I just want to start by apologizing to all the loyal readers for the delay between chapters. Things have been a little crazy and I haven't had time to sit down and give the story my undivided attention. I hope that you will find Chapter 10 worth the wait. As always, please send your feedback - ehlrich@hotmail.com
Chapter 10
No sooner had I gotten myself calm that there was a knock at the door. I heard my mothers' footsteps coming down the stairs and head towards the door. As she turned the knob, the bottom of my stomach dropped out. Something told me this was not going to be good. And nothing could have prepared me for who was at the door.
"Where is he?"
"I'm sorry but you can't see him right now," my mother replied to the voice in the doorway. I recognized the voice but, for whatever reason, couldn't place it. Obviously it was someone who knew me and they didn't sound happy.
"I need to talk to him."
"Karen, he's had enough excitement for one day. He almost blacked out again and there is no way in HELL that I am letting you in."
'Karen?' I thought to myself. Good Lord! This definitely wouldn't be going anywhere good. Thank God my mother was putting her foot down. I couldn't deal with her right now.
"Do you have any idea what that little slimebag has been up to?"
"EXCUSE ME?" My mother replied angrily.
"Look, I've got some questions and I'm not leaving here until they're answered."
"Then you'll be standing on the porch for quite some time because you will not be coming into my house. And, another thing, you will NOT speak to me like that EVER again. I'm not gonna put up with your shit or anyone else's.
ESPECIALLY not over your little 90210 drama!"
'Wow,' I thought, 'not only had my Mom just cussed at Karen, she had really put her foot down. My Mom was never THIS strong.'
"90210 drama? Is that what you think this is? Your SON is messing with my HEART!"
"And when he's feeling better, the three of you can sort this out. Not before!"
"ANDREW! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!" Karen yelled past my Mother. I heard a hand slap up against the door. My Mom was trying to close the door and Karen was pushing it open. "YOU AND GARY WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS. I THINK IT'S TIME THAT GARY'S LITTLE SECRET GETS OUT."
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE," my Mom screamed as she pushed Karen out and slammed the door.
My Mother walked into the living room and looked at me. I must have turned completely pale because she looked extremely concerned.
"Andrew? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Mom. No dizziness or anything. Just shock. I have to do something."
"You can't get involved anymore, Andrew. You can't! If she's gonna out him to the entire world, it's not your problem right now."
"Mom. I know what she's going to do. She's not gonna out him to the world.
She's gonna out him to his parents."
"So?"
"So, they'll disown him on the spot."
"And this is your problem because...?"
"Because I love him. Despite all this crap, Mom. I love him."
My Mother sighed. She knew that there was nothing she could do that would keep me from trying to warn Gary.
"Do what you have to and nothing more," she said with a defeated tone and turned to leave the room. I felt bad for everything that had happened to my poor Mother. She had been through so much in the past few weeks.
"Mom?"
"Yeah, Drew," she said as she stopped in the doorway.
"I love you."
"I love you too, baby. I just want to keep you safe."
"I know. I'm sorry that I've been so cranky."
"We all have a lot going on and tensions are high. I understand," she said with a smile and continued out of the room.
I picked up my cell phone and dialed Gary's number.
When Gary saw the caller ID he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to answer the phone and decided against it. Instead, he waited until he heard his voicemail notification tone and then dialed into his voicemail.
"Gary. It's Drew. Hopefully you're just not answering and you'll get this right away." Gary chuckled to himself that Drew knew him so well. "Listen, you need to get to your house. Karen is on her way over there to talk to your parents and it's not pretty. She's gonna tell them everything. Don't call me back. Just get home."
Gary hung up the phone and panic settled in. He let go of the emotions that had been paining him after his run-in with Mike, got up from the rock and ran down the trail to his car.
The ride to his house seemed to take longer than usual. His mind raced with the idea that Karen was already there and had already talked to his parents.
What on earth would he do? When he finally pulled up the house, he was somewhat relieved to see that Karen was just getting out of her car and he leaped out of his.
"Wow!" Karen said. "Your boy toy called you that quickly?"
"Karen, don't do this."
"FUCK - YOU!" she yelled.
"Karen, what are you going to get out of this?" Gary was trying to logic with her but Karen was beyond logic. She was acting only on emotion and thoughts of revenge.
