Friends or What

Friends or What?-Chapter XIII

AUTHOR: Barry Mattison XX October 2010

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INTRODUCTION:

This is a fictional story about how two young guys grew up as friends since the third grade and are now in their Junior year ready to end the year, planning summer vacation. Jason grew up in a home of distinction and money with parents that were never home; Todd was moved from one foster home to another through no fault of his own. One likes the other and has had a crush on him for some time, but doesn't really know what that means, the other has a girlfriend and doesn't really see anything beyond his childhood friend other than their friendship. But what they like and what the summer holds for them takes them both through some surprising twists that summer on the farm, changing both of them forever.

The characters in "Friends or What?" are all fictional and any semblance to real persons--living or deceased--is purely coincidental.

DISCLAIMER (VERY IMPORTANT-PLEASE READ):

This fictional story and others written and published by this author are written for the gay reader in particular and describe scenes of male nudity and sexual acts between two or more guys that some readers may find inappropriate and/or unsuitable for their reading. Please do not read any further if you find such reading offensive or if it may become property of anyone under the age of 18 (21 in some states.) "Friends or What?" is copyrighted by Barry Mattison under the Registered Trademark Foxstories® and published as StoriesByBm© with exclusive permission to publish given to the Nifty Alliance Archive only. Anyone wishing to use any stories published under either copyright may must contact me at the email above for information related to copyright. Copying, distribution or re-publication of this writing in any other web site, private or otherwise, without written permission of the author is a violation of local, national and international copyright laws and will be pursued to the fullest extent allowable by applicable laws governing that state or country.

Chapter XIII

At the end of the last chapter the boys and granny were at the attorney's office handling affairs from the settlement that Todd had received as a result of the civil suit against the father and son who had nearly killed him. They were also there to do some other legal paperwork with granny, but had no idea what was involved...

I have everything right here that we have been discussing on the phone, all ready for your signatures. Shall I let the boys know what is going on or do you want to tell them?" granny's attorney asked.

"I think it would be better if I told them," granny said. "This will have a big impact on their future and it would be better coming from me. I don't want them to be scared or overwhelmed by everything in two days time."

Jason and I looked at each other. I could see the same feeling in his eyes that I felt in my gut. It was a big knot and it was getting tighter and tighter. I wanted to throw up, and I knew Jason did too. What was granny going to do now?

I looked over at Mr. Jenkins for some kind of clue, but his head was down and he didn't appear to be look up in the near future. Jason and I held each others hands tightly, waiting for granny to speak.

Granny turned her head towards us. Finding that position uncomfortable she bounced and slid the chair around in a circle until she was comfortably facing all three of us. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she obviously wanted to talk to us.

"Boys, I've been thinking about a lot of things lately and I've had to face the realization that I'm jut not going to get any younger. I have decided to finalize the portion of my will regarding the property and have made the decision to turn everything over to you two when I die. I've been biding my time through the years, hoping that someone would come along to be able to take over the land who appreciates it as much as your grandfather and I do, maintain it and do something good with it. I've heard you two talk about some ideas with disabled kids summer camps; I know how much you both love this land, especially keeping the lake clean and the land free from any building projects. I also know how much you both love riding the horses and would hope you keep the stables and find a way to make them self-sustaining. I've made out my final will giving you two all the land, buildings, everything I own, trusting in you to maintain it and use it as you see best."

"Are you sure about this granny," I interrupted, apologizing. Still holding Jason's hand I pushed a little bit because I felt uncomfortable talking about all this. "We just always assumed that you'd always be around. It hasn't crossed my mind at least that someday you might not." I was almost in tears and so wasn't Jason as I felt his hand squeeze mine hard.

"Honey, none of us lives forever; now I don't plan on going anywhere for a while, I know I'm making the right decision in this matter and I wanted to do this before anything happened to me and all the wolves descended and made things rough on you in a court battle for the property. I suspect that should something happen to me those good-for-nothing parents will be kicking in the door looking for whatever they can get their hands on. Seems like when somebody dies the rabid wolves always come out of the woods looking to steal whatever they can."

Jason and I looked at each other knowing full well who she was talking about. Aside from being totally surprised , and a little upset by yet another major turn of events, we had some questions for granny.

