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Written by: Nicky Smith Edited by: JD Kaster
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: WELCOME BACK
BEAR'S POV
"Trey... am I imagining things?" I asked not wanting to get a rude awakening.
"No," he said. His speech was muffled by the tube in his mouth.
I couldn't believe he was awake. I walked slowly towards the bed and reached out my hand to touch his face. He slowly brought his hand up to rest against mine and knowing that he had done that, I began to become revitalized. I then realized that I needed to do something so I stepped away from him and ran out into the hall.
"Get in here!" I shouted to the nurse at the nurses' station.
"What is it?" she asked. She was a new one who I'd only seen the first time the day before.
"He's awake, he's awake!" I said excitedly. Her eyes went wide and she ran to the back of the station. About 30 seconds later several nurses and doctors ran out past me and into Trey's room. I tried to follow, but another nurse told me to stay outside before he too ran into the room.
I paced back and forth for about a minute wondering what was going on inside the room and dying to get back in there and talk to Trey again. I was willing them with my mind to hurry up and finish so I could get back to him because it had been months since I had talked to him, not counting the few words he'd said to me before I ran out to get the nurses.
After about 10 more minutes of pacing I thought that I needed to call Trey's family to let them know that Trey was awake. I was conflicted though as I wanted to get some time with him before he was swarmed by his family. Doing the right thing though eventually won out over being selfish which had me reaching for my cell and dialing Trey's mom.
"Hello Bear, what's wrong?" Mrs. H answered sounding a bit anxious and worried as I hadn't called her from the hospital like this before. I took a deep breath before answering.
"He's awake," I said and I could hear how shaky my voice sounded.
"What? He is?" she asked and I could hear the excitement in her voice.
"Our boy is awake. He spoke to me, he spoke to me," I said still reeling from hearing his voice again, muffled though it was.
"I'll be right there," she said before the line disconnected. I then scrolled to get to the next number I wanted to call and hit the button.
"Hello, Bear?" Liberty answered after a few rings.
"Libby, he's awake. Trey's awake. Get down here now!" I told her.
"What?" she asked excitedly.
"Get your sister, get Jessica, and get down here. Trey's awake and talking," I said strongly.
"Oh my god... we'll be there asap," she said and then ended the call. I then called Sean and I knew he'd be pissed that he wasn't my first call, but he'd live.
"Hey dude, what's up? I just left there. Did you miss my pretty face?" he asked sounding a bit amused.
"Get your ass back here. Trey just woke up," I told him.
"What?" he asked. I could hear what sounded like a car skidding to a stop.
"Dammit Sean, what's the matter with you?" I heard Veronica ask in the background.
"Look dude, just get over here," I said before I ended the call. About a minute later the nurses and doctors started filing out of the room and the one who'd told me to stay outside came up to me.
"You can go and see him now," he said with a small smile.
"Thanks, and I already called his mother," I told him.
"Okay, I'll tell the doctors as they will want to talk to them," he said before heading down the hall. I wasted no time in rushing back to Trey. When I got inside the room, I noticed that most of the machines were off and he didn't seem to be hooked up to anything. He saw that it was me and he smiled which made me smile.
"Why are you standing all the way over there?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
"I'm scared," I admitted.
"What are you scared of?" he asked with a concerned frown.
"That this is a dream. That I'm gonna wake up and you'll still be hooked up to those machines and unconscious," I told him.
"Come here," he said while holding up his hand. I walked towards him on shaky legs praying that this wasn't a dream. I made it to his bed and reached out my hand and he took it and brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. I don't know why, but that action made me realize that I wasn't dreaming, and that he was in fact awake.
"You're really awake," I said finally letting myself believe that he was in fact awake. I wasn't one to cry very often, but I could feel the tears pouring down my face. He lifted his shaky hand and wiped the tears from my face which only brought on more.
"Have I really been in a coma for two months?" he asked after a couple minutes of us just looking at each other.
"Yeah you have. It's been two months of hell," I told him in a more clear voice since I had gotten control of myself.
"That's what they told me. I didn't want to believe it but I guess it's true," he said sounding kind of melancholy.
"What all do you remember?" I asked because I wanted to know if he had amnesia about what had happened since I'd heard that people who experience certain traumas sometimes don't remember them. He frowned and looked towards the door like he was looking for something.
"I remember getting into a fight with Brian," he said and I immediately worried that he did have amnesia since his last encounter with Brian was long before the day he was shot.
"You don't remember anything about the day your were..." I asked trailing off because I just couldn't say that word out loud. A look of guilt crossed his face and I wondered what it was about.
"Brian and I got into an argument when I was out for lunch with Zane," he said and I remembered that he told me that he was to be having lunch with Zane the day he was hurt which meant that it had happened that day. I decided to be happy about the fact that he remembered the day at least and put my plans to kick Brian's ass on the back burner.
"What else?" I asked and he again looked off in the distance.
"Clyde sent me a text to meet him at the park," he said looking confused, but I think he was putting the whole thing together. I didn't know how I would tell him that Clyde was dead.
"Anything else?" I asked to keep from saying anything that would trigger his memories before he was able to recover them naturally.
"Clyde," he said before his eyes slammed shut and he raised his hand up to his hand.
"Trey, what's wrong?" I asked slightly panicking.
"My head hurts," he said and I decided to stop asking questions and let him rest.
"Okay baby, just lay back and close your eyes," I told him. He listened and laid back and I buzzed the nurse and told them he had a headache. The guy nurse came in and gave him some pain medication. He said that was all they could give him until they ran a full battery of tests on him in a while before leaving us alone again. Trey took the pills and was quiet for a few minutes before speaking again.
"Kent Davis shot me," he said in a tone that made him seem far off.
"Yeah he did, you and Clyde," I said without adding more although I knew he'd ask about him.
"How is he?" he asked, but from the tone of his voice, it's almost like he knew already. He also wasn't looking at me.
"He... he died Trey," I said begrudgingly. He simply nodded slightly. After a few seconds I saw a tear leak from his eye. I leaned in and kissed his forehead to try and comfort him.
"Why," he said just above a whisper.
"I don't know baby. I was hoping you could tell me," I told him. He looked at me and I saw something in his eyes. It was brief, but it was there, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
"What is it?" I asked hoping he would tell me. Ever since this whole thing happened I couldn't help but think there was something that I was missing and I was hoping that Trey would be able to finally relieve this nagging feeling.
"Nothing. It's just that I can't believe Kent would hate so much he'd want me dead. What did I ever do to him? Did me being alive while gay really warrant him trying to kill me?" he questioned and hearing his words made me consider breaking Kent out of prison just so I could kill the fucker.
"Trey don't do that. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't deserve any of this," I said and I guess that was the last straw as he started to really cry. I held him while he let go with his sadness. I was sad for him, but I was also angry. I started to worry with how filled with hatred I was.
