Half a broken Wing - 5. Chapter 5

~Riley~

With a groan, Riley let his phone slip from his fingers onto the bed. Three hours of sleep. A sad result after all the tossing and turning and the leaden tiredness in his limbs. When was the last time he had slept well? Sometime in This Hospital, probably after they'd given him something.

With a sigh, he turned onto his side, wrapped himself in his wings and closed his eyes. His sense of time was gone, his sleep rhythm non-existent. He admired Danny for his discipline when it came to rituals and meditation to counter this problem. Naps were his own way of coping - and the sleep of pure exhaustion. Enough of his former comrades were addicted to sleeping pills or had given up altogether and killed themselves.

Hendrick's so-called music made the wall vibrate, something clanked to the beat on Hendrick's side of the wall.

Great.

Riley turned to the other side, but his bladder spoke up. Since he wouldn't be able to sleep any more anyway, he got up and trudged to the bathroom. It was Rain Day and after the weekend he was supposed to go to the Cartwrights. But the thought alone felt strange. The messed-up encounter with Cedric was still too fresh.

Just as fresh, however, was Troy's announced wing amputation, and because they needed the money, Riley got dressed and dabbed fresh makeup on his blood moth spots. Cedric was usually in the office at this hour, he was counting on it.

Mentally, he went through everything he had to do. Ordering groceries, getting Cedric's fine clothes from the dry cleaners - his phone pinged.

Unknown number: Hi, it's Nate!

Nate? Nate Cartwright? What did the boy want now? Puzzled, Riley typed a reply.

Nate: C gave me your number, I can't find you on AllOfUs. You promised to teach me how to cook.

Yeaaaaah... Riley avoided social media like the plague. The Goswick name was just too tainted.

Me: Are you home? Or Cedric?

Nate: Nope & nope.

Nate: You had a fight with C, he mentioned it. Is it bad? You're still coming, right?

With a sigh, Riley sent a thumbs-up. He really didn't need Nate's curiosity right now. Then again, would Cedric pay him if he taught Nate how to cook?

A pounding on the door almost made him drop his phone.

“Riley...” Eric sang in a muffled voice, ”Riley, open the doo-ooor...” He was definitely not sober. And because he was unpredictable when not-sober - even more unpredictable than usual - Riley hurried to let his brother in.

The door wasn't quite open when Eric lurched towards him. His antennae were pointing at different angles in different directions, his usually large moth pupils were tiny and he reeked of sweet smoke.

“Eric...” Riley backed into the apartment. “It's broad daylight...”

But Eric was high enough that he didn't care, grinning as he shrugged. “Baby bro, you got any money for me?”

“You were here on Moon Day, where do I-” Riley began, bumping painfully against the doorframe to the bathroom.

“You wipe the Cartwrights' asses every day,” Eric returned slurred, pushing past him.

“I have to eat something at some point,” Riley replied, while Eric was already looking for money. It was a pointless protest. And a pointless search, because Riley hadn't hidden any new bills since Moon Day.

Eric angrily threw everything around. Clothes, bedding, pill packets. He also rummaged through the pantry with unsteady hands, empty container crashing to the floor. Cursing, he then turned to Riley, who had been watching motionlessly. “Money, Riley, now,” he hissed, his left antenna bobbing frantically as if it were transmitting Morse code.

“Eric, I got-” Riley didn't get any further because Eric lunged at him. In preparation for the police academy, he had practiced fighting techniques for years and laboriously suppressed his memorized defense. A physical confrontation with Eric, especially in this state, could have unforeseen consequences.

So Eric tugged all the contents out of Riley's trouser pockets; two pillboxes clattered to the floor, the wrapper of a nut bar, a few coins slipped from Eric's fingers. “Is that all?” Stunned, Eric stared at his loot. It was the change from the supermarket, less than ten doubloons and a few thalers.

Cautiously, Riley shrugged and forced his hands to remain relaxed.

