All the usual disclaimers apply. This story is fiction. None of
it is true; any resemblance to real people (alive or deceased) or
places is coincidental. If you're under 18 or it's illegal where
you live to possess stories where kids actually express their
sexuality, you should leave now.
Sex scale:
--> 0 - None at all (in this chapter!) I'm telling a love story. <---
1 - Nudge-nudge, wink-wink. Maybe a bit of kissing and petting.
2 - There's one sex scene, and it's rather tame
3 - I'm trying to balance story-telling and sex
4 - There is some plot, but there's also a lot of sex!
5 - Plot? What plot? Just a few words to set up the scenes.
Please support Nifty to keep this useful resource alive. You might
be using it for your pleasure, but for readers discovering their
sexuality it can be a resource as well.
Comments are welcome at ethanflowers98@protonmail.com.
Chapter 5
On the day of my 16th birthday the Sarno family had a party for me. The dinner was great: a chicken and rib feast ordered in from a local restaurant. When most of it had disappeared, they they brought in a birthday cake from the kitchen with 16 lit candles.
Fraser recorded a video of me blowing them all out. "What did you wish for?" he asked.
"C'mon, Fraser," I told him, "you know that's supposed to be a secret."
I received gifts from everyone. Fraser gave me a bright green t-shirt with a small embroidered parrot on it. Corwin's mom and dad presented me with a top-of-the-line gaming console. From Corwin came a copy of 'Elf and Dragon,' one of its more interesting games.
"Let's get some pictures!" said Fraser. He was always like that, wanting snapshots of everything he did. He got out his smart phone and asked for Corwin's and mine, which he passed off to his parents so they could take the pictures. In quick succession we accumulated nearly a dozen shots on each of the phones of me and the birthday cake, me and my gifts, me with as many of the Sarno family as we could get, and of course me and Corwin.
"How about a boyfriend picture?" Fraser asked. Not a problem! We put our arms around each other's shoulders and smiled. Then we put our heads up against each other's and grinned.
"Can we get a kiss?" asked Corwin's mom.
"You OK with that?" asked Corwin.
"Sure," I said, "as long as the pictures don't stay on the phones."
"We'll take care of that!" said Fraser.
So we sort of closed our eyes and put our lips together. A few more pictures were taken, followed by a round of applause. Corwin and I looked at everyone else, a little bashful, which was also captured in pictures.
"From what Corwin's told us," his dad said, "I understand your father's probably not going to like the idea of you having the game system. How about we set it up here? That is, if you're OK with Corwin and Fraser using it."
"Corwin can use it any time," I replied. I added with a grin, "as for Fraser, I'll charge you rent!"
We had a laugh and Fraser said, "I've got my own. Not as nice as yours, but it'll do me!"
Before setting up my new game console we gathered the phones together and checked the pictures. Then we went on to Fraser's and Corwin's computers to download the "boyfriend" pictures from cloud storage to their local drives. We followed that up with deleting them off the phones and making sure they were gone from the web, too.
While reviewing pictures on Corwin's computer we came across the ones Fraser had taken of us back in August on Starlight Beach. It was the first time I'd seen them on a big monitor, and they looked good.
"Can I get a copy of these?" I asked.
"Sure," said Corwin. "How should we transfer them?"
I still had "phone" on my mind and forgot we could simply copy them to the Linux USB flash drives we had. "How about we send them to my phone?" I asked. "We can do that using a USB cable." It was how I copied pictures from my phone to my computer; I'd never enabled any sort of cloud sync on it.
We found a suitable cable, and using it connected my phone to Corwin's system. After a bit of fumbling around we figured out how to copy pictures to the phone; by default the software wanted to go the other way. I reviewed the photo album on the phone and confirmed the pictures were there.
"Aw, we didn't get any of Fraser," I lamented.
"You're looking for nude pictures of brother?" From the sound of his voice it was obvious Corwin was teasing me. "Are there things about yourself that you haven't been telling me?"
"C'mon, he was one heck of a cute kid last summer," I replied. "Let's just go and ask him. 'Hey, Fraser, we didn't get any pictures of you on Starlight Beach last year, so could you get naked and I can take a few now?' I'm sure he'll just jump at the chance!"
