Isaiah's Love

by Kbrandan2004

Isaiah could feel Caleb shifting violently and almost wondered if he should wake him up. Isaiah looked at the clock that was showing in big red letters that it was now four 'o'clock in the morning, it frustrated him because he had just managed to drift off to sleep and now he was right back to square one. Isaiah closed his eyes and tried to get back to sleep.

4. Chapter 4: The Day After

Casey opened her eyes as she awoke from a deep sleep. She lay still for a few minutes her head was half pounding, it was clear that she was going to be hung over for the day. She could feel Jonathan's arm around her and hear him breathing heavily almost snoring. She looked at the small end table clock that read nine thirty in the morning in bright green letters that were almost painful to look at. Casey slowly pushed herself up to an upright position holding the blanket up with her other arm. Her hair that she had neatly done the night before now seemed as though it was all over the place. She was naked her clothing lay on the floor in front of her, she knew that her and Jonathan had had sex but she couldn't remember most of the events that took place at the party she certainly didn't remember getting up into this room. She put her hand on her head as it throbbed and decided she needed to get something non-alcoholic to drink and she should go to the bathroom. Casey bent over and picked up her underwear and bra and Jonathan's arm had gently slid to the side and rested on the bed. Casey quickly slid on her bra and then her underwear. She noticed the glass of water sitting on the end table on Jonathan's side and stood up to walk over, as she stood she felt the blood rush from her face to her feet and staggered a little bit, her head ache aggravated by the shift. She picked up the glass and easily drank what was left in the glass and sat it back on the table. Casey stayed still for a moment and listened to her surroundings the house was still quiet telling her that either no one else had stayed over or no one was awake. She looked over at Jonathan, who still lay asleep in the bed, he had just shifted position to lay on his back and turned his head to the side. It was almost hard to believe she was looking at the same person that teased and made her best friend's life almost a living hell. As he lay there before her he looked so peaceful, she listened to his quiet breathing and couldn't believe how gentle he looked. She stood and thought for a second as she reminded herself of Isaiah and that she was supposed to be his drive last night, she would have to call him later and apologise. Casey sat down on the bed and gave Jonathan a good shove to get him to wake up.

"Come on it's nine thirty Jonathan," said Casey.

"So what." Jonathan opened his eyes and looked at her not understanding why she was getting him up so early. "You have somewhere to be?"

"Well no, but we should get up and at least try to do some clean up so Caleb doesn't have to do it himself." Casey looked at Jonathan expectantly waiting for him to get up. "And don't you have to have your car back in the yard by noon or something?"

"Yeah, you're right." Jonathan sat up in the bed and Casey started to put the rest of her clothing on that she found laying on the floor next to Jonathan's clothing. "And just so you know, I don't ever leave these parties without helping a little bit." Jonathan sat up and uncovered, revealing that he was still wearing his boxers and resting his feet on the ground. Casey could tell he was watching her get ready but wasn't sure why, he cracked a smile at her. "Are you hung over?" Casey stopped what she was doing and gave him and irritated look for asking such an obvious question. She could tell by looking at him that he wasn't hung over, having built up a tolerance over the years.

"Yes, I'm hung over." She slid her shirt on over her head and patted it down to make it look a little bit straight, then played with her hair to at least get it to lay down. "I've got one hell of a headache and I need to go to the bathroom because I think I'm going to be sick." Jonathan stood up and put his pants on the grabbed his shirt from the foot of the bed.

"So go then what are you waiting for?" he asked putting on his shirt. "Just keep quiet Caleb's probably still asleep and he had a pretty rough night last night." Casey just looked at him and left the room. She wondered what he thought she was going to do; she wasn't about to run down the hall screaming. Casey walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror most of her make up had been rubbed off and her hair was still a mess, she was worse off then she thought. She turned on the water and ran her hands under it waiting for it to get to be warm enough then splashed the water on her face and rubbed the remainder of her make up off her face. She watched as it swirled down the drain. Now that she had stepped into the bathroom and gotten the cold water on her face, she really didn't feel sick to her stomach anymore but as she looked around the room the feeling started to return seeing the condition it had been left in. There was cigarette-ashes all over the floor, even though Caleb didn't want to people smoking in his house, along with several bottles that sat both on the floor and counter. Casey could see where someone had emptied the better part of something red in the tub. It was hard for Casey to believe that people would be so disrespectful to someone's property, but she had to stop and think that they were, after all, just average teenagers. Casey turned off the tap and dried her face on the nearby hand towel. She decided she would go ahead and clean the tub out considering if left up to a man it probably wouldn't be done as well as it needed. Casey bent over and turned on the hot water. She looked around the bathroom trying to find the cleaning products, she bent down and checked under the sink finding some spray on bathroom cleaner. She started to spray the cleaner in the tub and scrub at it with a sponge she pulled out from under the sink as well. Jonathan walked in and looked at Casey with a confused look on his face. "What are you doing?"

"I'm cleaning the tub, so Caleb doesn't have to later what does it look like?"

"You know he has a housekeeper, right? He tells me not to do any of that stuff because Caesar will take care of it," explained Jonathan. Casey stopped what she was doing and stood up and looked at him.

"Well that's nice to know," Casey started to realize that her headache was causing her to be irritable. "I'm sorry, it's my hang over talking."

"That's okay," said Jonathan, "Come on let's go downstairs and we can wake them up in a half hour or so."

"Them?" asked Casey confused wondering if Sheena had returned at some point in the night. "Did Sheena come back?"

"No way!" laughed Jonathan. "I can't see her being back for awhile after last night that fight was the biggest they've had yet I think." The two of them walked out of the bathroom and went downstairs. "Isaiah stayed here last night."

"I was hoping he did."

"Why?" asked Jonathan quickly almost interrupting her.

"Because if he walked home I would have felt bad, because I was supposed to drive him home." Jonathan nodded his head at her and walked over and started to pick up some bottles.

"Let's just try and get some of this stuff cleaned up." Casey agreed with Jonathan and went about picking up the bottles she could grab. Casey looked down at the oak parquet floor; there was mud and grass strewn about from people's footwear. She grabbed the bottles and followed Jonathan into the kitchen where they placed all the bottles they gathered on the table. The kitchen wasn't quite as bad off as the rest of the house seemed to be probably because no one spent any time here during the party, only a few bottles on the counter and some dirty glasses on the table. Jonathan walked over to the table and started to collect some of the glasses as Casey grabbed up what she could see of the bottles when his cell phone started ringing. Jonathan fumbled through his pocket for his phone and took it out quickly putting it to his ear. "Hello?" he said quickly. Casey could hear a women's voice talking quickly and angrily through the phone it was mostly inaudible. "Okay mom, I'm sorry!" said Jonathan irritated. "I told you last night that I wasn't coming back, and you were fine with it then." Jonathan's mother screamed at him more through the phone. Casey stopped what she was doing and looked at him, his mother was really giving it to him. "Well why did you tell me to be home by noon if you need the friggen car for 10:30?" He paused as his mother screamed some more about him talking back to her. "Yeah whatever I'll be home in a few minutes." Jonathan closed the phone and stuffed it in his pocket. "Well so much for getting some cleaning done before I leave. I'm going to try and get some more stuff done, run up and wake up Caleb okay."

"All right." Casey nodded and walked through the kitchen entrance making her way upstairs. She walks over to Caleb's door; she put her ear to the door and listened for any sound that they might be awake before knocking. Casey knocked at the door. "Hey Isaiah," she called, "did you want a ride home? I'm leaving now." There was no response to her knock as she placed her hand on the knob and wiggled it slightly it wasn't locked. Casey slowly turned the knob and walked into the bedroom. Caleb and Isaiah were lying in the bed still fast asleep and wrapped in each other's arms. The blankets were pulled up around their waist and Casey could see they both had only their pants on. "Oh my god!" she said shocked. Isaiah opened his eyes and looked at her she could see the panic in his eyes.

"Shit, Casey. Get out! I'll be right out," he panicked. Casey backed out of the room and shut the door with a look of shock on her face. She couldn't believe what she saw and was starting to conjure up images of what must have happened. It looked like Caleb and Isaiah had to have had sex the bed was messed up and they were both wearing less clothing and most of all they were laying wrapped up in each other like lovers. It wasn't long before Isaiah opened the door, Casey glanced in as he stepped out she could see that Caleb was buttoning up his pants before he closed the door. She couldn't help but crack a smile at him as he started to speak. "Um, Caleb is going to take me home in the truck." Isaiah awkwardly touched the back of his head and stretched slightly. "I'll stay and help him clean up for now." Casey smile gradually turned into a huge grin, it was almost fun for her to see him squirming so much letting her know that something absolutely happened.

"Oh really? Looks like you guys did a little bit of cleaning up last night, huh?"