"What about Mr. Jenkins?" Jason asked. "He's always been there and should have some provisions for him."

"I've taken care of him as well, allowing him to live in the house that he's living in now until such time as he passes away. Everything will be yours boys and I am proud and happy that I can do this for the both of you. I have watched you two as individuals come together, share your love for each other, have that bond tested in many ways, and have seen how unshakeable it is. I also know how much you care for this land and that you will always cherish it as your grandfather and I did. My wish would be to see it all kept together and used for good. I know that with you two in control that will happen."

"Thank you so much granny for trusting us so much to keep the family legacy going. You can be sure that whatever happens, it will always remain yours and grandpa's legacy. We promise that to you now. Right Jason?"

Jason was a little sad thinking about life changing again, but he readily agreed with me that we both loved granny deeply and would always remember her in everything we did.

"Of course granny," Jason added, "we're not expecting you to go anywhere soon. You're too young to go anywhere for a long, long time. We still need you around to clean up after us and keep us from throwing our clothes in the lake and walking home naked."

We all laughed as the attorney gave us a puzzled look. "I guess I won't ask about what that was about," he said as he laid some papers on the table. "These are the copies of your will that you need to sign. I have three witnesses out in the office that have been waiting to sign the document." He pressed a button on a little, antique looking box on his desk, leaned towards it, and spoke at it: "please show the guests in." Apparently the 'it' was his secretary on the other side of the door.

Jason and I looked at each other and giggled beneath our breath. I guess modernization wasn't part of this guy's program. At least he didn't just holler!

As the people quietly and reverently walked in they all made their way to granny, shook her hand and chatted for a moment, then sat down in their appointed positions. The attorney waited for a few moments for everybody to settle down, explained each document and read certain passages from them, then presented the documents for everyone to sign as a witness. It took quite a lot of time because there were a lot of copies of everything to sign, but eventually they finished.

As they slowly left granny introduced us to each of them, even mentioning that we were her twin grandsons, lived together and were going to college. I cringed when she said that, but Jason didn't seem to be fazed a bit. I reached over, smiled, and held his hand as the last of us filed out of the stuffy office and into the bright light and fresh, crisp air. It had been a very big day and we were both tired...mentally, emotional and physically.

It hadn't escaped us lately how much more these trips seemed to take out of granny, so we weren't surprised when we arrived home when she announced that she was going to lie down and take a nap.

We were not tired enough to quit yet, so we decided to go down to the horse barn with Mr. Jenkins and help him do chores.

"You can sit down on those hay bales right there while I help Mr. Jenkins," said Jason. "I can help too," I protested, forgetting that I hadn't completely recovered yet from my beating. "Babe, I love you, but will you please just sit and take it easy? You don't need any blood clots letting loose or something like that when you're so close to being healed do you?"

"No, you're right. Thanks sweetie. I love you 'ya know."

"I know. Now go get comfortable while Mr. Jenkins and I get these horses taken care of. We won't be long. I miss being around them and it'll be fun to work with them for a bit, especially ours. We haven't spent any time with them since you got hurt."

"I know and I feel bad about it. I'll go sit on the hay while you get going. See you in a little bit."

Not quite feeling like sitting around yet I went into the tack room and wandered around the room, feeling the leather of the bridles slip between my fingers, running my hands over the smooth seats of the well worn saddles on their stands. All of these sensory feelings brought back the memories of our days up on the mountain in our secret spot, the time Jason was all broken out in hives from our tryst in the poison ivy, the time he was almost killed by the mountain lion.

Memories that made me realize how much time had already passed since we had first set out that day, not knowing what gay was, but knowing we had something special for each other...I was also aware of something else, the growing bulge in my jeans.

To be truthful, it had been since I had been hospitalized that my sex drive had been somewhat, shall we say, minimal. The pain of the beating was so intense and my body hurt in so many places that the thought of sex was the farthest thing from my mind, and my dick showed it by not cooperating when Jason and I had been recently trying to have sex. I thought I had fallen out of love or something, but knew that wasn't true because in my heart I loved him more than anything in the world. I just couldn't figure out what was stopping me from reacting to his advances. I would get a hardon, but it would go away before we could finish anything. Jason was more than understanding and tried his hardest to comfort me, but many times it left me in tears at night after he had gone to sleep.

