Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2023 17:31:51 -0400 From: James Heady Subject: The Wounds Within My Heart--Book 3--Chapter 1 The Wounds Within My Heart By James Disclaimer If you're not of the legal age to read this story, or if you're offended by this type of material then leave now. This story may at times contain sex and romantic moments between consenting teenaged males. It also may contain scenes of Hate Speech towards people of different races, sexual orientations, disability groups and others. If you can't handle reading about that, then leave. Please remember to donate to Nifty, as it's your donations that keep these stories and other information on the site free to the public. Finally, if you like this story and haven't done this already, ask my E-mail address jamesheady1985@gmail.com if you can offer it a ride to work. Once it accepts, spend the entirety of the trip blasting the song Baby Shark at full volume on repeat. Thanks once again to K. for another well-done editing job. I really appreciate the time you put into looking over this chapter as well as the story. Thank you. The Wounds Within My Heart Book Three Deepening Love Part One Finding Love Once Again Chapter One Nohea That Friday was dark and cloudy and getting more so as the hours went by. I had gotten home from school, and Alex and Chelsey had texted me about when we could hang out. I told them that I would be meeting Lexy's brother that night, as he was around my own age. I told them that I would let them know how things went, and they said they would be in touch at some point as well. Just before our dad got us in the car, he said that Lexy and her parents would be ordering Mexican food for dinner so that we didn't have to worry. I then asked who Lexy's brother was, and my dad paused for a moment. He seemed to be having trouble recalling his name. I waited for a minute until he spoke again. "Sorry son, I just can't remember what she said his name was," he answered. "It's just been a really long day, as well as a long and busy week." "Yeah, I totally understand," I said. "Oh, and I hope you liked that Lil Puzi album I left in your car this morning." I hadn't actually done that, but I liked to use that as a way to name-drop different artists sometimes that my dad might not have heard of. "Lil who?" my dad asked sounding totally confused. Triston laughed, and asked who I was talking about. "Lil Puzi," I said. "He's one of the newer rappers." "Oh yeah, I absolutely loved it," my dad said as we exited the house and walked to the car. "I even sent links to all my friends at work so they could buy it for themselves as well." We all laughed as we got in the car. "Well, I don't know why you want to torture yourself listening to crap like that, but have fun," my dad said laughing. He knew I didn't like stuff like that, and that more often than not, I'd find it without really trying. The For You pages on social media can be really interesting places. "Just wait," I went on. "When you go to work on Monday, I'll have a copy of Devil Without a Cause by Kid Rock waiting for you in your car." "Yeah, and I'll probably have to ground you until you're 40 if you try and make me listen to that crap," my dad said smiling. I turned to where Triston was sitting in the back. "He's only saying that because he secretly likes that kind of music," I said. Triston laughed harder. "I know he doesn't really mean those mean things he's saying," I went on. "Deep down he loves that I expose him to new things he's not normally used to hearing." "Like hell," our dad said, laughing as we drove along. We all laughed at that point, then I settled in to enjoy the rest of the ride to Lexy's house. Once there, my dad said that he was texting Lexy to let her know that we were in their driveway. He did that, then we got out. I heard the front door open. "Are you David," a woman's voice called out. There were footsteps now, and they were coming towards us. "Yeah, I'm David," our dad responded. "This is Nohea on my right. Behind him is Triston my youngest son." "It's nice to meet all of you. I'm Lexy," she answered, stepping up to us now. We all shook her hand, and she let us know that their parents would be home in about an hour. She said that they had to work a little later than they thought, but we could still come in and meet her brother. "That sounds good. Thanks," I said. "You're welcome," she answered. Once in the house, Lexy closed the door and she led us down a hall. She knocked at a closed bedroom door. The door opened, and I was standing slightly off to the side. Lexy had me move directly in front of the opened door, and I could see a shadow before me. I then heard a vocal response that sounded familiar, and I had to think for a second. I knew I heard a sound like that before, but the voice was higher in pitch. Then I struggled to make sense of where my mind was going. "Nohea," Lexy said. "This is Pietro, and I'm sure you remember him." "Oh my god!" I yelled, and I felt hands reaching for me as the voice made a sound of pure joy! There was more of that higher pitch than a moment ago, but I knew who it was now! Pietro embraced me, and I had my arms wrapped tightly around him as we held