Lonely Boy(by dyjonn)

Part 16 Desperate Times

Madge strolled slowly to the shops, deliberately taking her time, she didn't really need anything and in fact the longer she took over it the better. Once she got back home and relieved Sawyer of Alfie she would need a new ruse to keep watch on him. On the bright side, not too long now and Karen would be back home and she could hand the reins back to her. Rounding the corner into her own road she quickened her pace considerably when she saw Alfie in her front garden on his own, no sign of Sawyer anywhere. With a bad feeling in her bones, she knocked on his door. As she had guessed there was no answer, that crafty lad had seen through her tricks and done a runner. Well, she had done her best and at least she had contained him for most of the day.

Biro comforted Sawyer and did his best to cheer him up a little, once his friend had calmed down a bit, he related everything that had happened to him since they had last been together. As he explained he saw some of the worry evaporating away from Sawyer's face. Suddenly interrupting himself he leaned forward and delicately kissed him on the forehead. "What?" he said, " just that, I want you to know for certain, you are all that I live for now, and I would die for you." Taking hold of Sawyer's hand he continued with his news, and as he knew would happen, his friend looked panicked when he explained about the family meeting that his mum was insisting would happen.

"No way! no way!" he cried, his voice cracking with emotion, "that would mean I would be coming out to my parents. I can't, not now, I'm not ready!" Gripping Sawyer's shoulders and locking eyes with him, he said: "my mum meant what she said angel, she will come to your home if you all don't meet us here in the morning at 9 am." Sawyer felt trapped, he knew he couldn't say the words to his parents, running away together would have worked because he wouldn't have had to face them. But now, that little dream was ended. He couldn't let Biro down, and besides, he knew he couldn't live without him. Trouble is he couldn't live with him, not now, everyone would know. Wrapping his arms tightly around Biro he kissed him, such a kiss! it made Biro feel as if they had become one single person for an instant. Then Sawyer was striding away and gone. Hesitantly making his way back home he saw his mum waiting for him outside. "I was worried," she said, "you were such a long time, what happened?" He was done with lying, he realized that in the long run they always caught up with you in the end, so he told her exactly what had passed between them.

Sawyer trudged back home in a daze, he knew what had to be done. Even as he was reaching his front door his mum was opening it, "where have you been?" she said. "Just out mum, why? aren't I allowed to go out anymore!" he hadn't intended on being so short with his mum. She tutted as he walked past her and went up to his room, obviously he had seen through her scheme, still, the main thing was, he was here, and he was safe. Tonight she would convene a family meeting and confront the boys about their plans to leave home. She would get to the bottom of all of this and she would mend it, she wasn't about to lose her precious boys without a fight, this was going to stop now!

Sawyer went straight upstairs to his room, flinging himself onto his bed he sobbed into his pillow. Finally, he dragged himself over to his little table and taking a sheet of paper he jotted down a note, (Mum and Dad, I'm sorry, don't take it out on Finn, he's been my rock. I love you all lots. x x x) Leaving it there he went to the bathroom and locked the door. He found his dads razor and prised out the blade, then he climbed quietly into the bath and sat down. It was really weird, he didn't feel the blade at all.

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"Biro?," "What mum?" he said, "tell me honestly son, how much do you really love this boy?" Looking squarely at her he said, "you know I love you mum, but with him it's different, I don't even want to be alive without him." Grabbing his hand and almost towing him along she told him that they needed to go to his house right now. He couldn't understand why the sudden urgency, but it was catching and now they were both hurrying. "You won't be able to cross mum, I'm telling you, I don't even know why I can but nobody can do it the way I can." She stopped walking and she said, okay, just listen to me son, hear me out."

"On my 17th birthday, my friends made a big thing of it, we all went down to the pond for a picnic. Seven of us and the day was hot and sunny. We stole some of the hooch my dad used to brew and we all got a bit tipsy. We were singing and dancing, the others were spinning me from one to the other. There used to be a big old dead tree stump there, somehow I slipped from one of their hands and I hit my head on that stump. I landed in the pond, it was deeper in those days. I was nearly knocked out and under the water, I couldn't seem to move and I knew I was drowning. suddenly I was on the bank and this boy was banging me on my back, he saved my life. All of my friends had gone, the relieved look on this boys face shocked me so much that I kissed him. I felt such gratitude, then he helped me away from the bank and I was grabbed by many hands, they were all of my friend's hands. My best friend Joe had told me how I had scared him when I went under. Then, next minute, he said, you came flying out like a cork from a flask. They fussed over me and took me home where we had to own up about our little party and about stealing Dad's hooch. My dad and his mate went to the pond the very next day and dug that old tree stump out. They popped a little bamboo plant into the hole it came out of, one day, they said, it will grow bigger than the tree stump was. The boy who saved me was a backworlder. He said I had appeared in the pond from nowhere and when he got me to the bank I vanished from his sight. He never could cross over, but I could, and I did for many years until he got sent away to fight in some stupid war of theirs and he got killed." Mia paused to wipe away her tears, "Biro that backworlder was called Billy Rowland. He was your dad and that's where you got your name from. Let me tell you he was a good man. I think this is why you are able to cross so fluently, and even steer others through. I have never told anyone that story love but I'm glad you know about your father now. Of course, my pregnancy rocked the community and my parents were furious. They wanted someone to blame but I kept quiet as I knew they would assume I was lying if I told the truth.   So you see boy, I can cross because my life was restarted in the backworld,  and you can cross because you are half backworlder,  the only one ever as far as I know."      

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