He let me hold him while he cried. He clung to me like I was the only thing in the world that was holding him above water. A pang of guilt hit me again, but I pushed it aside and focused on him. He finally calmed down after a few minutes, but he didn't release his grip on me and I refused to let him go as well until his family finally arrived.
"Trey," his mother said from the door. I let him go and turned to see the whole Healey brood there at the door.
"Mama," he said back and then chaos ensued. They all rushed into the room and started hugging him and talking to him and asking him questions. I just stood back and watched the family reunion.
"Trey we missed you," Carly said. She was on his bed along with Cara while his parents and brothers stood beside him. I decided to give them some privacy after a few minutes and left the room. As I stepped out into the hall I saw our whole crew standing outside the door.
"He's awake," I said before Liberty, Jessica, and Justice rushed toward me. I wrapped them all in a hug.
"Is he talking?" Miriam asked.
"Yeah, we talked for a while before his family arrived," I said and that seemed to make everyone happy as it had me. I happen to look at Sean though and I noticed that same look in his eyes that I'd seen in Trey's eyes. It was again there only briefly but I had seen it nonetheless.
Trey's family came out after a bit and let the gang go in to see him. I told his parents that the doctors wanted to talk to them and joined everybody in the room with Trey. Marcus, Wayne, and Alex even came by after a while and they visited with Trey too. I was happy to share Trey with everyone for a while, but it started to get annoying after a bit when I just wanted to talk to him alone.
It started to get late and I think the hospital staff was getting tired of our party so they told us that visiting hours were about over. I wanted to stay with Trey, but I knew that one of his parents would want to so I sucked it up and went into his room and told him that I was about to go. He kissed me and told me to hurry back and I promised him I would.
I then left and headed home. The gang wanted to tag along but I begged off because I was tired and I wanted some rest. I told my parents and Steph when I got home that Trey was awake and they seemed happy. Mom called Mrs. H and they talked for a few minutes while I went to my room.
I briefly considered skipping school the next day so I could spend the whole day with Trey, but then decided against it. I would see him soon enough so all I had to do was wait. I laid in my bed and smiled at the fact that Trey was back and my world was okay again. That nagging feeling tried to invade my happiness along with another pang of guilt, but I pushed those feelings away and drifted off to sleep knowing that I had Trey back.
TREY'S POV
"Okay, there you go," Terry said as he helped me get back into bed. Terry was my physical therapist that I'd been assigned to help me get my legs back into shape after two months of lying in a bed.
"Thanks," I said after lying back.
"Okay, I'm gonna get going but I'll be back to see you tomorrow. You're doing really good by the way," he said encouragingly.
"Really?" I asked because I was skeptical. I could only walk a short distance before my legs tired out.
"You bet. I'm sure you'll be walking out of this hospital within a week's time," he said. He had a good bedside manner.
"I hope so because I'm so sick of this hospital," I told him. I know I was unconscious for most of the time I was there but I still felt that way.
"I'm sure. Well you go ahead and get some rest," he said before he left the room.
I laid back and just let my mind wander which was rarely a good thing for me. It had been a few days since I woke up and I still couldn't believe that I was in the hospital after having been in a coma for two months because I'd been shot by Kent Davis.
I slowly recovered my memories of that day and it still hurt that Kent hated me so much that he wanted me dead. I still couldn't believe that Clyde was dead when the only thing he'd done was try to save me. I hated that I was so weak that I always needed saving like some damsel-in-distress. This time the savior didn't survive saving me and that was truly horrible because Clyde didn't deserve to lose his life trying to protect someone that he barely knew personally.
"Hey buddy," came a voice from the door that belonged to Sean.
"Hey, come on in," I told him. I was happy to see him as it seemed he had been avoiding me since the first day he came by after I'd woken up.
"So, how are you doing?" he asked after taking a seat in the chair that Bear sat in when he came by.
"I wanna go home," I told him and he laughed at my tone. I noticed though that it wasn't his usual jovial laugh. It was more reserved.
"Yeah I'll bet. I'm sure there aren't enough hot nurses of your type around," he joked but I wasn't up for joking back like that.
"That's the last thing I'm thinking about," I said and he frowned slightly. He looked unsure, then looked determined before he spoke again.
"Trey, nobody knows what happened," he said and while I knew, I didn't want to think about it so I played dumb.
"Well that's kind of impossible that nobody knows I was shot since I'm in the hospital," I said hoping he'd take the hint and drop it.
"That's not what I'm talking about," he said of course not dropping it.
"It's not?" I asked again giving him the opportunity to drop it as I didn't want to talk about it.
"No, but now I know that you do remember," he said sounding somber.
"Remember what?" I asked while looking everywhere but at him.
"Come on Trey, don't do this. This isn't easy for me to talk about," he said indeed looking very uncomfortable.
"Then don't talk about it. Whatever you think you know, just forget it," I warned him.
"Is that the same advice you would have given your brother?" he asked with a slight edge.
"Shut the hell up! You don't know what the fuck you're talking about!" I said strongly, but immediately feeling guilty for exploding at him like that.
"Yes I do. I know what Kent did to you Trey," he said looking like he wanted to be doing anything but having the discussion we were having which I agreed with.
"If you wanted to talk about this so much, why haven't you said anything to anyone before now?" I asked to get at him as I knew that he didn't want to be talking about this, but he was doing so because he cared about me.
"It wasn't my place. That was for you to do when you woke up," he said and I could see that he didn't really believe that. I'd been told that Kent was in prison for life and his friends that helped him only got 5 years. If a charge of rape and attempted rape had been added to any of their sentences, they would be serving much more time.
"Yeah right Sean. What if I'd never come out of the coma?" I asked. I realized I was being way too harsh with him, but it was his fault for bringing up something that I'd desperately been trying to forget.
"Then I don't know," he said exasperatedly as he stood up and started pacing.
"Of course," I said bitterly.
"Do you have any idea how hard it was to be around Bear, or your parents while knowing this?" he asked desperately.
"Then why didn't you just tell them, or even tell the hospital staff and let them do the dirty work?" I asked him back. I realized that I was being mean to him, but I just couldn't stop myself from being pissed.
"Because I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone," he said kind of loud. I hoped nobody heard him and came running in here.
"You want me to do it though. You want me to tell people that I was..." I said but stopped because I couldn't even utter that word. It made me feel dirty.
"I'm sorry," he said softly before dropping back down in the chair.
"Don't be, it's not your fault. It's mine for having the nerve to be alive while gay," I said and the look of pity that crossed his face was like a knife in my chest. I turned away from him because I couldn't look at him anymore and see it.
"Trey..." he started as he reached for my hand, but I pulled it away.
"Can you leave? I want to be alone," I told him. I couldn't see how he was looking but finally he let go with a deep sigh and I heard him standing up.
"Trey, I'll always be there for you. We're friends for life," he said. I wanted to smile at that but I just couldn't so I just gave a small nod. I heard him walking toward the door and when I turned he was gone and I was alone with the reality that I'd been raped and someone knew.
