Disclaimer: The usual rules apply here. If you aren't legal in your area to be reading material(non erotic, mind you) about homosexuals and the activities they may or may not participate in, then please don't read. This story has been copyrighted and is not to be used elsewhere in any way without the express permission of the author (that would be me). For everyone else, enjoy!
Wayward People
Chapter Twenty Eight-"Old Habits"
Why did we all take something so precious as life for granted?
Why was everyone so afraid to die?
Death.
Why did I have to deal with it?
The truth was, I was afraid of dying.
I was afraid of what it would be like to just not exist.
Not being able to write, or talk to my friends, or start a family.
Not being able to do anything but just be dead.
Sure I went to church where they taught the good people would go to heaven and the bad ones to hell.
But I had no proof of that.
How was I supposed to believe in anything like that when people around me kept getting hurt?
"Hey," Sienna spoke, reaching over to rub my back. "It's gonna be okay."
That had to be the twentieth time she'd told me that.
I think it was more so for her own benefit.
I knew she cared about Troy as well.
"How do you know that?" I asked.
It seemed like my voice wasn't there anymore.
I felt hollow inside and I'm sure that was reflected in the way I sounded when I spoke.
Sienna didn't say anything for the longest time before she sat back and sighed.
"You're right," she said. "I don't know that."
And who was supposed to know the answer to that?
God?
God took Pete from me.
Was he trying to take Troy away from me now?
What kind of a god was that?
I sat back as well, getting comfortable.
We'd been in the hospital all day.
It was almost nine o clock.
The doctors weren't telling us much.
Probably because they knew about as much as we did.
I just wanted to know that Troy wasn't going to die.
Anything but that.
"Wow, sucks being back here," Pete spoke.
I looked to my left.
"You didn't have to come," I replied.
"I'm supposed to be watching over you remember?" Pete replied. "Besides, this is a crucial time."
Pete was standing in front of the door to Troy's room, looking inside the glass on the door.
I stood up and joined him at his side.
"Is he gonna die?" I asked.
"You know I can't answer that," Pete replied.
I sighed and looked through the glass.
I wished someone could tell me something.
"Funny thing about life, we're born and live for years but as soon as it's over, that's it," Pete replied. "That's about when you realize that you're just one speck in time and that the universe is bigger than we know."
I looked over at Pete.
"You get that off a card or something?" I asked.
"Yes, actually," Pete replied, closing a card and handing it to me. "You might wanna buy some flowers to go with it."
I looked back through the glass.
"You'll do alright Mike," Pete replied. "I know you will."
"It's not me I'm worried about," I replied.
Pete sighed.
"Fine," Pete replied. "Just this once, I'll tell you."
I turned to face Pete.
"Troy...he's--"
"Michael."
I opened my eyes and looked around.
I was back in my seat.
"You fell asleep son," my mother spoke.
I looked around.
"Where's Sienna?" I asked.
"I sent her to get something to eat from the cafeteria," my mom replied. "I'll let her know when we know something."
I couldn't take all this hospital stuff.
I hated it here.
Just knowing that I was in a place where death ran rampant....
It was almost too much for me to handle.
But I knew that I had to.
For Troy.
"I just...I don't understand why he'd--"
"Michael, don't," my mother cut me off. "Until we know anything for sure, let's not discuss it."
But that was really all I wanted to do.
Talk about it.
Try to figure out what happened.
I was owed that much at least.
"Ahem, Mrs. Carson," Troy's doctor, Dr. Reed spoke. "Is your husband around?"
"Uh--"
"I'm here," my dad spoke, coming from around a corner. "Is there any news?"
Dr. Reed looked down at me.
"Maybe I should speak with you two in private...."
"Please, just tell us all what's wrong," my mom replied.
"Alright then," Dr. Reed started. "It appears that Troy suffered a severe allergic reaction to something he'd recently ingested, which was made worse by the fact that he received no medical attention for quite some time."
"Oh my...is he going to be alright?" my mom asked.