Shaking his head, Eric stuffed the coins into his own pocket and then patted Riley's cheek roughly. “You're such a loser, baby brother.”

“Go home and sober up before the sun burns you,” Riley returned, hoping he sounded less angry and more annoyed. He didn't even know where Eric lived, but he didn't care, should he sleep under a bridge as long as he disappeared.

In response, Eric chuckled, belched a stinky cloud in Riley's face and then staggered out.

For a while, Riley just stood there, listening and hoping Eric wouldn't come back. Next door, Vicky began to sing, off-key and with no sense of rhythm at all. But at least it broke Riley out of his stupor and he tidied up the mess left behind.

He was just closing the cupboard when there was a knock. “Riley?” Andrew.

Riley sighed, rolled his eyes and opened to the cockroach. “Are you still looking for the owner of the lace thongs?” he wanted to know, amused, because Andrew had a full laundry basket in his arms.

“Very funny,” Andrew replied dryly. “I saw your brother fly off and wanted to see if everything was all right.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Riley nodded with a thin smile. He certainly appreciated Andrew checking up on him. He had no idea how old the cockroach was, he looked to be in his late thirties, but he had heard rumors of him being in his fifties. There was definitely a bit of a fatherly air about him.

“Okay. Unfortunately, we can't-”

“Um, excuse me?” A voice interrupted Andrew and Riley's smile slipped.

“Hmm?” Andrew half-turned to the side.

“Sorry, I'm looking for apartment 130, could you tell me where to find it?” Yes, that was definitely Cedric's voice and Riley's wings rustled. More than that, his antennae twitched, because he lived in 130.

“And who lives there?” Andrew asked back critically, adjusting the laundry basket on his hip.

“My boyfriend.” Cedric sounded as if he was beaming.

Riley's mouth dropped open in amazement, his antennae stiffening.

“I actually wanted a name.” Andrew rolled his eyes and cast a quick sideways glance at Riley, who nodded perforce. He couldn't very well leave Cedric standing in the middle of the Thistle, whatever weird story this was going to be.

“Ah, of course.” Cedric chuckled. “Riley. Riley Goswick.”

Andrew grunted and then nodded to the side. “Someone's already waiting for you.”

“Oh yeah, I'm all hot and bothered after the weekend,” Riley grumbled sarcastically. Moon have mercy.

“Trouble in paradise?” Andrew smirked. “Sort it out between yourselves, it can hardly get any louder than Vicky and Tino.” He raised a hand and sauntered off, seconds later Cedric entered his field of vision.

“Hey, Honeybun, I'm soooooo sorry.”

There was a sound in the background from Andrew that could pass for retching.

“Moon and stars, come on in.” Sighing, Riley nodded to Cedric and backed into the apartment, turning on the twilight lights for Cedric.

Cedric closed the door behind him and with the click, his demeanor changed to deeply apologetic. “I'm really sorry to ambush you like this, but I wanted to- oh sweet flowers! I knew the apartments in the Thistle were small, but this is tiny!”

Skeptical and with his arms crossed, Riley watched as Cedric looked around. Thank goodness he had already cleaned up the mess Eric had made.

Then Cedric obviously snapped back to his real concern. His antennae curled up, all four hands intertwined their fingers and he rustled his wings. “First of all,” he began after clearing his throat, “I'd like to apologize for Sky Day. I can have complicated debates, but small talk is not my strong suit. I had the impression that you didn't like the fair as a meeting place, so I didn't think about how my suggestion might appear. I certainly didn't want to reduce the meeting to that.” He bit his lower lip sheepishly. “And I mean, it wasn't your or my conscious decision to ignore the boss-employee relationship. I see the point, of course.”

Riley nodded simply. He was admittedly surprised to see Cedric go to the trouble of apologizing like that. But it emphasized the sincerity behind it and Riley liked that. Far too many people apologized simply because it was what the other person wanted to hear.

“I'm sorry,” Cedric summarized sincerely, but the embarrassment remained.

