The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities are entirely fortuitous. The story may contain profanity and references to gay sex. If such content offends you please leave now. The author retains all rights to the story. Do not copy or use without written authority from the author. Write Bobby at brokendreamboi@yahoo.com with your comments.

Fly Me Away 13

Brandon

"I'm s-so scared, Brandon," Danny sadly sighed. "What if something g-g-goes wrong? I could b-be paralyzed after th-this." Danny's fears were irrelevant. Although the truth is that there could be complications, there's no way that something that bad will happen.

"Danny, you don't have to be scared. You will not be paralyzed after this surgery. What will happen, though, is those terrible migraines will be gone." I said happily, showing him that even I wasn't scared. He sighed again still just as sad. I needed to think of something quick to give him a quick boost of confidence. "Can I have a kiss, beautiful?"

"Sure," he said tonelessly. He lifted our clasped hands up to his mouth and kissed the back of mine, then dropped them back down at his side.

I giggled lightly. "I kind of meant a real kiss,"

He looked into my eyes and said, "Well, y-y-your legs aren't broken. Come up h-here,"

I shook my head and smirked at his brazen. "Is this better?" I asked as I leaned up closer to him. He didn't say anything, but kept staring straight into my eyes. "How about this?" I moved even closer so that our noses were mashed together.

"Nope," The faintest grin he was trying to hide. Obviously he was toying with me, and he sure knows how to play.

"What about..." I pushed forward so that our lips connected, then I pulled away with a smacking sound, "that?"

His grin came full force. "Okay, that w-was better,"

I giggled again, running my thumb along his jaw line. "Good because you're going to be getting a lot more of them after the surgery."

Carmen and Alan then stepped through the curtain with a nurse. The nurse looked over Danny and said that it was time for us to leave. Danny squeezed my hand tighter than before, looking at me with the greatest fear in the world. It was becoming difficult not to cry, but if I did, Danny would definitely start to cry. I had to be extremely strong for him. He needs all the strength he can get.

"I love you, sweetheart. We'll all be waiting for you when it's all done." Carmen said, kissing his forehead like only a mother would.

Alan stepped up next to the bed. "Good luck, son," He gently ruffled Danny's hair. The two of them walked away so that I could say what I needed to.

"I'll be here when you get out, baby. I love you so much." I suddenly realized that that was the first time I've ever said that to him. There was that one time at the motel, but he was already fast asleep. His facial expression, though, showed nothing but joy.

"You lllove me?" His face lit up as bright as the sun. "Like...really?"

There were so many things that I wanted to say at this point. I wanted to tell him that I want to be with him forever. I wanted to mention how cute he looks when he gets confused. But most importantly of all, I wanted to tell him that no matter what happens I'll still love him.

"Yes, Danny. I love you more than you will ever know. And I'm always going to love you." I felt the crying sensation building inside of me, and I was struggling to keep it at bay. "I'm going to take very good care of you when you're back home. I promise you that."

He smiled widely giving off that he was ecstatic. This might not be completely accurate, but I do believe that his fears have just been taken over. The nurse pulled the curtain back completely, letting in even more sterile light than before. I gave Danny a kiss before grudgingly walking away from his bed. Outside of the room, Carmen and Alan were waiting for me. Alan seemed pretty confident, but Carmen looked like she was having a hard time keeping herself together. Alan said that the doctor told them to go to the front desk in the lobby and retrieve a pager that would allow him to send us updates on Danny's condition. The three of us trekked down to the lobby and did in fact receive a pager-type device. The worker explained to us how it would work and that the first update should be within an hour.

Alan took us out to breakfast in order to not only fill our empty stomachs, but also to burn some time. Our conversation was light and nearly nonexistent. The tension caused by the surgery was the obvious elephant in the room. Back at the hospital it wasn't much better. The doctor sent us two updates in a couple hours time-both good.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Brandon, ask away," Alan said while taking his focus away from an old magazine.

"Don't any of your family members know what's going on? I mean, it's only been the three of us. I'm just curious to know if any grandparents are coming or anything." I asked hoping not to upset them. For all I know their parents could be dead and families aren't always on speaking terms anyways.

