Love Me 14

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None of the characters are based on real people nor are they meant to resemble any living or dead people.

This story contains some adult language as well as sex, or some hints of sex. I cannot promise that there will be sex in each chapter, but if you find my writing to be offensive or distasteful in any way, you're visiting the wrong website and need to move on.

Love Me

Chapter 14

Home?

***

Monday morning has come already and it's time for Riley to head off to school. Compared with yesterday morning, this morning has been much better. There haven't been any tears, and no pep talks. Caden and Jared had their first kiss of the day, Jared made sure all of Riley's homework is done, and he made sure that everything is lined up ready to go. Today is starting off great, the way any other day should start around the house.

"Riley, we need to go if you're going to be on time."

Riley moves towards the front door.

"I...coming."

Ten seconds later, he is standing right beside Jared.

"Here's your backpack."

"Thanks Jared."

Handing off the backpack, Jared and Riley head out the door. Jared unlocks the car doors, and then opens the passenger side door for Riley. Once Riley is in the car, he walks around to enter the car. When he touches the handle, he sees some kind of vision, a blink of an accident involving him and Riley causes his legs and arms to shake for just a second. He shakes it off and gets into the car making sure that his seatbelt and Riley's seatbelt are clicked also. He inserts the key and turns the ignition and gives the car some gas, then off they go to school. Country music is coming out of the speakers, and Riley is enjoying the music. The drive to school is too short for Riley's taste. Jared is glad to be at school without having had an accident. Riley is glad to be at school so he can see his friends.

"Ready for the day?"

Riley smiles at Jared.

"Yeah, I...ready."

Jared watches as Mr. Harrison approaches the car. Riley smiles and waves at the aide as he approaches. Jared unlocks the door and Riley opens it and steps out.

"Bye buddy, have an awesome day."

"Bye Jar-ed."

Mr. Harrison closes the door once Riley is clear. Jared watches as the teen walks up to the school building, then turns and waves goodbye. He waves back and then leaves the school to return home.

***

Despite the unpleasant memory, today feels as if it is off to a great start, and Jared loves it. Riley got up on the good side of the bed, and stayed in a good mood all morning. Like all of us, Riley can get up and instantly, he seems to have an attitude. The fact that he actually wants to go to school is a good thing. Course it helps that he has great friends at school, and it helps that Ryan is there also. Riley seemed excited this morning, and the guys have no idea what is going on inside his head. Caden and Jared were able to get up and get going despite the emotional day yesterday. It's nice when they can wake up and just get going without any hassles. The hope for today is that the rest of the day will continue as it started. Jared arrives home with a plan running through his head.

***

He walks into the house and goes looking for Caden who he finds sitting in the living room working on some papers for work. He wants to pull his boyfriend away from what he's doing to see the house. Knowing Caden, he'll want to finish what he's doing before they leave. It feels weird to see his house mostly boxed up and ready to go. Right now, they are sort of living out of boxes, but it is all good. Tomorrow, they are going to officially move into their new house.

"Caden get up, I want you to see the house."

Caden looks up at him and sets his paperwork down while he decides if this trip is going to happen or not.

"I was just finishing my paperwork, so I can go. You know, I've already given the house a green light?"

Jared smiles and nods his head.

"Yeah, I know but I want you to see as our home."

Caden gets up and heads for the front door with Jared right behind him. The drive doesn't take them long, and soon they reach their destination. When Caden sees the house, and he is awestruck. It is a lot bigger than the other house.

`Can he, can we, really afford this place?'

Jared takes Caden around back to check out the backyard. The front yard is beautifully landscaped and the backyard is landscaped just as nice. In the backyard there is an outdoor living space with a pool with a fence already around it so, they can relax. The pool comes with a pool house. Jared brings Caden back around to the front, and opens the front door. Caden is immediately taken in by the size of the house. The house is big and allows them space to spread out. He loves the kitchen, the family room, the study, and the master suite is amazing. The bedroom that Jared has been saying would be ideal for Riley is across the hall from their's. It has a spare room attached to it which Caden and Jared already have plans for it. Riley will love the house. Caden finds the sheer size of the house a bit scary. He's not sure that the house is suitable for Riley. He's hoping that his brother does not have problems with the house. It is only fair for him to give the house a chance, so he finishes the house tour and takes it all in making plans for the house as he walks through it.

