Shaw Island © Matthew Caper
Chapter 20
Jezebel, Jealousy & James Dean
Nobody moved. No one even made a sound. Diane stood there holding a sleeping baby, who had somehow slept through her maniacal driving.
"This is Philip," she stepped closer to William. "Full name, William Philip Reilly."
"Oh William, you didn't," Jenny Reilly finally spoke.
William could only look at his mom helplessly for a moment before looking back at the baby.
"Go on, hold him," Diane pushed the newborn into William's arms. William held his son awkwardly, like he was trying to cradle a football.
"That's statutory rape," Jenny accused. Liam was afraid his mother was going to explode like a shaken up soda can when opened; he'd rarely seen her so tightly wound.
"He was sixteen," Diane glared. "That's the age of consent in Washington. I just had Philip slightly early, that's all."
Liam suddenly gasped, speaking before he lost his nerve. "That's not true!" he cried. "Matthew and I saw them having sex the night of the fall festival in the woods!"
Jenny and Linda seemed close to having conniptions at that piece of news. "That was in September!" Jenny exclaimed. "William wasn't sixteen until November!"
"You had sex in front of our kids?!" Linda nearly screamed. "Charles! Call the authorities!"
Suddenly Diane rushed to her car, opened the passenger door, and started tossing things to the ground, namely the car seat and a bag full of items for the baby. "Good luck," she spat. Then she paused and focused her hard eyes on Colin. "By the way, you should know you were never an Aerhart biologically. You're a Gage."
Jess Wright emitted a squeak. "Not Thomas Gage?" she muttered.
"That's the one," Diane grinned with smug satisfaction, but she presently replaced it with a look of disgust and addressed Colin again. "Too bad you're a loser like Douglas. I'm obviously not needed here. I'm outie." She rounded the car, swung into the driver's seat, and sped off as quickly as she had come."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Jenny screamed, running after the vehicle.
"Mom!" William cried desperately. "What do I do?"
Jenny stopped and turned, steeling herself to emotion and letting instinct take over. "You get the baby out of the sun, that's what." She marched forward, took her grandson, who was becoming fidgety, and walked through the crowd into the house. William followed her helplessly.
Liam focused his attention on Colin, who was standing very still, his eyes glazed over. "You okay?" he whispered.
Linda made a beeline to Colin, taking him in her arms protectively. Colin leaned against her, looking defeated. "I don't know who I am," he said tonelessly.
"You're my son, that's who," Linda said. "The only thing that woman ever did good in her life was give birth to you."
"I wish she hadn't."
Linda turned Colin to face her and framed his cheeks in her hands. "Now you listen to me. There's a whole crowd of people here who love you. Don't you dare take that for granted, and don't ever think it's only pity. You're a loving, smart, wonderful boy." She paused, and her eyes welled up with tears. "Do you realize how long, and how badly, I wanted another baby? I love Matthew more than anything in the world, but I also didn't want him to be an only child. And I wanted another child that I could love just as much as I love Matthew. And you know what? You're obviously not a baby, but you're exactly what I needed. I don't even want a baby anymore. Matthew has a big brother he adores, and we have a teenage son that we adore. Are you hearing me? Am I getting through to you?" Colin nodded, blushing madly and shifting his feet. "What, am I embarrassing you? Good! That means this mother's done her job."
Colin grinned, glancing briefly at the others around them. "Thanks, Mom," he mumbled.
"Oh, I better get a hug after all that," Linda demanded, then grinned as Colin embraced her tightly. "You're a Loper, that's what you are."
When they separated, Colin cleared his throat and jammed his hands into his pockets. "But who's Thomas Gage?"
"I sort of remember him," said Trey, who was lurking nearby. "He lived around here when we were kids. He was kind of a prick to us young'ns."
"I understand he was a womanizer, too," Linda shared. "Real good-looking fellow; I always thought he looked just like James Dean. But Diane and Douglas were married by then, so no one ever thought twice about her pregnancy."
Dr. Nate stepped forward and motioned to Liam. "The Gage family has a long history on the island, which we thought ended with Thomas. You should look them up in that book I gave you."
Liam looked confused for half a second, until he remembered that many months ago, Dr. Nate had given him a book for his birthday. He'd barely even opened it all this time. That made him feel ashamed. "Oh my gosh! It was about the history of Shaw Island, wasn't it?"
Dr. Nate smiled as Liam winced. "Don't worry, I didn't expect you to devour it right away. I thought you'd find it useful someday, and now it is."
"You're really gracious," Liam murmured with a blush. "But I'm glad I have it now."
"Can we go to Liam's?" Colin asked his mom.
