Reading Time: 113 Minutes

Title: Homecoming
Series: Second Chance Home
Series Order: 1
Author: Duochanfan
Fandom: 9-1-1
Genre: Angst, Drama, Family, Hurt/Comfort
Relationship(s): Background Pairings
Content Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Bigotry, Abuse-Domestic, Violence-Canon-level, Discussion-Domestic Abuse, Discussion-Child Abuse, Death-OC Character, Death-Minor Character, False Accusations of Sexual Abuse, Character Bashing, Discussion Attempted Suicide
Author Note: Zachary ‘Zac’ Greenaway and Nicholas ‘Nic’ Bryant are borrowed with permission from ScarsLikeVelvet and Ralph Vilkas is borrowed with permission from HarleyJQuin, thank you both for letting me borrow these wonderful characters. The False Accusations of Sexual Abuse are against Evan Buckley, during his travels.
Beta: FaerlyGraceful – Thank you for beta reading though this. I wouldn’t have been able to finish it without you!
Alpha: FaerlyGraceful
Word Count: 56,132
Summary: When Maddie handed over the Jeep, the world was opened for Evan to finally get away from his parents. On his travels around the country, he finds a friend to share his adventures with. Learning more about himself and family he didn’t know he still had, all slowly leading him Home.
Artist: Nightsong21133

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Chapter One

Evan Buckley watched as his sister got into the taxi and returned home to her husband. Evan knew something was going on, he had a feeling of what it was. He wanted her to leave Doug before things got worse. Before the controlling bastard hurt her, but there was a pit of dread in his stomach. He had a feeling this would be the last time he would see her, even if she had said she wanted to go with him.

“Maddie,” he murmured as he looked at the keys in his hand and the small amount of cash she had given him. He had money, and while he had blown some of the tuition money he had on the motorcycle, he still had some leftover to see him through a good few weeks, even longer if he was frugal and didn’t spend much. Evan sighed as he got into the jeep, the deeds were now in his name, and so was the insurance, paid for the next year at the very least. “Too much Maddie,” he grumbled but was also grateful to her. He would go to pick her up at the hospital tomorrow.

Evan didn’t go back to his parents, he wanted nothing to do with them. In his mind, to them, he had been invisible unless he was in trouble of some kind and then they made sure to let him know how much of a disappointment he was to them. How much of a burden he had been. Growling he sped away from the meeting place and to an old friend’s place, he would crash there for the night before heading to meet Maddie.

XxXxX

Less than twelve hours later his fears were confirmed. Maddie wouldn’t be going with him. He had talked to one of her co-workers but that hadn’t helped in getting to see his sister. He left a message for her, hoping that one day she would use it and find him. He would update her constantly about where he was and what he was doing. He promised himself that he would keep the lines open for her.

Evan sat in the jeep, a map open on his phone and with a sigh, he picked the first place he would be heading. However, it was more because his friend’s Uncle lived there and was prepared to have him work construction and teach him about the trade so he could use it in other places around the US. Starting the jeep up, he put on his CD, blasted the music as loud as it could go, and headed away from Hershey. “I hope this is the last time I ever have to visit this place,” he muttered under his breath.

Evan was tense for several miles before he finally started to relax. He was free, finally free from the Buckley Parents, though Evan didn’t know if he would call them parents. They hadn’t done much of that for him. Maddie had until she had left for college when he was nine. He hadn’t begrudged her that at all, what he hated was the fact that she never came home often. From the age of nine to fifteen, he could count on one hand how many times he had seen her. At sixteen, he had found ways to see her himself. Doug hadn’t been happy when he saw Evan at his home that first time. For a year or two the man tolerated it, though Maddie often turned him away before he could do more than say hi.

Evan needed to get to Atlanta, Georgia in two days. He had the journey planned out so he could get there in good time. The man whom he would be working for had already got a place for him to stay, he would be rooming with another who was learning the ropes. Evan wouldn’t mind making a few more friends. Those that he had through his very brief time at college were nice, but he knew they would fade from his life just as easily as he would fade from theirs. He had been driving for a good few hours before he noticed he had reached Harrisonburg. He would have something to eat, and a look around before getting back in the keep. He had a motel booked in Greensboro for the night.

XxXxX

It was three in the afternoon when he pulled into a small parking lot that was next to a construction site. He was finally in Atlanta and about to meet the boss he would, hopefully, be working for, for a little while. Getting out he looked around, there were plenty of people working and he didn’t want to go on the site at all. He went to the gates and waited to be noticed.

“Hey, Kid,” a gruff voice said as he walked over.

“Hi, I’m looking for Tony Field, I was told to come here and ask for him. His nephew, Theo sent me,” Evan said as he glanced around.

“That right kid, well, I’m Tony, and you must be Evan Buckley,” he stated as he opened the gate, “come with me and we can talk in my office.”

Evan nodded, feeling a little nervous. He may have had the odd job here and there, but never anything full-time. He followed him to a converted shipping container and glanced around as he walked inside. It was painted a muted green inside, with a board on one side full of notes, and tacked-on pieces of paper. There were two desks, one overflowing with paperwork and another only halfway to full.

“Come and sit down Evan,” Tony said as he walked across the room and sat down at a desk. He gestured to a chair opposite him.

“Yes, Sir,” he nodded as he hurried over and sat down.

“None of that Sir, thing, just not me,” he told him, “Now, Theo said that you’re willing to learn and work hard. You’ve come a long way, just for a job. He mentioned that you wanted away from your parents, you’re what eighteen, nineteen?”

“I’m eighteen, I’ll be nineteen in a few more months,” Evan answered him.

“Right, you have the paperwork he told you to have?” Tony asked, he was quickly handed what he had wanted and nodded, “Well, looks like I’ll be taking you on. Got a place set up for you. You’re going to be sharing with another that is working for me. He’s just joined us as well, I’ll be taking you both under my wings, teaching you both what you need,” he added.

“Thank you,” Evan said, grateful for the chance he was being given. He had been thinking about going along the coast until Theo had mentioned his Uncle was looking for people to work with him on the site.

“Welcome, now, I’m going to introduce you to the one you’ll be staying with, I’m letting him go early so he can show you where you’ll be staying and to get to know each other. In this line of work, you gotta be able to trust those you work with. Accidents happen otherwise,” he said wisely as he got up, “Tomorrow when you start, I’ll be having you sign a contract for work and your pay. I pay what you’re worth, so the best way to up your pay is to learn a new skill. Plastering, welding, and the like, look into it and see what you can do for yourself,” he added.

Evan nodded and followed him out of the office. He was handed a hard hat.

“You wear that as soon as you cross the line, you wear the safety gear you get all the time, you don’t take it off,” he warned him, “I don’t want any shenanigans on this site, we have a good safety record and I intend to keep it that way,” he added.

Evan nodded and remained quiet as they walked to one side of the site, a building was just being laid, and the foundations were going in.

“Xiaoli!” Tony called out.

“Yes, Bossman?” a young man called out, dark eyes staring at Evan as he stood up straight.

“This is Evan, you’re new roommate,” Tony said, “Evan, this is Xiaoli Huang,” he introduced them to each other.

“Nice to meet you, Evan,” Xiaoli said, taking off his gloves and holding out a hand, “I’m good to go now, I don’t mind finishing what I’m doing with Micha,” he said looking at Tony.

“Micha can handle it, and Leanne will be going over to help him in a moment, she’s just finishing up at the other one,” Tony told him, “Now, head on out and I’ll see the both of you bring and early tomorrow,” he added, giving Evan and Xiaoli a look to make sure they got to be early, and not just on time.

“Will do,” Xiaoli grinned as he looked at Evan, “Well, let’s get going home. You have a car. I left mine at home, and caught a lift with Micha,” he added as he began to walk to the office so he could clock out officially. Evan followed him. The other was just a little taller than him, though Evan knew he still had a little more growing to do.

Evan led the way to his Jeep moments later and got in. Xiaoli got in the passenger side and glanced around, there was only one bag in the back, “Traveling light?” he asked, trying to start a conversation and hoping to get to know the young man he would be sharing a space with.

“That’s all I own,” Evan shrugged, “I don’t really need a lot either, just… going to be drifting for a bit. Theo was the one who had asked his uncle if he could take me on for a bit.”

Xiaoli smiled, “Yeah, he took me on when I wandered up to him and asked about a job a couple of months ago. He’s a good one, and has helped me get on my feet a bit more.”

“He sounds like a good man,” he added quietly, wondering if that was why Theo had sent Evan to him.

“He is,” Xiaoli nodded as he directed Evan on where to go, “He understands that not everyone has that easy start in their adult life. I’m a former foster kid, who aged out of the system. He took me on when I first got here. I was traveling by myself. Doing small odd jobs that I could to get a little money together, was able to get a cheap ass car that I could sleep in and was just about roadworthy,” he snorted.

Evan glanced at him when they stopped at a red light, “So… you’re trying to find out who you are too?” he asked, a little hesitant.

Xiaoli nodded, “You could say that. I was born in China, and my grandparents on both sides are still alive, so I could have gone to live with them. But because when my parents died I had already been an American citizen for the last three years in their eyes, which meant that they wouldn’t send me back to them,” he added, opening up, there was no use hiding anything, there wasn’t much to him if he was honest with himself.

“Why didn’t you go back when you aged out?” Evan asked curiously.

“Money, I don’t have it at the moment,” he stated honestly, “Mom and Dad, when they died, they did leave some money, it’s not a lot, but it’s tied up until I turn twenty-one. My grandparents made sure that it would be waiting for me when I got old enough. None of them are pushing for me to go and live with them, they are in the mind I have more opportunities to do things over here,” he shrugged, not sure if that was true or not.

Evan nodded as he took the last turn and Xiaoli directed him to a small house. “Is this where we’re staying?” he asked, frowning. He had thought they would be staying in an apartment building, not a house.

“Bossman owns four houses like this, for those just like us,” Xiaoli said as he got out. “We don’t really pay rent on them, just the utilities. What ‘Rent’ he has is for the next ones that move in after us. So they have a start-up fund to get things they need, bedding and the like. There is a little in there for you to use as well for the same, or just add to the pot for the next. It’s a ‘Pay it Forward’ kind of thing.”

Evan smiled and nodded, “Well, I don’t need the help, but I don’t mind putting some in the pot for the next ones.”

Xiaoli nodded and took out a key, “There is a spare key inside for you. Tony has one as well,” he added as he let them both inside.

Evan walked inside, doing as Xiaoli was and taking off his boots at the door and putting them aside. He took a step into the house, and his sock-clad feet sunk into the plush carpet. “Oh,” he blinked as he looked down.

“Yeah, this place is done up nice,” Xiaoli grinned, “Now, there are two bedrooms, a nice little living room, and a kitchen. There is a utility room with a washer and dryer, so we don’t need to find a place for that. There is a breakdown of the utilities and cost and such on the fridge. We pay half each, come on, I’ll show you your room and the bathroom, and you can dump your things and shower. I’ll make a start on something to eat. Any allergies or anything?” he asked as he began to show him through the house.

Evan followed, looking around, the place was decorated pleasantly, a warm feeling coming from how homey it actually felt. He was led to a room, a large double bed was in the middle along with a little desk, wardrobe, and drawer unit. “He really treats us well,” he murmured.

“Like I said, he knows what it’s like to have nothing when starting out in the world. He wants to give people an opportunity, like his boss gave him. That was how he explained it to me when I asked about it,” Xiaoli answered his murmur.

“Thanks,” Evan said, as he was then shown the bathroom.

“I’ll let you get showered and cleaned up,” Xiaoli told him, “Now, allergies?” he asked again.

“I don’t have any that I know of,” he told him, “So, feel free to do what you like.”

“Okay,” Xiaoli smiled, “I’ve been learning a few recipes from my grandmother, she calls often, so I may try one of them,” he added as he left Evan alone.

Evan watched him go before looking around his room. He sighed and smiled, he was really free to live his own life. No parents who are constantly disappointed in him. The only thing he was going to miss would be Maddie and being able to go and see her, even if Doug hated the fact he turned up on the doorstep. He sighed again and grabbed his things for a shower, his stomach grumbling a little as he left the room.

Chapter Two

Evan grinned as he looked over at Xiaoli. They had finished another day of work for Tony. The man had been kind and helpful in finding them classes that they could do to get a degree of some kind. Ones that they could do online since Tony knew that both of them wanted to move on at some point. He was happy to be a stopping place for the both of them and even looked at places where they could find more work. Tony had a number of connections around the cities and towns of Georgia and even beyond that.

“Well,” Evan said, “Tony’s been able to find us another site, it’s In Birmingham, Alabama,” he told Xiaoli.

“We’re almost done with this place. Tony is already looking at another site,” Xiaoli said as they got into Evan’s jeep.

“Yeah, learning from everyone over the last six months, it’s been… great,” Evan murmured, a smile on his face. He had sent a postcard to Maddie not long after he had arrived. He had gotten one message from her since then. Just to tell him to be safe and to enjoy his freedom. He had messaged back, but she hadn’t replied to it. Or to any of the others that he had sent her over the last several months. He sighed, shaking his head as he started up the Jeep. “Right, let’s get going.”

“So are we going to take the Birmingham site?” Xiaoli asked as they headed back home.

“We can, it’s a drive away, but we should be able to do it. We both have some good savings and while we’ll have to find our own place this time, Tony said that Franco will be able to help with that before we get there. He knows places,” he said, a little skeptical about that, but Tony had said that Franco was a friend of his from his school days, they had worked together until they both decided to go to different States.

“Well, we have another week here before the site closes down and Tony moves on,” Xaoli said softly, “I think we should,” he added.

“Then we will,” Evan nodded, “I don’t mind going, moving around the States is kind of what I wanted to do. I’m just glad that I’ll have someone going with me.”

“Yeah,” Xiaoli laughed, “Same here. I was just planning on drifting around, hoping to find a place to call home. Or until I got enough money together to move back to my Grandparents and be able to set myself up.”

Evan smiled, “You can still do that?” he suggested, glancing over as they pulled up at a red light.

“They told me to remain here, they don’t mind me visiting, but they believe that my future lies here in the US. And I am a US citizen as well,” he sighed, “It could make things a little awkward,” he added.

Evan frowned, “How?” Not sure how living back in China could cause problems for Xiaoli.

“Politics, my parents renounced their Chinese Citizenship when they gained American Citizenship,” Xaioli explained, “It’s… complicated,” he added, “While I am good to visit them, I won’t be staying. I would have to try and apply for Chinese citizenship again, and my grandparents on both sides don’t want that. They love their country, but they believe I would do better over here since I’ve spent my life over here,” He finished, a small smile on his face. He loved his grandparents a lot, they had written letters to him when they could and even visited a couple of times when he was in a foster home that would allow it. It was another of the reasons why he hadn’t been adopted in the end.

“Right,” he said, as they turned onto their road and parked up.

“Since your Jeep is newer, what do you think about me selling my car? It’s old, but still in good repair,” Xiaoli said as he looked at the car. He didn’t really use it, since most of the time they did the grocery shop together, to make sure they got everything each other wanted and needed. They carpooled for work.

