Page 94 of Beneath His Robes

“So, this is Vegas, huh?” Elias said, breaking the silence as we passed by the rundown storefronts and crowded streets of the city.

His voice was calm, but I could sense he was taking in everything, like he was trying to adjust to this new world I was part of.

“Yeah,” I replied, my gaze flicking to him before focusing back on the road. “Not the prettiest place, but it was home.”

He nodded, but I could see the way he kept glancing out the window, his brow furrowing slightly. It wasn’t his first time in a rough area, but I knew it was different for him. A priest’s life didn’t exactly involve the city’s gritty underbelly. Not unless you counted his work helping the homeless or the community, but this…this was different.

“It’s not bad,” he said after a pause, a hint of amusement in his voice. “A little…lived in.”

“Lived in?” I snorted, glancing at him. “That’s one way of putting it. More like ‘a snap away of a grandma’s G-string.’”

Elias chuckled, the sound light and easy as if he didn’t mind the imperfections of the city.

“Only you would have some ridiculous reference like that.”

His easy laughter made me feel like maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t dragging him into something he couldn’t handle.

The car hummed beneath us as we made a few more turns, the buildings growing older, the streets narrower. I knew exactly where we were headed. It was the same place I had returned to after everything went to hell, and the same place I returned to when hadn’t quite figured out how to make things right again.

But then again, it beat the prison any day. There was still clerical bullshit they were sending me. I couldn’t begin to focus on taking the measures to get the men punished for what they did. I knew Elias wanted me to, but I just couldn’t. Thinking of that night…

It was too much.

“You’ll see,” I said, pulling into the parking lot in front of my building. “It’s not much, but it’s mine. All the random roaches and rats will be your besties in no time, too.”

I killed the engine and sat there for a moment, taking a breath before getting out. I looked over to see Elias grimace, and I laughed. The weight of having him with me, here, in this part of my life, was a new kind of pressure I wasn’t sure how to carry.

Elias took a deep breath and opened the passenger side door.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” he said, giving me a reassuring look. “Besides, I think I’ve gotten used to the idea of things being a little imperfect…especially with us.”

I glanced at him, the sincerity in his words settling deep into my chest. He wasn’t just here to visit. He was here to try, to learn who I was when I left all those years ago. He wanted to know me. And that meant something to me more than he could probably know.

I led him toward the entrance of the building. The smell of old wood and something else stale greeted us as we passed through the door. I hadn’t really noticed the odor before, but with Elias next to me, everything felt more…present.

The hallway was narrow, and the dim lighting did nothing to improve its state. The walls were chipped, peeling in some spots, but there was a certain charm to it if you looked close enough—like an old song that didn’t care about the imperfections but just wanted to be heard.

“Here we are,” I said, giving Elias a small smile as I led the way to the stairs.

Elias looked up at the steep staircase, then back at me. “No elevator?”

I shook my head, amused by his reaction. “We’re not exactly living in luxury here.”

We made our way up the stairs, the wooden steps creaking under our feet. The building was old, probably from the 1920s, maybe earlier, and you could feel it in the way it groaned with each step we took. But I liked it. It was mine. It was home, even if it wasn’t what I imagined it would be.

As we reached the third floor, I could see the faint glow of light slipping through the cracks of my apartment door. I raised my hand and knocked.

“Yo!” came a voice from the other side. “What the hell do you want?”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s me. Open up.”

After a moment, the door swung open, and Travis stood barefoot, hair a mess, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants that hung low on his hips. His eyes went wide as he saw Elias standing next to me.

“Oh, shit,” Travis muttered, looking Elias up and down, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “You’ve got your priest? You’re really out here living your best life, huh, big boy?”

I groaned, pushing past Travis before he could make this any worse.

“Can you not? Seriously?”

---