"Do you have any idea what you did to me, Gary? Any idea at all?"
"I know this is hurting you."
"NO! You don't know SHIT!" She said as she pushed past Gary and started to head across the lawn. Gary turned to follow her and grabbed her tightly by the arm. "LET GO OF ME!"
"I won't let you do this."
"What the FUCK are you gonna do?"
"Whatever I have to."
The color drained from Karen's face. What had he meant? Had he completely lost his mind?
"Gary?" Gary's mother had appeared at the front door and stepped out onto the front steps.
"Go back inside, Mom."
"NO, NO! Stay!" Karen said.
"Karen, do NOT do this!"
"SHUTUP ASSHOLE!"
"Karen," Gary's Mom interjected, "you need to calm down."
"And you need to know your son is a faggot."
"Karen, you are obviously distraught over something and don't know what you're saying," she replied.
Karen shook loose of Gary's grip and walked towards her. Gary had no idea what to do at this point and just stood, completely frozen, in his spot.
"Yeah, you're right. I AM distraught. Distraught over the fact that your son chose another man over me! And not just another man! Our best friend, Drew!"
"What?" his mother asked Karen in disbelief. "Well," she said, now addressing Gary, "is it true?"
"GO AHEAD," Karen yelled, "LIE TO YOUR MOTHER!"
"Mom, I..." Gary stumbled over his words and had no idea what to say. Should he lie? Apparently he took too long with is response and his mother assumed the worst.
"Oh my God," she said as she sat down on the stairs.
Karen walked away from her and headed back to Gary.
"I hope you're happy with your new lover. OH," she exclaimed, turning back to Gary's Mom, "I almost forgot! Did I mention that this wasn't his first? OH NO! This isn't ALL Drew's fault. Remember Mike?" She laughed with a sly grin as the tears started to form in her eyes. "That was his first little boy toy. Now he's moved on to this little whore!"
Karen felt the sting on her left cheek without any warning. She hadn't been looking directly at Gary and didn't see him raise his hand to her. He had never struck her before and she was completely caught off guard. She clutched the side of her face with a look of horror. Gary couldn't believe what he had just done.
Karen's shock quickly turned to a fury that she had never felt in her entire life. No way was she going to let a man hit her...especially not this dirt-bag. She raised her right hand, clenched it into a fist and made contact with Gary's face just above his left cheekbone. The blow caught Gary by surprise and was enough to knock him off balance. Gary fell to the ground and landed right on his ass. Gary's Mom sprang to her feet and ran over to her son as Karen turned and ran to her vehicle. She got in her car, started it up, threw it in reverse and pealed out of the driveway.
"Are you alright?"
Gary was still in shock and didn't answer right away. "Yeah."
"Come on inside. We'd better get some ice on that."
She helped him up and they walked into the house. She sat Gary down at the kitchen table and immediately went to the freezer to grab an ice pack. She wrapped it in a dishtowel and handed it to Gary.
"Thanks."
Her concern for her sons eye was quickly replaced with the curiosity of wondering if what Karen said was really true. Her maternal intuition had suspected that something had been happening with Mike all those years ago but she refused to believe it back then and wanted not to believe it now.
"Gary, tell me it's not true."
"Do we have to do this now?"
"Yes."
"Fine," he said, lying through his teeth, "it's not true. Does that make you happy?"
"You lying sack of shit."
Gary's mother had never been terribly warm to him. In fact, downright cold would probably sum it up better. Gary's birth was not exactly in his parents plan and they almost seemed to resent him more than love him. He had often found himself wishing that she had just had an abortion. Not exactly a pleasant thought but at least he wouldn't have to deal with how brutal his own parents could be to him.
"Mom!"
"What the hell, Gary? I'm not gonna sink money into some psychiatric hospital for you to go and get treated for this so you'd better just straighten it out on your own."
"WHAT? You think I have some kind of sickness?"
"Obviously, you do! It's a mental illness. I know they can treat this bullshit but I'm not paying for it!"
"Have you been living under a rock?"
"Don't you talk to me that way!" She said as she approached him and got right in his face. "You come in here telling me that you're a little pansy and then you have the nerve to mouth off to me?"
"Mom, I..."
"YOU WHAT?"
"You sound just like Karen, now."