“It would make sense, the Jeep is newer,” he agreed, “Sell it and put the money towards your savings. We should make sure we have enough for deposits and such for when we get to Birmingham,” he added, getting out of the jeep.

“You can shower first,” Xiaoli said, “I’m going to talk to Miguel about the best place to sell a car around here. He sold it a few days after I arrived,” he added, “He might know.”

“Okay, I’ll shower and get dinner started,” Evan said as he headed into the house, taking off his boots at the door before entering fully.

Xiaoli remained outside as he pulled out his phone to talk to Miguel.

XxXxX

Evan walked into the office, Tony was already waiting there. It was his last day with the man, and he was a little sad to be going. Tony had helped him a lot and got him on several small courses that would help him get jobs in construction going forward since they were Nationwide instead of just State qualifications. “Bossman,” he smiled as he went over.

“Evan, last day, Xiaoli has already got his things, your turn,” he smiled, laughing heartily as Evan walked over to the desk and sat down.

“Yeah, I’m kinda sad to be going, to be honest,” he said, rubbing the back of his head a little as he sat. His hair was getting long again, and he absently wondered if he should cut it.

“I’m going to be sad to see the both of you going. You and Xiaoli are good workers,” he said, sighing as he looked at him. He wished he could have the two men stay, but both wanted to leave, “You learned quickly and both of you are willing to learn new skills. Which in this job, is always a bonus.”

“They helped a lot,” Evan said, unsure of what he could say. He respected the man in front of him and was grateful for all the help that he had been able to give him over the last couple of months to get him on his feet and give him a job. The man had done more for him than his own parents had done.

“Of course they do. I know that Franco is going to be happy with your plastering skills, they are in short supply most of the time,” he added with a chuckle, “You and Xiaoli have done some damn good work, you both worked hard and did everything asked and helped where you could. You learned from the others and listened to them as well. We’ve all worked this job for a long time, and they have experience that can help you.”

“They have, and you have taught me a lot,” he stated. Evan knew that if he hadn’t met Xiaoli he would have moved on before he was truly ready and he wouldn’t be heading to Birmingham next. He would have headed down the coast. Gone for Sea, Sand, and Surf. Instead, he had chosen to follow what Theo had offered and he met a friend that was turning out to be his best friend.

“Good to know, Theo told me you were a good one to have. Worked hard when you were driven, and you were here. Glad to see that his trust in you was correct. You are a good worker, and I’m sorry to see both you and Xiaoli go, but I know that you don’t want to stay. So, just keep in touch and if you’re ever in the area and need some work, call me. If you need help at all, call me as well,” he told him, handing over his last paycheck and everything else he needed.

“It was great working with you,” Evan said as Tony held out a hand. He reached out and took the offered hand.

“Promise me, you’ll call if you need me,” Tony said as he gripped the hand tightly for a moment before shaking it after Evan nodded.

“I will,” he said, nodding again, “I promise.”

“Good, now get on out of here, and just drop me a line when you leave. I have the spare keys to the place still, so you just have to leave them inside,” he instructed.

“Will do, Bossman,” Evan grinned at him, putting away his things and then heading out of the office for the last time. He saw Xiaoli waiting for him near where he had parked the Jeep that morning. “Well,” he said as he walked over, “Ready?”

“Let’s finish the packing and make sure the place is ready for the next one that Tony helps and we leave tomorrow. Franco is expecting us in three days, we have a room at a motel for a week while we look at some of the places Franco picked out for us to view,” Xiaoli said as they got in the jeep. Both of them waved and smiled at the others as they left.

“I’m going to miss them,” Evan sighed as he pulled out of his parking spot and headed home, though it wouldn’t be that for much longer.

Heading home they went quiet, each of them thinking over the last several months and the growth of their friendship. Though neither had truly opened up about their past just yet, both knew they should talk about it before they fully moved on together. Arriving home, they settled in the living room with tea and coffee.

“So,” Evan said as he looked over at Xiaoli, “I know some things about you but not that much. Just that your parents passed away when you were six and you went into foster care. I know your grandparents on both sides are still alive, but they want you to live in the US and not go back, only to visit,” he said.

“Well,” Xiaoli sighed, “foster care wasn’t the best. For some, it’s great, for others it isn’t. For me, it wasn’t great. I was Chinese and spoke more Mandarin than English. When I got excited, upset, or scared, I would start speaking in my first language. It made me odd to most. The Foster parents I had were often at a loss of what to do and helped me calm down or comfort me when I was upset or scared. I found it better when I was in the Homes instead. Feeling able to just be me without having to force myself to hide a part of myself away.”

Evan nodded, “Yeah.”

“Yeah, and that’s what I would like to do one day. Save up enough to be able to get a home set up for children, so that they can have that freedom to be themselves, feeling wanted and loved and cared for. I never really felt like people cared about me, I was a lost child for most of my younger years. Even as a teenager in a home, I felt alone, just more free,” he shrugged. “Everyone experiences foster care differently,” he finished.

“I’m… sorry you went through that. We… should all be free to be ourselves,” he said, biting his lip for a moment before he said, “For me, my parents have ignored me ever since I could remember. I was an afterthought. The only one that cared was Maddie, she was always there to patch me up, love me, and teach me things. I learned when I was a kid, that if I hurt myself, they would pay attention to me for a day or two. I fell from trees, did stupid bike stunts and skateboard stunts,” he sighed, “So many just to get them to look at me for a moment or two.”

Xiaoli nodded, “I can’t imagine my parents ignoring me,” he whispered.

“I hated it, I was always alone. At the end…” he began slowly, “I wanted it over. I was speeding on my bike, just going for it, a car pulled out and I just… didn’t turn away from it, didn’t even try. I knew when I woke up in the damn hospital, with no one there, that I had to get out. So, I went to Maddie, and I had hoped that she would come with me. I just wanted someone around me that cared about me. I wanted my sister, even though we hadn’t spoken much after she came back from Boston. She said she was happy and married. I… just don’t think she is. Doug, her husband, there’s just something about him that I really don’t like. I asked her to come with me, she was going to and then changed her mind.”

“Evan,” he whispered, “Well, you’re not alone anymore. I’m with you, and we’re going to travel around until we’re both able to figure out what our dreams are,” he told him, smiling.

Evan smiled back, “Yeah, don’t know where we’ll end up, but at least we know we’re not going to be alone.”

“Want to eat out tonight, since we’ve gotten rid of most of our food?” Xiaoli asked.

“Tony said to wait on dinner, Micha is going to be heading this way to pick us up,” Evan said as he glanced over at his phone.

“Dinner?” Xiaoli frowned a little, “Oh, meal to say goodbye,” he nodded as he got it.

“Yeah,” Evan smiled, “I’m looking forward to it, but I’m kinda sad too,” he snorted as he got up, the conversation that they just had forgotten for the moment.

Xiaoli nodded, “Let’s get ready then,” he added,d getting up himself and heading to his room. Most of their things were already packed in Evan’s Jeep. Ready for them to leave in the morning.

XxXxX

The meal had been a nice send-off for the two of them. saying their last goodbyes to the men and women that they worked with. Evan and Xiaoli both would have enjoyed staying. Evan put the last into the jeep, something for them to eat along the way and a cool box with some drinks. They had a good drive ahead of them after all.

“Well,” Xiaoli said as he looked back at the house he had just closed the door of for the final time.

“Sad as well,” Evan said, nodding, “it… kinda felt like a home,” he said softly as he looked at the house as well.

“Yeah, it did,” he agreed walking over to the jeep, “But it’s time to move on,” he stated, shrugging.

Evan nodded and got in the jeep. They strapped in and sighed, “Well, let’s get going.”

Evan drove the jeep out of the drive and headed out. Passing by places that they had practically called home for the last six months. The streets passed as they headed to the highway. Their next stop; Birmingham, Alabama.

Chapter Three

Working with Franco for a month had been easy work. They had quickly fallen into the same friendly workspace as they had with Tony. Franco ran his company almost the same as Tony did. He took in the youngsters who were searching for a place to stay, a good wage, and an opportunity to improve themselves. Evan had even helped one of them find their own place once they had gotten on their feet. Xiaoli had taken on one of the young ones who had just come out of the foster system.

The two worked hard in the month they had been there so far. Franco gathered them one morning in mid-August. “Right, last night we had an alarm that someone had come on the property while we were sleeping in our nice warm beds,” he said as he looked around. “So be careful and keep your phones on you at all times. You see something out of place, call me or the damn cops, take no fucking chances, you got me?” he said gruffly.

“Sure, Boss,” Steve nodded as he looked to the other, “We’ll keep you informed if we find something.”

“Good, now, get to work,” he finished as he waved a hand at them and sent them off with their assignments for the day. Though most would be back for their next within a few hours. His crew was good and knew how to work hard. He accepted nothing less from them.

Evan and Xiaoli were going to be working together on one of the houses that had already been built. They headed over to it and walked inside, both of them stopped when they heard crying coming from somewhere in the house. “You call the boss and I’ll look,” Xiaoli told him as he began to search.

“Xiaoli,” Evan hissed after him, pulling out his phone and dialing Franco.

“It’ll be fine, it sounds like a kid,” Xiaoli whispered. He walked to the stairs that led to the second floor and went up them. He could hear Evan calling Franco in the background as he quietly made his way through the house. He came to a room with the door closed. He opened it and a scream came from inside. “Hey,” he said softly as he noticed that it was only a child, maybe a teenager. But they were young and they were obviously upset and even cold by the way he was shivering.

“Please, don’t… don’t hurt me,” the child whimpered as he tried to squish himself into the corner of the room.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Xiaoli reassured him, “I’m just going to tell my friend downstairs what’s going on, so he doesn’t worry, and then we can talk,” he said, as he went to the top of the stairs and called down, “Evan, it’s a young child,” he told him.

“Are they okay?” Evan called back, appearing at the bottom of the stairs.

“Cold, that’s for sure,” he answered.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Evan mumbled as he walked off.

Xiaoli walked back and headed to the kid, “So, my name is Xiaoli,” he told him, “I work here, and that’s my friend Evan.”

“I’m Luke,” he said quietly, “please, don’t send me back, I can’t go back,” he begged.

“I… can’t promise anything,” Xiaoli said, biting his lip. He really wanted to, but there was no way he could without knowing what was going on. “What happened to bring you here?” he asked.

“I… ran away,” he hesitated, “I’m a foster kid and no one wanted me… so,” he shrugged.

“Why?” he asked him, “That wouldn’t be the only reason to run,” he added.

The child curled in on himself, “I… I’m with a foster family at the moment. They have a bio son, he’s a year older than me. He… bullies me, all the time. They favor him, and I get it, he’s their bio kid and I’m just some interloper that’s muscled in on the family they have,” he shrugged, “They don’t listen when I say what Dean has done at all, they act like I’m the problem, so I ran, I’d rather be on the streets that have to stay with them, and have Dean hit me all the time, to make it seem like I wet the bed and he always blames me for anything going on in the house as well. He does it all the time. I’ve tried talking to my case worker and she just doesn’t want to listen to me. I…” he sunk into himself again, “I just want to be safe. The last home I was in was great, they cared a lot about me and the other two that were there.”

“Yeah, not all homes we go to are the best,” Xiaoli nodded, agreeing with him as he heard movement downstairs.

“You…” he trailed off looking at Xiaoli.

“I was in the foster system as well. I aged out though,” he shrugged, “I didn’t find a forever home, I was bounced from foster home to foster home, and sometimes a children’s home. Those to me were the best ones,” he said with a melancholy smile on his face, “It’s hard, being tossed around, we never feel like we belong anywhere we go. Not often we get a family that we will gel with, sometimes we do, but often we are taken from them.”

“I hate being there, I just want to go back to the Lichfields,” he murmured, “They cared.”

Evan walked into the room, a hot chocolate in one hand and a blanket in the other, “Let’s get you nice and warm,” he smiled as he walked over. “Here,” he said as he handed over the hot chocolate and tucked the blanket around him.

“Th… thank you,” The boy whispered, as he curled into the blanket.

“I’m Evan,” he greeted him as he took a step back to give the teenager a little space and sat down on the floor.

“I’m Luke,” he introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you,” he grinned, “Feel warmer?” he asked, a little frown of concern on his face as he looked at the pale child.

“I’m warming up, thank you,” he said as he blew on the hot chocolate to try and take a sip, but stopped when he felt like it would be too hot.

Xiaoli was quick to give him the gist of what was going on.

“Tony has called the cops, there are some on the way, with a social worker,” Evan winced as he looked at Xiaoli.

“No, no, I can’t go back,” Luke protested, eyes going wide as he almost spilled his hot chocolate.

“You know you can’t live on the streets,” Xiaoli said softly, “I know, being in the system isn’t fun, but there is a right way of doing this. The Social Worker that’s coming, might not know the situation and they should listen to you,” he told him.

“Will you… will you stay with me, until I can get them to listen? They never want to listen to me, they said I’m a child and I don’t know what I’m talking about,” he muttered, not looking happy.

“I’ll stay if I can, they might not let me, I’m a stranger to you after all,” Xiaoli said as he glanced over at Evan.

“But you know what it’s like. They don’t want to hear what I have to say and when someone does say something, they lie about it all and start blaming me for everything. That I cause trouble. I’ve never caused trouble before, so why would I now?” Luke tried to reassure them that he was a good kid, not one that caused trouble or anything like that.

Evan got up as he heard someone downstairs. He smiled at Luke, “We’ll do what we can,” he told him, even though there wasn’t much that they could do. He went and got the two cops and the social worker who had decided to come with them instead of waiting at the station for them to arrive there with the child.

“Hello,” the social worker said, a small smile on his face as he stepped closer, “What’s your name, I’m Talib, but you can call me Tal,” he smiled a little more.

“Luke Maddon,” he said, staring at the man.

“Now, normally I would be waiting at the station, but a message came through from your case worker to come and get you to take you back-”

“No, I’m not going back, I don’t want to go back there ever!” Luke shouted before Talib could finish what he was saying.

Talib frowned, “And why not? The Whitten family is very good from what I hear. A good son and two parents that-”

“Lies,” Luke stated, staring at him again, “All lies. Their son is a bully and keeps getting me in trouble by doing stupid things and then blaming me. No other family I was with was like that,” he added, shaking his head, “Miss Ellie doesn’t want to listen to me when I tell her what’s going on. She listens to him and believes the lies. Dean hits me, and I have bruises and cuts from him too,” he added.

“That’s a very serious allegation, I will need to take you to the hospital to get you checked over,” Talib said softly.

“That’s fine, you’ll see them on my back and legs. He likes to punch me from behind or kick my knees out so I’ll fall,” Luke said quietly, “No one wants to believe me. I just want to be safe.”

Talib nodded, “And I’ll do what I can to help you. I’ll be talking with your case worker as well,” he added, “Now, we need to get you to the hospital and get checked over. You’ve been missing since late last night.

“Just goes to show that they don’t really pay attention, I didn’t even go to school. I left yesterday morning, I found this place last night when they were locking up. I snuck in,” he told him, “So I’ve been gone a whole day. Dean doesn’t like me, doesn’t like the kids that come in and he makes it known to them. Even the students at school know I’m a foster kid, Dean made sure of that. They are just as bad as him.”