"Yeah, a little." Isaiah cracked a nervous smile basically confirming her suspicions. "And, if by 'clean' you mean 'kicked out the passed-out messes', then yeah." The door to the bedroom opened again and Caleb stepped out fully dressed he let the door to the bedroom hang open.

"Hey, Casey. Have fun last night?" he asked.

"Not as much as you." Casey said quickly then caught herself, not wanting to cause him too much embarrassment as to what happened. "I mean, yeah, it was a blast. You?" Caleb looked over at Isaiah and gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, it was great. Got a lot off my chest last night."

"I'm sorry, all I caught from that sentence was 'got off'." Casey was getting to the point that she couldn't control her sarcasm when Jonathan walked up the stairs and stepped over to where they were standing.

"Hey C, I did some cleaning up downstairs. Thought I'd give you a hand. Place is a huge mess." Jonathan paused and looked at Isaiah suspiciously then shifted his glance over to Caleb. "You okay, bud? Heard you had a rough night last night?" Casey could tell by looking that Jonathan was picking up on the same thing she was.

"Yeah, I'm good; great, actually. So, you guys taken off or?"

"Well, we can come back if you think you want us to help out more, but I have to take the car home now. Just got off the phone with my mom and she's flippin."

"Yeah, no, that's cool, man. You go on ahead. I'll see you at practise tomorrow morning?" Caleb was seemingly in a great mood perhaps not even realising the energy he was projecting, he seemed like he was free from a lot of tension now.

"Sounds good, buddy." Jonathan gave Caleb a nudge to the arm with his fist. "Let's go Casey." Jonathan gave Caleb one last nod and discretely glared at Isaiah then started downstairs. Casey started to follow him.

"Alright. Call me later, Isaiah," she called back.

"I will!"

"Okay, talk to you then." Casey quickly headed downstairs to see Jonathan waiting at the door. "I'll follow you home then we can go to my house or something." Jonathan nodded at her as she passed him on the way out the door. As Casey stepped outside of the house she could see Sheena's car pull up and park at the other end of the yard. Her and Jonathan started down the driveway toward their vehicles, Sheena got out of her car and walked toward them up the driveway. As Sheena passed and looked at her with her expectant scowl Casey smiled back at her only able to think that she wished she could stay and see the events that were about to transpire and finally see Sheena get what was coming to her. As they made it to their cars Casey and Jonathan got in, Casey stopped and watched as Sheena entered the house then pulled out behind Jonathan.

Isaiah and Caleb watched as Casey disappeared out of view and heard the door shut, Isaiah smiled at Caleb at what he had said.

"Great, huh?"

"Yeah." Caleb smiled back at him and Isaiah stepped forward and put his arms around him resting his head on Caleb's chest. They sat still for a moment as Isaiah listened to Caleb's heartbeat in his ear. Caleb looked down at Isaiah and rubbed his hand over his head and took hold of his chin. He tilted Isaiah's head up at him and kissed him gently, both of them closing their eyes. The touch of Isaiah's lips sent chills through him, he was so unaccustomed to waking up and wanting to kiss the person next to him. He ran his hands down Isaiah's shoulders taking his body in with his hands, as the rest of the world seemed to disappear. All of Caleb's senses were preoccupied with Isaiah, he could only hear him breathing, he could only feel the softness of his skin as he placed his hands-on Isaiah's waste slightly lifting his shirt, he could only taste his lips and he could only smell the scent of his faded cologne. Caleb kept his eyes closed but he could still see Isaiah almost feeling like he could see into his soul. The kiss was the only thing in motion for them both as the moment seemed to stand still. Caleb could faintly hear a light thudding behind him but paid no attention to it. Suddenly there was a crash behind him, startling the both of them back to reality. Caleb turned around and it was as though his worst nightmare was coming through into a reality. Sheena was standing at the top of the stairs staring at them. The noise had been her purse falling to the ground and the contents spilled over the floor, the only noise to be heard was one of her lip sticks rolling around on the floor in front of them. Caleb looked up at her, he could see shock and anger in her eyes and was almost fearful for what was about to come next. Caleb stood between her and Isaiah not wanting her to lose it on him for what she saw. The few short seconds she had been standing there seemed like an eternity. Caleb watched as the tears came to her eyes he couldn't help but feel sorry for her, he felt bad that it had to end up this way in the end, but he had just felt so trapped.

"Caleb, what are you doing?" she asked

"Shit." Caleb heard Isaiah speak from behind him. Caleb looked behind him to see Isaiah take a step back then back to Sheena who still stared at him with a horrified look.

"Sheena, I…" he started

"You're a faggot," she scowled interrupting him, "both of you!" Sheena's quiet anger quickly erupted to full blown anger as she began to absorb what was actually happening before her. "How could you do this to me!" Sheena stomped toward Caleb and slapped him what he was sure was as hard as she could. Caleb cradled his face stunned at the pain she managed to inflict on him as she stared at Isaiah. Caleb quickly recovered from the slap and stood up straight again.

"Sheena, I can explain," Caleb at least wanted the chance to explain why he was doing what he did, he was sure there was no reason to explain their kiss. "Please just don't blow this outta proportion." Caleb knew his plea was falling on deaf ears when Sheena turned to look at him.

"Explain what, Caleb? There's nothing to explain, you fucking fag! Get away from me!" With all her small person Sheena slammed her hands into Caleb's chest knocking him against the wall.

"Sheena, calm down," said Isaiah. Isaiah could understand her being angry but there was no need for her to physically assault him. "Don't be mad at him."

"Oh, I'm not mad." Sheena had an almost crazed look in her eyes that would intimidate most people, but Caleb had become accustomed to her anger. "I'm absolutely fucking furious!" Caleb couldn't think of what to do other then to hug her, he stepped toward her and tried to put his arms around her, she pushed him violently against the wall again. "Don't you touch me. I don't know where you've been!"

"Sheena, please!" Caleb pleaded getting frustrated.

"Whatever, you fag. Please what? I'm out of here, you bastard." Sheena grabbed her purse and quickly gathered up the most important of what had fallen on the floor and stood up. "I bet your friends on the football team would love to hear about this!" Sheena stormed away from them and ran downstairs they could hear the door slam shut. Caleb looked at Isaiah clearly able to see the panic in his eyes. Caleb tried to give a reassuring look as he spoke but was sure the panic was just as evident on his face as well.

"Stay here."

"Okay."

"Sheena!" called Caleb as he ran downstairs. Caleb ran out of the house after Sheena and managed to catch up to her at the end of the driveway. "Sheena wait, please." Sheena stopped and looked at him.

"For what, Caleb?" she said angrily.

"Can you just hear me out, please?" Caleb thought of all he had done for her and gone through for her and started to get mad. "After three fucking years and all the shit I've gone through, with and for you?" Sheena looked at him and crossed her arms waiting for him to speak.

"Okay, talk."

"Okay, I…"

"First, I just want to ask you one thing," Sheena interrupted him.

"Alright." Caleb looked at her for a second if she wasn't going to let him talk there was no way he'd be able to say what he wanted to say.

"Is it what it looks like?" The question caught Caleb off guard it wasn't really what he had expected her anger seemed to be coming down as she got over the initial shock.

"Well, what does it look like to you?" he asked. Caleb watched as Sheena's eyes filled with tears and she came into a full-on cry.

"It looks like you're cheating on me…" She paused and looked around briefly then stared at him. "with a guy." Caleb decided that he would have to tell her everything he had been feeling right up to this point and hopefully she would understand.

"Sheena, I'm sorry, but this is something that's been inside me for so long. I just couldn't hold it in anymore," he explained.

"Then why the hell couldn't you just say something to me about it?" she screamed. Sheena's anger was once again starting to rear its ugly head at him. Caleb knew the she knew full well why he had never said anything to her about it. He didn't understand why she was pretending that she would have just accepted the fact that he had feeling for Isaiah and leave it at that.

"Because, anytime I try to say anything about anything, you completely shut me down before I can even start!" he hollered back, "I try to love you, but you act like this all the time!"

"Well, if you'd say something worth saying or hearing once in a while, maybe I wouldn't have to shut you down, so you don't embarrass yourself all the time!" Caleb looked at Sheena with a confused look as she screamed at him the only thing that embarrassed him was her and the way she would act toward people. "Caleb, you don't hear them talking about you the way I do."

"What the heck are you talking about?" he asked. He was clearly angry now she was trying to get petty with him and Caleb couldn't take her petty attitude. He had seen her bend other people to her will with it, her mother, Katelyn and Stephanie mainly but he was not about to be fooled by her.

"Caleb, people talk about you – a lot." As Sheena spoke her voice seemed calm but still loud and almost taunting. "You're just that dumb rich jock football player that people use to get a good place to get drunk and screw."

