The Wounds Within My Heart By James
Disclaimer
If you're not of the legal age to read this story, or if you're offended by this type of material then leave now. This story may at times contain sex and romantic moments between consenting teenaged males. It also may contain scenes of Hate Speech towards people of different races, sexual orientations, disability groups and others. If you can't handle reading about that, then leave.
Please remember to donate to Nifty, as it's your donations that keep these stories and other information on the site free to the public.
Finally, if you like this story, and haven't done this already, invite my E-mail address jamesheady1985@gmail.com out for pizza. When they get there, get the pizza and include extra anchovies on it.
Thanks to K once again for another well-done editing job. I really appreciate your editing work on this story. Thank you.
Chapter 12
Nohea
Saturday came in the form of a bright and sunny day. Alex came over, and we met Chelsey at the bowling alley. We bowled for most of the late morning, and into the afternoon. My dad and Triston were out doing some swimming, and I figured that they could use the one-on-one time. I was glad to see them have that for a while.
Once Alex, Chelsey and I finished bowling, with me winning the final game, we went out for lunch. We all agreed that the loser had to buy. Alex bought, and we ate at a wings place close to the bowling alley. I got hot wings, seasoned fries and a Pepsi. Alex and Chelsey got BBQ wings, fried mushrooms and Mountain Dews.
I had been thinking most of that morning before Alex came to pick me up from my house. I had read a little more about LGBT stuff, and I had felt my resolve strengthening more over the last few days. At that moment in time, I knew that I was ready to come out to myself, and I felt comfortable enough to come out to Alex as well. I would be coming out to Chelsey too, and I knew that she would be accepting. I wasn't afraid of either of them having a bad reaction, it was just the nervousness of actually saying it out loud.
After we finished our food, we moved outside, and the three of us sat on a bench outside the restaurant. I had already told them that I wanted to talk with them, and I knew that the time was now.
"I wanted to let you guys know that I realized who I am finally," I began. I'm gay. I know that for sure now more than I have before."
They both hugged me telling me they were proud of me. which meant a lot. I was truly glad to have their support, and I knew in that moment. just how good and true friends Alex and Chelsey were.
"You'll always have my support," Alex said. "I figured you might be, but wasn't sure. I wasn't sure if I should have said anything, so just waited to see if you'd bring it up first."
"I kind of thought you were too," Chelsey said. "I wanted to give you some space as well, though in case you weren't ready for anyone to ask you about it. I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to come out to both of us."
"I'm glad as well," Alex added. "Also, I won't tell anyone about you being gay. That's up to you to tell. I would never out you or anyone who's in the LGBT Community."
"I won't tell anyone either," Chelsey responded. "I can't imagine outing someone without their consent. I think that's wrong, and I could never see myself doing that to you. So you have my word that I'll leave that for you to tell others whenever you feel comfortable to come out to other people."
"I really appreciate that from both of you," I said, hugging both of them again. "Both of you are true friends, and I can't imagine my life without the two of you in it."
"You mean a lot to both of us," Chelsey said.
"You really do," Alex added. "I really care about you a lot, and you're like a brother to me, and you always will be."
"I think of you as the brother I never had as well," Chelsey responded. "You're really kind, caring and compassionate. I really love that about you."
"I love that about you too," Alex said.
"Thanks," I answered. "You're both really kind and loving yourselves. That means a lot to me, and I really love that about both of you too."
Finally, I told them about Pietro. I told them everything, and surprisingly I didn't break down. I felt the sadness as I finished the story, but not like I had just the night before, nor even like it was just a couple of weeks ago. I figured that I was moving on, or at least starting to do so.
"I'm really sorry to hear that you guys couldn't stay together in-person," Chelsey said.
"Me too," Alex added. "I'm sure he truly loved you, and I imagine that he really appreciated the friendship you gave him."
"I believe that too," I answered.
"I'm really glad he had you in his life for the short time you guys knew each other," Chelsey went on.
"I really do miss him," I said. "When he left, it was the worst pain I had ever felt in a long time. I truly never knew that something could hurt that much. It was really hard to get through those next few days. Somehow I did, and being with my dad and brother helped. I think now that I might want to look at dating a little. I just know that I'll probably never love anyone like how I've loved Pietro. I'm sure of that."
"I think I understand how you feel,: Alex said.
"Me too," Chelsey added. "I hope you can find someone who will treat you well, like how you deserve to be treated."
"I agree with Chelsey," Alex said. "I hope you can find a really nice guy to be with. Whoever you find, he definitely had better treat you right. That's all I can say."
"Thanks," I answered. "Coming from both of you, that really means a lot."
After we finished our conversation, we returned to my house, and Alex let me know that he had to go back home to help with house work. Chelsey was going to go stay at one of her friend's house, and I told both of them that I hoped they enjoyed the rest of their day. We shared a hug, and they left as I closed then locked the door.
My dad and brother got back home almost 20 minutes later. They told me that they really had a good time swimming, and I said that I was glad they enjoyed themselves.
"We are too," our dad replied. "It's probably going to be the last swim since it's getting cooler out as the days go by. We're through the middle of October now, so we won't have too many more warm days left."
"Yeah, unless we can find an in-door heated pool somewhere," I said.
"Yeah, that's true," our dad answered.