“I see,” Talib nodded, “Well, let’s see what we can do about that.”

“Can… can Xiaoli come with me, he’s a foster kid as well. Or was,” Luke was quick to ask as he drank the last of his hot chocolate and stood up.

Talib looked at Xiaoli, “I’m not sure I can allow it.”

“Please, please,” Luke begged.

Talib sighed, “A cop will remain with us at all times,” he warned as he looked at Xiaoli.

“That’s fine, I can understand, I’m a stranger after all, and around a vulnerable minor,” Xiaoli nodded, knowing how unusual this situation was. Normally this just would not be allowed, at all.

“Okay, we’ll go now,” Talib said as he guided Luke out of the room.

Evan followed them and said, “I’ll tell Franco what’s going on, keep me updated, and I’ll see you when you get back to the apartment.”

Xiaoli nodded, smiling at him, “Sure, see you later.”

Evan headed to see Franco as Xiaoli went with the cops and the Social worker. Luke and Xiaoli talked quietly as they walked side by side.

XxXxX

Evan looked up from the book he was reading. It was late, and he would be heading to bed soon. He had cooked dinner, leaving a portion in the oven for when Xiaoli returned home. “Hey,” he greeted his friend.

“Hey,” Xiaoli smiled back tiredly as he walked over and flopped onto the couch, “That was rough,” he stated.

“I know you said that something was going on and that you’ll tell me everything when you get back, but if you want, just eat and get some sleep. You looked exhausted,” Evan observed as he looked his friend over.

“I am, and how can I not be,” he muttered, “Luke was being bullied badly, and yeah, there was proof of it as well. Even the parents knew and did nothing. Not caring that a child that was put into their care was being harmed. They were in it for the money,” he snorted, “Though they have now been blacklisted and will never be able to foster or even adopt. They aren’t happy with that, but… well they are going to be charged with something. Dean has been taken from them for the time being as well. He’s going to find out just what it’s like to be a foster child,” he added, not sure if that was going to go well or not. It was karma in his eyes. Dean had bullied Luke for being a foster child and now he was one. Though there was a high chance that he would end up back with his parents.

“Wow,” Evan said, eyes going wide.

“Luke is being placed with a new family, the Lichfields, a family that he had been with before have a special needs child with them at the moment, but they want to take Luke back in as well. From what I heard from Mrs. Lichfield, she would like to adopt both the child she already has staying with them and Luke. So, I’m hoping that is going to be the case. It’s not fun to grow up in foster care, but finding a forever home, that’s priceless,” he smiled softly, “Mrs. Lichfield said that she will be okay with Luke keeping in touch via mail or email. Not on the phone just yet, she doesn’t know me.”

“Well, that’s a good thing, that you’ll be able to keep in touch,” Evan said as he got up, “I’ll get your dinner warmed up.”

“Thanks,” Xiaoli got up himself, “I’m going to take a quick shower and then eat. I’ll tell you more in a bit,” he told him as he then headed to the bathroom to shower and change into something more comfortable.

Evan smiled and nodded and began to heat up dinner, starting to make himself a little snack as well. He wasn’t that tired, but he was starting to get there. He always liked a small snack before he went to bed, it meant he didn’t wake up in the middle of the night with his stomach revolting on him because he was starting to feel hungry.

Xiaoli showered quickly and joined Evan in the dining area of the small kitchen. It was just about big enough for the two of them. He told him a little more about what had been going on with Luke and what the next step would be, he was smiling as he said, before heading to bed. “It’s been a dream of mine to open up a children’s home. To make sure that they will be loved and wanted and never mistreated. Cared for in a way that I wasn’t,” he winced a little.

“Maybe one day, we can make that dream real?” Evan suggested, contemplating what they would need to accomplish to do that.

“Maybe, I’d like to,” he smiled.

“Then we’ll think about it and see what’s needed. It might not happen right away, but maybe one day,” Evan smiled back, “Night Xiaoli,” he said as he headed for his bedroom.

“Night, Evan,” he returned as he went to his own room.

Chapter Four

Franco walked with purpose to the break trailer that had been set up when they started to work on the new site. It was two days before Halloween and he had someone new that was going to be working with his team for the next few months. This one was a wander, moving through as he tried to find a place from what he had been able to learn. Much like Xiaoli and Evan were. Then again, there was something about Darren Lewis that rubbed Franco the wrong way. He just couldn’t put his finger on why that was.

“Guys,” he called out as he walked inside, Darren following him.

“Hey, Boss,” Xiaoli nodded as he and the others turned towards him.

“We have someone new joining the team for the next two months,” he said as he gestured to Darren, “This is Darren Lewis.”

“Hi, nice to meet you all,” the man greeted them all with a smirk on his face. He was older looking than Evan and Xiaoli, with unshaven stubble decorating his face and dark blue eyes that showed nothing of the smirk that he was currently giving everyone.

“Hi,” the others greeted, “Glad you can join us,” one of them added.

The others went forward to greet him properly, Franco watched a little more before he said, “Right, breakfast chit chart is over, time for your assignments,” he said as he began to hand them out, “Darren, you’re with Evan and Patty, those two will show you were everything is and what you will be needing to do for your assignment. When you’re done, you’ll be heading back to me for more.”

“Okay,” Darren nodded as he followed Evan and Patty when they walked out.

“So, we’re in the house at the far end, we’ve just got a few things left to do before it’s ready for the finishing touches,” Evan began to explain.

Patty nodded, adding a few words as she began to show him around the site and where he could find things. “Boss prefers it if we work quickly, but he wants the job done right. He spends an hour or two each night when it’s lock-up time going over what we’ve done. He doesn’t want us to even think about cutting corners. It could put people’s lives at risk and that’s something Franco hates.”

“Right,” Darren said, nodding as he took in what the two of them were telling him. It wasn’t long before they began to actually do their work.

XxXxX

Evan’s eyes opened slowly, his head hurt and so did his side. The lights were too bright and he squeezed his eyes shut again.

“Damn, light,” came Xiaoli’s voice as he jumped up from where he had been sitting and dimmed the lights.

“Xiaoli,” he mumbled, barely able to pronounce his friend’s name as his speech slurred and he began to cough.

“It’s okay, here, have a few sips of this,” Xiaoli said as Evan felt a straw touching his lips.

Opening his eyes again, he saw that Xiaoli was standing over him. He took the straw into his mouth and took a few draws of the water he had been offered. “Wha… what happened?” he asked, frowning and trying to remember.

“You were working on the second floor, Darren was in the attic and not watching what he was doing according to Patty. He tossed a tool down and it broke through the ceiling as it hadn’t been finished fully yet. Unfortunately, it brought a few things down on you. You got stabbed in your side,” he added.

“What… they say,” he said, wanting to sit up, but only a hand on his shoulder from Xiaoli stopped him.

“Nothing major hit, but you’ll need a couple of weeks off work to make sure your side heals. The concussion is going to be around for a few as well. They’re planning on keeping you overnight for Obs, but if things are good then you can come home. I’m taking a couple of days off to help and then…” he trailed off and shrugged.

“You can’t take too long off work to help,” Evan nodded in understanding, biting his lip, “A hospital bill is not what I needed.”

“Don’t worry, Franco has good insurance and he has already been in to cover things since it was a workplace injury. So you don’t have to worry about that. Franco is pissed though,” Xiaoli stated, reassuring him.

“Why? Accident?” he frowned as his friend sat back down.

“Mostly it was, but Darren didn’t listen to you or Patty when you told him not to put anything on the slats just yet, as they hadn’t been fully secured,” Xiaoli sighed, “It was idiotic and Darren’s being raked over the coals for not listening to you both about what he should and shouldn’t do.”

“Right,” he said, yawning a little and wincing at the pain in his head.

“I’m going to call them to check you over, should have done it as soon as you woke up,” Xiaoli said as he pressed the call button. It wasn’t long before a nurse stopped in to see what was going on and to call for the doctor.

Xiaoli stood outside the room for a few moments as Evan was checked over. He sent a quick message to Franco that Evan was awake and he was doing okay from what he could tell but would know more when he was allowed back inside.

XxXxX

Evan was Bored, with a capital B. He had another two days off work before he could go back. Darren had stayed with them for a few more days before leaving. Franco had come by a few times to check on him and the man’s wife had brought around a casserole and lasagna for them to eat while Evan was recovering. Now, he needed something to do. He got up and headed to the door, grabbing the phone, keys, and a coat. It was starting to get chilly and both he and Xiaoli were starting to want to move on to somewhere else.

“Well,” he muttered to himself as he headed out the door and headed to the mall. Maybe he could find a new book or three there. He put the radio on and listened to the host. It didn’t take him long to get to the mall and head inside. There were a couple of bookshops in the place, he usually used his Kindle, but sometimes he just wanted to actually hold a book instead of a device. He walked in and began to browse the books on offer, fiction and nonfiction.

“Anything in particular that you’re looking for?” a voice asked from behind.

Evan turned and came face to face with a woman who looked slightly older than him. “Oh, not really, just wanting something to pass the time. I don’t go back to work for another two days,” he answered her, giving her a smile.

“Right, so no idea at all?” she continued to ask.

“Not really, maybe just a novel or two,” he shrugged.

“Well, maybe Clive Cussler, you look like the type to like adventure,” she smiled in a flirtatious way.

Evan blushed slightly, “Maybe, I’m trying to find a good place to go to next. My friend and I are traveling but we also work as well. So have to find a place that will allow us to do that,” he gave a little shrug.

“Maybe I can give you a few suggestions,” she added, now smirking as she stepped towards him.

“No thanks,” Evan took a step back.

“Well, ma-” she began once more, not deterred by Evan’s actions.

“Ma’am, do you need help with anything?” an older man asked her, his hair graying.

“No, I’m fine I was just talking with…” she trailed off, gesturing to Evan and waiting for him to say his name.

“Ma’am, looks more like you are bothering one of our customers, please, go and buy what you wish, or continue browsing,” he stated looking at the woman.

She huffed but turned and walked away.

“Sir, you alright?” he asked, “I could see that you were becoming uncomfortable with her… advances,” he said as delicately as he could.

“Yeah, normally I would be fine, but… I’m not looking for hookups or dating anyone at the moment. I’m trying to get my life sorted,” he said with a shrug.

“We all do that at some point,” he smiled, “I’m Adam, and I am one of the workers here,” he said, “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thanks, I’m Evan,” Evan smiled at him as he went back to browsing and Theo went back to the display he had been working on. He moved around the bookstore, picking out a couple of books for himself to read. He even spied one that he knew Xiaoli would enjoy. No doubt that he and Xiaoli would see a few things before they moved on, or donate to the charities around the area. That’s what they had done when they moved last time. Just packing up what they could in the jeep before heading out.

“You ready?” Adam asked him, a wide smile on his face.

“Yeah, I’ve picked a few that I’ll read. Maybe I’ll keep them instead of giving them to charity,” he gave a little shrug.

“Charity?” he frowned a little as he led the way over to the counter.

“My friend and I are thinking about moving again, it’s getting cold here, though we’re undecided on where we should go next. We need to find a place that will be open for us to work as well. Since we’re not really going off for a holiday, but more for work,” Evan was quick to explain.

“Hmm,” Adam nodded, “What about a little of both?” he asked him, “A working holiday. There are places that could work for that. Hawaii is one that comes to mind. The weather around the holidays is nice of course. They are always crying out for staff at the hotels and such, if you can get there before the rush to be trained up, then you should be good over the holidays as well.”

“Oh, that… might be a good idea,” Evan said with a slow nod. “I might start looking into things,” he smiled.

“It’s a nice place to go to, so you’ll find a few other things to do on the side,” Theo smiled.

Evan laughed and nodded, “Thank you for the suggestion, I may talk to Xiaoli about it, and see if he wants to go there. We’ll have to put a few things into storage for a bit, but we have savings that can do that. If we do find work as well, that will help towards that,” he said as he began to think of what would be needed for them to go so far away from the mainland.

“It would be worth looking into, at the very least,” the man smiled as he rang up the books and told him the price.

“Yeah,” Evan said as he paid for his books. They were put in a bag and handed over. He walked out, smiling as he thought of telling Xiaoli the idea. He wondered if the man would like it. He went around the mall a little longer, buying a couple of things before heading back home. It was almost time for him to start the dinner.

XxXxX

Xiaoli walked into the apartment with a smile. Taking off his shoes he slipped into his slippers and headed into the living room. Evan wasn’t there, and he could smell the beginnings of dinner, “Hmm,” he hummed as he walked to the kitchen, “Smells nice,” he said as he went over to see what Evan was doing.

“Franco’s wife taught me, Amanda is great in the kitchen,” he grinned, “She taught me a few things, nothing big, but good enough to keep us fed, and you learned as well.”

Xiaoli shook his head, “Don’t put yourself down, learning to cook is a life skill that some forget about. We can all throw things in the oven with instruction and we can all cook a few of the basics, but putting together a meal takes something else, to not burn it or put too much or too little of one thing or another. That, I find hard,” he stated, “Now, what are we having?” he asked, curiously.

“I’m trying my hand at Chicken Kiev. It’s already in the oven. I’m doing some mash as well and I’ve prepared some vegetables for roasting,” he added, grinning as he looked at his best friend.

“Sounds good too, then,” he smiled, “I’m gonna wash up,” he stated about to head off.

“One thing before you go, I was talking to someone at the bookstore and they suggested Hawaii as somewhere where we can go. I’ve been looking and there are places that hire over the holiday period, it would mean working the hotels and such that are there, but it would be different and we may find construction work while we’re out there, depending on when we go,” he quickly told him.

Xiaoli frowned, “You know, I never thought of going there. It’s not the mainland and we won’t be able to take the jeep at all,” he reminded him.

“I know, we’d have to buy a car or something for while we’re there since renting would be out of our league,” Evan nodded, “I’m been thinking about it and there are many storage facilities around, I mentioned about needing one to Franco, and he even had a few suggestions as well.”

“It does sound like a good idea, and the weather is getting colder. I’m not much of a fan of cold weather, if I can get away from it, I will,” Xiaoli nodded, “So, let’s research it, we have another week before the site is done, and you’ll be back for that,” he added. Mid-November was fast approaching.

“Yeah,” he nodded as he grabbed the vegetables and put them in the oven. “I’ve got a few links already, and some of them are suggestions from Franco on where we can store the jeep and some of our other things. So we can travel light. It’s not like we can lug everything to Hawaii, the luggage charges would be through the damn roof,” he snorted.

Xiaoli laughed, “Yeah, they would be, I’ll in a moment,” he said as he went to get his shower.

Not two hours after dinner had finished, the two of them started making arrangements to head to Hawaii before the end of the month. Storage would be their main expense, but it was one they could handle for at least three months without majorly hurting their finances. They even started to send out queries about jobs, to make sure that they had something lined up, or at the very least, had places they could be interviewed at to start the ball rolling in getting settled.

Chapter Five

Hawaii turned out to be a good choice. They had arrived before there was a holiday rush. Being able to find places to work. In the bars around the island and the hotels at the hotel bars as well. It was easy to find work, and they were quickly trained for each job that they had. They found a nice small one-bedroom house that they could live in. It was cheap and just fine for the two to remain in for a while. They didn’t know how long they wanted to stay, but at least until the New Year.

