Manchester Ménage 01 - Saving Samuel (5 page)

A
s soon as Daniel left, Samuel slipped his trainers and coat on and was grabbing his bags, watching him rushing down the corridor through a small gap in the door. He knew Daniel wouldn’t just let him walk off, and neither would his friendly nurse Kirsty when she came back tonight. He had to run away now while he had the chance, and before Daniel crept any further into his life.

Samuel ran as soon as Daniel disappeared, heading for the stairs and speeding down them. He made it to the exit on the ground floor and paused for a breath while he got his bearings. He had no idea where he was, but he saw the city in front of him and headed for it. He could lose himself easily there. Manchester was a big place, one where he could lay low for a couple of days then make his way to another city. London was too far and too close to
them
, so that was out, but there were other options. He would head further north. He wanted out of England, and Scotland seemed like a great place to start over again.

He hooked a bag over each shoulder and ran, but his chest still hurt and breathing wasn’t easy, so he had to stop and cough while he caught his breath. He could see the road ahead, and if he just got out of the parking lot, it would make him feel better.

He stuck to the path, tying his hair back and tucking it under his coat before pulling on a cap and ducking his head as he watched his feet hitting the ground. He’d got to the end of the road ten minutes later when a car pulling up next to him made him jump. Its tires screeched to a halt. He turned and gasped when he saw Daniel jumping out of the car.

“You ran!” Daniel threw his arms in the air. “I can’t believe it.”

“I can’t stay there, you can’t make me. I don’t want to be there and I don’t want to be with you.”

“You can’t just…” Daniel sucked in a deep breath and held his palms up to Samuel. “Okay, I'm sorry. I don’t want to force you to do anything you’re not okay with, but I need to make sure you’re safe. Please, Samuel. Just give me another night.”

“I'm not staying in there. The police will come, they always do, and I'm not talking to them anymore.”

Daniel’s shoulders sagged and he looked to the sky. “Come home with me.”

“What?” Samuel took a step backwards.

“Just for the night. You can give me one night. Just to talk. Nothing more.” Daniel met his gaze and gave Samuel the most pleading look he’d ever seen.

“Urgh, Daniel.” Samuel looked at his feet and sighed. “I don’t want to talk about the stuff you need to hear.”

“All I need to hear is how to help you, nothing more. Just let me try to do that. I promise you don’t have to speak to the police. Just talk to me. I'm a good listener. And I can order food like no one else you’ve ever met.” Daniel grinned. “I can’t cook for shit and the house is a real mess, but it’s better than a cold night sleeping on the ground while it rains. And your chest still isn’t right—get a cold now and you’ll be stuck with it for ages.” Daniel placed his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels. “Did I do something to make you run? Because I feel like I did, and I want you to know I didn’t mean anything wrong.”

Samuel shook his head and gently held Daniel’s arm. “It wasn’t anything you did, just what you wanted to do.”

Daniel’s eyebrows hit his hairline and he paled. Samuel didn’t know what he'd said wrong, but he tightened his grip and smiled.

“I meant by you wanting to help me, that’s all.”

“Okay.” Daniel ran his fingers through his hair and nodded. “I just want to help, that’s all. I understand you don’t know me, and you may not trust me a lot, but I promise I’m a good person and I would never break your trust by doing anything you didn’t want me to do.”

Samuel bit his lip and looked to his feet. Was he that easy to read? Had Daniel guessed his past already? “I trust you.”

“Then come home with me. I’ll call Kirsty up tonight and let her know you’re alright. I won’t tell her where you are. I won’t tell anyone, okay?” Daniel moved closer, gently tilting Samuel’s head back so they looked into each other’s eyes. “Please, Samuel.”

Samuel knew this was a mistake. He’d made the same mistake with Claudia and he couldn’t let that happen again. “I’ll stay for one night. I want to go to Scotland. If you want to help, get me there.”

“Scotland?” Daniel shrugged. “Okay, whatever you want. Let’s get in the car and I’ll take us both back to my place. We can talk more there.”

