Noah was hurt.
Noah was on his way to the hospital and it was all his fault!
Josh had already destroyed his own family and now he had pitched up uninvited into their lives and done the same to them!
And his father!
His own father, always considered by many to be the level-headed one, had slammed Noah with Josh's baseball bat.
It was impossible to believe and yet it was the truth!
It was his little sister who told him. She called Luke's number using Josh's mobile phone. He'd left it in it's charger by the side of the bed.
"Josh?" she screamed, terrified. "Daddy's done something really bad! The police took him!"
He couldn't face it! His body, especially his hands shook, and he panicked because of it.
Knowing what he did about Noah, he convinced Luke he needed to fetch some books from school, and hightailed out of there as fast as he could run.
He didn't want to be there!
He couldn't be the one to tell Luke and he definitely didn't want to see the look on Luke's face when he found out!
Benoit's locker usually held a supply of weed, and it didn't let Josh down when he finally made it to the school. He grabbed the bag and fled.
Having nowhere to go, he returned to the house and waited outside until he saw Luke and his friend Casey storm out and drive off in Casey's beat-up old Ford.
Even from that distance he saw the fear on Luke's face and it made him sick. He vomited beside a nearby tree.
Returning to the house he had to sit and endure the pain of Noah's friend, Maddie, explaining what had happened, pretending he didn't already know.
And then worse the later news that Noah was blinded by the attack.
The stress made the need for a hit even more intense, but Maddie and Alison wouldn't leave him alone long enough to smoke his stash. He had to wait an entire day of agony with them, helping to entertain Nicholas and Mia, until finally, the following evening; the two woman, Jonathan and the children, fell asleep during a movie marathon.
Josh slipped outside the sliding glass door to sit on the patio and roll a smoke. He needed to think. Luke would be back in the morning and then he'd be on the streets for sure! There was no way Luke would allow him to stay after what his father had done to Noah.
"Hey…"
The sound of Luke's voice made him jump almost giving him heart failure. Luckily he had had the foresight to hold on tightly to the supplies in his hands. He hid them in his fists.
Fearing not only that Luke would discover his reason for being outside, but also the inevitable retaliation from a man who's husband was now in the hospital because of Josh, he sought immediate escape.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he tried to assure Luke. "They said you wouldn't be back tonight… I'll go…!"
But Luke slid the door closed and stood in his path.
"Here it comes!" Josh thought, and a part of him hoped Luke would punch him. He deserved it.
But Luke didn't hit him, instead he asked, "Go where?"
Josh wanted to die. Right then and there! He felt the weed staining his palms as his fingernails dug into his skin.
"Josh?" Luke was waiting for him and when Josh lifted his eyes Luke asked, "Where are you going?"
Their exchange from that point on hit Josh with such a force of guilt and relief that he found it difficult to formulate words. Luke wanted him to stay. Luke and Noah didn't blame him.
Josh was once again struck by how incredible these two men were.
And here he was, repaying their kindness by smoking it up in their back yard! He was suddenly intensely relieved he hadn't had time to light the joint. Luke would have smelt it and then it would have been all over for Josh!
He felt ashamed.
After Luke left him there, sitting on that top wooden step, Josh made a promise never to do any drug again! With great effort he chucked the weed under a berry bush and spent that night in a deep, almost painful and sleepless sweat.
...
The main office of the LA Daily Newspaper was situated in the middle of Woodland Hills in LA's diverse San Fernando Valley. The newspaper had a circulation area which included eastern Ventura County and northern Los Angeles County.
The office building itself was a strange layered, square and white concrete structure, reminding Luke somewhat of a parking arcade.
Since the newspaper boasted a history of more than 90 years, it was no surprise that the institution's facade should appear so dated.
The inside fared no better. Built in the years before businesses cottoned on to the benefits of an open-plan working environment, the LA Daily Newspaper was a rabbit's warren of small, medium and large office rooms and passage ways.
Fortunately, sometime during the 70's, some or other company president saw the desperate need for a proper functioning newsroom and thoughtfully had an extension built onto the original structure.
And it was to this extremely busy and frantic section of the building that Luke was ushered on his first day at work.
The bird-like receptionist left him standing there before he could stop her. He glanced around feeling suddenly very conspicuous.
"Luke!" he turned to find Jarvis Dimbleby swerving a path through and around his busy co-workers.
Luke smiled, relieved to finally find a familiar face amongst all the chaos. "Hello Jarvis."
Jarvis patted Luke fondly on his back, "You're just in time for the daily team briefing my boy! Follow me."
They entered a rather large and imposing boardroom, decorated with framed portraits of past editors as well as one of Jarvis himself.
