Locked Away - Book 1

Chapter 16

Thanksgiving Day

"I'm so sorry I have to work tonight." Abby won't stop moving as she talks.

"It's fine. I'm just gonna go to Tyler's."

"Yeah?" She smiles.

"What?"

"Nothin'. You and Tyler have been hanging out a lot recently."

"We're just friends."

"Yeah..." She smiles even more. "Of course."

"And I was thinking of staying the weekend."

"Oh... yeah... if that's what you want..."

"I'll be back Sunday though. Maybe we can try out that new sushi place."

"Yeah. Sure. Roger probably won't like it though."

"Oooh, that sucks..." Not.

She says nothing, just smiles.

I leave the house and Tyler is sitting in his car waiting for me. I still get excited each time I see him.

"So..." Tyler starts driving. "I'm telling my family today."

"Really?"

"Really." I place my hand on his leg. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks."

"How are you feeling about it?"

"Um... I'm nervous as hell."

"Why? Do you think they won't..."

"Oh. No. I think they'll be fine with it. I think so. I don't really know why I'm so nervous actually. I just am."

"It's probably more of the action of saying it out loud. Admitting to the world that you're gay."

"Maybe..."

"Hey..." I squeeze his leg. "It's going to be alright. It's like ripping off a bandage. You'll feel so much better afterward. And I'll be there if you need anything."

"I know... thanks."

We arrive at his house.

"Eliot!" Bode comes running up.

Why is he always so excited to see me? I'm here nearly every day.

"Hey, Bodester!" That makes him laugh every time.

"Come." He grabs my hand. "I got a new video game you've gotta see." He starts pulling me away and I just look back at Tyler looking both scared and happy.

Dinner comes and goes. Duncan and Bryan join us. The food is good. We laughed. We had a good time. But the entire time my mind was somewhere else. I began to realize that I'd never had a real Thanksgiving dinner before. With people I consider my family.

I started thinking about my past. The past homes I was in. The people I was with. The way Thanksgiving always went. It just... it made me feel... sad? Grateful?

"Hey, can you help me with something?" Tyler looks at me and we get up from the couch and the intense game of Scrabble going on.

"What's going on?" I whisper as we walk into the other room.

"I'm doing it."

"Oh!" I touch his arm. "It'll all be good."

"Thanks."

"I'll wait upstairs."

"Ok. Sorry."

"It's fine. Just come get me when you're ready."

"Thanks." He kisses me and I head upstairs.

I look back at Tyler, taking a few deep breathes before stepping back into the living room.

As I reach the top of the stairs I find myself looking down the hall. Just like I did in my "dream". I walk down the hall, feeling my heart slowly start to speed up.

"It was just a dream," I whisper to myself.

I turn the corner and find the stairs to the attic. I make my way up, a sense of De Ja Vu hitting me. I open the door, that same creaking sound as before. Then I walk in. And it looks exactly as I remember it. I look around until I see a few spots of blood on the rug right where I remember cutting myself.

So not a dream? Fuck!

The slightest of temperature changes suddenly makes me shake a little. My body becomes just a bit more clenched.

"Eliot?" I nearly jump out of my skin before turning around and seeing Tyler. "What are you doing up here?"

"Um... I... Oh! Are you already done? How'd it go?"

"Great actually. Duncan is probably more thrilled than anyone. My mom said she had an idea a few years ago, but I call bullshit on that. Kinsey said she realized it a little while ago, once you started coming over. I believe her though, she knows me well. Bode didn't seem to care either way. He was more excited that you're my boyfriend than that I'm gay."

"Oh."

"Oh! I guess we never really had that talk..." Things get awkward for a few seconds as I begin to think.

"Boyfriend?" I ponder it for a second. "Never really had one before."

"Really?" More like sex friends, but I won't tell him that.

"Yeah... but I guess you'd make a good first."

"Wow, you sound so thrilled."

"Oh trust me. I am." I move forward and grab his hips, kissing him.

"Wanna go back down and continue getting destroyed in Scrabble?"

"You mean crushing you and your entire family like I've been doing?"

"Oh?" We laugh and walk off, but then I look back at the attic, a weird feeling that I'm missing something.