On the inside of the foyer Isaiah had been listening he leaned against the door leading outside, he could hear them yelling clearly able to follow the entire argument. Tears streaked his face as he felt like the perfect world he had built over night was being torn down in a matter of minutes. He was terrified thinking of what would happen should she leave and go tell the other guys on the team about what she had saw. He and Caleb would probably have to leave town he knew for sure that the football team would be over for both of them. There would be no way that they could continue in the game if everyone knew about them, they'd be laughed out of the game. Isaiah wished that Sheena would just drop dead and everything would be easier. The things she was saying to Caleb weren't true it was just one of her games to try and manipulate him, he only hoped that Caleb would see that. Isaiah wanted so bad to run out and be by Caleb's side as they fought but he knew that his being there would only make the situation worse. He took a deep breath and exhaled then wiped his eyes dry. Caleb and Sheena continued to yell back and forth, and Isaiah continued to pay attention.

"I don't believe you," said Caleb. "You're just trying to bring me down like you always do. Sheena don't you see this is why I can't be with you anymore?" Caleb was tired of fighting he just wanted this to be over. He could feel his hands shaking for the fear of what was to come.

"Whatever Caleb I don't want to be with you anymore, we're through and so are you!" Caleb stopped and looked at her in desperation, his eyes now streaming tears as he was overcome with emotion, not able to hold it in anymore.

"Sheena, can you please just keep this quiet?" Caleb could hear the desperation showing through in his voice it cracked as he spoke he was so upset. "Please." Sheena shook her head and looked away briefly feeling sorry for him.

"Dammit, Caleb," she said looking back at him.

"Please don't make me beg you." He sniffled as he whispered to her barely able to get the words out.

"If you were anyone else, I swear to god you would be over," said Sheena pointing her finger.

"Thank you." Caleb was relieved that he had managed to get through to her, that for a second she actually was going to show him some mercy. Caleb tried to hug her but she pushed him away again this time not throwing all of her weight at him.

"Don't touch me. It kinda makes me sick," she whispered. "I won't tell anyone about you for now. Please just give me some space for the next few days."

"Of course." Caleb wiped his eyes and sniffled one last time trying to clean himself up and the put his hands in his pockets.

"Okay, so that it's then."

"Okay." Caleb looked down at the ground as Sheena walked to her car he suddenly felt like he was going to pass out. He took a deep breath inhaling and exhaling slowly and walked toward the house. As he walked he could hear Sheena's car start and take off the tires squealing as she pulled quickly out of the yard. He looked up at the door ready to lose himself, the only thing that kept him walking was knowing that in a few seconds he would have Isaiah's arms around him again. He suddenly realised how hot their argument had made him as he moved his fingers around as his hands were sweaty and he could feel his armpits starting to perspire as well. He made it to the door and put his hand on the knob turning it slowly. He walked into the house and Isaiah was standing to his side. The whole ordeal left him feeling sick to his stomach. He looked over at Isaiah as he shut the door. He could see the same fear in Isaiah's eyes that he felt all through his body. "I feel like I'm going to throw up." Caleb fell into Isaiah, who caught him but nearly fell himself.

"Whoa Caleb, are you alright?" he asked.

"I've never been so scared in my life." Caleb tried to control his breathing Isaiah's grip around his waste brought him comfort over the situation.

"What she said isn't true about you. People don't talk bad about you. I never hear anything bad," Isaiah assured. "Is she still going to tell everyone?"

"No." Caleb paused to take another full breath of air as he steadied himself. "She says she'll keep it a secret. I managed to talk her down."

"Thankfully," Isaiah rejoiced.

"I should probably take you home now." Caleb didn't want Isaiah to leave but he feared that just having him hear antagonized Sheena and he didn't want to risk Isaiah's safety.

"Are you sure you can drive?" Caleb looked at Isaiah it was hard to believe that he was able to be so considerate, it was something that Caleb would have to get used to. "I can walk. It's okay." Caleb wasn't about to let Isaiah walk it was quite a distance to his house from there on foot.

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'm sorry for bringing you into this, by the way." Caleb felt as though he had thrown Isaiah right into the pot having made Sheena so angry.

"It's okay." Isaiah looked at Caleb and smiled as he took a deep breath, he reached up and touched Caleb's face. "The only reason I came last night was to get close to you. Same with the team, I joined to be close to you and I guess it worked out the way I wanted it to." Isaiah paused and lowered his hand still gazing up at Caleb. "You know you kissed me in your sleep last night before you woke up that first time. That's why I was so spooked when you woke up. I thought you were going to kill me." Caleb laughed nervously and reached out briefly touching Isaiah's stomach.

"Never." Caleb smiled and pulled back. "Let's get you home." Isaiah nodded as Caleb took his keys from his pants pocket and led the way out the door. Caleb walked outside and stood at the door Isaiah walked out behind him then Caleb locked the door. He walked over to the garage where his truck was held and pushed the open button on the key tag. The two of them watched as the garage opened and Caleb's truck became visible. Caleb had gotten the truck as a birthday present for his sixteenth birthday and it was almost his pride and joy. It was a Ford F150 pick up truck, his father had given him a budget to add the features he wanted to it. The truck was white with clean silver tires and tinted black windows, he had also installed a nice stereo system in it for his most recent seventeenth birthday. As the garage door was fully opened Caleb walked in and opened the drivers side door and hopped up inside. The seats were made of leather, which was also something he rather enjoyed about it. Isaiah walked over to the passenger's side and Caleb reached across the vehicle and opened the door for him, he crawled up in.

"Wow," said Isaiah having never been in his truck before.

"I know, that's what most people say the first time they're inside." Caleb laughed suddenly excited. He started the truck and began to back out of the yard.

"I had heard about this before, but I really didn't expect it to be this nice. I can only imagine how much you paid for it."

"Bah, don't even worry about it." Caleb knew Isaiah didn't come from a well-off family like he did and wanted to be careful not to rub it in his face that he did. "How about you just get used to it? I have a feeling this isn't going to be the last time you take a ride in it." Caleb brought the truck to a stop and hit the button on his key chain to close the garage door, then continued to the end of the driveway. He smiled at Isaiah again before pulling out onto the road to start the short drive home. Isaiah smiled at him as he drove. "So, are you going to be at practise tomorrow?" asked Caleb unable to really think of a conversation topic.

"Yeah," Isaiah nodded, "I should be there around eight or so." Caleb nodded he and Jonathan usually went in around six thirty to do a bit of time in the weight room before the rest of practise and so they would have the weight room to themselves. Practise was only an hour it was enough to keep you in okay shape for the game, but it wasn't enough to stay in the kind of shape he and Jonathan were in. Caleb looked at the passing scenery and realised that he knew which part of town Isaiah lived in but didn't know his exact address. He decided he would wait for a bit. They pulled up to a stop sign and another car pulled up beside the truck. The driver, a teenage boy about their age and the passenger, most likely the driver's girlfriend, were looking over at him clearly recognizing the truck, they waved at him trying to get his attention.

"Oh, ha." Caleb looked over at them and smiled and waved. "Wave to our fans," he said glancing back to Isaiah.

"They're your fans not mine," said Isaiah laughing slightly. Caleb gave Isaiah a confused look.

"Humour me?" Isaiah looked over at Caleb who was smiling at him expectantly, staring at him for a few seconds then looked passed him and waved. The guy in the driver's seat kind of gave Isaiah a weird look but the girl started to wave ecstatically. "Wow," said Caleb, "At least now there's no mystery as to why you don't have a girlfriend."

"Yeah." Caleb looked over at Isaiah and winked at him before looking back to the road and continuing the drive. Caleb had taken the route that led them through town and down the main street. It was busy for a Saturday morning all the larger parking lots were full of cars and people could be seen walking along the sidewalks. "So, you don't mind all these people seeing us together?" Caleb looked back and forth between the road and Isaiah with an almost offended look on his face.

"What kind of question is that?" he asked. "I don't care who knows I'm hanging around with you."

"Sorry," Isaiah looked down at his hands then back out the window. "I guess I'm just used to it."

"Why? I know I'm not your only friend," said Caleb still confused.

"Well you're my only friend on the team that's for sure. None of the other guys ever talk to me unless I pretty much force myself into their conversation like last night."

"And now you're pretty much dating the captain." Caleb clearly spoke before he thought and looked at the road awkwardly waiting for Isaiah's reaction, trying to look at him out of the corner of his eye but trying not to be noticed at the same time. Isaiah smiled at him and laughed quietly.

"I guess I never thought of that," he laughed. Caleb smiled at him but continued to look at the road relaxing from his comment. He was glad that Isaiah wanted to be with him and felt that right now it was all he really had to keep him together. "My mom is going to be so mad at me."

"What for?" asked Caleb.

"For not calling her. She thought I would be staying with Casey last night, but I usually call her anyway just to give her an update before she goes to bed," explained Isaiah.

"Well, when does she usually go to bed?"

"Like ten thirty." Caleb stared at the road and thought for a second.