I loved my honey so much and the thought of not being able to please him and complete our love weighed heavily on my soul. But now, after feeling the smoothness of the leather as it slid between my fingers bringing back such strong memories of the intimate times we had spent together off in the woods, and after sitting on my saddle and feeling the comfort and fullness of the seat, remembering the two of us riding together across the fields in that same saddle half naked had awoken those memories that had been locked inside while I was healing. As they started to come back I was also flooded with the memories of running my hands over the soft skin of Jason's legs and thighs in the tent on the mountain top while we made love for the first time...of the many times we had made love in the shower as the water rained down upon us like water pours from a cool mountain brook falls. My loins were suddenly moving, surging, aching; my cock was rock hard...I needed my babe and I needed him now!

I quickly walked out into the barn and found him in one of the stalls. He was surprised to see me, but his eyes lit up to see the large bulge in my jeans.

Reaching out my hand he grabbed it, and without asking any questions, we started for the house. "Mr. Jenkins, we have to leave for a bit. Talk to you later," Jason yelled out. But we might as well have been talking to the wind because by then we were at the base of the porch steps.

Jason dragged me upstairs, all the while recognizing that I was still very fragile. When we got close to our bedroom door I suddenly felt my feet slipping on the floor. Expecting to hit the floor, my mind prepared for the worst and my eyes closed momentarily, only to open and find them staring straight into Jason's beautiful eyes. He had picked me up and was carrying me across the threshold of the bedroom and into the bedroom. Looking into his eyes I realized why I loved him so much. This love of my life had selflessly given so much of himself to care for me, without concern for himself, and I had not yet thanked him for his precious gift of love. On top of everything else, I felt ashamed and in some ways, not worthy as I explained how I was feeling to him.

"You never have to feel that way honey. I could have chosen to walk away at any time for selfish reasons, but my love for you has no boundaries or limits. It was not even a choice to be with you at your worst days, to be beside you, to comfort you. You are my life and without you I am nothing. I am so happy to have my sweetie back, but please try to control yourself a little bit. You're still not completely healed."

"I will, but this thing in my jeans says otherwise...by the way, is that a stick of firewood in your jeans or are you just glad to be holding me?"

"I'm glad to be holding both...shall we see how much wood a woodchuck can chuck?"

"By all means, but you might want to put me down first...ummmmmm...carefully," I commented as I dramatically dragged the back of my hand across my forehead and fell limp in his arms.

"Oh you poor, poor thing. Here, let me gently lay you to rest on this here bed and remove your clothes so you might be more comfortable. How could I be so inconsiderate as so hold you up in the air like this, what with your injuries and all. Let me remove your shoes and socks...no no, don't resist you poor thing, I know how much you must be hurting, let me do this for you, I insist. Of course I'll need to remove those jeans and check out that immense bulge in case that needs any medical attention. Ah...let me do it...put those hands down...you're too wounded you poor thing."

I was lying there trying not to laugh at the way Jason was talking, what a cracker, but I loved the way he was fawning over me in such a kooky way. I felt my shoes come off and then the socks follow ever so slowly, in a sensuous sort of way. By this point my body was one big bundle of sexed up nerve endings.

"Will you stop squirming dear. This won't hurt a bit." First one leg and then the other as he skillfully undid my belt and top button with his teeth. "There seems to be something in the way of pulling this zipper down. Would you mind if I just stuck my tongue in there and see if I could figure out what the problem is?...No?...I didn't think so."

I couldn't hold back a snicker at this point; even though I wasn't ticklish every nerve fiber in my body was firing. I swear I could feel each hair raise and lower on my legs as he played around my waistline and stuck his tongue down my underwear. If he kept this up for a few more minutes there wouldn't be any need to pull my jeans and underwear down because they would be full of a few months of cum I was so highly charged and he was so bent on teasing me. I reached down and gently grasped both sides of his head, stopping him from his spelunking in my 2xist underwear.

Up popped these big, puppy-dog eyes, implying I was denying him his dinner bone(r). "I'm sorry babe, but if you keep up with that tongue we'll never make it past the next fire hydrant. Can you pull my jeans off, help me off with my shirt and let me do the same for you?"