each other. Somewhere that seemed far away, I heard footsteps retreating from where Pietro and I stood, embracing like our lives depended on it! "I can't believe that you're really here!" I said sobbing hard. "I never thought I'd see you again!" Pietro was crying just as hard, and it occurred to me in that moment that this was the first time I had ever seen him cry. I continued to embrace him, and he held me as if I'd disappear at any moment. He felt like he was bigger than I remembered him back at school, and I felt that feeling of safety and warmth come over me once again, now that I was back in the arms of the love of my life! We stood there for what seemed like forever. Slowly, my tears were subsiding. Eventually though they were gone, and Pietro was drying his own eyes. He then released me and stepped back holding me by the shoulders. I could sense his eyes looking at me, as well as taking in every inch of me. He then leaned his head forward and rested it on mine, looking deep into my eyes, like all those times before! "I really can't believe you're actually hear in front of me," I said raising my hand and touching his cheek which I was surprised to find had a slight layer of stubble on it. "I can't believe that I'm standing here touching you like this! I never thought I'd see you again, and it was so hard being away from you. There's so much I want to say to you, and I don't know where to begin." Pietro took me in his arms once again, and I melted into him with my own arms wrapped tightly around him. We stood like that for a long moment, then he let me go and stepped back. He took my hand and tugged gently. I followed him into his room. He led me over to his bed, and I sat down on the edge of it. Pietro walked over to another area of his room. I heard a desk chair move, then he was back. I then heard the familiar Text-to-Speech sound which surprised me. "Obviously I won't be able to speak with human speech like other people, but this is the best way I can have a voice," the device said. "What do you think of it?" "I really like it," I said smiling at him. "It sounds like you've learned to write. I had always wondered how much you could understand, and I was sometimes worried if you were understanding everything I was talking about. I don't just mean the words, but some of the subjects and concepts I was talking about." "That's sweet of you to have been concerned, but there's no need to worry," Pietro typed. "There would be sometimes when I didn't know a word or two you would use, but I understood a lot of what you were saying to me, as well as what was in your eyes. I understood a lot, and we have a lot to talk about. There's so much I want to say to you as well, but there will be plenty of time for that." "I'm sure there will be," I said scooting closer to him. "We should probably see where everyone else is. I heard them walking away a few minutes ago when you and I were standing in the doorway of your room." "I figured that they wanted to give you and I a few minutes," Pietro said. "We should probably go out there and make conversation. Besides, I'm starting to get hungry. We're having Mexican food for dinner tonight, but I don't know how much my mom and dad are ordering. Obviously, I didn't know that we would be having company, much less that it would be you that I'd be seeing tonight." "I had no idea either," I said smiling at him. "My dad met Lexy a few days ago, and she said that she had a brother that I'd probably like to meet. I moved here to Sangger back at the beginning of October, and so I've been working to make friends, so I agreed to meet Lexy's brother and her family. Clearly my dad kept it a surprise that you were who Lexy was talking about." "That definitely was a surprise for me as well," Pietro replied. We stood up, and I walked with my best friend and soul mate down the hall, and into the kitchen where my dad, Triston and Lexy sat. "Thanks for giving us that time," I said walking to where Lexy was sitting. She stood up, and we embraced. After she sat back down, I sat down and Pietro joined me. I introduced him to Triston, as well as to my dad. "It's really nice to meet both of you," Pietro said. Triston got up, and came around to where Pietro was sitting. My dad was describing what was going on for my benefit. He let me know that Triston was looking intently at Pietro for a long moment, then he shook hands with him. Triston went back to his seat and then our dad and Pietro shook hands. "It's really nice to meet you Pietro," our dad said. "Nohea has told me a lot about you, and I'm glad to see you guys reunited!" Our dad and Lexy went on to tell us about how they planned this surprise, and I was truly touched. I could tell that Pietro was as well. We both stood and hugged both of them. "I'll never forget this," I said as my dad and I hugged for a long moment. "This really means everything to me that you did this." "I'm glad I was able to help," he said. "I'd do anything for you son." "That means a lot Dad," I answered. "Thank you." "You're welcome," he replied. About 20 minutes later, Lexy and Pietro's parents came home, and I got a chance to meet them as well. I thanked them for agreeing for me to come over, and they