"She's not going to be mad at me, is she?" he asked.

"Oh, no." Isaiah looked at Caleb strangely then looked outside and watched some of the scenery. Caleb had taken a turn off main-street and they were now on the back roads, it was obvious to Isaiah that Caleb was deliberately making the drive longer.

"So um, where do you live again, I know the general area because Jonathan lives pretty close by. But I don't know your address."

"Is that why you're taking the long way?" asked Isaiah with a little bit of sarcasm evident in his voice. Caleb looked at him and smirked.

"That was pretty ruthless," he laughed, "Are you trying to embarrass me?"

"Not really," Isaiah paused, "It's on twenty-seven Harris Road." Caleb nodded as the truck came to a stop sign. Caleb looked outside at the houses around them, they had come to the part of town that was basically all government housing. The yellow duplexes were spread apart just enough for each house to have a driveway. Several of the houses had kids playing in front of them. Caleb wasn't used to being in this part of the neighbourhood only since he had no friends in this area and no other, he certainly held no judgement on people in the area. Caleb had sat at the sign long enough and took a turn down a long road. Strathcona was a small place and the neighbourhoods changed rather quickly as he drove, quickly being back into what was considered the middle class of society. Down over the hill where he lived was considered the upper class of their tiny society the properties were large and most of the people were vain and full of themselves. Caleb had no friends in his own neighbourhood the only one of them that even lived close to him was Chris and he wasn't someone Caleb would call a friend. He wouldn't even of spoken to the guy if he didn't join the team. Caleb started to think of how his friends were going to react to him leaving Sheena. He knew they would be happy about that part, but him being with Isaiah wasn't going to go down with them well at all. It might be easier because it was him and they couldn't intimidate him easily like he had stopped them from doing to Isaiah when he caught them. Caleb wasn't really paying much attention to where he was going but he saw what he assumed was Isaiah's house and kept driving. Caleb looked over at Isaiah out of the corner of his eye, he was staring at him. "That was my house back there." Caleb didn't really want to drop him off yet, so he decided to do a lap around the block.

"I know," he said smiling. "I just wanted to stay with you longer."

"When can I see you again alone?" asked Isaiah.

"Well, tomorrow at practise, we'll see each other. I'm not sure what it's going to be like tomorrow otherwise, I expect to get calls from Sheena over the next day or so." Caleb wanted to be around Isaiah, but he knew Sheena was going to be calling and might even show up at his house like she had done before. He could see a look of disappointment in Isaiah's eyes. "Don't worry we'll work something out." Caleb gave a reassuring smile as they came up on Isaiah's house again. "Well this is your stop I guess." Caleb pulled into the yard and stopped the truck, he could see Isaiah's mother standing in the living room window and tried not to make eye contact with her.

"Yeah I guess so." Isaiah looked at Caleb for a few seconds, Caleb could tell by the look on his face that he wanted to kiss him. "You know she knows about me," he said. Caleb looked at him confused.

"Really? That's cool that you can be that open with her man." Caleb looked at Carla standing in the window briefly she wasn't a very big women but the look on her face was rather intimidating. "So … looks like she's waiting for you." Caleb didn't want to kiss Isaiah in front of his mother out of respect.

"Yeah, like I said she's going to be mad at me." Isaiah paused then looked at his mother then back at Caleb. "You would do me a really big favour right now if you kissed me." Caleb looked at him caught off guard. "If she see's you kiss me she'll see that I have someone in my life and she'll probably forget about the fact that I didn't call her last night."

"Man, are you sure? I don't want to have her think I'm disrespectful like that."

"Trust me." Isaiah edged over to him a little bit and stared at him. "Please." Caleb nodded silently giving Isaiah the go ahead. Isaiah moved in and kissed him, just a small peck on the lips and pulled back. "Thanks." Caleb looked up and Carla was no longer standing in the window. "I will see you at practise tomorrow."

"Okay." Caleb watched as Isaiah got out of the truck, walked around the front of the vehicle and then up the steps and into his house. Caleb backed out of the yard and started the quick drive back to his house. There was still a party for him to clean up after that he wasn't really looking forward to. He exhaled as he drove deciding painfully to take the long way home, which would only add a few minutes to his drive. Caleb wanted to go back to his house and have a nap suddenly realising how tired he was, he had only gotten about four hours sleep as he looked at the clock in his truck dash. Caleb came to a stop sign and relaxed in his seat. He was tired but had decided that he might do good to go for a run or something like he usually did on Saturdays.

Isaiah headed up the steps and into the house where his mother was waiting right at the kitchen counter across from the door. Isaiah stopped in his tracks and looked at her. She stood there in her typical jeans and t-shirt ensemble with her arms folded across her chest staring at him. He wasn't sure that she was mad, but she certainly didn't look like she was happy. He bent over to take off his sneakers as he braced himself for the worst-case scenario. Isaiah wasn't sure what she was going to bring up first the fact that she saw him kiss someone or the fact that he didn't call her.

"So," she started off, "I take it you had a good time at the party?"

"Yes." Isaiah stood up and pushed his sneakers back beside the basement door. He decided he would let her do the leading and just stand back and let her go. Isaiah had a smirk on his face that he couldn't seem to get rid of after just having the best night of his life. He leaned on the counter next to the door, knowing that if he walked away she would stop him anyway.

"You're not even going to tell me who this boy is?" Carla's voice was sharp and expecting as she still stared at him.

"That… was Caleb, Mom," Isaiah exhaled as he spoke almost not wanting to tell her.

"Caleb! That's the boy you've been obsessing about for all this time." Carla had seen Caleb before at the games but most likely never out of uniform. He took a slight offence at her terminology, he never obsessed over Caleb, he loved him and to him there was a difference at least. "Well why didn't you bring him in?"

"He had to go home and clean up after the party last night, mom."

"And you didn't offer to help him? Isaiah, I raised you better then that."

"Mom of course I offered to help him, there was some… trouble with his ex girlfriend this morning and he didn't want to antagonize her by having me there," Isaiah explained, "She's kinda crazy." Carla uncrossed her arms and let them fall to her side.

"Well can you blame her, look at him, the boy's gorgeous?" Isaiah looked at his mother for a second finding it a little bit weird to hear his mother talking about Caleb like that.

"I know that." Isaiah was tired just wanting to go into his room and pass out. "Can I go now?"

"You know you're lucky you found a boyfriend last night or I wouldn't be letting you off for not calling me." Isaiah stood up straight and started to walk to his room when Carla put her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "You still have to give me a hug." Isaiah rolled his eyes at her then smiled and leaned into the hug. He loved his mother, she was the one person he had in his life that he was one hundred percent sure would stand behind him through everything. He could talk to her about anything and she wouldn't judge him for it, although if she thought it was wrong she certainly made sure he knew about it but she still supported his decisions. "I'm happy for you," she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." Carla took a step back from him and smiled, then touched her palm to his face and walked into the living room. Isaiah walked slowly into his room and took a deep breath, the smell of familiarity filling his nose. He stood in the doorway and looked around for a brief moment happy to be in his own territory again. Isaiah took a step over to his bed and let himself collapse face down. Isaiah nestled his face into his pillow he couldn't help but smile thinking back to the joke Caleb had made. For now it seemed like this whole thing was going exactly like he wanted even though he was trying not to get his hopes up he couldn't help but be excited. There was still a lot of stuff that could go wrong, Caleb could see him at practise tomorrow and not speak to him or get back with Sheena, or decide that he wasn't ready to be in a relationship with another guy. Isaiah rolled over on his back as he decided not to even give the thought the time of day. He was sure that Caleb felt exactly like he did. Isaiah laid still for a few seconds as the comfort of his own bed started to put him to sleep. Isaiah shortly dozed off to sleep the last thing on his mind the first kiss he and Caleb had shared.

Jonathan had just gotten out of his car and had planned on taking off again with Casey to avoid being at home with his parents. However, when he had pulled in his step-father, Derek, walked out onto the step and stood staring at him not saying anything. He headed to get into Casey's car and Derek nodded at him telling him to get into the house. He knew that it was about two things, this wasn't the first time he had seen the disgruntled look of his stepfather and knew it wasn't going to be the last for him. He looked over at Casey and gave her the signal to go, knowing that she would probably wait for him until he came back outside. But he had a feeling that he wasn't going to be getting out of the house again today. He turned to walk toward the house but stopped in his tracks as Derek walked in the house knowing what he was walking into he was trying to prepare himself for it. Jonathan looked up at the house, it was an old two-story building, the white paint had started to peel and speckle in various spots on it and the old patio had places where the wood had rotted and broken through. Jonathan took another few steps forward and now stood at the bottom of the patio stairs. He put his hand on the railing careful not to put too much weight on it, his stepfather as useless as Jonathan knew he was had never gotten around to fixing it. The old black shingles that hung on the roof had spots missing. This house was practically falling apart Jonathan couldn't wait to get into University just like his older brother did and never come back. Jonathan took one last deep breath and jogged up the steps and into the house. Without looking at them Jonathan made an attempt to go downstairs, making it halfway down the stairs.