"GOOD!" She said as she stepped back. "That girl was the best thing that ever happened to you. And look what you do!"
"Trust me, Mom. I regret hurting her."
"Then GET - HER - BACK!"
"She would never take me back!"
"You WILL do whatever you have to! I don't care. Do what it takes to get her to take you back."
"I don't know if I want to."
"You don't know? Does that mean you're confused?" Gary's Mom perked up at the idea that maybe her son wasn't too far-gone.
"I am."
"That's EXCELLENT! So, you're not a total homo?"
"MOM!"
"Maybe it would be worth the investment. NO!," she said as she got a better idea. "I've got it! I'm sending you to Ohio."
"WHAT?"
"Yes! It's perfect. You'll go and stay with your Aunt Mary and Uncle Frank."
"Oh, no! Not those bible-loving freaks!"
"That's exactly what you need! You need to find Jesus!" Suddenly Gary's mother went from sounding like an angry psychopath to a televangelist.
"Mom. You've lost it," Gary said as he winced in pain from the pack on his face.
"Let me see that," she said as she pulled the pack away from his face. "Oh yeah! You're gonna have quite the shiner," and she replaced the pack. "Listen, Gary. If nothing else, Ohio will give you the chance to think this through. AND, it will get you away from you father. If he found out, you'd be in more pain that just the punch that Karen gave ya'."
His mother was right. His Dad would beat him within inches of his life and it would give him time to think. Maybe she wasn't a total wacko. Besides, he could hide away from his Aunt and Uncle without too much trouble, right?
"I'll call her right now," she said without waiting for a response from her son.
'Great', Gary thought to himself, 'I'm going to frickin' Ohio.'
Not 20 minutes had gone by when Drew's Mom heard another knock at the door. She was now sitting in the living room with her son watching TV and her patience was wearing thin.
"Who the hell could that be?"
"Mom, I really don't want to talk to anyone else."
"Done deal," she replied as she walked to the door.
"DEREK!" she exclaimed! "He had said that he didn't want to see anyone but I think he just might make an exception for you!"
"Hi Mom," Derek said softly. "How is he?"
"I'm fine," I yelled from the other room. "Now get in here!" I was so happy that Derek was here. Mom had told me that he called a few times but that he was stuck in Rome with his Dad on some business trip and couldn't get back to the states for awhile.
Derek walked in with a huge bouquet of flowers and set them down on the coffee table before going over to Drew and giving him a big hug.
"Damn, boy," he said as he released his embrace. "I can't leave you at all, can I? Now it appears that I have to hold your hand when you cross the street!"
"You're such a shit!"
"Seriously, how are you?"
"Excuse me," my Mom interrupted. "Can I get you boys anything to drink?"
"No thanks, Mrs. B. I'm set."
"No thanks, Mom."
"I'll be upstairs in the office then."
"So, how are you doing?"
"I'm okay. How much did my Mom tell you?"
"She told me about all of the injuries and the blackouts. I think I've got the whole story."
"Not quite the whole story."
"Uh oh. What else is goin' on? Are you alright?" Derek looked more concerned than I had ever seen.
"I'm fine," I said, reaching out to put my hand on Derek's. He turned his hand and gripped mine tightly with a smile on his face.
"Well, then, what is it?" he asked.
"It's Gary."
"What happened? Was he involved in the accident too?"
"No. He was involved with me."
"I don't understand."
"Gary was the one that I took to the cabin."
"WHAT? Karen's Gary? Straight Gary?"
"Apparently not-so-straight Gary."
"Holy hell!"
"Yeah," I sighed.
"So...what about Karen? Are you and Gary together now? HOLY HELL!"
I spent the next hour explaining everything to Derek. He continued to interject with his "holy hell"'s here and there but otherwise listened quite attentively. When I was finished, he looked at me in utter disbelief.
"If I didn't know you better, I'd swear you just made all that shit up."
"It's true. Swear to God."
"No, I know. I just can't believe everything you've been through. More importantly," he said softly, "I can't believe that I haven't been here to help you through it."
"You were away. Nothing you could do about it."
"Yeah, but what kind of best friend does that make me!?!"
"Don't worry about it! I still love ya'." That was enough to make Derek smile. "So, what was in Rome?"
