Authors Notes:
It's here. It's early. It's done.
This has been a wild ride and I'm glad I've done it. As I said before, I'm taking a break before book two. How long? I have no idea. Per the advise of one of my readers, I've started a mailing list for Barriers(Working Title) and will be messaging a little treat to everyone in a couple of weeks.
My next book will be a screenplay about a group of people who play a video game together. As I said, very different from the coming of age-teen drama I wrote here. There won't be any gay male overtones in the story so I'll probably keep this one private unless I find a good place to post it. If you're interested in this one because I'm writing it then please email me asking about it as well so I can gauge interest.
Last but not least the FAQ:
- Is this your story?
A: No, this is a fictional story based on the influences of my life and how I wished I was raised. I'm actually a former soccer player turned nerd when his knee went bad in right before college.
- What is your creative process?
A: The standard one where I slam pages out and edit it all at the end. Nothing special, I do wish I could catch grammar errors more.
- What do you do in your spare time?
A: I used to do the gym, but with that rather difficult to do nowadays I sit in my room as waste time on the computer. It's why I picked up this project again.
- Is this seriously your first book?
A: Swear on my life. I thought it would be obvious with all the grammatical and spelling errors but may I just have high standards.
Thank you for all the support. I still can't believe I'm done.
Stay safe, do your best and hopefully I'll see you soon.
-Frank
Barriers 11 – Justice
"JACE." My uncle shook me back to reality as the front door closed behind me. "Listen to me."
"Huh? Wait, are you serious uncle?"
"Afraid so kiddo. She passed last night in upstate New York where the trial was. I'm heading up with Ken and Kelly will follow the day after."
"What's going to happen to..."
"Your uncle and I are making the arrangements for Ken. We're taking this one step at a time. We haven't heard from his father at all so the priority for us right now is to get Ken up there and begin sorting this all out."
I just blankly stared at Marcus as I processed everything. He had grown out his hair like he does every fall. His grey turtleneck accentuated his toned body rather well but he wasn't nearly as developed as my uncle. He wore his favorite leather jacket and finished his outfit with some light grey jeans. The fact that he was here so soon was so shocking. I must have taken a flight out as soon as he got the news but he didn't look like he had lost an oz of sleep.
"Jace. You're doing it again."
"Sorry uncle. I'm going to come with." I turned around and walked up towards my room and immediately flinched at the pain I had inflicted upon myself last night.
"You ok sport?" He walked to other side of me so he could check on me one last time before going out to the car.
"Yeah...just some pain..." I said as I attempted to rub my ass as discreetly as I could.
"Ah." Marcus smirked as he realized what I was doing. "Congrats kiddo. I hope it was a good time."
"UNCLE I SWEAR WE DIDN'T.."
"Oh don't worry I won't tell Kelly." He turned around and walked to the front door. "You stay here. Me and your boyfriend will take care of Ken."
In a normal situation I would have been as pale as a ghost but all I could think about was Ken. It seemed like he just kept getting dealt bad hands. I decided all I could do was smoke and think about what I wanted to do for the day. I grabbed my smokes from the desk downstairs and walked to backyard to view the damage in the daylight. In all honesty it didn't look bad at all. Just the standard trash everywhere. I could tell where Ken bulldozed into Houston as there was now a noticible imperfection in the brushes that lined the edge of the yard. It didn't matter as the brushes were going to be maintained and wrapped soon but it couldn't help but chuckle in satisfaction.
I made my way to the balcony as I lit up and a familiar enemy appeared in my sights. The vodka bottle that Kimbal set down last night looked just as good as ever. I stared at it for the entirety of my cigarette trying to decide if was worth breaking my deal. Nobody would be around to know it was easily the most tempting part of it all. I decided to say fuck it and picked it up. I couldn't find a clean cup around me immediately so I said fuck it and twisted the cap and put it to my lips. The first hit was incredible, and I instantly felt that comforting feeling I missed so much. There was a light twinge of guilt in the back of my head but the relief was so much better than the guilt. I put it down and wiped my mouth and sighed in relief as for once everything felt ok.
"JASON!" Eric shouted from my backyard door. "YOU THERE?"
The immediate shock nearly made me knock the bottle over as I went for a second drink. I composed myself quickly and lit another smoke.
"Yeah, doors open. Come on in."
Eric, Veronica and much to my surprise Jenna walked in. They all surveyed the damage as they walked up and I met them halfway across the patio to distance myself away from the booze.
"Not terrible." Eric started.
"Yeah, it's an easy cleanup. Wanna get started?" Veronica continued as she turned to Jenna and Eric.
"There's no need. I'm sure Jason has some cleaning people coming." Jenna added in as she looked at her phone.
"Jenna's right. But I do have to ask, what are you three doing together?"
"I don't know, Eric called me telling me they were coming here to check on me and told me to come."
"I just wanted everyone to enjoy breakfast together after the terrible ending last night. Johnny texted me anyways. Speaking of which, where are those two idiots?"
I clammed up as all threw of them looked at me to get an answer. "Uhh...I mean both of them were gone when I came downstairs..."
"Hmm...He did say let's meet up for breakfast, their cars are here too. Let me text him again."
While we waited for a response I tried to come up with an Alibi and Veronica made herself useful by cleaning up the mess in her immediate area.
"You know you don't have to do that..." I said awkwardly
"Those people work hard enough. Besides, we're waiting anyways right?
"I mean if we're waiting." Jenna pulled out a pack and started smoking. "I guess all three of you will be glad to know I'm done with Mark."
"What?" All three of us said in unison.
"Last night was the line. You're right Jason."
"About what exactly?"
"Everything about Mark to start." She ashed her smoke and continued after a puff. "Also, that Ken doesn't deserve the shit that he gets. He comes over and asks if everything's ok clearly innocently and Mark thinks he's hitting on me and tears into him. It was actually disgusting."
"Is that what happened last night?"
"Seems like it." Eric added in as his phone buzzed. "Oh. Johnny had to take Ken to his mom. He said go to the diner without him as it's going to be a whole day ordeal."
"Didn't Ken say his mom was flying out on Thursday?" Veronica asked causing me to clam up again. It wasn't my place to tell anyone what was going on since Jon had made the decision to hide it.
Eric shrugged. "Maybe they're back. Who knows?" He turned around and made his way down the stairs. "Let's get food, I'm starving."
"Can I take a quick shower? I smell terrible." I asked as they all walked down.
"Yeah he needs to clean the sex off of him." Jenna added nonchalantly.
"WHAT?" I stood there horrified after she said it.
"We tried to come in to check on Ken last night and saw you two going at it." She added.
"NO YOU DIDN'T"
"I thought we agreed to not mention that to them." Eric asked as if nothing was wrong.
"Sorry. Couldn't help myself." She looked at me and winked. "At least you looked like you were enjoying yourself."
"Alright. You had your fun." Veronica grabbed a chuckling Jenna and dragged her off. "We'll wait in the car, be quick."
All I could do was groan as I walked back in. I was the one who initiated it after all so I couldn't even blame Jon for being caught. I took a quick glance in the mirror before hopping in the shower. The amount of dried cum on my abs we eye opening and i had tooth marked bruises all over my shoulders and traps. I turned around to see my ass wasn't as red as I thought it would be but was still a solid pink. I shook my head and make quick work of the shower before getting dressed and heading up to meet everyone. Eric and Veronica got in their car and I got in Jenna's for the first time in over a month.
"I would ask how it was but you looked like you were clearly enjoying yourself."
"Like you wouldn't believe." I answered as I recalled what I could from last night.
"You slut." She punched me out of my reverie. "Now tell me what happened with Ken and Jon."