***

Jared and Caden walk out of the house and approach the car. He opens the car door for his boyfriend, then walks around to the driver side, and gets into the car.

"So what did you think of the house?"

Caden has two choices here, he can lie or he can be honest.

"I think the house is everything that you said it was, but it's so big. I'm worried about Riley getting lost in it."

Jared nods his head in agreement.

"We are all going to have to adjust to living in a new house, but I know that we can do this, Caden."

Riley has been very excited about the move. The house was sold in Riley's mind, the minute he heard that Ryan would be closer to them. Having a friend that lives close by even made Caden want the house a little bit more.

"Still want the house?"

Caden nods his head and smiles at Jared.

"The house maybe big but, I'll be happy with it as long as you're there too."

Jared smiles and then heads towards a restaurant to have lunch.

***

As they enter the restaurant, they're holding hands and smiling. This place is your typical diner. They're greeted by the hostess and taken to their booth. No one is judging them and the whole place feels like home for some reason. They look through the menus and both guys pick what they're going to eat. The atmosphere maybe that of a diner, but right now, it doesn't matter because they are together. The food is brought out to them and they start eating after telling the waitress how the great it looks. Everything is going great until the air in the diner changes.

***

Caden gets a forkful of fish into his mouth when he sees someone that just needs to turn around and leave. It is enough to make him want to get up and leave without finishing his meal. The person he sees sits a few tables away from where they are sitting, but in a spot where he can see their every move, but far enough away that he cannot hear their conversations. A prayer is quietly said asking that this guy will not see them, that he won't get up from where he is sitting and come over by them. It doesn't work, Ethan gets up from his table and walks over to where Jared and Caden are sitting.

"Damn!"

Caden's face shows his disgust at the incoming intruder.

"What's wrong with you?"

BeforeCaden can respond to Jared's question, Ethan stands at their table. Now both Caden and Jared are unhappy as they look up at Ethan.

"You need to walk away."

Caden says without even hearing what Ethan has to say.

"You don't want to hear my apology."

"No, I'm not interested in whatever you have to say. It will be just more lies."

Jared is about to stand up and tell this goon that he needs to back off, when Caden makes it very clear that he's not interested. Caden leans in and gives Jared a kiss on the lips. He's not usually this open in public but this time, he doing it to make a point

"You're really going to run it in my face, Caden. You are so mature."

Jared is about to tear into this guy. A hand on his knee cools his temper though; Caden does not want to make a scene. If they were outside, Jared's anger might not have been put in check.

"Did you not believe me when I told you that I met someone?"

"I heard you, but I didn't think you'd leave me for the Boy Scout."

"Piss off Ethan; can't you see that we are trying to eat? Why don't you go back and eat your meal?"

Ethan glares at Jared.

"Stay out of this Boy Scout; I just wanted to apologize to the handsome guy sitting next to you."

This is when Jared stands up and looks Ethan in the eyes, and also when another patron stands up and walks over the table.

"Didn't they ask you to go back to your table? I'm trying to eat my lunch with my parents and you're disturbing it, so back off."

This guy stands a little taller Ethan, and he's loaded with tattoos, he has several piercings, and looks like he's capable of taking someone out. Ethan backs off because he is not in the mood to deal with both the stranger and Jared. He retreats to his table never losing sight of the two men who are still standing up by Caden's table.

"Thanks man, he was really asking for it."

The other guy smiles at Jared as he reaches out and shakes his hand.

"No problem Jared, have a great day."

Caden is impressed that Jared knows the guy. He's just happy that their trouble; his trouble; has left their presence. Minutes later, Caden is still feeling a bit unsettled by Ethan's visit.

"Jared, I've lost my appetite, would be okay if we just went home."

Jared is not happy about having to leave, but he's also feeling a little down after the incident.

"Okay Babe, if that is what you want to do."

"I just don't feel comfortable right now."

They ask for some boxes and the check, and then head out to the car.

