Chapter 2

The thing about Kaos’s sleeping habit was that he either slept a lot or not much at all. He could run on four hours a night for a week. Other times, he could easily sleep for thirteen hours straight if nobody woke him or he didn’t have to be at work. Prison had been annoying for him. Either he’d been impatient for the morning to come, or he’d felt like a zombie on the days where he needed more sleep than the strict schedule allowed.

After the drive, he knew he’d have a long rest ahead of him just because traveling always exhausted him. When he finally woke up around ten in the morning, he wasn’t even a bit surprised.

There was a text from Lake wishing him a good and safe rest of the journey, and the same from Makai. It felt good to have family waiting for him, even as he left behind the old one. Both had been chosen, not blood, since his grandma passed while he was in prison five years ago.

It didn’t matter now, really. He needed to move on, and Grandma had always taught him to do whatever he needed to survive. This was him surviving. Staying in Missouri was a death sentence for him, because sometimes old habits were hard to break, even when that habit was a person, not a substance. The toxicity didn’t matter—a habit was a habit.

He didn’t want to think about Trev, and while he washed up and skipped shaving, he looked at his skin in the mirror. The last thought he shed to his ex was the gratefulness for being away from him. In this world, his new life, eye shadow one day didn’t mean bruises the next. In this life he could do whatever he pleased without fear.

With that in mind, he got dressed in a long black skirt, lamenting the lack of tights and heels. His black Chucks would have to do. Because it looked sunny out, he added a black tank top after deciding he could be weird as he wanted to. He brushed his blond hair back and skipped product, then took five more minutes and expertly put on some black nail polish, just to feel more right in his skin. He pulled on his favorite Army jacket, because it was November and in five hours he’d be somewhere much cooler.

It wasn’t until he looked at himself in the mirror just before leaving the motel room that he realized he was having a feminine day. Those didn’t come without additional risks, but then again, if he didn’t stop anywhere too redneck, he would probably be safe. From what Makai had told him, the town of Acker accepted weirdos, mostly.

He just needed to get there and it would be fine, right?

* * * *

It was just past four when he finally pulled up in front of a two-story building with a large sign declaring it Tripod, the diner-slash-few-other-businesses he was looking for.

Suddenly feeling oddly nervous, Kaos ran his fingers through his hair and looked at himself in the rearview mirror. It was just Makai, his brother from another mother. Sure, they hadn’t seen each other in a few years, but what did that matter?

Kaos got out of the car and looked around while pulling on his jacket, grinning. It was exactly as Makai had described to him on the phone. There were a few businesses on each side of the two-lane road, and that was it. He could see the grocery store across the street, with the post office attached and what must’ve been the vet clinic next to it.

There was a garage at the very end of the collective long parking lot on Tripod’s side of the street, and a couple of other businesses that somehow seemed to be flourishing for such a small town.

A beat-up truck turned into the lot and parked right next to Kaos’s Toyota. The young man in the passenger’s seat had curly hair, big blue eyes, and a grin on his face. He didn’t open the door, just remained inside. And then a huge guy smiling from ear to ear rounded the car, and Kaos was swept into a hug.

“There you are!” Makai rumbled into his ear, and Kaos melted against him. He couldn’t help it, as the old feeling of being totally safe swept over him, causing him to cry immediately. “Hey, it’s okay, Kaos, I promise. You’re fine now. Whatever happened, you’re okay now. We got you, okay?” Makai held him close and murmured into his hair for what felt like minutes.

Kaos collected himself and took in a steadying breath before pulling away from Makai. “Hi, big brother,” he said, and grinned a bit wetly.

“Hey, kiddo,” Makai answered, smiling at him, and Kaos could see the tears in Makai’s eyes trying to spill over. Makai reached back then, and the man who could only be Emil poked his head around him. “This is the love of my life, Emil Newman. Emil, this is Kaos, my brother.”

Kaos wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it wasn’t the shy little grin as Emil burrowed against Makai’s side.

“Hi, Emil. Nice to meet you.”

“You too. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Emil mostly avoided Kaos’s gaze and didn’t extend a hand to shake, but Makai had told Kaos that would most likely be the case. He hadn’t said why. Apparently it was Emil’s story to tell to the exact degree that he was happy to share it, and Kaos could respect that.