"Well, home sweet home," dad said as we pulled up to the house. I had been gone from this house for almost 3 months and my body missed the old place. I had to stay in the hospital for a couple more weeks after waking up for observation as well as physical therapy. I was now able to walk quite a bit, but they gave me a cane to use until my legs were stronger.
"There's not a party in there is it?" I asked as my parents helped me out of the car. I didn't need help, but they were parents and being overprotective.
"Of course not. Don't you think there'd be a lot of cars around if a lot of people were here?" mom asked. I looked and I only saw Zane's car and Bear's truck so I guess she was right, but I still had doubts.
"Well I guess you're right," I agreed begrudgingly. She laughed a little as she handed me my cane. I was glad that they decided to step back and let me handle it after I'd gotten out of the car.
I looked around and noticed that spring was in the air. I was disappointed that I'm missed the whole winter as I really liked winter. I liked the way snow made everything look and I liked the cold. Bear of course needed it cooler with his big bulky hairy body, he could get hot easier than most folks. Although I don't think Bear needed help getting hot because...
"What's wrong?" dad asked likely taking note of the frown on my face.
"Nothing, just that spring is here," I kind of lied. I'd been having trouble thinking about sexy stuff without getting nauseous. I guess Kent had made good on his promise to make me hate sex.
"Well, there will be more winters son," he said as he rested his hand on my shoulder. I nodded and started to walk toward the house.
The house across the street drew my attention though. I looked and expected to see at least one of them over there, but then again I hoped that they would just stay away, even Jeremy. Bear had told me that he'd come by and told me of the conflict that was going on inside Jeremy.
I didn't want to see him though as while I knew that he had nothing to do with what had happened to me, I didn't trust my reaction to seeing him as he looked quite a bit like his brother. I didn't trust myself not to become angry with him or blame him as my moods had become unpredictable lately. I was told that the trauma would cause personality changes, but they'd hopefully be temporary.
"Let's go inside sweetie," mom said before she and dad led me up to the house.
"Look who's here," dad shouted as we walked into the house to see the place done up for a party. I knew they had been lying. There were quite a few people there. Aside from the rest of my family, including Ivy, Nicole and my brothers friends as well my group of friends were there. Also a few guys from the football team that hadn't seem to believe Drake's idiot theory, and finally, Bear's family minus Brian and entire Mellow band had shown up.
"How did you get everyone here without any cars?" I asked.
"A magician never reveals his secrets," dad boasted.
"They're parked around the corner at the rec center parking lot," mom answered.
"But apparently the magician's wife does," dad said sarcastically but mom just rolled her eyes at him as people laughed.
"Welcome home baby," Bear said as he walked up to me and hugged me. He tried to kiss me on the lips but I subtly turned my cheek to him. I felt him stall, but he wasn't obvious about it so others could see. I hated myself for doing it, but I couldn't kiss him then.
"Thanks Bear," I told him before stepping away from him and going to greet everyone else.
"So Trey, are you happy to be home?" Dale asked after I'd greeted most everyone and got situated on the sofa.
"You idiot, of course he's happy to be at home," Miriam chimed in.
"Well I don't know. Maybe he liked it better in the hospital with all the hot nurses fussing over him," Dale countered, but that was the last thing on my mind, even though my physical therapist was kind of attractive.
"Um sweetie, I don't think your idea of a hot nurse is the same and Trey's," Miriam said and there were a few chuckles around.
"I'm not so sure about that. That one guy nurse was cute and his PT was kind of hot," Carter added and there were more chuckles.
"Yeah and that's precisely why you're getting a new physical therapist now that you're out. A crusty old hag will do," Bear said from beside me. He was sitting close to me, but I just wanted him to move. I tried my best to just bear with it though.
"I kind of like him," I said choosing not to address the other part of their conversation.
"Yeah, I'll bet," Liberty and Justice said at the same time then looked at each other with a slight glare.
"That is so cool. I wish I had someone to do that with," Ivy said speaking of their unison speech.
"No you don't, trust me," Liberty said with her arms folded.
"So Trey, that was pretty fortunate of you to get to stay in the hospital until spring break started. So where's the party gonna be?" Jessica said and there was a mass groan from quite a few people which surprised me. I would have thought that with a bunch of high school seniors that they would have been clamoring to party since this was their last year in grade school.
"Baby girl, do you think of anything except partying?" Bear asked her.
"Nope and that's the way to be. Life is one big party and you should enjoy it," she said happily which earned her a few sighs.
"Well maybe some of us don't feel like partying," I said in a cold tone before I could stop myself. Everyone looked at me with concern plainly written on their faces.
"Well... yeah. Y-you just got out of the hospital. You obviously need some time to rest and readjust before jumping back into the swing of things," Sean said covering for me.
"Yeah, of course," Marcus added. There were murmurs of agreement around and I looked at Sean and gave him a silent thank you. Dad came up and handed me a glass of what I discovered after taking a sip was ginger ale which I liked very much.
"So let me catch you up on the gossip that's going around school," Jessica said jovially getting things back on track for which I was grateful.
"Jessica, come on. Nobody wants to hear that mess," Liberty said while obviously trying not to roll her eyes.
"Oh he'll want to hear this. So apparently, Alicia Lake is pregnant," Jessica said and at the moment that I happened to be taking a drink of my ginger ale which I then spit all over everyone in front of me.
"Thanks a lot Jessica," Justice said as she, Liberty, and Ivy were wiping themselves off.
"What?" I asked astounded. I saw a couple of shocked looks which made me believe she was serious. I also noticed that Bear tensed up a bit, but I was too shocked to spend much time on it.
"See, I knew that'd get you," she said with a highly amused look on her face.
"Jessica, you said you weren't gonna do that," Veronica said while holding the bridge of her nose.
"Well I lied and what's wrong with a good story between friends? Besides, she's not here to hear it," Jessica said in defense.
"Well there's a whole lot of people here that can tell her that you're telling lies about her," Veronica said.
"There's actually only a few that could and I don't think they'll be saying anything as I happen to be close personal friends with Justice St. John and I don't think they want to mess with her," Jessica said and there were a few murmurs of agreement to that.
"Jessica, I wouldn't be using me as a defense for your actions if I were you because I'm not gonna be around forever. After all, we're not going to the same college," Justice said and I could see that she was about to start messing with Jessica.
"How do you know that?" Jessica asked.
"Because I'm not going to Bud's Clown College," Justice said in a laugh.
"I'll have you know that I applied to Harvard, Yale, and Columbia," Jessica responded.
"Wow, such lofty ambitions. I think you're setting yourself up for a huge fall though," Justice said and I could see the mischief in her eyes.
"I would say some things to you now, but there are parents here," Jessica said with a scowl.
"So, how's that close personal relationship you have with Justice going Jessica?" Zane teased.
