Gavin waited for Emily at the front of the hospital. He'd had his bone marrow biopsy to see if the chemo was working. His three week respite coincided with Thanksgiving Break, but he'd had to have his biopsy done the day before.
Zeke had gone out of town for the day. He'd taken his private jet to finish some business before the holiday closures. Even a workaholic like him closed his company for the important holidays. He'd even gone so far as to give his employees the option to take the whole weekend off to spend time with their families. Most had taken his offer, but some were still going to work. He paid everyone a bonus for Thanksgiving, something he had never done before.
Because he had to go out of town, Gavin needed to find a ride from the hospital. Mr. Sampson had taken him, but he'd underestimated the time it would take. He wouldn't make it back in time to pick him up. Luckily, Emily was still in town. She would be there faster than the others so he waited patiently at the main entrance of the cancer center.
They wouldn't know his results until after Thanksgiving, but Gavin had already made peace with it. He hoped all he needed was a transplant after all he was going through. If he was able to find a donor, he was still going to need a few more rounds of chemo. He would know more once his results came in. Until then, he was going to enjoy his few weeks of respite.
Emily pulled up under the awning and unlocked the door. Gavin slid in, grunting at the discomfort in his body. He'd had the biopsy done in his left hip this time, and it was still a little painful. His body was very sensitive since he'd gone through five rounds of chemo. He was tired already and a bit chilled. He held his hands up to the heater and rubbed them together.
His friend handed him a blanket followed by a warm coffee. He accepted them graciously and leaned back in his seat. When she was satisfied he was as comfortable as he was going to get, Emily pulled away from the curb and headed back to the mansion outside of the city.
Gavin's phone rang. He fumbled with it, almost dropping his cup on the floorboard. He set his cup in the cupholder and reached for his phone. By the time he grabbed it, it had stopped ringing. He looked at it, horrified he had missed a call from Zeke. His heart thundered in his chest as he realized he'd broken the rule of not missing a call.
He fumbled to unlock his phone. Emily laid a gentle hand over his, calming him almost instantly. He took a deep breath and was able to unlock his phone when he tried again. He hit Zeke's number and put it to his ear, heart pounding as he waited.
"Is everything alright?" Zeke asked. He didn't bother saying hello. His voice was filled with concern, making Gavin feel worse.
"Yeah. My phone was in my pocket. Emily brought me a latte, and I was holding it when you called. I nearly dropped the coffee on her floorboard so I missed the call. Sorry," he said.
Emily pinched his thigh. She knew Zeke had relaxed his rules since extenuating cicrumatances had arisen. But somewhere in the back of his mind, Gavin still adhered to them. She wanted to remind him without saying anything that he didn't have to worry about them right now.
Zeke made a noise on the other end. "Gavin, don't be sorry. I thought you were still in your procedure. But since you called me back, how did it go?"
Gavin told him what had happened. His hip hurt and he was tired, but everything had gone well. He wouldn't know anything until after the holiday so he was going to relax as much as possible.
The older man grunted in approval. "That sounds like a good idea. There's no need to get worked up over something that hasn't happened yet."
"Can we have a full Thanksgiving meal?" Gavin asked. "Up until this year, I have had traditional food. Since I've been sick, I've eaten everything they've told me to, but I kind of want something familiar."
"Absolutely. Do you want to invite your friends?"
"I think Emily is the only one still in town. Do you know how to cook? You gave the staff the entire weekend off. Other than Mr. Sampson and Martin, the others are going home."
"I can cook," Emily offered. Gavin looked at her, tilting his phone so Zeke could hear her. "If you'll get everything that you can eat, I'll prepare it. As for the others, Davis and Katie are still in town. Katie's plans fell through since their trip was canceled."
"Zeke says for the three of you to come Wednesday night and stay over. He said we'll make a day of it and cook as a family. Do you really mean that?" The last question was targeted at the man on the other end.
Zeke chuckled. "Yes, I mean it. The girls can share a room, and Davis can have your old room. We'll all cook together like you kids did growing up. How does that sound?"
Gavin couldn't contain his excitement. "That's great. I'll make a list of the foods I'd like to have."
"Send it to Martin. Mr. Sampson can go with him tomorrow before the stores close for the holiday. I'll be back late tomorrow night. Business took longer than expected. Can Emily stay with you tonight?"
"Emily, can you stay over tonight?" Gavin asked. She cast him a look carefully as she took the exit ramp. "Zeke won't be back until tomorrow night."
"Cutting it close isn't he?" she joked.