"What?" That knocked me back to reality far faster than the punch.
"Oh come on Jason. I know I haven't been around, but I know when you clam up because you know something."
"It's...it's not my place to say..."
"Hm...Tell me if it's serious." Her voice take a much more muted and serious tone.
"Incredibly, I don't think we'll see either of them today or Monday..." That was about the limit of what I was willing to tell.
"Alright. That's more than I thought I would get out of you." She parked the car and looked at me. "I know we have some time to catch up on. I hope you know I love you like a brother though. You can tell me if there's a serious problem I can help with."
"Now that you mention it Leena Patel..."
"Ok, ANYONE but her. God she knows EVERYTHING." She groaned as we got out of the car.
"Alright, spill." Veronica stopped Jenna in her tracks after a few step.
"What?" I piped up.
"You said you would tell us Jenna." Eric backed Veronica up.
"I tried. He said he woke up and they were gone." Jenna non-chalantly answered. She was so fucking good at lying. "Come on I'm hungry."
The other two quickly looked at me then at each other and figured if Jenna couldn't get it out of me I had nothing to tell so they followed her. During Breakfast everyone recounted what I missed. Apparently Bonticello managed to be the mediator and Houston left in a frustrated huff. After that they caught me and Jon in the act and I ate all the jokes and chuckles for that. Veronica had to watch her brother and Eric had to help his dad with something so they went on their own way while me and Jenna made our way back to my place to see if the liquor bottles were out.
"Enjoy yourself?" Evanna met us as soon as we made it to the backyard.
"It got broken up early but it was a good time." I asked as I surveyed the backyard to find it was indeed as spotless as I thought it would be.
"Yeah but I could use a drink." Jenna effortlessly asked as she made her way past my interim keeper. "Are the bottles..."
"Gone. Locked away."
"OH come on." Jenna and I said in unison, immediately looking at each other and scoffing.
"Kelly's rules Kiddo. Don't you have a bet anyways? You didn't break it did you?" She scanned me rather quickly trying to find a lie.
"Oh please. He was away from us for maybe 10 seconds." Jenna immediately defended me behind Evanna giving me a wink. "There's no way he drank anything other than some water at breakfast."
"Alright. Fair enough." She shrugged her shoulders and turned around to Jenna. "Sorry love, we have stuff to take care of today. You need to go."
"Aww but we just made up!" She cried with an innocent pout.
"Love, you really think that's gonna work on me? Evanna did a motion to the door with her hands. "Come on, we need to leave now."
"Ugh fine." She did as asked and walked to the door, stopping at me. "Tell Kenny I'm thinking of him and I hope everything is ok."
"H-How d-do you know it was Ken?" I stuttered
"Come on. Everyone knows his mom is sick." She kissed me on the cheek. "Give that to him for me. Bye guys."
"She's a sweetheart, I don't know why Kelly told me to keep her away from you."
"I assure you she's never like this." I said as I stood there confused. "I've never seen her like this in fact."
"Well she clearly knows what's going on. That poor kid. I couldn't imagine losing both of your parents when they're hundreds of miles away."
"BOTH?!?!?!?" I shouted way too loud.
"Oh kiddo..." She sighed. "They found his father a couple of miles from the hotel...I'll skip the details but he's gone. The note said he couldn't live without the love his life..."
"Oh god." I had to grab a post to stop my heart from racing so hard.
"Kelly is taking it incredibly personally. He should be touching down in Buffalo right now in fact."
"And Jon and Ken?"
"Your boyfriend and Marcus are watching him like hawks. Kelly is going to take care of everything in Buffalo and come back. He said he wouldn't sleep until everything was taken care of and knowing Kelly, he'll be coked out of his mind to numb the pain."
"Coked?!?!?!" The thought of my uncle on anything besides tobacco was bewildering to saw the least.
"Yeah he only does the stuff when he's stressed and I can't imagine he's doing very well right now."
"Can I just have one minute of my life not being a storm of drama?" I gasped as I continued to try and regain my composure.
"Yeah this is your family kiddo. Your parents are coming back for the funeral as well. Kelly demanded it." She gripped my shoulders and massaged them to bring me back to reality. "Come on. You can stay here but I figured you would want to be with your friend."
"You're... you're right." I got out as I caught my breath. "Let's go."
We made it to Ken's complex and found Marcus smoking outside of Ken's apartment.
"He's asleep right now, Jon's in the room watching him." Marcus briefed us as he opened the door. I entered while Evanna caught up with Marcus.
I walked into Ken's room and realized it was the first time I saw him. It was incredibly plain. Only his previous basketball jerseys and a couple of pictures of him playing hung over the walls. Jon was in the corner on a computer chair scrolling on a laptop. He looked like he had been crying as expected. I wondered if they knew about his dad yet.
"We were the first ones to find out from Marcus." Jon answered not looking up from the computer.
"How are you doing?" I asked as I walked over. I looked to my right and saw Ken turned over sound asleep.
"To be honest, I'm terrified. When I lost my dad a few years ago it was bad but I still have my mom."
"I know." I replied not being able to think of anything else.
"I tried to look it up. Ken has no family left. He's alone now babe. Like FUCK." He slammed the mouse as we both looked over to see if it would wake Ken but he just grumbled and turned over.
"You musn't blame yourself you know."
"It's not fucking fair. He's done so much for everyone and tried so hard. How come he has to suffer?" He said as he mindlessly scrolled.
"I would trade places in a heartbeat." I answered truthfully.
"I just want him to be happy." He sobbed.
"This isn't your fault." I walked over and sat in his lap and give him a quick kiss. "Just let him grieve. He needs to."
Marcus came in the room and quietly motioned us out to talk to us.
"Ok kiddos. I unfortunately have to take him around and get his affairs in order after this." He told us calmly.
"What about my uncle?" I immediately spoke up.
"He is taking care of everything up in Buffalo and will be here in two days. Knowing him he dragged some poor intern to take care of stuff while he came down sooner." He rolled his eyes at the idea.
"What about Ken's future? He won't be able to play this week." Jon asked.
"One step at a time kiddo. We have to go to your coach and ask him what he wants to do."
"I have to be there. He's my brother." He demanded slamming the table as he did before.
"I know kiddo. We'll have you involved in every step we see necessary."
"Uncle...why are you so adamant about taking care of him? He has that fundraiser no?"
"Calvin feels guilty he took away what little time Ken had left with his mom. He's actually manic right now and I am not looking forward to him when he touches down." He shook his head.
"Uncle, whatever money you need, please just take it out of my trust." I asked.
"No need. Calvin has plenty of money himself to take care of this."
"Is there something you're not telling us Uncle?" I couldn't shake this feeling that they were hiding something.
"I think that's on Calvin to tell you." Marcus said gently. "It's simply not my place to say it. Don't ask Evanna either like I know you will. She knows not to tell you either."
"OH COME ON." Jon shouted.
"Water..." Ken cried out from his bed, causing all of us to stand.
"You got it buddy." Jon went straight for the fridge to grab a water bottle and made his way to Ken's room leaving me and Marcus alone.
"Those two...damn." I saw a glimmer in Marcus' eye.
"I know. I know he loves me but he would go to the ends of the world for Ken."
"It's ok to be second to that Jace. That kind of relationship is one in a million."
"I'm not upset. I'm jealous if anything."
"How is Mark Houston anyways?"
"Not now uncle." I demanded with a glare.
"Fair enough." He said with humor in his voice. "I'm gonna take him to have everything signed over in his name. We have to start with the apartment. We'll keep it for a month while we figure out what we're doing with in." He started to move towards the bedroom. "Can you occupy Jon for a few hours?" He asked with a wiggle in his eyebrow.