"Quiet you. We're close enough that I could get her to have another `chat' with you," Jessica threatened and most everyone but our close group and my family looked clueless.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Bear asked as he scooted closer to me. There was chatter going back and forth, but all I could focus on was how Bear being so close to me was making me feel a strange feeling that was not at all good. I was also trying to figure out a way to move away from him without alerting him to something being wrong.
"I'm fine," I said in a bit of a strained voice. I hated how I was being and that I couldn't stop it
"Are you sure?" he asked as he looked at me with a sharp gaze. I knew he was trying to see what I was thinking but I was able to, for once, stop thinking so he wasn't able to notice anything.
"Sure, I'm fine," I said putting on a fake smile. I know he knew it was a fake smile as he knew my real one, but I also knew it shocked him that he couldn't discern what was going on in my head as he was pretty much able to do so whenever he had looked at me so intently before then.
"Okay," he said with a slight frown.
Everyone pretty much got a chance to talk to me and the party continued on. I was mostly subdued though and although Bear could tell something was up, he didn't question me about it again.
After while I had to go to the bathroom so I got up and headed for the bathroom upstairs. I was barely able to convince my parents, my brothers and Bear that I could make it up the stairs on my own, even though it was a bit tiring. I made it to the bathroom and drained the tank and just after I flushed I heard the door open and close. I knew it was Bear, until I turned around and saw that it was Sean.
"What the hell are you doing coming in the bathroom when you knew I was in here?" I hissed before heading to the sink and washing my hands.
"Why didn't you lock the door?" he asked as he leaned against it.
"That's not the point. Why are you here?" I asked again.
"I waited until I didn't hear you pissing anymore before I came in if you were thinking I just came in here to catch a look at your dick," he said before rolling is eyes.
"I didn't think that you did, now answer the dammed question," I demanded with no doubt that I was serious.
"Alright fine. Dude, you need to tell Bear, or even your parents what happened to you," he said and I made sure to glare at him extra hard before I responded.
"Why would I do that?" I asked because just knowing that Sean knew was making me want to scream.
"Did you see yourself down there? You looked like you wanted to crawl out of your skin whenever Bear even looked at you," Sean said incredulously. He was right in that that's the way I felt, but I couldn't agree with him out loud.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied.
"Trey please, I'm begging you. You need to talk to somebody about this," he pleaded but I was able to resist it, barely.
"I'm fine so don't bring this up to me again," I said strongly.
"But Trey..." Sean tried but I stopped him by shoving him into the wall.
"I said don't mention this to me again and I mean it," I heard myself say in a tone I didn't recognize coming from me. Sean looked at me with wide eyes like he didn't recognize who I was. I glanced in the mirror and I didn't recognize the look in my eyes myself. I looked away and shot Sean another glare before I left the bathroom.
Sean spent the rest of the day looking at me like I was a stranger. I know that Bear could tell that something was up with me, but he was at least being silent on the subject for which I was grateful.
The party started to break up around dark with mostly my friends and my brother, Ivy, and Nicole hanging around. My friends all joked that they were going to spend the night but my mother told them that they weren't as clever as they thought and that she wasn't feeding anyone for breakfast whose last name wasn't Healey. Jessica then joined in saying that she would have to have a quickie marriage to me so that she'd get fed which brought about some laughs, even from me.
They finally left though after 10. I could tell that Bear really did want to stay but there was no way that I could have that with the way I was feeling so I mustered up the strength to kiss him and tell him that I'd see him soon. That seemed to bring a smile to his face, but it made me feel sick that I had to muster up the strength to kiss the guy I loved. I hated myself even more than I already did then.
I was tired then so I decided to head on up and get some sleep. I had to convince my parents yet again that I was fine to do so by myself. I headed on up and got undressed and got in my bed that I hadn't slept in for almost 3 months. It felt nice to be in my own bed, but my mind ruined that good feeling.
I was brought back to Sean's comment in the bathroom that he could see how uncomfortable I was with Bear being so close to me and I wondered if anyone else could see it. I hoped not as I didn't want to have that conversation that I'd had with Sean with anyone else, especially Bear. I prayed that I could just fake it until I make it with regards to Bear because I just couldn't tell him what had happened.
I was being held down by something that I couldn't see. It was holding my arms and legs down and I couldn't move. I tried to shout or call out but no sound was coming out. Then I felt an excruciating pain coming from my behind and I felt something ram into me over and over again. I tried to yell again but again no sound.
Then I could see and I saw the face of Kent and that smug look that made me feel sick. I then felt sharp pains shooting through my body. It felt like I was dying as it seemed to go on and on. I tried again to yell but no sound was coming out. It was then that I felt something shaking me and then I heard the first sound, which sounded like my dad calling me. He kept calling and I tried to say something but I couldn't. I herd him one last time which was enough to wake me and I found myself screaming.
"Trey son, it's okay," he said and I realized I was sitting up straight.
"Dad," I got out in a shaky emotion filled voice. He reached out and pulled me to him and I hugged him tight. I was happy to see that I didn't experience the same uncomfortable feeling I'd been feeling from Bear being close to me.
"It's okay son. The doctors told us to probably expect something like this from time to time," he said soothingly as he rubbed my back as he continued to hold me. I felt another weight on my bed and a hand rub my head and I knew it was my mom.
"You wanna tell us what you were dreaming about?" mom asked. I couldn't say what I'd been dreaming about as there was way too much that my dream said so I lied.
"I can't remember now that I'm awake. I still feel shaky, but I can't remember why," I lied and felt ashamed of myself.
"Well I've heard of that sort of thing happening. Why don't you lay back down and try to get some rest while your mother get's some food on the table," dad said.
"Okay," I told him. Mom kissed my forehead and then dad and I felt like a little kid again for a brief moment. They got up and after giving me one last worried look, they left my room.
I laid back down and closed my eyes but I could still see Kent with that look in his eyes like he owned me. That's one thing that got to me the most. He had made me feel like he had put his disgusting brand on me and I couldn't get it off. He had taken something from me that I'd only ever intended to belong to Bear and no matter what I did, I couldn't erase that fact. Not for the first time, I wished that I'd never remembered anything that happened that day.
I finally gave up on trying to get back to sleep and got up and headed for the bathroom. After I took care of business, I decided to take a shower and at first the spray of the water felt good on my body, but then Kent flashed into my mind and I felt dirty. I started scrubbing my body trying to remove the feeling of filth, but I couldn't get it off because it was all in my mind, but I couldn't make myself realize this.
After almost scrubbing my skin raw, I managed to force myself to get out of the shower. After I dried off I looked in the mirror and hated what I saw. I was right back where I was a few years ago, hating the image reflected back at me in the mirror. I managed to pull myself away from the mirror and headed downstairs where mom was just finishing up with breakfast.
"Hey bro, how are you doing?" Calvin asked with concern in his voice and written all over his face. I hated that they were looking at me like that and it would only get worse if they found out about what happened to me.
