Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2023 22:20:20 -0400 From: James Heady Subject: The Wounds Within My Heart--Book 3--Chapter 3 The Wounds Within My Heart By James Disclaimer If it's illegal for you to read this type of story, or if you're offended by such a story then back out now. This story contains sexual situations between teenaged boys. It also at times may contain violence. Please remember to donate to Nifty, as it's your donations that keep the stories and other information on this sight free to the public Finally, if you like this story and haven't done this already, invite yourself to my E-mail address jamesheady1985@gmail.com's next pizza party. Once there, spend the whole time loudly talking about the most offensive things said that you heard on Conservative Talk Radio. Thanks to K. for another really amazing editing job. Your editing always helps this story be as great as it can be. Thank you. The Wounds Within My Heart Part Two The Letter Chapter Three Nohea Pietro's sister Lexy came back from getting some college-related things. She got home after 1:00 P.M., and she said that their mom and dad would be home around 1:30 P.M. They actually arrived home shortly after she did. Once they got through the door, we all gathered in the living room. We talked about how our day was going, and they asked what we wanted to do for lunch. It was raining hard again, and I could tell that Pietro and Lexy's dad didn't want to go out in the storm again. It turns out that no one else wanted it either. I actually didn't feel like venturing out in the rain. We all agreed on pizza, and Pietro went to his room to get his phone. He said he'd order it, and for my benefit, he said that he would be using the food delivery app they all had on their phones. I was glad he had that available to him, and after we all discussed what we wanted on our pizza, Pietro was back with his phone. We let Pietro know a couple of the options that we discussed, and he said that it sounded good. He asked if we could add hot peppers. I was glad he said that, and everyone else said they were fine with it as well. Pietro put in the order for a pizza with everything on it, and we also got a meat lovers pizza. We all sat around the kitchen table talking. It didn't take long for the food to arrive, and I really enjoyed it. Pietro loved it as well, and it was nice to sit there with Pietro and his family. It was also really nice how Bryan and Amy were taking more time to get to know me. I had told them about myself the night before, but that was enough so that they knew who I was, but obviously there was more. "I really like how good you are with Triston," Amy said as she pushed away her plate after finishing the last bite of food. "Thanks," I answered. "I really love my dad and my brother. It's just the three of us at home, but as far as that goes with us being a family, I wouldn't want any other family. Triston and I are really good close friends in addition to being brothers, and I don't want that to ever change." "I'm glad to hear that," Bryan said. "How does Triston do with school?" Amy asked. "He does well with it," I said. "There's a really nice group of teachers he has, and they're extremely good with following his IEP. Dad has done a good job with keeping ABA Therapy out of the mix, and I was really happy about that. A couple of autistic kids at the school for the blind were being given ABA Therapy which didn't really seem to help them. One of the teachers said that they were being taught how to deal with a couple of the things that caused them stress. Loud noises were a big issue. One of the kids would have loud noises played at them, and they wouldn't be given their weighted blanket they needed. The other one had strobe lights flashed at them, and wasn't allowed to have their fidget belt." "What you said is why I don't support that garbage," Bryan said as he pushed away his own plate. "Did you hear if they used Prone Restraint with these two kids?" Amy asked. "I over-heard one of the teachers talking about it in passing as he was walking through the hall one day. A couple of the other teachers would talk about the stuff I just told you, and I over-heard that as well. In short, they weren't exactly being careful to make sure students didn't get wind of other kid's business. Still though, they shouldn't have been doing that crap to those kids." "No, they shouldn't have," Bryan said. "As for Triston though, dad didn't want him exposed to anything like that," I went on. "In our family, we completely hate ABA just on principle alone, not just the way by which it's practiced. We don't believe that Autism is a disease in need of curing, and if there is any special help autistics need, then there's better ways to help them than Pseudo-Science." "I completely agree," Pietro said as he stood up to take his plate to the sink. "I'm really glad to hear you say all that," Lexy said sitting back down from having gone to put her plate with Pietro's. "I really wish this damn country of ours would stop all the conformity crap it loves so much!" Bryan, Amy and Pietro all agreed and I nodded my head in agreement. The bottom line though is that Triston will always be safe with dad and I," I said. I then told them how I came to live with my dad, and they were silent for a long moment. "I can't believe how hateful Barb and Ray were," Bryan said. "It's really sick!" Amy added. "I'm glad you were able to go live with your dad and Triston," Bryan went on. "That's really good that they're there for you, and that they're really good to you." "I agree," Amy said. "They're really nice, and I think you're a really nice guy as well." "You are, and I'm glad that you're friends with Pietro," Bryan added. "I'm also really happy that you and he have this second chance to be back in each other's lives." "I'm really happy for the both of you