The last few months have been… a lot. Going through all of this was draining. Not only everything with my brother, but all the backlash from my family after the news came to light. My parents are in denial; not wanting to believe anything they’ve been told about Charles or what happened to me. Coming from my dad, it was expected. But watching my mother listen to me in sheer disbelief and still try to defend Charles… yeah, that was a tough pill to swallow. There were many times I wondered if we were doing all this for nothing. If we would actually be able to get him, or if, in true Charles fashion, he’d skate by and get off scot-free.
Watching him be taken away in handcuffs after the verdict was announced was surreal.
After they were able to obtain a search warrant, the police searched everything of his, and just like Jules thought, like a dumbass, Charles had incriminating information on his computer. Apparently, the garage at my parents’ old house had cameras in it. He would record all of it. Every single time he had me in that garage, every single time he had Tyler in that garage; it was all on video.
There were others too. Some underage, some not. But even if they weren’t underage, they werebarelylegal. They were able to convict not only Charles, but Richard, Tyler’s uncle.
“Bodhi!”
Glancing behind me, Jules is jogging up to where I’m at on the sidewalk. He stayed behind to talk with the attorneys and the judge—they’re apparently all friends.
“Everything okay?” I ask, wrapping my arms around his middle and breathing him in. His rich, spicy cologne calms my nerves and makes my head feel light.
“Better than okay, pretty boy. Today was a good fucking day.”
He presses a kiss to the top of my head, to which I peer up, meeting his lips with mine in a kiss that would knock me off my feet had he not been holding on to me.
It blows my mind, thinking about where I was a year ago. Almost exactly a year ago, I was meeting Jules at a hotel lounge in Raleigh, my mental health in fucking shambles, feeling so lost, I didn’t know how I’d ever be found again. The whirlwind of shit I had to go through, that we had to go through, to get to this point right now… it almost feels too good to be true.
And Jules has never once shied away from his feelings for me, not even in public. After we decided to officially become an item, I wondered if I’d remain a secret amongst his colleagues, given how he’d just lost his wife and how we’d gotten together—not that they know that—but still, he’s never kept me hidden away. Always loving me out in the open for anyone to see.
Next week, I finish my very last quarter at Duke. In seven days, I’ll be a college graduate—something I never truly believed I would ever get to say. This year really had me questioning my ability to finish my undergrad. Had the dean not been as understanding as she was about my mental health and treatment, I would’ve had to redo all my classes in the fall.
For the first time in… really, my whole life… I feel good about life. I’m hopeful and happy for the future. I don’t know where life will take me, or where it’ll take Jules and me, but I do know, wherever it is, will be good. Wholly good.
Breaking apart, we both suck down lungfuls of air. “Should we get to the house and finish clearing it out?” Jules asks with newly swollen lips.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
The lease at my house is up at the end of the month, and we aren’t renewing it. Elias moved out a few months ago. He’s living back in Savannah, much to his distaste. Camden moved out a few weeks ago. He and Vaughn moved to Atlanta. He’s starting his graduate program down there in a few weeks, and he and Vaughn are working on opening their own production studio.
That just leaves me.
I considered renewing the lease and living there by myself, but then a much better offer came my way. One I couldn’t turn down. After I finish my classes next week at Duke, I’ll be moving to Charlotte with Jules. His house is finally under contract, and we decided a fresh start in Charlotte would be good for us. He’s transferring districts, and he’s been looking at houses.We’vebeen looking at houses, I should say.
Another thing I never, ever pictured myself doing—buying a home.
Well, Jules is buying it, but semantics. Thankfully, I had enough money saved up to get me through the last six months, so I haven’t had to worry about it. I couldn’t work while I was in treatment for obvious reasons, and then by the time I got out, I honestly just didn’t have any desire to go back to doing what I was doing.
Escorting was something that probably saved me. I know that sounds ridiculous and far-fetched, but it’s true. When I first started doing it, it was for the money, and the money alone. Then came the confidence. But underneath all that, it was something else altogether.
One thing my new therapist helped me see—the one I started seeing once I got back from Blackwood Ranch—is that, in a way, being an escort was my way of subconsciously taking my power back. Yes, men paid me money to sleep with them, but at the end of the day, Ichosewho I took on as clients. Even if Giselle set up the appointments, I always knew I had the final say. I called the shots in all aspects of that job, and in doing so, I took my power back. The power I lost because of Charles and Richard, and every single other person who ever made me feel less than when I was younger.
******
It’s almost midnight. We’ve been packing and cleaning for hours since we got back here from the courthouse. We’re currently a bottle and a half deep in some expensive wine I can barely pronounce the name of, sitting in the sunroom, listening to the rain pour. The air is thick and smells of a storm, and right here, in Jules’s arms, listening to it all, is my happy place.
“Thank you,” I murmur, pressing my cheek down on the forearm across my chest.
“For what?”
“Everything.” I strain my neck back, meeting his gaze in the dimly lit room. “For never giving up on me and for being the man I never thought I was deserving to have.”
Sitting up and turning so I’m fully facing him, I add, “If it weren’t for you, today would’ve never happened.”
The left side of his lip tilts up into a crooked grin. “I think you owe yourself a little more credit than you’re giving yourself. You’ve overcome so much in such a short amount of time. You’re so much stronger than you believe, Bodhi, and I’m so proud of you.”
My entire body warms at his words. Around Jules, my emotions are always heightened. He brings out something in me I didn’t even know existed. Pair that with the wine running through my veins, but I can’t fathom spending one more secondnottouching him. Climbing into his lap, I cup his face with my palms, pressing my lips down on his.
