What Remains (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 35

When they arrived back at their home, Carter's parents helped Josh get into the house while Carter himself carried the luggage containing some of Josh's clothes they had picked up from his boat. He was still a little weak due the anesthetics and still needed to take as much rest as possible.

Josh would have to return to the hospital for check-ups in two weeks. The nurse had also given them instructions on how to help him with the sling around his arm when it came to dressing up and dressing down.

When he was inside, Carter went up to the guest room, which was actually the office room his father used during vacations to do some of his work at home, and placed the bag on the desk. The sofa had a pull-out-bed and he could see that his mother had already made it up with sheets and pillows.

The bed sheet covers were the same ones Carter always had when he was younger; light blue with floral print. Looking at it now, he realized how girly it was. He remembered that his parents had bought him new plain ones, with darker colors and less girly prints. But he always kept asking where they had left the floral one, mainly because he liked the print so much. It reminded him of sunny spring days, sitting in the meadow with Josh and Alyssa after school. He thought back of how Alyssa tried to teach him how to make flower-crowns with the daisies and dandelions, because he thought they looked really pretty. He never succeeded at making them, though.

As he was about to leave the room, the door was opened again and Josh walked in. Carter looked up at him, feeling quite awkward all of a sudden.

"Hey," Josh said, one hand rubbing the back of his neck as he looked about the room.

"Hey," Carter greeted him back. He gazed at Josh's tall frame, his face, his sharp jawline and how his blond hair was ruffled in messy waves. This boy, right here in front of him, he loved him. He loved him so much, yet his heart bled for him. There was still this side of him that he couldn't understand, no matter how much he tried to.

"Wasn't this your father's office? The room that we were never allowed to enter when we were younger?" Josh asked.

Carter let out a chuckle when he started to remember. "Yeah, it was. Back when my father still sometimes worked at home. He rarely ever does that nowadays."

"Is he away a lot?" Josh asked as he walked over to the sofa bed and sat down at the mattress.

Carter leaned against the wall and folded his arms behind his back. "Pretty much. Ever since he got his promotion he's been busier than ever. I only really see him on the weekends," he said.

Josh lifted his head a bit and looked at the bedsheets. "You still have these, huh?" he said, a smile forming his lips.

Carter watched as his hand glided over the floral fabric. Seeing him sitting there brought back memories about all the times Josh had stayed over and how he had once spilled lemonade on those very same sheets. It was a funny memory but the feeling of nostalgia also made it slightly sad.

Carter reached into his pocket and got the card out that had the phone number of officer Maxwell written on it. He walked up to Josh and handed him the small paper card. "Listen, you should keep this with you. In case you change your mind about story you've told those officers."

Josh stared at the card for a moment, eyes briefly flickering up to meet with Carter's. He appeared to be hesitant before he accepting the card, and even when he did, he immediately put it in his own pocket.

"Call them," Carter said, pushing off the wall. "Whenever you're ready."

He exited the room, not exactly in the mood to have a discussion about the case against Steve Marson again. He had every right to show Josh that he was displeased by his behavior, in his opinion.

If it was time he needed, then Carter would give that to him. As long as he'll be honest with himself and with the police in the end.

He walked downstairs to the kitchen, deciding that he needed something sugary and full of caffeine. Preferably a nice cup of coffee.

As he walked into the kitchen, he found his father sitting at the table, already drinking a cup of coffee Carter so desired.

"How's Josh doing?" Carl asked his son.

Carter grabbed a mug and turned the coffee machine back on, watching as the dark liquid filled the ceramic. "Good, I think," he said. He brought the mug to his lips and the first sip immediately felt heavenly. It felt like it had been ages since he had last drank coffee, even though he had drank coffee with Chris not that long ago.

"You know, Carter, we haven't really talked about your relationship with Josh yet," his father then said.

Carter knew what that meant. He gave a soft sigh and went to sit at the table as well with his hands wrapped around the warm mug. "No, we haven't," he said. "But does this mean that you really want to talk about it?"

"Well, of course I do. You're my son and this is your first relationship. At least, the first relationship that I know of. And it's with Josh, nonetheless."

Carter knew that his father meant well, yet he wasn't sure what to tell him as of now. "Well, I've been in love with Josh for a very, very long time now. I really began to realize it right before we moved away. I thought that during the five years that we were gone, that my feelings would eventually disappear. At some point, I actually did think that I had gotten over him. But as soon as I saw him again after we moved back, everything came back to me."

Carter's father took a sip from his coffee and furrowed his eyebrows a bit. "Why didn't you ever tell us?"

A huff escaped Carter's lips and he looked up at his father. "Because that's not exactly something you "just tell" your parents, dad," he said. "Hey, dad, guess what?! I'm queer! I like boys! In fact, I've been in love with my best friend for over five years now, and he also likes me back!"

Carl laughed and shook his head. "That's not what I meant," he said. "You know, I always had a feeling that you were gay. You were never into the "boyish" things, and you never seemed interested in girls at all. I thought that maybe as you grew older, you'd get more masculine, and your hormones would cause you to show more interest, but that never happened. So I guess when your mother told me, it didn't really come as a surprise."

"Oh." For some reason, that made Carter feel a little better. If it had always been partly expected for him to come out as gay, then that meant that the shock wasn't as big as he feared it would be.

"But just to be clear... you're sure you're 100% gay? Not bisexual, perhaps?" his father asked.

Carter chuckled. "No, I'm pretty sure I'm just gay."

"Okay," Carl said, leaning back against his chair. "Just wanted to make sure."