"Its touch and go," Dr. Reed replied. "We've ran some blood panels to try and get a range of things he may be allergic to but it's really difficult to pinpoint what triggered the reaction exactly."
An allergic reaction?
What had Troy eaten that was out of the ordinary?
At least I knew that he didn't try to kill himself, although I don't think I ever fully believed he was that kind of person.
"Now, the nurse tells me Troy isn't your son," Dr. Reed started.
"That's right. He's an exchange student that's been staying with us the past year," my mom replied.
"In that case I suggest you get a hold of his parents," Dr. Reed replied. "I think they'd want to know about his condition."
"Doctor, in all seriousness, you think he's gonna pull through?" my dad asked.
Dr. Reed sighed, removing his glasses.
"Honestly, I believe so," Dr. Reed replied. "Of course, he's unconscious now and has been for quite some time, but if he wakes up, and there's a good chance that he will, I think he'll be fine."
I don't know if that was good news or bad news.
I didn't like having to deal with any of this.
I hated it all so much that I ran off.
Down the hall past everyone and everything.
I just couldn't take all of it.
It seemed like too much.
I mean, he COULD die.
He SHOULD be fine.
I wanted to know for sure that he would be okay and that nothing like this was ever going to happen again.
Because it was all just a little bit too much to handle all in the same year.
I kept going until I was outside.
I needed fresh air.
I was happy that, with it being nearly summer, I no longer had to worry about it being chilly outside at night.
Not that it would have mattered.
I just needed to get somewhere where I didn't feel trapped.
Those little hospital hallways definitely made a person feel trapped.
I looked up at the moon, which was full tonight.
It looked funny to me.
Like just one little piece of the universe.
I didn't like how small I felt all of a sudden.
I just stared at it for a little while and the next thing I knew, someone was putting their hand on my shoulder.
"Couldn't take it back there huh?" Sienna asked.
I turned around to face her.
"I heard," she spoke, taking a seat next to me.
"I don't want him to die, Sienna," I said.
"Because you like him?" she asked curiously.
"It's more than that...it's...like people around me...things around me keep changing and I'm just trying to keep up with it all," I replied.
I felt like I was on some kind of a highway where everything was moving right past me and I wasn't getting a chance to catch up with everyone else.
"Am I crazy to think that?" I asked.
"No, you're not crazy," Sienna replied. "You just want the best out of life. Like the rest of us."
Then why did I feel like I wasn't always getting the best out of life?
Like I was constantly being dealt the short end of the stick?
"What am I gonna do?" I asked.
Sienna let out a breath.
"Well you can go talk to him," Sienna spoke, looking over at me.
I looked over at her, trying decide if she was being serious.
"What?" I asked.
"He's up," Sienna replied.
"But-"
"The doctors want him to get his rest...but I don't think he'd mind you going to see him."
Then I tried to decide if that was something I wanted to do.
I felt nervous all of a sudden.
I didn't want to go into the room staring into the eyes of a sickly looking shell of Troy's former self.
I wanted to see a healthy Troy, ready to leave this place at a moment's notice.
But I knew that either way, I had to see him.
I just stood up and slowly and nervously headed down the hallway towards his room.
There were a couple doctors standing outside his door talking with my mom and dad.
I hid on the other side of the door until the four of them walked around towards a nurse's station and slipped in when they were gone.
Troy looked over at me, then looked away, almost like he was annoyed to see me.
"Um...."
"I didn't want you to see me like this," he mumbled, looking out the window.
I walked over to his side slowly.
"Troy, I don't care," I replied.
But the truth was that I did care.
I don't know what I would have done if Troy was in bad shape.
He looked perfectly fine other than the dozen or so IV drips that were attached to his arms.
"Who would've thought you'd have an allergic reaction to....what exactly?" I asked.
Troy looked over at me and then looked past me.
"I can't stay here," he said, suddenly sounding really serious.
"Troy, what are you-"
"I heard those doctors," Troy replied. "They wanna call my parents."
I looked over at him with a bemused look.
"Yeah, Troy that's a good thing," I replied.
"Trust me, no it's not," Troy replied.
