Hold On - Chapter One
HOLD ON - Chapter 1/7
by
Kimberley
Will a traumatic event bring the family closer together? Or tear them apart?
WARNING: Violence
PAIRING: Brian/Justin
RATING: G
HOLD ON
Chapter One
by
Kimberley
I’m rummaging through the closet, wearing only a towel, when the phone begins to ring. Glancing in the direction of the living room, I can see Gus still totally engrossed in the latest Xbox adventure.
“No, no, don’t get up,” I tease as I make his way down to where the cordless sits on the counter. “I’ll get it.”
“Well, I don’t actually live here,” Gus replies with a mischievous smile, though his eyes never leave the action on the screen.
“I’ll remember you said that next time you show up at the door needing an escape from two mothers and a little sister,” I respond with a laugh as I pick up the phone and check the display screen. The smile remains as I answer. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Brian responds in kind. “I know we had plans with Gus, but I’m not going to be able to make it.”
“Everything OK?” I ask. In the ten years we’ve been together, the last six actually living together as partners, I’ve become accustomed to the demands business sometimes makes on our time.
“Remson finally got the go-ahead from the FDA. He wants to start the marketing campaign right away before news leaks out.”
“Wow,” I reply, knowing how big this will be for Kinnetik. “That’s great.”
“Yeah,” Brian agrees, “but it means I’ll be here for another four hours or so getting things started.”
“No problem,” I assure him. “Gus brought over a new game so he probably won’t even notice you’re not here.” I laugh as a throw pillow sails through the air toward me.
Brian chuckles, knowing too well his son’s penchant for video games. “Probably not,” he agrees. “Put him on.”
“He wants to talk to you,” I say, handing the phone to Gus.
“Hey, Dad,” Gus says into the handset.
I can hear Gus’ end of the conversation as I head to the bedroom to get dressed.
“Yeah, you’re busy. That’s OK, we’ll just hang out here and play my new game.” His voice gets slightly louder and I know something’s coming that I’m supposed to hear. “Justin may act all grown up and mature, but I can tell he’s dying to get his hands on it. Are you sure he’s not lying to you about his age?”
“I heard that,” I call, giving him the reaction he was expecting.
As I come down the steps from the bedroom, I can tell that Brian just asked about homework.
“Of course, Dad. Do you honestly think I’d be playing video games if I hadn’t?”
It’s more like Brian knows I wouldn’t be letting him play video games if he hadn’t.
“I’m ten, Dad, I can stay up as late as I want; Mom said so.”
“What she said,” I correct him, “was that you could stay up later since it’s Friday night. ‘Later’ does not mean ‘as late as you want’.”
Gus huffs a sigh into the phone. He’s already aspiring to be a drama queen. I don’t want to think too deeply about which one of us may have influenced him more over the years in that respect.
“He’s really not much fun when you’re not here, ya know,” he mutters to his father.
I try to hide my smile. At ten, Gus has no idea how true those words are. I am more fun when Brian’s here. Brian’s idea of fun, anyway.
“Just us three guys?” Gus asks with a hopeful smile.
“Ok. Night, Dad.”
Gus hands the phone to me with a teasing twinkle in his eyes. “He wants to talk to you.”
I have to roll my eyes at the sing-song tone and the kissy faces he’s making at me.
“He’s all you, Brian,” I say into the phone, aiming what I know is a woefully inadequate glare at my young charge.
I can practically hear the responding smile on the other end of the line. “So, what will the two of you do in my absence?” he asks casually.
“Well,” I reply, watching Gus, “we might go out to dinner anyway…” He shakes his head and motions dialing a phone. “On the other hand, we might order in,” I conclude as Gus smiles and nods enthusiastically. “Probably pizza. Then maybe we’ll rent a movie, and, of course, there’s Gus’ new game. I might need to show him how to play.”
“Hey!” Gus exclaims in indignation.
We both laugh at the outburst, knowing that Gus professes himself to be quite the gamer.
“Ok, I’ll be home as soon as I can. If you go to bed, make sure you lock the door.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll still be up…um… awake when you get home,” I reply, lowering my voice though I’m fairly certain Gus won’t pick up on the innuendo.
“Mmm, I’ll be looking forward to that,” Brian assures me in his sexiest voice. “Later.”
“Later,” I reply with a smile before hanging up the phone and turning to Gus. “So, pizza?”
********
We finish eating and decide we need to stock up on popcorn and soda for the movie.
“I’ll head to the video store while you go get the rest of the stuff,” Gus suggests as we make the short walk down the street toward the stores.
“Good idea,” I pretend to play along. “Next time I’m looking to be drawn and quartered, I’ll keep it in mind.”
“But they’re like two feet away from each other,” Gus protests. “I’m not a little kid, you know.”