"I'm fine," I lied while adding a fake smile. It seemed to fool them as it had done since I'd been home which I'd been for a few days. My friends were constantly calling and texting asking if I wanted to hang out, but I declined. Bear came over everyday and it was a struggle to not freak out every time he touched me but I managed, at least I hoped I did.
I felt terrible that I was basically ruining my friends' last spring break in high school as they were basically waiting around for me which I hated. I made up my mind that I'd do everything I could to act like everything was fine with me and hang out with my friends so they could stop worrying about me and enjoy their break. There was just one thing I needed to do first.
"So Trey, are you gonna finally get out of the house and see your friends today?" dad asked after finishing up his cup of coffee. Apparently I'd zoned out and everyone was mostly finished with breakfast.
"Um yeah. I'm... wait, you mean you'll let me drive myself to wherever they're gonna be?" I said deciding to try a joke.
"Well, no. I'm gonna have to drive you," he said looking completely serious.
"What your father means is, that of course we trust you to drive yourself," mom said making sure to glare at dad during the pause in her sentence.
"Okay," I said before finishing off my juice and getting up from the table.
"What are you all gonna do?" Calvin asked. I had plans but I couldn't tell them about one of them so I told them about the other.
"I'll go over to Bear's place and we'll call the gang and see what they want to do. I have a P.T. session first though," I said. That seemed to please them so I carried my dishes into the kitchen, put them in the dishwasher after rinsing, grabbed a bottle of water and headed out the door.
I couldn't tell my parents about this part of my plans for the day because they were sure to try to talk me out of it, or even try to forbid me from doing it. I couldn't have that though as I felt like I needed to do this in order to try and get a hold of my feelings. I needed to do it to rid myself of the shame I felt.
I found myself outside of the state prison and I was already starting to regret my decision but I had to do this so I mustered up the courage and got out of my truck and headed inside. After the really long process that I had to go through to get to a private room, thanks to Ivy, I finally got inside and sat in the chair at the single table and waited.
About five minutes later, two guards brought him in to the room and chained him to a bolt in the floor. I was surprised that they were using such extreme measures to secure him, but I then figured that it was probably Ivy's doing so I put that out of my head and focused on the man sitting across me with a surprised but smug look on his face.
"Well, hello Trey. I hear you were in a coma, but I see you're doing well now," he said without even an ounce on humility.
"Hello Kent, I see you've still not developed a heart," I said.
"Ouch Trey, that hurts. Now that's no way to talk to someone who means so much to you," he said with an annoying smirk.
"You mean nothing to me," I said through gritted teeth.
"Oh Trey, you say that, but I can see it in your eyes. I'm in your head and I'm never getting out," he gloated.
"You're wrong. I haven't thought about you once," I lied and he saw right through me. I again regretted my decision to see him.
"Then why are you here?" he asked still looking disgustingly smug.
"I..." I tried but trailed off. There were so many things going through my mind that I couldn't think straight.
"I'll tell you why you're here. You're here hoping that by seeing me, you'll finally be free to live your pathetic life. You think that you can purge yourself of me but it'll never happen. I own your ass, literally," he sneered. I started to feel dirty from hearing him talk about me like that, but I shook it off. I saw that he wasn't in the least remorseful about what he'd done and that cleared my mind enough to try and talk to him. I had to talk to him, for Clyde as well as for myself.
"You really don't care what you did, do you?" I asked because I just couldn't fathom how this person could just not care that he had taken a life and almost taken another, not to mention...
"Why should I? As I see it, I'm in here and you're out there, mostly walking around so who's really suffering here?" he asked and he truly was a evil person.
"Clyde's family, that's who," I said because I wanted to at least try to drill into him that he'd killed Clyde. I felt responsible for him realizing that fact and feeling at least some remorse for it.
"Yeah, it's sad that your hero got himself dead, but that's his fault. If he had left you to die like a normal guy would have, he'd have been alive now," he said still with no remorse.
"You're a sociopath," I said in realization.
"Call me whatever nerd word you like. I'm just speaking the truth. Your kind don't deserve to live with normal people," he said with that infuriatingly smug look that was probably a permanent feature on his face.
"And I suppose you're a normal guy? Normal guys don't go around raping other guys," I said again feeling that feeling of disgust just thinking about the fact that he had violated me in that way.
"I did it to punish you and I'm rather enjoying the fact that nobody else knows what I did to you other than us, and that you have to live for the rest of your life knowing that I made you my bitch," he said with an evil smirk.
"Your so-called friends know what you did," I said through gritted teeth. I ignored the fact that Sean knew as well.
"Yeah, but I don't think they'll be telling anybody about that fact, lest they be charged as accessories to the crime as they held you down while I tore that ass up," he said not losing that smug smile.
"You're a gigantic fool. For all you know, I could be taping your bitch ass saying all this shit," I told him while barely restraining myself from jumping over the table that separated us and ripping his dammed face off.
"I'm confident that you aren't. After all, you wouldn't want Bear to know that someone else had what I'm sure you've told him would always be his," he said mockingly.
"You're right. I don't want him to know that because were he to find out, I doubt there's a force on this earth that's powerful enough to stop him from getting in here and ripping you to shreds," I said before I stood up. I had to get out of that room before I did something that would land me in that same prison he was in.
"I don't think that's it. I think you don't want anyone knowing that you were taken like a little bitch, although I'm sure Bear's done the same thing to you countless times. You look like the type that loves to be fucked by a big cock," he said while smirking at me which was the final straw. I had to hit him where it hurt.
"Even if that were true, I certainly didn't get that from you. In fact, if I hadn't seen what you were doing, I wouldn't have known anything happened, little man," I taunted.
"You fucking prag," he said as he struggled to get up but his chained wrists restrained him to a sitting position.
"Ooh, look who's learned new words in prison. You know what you can do for me Kent? You can kiss my ass you evil sociopathic fuck," I said before I went to the door and called for the guard.
"This ain't over Trey," he warned.
"No see, unlike last time, it is over. Have fun spending the rest of your life in here you scum sucking bastard," I said. The guard opened the door and I walked out and I decided that it'd probably be best if I never went to see Kent again as I probably wouldn't be able to control myself as well as I had this time.
When I got back to my truck I just sat there feeling like dirt. I felt disgusting knowing that Kent had raped me and that nothing I did could erase that fact, or the fact that I was hiding it from everyone, especially Bear.
Going to see Kent hadn't done what I hoped it would. Instead, it left me with an anger that was boiling just under the surface. I was able to pretend though with my friends and they were able to enjoy the rest of their spring break without worrying about me. At least, everyone but Bear and Sean were able to.
Sean mostly watched me and studied me like he was trying to figure out if I were still the same person, which I have to admit I wondered as well. Bear pretended as well but I could see that every time he looked at me for any extended period of time that he was wondering what was going on with me. He had also started to subtly keep his distance from me.
