in a practice game, pitting the boys against each other. Some of the larger ones did just as Kevin had predicted and picked on him to make themselves look better. Every time the whistle blew Kevin ended up on the receiving end of an unnecessarily hard tackle. But every time Kevin was shoved into the dirt he would get back up and brush it off, not once getting angry.
Javier, however, was not so forgiving. Anger boiled up from deep inside. The coach had placed him on the other side of the field, so he was unable to help his friend as promised, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He heard the group of boys making plans to take out Kevin for good, so Javi made plans of his own. When the whistle blew he cut straight across the field, ignoring the rest of the game. He had only one thing in his sights, the boy that was charging straight for Kevin.
He never saw Javier coming until the boy was struck in the side with enough force to knock even a grown man off his feet. Only inches from his target, the boy flew to the side, not even getting a chance to lay a hand on Kevin. His feet flipped over his head and his helmet dug up grass and dirt as he slid to a halt. Javier laughed. "Yeah that's right!" He cried. "You're going to eat dirt before you touch my friend again!"
Kevin and all the other boys froze in place as the boy groaned from the ground and Javier continued to laugh. "Javier Esposito!" The coach yelled. "I want you and your friend off my field. That is not how we play on this team."
"What?" Javi snapped. He tore off his helmet and chucked it to the ground. "That's not fair, they started it! Where were you when they were attacking Kev?" He stormed towards the coach, ready to pick a fight with the man until Kevin appeared in front of him.
"It's okay Javi." He said calmly. "See, I'm fine. You had my back." He smiled and for some reason, Javier's rage was instantly quelled.
Javier wrapped an arm around Kevin's shoulder and together they walked off the field. "Yeah, you're right bro, who needs 'em. You hungry? Because I could really go for some pizza."
Kevin sighed with relief. "Yeah, pizza sounds good."
"By the way, that uniform and helmet makes you look like a bobble head."
"Thanks man."
Esposito shot out of bed when he heard a loud noise. He peered over the edge in fear Ryan had made a break for it. But the Irishman hadn't moved, his legs stuck out from under the blankets and his cuffed arm pulled awkwardly to the side, his mouth hung open, he was fast asleep without a care in the world. Javier rubbed his eyes as the pounding noise persisted. He slowly made his way to the front door and pulled it open, glaring angrily at Castle's beaming face. "Castle." He grumbled. "It's too early for… well, you."
He held a bag out in front of him to soothe the tired beast. "I brought breakfast." He said slowly. "Donuts and coffee."
Well, he did like donuts. He stepped to the side and the writer entered. Esposito dug through the bag and pulled out a large chocolate glazed donut. "What do you want Castle?"
Rick glanced around the apartment noting that something was missing. "Uh, where is our little fugitive? He didn't run away did he?"
Esposito laughed. "Well, he certainly gave it his best effort." Castle raised an eyebrow and the detective shook his head. "Don't ask. He's in the bedroom, I made him sleep on the floor where I could keep an eye on him."
"Did he say anything else about the case yet?"
"No, I didn't want to push it."
Castle nodded. "That's probably a good idea. I know he's scared to talk. And he's got every right to be, I did some research on the drug trade here in the city, and the people who squeal usually end up dead… or worse."
"What's worse than dead Castle?"
"Use your imagination Espo."
"Javi!" Ryan's voice floated down the hall. "Javi… Javi I have to pee."
Esposito rolled his eyes. "I don't know what I was thinking." He grumbled. "It's like babysitting a five year old."
Castle smiled. "You were thinking that you wanted to help someone that you care about very much." Javier glared at him. "Hey, glare all you want but I know you care. I don't even know the whole story and I can see it." He fidgeted awkwardly, sometimes he forgot how observant the writer was. "You know this would make for a good plot line in one of my books. Your character could use a little more back story. Of course, it would help if I knew the whole story." He raised his eyebrows expectantly.
"Forget it Castle." Esposito snapped. "I'm not bearing my soul to you for the sake of another bestseller."
"Please." Richard whined.
"No!"
"Javi, I'm serious, I really have to pee." Ryan shouted again.
"In a minute!" Javier cried. He could only deal with one child at a time. He hadn't even had breakfast yet and he was getting a headache. He stormed back to his bedroom and dug some clothes out before unlocking Ryan's handcuffs. He placed the clothes in Kevin's hands and pushed him into the bathroom. Before he walked back to the kitchen, he stopped and grabbed the chair, shoving it under the door knob, he wasn't taking any risks. Castle watched him curiously. "Like I said, don't ask." He grumbled before digging into the bag for another donut.
Once Kevin was clean, dressed, and sitting at the table eating a powdered and jelly filled donut, Esposito left Castle in charge so he could get himself ready for work. "Don't let him out of your sight." He warned. The writer gave a dramatic salute and sat at the opposite end of the table.
After his shower Javier came out to hear the two deep in conversation. "No, no no, that's not right." Ryan was saying. "You can't just make stuff up Castle." Esposito's chest tightened. What if Castle had gone to Ryan for information on his past? Did he really want the information so desperately to go behind his back?
"I'm telling you the truth, it was a nineteenth century bullet so I figured the only explanation was a time travelling killer." The writer's words made Javier relax, they were only talking about an old case.