"Get the hell up here now!" said Derek sternly. Jonathan stood still for a few seconds and let out a drawn-out sigh dreading walking upstairs. He took another breath still looking down the stairs at what would be his haven. "Come on boy we don't have all god damn day here!" Jonathan turned and stomped up the stairs and out into the kitchen. "Come here and sit down." Jonathan turned and looked at him and Jonathan's mother Helen, he hated how she just sat there and let him talk to Jonathan like he was dirt. His mother wasn't good at picking men, she had left Jonathan's father when he was only three years old. His father was an alcoholic and he had lost his job for it, then he was more willing to drink rather then to work on his relationship and family, so she left. Jonathan hadn't seen the man since he was ten when he went to visit him for a weekend. Ironically this was Jonathan's first time getting drunk and his mother found out about it and never let him go back and his father didn't fight for a second chance, Jonathan had no respect for the man. And now with Derek, who was controlling and boarder-line abusive to the entire family, she had managed to score another winner.

"Can we not go through this right now please?" pleaded Jonathan as he dragged himself over to the table and sat down. Helen put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it up taking a long drag off of it. Jonathan watched as the smoke swirled up to the white painted ceiling that now had a yellow hue from all the smoking that went on in the house.

"Yes, we're going to do this now," said Derek again seemingly trying to assert his dominance over the household. "What have we told you about taking the car out over night?" Jonathan was bothered when they had these little discussions, Derek didn't bother to get all the facts about an argument as he went into it. He just took whatever he did know and made it the right part of the argument and anything Jonathan would say was wrong. As hung over as Jonathan was he definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with this.

"Do you even know what the heck you're talking about?" asked Jonathan.

"Watch your mouth young man," said Helen taking another drag off her cigarette. Jonathan stopped and stared at her for a second, she was the one who told him he could take the car out until twelve. This was the main reason that his brother, Luke, had left it didn't matter what the truth was his mother would always side with Derek when it came to discipline and right or wrong.

"Listen to your mother if I have to do something then it's going to say something it's going to get ugly." Jonathan almost seemed to be ignoring him.

"Mom you told me last night I could take the car out, you knew where I was, I was at Caleb's house for the victory party," he began, "You told me I could keep it out until twelve o clock today. It's not like you couldn't have came and gotten it."

"Yeah you were out to Caleb's, drinking, I can smell it on you still Jonathan," she snapped. Helen looked at Jonathan with such disgust in her eyes that she almost had to turn away. Jonathan just turned his head and looked forward he knew what was going to come next.

"From now on I want you that car in the yard by no later then ten o clock."

"Awe man whatever screw that," said Jonathan. Derek quickly got to his feet and stood not six inches from Jonathan. He slammed his large right hand down on the table in front of Jonathan causing him to flinch slightly. He bent down to Jonathan's level face to face, he was so close Jonathan could feel his hot angry breath on his face making his skin crawl.

"You listen to me boy, you remember that having that car is a privilege not a right and if I say you'll have it back here you'll have it back here is that clear?" Jonathan turned to face ready to put up a fight but then quickly making the decision not to, he didn't feel like going to jail again this month for fighting with Derek. He knew that his mother would call the cops on him like she did all the time and that he would end up being the one hauled away because she would take his side. "Do I make myself clear you little cock sucker?!" Derek screamed. Jonathan fell slid back in his seat feeling low and glanced over at his mother, subconsciously probably asking for sympathy but as usual getting nothing.

"Okay, okay."

"You know Jonathan your attitude makes me sick, why is it that you have to go out and get drunk so much anyway?" asked Helen sounding frustrated. Jonathan just looked at her as Derek sat back down in his chair slowly. "Is life here really so bad?"

"Are you serious?" he asked trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, so Derek would stay seated. "Mom this is something we go through like everyday, you guys call me up here, shit on me for twenty minutes and then let me go downstairs feeling like a pile of the shit you just wiped off your ass." Helen's face turned from disgust to anger with her cigarette burning in one hand she had resting on the table over the ashtray. Jonathan stood up to walk away as she looked at him she stood up in front of him.

"You're just like your good for nothing alcoholic father!" screamed Helen. Without warning the hand Helen held her cigarette in came up and struck him across the face. Not only did her hand sting his skin but part of the cigarette had come into contact with his cheek burning him lightly. Jonathan raised his hand to cradle his face, as much as it stung the comment hurt him the most, it was something she would throw at him a lot and he could never shake the worthless feeling that followed him. Deep down he probably was turning out like his father but she certainly drove him to it.

"Go to you're room and don't let me see you until tomorrow," said Derek. Without saying anything Jonathan quickly turned and stomped downstairs into his bedroom. He walked into his bedroom the room was unfinished but it was bigger then the other options for him in the upstairs portion of the house. His mother and Derek had managed to fill the other rooms with their junk shortly after Luke left all but forcing him to move into the downstairs. The gyp-rock walls showed signs of mold starting in the corners from the stale air and damp quality of the unkempt basement. Jonathan didn't spend a whole lot of time down here unless his parents weren't home or he was grounded as was pretty much the case today. He sat on his bed and looked around his room. He had a television on an old entertainment centre he had gotten from his uncle when he had gotten a new one. The television had a DVD player attached to it along with a last generation video game system. Video games weren't something Jonathan was hugely into, but he loved them when he was high which was something he did do quite often. As much as Jonathan wanted to break down and cry he didn't, crying just wasn't his thing he hadn't done it since his grand father died when he was thirteen.

He fiddled with the old drawer next to his bed and pulled it open, he kept his stash of marijuana, here and decided it would be something to calm him down and bring him away from his emotions for awhile. He picked up the tiny box that he kept it in and opened up, there was a small amount left but it was enough to give him a good high. He took out the small baggy and his rolling papers and placed one of the rolling papers flat on his desk. He opened the baggy and poured what was left of the marijuana shavings into the paper and carefully picked it up with a hand on each end. Jonathan carefully licked the inside of the paper and folded it over rolling it carefully into a joint. Marijuana was something his mother never got after him for only because his stepfather was his dealer and she smoked it too. He made sure it was wrapped tightly and put it into his mouth; he dug into his pocket and took out his lighter then light it up. Jonathan took a long drag from the joint and felt the smoke filtering down into his lungs as he inhaled. The burn of the smoke in his lungs was a feeling that Jonathan didn't like when he started smoking marijuana five years ago but now it was something he almost lived for. To him, the burn meant good things were on the way and that he would be into a slightly distorted reality where no one bothered him and almost everything was funny. He took another heavy drag and filtered it into his head the smoke filled his lungs again and he felt himself start to relax, the feeling he was looking for was on its way in. He looked at the joint in his hand with squinted eyes it was almost gone and ready to burn out it had been slightly dry so it was burning a little quickly. Jonathan lit it again and took one last heavy drag from it, the smoke this time went down rough forcing him to cough quite harshly. He stopped shortly and took one last look at the joint, there was now nothing left of it that he could smoke it had gone out and he was ready to pass out he flicked it against the wall and watched it drop into the old tin garbage can and laid back falling to sleep.

Sheena walked into her bedroom, the bedroom was very much a reflection of her likes and personality. The entire room was pink wallpaper, her bed, with pink frilly sheets and pillows, sat in the corner of her room, overshadowed by the hunk posters she had gotten from various teen magazines. Her make fancy oak wood stand sat on the wall at the foot of her bed, covered in all of the jewellery and makeup that she owned and had collected over the past few years from Caleb. As mad as she was at Caleb he did know how to shop for her and paid attention to what she liked. Her quaint closet was next to it the only part of her room she didn't really like only because it was far too small for her and she had to stuff a lot of her clothing in her drawers. Sheena owned close to two hundred outfits most of which she had managed to get Caleb to buy for her, it was expected of her to maintain the latest fashion quo. But will all of these outfits she was starting to not have the room to hold them and considered giving the old ones to charity. But decided not to they were hers and she felt she deserved to keep them for a rainy day in case the style came back in, she loved vintage. Her laptop that Caleb had bought for her after their first year anniversary sat on her desk. It was pink as well but now that was the only thing she liked about it, it was out of date and she wanted a knew one. Last of all , Sheena's plush toy collection hung above her bed from hooks and strings, something she had started to collect when she was turning ten. She had everything from regular teddy bears, to stuffed tigers, dogs, cartoon characters, and even sea creatures. Caleb was supposed to buy her for her birthday she couldn't be seen with the old one.