"Of course," said Linda. "Colin Christopher Loper." He looked at her strangely, and she smiled. "Just reminding you who you are."
Liam took Colin's hand, then Jeremiah's hand, and Matthew took Colin's other hand. They walked that way all the way to Liam's.
"We should go see if Patrick's in the guest house first," said Liam. "He'll want to know about Will's baby."
Only then did they break hands before skipping up the wooden steps. They filed inside without knocking, assuming Patrick would be in his room, especially if Daniel was with him. On the contrary, they found them both in the livingroom; Daniel was bent over an arm of the couch, and Patrick was pounding him mercilessly with his large cock. Even though Colin and Liam had been screwing each other a lot during the summer, including the night before, Liam still boned up the second he saw the naked boys committing the raw act. He fondled himself, and Colin frowned upon him.
"Sorry!" Liam whispered. "I can't help it."
Patrick froze inside Daniel, scowling at the kids. Daniel, on the other hand, grinned brightly. "Hey kiddos," said Daniel, licking his lips. "Care to join us?"
"Sorry," Liam said again. "We didn't think you'd be doing it out here."
"We were hoping Will's idiot friends would walk in on us," Daniel chuckled. "They deserve to have it seared into their brains. Plus, they could see Patrick's huge cock and be jealous."
Patrick couldn't seem to help smiling then. "And there's always the chance they'll like it and join in." He began moving back and forth slowly at Daniel's prodding to keep going.
Colin crossed his arms over his chest. "Why can't you two admit you love each other and be boyfriends again?"
"Because we don't love each other," Patrick said. "He's in love with Will, remember?"
"Nah," Colin shook his head. "He was attracted to Will at first, but he loves you now. And you obviously love him."
"He does?" Daniel's eyes sparkled.
"Yep. He looks really upset every time he mentions how you love Will," Colin shared. Liam was impressed with Colin's insight. "It pisses him off because he wants you to love him instead. But I see how you look at Patrick, like he's the light of your world."
"Yeah," Daniel smiled dreamily.
"Seriously?" Patrick gaped.
"Mmhmm," Daniel hummed. "I didn't tell you because I thought you were still in love with Liam."
Patrick pulled out of Daniel, who stood and faced Patrick with a large boner of his own, which none of the others had ever seen before then. "I love Liam," said Patrick. "But not like a lover anymore. Sure, I still think he's sexy, but you and me both are kind of screwed up when it comes to sex. Still, I'd rather be with you than anyone else."
"Damn," said Daniel. "You were never that honest with me even when we were boyfriends."
Patrick shrugged. "I didn't love you then like I do now. And it irritates the crap out of me when you talk about getting back with your ex."
Daniel laughed, and Patrick scowled. "Sorry, babe, I was just doing that to make you jealous. I'm glad to see it worked."
"Jerk," said Patrick.
"Asshole," Daniel retorted.
A second later they were making out feverishly and pawing all over each other. Liam poked Colin and whispered near his ear. "You're the awesomest person ever."
Patrick soon had Daniel bent over the couch again, reentered him, and thrust like mad while Daniel jerked his own cock wildly. The boys remained where they were, waiting for the couple to finish so they could tell them the news.
"Fuck that ass!" Daniel cried. "God, yes! I'm gonna cum on your couch!" Several seconds later, he made good on his word and coated the side of the couch, and the carpet, with a sticky mess. Patrick cried out wordlessly, then spilled out the animal sounds he was known for, while apparently spilling his seed in Daniel's ass. At the end, he collapsed on the recliner behind him, all his limbs except his dick going limp.
"So," Patrick panted. "Is that my ass again, and only mine?"
Daniel cuddled up with him in the chair and kissed him tenderly. "It's yours, boyfriend. And in less than three and a half months, we can make it public, `cause you'll be sixteen."
"Hurray!" cried Liam. "That's so awesome!"
"Definitely," Colin agreed. "We have to go now, though, `cause I'm really horny for Liam right now."
"Told ya," Matthew laughed, poking Jeremiah with his elbow. Jeremiah giggled.
"Wait!" said Liam. "We have some news real quick. Diane Aerhart just came by the Lopers'."
"No way!" Patrick exclaimed. "What did she want?"
"She just had Will's baby. She left him there and took off again."
"Oh my god!" Patrick and Daniel chorused.
"His name is Philip," Matthew offered. "William Philip Reilly."
"We have to go see!" Patrick forced Daniel to his feet and jumped up, grabbing clothes off the floor.