too," Lexy interjected. "Thanks," I answered. "Also, we support you being gay," Amy said. Bryan agreed, and so did Lexy. "We're here for you all the way," Bryan went on. I thanked all of them, and I told them how much I appreciated what they had to say. Once we finished our conversation, Bryan got a text on his phone. He showed it to Amy and she took a moment to read it. It was from a friend of theirs asking if they could get together that evening for dinner. They asked if we minded, and Lexy said she would be fine. Pietro and I said that we would be alright. Amy said that they would be gone for a couple of hours at least, and I told them that I hoped that they had a nice time. Just then Lexy's phone chimed with what I figured was an in-coming text tone. She checked it and said that a friend of hers wanted to get together at their house to watch a couple of movies that evening. It would be around the time that Bryan and Amy would be at dinner. Clearly this would leave Pietro and I alone together, and I was excited about that! Pietro and I let them know that we would take care of dinner unless they had anything in mind. Bryan and Amy said that that would be fine if we ordered something for ourselves. I let them know that it was on me, and they thanked me. Pietro thanked me as well, then he and I returned to his room for a while. I sat down on the edge of Pietro's bed, and he did likewise. He scooted close to me putting his arm around me, easing my head down on his shoulder. "What would you like to do while we have the house to ourselves for part of the evening?" I asked. "I'm not sure yet," he answered. "I'm sure we'll think of something though." "I think so too," I said. "Oh, and I noticed that you still have the cross I gave you when you left the school." I had noticed it a few times as it hung around his neck, but kept forgetting to mention it. "I've treasured it ever since you gave it to me," he answered. "I'm really glad to hear that," I said. "I want you to continue to keep it. When I'm away from you, you can still look at it and remember that I'm here for you." "Thanks, that's really sweet," he responded. "You're welcome. Anything for you," I said, looking deeply into his eyes. 0000 David had been in the living room sweeping the floor. He had cleaned up the rest of the house, even running the vacuum throughout the house. Triston left his room and waited in the kitchen while he cleaned Triston's bedroom floor. After that, Triston went back to his room and closed the door while David continued his house work. Once it was finished, David checked the living room floor, then put away the vacuum. 0000 Triston pulled the earphone away from his ear after shutting off his music. He listened, and there was no vacuum running now. He then heard the familiar sound of the closet door opening and closing. He also heard the vacuum being wheeled back into the closet. Triston smiled now since he knew the noise was over and he didn't have to worry about having to hide for the rest of the day. Exiting his room now, he went into Nohea's room. He looked around, then stood there taking in everything. Triston saw Nohea's made bed, his computer chair pushed in under the desk where his laptop usually would sit, but it wasn't since it was with him at Pietro's house. He saw the clothes hamper that was empty for now. Walking over to Nohea's bed, Triston looked down at it for a long moment. It looked strange, but also felt even more so. He was used to seeing Nohea either laying in bed when he would come in and check on him on some mornings. He was used to seeing him sometimes stretched out on his bed either reading, or listening to music. Triston looked over at the desk again for a long moment. He was used to seeing Nohea sitting there typing, or talking to his friends on FaceTime or looking through E-mails. Seeing the room as it was now left Triston feeling sad. He touched the flat surface of Nohea's bed, then felt the pillows at the head of the bed. He deeply missed having Nohea there with him at that moment, and hoped that it wouldn't be too long before he got home the next day. Just then Triston heard a noise in the doorway. Turning his head, he saw David standing there watching him. "Hey T, what are you doing in here?" David asked stepping into the room and stopping to stand along-side him. T was a nickname that David and Nohea used for Triston. Triston turned to him, and he pointed to Nohea's empty bed and made a soft sound that David could understand immediately. He could hear the sadness in it, and he took Triston into his arms. "I know you miss Nohea," David said as they sat down on the edge of his bed. "He'll be back tomorrow like he said, and you'll get to see him again. I know you really love him, and he deeply loves you too." Triston motioned for David to let him go, and he did so. Triston went out of the room then came back with his AAC device. Sitting down on the edge of Nohea's bed once again, he typed for a moment. David sat down beside him and waited for him to finish. "Nohea always makes me feel safe, and he doesn't make fun of me when I get scared or when I stem," Triston typed. "You know I don't have a lot of close friends, and Nohea's my best friend along with being my brother. When I'm with him, I don't feel like I'm so unwanted." David felt deeply sad at what Triston just said. He knew that, from time to time, Triston could be bullied at school, and he knew of what the boy was put through before he came to live here with David. He thought that maybe there was something that recently happened that made Triston say what he just said. "I hope you know that I want you around like Nohea does," David said scooting, closer to Triston and putting his arm around him. "I'm talking about when we're out somewhere," Triston replied. "I can sometimes hear what people are whispering when you're at the counter, busy