Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2024 15:42:25 -0500 From: James Heady Subject: The Wounds Within My Heart--Book 3--Chapter 25 The Wounds Within My Heart By James Disclaimer This story contains subject matter of a sexual/romantic nature between consenting teenaged boys. This story may also at times contain scenes of rape, abuse, Ableism, bigoted language and issues pertaining to suicide. Don't read any further if you're disturbed by such material, or if you're not of the legal age. Also, please remember to donate to Nifty, as it's your donations that keep this as well as other stories on the site free to the public. Thanks to my editor K. Your edits and suggestions really help this story be everything that it is. Thank you, and I always appreciate your help. Finally, if you like this story and haven't done this already, offer to make a hot fudge Sundae for my E-mail address jamesheady1985@gmail.com. When you go to make it though, make sure that the ice cream you use is melted and from ten years ago. The Wounds Within My Heart Part Ten Christmas Chapter 25 Nohea Things were going well for all of us. Aiden had settled in really well at Aunt Beth's house. He had become really good friends with all of us, and I was glad to discover just how nice of a person he actually was. He was also seeing a counselor to help with various trauma-related symptoms, as well as anger he had from everything he had endured. I was really happy to see the progress he was making, and I was also really glad to see how well he was treating Triston. Aiden was for all intents and purposes becoming a huge part of our family and friend group at this point. It was now the beginning of our Christmas Break from school. We all had completed our Christmas shopping earlier in the month, and I was glad to have all my gifts wrapped and hidden away in Dad's home office. I thought about that on Friday when our break began. When I arrived home with Pietro that afternoon, the snow from earlier that morning was still sticking. There were a couple of inches of snow that morning, and one more by lunch time. The sun came out a few times, otherwise it was cloudy most of the day. There were reports coming throughout the early afternoon that said that more snow was on the way. It was a good thing that Pietro and I would be together at my house that day, especially if the snow made the roads bad for traveling. I also thought about how nice it would be with the two of us cuddled up under my blankets holding each other while the snow would be coming down. After closing then locking the front door, I removed my coat, as did Pietro. Triston would be home in about 20 minutes, and Dad came out of his home office to greet us. After saying hi to him, Pietro took that moment to put his over-night bag in my room. I then took the opportunity to go into my dad's office to check on the gift I had ordered for the love of my life. The box was wrapped in shiny wrapping paper that was blue and gold striped. A dark-blue ribbon was placed in the middle on top of the package with a name tag below it reading: "To Pietro from Nohea." I felt the package all over to make sure that the wrapping job was still to my liking, which it was. The gift I ordered for Pietro was a necklace that was made up of a gold chain. Hanging from the chain was a square made of gold. In the center of the square was a sapphire. That was Pietro's favorite stone. Below the stone was the inscription which read: "To Pietro, the love of my life and best friend from Nohea." I thought of the idea when Pietro, our other friends and I had been at the mall that Saturday a few weeks ago. It was the day when Alex had talked to Pietro about the possibility that he might be gay. I had gone past a jewelry store, and when Chelsey described several of the necklaces and stones in the display windows, I knew exactly what I wanted to get for my lover. I figured that I'd have to get it custom-made, and I had the money with which to set it up. I talked to my dad later that night when it was just the two of us, and he withdrew the money from my account, then I paid for it. I was so happy to be getting it all set up, and I really hoped that my lover and best friend liked it when it came time to give it to him on Christmas Day! I locked up the package again, then exited Dad's office. At that point, Triston and Jina were coming through the door. I said hi to Jina, and Triston was headed straight for me. He had left his bag at the door, and now he was on me wrapping his arms around me. I just as quickly hugged back, and held him as he hugged me tightly. His head rested on my shoulder, and I was glad to hear the happy sounds he was making at being home and seeing me again! "I missed you too," I said kissing the top of his head and rubbing his back up and down. Triston kissed my cheek, then we separated. Triston went back to where our coats hung, and he removed his coat. After hanging it up, he picked up his bag then took it to his room. Once back in the kitchen, he went to the fridge and got a Coke for himself. He came up to me, and I took the second Coke he offered. "Thank you," I said. "You're welcome," he typed out. We said goodbye to Jina, then Dad spent a couple of minutes talking with Triston about how his day was. After that, Triston followed me upstairs. I checked with Pietro if it was alright for Triston to join us, and he immediately agreed. Walking into my room, I shut the door as Triston went over to my bed and sat down on the