Reunion by JJ Harper

personality in Ethan but he was even worse around Travis. He was always showing off and was constantly boasting that he was the guy the viewers wanted. It got even worse when Travis started bringing drugs round to the apartment, I wasn’t interested but Ethan was and he got hooked quickly and no matter how hard I tried to get him to stop, he wouldn’t.
    “Then one night we had a house full of guys and one of them tried it on with me, I wasn’t interested but he was drunk and high and he got all handsy. I pushed him away and that’s when they all started on me. I was just a cheap rate porn star therefore I was easy and just asking for it. They held me down and stripped me. Ethan was high and laughing, egging them on, telling them how I liked it. They all took it in turns, even Ethan had a go.”
    I keep staring out of the window but my head was full of the graphic images of what I was forced into.
    “It didn’t stop there, they told me someone had filmed it, I don’t know who, I don’t even know if it’s true. But then Travis started demanding money from me to stop him putting it up on the internet, there are sites for shit like that, did you know that? Of course you do, you’re a cop. I wouldn’t give in to him but he was everywhere I was, always taunting and threatening me. One day just as I was getting back to the apartment, Travis and his friends jumped me. They dragged me down the narrow alleyway between the apartment buildings and then after he raped me they beat the living shit out of me and left me to die and they laughed as they did it.”
    I turn away from the window and bring my eyes up to look at the man I have loved for years.
    “I was found by a man who happened to be walking past, and heard my moans, his name was Franco he saved my life and then took me under his wing . He nursed me back to health then encouraged me to turn my life around. He pushed me into a safer, healthier lifestyle. He owned and ran a gym, so when the bruises disappeared and broken limbs had healed he showed me how to train.
    “It was Franco that started to promote me, he sent my photographs into magazines and websites, and I couldn’t believe the response. I became sought after, courted by model agencies and designers, I began to be in high demand. I started to earn money again, this time is was good, honest wages, there was nothing seedy or dirty about my work. I vowed never to abuse my body or my mind again. He was never a lover, we weren’t each other’s type, but I felt deeply for him and owed him everything, I would’ve been dead without him. He encouraged me to certify as a personal trainer so that I could teach at his gym. I stayed with him for five years and was with him to the end.”
    I hear Ryan gasp, the first sound he has made since I began my story. “The end of what? What happened to him?”
    “He passed away two years ago, he had pancreatic cancer. It took a long time to diagnose and by then it was too late, he refused treatment after the first attempt of chemo failed. He was one the bravest, kindest men I have ever been lucky enough to meet. I owe him my life.” My arms are wrapped around my body as I hold myself together.
    “Oh Nico, I’m so sorry. You loved him didn’t you?” I can hear the pain and anguish in Ryan’s voice.
    “I did, not in a romantic way but as a big brother, a family member. Something I hadn’t had for a long time.” I lean against the table facing Ryan now and I can see tears in his eyes as he feels my pain. “He wasn’t just a gym owner, he was the owner of a chain of gyms that everyone wanted to train in, be a part of. I or I guess we, found out after his funeral that he left his entire business to the two of us. His family was furious but there was nothing they could do about it, Franco had made sure of that.”
    “Who is we? The two of us? Are you in a relationship, Nico?” I can see the anger in Ryan’s face, clearly remembering what I had done to him