The Stars

By: David H
(© 2014 by the author)
Editor: Ken King

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 3:
“The Noah Effect” 

After several days of work, Noah flew from Paris to Toronto, where he worked on another shoot before flying back to the States.  While he was planning to fly from Atlanta to Miami, he decided, instead to drive the route.  Since he had several days before another shoot, he took backroads until he made it to Blakely.  At one in the morning, he knocked on Chris’ front door.

When Chris saw him, Chris’ world got a little brighter.  He smiled; he kissed Noah; he promised himself that he would enjoy every single minute that he had with him.  Noah was excited to be in his presence, and not just in the physical sense.  No man before Chris had managed to stimulate him as much.  That night, they made love.  It wasn’t just sex for either of them, but the physical manifestation of their attraction for the other.

The next morning, Caroline went to work early, and, at around ten, Tom was bored and went over to Chris’ house to see what kind of trouble he could get into.  He knocked on the door to discover that his brother-in-law was there.  The three of them agreed that it would be a surprise for Caroline, even though she would know that Noah was there to see Chris.  Tom called Caroline anyway, at around lunch time, and told her that he had a surprise for her.  The two agreed to meet at JanJan’s Café, and when she arrived, she was all choked with emotion at seeing her kid brother sitting at the table with her husband and the man that was well on his way to becoming her brother-in-law.

Noah stayed through the weekend, going to church with Caroline and Tom on Sunday, wearing a suit that he’d had to buy at H&H Menswear for the occasion.  On Monday, he reluctantly left town again for Miami.  When he got back, Luke and Caleb joked with him about having to drive back ‘cause he knew that he could get a booty call.  They’d known him for a long time, and when he said that it wasn’t the case, they knew it was the truth.

They seemed to know that Chris had an effect on him.  Noah could, quite literally, have any guy that he wanted.  He seriously only had to say that he wanted someone, and that person was at his disposal.  Chris was different.  Chris made him smile. Talking to Chris made Noah happy, really, truly, happy.  They could be out doing something, and Chris could call.  Noah would light up just at the sound of his voice.  Guys would come up to him in the clubs or on the streets, and Noah would politely explain that he was no longer on the market.  Some guys were angry, but most were jealous that someone, some guy who, to them, had no name, had managed to tame the beast that was Jesse Edwards.

By the first of August, Chris had finally found out that he had a job with Early County, as another teacher quit, unexpectedly, right before the start of the school year.  He was teaching American History to 10th graders who didn’t give two shits about the field in which he had such intense passion.

On the Thursday before the Labor Day Holiday, a plumbing problem forced the school to close early.  As a result, the board decided to close the three schools in the county for the coming day, as well, giving everyone a four-day weekend instead of three.  As Chris, Caroline, Tom, Gwen, and John were planning on spending the holiday in Miami, it gave them an extra day with which to work.  They left early on Friday morning, spending most of the day driving down.  Six-hundred miles later, they were arriving at Noah’s, Luke’s, Caleb’s and Katie’s building, ready for a weekend of nothingness.

In a previous life, Noah would have spent that weekend in New Orleans, at Southern Decadence, but that year, he decided that it was time for him to allow the ‘younger homos’ a chance to shine in their own light.  Plus, it was the first time that he’d been able to see Chris because of Chris’ school schedule and his hectic work schedule.  So as they arrived, Caleb and Katie took the older ones to Luke’s for dinner while Noah and Chris took about an hour to themselves.

When the older ones returned, Chris was walking funny, and Noah had a smile on his face that offered a tell-tale explanation of what had and hadn’t happened while they were gone.  Of course, Caroline and Gwen had to mess with both of them while John and Tom sat on Noah’s sofa watching something on TV and trying not to laugh.

On Saturday, while the ladies and Caleb went shopping, everyone else went to the beach.  John and Tom joked with Noah about the furry chest that he was sporting, which, as he explained it, was a gift for someone.  Luke just shook his head and laughed, having watched him manscaping a few weeks earlier, before they went out.  Chris, who was coming out of his shell, thanks to Noah’s attention and Caroline’s tutelage, responded that he liked it, and that was all that mattered.  It was not the first time, but John and Tom noticed the way that Noah smiled when Chris said it.

They all went back to Noah’s house a little later, where Tom and John started drinking a little bit.  Later in the afternoon, Caroline, Caleb, Gwen, and Katie returned to bags-full of shit.  Luke, reluctant to leave, left at around four to get ready for the evening run at the restaurant.  They all promised to come by, though, and have dinner.

