Finding Home by Garrett Leigh

Author:Garrett Leigh [Leigh, Garrett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Triton Books (an imprint of Riptide Publishing)
Published: 2017-10-06T18:30:00+00:00

It took some negotiating, but eventually, Leo managed to persuade the girls to let him take Charlie home. Charlie drifted beside him as Leo steered him through town. He seemed happy enough—more than happy—but Leo knew the effects of X well enough to know things could go wrong at any moment. What if the pills Charlie had taken weren’t X at all? What if they’d been cut with weed killer or some shit? Leo’s veins boiled with rage for the fuck-face who’d given Charlie the drugs, but his anger felt like nothing compared to the real fear that Charlie was about to drop dead.

“I love having you as my brother.” Charlie stopped walking and turned to Leo with a soft, loopy grin. “You probably hate me because I tried to snog you, but I do love you.”

Leo swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. “I don’t hate you. Why would you think that?”

“’Cause you hate everyone, don’t you? And, ya know, I did try and snog you and . . .”

“And?”

Charlie shrugged. “Dunno. I wanted to kiss you, though. I do that, with boys . . . I want to kiss them, instead of girls.”

Leo’s own heart quickened. “You like boys?”

“Yes.” Charlie stared at Leo for a long moment, like he was waiting for Leo to say something—anything—but his attention was abruptly diverted before Leo found the words to tell him he wasn’t alone in the world. “Ooh, Leo, look. The Christmas lights are still on the market cross. Let’s go see.”

He darted away before Leo could stop him. Leo caught up to him by the stone steps that led to the focal point of Heyton’s old high street. “Nah, no way. You’re not climbing up there in this state. You’ll break your bloody neck.”

“But I want to see the lights,” Charlie protested. He tried to free himself from Leo’s restraining grip, but Leo held firm.

“There’s no lights up there. You’re tripping.”

“Tripping? Oh, I get it. I like tripping.”

Charlie stopped struggling and leaned against Leo. He was warm, like the open fire in the living room back in Swindon. “Come on,” Leo said. “We need to go home.”

Neither of them moved. Charlie’s heartbeat thudded wildly against Leo’s chest, and Leo’s own pulse sped up, like it was chasing Charlie’s. He sucked in a breath. His mouth was dry, and the memory of Charlie’s lips on his hit him like a truck. “It’s okay, Charlie.”

“What is?” Charlie turned his head and stared at Leo, his usually keen gaze clouded by whatever chemicals were wreaking havoc in his blood. “You look all serious. I hate it when you look like that.”

“Why?”

Charlie shrugged. “’Cause I know you hate it too.”

“Fair enough.” Leo forced himself to step away. “Come on. I mean it this time. We need to get home.”

The rest of the walk was thankfully uneventful. Charlie’s fascination with his surroundings faded, and by the time Fliss met them at the back door, he seemed more bewildered than anything else.

“For fuck’s sake,” Fliss said.

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