Driving back into the city, I thought about Leda. To say she was gorgeous would be an understatement, but beauty itself wasn’t what captivated me about her.

It was in her eyes. There was such longing in them. Her need to be disciplined, to be submissive, to be punished was palpable. As I’d traced my fingers over the raised welts on her skin, I felt her flesh come alive. I recalled the sadness in her eyes as she’d told me her scene had been a disappointment.

Much like mine had been.

As I pulled up to the valet, I walked into my building.

“Mr. Grantham, good to see you’re back.”

I mumbled a greeting and went up to my penthouse.

Turning on the light switch, I tossed my keys onto the counter. This wasn’t the first time after a failed Initiate Night I wondered what my life would’ve been like had I not been born into Seven. After all, Seven had brought my parents together and ultimately, drove them apart.

“Pack your things, Colt.” My mother was racing around our house frantically stuffing things into suitcases.

“Why, Mom?” I asked not moving a muscle from the couch where I was deeply involved in playing the latest Nintendo game.

“Because I said so, that’s why!” She snatched the controller from my hand clicking the game off.

“Mom! I worked all day to get to that level!” I cried out in frustration. Now Josh was going to beat me. I would never hear the end of it.

“I don’t care, Colt. We have to leave.”

Sitting up, I glanced around the house. Everything was in disarray as my mother had been tearing through the house gathering all our belongings.

Fear began to build within me as I slowly walked upstairs to my bedroom. My sister, Christina had already filled her two pink suitcases with her dolls and toys. As I passed my parents’ room, I noticed that only half the dresser drawers had been opened.

All my father’s things remained in place.

My stomach coiled tightly as I took my two blue suitcases and began to fill them with my Nintendo games and my clothes. I knew something was very wrong, but I refused to cry.

“Colt! Christina! Are you both packed? Aunt Nita will be here to get us soon.” My mother dashed up the stairs her long brown hair falling out of the ponytail she’d tied it back in. Her blue tank top was covered with dust and grime.

Holding my suitcases tightly, I finally dared to ask her.

“Mom, where are we going?”

She swallowed hard and took my sister and me in her arms.

“Babies, we have to leave. We’re moving away.”

“How far?” My little sister began to cry. She was such a baby.

I fought back tears myself as I stared at her. I wasn’t a baby anymore. I was almost ten years old.

Too old to cry, I thought.

I stiffened up as my mother tried to hug me.

“I don’t want to move, Mom. Josh and I are going to meet up to play basketball later at the park. He’ll be mad if I’m not there.”

Her eyes misted with tears.

“I’m sorry, Colt, but we’re moving in with Aunt Nita for a while.”

Fury took the place of fear within me. I felt rage churning inside me.

“I’m not going. I’m staying here with Dad.”

She shook her head grabbing my hand.

“No, you’re not. You’re coming with me, and that’s final.” She tugged me down the hallway as I dragged my suitcases behind me. My little sister, still sobbing, followed us holding her baby doll.

When we got to the bottom of the stairs, I wrestled myself free from her and bolted up the stairs rushing into my parents’ room. I snatched a porcelain figurine from the dresser and stuffed it into my shirt.

“Colt! Come back here!” I heard my mother storming after me. I crawled beneath the bed and hid. I saw her black and pink Nikes as she looked through the room.

“Colt, are you hiding? Now is not the time for games!”

A slight giggle escaped my lips. I clasped my hand over my mouth and held my breath.

“Colt!”

Just then, I heard the front door slam.

“Vivian! Are you ready?”

I recognized my aunt Nita’s voice. My sister was talking to her saying something I couldn’t understand.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp tug at my ankles yanking me out from beneath the bed.

“Colton! How dare you hide when you know I’m looking for you? This isn’t a game, honey. We have to leave now before your father gets home.”

Stubbornly, I held onto the bed post as she tried to pull me from the room.

“NO! I don’t want to go with you. Leave me here with Dad.” I cried. Tears were beginning to form in the corners of my eyes despite my best efforts to be a man and not cry.

Falling to her knees in front of me, she took my hands into hers. I loved the way her hands felt so soft and warm in my own. Her perfume was sweet, and I inhaled without thinking. I didn’t want to be mad at her, but I didn’t want to leave my home either.

The only home I’d ever known.