Samuel watched as Daniel opened the passenger door for him, gently coaxing him inside. Samuel still had the urge to run, but he swallowed hard and got in the car. Daniel kept his eyes on him the whole time he walked around the car, looking afraid, obviously expecting Samuel to open the door and make a run for it again.

“You’ll regret doing this.” Samuel turned to look out of the window as soon as Daniel sat down. “You should just let me go and forget about me.”

“I don’t think that will ever happen, Sweetheart.”

Samuel’s heart skipped a beat again and he wrapped his arms around himself as the car set off. Daniel was too sweet, something had to be wrong with him, there always was.

It only took twenty minutes to get to Daniel’s little house. It was in a quiet cul-de-sac, and it looked modern and newly built with its fresh paint and smart, shiny black door. The small garden in the front was neat and tidy, as was the whole street. Samuel looked up and down it before he got out. All the houses were similar, all well-kept and smart. Samuel sighed heavily. It was just your average street with average people living inside, but to him, this was like Heaven.

“You okay?” Daniel smiled softly at him.

“It’s lovely here.”

“Ha! You haven’t seen inside yet. Be prepared to be shocked.” Daniel got out of the car while Samuel lifted his bags from in between his legs. He jumped when the door opened and Daniel reached in, taking them from him, offering his other hand and helping him out of the car.

“Thank you.” Samuel was stuck between the car door and Daniel when he stood up, and his breath sped up being so close to him again. “I should, erm…”

“Yeah, I just… Let me get out of here and give you space to move. I'm new at this door opening thing. Sorry.”

Daniel stepped back then closed the door and gently pressed the palm of his hand against Samuel’s back. His touch sent shivers up and down Samuel’s spine and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn’t get over how much Daniel affected him. He was still unsure what he was feeling. It was more a deep warming feeling spreading all over him, like he was safe and secure in his presence. Like he wanted to be in his arms and be held, just let Daniel look after him and knowing he would be safe.

“Here you go.” Daniel shook him out of his thoughts and Samuel stared into the hallway of his house. “It’s a mess.”

Samuel laughed as he walked inside. “You're worried about what a homeless person thinks of your house? It can’t be that ba…” Samuel bit his lip when he caught the first glimpse of the sitting room. “Oh, I see what you mean.” He burst out laughing and Daniel dropped his head to his chest and leaned against the wall next to him.

“I know, right. It’s just I'm so busy, and I barely live here, I just crash here on a night. It looks worse than it is.”

“Uh huh.” Samuel smiled as he tipped Daniel’s head back, then kissed his cheek softly. “Thank you.”

“Thank you?”

“For making me laugh. It’s been a while.” Samuel pressed his hand on Daniel’s chest and lost himself in those green eyes. The feeling was stronger when they touched. Samuel wanted to remove his hand and move, but Daniel’s hand was on his hip, gently rubbing him.

“I like making you laugh. You have a great one. You look even more beautiful when you smile.” Daniel ran his fingertip down his cheek and Samuel felt his knees shake. Was Daniel coming onto him? The thought woke him up.

“I'm not gay.” Samuel stepped back, shocking them both with how fast he moved.

“What? I mean… Why did you say that?” Daniel blushed like mad and Samuel felt suddenly stupid. Maybe he was all wrong and Daniel was just a touchy person.

“I just… I don’t know. Are you?”

“What? Gay?” Daniel sighed then met his eyes again. “Yes.”

Samuel opened his mouth, but said nothing and stepped back.

“No, please. I didn’t bring you back for… I’m not like that.” Daniel growled a little and fisted his hands by his sides.

“Are you mad at me?” Samuel didn’t want Daniel to be mad at him. “I'm sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologise. God, it’s me. I’m… Please, I'm sorry. I won’t touch you again. I didn’t bring you back here for anything like that. I just want to help you.”

Samuel nodded, twisting his hair behind his back as he calmed down. “I'm sorry, I really am. I just… It’s been a long time since I let someone close to me, you know. I like it, I'm just… confused.”