At first I was glad, but that very quickly started to worry me too. I was worried that if my mask was as flimsy as his was, then he could probably see through mine as well. I fell back into my old routine though and hid my real feelings from everyone, including Bear and continued to put up the mask that I'd worn in the past.
I was thankful when Monday rolled around because there would be school to occupy everyone's time and my duties to occupy mine, except one that I no longer had to do because Clyde was gone.
I managed to talk my parents out of going to school with me and told them I'd be fine as I had Calvin, my friends and Bear. They struggled to let me go and I was happy that they were so overprotective, and annoyed by them at the same time so I grabbed Calvin and left before their sad, concerned looks made me reconsider and allow them to take me to school.
Calvin and I arrived at school and got out of my truck and headed for school. I was walking much better, almost back to normal so I didn't need my cane anymore which I was happy for as I didn't want to walk into school with a cane and give everyone another reason to stare.
As Calvin and I walked toward the entrance, students that were outside were already starting to stare. None of them likely knew of anyone who'd been shot before and lived to tell the tale, although I wouldn't be telling them anything. As we neared the entrance, I saw my friends and Bear gathered around waiting for me. I tried not to roll my eyes as we reached them.
"Why are you guys waiting here for Trey like he's some wounded sparrow or something?" Calvin asked sounding annoyed and I was astonished that he was able to know what I'd been thinking.
"Shut up kid," Jessica said and he flipped her the bird before walking off with Alex following after.
"So Trey, how are-" Justice started but I cut in.
"I'm fine you all, so let's just go on inside," I said trying to keep my cool before I left them and headed inside. I'm sure they were looking after me wondering what was going on with me, but I just ignored them and kept walking.
"Trey, welcome back to school," Mr. Renner said when he saw me just as I stepped into the building.
"Thank you Mr. Renner," I said preparing to put on my fake smile but I found I didn't have to as I was able to smile genuinely at him.
"I'm glad to see you back. If you need anything, come see me," he said while looking at me intently to show that he meant what he'd said.
"I will," I told him. He gave me a genuine smile and then headed off down the hall to pry two sophomores apart who were making out so hard that they looked like they wee fusing together. The sight made me sick so I looked away from them and headed for my locker.
My friends were following after me and as I walked, several people stopped me and expressed how sorry they were about what had happened to me and that they were glad that I was back at school. I fake smiled my way through my interactions with them as I thought that they were fake as before I had gotten shot they were too busy staring and whispering about me behind my back because they were stupid enough to listen to Drake.
I arrived at my locker and unloaded my back pack and Christian did as well. It was weird how everyone was trying to pretend that everything was okay, but I think by this point that everyone could feel that there was something amiss and that it was centered on me. I hated that, but I couldn't really change it.
"So um, I'll see you all later," I said after unloading my stuff.
"Um, sure," Liberty said for everyone. I didn't want to stick around to see them so I headed for my guidance counselor.
I needed to see what I had to do to get back on track as I'd missed over 2 months of my final semester so I had to check on things. As it turned out, I'd already gotten enough credits for early graduation, but I told her that I wasn't interested in that and that I wanted to graduate at the end of May with the rest of my friends and Bear. I also had an ulterior motive in that I was trying to make sure I'd be valedictorian.
To that end I made plans to make up all the coursework I'd missed and she handed me my new schedule for the new semester. I had already been assigned my second semester classes before winter break so there wasn't anything to do there. I found though that I didn't share any class with Bear or Sean, even though I did take 2 non AP courses again. That sucked, but at the same time it was a blessing as they were the two who were posing the most problems for me.
The warning bell rang and I grabbed my books that she had been holding for me and I made a stop at my locker before heading for homeroom. I sat there trying to ignore the stares and whispers which were likely about gay Trey who had been shot. I just started a mantra that I only had 2 more months and I'd be free.
After homeroom, I headed to my locker to gear up for my first class which I didn't share with anyone. I was waiting for one or more of my friends to show up when I got someone that I definitely didn't expect, or want for that matter.
"Hey Trey," Drake said as he walked up. I looked at him and for once, he didn't have that annoying smirk on his face.
"Drake," I said suspiciously.
"How are you?" he again asked with no smugness. He was throwing me off guard.
"I'm fine," I again said with a suspicious tone. I wasn't willing to trust this snake.
"That's good. I'm glad you didn't die when you drove Kent Davis to the point where he had to kill you," he said in a fake nice tone with a fake smile to boot.
"What did you say?" I asked because I couldn't believe that Drake would still want to be a jackass to me after I'd been shot.
"Oh Trey, I can imagine hating you for being a fag, but actually going so far as to try and kill you... That was a ballsy thing to do. Now poor Kent is probably learning what it's like to be you and taking it up the ass," he said finally letting the smirk appear. I gaped at him for almost a minute before I said anything.
"I can't believe you. You just can't be a human being for even 1 minute can you?" I asked still dumbfounded by how heartless he really was.
"I was a so-called human being to you, and it was even for 1 minute if I recall correctly," he said while still smirking. I don't know why, but I started feeling an anger unlike what I'd felt for Drake before.
"No you weren't. All that was a build-up for that shit you just got through saying. I was shot and in a fucking coma and you can't even try to be nice to me. You are one sad sick son a bitch," I told him as that anger grew. I was also aware that I was being watched by a few people.
"Whoa, you need to calm down," Drake said actually taking a step back.
"No I don't. What I need to do is tell you that I'm not in the mood for your bullshit so you better step off," I said before slamming my locker and starting to walk away. Of course Drake, being the jackass he was couldn't leave that alone.
"Or what?" he asked after grabbing my arm and stopping me from walking away. I snatched my arm away and before I knew it I was shoving him into Christian's locker.
"You don't want to know, but keep messing with me Drake and you will find out. I'm done with people like you fucking with me so keep trying me and see what happens," I said before I stormed off. I headed for the bathroom because I needed to get away from people looking at me.
I sailed through the door and rushed to the mirror and looked at myself and I saw what Drake must have seen which was a wild look on my face. I looked like I was indeed on the verge of snapping. I was also breathing heavily and I felt a tightness in my chest. I tried to calm myself down as I wondered what was happening to me.
"Trey," I heard as someone dropped their hand on my shoulder. I jumped as it startled me but I relaxed somewhat when I saw that it was just Sean.
"Oh, it's you," I said as I backed up against the wall as I needed something to brace me.
"Trey, I know you said you didn't want to hear this again, but look at you. You need help man," Sean said trying to reason with me but I wasn't having it.
"No, what I need is for people like Drake to leave me alone. I need to be left in peace for just one dammed minute without people like him feeling the need to express how much of a blight I am on the world," I said and I was able to wonder if anyone could hear me because I wasn't exactly being quiet.
"Trey," Sean tried but I could see in his eyes that he wanted to say that I was overreacting.