"I don't understand, I thought your parents were-"
"I lied," Troy spoke shortly.
Well of course he had.
I knew it then and I knew it now.
What I didn't know, however, was why he had lied.
That was what I wanted to know now.
"Troy, what's up with you and your family?" I asked.
Something I'd been wanting to ask for the longest amount of time.
I mean, I so didn't get any of it.
Troy tried sitting up but jerked a little like his arms stung.
I tried to gently push him back down but he just grabbed my arm.
Kind of forcefully actually.
"You have to listen to me Mike," he said, the tone of his voice making me a bit uncomfortable.
I looked down at where his hand was and then up at him.
"You can't let them call my parents," Troy replied. "You have to get me out of here before they find out."
"Find out what Troy?" I asked.
Troy didn't respond.
Instead he started trying to take the covers off of him and started looking around.
"What are they gonna find out Troy?" I asked.
"That information on my transfer sheets? None of its true," Troy spoke.
He started taking the IV needles and tubes out of his arm one by one, not even flinching.
"Troy, you can't-"
"I have to get out of here before they find me...I need to go...I have to..."
I watched as Troy continued taking the needles out of his arms.
He had finally finished taking all of them out and had just started to stand up before he fell over on the ground.
I tried catching him but I wasn't a particularly strong individual and he fell on top of me.
He was passed out.
I wasn't sure what was wrong and I was starting to get worried.
I tried reaching behind me so that I could open the door to call out for help but I couldn't reach it.
"He.....help!" I called out.
Nothing.
"Somebody, help!"
This time two nurses and a doctor came rushing into the room.
"Oh my god!" the doctor exclaimed.
"What the hell happened in here?" one of the nurses asked.
"He was.........is he gonna be okay?" I asked.
"We need ten cc's of insulin in here quickly," the doctor spoke.
"Is he gonna be okay?" I repeated.
"Son, you better hope this kid doesn't die on me," the doctor replied. "Get him out of here!"
The other nurse started pushing me towards the door but my feet wouldn't work.
I wanted to stay in the room with Troy.
I wanted to know that everything was going to be okay.
But once I was pushed outside and into the small hallway again, I wasn't so sure of any one thing anymore.
I didn't know if anything was going to be okay.
My parent's had finally managed to piss me off again.
They wouldn't let me stay at the hospital with Troy.
Sure it was against policy for me, not being a relative, to stay after visiting hours.
And sure the doctors had caught him passed out on top of me with all of his IV tubes missing from his arms.
But none of that meant anything to me.
I just knew that I needed to see Troy.
And as far as I could tell, Troy needed me too.
Oh yeah, and they'd made me go to school the next frickin day!
Troy would probably be up and out of that hospital the first chance he got.
And then I might not have ever been able to see him again.
"I still don't understand why he doesn't want your parent's to call his parents," Sienna spoke.
Neither did I.
But I hadn't really had the chance to find out any more about that either.
"I have to admit, Troy is a pretty secretive guy but I gotta wonder what he's hiding," Max spoke. "It can't be that bad."
With all the weird things Troy did and kept from us, it was pretty much impossible to figure out what, if anything, he was hiding when it came to his parents.
"It's too bad he's in the hospital," Sadie said. "He's such a sweet guy."
"I'm sorry, were you not at church a few weeks back?" Max spoke sarcastically.
"I just meant that I feel bad for him having to go through this and all," Sadie reiterated.
"Yeah well there's a lot more going on with Troy than any of us know," I replied.
I mean, that was practically a given.
Troy was the most complex person that I'd ever met.
I was starting to realize now, though, that it may not exactly have been a good thing in his case.
"And to think Troy's in the hospital all by himself," Sadie said.
"What's wrong with Troy?" Evan asked, joining our group.
I noticed Max's grip on Sadie got tighter as he glared at Evan.
"Come on babe," Max said. "I'll walk you to class."
He and Sadie left after saying goodbye to Sienna and I, leaving the two of us alone with Evan.
"I expected that," Evan said.
"What do you want Evan?" Sienna asked, sounding annoyed.
