Beyond Complicated by Mercy Celeste Read Free Book Online Page B

him. I wouldn't have… shit."
    "I didn't tel anyone about him. I kept that part of my life a secret. He and I… wel, it was sort of complicated. No one would have understood. We had each other, that's about it." I said too much. He went tense and let me go. I moved back to my corner and waited for the fal out. But it was his turn for stony silence. "I did what I had to back then. I'm not proud of it. But I'd do it again if I had to."
    "You were his older guy? The one who protected him? Shit, Liam." He was across the room pacing in front of my television, giving it strange glances as if he was afraid at any moment it would randomly start showing his dad having hot monkey sex with strange men. "You did porn! To pay my mom child support. You did porn for me."
    "Those first few years I worked construction during the day and took night classes. It took me six years to get my bachelor's degree. I was broke al the time, paying tuition and buying books. And yeah, paying child support when you're a teenager sort of blows. I was offered money just to let a guy take nude photos of me. Then to, wel, I'm not going to tel you how it happened. It happened and you shouldn't even know that much."
    "How much did you pay her?"
    "Twelve hundred a month. But that was after I wouldn't let Ken adopt you. He figured out that it was in their best interest not to fight me for my rights. And then I figured out that Sabrina had a mean streak. The judge sided with her so I paid triple after that. I did what I did. Don't judge me. You've had a pretty good life."
    "I'm not judging you. I'm just shocked, that's al.
    She caled you a deadbeat. Used to tel people you weren't taking care of your debt to her but she had to let you see me. She caled you a pervert in front of me."
    There was anger in his voice. I didn't want to have this discussion right now but it al tied together. My whole fucked up life had come to some whacked in the head circle of insanity. My kid and I fighting over the same man, the one I did porn with so I could make my child support payments and stil live from month to month to pay his crazy mother. "When did you stop? Making movies, I mean? You and Seth made movies together, shit. Why haven't I ever found one?"
    "Why were you looking in the first place?"
    "Helo, boyfriend told me he did porn and I was curious. Couldn't find any and he wouldn't tel me where to look."
    "Wel, I guess I can be thankful for that. Since al of his were with me. Just before your seventeenth birthday… that's when I got out. Seth and I busted up and I came home. I haven't seen or heard from him in al this time."
    "Until Friday night."
    "Until Friday night. I told him to leave you alone. Things sort of got out of hand after that."
    "That's the understatement of the century." Kel plopped down on my bed and sprawled on his back. I winced, knowing the sheets would probably reek of sex. He didn't seem to notice. "I didn't see him yesterday. Neither one of you would answer your damned phones. And this morning he caled and told me we couldn't see each other anymore. Because he was stupid and couldn't be with me because of you. I asked him pretty much everything I asked you. He told me you had a history that… anyway, I guess it doesn't matter. Much."
    I snorted and went back to leaning. No, it didn't matter at al. Much. "Go home, kid."
    "Liam?"
    I sighed. We'd gone back to this. "Yeah?"
    "If you loved him, why did you leave him? He loved you too, right? I don't understand."
    "Nothing to understand. Sometimes no matter how much you love someone… things just end. We ended. With an exclamation point, ended."
    "And you're stil messed up over it four years later?"
    "Not something I'm proud of. Go home, Kel.
    Let me walow in peace."
    "Liam?"
    "Shit, what?"
    "You sort of stink. Like spunk. Which is sort of massively disgusting if you think about it long enough.
    Two day old spunk. And shit, I'm probably lying in it.
    My dad and my boyfriend's spunk. Holy fucking