***

What they can't see is, that at the same time that they were walking out, Ethan was also ready to walk outside and head home. Caden and Jared are almost in their car, when Ethan walks up behind Caden. He reaches out and grabs Caden's shoulder. Caden balls up his right hand into a fist and gets ready to swing. Jared sees the situation and comes rushing around to the passenger side of the car.

"You need to get out of here Ethan. He doesn't want to talk to you."

"Look Boy Scout, I need to talk to him, and you need to butt out."

Jared puts his left arm round Caden's shoulder, and he refuses to budge from his spot. He's not going away though not now.

"You aren't talking to him alone. In fact, I would be much happier if you just left now."

Ethan does not like the fact that Jared is standing there with Caden.

"I still love you Caden. I want you back, Baby."

Caden takes both of his hands and pries Ethan's hand off his shoulder.

"We've already had this discussion. I do not love you. You made the bigger mistake and I hope wherever Andrew is, that he is happier without you. I do not blame him because I know you can charm the pants off of someone, but I am done. NOW LEAVE ME ALONE."

Ethan doesn't want to walk away again so he puts his hands on Caden again. It's not one of his better ideas. As soon as his hands touched Caden, Jared walks up and grabs his hands off of his boyfriend.

"Ethan, I think he asked you to leave him alone."

"Well, if you hadn't jumped in the minute Caden became single, I would be in this situation."

Caden laughs at the words that his ex just said.

"Why are you laughing?"

Caden didn't answer Ethan's question instead, he looks at Jared, takes the keys, and unlocks the car.

"I didn't just jump into his life, I was there the whole time, too bad you weren't there to listen or didn't want to listen. This guy and his brother have someone in their lives who isn't going to go away, ever."

"So that is it Caden, you just going to let him make your decisions for you?"

Jared walks towards the driver side as Caden gets into the car. Caden rolls down the window and looks at Ethan.

"You don't get it, do you? He is my decision."

Sadly though, Caden is feeling the effects of the encounter. He's angry, he's in love, and just wants some time to himself. Hopefully, Jared will be okay with him having some quiet time.

***

In the car, Caden is quiet and Jared hates it. He wants his boyfriend to be happy, and this, well it isn't happy. He's not sure how to explain it, but this feels like a fight. Some quiet time or time with friends would help both Caden and Jared. The argument didn't help either one of them. Then again, sex would not be so bad either right now. But it doesn't look like the guys are going to be hitting the bedroom. They aren't really in the mood for it. A few blocks from home, and Jared has had it.

"Are you okay?"

Returning the glance, he shows Jared what's in his heart at the moment. Tears come down his face. The scene outside the restaurant was too much for him.

"No..."

"No" was all he could muster at the moment. Jared didn't need to hear anything else. He knew exactly what to do. Amazing, how one word is all that is needed at times.

***

After the exchange in the car, Jared left Caden to do what he needed to do, to come back to his normal self. Caden enters the house and drops whatever he had in his hands on the coffee table. He makes his way up the stairs and slips into his brother's room and lets the emotions out one tear at a time. No one in this house is afraid to cry. Jared tries to enter the room to give some comfort, but the door was locked after Caden entered the room. Jared retreats from the door and sits in their bedroom as he waits out the release of emotions.

***

A half hour later, Caden emerges from Riley's room and looks for Jared. As he gets ready to pass by their bedroom, he sees him and he smiles. With that smile he enters the room and he's acting as if his whole body is just drained of all emotion and energy. He collapses into Jared's arms, he wants to sleep but he thinks that maybe they should talk.

"I'm sorry Babe."

Jared doesn't to hear that. There isn't any reason for Caden to apologize.

"Don't say it, you're not at fault, Baby Boy."

Caden doesn't say a thing. Jared wraps his arms around his boyfriend's still form.

"I don't get him, he shouldn't' have been there. Shouldn't have come by us."

Jared kisses him.

"You can't control his life, and you can't run from the things that might by painful.

Maybe, he can't run away from Ethan but it would have been nice if he hadn't shown up at the diner.

"I don't want him to ruin us, Jared."

"He won't, you bet he won't."

No way in hell, Jared isn't going to allow that ass to destroy their relationship. If there is another encounter, Jared will let his fist make a huge impact into Ethan's life.