edge of it, then lay back. Pietro and I were at my desk looking through messages, then I went over and sat beside my brother. I then lay back and turned to face him. He snuggled up to me, and I put my arm around him. "I'm sure you're glad to be out of school for a couple of weeks," I said. "I know it's gotten rather over-stimulating for you the last week-and-a-half." During the week before last, Triston had two of his therapists replaced. Shelly and Cathy were the ones with whom he had been working for the last couple of years. Now they were going to different agencies, and the two new therapists who took their places were Occupational Therapists like they had been. Unlike Shelly and Cathy, the two new therapists Randy and Carla were more partial to ABA Therapy. Though they were Occupational Therapists, they had also been trained in the practice of ABA Therapy, which clearly explained their bias towards it. When Dad met with the two of them on the Wednesday, they showed up that first time and he read over the current treatment plan and IEP. They listened, then informed him of a few things they'd like to try, which included introducing Triston to short moments of looking at some of the lights that caused sensory issues for him. He had a problem with florescent lights in particular, and they talked about at first exposing him to a few seconds of looking at these lights. They would gradually increase the time during which he'd be instructed to look at the lights. The objective they explained, was to increase the time until he could be around the lights so that they wouldn't be a problem for him at all going forward. "We would incorporate this into his morning sessions," Carla explained. "This is one of the benefits of ABA Therapy," Randy added. "We wouldn't be cutting OT completely from the educational plan, but we think that incorporating some attributes of ABA could help Triston make much more progress than he has been." "He had already been put through ABA before coming to live with me," Dad calmly, but firmly explained. "It only got him more upset. When that happened, it only added to his anxiety levels and sensory issues that were already causing him problems." "Yes, we did read over the therapies he was given at that time," Randy responded. "They tried strobe lights." "Yeah, and those caused him to have several meltdowns," Dad replied. "Well, they probably should have used the florescent lights like what we're wanting to try," Carla interjected. "We would only use the florescent lights for a few minutes at a time, and we would use a rheostat to dim them," Randy went on. "This would help with Triston being able to adjust to the stimuli." "That's right," Carla said. "See Mr. Swanson," Randy said with a patronizing tone and smile that my dad absolutely hated, "Triston had been given ABA that wasn't too closely related to actual ABA Therapy. He was given the therapy by a couple of therapists who weren't very well trained in the practice. Had we been working with him back then, we would have done it the correct and proper way." "We've had really amazing results with helping kids suffering from Autism overcome some of the more painful characteristics of their disease," Carla said with a tone that was just as patronizing as was Randy's. "We might even help Triston with his behavioral issues when it comes to dealing with the lights here around the school. We might even help him to begin speaking verbally and even normally." "If you give us time, we can surely fix his disease," Randy said with a smile that looked like one an oily used car salesman would use. "You do want Triston to be like the rest of us, don't you?" "Exactly what do you mean like the rest of us?" Dad said standing then stepping up very close to Randy. His face was just inches from Randy's, and he staired daggers of rage and hate into the man's own eyes. "Uh, I just meant that he wouldn't have to deal with the Autistic tantrums most kids with Autism suffer from," Randy answered. "These kids can get quite violent, and with your son getting bigger and stronger, you should think about that." By this point, Dad had sent Triston and Jina out of the room so Triston wouldn't have to hear anymore of these two idiots and their Bullshit. "Triston has far more internal meltdowns when he does have them," Dad said low and threatening, getting just inches from Randy's face once again. "On the two occasions he did have the meltdowns where he cried, those happened when I first adopted him, and were connected to two situations, both of which were months apart, and were unexpected. We dealt with them, and got resources in place so that he didn't get upset to the point of having those two meltdown responses again." "Mr. Swanson," Randy went on. "We're only thinking of you and your family's best interests. As I said, Triston is getting bigger and stronger. He'll go on to become more so as he gets further into his teens, and what then? What if he were to strike out, either intentionally or unintentionally, at your other son who you said is totally blind? He could seriously hurt him, and how would your son who's blind know how to defend himself until it's too late?" "Randy has a point," Carla said. Dad stepped back a couple of inches, but continued to aim daggers in both their directions. "We will be continuing Occupational Therapy as is, and that's final," Dad said. "I'll be making sure that the school administration knows about this conversation we had, and if I find out that you've used even