"UNCLE. WHAT DO YOU TAKE US FOR?"
"Hormonal Teenage Boys. I won't say anything don't worry." He pat me on the shoulder and walked into the room and I followed.
"Jason?" Ken asked as I walked in.
"I couldn't leave my big brother alone." I joked hoping to get a laugh but all I ended up getting was a couple of tears. "Shit."
"Ken. Do you think you can eat? I baked a pie for you and it's staying warm in the oven.
"Yeah come on Ken. At least eat something."
"Not hungry." Ken mumbled as he turned around to get back into bed.
"Oh no you don't." Jon went to grab Ken but my uncle immediately put pressure on his shoulder locking him in place.
"Let's not demand the guy who just lost both of his parents do things." He said with an ice-cold glare that rivaled his husbands.
"R-r-right. Sorry." Jon apologized as he stepped back.
"Ken. We have a meeting at 4 with your landlord. I just need you there as your estate finalized will be there. That's a few more hours of sleep. Can you come to that?"
Ken mumbled in agreement as he went back to sleep.
"Thank you. I'll get these two out of your hair and wake you up a few hours." He finished as he dragged us both out. "Alright. You two are done here."
"No way. Absolutely not. I refuse." Jon spit out instantly.
"Jonathan. Please understand." He put his hands on Jon shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. "He can't bear to look you two in the eyes right now. He's very scared about everything and needs an adult."
"But..."
"No buts. I promise you we will include you when we can but everything is about Ken and right now Ken needs a lot of space." Marcus really did compliment my uncle well. Calvin would of tore Jon a new one in a similar situation but Marcus took the time to explain and empathize which was necessary here.
"Fine..."
"Thank you." Marcus handed my pet lion over to me and pushed us out the door. "Go get some rest at home. I know we all will need as much as we can over the next couple of days."
We nodded in agreement and headed for the door. I saw the hesitation in Jon's eyes as we made our way outside but I grabbed onto his arm and gave him my best puppy dog eyes to get him to come with me and he smiled slightly as we moved together. Before we would make it to my car, we would contact Veronica and as expected her little brother wasn't far behind.
"JON! I WON MY GAME THIS MORNING!" The little kid was beaming a little too much for my mood but Jon immediately put a face on and walked forward as Cody ran to him
"Good job!" He put out his hand for a high-five and Cody smacked it.
"I can't wait to tell Ken!" Jon and I looked at each other as soon as Cody ran past us. He needed to come up with something quick.
"Uhh...Ken isn't home buddy!" Jon yelled as Cody ran to the door to knock.
"Yes he is. His car is right there." Veronica came up behind us and lifted her eyebrow. "Is everything ok?"
"It's not our place to say. Ronnie please." Jon begged quietly.
"This...this isn't good is it..." She asked assuming the absolute worst. It was crazy because she was right on the money.
"We can't say anything right now. Please just don't let Cody find out." I said trying to back up Jon.
"I better be the first to know." She demanded before walking past us. "Cody! Remember mom said to wake her up so we could go get burgers after your game!"
"I FORGOT!" Cody was about three seconds from knocking on Ken's door before running the opposite direction to his home. "BYE JON!" Veronica shook her head and walked quickly to catch him with her brother. Once they were out of eye sight we both sighed in relief.
"I'm hiding until Monday. Come on." I demanded as I walked to my car.
"You don't have to tell me twice." He said as he followed.
Jon would call his sister on the car ride back. We needed each other more than ever after everything that happened today and it was nice to know neither of us had to say it. Once he explained everything to her, he hung up and told me she would take care of his mom's suspicions.
I opened the door and immediately made my way to the backyard to smoke and Jon went downstairs to take a much-needed shower. I was met with the unfortunate realization that I was on my last smoke and savored it knowing that it would probably be my last one for a while.
"You ok?" Jon came out in my black sweats and hoodie like he always did. Jon was maybe two inches taller than me so the only problem with sharing clothes was that everything was tighter in the shoulders and arms and considering how fast my arms were growing out, it wouldn't matter soon because I would need to buy new clothes. I just admired him as he came closer. His hair wasn't the short sharp cut he had since I had known him and for the first time it was hanging over his nose. Jon had changed in subtle ways since we started dating. Most notably he had developed this soft smile because he found himself needing to be concerned so much. I hadn't occurred to me how much stress he had been under as nobody really ever checked on him.
"Out of smokes. I have to go back to the vape." I said before he came over and grabbed my ass pulling me in and kissing my lips gently. "Wow, even when I smell like smoke?"
"Shut up." He joked as he kissed me again. I tossed the remainder of the dart and returned it. "You're so sexy."
"It's crazy how you're still all over me." I said as he kissed my cheek and neck. There was still some part of me that thought he finally had what he wanted and he would leave any second. This was on me though so I had to shake it off somehow.
"How could I not be?" He gripped my bicep which clearly had grown quite a bit. "You're getting even hotter than when we first got together. You'll be ripped in like six months."
"Come on." I dragged him back inside. "You're too much for me right now."
"You know I love you right?" He asked as I lead the way downstairs.
"I love you too babe." I responded with uncertainty. "Are you ok?"
"I feel weird." He answered as we hit the bed and he immediately put his head on my chest.
"Weird how?"
"I'm not in control for once. I can't do anything to help my best friend. I just feel worthless."
"Welcome to my everyday life." I chuckled as I ran my fingers through his hair.
"I think...I think I understand now."
"Understand what?"
"How you and Ken feel like I take care of stuff you want to do yourself."
"Oh." I felt a slight amount of satisfaction but that was overridden by literally everything else. "Yeah it's pretty awful." I turned on the tv to attempt to find some awful movie to watch to distract us as he laid there clearly deep in thought.
"I don't know how he's going to go to college if he doesn't finish the season. That's what scares me the most."
"I'll pay for it if it comes to it babe." I said confidently. "Man there is nothing to watch."
"You...you would?" He asked looking up catching my attention.
"Of course, I would. If a worthless sack of shit like me is going to college I think I can spare some part of my trust for him."
"I'm so lucky to have you." He got out before sobbing into my chest. I put on something for background noise and started to rub his shoulders to comfort him. "I'm so scared."
"Ken needs strength right now." I said trying to console him. "You can cry as much as you want with me but let's show our best when we see him next."
"How are you so calm right now?"
"I don't know honestly." I looked down and Jon and gave it a bit more thought. "After the initial shock I've been pretty calm about it all."
"That makes one of us." He sighed as he wiped his eyes. "Thank you."
"It's nice to return the favor for once." I admitted as I brought him up to kiss. "I much prefer it when we're swapped though."
"Agreed." He chuckled before straddling me and pressing his lips into mine. The thought of sex hadn't crossed my mind since my uncle embarrassed me this morning but having Jon on top of me would only lead my mind to one place. He continued to press into me and in no time I felt his beautiful dick grinding on my stomach. I brought my hands as low as I could and squeezed his tight ass and he continued to ride on me.
"Today of all days?" I grumbled between kisses.
"You feel so good today." He backed up and found my dick through my joggers and immediately went to work pressing his ass against it. "I think about shit I'd never thought I would think about with you." He said as he threw his head back.
"Come on" I begged as he grinded my dick.
"I can't stop." He said as he gently rocked back and forth.
"Tell me what you're thinking." I demanded. It felt like he needed to be comforted and there was only one thing that would give him what he wanted. I needed him to say it though.
"I need to feel your strength. Please." He cried out with an emphasis on the ending.
"You want me to fuck you?" I questioned wanting to be absolutely sure. Never had I thought I would see Jon so vulnerable in my life and here he was near begging for my dick leaving me in disbelief.