“Apology accepted,” Riley replied with another nod and underlined the words with a small smile.

Cedric nodded as well.

There was a strange moment of silence and Riley wondered whether he should offer his guest something out of politeness, but at the same time was slightly confused to see how Cedric's embarrassment grew and turned into nervousness.

“Riley, I need to ask you something,” Cedric blurted out.

Puzzled, Riley blinked. “Uh, sure...”

“Would you marry me?”

“Sorry, what?” Riley's eyebrows twitched upwards. Had he misheard?

But Cedric covered his face with all four hands, his antennae curled up so tightly they pressed against his hair like flat snails. “Oh, warming Sun,” he whispered. “I'm sorry.”

“Um...” Riley was absolutely speechless.

“I have a family problem.” mumbled Cedric through his fingers. “I need to find a husband urgently.”

“Ah.” Riley said, confused, and when Cedric didn't continue, he asked, “Could you perhaps elaborate?” It was more than a little strange, the way they stood in Riley's tiny apartment, with barely two meters of space between them, and this crazy conversation bomb in the room.

“I...” Cedric wrapped the bottom pair of arms around himself, the top pair of hands fluttering around him in nervous gestures. “My grandfather, Nolan, will die soon,” he began, pressing his upper arms flat against his chest. ”I know there are conditions in his will for a full inheritance. I don't know all the details, but the basic requirement for me is that I'm married.”

“Ah.” Riley said again. Because his crossed arms seemed unnecessarily dismissive, he hooked his thumbs in his pockets instead. “And why are you coming to me with this?”

With his lips pressed together, Cedric looked at him, but quickly turned his gaze away. "I don't know many men like us," he murmured embarrassed. "But I do know you. Well enough, I'd like to think, to trust you."

That made Riley nod, but he didn't find the answer really satisfying.

"I mean, it's an offer," Cedric added, his voice becoming firmer. "I know about the scandal surrounding your father" - well, who hadn't heard about that? - "and I know about your debts. So..." Cedric took a breath, "listen. I'm paying your debts. Your family's, caused by your father. Your own debts. You told me about those. The medical expenses for your mother, your brother with the wing rot. In exchange, I want five years of your time."

Riley blinked in surprise.

"Can you pay that off on your own in the same amount of time?"

"You want to buy me," Riley replied dully. An unpleasant feeling similar to nausea spread through him.

Cedric raised his hands reassuringly. "It's an offer, Riley, a contract. A win-win."

"Like a sugar daddy."

"No!" Outraged, Cedric shook his head. "Warming Sun, please, don't get me wrong!"

Riley swallowed bitter saliva. "Then explain it to me." But he crossed his arms in front of his chest again.

Cedric opened his mouth, but thought about his words for a moment. "Of course, I could stand in the main market of Pineapple Cove and announce like a barker that I'm looking for a spouse. There would certainly be enough people coming forward. But they would make demands, ask for things like contacts and money and status. They would want to be paid for their lifetime. But you... you don't want the money, you need it. You don't want to need it."

Cedric was definitely right about that, Riley thought bitterly.

"And please forgive me if I've somehow offended you or hurt your honor or pride or anything like that, that wasn't my intention. There would be a prenup of course, everything is negotiable."

Riley didn't know what to say. Finally, he settled on a defiant, "You're offering to buy me off my debts."

"I'm offering you a debt-free life," Cedric rephrased.

"Why?"

"Because..." Cedric sighed deeply, running his fingers through his always disheveled-looking white hair. Only now did Riley notice that he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt completely out of keeping with his usual style, and which looked a size too big, as if he'd borrowed them from someone.

"With a fake marriage," Riley commented dryly and Cedric grimaced bitterly.

"When my father and stepmother died and my grandparents had no better idea than to put my little half-brothers in the hands of me and my twin, my boyfriend left me. We were together for over two years, but he wasn't up for mothering little boys. Do you have any idea what a relationship killer that is? Being a single parent-brother. Really great. Do you think I've had more than a handful of dates in the last eleven years?"

