Alright, thinking extra long if I can!
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
My head still ached as I began to open my eyes. I couldn't concentrate on anything but the pain but I couldn't remember why. I was laying on something cold and hard with a blanket overtop of me. It didn't feel right. I pulled up on one part, it wasn't a blanket at all, it was a jacket. Memories flooded back, each causing more pain. I remembered the restaurant first, the looks, the hate, everything. I remembered Dee going back in but I couldn't remember him coming back out. After that was a mystery and pain.
I took a deep breath and felt a deep pain in my side. I had been beat up. Something about a car....they drove me somewhere. Whoever they were, they treated my roughly, shoving me out of the car. They hit me more until something happened, a car pulled up. They ran. A blurry figure was there but I couldn't figure out who it was.
I tried to sit up but it hurt so I gave up. "Hello?" I tested my voice. It was weak, but if the person was near they could hear me.
Verdant eyes came into my view. Dee's dark hair fell over his face as he leaned closer to me. "Ryo, you have no idea how worried I was. What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it right now, but how did you get here?" It was true, I was in no condition to try to talk to him right now. Everything hurt like hell and I was lucky that I could see straight.
"The perps were easy to find. I heard a car go flying out of the parking lot and looked out of a window. When I didn't see you standing out there I ran to follow them. I headed in the direction that I saw them drive off in but I couldn't follow them. I just kept going straight until I saw fresh tracks in the dirt for this little turn off near a playground. Now no more talking until you are lying in the back seat."
"Dee!" how could he have this on his mind right now! I wasn't up to standing, let alone anything else.
"That isn't what I meant! I want you to lie there and I will drive you home. I'm sure that you are feeling better, but you look like shit. If those ass holes hadn't run off I would have killed one of them...in self defense naturally." Dee's hands pulled on my arms. They were so different from the ones that had gripped them only minutes before....or had it been hours. I had no idea how long I was out. I asked him, causing my head to ach worse. "Only a few minutes. I covered you up with my jacket because you looked cold. I know, I know, I should have called for back up before doing something stupid like this, or at least called 911 when you were hurt, but we left your aunt and uncle's house in such a hurry that my cell phone is still back there waiting for me."
"I think that I can stand without the trip to the emergency room right now. I think I just need a little rest and some Tylenol. Oh, and you might want to put something in the back seat of Aunt Elena's car so that it doesn't get ruined. I think that I already lost what I need to lose but my stomach still isn't feeling so hot." Under my shirt I could feel the bruise forming that kick had been the first hard one, many more had followed.
I laid back in the car with a towel left over from our beach excursion as my pillow. In the mirror, Dee's eyes kept glancing back to be sure that I was still alright. I couldn't see myself in it, but I was sure that I looked terrible.
Dee drove me home and got out of the car. His worried eyes went up and down my body, searching for any missed injuries or new ones. Satisfied that I was just as whole as when he placed me in the car, he bent down to help me out. I wanted to refuse his help and prove that I wasn't weak, but I needed it. My pride could manage another punch, my body couldn't.
Dee guided me to the bathroom and sat me down on the toilet lid. As I walked pass the mirror I got a look at myself. Part of my hair was died red with blood, my sickness still clung to the edges of my mouth, and dirt covered a scratch caused by a rock. Apart from that, a bruise was covering the entire left side.
"Don't over do it" Dee warned as he turned on the hot water and found a washcloth with some help from me. "And tell me if you start to go into shock. I really don't want to take you to the hospital. Looking at how the chief around here was in on this thing I don't think that they would take very good care of you. I cant believe that bastard! He knew what was going on, had to slug him to get my coat back to go get you."
Dee started washing my face off, I wanted to disappear. "Dee, I can do some of this. I'm hurt, but I'm not dead. Let me help some."
"You aren't moving that arm!" he pointed to my left arm. It had been treated rougher than my right and had broken my fall when they pushed me out of the car. "If I had it my way, you wouldn't be sitting up right now. I know that you aren't some baby but just let me do it. I can see the stuff, you cant." He did have a point there. I don't think that I could have stood in front of the mirror very well. It wasn't as much of a physical reason as it was physiological one. I had been friends with Jered. He had never gotten along with Jett even before he came out. We had not been on speaking terms after the attack, but it still hurt that he would turn on me like that.
He cleaned me up and guided me to the living room. He forced me to sit on the couch with him. I wanted to try to get up and move around, not one of my better ideas I admit. "Ryo, you are hurt and I don't even know to what extent. Just sit here and relax with me. If you wont do it for yourself, do it for me. I just watched the man I love be beaten to a pulp by jerks, I need to hold you right now."