“Well,” Evan said as he looked over the ocean, they had some free time between their jobs and shifts and they even had time to learn how to surf.

“The waves are good,” Xiaoli said, he wasn’t sure about the surfing. Evan had taken to it well. Xiaoli was having a little trouble with his balance.

“If you just wanna bathe out here, do so. I’m going to head in for a bit,” Evan grinned as he picked up the board and headed to the water.

Xiaoli just nodded, putting his own surfboard down and settling on the towels that the two had laid out for them to sunbathe on. Xiaoli just wasn’t keen on being in the water.

Evan looked back seeing Xiaoli settling down and nodded to himself as he entered the ocean and began to swim out further. Getting on his board he just let himself bob for a bit before going for a wave. He caught a good wave and then got tossed into the water again. He came up, shaking his head and pushing back his hair, a large smile on his face as he spotted someone else nearby. They looked sad. Going up on his board he paddled over. “You okay?” he asked.

The man turned around, blue eyes turned, and looked at him, “I’m… just thinking.”

“You sure?” Evan asked as he kept himself close, “I can understand the world being cruel.”

“Yeah, it is. I just wanted to see if I had the heart to catch the waves again,” he said, “I don’t think I do,” he added softly.

“Want to talk about it?” he asked, “I’m Evan by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Zachary or rather Zac, please,” he said back, not sure if he wanted to talk to this stranger who had approached him. Most of those that were around here knew him and knew of what happened. But this man didn’t look like he recognized him at all. “I… was a pro-sailor, surfed as well when I could,” he began, “There was an accident, my mother and sister were killed. I love the ocean, but at the moment I also hate it,” he frowned at himself, he had no idea why he said anything, normally no one could get anything out of him.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Evan said, sounding genuine to Zachary’s ears.

“Yeah, I was there, I was there and I couldn’t do anything to save them,” Zachary looked out at the ocean that had claimed his mother and sister, “Dad blames me,” he finally said aloud. “He doesn’t speak to me anymore, wants nothing to do with me. I took them out, Ruth had begged me to go, she and Mom wanted to go snorkeling and see some of the dolphins that were around. So I took them, ignoring the fact that there was a storm heading our way. We… We were making our way back when the wind came up and capsized us. I tried to get to them, but I ended up knocked out. I lived, they didn’t. I could hear them… I could for a few moments, before it went silent and I knew. I knew they were gone and I thought I would die as well. But I was rescued after I lost consciousness the second time,” he told him, shaking his head and snorting, “And I can’t believe I’m just telling you this.”

“How long ago?” he asked, “How long ago did this happen?” Evan looked Zachary over, he could see scars from injuries, a prominent pink showing that they weren’t that old.

Zachary was quiet for a while before he answered, “Seven months ago,” he looked at him, “Seven of the worst months of my entire life. Sometimes, I don’t know why I lived.”

“Almost a year ago, I was on my motorbike. I saw a car pull out. I could have slowed down or even swerved a little. But I didn’t, I sped up, and crashed into the car. I’ve done stupid shit like that all my life, but still lived to see another sunrise,” Evan said quietly, “For some reason, the universe wants me alive and I have no idea why. So I am traveling now, with a friend. See the States and look at what is on offer and maybe find a cause that I can get behind. My friend has one, and I think it’s a good one that I can get behind. He wants to open up a home for foster children. I like the idea of giving children a home, a place they can feel wanted and loved. I never did, my parents… I think they would have been happy if I had died at some point.”

Zachary blinked as he looked at the young man, “Yeah, that… that sounds like a good thing to get behind,” he nodded, taking in what Evan was saying.

“Find a reason, each day for getting up, even something stupid and small will do. It can be anything. The first one that I came up with when I was in that dark deep hole was getting my favorite coffee from a local place. It worked, I got up the next day, got out of my bed, and carried on. Then I did it again. Then I got a jeep and left, traveled, and found work. Found a friend, and I found more reasons to keep getting up.”

“It’s hard,” Zachary admitted, “To find a reason, I don’t want a reason, I just-”

“Don’t want to exist for a moment,” Evan nodded, understanding, “I felt like that most of my life. From the age of nine, my sister had left me alone with parents who hated me and weren’t afraid to show it. She still believes that they love me, no matter what I tell her, she holds firm on that,” he snorted, shaking his head, “One day, your dad may come around, even if he never does, you know that your mom and sister loved you.”

“Yeah, they did, I miss them a lot. I always will,” Zachary nodded, “thank you…. for checking on me.”

Evan gave him a small smile, “I know what it’s like being out on that precipice and looking into the abyss and thinking it’s better. How about we head back to the shore and I’ll introduce you to my friend, Xiaoli? Then if you want, we can find a good place for lunch. I’m still getting used to being here.”

Zachary nodded and smiled a little, “Yeah, okay, and I know a few good places,” he added as they began to paddle back to shore.

XxXxX

Evan walked out of work, stretching a little. He had worked a morning shift, and Xiaoli had just taken over for him. The two had different schedules at the moment and it was a little annoying since they hadn’t been able to spend a lot of time doing a few sightseeing things around the islands.

“Finished work?” a voice came from beside him.

Evan turned and saw Zachary standing there, leaning against the wall of the building. “Hey, Zac,” he said as he jogged over, “I didn’t think I would be seeing you today.”

“Just had a session today, and I feel a little better,” he smiled slightly, “I thought… I would take you out… on a date?” he asked.

Evan blinked and then nodded, “Yeah, I’d like that,” he smiled.

Zachary smiled back, a true genuine smile on his face, he leaned in slowly and kissed Evan on the lips, “I have some time now if you want to walk around for a bit?” he suggested.

Evan laughed lightly and nodded, “You know, that sounds great,” he answered, as he felt a strong hand take his. Evan was only just slightly taller than Zachary, only just. He was having a bit of a late growth spurt and Evan knew it would be his last one, he was now twenty after all.

XxXxX

It had been a week since Evan and Zachary had gotten together. Things had been fun for the two, their first date had been a really enjoyable time as well. The two began to walk toward where Evan and Xiaoli were currently living. “I’m glad you’re getting help, I was thinking about doing that at times, but I’m not in a place long enough.”

“Maybe you can do one online, there are services that you can use to video call?” Zachary suggested.

“Maybe,” he nodded, “I would ask how you are feeling, but I bet you’re sick of that,” he grinned.

“Yeah,” he laughed, “I’m doing well though. It’s hard, going over what happened, the fallout with Dad. But I’m piecing myself back together. You and Xiaoli have been good for me as well. Having friends that I can go to when things are tough. I’ve been thinking about what I want to do,” he added.

“Yeah?” Evan smiled as he glanced over at him.

“I have, I’m not going to be able to go back to boating at all. I tried to get into one a few days ago, but it didn’t work. I went into a panic. So I’ve been thinking, there are just painful memories here, thinking about heading to the mainland,” Zachary answered him, looking out at the ocean. “I still… I want to be near the ocean I think, just… not have it be my career.”

“So what are you thinking?” he asked as they went over to one of the little stands and grabbed a small bite to eat.

“I… I’ve been thinking long and hard about it. I know we’ve just got together,” Zachary said, “And I know that you want to head back to the mainland when the New Year is over, so I was thinking about heading over there as well. You can… carry on traveling but I can be a place where you can come back to,” he said slowly, he had been thinking about it hard and was enjoying his relationship with Evan, but they both knew that it wasn’t going to last. They weren’t each other’s forever.

“Moving over there would be good. And having a place I can go to when I need it.”

“When you and Xiaoli need it,” Zachary said, “You’ve both become good friends to me,” he pointed out, “And I want to keep the two of you in my life.”

“I don’t want to lose you either,” Evan said softly, reaching out and taking a hand, “We’ll still be friends, even when this ends.”

“Yeah,” he nodded, smiling slightly, “Even when it ends. That’s not going to change. I’m looking at possible career paths and I’m also researching therapists as well over there. Doc Pei is going to keep an ear and eye out for someone that might work well for me,” he added, “So I’ll have that at least already sorted before leaving.”

“When are you thinking about doing so?” he finally asked.

“The New Year, ring it in one last time here, before leaving. I’m thinking about writing Dad a letter to tell him that I’m going. There are things that I want to tell him, let him know. Things that Mom and Ruth said before things went to hell,” he added, glancing at the ocean. He had never once visited the graves, when he wanted to see them he always headed to the ocean. “I wish he would talk to me, but I know at the moment, it still hurts him.”

“It hurts you as well,” Evan pointed out, “Yeah, he lost his daughter and wife, but you lost a sister and mother. You both lost the same people and you should be grieving together.”

“Maybe,” he snorted, shaking his head, “It doesn’t matter. I’m writing him a letter and I’ll let him decide if he ever wants to talk to me again. I’ll leave a way for him to contact me, but… I’m not going to hold my breath at all,” he sighed, he still loved his dad and knew that he was lashing out in his grief. It was one of the things he had talked about in therapy, his father’s reaction to the accident.

“I… haven’t changed my number since leaving Hershey. My parents could easily contact me, but they never have. My sister, Maddie, has contacted me three times since I last saw her at the beginning of the year. She’s the one that gave me the jeep. Sent me on the way, even though I had asked her to come with me. I hoped she would, something is off with that husband of hers. He doesn’t vibe right,” Evan shrugged. “I send her postcards once a month at the moment. Giving her a general update on myself and where I am,” he shrugged, he knew in the end the messages and the one call that he had gotten that year would soon fade to nothing at all.

“You never know when she might reach out to you,” Zachary said, nodding slowly, just like his dad, who might one day call him or contact him at least. He was hoping for it but wasn’t going to hold his breath at all. His aunt, his dad’s sister, had spoken to him once about how his father was doing and the man was wallowing in his grief and not getting any help. Zachary had given her the phone number of someone who might be able to help his dad, hoping that in the end, the man would start to live again. His mother and Ruth wouldn’t want the two of them to wallow as they had been. The two women were full of life and wanted nothing more than an adventure a day.

“Yeah, I know, which is why I keep the same number. I don’t want to change it, never know if she’ll call me,” he said with a little shrug. He reached out and took a hand, “I’m glad that we have this though, even for a little while,” he added.

“Same,” Zachary agreed, “Same here,” he sighed.

The two shared a small kiss, their relationship was only a week old, but already they knew that the other wasn’t the one for them. Though they silently agreed that they would remain together for a little longer, having fun and sharing that closeness for just that little bit longer.

Chapter Six

The New Year Fireworks were going off overhead. Their time in Hawaii was coming to an end. Evan was a little sad about that, but looking forward to where he was going to go next. Zachary had already decided that he was going to head to LA, he had been looking at careers now that he had decided that continuing to sail was no longer for him. His former sponsor was trying to pressure him to take it back up, even after all that had happened.

“I’ve found something,” Zachary said as he looked over at Evan.

Evan looked at him, “Yeah?” he asked, “What have you decided?”

“I’m going to join the Fire Academy, I’ve been talking with my therapist and it seems like a good move. I want to help people, like those that rescued me. One of them would come and see me occasionally,” he added, “Talking to me, helping me,” he smiled softly, “I talked with him about it and he said it could be a good idea.”

“Sounds like you know what you want to do,” Evan told him, “Xiaoli and I are going to head to Chicago, we have work lined up starting two weeks after the New Year,” he stated, “I’m going to be sorry to see you go. But you’ll be keeping in touch?” he asked him.

“Of course I am,” Zacahry smiled softly as he leaned in for a kiss, “Happy New Year, Evan,” he told him softly, “I’m going to miss this time, I really am. I know we’re not each other’s forever, we worked that out quickly, but you’re something special, and I enjoyed every moment we spent together as a couple.”

“So do I,” Evan blushed a little, “It’s been… good, really good. To feel that connection with someone,” he murmured.

“You’ll find someone, in the meantime, you go out and see the world and enjoy it. When the time is right, you’ll find the place you’re looking for,” he told him, nodding a few times.

“Yeah, one day,” he said, looking at Xiaoli who was sharing a kiss with a set of twins, one male and one female, each on either side of him. “He’s having fun.”

“Yeah he is,” Zachary snorted, “But the best kind,” he said, leaning in for a second kiss, “Want to get out of here?” he asked, his voice going low.

“Yeah,” Evan was quick to agree, he quickly told Xiaoli where he was heading, the slightly older man nodding and letting Evan go with a smirk.

The two left the New Year party to have a private celebration. Their final one before they would be heading in a different direction in two days.

XxXxX

Their split at the airport was bittersweet. Both of them moved on but also remained firm that they would be keeping in touch. Evan would make sure of that. Their arrival in Chicago was greeted with the bitter cold, Evan glaring slightly at Xiaoli, who shrugged at it.

“It’ll be fine, we’re only here for two months and then we’re heading to Montana,” Xiaoli reminded him, “It’s so we can get the jeep delivered as well, it should be here in two days from what Franco said, he’s been able to keep it going for us,” he added.

“Yeah, I need to thank him for that, can’t believe the storage place we were using decided to up and try to sell everyone’s things,” Evan muttered darkly. They had almost lost the jeep and a lot of their belongings that hadn’t made the cut to go with them to Hawaii.

“Good thing Franco heard about it and was able to help. He’s been great in looking after it all,” Xiaoli said, a small smile on his face as they waited for their taxi to arrive to take them to the house shared that they would be staying in. They already had work secured at a popular bar, but it wasn’t anything special in their eyes.

“Right, let’s get us settled in and look around the area, I wanna find out what’s on offer,” Evan said, already missing the heat of Hawaii and wondering if going back was an option after all.

The two got in the taxi as soon as it arrived and headed to the house share. They met the owner and one of the residents that lived there. The two showed them around before leading them to their rooms and handing them the keys. There was a list of rules that they had to follow, but they were fine with that, it was to be expected.

Evan and Xiaoli were alone in Evan’s room, looking around it was basic, very basic, but it was livable. The kitchen downstairs had two very large fridges and in a mudroom, there were three large chest freezers that they all used. Labels were to go on their food items and those that had allergies had to list them. Thankfully neither of them did, though one person in the house was allergic to cherries. The two would easily be able to keep those out of their diets, so there would be no chance of cross-contamination.

“I can’t believe we’re in another new place,” Evan snorted.

“Yeah, we’re getting to move around, we’re saving well too,” he added, glancing around the room, “We’ll be okay here, we’re only here for seven weeks and then we’re moving on. The Montana Ranch is looking for people to start in late Feb or early March. it comes with a place to stay and the opportunity to learn how to ride,” he grinned, going over to the lone chair in the room and sitting down.

Evan smiled and nodded, “That’s the bit I’m looking forward to. I’ve always wanted to ride a horse,” he stated, flopping onto his bed. It was comfortable, but one day he would actually own his own bed, his own place and maybe he would have opened a home by then, for kids like Xiaoli had once been.

“Same, it always looked so much fun when I saw it on the TV, and I wanted to try it at some point. When I saw the job offer online, I knew that it would be something that we could go and do,” he gave a little shrug as they sat there quietly for a moment, “I’m going to go to my room and unpack my bag. I’ll meet you in about an hour and we’ll look around the area?” he suggested, getting up.

