As always, feedback is welcome. Email me at playmaster0023@yahoo.com.

Jim

Chapter 2

The next morning Aaron's brother Justin pounded on his bedroom door. "C'mon, Aaron, get your lazy ass out of bed. We'll be late for school."

"He's not in there. He's gone." Alison told him quietly, barely holding herself together.

"Really? That's not like him to leave for school without us unless he has to be in earlier than usual for some reason, but he always tells us the night before if that's the case."

"No, Justin, he's gone, as in gone for good." The tears started flowing.

"What do you mean, gone for good?" He asked, confused.

"Just what I said. Dad just told me he left home for good last night and won't ever be coming back."

"Why?"

"I don't know. According to dad, mom said he just couldn't stand being around us anymore."

Justin slowly sank to the floor, feeling like he'd just been stabbed in the chest. "That doesn't make any sense. He never said anything about being unhappy here or pissed off at us. Usually if he had a problem with either of us he'd come talk to us. I don't understand." His voice trembled.

"I don't either. Maybe someday he'll tell us what we did wrong."

"I hope so." Justin replied as he pulled his sister into a hug.

On the other side of town the alarm rang promptly at five am. Aaron rolled over and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, what little he had gotten the night before. He got up, showered, shaved and dressed. First stop was his parents' house where he slipped an envelope containing his house keys through the front door mail slot. Next stop was his cousin's house where he repeated his previous actions, this time the envelope containing the spare keys to his car. He had arranged for his cousin to keep his car while he was away at Air Force basic training, then on to the airport. As he locked his car, he sighed a deep sigh and said goodbye to his old life. A lone tear escaped his eye as his plane took off for San Antonio, Texas, home of Lackland Air Force Base and Air Force basic training, at the thought of not being able to say goodbye to his brother and sister. Perhaps in time they'll come to realize he was still their brother and despite everything, he still loved them more than anything and he already missed them terribly, the three of them being very close since Aaron and Justin were identical twins and Alison was only a year younger than him.

The first time he was allowed to call home he was only mildly surprised to find that the phone number had been changed to an unlisted number. What really surprised him was that Alison and Justin's numbers had also been changed. Equally surprising was that none of his aunts, uncles and cousins would answer when he called nor would they return any of his calls. Giving up on Ma Bell, he decided to go the old-fashioned route, writing to his parents letting them know that he would be graduating from basic training at the end of the month and would be coming home to pick up his car and hopefully be able to sit down and talk with them. He received a letter back stating that if he came anywhere near the property he would be arrested for trespassing. His clothing, iPOD and laptop would be packed up and placed in the trunk of his car which would be fueled and made ready for him to leave town immediately upon his arrival. The rest of his possessions would be packed up and put in the basement for shipping to wherever he chose at his expense whenever he was ready.

Deciding that any further correspondence with his parents would be a waste of time, he decided to write his brother and sister.

Dear Justin and Alison,

I hope this letter finds you happy and well. I will be graduating from Air Force basic training at the end of this month and be coming home to pick up my car and stuff.

I want you guys to know that I love you both and miss you terribly. Please understand that I am still the same person I always was. I'm hoping that we could get together and talk. Please. I need you guys. You're all I have left. Please say yes, that we can get together. I hope to hear from you soon.

Always your loving brother,

Aaron.

He sealed the envelope, addressed and stamped it, then dropped in his unit's mail slot. Well, it's up to them now. Three weeks later, just two days away from graduation, he still hadn't heard anything back. Graduation day arrive with no response from Justin or Alison. Well, maybe they didn't receive the letter for some reason. It's been known to happen. I'll stop by the high school after I pick up my car. He said to himself. Surely they'll let me see them.

"I'm sorry, but your parents have requested you be denied access to your brother and sister." The school secretary told him. "I must ask you to leave school grounds immediately or I will be forced to call the authorities."

Cock-sucking mother-fucker! Aaron swore to himself. "May I ask on what grounds I'm denied access to my own brother and sister?" He asked politely.

"I'm afraid that that information is only known to the school superintendent. Would you like for me to call his secretary and see if he is available to meet with you? He's away this week, but perhaps she can make an appointment for you for next week. It's a load of crap that he can't see his brother or sister just because he's gay. He's always been a good kid, straight A student, star athlete, never been in any kind of trouble. I'd love to string his father up by his own balls. The secretary silently fumed. Glancing around to see if anyone was watching, she slipped him a piece of paper upon which she had written your father did it because of your homosexuality which was so wrong. "Here is the number to the superintendent's office. Now I'm afraid I must ask you to leave." The secretary said, winking at Aaron conspiratorially.

He took the piece of paper, thanked her and left. Well, I can always park across the street from the student parking lot. It's a public street so they can't say anything. Maybe I can catch them. Confident in his plan, he parked just outside the exit to the parking lot, got out and leaned up against his car, watching and waiting. His face lit up with excitement when we saw Justin's car at the exit of the parking lot with its turn signal indicating that it was turning in his direction. His face fell when he saw the opposite turn signal come on and the car headed away from him. He stood there in dejected shock for a couple of minutes before getting into his car and driving off for his advanced firefighter training base.