Coming Out

Chapter 8

Justin awoke to find Brian staring at him with a mix of emotions in his eyes. “Good morning, how did you sleep?” Justin asked, already knowing the answer. He’d been up most of the night just watching Brian sleep. He’d been afraid to go to sleep himself for fear that it would be the last time he had a chance to look at the beautiful face. Neither one of them knew what was going to happen if Justin’s parents called the police. By the end of the day, Brian could be living God knows where and Justin could be alone once again.

“Good morning, yourself,” Brian said, as he leaned in to give Justin a light kiss on the nose. “I slept great knowing you were here by my side. How about you? Did I hog the bed or steal the blankets?” Brian chuckled.

He’d woken up about an hour earlier, but laid quietly not wanting to disturb Justin. He spent his time watching the blond sleep and dreading the fact that they were about to be separated. There was no way he could go back home after what happened the night before. He’d put up with the beatings from Jack for most of his life, but after seeing the fear in Justin’s eyes he knew he couldn’t do it anymore. He was going to have to go to the police and hope that wherever they sent him, it would at least be a better place then with his parents. It would only be for a year so. How bad could it be? And maybe, if he’s lucky, Justin would still be there when he got back.

“You were perfect, as usual. I could get used to having you in bed with me at night,” Justin answered. He definitely meant what he said. He loved having Brian’s warm body alongside him all night. He felt the tears building behind his eyes and tried to look away before Brian noticed. Unfortunately he didn’t look away fast enough.

“Hey, Justin, what’s the matter?” Brian questioned.

“Nothing, I’m okay. You hungry? Let’s go downstairs and see what’s for breakfast. My mom always makes a big breakfast on Saturday mornings,” Justin replied, hoping Brian would let the subject drop. He should have known better.

“We’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s wrong,” Brian insisted.

Justin sighed, knowing there was no way out of this conversation. “Brian, I’m scared. We don’t know what’s going to happen today. I’m scared that you’re going to have to go home and be hurt by your father. I’m scared that if we go to the police, they’re going to take you away and you’re going to lose everything you have worked so hard for. But most of all, I’m scared that I’m never going to see you again. This last month has been the best time of my life. I’ve never been happier. Now I might lose you and I’ll have nothing left,” Justin cried as he wrapped his arms around Brian and sobbed softly.

“Justin, this last month has been wonderful for me too. Believe me; if there was any other way to get away from my parents I’d do it. Last night you showed me that I can’t let my father get away with hitting me anymore. You’re right about one thing; we don’t know what’s going to happen today. But you’re wrong if you think you’re going to lose me. I may have to move away for awhile, but that’s just geography. We can still keep in touch and it’ll only be for a year. Once I turn eighteen, I’ll be able to do what I want, and what I want is to be with you. We just have to keep it together for awhile and hope for the best. Who knows, maybe while I’m gone you will find someone hotter and forget all about me. Just remember one thing. No matter what happens, I love you.” Brian’s voice cracked from the emotion he was feeling. He knew that there was a possibility that Justin would indeed find someone else while he was gone, and that thought broke his heart, but he needed to be strong and hope that when he returned Justin would still be here and still love him.

“I love you too, and there is no one hotter. When you turn eighteen I’ll be here waiting for you, and then no one can keep us apart. Now let’s go downstairs and get some breakfast. Then we’ll worry about what to do next,” Justin replied. He leaned in giving Brian the softest of kisses, hoping that he was right about no one keeping them apart.

After getting dressed, Brian and Justin went downstairs and found Jennifer and Craig sitting at the table. They were in the middle of what seemed to be a serious conversation and Justin couldn’t help praying that they had come up with a solution for Brian. As brave as he tried to be upstairs, he was dying inside at the thought of Brian being taken away. ‘Well this is it.’ Justin thought to himself before addressing his parents.

“Morning. Is breakfast ready?” He asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

“Not yet. Your father and I have been talking about things this morning. I sent Molly next door to play for awhile so we would have a chance to talk to you both alone. Why don’t you both sit down and I’ll get you some orange juice?” Jennifer suggested.

“Listen Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, I just want to say thank you for worrying about me and wanting to help. It means a lot to me that you would care enough to even try to help me. I’ve thought about it a lot and decided that you were right. I can’t go back to that house again. I’m not going to let my father…I mean Jack hurt me anymore. So why don’t you just call the police so we can get this over with? I may have to put my life on hold for awhile, but it has to be better than living in fear,” Brian announced with as much strength as he could find, while his heart was crying and he was terrified of what was going to become of him.

Jennifer poured the juice before setting them on the table and taking a seat. She took a deep breath, hoping that she and Craig were doing the right thing.

“Brian, I’m so glad you realize that something needs to be done. What your father has been doing to you is wrong. You shouldn’t have to live in fear, especially in your own house. You’re a bright young man Brian, and we do care about you. We could never turn our backs on you and let you be hurt.” Jennifer had to wipe away a tear before continuing. “That’s why we want you to move in here with us. You need a safe place to live where you can continue your schooling without ruining you chances for a successful future. You’ll have to live by our rules, do household chores, observe nightly curfews, that sort of thing, but I think you’ll learn they we’re pretty fair when it comes to our children. So what do you say, should we go prepare the guest bedroom for the newest member of our family?” Jennifer asked.

Brian couldn’t believe what he had just heard. They wanted him to move in to their home. He was overwhelmed by feelings he couldn’t understand, so he did the only thing he could do at the moment. He got up and walked out the back door. He needed to get away and think for a few minutes. He knew he probably seemed ungrateful by just walking out like that, but he needed to be alone to try to absorb what Jennifer had just said to him. Brian sat down on the swing in the corner of the yard and cried.

“I’ll go see if he’s alright,” Justin said, before being stopped by his mother.

“No, let me go. I think he needs someone to talk to and it might be better if it was me. Craig, why don’t you and Justin start cooking breakfast? We’ll be back in a few minutes,” Jennifer said as she headed out the door.

Jennifer found Brian sobbing softly in the swing. She knew he needed to let his emotions out so she just sat alongside him and waited until the sobs quieted. “So Brian, was that a yes or no?” she chuckled, trying to bring a smile to the sad boy next to her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to run out like that. It’s just that no one has ever been so nice to me before. I appreciate all that you and Mr. Taylor are trying to do for me, but this isn’t your problem. Why would you want to take in some messed up kid who couldn’t even get his own parents to love him?” Brian asked in a tortured voice.

“Oh Brian, believe it or not, you’re not a messed up kid. As for your parents not loving you, that’s there problem, not yours. You didn’t do anything to make them who they are. They’re the messed up ones. Like I said inside, you are such a bright young man and we care about you. We want to give you a chance to grow up to be the wonderful man that we know you can be. So what do you say? Should we go see about setting up your new room?” Jennifer asked.

Brian had to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall once again. “Thank you Mrs. Taylor, you have no idea how much this means to me,” he choked out.

“Seeing that we’re going to be living in the same house now, I think it’s safe for you to call me Jennifer,” she said with a smile, grabbing his hand and leading him back to the house.

As Justin watched his mother and Brian come back inside, he noticed that Brian was still pretty upset. He wanted desperately to run to him and throw his arms around the boy and take away the pain that he saw, but of course he couldn’t do that with his parents in the room. Instead he just looked him in the eye and mouthed the words I love you when no one was looking. He saw a little smile appear on that beautiful face as Brian mouthed back, me too. Neither of them realized that Jennifer had witnessed the whole thing. Now she had her suspicions confirmed and wondered once again if having Brian living here was a good thing.


End of part 8
6/9/03

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