"No...yes...god I'm so fucked up right now." He cried out as he continued to press his clothed ass against my dick. "You feel so good."
"But you don't know if you can handle it?" I asked trying to finish his thought.
He whimpered in response affirming my suspicion that he was unsure. I knew I had to take control and, in my haste, I decided it would be best if I didn't go for it right now. I used all my force to switch places with him which was surprisingly easy. He just had this way of mewing and being mailable. As I found myself on top I decided to move down and pleasure him as he had done to me so many times.
I lifted his shirt and saw the deep breaths he was taking. If I didn't know any better, I would think he was having a panic attack but he was just being as vulnerable as he could be. Every sensation I was giving him was multiplied. He moaned as my lips worked his neck all the way down to his nipples. As I gently sucked on the left nipple, he bucked his hips into me and made it very clear he wanted me to continue lower.
"Jason..." He struggled out as I lifted off his chest and stared at him.
"I know babe." I said attempting to sooth him and I slipped his pants off. "I'm here." I hovered over his twitching dick leaking precum like it always did when he's turned on.
"Please..." He cried once more as he felt my breath over his swollen member and with that I devoured as much as I could and he moaned louder than I had ever heard him. It felt like I was out of my body watching him as I worked my mouth over him. His hands that would normally be guiding me were gripping the blanket under him as he attempted to ground himself to no success. I wanted nothing more than for him to get off so I took it as far down as I could and hummed. "OH MY GOD YES." He screamed as I successfully worked him down. He bucked his hips into me forcing me to swallow him to his base and dragging another scream out of him. We kept the slow gradual pace where managed to take to maintain control.
Eventually I pulled off to breathe but kept jerking his cock to maintain the pleasure I was providing him. It was still so surreal to look at him in the same position that I was in less than twelve hours ago. I wanted to be there as he was for me all this time and it still didn't feel like it was enough. Eventually the stroking would send him over the edge as he screamed out his orgasm but it just didn't feel satisfying. All I could think about was how I wanted to fuck him and missed my opportunity.
Once he subsided, I crawled up next to him and spooned him as he fell asleep and soon but unlike most times, I stayed awake. While my physical attention was between the tv and Jon's breathing my mind was everywhere and nowhere at once. So many questions filled my head. Was Jon still going to be this vulnerable when he woke up? What was going to happen to Ken? How long could I keep up everything before I break down?
"Babe, you awake?" Jon asked with sleep in his voice about an hour later.
"Yup." I cuddled close to him and rested my head on his shoulder blade. "How are you feeling?"
He growled low again. It felt good to be able to let him be vulnerable but at the same time I wondered how he would be around everyone else.
"Well, we need to eat." I reminded him. "You haven't eaten since last night." "Not hungry." He mumbled.
"Let's go get Sushi. You love sushi."
A light shake and some promises of salmon and I managed to get him out of bed. We took a quick shower and went through my clothes and made our way up and out.
"Jace, where are you off to? You're not off to Ken's are you?" Evanna had returned and took Calvin's place in the TV room.
"No. We're getting sushi. I need to get this one in a better mood before he sees his best friend tonight." I shook Jon as his eyes wandered on the ground.
"Alright. Just stay away and allow Marcus to do his thing." She waved her hand and went back to the TV.
Jon made his way to the passenger side clearly not in a mood to be out which was fine considering the circumstances. I turned on the car and turned to him. "Look if you really don't want to..."
"No." He sighed. "We should eat. I'll feel better after maybe."
"Ok good." I pat his lap trying to get him to look up. "He's got us and my uncles taking care of him. I doubt my uncle would be in this deep if he didn't care. He's not exactly the type to care about others..." God it felt weird admitting that but it was true. He was a ruthless business man and this was the first time in a very long time I saw him drop everything for anyone and that was including me.
"It's just why...how can the world be so cruel to him. It breaks me thinking about everything he's gone through only for this to happen." He said as I backed out of the driveway and made my way to the mall.
"I mean...does it matter?" I responded less than tactfully.
"Of course it matters! He doesn't deserve any of this after all he's ever done for everyone else!" He yelled snapping out of his funk immediately.
"No babe, I mean does how he got here matter? I just don't like thinking about stuff the way you're thinking about it."
"What has gotten into you?" He said clearly still mad at my previous statement.
"It's like, whats more important? How the past broke down or how we can show Ken that we're there and ready to help him in every way we can."
"Both can be important."
"Do you think he's gonna feel better with everyone feeling sorry for him? Do you think he's ever been that type of person?"
"Well no but..."
"Look. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be weak right now and you shouldn't feel sad. I'm saying that you've been his pillar for god knows how long and he'll need you as strong as you can be when you're around him for a very long time while he gets over this." I booped him on the nose at a stoplight. "You are the protective lion after all."
"So is that why you're so calm right now?"
"I think I'm calm because there's too much in my brain to even be sad right now." I admitted. "The whirlwind seriously needs to stop soon."
"I hope this is the end of it all for a bit." Jon admitted as he sat back after looking at me for so long.
"Yeah, I can't say I disagree with you." I finished as I parked the car. "Come on. It's time to eat."
Somehow it had become dusk. We must have really lost track of time downstairs. I didn't quite understand how Jon wasn't as hungry as me but I do remember not being hungry when I was as sad as him when I was younger. Dinner thankfully went without incident. I got Jon plenty of raw fish and as soon as it came around, I could tell his appetite was catching up to him. I had a couple of pieces and scrolled over my phone as he gleefully ate and as I was scrolling it was then when I noticed Jenna had added Ken on Facebook. That was another note to add to the list for when I saw her next. From there I checked around to see if anyone knew something was up. Thankfully nothing but pictures from the party and accompanying compliments about it were on my feed. It was hard to believe that the party was only last night because at this point it felt like a century ago. I put away my phone as he finished up.
"Feel better?" I asked.
"Much. Thank you babe." He kissed me on the cheek and put his utensils down. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom while you pay ok?"
"Yeah I got it." I answered as we both got up and walked separate ways. As I paid up my phone rang. I expected it to be Marcus telling us to come back but it ended up being a number I didn't recognize.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Jason! It's Steve."
"Bonticello what do you want?" I asked a bit too forcefully. He wasn't a bad guy, he just seemed to involve himself around me because of Jenna.
"Woah bro. Sorry I didn't realize we were like that."
`Well you have me on the phone...wait how did you get my number?" I asked.
`Jenna gave it to me after I had to practically beg."
"Oh great so you two are together now?" I asked as I signed the receipt and thanked the front desk.
"Nah. I think we should leave that where it was buried." He said clearly leaving something out.
"So what do you want?"
"Well I tried to call Kenny to take him out for dinner but he wasn't home. I called Jon and he didn't pick up. So that left you to try and figure out where he was."
"He's fine." I answered shortly not wanting to give anything away.
"Doesn't sound it. I know the guys under a lot of stress. I'm in the same boat as him and I just wanted to talk."
"No offense but you wouldn't have a damn thing to say to him if you knew what was going on right now." SHIT. I'm going to fucking blab if I don't turn off this phone. "I have to go. Maybe talk to him next time you see him in school." I finished hating how I did it. Jason Andrews you a fucking idiot.
"No you aren't." Jon responded looking at me as he came out of the restaurant. "Why are you even thinking that right now?"
"Bonticello called and I almost blabbed."
"Oh..."
"I stopped myself before I gave any anything vital thankfully." My phone rang once again. "Goddamnit who now? Hello?"
"Jace." My uncle was now where I expected him about five minutes ago.
