One Hot Summer (boyxboy)

Chapter 48: The truth untold

"Keep your hands off my stuff!"
☆

Molly is sat quietly enjoying an afternoon to herself, with Jim out in the fields and Jasper upstairs in his room packing his bag for his departure in the morning. She takes a much appreciated sip of her hot coffee, whilst reading one of her romantic erotic novels about the two men who were once enemies. She becomes lost in the story, just getting to the good bit where something exciting will happen, when she is startled by a light tapping on the lounge window. After the initial jump, she realises it's her brother stood by the window. His face peering in, but she can instantly tell something is wrong. His face looks streaky as if he's been crying.

Molly rests her book open on the page, upturned on the arm of the chair and gets out of the comfy seat to open the front door. "Thomas?" She questions, "Why are you back and..." She sees the bag over his shoulder and puts her hands to her mouth. "What's happened?"

Thomas takes a sniff in through his nose, it's partially blocked due to crying on the way over. "Grandpa...he's kicked me out. He knows!"

"He knows?" Molly asks, leaning towards her brother.

"...About my sexuality." Another tear escaping Thomas' eye.

Molly now hurries herself towards her brother, wrapping her arms around him. Thomas falls into the embrace, his body almost relaxing into hers as new tears form and dampen his sister's shoulder as he holds her close. "Hey it's gonna be ok. Shhh." She soothes. "You know there's always a place for you here. I've always said that."

Thomas pulls himself away from the embrace, looking around him. "Is Jim around? Does he know about me?"

Molly uses her fingertips to brush away Thomas' tears. "Tom sweetheart. He knows you are a kind and gentle young man and that's all he needs to know. That's all anyone needs to know, unless you choose to say any more. We would both welcome you into this house any time. You know that."

"Thanks Mol." Thomas again gives his sister a tear filled hug, but now, the tears are of relief.

She now takes her brother's hand and pulls him inside the farmhouse, pointing to the space by the foot of the stairs. "Leave your bag and shoes here for now and come talk to me. I'll make you a coffee."

Thomas makes his way into the lounge, seeing the upturned book on the chair. He picks it up to read a page from where his sister had left off. His eyes widen as a smirk spreads across his face as he reads the erotic sex scene. "Peepers"

"Rule number one..." Molly says as she re-enters the lounge with Thomas' coffee in one hand, snatching the book from Thomas' grip with the other. "Keep your hands off my stuff!"

Thomas smiles knowingly as he sees his sister get a little flustered. "Sure thing." He says as she places the book back where it was on the arm of the chair, as Thomas takes the hot drink from his sister's hand. He might just have to 'borrow' that book later.

She gestures for them to both sit on the large sofa, waiting patiently for Thomas to get comfy before asking. "So...what happened?"

Thomas' face turns once again into a sorrowful expression. He looks into the brown liquid of his cup, taking a sigh. "He found something...a photograph in my room."

Molly frowns, tilting her head slightly. "What? One you had taken?" Thomas nods.

"What was the photograph of?" She enquires. Thomas' lips go taut, thinking about the boy whose face it was. He couldn't say. It wasn't his place to.

"Just a guy I'd..." he looks up at his sister, who was looking at him in eager anticipation for an answer. "Just a guy I'd been with. It was...well quite intimate." Thomas clears his throat and begins to fidget in his chair. He was very close to his sister but some things were just too personal to share.

"Ok." Is all she says, resting her cup on the nearby coffee table and taking Thomas' hand resting on his lap, giving it a small squeeze. "Well what's done is done. Grandpa may just come around. Remember he didn't speak to me for the best part of a year, when I told him I was moving in with Jim, but he does now."

Thomas lets out a snort. "Mol he's still mean!"

"I know." She agrees. "Maybe now he is alone, he might realise what family actually means to him. But for now, welcome to your new home...well at least for the next few weeks until you're back at college."

***

Jasper rolls up one last tshirt before placing it in his holdall.

'Knock knock'

"Yeah! Come in." He answers lazily, expecting Molly to enter the room, but jumps slightly at the feel of two hands wrapping around his waist, followed by a warm back hug. Jasper looks down at the distinctive long, tanned, slender fingers and is relieved to realise it's Thomas. "Tom! You're early. I thought you weren't coming 'till later."

Thomas pulls his arms away from the embrace and sits on Jasper's bed, looking up at the younger. "Yeah well...about that." Thomas smiles, but Jasper can see it's not a happy one. "He knows, grandpa knows...about me. About me liking the boys." Thomas tries to make light of it, but Jasper's face stays serious.

He pushes his bag across the bed a little and turns to sit next to Thomas. "You told him?"

Thomas emmits a chuckle. "Well...not exactly...he...he umm found something." Thomas looks at Jasper a little sheepishly, still with the unconvincing grin plastered on his face.

Jasper's interest is now peaked. "W...what did he find?" He can feel his own body tense a little, his hands clench the blanket laid on the bed.

"That picture of you...your face when we..." Thomas screws his eyes closed ready for the onslaught of abuse he was about to receive.

"Fuckinghell Tom! Why?...why did you print it?" Jasper feels sick with embarrassment. He pushes Thomas back on his shoulder before covering his own face with his hands out of shame.

"He wasn't supposed to see it was he! I kept it in my draw by my bed. I don't know why he was snooping. Anyway I don't regret printing it. It's a work of art." Thomas tries his best to defend his actions and justify himself.

Jasper suddenly grips the loose material of Thomas' shirt. "Please tell me you still have them on you!"

Thomas removes Jasper's hands and now holds them in his own. "Relax they're in my bag." Jasper looks at Thomas with annoyance but Thomas can see the air of forgiveness in the look.

"Wait." Jasper suddenly says. "Are you here now because..."

"Yep." Thomas sighs. "Kicked out. It's ok. I knew I would be. Mol said I could stay here."

"Well... it's not ok really." Jasper points out.

"Yeah I know, but Grandpa has his ways of how he expects people to behave, his thought processes are a little out of touch. He'll never accept I'm homosexual, It just hurts that little bit more when it's your own family who rejects you.

Jasper nods slowly. He knew at some point he might have to have a conversation of sorts with his mother, making what he and Thomas had being doing and feeling seem all the more real. "Did you tell Mol about us?" Jasper asks under his breath.

Thomas looks at Jasper a little concerned. "No, but grandpa obviously knows and I guess they will find out soon if he has anything to do with it."

Jasper starts to nervously fiddle with the drawstring of his sweatpants. "Ok...I guess we can tell Molly and uncle this evening." He looks up at Thomas, trying to read his thoughts.

The older wraps an arm around Jasper's shoulder, pulling him close. Jasper rests his head on Thomas' chest. "Everything will be fine...you'll see."