I finally got my hands on another computer so I could type again! So here ya go: chapter 18!
The pain medication knocked Jeff out for the night and half of the next day. He woke up, very groggily, sometime around 3 pm. His head was pounding and felt incredibly fuzzy. He could hardly remember anything that happened the day before. The events were hazy and unclear, like it had all been a dream, though the wounds that covered his entire body told him otherwise.
He knew he'd slept way longer than usual, but he still felt completely exhausted. In spite of it, though, he sat up, confused to find himself in his own bed. He didn't remember coming home, although the concussion had left him very disoriented and forgetful…
His first thought was of Nick. Was he doing okay now? He had seemed really shaken up and he'd been blaming himself for this whole incident last Jeff remembered. He also thought he remembered his parents finally coming to terms with his and Nick's relationship, although that could just be some crazy dream he was mixing in with reality. He couldn't be too sure in his currently jumbled state.
He glanced around for his phone to call Nick, trying to remember if he'd even gotten it back yet when an unexpected familiar face appeared at his doorway.
"Tyler?" Jeff greeted in surprise. "What are you doing here?" Or am I having some insane concussion-induced hallucination?
"Oh, what's up, bro? Mom said you'd still be sleeping," Tyler greeted very casually. "I came up the stairs all quiet for nothing." He had a suitcase in one hand and two overstuffed gym bags slung over his shoulders. "She told me what happened, by the way. Next time you get into a fight, bro, don't take on so many guys at once! You're scrawny enough as it is." He tossed all of his bags on floor in the middle of the room. "Those guys really beat you up, man. You're completely wrecked!"
"What are you doing here?" Jeff demanded, ignoring everything else Tyler said.
"What a way to greet your big brother," Tyler said with fake hurt in his voice. "I'm not taking any classes this summer, so I'm home for the next few months," he explained. "Mom says we have to room together, since my old room went to Kandy."
Oh, great. Sharing a room with Tyler again? It hadn't been fun the first time, and it wouldn't be fun this time, either. "You can't share with one of the girls…?"
"Nope. I'd rather not live in a nursery or a 5 year-old girl's 'magical-pink-unicorn-princess-palace' of a bedroom. But if you want to room with one of them while I'm home, go ahead. And I missed you too, by the way," Tyler finished sarcastically.
Jeff frowned. "Sorry," he mumbled. He hadn't seen his brother in over a year. Maybe he'd finally matured a little? Although Tyler looked exactly the same as he did last time Jeff saw him. His hair was a dark, tousled mess under a flat-cap, and his skin was slightly tanned, bringing out his bright blue eyes. "I just woke up and I'm still suffering from a concussion. I'm not really 100% here right now…"
"Yeah, remember the first time I got a concussion. I felt both hungover and drunk at the same time," Tyler sympathized.
Not really the best example, but it was pretty accurate, at least. Jeff did feel a little of both. He crawled out from under the covers and got to his feet, only to stumble into the wall unsteadily when a wave of lightheadedness hit him. "Uuughh…"
"See? There's the drunkenness," Tyler pointed out with a laugh. "Lie back down, bro. No matter how comic it is, you're in no shape to be up and about. If you need something, I can get it for you."
"My cell phone," Jeff told him. "I think dad still has it."
"Still has it?" Tyler echoed.
Jeff sat at the side of his bed. "Yeah. I was grounded for a little bit, but they ungrounded me last night." I think… "I need it back now so I can call a friend." He guessed Tyler probably didn't know about his relationship with Nick yet, and he really didn't feel like telling him about it right now. He knew Tyler probably wouldn't take the news badly, but he didn't want to deal with the stress it could bring just yet.
"Oooh, you got grounded? What for?" Tyler asked eagerly. "Ditch school? Throw a wild party? Did you get an F on your report card? Miss curfew? Sneak out late?"
"No, Tyler, none of those things," Jeff mumbled. Those were the kind of things YOU used to do, remember? Except the F on the report card part. Tyler was practically a genius when it came to academics, even though it really didn't seem like it. He couldn't get an F if he tried. And he never really tried at anything, thanks to his laziness. He excelled in his years at Dalton without even making an effort. "Just get my cell phone, please," Jeff sighed.
"Fine, fine," Tyler said, backing out of the room. He was gone for no more than three minutes, Jeff's cell phone in hand. "Mom says to stay in bed and she'll be up to check on you in ten minutes," he told Jeff, tossing the phone to him.
Jeff caught the phone. "Thanks," he said, immediately dialing Nick's number.
"Yeah, well I'm only doing this because you're injured," Tyler said. "Once you've healed, you're going to have to pay me back!"
"Gee, you're such a loving older brother," Jeff muttered sarcastically.
"Aren't I?"
Jeff brought the phone to his ear, motioning Tyler to be quiet. It rang several times, answered just before it hit voicemail accompanied by Nick's warmly familiar voice. "Hello? Nick speaking…" He sounded a little uncertain.
"Nick! Hey, it's Jeff," Jeff greeted brightly. "I got my cell phone back," he explained.
"Jeff! How are you doing? Are you okay?" Nick burst out instantly. "Did they let you out of the hospital yet? My mom wouldn't let me stick around… Are you at home now?" He sounded extremely relieved and worried all at once.
"Yes, I'm home," Jeff said. "Although I honestly don't remember coming home… You can come over, by the way."
"I can?"
"Yup. Turns out all I had to do was get beat-up for my parents to come around. I'm ungrounded and they're ready to accept 'us'," he informed Nick happily. "Assuming I didn't dream the whole thing up. And I'm pretty sure I didn't. I mean, I got my cell phone back already."
