Nash

It’s not uncommon to have a teenager walk through the doors of Rainbow House looking rough, even having an injury or two. It never ceases to wrench my gut to know that the people these kids trusted most in the world betrayed them.

When I see the young girl step through the front doors with a split lip and a black eye my heart breaks for her. She can’t be more than sixteen, skinny and terrified.

“Hey, welcome to Rainbow House, come on in,” I greet her in my best ‘I’m friendly’ voice. I learned early on that most of the kids who come here for help have been abused, sometimes even sexually. And, the sight of a large man such as myself isn’t always the most soothing thing to be met with.

She looks up at me and something about her light blue eyes hits me right in the chest. They look just like Royal’s. The way she’s looking at me with a combination of fear and hope, takes me back to the day when we were only eight and Royal snuck through my bedroom window with a black eye from his father. He tried to convince me to help him lie to his mother, pretend he got the injury from roughhousing with me. I refused. I told his mom the first chance I got that his dad had hit him, and that it wasn’t the first time it had happened. She cried and promised Royal that he’d never be hurt by his father again. And that was the last we ever saw of Mr. King.

“I’m looking for someone. I think my brother might be here,” the young girl says.

It’s not surprising that she might already have a sibling taking refuge here from whoever is abusing them. But it’ll be a cold day in hell before I let her walk out of here with her brother back into the arms of their abuser.

“Why don’t you come sit down and we can talk, then I’ll help you find your brother,” I suggest.

She gives a jerky nod and follows me toward one of the semi-private areas off to the side of the lobby. It’s still in full view of the front door and people walking by, so hopefully she’ll feel comfortable with me.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“I’d rather see my brother,” she says in a small voice.

“Okay, who’s your brother?”

“His name is Royal, I’m pretty sure he works here.”

My mouth falls open at her admission. No fucking way.

“Uh, Royal? Are you sure?” I ask.

She lets out a small laugh.

“You don’t forget a name like Royal King.”

“Um, how...uh...does Royal know about you?” I stumble over my question, trying to get my bearings.

“No. He’s my half-brother, but we’ve never met. I don’t see why he would know about me. I only know about him because my dad used to get drunk and cry about his mom, Maryanna Helms. I got curious, so I looked her up on Facebook. That’s where I found Royal. He posted pictures of himself here and a lot of fundraising stuff, so I thought he might be here.”

“Okay.” I take a deep breath, finally wrapping my head around the situation. “Well, it’s your lucky day because Royal is my...roommate.”

Her eyes light up.

“Really? Can you take me to him? If he wants me to leave after that, I promise I won’t bother him,” she vows.

“Of course, come on.” I nod my head for her to follow me. “I’m Nash, by the way,” I tell her once we’re in my car.

“Thanks for helping me, Nash. I’m Clara,” she says her own name with a hint of distaste.

On the way home I try to call Royal several times but he doesn’t answer. Guess he’s going to get a big fucking surprise. When we pull up out front I notice Zade’s car in the driveway. No wonder he wasn’t answering his phone.

“Um, maybe you should wait on the porch for a second,” I suggest when we reach the front door. The last thing I need is to scar this poor girl for life if Zade and Royal are getting loud, or fucking in the living room. My cock swells at the thought. Dammit, this is not the time.

I step inside and find Royal and Zade on the couch, but instead of being naked and sweaty, they’re cuddling and watching Entourage.

I walk up behind them and Royal tilts his head back to look up at me. He puckers his lips for a kiss and I lean down to oblige. Then I turn my head and plant a kiss on Zade’s lips as well.

“You didn’t answer your phone.”

“Sorry, I must’ve left it in my bedroom. What’s up?”

“You’re not going to believe this,” I warn him. “But I brought someone here who needs to talk to you.”

Royal’s eyebrows furrow and Zade cocks his head in confusion. I hold up my finger to tell them to wait a second and then I return to get Clara. I notice her hands are shaking as she takes a tentative step into the house.

“Don’t worry, Royal’s a great guy,” I assure her in a whisper.

Royal and Zade stand up and come around the couch to meet us. They both take in Clara’s injuries and look to me with questioning gazes. Clara hardly looks at Zade, she’s staring right at Royal with tears in her eyes, opening and closing her mouth like she can’t quite get the words out.

“Royal, this is Clara,” I introduce her. “She says Ray King is her father.”

Royal gasps and understanding dawns in Zade’s eyes. Without a word Royal steps forward and pulls Clara into a hug.

“I won’t let him hurt you again,” he vows, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

A broken sob escapes Clara as she melts into Royal’s embrace, burying her face in his shoulder and starting to cry.

“Why don’t you guys have a seat and talk while I make something to eat. I bet you’re hungry, Clara,” Zade offers.