“I’ll try not to confuse you so much.” Daniel smiled and stood up straight. “Okay, how about I show you to your room, you can settle in and I’ll, erm, tidy up. Or try to.”

Daniel started out of the room, heading up the stairs, and Samuel followed. He was shown into a nice baby blue painted room with a pretty cream wrought iron double bed in it. It was clean, but unused.

“You can tell I never come in here, right?”

“Yes.” Samuel laughed again.

“It has a lock on the inside. Just in case you feel like using it.”

Samuel turned around and shook his head. He hated he’d made Daniel feel like this. “I won’t need it.”

“I know you won’t.” Daniel grinned. “I’ll leave you to get comfortable. The bathroom’s right there. It’s the only clean room in the place apart from this one. It has an amazing tub. It has a spa feature so you can have bubbles.”

Samuel followed Daniel and popped his head in the bathroom. The tub was huge, made for two, and he smiled. “I love baths.”

“Feel free to use it whenever you want. Okay, I’m running off to clean.” Daniel flashed him a big smile then ran down the stairs.

Samuel walked back into the bedroom and looked at the bed then the rest of the room, and fell face first onto the mattress. It was so comfy, he laughed. At least for one night he would try to enjoy his time here and relax. Who knew when he would next get to sleep somewhere nice and warm and comfortable?

D
aniel rushed around the sitting room, grabbing his clothes, dirty cups and plates, and threw them in the kitchen. At least they would have one cleanish place to sit down tonight. He opened the window and straightened up the cushions on the sofa. It looked okay to him. It was still a shithole, but better.

By the time Samuel came down, things were a little more organised and Daniel had the TV on and the kettle boiling. “Hey, you like the bed?”

“Yeah, it’s lovely.”

“My mum decorated it. I don’t know what she had in mind for me when she chose that bed though.”

“It's beautiful.” Samuel smiled as he stood in the doorway.

“Come in, sit down. Do you want tea or coffee?”

“Tea please.”

“Sugar?”

“Yes, please. Two.” Samuel sat in the big chair nestled in the bay window, looking outside and crossing his legs underneath him.

Daniel didn’t want to jump right into all the talk about him leaving. Maybe if he felt comfortable, he would stay longer. He brought out a pack of chocolate digestive biscuits and the tea. He was starving, but he was determined to wait for his pizza later on and the calories wouldn’t be wasted on Samuel.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Samuel took the tea and grinned when he noticed the chocolate dipped biscuits. “Those are my favorite.”

“Mine too.” Daniel opened the packet and handed him about ten biscuits, making him laugh again. “What? You can never eat too many of these things. I’d eat the whole packet with one cup of tea.”

“You won’t eat your pizza.” Samuel dipped a biscuit into his tea before lifting it quickly to his mouth.

“Oh, I will. I'm starving.” Daniel laughed as Samuel dipped his biscuit in his cup again. “God, I love that you dunk your biscuits. They taste so much better. I always get dirty looks for doing it.”

“Well, I'm not going to give you dirty looks. Go ahead and dunk.” Samuel chuckled as Daniel swirled the biscuit in his cup, groaning when he tasted it. “Have you just moved in here?”

“No.” Daniel laughed loudly. “I’ve been here about five years.”

“No way!” Samuel looked around and Daniel felt embarrassed.

“It needs more of a gentle touch. I'm not into belongings or the little things which fill a house and make it a home. It’s just a place to sleep and have a bath.”

“But, you like living here?”

“Yeah, I do. It’s just never felt like home, you know. Or I've never made it feel like home. Either way, it needs more. I just don’t have time to sort it out.”

Samuel glanced around the street outside. “It’s lovely here. Reminds me of home.”

“Where’s home?”

Samuel dipped another biscuit then sighed. “I grew up in Harrogate.”

“I thought you had a Northern accent in there somewhere.”

“So do you. You have that Manchester thing going on all the time.” Samuel smiled softly. “Anyway, we moved when I was seven or eight. Went down south.”