We shared a laugh, then went to get my new game system set up. When that was done we played 'Elf and Dragon' until it was time for me to go.
When I arrived home Mom and Dad were in the living room. Dad was while examining some papers from work while a business channel played on TV; Mom was reading a magazine.
"Happy birthday, Lance," Mom said with a smile. "Did you have a good time at the Sarnos?"
"Thanks, mom. Yes, I did."
"That's good to hear. It was nice of them to host a little party for you."
Dad looked up from his papers. "Happy birthday, son." It sounded flat; certainly it didn't have the same warmth as when Mom said it. "Did you manage to finish up your homework?"
I smiled in spite of myself. "Yes, Dad. I did it at school today."
"Good." And he went back to his paperwork.
I went to my bedroom. On top of the closed lid of my laptop was a large and beautifully glazed handcrafted mug with the name "Lance" on the side, obviously my sister's handiwork. Inside the mug, attached to a sheet of paper so I wouldn't miss it, was a $500 gift card from a major retailer. Under the mug was an envelope with a birthday card.
The card had a note in my Mother's careful handwriting:
"Happy 16th birthday, Lance. Rudy, Janice, and I got together to buy you this gift card. You're free to use it for whatever you want or need.
"I'm sorry things haven't gone so well in the past year. Your Dad's changed somehow. He isn't the man I married thirty years ago and who helped raise your brother and sister. I'm saddened to see how he's been treating you, and every day I'm hoping he'll go back to being the father he should be. Stay strong and work hard, it will all pay off in the end.
"Love, Mom."
I smiled at her words. I noted she'd said nothing at all about Corwin, so I suspected she didn't know what was happening there. I wondered what her reaction would be when she found out. I knew I'd have to tell them some day, but certainly wouldn't until I was in college, if not later.
I put the gift card into my wallet, returned the card to its envelope, and for want of a better place put the envelope underneath my laptop. Then I transferred the latest lot of pictures from my phone to the computer, and erased them off the phone.
The day after my birthday was a Friday. Like most Fridays I wasn't at the pool or the gym, so I went with Corwin to his house where we played 'Elf and Dragon' some more. Just before 6:00 we saved the game and I went home.
I was met at the door by a very angry father.
"You!" he roared the moment he saw me. "Get to your room this instant!"
"Wha ... ?" I started.
"I said in your room! NOW!"
Quite concerned, I removed my jacket, then grabbed my backpack and headed for my room. My father was right behind me. As soon I was inside he entered and slammed the door behind him.
"Just what the hell have you been doing this past year?" he shouted.
"What do you mean?" I asked. I was getting scared. "I've been going to school, playing on the water polo team, and working out at the gym. That's what you wanted me to do, right?"
He glared at me and said fiercely, "You've been doing a bit more than that! Give me your phone!"
I hesitated, but after quickly reviewing what I knew was on it, decided it was clean and handed it to him. He snatched it out of my hand. Holding on to it, he dug a card out of his shirt pocket, looked at it, then tapped in my old PIN. He did it twice before looking back at me.
"Unlock it! Now!" He didn't even hand it back to me; he just held it out for me to enter my PIN. Trembling, I did so.
As soon as he saw the phone unlock he examined the card again. Calling up the phone app's number pad, he typed in 6 characters. After some more tapping, he turned it around so I could see what was on it.
It was the picture of me from last night kissing Corwin.
"What?" I asked. "How--how'd you find that?"
"Your phone's been sending me everything you've been doing since Christmas!" he snapped. "Every call, every Q, every text, every picture! Look!"
He moved to stand beside me so he could show me what he was seeing. All the pictures from last night's party, which I'd deleted, were there. The ones of me and Corwin acting like boyfriends. All of the birthday party. And the ones from the nude beach we'd copied to the phone.
Dad jabbed the back button to bring up a menu, and from it selected "Deleted text messages." They were there, too: "CORWIN: Got new a phone now. Number's the same. Love you." "LANCE: Great to hear! Love ya too. Stay safe out there, kay? Don't wanna get another surprise like that from my boyfriend again."