"No, don't even bother saying that I'm wrong. Bear doesn't get this, Carter doesn't, hell I'll bet that loser Todd doesn't even get treated like this. It's just me. What is it about me that makes everyone hate me? What did I do to deserve this?" I said and by the end of my rant I was holding back tears.
"Oh Trey," Sean said getting a little choked up himself before he pulled me to him and wrapped me in a tight hug. I tensed up at first but was able to relax quickly enough. "You didn't do anything. People are just stupid sometimes. You are one of the greatest guys I know and anybody who can't find it in them to love you doesn't have a heart," he said and I let a few sobs slip out. He held me for a couple of minutes and I wondered where everyone else was.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take," I told him honestly.
"Trey, you need to tell someone about what happened to you. A large part of what's going on is you keeping that in and trying to hide it by hiding all of your emotions, but this can't go on forever. You're gonna keep all this in until it explodes in a way that won't be good for anyone, especially you," he said and while I knew he was speaking the truth, I didn't want to hear it so I pulled away from him and turned my back to him.
"I can't," I said getting frustrated with even myself.
"Why not Trey? Didn't you think your brother would have spared himself a whole lot of misery if he had just told someone about what had happened to him?" he asked and I was unable to fight back because he was right. I did think that about Zane.
"I..." I tried but didn't have anything.
"Well Trey, he was a kid, who didn't have a full understanding of what had been done to him, but you're a grown man who knows and understands what happened and knows what keeping it in could lead to. You need to tell someone and get some help because I see that it's really hurting you, all of it," he said again trying to get through to me. He was breaking through so I had to fight back.
"I..." I tried again, but I was out of fight.
"Everyone else sees it too Trey. They see that something's not right with you. They just don't know what's behind it like I do and it's not fair to keep this from your family, and especially Bear," he said hitting me where it hurt. I did feel horrible keeping this from Bear since it was making things really strained between us with me being closed off and him not knowing why, but still giving me my space.
"I gotta go, class is about to start," I said before heading to the bathroom exit. I heard Sean let out a deep sigh and I understood him because I was frustrated with myself as well.
"So I was thinking, after graduation, we just have this big blowout and just let our hair down and have some fun," Jessica said as she, Miriam and I headed to a table during lunch. I just followed them as this was my first day back in school after almost 3 months and I didn't know where they sat.
"I can't let my hair down. I went crazy last night and cut it far too short," I joked. I had been feeling a bit different after my talk with Sean and I started thinking about maybe talking to someone about what was going on with me.
Jessica and Miriam looked at me strangely for a few seconds which made me think that I shouldn't have said anything. They then started to laugh and I felt a little bit more at ease, that is until I noticed that I was being watched by quite a few people.
"Ignore them. They're probably just curious about what it's like to be shot and live to tell the tale," Miriam said and I'd had that thought as well so I took her advice as we arrived at the table I guess they had been sitting at.
"So, what are we gonna do for the summer?" Jessica asked after taking a drink of her water.
"Well I don't get to have a summer. You see, my mother decided that it was a good idea to pack me in an RV with 4 loud, smelly boys, and drive us across the country to California," Miriam answered spitefully.
"Hey, boys aren't smelly," I said taking offense.
"Maybe you and your brothers aren't but my brothers are," she said. While she and Jessica talked about what it was like to have little brothers, I thought about my original plans for the summer and I wondered if I'd still want to go when the time came.
"So, what're we talking about?" Liberty asked as she arrived with Bear, Sean, and Christian.
"Well at first we were talking about having a party after graduation to let our hair down, but Trey said he didn't have any hair to let down, then we started talking about our summer plans and Miriam said her parents are planning on torturing her by trapping her in an enclosed space with her brothers for a drive out to Cali," Jessica summed up for everyone as Justice finally arrived near the end of her summary.
"You can let my hair down," Bear said as he sat next to me. I looked at him and he looked at me and I missed being close to him. I reached up and, tentatively at first, ran my fingers through is hair. He smiled and let out a small sigh and I hated that I was being so distant from him and vowed to try my best and overcome some of the crap going on in my head, if only for him.
"Aw, that's so cute," Christian teased.
"Shut up," Liberty said as she slapped his arm. Bear took ahold of my hand as I lowered it and I fought hard not to tense up and I was successful. It seemed that the tension that was hanging over us earlier in the day was dissipating and I was grateful, that is until I spied Drake.
"What is that?" I asked as I saw him walking with his arm around the girl that Liberty had almost gotten into a fight with.
"That's Drake with his girlfriend, Darcy," Liberty said with barely contained contempt.
"He actually started dating her?" I asked even though it wasn't too shocking as she seemed like the type to be with that jackass Drake. I still remembered my earlier `conversation' with him and my reaction which confused me as I'd never done that before.
"Oh great, here they come. Ignore them," Justice said and we all dropped our heads hoping that they'd just walk by, but that wasn't to be.
"Hello Liberty," Darcy said in a sickeningly chipper tone.
"Hello Darcy," Liberty said with much attitude.
"Oh no, I see you're still bitter," she taunted.
"What the hell would I have to be bitter about, Darcy?" Liberty asked harshly as she stood and got in Darcy's face. Christian tried to grab her arm but she snatched it from him.
"Well, you're bitter because I've got your man," she said with a taunting smirk which made me want Liberty to slap the taste out of her mouth.
"Yeah, she got you babe," Drake said with his signature jerkass smirk.
"Don't call my girl babe, you jackass," Christian threatened.
"Chris, I've got this," Liberty said before turning to Darcy. "So you've got Drake. Whatever will I do? Oh I know, I guess I'll have to live the rest of my life knowing that I'm free of your asshole boyfriend," Liberty said with a ton of sarcasm.
"Hey, I'm standing right here," Drake said and I opened my mouth before I could stop myself.
"Yeah I know. Why don't you leave here before you make all of us vomit," I said. I had no idea why I was getting so pissed with Drake being the same as he always has been.
"What did you say homo?" Drake asked while scowling at me. Everyone was looking at me but I ignored them.
"Watch your mouth Drake before I kick-" Bear said before I interrupted him by standing and walking over near Drake and Darcy.
"You heard me," I said clearly.
"You better watch your mouth fag before you get hurt," Drake threatened, but I didn't even care about his weak ass threat.
"Try it so I can rip your dammed dick off and shove it down your fucking throat," I snarled
"Trey," Liberty started but I ignored her. I started to feel that same feeling I'd felt during my earlier encounter with him.
"You need to chill the hell out. Yo Bear, you need to get your girlfriend here some help as she seems to be becoming unhinged," Drake said and Darcy laughed.
Before I could stop myself, I reached down on the table and grabbed Miriam, bottle of grape soda and dumped the rest of it on Darcy. She squealed but everyone else was shocked by what I'd done and I took advantage of that by putting my hands on the bottom of Drake tray and slamming it into his face as hard as I could.
"Ow, fuck... dammit," he shouted as he dropped the tray and grabbed his nose which I saw was bleeding.