"UNCLE. Sorry. Really bad call before yours." Jon eyes widened realizing who was on the other line as well.
"We're heading home now if you two want to be around Ken."
"Absolutely we're on our way."
"Jace. Let me be clear here. Ken is clearly the type who hates when people are sad around him, as soon as Jon left he felt relieved. Please make sure your boyfriend is aware of this."
"We already talked this over actually." I chuckled as I looked at Jon knowing he knew what I was talking about. "He'll be on his best behavior."
"Ok good. Did you two eat?"
"We just left the sushi place."
"Can you even call that place sushi? Disgusting frozen nonsense. Anyways. I'll be cooking by the time you get back so If you care to eat again there will be food."
"Thank you uncle. Does he need anything I can pick up?"
"No, we were very productive today all things considered. Ok sport he's coming out of the office now I have to go. See you in a few."
As soon as I picked up the phone Jon energetically grabbed my hand and moved us to my car.
"Jon." I started knowing what he was doing. "You can't keep doing this you're going to wear yourself out."
"Please just let me be there for him." He asked rather short.
"You can't play your emotions like a yo-yo. Did you ever think Ken might appreciate seeing you vulnerable?"
"Your uncle said..." He stopped right in front of the car and turned around.
"Fuck what my uncle said. I think more like Ken than you do. If I were him I sure wouldn't want someone to tell me everything's alright and pamper me. He probably gets enough of that from Marcus."
"Why can't you just sit by and let me fix him?"
"BECAUSE JON YOU CAN'T FIX THIS." I screamed in his face. "YOU'RE SO DAMN PROUD OF PROTECTING HIM FROM THE WORLD AND THIS IS THE ONE THING YOU CAN'T DO FOR HIM SO STOP PRETENDING YOU CAN."
He stared at me blankly for a few seconds unable to process what I had just said to him. Eventually his gaze turned into a scowl and the worst face I had ever seen on Jon Han had appeared.
"Go Fuck Yourself." He took my keys out of my hand and raced towards my car without letting me get a word in edgewise. All I could do was curse him off while everyone stood by and watched. He sped off and suddenly I realized the situation I was in and had to get out so I ran. Almost instinctually I made my way to the other half of the mall. It had been forever since I stopped by the movie theatre but I wasn't here to distract myself from my horrid mistake. I needed to cash in a favor.
"Theatre Three. Next." Jenna slipped the tickets under the glass and moved the next customer along. It was a busy Saturday night and all I could do to get her attention was wave behind the line hoping she would eventually see me and thankfully it worked. She signaled that she just needed a moment and from there she quickly turned up the pace and pushed the line as fast as she could to the point where she told her coworker she had to tend to an emergency. Me.
"What the fuck?" She tied her hair back as she approached me. "I haven't seen you here in forever."
"I fucked up. Can you PLEASE drive me to Ken's house?"
"Can you tell me what the fuck is going on?" She asked as she motioned to follow her to her car.
"I told Jon that he's being a dipshit and he drove off in my car." I answered hoping to appease her.
"You know I'm not talking about that." She glared at me before she unlocked her car and got in. "What happened to Ken Wilker?"
"How does everyone know somethings up?"
"Because he doesn't act like that normally. He's usually a goofball. You weren't there last night. He was a force of nature and I'm pretty sure his basketball buddies had to use all their strength to hold him back."
I groaned as I slid my hands across my face. I forgot everyone was still hung up on how he was last night. They had no idea what had happened since then and how he flipped an even worse way. I couldn't hold it back anymore, I needed to vent to someone.
"His parents died last night." I spit out.
"WHAT?!?!?!" She slammed the breaks as she made it to a stop sign in near comical fashion. "HE KNEW LAST NIGHT AS HE WAS THERE?"
"No." I answered calmly. "He found out this morning and my uncle has been taking him around to get his affairs in order."
"HOLY SHIT." She shook her head and resumed driving. "Jason. I swear I won't tell anyone. I know we haven't seen each other much recently but I want you to know you can still trust me."
"Shut up and go back to being a brat." I demanded.
"Why is this so hard for you? Why must you always be so cold to everyone?"
"Because fuck if I'm going to let someone get something over me ever again."
"This is what happened wasn't it? Jon was trying to be there and you didn't like it. That's why he drove off." God I hated how well Jenna knew me.
"He's not going to be able to handle it." I responded half-truthfully.
"It doesn't matter dude. Holy shit you are your mother's son." She turned into the complex and we both saw Jon pacing back and forth in front of Ken's door with Veronica clearly yelling at him. We both looked at each other knowing this conversation would have to be put on ice and got out in tandem.
"JON. TELL ME NOW." Veronica demanded.
"IT'S NOT MY FUCKING PLACE OK?" He yelled right back on the verge of tears.
"What on earth is going on?" I asked interrupting their screaming match.
"Jon over here got kicked out of the Wilker's place and he was banging on the door when I was stopping by to check on Ken." She turned to me and Jenna with an inquisitive look in her eye. "You have to know. Spill."
"I'm not saying anything that Jon hasn't said." I followed up.
"Not getting a word out of me either." Jenna answered in solidarity.
"SHE KNOWS? OVER ME?" Veronica asked incredulously.
"Can you just let the two idiots work this out before you throw you tantrum?" Jenna asked with a cadence I hadn't seen out of her in a while. Her delivery could use work though.
"There's nothing to work out. We're through." Jon interjected.
"Oh shut the fuck up. I was right. You tried to be a big strong support for Ken, he wanted to break down and you got kicked out because you didn't realize it."
"Never so much in my life have I ever wanted to punch you Jason." He said with vitriol.
"THEN FUCKING DO IT." I walked up to him with my arms raised. "Hit me so you can stop being so fucking proud and actually be there like your friend needs.
"GO FUCK YOURSELF." He shouted before he attempted to lunge at me. I flinched knowing it would hurt but after a few seconds I realized there was no pain. I heard a whimper which caused me to open my eyes. My uncle had saved me just in time.
"It's ok Jon." He said softly. "You can cry about this."
"Why...why does he had to suffer?" He sobbed into my uncles sweater.
"I know...it's not fair but pretending everything is ok isn't helping him right now."
We all stood there as he cried right outside of Ken's door.
"i...we should go." Jenna gestured a shocked Veronica away.
"No. What the actual fuck is going on?" Veronica regained her composure and went right back to trying to figure out what was going on. "Someone is telling me before I leave."
"Jenna. Just tell her and go back to work." I turned around and nodded.
"You sure?"
"Yeah...she won't tell anyone she doesn't need to."
"Alright. Come on." Jenna motioned Veronica away and quickly left us alone. This allowed me to walk up to my bawling boyfriend and my uncle still holding him.
"You know Jace. It's funny. He's just like Calvin." He said with a light smile on his face.
"Uncle I hardly think comparing us to you two right now is a good idea."
"You'll understand in time." He stood Jon up as he finished his crying. "Come on you two. It's time for dinner with Ken."
Dinner was nice and quiet. Jon was finally done being protective and overbearing and that allowed Ken to relax and just enjoy the time he needed with his best friend. During the meal, Jon put his hand over mine and apologized with his eyes and I whispered that I was at fault as well. Obviously, Marcus saw this and shook his head at the lovesick idiots in front of him and Ken chuckled as well. After dinner I decided to head out on my own and leave the three to whatever nonsense they were getting themselves into. After the day I had, I had no issues falling asleep as soon as I got home.
"JACE! GET UP!" My uncle shouted rising me out of a long rest.
"KELLY DON'T START ON HIM JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE MANIC AS SHIT." Evanna followed up. She wasn't kidding when she said he was going to be off the walls apparently.
