Where Loyalties Lie (boyxboy)

Chapter Six

It was Saturday. One of the best days of the week in Aldrian's opinion. He liked the freedom the day allowed. He could sleep as long as he wanted, do whatever he wanted. Basically, it was a day with no limits and restrictions and Aldrian liked that freedom.

Aldrian got dressed at a leisurely pace and went to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich.

He got the ingredients out of the fridge and began humming a tuneless little ditty as he assembled his lunch. He was so excited to go see Arroe that afternoon. Just thinking of the handsome man caused his stomach to jump nervously. He quickly pushed the nerves aside and sat down to eat at the table. The sooner he could get to the woods the better.

"Alright," a stern voice spoke, "who are you and what have you done with my son?" Aldrian glared at his mother good-naturedly, his mock anger shot to crap when she grinned at him because he couldn't help but return the gesture.

Aldrian was never willingly out of his room during the AM hours on Saturday and here he was dressed and eating at 11.00. Janice had to know what was going on. "This must be a new record for you. Hot date?" his mother asked still joking.

"Well, actually," he shrugged his face heating up slightly in embarrassment.

It only got more red at the flabbergasted look on his mother's face. "Aldrian Heartman-Patel, you better spill your gutz now before I force the details out of you," she threatened and Aldrian was pretty sure she meant the threat. She was a rather pushy person when she wanted to be.

Might as well tell her. "Remember when I told you I'd seen a strange guy in the woods on Wednesday?" his mother nodded and impatiently motioned for him to continue with his explanation, "Well, I've seen him every day since then and he invited me to go to an archery range with him."

"What time are you meeting him?"

"1.00."

"What time will you be home?"

"Um... before dark?" he didn't want to give an exact time or she might get worried if he was out past it.

Apparently "before dark" was specific enough because his mother just nodded and asked her next question. "What's his name?"

"Arroe," Janice watched the smitten boy utter the name of the man he was meeting. Clearly Aldrian liked the guy a lot. She wanted to make sure the other guy felt the same toward her son.

"Invite him for dinner."

Aldrian sighed and agreed to do just that. He knew that inviting Arroe to dinner with his family was sentencing the man to a brutal interrogation. But, if Aldrian could be honest, he liked the idea of Arroe meeting his family.

He just hoped he hadn't read this situation wrong and this meeting was really a date.

At 12.15 Aldrian headed out of the house shouting a goodbye to his mother. He walked into the woods to meet Arroe in the clearing.

Janice watched her son walk off into the woods, a spring in his step. She sighed, Ahh to be young and in love was a beautiful thing. Deciding she would spend her day cleaning, Janice turned to the kitchen. She'd start by washing the dishes.

Just as she was drying the last plate, there was a knock on the door. She opened the door and immediately slammed it. There was a man covered in blood standing o her porch again but... the one had looked familiar. Janice sighed and opened the door back up. There stood one of Aldrian's friends. He looked like he had been through the ringer. His clothing was dirty and his shirt had some holes or scratch marks (maybe) that almost looked like they had been burned into the material. He was dirty from head to toe, black smudges on his hands and cheeks. His blond hair was sticking up at odd angles and those deep chocolate eyes kept shifting nervously.