"Are you sure?"

"Don't I always keep my word to you?"

Caden doesn't say a thing to his love. They sit there for a while in each other's arms.

"Thank you Jared for what you said back in the parking lot. I'm so lucky to finally have you where you have always belonged."

"So where do I belong?"

"Right here."

Caden just laughs as he places a finger between Jared's pecs.

***

Jared stands up and drags Caden to his feet, and then they walk down the stairs and out the front door. The fresh air should help them relax some and breathe easier. Both guys wait a little while and then they look at each in the eyes to try and gauge how the other guy is feeling. It is easy to see that Caden is still not in the best of moods. The guys spend a few more seconds in silence before one of them speaks up.

"Caden, are we going to go through this every time that we see or hear from Ethan?"

It would be nice to see Ethan become a thing of the past. Are they able to get past the pain that Ethan caused in Caden's life?

"No I think, I've reached a point in my life that, I'm ready to say goodbye to Ethan in my life."

Hopefully, he means it because the more this happens, the more it's going to upset both of them, and who knows where that hurt could lead.

"Are okay now about what happened?"

There has been a phone call from Ethan where he was told how Caden felt about him, and then today, Ethan got to hear it directly from both Caden and Jared, and they didn't hold back.

"Since you asked me Caden, I wish you hadn't said anything to him and just ignored him, but you told him what you were thinking and you stood up and faced him. Thanks for putting him in his place."

They continued walking around the neighborhood for almost an hour. The conversation changed a couple times but overall the conversation was light and left the guys feeling much better about the way that Ethan approached them, and the way that they handled him both in the restaurant and in the parking lot. With so many things happening in their lives right now, the intrusion at lunch was very unwelcome, but at least the sun is shining. Caden keeps glancing at his watch as they head home.

"What's wrong dude?"

Jared asks as his boyfriend glances down at his watch one more time.

"It's getting close to the time that we need to be leaving to pick up Riley from school."

"Guess. We should pick up speed huh?"

"Yeah." Caden chuckles a bit as they pick up their speed to a fast walk." Even when fast walking, they still manage to enjoy each other's company. When they do reach the yard, their legs are burning.

***

Caden and Jared get into the car and head for the school. Caden likes to get there so they can be up close to the front in the line up, so they can get away from the school as soon as possible. Caden can see his brother waiting just inside the doors, so he gets out of the car and walks up to the door to greet his brother and the aide.

"How was he today?"

The aide is smiling as he looks at Riley's older brother.

"He did awesome today. The physical therapist stopped by to work with him, and he said that he did great."

Mr. Harrison pats Riley on the back as the young man looks up Caden.

"Are you ready to head out for home?"

A simple nod of the head is all Caden gets from his brother.

"Thanks Mr. Harrison, I guess we are going home."

"Be good Riley."

Caden really likes the staff in the classroom. It's amazing to him how much they built up a staff-student relationship in such a short time. As they head out to the car, Riley reaches out and takes Caden's hand. Caden's first reaction is too break the hold his brother has on his hand. But then he realizes that maybe it just needs to be there. For as much as things are changing for him, the move and the new relationship that Caden and Jared are in might be stressing him out. Today though, he seems excited about something but Riley hasn't said anything about what might be making him excited. Jared already has the driver's side back seat open for Riley. Caden takes off Riley's backpack, and then helps him get into the backseat. Riley sits still while Caden gets him buckled up. With him safely into the car and securely buckled up, Caden and Jared get into their seats.

***

Jared is driving home and Caden is looking over his brother's "Go Home" folder. There is a sheet of homework, and a letter describing a club and mentoring program that Ms. Browning is doing.

"What is this club about Riley?"

Caden looks back at his brother as Riley breaks into a smile.

"It...it...is a club for...for stude-nts. Can...I...I...join?"

Caden looks over the letter from his teacher and then reads the attached paperwork about the program.

"Yeah, I think it sounds like a good program buddy."

"So what is this club about Caden?"

Asks Jared.

"Well, it sounds like it's a club that fosters friendship between Ms. Browning's students and the general education students. I think, it sounds like a great idea, what do you think Jared?"

