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He backed up from her seething son. “I’ll just get my things,” he said softly, turning to go around the side of the house where the stairs led to his once room. He noticed Shane’s face was bright red and angry, and his body was strung tight. He didn’t want him to get into any trouble either, especially not over him.
“Thank you for the walk, Shane. I appreciate it,” Llew said shakily. “Can you point me towards the nearest hotel, please?” This night was a catastrophe. He knew now he’d never be able to get his life together, not unless he went to a big city like New York or Miami. A place where there were thousands of sex offenders and no one could even keep up with the registration. But it was going to take a while for him to get approval from his PO for another transfer. Llew loved everything about quaint small towns, but they couldn’t be for him any longer. He had to live in a place where he’d be lost in the crowd, so no one would ever notice him. He thought of being so far away from Leslie, too, and it only made the pain crippling, so he stamped it down for now. He’d deal with one disappointment at a time.
“Your life after prison. It ain’t gonna be easy Llew, but that don’t mean you can’t make it.” He tried to remember everything his counselor ever said to him, tried to hold onto those words for times like this.
“No. No Llewellyn, you’re not leaving.” Ms. Pat shuffled past her son. “Just go on up to your room, honey. I’ll handle this mess, then you can come down for dinner and we’ll talk, okay. Okay, Llewellyn?” She gently patted his cheek, and he managed to give her a slight nod, and what may have passed for a smile. With her hands on her hips, she turned and added, “Smith Jr., you go on up with him. I don’t need you and Jim getting into it right now.”
They both rounded the corner of the house just as the sheriff was walking up the walk to the porch to talk to Ms. Pat. Llew hoped she could handle it, but he wasn’t optimistic… not yet. The sheriff might just talk her into giving him back his rent and sending him on his way. Most likely his probation officer had shared the details of his crimes with local law enforcement.
He took his key out, and had to try a couple times to get it in the lock. Shane’s presence behind him was only slightly reassuring, but he was kind of waiting on him to drop a bomb on him, too. Llew went inside and flicked the light switch on the wall, illuminating his empty room. Well at least he didn’t have any furniture to transport. He went to the closet, pulled his duffle bag from the top shelf, and started yanking down the few items of clothing he had hanging up, throwing them inside.
“Llewellyn, what are you doing? You heard Ms. Pat. You don’t have to go. Jim don’t run this house, she does. I know Ms. Pat, she’s strong, and a great judge of character. If she’s comfortable with you staying here, then it won’t be long before everyone else gets comfortable, too. She’s a big influence around here. Her father helped build this town. She’s also my mom’s best friend and my godmother, which is why me and Jim don’t get along so well. I always picked up his slack when he fell short in the son department. All he likes to do is bitch and throw his name around, but he’s all bark and no bite.” Shane tugged on Llew’s arm, stopping his packing. “Come here.”
Llew sighed and stood back up. He brought both hands up and hooked them on the top of the doorframe, looking down at Shane. Something in Shane’s eyes made him want to do anything for him, anything that would keep him looking at him like that. He watched as he came closer and closer until Shane’s head was tilted up to look at him.
“Don’t go okay?” he whispered, standing close enough that his breath ghosted over Llew’s chin when he spoke. “Stay, please.”
“Why?” Llew asked, his voice dark and full of hurt.
Shane shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know yet. But… just don’t go, alright. I need to get over to my parents’ place for dinner, I’m already late. But, um. I’ll see you at work tomorrow, seven sharp.” Shane give a him a cute wink. “Don’t be late either, your boss is a real ballbuster.”
Llew ducked his head and smiled.
Shane backed up and snorted a startled breath. “Wow. You look so different when you smile.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head like he was searching for the right words. “Not better… just different.”