"Of course babe, just lay there with your sexy bod and I'll have those things on the floor straightaway along with mine. Are you in pain anywhere?"

"A little bit in the joints, but mostly in the middle where the flag pole is waving in your face."

"I'll be finished in a jiff...wouldn't want the flag to come down before sunset would we?"

In less than a minute Jason had my jeans pulled down, my shoes unlaced, pulled the whole mess off and threw them on the floor along with his jeans and shirt. Sliding up my body by straddling me with his sexy legs he raised my shirt up over my head after pulling one arm out first, then the other and finally throwing the shirt in the pile. All we were left wearing was our underwear...me in my 2xist's and him in his new pair of sexy, leather bikini's with a surprise I didn't see immediately.

"So, were you expecting some action today babe," I whispered as I slipped my fingers down the sides of his black leather bikini and played around with his short pubes, twisting them around with my fingers, occasionally touching his thickening cock as it quickly became more prominent through the strong material.

"Well...maybe I was hoping you would be feeling better today. It looks like you are by the way your delicious tasting precum is leaking all over." While I had been playing around with him, he had slowly slid down my body, out of arms reach, and had started to suck on the tip of my stiff, very wet cock through my underwear. Soon there was a large wet spot where the precum and his sucking had thoroughly soaked through the thin cotton. Remembering my underwear fetish he continued to suck the precum right through the sticky cloth and was working down the shaft to suck on my hard balls. All of this was driving me nuts and I was having a thoroughly delirious time avoiding cumming early. My right hand unconsciously crept down to my balls and massaged them as he licked and sucked on them. I could feel the beginning of an orgasm way down deep in my loins and it snapped me back to reality.

"Babe, you better stop or it'll be all over, and you know what I mean by 'all over'," I implored.

With a new agenda in mind Jason slid back up my chest and planted a tender, but powerful kiss on my lips, tangling his tongue with mine until the fury of our lust for each other broke off our kissing. He sat up and moved back down my chest, rubbing the crack between his cheeks on my painfully hard cock still entrapped in my wet, sticky underwear. The feeling of what turned out to be a leather jockstrap with a snap-off front was even made harder by the cramped contents it held. The tension of holding his heavy ball sac and cock wrapped up in a leather pouch plus the sensation of his muscular cheeks massaging my hard cock through the cotton of my briefs was driving both of us close to the edge of an orgasmic high neither of us had felt before. His head was moving about and sounds of pleasure were emanating from him that matched mine in harmony from the mounting pleasure of the oncoming, unstoppable flood. With both hands I reached down and somehow managed to open the buttons on the leather cup holding in his engorged cock and balls. With both in my hands I began to massage the length of his steely hard cock with one hand while rolling around his heavy nuts with the other. With no hair to interfere, his soft skin slipped easily between my fingers as I stroked and cajoled the fluids up from the depths of his body.

Suddenly he pulled back from my hands and out of my reach. With one deft movement he lifted my legs up over his shoulders, ripped a hole through the soggy cotton of my underwear, spit on his cock and pressed the tip of it at the entrance of my pink rosebud and pushed rather forcefully. I knew enough not to resist but relaxed and let him in, needing him to fill me now with his heavy, stiff pole to the hilt.

In one movement he did and the pain that lasted only for a few seconds turned to such pleasure that I bucked up against him for more, trying to get every millimeter in as far as possible. "Oh babe, that feels so good," I purred.

Without waiting we began to rock back and forth, in and out, Jason pumping his cock hard and fast at times, lifting me higher and higher off the bed. "More, harder," I begged him as he slowed down and pulled out completely for a second. The emptiness left by his warm cock left was not a feeling I wanted as I pushed against him to fill me again with his hot plunger. He complied with an onslaught of in and out movements that drove me wild with his thick cock as he plunged it in and then pulled all the way out until the tip barely touched the edge of my hole. He knew this drove me crazy and it would only be a matter of minutes before I couldn't hold back any longer.