A number of people, both male and female, milled around a coffee machine and selection of donuts set to one side of the room.
"Help yourself to a snack and then take a seat, Luke." Jarvis instructed. "Anywhere will do."
Being far to nervous to try eating anything, Luke chose instead to seat himself quietly halfway up the table. That way he would have a good view of his future colleagues.
Jarvis began clapping his hands, "Come on everybody, stop dilly-dallying! Get seated so we can begin."
There was a loud kafuffle of scraping seats and hurriedly finished conversation until eventually all eyes were waiting expectantly for Jarvis to begin.
"Okay! Good morning everybody! Before we begin I'd just like to welcome our newest member of staff."
All eyes feel on Luke, but it was the eyes of the woman seated opposite him that most caught his attention. She seemed to be scrutinising him with much more interest than all the rest.
"This is Luke Snyder, he will be starting as a junior reporter today. I hope you will make him feel welcome, show him the ropes and all that!"
"Luke Snyder?" the dark-haired woman asked, leaning forward to get a better view of him. "As in Grimaldi?"
Luke raised a surprised eyebrow at her.
"You are, Luciano Grimaldi, am I right?"
There was a collective gasp from a few people seated around the table.
"Now Jenna…?" Jarvis began but the women was like a fox on a scent.
"I'm sure you must have some idea as to the cause of the mob war on a Grimaldi ship not so long ago?"
Luke frowned at her.
"And I'm convinced your office bombing was somehow linked to all that too… Am I getting warmer?"
Luke suddenly recognised the women who had so relentlessly pursued him for an interview back then. He was about to speak but before he could Jarvis took control.
"I apologise for Jenna, Luke. She is our star reporter and has a specialist interest in the various gangster families in LA. But let's get to business..."
As Jarvis addressed each of his reporters in turn, so that he might be briefed on their various stories, Luke locked eye contact with Jenna and when the meeting adjourned and Jarvis escorted Luke into his private office, Luke turned angrily on him.
"Is this why you hired me?"
"I'm sorry?" Jarvis asked.
"Did you bring me onboard in the hopes I'd spill the dirt on what happened with GS?"
"Of course not, Luke! Like I told you before, I had no idea you were a Grimaldi until after I sent you that letter."
Luke spent a moment surveying the larger man. He didn't appear to be lying.
"Well," Luke stipulated. "Just so it's clear? I won't be answering any questions with regards to that chapter in my life."
Jarvis cocked his head at Luke and Luke could see that reporter curiosity flashing in his green eyes. Luke knew he was asking a lot of Jarvis. The GS story would be a huge scoop if Luke was to give them the missing answers other newspapers had spent months trying to ascertain.
Finally Jarvis relented, "Fine. Though it's a tough one for me, you understand? Would make one hell of a story! And I can't promise that Jenna wont try to wear you down."
"Well," replied Luke. "She can try but she won't get anywhere."
...
"Giddy-up horsie! Giddy-up!" Mia giggled loudly pulling on the belt Josh held between his teeth. The kids had him on hands and knees giving them both a ride around the living room floor.
Nicholas held Mia tightly around her waist, after reluctantly agreeing to give her control of the reigns.
Josh neighed and snorted loudly, much to their amusement and sped up as instructed by Mia.
The children screeched with delight and bounced up and down on his back.
"Ouch you two!" Josh complained. "Go easy!"
"Hey!" Complained Nicholas. "Horses don't talk!"
"Oh yeah?" Josh asked.
"Yeah!" Nicholas insisted.
"Yeah!" Agreed Mia.
"How do you know?" Josh asked.
Nicholas took a moment thinking about that one. "Because they never say anything."
"But," Josh countered with a smile. "…you never used to say anything to me either and you could talk."
Nicholas hopped off Josh's back at that and walked around to lower his face to Josh's, so their noses were touching. Nicholas's eyes went all squint and Josh laughed.
"But horses are animals silly!" the child stated seriously.
"He's right, you know?" Luke said, just entering the room to catch the end of the conversation.
"See!" said Nicholas with satisfaction at being proven right. If Luke said it was so, then it was so.
"Okay." Josh relented, standing as Mia also hopped off his back. "You win little guy!"
"He always seems to." Luke laughed. "Must run in the Mayer DNA or something!"
"What's D…D…?"
"DNA." Josh said.
"What's DNA?" Nicholas asked with his usual curiosity.
"It's the stuff we are made of."
Nicholas frowned, "What are we made of?"
"Mostly water." Josh informed him.
A look of amazement crossed Nicholas's face, but before he could ask anymore questions Noah arrived.
"Bath time kiddies!"
"Oh no!" Nicholas moaned.
Noah scooped him up with a smile, making the boy laugh. "Oh yes! Because you are stinky!"