I looked over at my father’s closet which remained untouched. All his expensive suits hung there. Glancing at the dresser, I saw one of his many Rolex watches ticking away the minutes.

I swallowed hard yanking my hands from hers. I clutched the small bulge of the figurine in my shirt.

“Baby, I want you to come with me. I know you can’t possibly understand why we have to leave, but we do. Daddy and I just aren’t getting along anymore.” Her eyes reddened as tears flowed freely down her face.

“But why?” I whispered. I loved our home. It was huge and sprawling covered in stone resembling a castle, or so I thought at the time. My mother said it was a ‘Norman Tudor’ house.

But most of all, I didn’t want to leave my Dad.

“Daddy isn’t as nice as he should be to me. I want to leave.”

“Will I ever see him again?” The tears began to drip down my cheeks.

She nodded.

“Of course.”

“Does Dad know we’re leaving?”

She bit her lip and looked away.

“Kind of. It’s very complicated, baby.”

The door flew open and my aunt Nita stood there holding my sister’s hand.

“Shouldn’t we be going now, Vivian? Hunter will be home anytime, won’t he?”

My mother glanced at her watch and nodded.

“Yes, he will. Come on, kids, we need to go. Colt, I promise you will see your dad again soon.”

I stood hugging the figurine to my chest beneath my shirt. Aunt Nita touched my shoulder gently.

“Colt, please come with us. I know you love your dad, but it’s best if you come with us now. I have the newest Nintendo game at my house all hooked up and ready for you.”

My eyes widened. That game just came out in stores yesterday. It was impossible to get as my friend, Josh’s mom had been trying all day. He’d be so jealous.

Reluctantly, I followed them. I cast one more glance behind me at the Rolex on the dresser. I remembered that watch was very special to him as it had belonged to his father and grandfather. He’d told me one day it would belong to me.

My mother switched the light off and hurried down the stairs. She stopped at the door and undid the black collar she always wore. She dropped it at the door as she ushered us away from the house.

As we drove away in my aunt’s Mercedes, I stared out the window looking back at our house getting further and further away. My sister seemed not to mind in the least playing with her dolls on the seat next to me.

“What’s that, Colt?” My sister asked poking at the bulge in my shirt.

Pulling it out, I gazed down at porcelain figurine of an eagle poised in flight. I stroked it lovingly.

“It’s an eagle.”

“Looks like a bird to me,” she said reaching out to touch it. I yanked it away.

“An eagle is a bird, dummy. A special bird,” I murmured.

Smiling, I recalled what my dad had said when he brought the figurine home.

“What is that, Dad?”

He slapped my hands away as I tried to grab it.

“It was your grandfather’s. It’s very special.”

Peering at it, I didn’t see anything at all special. It just looked like a statue of a bird.

“What’s so special about it, Dad?” I’d asked taking a finger and lightly touching the brown wings.

“It’s an eagle.”

“Isn’t an eagle just a bird?” I wondered aloud.

“Most birds fly together. They don’t usually venture off on their own, but eagles…they soar high above the clouds. They never surrender to any prey regardless of size or strength.” My dad’s blue eyes shone with pride as he sat the figurine on his dresser. I admired the way the brown wings spread so wide and the sharpness of the bird’s eyes.

“It was Grandfather’s?” I asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

He nodded.

“And one day it will be yours just like this watch. Everything I have is to be yours, Colt. I will take you to Seven and show you things when you are older.”

“Seven?”

He waved his hand.

“It’s a very special place I will take you to when you’re older. It’s like a secret club that only members can see.”

I nodded eagerly.

“Like the secret clubhouse Josh and I built in the woods? Johnny Sizemore wanted to join, but we said no.”

My father laughed and rubbed my head. I stared at the curious tattoo on his hand. It looked like two half circles.

“What’s that?”

“That is another thing I will show you when you’re old enough. It’s a mark that all male members of Seven have.”

“All male? Do you let girls into your club?” I was horrified at the thought of girls decorating the place all kinds of dumb pink things.

He laughed.

“Oh yes, we do. It’s where I met your mother.”

My eyes widened as I thought about that.

“And yes, son, that’s a story for another time.”

I let the water run off my back as I looked down at my own left hand seeing the same tattoo my father had had.

Dark sexuality steeped in tradition was the legacy he’d given me.

And the one I’d proudly carry on.