"My Dad has taken me on staff at the company and I couldn't get away. He's workin' on some new client and we spent the whole time pitching and negotiating. My Dad actually trusted me enough to put together the whole thing so I knew more about it than he did. I couldn't get away, I swear. Otherwise I would've been here."
"I know you would have," I said, patting his hand. "It's okay."
"I have some bad news of my own," he said. "It pales in comparison to what you've been through but it's bad news none-the-less."
"Everything alright?"
"Yeah. But I have to go back to Rome."
"When?"
"In two days."
"What's so bad about that?"
"I won't be able to stay with you." Derek's voice had softened again. He was always so concerned for me. Best friends like him don't come very often and I considered myself very lucky to have him.
"I'll be alright. Promise."
"Okay," he said and he looked out the window. "Crap. It looks like it's getting late. Dad wants to go over stuff tomorrow morning at the office so I have to get up early. I gotta jet. But I'll stop by tomorrow after work.
Sound good?"
"Sounds great!"
Derek leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek as he had a million times before. It was just our thing.
"If you need anything, you'd better call me, Mister!"
"I will."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow."
"K."
Derek got up and waived as he walked out of the living room. I waived back and then heard the door close. Shortly after Derek left I called for my Mom and had her help me into bed. Sleep came quickly to me and so did my dreams...
I felt Gary's breath on the back of my neck, the warmth of his body pressed against mine and the hardness of his erection pressed against my ass.
"Are you ready," he whispered to me.
"Yes."
I felt the tip of Gary's cock against my hole and the familiar feeling of him pressing slowly into me. He worked himself about halfway in with his usual care and tenderness.
"I love you so much," he said as he wrapped his arm tightly around my body and pulled me closer to him.
"I love you too," I said and Gary let out a small laugh. But it wasn't his usual tender laugh. Something was wrong.
His arm was feeling tighter against my chest and I could feel his bicep beginning to contract even more. I was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable.
Without warning Gary buried himself in my ass with one forceful thrust. The pain seared through me. It felt as though I was being ripped in two. Gary's arm tightened even more around my chest and it became difficult to breathe.
"You actually believe that I love you?" Gary let out the most evil laugh I had ever heard in my life. His grip tightened more. "You're nothing to me.
Nothing but a little faggot whore."
"What? Why are you saying that?"
"You're just a toy. My little fuck toy." Gary's thrusts into me become more and more violent. I felt like I was going to die. As I started to feel like I was going to pass out in my dream, I sprang awake.
My body was drenched with sweat. Had my brain been trying to tell me something that my heart wasn't willing to see? I couldn't allow him to do this to me any longer. I had to completely let him go until he straightened his life out. It was now blatantly obvious to me that I was agonizing over this more than I had realized. And, at the moment that I decided it was time to at least temporarily let go, I could feel a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders. It was time to start taking care of the one person I had been completely ignoring through all of this - myself - or at least not the REAL me.
I had to come to terms with everything that I had done. I had to spend some time really reconciling things with my father. And, most importantly, I had to take care of my body. I hadn't been eating well over the past few days and the doctor had told me that if I wanted a speedy recovery that I needed to really pay attention to my body's needs. Time to listen.
The next few hours were spent tossing and turning. I didn't want to go back to sleep because although I felt better about the situation with Gary, I didn't want to see him again in my dreams. I also couldn't stop thinking about Karen. She was another one that I hadn't truly stopped to think about during all of this. What happened to the Andrew that used to care about his friends? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn't like the Andrew I had become. I had allowed feelings of lust to overpower me. Those feelings of lust turned into feelings of love and I became blinded to anything except holding onto that. THAT was where I lost sight of my true self and everyone else that I ever really cared about.
I had no idea what I was going to do with this revelation but I found comfort in knowing that I had rediscovered a recently lost part of myself.
Gary woke the next morning with a bigger headache than he ever remembered having. It was awful. He suspected that his eye had probably swollen quite severely and his suspicions were confirmed when he sat up in bed and looked in the mirror on the other side of his former childhood room.
Gary rolled the rest of the way out of bed and made it to the bathroom. He opened the medicine cabinet and saw the bottle of Vicodin. His mother was a terrible pill-popper. She used any and every excuse to take Vicodin and Xanex. He hoped that she didn't maintain a running inventory of how many pills she had left and decided to take a Vicodin to dull the pain.
