Chapter Six
[Joey]
Thursday came way too fast. Before I knew it, Tom was standing awkwardly at my door in black swim trunks, navy blue chucks, and a grey shirt.
“Shit.” He whispered softly. “I forgot my towel.”
“It’s okay,” I smiled, handing him a red and white beach towel. “We have extra.”
I was lookin’ good in my purple swim trunks and black tee shirt with a pair of DC shoes. My mom’s clothes hid her one piece with cut outs in it, and my sister’s clothes hid her tankini.
“Let’s rock and roll!” My mom yelled, playing a little air guitar while I groaned in embarrassment. Of course she would.
We all piled into the car, and Tom was the lucky bastard who got shot gun. We were going to one of my mom’s friend’s gym. They always let us in for free, and even let us in on days it was closed, like today. It made me happy. I loved to swim!
We got their shortly, and walked in right away, as the other part of the gym was open. My mom greeted her friend, Mrs. Haley, and her daughter Sabrina. Sabrina and Molly were good friends, actually, and they went off to go play in the outdoor pool, but my mom and Mrs. Haley stopped them.
“You don’t have sunscreen on yet.” My mom scolded. “And I think you should warm up a little in here. The outdoor one is deeper.”
Molly sighed, and kicked off her shoes and took off her clothes before jumping into the pool. I smiled and kicked off my own shoes and took of my shirt. Tom did the same to his shoes, but left his shirt on.
“Aren’t you gonna take off your shirt?” I asked, then gave Sabrina a thumbs up for the cannonball she did.
“What? No!” He said, and then coughed. “Uh, no, I’ll leave it on.”
I raised my eyebrow but dismissed it. To each their own, I suppose. I walked to the edge of the pool, and I knew Tom was right behind me, so I jumped in without warning and splashed him.
“You!” He yelled, making me giggle uncontrollably. He jumped in and swam over to me, so I swam away, laughing at him.
“Boys, no flirting with Molly and Sabrina around!” My mom yelled. Oh, pooh on her.
“We’re not flirting!” I defended. I turned back to where Tom was, and I didn’t see him anywhere. “Tom?”
The next thing I knew, someone yanked me underwater. I flailed around some, then just let myself float face down to the surface, acting like I drowned. I laid there for maybe two seconds, before someone flipped me over onto my back.
“Joey?” Tom asked, panic in his voice. I held back a smirk.
“Mrrg.” I replied. “I’m a zombie, and I’m gonna eat you!”
“Oh god.” Tom laughed, swimming away from me.
“Brains.” I moaned, dragging out the ‘s’. I started to swim towards Molly and Sabrina. “Brains.”
“Joey,” Sabrina said, her and Molly backing away from me. “What are you doing?”
“Must. Eat. Brains.” I moaned.
“No, Joey!” Molly yelled.
“Nom nom nom.” I said. “Brains!”
They shrieked and got out of the pool, quickly walking over to my mom and Mrs. Halley.
“Mommy!” Molly said. “Joey’s weird. Can we go outside now?”
“And you’re not?” My mom teased.
“Mom!”
“Okay, okay.” She laughed. “Halley, is that okay with you?”
“Sure.” Mrs. Halley said, standing up and grabbing some sunscreen.
“Yay!” Molly and Sabrina screamed, interlocking arms and walking towards the other pool. Party poopers.
“Boys, are you two gonna be okay in here, or are you coming out?” My mom asked.
“We’ll be fine.” I said. She nodded and walked out.
“Boo!” Tom yelled, causing me to shriek like a school girl. I turned around and smacked his shoulder.
“I’m not a zombie anymore.” I said to him. He cocked and eyebrow. “I’m a vampire.”
“Oh fuck!” He yelled, trying to swim away. But he was too late, for I had already bit the base of his shoulder. “Damn it.”
“I win.” I said triumphantly. “Tom?”
“Yeah?”
“Why don’t you want to take your shirt off? Are you shy?”
“I’m not shy.”
“Then why?”
He sighed. “Joey.”
“What?” I asked thoughtfully.
“Do you want me to take if off so you can see me shirtless?”
I blushed. “Yeah, I’ve been imagining you shirtless and I want to see how close I was.”
“Seriously?”
“No, Tom. I just want to know why you won’t take it off. If it’s because you have low self esteem, then I under—”
“I do not have low self esteem.”
“It’s okay if you do.”
“But I don’t!”
“Then what is it?” I asked. He was totally hiding something.
He looked at the water. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Understand what?” I asked.
He shook his head. “You’d think I’m a freak.”
“No I wouldn’t.” I said without hesitation.
He sighed and swam away from me. He kept going until he got to the shallow end and stood a few feet from the wall of the pool, his back facing me. I furrowed my eyebrows and swam over to him. What could he be hiding? Maybe he had body acne. That wouldn’t bug me. Or a lot of chest hair..Meh. Maybe he had freckles that made the shape of Jesus! Or maybe a third nipple!
“Tom,” I asked as I reached him. “What are you trying to hide?”