Sheena had been home for just about a half an hour and all she could think about was how angry she was. She had never felt so disrespected before in her life. It was bad enough that he had cheated on her but the fact that it was another guy made it so much worse. Sheena sat on her bed after having turned on her music, she put on the angriest type of rock music she could find in her library and let it blare. She thought about Isaiah and how up until this point he was the only one on the team who she didn't have a reason to hate. She thought for a second thinking that Caleb's sudden change of mind had to be because of him. He had to have done something to him for him to just up and change his mind. She really needed to talk to Caleb alone and away from Isaiah so he wouldn't interfere with her bringing some light back to him on the love that they shared. Sheena was angered and wanted someone to pay for what they had done to her and didn't want to hurt Caleb too much and also considered their conversation. She had only said that she wouldn't tell anyone about him she never said anything about Isaiah, she would hold off for now but she needed to talk to someone before she went mad. Sheena took out her cell phone and looked through her phone book. She didn't really feel like talking to Stephanie this early in the morning, she was a good friend but not someone you would talk to in a crisis she was a little stupid. That and she had probably taken some random guy home and Sheena didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of the conversation. She knew Katelyn was out of town but she could still call her, she stared at the number on her screen when there was a knock at the door. She knew the knock would be her mother responding to the sound of the angry music, the music she would only listen to if something was terribly upsetting her, partly because she knew it would get her some attention mainly from her mother. Her mother was almost an older version of her, they got along really well because they had the same personality, she would almost think of her mother as more of a best friend then her mother sometimes making it hard when her mother would suddenly try to assert any brand of authority.

"Come in," she called over the music. She turned down the music a little so she would just be able to hear it while she and her mother talked. Her mother opened the door and took a few steps in wearing her staple pink jump suit that she wore in the mornings to work out in.

"Are you okay?" asked Norma with concern in her voice. "I know you only listen to that stuff when you're upset." Norma sauntered over to the bed and sat down with a caring smile on her face. As she looked at Sheena the smile slowly turned to concern as she could see the red in her eyes from the crying she had done earlier. "Oh sweetie what's wrong?" Sheena looked at her for a second before answering knowing that the longer she waited the more attention she would get.

"Caleb and I broke up," Sheena blurted out.

"Oh honey I'm so sorry." Norma leaned forward and hugged Sheena briefly rubbing her back. "What on earth for, what is he mad about?" Norma paused and sat back out of the hug to look at her. "What did you do this time?" Sheena was caught off guard at the sudden shift to an accusing tone, she had forgotten how much her mother loved Caleb.

"We had a big fight last night mom, please don't rub it in my face."

"You know I've told you this before, Caleb is a good young man, they don't come around often you have to treat him good or you're going to loose him," Norma snapped. She had seen how Sheena and Caleb got along together and had gotten after Sheena for the way she treated him. Sheena didn't see anything wrong with it, she treated Caleb how she thought he deserved to be treated. All she felt she did was let him know when she was disappointed in him, it was just good communication. "I hope you can work it out." Norma got up to walk away. "He's not going to keep coming back Sheena." Sheena couldn't believe that this was all she had to say to her.

"Is that all you're going to say?" she asked surprised.

"Yes. My dear, you know I normally support you on these things but I've seen the way you treated Caleb and I told you before." Sheena wasn't getting the attention she wanted from her mother, she didn't wanna hear that it was her fault that he left because she knew it wasn't.

"Mom, Caleb cheated on me. I caught him kissing a guy this morning when I went back in to apologise for the fight." Norma gawked at her for a few long seconds not saying anything clearly in shock. She had the same look on her face that Sheena was sure she when she had walked up the stairs and saw them.

"Well clearly he was drunk, you need to talk to him." Norma made a quick exit of the room shutting the door behind her. Sheena had never even thought of the possibility that he was drunk when things were happening that had to be the case. Sheena laid back on her pink frilly pillow and thought for a few minutes. She picked up her purse and took out her lighter and cigarettes removing a cigarette from the box and placing it in her mouth. She light the cigarette and took a long drag from it and exhaled blowing the blue smoke out in a cloud in front of her. She decided that she would call Katelyn after all and let her know what happened. She reached for her phone again and scrolled through the phone book picking Katelynn's name out and pushing the call icon on her phone then clicked the speakerphone button and threw it on her bed. The phone called through ringing a total of three times before there was a click.

"What's up girl?" asked Katelyn in a somewhat tired sounding voice.

"Lots, can you talk?" said Sheena being short and to the point.

"Uh oh," said Katelyn familiar with the tone in Sheena's voice. "What's wrong?" Sheena let out a sigh showing some of her frustration. She wasn't going to give the full story on seeing Caleb kissing a guy just yet because she wanted him back.

"Yeah Caleb and I broke up," she started, "We got into a huge fight at the party, and I kinda threw my drink on him."

"Sheena!"

"What? He wouldn't drive me home and he told me I had to leave the party." Katelyn was quiet for a few seconds, Sheena was starting to think that Stephanie might have been the better choice to call and vent to considering she had seen what happened.

"You still can't just throw your drink at him I'd be ticked off too though." Sheena could hear a guys voice briefly in the background. "I'm sorry to hear that though, it really does suck. So are you going to give him a second chance if he asks for it?"

"Yes I'm just waiting for him to realize his mistakes. I might text him later to remind him though." Katelyn let out a small giggle as Sheena spoke. "Um do you need me to let you go?" she scoffed. "You sound a bit occupied."

"I should probably go I'm sorry I will have to talk to you when I get back babe."

"Alright bye." Sheena hung up her phone without giving Katelyn a chance to respond and threw the phone on the floor and crossed her arms. She was going to give Caleb a day to relax then call him tomorrow. In the meantime she had a call she needed to place to the coach with concerns for Isaiah.

Casey walked into the porch her mother, Fiona, greeting her in the doorway to the kitchen. Casey's mother was a happy women who loved her daughter deeply, rather short and slight on the larger side, Casey came by her looks honestly. Fiona watched Casey with a smile as she took off her shoes off and placed them on the shoe rest.

"How was the party?" she asked, "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah it was great. Probably the best party I've ever been to." Casey stood up and both of them walked into the house and into the kitchen.

"Oh that's good to hear I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Fiona sat at the table she had cooked breakfast enough for her and Casey both obviously she was pretty sure of when Casey would be home. "Are you hungry?" she asked. Casey wasn't really all that hungry with the hang over still beating at the back of her head but sat down anyway. The plate was just a basic cooked breakfast with a piece of toast and some eggs. Casey picked up her fork and started to pick at one of the eggs. "So did Isaiah end up having a good time? I know how he gets nervous at those sort of things?"

"Yes he had a blast," said Casey smiling at her mother chewing some of the egg.

"Oh good."

"And he met someone." Casey swallowed her food.

"Really," Fiona looked up from her food fork in hand. "Good for him who was the lucky boy?" Fiona stared at Casey with expecting eyes.

"Captain of the football team." Casey smiled and took a bite of her toast as she watched her mothers jaw drop. "I swear I'm not kidding," she laughed.

"That's so great, he must be so happy." Casey could tell Fiona was excited for him, she had watched Isaiah slip in and out of depression just as much as Casey had. Casey had one more bite of her toast and felt her stomach calling to the toilet and got up.

"I'm not really that hungry mom, just put it in the fridge and I'll get it later."

"Okay dear." Fiona stood up and took Casey's plate to the counter as Casey walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind. "Were you drinking last night?" Fiona called. Casey sat on the ground beside on the toilet and leaned against the wall waiting for the inevitable and laid her head back.

"Yes, that's why I didn't come home."

"Do you need a Tylenol or something?" Fiona was on the other side of the door.

"No mom, I don't think it would do me any good right now." Casey sat forward and threw up in the toilet. She closed her eyes tightly trying to ignore the burn in her throat from the bile and also not wanted to see what's in the toilet. She quickly reached for the handle and flushed the toilet without inhaling or opening her eyes, trying to avoid what might make her do it again. She really didn't think she had drank as much as she apparently did. She remembered most of the night looking back again. The upset feeling in the pit of her stomach slowly started to leave her again and she sat back trying to avoid thinking about it. Casey stood up and went to the sink turning on the cold water. She quickly washed her hands with the blue bar of soap that sat on the sink leaving the water running. Casey cupped her hands under the tap and filled them with water and brought it to her mouth taking it in to hopefully rinse the taste out of her mouth. She didn't throw up often and like most people she hated it. She spat the water into the sink then took another mouthful this time swallowing it. Casey turned off the tap and dried her hands on the towel that hung next to the sink. She looked in the mirror above the sink then opened the storage that it hid and reached for the aspirin, taking the small bottle out of the cabinet. She popped the top on the bottle and sat it on the counter after taking two of the caplets from its contents. Casey took the caplets in her mouth and swallowed them hard, she put the cap on the bottle and didn't bother to put it back in the cabinet. She walked out of the bathroom and went to her room feeling a little light headed but her overall condition was in far better shape.

