Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 15:07:09 +0100 From: Lange Subject: betrayed love - chapter four umm, don't read this if: ~you are younger than 18 ~you are homophobic or you just generally don't like this sort of stories ~this is forbidden where you live = that means, read if you're sure you can risk it. thanks to William Watts for editing this ... I think the story would look not too good if he didn't do it ... not that I'm convinced of my writing ability. :) thanks to Silvia for 'helping' me with the story line. ahh yeah, my homepage is http://home.t-online.de/home/lange.ruegen go there if you're interested in other stuff I write. forgot about this the last time: tis story is copyright my n-c-g [that's me, btw :-)]. All rights reserved. ... uhh, doesn't that sound dumb? :) so ... I hope nobody is offended by this chapter and you can enjoy it and please mail me if you like or dislike or whatever the story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~ chapter four - ex-friend turned enemy Tommy did everything to ignore that weird feeling and concentrate on being angry again. He couldn't believe that Jason, his former best friend, had done this to him. He glared at Jason, with a cruel expression etched on his face, and pushed him backwards with such force that Jason stumbled and finally landed on his back. The crowd moved closer, until they stood in a circle around Jason, and they looked down on him in disgust. All he could do was look up and into their hate-filled faces. As if reacting to a secret sign, about five of them, including Tommy and Steven, attacked Jason, who was still lying on the ground. The others made approving comments while these five kept hitting and kicking every available part of Jason's body. Jason did not do anything to protect himself. He knew he had no chance against all 500 of them and he assumed that it possibly would be better if he just let it happen. When they didn't notice any movement from him anymore, they stopped their attack and everybody strolled from the campus to go home. Steven had a smile on his face, probably content with himself that they 'took care of that sissy'. Tommy knew he should feel really good having shown Jason what happens to fags, but his feelings were more or less a jumble of conflicting emotions. He felt that he had done what he had to do, but he didn't understand why he didn't feel good about what he had just done. Eric was the first one to go and check on Jason. He felt for his pulse and thought it to be normal. He then took his cell phone out and called an ambulance. With one last quick glance, he also left the yard. Jason did realize all of this as he lay there. He had been conscious during the whole thing and he had felt every single kick and punch they delivered, but that was not what had disturbed him so. What really had surprised him was the expression on Tommy's face. He had halfway expected him to be this hateful but, when he had pushed him, it was more forceful than he expected. He had thought that Tommy's reaction in the detention had been bad, but his first reaction had been mild in comparison. On the other hand, he had been very surprised, to say the least, to find the expressions on Tommy's face had not been what he had expected and he couldn't be sure what emotions he was actually feeling at that point. Was it was a look of apology, regret, or maybe even pity? But it wasn't just the look, there had been something else about it, something that he didn't understand. This look was what had distracted him from the attacks of the others, but now, as Eric had gone too, he began to feel the extent of his injuries, which he hoped wouldn't be too severe. Speaking of Eric, he was a mystery to Jason, too. Jason knew that Eric was very good friends with Steven and, because of the basketball team, he was also very close to Tommy. That in turn obviously meant that they had a lot of common views on different issues. Indeed, Eric had been standing directly next to Tommy and Steven, the ones who had, as it now looked, organized this attack. Still, Eric had not hit him even once and he had even called the ambulance for him. What was it with that boy? Maybe he was gay-friendly despite Steven and Tommy's feelings about it. But why had he been there in first place? He could have walked home with friends ... Maybe, just maybe, he could even be friends with Eric, but he did not believe that Tommy would be too happy with either of them then. Tommy, well he really had not expected this reaction from him. Of course, he had suspected it as a possible reaction, but to be honest, in his heart he felt that it had less of a chance of happening than his mind was willing to accept. He had not wanted to admit that it would have been possible, and now this. He had lost his best friend, his only friend for that matter, and even now, laying in the dust and hurting all over, he still could not believe it. Everything would have been better if he hadn't told Tommy. Everything had been okay two days ago. When he thought about the past few days, the tears fell again. He had already spent the previous night crying his eyes out and he couldn't even tell his mother when she kept on asking what had happened or what was the matter. How could he possibly tell her. Well, now that the whole school knew about it, it wouldn't be long until his family knew about it as well. His sister went to the same school and she would soon know also. They would all know ... and it wouldn't be because he had told them. Everything was so messed up ... With that he drifted into unconsciousness and did not notice the ambulance coming a minute later. They drove him to the hospital, but the E.M.T's in the ambulance had already determined that his injuries were not as severe as they could have been. Still, the boy who lay in front of the medics looked pretty bad with bruises all over his body and blood still pouring from some of the wounds. In the hospital, Jason was examined by doctors, but they did not find any severe injuries, like internal bleeding or ruptured organs, which would have lead to an operation. Jason had been quite lucky. Besides a severe concussion, he 'only' a lot of cuts and bruises. The concussion was what had caused him to slip into unconsciousness, but it was not life threatening. They put him into a hospital bed[,] after dressing him in a typical hospital gown and wheeled him into a private room. A nurse then called Jason's parents. Luckily for them, the boy who had called the ambulance had also given them the phone number of Jason's parents. "Hello... Yes, this is she." "Mrs. Matthews, I must tell you that your son's been brought to St. Lawrence hospital a few minutes ago." "Oh my God! Is he all right? What happened to him? Is he hurt badly? I was really worried when he didn't get home on time. Are you sure he's all right?" "He is relatively fine. Do you know what has happened?" "Not really. My daughter told me he had been in a fight, but she didn't stay to see what happened. When Jason didn't come home afterward, we weren't sure what to do. My husband thought it