"I just...I overheard about Troy being in the hospital," Evan replied. "Is he okay? I mean...is there anything I can do?"
"Oh, barf!" Sienna spoke shutting her locker and putting her backpack over her shoulder. "What, do the band geeks not even want you?"
She left still upset.
I didn't know how I felt about being alone with Evan just then.
I felt confused and upset all at once.
I wasn't exactly sure what to do so I just started walking.
Evan joined me at my side.
"I'm trying here," Evan said.
"I can see that," I replied. "I just think it's gonna take everyone else a long time to see that."
Myself included.
I'd been duped by him too many times to know I didn't have any real reason to trust him.
But I had forgiven him and wasn't going to hold his past crimes against him.
And to his credit he wasn't bothering me.
All he wanted to know was information on Troy.
"I don't know if Troy's okay or not," I replied. "My parent's are being bitches."
Ordinarily I wouldn't have used that word.
But that's how upset I was that they wouldn't let me see him.
Evan chuckled as the two of us turned a corner.
"Gotta be tough having to be here with him in the hospital like that," he said.
Yeah it was.
But there wasn't much I could do about it.
My mom even kinda-sorta worked at that hospital.
Granted it was in an entirely different building, but it was still considered part of that hospital.
"If I know anything about Troy it's that he's a pretty tough guy," Evan replied. "I don't think you need to worry."
But I was worried.
About a lot of different things.
I just wasn't sure what thing was more important.
"Anyone seen Troy today?" Paul asked.
"So he was serious about skipping out on your class after all," Clark spoke with a laugh. "Dude's got balls."
"Fifty sentences this time Clark, and write legibly please," Paul spoke.
Clark and Paul had this weird love hate relationship.
Clark was always getting in trouble, but nothing too bad.
Clark just mumbled some curse words under his breath and took out a sheet of paper.
"Um, Paul?" I started, raising my hand. "Troy's....he's sick." I replied.
Paul actually looked worried when I said that.
"Sick of this class syndrome," Clark said. "I get that a lot too."
"He stays with you right?" Paul asked.
"Uh, yeah," I replied.
"Oh..." Paul replied. "Well tell him I hope he gets better."
"Thanks," I replied. "I will."
I'd always thought of Paul as someone I could look up to.
He showed all of us that some people still could be cool when they turned 25.
But lately.....I don't know.
I'd been getting these weird feelings about him.
I didn't exactly know why or what....
I don't know.
Maybe I was overacting but I felt completely out of place.
All of this seemed out of place and it was probably my fault things felt that way.
"Well, I'll uh...start the movie then," Paul started.
"Actually...Paul, would you mind if I left?" I asked.
I didn't know what was wrong with me asking a question like that.
I did however know that I needed to go.
I was starting to feel trapped again.
And Paul was making all that worse.
Paul seemed to eye me strangely for a few moments.
Or maybe I just thought that he was eying me strangely.
But he just nodded gently and let me go.
I grabbed my stuff and felt relieved that I was able to go.
I suddenly knew what I needed to do and now was really the only time that I could do it.
Yesterday I felt out of place at the hospital.
Today, I felt like I was on a mission or something.
And I kinda was.
I was already playing hooky.
I had to play everything just right or I'd be in monumental trouble all around.
Everyone was a lot busier now than they were last night.
They barely noticed me in the halls.
I went so unnoticed that I was easily able to slip into Troy's room.
I was relieved that he was still in the bed when I got there.
He was staring out the window before, and had turned to face me but turned back to it.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding annoyed but kind of weak at the same time.
I walked over beside his bed.
"I just needed to see you," I replied.
He didn't say anything but it kind of looked like I noticed him tense up.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
He turned on his back and looked straight ahead.
"I got three different needles in my left arm, three in my right, and one in each leg," Troy replied. "How do you think I feel?"
With that much medicine, no wonder he was so crabby.
"You're right," I replied. "I'm sorry. But....I was wondering if you wanted to talk."
Troy turned his head pretty quick and looked me seriously in the eyes.
"Your parents are sending me back right?" he said.
I looked at him.