one bit of ABA therapy on my son, I'll see to it that neither of you have jobs to come back to ever again. I'm not a man you want to screw around with, and if you do, I'll see to it that you both regret it for the rest of your lives. Triston isn't my son with Autism, he's my Autistic son. Nohea isn't my son who's blind, but my blind son. The two of you clearly need to do something to rid yourselves of the Ableism you obviously have." "I hardly think," Carla interrupted. "You aren't here to think," Dad said voice full of hate. "You're here to help my son with the methods that have been shown to help him the most. The subject is closed." "Alright Mr. Swanson," Randy said. "If that's how you feel about it," Carla said voice hard and angry. "We can of course submit written opinions to the school administration documenting our objections towards your refusal to incorporate aspects of ABA Therapy into Triston's educational plan." "You're right that I'm refusing what you're offering! That's because ABA Therapy starts from the Ableist notion that Autism is a set of behaviors both good and bad ones," Dad responded, voice hardening even more. "It further operates from the idea that one needs to enhance the good behavioral characteristics and decrease the bad ones. There's a name for that, I believe it's called Eugenics. Autism isn't a behavioral disorder, nor is it a disease. It's a different neuro type. It makes those who are autistic who they are, and that should be celebrated, not pathologized!" "Mr. Swanson, I resent you so casually throwing around a term such as Eugenics, given its dark historical baggage," Randy said. "I call it as I see it as well as for what it is," David said. "Still, there's no need to be rude," Carla added. "I'm done with this conversation," Dad said. "Oh, and I wasn't being sarcastic or rude when I used the word Eugenics. When I use a specific word or say something a certain way, I know exactly what I'm saying. Remember that!" The meeting ended with a begrudging agreement on the part of Randy and Carla to agree to our dad's demands. It seemed to work, but they definitely were far from patient when dealing with Triston. From notes made by the teacher in Triston's class, Dad learned that Carla would yell at Triston a second time if, after the first time of issuing an instruction, he didn't immediately do what she asked. There would also be times when Randy would sharply correct Triston if he flapped his hands, or rocked back and forth. This only resulted in Triston shutting down, and a couple of times this week Dad had to be called on Tuesday then on Thursday. Both times he had to go to the school and sit with Triston talking to him as well as holding his hand. Triston acted mostly like his usual self when at home the past several days, but when it came time to get his shower, he didn't have us play chase with him, but he went right in and we would have him do his showering routine, but he did it almost automatically. It was as if we were issuing instructions to a computer for all the lack of feeling with which Triston followed our directions. It was concerning, and I spoke a couple of times about it to Dad. He said he was watching carefully, and was calling the school every couple of days, twice a day. He had been getting reports that said that things were going well. I wondered though, and so did he. As for the above-documented meeting, I'm sure one can figure that I couldn't have known word-for-word exactly how it went. Of course, I wasn't there at the meeting. Dad had told me about it that afternoon once I arrived home from school. Needless to say, I was pissed and made that known. My dad told me that he completely understood, and I was glad to see that he truly did understand. All this to say that Triston had every reason to be glad that school would be done for the next two weeks. I was especially happy for him. Over the last couple of days when at home, Triston would refuse to leave his room. As a result, it took longer to get him to come to the table for dinner, and on Wednesday evening, he came to the table about three minutes after Dad had called for us to come into the kitchen. Last night though, he came out about seven minutes after I had started eating, and he ate some of the side dishes we had. He then quickly took his plate to the sink and washed it off. He then placed it into the sink almost dropping it in then ran back to his room. Later when he was lying on is bed after his shower, I knocked on the door frame, and he typed that I could come in. I sat down, and asked him if he was feeling okay, then mentioned him taking a while to come to the table. "I need to be in control," he typed. "You mean that's why you're not wanting to leave your room?" I asked. "Yeah," he responded. He then put aside his device, and I waited to see what he would do next. He got under the covers, and I made sure that he had his stuffed animals on either side of him. One was a dog, which was his favorite, and the other was a stuffed cow. When I held up is device, he made a frustrated sound, and pushed it away hard. "I'm sorry. You don't want to talk anymore right now?" I asked getting even more concerned at this point. He tapped two times on the bedside table hard. "Okay," I said. "I'll just sit here with you for a while until you fall asleep." He made a soft happy sound, and I lay down beside him draping my arm across his chest. He did fall asleep after a few minutes, and I then let Dad know. We both kissed him softly then