Evan nodded, “Sounds like a plan,” he yawned, feeling tired after the flight. He grabbed his phone, looking at the time and calculating what it would be in Los Angeles. Figuring out that it was earlier for them, he made the call to Zachary to make sure he landed safely as well and got to his new apartment.

XxXxX

The seven weeks that they had at the job in Chicago were quickly over and Evan never did get used to the cold wind that had been blowing for most of their time there. The trip to Montana was quiet and peaceful. They called Zachary a number of times over the two months, learning more about what he was doing to get ready for the Fire Academy in May. He was doing a load of qualifications outside of it to try and make sure he had what he needed when he did start there. The man was happy to have found something that he was actually looking forward to doing.

Their first month at the Ranch they were working at was calm and just a slow introduction to all that the Ranch had to offer. It was the fourth week there that they found something that interested them a lot more. The owner, a middle-aged woman who had inherited the Ranch from her father, and her husband, would open the ranch for a children’s day, most of them coming from the local orphanages and homes around the area, Spending time and having some fun.

“Jolene,” Evan said as he went over to her, “Do you do this often?” he asked, looking at the fifty children that the ranch hands and Jolene’s family were all hearing around the Ranch, along with their carers and minders.

“Once a month without fail,” Jolene stated, “The kids have no one, so I want to make sure that here, they have that opportunity to just be kids and not worry for a few moments about where they are going to be bedding down for the night. I would love to take them all in myself, but I know I don’t have the bones for it anymore. I raised my six kids, and while two of them are still here, the other four are all over the place,” she snorted, “Grandkids are coming as well from two of them,” she added, shaking her head.

“I was a foster kid,” Xiaoli stated as he stood by his friend, “Something like this would have been magical when I was a kid.”

“These kids deserve a childhood and most of them won’t get that, some of them will be lucky and they will get some form of one. All of them are either abandoned or taken from no-good parents that don’t deserve the bright sparks they had,” she said, pulling a face as she watched them play, running around and just generally enjoying what was going on around them.

Xiaoli and Evan shared a look, “I want to open a Children’s home one day,” Xiaoli said.

“I want to help with that,” Evan added, nodding as he looked at the kids, “I grew up in a home where I knew my parents hated me before I was even five. I also learned that the only time they paid attention to me was if I was hurt, and that was more because those around them demanded them to,” he sighed.

“I want to give back and give a home to kids like myself, even like Evan. He may have lived with his parents, but…”

“I didn’t really have a childhood, I was a walking disaster from the age of five to nineteen, doing what I could to get hurt and hoping that this time my parents would continue to look at me and give me an ounce of care,” Evan finished for him.

“Kirsty!” Jolene called out, “Come over here,” she said to the woman who was keeping an eye on the children and adults.

The older woman walked over slowly, stopping a child from falling with a gentle smile before standing before the three, “What, Jo?” she asked.

“These two boys want to become foster parents, by the sound of it, you’ll have more information about that,” she added, “Things they can do to look good? To make sure they know the ins and outs of things?” she finished.

“Sure, I can do that,” Kirsty said, giving the two the lookover. “Both very young though. Most of the time our foster parents are usually mid-thirties, maybe even late twenties, though not as often.”

Xiaoli nodded, “While we may not be able to open a children’s home for a while, we do want to get started on things that could help us set that up later on. Anything you can teach or direct us to would be amazing,” he stated.

“We both want to do this together, and yeah, we’re young, but we’re traveling around as well, learning about the world and hoping to bring some of that back to wherever we may end up settling in and starting up a Home. We’re willing to put in any work that we can, no matter how hard,” Evan added, almost pleading with her to help them both.

Kirsty nodded, “I can help you start getting a few things in order, but it will be better to do it when you find a place where you’ll be living. Each state has something different for how fostering will go. Different qualifications and that, but I don’t think it would hurt too much to get one in this state as well. May help you in showing that you are committed to doing so wherever you go,” she thought a little more, “Also, volunteer at places as well. Children’s homes are always crying out for those to work for them and for volunteers, there will be background checks, of course. Working with the vulnerable, so it’s always needed. Hospitals are a good place as well, the children’s wards often need help in keeping the children entertained and volunteers can go in and read stories, and play with them. It can be heartbreaking as well, just to warn you. Fostering means that the child will leave you one day, no matter how long they may end up staying with you at first,” she warned then in the end, she was already making a few mental lists on what to tell them and get them more information about.

“Becoming foster parents here?” Evan said, frowning, “We don’t have a home.”

“Jolene is a qualified emergency foster parent, as is her husband. Both of them will occasionally take in a child for a couple of nights. Having you here to share that burden, even if it’s only for a little while, it could be a good thing,” she told the two of them.

“Then yeah, we don’t mind doing that,” Xiaoli nodded, with Evan doing the same.

“Then I’ll get some more information together as well as get started on the vetting process. I know you’re new here, Jo said, but I will be contacting people in your past, make sure you list everyone you can think of that would be able to vouch for you.”

Evan and Xiaoli nodded, already beginning to make a list of those that they could call. There were mainly people that they knew from working with in the past. There weren’t many, though for Xiaoli he could reach out to his former Social Worker, he might be able to help. There was also the Social Worker, Talib, and the young kid, Luke whom he and Evan had met. Talib had talked with him often after Xiaoli helped him with Luke. The man had been great and had looked into them as well. He may be able to vouch for the two of them.

“Thank you,” Evan said, as they soon started to go back to helping with the children, taking them around the ranch and showing them some of the baby animals that sought sanctuary there. It was a hectic day and it may just lead to something that would be able to help them as they worked towards opening their own Foster Home for Children in the future. They still had a goal in mind, and the money they were saving while they worked was going towards that. The only expense that might come from it was the trip that Xiaoli wanted to take to visit his grandparents at some point, he wanted to do that before anything happened to them. For now, they had kids to watch over and information and learn to look forward to.

Chapter Seven

Evan smiled at the young woman that he was talking to. His new girlfriend was a year older than him, and he had been spending a little time with her at the cafes around the small town he was living in. They hadn’t done anything else yet, since as far as Evan was concerned he was still getting to know the woman. Dana had brown hair that went to her waist, and pretty green eyes that danced with mischief as they talked.

“Really, Evan, the nightlife around here isn’t much, but there are a few places,” Dana said, smiling as she reached out and took a hand.

Evan nodded, “Not my scene at the moment, I’m doing things to help with becoming a foster parent,” he stated.

She pursed her lips at that, a quick look of disapproval on her face before it was hidden by a smile. “Well, you should join me and my friends sometime, we go out of the way a little to find a few good places. Means a night away from the home, but worth it,” she added, grinning, “You really do have to join us,” she repeated.

“I’m working with Jolene at the Faraway Ranch, I can’t do overnight with the job I have. Sorry,” he said, with a little shrug. He wasn’t too keen on going somewhere with people he didn’t really know. Most would say that about him going with Xiaoli without really knowing him, but he also worked side by side with the other man for months, getting to know him. He had known Dana for two weeks and they had barely spent that much time with each other before she declared that they were not boyfriend and girlfriend. He still wasn’t sure if he was ready for that after Zachary. While he knew that Zachary wasn’t his forever, he didn’t think the woman he was looking at was either. There was just something about her that put him off getting in too deep with her.

Dana rolled her eyes, “Really, Evan, you need to get out a little. She should be letting you out,” she told him.

Evan stared at her, “She might be able to, but I am not going to. Dana, I’ve known you for two weeks, and we’ve only met a grand total of three times so far. I know we’re…. dating, but I still don’t know you enough for such things.”

“And that’s on you, I keep calling you out and trying to spend time with you,” Dana huffed, rolled her eyes, and grabbed her latte.

Evan stopped the roll of his eyes. “Dana, I work, you know this. It means I’m not always free to do things. When you call me up at midday and then expect me to drop the work that I am doing and go with you to some coffee shop because you want a latte with me, I can’t do it. You don’t work at the moment, that’s great for you. I do have to work if I’m going to have somewhere to live, or money for food and money for gas,” he reminded her. It was the second time in the three times he had met her that he had to do it. He still wasn’t sure while he was seeing her. Part of him was thinking about breaking up with her, she just had a free attitude when it came to time. She wasn’t working, living off her parents, and seemed to be spending as much of her parent’s money as she could, considering all the times she had wanted to meet him.

“Ugh,” she huffed again, rolling her eyes.

Evan had to wonder if that was all she did, huff and roll her eyes when she wasn’t getting her way. “Look, I’m sorry, but I work, and I work hard, since I have a goal in mind,” he added, getting up, “And as you know, I do have work in about half an hour. So I gotta go,” he added, “I’ll see you tomorrow, when I’m actually free for a few hours,” he stated.

“I don’t know why I am dating you,” she stated, “And you know what. I’ll come with you,” she added as she got up herself, making sure she sipped at her latte in a way that was trying to be flirty with him.

Evan wondered again, why he was dating her. “Fine, you’ll have to bring your car with you, since I doubt I’ll be able to drive you home when you realize that I’m going to be busy in the stables, and I don’t think you want to be around when I’m mucking them out,” he told her.

Dana just shrugged and followed him. An hour later she was leaving, after meeting Xiaoli and realizing that Evan had been right, she hadn’t wanted to be around the stables at all, while they were being mucked out.

XxXxX

“I don’t know why I’m still with her,” Evan said with a sigh as he looked at the woman who was coming up to meet him. Xiaoli was beside him since they were going to use a rare full night off to hit one of the small clubs that were in the town. It was a place that Dana had tried to take Evan to before, but he had work early the next morning so hadn’t stayed out long and since he was still underage, hadn’t drank anything either. He knew that Dana had and had tried to get him to do the same.

“Neither do I,” Xiaoli stated, glancing over at him, “She’s… not very pleasant.”

“Oh?” Evan asked, “What’s going on?”

“She wasn’t happy when she saw me and asked me when I’ll be going back to Japan…” he answered, “I’m not sure how to take it.”

“Hmm,” he hummed, not happy with what he was hearing.

“Look, I have no idea what is going on in her head,” Xiaoli said, “But keep in mind that something about her doesn’t seem right to me.”

“I know, she doesn’t to me either, and like I said, I think I’m going to break up with her tonight. I’m done,” Evan shrugged as Dana finally reached them.

“Oh, you brought, Lee,” she said, her tone purposefully dismissive.

“Yeah, well he’s my best friend, and we’re going to hang out a bit as well. I know you have your friends coming and you won’t be hanging on my arm all night,” Evan stated.

“Fine,” she snapped as she turned around, “Come on, we’re going to be late meeting my friends,” she said, grabbing Evan’s hand and pulling him along.

Xiaoli and Evan shared a quick look and they headed off to join them, Evan planning on breaking up with Dana, there was just nothing in common between the two of them at all. They entered the small club, the music was pounding through the floor and vibrating their very bones. Drinks were flowing freely and Dana was quick to get to the bar and order. She tried to hand the shot over to Evan who refused it. He and Xiaoli both didn’t like to drink, the few times they had something, they weren’t keen on the taste or the feeling that it gave them.

“I said no, I’m not drinking, I’m twenty, Dana,” he reminded her again.

“So, one drink isn’t going to hurt,” She told him, trying to push the drink toward him again.

“No, Dana, listen to what I’m saying. You can drink if you want, but I don’t want to,” he added, thinking of his father, Phillip Buckley liked his drink, and would often have a glass or five, and sometimes a whole bottle of whiskey before the end of the night. He was mean when he did that, often telling Evan exactly what he thought of him, how he hated him, and what he thought of the failure that Evan was to him. That he wished he had given him up. There was something off-putting about drinking too often, and he didn’t want to go down that road at all.

“You’re such a stick in the mud, if you weren’t hot I wouldn’t even date you,” Dana snapped at him before turning around to leave him. She glanced over her shoulder and then added, “And you just had to bring the chink,” she said, “He’s not going to fit in here.”

“What the fuck,” Evan said, shaking his head, “Racist fuck,” he told her, “I can’t believe you would say something like that, we’re over. We’re done. I don’t want to see you, speak to you or do anything with you. Damn, am I glad that I never spent that much time with a woman that is a racist bitch,” he said, loud enough that others overheard them.

“What’s going on?” came the voice of one of the bouncers as he had heard the comments and had been making his way over when he could see that the two young men were getting annoyed by the pushy woman.

“They are insulting me,” Dana stretched, looking offended and hurt.

“Considering you just called a young man a slur for their ethnic background,” another woman snorted from the bar, she had been serving the drinks. “I’ve watched as you try and push the young man to drink and he has told you no, several times. Then you go to leave and insult his friend. Can’t blame him for breaking up with you,” she added, rolling her eyes. “Mike, can you escort her from the premises and have her put on the banned list for here? Photo up as well,” she added, “I’ll make sure you get it for the bouncer area.”

“Sure, T,” he nodded as he began to escort Dana out of the club.

“Sorry about that,” the woman said, “I’m Tanya, and I own the place. Dana is a regular here, and I do mean nightly. She’s been a bit of a problem for a few of the guys around here.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why I was with her. I met her, went for coffee, and suddenly we were dating. It’s been three weeks since I met her and this is the fifth time we’ve actually gone out. She kept trying to get me to go with her to places outside of the area,” he added.

“This little town is a bit out of the way,” Tanya said with a nod, “Many come to this club, since it’s the only one in town, most go to the nearest city.

“Yeah,” Evan nodded, “She’s been trying to get me to go with her. I don’t know her. As I said, we’ve only met five times since she declared that we were dating. I thought I would at least give her a chance, but…” he trailed off and shrugged, “Bit mistake I think.”

“Yeah, well, go and have fun, I’ll get you some sodas for you both,” she told the two of them as she looked from Evan to Xiaoli.

Xiaoli smiled and nodded, “Yeah,” he agreed as he and Evan grabbed the sodas they were offered and headed into the club.

XxXxX

Evan walked into the ranch house, smiling at Jolene as she and her husband welcomed him and Xiaoli back in from a day in the fields. “Dinner smells great, Grant,” Evan said as he looked at the man who was at the stove.

“Evan, Xiaoli,” he greeted the two, “Should be ready in about half an hour, just waiting on the things in the oven,” he told them as he put another dish into the oven.

“Thank you,” Evan said as the two sat at the table. There was a knock on the door, everyone shared a look, and there was no one expected at all.

Jolene got up and answered it, bringing in a middle-aged man with her. The stance of the man screamed cop for all of those in the room. “This is Detective Anderson,” she stated, “Please, sit down, and tell us why you’re here.”

“Thank you,” he said, with a stern nod, “I’ve been tasked with talking to Mr Evan Buckley,” he added, looking at Evan.

“Is something going on?” he asked, frowning.

“We’ve had a report of you sexually assaulting a young woman by the name of Dana Pierce, this morning,” he answered him, “Now, we’re investigating your whereabouts,” he added, “I needed to know your movements and witnesses three nights ago,” he told him.

“Three nights,” Evan frowned, “That was Monday,” he said, getting a nod. “Monday is a busy day, I’m on the ranch at five in the morning, I worked until three in the afternoon, and came in for lunch. I went back out until almost seven when it was dinner. Xiaoli and I went to meet with Dana at the Club. Dana was trying to force me to drink. I wouldn’t have it, I ended up breaking up with her. The lady that owns the place had her thrown out. Xiaoli and I stayed for about two, or three hours. Then I came back home.”