Ryan shook his head. "But if it was a time travelling killer there wouldn't have been rust on the bullet. It would have been brand new."
"Not unless time travel causes rust."
"You're both idiots." Esposito scoffed, making his presence known. "There was no time travel involved in that case." Javier rubbed at his neck, he remembered the case all too well.
"Yeah I know." Castle sighed with disappointment. "It would have made the story so much better. So are you guys ready? Beckett texted a few minutes ago, she wanted to know if we were on our way."
"She sure does keep you guys on a short leash doesn't she?" Ryan laughed when both men scowled at him. "Hey, I'm just saying, if I worked for her, I wouldn't let her boss me around like that."
Esposito pulled on his jacket. "Please bro, you would be the most whipped out of all of us. You can't sell that tough guy crap on me, I know better."
Kevin followed him into the elevator. "So you're admitting it, you're whipped too."
Javier froze. "Shut up." It was the best comeback he could come up with as the doors closed.
"What do you want to do today?"
Javier watched the cars pass in front of his apartment building. It was late in the fall on a lazy Friday evening. The two young friends sat on the building's steps, tossing an old football back and forth. "I don't know… what do you want to do?"
Kevin bit his lip. "If we had made that football team, we'd be at practice right now, getting ready for the game tonight. I'm sorry Javi."
He tossed the ball and Javier caught it. The thing was half deflated, he had been looking forward to playing with a new ball but that hardly mattered to him now. "Don't sweat it bro. Who wants to be on a team of assholes anyway?" He tossed the ball to Kevin, he missed the catch and fumbled with the ball until it disappeared over the side of the steps. "Hm… it might have been for the best anyway, you stink bro."
Kevin gave a sideways grin and hopped off the stairs to search for the ball. "Sorry Javi." He said again when he returned.
"Would you stop apologizing, it's annoying."
"Oh… sorry. So what do you want to do?"
Javier sighed. "This is New York City, there has to be something to do." He scanned the street and leaned forward on his elbows. "I'm hungry, let's go get something." He didn't give Kevin a chance to object before he grabbed his arm and drug him down the street and around the corner.
They found themselves in a small convenience store, listening to old music on the speakers and browsing the shelves of snacks. Kevin itched at a bandage on his arm, it covered a scrape he'd gotten during the try-outs, and shifted on his feet. "Uh, Javi… I don't have any money, do you?"
Javier picked out a candy bar and a package of jerky. "Don't worry about it, just pick something." Kevin did as he was told. He pulled down a bag of chips but Javier grabbed it from his hands and put it back. "Too noisy, pick something else." He ordered.
Kevin stared at him in confusion. "Javi what-"
"I said don't worry." Javier grabbed two more candy bars and lifted Kevin's shirt, tucking the candy in the hem of his pants. "No money, no problem." He said with a smirk.
The Irish boy's bright eyes widened. "We can't do that, that's stealing!"
Javier clapped a hand over his friend's mouth. "Shhhh!" he hissed before peering around the shelving to look at the man behind the counter. He was too busy watching a game on the small television beside the cash register to pay the boys any attention. "Of course it's stealing." He continued when he knew it was safe. He tucked the jerky away under his old sweatshirt and rolled it down. "We're kids without jobs, how else do they expect us to be able to eat anything. Are you thirsty?"
Kevin shook his head. "No, no I'm not. And I'm not hungry either, we should put this back." He followed Javier to the refrigerators, walking awkwardly with the candy bars in his pants. "Can we go?"
"In a minute." He browsed the drink selection and pulled out two sodas. He tucked one away and lifted Kevin's shirt again.
"Would you stop doing that!" He snapped, pulling away. "I am not a shopping cart."
"No, but you're skinnier, you've got more room to hide stuff. Now quit whining." Kevin gasped when a cold drink was shoved under his shirt. "Okay, now act natural." Javier grabbed one more package and shoved it up the back of his shirt before they made their way to the front.
"Javi, I don't want to do this." He whispered as they got closer to the clerk. He clung nervously to Javier's arm.
He shook him away. "Stop it! Play it cool." They reached the counter and Javier dropped a single candy bar in front of the bored looking man. He placed on a smile, before searching through his pockets. "Aw man." He said in fake exasperation. "Looks like I forgot my wallet at home, sorry man."
He smiled again and the man narrowed his eyes. "You okay kid?" He asked, nodding towards Kevin. "You're looking a little pale."
Javier laughed. "He's fine. He always looks like that." He nudged Kevin in the ribs and he nodded in agreement. "Thank you sir." He added sweetly before they walked out the door. The boys raced down the street and turned the corner.
Javier laughed out loud but Kevin still looked pale as a sheet. "I don't want to do that again." He said, unloading the food from his clothes.
The Hispanic bit into one of the candy bars. "Why not? You're a natural at it."
"I'm no thief." He countered with a pout. "And neither are you Javi, you're better than that."
Javi laughed again. "Please, stealing is what I'm best at. I'm not smart like you." He handed the candy to Kevin, who took it reluctantly.
"I don't believe that." He said through a bite. "I don't believe that one bit. You and me, we're going to be something one day. And it's going to be on the right side of the law. You'll see." Javier stared at his friend as he struggled to open the package of jerky. The funny thing was, he felt like Kevin actually believed it.