I regard him for a moment with a small smile. “No, you’re not,” I agree, “but little or not, you’re not going into the video store or the convenience store at night by yourself.”
“Why not?” he demands, crossing his arms over his chest. “Mama let me go in all by myself to take a move back last week.”
I try to hide a smile. “Was it dark?”
“No,” he admits reluctantly.
“Could Mama see you the whole time from the car?” I know how Melanie’s mind works.
I can see he doesn’t want to answer but knows he has to. “Yeah,” he mutters.
“Do you see how it’s not the same?” I ask calmly. “If I’m in one store and you’re in another, how am I supposed to see you?”
I can practically see the wheels turning as he tries to think of a viable argument. “You’re tricky,” he finally says, a small smile touching his lips. “Just like my dad.”
“Your dad does have a knack for getting his way,” I agree with a grin.
“But not all the time, right?” he teases, the sparkle back in his eye.
“We just have to make sure he never finds that out,” I stage-whisper with a playful wink.
One play for independence crisis averted.
We’re both laughing as we enter the small convenience store. Suddenly, time seems to stand still for an instant before resuming at a rate much slower than would be considered the norm. I see the man standing at the counter, see him whirl to face us as he hears our voices. I don’t have time to register anything but the look in his eyes and it fills me with a sickening dread.
As quickly as I can, even knowing it won’t be fast enough, I throw myself at Gus, knocking us into a cardboard display before we crash to the floor. Someone is shouting, someone else is screaming, but the only sound that means anything to me is that of two sharp cracks as they cut through the surrounding cacophony.
I do my best to cover Gus with my own body, my eyes closed tightly in wait. I hear footsteps coming quickly toward us and I tense, relieved when the person runs past us and through the nearby door. A moment later, I feel a hand on my arm.
“Oh, my God,” someone is saying. “Are you all right?”
My heart races as I pull back slightly to look into the still face of my lover’s son. “Gus?” I whisper, touching the boy’s cheek. “Gus??”
A woman’s voice reaches my ears. “He’s been shot!”
Only then do I allow my gaze to leave Gus’ face and travel to the small circle of blood spreading on the front of his shirt.
“Call an ambulance,” I rasp. The stranger’s hand lingers on my arm a fraction of a second too long and I shake it off angrily. “Call a fucking ambulance, now!”
More footsteps, hurrying away this time as I turn my attention back to the still form on the floor. “Hold on, Gus,” I plead, taking one of the boy’s limp hands in mine. “Please, just hold on.”
On to Chapter Two
by
Kimberley
Will a traumatic event bring the family closer together? Or tear them apart?
WARNING: Violence
PAIRING: Brian/Justin
RATING: G
HOLD ON
Chapter One
by
Kimberley
I’m rummaging through the closet, wearing only a towel, when the phone begins to ring. Glancing in the direction of the living room, I can see Gus still totally engrossed in the latest Xbox adventure.
“No, no, don’t get up,” I tease as I make his way down to where the cordless sits on the counter. “I’ll get it.”
“Well, I don’t actually live here,” Gus replies with a mischievous smile, though his eyes never leave the action on the screen.
“I’ll remember you said that next time you show up at the door needing an escape from two mothers and a little sister,” I respond with a laugh as I pick up the phone and check the display screen. The smile remains as I answer. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Brian responds in kind. “I know we had plans with Gus, but I’m not going to be able to make it.”
“Everything OK?” I ask. In the ten years we’ve been together, the last six actually living together as partners, I’ve become accustomed to the demands business sometimes makes on our time.
“Remson finally got the go-ahead from the FDA. He wants to start the marketing campaign right away before news leaks out.”
“Wow,” I reply, knowing how big this will be for Kinnetik. “That’s great.”
“Yeah,” Brian agrees, “but it means I’ll be here for another four hours or so getting things started.”
“No problem,” I assure him. “Gus brought over a new game so he probably won’t even notice you’re not here.” I laugh as a throw pillow sails through the air toward me.
Brian chuckles, knowing too well his son’s penchant for video games. “Probably not,” he agrees. “Put him on.”
“He wants to talk to you,” I say, handing the phone to Gus.
“Hey, Dad,” Gus says into the handset.
I can hear Gus’ end of the conversation as I head to the bedroom to get dressed.
“Yeah, you’re busy. That’s OK, we’ll just hang out here and play my new game.” His voice gets slightly louder and I know something’s coming that I’m supposed to hear. “Justin may act all grown up and mature, but I can tell he’s dying to get his hands on it. Are you sure he’s not lying to you about his age?”
“I heard that,” I call, giving him the reaction he was expecting.
As I come down the steps from the bedroom, I can tell that Brian just asked about homework.
“Of course, Dad. Do you honestly think I’d be playing video games if I hadn’t?”
It’s more like Brian knows I wouldn’t be letting him play video games if he hadn’t.