I stumbled up rubbing sleep out of my eyes to find my uncle lugging his two suitcases up the stairs at once and Evanna shaking her head.
"Sport...you really don't want to be a part of today." She groaned as she palmed her head. "Marcus is on his way and hopefully will calm down Kelly."
"You don't realize what I've done do you Eve?" Calvin stopped halfway up the stairs to explain it to both of us. "I took Greg's last few months with his mother away from him all because I thought I could FIX HIS FUCKING LIFE." He slammed his luggage on the ground so hard I thought it would break and they stumbled down as expected.
"Kelly. You tried and it failed. You musnt' blame yourself." She replied calmly.
"You really don't fucking get it." He snapped back immediately. "I'm taking a shower. Tell Marcus to come upstairs as soon as he shows up." He stomped up the stairs and slammed the door.
"What the fuck just happened? I asked as the scene finally cut.
"You don't wanna know kiddo." She replied. "I nearly had to clock him at the airport. The idiot took a flight out as soon as he had his assistants escorting the couple down here and hasn't gotten a wink of sleep in well over two days."
"Why did he call Ken Greg?"
"Ah nothing gets past you huh?" She chuckled as the front door opened. "Mark. You have your work cut out for you."
"Eh. I'll stick my dick in his mouth and he'll be a lamb in about an hour." He removed his coat and hung it on the rack.
"UNCLE." I said aghast wanting to scrub that mental image out of my head.
"Oh be quiet you." He shook his head as he turned to Evanna "Can you and the brat go get the two idiots breakfast? That's what I was doing before I found out Kelly landed already."
"Yeah no problem." She said smiling before turning Marcus around to go up the stairs. "Go. Before he decides to do another line."
"Must you say that in front of the boy?" He shook his head knowing I knew what was going on.
"Oh like he didn't know from when he first saw Kelly."
"I didn't actually." I admitted.
"See. You broke the spell." He smacked Evanna on the side. "I'll go fix Kelly. Go check on the kid."
"Fine. Fine. off you go." She pushed him up the stairs and I shuddered to think what they were about to be up to. "You need a minute sport?"
I looked at myself and thought about it but realized I did nothing but shower and fall asleep so I was pretty good to go. I nodded towards the door and she led the way.
"Well there you go. You saw the hero of your childhood in shambles." Evanna looked at me as we drove to the local breakfast spot to pick up a decent meal. "How do you feel?"
"Relieved." I answered. "I mean I kind of didn't care but like it's nice to know even he has his moments. That reminds me."
"Ah shoot I thought you would bring it up." She messed up my hair. "Greg right?"
"Yeah..."
"Greg is Kelly's childhood friend. He never quite made it out of our hometown so Kelly always visits him around this time of year."
"But he got you over here...no offense. Why did Greg stay behind?"
`Truthfully, Greg was never bright. He was happy with his quiet life that opposed Kelly's fast one."
"Makes sense I guess." I didn't want to give it more thought because we made it to the diner. We picked up your standard eggs back and waffles and made a quick five-minute hop to Ken's place.
"Alright kiddos time to get up." Evanna yelled as we entered the house. Nothing had changed yet it felt so damn weird to be here still.
"We're up." Jon responded as he came out of the room with Ken following.
"Time to eat. Then Kelly and Marcus will be here and I can be rid of all of you for some time." Evanna joked.
"HEY!" All of us shouted at once.
"I'm kidding. You three are wonderful and I hope you stay friends until you're old. Now eat up before it's cold."
We made quick work of breakfast and after some small talk we heard a knock at the door.
"Crap." Ken said quickly getting up and trying to make his way to his room.
"Ken, you talked about this with Marcus." Jon sternly reminded him.
All Ken could do was sigh and nod as Evanna let my two uncles in.
"Kenneth..." Calvin started.
"Sir..." Ken couldn't bear to look at him.
"I promise to take care of everything. Then I will leave your life and never bother you again." He solemnly vowed. "I had nothing but the best intentions and I wanted you to live your life as you very well deserved. I know it's just words but I intend to make sure that happens as best as it can from here."
"Ok sir." He replied tacitly.
"Not to be rude." Jon interrupted. "We talked about it last night and we all agreed both of us are skipping the next two games at the very least. We need to talk to coach about that."
"Coach Mathews correct? My assistant contacted him last night and he should be here within the hour." Calvin stated as if he knew what the first question would be. "We have to take care of the arrangements for this weekend after and then all future finances will be tied to my name. Does that cover everything?"
"Uh...well yes sir. Thank you." Jon said with that consumed look on his face that he gets when he's overwhelmed. He's so cute when he's dumbfounded.
"Fantastic." Marcus chimed in as he picked up a pancake. "You're ready for everything right?"
"Yes sir." For some reason, Ken had no problem talking directly to my uncle's husband but couldn't stand to answer my uncle with a straight face. I would of thought with how directly involved Marcus was Ken would have the same disdain but he didn't.
"Come on sport. I know it sucks but we must leave them be again." Evanna ribbed me to get my attention. "Wanna go work out? It'll relieve some stress."
"That...that sounds good actually." I answered. "Let's go."
"That's my nephew." My uncle said full of pride. "Take my card and buy some gear on the way so you don't have to stop at home."
"Uncle I have my own money." I waved off his card much to Evanna's shock. "Come on. I don't want to be here when their coach is here.
We made our way out and made quick work to hit the gym. It really was nice to work up a good sweat without feeling like complete death. After, Evanna had to tend to her job which she had ignored for a few days so that let me to get burritos for lunch and a house to myself. I realized that I owed Ms. Cantera a new opinion article and for once I was in the mood to write so I decided to let it rip over the next couple of hours.
Justice So as you may have heard, my good friend Ken Wilker lost his parents over the weekend. It all still feels so surreal how everything in your life can change so fast. I'll admit it. I'm a spoiled brat, I'm lucky to never have to deal with something like that in my life thanks to my good fortune but it can't help but make me think about how there's really no true sense of justice in the world. It constantly feels like it's just a myth that we were fed when we were younger. The hero always wins. The good guy lives to tell his tale. It's all nonsense. I want to believe it's true but you have a guy like me who's skating by on his family in comparison to a guy like Ken who worked his ass off every day of his life to be left with nothing it just feels like...well it feels like total and complete shit. Hopefully there's a light at the end of the tunnel for him because frankly if there's anyone in this school who deserves a good life after all of this it's going to be Ken. Rest in Peace Kendra and Arnold Wilker. Your son will do his best to live your legacy.
It wasn't the greatest but it was a serviceable piece. I figure that news will break rather quickly on Monday since the funeral arrangements were being taken care of today so it would be in time for the paper which was due this Friday. Damn it's crazy to think that we're already in the third week of October. Hopefully everything would calm down soon because I couldn't possibly handle another bomb like this.
The week started off as I expected. News had indeed broke and I had much more attention than I thought I would have but in hindsight it made sense because both Ken and Jon were out for the week. Jon had insisted on not leaving Ken alone for a second for fear of something bad would happen and absolutely none of us were able to talk him out of it. I explained to everyone I could about how the treatment went wrong and how Ken's dad couldn't bear to live without his wife so he crashed his car into a lake. It helped me cope as telling the tale over and over helped me come to grips with it.
The paper was a tricky one. Leena really turned me sour several times not realizing how careless she was being milking Ken's death for views. Eventually Ms. Cantera and I stepped in and we simply dedicated the front page to him and got messages and well wishes from everyone and anyone who was willing and at the end of it all it was something we on the paper could be proud of.
Mother and Father made it home on Wednesday afternoon and the only reason I knew was because they entered the house bickering.