Dad had told me about a cabin that he and Triston sometimes went to in the Fall and Winter time. That was where they had gone, and they swam in the lake that was in back of the property. The cabin was two stories and had all the electrical accommodations of any house, but it was deep in the country, far more in the woods than we were in our current house.
Although Dad and Triston went there that Saturday for the afternoon, they would sometimes go there for a weekend in the late Fall, or in the Winter. They went there mainly for some rest and relaxation. The quiet was especially helpful for Triston since the noise and stimulation of school and everyday life could be too much for him. Being at home helped, but the extra quiet of the cabin helped him even more.
There were a few other cabins several feet away at the other end of the property, and vast rows of trees separated them, so that when you were there, you felt like you were the only one at the property. It was easy to forget that there might be a couple of other individuals or families sharing the two other cabins.
When Triston and dad returned from the cabin and we settled in the living room, talk soon turned to us all three going up there. Our dad paused for a moment, then asked about what we would think about Aunt Beth joining us. The cabin had five bedrooms, so it wasn't like we didn't have the room.
"I would really love that," I answered.
"That sounds really nice!" Triston typed.
"Good," our dad answered. "I'll call and ask her about it before we get dinner started."
"That sounds good," we both replied.
Triston and I went for a walk in the woods after our planning to go up to the cabin. Dad was inside going through E-mails on his phone, and I let him know that Triston and I wouldn't go far. We explored some of the woods further behind the house, and Triston was doing a really good job of guiding me, and pointing out areas to be more careful around. I walked beside him and held on to his elbow as we continued on. He was describing various flowers that we passed, as well as pointing out different rocks that were around in the grass. He got more excited when we could see the larger more brightly colored rocks.
He went over to one of these, and picked it up. He held it out for me to feel, and I noticed how sizable it was. It was about as big around as the bottom of a coffee cup, and was a couple of inches thick. It was slightly smooth on the surface with a little roughness on the bottom.
"You really like that don't you?" I asked, handing the rock back to him.
"It's really nice," Triston said as we continued on.
We eventually came up to a rock that was big enough for the two of us to sit on. I sat down, and Triston joined me. He scooted close to me, and I put my arm around him. He leaned into me, and then rested his head on my shoulder.
"I really love spending time with you," I said as I stroked his hair. "You're the best brother I could have ever asked for, and I really treasure every moment we're together."
"You're really special to me too Nohea," he answered. "I really love how nice you've been to me, and how good you treat me."
"I also love how nice you are to me," I replied. "You've been really kind to me too and I'll always treasure you for that."
"I'm glad," he said.
After a few minutes, we got up to head back to the house. Once back home, Triston went into his room after giving our dad a hug. I hugged him as well, then went into my own room to relax before it was time to get dinner started.
As we sat down to dinner, dad let us know that Aunt Beth was looking forward to joining us at the cabin. She would be able to take time off work, so that was even better. I told him that it would be really nice to have her there, and Triston agreed.
We had cheeseburgers, fries and coleslaw for dinner that night. It was one of my favorite meals that we had, and Triston really loved it too. We talked more about what we would do when we would go to the cabin. There was definitely some hiking that we could do as long as we dressed warmly for it in case the weather was cold. If the weather was cold and the lake froze over, we could also do some ice skating as well. That was something I wanted to try, and dad said that he would be happy to show me how to do it. Triston said he'd like to try it, and I was glad to see that.
After dinner was done, we helped cleaning up the kitchen. Once finished, we all sat on the deck out back for a while. It was really nice to be there enjoying the sunset and the quiet of the woods all around us. I felt really safe, and truly at peace for the first time in a while. Triston sat on my right, and dad on my left. I had my arm around Triston, and he leaned into me, resting his head on my shoulder as we sat there talking.
While we sat out there, I told dad that I was feeling completely at peace with who I was, knowing and fully accepting myself as gay. He was proud of me, and said so. Triston hugged me, and said that he was really happy for me. I hugged him back, and thanked him for his support. I also told dad how happy I was for his support as we hugged for a long moment.
"I love you Nohea," he said. "You'll always have my support."
"That means a lot, and I love you too," I answered. "Having your support and your love really is helping me with being who I am, and staying true to that."
"I'm really glad to hear that," dad answered.
Once the sky grew fully dark, we went inside. Triston got his shower, then laid down on his bed to watch TV. I showered, but returned to my room afterwards to read one of the books I had started that weekend. While that was going on, dad sat in his home office typing stuff on his computer. I was glad that our evening had been really nice and relaxing that night.
Eventually everyone in our home got ready for bed. Triston went to bed with both dad and I saying goodnight to him, and after closing the door to his bedroom, I went back to my room saying goodnight to dad as he was getting ready to go to bed for the evening.
After closing the door to my room, I turned out the lights, and got into bed. I had gotten my shower after Triston had finished with his, and now I was relaxed enough to be able to sleep. Once under the covers, I turned onto my stomach, and was asleep within a couple of minutes.
Author's Notes
I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter. This will end Book One of the story. Though you'll all get to read about Nohea and his family's trip to their cabin, that's going to be coming later. In Book Two, you're going to get to see things from Pietro's point of view for a while. I hope you all like what I do with that, and how that goes. All that being said, I hope you're all having a good evening. I'll see all of you in Book Two titled Pietro.