“Why’d you move? Parents get a new job or something?”

“No…” Samuel looked out of the window again. “My mum died. She was ill for a while. Dad needed family around him after she passed away, so we moved down south.”

“I'm so sorry, Sweetheart.” Daniel put his cup down and gripped his fingers together tightly. “I lost my mum last year. No matter how old you are when it happens, it still hurts like a bitch.”

“I'm sorry, Daniel. That’s not long ago.”

Daniel didn’t talk much about his mum. It hurt too much. “I miss her a lot. I'm not close to my dad.” Daniel played with the cuff of his sweater. “We kinda fell out when he found out I was gay. I had to move out when I was eighteen and we haven’t really spoken since then. That was nearly seven years ago. Shame it wasn’t him who died and not her.”

“My dad just left.” Daniel looked at Samuel, his sad eyes filled with tears. “I was only eight. I lost my mum and then he just left. I was ten when I found out he’d died three months after I last saw him. I lived with his brother for a while, but then...” Samuel bit his lip. “He was in a car crash. He stayed in hospital for a few weeks, but he didn’t come back.”

Daniel moved next to him, sitting on the arm of the sofa and holding him tightly. He’d gone through so much at such a young age. To lose both of your parents at that age… Daniel couldn’t even imagine it. “Is that how you ended up running?”

“No. I went into care until I was fifteen. That’s when it all changed.”

“Changed how?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” Daniel knelt in front of him, wiping away his tears. “If you change your mind, I'm here.” He held him softly, letting Samuel rest against him. Like this, Daniel’s body was good and kept in control. This is what Samuel needed, not a horny man all over him. “I’m going to put a film on. What do you like?”

“I don’t really watch them.” Samuel shifted back and thought hard. “I used to like comic books.”

“Okay, so Marvel stuff will work, right?”

“Yes.” Samuel cheered up, and a little more light in those blue eyes shone through, making Daniel smile.

“I have them all. We could do a movie marathon.”

“Don’t you have work tomorrow?”

“Nope. Two days off.”

Samuel smiled more. “Okay.”

Daniel and Samuel watched one film, then ordered three pizzas because Samuel couldn’t decide which one he wanted and Daniel was starving. While they devoured the food, they watched another film, sitting on the sofa with the pizza boxes between them. By the time they were full and nearly all the pizza had gone, Daniel was half laid out, his lids dropping as the last two days caught up with him.

When he woke up, it was because he needed to pee. It was past two in the morning and the TV was still playing the latest film but with the sound switched off. Daniel looked down and saw Samuel had fallen asleep. It looked like his body had slipped and he was curled up around his legs, his head lying on his thigh with his hair falling around them both.

Daniel gently ran his fingers through Samuel’s hair, enjoying the feeling of the silky locks slipping through his fingers. He didn’t want to move, but after waiting another ten minutes, he slowly moved from underneath him.

Daniel stood up, watching Samuel curl into a tighter ball, hugging his knees to his chest and breathing softly. He was sure he could look at Samuel for years and not tire of him, or grow bored.

While he was upstairs, he heard Samuel shout out. “Shit!” He finished peeing and ran downstairs to find Samuel kneeling up on the sofa, glancing around the room with a look of confusion on his face.

“Samuel, are you okay?”

Samuel looked at him for a few moments then nodded. “Bad dream.”

“Do you need anything?”

“No.” His bottom lip shook and Daniel smiled softly.

“Not even a hug?”

Samuel dropped his head and Daniel moved to him, sitting beside him then pulling him against his body. Samuel hid his face in his chest and clung onto him tightly until he finished shaking and his breathing slowed down to a normal pace. All the time, Daniel stroked his head, combing his fingers through the long hair around him and keeping his body pinned against his.

“Thank you,” Samuel eventually whispered.

“Anytime.” Daniel kissed his forehead then released him. Samuel sat up and rubbed his eyes. “You ready for bed?”

“I think so.”

