Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2023 02:00:00 -0700 From: John Henry Subject: Growing Up Ry Chapter 18 (Gay/Incest) DONATION: Nifty is a not-for-profit organization that heavily relies on our donations to keep the site free and accessible. Your donations pay for web hosting fees and other day-to-day activities for the wonderful staff of editors/publishers. You can donate on the website at http://donate.nifty.org/ Every little bit counts. DISCLAIMER: This story is a work of fiction, and contains explicit, sexual content involving adults over the age of 21 and minors under the age of 18, with scenes of incest involving step-parents/step-children, and sibilings. If viewing this material is illegal where you live, OR you're a minor under the age of 18, please stop reading this. If you're not sure about this legatilty, please stop reading until you have looked into your own, local laws. Any likeness or similarity between persons, places, products or concepts are purely coincidental. If you would like to leave any positive feedback, please let me know. Thank you. Chapter 18 Ry felt very awkward. He didn't know why he was there. It should've been Charlie, but his baby brother was getting ready to go to rehab. His younger brother didn't want Ry there after what Charlie had said to their father. Trrevor, however, convinced Billy to let Ry have his say. Ry often wondered how broken his family would've been if it hadn't been for Trevor. Billy fussed in the kitchen, while Ry sat in the living room. Their dad was taking a nap and neither wanted to disturb him. "Want anything to drink?" Billy asked with a bit of an attitude. "Water, thanks," Ry replied, hoping it would serve as an ice breaker. "Here," Billy said, handing his brother his drink. "Thanks." "What's your problem?" Billy demanded. Ry looked a little taken aback and said, "It's freezing outside and yet, you put ice in my water?" "No, you asshole. You know what I mean?" Of course, Ry did. This was hardly the first time Billy had started this same diatribe before...many times. Ry sat back and let Billy blow his top. If anything, Ry reasoned, it might be enough to wake Rick up. Sure enough, Rick came into the living room complaining about the noise. He looked at Ry and stopped. "Hi," Rick said. "Hey," Ry said, standing for some reason he couldn't quite understand. "Can we talk?" Billy looked like he wanted to continue his fighting but chose to go to his room. Ry assumed his brother would be texting Trevor every detail. Meanwhile, Rick came fully into the room and took a seat in his old arm chair, while Ry resumed his seat on the couch. "How have you been?" Rick asked, trying to gauge the situation. "I'm alright. Work has been crazy, though." "I bet." Father and son sat in silence. There was a time when Ry felt he could've told Rick anything without an ounce of fear or anxiety. Those days are long gone, though, he lamented to himself. "I came here to talk about Charlie," he said, deciding the direct approach might be the best option. "Oh," Rick said, looking away from Ry and at the foot under his feet. "What he said to you was wrong. You didn't deserve that." A tear fell from Rick's eye and he said, "Thanks but I really did. I fucked up so many times with you and him, especially Charlie. I failed him over and over again." Ry wanted to deny it, but there was too much evidence to back it up. "Yeah, I guess," he relented, "but you have tried to make things right, and you deserve that recognition. I know things are tough for you. I remember when I woke up from that coma and couldn't move. I felt so angry, bitter and scared." A tear fell from his own eyes as he recalled how he felt back then. "You, Billy, Charlie and Will were the only ones who stood by me, even when I was being a huge dick about everything. You took me into your home, even when my parents were still alive, and you loved me when nobody else would. You helped me heal physically, mentally and emotionally." "So," Rick interrupted, "where did I go wrong with you?" Ry looked up and wasn't sure what to say. "I know how I failed Charlie. He told me exactly what I did and how he felt about me. But you, Ry, you haven't told me why you pulled away and stopped talking to me. You haven't said why you don't like being in the same room with me anymore. Are you aware this is the longest conversation we've had in years that has already resulted in a fight?" No, Ry wasn't aware of that. He was aware that the things Rick was saying weren't accusations and his tone was one of pain and sorrow, and not anger or bitterness. "I know, Rick," he couldn't stop himself, and he braced himself for the response he knew he'd get. "Know