"His business went longer than he thought it would."
She pulled up to a red light and looked at him. "Yeah, I'll stay. I'll call Katie and Davis. We'll make a sleepover of it."
"Zeke says thanks."
"I'm not doing it for you."
Gavin looked at her as the light changed and she started driving again. She still wasn't Zeke's biggest fan. She was still angry at him for imposing rules on him. Gavin hadn't told her the entirety of their situation, but she knew enough that she didn't particularly like him. She tolerated him because he took care of Gavin despite his ways, and Gavin was her friend. He made her friend happy so she kept her mouth shut unless it warranted it.
"Don't think too much about it," Zeke advised. He'd understood Gavin's silence completely. "It takes a while for people to understand. As long as she's there when you need her, I have no qualms with her. We'll just agree to disagree."
"I don't want the two of you to disagree," Gavin muttered.
"It's inevitable, Gavin. We're human and we won't always get along. The easiest way is to agree to disagree and respect each other's opinions. I respect hers, and she respects mine. You're the common denominator. We don't want to hurt you so we shelve our differences for your happiness."
"You'll let me know when you head back?"
He heard Zeke's smile on the other end. Zeke knew he'd changed the subject intentionally. "I'll text you before I leave."
Satisfied, Gavin ended the call and picked up his coffee again. It had cooled quite a bit so he was able to drink it easily. He enjoyed the warmth from the heater and the blanket.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked. "Because I've stayed with Zeke all this time?"
"I'm not mad, just concerned. If he bought you, that's human trafficking and that's illegal," she said. She made a face at him when he laughed. "It's not funny, Gavin."
"I know it's not, but I just came to find out the reason I was sent here. It wasn't because of Zeke at all. It was because of one Raoul Duquesne."
"Wait. What does your grandfather have to do with it?"
"Zeke showed me the contract a couple of weeks ago. It was written on the Duquense Construction letterhead. My grandfather drafted the contract. He was the one to write that I was a part of the deal." He sighed and looked at her, meeting her wide green eyes. "My grandfather sold me to keep his money. So being mad at Zeke for that part isn't fair."
Emily waited a long moment before she spoke again. "I agree that being mad at him for something he didn't do isn't fair, but he didn't have to force you to follow all those rules."
Gavin rested his head against the headrest and watched the cars in front of them. "I actually don't mind the rules. I eat healthier than I probably would on my own. We found out I'm gluten intolerant so that's helped, and I work out regularly."
"That's only part of it, Gavin. What about the sexual aspect? He said you have to give yourself to him whenever he wants."
"Em, I've always been gay. I just never told anyone. I didn't know how, and I didn't want to disappoint my family. I'm the only grandchild, and if I told them I was gay and that the family would end with me, they would have disowned me far sooner than they did. As for Zeke's mandate, once I was comfortable with myself I didn't mind it. I had actually started having fun before my diagnosis."
"You're not saying all of this because you want someone to love you, are you? Because if you are, I will take you away from here faster than you can imagine."
Gavin smiled. She was a good friend. After she'd found out everything, she had told him all he had to do was say one word of unhappiness. She would pack her bags and they would find somewhere to hole up until Zeke gave up. Gavin had said Zeke would never give up, but he was grateful to have someone like her. It made his life a little easier, especially now. It meant he always had someone in his corner when life handed him rotten fruit.
Emily dropped him off and he went to the kitchen for a snack. Mrs. Morgan had some fruit cut for him along with some vanilla Greek yogurt. He sat at the island and talked with her as he ate. She was excited to go see her family but worried about leaving him home alone. He smiled and told her what they'd decided. She got so excited she made the list with him and went to the store immediately.
Gavin told Mrs. Richards that Emily was coming back later that evening. He said he was going to take a nap. If he wasn't awake when his friends arrived she was to let them in. She agreed and wished him a happy rest.
Once upstairs, he collapsed in bed without bothering to shower. His hip bothered him so he lay on the other while wrapping around his body pillow. Despite being upset they'd bought him a body pillow made for pregnancy, he had thoroughly enjoyed it. It made him feel like he was always surrounded, especially on nights like this. When Zeke was gone, he didn't feel so alone.
He didn't sleep, but his body relaxed enough that he was able to rest. He read some on his phone before he was alerted that his friends had arrived. He knew that Zeke had said everyone was to sleep in separate rooms, but this was the first time they'd been in one room in a few weeks. He wanted to spend time with them. So he was going to make sure they slept in the living room. He would take the consequences when Zeke returned.