"'Kay, we gotta go," said Colin, pushing through the door and letting the others follow him. He walked very quickly and didn't slow down until he reached the door to the Reillys' house, which Liam had to unlock. While he waited, he ground his bulging crotch against Liam's ass."
"Oh my gosh," Liam grunted, desperate for Colin again.
"We'll watch TV," Matthew stated.
"Hurry up," Colin growled to Liam, who finally got the door unlocked and open. Liam ran upstairs, Colin right behind him.
When they were done, Colin hollered down to the other boys, who clamored up the stairs eagerly. The couple were still naked, but quite satisfied. Liam was on his stomach, on the bed, thumbing through his book. Matthew joined him, and Colin began tickling and horsing around with Jeremiah.
"I didn't know there was a monastery on the island," Liam murmured. Matthew merely nodded his head. "It says here the San Juan islands became U.S. territory in eighteen seventy-two. Okay, here's some pictures of early American and British settlers." They gazed at black and white photos, occasionally looking up and grinning at the other two, who were making a lot of racket.
"I'm going to the bathroom," Colin soon announced. He left the room, and Jeremiah flanked Liam's other side, reading with them.
"Ooh!" Matthew said suddenly. "Look! The Herbert Gage family!"
"Neat!" said Liam. "So these are Colin's ancestors! Let's see... Herbert Gage and his wife, Mora, and their four kids settled here in eighteen seventy-five. In eighteen eighty-four, their only son, Paul, married Elizabeth Brown. They had a son, Edward, in eighteen eighty-five."
"Aww," said Matthew, pointing to a picture of Paul and Elizabeth with their baby. "Little Edward is naked," he giggled.
Liam continued reading. "Edward Gage was injured in nineteen oh-two at the age of seventeen and nearly died. However, he recovered and had a son with Kathleen Mann in nineteen oh-three. They married two months before the baby was born, but Kathleen died giving birth to their son, Charles."
"My dad's name!" Matthew exclaimed excitedly. "I wanna see their picture."
Liam turned the page; there was a baby photo of Charles Gage by himself, and there was a photo of Edward Gage with his pregnant wife.
"AHHH!!" Liam and Matthew both screamed simultaneously, and Jeremiah nearly jumped out of his skin.
"What the hell?!" Colin came barreling back into the room, and Matthew and Liam looked at him fearfully.
"Oh my gosh!" Matthew squeaked.
"Holy crap!" Liam yelled.
"WHAT, for the love of God?!" Colin screamed.
"Thomas Gage's ancestor!" Liam gasped. "Your ancestor! Here! Look at Edward Gage!" he thrust the book into Colin's hands.
Colin studied the page for a moment, while the others waited for a reaction. They didn't have to wait long. Colin's eyes bulged out of his head. "Are you shittin' me?!"
"It's him!" Liam cried, rising to his knees on the bed. "It's Gage, the mean "boss" from that magic place, the one that kidnapped me and Matthew! His real name is Edward Gage!"
"I'm fucking related to him?!" Colin spat. "That sucks eight ways to Sunday!"
Jeremiah laughed at Colin's choice phrase, then quickly quelled it when he realized the gravity of the situation. "Sorry."
"It's okay," said Colin, falling onto the bed. "It's just that he was so mean, and I was just like him."
"Not anymore!" Liam insisted. "And anyway, maybe he wasn't mean when he got back home. To real life, I mean."
"Well, Thomas Gage doesn't sound like a real winner, either," Colin mumbled.
"So? You are. That's all that matters," Matthew stated.
"Exactly!" Liam agreed heartily.
Colin handed the book back to Liam and began to get dressed. "Doesn't matter. I'm a Loper now, dammit, and Lopers are good people."
"Hear, hear!" Liam grinned happily.
♂
Exactly two weeks after the arrival of Philip, August eleventh, marked one year that Liam had been on Shaw Island. School began again on the thirteenth of August; Colin began his first year of high school on another island, leaving Liam, starting his seventh grade year, to be Mrs. Cole's only student. Matthew and all the younger kids were still taught in the next room. It made Liam miserable, but it also made their weekends that much more exciting.
With another year started, there were many more adventures waiting for the tight-knit group. They all belong in another book, but it's important to note that they faced reality with courage, loved each other fiercely, and often paused to appreciate the good in their lives. And that's about the best definition of `happily ever after' anyone can strive for.
The End.
♂
Thank you to all who have read and enjoyed this story, especially those who've messaged me with praise and encouragement. Shaw Island has its own wordpress page – http://shawisland.wordpress.com – where I make changes, updates and corrections to the story. Feel free to read there, and feel free to connect to my personal blog as well, at matthewcaper.com, where I'll post links to future stories.