“Thanks,” Royal says, pulling back from the hug and reaching out to Zade to give his hand a quick squeeze.

“I can go help him,” I suggest, but Clara reaches out for me.

“Stay.”

“Okay, why don’t we sit down,” I steer her toward the chair next to the couch and then Royal and I sit down on the couch so we can face her. Royal reaches for my hand and laces our fingers together. Clara’s eyes dart to the move before she looks back up at Royal.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” He asks in a gentle tone.

Clara’s legs bounce and her eyes dart back to my and Royal’s intertwined hands and then back to our faces.

“My dad, Ray, hit me because…” she stops and takes a deep breath, eyes darting toward the kitchen where Zade is.

Royal reaches his free hand out and places it on Clara’s.

“You don’t have to worry about anything here. None of us would ever hurt or judge you, I promise.”

Clara nods and takes another deep breath.

“He looked at the history on my computer and found a chat log in a transgender chat room, where I was asking people where I could get testosterone without going to a doctor because I couldn’t let my dad know.” Clara sniffles and runs her hand under her eyes to wipe away tears. “He told me if I wanted to be man, I’d be treated like one. Then, he punched me.”

“I won’t let him hurt you again,” Royal promises for a second time. “You can stay here and we’ll figure everything out from there. Okay?”

“Thank you,” Clara looks at Royal in awe. “I can’t believe how nice you are.”

“No need to thank me, you’re family.”

“Which means you can come to Nash and me with anything you need, too,” Zade says, coming into the living room at the tail end of the conversation.

I have a sudden flare of affection toward him. He doesn’t even know what’s going on, but he doesn’t hesitate to offer his help.

Clara nods.

“Hey, Clara...is there a different name you prefer?” I ask, remember the reluctant way she told me her name in the car. It makes a lot more sense now, knowing she’s transgender. I make a mental note to do some research on being transgender.

Clara looks taken aback before she gives me a wide smile.

“Liam,” she answers, shyly.

“Liam it is,” Royal agrees. “You can have my bedroom and I’ll move into Nash’s room,” he looks to me to confirm that’s okay. I give him a ‘duh, of course’ look.

“Your bed is bigger, Liam should take my bed and I’ll move into your room,” I argue. “And, that’ll work for a minute, but we’ll need a bigger place soon.”

“Let’s go shopping and get you clothes, and whatever else you need, and then I’ll start looking into finding a lawyer to figure out custody stuff,” Zade suggests.

Royal gives him a grateful look.

“You don’t need to buy me anything,” Liam argues.

“Don’t be silly, you need clothes and toiletries, and god knows what else.”

“I put a pizza in the oven, we can eat and then go,” Zade suggests.

 

Liam’s reluctance turns to hesitant excitement when we get to Target and I steer him immediately toward the boys section to pick out clothes.

“I can get this stuff?”

“You can get anything you want. Sorry if I made an assumption, we can do the girls section if you prefer,” I tell him.

“No,” Liam reaches toward a rack of polo shirts with a smile. “I just can’t believe this.” His hands shake as he picks out clothes, smile never fading. “Do you think...um…can I get my hair cut?”

“Heck yeah,” Royal agrees. “Nash has been cutting my hair for years, he can do it if you want.”

Liam’s eyes widen and he nods.

“Yeah, I want my hair like yours.”

“I’ll do it when we get home,” I offer.

Liam lights up and sets about picking out an array of jeans, graphic tees, and polos. I reach over and take Royal’s hand as we wait, and Zade does the same. Surprisingly, I’m unconcerned about what people may think about the three of us holding hands.

 

When we get home Royal and Zade offer to start moving my stuff into Royal’s room while I grab scissors and clippers and take Liam into the bathroom to cut his hair.

“So are the three of you guys all together?” Liam asks as long strands of hair flutter to the ground around him.

“Um, yeah.”

“How’s that work?” he asks with curiosity.

“To be honest, I’m not sure yet. This is pretty new for us. I didn’t even know I liked guys until a few weeks ago,” I admit with a laugh.

“Dang, jumping in with both feet, huh?” Liam laughs. “I like guys, in case you were wondering or anything.”

“That’s cool.”

“People get weirdly confused about gender identity versus sexual preference,” Liam explains with a laugh.

“People are dumb, and nosy. Don’t worry about other people.”

“You guys are really nice,” Liam says quietly.

“You’re family, we’re more than happy to do anything to help you. You might have to bear with us a little because this is going to be pretty new for all of us. But we’re going to get this figured out. You won’t have to deal with Ray again,” I promise.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

When I’m finished Liam gazes into the mirror in wonder. Then, he wraps his arms around my waist and hugs me.

When he pulls back there are tears gleaming in his eyes.

“I’m going to go get settled into my room if that’s okay?”

“Heck yeah, if you need anything give us a shout.”