what?" Ry was intentionally cryptic and vague, but the words stung, nonetheless. "I know about you and Billy," he said and waited for signs of shock or acknowledgment. He caught a small glimpse of it in Rick's eyes. A look that hinted at being caught, which was immediately replaced with one of skepticism and denial. Before Rick could play dumb any further, Ry continued. "I know you and Billy have been having sex for years. You can believe me all you want, but I know that you and Billy have been having sex since before we moved to Washington. He never told me, but I know. "You wanted to know what my problem with you is, so here it is: When I caught Billy cheating on me with that older guy online, you lied and pretended like you didn't know anything about it, when, in fact, it was you he was messaging all along. I get why you wanted to keep it a secret, but instead of protecting me, you protected your secret instead. I needed you to be my dad, but you needed to be his boyfriend first, and that hurt...it still does. "I get that you couldn't be open with everything, especially with Will around, but you didn't even try trusting me; neither of you did." "How long have you known?" Rick asked, his voice sounding dry. "I figured it out after Will died," Ry said. He wasn't ready to come forward with everything yet. He didn't even want to be having that conversation, but the cat was, mostly, out of the bag. Ry decided that his continued involvement with Rick hinged on Rick's next statement. "I'm so sorry, Ry," Rick said, and Ry audibly sighed with relief. "I never meant to hurt you. I never knew how to tell you. How do you tell someone that you fell in love with your own son, and how do you tell your adopted son, when he was dating and best friends with the boy you're in love with?" Ry assumed the admission would make him sick but it didn't. It reminded him of his own internal conflicts with his feelings for Charlie, especially before Justin's assault. Granted the circumstances were different, but the anxiety of the conflict was about the same. "I don't know," Ry replied. "I would like to think that I could've handled it, but to be honest, I don't think I could. I reacted poorly when I found out that Billy had been creating on me, so I don't think I would've handled it well if you and Billy had told me the truth. Hell, it's taken me this long to talk to you about it. "I've thought about how to approach you and Billy about all of this. I wanted to blow up at both of you the way Charlie did the other day, to tell you to go to Hell, and that I wished that I had never been adopted. No matter how mad I've gotten, though, I haven't regretted you, Billy or Charlie. You are my family, even if I'm pissed at you." "Thank you, Ry," Rick said, wiping away his tears. "This means a lot, even if I don't deserve it. Where do we go from here?" "I don't know, yet. I haven't given it a lot of thought, to be honest, but I'm hoping we can move on in time." "I would like that." Ry decided to alleviate Rick's anxiety a little more. "I won't tell Ronda. After what she did to Dan Clarke, I can't imagine she'd be as forgiving as I'm trying to be." "Yeah, she's not afraid to go back to prison," Rick agreed. "What about Charlie?" Ry had to give that some thought. He didn't like keeping secrets from his baby brothers, but he couldn't risk Charlie leaving rehab or relapsing at the news. "I think, once Charlie is more stable, you and he need to have a talk. There's a lot more that you two need to sort out, and I'm not the one that needs to get involved there...at least not yet. "Well, I gotta get going," Ry said, standing up. He walked over and gave Rick a hug, which they hadn't done in years. It was awkward yet family. "I'll stop by again soon, okay?" "I'd like that very much," Rick said, hugging his son tightly, as if he'd never get another chance. They said their goodbyes, though Ry wouldn't call Rick "Dad" or say "I love you." Rick sat in his chair trying to process the entire conversation. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he felt like old wounds were starting to heal. It was about ten minutes later that Billy came into the living room. "How'd it go?" He asked, sitting next to his dad. Rick exhaled a deep sigh and said, "Ry knows about our relationship." Billy's eyes grew wide. "What you fucking telling him?" "I didn't," Rick said, calmly. "Apparently, he's known for a few years. He said he figured it out after Will died." "Really?" Billy asked, his heart racing. "Has he told anyone else? Mom? Charlie?" "No, he didn't." "How can you be so sure?" "I trust my sons," Rick said, as if that was all the argument he was going to make. ***Coming Soon, Chapter 19***