It felt good to be in Dee's arms. He had helped me change clothes and inspected me for bruises so he already knew where not to touch. His warm chest was just the bed that I needed. The steady beating of his heart was enough to lull me to sleep, but I warded it off. I did not want to sleep, I wanted to stay in his arms forever, just like this, and be awake for every moment of it.
His lips graced the top of my head, not where it had connected with the bench, and then left again. I struggled to look upwards and into his eyes. He shifted me around to make it easier. I pulled myself up some and began kissing him. It was slow at first, very slow, but it gradually picked up speed.
I reached the height of the kiss when I moved too much. I jerked away from him and called out in pain as it shot through my chest. One of my ribs was hurt, to what extent I had no idea. Dee was instantly sympathetic. He held his comments about my sudden movement and comforted me as much as he could.
"What are you fags up to?" My uncle called from another room. I had forgotten about him. His comments hurt now more than ever but I could do nothing to stop him. I could not convince him that I was not evil for doing this any more than I could stop loving Dee, it just wasn't going to happen.
He walked into the room and growled. I knew what he saw, his beloved, or formerly beloved, nephew in the arms of a man. He could not see my face or any of the wounds. He marched over there, each stop louder than the last, and grabbed my left arm. I cried out in pain louder than I had when the damage had been done. My uncle's face went blank and then to anger.
"You did this to him, didn't you? I knew that your kind was nothing but trouble! Lousy queers! Wasn't he good enough for you or maybe he just didn't put out enough. You make me sick!" He pulled me close to his body to protect me from the 'evil gay man who had attacked me.'
"I'll have you know, it was your kind, homophobes!" Dee stood up to try to get closer to me but my uncle pulled away. Any time that I moved white hot arrows of pain would shoot through me. I could not break away from him. "I was saving him. If you think that he looks bad now, make him take off his shirt!"
"I'm not doing anything to give you any of your sick pleasure! His shirt stays on and that is final!" Uncle Rick hugged me close to him. In any other situation, even if he and Dee were still fighting, I would have been grateful for it. It would mean that he still loved me and would eventually come to terms with who I was. Now I only wanted away. His strong arms were hurting my chest. My ribs ached until I could no longer stand it. I let all of my pain out in one shrill shriek of torment.
Uncle Rick stopped what he was doing and looked down at me. I was breathing heavily and trembling. Dee came closer and scooped me up, with much more care than my uncle had. "His ribs are badly bruised, one might be cracked or even broken." He explained. "They had him on the ground and they were kicking him. You are just lucky that I got there before they killed him like that other man that Ryo told me about on the way home. This is one sick town!" His tone of voice softened as he looked away from my uncle and down at me. "Ryo, babe, you alright?" I nodded and he kissed my forehead. "Lets get another look at those ribs"
Dee pulled up on a corner of my shirt. This time I looked down. I was greeted by brown flesh in some areas, a dark purple in others. He continued to pull it up until we reached the bones in question. He ran his fingers over it lightly, rubbing my hand with his other one as he did.
His eyes flashed upwards into Uncle Rick's. Uncle Rick was staring at it, slack jawed with the idea that anyone could hurt me no matter what the cause. I turned away from him and buried my face in Dee's hair. I took a deep breath, ignoring the pain that went with it, and whispered into his ear. "I love you no matter what they do to me. I will not let them win this."
"You know, this wouldn't have even happened if you had kept your grimy hands off of him." Uncle Rick growled dangerously. The contempt in his voice only heightened as Dee took his eyes off of the wound and back to him. "If it hadn't been for you he might have had a wife by now, you know that that is what he always wanted. Just because you were able to brainwash him into thinking that you give a damn doesn't mean that he wont figure it out. Ryo isn't stupid you know, he just doesn't like thinking that his trust has been betrayed. Some day soon he will look at you and see what you are, a dirty liar who did the evil and then forced the punishment on him."
Uncle Rick stormed out of the room in a huff. He wouldn't admit to being wrong just yet, but he would cave too. I had seen it in his eyes when he looked at my face. No matter what I had done, he still loved me. This new information brought tears to my eyes. Dee got worried that he had done something so I explained what I had figured out. He kissed my eyes and licked away my tears.
"E-hem" a voice sounded from the other side of the room. I looked over and saw my aunt standing in the space that my uncle had just vacated. A steady blush rose to my cheeks as I looked into her eyes. She walked over and hugged me as carefully as she could.
