More Than a Thousand Words by Ann Somerville

Author:Ann Somerville
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: violence, crossdressing, mm, gay romance, homophobia, paranormal elements, lbgt, bisexual romance
Publisher: Ann Somerville

Chapter 6

Luce should have called Steve back and apologised, but he was too raw and shaken up to do it. Chun had called not half an hour before to say someone had tied her to Luce through his page, traced her brother from her personal Facebook page, and found him making shitty comments about her being really a man and that her boyfriend was really gay. Abusive comments had been posted on her page as fast as she could ban and report them. Luce told her to leave the administration of his page to Angela and to go private, but he was shaking with anger that she had been targeted. This was what Steve didn’t get. The haters didn’t have to come after him with a knife to hurt him. All they had to do was attack the people he cared about.

An hour later, after a glass of wine, he texted Steve. Sorry, I’m being a bitch. Not your fault. Let me get over this. Might take me a week or two.

Steve replied in seconds. I’ll be there when you do. Always thinking of you.

Which lifted Luce a little, but not enough. He couldn’t start work on the shop until Tuesday, and probably not before the end of the week, beyond boarding up the windows, because of the difficulty of finding the necessary tradesmen over the Bank holiday and after. He and Angela had come up with the idea of having a poster printed to go over the boards to explain what had happened and to ask for donations to charity as a way of offering support, but he hadn’t been able to think clearly enough to even start on wording it.

Then Chun had rung, and that was the evening shot to bits as far as work went. He just wanted to see Chun and hug her and comfort her, and only the knowledge that her boyfriend would do that for her, stopped him cabbing it to Barking to see her. He couldn’t tell Steve about it because it wasn’t his secret to pass around. Even Angela didn’t know, although she might find out from comments on the Facebook page. For tuppence he’d delete the fucking thing, but it was an important form of communication between him and his audience, Angela said. Too important to get rid of, even now.

For the first time in several years, he really wished he could talk to his mum about all this. She had never judged him, never told him he was bad or dirty or wrong. She hadn’t really understood him, but that was okay. She had listened to him talk, and hadn’t asked for anything in return except his company. But she was dead and Luce was alone, and he really, really needed a hug right now.

~~~~~~~~

Apart from that one text, Steve hadn’t heard a word from Luce before Hannah was due back at Heathrow. Steve had written a couple of emails, one before the police announced they had a suspect in custody, and one after, but hadn’t had a reply to either.

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