"Care to explain THESE?" he asked.
I was so shocked at finding out Dad had seen them that I couldn't come up with a reply. "But ... but how ... I deleted all that stuff!"
"Yes you did!" he replied. "Fortunately an app I added kept them--and sent me copies! I know everything you've been up to, including the times you've been sneaking over to that boy's house when you made it look like you'd come home right after school!"
I sat down on the bed in shock, my stomach in knots. My mind lurched at his betrayal: he'd lied to me about removing the location tracking. Outwardly he'd done so, but like a cheating spouse who didn't trust his partner he'd secretly installed spyware so he could watch my every move. I stared down at my lap. "I ..." I started to say, "I ..."
"OK, I'm talking now--don't you say a damned thing! I don't know what the hell you've been doing with that boy, but it's going to end, and end NOW! You're never seeing that boy again, understand? And you're out of that school! You'll transfer immediately to Ahkonshuck until I can find a proper one you to get you into! I always thought Tamarack wasn't the right school for you--way too soft on their students! Damn I wish I'd said something at the time. It would have saved you from that weird kid getting into your head and corrupting you!"
He paused. I didn't look at him. I didn't say anything.
When dad started talking again he was just as angry as before. "I'm so disappointed in you! Here I thought I was raising a son who would make me proud! Instead you got yourself get mixed up with some god-damned faggot boy trying to turn you gay! Well, we're going to take care of that too! Stand up!"
I seethed at the idea that Corwin had somehow 'turned me gay.' When I hesitated he screamed at me. "I SAID STAND UP! NOW!"
Without looking at him I slowly got to my feet.
"Right!" he said, this time not shouting, but still very much enraged. "Last time I used my belt I promised if there was a next time you'd be naked. Start taking your clothes off! All of them! You're going to get a few for being disobedient, then I'll start beating the gay out of you!"
That stung! He was going to punish me for who I was. Because of Corwin, who'd been my rock for the past year while all this craziness was going down. Who'd counseled me against acting out in anger. And to not stand by while kids were being abused.
At that moment it clicked. I was now the one being abused. Like Corwin had said, everything my father had done for the past two years had nothing to do with me. It was all about him and who he wanted me to be. And now he was threatening me physically for something I couldn't change about myself.
As much as I loved Corwin, I couldn't handle this without getting angry. I raised my head and glared into my father's eyes.
"NO!"
"HOW DARE YOU!" he shouted back. "You're my son and you'll do as I say! Take your clothes off and take the punishment you deserve!"
An idea flashed into my mind. I pulled my shirt over my head and threw it on the floor. Then I tightened my fists and flexed my muscles as I'd seen so many people at the gym do.
"This is all that's coming off!" I said. "No way am I going to take your sick idea of a punishment! Take a look! I'm not the scrawny 15 year old that you forced into weight training and swimming last year! You see these muscles? This is what I've put on in the last year. I'm stronger than you and maybe even outweigh you! I swear that if you so much even so much as touch me you'll regret it!"
Dad was clearly taken aback by the change that had suddenly come over me, but not so much that he lost his bearings. "You're threatening me?" he roared. "That's no way to talk to your father! For that you're going to get twice what I had planned for you!"
My anger flared into a rage every bit as strong as my father's. "No way in hell am I going to get naked so you can beat me!"
"You will or you'll leave my house!" he shouted right back. "I will not allow you to live here if you're not going to obey me! No son of mine is a fag! We're going to get you going straight and get you into business school, or you're going to leave and never disgrace my house with your presence again!"
"You're saying that like it's a fucking threat or something!" I screamed. "I have a place to go and a family that'll accept me for who I am! You're telling me to leave? Fine, I'll leave! I'll grab some clothes and my phone and just get the hell out of your fucking life!"
"Then get out! GET OUT! Throw away everything I've done for you for sixteen years and shack up that faggot loser boyfriend of yours! It's only your life that throwing away! And as for this"--he held up the phone--"it's of no use to either of us any more!"
With that he hurled the phone at the wall with all his strength. The screen cracked all over and went dark. It clattered to the floor, leaving behind a noticeable dent in the wall.
