Chapter 1
Erik Lehnsherr was in deep shit, he knew that much. All he wanted to do was help a couple of kids out but no, things weren’t that easy. They were never that easy for him. Which leads him to his current situation: broke, begging Sebastian Shaw not to kill him.
If you’re wondering exactly how that happened, it pretty much started four years ago, just as Erik had turned thirty and lost his job at the Johnny Day Brewery for being too “hostile and violent”. He was living on the last of his minimum wage earnings and in need of a job he probably didn’t have any experience nor exam scores to obtain, until meeting an old college friend of his, Sebastian Shaw, at a bar downtown generally flooded with drop-outs and dead-beats. The man had headed straight for him as soon as he’d noticed Erik, excitedly asking about his life, quickly shutting it down soon after and talking about his own, discussing his business of being one of the largest drug distributors in the USA, a job he’d managed to grow very large since starting it in college, alongside Erik himself.
“If you’re interested, I’m always looking for more street dealers, especially ones down near your area. Don’t be alarmed, Emma saw you head into a trashy apartment building one time.” Sebastian had offered after paying for both their drinks. “Emma? Emma Frost? From college? You’re still friends with her?” Erik was shocked they’d stayed in contact: he’d certainly never stayed in contact with any of the people he knew in college before he dropped out. Not that he didn’t have friends there of course, but they were the college equivalent of in-school friends, the kind where you get along just fine in school but as soon as it comes down to hanging out outside of school, they’re never even considered for an option.
That’s how Erik had gotten the job, a drunken deal he certainly should have been more sober for, considering all the other men Sebastian had working for him in the same job position as Erik earning plenty more.
Erik’s area of the city wasn’t the richest, nor the poorest. It was generally an area for middle to lower class, but not too low, but it didn’t have many thugs or snobby rich people. Erik’s building certainly wasn’t the shabbiest in the area, even if it did only have about four small apartments per each of the five floors. It wasn’t expensive to buy either, and neither were the bills. It wasn’t the best, but it got him by, him and the stripper next door and the two boys two floors up and all the other random people living in the building. Erik didn’t pay too much attention to who lived there, but the boys upstairs were friendly and always spoke to him when they saw him, and the young stripper made nice with him whenever he started the conversation, never looking to start one herself. Erik liked that about her, he wasn’t one for small talk much either.
One of his most consistent clients, Ricky Blaine, had called for his latest pick-up, planning to meet Erik outside the Luna Latte coffee shop. That’s where Erik’s troubles really started, if it even had a starting point or was just one big jumbled up mess. After Ricky had gone and Erik had payed, the man was heading out towards his car as a man rushed passed him, pushing him to the ground.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” Erik shouted, brushing his trousers off as he stood up, blinking slightly as the blood rushed to his head. The other man turned to apologise, before properly getting a good look at Erik. The man was tall, but not as tall as Erik, his hair was straightened, and all of his attire lead him to look like some sort of teacher, as well as being super rich, not the sort of person Erik usually saw around these parts.
“Erik Lehnsherr? Is that you?” The man asked, a harsh British accident coming through as he squinted, almost as if he didn’t quite believe it. Erik glared at the man, only to realise exactly who it was. “Charles?” He asked. Charles laughed, clapping his hands loudly together. “Why, it is you old friend. I haven’t seen you since college, how have you been?” Erik wasn’t quite sure what Charles meant by college, because whilst Charles was only a year older than he was, he’d already finished college by the time Erik started. However, he always seemed to be there, not actually taking any lessons, but hanging out. He was certainly smart enough to not need to be there any longer than he already was, but Erik suspected it had something to do with Sebastian’s drug scheme he was running at that point, a scheme both he and Charles had been a part of.
“Great, it’s really nice to see you Charles.” Once again, small talk was not Erik’s strong suit, so an awkward silence soon took over. “Well, I’d better be off then.” Charles smiled cheerfully before waving over his shoulder at Erik and continuing to rush to the same place he’d initially been trying to go.
XX~•~•XX
The Summers brothers were sat on the steps in front of the Miller Street apartment building when Erik walked up to go inside. They both looked very bored and tired, slumped down and droopy eyes, yet incredibly anxious at the same time.
“What’s up with you boys?” Erik asked as he nudged past Alex to open to door. He felt for the boys, he really did, they’d been tossed around in the foster system one too many times, leading Scott to just pull them out altogether. The older brother had dropped out of school for a job whereas Alex just had one for after school. Erik knew they both worked very hard for what they’d got, so he certainly never felt bad for sneaking Scott a free bag of weed from time to time or bringing Alex a bag of sweets back from the supermarket on his weekly shopping trip.
“Scott lost his job at the music shop since they’re cutting down on workers to get more money.” Alex grumbled, kicking at some rocks under his shoes. Erik sighed and sat down next to the younger boy, putting an arm around him and pulling him close. Scott merely watched on, watched his brother, watched Erik, because as much as he may trust Erik, the only person he’d trust with Alex’s life is himself. “Look boys, sometimes you lose a job or two or three that you really felt you had a knack for or were going somewhere with, and yeah it’s tough to have to throw all that hard work away, but you just need to pick yourselves up and move on.” Erik could practically feel the brothers rolling their eyes at him, but he still kept going. “I lost me own job a couple of years ago and now I’m doing something I really wish I wasn’t, but I’m constantly trying to find new work, better work, because even though I lost a good job, I’m still working and still getting money and eventually I’ll get a better one, that’s just how it works.”
“What job do you do now?” Scott asked, looking curiously over at the satchel Erik had slung over his shoulder. “How do you think I get all this weed on me?” Erik smirked at the boy, who grinned sheepishly.
“You’re both gonna die from overdose and stupid decision.” Alex grumbled from between them, earning himself two hearty laughs from the men either side. Okay, so maybe Scott wasn’t a full man just yet, but he was eighteen and was doing a mighty fine job of looking after himself and his fourteen-year-old brother.
“Thanks Mr Lehnsherr, your advice is good, not sure if drugs is the way I’m gonna go though.” Scott teased, pulling Alex up with him as he started to get up. He held a hand out to Erik who took it, shaking it roughly once he was upright. “Like I always say boys, call me Erik.” He smiled before going back inside the building, checking him mail slot and then continuing up the stairs. Weirdly enough, he didn’t hear the Summers brothers follow, but it wasn’t really any of his concern what these boys did, they weren’t his boys after all, though sometimes they did concern him as though he really were their father.
As he stood outside his own apartment, he could have sworn he’d heard the door swing open and shut, and with a silent hope it was the boys, he unlocked his own door and headed inside, unloading all the rest of his weed and stashing it away in a locked suitcase beneath his bed.
XX~•~•XX
It was eleven o’clock at night, pitch black outside, no noise whatsoever other than the odd car here and there, and just had Erik pulled himself up to finally get ready for bed, he heard a scream.