"I warned you," I told him before I walked away.
"Trey, I have to say... I don't know what to say," Mr. Renner said to me as I sat in his office. I didn't get far from the cafeteria after I'd put Drake and Darcy in their places before a teacher caught up to me and escorted me to the office.
"I don't know what to say either," I honestly told him. I was suddenly unable to control my anger and it was starting to bug me. I mean, I didn't do things like this. I held my emotions in. I didn't explode like this and slam lunch trays into the faces of disgustingly evil pretty boys, busting their noses.
"Trey, I know that you and Drake haven't exactly been the best of friends since you came out..." he said but I interrupted.
"Before he outed me, you mean," I corrected him.
"Right... well I know that there have been heated moments between you two, but I'm just surprised. You always seemed to be a rational person," Mr. Renner said and that was the last straw.
"Well, maybe I'm done being rational. Maybe I'm sick of being the calm, quite, demure little geek that everyone gets to walk all over. Maybe I'm tired of being the lighting rod for all the fag rage in this dammed town," I told him in the most honest thing I'd said to anyone up to that point. He looked at me for a full minute before I saw a sadness creep into his features and he let out a deep sigh.
"Yeah, my brother was too," he said finally and confused me.
"Huh," I said.
"My brother was a lot like you Trey, a lot, including the fact that he was gay. He caught crap left, right, and sideways after he came out to his so-called best friend who he was in love with and that friend pretended that everything was okay, until he left our house and he proceeded to out my brother to everyone. Aside from me and my girlfriend at the time, he had almost no one on his side, not even our parents. He was beaten up more times than I could count and he was even almost sexually assaulted. After graduating from high school he tried to go to college by paying for it himself and working, and I helped him by working too, but his friend went to his school and spread it all over campus that he was gay and spread all kinds of lies that got him in all kinds of altercations," he said and I felt truly sorry for this guy and I could see that Mr. Renner really loved his brother from the way he spoke about him. I wondered where his brother was now and if things were better for him.
"Where is he now? I take it things must be better for him now that he's not under the weight of the people that he grew up with," I asked but from his expression, I realized that that might not be the case.
"He managed to graduate from college despite all the shit he had to deal with. He even managed to get a good job and was able to quit the crappy job he had to pay for college and things looked good, for about a couple of months. You see, my parents had managed to find some lawyer who put together a lawsuit that my brother owed them thousands of dollars for everything they'd done for him growing up and surprisingly, it was upheld by a judge. Then his friend went to his boss and told him that my brother was gay which got him fired because they were able dig up someone who accused my brother of sexual harassment. He started doing drugs after that and one night, he said something similar to me that you just did. The next morning I found him on my living room floor, dead from a drug overdose," he said and the gravity of his story hit me hard.
I sat and thought of what he'd told me and with the emotion he'd had in his voice, especially at the end of his story. I realized that I didn't have it as bad as I'd thought, but that didn't mean that I wasn't fed up.
"I'm sorry to hear that about your brother," I said the only thing that I could.
"Thank you. My parents went to his funeral and talked about how much they'd miss their son and how often they'd tried to help him. I got up and told everyone what liars they were and everything my brother had been through. That's the reason I've been invested in you Trey. I see a lot of my brother in you and I don't want you going down his path. The good news is that you have supportive parents and friends and a great guy, which are things that my brother didn't have," he said and I felt guilty. I did have support that I knew from experience would be there for me, yet I was closing them out.
"I'm so stupid," I let slip out.
"What?" he asked looking at me with that intent gaze that he had at times.
"It's nothing. Thank you for telling me that story Mr. Renner, and I'm sorry I keep disappointing you," I told him before I stood. I needed to get out of there.
"You've not disappointed me Trey. I can see that there's something in there that's hurting you and I can only hope that you talk to someone about it," he said I know he wanted it to be him, but he had already pushed the envelope by revealing something so personal to one of his students.
"I will, in time," I said which was true. I just needed time to get myself ready.
He told me again to come to him if I needed anything and dismissed me to leave with the promise that he'd not add this incident to my record or tell my parents. I thanked him and left his office to find Bear waiting for me. He told me that he'd gotten permission to leave early. We went out to our trucks and got in and he trailed me home before calling me over.
I hopped in his truck and he started to drive. I thought he'd stop for something to eat, but we'd already eaten just a while ago so he headed for the overlook. After he parked we got out and sat on the tailgate and just looked off in the distance.
"Baby, I know something is going on with you. I've tried giving you space until you felt like telling me, but I can't do that anymore. Watching you with Drake was scary because I couldn't even recognize the look in your eyes. I finally got a glimpse of what it must be like to look at me when I go off and it's not a good thing, especially with you so just tell me what's wrong," he said in a heartfelt plea to me. I was silent for a few minutes just looking off into the distance. I finally decided to open my mouth so I did.
"Before Kent shot me and Clyde, he... raped me," I said as I felt tears stream down my face.
To be concluded....
Author's Note:
Trey finally wakes up after a two month coma and Bear is ecstatic to have him back, until Trey starts being distant with him which really stumps him as it's like a return to the way Trey was before he came out to him.
Trey at first is surprised that he was in a coma for two months, but as the memory of everything that happened to him that fateful day comes back to him, he starts to feel shame and a whole slew of other things from the fact that he was raped. he starts to close himself off from everyone, especially Bear as he wants to keep what happened a secret even though Sean knows and is encouraging him to tell someone.
After a violent encounter with Drake, who seems to not have any sympathy for what happened to Trey, Trey finds out more about Mr. Renner and why he seems so invested in him. The story of Mr. Renner's brother gives Trey enough clarity to get him to tell Bear the truth.
What will happen now that Trey has finally gotten the courage to tell Bear what happened to him? What will happen with Drake now that he knows that Trey isn't going to just roll over and take his crap anymore?
I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and again forgive that it took me a month to put this chapter out. The next chapter will be the final chapter of book 1 and the end of high school for Trey and his friends. Send any comments good or bad to thestoryguy9783@gmail.com
Until next time...
Nicky
Editor's Note:
Trey is fully awake and we are just starting to see the repercussions of what Kent did to Trey. He is closing everyone out and Sean is the only one who know why Trey is acting the way he is.
Trey had hoped that facing Kent would have helped him get back to normal but no such luck. Trey's emotions are all over the place and like Sean said, if he doesn't tell someone he could explode. But now that Trey has told Bear what will his reaction to that news be?
Drake shows that he can't even be a human for 1 minute and still continues to taunt Trey whenever he can and now Drake had a new girlfriend that seems to be a bitch just like him. But what Trey did with Drake was classic, and as a result we learn a little info on Mr. Renner having a brother.
What will be next for Trey and his friends? Hope you all enjoy this chapter, be sure to send comments good/bad/mild to Nicky at the email above and myself at jd.kaster1987@gmail.com.
Until next time...
John D.