was no big deal and said that we should wait until he or someone else called us. I'm glad you did. Thank you. " "That's my job." "We'll be there immediately. Good bye." Barely throwing the receiver on the hook, the parents jumped to their feet and fetched their coats. They told Jason's sister to stay at home to answer the phone. Being 15 they didn't think she was too young, but somebodyy had to stay at home to field any other calls that came in. In the car the conversation moved to *the* topic again. "Do you think it's true what Tania said?" his mother wondered. "That Jason was beaten up because he's gay? I sure think it's possible," his father answered, looking concerned. " Now don't be upset or feel bad about it. We have suspected it for quite some time now." "Yes, you're right, but I guess I've never wanted to admit to myself that he, indeed, *is* gay. It has always been only a possibility, but now it looks like it's also reality. I'm only a little sad that he has not talked about it with us. It could have made a lot of things easier for him. We could have been there to help him." "Natalie, stay realistic, we could have never protected him from those kind of things happening to him. We surely could have supported him emotionally, though, and he would have known that we care for him, no matter what happens." With that said, he pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot of the hospital. Hand-in-hand, the parents went into the building to face whatever awaited them. It was also to give themselves the strength they would need to get through their talk with Jason and the courage it would take to face their injured child. They first stopped and asked a nurse for the number of the room that Jason was in. She told them the number, but suggested that they wait a little while and maybe sit down until the doctor had time to speak with them. Mrs. Matthews sat down in the waiting area while her husband went off to buy some coffee, to calm both of their nerves. She didn't understand why her husband thought that drinking coffee would help them, but she was too exhausted to argue with him right now. He sat down next to her, gave her the cup of coffee he had bought, and then he took her free hand again. They really felt the effects of the shock of what had happened setting in now. It was now that they fully realized what had been happening to Jason and it began to dawn on them to what extent Jason's forced coming out would influence their daily life. It was scary for both of them, but they did not feel angry with Jason and they were sure that it must be even worse for him. They continued this line of thought for several minutes, until the doctor arrived and spoke to them. "Mrs. And Mr. Matthews, I suppose?" "How's our son doing, doctor?" "Well, he's relatively fine, considering what has happened to him. I don't know how much you've been told? " "Our daughter has told us that Jason had been in a fight, although ... she had not been there herself." "Oh, I see. Anyway, you son's not suffering from any internal injuries, he's 'only' suffering from some treatable medical conditions. He's got many bruises and some cuts[,] which were probably caused by some stones on the ground. He also has a severe concussion, probably from kicks to his head. He's not hurt very badly, but the concussion has caused some problems and he's been slipping in and out of consciousness since he was brought in. I don't believe it's anything to be overly concerned about and I can assure you that there will be nothing left of these injuries in 3 months and nothing, absolutely nothing is life-threatening. You may go in to see your son now, but it'll take another 24 hours until we can even consider if he is ready to leave the hospital. His room is number 162, but I guess you were already told that. You can reach it by going down the hallway to my left." "Thanks, Dr. ..." "Mulligan." "Thanks, Dr. Mulligan." "It's my job." Smiling, Dr. Mulligan vanished through some doorway opposite the information desk, while Jason's parents made their way to their son's room, holding hands the entire way. They looked at each other for a brief time before opening the door to Jason's room, taking that moment to try to read what the other was feeling. When their eyes locked on each other, they could see the fear and confusion, but they could also see the love and feel the strength and determination the other had to help them all get through this. They would support Jason the best they could and they would be there for each other. The reassuring nod from her husband encouraged Mrs. Matthews to open the door and go in. When they entered the room they couldn't see anything besides dark shadows and slightly lighter shades of darkness where the sun could peek through the curtains. The sight in front of them slowly became clearer, as soon as their eyes had adjusted to the darkness in the room. Mrs. Matthews made the first tentative steps into the direction of the bed, longing to see her son. When she had reached it she was shocked by what she saw and the first tears fell from her eyes. She couldn't believe how bruised Jason looked. Her baby had been hurt this badly by some bullies and, if they could believe Tania, it was not just a group of kids who didn't know him or like him either. It had included Tommy, his best friend, who had initiated the whole fight. They had always seemed so perfectly fine together, but Jason's coming out had obviously changed everything they had shared. She couldn't see any recognizable expression on Jason's face. She couldn't say that he looked perfectly content, but maybe peaceful was the right word for it. When she'd completed that thought, she broke into tears, as she'd realized that she had been thinkingabout him as if he were dead. Mr. Matthews went to her side and gently cradled her in his arms. They stayed by Jason's side through the rest of the afternoon and they were still there as evening arrived. Jason was still slipping in and out of consciousness, never really aware of what was going on, and he was like that when the doctor came into the room again, around nine. "Mr. And Mrs. Matthews, I guess it would be better if you were to go home now. Jason won't know what's going on until sometime tomorrow afternoon and it won't help anything if you don't get a good night's sleep. He'll need you strong and alert when he does come to. " "Can't we stay here?" "You could, but I really don't recommend that. Trust me. Besides, I'm sure that your daughter is worried about you, too. You should be with her." "I really don't want to leave Jason here alone." "Well, you know that we'll take good care of your son and both of you are tired. Come back tomorrow as early as you want to." "If you really think so, doctor ..." "Please, it'll be the best for you." "Yes, you may be right." "Thanks doctor. We'll be back here by early morning. Thank you for everything." "Of course. Now you go home and try to sleep, okay?" "We will." They took one last look at their son and then they left the room and walked down the already silent and darkened hallways, hand-in-hand.