"Well, my mom lives in Wyoming and Carmen's parents live in Michigan. Them coming down is difficult. We just figured that we'd keep them well informed about what's going on."

"No brothers or sisters?"

"We each have four siblings, but they're in various states. Carmen and I moved here for Danny. This area is one of the best in the country and we wanted to make sure he lived an excellent life. But we liked it as well so it all worked out anyways."

Carmen returned from the gift shop with a box of chocolates and was already munching on some. I guess she eats a lot when she's stressed out. I let the family thing go since it wasn't much of a big deal. Several old magazines later, the doctor sent us another update. This one instructed us to meet him near the elevators, though.

"The surgery went perfectly and there weren't any complications at all." the doctor said cheerfully.

Carmen sighed heavily. "Thank God," Her hand was clutching at her chest. "When can we see him?"

"Well, we put him under heavy anesthesia so he probably won't be awake for at least another hour. But we'll continue to monitor him and I'll be sure to page you as soon as he's conscious."

The incredible relief that I felt was indescribable. Danny has successfully made it out of surgery without any complications. The only thing to do now is to wait to be able to see him. While Carmen and Alan continued talking with the doctor, I walked away to text Dave who has been supportive ever since he learned of my expulsion. He told me that it didn't surprise him that I did something rash, but he seemed mildly amused by it at the same time.

The three of us sat back down in our seats in the lobby. There were several other people waiting for their own kind of news. An hour flew by surprisingly, and the doctor paged us back to the elevators. He said that Danny's awake, but we only had a few minutes with him because he needed to rest. We went up four floors and followed the doctor to Danny's room. Luckily he was able to get his own room at least until the other bed was filled.

Carmen and Alan went on one side of the bed and I on the other. Carmen grabbed one of his left hand and I grabbed the right. Danny opened his eyes slowly, painfully.

"Hi," he said nearly inaudibly.

"Hi, sweetheart," Carmen said quietly. "The doctor said we can't stay for long, but we will be back first thing tomorrow." I noticed her eyes becoming glossy.

Danny slowly turned his head towards me. When he saw me standing next to him, a huge smile grew on his face. "You're here,"

"Where else would I be?"

Just then the doctor walked into the room. He said that it was time to let Danny rest. His parents kissed him good bye, but I stayed behind for a second. He looked at me sadly, not wanting me to leave. I definitely didn't want to, but there's really no say in the matter. Besides, I can come back first thing in the morning to see him.

"I lllove you," Danny said under his breath.

I grinned, "Love you, too," I brushed strands of hair out of his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I hope you start feeling better."

Carmen, Alan, and I went straight to the hospital the next morning. Danny was feeling a little bit better, but not too much. He said his head was still numb from yesterday. Several times throughout the day he fell asleep. In fact, I'm not even sure he really knew we were with him at all. A nurse came in once or twice to give him some pain medicine, which I think was the reason he wasn't too aware of our presence. The sight of him lying in a hospital bed was kind of unnerving. He's in the bed because I failed to protect him; it doesn't do good for my already fragile conscience.

A couple of days passed by and Danny was starting to finally come around. His head was becoming less numb and the gash in the back of his skull was just barely starting to heal. The doctor told us that the gash wouldn't be fully healed for quite a while. Anyone who talked to him still had to use a very soft voice, but he didn't seem to flinch at all when someone talked normal toned. The fourth day he was in the hospital, I snuck him in some real food from the outside world. He wasn't really eating the hospital food and Carmen was worried about him losing too much weight. So I brought him Burger King-the best fast food franchise ever. But I read online a while ago that McDonalds is slightly healthier than Burger King. Go figure, right?

On Saturday, the doctor said that Danny was able to go home since his pain has been decreasing in severity. I was grateful that he could finally go home. Coming to the hospital everyday was beginning to annoy me. Now I'll be able to take care of Danny in the comfort of a home. While Carmen signed Danny out and Alan went to the pharmacy to retrieve pain medication and antibiotics, I helped Danny into a wheelchair. I've always wondered why all patients in a hospital must be wheeled out. Why can't they just walk out if they're able to? I also gave him a pair of the darkest sunglasses I could find. Down in front of the hospital, Danny wasn't having any troubles with the blaring sunlight. For some reason it seemed like today was extra bright.

