Tuesday, October 30th

     Calix had taken Jesse home without asking questions as to why he was crying, or why half of his face was bruised. He didn't try to calm him down while they were outside in the freezing cold. He just told Jesse to hop onto the back of his bike, and took him home in silence.

It didn't go unnoticed that Calix had left in the middle of the night, and Jesse assumed it was because Calix had told either one of his parents that he was going to see Jesse after he had gotten a call from him.

Calix was like that. He didn't sneak out in the middle of the night, not even to pick up a friend.

He had, however, requested for his parents not to ask questions, and while he took Jesse to his own room, his parents went back to bed after making sure Calix would wake them up if needed.

Jesse felt jealous over Calix' relationship with his parents. He wanted to feel as supported and loved as Calix was. He didn't want a fake father who'd beat him up or kicked him out of the house.

But Jesse was thankful for his friendship with Calix nonetheless. No matter how hard it was to be with him in his bedroom, still feeling enamoured by him. No matter how much Jesse felt ashamed for what had happened between him and his father.

Never had Felipe lashed out at him the way he had done that night.

"What happened?" Calix asked as soon as Jesse had curled up in his bed, with the covers pulled over half his face.

"I got arrested, and Feli... Dad lashed out at me."

"So, you were home because you got arrested, not because they took you back in?" Calix remained calm, sitting down on the other side of his bed. Calix always gathered as much information as possible before drawing conclusions or forming opinions.

"Yes."

"Why did you get arrested?"

"Loek took me out to make graffiti art and we got busted," Jesse explained with a small voice. "Felipe lashed out completely after he and Mom picked me up at the police station. Said he needed to discipline me for refusing to listen."

"So, your father caused the bruises?"

"Yeah, and that's something I haven't explained yet. I said I was kicked out over my tattoo..."

"Yes?" Calix' encouraged him to go on.

"Mom called me to meet up because she wanted to talk, about two days after I got kicked out. She told me Felipe isn't my biological father and that's why he hates me as much as he does."

"Wait, so he was right when he said you weren't his son?" Calix frowned. "Why didn't your mother tell you before?"

"I guess she didn't want to make me feel unwanted. But I do feel unwanted. My biological father didn't want kids so he left her, and she went back to Felipe and he acknowledged me as his son on my birth certificate, but I'm not his and apparently I remind him of the fact that he almost lost Mom for good," Jesse said, sighing deeply.

"That still doesn't give him the right to beat you up like this." Calix pulled away the cover, forcing Jesse to turn his face so he could look at the bruise on his temple. "Is there more?"

"My ribs hurt a little, and I sprained my ankle when I tried to run from the cops."

"Show me, I want to make sure you don't need any serious medical attention."

Jesse rolled his eyes, but reluctantly agreed, throwing the cover off. He pulled up the sweatpants Calix borrowed him to show his ankle, and Calix carefully grabbed hold of his foot.

"Does this hurt?" he asked as he carefully turned his foot.

Jesse yelped in response, but mostly because he wasn't expecting it. He was too focussed on the fact that Calix was touching him. He didn't get the tingles in his skin, or the butterflies in his stomach.

No, Jesse felt nothing.

Which was why he wasn't paying attention. He was too confused by how he was now immune to Calix touches, while before, he nearly combusted when Calix touched so much as a shoulder or arm.

"This?" Calix turned his foot the other way, and Jesse bit his lip, but shrugged. The pain wasn't too bad. Nothing he couldn't handle.

"I think it's just sprained," Calix told him after a few more tests. "But if the pain gets worse, you need to think about seeing a doctor."

"I think it'll be fine," Jesse replied, pulling up his shirt to look at his ribs. There were faint bruises left and right, but nothing bad. "He didn't break anything."

"Still, he abused you physically. Not to mention the years of mental abuse and neglect. You need to do something about that guy."

"What, Calix? Sue him? Because then I'm sure I'll be able to go and live back home again. I'm 17, I can't stay with you forever."

"I thought you were staying with Loek. Why did you even call me, not him?"

"Because he left me, Cal," Jesse grumbled, feeling angry all over again. "He left me behind when we were running from the cops."

"What?" Calix frowned, seemingly very surprised. "That doesn't sound like Loek, for as far as I know him."

"Well, he did anyway, and I'm not going to stay with him any longer. I'm too angry."

"Is that the only reason, though? Or are you hurt because you like him?"

"I don't like him," Jesse lied, annoyed because Calix started about his feelings for Loek. "He left me behind, we're over, I don't want to see him again." Jesse stubbornly crossed his arms, pouting like a little kid, causing Calix to smirk.

