By Any Other Name Read Online Free PDF

boy, crumbled next to the trailer Skye was leaving behind. Dru had never been soft, always the tough guy even if his strength almost never took a more physical form. He was loyal, loving, and very protective—something neither of Skye’s parents had ever been, not to each other and not to their son.
     
    Losing Dru felt worse than having his mom die and his dad disappear. He had been ashamed for a long time in therapy at Haven, but he had been told it was normal to feel like that. It was as normal as the occasional feelings of grief when he thought about… the man he had lived with. It was hard to get away from those thought patterns, normal if you couldn’t even after two years of intensive therapy. When you were brainwashed, you didn’t think your own way anymore; your thoughts and ideas were replaced by those of the person doing the brainwashing.
     
    Skye stretched in his seat, feeling far too tall and wide-shouldered for the small space inside the plane. Surprisingly he hadn’t freaked out at all, not at the first takeoff or the second and not at the landing either. The second landing was only minutes away now, the flight personnel were telling them.
     
    He tried his best not to hyperventilate. Dru…. What would he look like in the flesh? There had been a few images from some fundraiser Dru had attended with his partner, and they had looked so happy and good together. Such a good match, Dru being blond with the piercing blue-green eyes Skye could still remember so clearly, and Thomas, inches taller than Dru, with almost-black hair and eyes that looked blue. Naturally Skye couldn’t tell how tall they were, but he had an idea Dru was in for a surprise. Skye had been lanky, skinny even, and always about the same height as Dru. They knew he had been malnourished when he’d been found, but now…. Skye smirked a little and then swallowed instinctively when his ears popped while the plane landed.
     
    Okay, time to face the music. He was terrified and excited at the same time. He would get to see Dru! Luckily, he didn’t have any luggage, so he could go through with the carry-on duffle bag over his shoulder. Skye concentrated on walking evenly, step after step, staring at the floor and just occasionally looking up to see if he was headed in the right direction. And then there it was, the glass that separated the people who were waiting for their friends and families.
     
    Skye saw them before they saw him. Thomas was standing there, arms around Dru, who didn’t seem to mind being seen in another man’s embrace. Thomas leaned a bit to murmur to Dru, who nodded and seemed to gather himself, straightening his blue button-down shirt and looking around at the people coming through the last doors. Looking for Skye.
     
    He took a deep breath and walked to the doors and through them. Skye’s gaze landed on Dru, and as soon as Dru looked at him, recognition and amazement appeared on his face.
     
    “Skye?” Dru asked as Skye walked up to him and Thomas, fighting his nervousness.
     
    “Hi. Did you expect me to look like a kid?” he had to ask, trying to make the situation a bit lighter, especially when he felt Thomas’s eyes on him. Eyes that weren’t all friendly, and the man was clearly older than Dru and Skye and taller than Skye was by a couple of inches.
     
    “No… I don’t know… but I didn’t expect this.” Dru gestured at him and grinned. “Jesus, never thought the lanky kid would turn into a hunk.”
     
    Skye flinched at the J-word, and Thomas seemed to notice. He nudged Dru and then offered his hand. “I’m Thom, this idiot’s partner. Nice to meet you, Skye.”
     
    The handshake was firm, and the hand was warm. There was nothing uncomfortable about it, and Skye was glad. “Hi,” he said again, this time looking into Thom’s brilliant blue eyes briefly. He made a mental note that the man had pronounced his name with an h , Th om, instead of Taw m like Skye would have thought.
     
    “That