“They returned here together just before midnight,” Jolene said, “We have security cameras that would have picked them up,” she added, already going to retrieve the laptop where she would be able to show him.

“Thanks,” Detective Anderson said as he turned back to Evan, “I want a list of names of people who saw you,” pushing his notebook over to him.

Evan nodded and took the offered notebook and pen and began to write them down. Mostly those at the club who had seen him and talked with him, including the two that he had danced with. The club owner had talked to him a lot during that night. “Tanya told me that Dana was a problem for some of the guys she ended up dating. I wonder if this is what she meant by that,” he murmured.

Xiaoli bit his lip before he spoke. “It is, Detective Anderson, how many times have you had to investigate the claims of her saying that she was sexually assaulted by someone?” he asked him.

“More than I care to count. So far only two went to trial and they were found innocent. She pushed for the trials to happen, as the men involved were well off and she was after compensation. But the stigma of such has caused all the men accused to leave town,” Detective Anderson answered him, “It’s why I’m being pulled in on this one, this time, we’re also investigating her.”

Jolene huffed, “As far as I’m concerned, someone needs to sue her back for the false accusations.”

Evan nodded, “This could ruin what I’m trying to achieve, which is to become a foster parent,” he added, “Yes, I know I’m young, but this is what I want to do with my life. So, this would show up and it would make my future plans invalid. I… I won’t let Dana get away with this, Jo, do you know of a good lawyer around here that I could consult about this?” he asked her.

“I know quite a few, I’ll get in touch with a few,” she told him as she turned the laptop around so Detective Anderson could view the footage.

Detective Anderson took a copy of the footage, “I’ll be in touch,” he told them and headed off to carry on his investigation.

Evan sat there, “I can’t believe…”

“I can,” Xiaoli said, “She’s entitled and using the fact that she’ll be believed straight away, to her advantage. It’s people like her that make it harder for true victims to come forward because people stop wanting to believe them right away,” he sighed, shaking his head.

Evan and Jolene nodded, “We won’t be letting her get away with it anymore.” Jolene stated, getting a nod of agreement from the three men in the room.

Chapter Eight

It had been another month before the investigation was over. Detective Anderson had been helping Evan and Jolene as well as the lawyer she had helped to hire for Evan, Marsha Kraven. They had been able to get proof that she had been lying, and even her saying as such about four of the seven men she had accused of sexual assault. Dana Pierce had been arrested and charged and her parents were pushing for dismissal of the charges. It hadn’t worked and now they were in the middle of a trial. All the men that she had accused of Sexual assault had been asked by Marsha if they wanted to be witnesses. Two trials were going on at the same time. One that Evan was leading and the one the DA was leading.

The DA was finishing their case and the verdict of Guilty had been read out in court. “Miss Pierce,” the Judge said as she looked at the woman as she stood up.

“Yes,” she said, pulling a face. She got a poke in the side from her lawyer, “Your Honor,” she said, though her tone was almost mocking.

The Judge frowned down at her, “Miss Pierce,” she began again, “You have been found guilty of seven counts of Falsifying Police Reports, Wasting Police Time, and Obstructing the Course of Justice, by false allegations, and two counts of Perjury” she said, “It is women like you that are perpetuating the myth that women are always lying when they are reporting a sexual assault. It saddens me that victims are being turned away as liars because of those like you. Your actions are sickening,” she stated, “I am handing down the maximum sentence of minimum of three years in jail, with a maximum of five years, and a fine of $100,000. If I had my way, it would have been a lot more than that.”

“What!” Dana yelled out, “You can’t do that! I’m a- a-,” she began.

“A victim you are not, there is irrefutable proof that has been presented by your victims that the time and place you had given for the sexual assault to have happened, they were elsewhere and in some cases on camera for hours around the alleged time,” she stated, “You will be held in custody and transferred out tomorrow morning. You will have twenty-four hours before you will be transported to County Jail.”

“I…” she said, shaking her head and looking back at her parents, she began to cry.

Evan and the others stood and left, as the Judge dismissed the court.

XxXxX

Evan looked at Xiaoli, they were back in court almost a week later, this time for the civil case against Dana Pierce. The woman had tried to ruin the lives of seven men, including himself, and he wasn’t going to stand for it. In the end, Marsha had asked the others involved if they wanted to be added to the case against her. They had agreed in the end, though two of them didn’t care about getting any money, it was more of a case of defending their reputation, which had suffered after the accusations.

“I have looked over the evidence of this case, against Miss Pierce and I find her defense laughable. She falsely reported crimes against seven men when she didn’t get her way. Her sense of entitlement is so large that she harmed the reputation of these men. Even now you are throwing out names of people that have harmed you, and three were investigated while you were at your previous trial and found to also be false,” the judge said as she looked over her glasses at the young woman. “What do you have to say for yourself?” she asked the woman.

Dana stood up, looking defiant as she answered, “I am a victim, I was assaulted by all these men and no one believes me,” she told the court. “Instead I am being persecuted for telling the truth.”

“Miss Pierce, it has been found that you have continuously lied to the police and this court about what has happened. All evidence has been put forward, proof of the lies you have told. Then the story changed and that was also investigated and proven false. For the case of Mr Buckley, you gave nine dates where the assault could have happened, and every single time there was proof with CCTV and witnesses, that he wasn’t anywhere near the vicinity of where you said he should have been. That was also the case with three others that you have accused,” the Judge stated, shaking her head. “As this is a Civil Suit against you, citing the emotional and mental stress that you have caused your victims, as well as loss of earnings and standings within their community, I am awarding them a total of $21,000,000, which is to be shared between the seven victims.”

“What!” Dana yelled out, eyes going wide, “You can’t…. I-”

“Miss Pierce,” she began again, frowning down at the woman, “You viciously falsified reports against seven men, claiming each of them sexually assaulted you. You had no care what that would do to their families, their work, their emotional and mental states. You didn’t care, why? Because you didn’t like the fact that they refused you. You showed no care to the monetary loss they had from the jobs they were denied because of your accusations that lingered around them. You caused irreparable harm to them,” she added, “Now, this judgment is final.”

The court was dismissed and before Dana could be taken back to jail. She stood with her parents and yelled at Evan. “How could you do this to me!”

“Because what you were trying to do to me would have lingered and my plans would have turned into dust because of it all,” Evan told her, shaking his head, “I want to be a foster parent, and I can’t with this type of accusation lingering over me. So I countered, and sought charges against you and a civil suit to make sure you won’t do this to anyone else,” he added, “You tried to ruin my life because I broke up with you. You’re racist, shallow, and entitled, I don’t even know why I tried dating you in the first place. Though it didn’t matter in the end. You will spend the next few months behind bars. And when you get out, you have to pay the restitution to us all in the end,” he said as he turned and walked out of the building, Xiaoli following as Dana was taken away.

“I am so fucking glad that is over with,” Evan said with a soft sigh. He didn’t know if he wanted to stay in Montana anymore. He loved working at the ranch and learning more about being foster parents from Jolene and her husband and the social worker, Kirsty. All three had become close to the two young men, and while Evan wanted to continue learning from them all, he didn’t know if he could remain there for much longer.

“What are your plans?” one of the men that had been accused asked him, “I know I’m heading back to Billings, I can’t stay here, too many looked at me with suspicion, even after being proven innocent.”

“I know what you mean,” a second one said, shaking his head, “My family all but disowned me when they found out what I had been accused of. My grandmother was the only one who stood by me and believed in me,” he sighed.

Evan looked around at the men who were standing with him. They were all young. Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, all young and had their whole lives ahead of them. Over the last two years, each of them had their lives destroyed and harmed in some way by the woman who had falsely accused them. “I don’t have a family that I could rely on. But Jolene and her husband stood by me, and helped me counter what she was doing.”

“Which we’re all glad for, none of us were able to get the cops to listen and charge her with the false reports,” a third sighed, “I’m just glad that I was able to keep my scholarship, and only because the cops were able to clear my name fully and I had proof of everything.”

“She ruined so much,” Evan said, “I don’t even know if I can stay in Montana at all. I made friends here, and family here. Jo and Grant have been amazing, and more like parents to me than my own ever have been. With everything though, I don’t think I can stay here, she ruined that. She-” he sighed.

“She has,” another spoke up, “Most of us left town, and now that she’s been convicted, some of us are returning, but most won’t,” he added, looking at another of the men, “I know myself and Leo, are going to return, but the others,” he trailed off and shook his head.

“At last this will be expunged from all of our records, so it won’t be on there at all,” Evan said, which he had been measured would be left off his records. It could mess with his future plans. “I wasn’t expecting the amount though,” he frowned.

“She’s damaged us emotionally, mentally, our livelihoods have been impacted, our families have been impacted,” the first said, “I’m not surprised by the amount.”

“How will that happen though? She doesn’t have money, she’s never even worked,” Evan pointed out, “She lived off her parents all the time.”

“I heard that her parents are paying her debts, so when she’s released she won’t have them hanging over her head. Though I hope they make her pay them back in some way,” the second added, “She’s always relied on her parents to bail her out of trouble. She was caught with a DUI when we dated, and they bailed her out of trouble that time as well.”

Evan nodded as Xiaoli snorted beside him, “She does seem the type to rely on her parents for everything.”

“She is, they give her anything she wants. New car, fine, house for herself, they built her one to her design. No matter what she asked for, her parents gave her. She spent money like it was going out of style. Her daily expenses were the same as a month of my wages,” someone said, he gave a shrug when the others looked at him, “Really was, when I refused to buy her something, she complained to her parents about it. They told me off for not keeping their daughter in the lifestyle she was used to. I told them point blank that I’m not an ATM, and that if she wants something that would take me a year to pay for, then she can go to work for herself to pay for it. They didn’t like that and sent me packing, three days later the accusations came in. It went to court,” he added, “as you know, I was cleared, but the stigma of it all since her parents bloody well helped her with it all. I don’t care that this might almost bankrupt them, I would happily bankrupt them for what they helped her do. They were her parents, but they knew she was lying. So I’m happy about how much they are going to have to pay out. Doesn’t really make up for everything that she has done to us though,” he finished, “Right. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting out of here. I have an aunt I’m meeting up with, she was one of only three members of my family who believed in me,” he then added as he left the group behind.

The others began to split up as Xiaoli and Evan were met by Jolene. The woman had been in the gallery watching the court case unfold. She went over to Evan and hugged him. “It’s over now, Evan,” she said softly, “Let’s go home and get a good meal. The boys are all out doing the work, so you don’t have to worry about that today.”

“I know, Jo,” Evan sighed, sinking into the smaller woman’s arms. He held her back, taking the comfort that she was giving him before slowly letting her go, “Thank you, for being here, for believing in me.”

“You are a good young man, I can tell that from the moment I met you. And so are you Xiaoli,” she said, a soft smile on her face as she looked between the two.

“You have ruined my family!” came a yell from behind them.

Evan turned to see Mrs. Pierce and her husband standing next to her. She was pointing a finger at him, “You ruined my baby girl.”

“You ruined her yourselves,” Jo said as she stood in front of the two young men. “We all know about Dana Pierce, the little girl who could never do wrong, even though there are countless people who recall her bullying ways when she was a child. When she did what she wanted for those around her. Dana Pierce was a brat and has always been so because you never told her no and never disciplined her for her rotten behavior. She almost caused the death of two of her classmates as well, if I remember correctly. I should know since one of them was a foster child that I had at the time,” she bit back. “I remember having to meet with you once before, in that meeting room when you were trying to defend your daughter. Didn’t work, as I always make sure to have proof of what that little brat was doing. She was expelled and sent to another school. If I had known that Evan had been seeing her, I would have made sure he had broken up with her well before the day he did. They wouldn’t have even had a first date. Your daughter is nothing but a bad egg and you know it. You’ve both spoiled her, and well now you’re going to pay for that. And through the damn nose as well. You’ll be begging on the streets if you don’t rein her in when she comes out,” she finished, “Come on boys, we should go home, we have better things to do with our time than listened to two entitled parents who think the sun shines out their rotten daughters arse,” she ground out as she turned and ushered the two away.

Evan was gobsmacked as he was ushered to the truck. “Jo, is that true? About her being a bully and almost causing two students’ deaths?” he asked, hoping it wasn’t.

“It is,” she said sadly, “Pierce bullied one so badly and then tried to push her off the school roof. That was the young girl that was in my care. The second she tried to drown during the school swim meet. She was arrested and since she was only thirteen at the time for both, she wasn’t given much of a punishment,” she told them, as she got in, “Her parents brought her out of trouble back then as well, her record cleared when she was eighteen, but looks like she took a different approach on things.”

Evan went quiet and nodded as Jolene started up the truck and they headed back home, to the Ranch.

Chapter Nine

Xiaoli walked over to Evan. They were at the Ranch, it had been a week since the end of the court case against Dana Pierce; and Evan was still a little off about it all. The money had been paid by her parents, all of it in one go. It had shocked him to see that much being put into his account. “Here,” he said as he handed over a mug of tea.

Evan looked up, startled, “Oh, erm, sorry, Xiaoli,” he said hurrying to take the mug. hissing at the heat for a moment as he moved it around so he could hold the handle and put it on the coaster. “Thanks.”

“Welcome, are you okay?” he asked him, “Zac even messaged me, you weren’t talking much on your call to him.”

“I’m just wondering what the hell I’m to do. I think the money I got would go a long way in making our dream come true. Opening a home for children,” he said as he looked at his best friend.

“But you don’t know if you want to do it here,” Xiaoli said, “I know you and Jo have been talking about it a few times in the last couple of days. I know you don’t want to stay here, you already said that. Kirsty said that she would be happy to send any type of reference to any other agency in the country about us to help us get started there. Don’t think about leaving here as something bad,” he added.

“I know,” Evan sighed, “It hurts, I thought this might be the place we could start that. The one that we have here, they are overcrowded at the moment, with so many children and so few foster parents for them all. I know being in a home would feel like they would be just one in the crowd but…”

“You don’t plan to let them be just another face in the crowd. I know you Evan, you plan to make sure that they know they are cared for and loved. You won’t let them feel any other way,” Xiaoli said, sitting down on the couch opposite Evan and settling down, “Montana was just a stop on the road. I think… we should carry on.”

Evan frowned and then thought for a moment, “Just carry on?” he asked.

“Yeah, carry on,” he said, as though it was that simple.

Evan was quiet, thinking about it a little more, “Leave, go and pick a place, and just go there,” he said with a little sigh. “Is it really just that simple? We started to build something here I think.”

“We were, but we both know that this isn’t where we were supposed to be. You may have money now, so making a choice will be ea-”

“We have that money, it’s for our dream, not just me,” Evan told him, smiling easily.

“I-” Xiaoli shook his head, “No, that’s yours and it will stay yours.”

“Fine, we’ll put it up for when we find a place we want to set up a home for us and others,” Evan said instead.

“I’m not going to win am I?” he asked, giving his friend a look.