"There is a just a second of silence while Jared gives it a few seconds to sink into his head.

"I agree Caden, What do you think Riley?" Do you want to be a part of it?"

"Yes." He's excited about being in the club. Riley wants to be a part of this club and maybe he can even get Ryan involved. It wouldn't take much convincing to get Ryan into the club. Ryan's presence in the club might bring more of his team-mates into the club. Knowing that he wanted to be in the club, the only thing that needs to happen is for Caden to fill out the form giving permission for Riley to participate.

***

Everyone is home and the guys are all busy either cooking or working on homework. Jared agreed to cook tonight. He's chopping the vegetables for their chicken stir fry. Riley is sitting at the kitchen table, busy working on his homework. Sitting next to him is Caden, who's assisting him with his homework. Riley still needs help holding his pencil and needs reminders to hold it right. Ms. Browning didn't send home much homework tonight which is good because the stir-fry is done.

"Homework needs to be done, because it is time to eat, so clear the table."

When Jared is ready to eat, Jared is ready to eat, and everyone else had better get ready to eat too. Caden helps Riley put the homework away in his folder. They quickly clear off the table and then they start setting it. The guys start eating dinner and talking about stuff that may or may not matter. Riley then turned the discussion away from what Caden and Jared were talking about at the moment.

***

As they were eating, Riley starts up a conversation and it could go very wrong. He wants to do what his friends are doing and that means driving. The problem is Jared and Caden need convincing that he should drive.

"Caden, I...I want to-to drive."

Caden and Jared are looking at Riley with their mouths wide open. They aren't sure what to think of Riley's request. What they do know is that Riley isn't going to be driving any time soon. Caden looks at Jared hoping that he would give him the bad news to the teen. Jared isn't going to allow him to drive.

"Riley, I'm sorry buddy, but you can't drive buddy. At least not right now, we need to see what the doctor says at your appointment okay?"

Caden's answer doesn't go over well with Riley.

"No...no...I want...to."

"I know that you want to drive, but you just can't buddy."

You can tell Riley doesn't understand why he won't let him learn to drive.

"Jar-ed, you...you teach me?"

He doesn't want to tell him that he agrees with his brother. It would not be safe for the people out on the roads or for him if he was allowed to drive. Even if it means offending the teen, he has to tell him "No".

"Sorry Riley, but I agree with your brother. I don't think it would be a good idea for you to be behind the wheel of a car."

Riley looks hurt, like he's lost his one true friend. Riley leaves the kitchen and goes up to his room to get away from his brother and Jared. They must hate him.

***

Normally, they would let Riley have quiet time up in his room to let him cool down before heading upstairs to talk, but not this time. This time, they need to clear the air. The guys quietly open the door to find Riley sitting on the bed. A few tears were coming down his face. You could see the hurt plainly on his face.

"Riley, we need to talk. I know you're upset but you need to hear what we have to say."

He gave his brother death glares and he seems to be worried.

"Go...go away."

Riley balled up his fists in the air and then he just collapsed on the bed. Caden rubbed his back to soothe the hurt, while Jared sat there refusing to get up and go.

"Riley, Caden and I don't want you driving because of your challenges right now. It's not safe for you or for anyone else if you are behind the wheel."

Riley looks at Jared, the one person in the world who he thought was on his side. Now it appears that he hates him; Jared hates him.

"Riley, what Dad did to you has messed up everything, and I would give anything to remove it from you, and fix everything. I...I...just can't."

Now it's Caden's turn to shed some tears. Jared cuddles Caden and in a minute or two the tears stop but it was enough to catch Riley off guard.

"You...think...some-one get hurt, if...if...I drive?"

Caden and Riley both think that it could happen, and it's likely that someone would get hurt if he drove.

"You might, you might."

Riley doesn't want to hurt people, but it doesn't change the fact that they ganged up on him. Even though they were honest with him, it still hurts to know that, they won't even let him try to drive.

"I...still...want to drive."

It's not going to happen, and Caden and Jared know it, but Riley wants it.

"Sorry Riley, but I can't let you drive."

Caden isn't going to budge on this decision, and it's upsetting his brother.

"Dad, he do this to me?"

"Yes Riley, he did it when you got hurt."