Riley raised an eyebrow at that. "I sure believe that, but your family knows that too."

The bitter look on the face was accompanied by a bitter snort. "My family isn't interested in my private life. Not that I have one, but the fact that I like men seems to be well ignored."

"So not just a fake marriage, but a happy fake marriage," Riley summarized, getting a shrug. Then Cedric's shoulders dropped and his whole handsome figure seemed to slump a little.

"It's an offer," he said quietly.

"Are you that desperate?" Riley asked critically.

Again, Cedric shrugged and looked rather exhausted now. "It's about more than a just a few thousand doubloons or a cute little family business. My grandfather is seriously ill. So yeah, I don't have time to court anyone properly. I've got a couple weeks, that's all."

Riley nodded, even though his head was spinning by now. He turned away, needing to look at something other than Cedric for a moment, who seemed to positively glow with his bright colors despite the dim twilight.

"Oh, and I'm sorry to just show up here in the middle of the day like this, but I, uh, admit I wasn't to eager on flying around in an unfamiliar place during twilight. Especially not a place with this kind of reputation." Cedric then said, again rather nervously.

"No big deal," Riley mumbled, rubbing his face. "I was awake anyway." He heard Cedric rustle his wings. "Five years of fake marriage" and "debts plus medical expenses" were playing ping-pong in his skull.

Because he couldn't think straight, he turned back to Cedric, who was standing there like a schoolboy summoned to the principal's office. "Gimme time to think about it."

"Sure. Of course." Cedric nodded hurriedly, his half-unfurled antennae bobbing. He seemed to want to say more, but then shut his mouth, nodded again and smiled shyly. The way he raised his hand as if to wave seemed completely out of place and then he left without a word.

Shaking his head, Riley stared at the door. "What. The. Fuck?"

Several times Cedric's words ran on repeat in Riley's brain and he was aware that Cedric's offer was a solution. But the butterfly could phrase it any way he wanted, he still aimed to buy Riley as a husband. The idea had a nasty aftertaste.

The thought that Troy might die because they couldn't pay for his necessary surgery tasted even worse. The fact that Troy and Wayne's children would still be nibbling at their grandfather's shit if the mountain of debt continued to grow didn't make it any better.

After taking a deep breath, Riley called Andrew.

"Is everything all right?" the other man wanted to know.

"Yes. No. I don't know. That's not the point." With a half-suppressed sigh, Riley paused for a moment. "If I continue as before, how long will it take me to get rid of my debt to you? Five years? More, less?"

"Uh..."

While Andrew was obviously thinking, Riley pushed aside one of the heavy curtains. Blinded, he squinted against the sunlight, but he desperately needed fresh air, so he opened the window. Voices and the smell of roasting bell pepper wafted in.

"I can do the math if you want, but five years doesn't sound bad," Andrew said thoughtfully. "Maybe even less. More if you reduce it to help your brother."

"Hmm. Thanks."

"Let me guess, the pretty boy has offered to help you out financially," Andrew remarked. Critically, as if he wasn't handing out private mini-loans to Thistle residents left and right himself.

"More or less," Riley admitted slowly.

A mixture of sigh and grunt came from Andrew. "Don't do anything you'll regret later."

"No, I won't." Riley rolled his eyes. Andrew's concern was kindly meant, but unnecessary.

"Ask yourself how many prostitutes said the same thing at the beginning of their careers."

"Andrew!" Surprised and outraged in equal measure, Riley stared at his phone as if it could also transmit his scowl.

"Just some well-intentioned advice, Riley," Andrew returned almost gently.

"Thanks," Riley growled and hung up.

Prostitution was- well, disgusting wasn't the right word, but he found the thought so unpleasant that it was sure as fuck not an option on his list of possible solutions.

He shook himself, refolding his wings. If Cedric bought him as a husband, would that count as prostitution, even if they didn't have sex?

A true hard shudder ran through him and he looked for Troy in his phone list.

