Tale of Three

A Tale of Three By J.C. Vascardi

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Legal Disclaimer: This story is fictional, as are the characters featured herein, which are solely the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, either living or dead, is entirely coincidental. If you are under the age of eighteen, offended by male/male material, or if such material cannot be legally viewed where you live, then you should be leaving now. Otherwise, please enjoy the story.

Character Profiles: http://jayson.worldofslash.com/a-tale-of-three/profiles/index.htm Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/storiesbyjayson Writing Journal: http://jaycolin.livejournal.com

This story is ©2004-2010, 2011 by J.C. Vascardi. This story is the sole property of its author and may not be copied, in whole or in part, posted on any other website, or included in any form of book or media, without the explicit written permission of the author.

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Chapter Thirteen, Part One Christian's Perspective Saturday, January 22nd, 2005

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As I sat there in silence, next to Jake's hospital bed, I still couldn't believe it was happening. I'd been sort of numb since Jake's Aunt Miranda called me at work and told me that Jake had been the victim of an apparent gay bashing at school. Thankfully, the real estate office I worked at recognized domestic partners and they had no problems with me leaving work early to come to the hospital.

Of course, even if they did have a problem with it, I wouldn't have cared. I would have just left anyway, even if it cost me my job. Jake is the most important person in my life and everything else comes second. I also knew that I should be at the hospital since I've got Jake's power of attorney and such, so that I can make medical decisions for him when he is unable to do so.

I was now in a position though that I honestly hoped I would never be in. Following his brain surgery, Jake had slipped into a coma and had to be put on life support. The doctors were running extensive tests to try and determine if he would ever wake up. I certainly hoped that the doctors would come back and tell me that Jake was going to wake up, because I couldn't picture my life without him.

"Chris?" a familiar voice asked, and I looked up to see Jordan's sister, Jessica Miller, who had also been Jake's girlfriend in high school and the mother of Jake's ten-year-old son, Colton Jerreth Bradley.

"Hey Jess," I said.

"How is he?"

"No change," I answered. "He's still in a coma and the doctors are running tests."

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this," Jessica said, "but Colt has been asking about his dad non-stop. I didn't want him to see Jake like this, but I don't know. Maybe having his son around would be a good thing?"

"Perhaps," I replied. "Maybe with both of his favorite men here for him, it'll help."

Jessica nodded before she ducked out of the room for a few minutes and returned with Colton. Every time I saw Colton, I couldn't help but marvel at how much he looked like Jake at that age. Colton had brown hair and eyes and was quite tall for his age, already standing five feet seven inches tall, only one inch shorter than his mother. While strangers might be shocked, nobody in the Bradley and Miller families were, since tall men were something both families had in common.

"Chris, is Dad okay?" Colton asked as he walked over.

"I'm afraid that Dad is sleeping, Colt," I answered.

"Well, wake him up then."

"I can't," I said. "He's in what the doctors call a coma and he can't be woken up like a normal sleeping person."

"Is he going to die?"

I wasn't sure how to answer. Of course, I hoped and prayed with every fiber of my being that Jake was not going to die, but I also didn't want to tell Colton that he wasn't going to die, only to have him do just that.

Jessica walked over and placed a hand on her son's shoulder, "We don't know, yet, Colt. We just don't know."

"Who did this?" Colton asked.

"Four students at the school Dad works at," I answered.

"Why did they hurt him?"

I looked at Jessica and silently asked if I should tell the boy. She nodded.

"Well, Colt, you know that your dad likes both men and women, right?" I asked.

"Yeah," Colton said.

"Well, Colt, I'm afraid some people don't like that," I said. "Some people think that men should only be with women and vice versa. They think those men who date other men, or women who date other women, are deserving of being made fun of and getting hurt."

"That's not right," Colton said.

"I know it isn't," I agreed. "Some people are just very narrow-minded. Your dad is kind of a hero though."

"Why?"

Jessica answered that question, "Because he walked in on the four students who hurt him hurting one of his students for the same reason. He put himself in harm's way to try and protect his student."

"What's going to happen to the people who did this?" Colton asked.

"The police have arrested them," I answered. "And your grand-aunt Miranda has expelled them all from school."

"Good," Colton said. "I hope someone beats them to a pulp in jail."

Jessica and I looked at each other and I think we both thought that we should probably say something to Colton about what he said, but considering that we were both thinking the same thing, we weren't about to tell Colton that he shouldn't think such things.

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Chapter Thirteen, Part Two Sean's Perspective Saturday, January 22nd, 2005

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I was standing in my bedroom, getting dressed for my first real date with Jay and Drew Matthews. I felt extremely strange going out on a date when my brother Jake was in the hospital, but Ryan and Kyle were both insisting that I not break my plans with Jay and Drew. They said that Jake wouldn't want me to break my date on his account and that I should go have some fun. Ryan was sitting on my bed, watching me get ready.

