Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 13:43:55 -0600
From: GhostWriter@si.rr.com
Subject: All American Chapters 17-19

This story contains homosexual themes.  If you are offended by such topics
or you are not of legal age to read such stories, please read no further.
All the characters in the story are fictitious, any resemblance to actual
individuals are purely coincidental.  Comments are welcome at
ghostwriter@si.rr.com

Chapter 17

The next two weeks were spent preparing for the upcoming school year,
working out in the gym, but mostly just enjoying the time spent together.
Hunter had to fly home to gather the rest of the items he'd need at school
and Jerric was ecstatic when he was invited to go along.

"I have to warn you Jerric, my mom's the greatest, but my dad can be a real
asshole.  He and I have never been close and I'm sure never will be.  If he
ever found out I was gay I'm sure he'd never speak to me again, not that
I'd really mind."

"I guess the means separate showers huh?"

"It means that we'll be using the twin beds in my old bedroom." Hunter
added. "My little brother can sleep on the couch."

"Twin beds, as in you sleeping in one bed and me sleeping in the other?"

Hunter nodded.  "But we'll find some time to be alone, I promise."

"Well, our next trip will be to my dad's.  He already knows about you and
can't wait to meet you."

"Your dad knows?" Hunter shouted.

Jerric laughed.  "Oh hell yeah.  I can't tell you how many times he walked
in on me 'taking care of business' while I was staring at some hot guy in a
magazine.  He even let my first lover spend the night on the week-ends."

Immediately, he could see the hurt on Hunter's face.  "I'm sorry Hunter."

Hunter said nothing, but continued packing.

"Look, I can't take back the past.  I'm not proud of it, but its there.
It's not going away.  I'm with you now, isn't that all that matters?"

"It should be, but I can't help thinking that every time we're together I'm
being compared to someone else.  Someone who was better looking, or worse
yet someone who did things to you that I don't."

"Hunter, we may not have sex, but no one has ever made me feel the way you
do.  I've never been happier.

Hunter wrapped his arms tightly around Jerric's waist and nuzzled his face
into his chest.  "Thanks, I needed to hear that."


Chapter 18

As the small turbo-jet slowed on its way to the terminal, Jerric looked out
the window, taking in the sites.  It was nothing like Durham, where the
Duke's campus was located and certainly nothing, like Manhattan.  Jerric
spent the majority of his life in the East Village, playing basketball with
everyone and anyone that would play with him.  He may not have picked up
all of his technical skills and finesse play there, but it was during these
pick-up games that he learned to be a competitor.  The games were rough and
there were no referees making insignificant calls.  The rule where Jerric
grew up was 'no blood, no foul."

Casper seemed a million miles from there.  Quiet and peaceful.  A place
where your closest neighbor could be miles away and the fresh scent of pine
filled the air.

Hunter's mom met them at the terminal and after a 30 minute drive through
some of the most beautiful mountain scenery Jerric had ever seen they
arrived at the Paxson home.  His father sat on the front porch drinking a
beer and showed no outward signs of pleasure that his eldest son was home.

"Hey dad" Hunter said climbing up the last stair of the porch, showing no
more enthusiasm than his father had.

"This is a friend of mine."

Mr. Paxson rose slowly and extended his hand as Hunter continued.  "Dad,
this is Jerric Donovan.  Jerric this is my dad, Chris Paxson."

Jerric smiled uneasily.  "Nice to meet you Chris, thanks for letting me
visit.  I've never been to Wyoming before."

"It's Mr. Paxson, and I hope you enjoy your stay."

Hunter nudged Jerric.  "Come on, I'll show you my room.  Then I'll show you
around a bit before dinner."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Paxson."  Jerric said as they were leaving, hoping
recover from his earlier mistake.

Chris Paxson said nothing, only nodded and returned to his beer.

"Told you he was an ass." Hunter mentioned as they climbed the stairs to
his room.

Hunter opened the door to his room and Jerric looked in wide-eyed.  The
room was filled with trophies, team pictures and ribbons that covered
nearly inch of wall space.

"Is all of this yours?" Jerric asked in amazement.

Hunter nodded.  "Its kinda embarrassing.  My mom saves everything.  There
are trophies in here that I won when I was in the third grade.  I tried to
get rid of this stuff once and she pitched at fit.