He looked at me and sighed. “Nothing.”
“Liar.” I said. “Let me see.” He shrugged. “May I?” I asked, fingering the bottom of his shirt.
“I don’t care.” He said, glaring at the water.
I slowly lifted his shirt off of him and gasped. All over his chest were small, white scars and some healing cuts. They were definitely done by him.
“Oh, Tom,” I said in shock. He reached for his shirt without looking at me, so I threw it out of the pool. “Tom, why?” He shook his head, so I asked him again.
“I—” He shook his head, and tried to wipe tears away from his face. Why would he do this to himself?
[Tom]
“Tom,” Joey whispered. “Why?”
This was the third time he was asking me this, and now I was fully crying. I wanted to put my shirt back on so he would stop staring at me like I was some dirty, pitiful child sitting on a street corner, begging people for money or food.
I wiped my face again and walked through the water before sitting on the steps that led into the water. My torso could still be seen, so I put my elbows on my knees and buried my face into my hands. He pulled me back by my shoulders.
“Leave me alone.” I said, not even looking at him.
“Tom, you’re crying,” He whispered.
“No shit.”
“Tom?”
“What?”
“Why did you do this?”
“I do it when I feel sad or alone.” I spat, looking over to where he was sitting next to me. “Which is a lot.”
Then he hugged me. It surprised me, but I hugged him back anyway. It was a comfort, it really was, but I started crying harder.
“Tom,” He sniveled, and I realized he was crying too. “Please, don’t do it anymore.”
I didn’t say anything; I couldn’t promise it. I just held him closer, which also meant that I pulled him onto my lap. He stiffened, but relaxed and started to hug me tighter.
Before long, I stopped crying. Still, Joey and I stayed like that. Is it bad for me to say that I liked it? It felt right, natural.
“J-Joey?” I asked.
“Hmm?” He said sleepily. Had he fallen asleep? Silly ginger.
“I, uh,” I blushed. “Never mind.”
“What?” He asked, looking at me. God, I loved those big brown eyes.
I bit my lip, and looked at his face again. He moved it a little to the side, his eyebrows furrowing together, and a worry line going across his face. I looked into his eyes once more.
Then I kissed him.
It felt amazing, wonderful, spectacular; The way a first kiss should feel. I knew enough to know what to do, and it was a good thing too, ‘cause Joey was letting me lead.
I slowly pulled away, though. I didn’t want anyone walking in on us. Joey groaned, before turning bright red. I would have laughed, but by the heat radiating from my face, I knew I was too.
“Uh,” I said shyly. “Can I go put my shirt on now?”
He blushed deeper. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
I waited for him to scoot off of me, then I practically ran to where my shirt was. I slipped it on, then jumped back into the pool. He swam over to me, questions forming on his face, but everyone came back in.
I knew I wasn’t going to get out of it, but I would be for now. How could I explain why I kissed him?
-X-
We swam around for a while longer, playing games with Molly, and the blonde haired girl, Sabrina.
Then, we left, and went to McDonalds for some food. Joey tried to corner me there, but his mom and sister came with our food.
“Thanks for inviting me,” I said, as I climbed out of his mom’s car.
“No problem,” His mom said, getting out of the car too. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you home? I really don’t think I should let you walk…”
“Nah, I’m gonna drive.” I said. “My car’s parked over there.”
“You can drive?” Joey shrieked.
I laughed. “Yeah. I gotta go though. Bye, everyone. Thanks again!”
“Anytime.” His mom said. “Bye, Tom. Come back soon!”
“Bye, Tommy!” Joey and Molly yelled. I laughed, and walked over to my car. I got in and started driving.
Soon I was home, and not a second before I got through the door, my mom was in my face, screaming at me. She had me pinned against the wall next to the door. I could have thrown her off, but I’d just get screamed at more.
“Were you with that homosexual?” She demanded.
“His name is Joey,” I said, rolling my eyes at her ignorance. “And yes, I was with him.”
“I thought I told you to stay away from him!” She shrieked.
“Being gay is not a disease, mother.” I glared. “It’s not like he’s gonna make me gay.” I held back a smirk. Little did she know.
Then the bitch slapped me across my face. I was about to flip some serious shit when my dad came into the room.
“Mary!” He yelled.
“What?”
“Get off of him! Did you slap him?”
“So what if I did? He did the one thing I told him not to do!”
“Mary, get off of him now.”
She back off of me and glared at him. “Happy?”
“Tom, go to your room.” He said.
I didn’t waste any time, I just ran into the living room and up the stairs. I slammed my door shut and the screaming started.
My parents didn’t fight often, but when they did, it was bad. When they heard about what happened at my school, and that I wanted to transfer, they had a huge argument. My dad was on my side, and my mom wasn’t. She hit him, but he never hit her back. It’s not like she did any damage.
I looked into my mirror and saw that the stinging red mark on my face was slowly fading. Good. If Joey saw that, he would freak out.
“I will not have my son hanging out with that freak of nature!”
