― 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒚.
❝ and he knows
that a boy who
likes boys is
a dead boy.
unless he keeps
his mouth shut. ❞
or, in which daxton shields's heart is an abandoned house that new friends want to rebuild & mov...
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DEAD BOY (book one). °• CHAPTER SEVENTEEN •°
" WE HAVE TO COME BACK. "
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TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS LATER.
A LOUD CHEER PRACTICALLY ROARED ACROSS THE CROWD. Daxton was the second loudest next to his brother. They shot out of the bleachers in sync, hands slapping to clap, throats hoarse as they cheered. Pride floods Daxton when he sees his nephew kick at the soccer ball, slapping it against the net on the other side of the field. There's a loud buzzer, then the game's over. Daxton was never fond of loud noises and he can feel a twinge of panic squeeze at his heart anxiously, but he doesn't let it overpower how proud he was that the game he worried about for a full week was over, won at that. Charlie lifts his hands to cover them around his mouth and shouts his son's name with joy.
Daxton is still grinning as he lifts his niece, little Isabella Quint, and props her on his hip. She's shy of four years old and loves her Uncle Dax more than anything in the world, possibly more than the giant purple stuffed bunny he got her for Christmas. Daxton follows his brother down the bleacher steps carefully, every creak making Bella squeeze her arms around his neck until they're at the fence where the winning team was gathering with their other parents.
James Daxton Quint (no, he did not cry in the hospital when he found out what middle name Charlie signed into the birth certificate) reminded Daxton so much of Charlie when he was a kid, as far back as he could remember. They shared the same bright smile that must have held the same glowing attitude in the pictures they'd look back on. James has his cap on backward, his once bright white uniform stained with dirt and mud. Tabitha wasn't going to be happy that she has to scrub the stains out.
"Look at you!" Charlie exclaims, crouching to be at James's level behind the wires, voice swollen with pride. "We're so proud of you, James, you did so great today!" He glances up to Bella. "Aren't you so proud of your big brother, Bells?" She cheers back with her tiny fists in the air. Even if she doesn't understand what's going on, she's still excited, bursting with energy, when everyone else is too.
"We'll see you soon to celebrate, alright kid?" Daxton promises with his fingers locked through the open metal holes. "You killed it today."
The adrenaline from the game starts to die down but James's eyes still lit up. He's panting, chest rising and falling quickly, but he still breathes out, "Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Uncle Dax."
