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KWAN
Icouldn’t believe that guy had his hands on Beau, but I wasn’t going to let him hurt him again.
The past few days, I’d tried calling Beau and the more my calls went unanswered, the more concerned I’d become. I didn’t know why I had this nagging feeling something wasn’t right, and after a conversation with Hana in the restaurant last night, I’d found myself on my way to Liverpool late on a Friday night to find him.
I got lucky when I got to the club and Ty, the bouncer we’d dealt with before, was on the door. Thankfully, he recognised me and told me where Beau was likely to be, telling me to hurry.
Seeing Bernie forcing Beau to his knees had me shouting out, and when he threw him away like a piece of trash, I wasn’t going to stand by and let that happen.
I saw the surprise then relief in Beau’s eyes as he realised who I was, and he scrambled backwards across the floor towards me, out of Bernie’s reach. He stood, and I tucked him behind me, both of us backing up the corridor.
“You walk out of here now, Beau, and you’re done.” Spittle flew from Bernie’s mouth as he spoke. “There’ll be no job to come back to. You go now, and you can clear out your locker and not come back. Hell, I might even keep your last week’s wages for the inconvenience of having to find someone else. I suggest you think very carefully about your next move.”
I didn’t want Beau to lose his job, but what was the alternative? Staying here to be abused? I knew jobs were scarce, so when Beau faltered in his step, I turned my back on Bernie, looking into Beau’s eyes. They were full of fear, no doubt about his future. Should he walk up the corridor and leave this club for good or walk back into that room and keep his job? Surely he didn’t need to do this.
“You can’t seriously be thinking about staying here?” I asked, hoping he’d say no.
“I-I-I don’t have another job. If I lose this, I will lose my home.” I could see panic setting in, but no one should have to work under these conditions.
“Please don’t do this, Beau. You don’t need to deal with shit like this on a daily basis. Come with me, now.” I wasn’t above pleading at this point, but Beau seemed to shake his head and his eyes cleared.
“You’re right, I know, but what’s the alternative? Living on the street again, not knowing where the next penny is coming from? It’s alright for you, living with your parents, but I have nothing to fall back on. If I have no money, I have no home if I can’t find another job.”
“Then let me help you.” I needed him to see sense. Bernie wasn’t going to wait all night for an answer, and I wanted to get him out of here.
I could hear Bernie moving towards us. If Beau didn’t come with me, there was nothing I could or would do to help him. He had to make the decision himself. It wasn’t up to me, but we were running out of time.
He glanced over my shoulder, no doubt at Bernie getting closer. It was now or never.
“Look at me, Beau.”
With reluctance, he dragged his eyes back to mine, and finally, he turned and ran towards what I assumed was where he kept his stuff.
“Fuck you, Beau. You’re fucking done!” I could hear the anger in Bernie’s voice and knew Beau had made the right decision.
I turned to him, taking in his flushed face. The guy was going to have a heart attack if he didn’t calm down.
A deep anger filled my veins. This guy was an abuser, pure and simple, and I couldn’t help but respond to him.
“Just stay the fuck away from him. He has every right to take your arse to the police for what you’ve been doing to him. I think they call it sexual assault.”
“Yeah, well, just ask your boyfriend why he’s been doing it. He came to me willingly. I never forced him.” Saliva flew from his mouth, and a vein pulsed quickly in his neck.
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I’d seen from the look in Beau’s eyes that he hadn’t done any of it willingly. When I reached the door Beau had gone through, I was annoyed to see the damn door was shut and locked by a keypad. I had no access. I knocked, calling out his name. I needed to get in there with him.
The door opened, and he stumbled out, carrying a backpack in one hand and a cycle helmet in the other.
“You got everything?” I asked.
He nodded and, with one last glance at Bernie, walked away from his job. That sadness was back, and I thought now I might have some idea on what put it there. If what he was saying was really true, things were going to get worse before they got better. I just wasn’t sure what I could do to help.
I took the backpack from his hands and followed him to the exit, resting my hand at the small of his back. He could hardly stand.
“Ty, how does he normally get home?” There was no way I was letting him go home alone.
“He cycles in normally. What happened?”
“That wanker had him by the throat just as I got there. I told him to leave him alone, in no uncertain terms, but he told Beau if he left tonight, he’d lose his job.”