"He is such an idiot. I can't believe he tried to just fix the damn woman." Beth Andrews announced her arrival in the worst manner as usual. If you ever wanted to know what a Karen with money looks like, it would be her. She was a combination of Kris Jenner and Meryl Streep circa 1990 and had the attitude to match.
"Dear you need to understand he just wanted the poor boy to have his mother." Melvin followed behind being as sorry and dopey as he always was. If Beth was a Karen then Melvin Andrews would be the silent husband who just wants everything to go smoothly, completing the package would be your typical beer gut, male pattern baldness and thick rimmed glasses that had been smacked off his face one too many times.
"Well a fat load of good that did him."
I coughed to announce my presence as I had just came in from the back yard and both of my parents were dumbfounded that I was even home.
"Jason!" My dear mother said shocked. "Sweetie come here and give your parents a hug." I obliged as she continued. "Why aren't you with Jack and Kenneth?"
"Mother it's Jonathan." I had to remind her.
"Oh yes right, Jon Han. It even rhymes!" She put on her sweet face even though it wouldn't shade me. "Why are you home?"
"Nothing for me to do so I've just been by myself lately."
"What about that Jenna girl? She finally leave you like I said she would?"
"Mother!" I said incredulously.
"Beth!" My father followed.
"It's a joke I swear you two." She rolled her eyes and picked up her bag. "I have to go to the office while we're here and I'm going to put in for a nice beautiful bouquet for the funeral. I'll be back in a few hours. Melvin, pumpkin. Take care of the meeting about the house in Texas while I'm out."
"Yes dear." He said obediently. God father you're actually so damn pathetic.
She walked out and all I could do was shake my head. Another ridiculous interaction with my guardians if I could even call them that and I was so confused how they were still together let alone had me. My father would wander upstairs for some alone time before I could ask about why they were buying a house in Texas but I honestly wasn't even remotely concerned.
As expected, the game on Friday was forfeited and a brief moment of silence was had for the broken family. After, it was declared that the game the week after would indeed be played, just without Ken. It all seemed so pointless now. Ken didn't have to worry about college because my uncle would make good on his promise to have Ken set for life under the trust so all this posturing about the team meant nothing. I'm sure I'm not the only person who thought about this as I looked around after the announcement. Eric gave me a glance and shook his head and Kimbal was as dismissive as ever. After all was said and done nobody felt like partying as we usually did on a weekend so we called it a night after a group dinner and got ready for the morning.
I woke up alone as I had all week. I wasn't bitter or anything, it was just weird not having my lion on top of me in the morning. Mother and Father had made it a point to help set everything up so they were already out of the house so all I had to do was wait for Jenna. She had messaged me during the week saying how she wanted to go but she felt awful doing so by herself so I told her to just come with me so she didn't feel awkward. As I put the finishing touches on my suit, the door rang so I brushed my hair and made my way up to the crowd.
"Jenna!" My mother all too enthusiastically answered the door. "How have you been?"
"I've been good Mrs. A." She nervously replied.
"Jenna's here." My mother stated to me as she moved out the door. "Wait who's this?"
"The names Steven Miss." Bonticello surprised me by appearing from just behind the door. "I'm here to attend the funeral with your son and his friend.
"Ah, my son finally made decent friends I see." She threw me a sly smile and I rolled my eyes at the combination of the comment and look. "MELVIN, WE ARE LATE." She shouted as she walked past everyone.
"Yes dear, sorry dear." My father apologized as he ran past to catch up. "Jace, we'll see you there."
"Your parents..." Bonticello started.
"I told you they're crazy. It's a wonder how Jason turned out sane." Jenna finished scaring Bonticello but she was right. Only she really knew my parents to some capacity.
"What are you doing here?" I asked the odd person out.
"Jenna invited me."
"Are you two...?" I narrowed my eyes thinking Jenna lied to me.
"I'm the one who wants to be friends Jason." He admitted. "You all seem like decent people and I'm sick of hanging out with meat heads outside of school."
"He's not lying." Jenna followed up. "He needed people to go with. It's not like his wrestling buddies were close to Ken."
"Fair." I shrugged as I walked out the door. "Let's not be late."
The funeral home was every bit as gaudy and extravagant as I would expect for what had become an Andrews funeral. Flowers everywhere, hints of gold and mahogany. The casket was sealed for obvious reasons but they were together. Ken sat at the front as everyone greeted him and offered their condolences. I felt it out of place to approach him so I let the other two make their way over as I found Uncle Calvin on the phone in a far-off space.
"No. Unacceptable. We will discuss this later." Calvin shut off his phone rather hard and looked at me frustrated. "What is it sport?"
"Do you need help with anything?" I asked casually unphased by his attitude.
"No, it's all set. Everything should be set up by my assistant and Marcus when we get back to the house."
"Ok well let me know." I finished as I saw Jenna was finishing up with Ken. She managed to make him smile and then kissed him on the cheek before letting the next person in line have their turn.
"How sweet a pity kiss." I joked as I walked up to her and the hulk himself.
"It wasn't a pity kiss. He's a really sweet guy, I don't know why I didn't see it sooner." She blushed.
"It's his parents funeral Jenna come on." Bonticello joined in on the jokes snickering along with me
"You're lucky we ARE at a funeral or I would smack both of you." She stomped past both of us and went to the chairs. "Come on let's sit, everything's about to start."
I couldn't bother to pay attention to the sermon. While I was down to be respectful, religion made no sense to me. I guess when you're trying to make sense of death it's something to cling on. After what felt like forever the pastor finally finished and everyone was lining up to give respects. I decided to let the line thin and went outside to vape.
The sky was perfect. Not a cloud in it. I lazily pulled my vape out and hit it as I walked across the street to sit on a bench while I watched the home declutter. For a Kid with no family left, Ken sure had a lot of family friends. As I saw the crowd slowly disperse, I looked to the right and saw something I couldn't believe. Ken had his jacket off and was looking around to see if anyone was following him as he walked to the next block over.
I thought about shouting out to get his attention but I realized that he clearly had something in mind so I just quietly followed behind. As I turned the corner, I heard an engine start and before I could make my way over he was speeding off towards the mall and what I could only assume to be his home. At this point I had to tell someone so I turned on my phone and called my boyfriend and it had just occurred to me that I hadn't seen him today.
"Babe? Have you seen Ken? I can't find him." Jon picked up obviously very panicked.
"That's why I'm calling. He just drove off."
"I KNEW HE HAD SOMETHING PLANNED WHEN HE PARKED THE BLOCK OVER." He shouted.
"I think I know where he went. I'm gonna head over to his place. You should follow."
"I'm telling your uncle."
"Sure. I'm off. Don't fucking freak out like you always do."
"I do not freak out." I could hear the annoyance in his voice.
"Sure. I don't have a drinking problem either." I joked as I hung up.
I made my way to my car and drove off to the best guess I had. Thankfully I was right as Ken's car was indeed right in front of his place.
"Ken?" I shouted as I entered his place as the door was open.
"JASON!" Ken said surprised from behind his door. "How did you know I was here?"
"A lucky guess." I answered as I sat and leaned against his door. "You ok?"
"Yeah. Hey man could you give me a few minutes alone? I promise I'll come back after I'm done here."
"Sure buddy." I leaned my head against his door and took a deep breath before I hoped I said the right words. "I just wanna say thanks for being in my life man."
"What are you talking about?"
"My uncle...he's a bone head just like the rest of them but he meant well. I can tell he's going to make good on his promise and then some. I know it sounds like I'm ranting but like you've done so much for me and just like everyone else I wish I could fix your life for you so your mom could see the great guy you're going to become." I stood up and dusted myself off. "Just know I love you buddy. If I lost you I don't know what I would do with myself. I would probably just lose hope in the world. The hugs you give me make me feel like someone cares about me and your vigilant attitude about making sure everyone's alright is a gift. Alright, I'll see you soon. Don't worry I'll cover for you."