"I think it's cool", Jerric commented as he looked over the large
collection.  "Let's see, first place in the spelling bee, National Honor
Society Member, first string State of Wyoming Basketball Team.  You're
quite the all around guy aren't you?"

Hunter blushed.  "Like I said, my mom saves everything."

Jerric pulled him close, shutting the door with his free hand.  "I know we
aren't gonna have a lot of time together, so I just wanted to sneak in a
kiss."

He pressed his lips against Hunter's, and arms wrapped around each other,
they enjoyed a soft tender moment.  It was a moment much shorter than
either of them would have liked, and they were quickly back to the task of
unpacking.

"Hunter, I need to see you downstairs!" his father's voiced boomed from the
bottom of the stairs.

I'll be right back," Hunter said to Jerric in a disgusted tone.  "I'm sure
he's got a list of chores for me to do."

As Hunter left, Jerric laid back on one of the two twin beds and smiling he
continued his visual inspection of the room.

Moments later, Jerric could hear yelling from downstairs.  He couldn't make
out what we being said, but he felt sure Hunter and his father were having
an argument.  It made him uneasy, but he knew it was not his place to
interfere.

The next thing he heard was Hunter's voice, "Dad no!" and then a crashing
sound that shook the room.  Jerric flew out of the room amid the screams of
Hunter's mother.

"Chris stop, you're gonna kill him!"

There was more crashing as Jerric neared the den, and he could now easily
decipher the one-sided conversation.

"I knew it!  As soon as I laid eyes on him, I knew it.  Then I saw him
kissing you through your bedroom window."

Hunter was on the ground, nearly unconscious from his father's first blows,
when his father kicked him.  "I'd rather have you dead then be one of those
fucking faggots!"

"You touch him again and I'll kill you, I swear!" Jerric screamed, as held
a pistol at arm's length, aimed directly at Hunter's father.

"You don't even know how to use that.  Who are you trying to kid?"

Jerric glanced briefly at a small picture of Hunter and his father hanging
on the wall behind the burly man.  He adjusted his aim slightly, and fired
a shot, directly hitting his target and destroying it.

"That's picture was a helluva lot smaller than you are! Take a step towards
him and see how far you get."

Paxson made no attempt to move and Jerric could now hear sirens in the
distance as Hunter's mother entered the room and ran to her son's aid.  She
took one look at her son and grief covered he face.

"My god Chris, how could you?" she screamed. "He's your son for Christ
sake!"

Within minutes the police had arrested Hunter's father and the ambulance
crew was attending to Hunter.  Only now did Jerric feel the shock of what
had taken place.  He had pointed a gun at a man's head with every intention
of pulling the trigger had it become necessary.  He had spent the majority
of his life on the streets, where fights and weapons were commonplace, but
until today killing someone had never entered his mind.

"We're ready to transport him," a member of the ambulance crew
announced. "is anyone gonna ride with him to the hospital?"

"Yeah, I'm sure his mom will.  Let me check with her real quick."

Jerric found Hunter's mom in their kitchen trying to calm down his younger
siblings.  He could only imagine the thoughts running through their minds
as they watched their father be led out of his home in handcuffs.

"Mrs. Paxson, I'm sorry to bother you, but they are ready to take Hunter to
the hospital.  Did you plan on riding over with him?"

"Actually Jerric, I think he would probably prefer if you rode with him,
and under the circumstances I'd have to agree.  You go ahead.  We'll meet
you there."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

Hunter was already loaded into the ambulance and Jerric managed to hop in
just before the door was shut.  He sat down on the small seat next to him
and took his hand.

"How you doing?"

"My ribs are killing me, but other than that I'm not doing too bad I guess.
How's mom?"

"Your mom's fine.  She's gonna meet us at the hospital."

"Jerric, where did you get that gun?" Hunter asked nervously.

"Your mom had it when I got downstairs, but she was shaking so much I was
afraid to even let her hold it.  I guess instinct just took over.  I
grabbed it and.........well, you know the rest."

The ambulance attendant interrupted their conversation.  "Hunter, do you
need something for the pain?  I called ahead and the ER doctor said I could
give you something if you needed it."

