Phoenix Club 07(5)
“Oooh, Ricky.” Axel mocked, coming out of the tiny kitchen. A sickly sweet stench hung on the air, informing Angel that his brothers had been getting high again. “Did he buy you roses and dinner too?”
Angel ignored him. The guy was a moron. But he never said that out loud. He was a moron, but a moron who could–and would–beat the shit out of him.
“Where’s Maddy?” Angel mumbled. He didn’t like it when Wade and Axel smoked dope around his little brother–not that it was anything new to the kid, but more than once he’d gotten a contact high and Angel didn’t want him around it any more than necessary. Sometimes Axel would deliberately blow the smoke in Maddy’s face because he found it amusing when the boy got high.
“Sent him down to grab a carton of cigarettes.” Wade said absently. His face was still hard with irritation and he switched back to the previous subject. “Why the fuck do you need dance lessons? You already know how to fucking dance. You’ve been doing it for years.”
“That wasn’t dancing.” Angel whispered. “The Phoenix is different from those places. It has real dancers…not just guys up there shaking their asses. And…” He looked away. “They don’t do anything else on stage either.”
Wade smacked him in the back of the head again. “Well you better fucking do something, you’ve been there two weeks and haven’t brought in shit. If this is how it’s gonna be, you can go back to the other clubs.”
Clubs. Those places weren’t Clubs. They were brothels. And the thought of going back into that made Angel’s gut twist with nausea and anxiety. “I’ll start bringing in cash.” Angel assured him. “They’re expecting to have a big crowd this weekend, I should be able to do pretty well.”
“See that you do.” Axel smirked. “We need some more weed and we’re running low on moolah.”
So get off your lazy ass and get a job a fucking job. Angel just looked at him, but didn’t dare voice his thoughts. Axel was quick tempered and despised that Angel was a flaming queer. He had yet to waste an opportunity to use his fists on Angel to prove to him how weak and girly he was. Had the guy not been so homophobic, he probably would have fucked him too–just to try and put him in the place of a woman.
“I’ll get the money.” Angel said again, quiet. Submissive. He’d fought back once, when all this had started–and nearly paid for it with his life. There was no doubt in his mind that neither Wade nor Axel would hesitate to beat him to death if he rebelled, especially if they happened to be drunk or high at the time. And he couldn’t take the risk. Not when he was all that stood between Maddy and a life of hell.
The front door opened behind them and Maddy entered wearing a dark hoodie sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head. He mumbled something too low for Angel to hear and handed Wade a carton of Marlboros and excess change. Maddy didn’t look at Angel and brushed past them, walking towards the bedroom.
“Maddy?” Angel called after him but the boy ignored him and disappeared down the short hall. A moment later, the bedroom door closed. Angel looked at Wade. “What’s wrong with him? What did you guys do?”
“Nothing.” Wade said dryly and walked into the kitchen.
Axel smirked but said nothing as he followed his older brother.
His stomach pinching, Angel went to the bedroom he shared with Maddy and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “Maddy? What’s wrong?”
The boy was lying face down on his bed, the sweatshirt still on. “Nothing.” He said thickly.
“Don’t lie to me.” Angel said. “If Wade or Axel did something, you have to tell me.”
The boy sat up slowly, dropping his legs over the edge of the bed. He sat with his hands in his lap, hood still pulled over his head, hiding most of his face. When Angel looked at him, he didn’t see the fifteen year old boy he now was–but rather the child of ten he had been when their life had transformed from a bad dream…into this living nightmare.
He sat down beside him and peeled off his hood, revealing a bruise high on his right cheek. Angel’s eyes stung with tears. “What happened?” he whispered thickly. It was bad enough having to do what he had to do–but being forced to leave Maddy in the care of Wade and Axel while he was gone, that put a knot of fear and anxiety in his gut that never went away. The boy should’ve been in school, but Wade didn’t trust him to keep his mouth shut and wasn’t willing to risk anyone snooping into their lives.
“Wade hit me.” He said quietly, but didn’t offer anything more.