Love & Other Curses, 1985 | bxb | ONC 2024

CHAPTER 14: The Perfect Kiss

My heart yearned to be known and loved.

~ Mary Shelley, Frankenstein.

Thomas pulled away from Adam and stood on the weathered slab, towering over him. "Why do you have to make this so hard for me?"

"What the hell?" Adam rubbed his forehead before looking up at the frustrating boy. "It's not about being easy or hard. You want this as much as I do. You fucking tremble when I touch you. So, why do you keep fighting this?"

Thomas shouted, "Because I'm not supposed to like a boy."

He scurried to the top of the hill and paced back and forth, hands on his head. "What happened to this is enough? Oh, and what did you say—you already have me?" Thomas stopped and stared down at Adam. "Was that before or after you stuck your tongue down Sally's throat?"

Adam jumped onto the cement ledge and marched up the hill, slipping several times before he reached the top. "No way," he said, poking Thomas in the chest. "You don't get to blame me. That's not what this is about."

"Oh, then tell me," Thomas said, poking Adam back. "What's this about?"

"You're shitting bricks because you're too scared to kiss me."

Thomas stared at the impossible boy with his intolerable muscles, unbearable beauty, and dreadful charm, shivering at the truth. "I'm not scared of you."

Adam moved closer. "Then kiss me."

"Like I'd kiss you after what you did." Thomas turned from Adam and dropped to the ground to hide his shaking legs. He dug his fingers into the earth, searching for the hidden entrance.

"What are you doing?" Adam asked, annoyed.

"I'm going into the well."

Adam leaned against the lone tree at the top of the hill and watched the desperate boy. "You are not. You're avoiding me. But I'm not going anywhere, not this time. And I don't care if they ring that damn bell."

"I'm serious," Thomas said, uncovering the four corners of the thick board. "I've been coming to this hill for ten years, and not once have I considered discovering what's inside."

"What the hell does this have to do with us?"

"Everything," Thomas yelled. He looked up at Adam, tears brimming in his eyes. "Don't you get it? You're asking me to change my entire life, to risk everything. And I've never even bothered to discover the truth about the one place that has always been my refuge. My sisters told me a story I had believed for years, only to be informed by a teacher that it was all a lie. And then I believed him for years." Thomas pointed at himself. "I need to know for myself. I have to do this."

Adam dropped down beside him. "Then let me help you."

Dirt and rocks wedged under his fingernails as Thomas dug harder, clearing the edges.

Together, they finished uncovering the weathered wood nailed into the cement. Adam pried his fingers under one side of the warped cover. He tore the top off in one strong tug, breaking the board into several pieces.

"Look," Thomas said. "There's a ladder."

The cemented opening, barely wide enough to fit the ladder propped against the rounded entrance, disappeared into a black hole.

Adam touched the blackened ladder. "Holy shit," he said. "It's made of wood. How long do you think this has been here?"

"I don't care." Thomas stood up. "I'm going down."