Eli knew Jonas was angry. He could see it when he was arguing with Jackson and Lukas. He hated that they had to pretend that they were at odds with each other.
Eli hated when Lukas put his arm around him just to anger Jonas. Lukas was disturbingly obsessive and he could see the strange glint in his eyes when he looked at Jonas.
When he had the chance, he left. He knew that if he stuck around, he would be a distraction and a liability. Travis was already safe and he trusted Jonas and Hugh. So he walked away without looking back.
The night of the Hunt, the Spencer house was eerie.
He stayed up all night for the live stream, watching Jonas and Hugh rip apart everyone that came at them. He loved it.
However, Clark Spencer had a different opinion. He watched the live stream all night as well. He was silent, which was worse than him yelling. The bottle of whiskey became empty by the end of the stream.
Eli stayed away, locked in his room and remained as quiet as possible. If he didn't make a sound, perhaps he could have a peaceful night.
His father pulled him out of the bed early in the morning and forced him to get ready to go out. Eli mentally prepared himself for a fight because his father was definitely in a foul mood.
They took off in their car and Eli looked around curiously, trying to figure out where they were headed. He felt chill up his spine as they stopped in front of an old looking dorm. There were kids around his age looking exhausted and wearing battered blue jackets. Eli wanted to curse. How did his father find out where Jonas lived?
They exited the car and got a number of strange looks from the Hawkings students. His father looked at them with disdain. He pushed past them with Eli and his mother trailing behind them. He stopped in front of a door and roughly knocked on it a couple of times. Eli bit his lip and leaned against the wall. He had to show that he didn't care.
After a while a kid finally stuck he head out of the door. "Old man! No one's in there!"
His father turned to glower at him, but at that moment the entire dorm erupted with cheers, which broke his attention away from the kid. The students were calling out to their Kings and Eli had to hide his smile. He was proud of his brother.
He looked down at his phone and tried to keep a calm demeanor. But it became harder when he heard the group approaching and someone yelling to get some rest. He reminded himself that he needed to maintain his facade.
Their father tried to start a ruckus in the hallway, but Jonas shut him down using his own words against him. Don't make a scene. Eli celebrated inwardly, and he used that moment to look up. He just wanting a fleeting glance...
That glance made his heart stop.
His angel.
Travis was opening the door. He delicate face still had remnants of the cuts and bruises from Jackson but he was still utterly beautiful. Especially when he was glaring at his father.
Travis had the looks, confidence, and feistiness to bring to world to its knees... at least his world.
Inside the dorms went as expected. Their father exploded... but Jonas held his ground this time. Eli felt relief knowing that Jonas was finally breaking free. Eli could endure a little bit longer, so at least this time he could protect Jonas.
Eli risked taking a chance to speak with Jonas alone, making some excuse when his parents were walking out. Luckily they allowed it. 15 minutes was worth whatever punishment his father would give him later.
Jonas would start his normal questions, trying to find out everything that was happening, and Eli would do the same. When Jonas asked about him having a boyfriend, he had to laugh and chide himself about not being able to come out of the closet yet.
But that's when it happened. The most glorious noise escaped his angel's lips and revealed his excitement to learn that Eli was gay. With Jonas to bolster his confidence he had to mention how someone was on his mind.
The pink that rushed to Travis' face was like heaven. Eli had to have him, homophobic parents be damned. He would pay any price.
The 15 minutes was everything to Eli. He was able to speak to his crush and his brother at the same time. And Eli was overjoyed to witness the new light coming from Jonas. He was brilliant and Eli couldn't help but to admire how happy he was. Hawkings was good for him and so was Hugh.
He left the dorms with a bounce in his step and a new number in his phone.
The time following that was bliss, for the most part. He father was traveling again, so he only had a couple of run ins with him. Nothing that he needed to tell Jonas about. Jonas had been giving him an allowance so he bought his own personal phone plan without his father's knowledge and was able to text both Jonas and Travis.
But there were shadows lurking in the darkness... and their shadow was Lukas, an obsessive psychopath. He seemed to be escalating his games and was becoming downright terrifying. With rich politicians as parents, he could hush up most issues and buy off the rest. When would it finally become too much?
Then things became quiet, and that scared Eli even more. Lukas was never one to just fall into line.
