Read Online LeftInTheDarkness by Stephani Hecht - Free Book Online Page A

fifties and had been in the area forever, he served as kind of a mentor to many of them. With short, gray hair, a thick build, and warm brown eyes, he had a way of making people open up to him. It was no mistake that he’d named his shop Haven House. It truly was a place where anybody from the LGBTQ community could go and feel safe.
    “We went to that new club in Pontiac,” Christian replied. “It wasn’t exactly what I expected for a gay club, though.”
    Jerry shook his head. “That’s because it’s not like any of the other clubs. I’ve only heard bad things about that joint. You guys need to stay away from there.”
    “We only went because Andy knows one of the owners,” James said.
    He took a drink of his drink, savoring the sweetness of it. Nobody in Michigan made better coffee than Jerry.
    “Damn that kid. I told him he needed to be more careful with who he hangs out with,” Jerry grumbled.
    “Let me guess, you heard bad things about the owners, too?” Devlin drawled.
    “Where is Andy now?” Jessica demanded.
    “He took off with his new boyfriend as soon as we got to the bar. Devlin tried to talk him out of it, but Andy refused to listen,” Christian said before he snuggled into Devlin’s side.
    Jerry leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not surprised. I tried to talk to him a few days ago about other things I’d been seeing him doing, and he shut me down.”
    “Maybe we should tell my mom or call Mr. Skims and tell him how worried we are about Andy,” Christian suggested.
    “I tried calling Andy’s mom already,” Jerry informed them.
    James didn’t even bother asking how Jerry got the woman’s number. It was common knowledge that if he was determined, then Jerry could get pretty much any information he needed. It was like the guy had an amped up Ouija board or something.
    “The bitch didn’t care, did she?” Devlin bit out.
    “Nope, she told me to mind my own business and that Andy can make his own decisions in life.”
    Never before had James felt so helpless or so frustrated. It reminded him so much of the night of the attack. Once again, a friend was in trouble. Only this time James was prepared to do anything to help Andy, but the other guy didn’t want it.
    “So, what are we supposed to do? We can’t just sit back and hope that he’ll be okay,” James demanded.
    A grim look came over Jerry’s face. “We just have to hope that he’ll come around or turn to one of us before it’s too late.”
    Something brushed against James’s hand. Looking down he saw it was Taylor’s fingers. Without giving it a second thought, James grabbed on and held tight.
    “It’s okay. We’ll get him to listen in time,” Taylor said.
    The only problem was, Taylor didn’t sound any more convinced than James felt.
    * * * *
    Andy out a soft laugh as he swayed to the music. While they weren’t at the club anymore, Seth’s living room was more than big enough to dance in. Plus, he had a kick-ass system.
    There were other guys there—while they didn’t touch Andy, he was more than aware of the way they were leering at him. Some part of him screamed how dangerous the situation was, but he didn’t run for the door.
    He felt so warm, fuzzy, and happy that he just wanted to stay. Besides, it was nice being the center of attention for once. He closed his eyes and let his body get caught up in the music.
    “Hey, I have a little gift for the birthday boy,” Seth announced as he came up behind Andy.
    Andy leaned against the older man. “My birthday was last week.”
    He tried not to let the hurt wash over him as he recalled how nobody had remembered it. Well, aside from Seth, and that was only because he seemed really fixated on things like that. Andy knew he should have expected to be forgotten yet another year. After all, his parents hadn’t remembered any other time, so why should it be any different when he had turned eighteen.
    Other years, Devlin had always