Page 64 of Away Game

“What do we have here?” Our heads whipped up to find a man with the same black hair and eyes as Fin, but that was where the similarities ended. Where Fin was handsome, his dad looked as if he hadn’t smiled a day in his life with deep frown lines marring his face.

“As if it isn’t bad enough that my son is trying to get some blue-collar job and everyone in Santa Lucia knows about it, I come here to find you sucking some boy’s cock. I should have known my son is a good-for-nothing fag. Could you be any more of a disappointment?” His mouth curled up in a snarl.

Grabbing the blanket, Fin threw it across both our laps and glared up at his dad.

“You’re no longer my son. I’m telling everyone you were adopted and came from filth, and you were a lost cause. I tried my hardest, but it was never going to be enough to fix you. Your mother will be so upset to learn I found you in bed with another man.” With each word, his face became redder and redder with anger until he looked like he was going to explode.

“If you’re so disgusted, why don’t you stop looking at my boyfriend’s dick like you want to suck it yourself,” Fin snarled, moving to get in front of me. I loved the possessiveness he exuded while hiding me from his father, but what the hell was he doing?

Looking around Fin, I tried to somehow appeal to his dad and show him who his son really is. “Mr. Huntington, Fin is a wonderful person. If you gave him a chance—“

“And the fact that you were with this… this, I don’t even know what he is,” Fin’s father interrupted me. The way he looked at me made my skin crawl. I was beneath gum on his shoe.

“I don’t care what you say. This man here,” Fin pointed at me. “Loves me for me. Accepts me even though he knows all of my bad, and I mean all of it. Something you should have done all my life as my father.”

“You’re fucking pathetic,” his father spit out at Fin. “Don’t bother ever coming back to Santa Lucia. You’re not welcome there, not that you ever were. And you can forget the job, if it’s up to me, I’ll make sure you’re jobless for the rest of your life. You can rot on the street.”

I sucked in a breath. Most wouldn’t even talk to their worst enemy like that, and Mr. Huntington stood there, saying these horrible things about his own son. Now I understood why Fin was distancing himself from his family. “What the hell did he ever do to you? He’s your son.”

“Not anymore.” I watched in stunned silence as Fin’s dad turned around and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

I turned, expecting Fin to be upset. Hell, maybe even crying because I knew if anyone, family or not, said those things about me, I’d be a ball on the floor sobbing. That shit was beyond harsh. Instead, he sat motionless, looking down at the floor.

Wrapping my arms around Fin, I rested my head on his shoulder and held him for what felt like hours before he finally moved and came back to himself. With one arm around my waist, he pulled me down as he laid down on the bed. I rested my head on his calmly beating heart while Fin stared up at the ceiling.

“I’m sorry you had to hear that. Now you can see why I’m so fucked up,” he said in a monotone voice, showing how much he truly believed in his words. He’d changed since we’d been together and become a happier person. It wasn’t only me who’d noticed. Everyone in the house had, and while they had a pretty good idea why, they didn’t say anything. They were happy to have a mostly happy-go-lucky Fin in the house, especially after how dark he’d gotten after hurting his shoulder.

“Every word he said was a lie,” I kissed his chest over his heart. “Don’t let him get in your head. Who cares if he doesn’t want you as family? You’ve got me and mine, and Oz’s. You’ve got more than he’ll ever have.”

“Oh, yeah.” He let out a soft huff. “And what’s that?”

“You’ve got people who love you, and while I might not be able to do anything about his threat, Oz and Ford sure as hell can. While your dad might think he’s the most powerful son-of-a-bitch in Southern California, he’s delusional. Even if he somehow makes you lose the job, you were too good for it, anyway.”

Fin hugged me to him but didn’t say a word. I understood, though. It was hard for Fin to express his emotions since while growing up, he was never able to. He didn’t know the correct way to act, and if he felt vulnerable, which was a foreign concept to Fin, he stayed silent. It meant a lot that he let me stay with him.

Eventually, his breaths evened out, and Fin fell asleep with me in his arms.

A noise out in the hall woke me up. I slid out of Fin’s bed and quietly opened the door. I was shocked to find Oz standing there with a scowl on his face, which wasn’t the norm for him. There was rarely a time I didn’t see him happy, so I was immediately on guard.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I slipped out the door and into the hallway.

“Is Fin, okay? My dad called me and said Fin’s dad was calling everyone he knew to say…” he closed his eyes and looked as if he was about to crumble into himself. “These awful things. And I…”

Oz seemed to be at a loss for words on how to describe what he heard. I might have been the same way if I hadn’t heard it all with my own ears. When he opened his eyes once again, they were glassy with sadness. Fin and Oz were like brothers, and to see him hurting for his friend reminded me of the retched words Fin’s dad had spoken when he’d been here.

“His dad showed up unannounced and found us in a compromising situation.”

“Oh shit,” Oz laughed and put his hand over his mouth. It didn’t matter, though; I could still see the sparkle in his blue eyes as he found humor in what happened.

“My dad is outraged.” Oz looked toward the door, leaned in, and spoke so no one else would be able to hear. The house was quiet, making me wonder what time it was. “Both of my parents are, and so is half the town. Everyone knows Cassius Huntington is a damn liar spouting off that Fin isn’t his biological son.”

“I felt so bad for Fin having to hear him say those words to him. What father does that to his own son?”

“He’s never been a father to him. I’m so glad Fin has you. Otherwise, I’m not sure how the whole thing would have gone down. If this had been last year, Fin would have decked his dad and then would have probably been thrown in jail.”

“Well, his dad wouldn’t have found out he was gay back then, and I’m not sure how Fin feels about him finding out now either,” I admitted.

“Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” Fin said from the doorway. Oz and I both turned to see him standing there, and his entire demeanor seemed lighter. He stood tall and proud. “It’s over and done with, and now I can go and live my life. I don’t care what he thinks about me anymore. You were right, West. I have you, Oz, and his family, and that’s all I need. Well, I do need a job so I can eat and pay rent.”

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