On top to Lukas' foreboding silence, his father came back for the holidays. Eli spent most of his time in his room, or out practicing. The less time in that cold house, the better. Soon Jonas would be 18 and they would fight like hell to get out from under the Spencer's thumb.
But then the silence was broken. The night before the Peña's Christmas party, Lukas decided to stop by and say hi to him and his parents. Eli did the polite thing and greeted him, but when he tried to get away, Lukas called out to him.
"Eli, let's go take a walk." He smiled, but it was chilling.
Eli hesitated but nodded when he saw his father's look darken. He had no idea what this could mean, but he mentally prepared himself for Lukas and his father's fists. With a deep breath, he followed Lukas out, but still kept an arms length away.
"Your father wants me to encourage you to find a good girl to date." Lukas said with a mocking smile.
Eli shook his head. "I'm not interested in that right now. I'd rather focus on school."
Lukas chuckled. "I'm sure... Have you spoken to Joey lately?"
Eli frowned. Lukas seemed far too focused on Jonas. "Not since the Hunt."
Lukas chuckled. "Joey was my best friend. He was everything. But he started to pull away from me and I couldn't have that. He couldn't be unreachable. He needed a leash."
Eli took a step back. "What are you talking about, Lukas?"
"Sometimes the best way to train a dog is with a chain and a rod."
Eli took another step back. "No... that's wrong. In fact, that's really fucked up."
"I gave him the name Wolf, but he worked outside of my expectations. And then he escaped. I don't like when that happens."
"That was you? Do you know how that almost killed him? Do you know how many times he had to go to the hospital? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Eli wasn't one to fight, but right now, he was close to attacking. He clenched his fists and his body was tense. He wanted to beat down this fucker.
"I just want what's mine. He'll be crawling back to me and this time, will only look at me."
Eli shook his head. "He's not yours. He will never go to you. He's happy now with Hawkings and Hugh. You can't take any of that away from him, no matter how hard you try."
Lukas laughed. "You Spencer brothers are something else. I've noticed that Joey has an obsession with protecting people. Imagine what he will do knowing that I can spill your secret... What would your father do when he finds out you're gay?"
Eli paled. "What the hell are you planning?"
"I just want to see how far he will go for you." He said with a shrug.
"Why are you so focused on trying to hurt us, Lukas? What is wrong with you?"
Lukas laughed. "No one wants to hurt you."
Eli let out a cold laugh. "Fuck you Lukas. You can't use me as the catalyst to incite your games."
He stormed back into the house and into the sitting room with his father. This time, he will protect Jonas. Lukas will not be able to control him anymore.
"Father, it's about time you know. I'm not going to date anyone you try to set up for me. I'm not interested." He said. His father has been pestering him about finding a girl from a good family, and now he brought Lukas in to talk Eli into dating. Early dating led to early marriage, which meant better business faster.
His father slammed down his glass on the desk, the liquor splashing everywhere. "Where is this coming from? Is it your brother?"
Eli shook his head. "It's coming from me. Just me."
"I frankly don't care what you want. You need to start establishing your own connections."
Eli shook a little and then settled his resolve. "Then why don't you set me up with a man?"
His father looked like he wanted to vomit. "What did you say?"
"A man, father. I want to date men. Specifically one man... named Travis."
That was the last thing he remembered from that night, besides the searing pain. He was left in total darkness until he finally heard his brother's voice.
After that, he understood his brother's fear of the dark. The basement was nightmare fuel. But he only had to endure one night. He still shuddered to think how many nights Jonas suffered alone.
Despite the pain they endured, they finally escaped and they left.
After one last terrifying face off with Lukas, the St. Vincent's ordeal was over. The last encounter was so public, that the police could no longer hide behind the money and were forced to act. Soon, they witnessed the chaotic trial that finally put Lukas behind bars.
Lukas continued to start trouble in jail, and was forced into solitary. So many days of solitary caused a full mental collapse. They had to transfer him to the psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Now he was always watched, guarded, and heavily medicated. He lives in a confused state, never able to really bring up a coherent thought.
It wasn't the painful ending that Hugh wanted, but he was satisfied knowing that he at least broke a couple of Lukas' bones. Either way, it was good riddance.
So how do you pick up the pieces after all of that? It helps having friends, a strong family, and a partner like Travis... it also helps having therapy. A fuckton of therapy.
***
A/N
New content up next.