Feeling us both getting close, I began massaging my cock still encased in my underwear with one hand while massaging my tightened balls with the other. Jason's head was rolled back, his mind totally in another place when he started a series of sudden and rapid in and out pumps into my hot, moist chute, releasing his seed deep into my insides somewhere near my upper intestines by the feel. At the same time I released a super load of spunk into the confines of my 2xist underwear still encasing my heavy cock. As I released my load each squeeze in turn squeezed Jason's dick buried deep inside me and coaxed more of his cum into me. It seemed like we went on like this for hours, but it was only a few minutes before he fell on my chest, his still hard cock buried inside me.

I rolled him over in the same position and slid down to make sure he stayed inside me as my muscles milked the final spurts from his cock, mixing the load sliding around in my briefs and sticking to his stomach.

There was a big smile on both of our faces as I laid my head on his flat chest and closed my eyes. Within minutes we were fast asleep and remained that way for over an hour before Jason woke me up, saying he needed to go take a pee, which I realized I needed to do to. We also needed to shower and get the smell and sticky mess off and clean up. I sat up and slid off Jason. By now his cock was back to it's flaccid four inches and had pulled out of my chute. As I slid off I realized the enormity of my orgasm as the whole front of my briefs was still filled with warm, sticky cum.

Sliding onto the floor and slowly standing up I dropped my now throw away underwear and rubbed the cum around my flat stomach, looking at Jason smile seductively while I did so. He jumped up from the bed and rubbed up against me, spreading the gooey mess on himself. Most of it had turned to liquid by now and was running down both legs, so we quickly headed for the bathroom. I stood in the shower and started the water running while he peed. I had to go so bad I just stood there and peed in the shower. Jason soon joined me in the shower and we started washing each other down. It was a quick shower and we were out in a jiff and toweling each other off when we head granny calling on the monitor that dinner was ready.

"Man time flies when you're having fun," Jason said as he plied through the clothes drawer looking for some clothes for each of us. We still wore close to the same size, though I was probably going to always be smaller than him. In a few seconds a pair of my favorite jeans came flying at me followed by a pair of low rise tighty-whities and a white pullover. I noticed that Jason chose a similar outfit. We wrestled and fooled around for a few minutes in our briefs, finally getting dressed as we both were laughing and giggling about the days events. I slipped my right foot into a comfortable pair of lined slippers and followed him, hand in hand, down to the kitchen.

Granny had set the table already, but dinner wasn't quite ready to be put on the table yet. I walked over behind her and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks granny for everything you do for us. You'll never know how much you are appreciated."

Jason reached around me and gave her a peck on the other cheek as a blush appeared on her face. "You two," she muttered as she gently pushed us out of the way and carried a bowl of veggies to the table. "You guys think I'm so wonderful, but I'm just doing what comes naturally. I've been the same all my life and doubt I'll change at any point in the near future." Looking at both of us, she continued..."besides the many years of life that I shared with your grandfather, the time I've spent with the two of you has been some of the best in my life. You both have made me laugh and cry, smile and worry at times...but through it all you have loved each other from the very first day you came here that summer and have grown and matured that love into something wonderful that makes me proud of both of you."

Jason and I were standing there feeling sort of unsure how to reply when granny broke the ice. "Are you guys going to help get the rest of the food on the table or stand there with your mouths open and catch flies?"

"Ummm," I said, not knowing how to respond, looking at Jason. "We'll finish setting things on the table. Why don't you just sit down and let us finish this?"

"Okay, I am a little tired. That's sweet of you two." We both ran to the back of her chair, pulled it back, helped granny sit down, then pushed her back in to the table. "Why thank you dears," she said looking at both of us a little funny.

This was turning into sort of a weird evening, but Jason and I finished putting the food on the table and we had one of the best meals we ever had. Granny was in the best mood we had ever seen her, we were having and great time together reminiscing about when we had met and all the stupid things that we had done and the crazy things that had happened to us. The one remark that granny had made before dinner had stuck in both our minds and I had to ask.

"Granny, you said something about knowing that we loved each other from the first day we came here that first summer. How did you know that when we didn't even know it? I knew I had these feelings about Jason but couldn't really describe them, but Jason didn't even know what gay was."