I grabbed my backpack. "Fuck you!" I screamed at him. "Fuck you and the god-damned fucking horse you rode in on! It'll be a cold day in hell before I ever talk to you again!" I swung the backpack at him, but in my anger misjudged my aim and missed. I lost my balance and ended up on floor right beside my discarded t-shirt.
I snatched the shirt and got to my feet. My vision blurring with tears, I ran with it and my backpack from the room, past my bewildered mom, out of the house and over to Corwin's.
It must have been a shock for the Sarnos to have me bursting into their home in the middle of dinner, shirtless and in considerable distress. Nevertheless they immediately abandoned their meal, guided me to the living room, and sat me down on the couch. Corwin helped me put on my shirt, then he and Fraser joined me, one one each side of me. Both their parents stayed as well while I just sat there and cried.
It took over half an hour for me to calm down enough to start talking about why I was there. I told them how my father had discovered my relationship with Corwin and had angrily confronted be about it. How he'd installed a spy program on my phone so he could listen to my calls, read my text messages, and see the pictures we'd taken. I told them about the fight that finally led to me being kicked me out. I was effectively homeless the day after my 16th birthday.
"Homeless you're certainly not!" said Corwin's dad. "You're staying here until we can work something out or we can bring you in permanently."
"We'll figure something out," his mom added. "It's the weekend, so we can't pursue any legal avenues until Monday. But I'll be at the store tomorrow and ask some people there if they have ideas. For now, please try to have something to eat, then we'll figure out where you'll be sleeping."
"Maybe my bedroom?" asked Fraser. "I can go downstairs for a couple of nights."
"That's very thoughtful of you," said him mom, "but remember they're boyfriends. Lance and Corwin should be able to share his bedroom. But his bed's probably too small for both of them."
"We have a larger guest bed downstairs," their dad said. "That should do for the night. Corwin, can you stay with him tonight? Tomorrow we'll look into either moving you both downstairs or re-arranging your room."
"Of course I'll stay with him," Corwin answered.
It was hugely comforting to hear them discussing this as a simple logistics problem. They didn't care I was gay and in a relationship with their son: all they saw was a young man who right now needed some kind words and a helping hand.
The next three days were a blur. I tried to sleep as much as I could, for when I wasn't my mind was consumed with anxiety and anger. Anger, of course, at my father for being such a malevolent and manipulating jerk and kicking me out of my home, and real anxiety over how mom would react when she found out why, and what was going to happen to me.
I spent all of Saturday and Sunday in their basement room, Corwin staying as close as he could all the time. He usually wasn't much of a talker, which for now suited me just fine. I spent a lot of time holding him. Fraser appeared a couple of times with something to eat, his face clearly showing concern for my distress.
Their mother Heather (as she asked me to call her) also came downstairs a couple of times to talk with me. Empathetic, understanding, and ever encouraging, she assured me things were going to work out. She emphasized I should not feel I was being any sort of a burden to them.
We all decided neither I nor Corwin should go to school on Monday. I was quite distressed and didn't feel comfortable being the only person in what was still, for me, a house that wasn't my home.
On Monday after Corwin's dad Jim had left for work and Fraser left for school, Heather went out, leaving me and Corwin alone. Corwin told me he didn't know where she'd gone. She had Mondays off from work because she was at the store on Saturdays.
A couple of hours later she reappeared, coming downstairs with a large cardboard box. Inside were some of my clothes, the mug I got from Janice, the remains of my dead phone along with its charger, and the power supply for my laptop. The laptop itself had spent the weekend in my backpack.
"I've known your mom slightly for a long time, mostly because we've been neighbors for years," Heather told me. "She's still pretty shaken up by all this and is having a hard time with your dad ordering you out. Of course she knows why, and she's having problems with that too. At least she hasn't rejected you outright like your dad has, but I'm not sure if she'll come around to accepting it. At least she was willing to help me get some of your stuff together to bring over here. This is just one box, and I've made arrangements to get another one tomorrow morning."
"Thanks," I said. "Yeah, I sort of figured she wouldn't like me being gay, and it really sucks she had to found out like that. Did she say anything about Dad?"
