Page 8 of A New Chapter
Clayton emerged from the bathroom. “Better?” Rom asked.
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
Rom decided to let it go. The kid was polite, at least. If it got to the point it weirded him out, he’d handle it then. “We need to go get a couple of things for your room. Come with us so you can pick them out.”
It nearly broke Rom’s heart that Clayton looked awestruck they were going to buy him furniture, used or not. Colton knew the store’s owner, because he’d been a friend of Grammy’s. When he heard Clayton’s story, he waved all three of them toward the furniture section.
“Get him whatever he needs—no charge. And you can borrow my pickup to take it over to your place.”
“Are you sure, Arty?” Colton asked. “We aren’t looking for free.”
He shook his head. “No. Roz was there for me when I had surgery. She made sure I had someone with me at home, and helped arrange people to watch the store for me so I didn’t have to close. I’ve been wanting a way to pay her back when she wouldn’t let me. This is the least I can do.”
Well, shit. Now Rom was crying, too. They all hugged him and Arty even followed them back through the store and pointed Clayton toward stuff the boy probably wouldn’t have picked for himself.
An hour later, they had carried the new dresser, desk, desk chair, and bookshelf upstairs. Although Rom did make Arty take money for the bookshelf, because they would put that in their room for the display pieces. Rom and Colton also put Rom’s nightstands and lamps in there for him after retrieving them from the storeroom.
With that handled, the men, with Clayton’s help, dug the bed frame out and moved it upstairs and assembled it. Meanwhile, Clayton unpacked his bags, and set aside the dirty clothes to wash.
The last touch—making the bed, which Clayton helped Rom with. When Clayton sat on it, his awestruck gaze made Rom wonder if they’d ever reach the bottom of how heartbroken he felt for this boy.
“Thank you so much for this.” Clayton looked up at them. He started to say something else, but then a yawn hit him.
Rom patted him on the shoulder. “Take a nap, buddy. When you wake up, if you want to eat, we’ll make you dinner. If you sleep through the night, we’ll wake you up in the morning to go run errands.”
“Thank you.”
They both hugged him and left him so they could work on rearranging the living room. When Rom checked just a few minutes later, because Clayton had left his door open, he found the boy sound asleep.
* * * *
Colton watched Rom give him a thumbs-up and pull the door nearly shut again.
“Good,” he said when Rom rejoined him. “He looked exhausted.”
They spent two hours rearranging the living room. It was nearly nine o’clock by the time that was finished and they had everything tidied, plus they’d eaten and taken showers. The new living room configuration didn’t give them as much room as they’d had before so Rom could easily swing a flogger, but it wasn’t like they’d have as much privacy to play out there, either.
Shit.Guess we will be going to Venture on a regular basis now.
They’d need to, so he could get a spanking fix when he wanted one.
Or to Kent’s.
This situation was beyond fucked up. He was torn between numb and wanting to rage. He was about to note that to Rom when Clayton’s door opened and the boy emerged, yawning.
“Hey, there,” Colton said. “You want something to eat?”
He nodded, his eyes and nose puffy, like he’d been crying again. “Yes, please,” he softly said.
“Is it finally all hitting you?”
He nodded.
“That’s okay. I cried for a few days, off and on. And even after that. It will get easier.”
They got him seated at the kitchen table and fed him until he finally said he was full. Then, they put him on the couch between them to watch TV and decompress.
And he promptly dozed off again.
