CHAPTER TEN
"I called Brax last night. Well, it was about 4 a.m.," I told Dean over breakfast in the diner.
"Couldn't you sleep?" He laughed.
"No. I was wondering what he would think. About us."
"Oh." Dean put his coffee mug down and met my gaze. "And?"
"He wasn't that surprised. He knew I'd been with guys before. Gossip, apparently. Casey knew, too."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." I grinned. "He's cool. He guessed there was something there on both sides when you stayed with us."
"You turned me down twice," Dean reminded me. "I thought you didn't want me. I thought that one time only happened because you were so horny, and I put your hand on my dick."
"There were plenty of times I considered it. I didn't feel right about it with us kind of being your guardians."
"You were only that for six months. What about when I went to live with my uncle?"
"I still felt guilty. You were a kid."
"Whatever. I'm not now." Dean smiled and winked.
"You know, you could have called after we moved here, but you never did."
"I almost did after I turned eighteen. I had this stupid idea about turning up at your door and you dragging me off to bed. Then I told myself not to be a dick. I'd show up and you'd be with someone. I didn't need that, so I stopped hoping and got on with stuff. Then things started going wrong and I didn't want you to see me."
"I'm sorry. I kept thinking about you, on and off. I was thinking about you my first day here on the beach. Then suddenly I looked up and there you were." I smiled at the memory.
"Best day I'd had in a while." Dean leaned across the table and planted a firm kiss on my mouth, just as Irene came over to collect our empty plates.
"Oh!" She gasped.
"I'm sorry." Dean pulled back, red-faced and anxious as if he thought I'd be mad. I reached for his hand and grasped it firmly.
"Um, Irene. Hey. Something I should have told you."
"I'll say." She gawked at me, eyes wide. "I never knew you, um, you were like that."
"You've only really known me with Bianca," I reminded her. "Or on my own. I didn't make it obvious before, but things have changed."
"So I see."
I sighed. "You're anti-gay?"
"Goodness, darl, of course not! I'm not anti-anything, me. I'm just surprised, at both of you." Her stunned expression slid into a smile. "So long as you're happy, that's the only thing that matters."
"I'm sure you'd rather he picked someone other than me," Dean said wryly.
"I don't know, love, you've bucked your ideas up just lately. I think the shock over going to court, and now this apprenticeship with Justin has probably been the making of you. Not to mention…" She glanced at me and smiled. "Heath'll keep you on the straight and narrow, I'm sure."
I snorted. "Maybe not that straight, Irene," I teased.
"Oh, you!" She smacked me across the back of the head. "So, does anyone else know? I don't want to be the one to gossip about –"
"Of course you don't." I chuckled. "Those that matter already know. Colby, Justin, Robbo, and Willow. And Brax. I called him."
"It must be serious. What about Bianca?"
"I've yet to have that conversation. Not much she can say. She has a boyfriend, too." I winked, and both Irene and Dean laughed. At least Irene seemed more inclined to be friendly towards Dean now.
"Sorry," Dean said again as we left the diner a few minutes later. "I shouldn't have outed you like that."
"Stop saying you're sorry." I grabbed his arm and pulled him to a halt. "It won't be long before everybody knows." After a brief pause, I cupped his face in both hands and covered his mouth with mine. The kiss was only brief, but enough to draw the attention of John Palmer and Alf who were on their way to the diner for breakfast.
"Strike me flamin' handsome!" Alf exclaimed.
"Um, sorry." I shot him a grin. "Too much PDA?"
"None of my business." Alf shook his head and his lips twitched. "At least the pair of you have a few things in common."
He headed into the diner, leaving Palmer staring at us, mouth agape. I grinned, lifted my arm, and tapped my watch. "Don't forget the time, John."
"I opened up bang on time!" Palmer said, instantly outraged. "Willow's there taking a class, and Tony's spotting the weights."
"I'm just pulling your leg. I'm heading to the gym now myself. Dean, I'll see you tonight." I set off for the gym and Dean headed in the other direction, towards the garage.
I spent a few hours at the gym, then in the afternoon left Palmer in charge while I went to check out houses for rent. As luck would have it, a bungalow close to the Morgans' place had just come up for rent, and its previous tenants had already moved out so there was no wait. The agent in Yabbie Creek offered to show it to me that evening and I went straight there after I finished my last couple of hours at the gym.