"No, and I didn't want to ask."
"Do you think, maybe, I could go over and see her sometime when Dad's not home?"
Heather considered it. "I don't think it's a good idea right now. Everything's still a bit chaotic. We need to wait for things to settle down."
Corwin and I went to school on Tuesday, and I was able to concentrate a little. When his mom picked us up at school (I had told the water polo coach I wouldn't be at practice) she said she'd visited my house to get some more of my things but my mom wasn't there. As soon as we got home Corwin ran over and rang the doorbell. There was no answer. While I was a little concerned for my mom's welfare, we took the opportunity to get inside and take what possessions of mine we could carry. We were lucky in that Dad hadn't changed the locks or the alarm code. I noticed Corwin wiping down all the door handles we touched.
On Tuesday evening the Sarnos bought me a new phone. Fortunately I was able to salvage the SIM card from my old one, so the changeover was pretty seamless.
Mom wasn't at home Wednesday either. By now all of us were getting worried. I called my sister Janice, preferring to talk to her instead of my older brother Rudy because of her artistic tendencies, her recent gift of a handcrafted mug, and, from what I could tell, her open-minded boyfriend. I told her everything that had happened and why. Of course she was surprised about me and shocked at what our father had done, but immediately expressed support for me and concern over our mom.
She called back half an hour later to say she'd filed a missing person report with the police. She was now calling as many of our family friends as she could find, as well as our brother.
"Do you think you should?" I asked. "He doesn't know what's happened."
"Of course I should, and he has a right to know what's going on. Alright, he probably won't be very happy to hear you're gay, but I think he deserves to know. I think it's probably better I tell him in case he starts spouting off about it."
"If you think you should, alright," I told her.
"We'll do what I can," she replied. "Right now we have to find Mom."
I didn't hear anything more from her that evening. Next day at school a text message came to my new phone:
JANICE: Police located mom at a woman's shelter. Won't say which one
but she's safe. They say it's up to her to contact us.
I showed it to Corwin. We were both very relieved.
With Corwin's help I was able to get back into my studies, but at a reduced effort now that I didn't have the pressure to make top grades in all my subjects. I continued on the water polo team but stopped going to the gym. I was satisfied with my body and looked to swimming to keep in shape.
At Corwin's house we decided it was best to make a space for me in the basement. Corwin and I were boyfriends, but his parents suggested we should handle the living arrangements as if we were brothers. It worked out for us all. We could have time together when we needed it, and time apart when it was necessary. Once a week on Saturday night I slept with Corwin in his bed.
Corwin's grandmother (Heather's mother) who we had visited when I first met Corwin a year and a half before passed away in March. I attended the memorial service and was seated beside Corwin along with the rest of her family. It probably raised a few eyebrows among the gathered mourners, but as far as I was aware no one rally questioned it.
We finally heard from mom two weeks after she left home, when she called to let us know she was filing for divorce. My sister volunteered to have mom live with her until she was able to afford and find a place of her own. Determined to be difficult and protect his assets, Dad contested the divorce. In an audacious display of chutzpah he even asked for custody of me, despite having ordered me out of the home the month before!
Dad hired a lawyer whose main objective was clearly to give Mom as little as possible. Neither Mom or Janice had the means to counter with a decent lawyer of her own. My brother Rudy helped out a little, but in the end we were outclassed on the legal front. Mom ended up getting perhaps a quarter of what she should have seen from the settlement, and Dad kept the house. At least she was awarded custody of me.
So it was with some relief at the end of May I moved out of the Sarno residence and into a two bedroom apartment with Mom about three miles away. She was still uncomfortable with me being gay, so I didn't have Corwin over for visits. I was thankful she tolerated me visiting him, but she asked me not to sleep over with him. Which I did; after all, Corwin had his family at home to support him, while for now I was in that role for Mom.
Still Corwin's family was looking out for us. His father Jim worked as the plant manager for a large printing company in town, and when a clerical position opened up in the office he pulled a few strings and they hired Mom. Now out of a stifling marriage, she found untapped reserves of resolve and capability. She did the job well, and with success came a boost in her self-confidence.
Not the end; stand by for chapter 6.