The drive home took longer than usually because Carmen was being extra careful. Danny started complaining that the drive was making him dizzy. At one point we had to completely stop so that Danny could recover. She considered taking him back to the hospital, but he refused saying that it was just the car. Finally at home, I walked him upstairs and helped him get into bed. Within a few minutes he was completely knocked out. It wasn't until nine that he finally woke up.

"C-can you get me something to drink, please." Danny said coarsely. I was already one step ahead, though, and had a cup of water on TV tray next to his bed. Carefully, I held the cup to his lips and tilted it upwards. He sipped a little bit of water before easing away. "I can't feel my head,"

"You won't be feeling it for quite a while according to your doctor. But that's a good thing since you won't be feeling the pain either." I pushed his brown locks away from his eyes so that I could see them perfectly.

"What time is it?"

"It's a little past nine,"

Danny blinked in slow motion. He didn't seem too happy about the time. "When are you coming t-to bed?"

"In a little bit," I said, tracing his jaw bone with my index finger. "I'm gonna get something to eat first. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Even before I was out of his room, Danny fell fast asleep. I searched for something to eat in the fridge, but found nothing to my liking this late. The only thing that truly sounded good was liquor to be perfectly honest. Just a quick shot of something would take me out of this fog that I've been in lately. There was no liquor in the fridge, though. I searched through the cabinets finding a bottle of something. I moved things around and knew by the golden color that it was tequila-my favorite liquor. I took the bottle down a long with a shot glass. I grabbed a lime and cut it into a few wedges, then sought the salt.

"Brandon?" Carmen said, scaring me to death. "What're you doing?"

"I was just... Um, hm..." Great, now that I've screwed up she'll probably want me out of the house or something.

But Carmen didn't wig out at all. In fact, she reached up into the cabinet and retrieved a second shot glass. I took the hint and poured her a shot as well. She took a lime wedge, squeezed juice on her hand, dumped salt on top of that, licked it and quickly downed the drink, followed by sticking the lime wedge in her mouth. Now that is how you take a shot! I followed her actions, enjoying the burning feeling that the tequila gave off.

"Whoa, haven't done one of those in a while," she coughed.

I grinned. "I didn't think one shot would hurt for the night. I feel better already anyways."

"Has Danny woken up at all?"

"He did before I came down here. I'm going back up to sleep, though. It'll be nice to finally get a full night of sleep." I put the tequila bottle back up in the shelf and washed our glasses. I'm still surprised that Carmen joined me in a shot rather than chastising me. "My court date is in a couple of weeks and I can feel it just inching closer. What if I go to jail?"

Carmen jumped up on the countertop and looked at me. "You won't be going to jail. We will get you a great lawyer. One who will take James down for what he's been doing, or at least making things neutral." She crossed her legs, one over the other.

"I just wish I could undo what I did. My rage sometimes gets the best of me apparently. Maybe I should seek some counseling or something." Mrs. Dern popped in my mind. I could see if she would counsel me. She's not my teacher anymore so that should be okay. And speaking of teachers, I need to go to the adult school and register. Maybe I can get my GED the same time Danny gets his diploma.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, go ahead,"

She took a moment to ask, probably deciding on whether or not it was okay to do so. "What was your mother like?"

Wow, big curve ball there. Didn't see that one coming! All those bad emotions suddenly swam up to the surface waiting to make their debut. But I refused to cry this time. I can talk about my mother without crying and I'm going to prove it.

"The one thing that I will always remember about her is how happy she always was. It seemed like no matter what was going on in the world or in our house, she was always so positive. She was pretty, too, and so calm and loving. Someday I'm going to search for her. Someday I plan on asking her why she left me. But until that day comes all I have are my memories of what life was like when she was around." There. See? No tears were shed and no voice cracked from sobbing. I easily told Carmen a memory of my mom.

Carmen slid off the counter and stepped in front of me. She put her hands on my either of my shoulders. "In a few days, why don't you go to your house and bring whatever you want over. Definitely bring your clothes, but you can also bring anything else you want to."