"There are some things that a mother, and a grandmother, just know about their sons and grandsons. Love is love no matter who it's between, and one thing that mothers and grandmothers are good at is intuition. When you two came that summer I could see the way that you looked at Jason with wonder in your eyes. You would do anything for him although he didn't seem to notice you as much, he was watching you as well. You grew so close so fast and before I knew it you boys were off spending time alone up in the mountains camping, out on the lake fishing, sneaking a hand hold here and there, and especially sleeping together the very first night in the same bed. I just knew it was meant to be and I also knew that you two were also brothers. It made me so happy to see you together after all you had each been through and were finally together, even though you didn't know everything yet. I waited to let you know everything because I wanted you to get to know each other and let things develop between you and see what direction you two took."

"Are you happy that Jason and I are boyfriends and brothers? I mean, it is a little unusual wouldn't you say?"

"You two are going to run into a lot of adversity for the rest of your lives. There are going to be a lot of people that will call you names, try to separate you, threaten you, you never know what will happen. The world is filled with bullies and bigots who have nothing to do but cause trouble for those who don't fit their 'mold' of what a person should be and act like. So while I and many others have no problem with your relationship, you need to expect that just by being gay and in a relationship you will be faced with adversity; knowing how to face it down with grace and careful wisdom will be a challenge for the both of you to work out together. I wouldn't want another episode like the last one to happen. So in the way of advice, I would like to see you two have some way of covering each other so that another incident is less likely to happen. Watch out for the warning signs and don't be so naïve about the things that people say around you or to you. They may mean it, they may not."

"Now, who would like desert?"

We finished our chocolate cake in a somewhat more somber mood, thinking about what granny had said while remembering the reason we were spending the long weekend here to begin with. As we finished up and topped off with a cup of decaf coffee, Jason offered us to clean up and let granny have some rest.

"Thanks dears, this is one of the reasons I love you two so much. I'm going to read for a while and then get some rest. Good night boys."

We each gave her a kiss and watched as she slowly headed down the hallway towards her room.

"Wow," Jason thoughtfully said as we started cleaning up the table. "I don't think I've ever heard granny talk so much all at once. Have you?"

"Not really," I replied as I handed him a few dishes from the table to put in the sink. "This sure has been a long, wonderful, but strange day," I continued as I carried the rest of the dishes to the sink.

"Well, let's get these washed, dried and put away and we can talk about it later if we feel like it," Jason said as he filled the sink with water and dish soap.

"While you're starting that I'll put the rest of the food in the fridge and be right there to help." I offered.

"Okay," I heard him say as the sound of the sink filling and dishes settling filled the emptiness of the kitchen.

Within a half hour we had everything washed, dried, put away, and the table all cleaned up and ready for breakfast. In another ten minutes we were both stripped and in bed, snuggled up tight to each other with Jason's arm wrapped around me and my butt and back as tight as I could get to his curled up frame. This was my favorite position to be, dressed or not. Jason's slightly bigger frame and muscles made me feel secure and safe. The added feeling of his arm and hand pulling me into him added to that safe place and I felt as if nothing in the world could ever hurt me as long as I was here.

I think we both wanted to talk about things that granny had said, but before that happened I was asleep in the comfort of Jason's hold. The last thing I remembered was granny saying that she knew right away that we would end up together like this...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

As Todd was snuggling up to me in his usual position of security and safety I reached over him and pulled him closer to me with my arm, using my hand on his hard, flat stomach to pull him tight to me. He always felt safe in this position and for me, it gave me a feeling of being able to protect him from the world out there that granny was talking about. Her words had struck me hard, particularly about the fact that there are people out there that have an agenda to hurt or even kill us...those of us who don't fall into their twisted values and molds anyway. I had almost lost the love of my life to a couple of them and I was prepared to do anything to prevent it from happening again. The problem was, how could I make that happen? As the warmth from Todd's body and mine mingled and the smell particular to him that I loved so much enveloped me, I started to nod off, giving him one last, light kiss on his neck before finally letting sleep overtake me.

The next thing I remember was an elbow in the gut as Todd woke with a start. Ever since the beating he had a habit of doing this once in a while...I took it as hazardous duty. I wanted him to continue seeing his therapist but he had decided she wasn't doing any good. Eventually I hoped to get him to see her again, but for now the occasional elbow or knuckles I could tolerate.

Glancing at the alarm clock I saw that it was almost eight o'clock, so I decided to get up. The sun was streaming in the window just like it did when Todd and I were a little younger and were just getting to know each other. I was reminiscing about those days when Todd rose up on his elbows and sat there looking at me, his hair disheveled, eyes half open, an amusing grin on his face.