Casey stepped into her room and shut the door behind taking a brief look around. Her room was definitely that of a so-called nerd. The décor was mostly done in green and blue which were her favourite colours, when she was young she had been a bit of a tomboy. Her computer desk sat in one corner across from her double bed, at the foot of the bed there was a small television for which she had her own satellite box all sitting on a small brown wood television stand. Sitting next to her television stand was her bookshelf, her own personal library of encyclopaedias, novels and scientific journals sat on the three lower shelves and on top sat her collection of scholastic trophies she had gotten over the years, one from almost every class, except for gym oddly enough.

Casey sat down at her computer desk as Jonathan suddenly crossed her mind, it seemed that they were starting to become a little more then just friends with benefits. The intercourse they had engaged in the night before, as Casey remembered it, was far more romantic then the usual romp they would have. He really made her feel like he was into her. She knew that a lot of Jonathan was all talk he wasn't really as much of a pig that he made himself out to be. It was just his way of being the tough guy but the way he looked at her today when he nodded her off reassured her that he wasn't as tough as he wanted people to believe. She thought he was just misguided and coming from the home she knew he came from was what made him the way he was. His stepfather was a typical abusive dirt bag and his mother stood completely behind him in everything, it was no wonder Jonathan was the way he was. Casey would never tell Isaiah, but she did feel sorry for Jonathan. Sometimes she just wanted to reach out and give him a hug and tell him it was going to be okay, that it wouldn't be this way forever. Casey's mind started to wander to Caleb and Sheena and was curious to hear about how things ended up. She had hoped that Caleb had finally seen the light and left Sheena in the dust where she belonged. Casey took her phone from her pocket and entered Isaiah's number then pressed the call button on the phone. She put the phone to her ear and listened to it ringing, it rang six times before getting the automated response, telling Casey that he was either busy and rejecting her or he was asleep. Casey sat her phone down on her desk and turned on her computer, deciding she would kill the day streaming internet videos and surfing her favourite websites.

Caleb bent over and picked up a crushed beer can off the living room floor and stood up. He had been cleaning for just about an hour and felt that he wasn't getting any closer to being done. He hadn't quite realised how many people had been there to leave such a mess. He had found several messes all around the house where people had spilled a drink and didn't bother to clean it up just leaving it to sit and ferment in the heat of the house. The house smelled somewhat like alcohol and cigarettes anyway even though Caleb strictly forbade smoking in his house. He had even found a mess in one of the bathrooms with ashes all over the floors in the bathroom that were considerably expensive. He didn't understand why people just couldn't go outside and smoke it's not like it was cold out, there was even a view if they went to the back yard. Caleb put the empty can in the garbage bag he was carrying and took a step forward he felt something that felt both slimy and wet in texture against sock feet. Caleb took a deep breath as he looked down trying not to let his frustration get he best of him. He had stepped into an open and unfinished box of pizza that he hadn't noticed before. Caleb lifted his foot and took off his sock and threw it in the garbage. Frustrated he picked up the pizza and threw in the garbage bag as well. He couldn't believe the difference in garbage, were the people that had shown up the night before all different people? He had cleaned up after these parties before and had never seen his house so blatantly disrespected before. Caleb stood still for a moment looking around the house he was tired as it was and feeling slightly hung over. He looked at the rest of the mess that was scattered beyond the living room wishing that he had asked Jonathan to come back and feeling like his emotions were about to get the best of him. He could feel his eyes swelling with tears and wiped them dry, dropping the garbage bag to the ground. He was in over his head and wasn't going to be able to finish by the end of the day on his own. He felt guilty for it but he was going to have to call his uncle Caesar, who was supposed to be off while his parents were gone to give him the house to himself. He knew that Caesar would help him no questions asked but he still felt bad for having to call him for help especially since he was supposed to be taking the time off. Caesar lived right at the house, his bed room was next to Caleb's, when he took time off he would leave the house for the entire time he had off and no one knew where he would go. No one asked because they could always reach him if they had to. Caleb took out his cell phone and dialled Caesar's phone number, pressing call and placing the phone to his ear. It only rang once before Caesar picked up.

"Tio?" Caleb's father had taught him when he was very young that he should address Caesar in this manner, it simply meant uncle in Spanish.

"Hello young one, how was your party last night?" asked Caesar. Caesar spoke in a faintly noticeable Spanish accent. Caleb stayed silent for a few seconds having mixed feelings about everything.

"It was alright," he said.

"That is good to hear, did you need something?" Just the sound of Caesar's voice comforted Caleb, with Caleb's parents gone all the time Caesar was more like a father to him. He had pretty much raised him since he came to the country around Caleb's fifth birthday. He was the person who would see him off to school in the morning, that would cook him supper and would in the past have been the one to help him with his homework.

"Well, I feel bad for asking Tio, but the house is a bigger mess then I thought it was going to be and…" Caleb didn't get the chance to finish his sentence before Caesar interjected.

" It's okay young one," said Caesar, "I can be there to give you a hand in an hour or so. Have you gone for your Saturday run yet?" Caleb was relieved, he appreciated Caesar so much for what he did for him he didn't like to feel like he was using him. Caesar always made things so easy for him to ask him.

"Not yet. I dropped Isaiah off and I've been cleaning since I got home."

"Ah yes Isaiah, the boy from your team that you mentioned. How did things go?" Caesar could read Caleb like a book and Caleb knew it.

"It was fun, we had fun."

"That's good to hear. But go for you're run and you can tell me about your evening later while we clean up the place. I will see you later."

"Okay, thanks Tio." Caesar hung up the phone and Caleb stuffed his in his pocket, he headed upstairs and into his bedroom. He went into his closet and took down his jogging cloths and started to strip to get changed. Caleb was happy to be able to go for the run, it was something he really enjoyed doing and even though he was hung over it didn't matter. As Caleb slid on his jogging shorts he couldn't help but think how this would help him clear his mind. He put on his jersey and running shoes, and went downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed his bottle of water from the fridge and placed it in the case that hung on the wall. He strapped it around his waste and headed out of the house. There was two places he would go to jog, there was a path just off his property that would lead him into the woods and by a lake that he really liked to stop at for the scenery. The other was a park that he would need to take the truck to but today he decided he would pick the one off of his property. He walked over to the patio doors and slid it open the mid morning warm air flushed in filling his nose with the scent of spring. He stepped out onto the patio and closed the door behind him. Caleb stretched himself bending down and touching his toes quickly then stretching his arms and sides off the railing. Caleb took one last deep breath before dashing and bounding off the patio.

Caleb's feet hit the ground with a thump and he ran toward the path into the woods. As he ran he began to level out his pace so he wouldn't tire himself to quickly since it was probably just over an hour worth of a run. Caleb was coming up on the edge of the property bringing him into a shaded area and could see the dirt path among the bushes that made up the forested behind his house. He started in onto the path as he continued to run, the warm mid morning sun kissed his face as he broke through the initial thicket that overhung the road. Caleb continued to run the path heading deeper into the forested area, the sounds and smells of nature becoming more prominent the further in he got. Caleb began to temporarily forget about the events of the morning as he ran and as he could start to smell the wild lilacs in full bloom that partially lined the path the rest of it filled in with trees of all the local kinds. Spruce trees of different kinds, as well as Fur trees, and elm trees among other hard woods. The clear air was quickly chasing Caleb's troubles away as he breathed heavily taking it into his lungs. Caleb started to pick up the pace and was also starting to work up quite a sweat. Time seemed to have no meaning as it quickly passed him by and before long Caleb had made it to the lake.

He walked up to the shore there was a large slab of rock that sat halfway into the water that Caleb like to sit on. The rock had become a favourite spot for him to sit and just be with his thoughts. He stepped up on it and sat down, by this time sweat was rolling down his face and into his eyes he could feel the burning. He sat breathing steadily trying to regulate his breath so he would be able to get going again. Caleb took off his shirt and used it to dry his face then sat it on the rock next to him. He sat there just looking into the water, listening to the sounds around him. The wind blew lightly causing the leaves of the trees to rustle gently, he could hear several frogs jump into the water and also hear the deep gurgle of a near by bullfrog. Caleb's mind began to turn to Isaiah thinking that he would have to bring him here sometime, it wasn't like anyone else came here, it'd be perfect. Caleb took a loose piece of the rock and threw it on an angle into the lake skipping it across the top of the water five times before it actually sank. When Caleb spent his time sitting here the world didn't seem that bad, everything seemed so simple. Even when he was with Sheena he would come here and forget about her for a while every Saturday, it helped to keep him sane. He would even try to get back here in the winter months when he could unfortunately the path all but disappeared when the heavy snowfall started to show itself. Caleb took his water bottle from the case on his side and opened it. He took a small drink and then poured half the bottle over him to finish cooling him off before he started back. He had been sitting for roughly ten minutes and he would have to get back soon so he would be ready to help when Caesar got to the house.