“Come on. It’s past three now. At least we can have a lie in tomorrow morning.”

“I'm sorry for disturbing you.” Samuel was playing with his hair again and not looking at him directly, but peeking through his lashes.

“You didn’t. This wasn’t disturbing me. It wasn’t a horrible experience holding you or comforting you.” Daniel dragged his fingers through Samuel’s hair, his fingertip accidentally skimming his cheek. “I enjoyed it,” he said quietly.

Samuel met his gaze and stared at him for a few moments before touching his cheek with his palm, reaching up with his other hand and playing with Daniel’s hair, searching every inch of Daniel’s face with those big eyes. “I enjoyed it too.” His light body shifted closer to Daniel. “I’ve never been held like that before. Not since I was a child.”

Daniel felt a wave of panic run through him. Did Samuel see him as a parent?

“That felt different though. You felt different. Every time you touch me, I feel warm all over. It’s like you’re a fire, burning me up from the inside.”

“Samuel…” Daniel held Samuel’s face in his hands, keeping his eyes on Samuel’s. “That’s how you make me feel too, Sweetheart.”

Samuel laid his hand on Daniel’s chest and sighed, still playing with the tips of Daniel’s hair. “What does that mean?”

Daniel hugged him tightly. Just how innocent and confused was Samuel? “I don’t know yet.” Daniel lifted him onto his thighs. “You're the most beautiful person I've ever met. Inside and out. I don’t want you to leave tomorrow. I'm not ready to let you go.”

“I'm bad news, Daniel. If I stay, people will come looking for me. Bad people. They’ll hurt you to get to me. It’s happened before.” Samuel pressed his finger against Daniel’s lips, brushing it lightly over them before Daniel held his hand.

“If anyone comes for you, they won’t get you. Not while I'm around. I won’t let them hurt you or take you away. I promise.”

“It’s not me I'm worried about, it’s you. They’re really evil, Daniel. You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

“So, tell me. Talk to me.”

“I can’t, not yet.”

“Don’t leave tomorrow. Promise you’ll stay.” Daniel fisted both his hands by his side to stop himself from touching Samuel. “Just a few more nights. See how you feel then. You don’t have to be on your own. Let me help you.”

“I don’t want to bother you with all my issues, and I have
a lot
of issues, Daniel. You might not be able to handle them, handle me.”

“Let me worry about what I can or can’t handle. All I want you to do is focus on you. You’d be safe here. I’d keep you safe, Samuel.”

“I know. I haven’t felt this secure since my mum died. I don’t want to leave, but…” Samuel sighed and looked into Daniel’s eyes. “Staying here is scarier than leaving. Out there I just have me, here… I’d have to think about you.”

“Let me worry about me. Please.” Daniel unfisted his hands and took Samuel in his arms. “I want to look after you. Let me do that and make me happy.”

“Why do you need me to make you happy?” Samuel played with Daniel’s hair again. “Don’t you have a boyfriend?”

“That’s… complicated.” Daniel laughed. “Right now, no. I did have… Recently we broke up. It’s a really long story.”

Samuel sat back and looked in his eyes. “You're sad about him. Do you love him?”

Daniel cupped Samuel’s face in his hands and kissed his forehead. “Yes. I love him. I have for a long time, but… It doesn’t work out no matter how much I want it to.”

“Ha, that’s the story of my life.” Samuel rubbed his eyes then smiled at him. “I feel sorry for you.” He laughed loudly.

“Why?”

“Because I'm going to stay, and one day, you’ll look back and think of this moment and hate me for it.”

“I won’t ever hate you, Sweetheart.”

Samuel looked into his eyes, searching for something which Daniel couldn’t answer, not without him talking first.

“Let’s sleep now. We can talk later. Nothing is easy to understand at this time in the morning.” Daniel let him shuffle off his knees and stand up. He stretched his arms above his head, his sweater rising above his hips and teasing Daniel by showing off his creamy skin.

He didn’t know what was going on right now, but at least he wasn’t alone. Samuel was just as confused as he was.