The door creaked behind me. His face was swollen from tears and his clothes were as disheveled as they could be. The panic and confusion overwhelmed him "I'm so sorry." He mumbled as he fiddled with the gun I had seem a little over a month ago.
"Ken...no..." I moved to him to remove the weapon from his hands successfully before he inevitably collapsed in my arms. "Why?"
"I JUST WANT IT ALL TO STOP!" He cried in my arms. "I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE. THEY'RE GONE. I DIDN'T SAY GOODBYE. I WANT TO SEE THEM ONE MORE TIME."
"You still have your little brother. You're not leaving me behind, are you?" I joked.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry bro. I just want everything to be normal."
"It will be in time. Everyone's just too much right?"
He nodded as he sobbed some more.
"Ok. How about you live with me for a while? At least until you can come back to this place again."
He sobbed a bit harder telling me he would like it.
"Jon and Calvin will be here any second." I stood him up and took the gun away just to be sure. "Get yourself together before they come and I'll make a sure nothing is said."
"Bro..." His eyes got watery again as he rubbed them.
"I'll be back in like ten minutes. Let's at least pretend everything's normal for a bit. Hows that sound?" I chuckled as I finished my statement.
"Ok. Thanks big bro." He said patting my shoulder as I got up.
"Nah, you're my big brother. I'm the stupid little spoiled brat."
I walked outside with the revolver and shined it against the mid-day sun. I couldn't believe that this stupid thing almost made me lose the guy who had indeed become my big brother over the past two months.
"JACE. PUT THAT DOWN." Calvin shouted as he and Jon got out of his car.
"Quiet Uncle. No drama please." I dismissed him as I held it non-chalantly.
"WHAT HAPPENED?" Jon immediately followed up.
"Ken wanted to end it with Sally over here." I shined it up to the sun one more time before I focused my attention on the two idiots.
"HE'S ALIVE RIGHT?" Calvin replied aghast at the situation.
"He's fine uncle. You need to give him room to grieve." I looked and pointed at both of them. "I mean both of you. He's coming to stay with us for the time being. He'll sleep on my bed and I'll take the cot."
"Jace let me just..." My uncle interrupted as he tried to make his way to the door.
"If you would let me FINISH." I continued. "You are only to help him with the legal and financial stuff. It's clear both of you failed to comfort him because you still don't have a damn clue about who Ken is. You realize he came back to the worst possible place just to be away from everyone right? It was probably then when he saw this piece of fucking rubbish and the idea infected his brain!" I threw the gun to the side without caution and realized the mistake I made immediately after but refused to let it shade me.
They both looked at each other confused and then looked down remorseful.
"I just wanted to help as much as I could..." Jon pouted.
"You help someone like Ken by letting him properly grieve."
"And how exactly do you know this?" My uncle crossed his arms realizing I was probably talking about of my ass.
"If I was him, I wouldn't want all of this. The funeral was too much, everyone and their mother was there. He's had literally no alone time to process whats next. God. It's like you're grooming him like you're grooming me."
"You do need to be groomed." My uncle replied.
"But HE doesn't." I added. "He is the most self-made, kind-hearted, work of a human I've ever met and he doesn't need to coddled like a child!"
The realization fell upon the two jocks like a ton of bricks. Jon eyes went wide and Calvin's twitched rapidly.
I turned around to let them stew. "I'm going back inside to check on him. You're not to say a word about why he left the funeral and most importantly you're not to treat him like he's five. He's my brother and a goddamn man."
Everything went according to plan after that. The funeral finished abruptly with the Son missing and so the party afterwards fizzled out as well. All that was left was the gang back at my place. I broke it all down to them in detail and explained He's not to hear anything except what he wants to for a good long while.
My uncle did as he was told surprisingly. I think Marcus and Evanna let him have it after they caught word and it made the job that much easier. There would be one more surprise though and after lots of deliberation we all decided it would only be right.
It was a month later pretty much. Jon Ken and I were eating the lunch Ken had made with everything pretty much gone back to normal. My uncles came through the door after seeing my parents off at the airport with a folder in their hands and all I could do was smirk at what was about to happen.
"Kenneth. Are you ok to talk for a bit?"
"Of course, Uncle Mark. What's up?" He replied cleaning the pans he used.
"Come sit with us in the living room." He motioned everyone over but I kept Jon at the table. "Could you read over this?" He handed over the folder and as soon as Ken saw the first page his eyes went wide.
"What...what is this?" He pointed to it dumbfounded.
"Well Kenneth." He looked at Calvin and Ken expectantly. "You've entered our lives incredibly unexpectedly but I can't see myself or Calvin saying goodbye to you any time soon. All of your finances will be taken care of for the rest of your life but we were wondering if you would accept the terms in the folder here."
"You...you want to adopt me?"
"Ken." Calvin interjected I once had a friend like you when I was younger. He was my sidekick as it was. You know just like you and Johnny boy over here."
Jon immediately stopped shoving his face as he realized things were getting more serious and I followed suit.
"We actually ended up well...experimenting together as it was. Unfortunately, one day his parents happen to come home to us Greg would go through a number of years of torment because of this. He was placed into a school that he despised, he wasn't able to see me at all and it all took a toll on him. Had I been braver back then, well I don't think I would have lost him a year later."
"So you're telling me..." Ken asked carefully.
"Yes son, we lost him to the world about a year later. It was the hardest thing I'd ever experienced in my life. My first true love was gone in the blink of an eye. After that I swore I would protect the people that my family and I loved. When I nearly lost you that day, I realized what I had done to you and how disappointed Gregory would have been if he were still around.
"Sir I..." Ken cut in briefly
"If you could do me the honor. I want to raise you to be everything you should be. I know I screwed up and I'll live with that burden every day of my life but if you will allow me..." The tears from my uncles eyes were unavoidable at this point. "Then I will make sure we make your mother proud and do everything to honor her legacy under her name as well as mine."
"Sir..."
"I think you should start calling him dad if your face is any indication." Marcus cracked.
They had their little scene in front of us. Jon started crying on my shoulder too and all I could do was look on with pride at the love and hope coming from all of this. It all finally came together. Ken was now officially my cousin.
After the scene broke everyone went their own ways. Marcus and Ken went to the court house to officialize everything, Calvin went right back to work and Jon followed me out as I needed a cigarette.
"You're the greatest thing to enter my life you know..." Jon clearly wasn't done being sentimental and I was in no position to stop him from praising me.
"I told you it would all work out if you let it." I said as I pat his head. "I'm just happy it's all calming down
"He's really set for life..." Jon said in astonishment. "I just wished his parents were here to see it all."
"I'm sure they knew what was going to happen to Ken in some ways..."
I looked out towards the school that had been the source of all my drama in the whirlwind of these last two months. My boyfriend and I were as solid as ever. I had a new cousin and my best friend was back in my life in the best way.
I thought back to how this all started. A stupid detention where Jon Han asked me out. I thought back to how I tried to scare him off, the trip that brought us together. We really had been through so much in such a short amount of time.
I had so many questions still though. How long could Jon and me last? What was I going to do about Mark Houston? What am I going to do with my life? As much as I wished I had an answer to all of these I knew time would resolve all of them. I kissed my boyfriend on the cheek as I toss my dart and gave him one more look. I really had no idea what was coming up next for all of us but I knew that we would be able to weather through it together.
END OF BOOK 1 – BARRIERS.