He walked down the hall and into his father's home office. His mother had left him a note on the computer to use her credit card to buy the plane ticket. His Aunt Mary had said that he could stay with them as long as he wanted. After all, they had plenty of space. His Aunt Mary and Uncle Frank lived a very comfortable life and, now that the children were all grown and moved out, had several spare rooms. At the bottom of the letter, his mother wrote, "P.S. I didn't tell them that you were queer." Gary rolled his eyes and felt the pain surge through his head. He prayed that the Vicodin would kick in soon.
The previous night had gone better than Gary expected. His mother had covered for him and told his father that he and Karen had simply gotten into a very bad fight. She neglected to mention what the fight was over and, fortunately, Gary's father didn't care. He simply seemed irritated that his son was going to be staying in what had now been converted into a very comfortable guest room.
Gary sat down at the computer and booked his flight for the following morning. He still really didn't want to go but also knew that it had the potential to be really good for him. And, who knew, maybe he was really confused. Maybe all he needed was a chance to see the error of his ways. He had no idea what would happen when he went to Ohio but he knew it had to be better than staying here.
He stood up and walked back to the bathroom to take a shower. He could feel the Vicodin starting to work and wanted to take a quick shower before he was completely out of it.
The water fell across Gary's naked body. The tingling sensation that the Vicodin was providing was making the shower unusually pleasurable and Gary found himself becoming erect.
He took the soap and began to take great care in washing every part of his body. He lathered his neck and shoulders and gave himself a mini-massage in the process. His hand slowly wandered down his other arm and contoured itself to his defined muscles as he continued his self-massage. He repeated the process on the opposite arm before leaning his back up against the wall and bringing his hands and the soap down to his chest and abs.
Gary took extra time working his chest and abs as the shower took on a much more sexual tone. He decided that he no longer needed the soap since he was simply enjoying the touch of his own skin and placed it back on the rack. He then continued to caress his own body by sliding his hands in opposite directions against his chest while stopping occasionally to pinch his now erect nipples. His mind began to wander and he started to imagine that Andrew was there. Touching him. Caressing him. Holding him.
He brought his right hand down to his now throbbing cock and slowly began to stroke it as though Andrews lips had closed around it. He softly moaned Andrew's name as he reached his left hand down to play with his smooth balls. He wanted to cum but he knew that Andrew would never go for a quickie so he took his time.
His left hand wandered his body while his right continued a rhythmic pumping of his manhood. He allowed his hand to rest and rub just above the base of his dick and increased the pace slightly.
"Yes, Andrew. Suck on it. Yeah baby."
Gary's mind was vividly playing out a fantasy of Andrew on his knees just worshipping his cock. After a few minutes, he felt his orgasm building, increased his pace and brought his left hand back to his balls. Andrew loved rubbing Gary's balls when he was about to cum.
Gary began moaning wildly and his cum flew across the shower and hit the shower door. His entire body was shaking with pleasure. After his orgasm had subsided, he resumed washing up.
However, apparently, somewhere in his brain, he was berating himself for the pleasure he had just allowed himself to feel as visions of Karen began to flash through his mind. The reality of everything that had happened yesterday began to sink in. He had slapped her. If she wasn't going to take him back before, he knew she definitely wouldn't now. He had to accept that he had lost her forever. Once again, his brain became overwhelmed with confusion and he decided it was best not to try and think about it right now.
He got out of the shower, toweled off and headed back to his room to start packing.
My Mom had helped me to get cleaned up, dressed and set up in the living room. I was getting much better on my crutches and could easily get around the house so I told her not to fuss too much. She & Dad had decided that I would be okay for a few hours and each went to their respective jobs to get some paperwork done.
I was sitting and watching "The Price Is Right" when the phone rang. I checked the caller ID and saw Gary's number.
I answered the phone - "What?"
"Andrew, I don't want to bother you but I wanted to let you know I'm leaving town for awhile."
I was concerned but didn't want to show him. I had to try and let go.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna visit some family members out in Ohio."
"OHIO??"
"Yeah. My Mom and I think it's best."
"Oh, yeah, shit. How did that go?"
"Not well. Mom knows and she thinks I need to go find Jesus."
I laughed hysterically.
