Playing With The Devil

Chapter 50

I'd pulled my pants back on after leaving the others alone to enjoy themselves. As I reached the door, I opened it hesitantly, noticing quite a bit of flash outside. A few reporters were roaming the sidewalk while the food deliverer was standing by the door.

"Sorry, mate," he said, holding out the food. "Was a bit of a problem getting here with them wandering the street and all."

"I see they're kind of blocking up the area," I replied as I took the food. "Any reason why?"

"Something about a young man in one of the houses, wanting to reinterview him or something," he shrugged. "Night, mate."

"Yeah, night," I muttered, handing him a generous tip for having to deal with this and shutting the door.

I brought the food to the kitchen and set out some plates. The others slowly made their way downstairs. Andrew was carrying Aidan close to his chest. I raised an eyebrow at the interaction and looked at Lewis. Lewis shrugged.

"A good influence," he said.

"I still want to be really rough with him," Andrew muttered. "It's just seeing him like that and the words he was using made me... it flipped the switch."

They were all mostly dressed. Aidan and Lewis were still shirtless, but otherwise presentable. They each took a seat, though Aidan stayed on Andrew's lap.

"Do you want me to stay here while we eat?" Aidan asked carefully.

"...Yes," Andrew answered before turning to me. "If that's okay."

"Of course," I nodded. "I'm going to be jealous regardless. But if you're having a drop and need Aidan, that's perfectly okay."

Andrew kept one arm around Aidan as he helped Aidan with his food. Lewis and Jesse were talking about the flashing outside. I breathed in deeply and looked over at Aidan. I might as well explain to him what was happening before he received a shock.

"The reporters are back," I said, irritated by the fact they couldn't let it go. "They apparently want to reinterview you, Aidan. That's the flashing lights."

Aidan looked down at himself then back up at me.

"I can't go out looking like this," he stated. "What the hell do they want?"

Jesse was scrolling through a news feed on his phone when he heard me say it was reporters again. His face dropped, visibly gulping in worry. His eyes flickered between us as we waited expectantly.

"They either assumed Luke was telling the truth or they know I'm here," Jesse explained, reading off one of the articles. "For... For 'sex-related activities' one says. They've brought up some of your friends too, Gabe."

"Who gives a fuck about them?" Lewis shrugged. "They don't need to confirm anything."

"I can't just leave tonight then," Jesse frowned. "If I do, they'll suspect something more."

"I was going to have you come round tomorrow to bring Aidan food," I muttered, rubbing my eyes lightly. "I won't be able to leave work and I didn't want him struggling around all day."

"There's really no way around any of this," Aidan softly said. "But, again, I can't go out like this."

He gestured to his whole being. He still had the collar and ears on. The tail must be tucked into his pants. He was littered with bruises and bandages. Even if he fully covered up and took off the ears, it would seem like an odd choice to be doing an interview in.

"I could go speak on your behalf again," I suggested calmly.

How I was even calm to begin with I'll never know. Andrew was holding Aidan's chin in place to look at his cheek, so he was unable to actually turn around to face me when he answered.