"Fine, whatever you say." He shrugged, and then got up, took off his hoodie and socks, and walked to his bedroom door. "I'm getting you an ice pack for that ankle, and then we'll go to sleep. We can talk more in the morning."

     Calix was out of bed way before Jesse. Jesse was surprised when he woke up, because he saw that school had started long ago, and he expected Calix to have left without him, offering him a bit of rest, but when Jesse had wobbled his way down the stairs with a stiff, swollen and painful ankle, he found Calix in the kitchen with his mother.

They both looked up from the books they were reading—Calix seemingly reading something required in English class—and smiled.

"Why are we not in school?" Jesse wondered aloud while he took a seat at the table next to Calix.

"I called school and said you were both sick," explained Romy, Calix' mother. "Eros is at school right now to explain a bit further why the both of you aren't in school."

Jesse felt his face flush and turned his head to look at Calix. "You've told them?" he whispered in shock.

"Yeah, you need help, right?" Calix shrugged a shoulder. "Mom and Dad are more than willing to help, but they needed to know why you'll be staying here for a few months, maybe longer."

"Wait, what?" Jesse's head snapped back to look at Mrs. Milonas, who smiled a warm smile at him.

"You can stay here for as long as you want," she told him, taking a seat opposite from him. "Calix has explained a few things, and we won't send you back home with everything that happened."

"Can I ask how much you know?"

"We know about Felipe," Mrs. Milonas made a disapproving click with her tongue and shook her head. "I never liked that man, and he only proved me right.

Jesse remained silent, and he felt goose bumps appear on his skin. He tried to answer, opening his mouth and closing it when no sounds left his throat. He felt grateful for their attitude towards the situation, and the fact that they were willing to let him stay for as long as he needed. But he couldn't help but feel like a bother to them.

"Eros and I do want to talk to you today," Mrs. Milonas told him with a calm voice. "About the steps we need to take to make this work. For starters, Eros is informing the school you'll be staying with us, and therefore, they need to change your address, and you will need our approval when sick, for instance. Eros will then inform your parents... well, your mother and that horrible man."

Jesse lightly shook his head, unable to process everything she was telling him. It felt surreal, it felt weird, he felt the exact same he had felt when he was taken in by Loek and Mees.

"Wh... why are you doing this?" Jesse hesitantly asked. "I'm not your son... you're not obligated to do anything..."

"Oh, dear, we love you like a son. We have for years now. You, Axel, Fra—, well maybe not her any longer..." she muttered when Calix shook his head and sent her an annoyed look.

"It doesn't matter. To us, you're just as important as Calix, Teddy and Odessa."

Jesse felt his face heat up a bit while he forced a smile on his face. It was unfair that someone else's parents loved him like a son, while his own damn parents didn't. The world was a twisted place.

"For now, I want to take you to the doctor. The way you walk on your ankle doesn't seem okay to me." Mrs. Milonas placed her hand on his arm. "I'll get you some breakfast and then we'll go and have it checked out."

"Oh, you really don't have to..."

"I just want to make sure you're okay," she told him, patting his arm before getting up to make him breakfast.

Calix instantly leaned in a bit, whispering to him, "Are you okay with all of this?"

"Maybe you could've asked me if I was okay with telling your parents before telling them?" Jesse answered in a whisper. He bit his lip and observed how Mrs. Milonas was walking through the kitchen, grabbing a pan, some eggs, and bread to toast.

When Calix remained silent, he added, "It's a lot to take in, okay?"

"They really want to help, and I couldn't really explain why you needed to stay here without telling the truth," Calix told him with a quiet voice. "Do you want to stay here?"

"Well, yes, if I can, I do want to stay," Jesse admitted timidly, fiddling with his hoodie. "I think it's a healthier situation to stay in, compared to staying with Loek and Mees. You know, with actual parental figures around and all."

Calix nodded in response, while he kept reading the book that was indeed an assignment in their English class. "You need stability, my parents can offer you all that you need. And after summer, we go off to college and if you want, we can room together. Though I'd understand if you don't want to be my roommate."

"We're not even going to apply for the same schools," Jesse chuckled lightly, "But in an ultimate scenario, I wouldn't mind rooming with you or Axel."

"I talked to Axel the other day, and he said you two are applying for the same schools, and I was planning on doing the same."

"We probably can't room with the three of us though,"

"Axel wants to room with Simon, if we all get into the same college."

Jesse frowned; he was a bit surprised Axel wasn't throwing a temper tantrum for wanting to room with either of them. But if he was fine with it, Jesse wasn't going to make a big deal out of it.

"I guess that's settled then," he replied with a sheepish grin.

The only thing left to do was get into the same college as them, and all would be fine. For now, however, Jesse needed to adjust to the new situation, and hope he wouldn't fall in love with Calix all over again.