"Yeah, I know. Pretty lame, huh?"
"Yeah it is."
"Lemme know if you find him. I'm sure 20/20 would be interested in interviewing him or something."
Gary laughed. Our conversation was quite shallow considering the depth of Gary's news.
"Drew I have no idea how long I'll be gone or what I actually will find when I get out there."
"I understand. And I hope you understand that I need to distance myself from this whole situation."
"I do. I think we both do."
"Things got out of control, Gare."
"I know," he paused. "Can I see you before I leave?"
"No," I answered immediately. "That's not a good idea. We both need time and I don't think seeing each other would do anything but cause more confusion right now."
"You're right. I'm just really going to miss you, that's all."
"Gary, don't make this harder than it needs to be."
"Yeah. I gotta go."
"Have a safe trip."
"Yeah."
"Bye."
"Goodbye, Drew."
Gary knew that he had one more phone call he had to place before boarding the plane tomorrow. He had to call Karen or at least so he thought...maybe it was just the Vicodin doing the thinking at this point. When he dialed the house, Stacey answered.
"You've got a lot of balls calling here."
"Look, I just want you guys to know that I'm leaving for awhile."
"The longer the better. You've caused a lot more trouble than you're worth."
"Stacey, don't YOU turn on me now."
"Listen, Gary. You and Andrew violated our little group. And, as a result, 4 people that were once good friends are now drifting apart. Your stupidity and hormones have made quite the mess."
"I know. And I didn't call to hear things I already know. I called simply to tell you that I'm leaving. I'm gonna go spend some time in Ohio with some relatives. It'll give me time to think."
"To think about what exactly? I hope you're not planning on wasting your time thinking about whether or not Karen will ever take you back. Or thinking about whether or not you'll ever be welcome in this house again? Cuz I can answer that for you right now. It's 'no' on both counts."
"Goodbye, Stacey."
"Good riddance, Gary."
On Stacey's end of the conversation, Karen lurked in the hallway and listened to everything. When Stacey hung up, Karen emerged from the shadows.
"Kare," Stacey said in a startled tone, "I didn't even know you were home."
"Yeah, I called out sick from work."
"Oh, I..."
"Before you say anything. I just want to say that I want us to get past this. I know that it's not going to be easy but you and I have been friends for too long. Although I don't agree with your decision to keep all of this from me, I CAN understand how difficult it must have been for you."
"It really really was."
"Let's just try to forget about it. I need a friend right now and I'm not about to throw away years of friendship over this. You made a decision and, hopefully, in the future you won't make the same one again if you're ever stuck in the same position."
"I hope I'm never in the same position. This has been terrible. We okay?"
"We will be."
Stacey walked over to Karen and wrapped her arms around her. As she did, Karen began to sob but it wasn't because of everything with Stacey.
"He hit me," Karen managed to say between gasps for air.
"WHAT?" Stacey pulled away from the embrace and looked into Karen's eyes.
"Yeah, he hit me because I called Drew a whore."
"Dear God! He slapped you? Like across the face?"
"Yeah."
"Holy shit! What did you do?"
"I punched him and knocked him on his ass."
Stacey started to laugh. "I'm sorry, hun. I don't mean to laugh but I just got a mental picture and I would've loved to have seen him fall like that."
"Why did all of this have to happen?"
Stacey put her arms back around Karen. "I wish I knew, sweetie. I wish I knew."
Their hug was interrupted by the ringing of the phone.
"If that's him again, I'm gonna kill 'im."
Stacey walked back to the phone, looked at the caller ID and smiled as she picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi. Is Stacey there?"
"Derek?"
"Stay!!!"
"OH - MY - GOD! What's up?"
"Not too much. Yourself?"
"Everything's nutty!"
"Yeah, Drew told me."
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?"
"I need to talk to you about Drew."
"He's not exactly on the top of my favorite person list right now, Derek."
"Why? What did he do to you?"
"Nothing directly but he and Gary created quite the mess."
"Yeah, how's Karen?"
"Not good. Not good at all."
"Shit."
"Yeah."
"So, Der, what about him?"
"Stace, I don't know how to say this. But, when I found out that Drew was hurt, it ripped my heart out."
"Well, you guys are best friends. That's to be expected."
"Stacey, I'm in love with him."
To be continued...