“I’m ten, Dad, I can stay up as late as I want; Mom said so.”
“What she said,” I correct him, “was that you could stay up later since it’s Friday night. ‘Later’ does not mean ‘as late as you want’.”
Gus huffs a sigh into the phone. He’s already aspiring to be a drama queen. I don’t want to think too deeply about which one of us may have influenced him more over the years in that respect.
“He’s really not much fun when you’re not here, ya know,” he mutters to his father.
I try to hide my smile. At ten, Gus has no idea how true those words are. I am more fun when Brian’s here. Brian’s idea of fun, anyway.
“Just us three guys?” Gus asks with a hopeful smile.
“Ok. Night, Dad.”
Gus hands the phone to me with a teasing twinkle in his eyes. “He wants to talk to you.”
I have to roll my eyes at the sing-song tone and the kissy faces he’s making at me.
“He’s all you, Brian,” I say into the phone, aiming what I know is a woefully inadequate glare at my young charge.
I can practically hear the responding smile on the other end of the line. “So, what will the two of you do in my absence?” he asks casually.
“Well,” I reply, watching Gus, “we might go out to dinner anyway…” He shakes his head and motions dialing a phone. “On the other hand, we might order in,” I conclude as Gus smiles and nods enthusiastically. “Probably pizza. Then maybe we’ll rent a movie, and, of course, there’s Gus’ new game. I might need to show him how to play.”
“Hey!” Gus exclaims in indignation.
We both laugh at the outburst, knowing that Gus professes himself to be quite the gamer.
“Ok, I’ll be home as soon as I can. If you go to bed, make sure you lock the door.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll still be up…um… awake when you get home,” I reply, lowering my voice though I’m fairly certain Gus won’t pick up on the innuendo.
“Mmm, I’ll be looking forward to that,” Brian assures me in his sexiest voice. “Later.”
“Later,” I reply with a smile before hanging up the phone and turning to Gus. “So, pizza?”
********
We finish eating and decide we need to stock up on popcorn and soda for the movie.
“I’ll head to the video store while you go get the rest of the stuff,” Gus suggests as we make the short walk down the street toward the stores.
“Good idea,” I pretend to play along. “Next time I’m looking to be drawn and quartered, I’ll keep it in mind.”
“But they’re like two feet away from each other,” Gus protests. “I’m not a little kid, you know.”
I regard him for a moment with a small smile. “No, you’re not,” I agree, “but little or not, you’re not going into the video store or the convenience store at night by yourself.”
“Why not?” he demands, crossing his arms over his chest. “Mama let me go in all by myself to take a move back last week.”
I try to hide a smile. “Was it dark?”
“No,” he admits reluctantly.
“Could Mama see you the whole time from the car?” I know how Melanie’s mind works.
I can see he doesn’t want to answer but knows he has to. “Yeah,” he mutters.
“Do you see how it’s not the same?” I ask calmly. “If I’m in one store and you’re in another, how am I supposed to see you?”
I can practically see the wheels turning as he tries to think of a viable argument. “You’re tricky,” he finally says, a small smile touching his lips. “Just like my dad.”
“Your dad does have a knack for getting his way,” I agree with a grin.
“But not all the time, right?” he teases, the sparkle back in his eye.
“We just have to make sure he never finds that out,” I stage-whisper with a playful wink.
One play for independence crisis averted.
We’re both laughing as we enter the small convenience store. Suddenly, time seems to stand still for an instant before resuming at a rate much slower than would be considered the norm. I see the man standing at the counter, see him whirl to face us as he hears our voices. I don’t have time to register anything but the look in his eyes and it fills me with a sickening dread.
As quickly as I can, even knowing it won’t be fast enough, I throw myself at Gus, knocking us into a cardboard display before we crash to the floor. Someone is shouting, someone else is screaming, but the only sound that means anything to me is that of two sharp cracks as they cut through the surrounding cacophony.
I do my best to cover Gus with my own body, my eyes closed tightly in wait. I hear footsteps coming quickly toward us and I tense, relieved when the person runs past us and through the nearby door. A moment later, I feel a hand on my arm.
“Oh, my God,” someone is saying. “Are you all right?”
My heart races as I pull back slightly to look into the still face of my lover’s son. “Gus?” I whisper, touching the boy’s cheek. “Gus??”
A woman’s voice reaches my ears. “He’s been shot!”
Only then do I allow my gaze to leave Gus’ face and travel to the small circle of blood spreading on the front of his shirt.
“Call an ambulance,” I rasp. The stranger’s hand lingers on my arm a fraction of a second too long and I shake it off angrily. “Call a fucking ambulance, now!”
More footsteps, hurrying away this time as I turn my attention back to the still form on the floor. “Hold on, Gus,” I plead, taking one of the boy’s limp hands in mine. “Please, just hold on.”
On to Chapter Two