"Better get back." Caleb said to himself and stood up putting his bottle back on his side. He picked up his jersey and put it back on before jumping down off the rock and jogging back up to the path. He started on his way back, starting to take his time at the thought of the mess that was waiting for him.

Before Caleb knew it he was coming up on the property as he entered the shaded overhang again. Caleb slowed down to a walking pace trying to prolong the clean up he was going to endure. He took off his shirt again as he walked and used it to wipe his face again as he crossed over the property line. Caleb went up to the house and walked around the front, heading into the front yard he could see Caesar's large, foreign, luxury vehicle that Caleb's father Gordon had bought for him to use. There would be times when Caesar would pick him up from school to take him to a doctor's appointment or an event of some kind. Caleb didn't mind riding in the vehicle but he felt it made him look stuck up to the other kids so he sometimes would get Caesar to meet him down the road. Caleb went up the steps and into the house, standing on the foyer.

"Tio, are you here?" he called out. Caesar stepped out of the kitchen wearing his usual smile on his face to greet him.

"Hello young one, how was your run?" he asked.

"Awe man, it was great." Caleb took off his running shoes and pushed them to the side and walked over to Caesar. "It was just what I needed to get myself together after this morning." Caesar perked an eyebrow at Caleb in curiosity.

"What is this that happened this morning?" Caleb paused and looked at him thinking back to the horrible argument he and Sheena had. "I can see that it's bothering you just to think of your response, what is it young one?"

"Well Sheena and I finally broke up." Caleb watched for signs of relief in Caesar's face knowing how much he didn't like how she treated him.

"Well, as much as I'm sure you must feel hurt, I can't say I'm upset about the break my boy." Caesar put his hand on Caleb's shoulder. "It was hard to watch you follow that path for these past few years, knowing how she degraded you all of the time." Caesar pulled Caleb into a hug, this was why Caleb loved his Tio so much, he wouldn't hesitate to hug him when he knew he needed it, even though Caleb was sure he stunk from the run Caesar didn't care. Caleb had managed to forget the emotion of what was happening but broke down slightly loosing control and sniffling into Caesar's shoulder. "I know it probably hurts now young one, but you're a smart boy and I know that you know, that this was the right decision for you to make." Caesar ran a comforting hand through Caleb's sweat soaked hair.

"Thank, Tio," Caleb wined quietly. Caesar pulled out of the hug and tapped Caleb lightly on the face smiling at him. Caleb couldn't help but smile back.

"Now what do you say we get this placed cleaned up so I can get some food on the table. Are you going to shower first?"

"No, I don't wanna get cleaned up just to clean up someone else messes."

"Then let's start at the top and work our way down." Caleb nodded then the two of them headed upstairs. Having forgot about it earlier Caleb headed into the guest room while Caesar went into the bathroom. He opened the door and walked into the room and took a quick look around. There was nothing that he could see right off other then the bed not being made. Caleb stepped over to the bed and stripped the sheets off of it, stopping for a second to look the bed over. He knew he was going to find something, Caleb did a walk through of the bedroom checking all the corners first and looking under the bed. He checked the bed over one last time and found what he was looking for, not wanting to touch it, it hung off the bedpost at the foot of the bed. A latex condom, he knew Jonathan would have used one and forgot to throw it in the garbage. He grabbed a couple tissues and wrapped them around it and threw it in the garbage. He quickly picked up the blankets again and stepped out into the hall, setting them down next to the railing Caleb walked into the bathroom where Caesar was. Caleb stepped in and Caesar was using a scrub on the toilet. He turned the water on in the bathroom sink and washed his hands quickly. "I see you found it," said Caesar quietly. Caleb was caught off guard realizing that Caesar paid more attention to what was happening that he thought.

"Yeah." Caleb couldn't help but laugh.

"Uh huh. So who was he lucky lady last night?" asked Caesar looking down through his bifocals at what he was cleaning. Caesar spoke so nonchalantly, he was well aware of how Jonathan was and had become used to him staying for the night after the parties and aware of the different girls Jonathan was involved with.

"Um, Isaiah's friend Casey." Caesar stopped what he was doing and looked up.

"Well Isaiah must be thrilled about that." Caleb cracked a smile thinking of the fact that Isaiah had other things on his mind last night.

"I don't think he cared, he was having too much fun last to worry about Casey."

"That's good I'm glad he enjoyed his first time here. It's just a shame he waited so long, you guys are graduating this year." Caleb started to wipe the sink to make himself busy as he spoke.

"Well I think he'll be around a lot more now that Sheena's not really in the picture." Caesar stopped what he was doing and looked at Caleb. "What?" Caleb looked at him from the corner of his eye as he continued to clean the bathroom counter.

"Nothing young one," Caesar smiled and went back to what he was doing. "I'm just glad you've found a friend that isn't into trouble all the time like Jonathan. I know Isaiah's mother Carla from the supermarket; she's the manager there. He sounds like quite a remarkable young man." Caleb cracked a smile almost loosing himself as he began to think about Isaiah.

"Yeah," said Caleb clearly lost in his thought and not realizing what he had said. Caesar looked at Caleb for a few seconds then went back to what he was doing.

"I'm glad you two are happy." Caleb snapped back to reality and looked at Caesar wondering what he meant by that, there was no way he could know about them yet. Caleb was suddenly uncomfortable he didn't want his family to know about Isaiah, they simply weren't ready for that type of relationship. His mother might be okay with after a while of awkwardness and not speaking, but his father would probably hang him or send him to some reformation camp or something. Caleb went back to scrubbing the counter as Caesar stood up and started in to cleaning the shower. Caleb felt like he really needed to get out of the room suddenly, he quickly finished the rest of the counter and stepped into the doorway.

"I'm going to get the bed sheets started in the laundry room." Caesar nodded at him as he left the room. Caleb walked into his bedroom and started to rip the bed sheets off the bed. He grabbed the sheets from that he had taken off the bed after he caught the couple in his bed. He went out into the hall to get the sheets he had taken from the guest room before heading down to the basement to the laundry room. Caleb stood at the top of the basement steps looking down. He flicked on the light and started down into the finished basement. The basement of Caleb's house was the biggest part of the house; it spanned the entire circumference of the house and garage. The basement was where his father kept all of his recreational equipment; a canoe hung on the wall in one corner with the oar's hanging on the wall on either side of the canoe, it was kept well dusted but the last time Caleb remembered it being used was when he only ten. There was a glass gun case in the corner closest to the stairs, a red light flashed on it telling Caleb that the electronic lock was engaged on it. The three rifles inside were also kept unloaded and the bullets were bought on a per use basis before they went hunting to insure no accidents could ever happen, any unused bullets were discarded and not brought back to the house. There was an expensive pool table in the middle of the room that Caleb had used quite frequently up until the more recent years. When he became the captain of the team he stopped having time to play it. At the far end of the basement they kept the washer and dryer in a separate room the small door leading to it was closed as Caleb trotted over to it carrying the bed cloths. He pushed the door open, the room was dark there were no window's as it was located off under the garage. Caleb flicked the switch to the light, it was the only room in the basement that wasn't finished. He took a couple of steps into the room, the floor was cold on his feet and the air was stale smelling. Caleb put the laundry in the washer and started it up, he didn't need to put soap in, it was automatic. Caleb flicked the light off and hurried back upstairs to find Caesar in the living room. "I got the laundry started." Caleb looked at Caesar confused as to why he was already downstairs. "Did you finish upstairs already?" he asked.

"Yes, the bathroom was the only place I can do anything to until the laundry is done." Caesar had picked up where Caleb left off; he had a plastic crate full of bottles next to him. "Can you take this into the kitchen and bring me a new one?" Caleb did what he was told and picked up the box, he could see why Caesar wanted him to take it the box was quite heavy, and took it into the kitchen. He sat it by the dishwasher and took the replacement into the living room. Caleb and Caesar continued to clean up the rest of the house. With Caesar around it didn't take long since he was used to doing it quickly and efficiently.

Several hours had passed and Caleb fell back on his bed after having cleaned up the house and had something to eat. He lay there thinking about how exhausted he was, he had been on the go pretty much since he woke up and didn't even feel like getting a shower he just wanted to lay there and go to sleep. Caleb started to doze off he had just closed his eyes when his phone started to ring. He picked it up off of his bed table and looked at the caller identification, it was Sheena calling. He sat watching it ring for a few seconds not wanting to answer it, he couldn't believe that she would call him so soon, even she said she wanted a couple of days to think. Why was she calling him? The phone stopped ringing and the screen on the phone lit up saying he had one voice message waiting. Caleb didn't feel like hearing her voice right now it would just work him up and make it harder for him to fall asleep. Caleb sat the phone down and closed his eyes easily and quickly drifting off to sleep.