Chapter 6: Thursday – The More the Merrier

The crew arrived Thursday morning acting like nothing unusual had ever happened.

Trucks rumbled up the driveway. Tools clattered. The eight men from before plus three new faces moved around the deck with forced professionalism. No one mentioned the cum-soaked sectional in the living room. No one looked at Jack when he stepped outside in his tiny white shorts again, barefoot, buzzed blond hair catching the sun.

Marco gave a curt nod. “Morning.”

Big Tommy just grunted and started unloading lumber. Derek looked particularly tense, avoiding eye contact entirely. Ethan—still sore and ashamed from yesterday—stayed close to the new guys, trying to act normal.

The three newcomers were immediately noticeable.

There was Vince, a stocky, loud-mouthed brute in his mid-40s with a thick neck and perpetual five-o’clock shadow. Then there was Carl—Ethan’s uncle—a lean, sharp-eyed man in his late 30s who always seemed to know too much. And finally, there was Ethan’s father, Richard—46 years old, broad-shouldered, hairy, and quiet, with the same brown hair as his son but streaked with gray.

Jack felt a spike of nervousness when he saw the new faces. Yesterday had been intense, but these were strangers. He stayed mostly inside the house, watching them through the window, heart beating fast. The tension in the air was thick. The men who had used him the past two days were stealing hungry glances toward the house but trying to play it cool in front of the newcomers.

Around 10:30 AM, Marco “needed” to check something inside. He slipped into the house alone.

Jack was in his bedroom, pretending to fold laundry. Marco closed the door behind him.