“Can’t you just be happy that he made a friend?”
My door flung open, and Zoey came in with tears running down her face. She ran straight to me and glared.
“Why do you always have to make them fight?” She demanded, poking me roughly.
“I didn’t do anything!” I defended.
“If they get a divorce because of you, I will never forgive you!” She screamed, storming out of the room.
How was it my fault? Was it really so bad to have a gay friend? It’s not! God, I wonder what she’ll do when I tell her that I’m gay. Or bi, at least. She’ll probably murder me, or kick me out of the house.
My door opened again, and Mason ran in. I scooped him into my arms and shut the door again.
“Tom?” He whispered. I could barely hear him.
“Yes?” I asked.
“What does it mean to be gay?”
“It’s when two guys like each other a lot.” I said. “And they love each other, so they do what married people do.”
“Oh.” He wrinkled his nose. “Is it bad to be?”
“That, uh, that’s your choice.”
“Tom?”
“Yes?”
“Why are mommy and daddy fighting?”
“Because Joey’s gay, and mom doesn’t want me near him.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” I whispered. “Mason, you should go play in your room for a while, okay?”
“Okay.” He said. I put him down and he ran out of the room. I sighed, and closed it again.
“He’s never gonna see him again!”
“Let him do what he wants!”
I threw my door open. “Stop arguing!” I yelled.
Why did it matter so much? Why?!
Why couldn’t I be friends with who I wanted to? Why couldn’t my mother support me with this?
I opened up my desk drawer and pulled out my pocket knife.
I flicked it open and pulled up my shirt. I pressed the cool metal to my skin and slowly dragged it down.
I’m sorry, Joey.
[Joey]
I woke up at midnight to someone banging at our door. It was a school night, for crying out loud! Don’t people have manners?
I opened my door and ran out into the living room. My mom was tying her robe closed, and gave me a look. I just shrugged. Molly came out and stood behind me, obviously scared. I hope it’s not Barry. That would suck!
My mom slowly opened the door a bit, before saying “Can I help you?”
“Are you Joey’s mom?” The woman on the other side said.
“Joey,” Molly whispered. “Who is it?”
“I don’t know.” I whispered back. “Stay behind me.”
I walked over to the door and opened it a little more. My mom frowned at me, but she let me do it anyway.
I wanted to slam it shut as soon as I did, ‘cause Tom’s mom was standing there. Oh, mother fucking fuck!
“Stay away from my son, you faggot!”
“Hey,” I said. “Let him have some friends!”
“He doesn’t need to be friends with you!”
“And what is wrong with my son?” My mom demanded.
“He’s gay!”
“So?”
“Joey, I’m scared!” Molly yelled, clinging to my leg.
“Your brother’s going to burn in hell.” Mrs. Quinn said.
“How dare you?” My mom yelled. “Leave, now!”
“Fine.” She said. “But keep your fag away from my son.”
“J-Joey?” Molly asked.
“Yeah?” I asked, trying not to cry. I hated his mother with a passion.
“Are you going to burn—”
“No, Molly.” I said. “No I’m not. Go to bed.”
She did what I told her too, and my mom sat down on the couch. I walked over to her and hugged her before I sat next to her.
“Joey, I’m going to call the police. That woman—”
“No, mom.” I said. “It’ll just cause more trouble for Tom. Please, let me deal with this.”
“Joseph, you are seventeen years old—”
“Mom, I can do this. Now, something else has been bugging you all day. What is it?”
“The court case with Barry is next Friday.”
“Fantastic.”
There was a silence, then she looked at me. “Joey?”
“Yeah?” I said.
“When we came back into the indoor pool, you were blushing and confused looking. Did something happen?”
“Yeah.” I said. “Tom kissed me.”
“He did?” She smiled. “Oh, baby, I’m so happy for you!”
“Thanks. I’m gonna go to bed now. Night mom.”
“Night.”
I walked back to my room and shut the door before lying on my bed.
There was a lot going on through my mind now. Images of Tom’s chest kept going through my mind. So did thoughts of him and his mother, plus Barry. It didn’t help that I could still feel his lips devouring mine.
I think we both were hungry for that kiss. We both really wanted it; but it still shocked me that Tom had kissed me. He was my first kiss! That little fact made me smile to myself.
Then I thought about Tom’s mom and my smile faded. What if Tom had to listen this time? What if he had to leave me alone? We’d both be lonely. To be honest, I’d be crushed. And Tom…
What had he said? Oh yeah. That he does it ‘when he feels sad or alone.’
He’d be alone without me, I think. He’d be sad, which I wouldn’t blame him. I’d be sad if I had a mother like that and I had just kissed a boy. I shuddered at the mental image of him cutting himself again. No, I cannot let that happen.
I can’t let him feel like that anymore. It’s my duty as a friend to make him feel loved. I can’t let him cut himself anymore. I care about him too much. And I don’t care if his mom hates it, I’m gonna be his friend at the very least.
Fuck the world, I’m going to fight for Tom.