"No, I'm okay, thanks though."

The attendant shook his head.  "You know Hunter, I thought once you went to
school this would all be over with.  I couldn't believe it when I got the
call.  I sure hope you're gonna press charges this time."

Hunter only shrugged his shoulders.

"This has happened before?"  Jerric asked Hunter, not believing there was
more to this nightmare.

"Not over this issue, but yeah, its happened before."  He squeezed Jerric's
hand, seeing the rage building inside him that was now evident on his
face. "Can we talk about it later, I'm really not up to it right now?"

Jerric nodded in agreement, as he moved the blood soaked blonde hair from
Hunter's forehead.  He looked down at the young man that had impacted his
life so significantly in the past few weeks.  His face was battered; his
left eye almost swollen shut now, an oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth
helping him breath and an IV had been placed in the back of hand. One thing
Jerric knew for sure, this may have happened before, but it would never
happen again.

Four hours later, the emergency room physician met with Jerric and Hunter's
mom.

"He's gonna be fine" he assured them.  "We took x-rays and did a cat scan
and unbelievably nothing is broken.  He does have a concussion and some
nasty bruises, especially on his ribs, but no permanent injuries.  I'd like
to keep him overnight for observation, but he's pretty insistent on going
home.  I can't keep him against his will."

"I'll talk to him" Jerric responded in a stern voice.  "If he needs to stay
here, then that's what he's doing."

"I really think it's best.  I don't expect any complications, but with a
concussion I'd like to have the staff check on him regularly.  I have no
problem releasing him in the morning."

"I'll take care of it" Jerric told him with the sound of certainty in his
tone.

He entered the emergency room to find Hunter sitting on the edge of the
bed.  "Can you hand me my shoes Jerric, I'm ready to get the hell out of
here."

"Not so fast.  The doctor wants you to stay."

"I'm not staying!" Hunter argued.

"Yeah you are and don't even bother arguing.  I'm gonna get you settled in,
then go back to your place, pack up our stuff and change our plane tickets.
When you get released in the morning we leaving."

"Jerric we can't.  I haven't even packed."

"I'll take care of it.  I know you'll need all your clothes.  Just tell me
what other stuff you want.  You're not going back there and we aren't
staying."

It was evident from his tone that there was no room for discussion.

Hunter lay back on the bed, realizing there was no point trying to change
Jerric's mind.

"Will you come back tonight?"

Jerric smiled.  "Of course I will.  I always wanted to try out one those
'comfortable' fold out chairs that the hospitals brag about."

"You don't need to do that.  Just stop by and tell me good-night."

"No way.  Now just close your eyes and try to get some rest.  The doctor
said they'd have a room ready for you in about half an hour."


Chapter 19

Jerric sipped slowly on a hot cup of strong airport coffee as Hunter and
his mom said their good-byes.  As terrible as this trip had been, evidently
some good had come out of it.  Hunter's mom had filed a restraining order
against her husband, and had contacted an attorney to begin the divorce
proceedings.  Up to this point, Chris Paxson had spared his two younger
children the abuse that Hunter had endured.  Jerric looked at Hunter's
bruised face and wished Hunter too could have escaped his father's fury.

"You'll take good care of him won't you?" Hunter's mom asked as she hugged
Jerric tightly.

"Of course I will."

"You know he loves you Jerric," she said softly

Jerric was taken aback.  He assumed Hunter's mom knew of their relationship
after all that had transpired, but never dreamed he would be discussing it
with her.

"What makes you say that?" Jerric asked.

"Yesterday, when you left to pack up your things, Hunter and I talked.
About school, about his father and about you.  I knew Hunter was never
really interested in girls, but I suppose I pushed the thought of him being
gay out of my mind.  I had a pre-conceived notion of what a gay man was
like and Hunter didn't fit the mold.  Neither do you.  He explained a lot
of things to me.  Some I understand, some I probably never will, but the
point is I love him.  I love him unconditionally."

Hunter tugged on Jerric's shirtsleeve.  "Jerric, that was the final call
for our flight.  We have to go."

They both hugged Hunter's mom one final time and boarded the flight that
would take them back to the familiar surroundings of the Duke campus.

To Be Continued.....