This is a non-consensual gay erotic story, all characters are 18 or over.
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Coal slung his backpack over his shoulder as he made his way out the door, grabbing keys from his pocket before he locked it swiftly behind him.
The familiar scent of mildew clung to the air as he made his way down the dark stairway of his apartment building, thanking his lucky stars for the millionth time that he was only one floor up.
The amount of times he made his way up these damn stairs was enough to drive him crazy... but it wasn't like he exactly had a choice. Not when he had to work as many jobs as he possibly could just to keep a roof over his head-- especially with his landlord Mr Rodes breathing down his neck.
"Where are you off to at this time of night, Coal?"
Speak of the devil.
"Hi... Mr Rodes."
Coal murmured, pausing his descent and reluctantly meeting eyes with the man at the bottom of the stairs.
He was cornered.
"Just work, dad's not feeling too well so I'm doing a few extra hours."
Mr Rodes' lips split into a small smile, darkening eyes tracing down Coal's form like a snake slithering over his skin. It was like everywhere his gaze touched sent a chill through his flesh.
It wasn't so much because of the way he looked-- actually, it was almost in spite of it. If Coal had seen him as a stranger passing in the street, he probably would have turned his head for a second glance.
Mr Rodes was attractive-- in that annoyingly tall, dark and handsome kind of way-- with a thick head of raven hair that fell just a little above his shoulders and piercing eyes of a contrasting blue, like the colour of the sun through a glacier.
But none of that really made a difference though when the man looked at him, those very eyes slicing through him like a hot knife through butter.
"Mm, well, speaking of... I haven't seen your father around in a while. Everything ok, Coal?"
Every cell in Coal's body froze over as those words flitted through his mind, his heart almost slowing to a still.
"Like I said, he's sick."
Coal bit out, almost kicking himself at his tone. He couldn't help it, the man gave him the creeps.
Keep your cool, Coal, don't let him rattle you.
Mr Rodes quirked an eyebrow at him, but shrugged all the same, moving forward to brush past him as he made his way up the stairs.
"Well, do let your father know that rent is due... it wouldn't be good if he was late again this month."
He said over his shoulder, the words like tiny daggers piecing Coal's already fragile mind.
"I'll tell him."
***
The glow of the early morning sun lit up the sky as Coal finally made the long walk home. His shoulders were sore from unloading trucks and stocking shelves all night and the weight of his backpack somehow felt three times heavier than it had when he had left home.
The walk was somehow pleasant aside from that and not even his aching joints could dampen the feel of fresh air rushing through his lungs... he liked the morning, he just didn't like working through the night to get to it.
By the time he made it home, he was already ready to collapse, so when he slowly meandered his way up the stairs and through the hall to his apartment, he didn't even blink when he turned the door handle without needing his keys.
He blinked blearily in the dark as he slumped through the hall and into the loungeroom, his hand grazing down the wall in search of the light switch.
He found it.
The overhead light flickered on lazily, finally bathing the room in a yellow glow that could only be attributed to the cheap lightbulb he had bought last week. The place was falling apart and he couldn't afford to pay for it all, let alone rent.
"Well, you've been a busy boy, haven't you?"
Coal froze, his blood running cold as his eyes adjusted to the light, finally making out the large figure sitting casually on the couch, both arms spread out on the back of the seat as if he owned the place.
Mr Rodes.
"What-- what the fuck are you doing here? Get out! You can't just--"
"Where's daddy dearest, Coal?"
The rest of his tirade stuck in his throat at those very words, choking him in a sudden gripping panic.
"W-What?"
Rodes' cocked his head to the side and ran his eyes down Coal's form, taking in his backpack and tired eyes. He smiled.
Coal wrapped his arms around his chest self-consciously, fighting a shudder as he scrambled to come up with something to say. He didn't need too, because Mr Rodes spoke again, a hand slipping into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper.
"I found a letter in the drawer of your bedside table-- shall I read it to you?"
Coal's heart sank to the floor.
"Going to get groceries-- don't forget to do your homework. Love dad."
It was those words... the same words Coal had read every night before he went to sleep, seared into his brain like a branding.
"It's interesting that you would keep such a mundane note, isn't it, Coal? Especially since you finished school last year."
"I f-forgot it was there."
Coal bit out, but the words fell flat even to his own ears. Rodes gave him a look before his face settled with a smirk.
"Daddy didn't come home, did he?"
Something inside of Coal snapped.
"You need to get the fuck out of my house right now, or I'm calling the cops!"
The answering grin sent a chill up his spine.
Mr Rodes stood up quickly, his large body filling the tiny space, suffocating it, suffocating him. When he moved forward Coal moved back, and before he knew it he was pressed up against the back wall with his landlord looming over him.
"I think that's a very good idea..."
Rodes lifted a hand and rested it on the base of Coals throat-- not applying pressure, just there-- heavy and stifling.
"Maybe when they're here, I can tell them... that you failed to report your father missing for the last eight months... and I could also mention that you've been cashing his disability checks in his place."
Coal swallowed a gasp, but all he could taste was that man, his scent, his breath. It made him want to gag. Made him choke.
"You look like a scared little rabbit... makes me want to eat you all up."
Rodes murmured, that hand slowly travelling up Coal's throat until it wrapped around it and squeezed-- but that wasn't what flung Coal into a panic, no, that was because of the heated pair of lips that surged forward and suddenly captured his own.
Coal struggled into the kiss, his heart rushing blood through his veins and thumping in his ears. He tasted like cigarettes and mint.