The bungalow was ideal – not too large, two bedrooms, nice open-plan lounge-diner-kitchen, and a small garden featuring nothing but grass and a patio area. Perfect, because I hated gardening. I could push a mower around the grass, but I didn't do flowers and weeding. I could afford the deposit and I signed the paperwork there and then. As soon as I paid the deposit, which I promised to do by bank transfer that evening, I could get the keys within a couple of days as soon as they'd done their customary checks.
I made my way over to Salt to get take away food, and found Dean playing pool with Ryder downstairs. Ryder was sour and sulky, making half-hearted attempts to hit the balls. Neither of them had seen me, and I grinned as I listened to what Dean was saying.
"Everyone falls out with their folks when they're your age."
"Did you?"
"I didn't have that luxury. I never knew my dad, and my mum tried to kill me, then moved out and left me when I was sixteen. Heath and his brothers looked after me for a few months until an elderly uncle showed up and took me on. You have Roo and Alf and Leah. They all care about you."
"They treat me like a kid," Ryder grouched.
"You are a kid. They just want what's best for you. You should think yourself lucky."
"I'd rather have had the Braxtons bring me up. That would've been cool," Ryder said.
I walked up behind Dean and wrapped my arms around him, resting my cheek against his. Ryder's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. "Dean's right," I said. "If your family loves you, you should hang onto them. Growing up with 'the Braxtons' isn't all it's cracked up to be. My little brother got shot. I was a mess, always in trouble. My elder brother ended up in jail for something he didn't do, escaped, went on the run, and nearly got killed."
"Wow! I didn't know." Ryder gaped wider. "But you seem to have done all right."
"Yeah, now I'm doing all right. Not so much when I was your age. Or even Dean's age."
"Are you two, um, you know?" Ryder flushed scarlet.
"What's it look like?" I kissed Dean's cheek.
"Well, um, that's cool. My best friend Ty was gay. He thought I'd hate him for it, but it didn't make any difference. I was just sad when he left."
"Where'd he go?" Dean asked.
"To live with his mum. John Palmer and Marilyn fostered him, but then his mum wanted him back. I miss him. Coco and Raffy are awesome, but they're girls."
"Maybe you can visit some time," Dean suggested. "Think about what I said. Your family just want to make sure you don't end up like how I was a few weeks ago."
"Okay. Yeah. I guess I'll go home and face the music." The kid put his pool cue down and set off.
"Giving good advice in your old age?" I teased Dean
"Fuck off," he muttered, grinning.
I kissed his cheek again. "I got a house."
"Oh yeah?" He turned in my arms and rested his hands on my waist. Realising we were drawing some unpleasant attention from a group of guys by the door, I stepped back and took my hands off him.
"There's a bungalow near the Morgans' place come up for rent. I went to see it earlier and signed some stuff. Just need to pay the deposit and I'll have the keys in a few days."
"That's great!" Dean beamed.
"Yeah, we won't have to keep going to the shower block to clean up," I whispered. "Let's go and get some food."
We went upstairs to Salt to get takeaway, then returned to Dean's caravan. My sheets still needed washing.
Three days later I had the keys for the bungalow and I took Dean with me to check it out. It was furnished, but the bed had no mattress, and I needed furnishings and kitchen stuff. As delighted as I was to have the place, shopping for this sort of stuff didn't thrill me. Dean came with me in my truck to Yabbie Creek to buy cutlery, crockery, bedding, food supplies, and a few other bits and pieces. I ordered a mattress to be delivered the next week, realising I'd have to continue to sleep in the van for the time being.
The next day I went to see Alf and paid him the last few days for the van rent, explaining I wouldn't need it anymore.
"Young Thompson moving with you?" he asked.
"Um, no, he still needs his van."
"Righto."
I left Alf, frowning. His words made me wonder if Dean hoped for me to ask him to move in. It had only been a few weeks and I definitely wasn't ready to live with him. As much as I felt for him, I wanted my own living space. I didn't even want a casual housemate. I decided I should probably go and talk to him about it and make sure we were on the same page.
I headed back to the caravan park to look for him, and found drama happening. A woman, clearly drunk out of her mind, danced around the firepit to music blasting from a portable stereo, while Dean struggled to grab her and calm her down. I hadn't seen her for years, but other than ageing a bit, she didn't look much different. Karen Thompson.
