Ghost (Second Edition)

Chapter Nine--Whispers Through the Window

Luis

Luis slumped against his bedroom door. His face ached where his mother hit him. She'd hit him twice—hard—once for the wetting, the other because she had to use water for him to wash his only set of clothes.

Luis stumbled to the ratty, moth-eaten mattress that was his bed. Longing for one of Nathan's soft, gentle kisses. He flopped onto the mattress which was under the dirty window. His room was small and bare. Hardwood floors with the occasional splinter sticking out. A single wooden desk and chair by the door. There was no wardrobe, he didn't need one. There was a small bowl at the foot of his bed he used as a chamber pot; since his mother locked the bedroom door at night. It had taken years of begging just to get the bowl, so he had something to relieve himself in.

Staring blankly at the far wall, Luis picked at the sleeve of his too-big shirt. He was wearing clothes that had belonged to his father; he was glad the pants could be tightened. He didn't know his father. He kind of wished he did, but his father had left before Luis had been born.

As the room darkened, then lit with the eerie glow of the moon, he heard the faint click of his bedroom door being locked. Luis looked half-longingly at his desk drawer. It held a knife, a lighter, and a few stolen cigarettes. Around now was the time when he did his body harm to fight the ever-growing wave of depression that engulfed him. But instead, Luis curled up into the fetal position as tightly as he could, thinking of whatever surprise Nathan wanted to bring him, and how he would bring it.

Just as Luis was dozing off, he was snapped into awareness by a light tapping on his window. He pushed himself up and spied a pale hand as it tapped again. With a frown, Luis stood and went to it, opening it cautiously.

"Nathan?" Luis whispered.

"Surprise!" Nathan whispered back, "Can I come in?"

Luis hesitated, then stepped back. He felt self-conscious of the bareness of his room, this was something he had never intended for Nathan to see. He was just glad he had decided not to do anything reckless before Nathan appeared like Romeo under his window.

Nathan clambered up and swung his legs over the old windowsill, his feet were bare and made no sound as he landed on the wooden floor. He looked around in shock at the bare space before him.

"This can't be your room!" He hissed, "And don't give me that poor bullshit!" Luis looked at the floor and shrugged, he didn't need to say anything. "What's this?" Nathan asked, nudging the chamber pot with his toe.

"My toilet. At least at night..." Luis murmured, not meeting Nathan's gaze.

Nathan raised his eyebrows. "Can't you get up and go to the bathroom?" He asked, his voice low.

"Mum locks the door."

Nathan looked furious. "That's not right," he hissed, clenching his fists, "It's not fair! Everyone should have the right to use a toilet!"

"I have a toilet. The chamber pot," Luis said, nodding at the ceramic bowl.

"That's nothing but a shallow dish!" Nathan's voice was harsh, but it wasn't directed at Luis, it was directed at Luis's mother, "I bet it overflows!" Nathan continued.

"Only when it's a decent pee," Luis admitted, his face flushing with embarrassment.

Nathan's anger seemed to vanish, and he came over, pulling Luis into a hug. Luis melted into the embrace. At once it was like he had the perfect life, no neglect, no hate. A life full of love. Nathan was his bright light in the ever-increasing darkness. Nathan pulled away reluctantly and unslung Luis's backpack and handed it to him.

"You left this in our car."

Luis held it close, feeling the frayed fabric, rough but soft against his fingers, hoping the one precious thing it held was still inside, but was too embarrassed to check. "Thank you." He breathed.

" Everything is still in there," Nathan murmured, hands in his pockets. It was something he did, Luis realized when he was nervous. Luis blushed bright red.

"You looked through my bag?"

"It was open... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Nathan met his gaze and Luis found he believed him.

"Is this the surprise you were talking about?" Luis asked, setting his bag down by the desk.

"My being here was the surprise," Nathan admitted with a smile, the smallest of blushes colouring his cheeks. "We can do whatever you want. Study, talk, read..."

"Kiss me." The words were out before Luis could stop them; his blush darkened. Nathan blushed too.

"Alright." He said softly as he approached.

Luis didn't move, his heart was pounding in his chest as he looked up at Nathan. Nathan caught his chin and tipped his head up to kiss him gently.

Luis destroyed gently as soon as their lips met. He gripped the collar of Nathan's shirt and kissed him back, standing on his toes and opening his mouth to deepen the kiss. Nathan's lips tasted of sugar and tea. Nathan held him close, one hand cupping the back of Luis's head; the other wrapped around Luis's back.

Luis managed to drag Nathan to his bed and fell on it. Still kissing, desire making him reckless. Nathan saddled himself on top of Luis, legs on either side of his hips. Luis inched his hands towards Nathan's flat stomach, he moaned softly as Nathan kissed the base of his neck.

Luis's hands slipped under Nathan's shirt, causing the other boy to shudder and kiss him deeply. Nathan's skin was smooth, and Luis could feel the lumps of his spine as his hands explored up his body. He kissed Nathan back, enjoying the taste of him. He gasped a little as he felt the other boy's fingers looping around the waistband of his pants and start to pull them down over his narrow hips.

Could this really be happening?

Apparently not.

His mother's flea-bitten, rag of a dog started barking down the hall. He must have finally sensed Nathan in the house. The two broke apart, gasping for breath. Despite his longing, Luis felt suddenly exposed and self-conscious with his pants pulled down low enough to see the band of his underwear. He quickly hitched them up.

"You'd better go. Mat hardly ever barks, so Mother will know something is up." He murmured as he looked at Nathan and saw the same longing in his eyes.

He heard his mother's bedroom door open and heard her shuffle down to the back door.

"Right." Nathan was breathing hard, his face flushed. He backed off the bed, nearly knocking over the chamber pot as he headed to the window. "See you tomorrow, at school." He whispered; desire clear in his blue eyes.

"How about a study session tomorrow night?" Luis asked, with a small smile. Nathan returned the smile.

"Sure." He swung his legs over the windowsill and was about to jump off when he seemed to remember something. He looked back at Luis. "Come to Prom with me?" His eyes were wide and his face a deep cherry red.

Luis blushed a deep scarlet. "S-sure. I don't have anything good to wear though."

"I can fix that," Nathan reassured him, flashing a grin before slipping from sight.

Just in time too. Luis heard his mother come back up the hall, and quickly fell to his side, facing the wall and pretending to be asleep. He heard his bedroom door unlock and creak open, then Mat's unclipped claws as they tapped on the floor. The dog took a few steps into the room sniffed, and then left. The door closed and locked again, and Luis allowed himself a sigh of relief and relaxed before slipping off into sleep. his dreams full of Nathan and the happy life they could have together.