Fragments of His Being | ✓

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Quinn is standing by the front door of Cody's home. Quinn is sidestepping on the porch, humming as he makes to knock on the door. It was early un an afternoon, and there was a faint bark somewhere in the distance, while the birds in the tree at the backyard of Cody's flat made noise as they jumped from branch to branch.

Quinn frowned, knocking on the door again when he didn't get an answer. He knew someone was home. He had checked with their neighbors first.

Quinn's brows shot up when he heard someone shuffling on the other end. "Hello?" he calls when no one opens the door for him even then.

Quinn's mother had sent him out to bring Cody over for lunch. Cody didn't have a phone, so Quinn couldn't call him and ask, so he had to walk all the way to Cody's house instead. It was alright. Quinn knew Cody was always up to eat at his place, so it wasn't as if the boy would say no.

Quinn's frown deepened. No one replied. He presses his ear against the door. "Hello? Is anyone home?"

Quinn steps back from the door when it suddenly flies open, revealing a dark-haired man with a glare on his face. Quinn looked away, wondering why the boy seemed so angry.

"What do you want?" the young man asked, and Quinn winced at the smell of alcohol that came out from his mouth.

Quinn ran his fingers through his hair before speaking up. "I'm looking for Cody—"

"Why would you want to have anything to do with him?" The man asked, cutting Quinn off. Quinn sensed the passive aggressiveness in his voice. He also noticed how red the boy's eye whites were—he might have been high on something aside from drinking.

"I'm not sure how to answer that. I want to hang out with him, why does that concern you?" Quinn asked, getting more irritated by the minute.

Quinn could see the man's frown become deeper, and he noticed how his hands became fists beside him as his grit his teeth, but Quinn stood his ground, staring right back at him with an equally irritated gaze.

"You're the one he's fucking, aren't you?" the young man said out of nowhere. Quinn's eyes went wide as he clenched his jaw. He wondered what the older lad thought he was doing.

"Excuse me?" he asked, frowning. irritation stained his tone, and he was at his wit's end with the older boy. Quinn remembered that Cody only lived with his mother and brother, and if his hunch was correct this must the Charles that gave Cody bruises and wounds. Quinn felt the pitch of his stomach twist. He wanted to reach out and give Charles a tenth of what he frequently gave to Cody.

The young man seemed pleased with Quinn's reaction. "Don't lie to me. You're sleeping with him, aren't you? Disgusting fag." His voice was laced with venom. He was looking to offend and cut through thick skin.

Quinn knew that the boy was trying to get a reaction out of him. When he started dating Cody, he knew that antagonism and slurs would become a given someday but hearing a word like that directed at him had still shocked him. "I'm not—well, not yet. I'm dating him though. Is that a problem?" Quinn said, remaining calm. As much as it sucked to take in insults, he had read that not being emotional around people that sought you out to bully would help in the long run.

It worked. The boy's face seemed to grow warm at Quinn's answer. He hadn't been expecting Quinn to just shrug things off like that, and the boy didn't have much of anything left to say.

Quinn's eyes peered over the young man's shoulder. He needed to know if Cody was home. There was no need to verbally fight with Charles if Cody wasn't even around in the first place. His eyes went wide when he spotted the head of dark hair behind the young man.