"Ryo baby! Are you alright?" Tears danced in her eyes causing them to shine more than they did to begin with. She kissed my temple before stepping away. "It isn't safe here. I want you two to leave right now. You can borrow my car and get a hotel for the night. I don't know what I would do if something happened to Ryo and I don't want to know what he would do if something happened to you Dee. Ryo, I'm not fine with this yet, but I still love you. I will love Dee as long as you do. Dee, I want you to take good care of him. I will give you some money for a good hotel, three ice packs, and a hot pack. They are the chemical kind that you break the tablet and it starts a reaction to make it hot or cold. I will also send a regular ice pack with you for right now. Oh, and I want you to borrow my car to go there. Call me when you get there so I know where to go. I will take you to the airport from there."
She scurried off into the kitchen and brought back the emergency first aid kit where the chemical packs were located. She dug them out and handed them to Dee before running off to get a bag for them. "Put them in this and I will look for some Advil to send with you. Ryo baby, promise me to wait until you leave the area to get a hotel or visit a hospital. You don't want their help, they are just as bad as the police. Oh, and next time, I think that we will come up to stay a week with you, if that is alright?"
She sent us out of the door with half of her medical supplies which was an extensive amount due to her traveling. Before allowing me to leave she splinted my left arm, worried about it being more than a bad Indian burn and a bruise. I was as well but I could wait until we found a decent place to get care. I wanted away from this town as fast as I could.
Dee pulled out of the driveway and headed away from my old town, away from the painful memories, away from the hatred, and more importantly, away from Jered. I had had enough of that man for the rest of my life. We had to pass his house to leave the town. He was standing in the front lawn with his little sister, his parents, and girlfriend. Dee glanced over to me to see how I was handling it. In full view of everyone, and more importantly, with Jered watching, I kissed Dee's cheek. It was the most that I could do with him driving. If it had been possible to do more I would have, but this would work. Jered got the message and could do little more than scream as Dee hit the gas and gave him a one fingered salute.
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Well, it was a little longer than my usual chapter, just a little longer. This is not the last chapter, I repeat, THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER!!!!!!!!! Ooh look, caps really do get people's attention!
Ryo may have won the battle against his aunt and uncle, maybe he has given up on his friends, but there is more in store for the beloved jap dude!
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
My head still ached as I began to open my eyes. I couldn't concentrate on anything but the pain but I couldn't remember why. I was laying on something cold and hard with a blanket overtop of me. It didn't feel right. I pulled up on one part, it wasn't a blanket at all, it was a jacket. Memories flooded back, each causing more pain. I remembered the restaurant first, the looks, the hate, everything. I remembered Dee going back in but I couldn't remember him coming back out. After that was a mystery and pain.
I took a deep breath and felt a deep pain in my side. I had been beat up. Something about a car....they drove me somewhere. Whoever they were, they treated my roughly, shoving me out of the car. They hit me more until something happened, a car pulled up. They ran. A blurry figure was there but I couldn't figure out who it was.
I tried to sit up but it hurt so I gave up. "Hello?" I tested my voice. It was weak, but if the person was near they could hear me.
Verdant eyes came into my view. Dee's dark hair fell over his face as he leaned closer to me. "Ryo, you have no idea how worried I was. What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it right now, but how did you get here?" It was true, I was in no condition to try to talk to him right now. Everything hurt like hell and I was lucky that I could see straight.
"The perps were easy to find. I heard a car go flying out of the parking lot and looked out of a window. When I didn't see you standing out there I ran to follow them. I headed in the direction that I saw them drive off in but I couldn't follow them. I just kept going straight until I saw fresh tracks in the dirt for this little turn off near a playground. Now no more talking until you are lying in the back seat."
"Dee!" how could he have this on his mind right now! I wasn't up to standing, let alone anything else.
"That isn't what I meant! I want you to lie there and I will drive you home. I'm sure that you are feeling better, but you look like shit. If those ass holes hadn't run off I would have killed one of them...in self defense naturally." Dee's hands pulled on my arms. They were so different from the ones that had gripped them only minutes before....or had it been hours. I had no idea how long I was out. I asked him, causing my head to ach worse. "Only a few minutes. I covered you up with my jacket because you looked cold. I know, I know, I should have called for back up before doing something stupid like this, or at least called 911 when you were hurt, but we left your aunt and uncle's house in such a hurry that my cell phone is still back there waiting for me."
