Page 67 of Hearts of Fairlake

By the end of that weekend, I had seen most of his movies, though none had been to my taste. 'Moore Pain' had been at the bottom of my list of enjoyable movies, and I knew it was Sylas's least favorite. The plot had been threadbare to the point of being nonexistent, the characters had no real development or depth despite how hard the actors had tried to add life to them, and the violence had been over the top and unnecessary, in my opinion.

"Ah, right," Sylas said, and I had to admire his ability to restrain showing his distaste to the boy. "That was the Hollywood summer blockbuster...or at least that's what they said."

"Huh?" Gray asked, then looked surprised that the quiet, brief question had left his mouth.

"It means they expected it to be a big deal during the summer, which is when they love to push big action movies like Moore Pain."

"Oh," Gray said, looking at his feet. "My...mom got it a while ago. She liked your movies. Always said you were handsome...when Dad wasn't around. That would have made him mad."

His face scrunched painfully at the mention of his parents, and I couldn't tell if he was angry or just plain upset. I didn't know anything about Gray's past, but undoubtedly, if he’d been in the system, then it wasn’t a happy story. I wondered if my brother had chosen him simply because the boy reminded him of us somehow or if the boy's story had touched his heart and enticed him to choose him over the others.

Not that I was going to ask or would expect Felix to tell me. We had come too close to our past being leaked to the world once before, and we knew the value of privacy. Peoplewould ultimately ask those kinds of questions and I hoped that Luke, and especially Felix, were ready to field them. Well-meaning people could accidentally tread on a sensitive subject, either asking an offensive question or unknowingly making a comment that could upset Gray. It was going to be up to them to take care of those people and any fallout from Gray himself.

Sylas, however, was an expert in dealing with other people and made a point not to acknowledge the boy's discomfort. "Well, why don't you check with those two to see if you can have something from the stall? Maybe we can find out if there's another of my movies you like."

Gray looked up at him nervously before sliding his eyes over to Felix, who was smiling at him. My brother winked. “Be my guest. Sylas is a close friend, so it's probably best you get to know him while you're with us."

Gray's eyes grew wide. “Wait, youknowhim? I thought he was just...here."

"I live here," Sylas told him.

"And I'm married to him," I added, amused at the shock growing on his face. It was perfect for getting rid of that somber expression that had made him look far too old, and instead, he just looked like a kid meeting a celebrity and learning things about him that he never expected.

"Wow," Gray said, looking up at Felix and Luke. "And you two know him too?"

"Know him? That's my best friend and former boss," Luke said with a laugh. "If there's anything you want to know about him, you should ask me, not him. Because he won't tell you everything."

Felix gave Sylas a sidelong glance and then his husband. “Uh, from what I've heard, maybe you shouldn't tell him some things."

"Well, yeah," Luke said with a snort. "I know better than that. And you don't know everything anyway."

"Oh?" Felix wondered, his brow shooting up. "Am I ever going to hear those stories?"

Sylas narrowed his eyes at Luke. “If he's thinking of a couple of the things I'm thinking of, he had better not. Some things are better off going to the grave with us, thanks."

Now I was curious as well and peered at him. “DoIknow these stories you're avoiding?"

"You do not, and you will not," he said, giving Luke a dirty look. "And I'd like to think you’d be smart enough not to have brought it up in the first place."

"Why can't I know?" I wondered, not necessarily bothered by the idea of being left out but simply curious about what could be so bad that he didn't want anyone but himself and Luke to know about it. "Is it truly that bad?"

"Like...divorce worthy?" Felix wondered, now deciding to help...or maybe just be his impish self. It wasn't easy to tell. Him grinningcouldbe a sign, but it could also be a sign he was enjoying himself rather than trying to start anything.

"No!" Sylas protested, eyes wide as he stared at my brother in horror. "What the fu?—"

"Language," Louise chided, clearly listening to the conversation while helping customers.

"What thefudgeis wrong with you?" Sylas demanded, scowling at him.

"I don't think we have time for me to go over the full list," Felix said, and now I could see his grin was him stirring up trouble.

"You can swear around me. I heard it all the time," Gray said with a shrug, watching us with what I thought was confusion and interest, which...I didn't blame him. It was probably the strangest conversation he'd heard adults have, especially when two of the three were supposed to be his legal, albeit temporary, guardians.

"First of all, just because someone else does somethingwrong doesn't mean you can," Luke told him. "Secondly, there are families and really little kids here who don't need to hear Sylas' foul mouth going off."

"Oh," Gray said, looking around as if noticing the crowds for the first time. In reality, it might have been the first time he was aware of them on a conscious level rather than just background noise that stressed him out.

"I definitely think you should at least tell Grant those stories," Felix said.

---