"What? No Troy-"
"So you told them not to call my parents right?" he asked. "I'm serious Mike, they can't...."
"They can't what?" I asked.
Troy sighed and looked away from me.
All this talk about Troy's parents caused me to remember something.
I'd met one of Troy's friends before.
Presumably someone who would have been able to tell me all about his parents.
If he'd had the chance.
"Troy....I need to tell you something," I started.
The only way to do it was to just come right out and say it.
Troy looked back over at me, looking mildly suspicious.
"When you first came here.....I talked to someone that....that knew you..."
Troy sat up, a lot easier than he had yesterday, but just as quickly.
"Who?" he asked.
"Dylan."
He looked away from me and I had to say, he didn't seem too surprised.
"I know," he replied.
"What?"
"I've always known about that," Troy replied. "Look, that's old news-"
"Not to me it isn't!"
"You need to figure out a way to keep your parent's from calling mine-"
"Not until you tell me why first."
Troy sighed.
"Look, I'd love to tell you all about it," he started.
"Then do it-"
"But I don't exactly have time for all this," Troy replied.
He was doing it again.
Putting up a wall.
And I already knew that it was pointless to try and get Troy to tell me anything, not that it'd be true what he told me if he told me anything at all.
"Fine," I replied. "I'm sorry. But you should know he didn't tell me anything. He left before he had a chance to."
Troy didn't seem too shocked to hear that bit of info either but I didn't want to start making assumptions as to why.
I'd probably be totally wrong anyway.
"I'll be fine as long as my parents don't talk to yours," Troy spoke. "It's better for everyone that way."
"Troy-"
"You should go," Troy cut me off. "I don't want you to get in trouble for being here."
I stared at Troy for a few moments before standing up.
He really was shaken up about this whole thing.
Which meant that I really needed to know why.
And I needed to help him.
And I couldn't do that without knowing why I needed to help him first.
I was sure that Max had learned by now that I wasn't gonna be giving him a ride home.
Besides, he spent most of his time with Sadie anyway, so I knew that he wasn't gonna be coming home any time soon.
My mom had left a message on the answering machine by the time I'd got home saying that she and my dad were gonna be late because they'd be visiting Troy and that Max and I were to have leftovers.
We rarely had leftovers.
Once a month probably.
I guess they really cared about Troy as well.
But all that just gave me more time to myself, which was exactly what I wanted.
I remembered that Dylan had called me on my phone before.
I rarely used my phone, which saved the last 150 calls I'd ever made or received unless I deleted them myself.
Since I knew that I'd probably made about thirty or forty calls with my phone since Dylan had called me, his number would still be saved.
And since I only got or received calls from the same people, his number would be the one out of all of them that was different.
And it turned out that I was right.
I was a bit nervous to be calling this guy randomly after so long.
He probably wouldn't even remember who I was.
But I knew that it was imperative that I get a hold of him.
I decided to just do it and get it all out the way.
Do all things at once.
So I dialed it and got ready for whatever was coming.
After two rings, someone picked up.
I could hear loud music in the background and what sounded like a lot of people talking and laughing.
Like what would be the scene at a party.
"Hel...shut up...hello?"
"Hi...uh, is this Dylan?" I asked.
"Dude seriously shut up, I can't hear."
I couldn't tell if it was Dylan's voice or not since it was so loud.
I did notice that whoever it was seemed to be moving to a quieter area.
To hear me better.
Once I barely heard the music, that was when I heard better.
"Okay, who is this?"
"Uh, Mike Carson," I started. "I'm-"
"Oh yeah, I remember you," Dylan said. "You're Troy's new...friend right?"
I didn't like the way he put the extra emphasis on that `friend' part.
"What can I do for you Mikey?" Dylan asked.
I let out a breath.
"Well, I was wondering if you could help me out with something about Troy," I started.
"Oh now the fucker wants my help huh?" Dylan spoke with a chuckle. "What is Colorado not good enough for him anymore and he wants me to bail him out?"
Colorado?
This was Nevada.
But that was beside that point.
"Are you like his best friend or something?" I asked.