“Nope,” he replied, popping the P with a grin, “We’ll continue as we have, using money we earn and leave that for when it’s needed,” he told him, “So, we’ll be okay. We’re not the type to spend money on frivolous things,” he added with a shrug.

“No, we’re not.” Xiaoli agreed, “So, let’s start sorting that out, get things in order to carry on traveling,” he told him.

Evan nodded, he would talk with Jo and Kirsty, to make sure that they would still be alright with him leaving. They had already said as much, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to make sure. “Yeah, yeah, that we do,” he nodded.

XxXxX

It was a week, just a week to pack up the life they had begun to make in the small sleepy town in Montana. At a ranch that would forever hold some of Evan and Xiaoli’s most fondest memories. The jeep was ready, everything was packed, including a cooler and then a thermal bag that would keep a few things warm for them to eat on the way. They hadn’t really picked a place to go yet. It was mid-August and the weather was nice and warm. They had a few places that they had looked at for a job and found one that was south of them.

“Thanks,” Evan said as he hugged Jolene tightly, “I’m going to miss you a lot, you know.”

“Well, you have that old laptop, you use that to keep in contact as much as possible, both of you. When Marlene gets married in December, you will both be back here for that. I will not accept a no on that. She’s very much looking forward to the both of you being here,” she reminded them.

“We will, we already promised,” Xiaoli said as Jolene let go of Evan and turned to hug him just as tightly. “I’m going to miss you all as well,” he added softly.

“Sappy boys, the pair of you,” she laughed lightly, letting him go and stepping back, wiping away a tear. “We have a lot going through this ranch, so many come and go, but I have to say, it’s been a blessing to have you both for so long. I wish you could stay, but I understand. You keep in touch, letters, emails, calls, and those Skype calls too,” she reminded them both.

“We will,” he said, as the rest of Jolene’s family came to hug them and say their goodbyes. Some of the others that worked on the Ranch were there as well as Kirsty.

“Well, you two, you have big dreams, and I really hope you make them come true, because damn do we all need it,” Kirsty said with a smile, “You call and write me when you can, and I’ll bug Jo for more details and I’ll see you both in December.”

“Will do,” Evan nodded as Xiaoli smiled and got in the jeep. Evan got in as well. A soft sad smile on his face, “I’m going to miss this place.”

“We both will,” Xiaoli nodded in agreement, “But at least we’ll be able to come back and see everyone. Jo and the others have made sure to get that promise out of us,” he added with a laugh.

Evan nodded, waving at everyone as they drove down the long driveway out of the Ranch and onto the open road.

XxXxX

The following months to December were the same, stop in a place for a couple of weeks, do a bit of work, and move on. The only difference was the jobs weren’t ranch work, they were bartending, construction, and the occasional doorman at a club. It was different, being back on the road. They did go back to the Ranch and Jolene and her family for the wedding in December, staying until the end of January and helping out where they could.

“Where are we going next?” Evan asked as he looked over at Xiaoli, who already had a map out on Jolene’s table.

“I was thinking. Since Zac has asked us to head to Cali to meet up with him. He wants us there by April. He said he has something we need to be there for,” Xiaoli said as he looked up.

“Yeah?” Evan frowned, “He did say something important was going on. Wouldn’t say what though.”

“He’s being a secretive bastard again,” Xiaoli snorted, eating a bit of the granola bar he was munching on, “So, heading that way, we can make a couple of stops, there are a few construction places that are asking for help. One will last a month, the other two. Since it’s January, we can do the two-month one and then just head to Cali?” he suggested, looking up from the map and over at Evan.

“He talked about that paramedic he’s been getting along with,” Evan frowned, trying to remember the name.

“Erm, Nick,” Xiaoli said, shaking his head, “Don’t know why I had to think on that for a moment,” he laughed, “He mentioned him all the damn time. I think something is going on,” he added with a smirk.

“Wouldn’t surprise me, but also it kinda would,” Evan said slowly.

Xiaoli looked at him, “And what does that mean?”

“Well, I know he wants a relationship, but he was going to take things slow. I know it’s been a year since he moved there. But he has only been with his station for less than six months at the moment. He said he didn’t want to start something just yet. So I think they won’t be together yet, but I’m thinking about it. Though by the time we get there, he might have said, fuck it and asked him out. He does talk about Nick a lot. They are good friends, which is nice to see.”

“I know he was feeling a bit lost out there,” Xiaoli admitted, nodding a couple of times.

“Yeah, he’s found a good therapist that he clicks with and things are going well in that part of his life again. Just need to let the rest of it fall into place,” he smiled as he thought about his former boyfriend.

The two talked a little longer about where they would go next, as Jolene came into the kitchen to begin dinner. Evan gets up to help her prepare the ingredients. She had taken to teaching both of them a few simple recipes that they could easily do after a long day of work.

XxXxX

Evan looked at the apartment building in front of him. It was the middle of April and he and Xiaoli had finally arrived in Los Angeles California. Zachary had told them to just go on up, as he made sure that he had given them the code and that a spare key had been left for them with the front desk. Their ID would be needed to get it. He was still at work and would be for another few hours. Since they had arrived in the earlier hours of the morning, it was still slightly dark out.

“Wow, this is a nice place,” Evan said as he glanced over at Xiaoli.

“Yeah it is,” he nodded, smiling as he looked around. The two of them headed inside and were able to get the key from the front desk after showing their IDs. They headed up and began to wait, knowing that Zachary would be coming back home in three hours. They decided to make breakfast for the three of them, a way to celebrate seeing each other again after a whole year.

Three and a half hours later Zachary walked through the door. “That smells great!” he said as he walked in and dumped his things before heading over to the kitchen.

Evan turned around and nodded, “Yeah, just a simple English breakfast,” he told him.

“A fry up,” Xiaoli said, with a roll of his eyes. “It’s not an English Breakfast without the Fried Blood Pudding,” he added, remembering someone telling him that once when he called what they had done a Full English Breakfast.

“Doesn’t matter, it smells good and I am starving,” Zachary said, “I’m just going to take a quick shower, I still feel like I am covered in road dust,” he laughed lightly as he hugged the two men before heading to the shower.

Evan and Xiaoli began to plate everything, knowing they made the right choice in the meal. Something hearty and enough to fill someone up after a long shift. Evan was a little curious as to how the job was working for Zachary, he looked relaxed and more himself than he had the last time he saw him.

“Thanks,” Zachary said as he walked into the dining part of the kitchen and sat at the table. “That looks damn good, looks like you both were learning a little more than ranching in Montana,” he said as he began to eat.

“Yeah, Jo made sure that the both of us would be able to survive a little better without someone to supervise our cooking,” Evan laughed as he poured himself an orange juice, doing the same for Xiaoli and Zachary as well.

“Thanks,” Xiaoli said, “She’s amazing in the kitchen, but her son Davey is even better. He is training to be a chef. So he’s heading off for college overseas for a little while to make sure that little dream can come true. Jo’s going to miss the hell out of him when he does.

“At least he knows what he wants to do with his life,” Zachary said with a soft smile, “I found out my first calling right away, I was six, I think, maybe seven. Da… dad took me out on the boats and I just fell in love. Wanting nothing more than the wind in the sail and the smells of the salty sea air around me all the time.”

The two nodded, listening to him talk about his past a little more. “I’m happy that you can look back on those now with a smile,” Evan said quietly, reaching out and taking a hand for a moment.

“Same here, I never thought I would be able to, Dr. Dixen is a harsh taskmaster, but he does well in making sure that I don’t hide myself away from things. Thinking about the past and smiling about it now, well, it’s doing me a lot of good,” he added.

“So, you’re going to tell us why you wanted us here?” Evan finally asked, “We’re curious as hell.”

Zachary smiled, “It’s my shield ceremony, the day that I leave my probation period behind me and become a full-fledged firefighter,” he told them both. “So I’m hoping that the two of you will be able to come to it. It’s a small gathering at the firehouse between shifts. The station goes offline for about three hours. So we can have a bit of food and celebrate another joining the fire service.”

“Yeah of course,” Xiaoli said, as he looked at Evan. “Of course we’ll come.”

“I look forward to seeing this Nick that you talk about as well,” Evan said, smirking.

“Okay, I think I’ve changed my mind!” Zachary grinned and then laughed as they carried on eating breakfast. “I’ll be going for a small nap, and then we’ll do some sightseeing. I’ve seen it all of course. And yes it was Nick who made sure of that,” he said before the two could even be asked.

The two laughed again and nodded, talk turned to the ceremony and then the sights that he planned to take them to see. Evan had a few places that he wanted to try out as well and they had been put on the mental list the three of them were making.

Chapter Ten

Evan stood out on the balcony of Zachary’s apartment a few days after they had arrived in LA. Xiaoli had gone to bed early since they had gone out for most of the day and he was tired. Evan couldn’t sleep, so he made himself a hot drink and stepped out for some fresh air. He sighed as he looked at the skyline of LA that spread out from where they were. It was a nice view.

“You okay?” Zachary asked as he walked out, joining him.

Evan looked at him and nodded, “I think so, just thinking about everything that happened in Montana,” he finally said after a few moments.

“Ah,” he said, “You do know that what she did had nothing to do with you?” he asked him, “I heard everything about what happened, the court cases and everything from Xiaoli, he made sure that even though you weren’t telling me much, that I knew everything,” he added as he looked at his friend.

Evan nodded, “Yeah, I know,” he said. He paused for a few moments and then added, “It’s just that I thought I was making a life for myself there, that I was setting something up for the dream that Xiaoli and I have. I was even starting to go around the place and looking at homes and buildings where I thought that in time I would be able to afford to rent, or even buy, and make them a home, not just for me and Xiaoli but for children as well. To know that I won’t be able to, it hurt, Zac, it really damn hurt and she ruined that for me. She ruined it,” he said, his eyes beginning to tear up at the thought of all that he had lost last year. It felt like he was still going through it at times.

Zachary took the drink from him, put it aside, and brought the man into his arms, holding him, “I’m here for you, and Xiaoli is as well. I know that the dream you had started to look at was going to be in Montana, but there are other places that you might be able to call home. Maybe even here in LA, I would love to have you here for a while,” he told him, “You and Xiaoli are some of my best friends. I would love it,” he repeated, a soft smile on his face as she slowly let Evan go.

Evan smiled at him, though it was weak and there were traces of tears on his cheeks. He rubbed his face. “Yeah, maybe one day. Xiaoli has most of the rest of the year set up for jobs for us. We’re even doing one for an old Boss, he’s asked us to help out for of one his friends in Minnesota around the end of August and he also has something lined up for us in mid-July as well, but that’s in Miami,” he said, shaking his head, “I think between the both of us we want to try and see as much of the States as we can before we find a pace that we’ll be able to call home.”

“Well, just know that I’m always going to be here,” he told him, “I miss being able to see and talk to you each day. Even though it has been ages since we were last together. I mean that as friends and nothing more,” he said when he saw the quirk of Evan’s eyebrows at that remark.

Evan laughed, “I know,” he said. He took a deep break and nodded, “Thanks, for coming and checking on me.” he told him, grabbing his drink.

“Welcome, always,” he told him, “You’ve helped me so much, talking to me and even helping me decide that I should keep moving forward.”

“It’s hard, I know I’m finding it hard at times,” he said, “Which reminds me, I haven’t sent a postcard to Maddie for around five months,” he said, shrugging, “She hasn’t messaged me back in the last year, at all. Not since I told her what was going on with Dana,” he sighed, “I’m… scared that she thinks that I would do something like that. That she wouldn’t believe me when I told her that I did nothing.”

“If she ever believes that, then she has never known you at all. You said she helped to raise you for the first nine years of your life. So she should know the type of man you would grow into. You love people and respect them as well. Xiaoli said you’ve had a few casual partners while moving around, which hell yeah, go for it,” Zachary smirked, “He also said that since Dana, you’ve not done anything else, not seen someone or anything.”

“I just… I don’t know if I want to take that chance at the moment. I’m working toward my dream, mine and Xiaoli’s dream. So I want to be a bit careful about who I let into my life. Since that can impact what I want to do as well. Kirsty is keeping in touch, and when I find a place, she talks with the locals about things that I can do while there that can help me become a foster parent. We’re both getting a few things done that will help in the future,” he smiled, talking more about what he had been doing, along with Xiaoli.

Zachary listened, smiling all the time. “Well,” he said when Evan finally slowed down, “Sounds like the two of you have got things well in hand,” he told him.

“We’re hoping that will be the case,” he nodded.

The two talked a little longer before heading back inside and going to bed. Though Evan followed Zachary to his room, he could feel that little bit of closeness. He had missed it, since the two had broken up. Evan fell asleep easily, in Zachary’s arms, even though the two of them were no longer together.

XxXxX

Zachary smiled as he saw Evan and Xiaoli walk into his station, “Hey!” he called out, looking sharp in his uniform, “Glad the two of you could make it.”

“Like we would even think about missing it,” Xiaoli snorted as he hugged his friend, “Now, are you going to introduce us?” he asked as he saw the man standing behind Zachary.

Zachary turned around, “Oh, hey,” he nodded to the man, as he turned to hug Evan, “Evan, Xiaoli, this is my co-worker and good friend, Nick,” he said, “Nick, this is Evan and Xiaoli, they are really good friends of mine, my best friends,” he said, introducing the three of them to each other.

“Nice to finally put some faces to the names,” Nicholas said as he stepped forward, hand outstretched for the two to shake.

“Yeah, Zac’s mentioned you a few times,” Evan said, a smile on his face as he shook the offered hand, “It’s great to actually meet you as well.”

Xiaoli said much the same thing as well, “Yeah, really is. Zac talks about you a lot, more than the others he works with. We’re pretty happy he made such a great friend out here,” he added.

Nicholas laughed, “Yeah,” he nodded as they began to talk about a few other things until it was time for the small ceremony that the 122 Captain did. Welcoming Zachary into the Firefighting Family. Evan and Xioalii smiled and clapped.

“Well,” Captain Lewis said as he looked at Zachary, “Welcome, to the Brotherhood.”

“And sisterhood!” a female firefighter said from the back, laughing.

“And Sisterhood,” the captain said with a good-natured roll of his eyes. “It will be good to have you with us for good. You have a good head on your shoulders and you are a strong and capable young man. We’re pleased to have you aboard at the 122.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Zachary said, shaking the man’s hand as he beamed out at Xiaoli and Evan. The two men clapped and whistled, causing the man to burst into laughter, “Thanks you two,” he said, shaking his head at them.

Zachary walked over to the two of them, as the buffets that had been organized and made by the crew were finally open for people to each. “I’m glad that you two were here,” he said as he looked around, he saw some of the family memories of the other firefighters around. Since he didn’t have many people that he would have as guests. There were none that he was really friends with outside of the station apart from Xiaoli and Evan. He would have loved to have had his dad there, he had sent him a message about what he was now doing. There had been no reply, but he had expected that.

“You know we wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Evan said, “I’m glad that we were able to come and join you.”

“Same here,” Xialo said, as they got up to go to the buffet for some food. “We should be moving on soon, I think,” he told him, “We don’t want to overstay our welcome.”