"So, what are you three doing tonight?"

"The plan is to go to dinner, followed by a club," I answered.

"So, which restaurant are you going to?"

"Elijah's," I answered.

"Aren't you a bit overdressed?" Ryan asked. "That's a casual restaurant."

I was wearing black leather wingtips, a pair of black dress pants, a blue silk shirt, and I was struggling with a blue and white striped silk tie.

"I realize that, Ryan," I replied. "However, it is my first date with them and their father is a billionaire three times over. I want to make a good impression. Is that a crime?"

"No, it's not," said Ryan. "Do you need help with that?"

"Yes, please," I said. "I never did get the hang of tying these damn things."

Ryan didn't answer and simply stood up before coming up behind me as he started to tie my tie for me. I have always hated dressing up and tend to avoid it when I can. On those occasions that I couldn't avoid it though, Ryan or Jake always had to help me with my tie because I found the whole process of tying the damn thing to be too much of a hassle.

"Not so tight," I choked out as Ryan tightened the knot. "Are you trying to choke me?"

"Of course not, Sean," Ryan said as he took a moment to make sure my tie was straight before returning to his place on my bed. "So, are you excited about tonight?"

"Yeah," I admitted. "This will be the first date I've been on where the food did not come from a cheap burger joint. Jay told me that he and Drew would cover the bill and that I should order whatever I want, even if it's the most expensive thing on the menu."

"Well, I guess that's one of the perks when your boyfriends are billionaires."

"Correction, Ryan," I said. "It's one of the perks when your boyfriends' father is a billionaire."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is that Jay and Drew aren't billionaires," I answered. "At least not until Keith Matthews kicks the bucket, which isn't likely to happen anytime soon. Their income is from the monthly allowance from their trust funds."

"And how much is their monthly allowance?" Ryan asked.

"Ten thousand a month," I replied, "and their dad does sometimes release more money if they need it. Like when they decorated their apartment, he released about a hundred thousand extra, a piece."

"Wow, only ten thousand a month?" Ryan asked in a sarcastic voice before adding, "I wish I had that kind of income when I was in college."

"Did I mention that their dad covers their tuition and other college-related expenses, like books, separately from their allowances?"

"Oh good lord," Ryan said. "Sean, I swear, I'm tempted to steal one of them from you."

"Hey! They're mine! Get your own! Wait a minute, since when are you interested in men?"

"I was only kidding, Sean," Ryan said. "I think we've already established that I like chicks, not dicks."

"Well, you had better have been kidding," Sean said. "Don't forget that I can still kick your ass Mr. Debate and Chess Champion."

"You're never going to let me live down the fact that I didn't go out for any sports in school, are you?"

"Nope, I'm not," I said as I smiled at Ryan and sat down cross-legged on the bed so that I was facing him.

"Are you sure that you can kick my ass?" Ryan asked. "I mean, it has been a number of years since you've been able to even try. I worked out three times a week when I was living in Italy."

"If you've been working out so much," I said, "why did you feel the need to entrap me in that sweatshirt with you the other day?"

"Well, okay, I admit," Ryan said, "I thought that no matter how much I may have been working out, there was still a chance you'd get the upper hand, considering you were the star member of the wrestling team."

"You were right," I said. "I would have been able to easily get the upper hand, if it wasn't for the fact that I could barely move more than an inch sharing that sweatshirt with you."

"Of course, the other reason I entrapped you," Ryan said, "is because of that lovely kick to the ribs you gave me. That hurt like hell you know. Still does, occasionally."

"I'm sorry about that," Sean said. "You know I am."

"I know, "Ryan confirmed. Obviously wanting to change the subject, he then said, "Jessica took Colton to see Jake earlier."

"Oh man, I can only imagine how hard that must have been on the kid," I said.

"Yeah," Ryan said. "Oh, Sean, I almost forgot to tell you. Daniel called again today."

"Damn it, don't tell me that!" I exclaimed. "I don't want to hear about Daniel Lassiter. If he calls again, tell him I said `Go to Hell and stop calling!'"

"Whoa, Sean! Why are you so angry?"

"Are you kidding me, Ry?" I asked. "You know what Daniel is like."

"No, actually, I don't Sean," Ryan said. "I know you said that he sleeps around, but other than that, I know nothing about the man."

"Well, then allow me to enlighten you," I said. "Daniel Cameron Lassiter is a perverted son of a bitch who will sleep with anything that has a penis, including his brother Damien, their half-brother Bailey, and their Uncle Cameron."