ordering for us at restaurants. I can tell you don't hear them since you're talking with the person behind the counter, but I hear it. I just know how most people think about me and others like me. Nohea sees me as I really am and accepts me the way you do. That's why I miss both of you when I don't get to be around either one of you." "I'm really sorry you've been feeling this way," David said holding Triston close. "I hope you weren't holding all that in because you didn't think I could handle hearing it." "No, I just tried not to think about it for a while," Triston answered. "I understand," David said. "I just want you to know that you can always come to me, even right when something happens. You can always come to me about anything that's going on with you. I love you Triston, and I don't want you to keep stuff like that in." "Okay, thanks," Triston answered then he hugged David back. Eventually the two of them went back into the living room and while the TV played on, David took Triston in his arms and held him for the rest of the afternoon with the two of them falling asleep eventually. 0000 Nohea It was after 5:00 P.M. Lexy, Bryan and Amy were gone out at their respective rendezvous. Pietro sat on the edge of the bed, and I sat at his computer desk waiting for the call to go through. I wanted to call and check on Triston and dad. Pietro and I had been watching a couple of shows for the last couple of hours, then after everyone else left, I told him that I wanted to call to check in. I also mentioned how much I missed my brother. "I really like how good you are with him," Pietro typed. "Thanks," I answered. "He's my best friend as well as being my younger brother. I'd do anything for him." The call picked up, and David was the first to speak. "Hi Nohea," he said. "It's really good to hear from you. How have you and Pietro been doing?" "We've been doing good," I answered. "It's good to hear from you too." "I'm here too," Triston typed. "I'm sitting beside dad in the living room. We just woke up from being asleep for a couple of hours. We fell asleep when we sat down to watch TV." "That's cool," I answered. "I'm really glad to hear that you guys were spending time together." "It's been a good day," Triston responded. "I really do miss you though." "I really miss you too," I replied. "I'll be home tomorrow afternoon, and I'll call you once I'm close to the house." "Thanks, that sounds really good," Triston answered. "You're welcome," I said. "I'm sure he'll be really looking forward to that," David added. "Yeah, I'm sure he will," Pietro agreed. After I finished up with dad and Triston, I went to sit down on the edge of the bed beside Pietro. We hugged for a long moment then we decided to get dinner taken care of. It turned out really good, and we had enough for left-overs. Once we put the rest of the food in the fridge, Pietro took my hand. We returned to his room, and after he closed the door, he stepped back over to me. I stood there waiting to see what he would do, and he led me over to the bed. I sat down on it, and he told me that he had a surprise for me. I smiled, and felt my face flush. "I'm sure I'll really like it," I said. "I think you will too," he responded. I heard him opening up his laptop bag, then he came back over to the bed. Sitting down, he took my hand and turned it palm-up. I felt something hard and cool being placed on my palm. "What's this?" I asked. "It's a letter that I wrote to you," he said. I opened up my Braille Note, then after turning it on, I inserted the thumb drive. I opened the file that was marked as A Letter to Nohea. I went to the top of the file, then began reading. I got to the end of the file, then returned to the top and read it again. I paused a few times to read the lines slowly, then a couple more times before finishing the letter. Tears fell from my eyes when I finished the letter for that second time. I put the device off to the side, and Pietro immediately took me in his arms. Some of the tears were definitely tears of sadness over what we had lost. There was sadness over how it seemed so final, and that Pietro and I would never see each other again. There were also tears of joy since in that letter he confessed his love for me! "I love you too Pietro," I said sobbing hard as he held me. "I always will! You really are the love of my life as well as my soul mate!" My tears slowed, then were gone. Pietro gently moved my head back, then leaned forward kissing away the little bit of moisture still below my eyes, then I did the same for him. Soon though, my lips found his and we pressed our lips together in a long and deep soulful kiss! It felt amazing, and so right! In that moment as we kissed and held each other tightly, I felt like Pietro and I were one like never before! After breaking the kiss, Pietro drew a question mark on the back of my hand. "Are you wondering what comes next?" I asked. One tap. I went over and made sure the door to Pietro's room was not only closed, but locked. Returning to the bed, I sat back down and leaned in putting my hands on Pietro's shoulders. I then moved them down to his arms then up and under his shirt. He let out a low moan as my hands gently rubbed his shoulders, then moved down to rub his back. After another moment of that, Pietro moved away slightly. "Are you alright?" I asked. "I'm fine," he typed. "That felt amazing, but I have a few other surprises for you." "Wow! I can't wait!" I responded. Author's Notes I really hope you like how I got Nohea and Pietro to this point of confessing their love for each other as well as exchanging their first kiss. I know this was a long time, and now you finally get to see it. In the next chapter, you'll get to see them getting even closer. I hope you like that as well. All that being said, I hope you're all having a good evening. I'll see everyone in Chapter Four.