"You are stinky!" Nicholas laughed back.
Noah made a great show of sniffing loudly at Nicholas's stomach.
"Nope!" Noah exclaimed, "It's definitely a stinky Nicky smell!"
"Can we have bubbles?" Nicholas chimed.
"Yes I think there is some bubble-bath there for you two munch-kins!"
"Noah did you know people are made-ded of water?"
"Really?" Still holding Nicholas, Noah turned to make his way down the passage. "Come on Mia!" he called, expecting that she would follow.
"No thank you." She replied quietly.
During their conversation she had seated herself on the floor and was paging through a book on puppies.
Noah stopped in his path and turned to watch her, frowning with a deep worry that made Josh wonder.
"Mia? It's bath time now." Noah said sternly.
Josh watched Mia with interest. Since he'd been living in the house he'd never seen her refuse Noah anything.
"Mia?" Luke tried, standing up from the table where he had sat to write. "We all have to bath baby, okay?"
Luke gave Noah a look that Josh couldn't read, but Noah left with Nicholas to start the bath and Luke approached Mia slowly.
"What's the matter?" Luke asked. "Why don't you want to bath tonight?"
Mia just shrugged.
Luke regarded her for some time and the child ignored him, just continued to page through the book.
"Mia." Luke had obviously decided to try the strict approach. "I want you to be a good girl and come with me to the bathroom now please."
To Josh's amazement there was absolutely no response from Mia.
Eventually Luke simply stepped forward and lifted her up, starting for the passage. But Mia let off such a blood-curdling scream of fear that it even brought Noah running back to the room.
Luke set her down and hugged her into him.
"Okay." He said softly. "Okay baby. It's alright. I'm sorry. Shh."
Josh watched as Luke's sad eyes locked with Noah's over the child's head. He wondered what they were communicating between themselves.
Luke nodded at Noah that he had the situation under control and Noah returned to finish Nicholas's bath.
Luke and Noah were definitely dealing with some issues with both Mia and Nicholas. Josh didn't know what they were, but he'd noticed a slight change in both of the kids.
"Okay Mia." Luke said gently, kissing her hair. "No bath tonight then, okay?"
Her little head nodded.
Josh wondered why Luke had given in so easily.
"We're just going to go to your room and get you ready for bed.
Mia nodded and Luke made to carry her off, but before he left he turned to Josh. "Noah and I might take a walk to the beach later tonight. Can you just listen out for them in case they wake up?"
"Sure." Josh nodded.
"Thanks." Luke smiled. "It's nice having you around Josh."
The familiar sense of guilt gripped Josh once more.
...
Noah placed a hand on Luke's hair, feeling it's softness and depth. His hair was like summer, like sunshine, golden apples and clear water.
Noah's eyes met his and his submerged hand lay motionless in the thickness of his curls.
He dropped his gaze to Luke's mouth, at his lips and wanted to bask in the warmth and comfort he could feel bubbling inside of him.
He kiss Luke then and pulled away with a smile, taking his hand and leading him further along the darkened sand.
They strolled alongside the ocean for a time and finally settled down on a dune that fell almost directly into the water.
Without a word, Noah turned Luke's head to kiss him once more. In the darkness it always seemed such a perfectly appropriate thing to be doing; to be inside each other's arms, kissing.
Even when he was blind he had seen those familiar flares of colour behind his eyes whenever their lips met; small bursts of orange and red.
The stress of the night's events with Mia began to ease for both of them and as usual Noah felt the strength of their connection. He was possessed of the perfect knowledge that he had, all of his life, been meant for Luke.
It was an undeniable truth Noah had known since the first time they'd declared their love for each other. And this truth was that inside, beyond the skin and his skeletal structure; deep inside, Luke had more valid a claim on his identity than he did. Luke owned him totally!
At times like these, when they felt so at one with each other, they never spoke.
They simply spent the time wrapped in the sea breeze and then eventually made a path back towards the house; quite quickly and purposefully.
Quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping children, they'd slipped into their bedroom, locking the door and leaving the lights off.
He and Luke watched each other undress, then he pressed kisses of praise all over Luke's body, feeling giddier and drunker by the minute, wanting to go on feeling drunk and naked for the rest of his life.
He revelled in Luke's satisfied murmurs and the tender way Luke held his face between his hands and kissed him into the sex, inducing Noah to follow his lead.
Luke, this beautiful man, his perfect other half.
Noah loved the satisfaction he got from being able to give Luke pleasure in bed. They were lovely, Noah thought, shivering sleepily inside Luke's arms. Even after everything, they were still perfectly lovely.
They fortified themselves for the storm they both felt coming. They would shelter each other and the kids.
...
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