"What happened?" It wasn't until Troy's drowsy words that Riley realized any normal nocturnal would be sleeping at this hour. But hey, he himself wasn't normal anymore.

"Nothing. Sorry, I wasn't thinking, I didn't mean to wake you," Riley said hurriedly.

Troy grumbled a curse.

"Are you still awake enough to answer a question for me?"

More grumbling. "Shoot."

"As of now, how long will it take us to pay off all the debt? Longer than five years?"

Troy's response was an almost hysterical giggle. "Make that twenty-five years and you're getting closer. Why?"

"I might have a solution." Riley probably shouldn't have said that, but he felt obligated to his family. It wasn't right that they suffered because of his father's mess.

"Grow the fuck up, baby-Riley," Troy snorted into the phone. "Stop daydreaming, get married, and be smart enough to change your last name and get the fuck out of here. I wouldn't blame you."

"I'd blame myself," Riley replied quietly.

"You're such a weirdo." And with that, Troy hung up.

By now, it was rare for Riley to feel truly lost, but Troy certainly did the job. Between them lay eleven years and as a child Riley had looked up to his big brother for a long time. The remnants of that hurt, just like now.

The next point of call would be Danny, but waking him now would be sacrilege.

So Riley killed time, researched prenups and the like and took two short naps before he finally called Danny. Or wanted to call him, because when he looked at his phone, he realized that he had to go to work soon.

He could almost hear his brain hissing in protest at this spontaneity as he decided that Danny and a conversation were more important. He wouldn't be able to concentrate on the job anyway, so he called the lab office.

"Cartwright Pharmaceuticals Laboratory, how can I help?"

"Hey, Alex..." Riley greeted, puzzled. "What are you doing with the office phone?"

"I'm on counter duty!" replied Alex, so overly cheerful it hurt. "And the doctors are in a meeting! It's so great!" He laughed dry as desert wind. "Riley, my man, please give me some nice news."

Riley screwed up his face. He didn't envy Alex one bit right now. "Rather less so, my friend."

"Too bad."

"I'm calling in sick."

"Do you have a sick bill?"

"No, just take my overtime."

"Woah, woah, woah, Riley Goswick taking his hallowed overtime? What's up, man?" Concern crept into Alex' surprise.

"Nothing bad." Riley suppressed a sigh and rubbed his face. "Just... I'm currently... out of it. If I go to work now, I risk making mistakes."

"Okay," Alex replied slowly. "Okay, I understand that. Do you want to talk about it? I'm not Monty, you know, I will keep my mouth shut."

"I know, thanks." This time Riley let him hear his sigh. "Maybe... later."

Into Riley's reply, the other phone rang and Alex sighed as well. "I'll see you around."

"Sure." Riley hung up. An alarm had gone off during the call and dutifully he took his medication before calling Danny.

"Yo." Danny answered with his mouth full.

"I need you."

"Yo.", Danny said again, spitting out. "What ya need? Shovel? Ice cream? Bed?" He chuckled. "I've always wanned to say that."

Under different circumstances, Riley probably would have laughed, but he couldn't manage more than a thin smile. "Your advice. A moral compass. Maybe a best man."

Danny choked, coughed, spit, rasped. "Dude, Riles, I almost swallowed my toothbrush." He coughed again. "Ya not laughing. How ser's this is?"

"Very serious." Riley replied quietly. "Cedric was here."

"Cedric was..." Danny let out an impressed whistle. "He was so smitten with ya date that he wanna marry'a?" He gave a forced chuckle.

"Something like that..." Riley rubbed his face. He prayed to the Moon that talking to Danny would help clear his head a little.

"Fuck." Danny muttered, then, according to the sounds, he rinsed out his mouth and toothbrush. "I can take half night off," he said then. "Ya pick ma up for lunch?"

"Sure thing."

"'Kay, Riles, don't do anything stupid."

Riley snorted and with a chuckle, Danny hung up. At least it was a start. Only, the start of what?