said that they were glad to have me over, as well as Triston and our dad. The Mexican food we all had was a collection of various things. There were burritos, nachos topped with beef, cheese and jalape?os along with a large order of tacos. The tacos were a variety pack with a few of them being beef, and the others being steak. It was all really good, and I was truly full by the time we all finished up! Triston, dad, Pietro and everyone else were equally full. We then went into the living room where we sat talking while I told them a little more about myself, filling in some gaps of mine and Pietro's story, minus my being in love with him. After a few moments of silence, I checked the clock on my phone, and was surprised to find that it was almost 8:00 P.M. I couldn't believe how fast time was going by! I figured that we would be leaving in a few minutes, and I waited to see who was going to stand and end things first. I waited for either our dad, or for Pietro and Lexy's parents to slowly wrap up the visit. What I did hear surprised me even more. "I'll be back in a moment," our dad said. "I have to get something out of the car." "I can get it for you if you want," I said, wondering what was going on. "If it's your phone, I can find it, since you keep it in the same place all the time." "Thanks, but it's not my phone," he replied. "I know it's getting kind of late, but I won't be long." I sat there waiting for dad to return. Pietro was beside me with his arm around my shoulders, and I snuggled closer to him. Soon, dad was back, and he came over to where I sat. "Lexy and her parents offered for you to spend either the night or the weekend here with Pietro," dad said. "That's the other part of the surprise." "Really!" I said truly filled with joy, and still trying to believe what I was hearing! "That's right," Lexy and Pietro's mom said. "That really means a lot," Pietro said. "I'd really love that!" I answered. "So would I!" Pietro said. "I'm really glad to hear you say that," dad said. "Here's a bag with some clothes in it, and it also has your deodorant and toothbrush along with tooth paste." "Thanks," I said. "You're welcome," dad said. After a few minutes of our dad talking with Lexy and Pietro's parents, he said goodbye to all of us. Triston hugged both Pietro and I, and said that he hoped that we had a really nice time together. "Thanks," I said hugging him. "I'm sure we will. After my dad and Triston exited the house, I heard the car pull out of the driveway. I turned to Pietro and I could sense him watching me. Lexy and her parents had gone into the kitchen to clean up dishes that had been soaking in the sink. "Where will I sleep?" I asked, as Pietro took me in his arms. He released me, then typed. "I got that all taken care of." "Okay," I replied. "I'm sure I'll be comfortable." "I think you will be too," he answered. Just then Pietro's dad came in, and he let us know that we could work out sleeping arrangements. I thanked him, and Pietro let him know that he already had a set-up in mind. "Good," his dad said. After they finished up in the kitchen, Pietro and Lexy's parents came in and let us know that they were going to be winding down for the evening. They had a few things to do the next day, and so they had to be up early in the morning. I let them know that Pietro and I would keep the noise down, and Lexy came in to say that she would be going into her room to relax as well. Pietro and I said goodnight to all three of them, then we went back to Pietro's room. Once Pietro closed his bedroom door, he sat my over-night bag down on the bed. I thanked him, then took out a T-shirt, boxers and then I asked about a clean towel. Once Pietro gave me a clean towel, I let him know that I wanted to get a shower then get into my pajamas, such as they were, and I held up the T-shirt and boxers. He said that he liked them, and I smiled. Once I dried off after exiting the shower, I walked back into Pietro's room. I was glad that his room had a bathroom off of it, and it was nice to go directly back into his room rather than having to go through a hallway first. "Welcome back," he said as I sat down on the edge of his bed. I had dressed after drying off while still in the bathroom, and so I was fully clothed when returning to the bedroom again. Pietro let me know that he was going to get a quick shower, and I lay back on the bed with my legs still on the floor while I waited. I thought over the last couple of hours, and I smiled. I had my best friend back, and I could feel that void completely filled now! My heart felt whole once again, and I never wanted to be without my soul mate ever again! Author's Notes There it is, the reunion I'm sure all of you were waiting for! I really hope you like it. I'm sure all of you can imagine that Pietro and Nohea were waiting for it for a long time and hoping for it as well! I'll be continuing on with their time together for that weekend in the next chapter, and you'll all get to see them talk about all the things Pietro said that they would be talking about. I hope you like how that goes. All that being said, I hope you're all doing well, and that everyone has had a good evening. I'll see all of you in Chapter Two.