"Mum, stop!" Dean turned off the music. "I have to live here. Alf will throw me out of my van if people complain."
"Who cares? You never used to. I missed you, baby. I want to celebrate!" Karen shouted.
"You left me, remember? Twice."
Twice? I remembered her leaving him when he was sixteen, but apparently something else had happened since.
"I have to have my own life as well, Deano. But I'm here now. We have lots of catching up to do." She snatched up a bottle of wine from the ground and swigged some straight from the bottle.
"Mum, stop!" Dean protested and took the bottle from her. "You've had enough."
"Oh, you're such a little party-pooper. What happened to you?"
"I grew up!"
"You okay?" I asked as I approached slowly. I didn't want to make things worse for him, but it looked like he could use some help. Karen Thompson was crazy, and it wouldn't surprise me if she tried to hurt him again. She turned towards me, planted her hands on her hips, and scowled.
"Well, if it isn't Heath Braxton. What are you doing here?"
"I live here," I said calmly.
"You live here. Following my Dean around, are you?"
I glanced at him, not sure what to say for once. He opened his mouth to answer, but Karen carried on.
"You weren't there when he needed you, were you? Broke his heart, you did. Clearing off and leaving him all alone."
"Mum, stop." Dean reddened and grabbed her arm. "He didn't leave me. He had a life. You left."
"I needed to find myself!" Karen screeched. "You were a horrible brat, cramping my style! Useless, you were. Breaking things, making a mess of everything you touched, getting in my way. I hated you! Giving birth to you was the worst day of my life!"
Dean flinched as if she'd struck him and moved closer to my side. I put my hand on his shoulder, not sure if I should do anything more obvious.
"That's right, go running to big tough Heath Braxton, just like you always did. What's he gonna do, huh? Screw your little queer arse the way you always wanted?"
"Oh my God," Dean groaned, trembling.
"Hey, it's okay." The hell with Karen. I slid my arm around him.
"Oh, so he is?" she sneered. "What do the fine folks of Summer Bay think of you, pair of queer boys flaunting yourselves all over town?!"
Dean shuddered, his face bright red. "I'm so sorry," he muttered.
"Don't. It's not your fault."
A car pulled up behind me and two doors slammed. Much to my relief, Colby and a colleague came to our rescue. Colby glanced at Dean. "Are you okay?"
Dean nodded. "She's drunk."
"I think we need to go and cool down and sober up," Colby said to Karen. "Come on, Karen. Let us help you."
"I don't need your help! Dirty cop! You used to be a River Boy! What happened? Another one deserting my Dean!"
Colby's colleague looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Let's take her to the hospital," Colby said. "Come on, Karen. We need to get you checked out."
"I don't need checking out. What do you think, I'm crazy or something? I just had a couple of drinks to celebrate, now I'm back with my little boy." Suddenly Karen threw herself at Dean and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't let them take me, baby. I don't want to be locked up."
"They're just taking you to the hospital, Mum." Dean looked helplessly at Colby, and he and his colleague grasped Karen's arms to pull her away from Dean. Suddenly she sagged and let them lead her away to the car.
"I'd better go with them." Dean turned away from me and headed for his car where he'd left it beside his van.
I jogged after him. "I'll go with you."
"You don't have to deal with this shit."
"I'm going."
"Okay. Thanks." He unlocked the car and I got in the passenger side. When Colby's car pulled away, we followed.
"Did she come back after I left Mangrove River?" I asked.
"Yeah. It was before I, um, before I went to jail. She seemed okay for a while. She moved back into the old house and I saw quite a bit of her. It didn't last long. After I had the accident, she didn't want anything to do with me."
"Your own mother turned her back on you when you were in a wheelchair?" It took a lot to shock me, but even knowing how Karen was, I couldn't believe she could have been so heartless.
"She thought I was too much trouble, like I'd done it on purpose. And she knew there was a good chance I'd end up inside. Willow and a couple of my other mates helped me until I was back on my feet. Mum didn't come to see me once when I was in jail."
"I'm sorry." The words 'what a bitch' were on the tip of my tongue, but I didn't voice them. Despite everything she'd done, she was still Dean's mum and I doubted he would thank me for bad-mouthing her. How I wished he'd called me. It wouldn't have mattered where I was, who I was with, or what I was doing. I'd have dropped everything.