"All right," I sighed. "I'll do that in a few days then." I said good night to her, then trudged up to Danny's room. He was still fast asleep, which was exactly how I wanted to be.

A few days later, I decided to go to my house to retrieve some clothes and other things of mine. Danny tagged along saying that getting out of the house for once would be good for him. He's been recovering very well over the past few days. Now he can be in a lit room without wincing and can even listen to louder sounds. On the drive to my house, though, he had a little problem with nausea still.

I quickly packed my stuff just in case dad decided to show up. All the movies that I've been collecting over the years were too much for the bags that I had. So I had to go through and take out my least favorites. I grabbed my iPod and its charger, and then walked into the living room where Danny was looking around.

"Hey, babe, are you ready to..." I stopped midsentence because of the front door opening. In walked dad looking high strung as usual. "Danny, go wait in the truck." He silently walked out, slipping behind dad.

"Who was that?" he asked in his cold voice. A numbing fear grew inside of me. Dad's never been a violent person, but his sudden cold demeanor was freaking me out.

I swallowed what little saliva I had; my throat was parched. "My boyfriend," His eyes grew wider giving off shock. "I'm moving out. Everything else in my room I don't need so you can do whatever you want with it."

"You're gay? Since when!?"

"Don't stand there and judge me! You don't know my life. You don't know all I've been through so you have no right to get angry." I said defiantly. I was not going to be harassed by this asshole.

With squinted eyes, he said, "I'm your father, Brandon," He began to step closer to me, but I stopped him in his tracks.

"No, you're just the guy who's helped me financially over the past several years. You've never been around. I raised myself and I'd like to think I did a good job." Dad seemed pretty pissed off at this point.

"Why you ungrateful little-"

"Save it!" I shouted. "I'm so sick of feeling guilty for no reason. You and I are beyond done. When I leave...that's it. Unless you happen to see me out around town some day, then you won't be seeing me at all."

I picked up my bags and walked right past him out into the cool, crisp air. There was an urge inside of me to go back into that house and yell at him like no other. But I'm a stronger person than that. Look at me now. I'm not even crying. Do I want to? Well, yeah, hell yeah I want to just break down and cry. I'm now basically an orphan in a world of chaos. Danny was staring at me with fear through the passenger window. I smiled at him to let him know that everything was all right. This seemed to calm his fears temporarily, but I know that he'll probably bring this up later, and that's most likely when I'll cry. Danny seemed to be at ease when I sat in my seat.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How's your head doing?"

He scoffed. "It's f-fine, but I'm more worried about you right n-now."

I clasped our hands together, intertwining our fingers. A smile lit up on my face silently letting him know that I was simply okay.

There is much to be afraid of in this world. But what we fear has nothing to do with gruesome masks, or plastic spiders, or life-like monsters. No, it's the thoughts in our head that terrify us the most. What if she comes to regret her decision? What if he really is unhappy? What if the chance for love has passed forever? How do we conquer these terrifying thoughts? We start by reminding ourselves, what does not kill us, just makes us stronger.*

* © by Marc Cherry, 2007

This was the final chapter of the story. But there will be an epilogue. I've had such an amazing time writing this story. I hope you all enjoyed chapter thirteen. Feel free to write me at my e-mail address that's given atop every chapter. Also feel free to join my group: Shades of Wisteria. Oh, and don't forget about my instant messaging screen names! And don't worry about bugging me because you WON'T.

AIM= brokendreamboi

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By the way, I started a blog up, which you can read without being a member or anything! Here's the link: Bobby's Blog.

I published Beautiful Lie! You can purchase it by following this link: Bobby's Storefront. It's exciting to have another one of my stories created into a book. If you do decide to purchase it, then I really hope you enjoy it. Speaking of purchasing, you must purchase the book in order to read the entire story. But (and I mean a big but!) if you cannot purchase the book for any reason and would like to read the entire story, then please contact me. Exceptions can and will be made for you. And please don't feel embarrassed if you can't buy it. I have had many hard times in my eighteen-and-a-half-year-old life. Thanks ahead of time.