"I think that I can stand without the trip to the emergency room right now. I think I just need a little rest and some Tylenol. Oh, and you might want to put something in the back seat of Aunt Elena's car so that it doesn't get ruined. I think that I already lost what I need to lose but my stomach still isn't feeling so hot." Under my shirt I could feel the bruise forming that kick had been the first hard one, many more had followed.
I laid back in the car with a towel left over from our beach excursion as my pillow. In the mirror, Dee's eyes kept glancing back to be sure that I was still alright. I couldn't see myself in it, but I was sure that I looked terrible.
Dee drove me home and got out of the car. His worried eyes went up and down my body, searching for any missed injuries or new ones. Satisfied that I was just as whole as when he placed me in the car, he bent down to help me out. I wanted to refuse his help and prove that I wasn't weak, but I needed it. My pride could manage another punch, my body couldn't.
Dee guided me to the bathroom and sat me down on the toilet lid. As I walked pass the mirror I got a look at myself. Part of my hair was died red with blood, my sickness still clung to the edges of my mouth, and dirt covered a scratch caused by a rock. Apart from that, a bruise was covering the entire left side.
"Don't over do it" Dee warned as he turned on the hot water and found a washcloth with some help from me. "And tell me if you start to go into shock. I really don't want to take you to the hospital. Looking at how the chief around here was in on this thing I don't think that they would take very good care of you. I cant believe that bastard! He knew what was going on, had to slug him to get my coat back to go get you."
Dee started washing my face off, I wanted to disappear. "Dee, I can do some of this. I'm hurt, but I'm not dead. Let me help some."
"You aren't moving that arm!" he pointed to my left arm. It had been treated rougher than my right and had broken my fall when they pushed me out of the car. "If I had it my way, you wouldn't be sitting up right now. I know that you aren't some baby but just let me do it. I can see the stuff, you cant." He did have a point there. I don't think that I could have stood in front of the mirror very well. It wasn't as much of a physical reason as it was physiological one. I had been friends with Jered. He had never gotten along with Jett even before he came out. We had not been on speaking terms after the attack, but it still hurt that he would turn on me like that.
He cleaned me up and guided me to the living room. He forced me to sit on the couch with him. I wanted to try to get up and move around, not one of my better ideas I admit. "Ryo, you are hurt and I don't even know to what extent. Just sit here and relax with me. If you wont do it for yourself, do it for me. I just watched the man I love be beaten to a pulp by jerks, I need to hold you right now."
It felt good to be in Dee's arms. He had helped me change clothes and inspected me for bruises so he already knew where not to touch. His warm chest was just the bed that I needed. The steady beating of his heart was enough to lull me to sleep, but I warded it off. I did not want to sleep, I wanted to stay in his arms forever, just like this, and be awake for every moment of it.
His lips graced the top of my head, not where it had connected with the bench, and then left again. I struggled to look upwards and into his eyes. He shifted me around to make it easier. I pulled myself up some and began kissing him. It was slow at first, very slow, but it gradually picked up speed.
I reached the height of the kiss when I moved too much. I jerked away from him and called out in pain as it shot through my chest. One of my ribs was hurt, to what extent I had no idea. Dee was instantly sympathetic. He held his comments about my sudden movement and comforted me as much as he could.
"What are you fags up to?" My uncle called from another room. I had forgotten about him. His comments hurt now more than ever but I could do nothing to stop him. I could not convince him that I was not evil for doing this any more than I could stop loving Dee, it just wasn't going to happen.
He walked into the room and growled. I knew what he saw, his beloved, or formerly beloved, nephew in the arms of a man. He could not see my face or any of the wounds. He marched over there, each stop louder than the last, and grabbed my left arm. I cried out in pain louder than I had when the damage had been done. My uncle's face went blank and then to anger.
"You did this to him, didn't you? I knew that your kind was nothing but trouble! Lousy queers! Wasn't he good enough for you or maybe he just didn't put out enough. You make me sick!" He pulled me close to his body to protect me from the 'evil gay man who had attacked me.'
"I'll have you know, it was your kind, homophobes!" Dee stood up to try to get closer to me but my uncle pulled away. Any time that I moved white hot arrows of pain would shoot through me. I could not break away from him. "I was saving him. If you think that he looks bad now, make him take off his shirt!"
"I'm not doing anything to give you any of your sick pleasure! His shirt stays on and that is final!" Uncle Rick hugged me close to him. In any other situation, even if he and Dee were still fighting, I would have been grateful for it. It would mean that he still loved me and would eventually come to terms with who I was. Now I only wanted away. His strong arms were hurting my chest. My ribs ached until I could no longer stand it. I let all of my pain out in one shrill shriek of torment.