Dylan seemed to find that pretty funny because he started laughing.
Hard.
"Uh..."
"Yeah, right," Dylan finally spoke. "What's this about Mike Carson?"
"Listen, Troy's sick-"
"What?"
Before he'd seemed like he didn't really care for Troy.
But now it seemed directly different.
Almost like he was now paying attention for real.
"Do you know Troy's parents?" I asked.
"Yeah.....but-"
"I need some info, but you have to promise not to talk to his parents," I continued. "Okay?"
There wasn't anything on the other end of the phone for a while.
I just waited.
"Um...yeah, dude, whatever," Dylan finally replied.
"What do you know about what Troy's allergic to?" I asked.
"Allergic to? Is that why he's sick? He ate something he's allergic to?"
"Um...yeah...the doctors say he's gonna be fine though so-"
"But they don't know what he's allergic to-"
"They can find out-"
"But he can like...die...right?"
"I didn't say that!"
Then we both stopped.
This kid was starting to get on my nerves.
"Right...sorry...what do you wanna know again?"
Oh man...where to begin, where to begin?
But we didn't time for Dylan to answer the 2,036 questions I had about Troy.
I knew what I wanted to know, but I didn't know what I needed to know.
At least not what would be relevant to the here and now.
Man...this all seemed a lot more planned out before...
"Dude you still there?" Dylan asked.
"Uh...yeah," I replied.
"Are you with Troy? Can I talk with him?" Dylan asked.
"I'm...at home," I replied.
"Look, I know Troy man...and if I know him half as much as I think I do, he hasn't told you guys much about his life," Dylan replied.
"That's what I was counting on you for," I said.
Dylan had started to say something but I heard voices in the background all of a sudden.
It sounded like someone was yelling at him.
More than one person.
"Dylan-"
"Look man, I gotta go...I hope Troy gets better," Dylan said.
"Dyaln, wait...Dylan...hello?"
He was gone.
Again.
And I still didn't find out anything.
What was with Troy and everyone he knew?
They all left me feeling a lot more clueless than before, with more questions than answers.
How was I gonna help Troy now?
I was feeling so frustrated and angered that I nearly missed the sound of someone opening the door downstairs.
From the top of the stairs you'd be able to see the front door but whoever was at it wouldn't be able to see you.
So I exited my room and headed for the stairs, but I ran back into my room when I noticed that whoever was coming up them wasn't someone that lived in this house!
I didn't know what to do.
Fight or flight?
Call the police?
Why did this stuff keep happening to me?
I made sure to put my cellphone on the inside of my sock just in case I was found and held hostage or something.
Then I grabbed the house phone too.
I'd assumed it was thief that was going to start in my parent's room for my mom's jewelry or something.
My parent's room was directly opposite mine on the other end of the hallway, so while the thief had their back turned, I'd be able to whack them in the head with something.
I had a baseball bat in my closet that Gramps had bought me and I'd of course never used.
I grabbed that and was prepared to be brave and swing away
That was about when I realized that the thief had started in Troy's room, which was right next to mine.
My room had two doors, one next to Troy's room and one on the other side to where if I left it, I'd be facing Troy's room.
I picked that door and peeked through the corner of the door.
Whoever the thief was had picked and unusual way to hide their face from people.
The guy, as it was pretty obvious that it was a guy, was wearing a motorcycle helmet.
One of those kinds that covered your whole head and face pretty much.
As I started watching, I quickly realized something.
This thief wasn't trying to take anything they could get their hands on.
Whoever it was was obviously looking for something.
They were going through Troy's backpack, his dresser drawers, his closet.
He kept looking and looking until he finally found something.
His back was to me so I couldn't see what it was, but it was obviously satisfactory enough for him to feel comfortable taking off his helmet.
Then he turned around.
Wait a second, why hadn't I figured it out before?
I mean, the guy had been my teacher for half a school year.
But what was Paul doing in my house?
I moved away from the door as Paul started towards the stairs.
I still didn't know what he'd taken, but I didn't care what it was.
What I wanted to know was why he was so desperate to steal from Troy.