"I'll be over in five, then," Nick decided.
"Then I guess I'll see you in five." The line clicked off and Jeff set his cell phone aside.
"Well, that sounded like a…strange conversation," Tyler commented from where he stood by the door. "Should I even ask?"
"No," Jeff answered simply.
"Alrighty, then! I'll just get to unpacking," he announced. He moved over to Jeff's dresser to pull out one of the drawers. He dumped the contents—a few t-shirts and a hoodie—on to the floor, and then replaced the drawer. He proceeded to do the same thing to the rest of the drawers on the left side of the dresser.
"What are you doing…?" Jeff asked irritably.
"Making room for my stuff," Tyler answered casually.
"Those are my clothes you're dumping on the floor!" Jeff snapped.
"Relax! I plan to put them in the closet," Tyler eased.
"Why not put your own stuff in the closet?"
"What if our clothes got mixed up?" Tyler challenged. "I can separate them more easily with the dresser."
Jeff rolled his eyes. "Okay…whatever you say," he gave in. There was no point in arguing with Tyler. It wasn't a battle Jeff could win in his current state. Jeff lied back against his pillows.
Tyler knelt down and unzipped his suitcase and thus began to deposit his clothes into Jeff's dresser.
When Tyler was about halfway done with unpacking, Nick finally arrived. He went straight for Jeff, leaning over the side of the bed to hug him tightly. "Jeff! Thank god you're okay," he breathed fervently.
Jeff smiled and hugged Nick back carefully. The pressure against his chest pained his cracked ribs, though the bliss of just simply holding Nick in his arms again dulled the pain. "Did I not sound okay on the phone?" he asked a little teasingly.
"I can't see you over the phone," Nick pointed out. He leaned back a little and touched Jeff's face gently. "Believe it or not, you look a lot better now than you did last night."
Jeff frowned. He felt like crap right now—he could only imagine how horribly bruised and hideously swollen he must appear. And if he actually looked 'better' now, imagine how terrible he looked last night? "Good to know," he mumbled.
"How do you feel?" Nick asked with concern.
"Like shit," Jeff answered honestly. "But better now that you're here." He offered a smile at Nick.
Tyler sent a questioning glance towards Jeff from where he knelt by the dresser, but didn't say anything. When Jeff ignored him, he turned back to his bags, shaking his head.
Nick sighed and dropped his hand from Jeff's face. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Jeff," he murmured. "If it weren't for me, then this never would—"
"Hey—don't you dare start on that again," Jeff warned sternly. "It wasn't your fault." He met Nick's deep green eyes evenly.
For a moment, Nick looked ready to protest, but seemed to give up quickly with a sigh. "You're the only one who got hurt…"
"I know," Jeff said. "That was my intention. I don't think I could bear it if I let Tommy hurt you any more than he already has. I'd honestly rather it be me than you."
Nick shook his head slowly, blinking. "You're crazy," he murmured softly. He looked Jeff in the eye and smiled very slightly. "And I love you."
Jeff grinned almost involuntarily at that, feeling his chest swell with joy. "I love you, too," he whispered without hesitation.
Green eyes dancing with delight, Nick leaned in to meet his lips to Jeff's in a sweet, warm kiss. Jeff closed his eyes and smiled into the kiss, drawing his arms around Nick. It was a perfect moment…
"Whoa! What the heck!" Tyler suddenly exclaimed.
Scratch that. It was an almost perfect moment…
Nick and Jeff broke apart to look over at Tyler, who was now at his feet, jaw dropped open and eyes wide and questioning. "Whoa. Holy crap. Tell me, did I just see that right?" he demanded. "Did you two just lock lips?"
"Err…yeah?" Jeff responded a little uncertainly. He'd totally forgotten that Tyler had been in the room.
"I didn't know you were gay, Jeff! When did this happen?" Tyler asked. "Before I went off to college, you were dating girls, weren't you?"
"Um, I'm not gay—I'm bi," Jeff explained in the easiest way he could. "It's actually a pretty long story…"
"So, you're dating a dude…?"
"I am," Jeff said. "I have been for a few weeks now."
Tyler looked at Nick. "Aren't you the kid who lives in the house behind ours?" he asked. "The Italian guy. Nick Romero or something like that?"
"Romano," Nick corrected.
Tyler snapped his fingers. "Yes. That," he said. "I thought you guys were just good friends?"
"We were," Jeff said. "And now we're boyfriends." He paused. "You don't…have any problems with that…do you…?" he asked hesitantly.
"Problems?" Tyler echoed. "Nah, I'm not a homophobe. But you could've at least warned me! When I looked up, the last thing I expected to see my brother making out with another guy!" he exclaimed. "Although with the way you two were cooing and gushing over there, I should've seen the smooch coming a mile away…"
"Sorry," Jeff apologized. "I'd have called you to tell you, but it hasn't been very…'easy' around here lately."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's just say mom and dad didn't take the news as well as you did," Jeff explained. "They're starting to come around now, but when they first found out, they basically put me on lockdown."
"Well, that sucks. Why would they do that? I didn't think they had a problem with that sort of thing."
"Me neither," Jeff said. "But it's getting better around here now. So I'd rather forget about the recent drama."
Tyler nodded thoughtfully. "Wait. Those guys didn't beat you up because you're gay, did they?" he questioned, actually looking a little serious for a change.
"I'm not sure they knew, actually," Jeff admitted. "But the main guy, Tommy, has been known to be pretty violently homophobic."
"I see…" Tyler mused. He smirked. "Well, I'm here for a few months. Maybe I'll get a chance to 'meet' this Tommy guy…"
So, what do you think of Tyler? :) Review, please!