left the room. I came out of my thoughts as I lay there with my arm around Triston. He did seem like he was doing better today, and I hoped that things would improve going forward. Pietro had come over to join us at this point, and he lay behind me holding me, and we all just lay there like that enjoying the calmness of the house. After a few minutes, I got up so I could use the restroom, then Dad called me to come into the living room. I let him know I'd be there in a moment. I then told Pietro and Triston that I'd be back in a second. Once in the living room, Dad let me know that he wanted to go over the take-out menu from one of the restaurants. We would be doing some sort of take-out for that evening as we sometimes did on Fridays. I listened, then told him what I wanted. "I'll see what Triston and Pietro want," he said then put the menu down. "I'm hoping that Triston will want to come to the table and eat like he usually was doing." "What do you think has been going on?" I asked softly. "I still really don't like how those two people acted towards Triston when they came to work with him. I wonder just how well they really are treating him." "I'm continuing to monitor the situation," Dad said. "I'll be making a couple of surprise visits when school starts again, and at that point I should find out what if anything really is going on." "I hope so," I answered. "It just seems like Triston has been off his routine since Randy and Carla started working with him, and how he's been lately just isn't like him." "Yeah, I know," Dad said putting an arm around me. "We'll figure it out though, and go from there." After getting orders from Pietro and Triston, Dad returned to the living room. I went back into my room, and I was glad to see that Pietro and Triston were at the desk watching a couple of music videos on Pietro's laptop. Triston seemed to be doing a lot better, and I hoped that he would continue to do so. After dinner, Dad helped Triston with his shower, then we all spent a little time watching TV together in the living room. It was really nice to be with each other that evening. Soon though, Pietro and I said goodnight to Dad and Triston. We then got our own shower, then climbed into bed naked. It had been a few days since Pietro and I had any time alone to cuddle, as well as to make love. We quickly got to work passionately kissing, as well as touching and caressing each other all over! It felt so good feeling Pietro's warm skin against mine! It felt even better feeling his hard cock against my own as we thrust together over and over again! We did that for a while, then turned around so that we had our mouths aimed at one another's cocks. We got to work going down on each other's erections, and soon we were in a nice rhythm. We sucked each other for a long time, then switched periodically to lick on and suck each other's balls for a while. It drove both of us totally crazy feeling one another's mouths on our balls! It brought me closer to the edge every time, and it was like that now! I knew it was the same for my lover, and we were also circling each other's rosebuds with our index fingers as we began deepthroating each other! I was getting even closer, and I knew the same was for Pietro! It didn't take long, and soon we were blasting thick, hot and creamy loads of cream into each other's mouths! We sucked and sucked making sure to get every last wonderful drop. It was becoming too sensitive now, and I had Pietro move off my cock. I did the same for him, then we moved so that we were back in each other's arms. We kissed for several moments once under the covers. It felt so good lying in Pietro's arms like that, and now I rested my head on his chest. "I love you so much," I said softly. "I really need this time with you. Thanks for that. Sex with you is always so amazing, and truly wonderful!" Pietro nodded his head in agreement, and we shared another deep and long kiss. My lover then told me how much he loved me, and I looked deeply into his eyes. "I love you so much too," I said as he rested his hand against the left side of my chest in that wonderful hand gesture that always signified his love for me. "It's amazing, just when I think my love for you has deepened as much as it can, it goes further. You're so good to me, and I love you for that, as well as for how kind you've been towards my family as well. I really love how kind and wonderful you've been with Triston, especially tonight." Pietro leaned in and kissed my lips tenderly. He looked deeply into my eyes for a really long moment, then kissed my cheek. I could feel his love in those gestures, and I kissed back before lying my head on his chest again. We soon fell asleep shortly after. Author's Notes So now everyone knows what Nohea got for Pietro as his Christmas gift for his lover. You'll get to see Pietro's reaction to it here soon. You've also seen that things aren't looking good for Triston. I said before that things will be happening for Triston, and I mentioned that several chapters back. You're all starting to get a glimpse into what that's turning out to be. You'll see what happens in the next book of the story which will be coming a couple of chapters from now. That's when everything will start to happen for Triston, and he'll really need Nohea there for him, as well as the rest of the family. I hope you all like how everything turns out going forward. All that being said, I hope you're all having a good evening, and doing well. I'll see everyone in Chapter 26.