"What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes with the palms of both hands. "About eight or so," I told him as I headed for the bathroom to pee.

"We have to go home today don't we?" I could faintly hear over the flood of water hitting the water in the bowl. "What?"

"I said, don't we have to go home today?" This time I heard him as I shook the last few drops into the bowl and flushed. "Yes dear, we do. We should leave around one or two this afternoon so we can get some rest and be ready for school tomorrow. This will be your first day back since your injury. It's going to be tough, but I'll be there with you."

"Let's talk about that tonight...can we? I'm thinking that I'd like to face this by myself, but I'm not sure. I'll think about it and we can talk later. Do you mind honey.?"

"Okay, but the thought of you doing that makes me nervous. But for you I'll do whatever you want me to do. I just want you to be safe and not get hurt again. You're going to be a sitting duck for every idiot that wants to get revenge for their asshole buddy that beat you up and is now sitting in jail. I'm just not ready to go through all that again, or worse yet, lose you for good. These guys have already proven they have no limits when it comes to hate and forcing their way on others."

"You're right honey, but let's talk later about it, okay?" I wanted to push Todd a little more, but agreed for now. "Okay."

"So," Todd asked of no one in particular, what shall we do for the rest of the morning?"

"How about a walk out to the lake again, but no swimming this time for clothes, just take some pictures of us together. That's something we always seem to forget to do is take pictures of us together for our book. How about that? We'll also get some of the horses and especially some of us and granny."

"That sounds like a great idea! Granny will really appreciate it too. She has been such a great influence in our lives. Without her we never would have known we were brothers, twins even, or have had the chance to spend the time together to learn that we loved each other. When you come to think of it, we pretty much owe her everything. Now she's even willed us the ranch and everything someday as security for our future. That's a lot to think about, but I'd rather have her around a lot longer."

"Me too. Granny sure has changed both of our lives. We need to do something special for her."

"Well let's get going and get something done today and we'll think of something later. Ready for the lake walk. It's a little brisk out so dress warm babe," I warned Jason as I reached him and wrapped my arms around him underneath his shirt and rubbed his tummy. He laid his head back on my shoulder and moaned something about how good that felt as his hands reached up the inside of his shirt and covered mine.

"This feels much better than going out into that cold weather doesn't it?"

"It sure does, but it's not a Kodak moment without the camera. Besides, I want to get a few pictures around the farm and with granny before we leave. We can play at home tonight."

"Awwww. party pooper! Okay, let's get our coats on and get going then. I'll grab the camera and meet you in the kitchen by the wood stove with granny. It'll take a minute or two to convince her to let us take a picture with her in it. You know how she is about pictures."

"Sure do. See 'ya in a minute."

As I listened to Jason's footsteps get out of range I scrimmaged around looking for our digital camera, finally finding it already packed in the suitcase. I ran downstairs, taking the steps two at a time to catch up with Jason and found him in the kitchen, alone.

"Where's granny?"

"I don't know. She's not here. I even checked outside on the porch and knocked on her bedroom door...no answer. I don't know where she could be. It's not like her not to be here. She's always here."

"There has to be an explanation," I said to Jason. "She can't have walked very far. What the heck is going on?"

To say we were worried would be an understatement. Scared would be more like it. Now with both of us in a frenzy we didn't know what to do. Jason asked me to check in her room again, which I did...not there. I couldn't run very fast yet, so I told him to run down to the barn and check with Mr. Jenkins. He was out the door before I even finished my sentence.

I sat down for a minute, the tears started to pool in my eyes. What could have happened to her? Where could she be? This had NEVER happened before? Now what do we do?

Just when things seem to be going good, something else happens.

Thanks to everyone for your support and comments on this story. My publisher has already contacted me about the book so I am working hard on finishing it. They have told me that they plan on publishing it in paperback and as an eBook this year after I have a chance to edit it and then they do the same.

For those of you caught up in a situation of being bullied and are depressed and down, hang in there and talk to someone. Don't make a decision in haste that will not leave those around you that care for you wondering why. Talk it out! It's hard, but take it from me, it's the best decision.