Uncle Rick stopped what he was doing and looked down at me. I was breathing heavily and trembling. Dee came closer and scooped me up, with much more care than my uncle had. "His ribs are badly bruised, one might be cracked or even broken." He explained. "They had him on the ground and they were kicking him. You are just lucky that I got there before they killed him like that other man that Ryo told me about on the way home. This is one sick town!" His tone of voice softened as he looked away from my uncle and down at me. "Ryo, babe, you alright?" I nodded and he kissed my forehead. "Lets get another look at those ribs"
Dee pulled up on a corner of my shirt. This time I looked down. I was greeted by brown flesh in some areas, a dark purple in others. He continued to pull it up until we reached the bones in question. He ran his fingers over it lightly, rubbing my hand with his other one as he did.
His eyes flashed upwards into Uncle Rick's. Uncle Rick was staring at it, slack jawed with the idea that anyone could hurt me no matter what the cause. I turned away from him and buried my face in Dee's hair. I took a deep breath, ignoring the pain that went with it, and whispered into his ear. "I love you no matter what they do to me. I will not let them win this."
"You know, this wouldn't have even happened if you had kept your grimy hands off of him." Uncle Rick growled dangerously. The contempt in his voice only heightened as Dee took his eyes off of the wound and back to him. "If it hadn't been for you he might have had a wife by now, you know that that is what he always wanted. Just because you were able to brainwash him into thinking that you give a damn doesn't mean that he wont figure it out. Ryo isn't stupid you know, he just doesn't like thinking that his trust has been betrayed. Some day soon he will look at you and see what you are, a dirty liar who did the evil and then forced the punishment on him."
Uncle Rick stormed out of the room in a huff. He wouldn't admit to being wrong just yet, but he would cave too. I had seen it in his eyes when he looked at my face. No matter what I had done, he still loved me. This new information brought tears to my eyes. Dee got worried that he had done something so I explained what I had figured out. He kissed my eyes and licked away my tears.
"E-hem" a voice sounded from the other side of the room. I looked over and saw my aunt standing in the space that my uncle had just vacated. A steady blush rose to my cheeks as I looked into her eyes. She walked over and hugged me as carefully as she could.
"Ryo baby! Are you alright?" Tears danced in her eyes causing them to shine more than they did to begin with. She kissed my temple before stepping away. "It isn't safe here. I want you two to leave right now. You can borrow my car and get a hotel for the night. I don't know what I would do if something happened to Ryo and I don't want to know what he would do if something happened to you Dee. Ryo, I'm not fine with this yet, but I still love you. I will love Dee as long as you do. Dee, I want you to take good care of him. I will give you some money for a good hotel, three ice packs, and a hot pack. They are the chemical kind that you break the tablet and it starts a reaction to make it hot or cold. I will also send a regular ice pack with you for right now. Oh, and I want you to borrow my car to go there. Call me when you get there so I know where to go. I will take you to the airport from there."
She scurried off into the kitchen and brought back the emergency first aid kit where the chemical packs were located. She dug them out and handed them to Dee before running off to get a bag for them. "Put them in this and I will look for some Advil to send with you. Ryo baby, promise me to wait until you leave the area to get a hotel or visit a hospital. You don't want their help, they are just as bad as the police. Oh, and next time, I think that we will come up to stay a week with you, if that is alright?"
She sent us out of the door with half of her medical supplies which was an extensive amount due to her traveling. Before allowing me to leave she splinted my left arm, worried about it being more than a bad Indian burn and a bruise. I was as well but I could wait until we found a decent place to get care. I wanted away from this town as fast as I could.
Dee pulled out of the driveway and headed away from my old town, away from the painful memories, away from the hatred, and more importantly, away from Jered. I had had enough of that man for the rest of my life. We had to pass his house to leave the town. He was standing in the front lawn with his little sister, his parents, and girlfriend. Dee glanced over to me to see how I was handling it. In full view of everyone, and more importantly, with Jered watching, I kissed Dee's cheek. It was the most that I could do with him driving. If it had been possible to do more I would have, but this would work. Jered got the message and could do little more than scream as Dee hit the gas and gave him a one fingered salute.
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
Well, it was a little longer than my usual chapter, just a little longer. This is not the last chapter, I repeat, THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER!!!!!!!!! Ooh look, caps really do get people's attention!
Ryo may have won the battle against his aunt and uncle, maybe he has given up on his friends, but there is more in store for the beloved jap dude!