I didn't tell Ryan the fact that Damien was Daniel's identical twin brother, or that other then Bailey and Cameron, some of Daniel's other lovers included Cameron's boyfriend, Adrian Kirkwood III, as well as Adrian's grown son, Adrian Kirkwood IV, who preferred to be called Ajay. Daniel and Damien went at it practically every day, while they had a threesome with Bailey at least once a week. As for the others, the sex was much more infrequent, but still the fact that he had no problems having sex with so many members of his own family made me more than a little ill.

"If he's so perverted, why did you fall in love with him?"

"I did not fall in love with him!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Methinks thou doth protest too much," Ryan said with a grin. "Come on, Sean, don't lie. You filled your address book with a bunch of fictitious names to try and make him jealous enough to commit to you. You also remained faithful to him the entire time you were with him. You can say that you didn't love him, but I won't believe you."

"All right, fine! I loved Daniel fucking Lassiter, are you happy now?" I asked.

"Loved or love?" Ryan asked.

"Loved, past tense, I've moved on with Jay and Drew now and if I never see Daniel again, it'll be too soon."

"If you say so, Sean," Ryan said.

"I do. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date," I said as I got up and walked out of the room.

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Chapter Thirteen, Part Three Andrew's Perspective Saturday, January 22nd, 2005

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As I stood in front of my bedroom mirror, carefully finishing styling my hair, I still couldn't believe that I had a date with Sean tonight. It's not like I hadn't dated my fair share of men in the past, but over the last few years, Jay and I both have been concentrating on our degrees and had little time for anything else. We had originally figured that we would stay away from the dating scene, at least until after graduation, so that dating wouldn't take our focus off school during our last semester of college. Upon meeting Sean, however, that quickly changed. We both realized that despite their relationship and jobs, Jordan, Matthew, and Kyle were all still doing very well in their academic careers, so we both thought it made sense that we could both have a relationship without seeing our academic aspirations going to hell in a hand basket.

"Ready yet, Drew?" Jay asked as he walked into my room and sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Almost," I answered as I placed the comb on my dresser before picking up a gold chain and putting it on.

Turning around, Jay stood up, and I could instantly see that we were dressed alike, as usual. We were wearing black pants, navy blue t-shirts, and black leather vests.

"Can you believe we're actually going out tonight?"

"No, I can't," I said. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Yeah it has," Jay agreed. "I think the last time either of us went out on a date was sometime last year. We've just been so consumed with school lately. Probably a bit too consumed. I mean, at the rate we've been going, we'll be graduating summa cum laude and probably tie for valedictorian. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but it's not worth spending our lives alone for. We're not getting any younger after all and we should enjoy our youth while we can."

"I don't disagree," I said. "So, excited about tonight?"

"That's a stupid question," Jay answered. "Of course I'm excited. I've never met anyone like Sean before. I worried, at first, that with all his problems we wouldn't have anything in common, but his therapists are doing a good job and what I've seen, I like."

"True," I said. "Though I suppose Jake being in the hospital will put a bit of a damper on the evening."

"Yeah, it might," agreed Jay. "I can't even imagine what Chris must be going through right now, though."

"Yeah, I'm sure it's hard," I said. "Especially considering that Jake is in a coma, which means Chris may have to make decisions that nobody wants to make."

"Yeah," Jay said. "It's a sad situation all around. I really do hope that Jake pulls through though, not only for Chris and Sean, but the rest of the family."

"Especially for his son," I said.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," said Jay. "I forgot that Jake had a son with Jessica. Damn, I can only imagine how hard it must be on that poor kid."

"Yeah, losing a parent at a young age can be very hard," I said. "Of course, we know all about that, don't we?"

"Yeah, we do," Jay said as he pulled me into a hug and we spent the next few minutes in silence as we remembered our own mother who we had lost that tragic day sixteen years ago.

As the hug ended, Jay said, "Well, come on bro, we need to cheer up. We have a date tonight with a hot guy that we really like. Circumstances may put a bit of a damper on the evening, but we just need to make the best of it and have a good time. I think we could all use one tonight."

"Whoever would have thought that we'd be sharing a man?" I asked. "That's new even for us."

"True," Jay said. "But, we've been sharing things all our lives. Besides, if sharing Sean with you will prevent me from having to save your butt from hitting on another straight guy then I'll do it."

"That's not fair," I said. "I'm not that bad."

"Oh I beg to differ, bro," Jay countered. "Of the guys you've shown an interest in, at least seventy percent of them were straight. Just be glad that one of us has working gaydar or you'd never get laid."

"You didn't point out that Taylor was straight," I said. "You know I took a liking to him."

"You're right, I didn't," Jay said. "I figured he was straight, but I wasn't going to embarrass you by saying anything in front of Taylor. So, I went into the house hoping that an opportunity to get you away from him would present itself and boy did it ever."

I shook my head. "I still can't believe we spent the entire afternoon handcuffed to Sean."