“I picked that place so I had enough room for the two of you to live with me if you need to at some point, need a home base or anything,” Zachary told them both, “So you’re both welcome to stay for as long as you want,” he finished, looking at the both of them.

Xiaoli looked at him, “You sure, we don’t have to be in Miami until the beginning of July,” he said, “We wouldn’t mind staying for a little bit, seeing more of LA, and maybe picking up a little work,” he added, glancing over at Evan.

“Yeah,” Zhacary nodded, “That could be a good idea.”

“Thanks, Zac,” Evan said, “Wouldn’t mind hanging around for a little bit longer,” he told him, “Have missed seeing you.”

“Welcome, always,” he said, “Right,” he added, “let’s get some food and sit down,” he added, grabbing a few things and putting them in a place.

Xiaoli and Evan did the same, joining the table that Zachary had chosen. Nicholas joined them, putting down a few drinks for them all before grabbing himself a place.

“Thank you for the drinks,” Evan said as Nicholas sat back down.

“Welcome,” Nicholas said, a smile on his face as he looked at them, “I want to know more about you two. I know that you met with Zac in Hawaii.”

“Yeah, we found work over there, and then I met with Zac out surfing,” Evan told him, a soft smile on his face. “We became friends and then we dated for a little while. We both knew that we weren’t each other’s forever, but it was something sweet, and out of that, came a lasting friendship,” he smiled even more as he looked at Zachary.

“Yeah, a friendship that I treasure, with them both,” Zachary added, a light blush on his cheeks.

Nicholas asked them a few other things before the talk turned to something else. The party wound down after a little bit, and Xiaoli and Evan had to head out. Especially when the alarm rang the moment they were back online.

XxXxX

Zachary was on the phone during one of his days off. He was talking to the front desk of the apartment building. The man had said that someone was there. “Okay, I’ll talk to him, and we’ll be down shortly,” he said as he then ended the call.

“What’s up?” Evan said as he sat in the armchair, curled in it, reading a book.

“Kyle, down at the front desk, said that someone has just arrived for a letter that must be hand-delivered to you,” Zachary said as he looked at his friend.

Evan frowned, looking away from his book. “For me?” he asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded, “The man confirmed that it was for Evan Buckley.”

“Okay,” he said, putting a bookmaker into the book and setting it aside. He glanced over at Xiaoli. The other man wondered what it could be. “Do… do you think it has anything to do with… with Dana?” he asked, his voice going tight and a little high at the very thought of the woman and her disgusting behavior following him even to LA. She was free now and had been for some time.

“No, she wouldn’t, there is a restraining order that has been given against her for us and the others. She’s not allowed to do anything,” Xiaoli reassured him quickly.

Evan nodded, taking a claiming breath, and nodded, “Yeah, yeah, okay,” he agreed as he and the others headed downstairs to the front desk. A young man was standing there with Kyle.

“Mr. Evan Buckley,” he said as he went to Evan, “Sorry for coming here like this, but it was the only way that my employer was able to get in touch with you,” he stated, holding out an envelope. “I was asked to deliver this to you personally. To make sure that it reaches your hands. What you find in, she said might be a bit of a shock and she will understand if you take your time to find out for yourself if what is within is true. She will be waiting for you to get in touch,” he added.

Evan reached for it and took it, “I… thank you.”

“The woman in question isn’t someone called Dana Pierce?” Xiaoli asked quietly.

“No,” he answered, “My employer is someone else entirely.”

Evan looked at him and nodded, “Thank you,” he said again as the man then left. They headed back up to the apartment, each of them looking at the envelope. “I don’t know if I should open it.”

“You should, we’re both here no matter what is inside of it,” Zachary said.

“Yeah,” he said, as he looked from one to the other, “Thanks,” he nodded as he opened it up and began to read the letter that was inside. Evan read through, his eyes becoming wide as he continued the letter. The two men on either side of him were looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

“You okay?” Xiaoli said as he saw how pale Evan had gone.

Zachary got him to sit down, worried as well.

“I… have a grandmother, according to this. Elizabeth Buckley. She lives here in LA,” he said as he looked at the two of them, “I… I didn’t know. Is it true?” he asked, shaking his head as he laid the letter down. “She couldn’t contact me unless I stepped foot in LA. Some sort of agreement with my… my parents. Not that I think they kept it, but the sounds of the letter.”

“Contact your sister maybe?” Xiaoli suggested, “Maybe you can get through to her, call her workplace, might be an idea,” he added.

Evan nodded, “Yeah, yeah I’ll do that,” he agreed with the suggestion.

The two men kept an eye on Evan as he tried to get in touch with Maddie.

Chapter Eleven

It took almost two days for Maddie to finally be at work and to answer the phone. She had fobbed him off with a couple of excuses at first, but this time, Evan was persistent. “Finally,” he said, “I just want to ask a question,” he told her before she could say anything.

“Evan, I told you if I wanted to talk to you I would call you,” she stated, annoyance in her voice.

“Maddie, I don’t give a fuck, I want to ask you one simple question and you won’t hear from me again if you don’t want me to,” he told her, “I’m done, trying to reach out all the time and getting nothing. So one question,” he told her.

“Fine, ask your damn question, I have work,” she snapped at him.

Evan frowned, there was something else in her voice, but he couldn’t place it. “Do we have a grandmother living in LA?” he asked.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a while. “How the hell did you find that out,” she said, there was no fear in her voice.

“I found out when I came to LA,” he told her, “She sent me a message, and told me to get in contact with her if I wanted.”

“Don’t, she’s… not a good woman, Mom and Dad told us to never go to LA, I should have told you that before I let you go. Though I didn’t think you would go as far around the States as you have,” she said in a rush. “You need to keep away from her, Mom and Dad won’t like it when they find out that you’re anywhere near her.”

“Right,” Evan said, already planning on contacting the woman. Knowing his parents were against it, well, that was enough to get him to talk with her and find out what was going on. Wasn’t like he would be speaking with his parents again, he hadn’t done so since he had left. The only time he had tried, a week after, his mother had demanded that he never call again.

“Evan,” she said, the tone of her voice reminded him of how his mother would say his name, with distaste and annoyance. “Don’t talk to her, don’t contact her, or anything, Evan, I mean it!” she stated, hoping that he would listen to her like he had done when he was a little boy.

“Maddie,” he began, believing that this might just be the last time he talked with her. “I’m going to keep this number and my email. When you’re ready, contact me through that, I’ll be around. I do love you Maddie, but damn does it hurt each time you turn me away. That you don’t reply to anything I message or send you. Just a small thumbs up, or even hi or I’m okay would do,” he told her, “I miss you, but then again, I’ve been missing you since I was nine and you went to college, and then Nursing School.”

“Evan,” she said, sounding shocked and hurt.

“What did you expect Maddie, you froze me out the moment that you left. I get it, that house is fucking horrendous Maddie, I do. But you pinky promised me that you would keep in touch. You didn’t, I was able to talk to you three times before you started dating Doug, and then one after that before your wedding when I was sixteen. Then again after you came back from Boston to live in Hershey again. Five times, before that night I asked you to come with me. I know something is going on, I just hope that when you realize that he is never going to change, that I exist, contact me then. I love you, Maddie,” he said and then hung up before she could say anything else.

“You okay?” Zachary asked him as he walked over, seeing the devastated look on his face.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know. I told you that she wasn’t answering anything, anymore. Well, I finally told her that I’m not going to keep sending things to her now. I’m done with that. I love her, but I don’t think I can continue doing this anymore. Each time a postcard goes unanswered, it hurts, Zac, it really fucking does. I message her and I’m left on read, for days, weeks, and now months at a time. I think this is the first time she has answered a call in around fourteen months. I think actually it was even before we met,” he sighed as Zachary wrapped his arms around him. He sank into them, clinging to him.

Zachary held him tightly, “You’ve told her that you’re going to keep the number and the email as well. She also knows my address,” he told him, reminding him of what he was leaving open so she could get in touch with him if she needed to.

“Yeah, I hope she does call. I know something is going on, I know that Doug was so controlling when I first met him, always wanting to know where she was, and what she was doing. Who she was with. He just didn’t sit right with me. It was why I asked her to come with me, but she didn’t. She refused to meet with me as well and I worried that he had done something to her, he seemed the type. She won’t leave him, because her image and what mom thinks of her means more to her than her own damn safety,” he said, holding Zachary for a little longer before letting him go, “Thanks, for being here and listening to me.”

“Always, you know that,” Zachary said softly, “Come on, Xiaoli is wondering what’s going on.”

“I’ll tell him, I don’t like keeping things from the two of you,” he said as they headed back inside.

XxXxX

Evan paced the living room. Zachary was at work and Xiaoli had gone to the farmers market. Evan had said he wanted to remain at home. Though it was more because he wanted to contact Elizabeth Buckley himself, without the other two there. He felt like he needed to do this alone. He waited for the call to be answered.

“Hello,” came the curious voice of a much older woman, “Who is this?” she asked, waiting for an answer.

Evan gave a small chuckle, full of nerves, “I’m… Evan Buckley,” he stated.

“Oh, Evan,” came the joyful cry, “Oh my Little Star,” she added, “I hoped you would call me, I was hoping so much, but so afraid that your parents and sister would talk you out of it. I had tried once to contact Maddie when she got married, but she told me to leave her alone as well. Didn’t want to talk to me at all,” she said, and Evan could tell that there were tears involved.

“I… I haven’t spoken to my parents in a long time. Not since I left home just before I turned nineteen,” he stated, “I just… couldn’t deal with them anymore,” he said, snorting, “Maddie… it’s complicated, she doesn’t want anything to do with anyone either, at the moment.”

“She knows where I live, and my number,” Elizabeth told him, “My Little Star,” she murmured, “I’ve missed so much of you growing up, I wish I was there for you, I know what Phillip and Margaret are both like, they were once happy, but that changed so quickly,” she sighed.

“Do… do you know why?” he asked her, “They just never wanted anything to do with me. I know Mom wished that they had either given me away or that I had died. Mom said that to me once.” The hurt of those words was still fresh in his mind.

“It’s not something I would like to speak about over the phone. I would rather tell you when… if we meet,” she said, her words full of sorrow.

Evan frowned, “Okay,” he nodded, “I… I wouldn’t mind meeting you. It would be nice to know that I have more family around,” he added quietly.

“You name the time and place if you want,” she told him, “I will meet you anywhere,” she added, a tendril of excitement moving through her voice.

Evan couldn’t help the hopeful smile blooming on his face as he thought about meeting family that may actually care about him. The nickname she was using, Little Star, stirred something in his memories, something warm and fuzzy, but he couldn’t place it. “I don’t mind, I don’t really know LA that well, so how about you choose where you would like to meet and when,” he suggested instead. He knew that he could ask Zachary if he had any places, but he thought it would be better to let her do so.

“Alright, how about you meet me at this little bistro,” she said, she told him the address, “It’s a favorite of mine,” she added, “Lovely people that run it, and I know it well.”

Evan nodded, “Yeah, that sounds good, how about in two days?” he asked, feeling a nervous flutter in his stomach at the thought of meeting her face to face.

“That sounds wonderful, thank you, Evan, for agreeing to meet with me. I know it was a shock to learn of me, but I do not doubt that my son and daughter-in-law didn’t tell you about me. The last time I saw you, you were only three. A beautiful and happy three-year-old,” she sighed, “I wish I had been able to fight them better about not seeing you all.”

“Well, you’re getting to know me now, it might be a little later, but…” he sighed, “I’d like to know more about our family.”

“I know, so would I. I will see you in two days, and Evan, you are always free to call me, any time, day or night. I will always do my best to answer your call,” she promised.

Evan felt warm and fuzzy with that, he had hoped once that Maddie would do that when he had first left. She had said in her note to him that she would, but that had quickly faded. “I would… like that, and please do the same,” he added, smiling as they chatted a little more, about inane things and nothing serious. Knowing that most of that would come during their face-to-face meeting.

“Bye, Evan,” she said, “I look forward to seeing you soon.”

“And you, Grandma,” he said, grinning as he said the word. They hung up and Evan tucked his phone away. The door to the apartment opened and Evan turned to smile as Xiaoli walked in. “I talked to her!” he said in excitement.

“Who…” Xiaoli began and then realized what he was on about, “Oh, Elizabeth?” he guessed.

“Yep,” he nodded several times as he went to help with the groceries that Xiaoli had brought. “I was able to talk to her for a bit, and she suggested that we meet in two days. Well, I suggested the two days and she suggested a place to meet. I’m… I’m really excited about this, she sounds really nice. She… she called me her Little Star.”

Xiaoli smiled as he looked over at his friend, “She sounds nice,” he told him, “If you want you can go and meet her and I’ll be around nearby if you want some moral support.”

Evan thought for a moment before shaking his head, “No, I think I want to do this on my own.”

“Okay then,” Xiaoli nodded, smiling as they began to put everything away. He told Evan about the farmers market that he had gone to, knowing the other man would want to head there the next time.

XxXxX

Evan was nervous as he walked into the bistro that his grandmother had told him to meet her at. He glanced around, wondering what she looked like. Then he spotted a woman standing up. Her hair was great, and she was taller than he imagined. Her hair was gray, and there was a kindness around her. She reminded him of his father, but there was a softness about her that there just wasn’t around his father.

“My Little Star,” she whispered as she walked over to him, “Oh, you look…” She took a shuddering breath as he went over to her. She hesitated, giving him time to move away as she reached out to hug him.

Evan let her, wrapping his arms around her. The smell, it took him back to warm feelings again from a childhood that he didn’t remember. “I feel like I should remember you,” he told her.

“You were so young when I last saw you, so young,” she told him, letting him go and the two sitting down. “There are so many things that I need to tell you, to let you know, but I don’t want to bring them into things just yet. I think… I think that they would be better to come out when we are somewhere private,” she added, “I hope you understand, that I’m not trying to hide it from you, or keep it from you. I just think that it would be better to be done when we are alone, and maybe with someone that you trust being around as well,” she sighed softly.

“Okay,” he nodded, “Can you tell me at least, what happened to make you not come around anymore?” he asked her.

“It is mostly to do with what I wish to tell you in private,” she began, “But the crux of it was that I didn’t like the way they were behaving towards you. I did try and see if they would let me have custody of you. Maddie was most upset at the thought of you living so far from her. She was young at the time, and she was already upset by something else. Your parents were against upsetting her,” she told him. “When I threatened to get the law involved, they made it out that I was abusive towards you, Maddie backed them up, since she didn’t want to lose you. So I wasn’t allowed to contact you, not even when you were grown up unless you asked.”

“They never even told me about you,” Evan said, “I didn’t know.”

“Not your fault. Your parents love to pretend that all is picture perfect in their life when really it is falling down around them,” she huffed.

Evan snorted, “Yeah, that… that sounds right,” he told her, nodding, “They always put their image over their family.”

“Something that made me rather disappointed in Phillip, I’m just happy that Darren, your grandfather, isn’t around to see,” she sighed, thinking of her late husband. He had passed away a few months before Evan was born.

“I’d like to know about him, please,” Evan said since he could tell that certain things were off the table to talk about.

“I’ll tell you about everyone in the family, that you haven’t met, there are a couple still out there,” she smiled as she began to explain about the family that Evan had been denied.

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