And what the hell was he doing in my house!?!
I didn't move until I was sure he was gone.
And even when I knew he was, I didn't really know what to do.
I knew calling the police wasn't necessary.
At least, it didn't seem that way to me.
This whole thing was getting more and more complicated and I wasn't sure what to do or how to do it.
Why did I have to be so confused about all of this?
Why did I have to-
There was a hand on my mouth in an instant and I was shoved up against the wall.
It took me a moment to register that, but when I had, I realized that Paul, my World Studies teacher, now had me pinned against the wall in my room.
"You were spying on me," he spoke.
Um, no I think he meant that I was watching a criminal break in and steal, trying to determine whether or not to call the police.
"What happened to Troy, Mike?" Paul asked.
And he didn't sound at all like the Paul I'd come to know.
He sounded demanding and scary.
I was actually afraid.
I was so scared, I couldn't say anything.
"WHAT...HAPPENED to Troy, Michael?" Paul shouted, slamming his hand against the wall with each word.
I flinched.
I wasn't sure whether or not he was gonna hurt me.
I was afraid.
"I...I don't know.,....he ate something bad," I replied.
"And now he's gone," Paul replied. "Where is he?"
"He's....he's-"
"Where!"
"He's in the hospital!"
"He's okay?"
Why was he so interested?
This whole thing intrigued me.
Yet terrified me.
"Is he okay?"
"He's fine," I replied. "He's gonna be fine."
Paul stared into my eyes for a bit before he looked down, sighing.
"Why did you come here?" I asked.
Paul looked back up at me.
For a moment, it actually looked like he was going to answer my question.
But then I heard the front door open and close and voices downstairs.
Paul kept a firm grip on me as he led me to the stairs, looking over them.
I could see my parents and Max downstairs.
And I'd thought they were gonna go see Troy.
"Just try saying anything about this," Paul spoke. "I'm not playing around here. Got it?"
"Okay, okay," I replied.
I didn't feel like I had any other choice.
"Alright, now just be cool," Paul replied, me heading down the stairs first, him behind me.
"Michael, there you are," my mom spoke. "Maxwell says you left school early."
"Yeah well-"
"Oh hello there," my mom greeted Paul.
"Mom dad, this is my teacher...P-"
"Mr. Smith," Paul spoke shaking my mom and then dad's hand. "James Smith."
Smith?
But that wasn't his last name.
What was going on here?
Apparently my parents hadn't been introduced to Paul at my birthday party.
Then again, considering what happened, I don't think they'd had enough time to meet him.
"Nice to meet you James," my mother replied.
"Likewise," Paul replied.
My dad looked over at me.
"You okay son? Look a little like you just saw a ghost," he said.
I'm sure I did look a little shaken.
And considering what had just happened, how could I not?
There was a moment where my dad just kind of looked over at Paul, almost like he was suspicious of him.
My dad knew me a lot better than my mom.
"Well it was nice to meet the two of you but I'm afraid I can't stay," Paul spoke. "Mike left so early I didn't get a chance to tell him about the homework assignment. I just thought I'd bring it by personally."
"Oh well that was thoughtful of you," my mom smiled "Thank you."
"No problem," Paul spoke. "Mike, I'll se you in class tomorrow?"
"Uh-"
"Yes, you definitely will," my mother finished for me.
"Alright then," Paul replied, reaching out to shake the hand my father had extended.
I couldn't be certain, but it almost seemed like my dad had squeezed Paul's hand a little tighter than he should have.
"Well...I'll see you then," Paul spoke, as my mother showed him out.
"Man that's gotta suck, him bringing you your homework," Max spoke.
I looked over at my dad who was staring towards the window by the door.
"Dad....what?"
"Nothing son," he replied.
But if he knew me half as well as I thought he did, then he probably saw right through that situation and realized something was wrong.
And something was definitely wrong.
Something was very wrong.
YahooGroup (w/ advanced chapters of the story): http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JoJoPresents-GayFiction/
Personal email: crossingboi2004@yahoo.com
Copyright 2006