"Well, it wasn't so bad," Jay said. "Come on, you know you liked it. I think once things progress far enough with Sean, we'll have to seriously consider breaking out the handcuffs in bed."

I grinned as various thoughts came to mind. "You're right, that could be fun. Anyway, we'd better get going. Best not keep our stud waiting."

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Chapter Thirteen, Part Four Matthew's Perspective Sunday, January 23rd, 2005

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When Chris called to tell us to come to the hospital, I could tell from the sound of his voice that something was wrong, but he refused to get into it over the phone. Therefore, I did the only thing that I could do. I got Jordan and Kyle and we drove over to the hospital. Arriving at the hospital, I found that Ryan, Sean, and Aunt Miranda were already there. Jessica and Colton arrived shortly thereafter.

"What's up, Chris?" Ryan asked. "Has there been any change?"

Chris stood there silent for several moments, before finally he said, "No, there's been no change." His voice was choked and it was obvious that he was very upset. "The test results came back yesterday. I didn't want to believe them, so I had them run again. The results were the same."

"What were the results?" Aunt Miranda asked.

"He has zero brain activity," Chris said as tears started to threaten falling. "He isn't going to wake up."

"He's still breathing," Sean said. "As long as he's still doing that, there's hope."

"Sean, he's brain dead," Chris said. "It's the machines that are breathing for him. I've had the tests run several times and gotten second, third, and fourth opinions. All the doctors I've talked to agree that Jake is never going to wake up."

"You sound like you've given up," Sean said.

"Sean, nothing would make me happier than for Jake to wake up," Chris said. "It's not going to happen, though, so we need to accept that and do what needs to be done."

"What needs to be done?" Ryan asked, his voice clearly relaying that he already knew what Chris meant, but still felt the need to voice the question anyway.

Chris sighed. "Turn off the machines."

"No!" Sean yelled. "I will not kill my brother!"

"For all intents and purposes," Jessica said as she wrapped Colton in a tight embrace, "he's already dead, Sean."

"I don't care!" Sean exclaimed. "I won't give my consent."

"Well, Sean, that doesn't matter," Chris said.

"Doesn't matter?" Sean asked. "Chris, I'm his brother. His family. Of course my opinion matters."

"I didn't say that your opinion didn't matter," Chris said. "It's whether you give consent or not that doesn't matter. I'm the only one who can give the doctors consent to turn off the machines."

"You're not his family!" Sean screamed.

"Maybe not by blood," Chris answered, "but I am his family in every other way. I'm also his designated health care agent in his living will, which clearly states he does not want to be kept alive by machines if there's no hope for recovery."

"No hope?" Sean asked. "He's still breathing. There is still hope. You just want to kill my brother!"

Chris looked at Sean like he couldn't believe what he had just said. Walking over to Sean, Chris raised his hand and slapped Sean across the face, hard enough to make him lose his balance and fall to the ground, before screaming, tears pouring out of his eyes, "You insensitive little jerk! I love Jake with all my heart! If you think that I want to pull the plug, you're wrong. If it were up to me, I'd keep those machines running for the next thirty years! But I can't, because he made his wishes very clear and I promised him that I would carry out his wishes. I can't go back on that promise. This is the hardest thing that I have ever had to do and it's the last thing I want to do, but I have to because it's what Jake wants!"

Chris was crying his eyes out and I could see the anguish on his face. I knew that if I were in his position, I'd be devastated as well. I looked at Jordan and Kyle for a moment, and both nodded before the three of us went over to Chris and pulled him into a hug.

After a moment, I felt something pushing me away. I looked to see Colton standing there looking at Chris. Parting from Kyle's side to let the boy in, Colton flung his arms around Chris and started to cry. Kyle laid his hand on his nephew's shoulder and squeezed it as Jordan continued to comfort Chris and I moved to comfort Kyle.

Once the tears had subsided, we all went into Jake's room to say our goodbyes, before Chris told the attending physician to turn off the machines. We were told that it was possible he wouldn't die right away; that he could linger for a while and to not let that give us false hope.

When we finally did get back home, Jordan and I made it our job to make sure that Kyle had everything he needed. Jordan and I both had siblings and we knew how broken up we'd be if one of them died, so we could imagine what Kyle must have been going through. Kyle cried himself to sleep that night, held securely in Jordan's and my arms. Of course, Kyle wasn't the only one crying, because Jordan and I were as well, because while he wasn't our blood sibling, Jake had come to be just as important to us over the years as Jessica and Taylor were. I'd include John in that, but I've never been particularly close to my half-brother. I'd certainly care if something happened to him, but I knew that I'd be a lot more upset if something happened to Taylor. I prayed that I would never have to deal with a situation like this and that I'd have the strength to help Kyle through this difficult time.

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To be continued.