Gabriel (Rewritten Version) - LGBT, manXman

4

*

It was four o'clock in the morning before Gabe returned home, his body aching miserably, his hair matted with drying sweat and semen, his lower back stinging with every step.

There had been almost twenty guys there, not ten, and every one had been rougher than the last.

However, the weight of just over fifteen hundred pounds sat in his back pocket, and he couldn't help but feel that the evening had almost been worth the pain his body now felt.

Gabe showered quickly and pulled on a pair of pyjama bottoms, before going back down to the kitchen and making himself a mug of tea.

He took down the four money jars that he kept at the back of one of the kitchen cupboards, and divided the money between the jars.

He put enough into the twin's jar to pay for their school trip; Phoebe and Jordan's jars got three hundred each, to pay for future school visits, friend's birthdays or treats for themselves.

The remaining notes went into his own jar, to pay for food, and go towards the water and electric bills that were due.

He stared at the jars for a long moment, before he burst into tears. He buried his face in his arms and wept, lamenting the pitiable course his life had taken.

He finally stopped the tears, and dried his eyes. He stood and turned to return the jars to their place at the back of the cupboard, and startled violently when he saw Jordan leaning against the doorway, watching him.

"Long shift?" Jordan asked. "I didn't realise pubs were open so late."

Gabe shook his head wearily.

"Jordan-"

"You've got a secret girlfriend, haven't you?" Jordan interrupted.

Gabe blinked in surprise.

"What? Why do you say that?"

"Your entire neck is covered in love bites, and your back is scratched to hell."

Gabe twisted to catch a glimpse of his back in the fridge door, and winced when he saw long parallel lines of scratches.

Jordan came over and sat at the table. He took a sip of tea from Gabe's mug, before turning to Gabe with serious eyes.

"What's the matter?" He asked, his voice surprisingly gentle.

"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked uneasily.

"Just now," Jordan said. "What's happened?"

Gabe sank into a chair with a sigh.

"I just... thought my life would turn out differently," he said quietly. "Not... like it is now. I never thought..."

"What did you want to do?" Jordan asked. "Before mum died?"

Gabe shrugged.

"I don't know... Go to college, perhaps. I thought about being a teacher for a while. Or joining the police, maybe." Gabe sighed heavily. "Now, I've got no qualifications, and no job prospects."

"What about what you do now?" Jordan asked. "Whatever it is that you do. Surely where you're working now will give you a good reference."

"It's not... the sort of job where you can easily... ask for a reference," said Gabe uneasily.

Jordan frowned.

"Gabriel, in all seriousness... Are you a thief?"

"What?" Gabe spluttered indignantly. "No!"

"Well, then, how do you earn money?!" Jordan burst out. "You're always working, but none of us know what you do. You come in some nights with fifty quid, others with a big pile of notes like you did tonight-"

"Why were you waiting for me to come in?" Gabe asked suddenly.

"I wasn't. You turned the shower on, and that woke me up. And you've not answered my question," Jordan said sharply.

Gabe paused for a moment, before he turned away.

"I'm not a thief," he said firmly. "I just... do what I have to, to keep you guys out of foster care, and keep food on the table."

Jordan stared at Gabe for a moment, before he shrugged and turned away.

"I found a couple of cheap hotels on a comparison site. We could probably afford one for two or three nights, depending on what you wanted to do for activities."

Gabe nodded tiredly.

"Thanks, Jord."

"How many times do I have to ask you not to call me that?" Jordan grumbled half-heartedly.

Gabriel smiled, and impulsively pulled Jordan into a hug.

"You know I... I only push you so hard to do well, because... I just want you to-"

"Have the opportunities you never had?"

Gabe nodded. He drained his mug and put it in the sink to wash up in the morning.

"Goodnight, Jordan." Gabe patted Jordan's shoulder wearily and went up to his room in the attic.

Jordan watched him leave, before he turned and began rifling through the medicine cupboard. He pulled out some antibacterial salve, and went up to Gabe's room.

Gabriel was curled up beneath a thin blanket, facing the wall, sobbing quietly.

Jordan glanced around Gabriel's room for a moment; he hadn't been inside it for months.

The walls were completely bare; the only colour in the room was the thin red blanket Gabriel had wrapped around him. The old wardrobe that Gabriel had somehow managed to manoeuvre into the low-ceilinged attic was barely half-full, and all of the clothes hung inside were either faded, threadbare or barely big enough for Gabe to fit into anymore. All of Gabriel's four pairs of jeans were frayed at the cuffs, and holed at the knees.

Jordan thought guiltily of his own wardrobe, full of new clothes to accommodate the height his latest growth spurt had given him.

He went to perch on the edge of Gabriel's bed, and carefully drew back the blanket to expose Gabe's scratched back. He emptied a generous dollop of cream onto Gabe's back and gently rubbed the ointment in.

Gabriel lay quietly while Jordan worked, his eyes closed.

After he'd finished, Jordan put the pot of salve on the bedside table and slid beneath the blankets beside Gabriel.

"What're you doing?" Gabe asked, rolling to face him.

"Shuddup and go to sleep." Jordan yawned and closed his dark eyes.

Gabe stared at him for a moment, before he turned his back to Jordan and wriggled a little closer to the warmth of his brother's body.