Every time that Caden brings this up, it seems to hurt Riley all over again. It sucks seeing him in pain. For tonight, Riley will just have to accept the fact that there are people in his life that love him enough to tell him that he can't drive. Jared and Caden walk out of Riley's room and head downstairs.

***

Together, they are sitting on the couch trying to relax before they begin to figure out the reality that is facing them as Riley gets older. They agree that the biggest challenges are going to be those moments when his friends are going off to college, as his friends are getting married, but at least the guys won't have to worry about him finding a boyfriend. Sex might even be an issue but they agree to let his boyfriend deal with it. How will they get him to understand why his friends are going off to school or graduating? He seems to be taking the driving issue pretty well, despite the tears and the attitude. He still may not understand the reasons why, but they won't let him drive.

They are hoping that as long as Ryan reminds by his side, he'll never really need to drive. He still has a lot of things that he'll miss out on in this life, and the guys feel sorry for him because he'll miss on so much even with his boyfriend in his life. Who knows what the future holds for Riley, but whatever it does, they hope it comes without too many tears.

Jared and Caden are still carrying around some emotions from their conversation with Riley. Caden though is carrying the most pain in his heart, and it's going to take something bigger than him to make sense of it. He has no idea how hard things would be when he brought Riley home to live. Challenges were expected, but to an extent, he didn't plan to relive conversations like this on a weekly basis. He didn't realize how painful it would be to retell the story of what happened to his brother about the events on the day he came out to their parents. They come to the conclusion that Riley will have to learn that there are things that he can't do that his friends are doing, even though it's painful. He needs to let it go and accept the fact that he can't do those things.

***

Caden needs some fresh air after all of this. He also needs a chance to connect with the universe. He walks into the backyard and sits on the bench near the small herb garden. Gazing upwards, he locks his eyes on a star

`Please let Riley grow stronger and regain some of his independence. He needs to know that we love him and even though it may feel like there are times when we're restricting him, it's not done because we hate him. We do it because we love him and have a good sense of what he physically can do and what he can't do. We need him to know that we love him.'

He pauses for a minute to listen. He glances towards his brother's window and catches a glimpse of Riley looking out at him. Looking back towards the night sky, he begins to cry.

"Please let my brother just be okay with his life the way it is. Oh, one last favor, let him meet some more friends."

Caden's heart is full at the moment. He and Jared know that Riley may never experience the things that he might have if their father hadn't attacked him. Everything should be perfect in his life. For now, it's Caden's and Jared's job to make it perfect, later in life it will be the job of Riley's boyfriend or husband to make things perfect for him. Caden gets up and walks back into the house.

***

From his room, Riley looks out into the backyard and what he sees surprises him. He sees his brother looking up into the night sky. Wondering what is going on outside, he glances up into the sky to try and see what his brother is looking at up there. He isn't sure what his brother is doing, but he is still hurting inside. It isn't long though till tears start moving down his face. Once the tears start, he quickly starts with full blown crying. Jared is walking down the hallway when he hears the young man crying in his room. When Caden glances up at him, Riley turns from the window. Moving from the window he walks to his bed and lays down. Jared is still standing by the door when Caden comes into the house.

***

A few seconds later, he walks away from the doorway and goes down the stairs to see Caden. Caden is getting a drink of water when Jared comes up to him.

"While you were outside, I walked upstairs to check on Riley and heard him crying."

"Is he okay?"

"When I came downstairs, it sounded like he had stopped crying. I think, he's lying down."

Caden filled his glass again and walks upstairs to check on his brother. When he gets to his brother's room, he sees his brother sleeping in his bed. Once Caden is sure that Riley is sleeping, he returns to Jared's side.

"He's fast asleep."

A smile breaks out across Jared's face.

"Good, I just hope he wakes up in a good mood."

"Are you okay?"

Jared is concerned about Caden's well being.

"Yeah, I'm good."

Jared kisses Caden on the lips, and they cuddle for a few minutes before getting up to start their nightly routines.

Hey, Chuck here, if you liked this story (or even if you didn't), feel free to email me at: Hnstskr4@aol.com. I will do my best to answer all emails in a timely manner.

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