Three Simple Words

Chapter 12

"Where were you?"

"You can't just run out of the house whenever you like, this isn't a bed and breakfast" Jess's parents reprimanded as he swung open the large oak door.

Their anger soon dissipated as they saw the whimpering boy behind him, trying to look stronger than he felt.

"Joe, get some ice" Jess's mother frantically shouted at her husband. "Please, come in, come in. Are you okay, honey? What happened? Do we need to call the police? I have a friend who works at the station and I'm sure she would be able to help?" She would've kept going if it hadn't been for the look her son was giving her.

"Mom, can we talk about this later?" Jess asked, tempering his voice before he got worked up. "Of course, of course, Paul, where are you?" She called, as if ice could help anything other than some minor swelling.

The trio made their way to the kitchen where Thomas resumed the spot he had been in once before.

It was oddly nostalgic to be here again after what happened with Ariel and not to mention the other time he was sitting in this kitchen, bruises lining his face then also. The only difference is that Ariel isn't trying to play the doctor, the mother and the girlfriend all at the same time.

"Is Ariel here?" Thomas croaked to Jess. "She's at a friend's house but she'll be here tomorrow morning." Jess replied, shocked by the casualness of the question.

Thomas let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. The last thing he needed was to face his ex-girlfriend not even twenty-four hours after their breakup, and to top it off, with a platoon of bruises. Jess gave the wet rag to the other boy. He wasn't sure how he would react with such close contact.

"Jess, can we talk to you, alone, please?" His parents asked, Jess glancing at Thomas who only nodded, his eyes hidden behind his long lashes.

"The hell happened, Jess?" Jess's dad asked in Danish as soon as they were in the living room. As mad as Jess was at having to learn Danish when he was younger, he felt very blessed now. This was not a conversation he wished to have in front of Thomas.

"I think Thomas's father found out he's gay." Jess replied, his own father's eyes softening with his response. He told them all he knew which, albeit, was not a lot. He told them of Thomas's phone call and going to his house, the dinner and the way Thomas's eyes seemed to lose the gleam they used to have.

"He doesn't have anywhere else to go. Please?" Jess begged, letting down his guard enough to see what this means to him and also to the other boy only feet away.

In English, his mother replied with a sigh, "Of course, he'll have to stay in your room considering his and Ariel's history but you have to be the one to tell Ariel. I'm not getting in the middle of all of that." As soon as she got the first two words out, Jess was already enveloping her in a hug.

It wasn't that his parents would turn Thomas away but having him over for dinner and letting him leave there were two very different things.

"Go tell Thomas, I'm going to blow up the air mattress and forget to get him some of your PJs. With that, his parents left, leaving him to his thoughts.

"My bedroom's up the stairs, third door on the right if you want to head up there. I have to do something but I'll be right there." Thomas nodded and left the other boy to his business. The stairs creaked under the weight of the dirty blond and his sock clad feet were cool against the hardwood.

By the time he made it to Jess's room, his mother made quick work and was just finishing up blowing the mattress up.

"You really didn't have to do this; I don't mind sleeping on the floor." Thomas muttered, trying his best not to sound as weak as he felt but the soft tremor in his voice didn't help matters.

"It really wasn't a problem; I wanted to say earlier, I'm really sorry for what your dad did. No parent should ever turn their child away the way he did to you. Please make yourself at home and you can stay here as long as you need." Jess's mom replied, sympathy coating her voice.

"Thanks, Mrs. Winther." She nodded before leaving the other boy. As soon as she was gone, Thomas let the act drop and the vulnerability shown through his face.

The fear and regret drowned him in their grasp. If only Thomas hadn't been so stupid. If he only realized that his father would never have accepted him, he should have tried to hide it more.

Why? Why couldn't he have been a better actor? Why couldn't he have put his father's needs above his own? Was he so selfish that he couldn't see the effect his secret had on his father?

If only he didn't let his feelings for Jess show so flamboyantly then he would be at home with his father instead of fearing the day he would have to confront said man. Only a couple of days ago he was finally starting to accept that being gay wasn't a sin, that it wouldn't define his life.

Maybe being gay wasn't a sin but what it made him do was. He lied for years to his father, his girlfriend but also God.

Every week when he went to church, he would ignore the way it felt when a cute boy looked his way or the way his stomach had butterflies whenever the alter server touched his arm.

For years, everything he said, everything he did was drowned in the fear that someone was going to find out.

He started to play the straight boy from a young age but at some point, it stopped being an act and started to become who he was. He started to take an interest in sports, he ignored the cute boys in church and he thought it would be enough, Ariel was supposed to be enough.

But she wasn't, she never could be because whatever way Thomas tried to look at it, he was gay. He didn't know what this meant for him but some part of him knew that whatever happened next would define his life.

"I found some PJ's that will probably fit you." Jess started, startling Thomas which was evident from the express plastered on his face.

"Um thanks." The other boy responded, cursing himself for getting that lost in his thoughts.

Thomas knew that none of the Winther family believed the act he was trying to portray, the one where Thomas was okay and that what had happened didn't devastate his entire world.

"The bathroom's down the hall." Jess offered, giving Thomas the opportunity to get out of there. The role he was playing was taking everything out of him and he couldn't let Jess see the broken boy inside.

After both boys were dressed, Jess in flannel pants and Thomas in a light grey shirt that matched the grey in his pants. Jess crawled into bed, at the insistence of Thomas, as the other boy lay down in the air mattress to the right of the other boy.

The air was filled with things thought but never spoken aloud, each boy filled with questions for the other. Soon the silence was filled with the steady breathing of Jess and the occasional shifting of covers. Thomas never moved; he couldn't bring himself to sleep but he also didn't want to wake the sleeping boy that had been so gracious to let him stay in his room.