They did, and after Luke got off, they returned to the building to get ready for the evening.  Eventually, they all decided to go to a nice joint that was just a few blocks away from where those residents of South Florida lived.  It was a small bar where, on Saturday nights, a DJ came, and the patrons sang karaoke to their heart’s content.  The place was called Jenny’s, and while technically a private club, anyone could get a membership.  The only rule of the house, though, was that anyone who entered had to respect everyone else there.  To that end, there were people there of all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds.  Many a Saturday night, all four of them had left with at least one person, accounting for many pleasure-filled nights.  While Katie, Luke, and Caleb weren’t opposed to that being the evening’s purpose, Noah had only one person in mind that he wanted to please — Chris.

As they arrived, they paid the cover charges and went inside.  It was a nice place, with a stage to one side and tables that were covered with red cloths.  The DJ was setting up his things as the bartender was wiping down the long wooden bar.  The lighting was nice and soft, compared to what it could be if the place weren’t as wonderful as it was.  Jenny, the owner, was parlaying with a few of the patrons that had arrived even before them.  Once word got out that Noah was there, the place would be filled; she excused herself and went over to them, hugging this man that she’d met so long before, when they both worked for Gerald’s call center.  She flirted with Luke and complimented Caleb and Katie on their attire for the evening.  Noah then re-introduced Caroline and Tom, as well as Gwen and John, before turning to Chris.

“And this… this is Chris,” Noah said, beaming with pride.

“Hello!” Jenny smiled as she hugged him, just as she’d done with everyone else in the moments before.  “So what are you going to sing tonight?” she asked Chris, pulling him to the bar.

“Probably nothing,” Chris told her.  “I’m not much of a singer.”

“Even Noah sings… and… um… he’s not got the best voice in the world,” Jenny cracked a joke.  “Maybe y’all should sing a duet or something,” she mentioned two seconds later, as she’d already picked up on the energy between the two of them.

They ordered drinks and went to find a couple of tables that, when pulled together, could accommodate them all.  Jenny had then saved a seat for her at their table, calling it reserved for the evening, knowing that a few queers would call their friends, and, before long, the place would be filled with people.

At around ten, locals and tourists alike began to flood the place that was just across the street from the beach and a plethora of hotels and condo buildings with spaces for rent by the week or month.  At 10:30, Jenny went to the stage and grabbed the mic from the DJ.  Starting the night off right, she performed “I’m Too Sexy” to the cheers of the crowd.  It was her song, and it always seemed to set the tone for Karaoke Night, especially when the bar was filled with people.

They sat through several songs before Caroline and Tom took the stage to perform Paula Abdul’s “Opposites Attract”.  Gwen and John performed a bit later, while Katie and Caleb performed a Mariah Carey’s “Dream Lover”.  Luke, in what he called the gayest thing he ever did, sang “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga to laughter from everyone at the table.

There were some performances that were better, while a few others weren’t as good.  At midnight, Noah and Chris went to the bar for another round of drinks.  As they stood there, waiting, Noah was called away by the same guy that had gotten his attention on so many occasions before — Mr. Gabe Howell.  Since their first shoot together years before, the two had proven to be an unstoppable team.  While they worked with other people, the shoots they did together were often heralded as better than the previous ones.  It was Gabe that had called him to Paris at the end of June and then to several shoots around Florida during the month of August.

“Babe.  This is Gabe Howell,” Noah introduced them after a second.  “Gabe… This is…”

“CHRIS!” Gabe smiled.  “I figured that it was you, given how much Noah has talked about you in the last weeks.  The only thing is, while he said you were hot, he didn’t adequately describe your hotness!”

“Thank you,” Chris smiled.

“So can I ask a favor?”

“Sure,” Chris answered.

“Can I take a picture of the two of you, together?” he said as he pulled up his baby, an Olympus Stylus, 12 megapixel digital camera that Noah had seen on more than one occasion.  It was a newer version of the one that he’d used during their first test shoot years before.

“I’m not usually a very photogenic person,” Chris explained, suddenly nervous.  “I have three pictures of me tagged on Facebook,” he explained.

“Hang out with him, and there will be a ton!” Gabe explained as he smiled.  “OK, guys, once for the camera!” he said as the guys smiled for his instructions.  Getting up close together as he snapped the picture, they held the pose through three separate shots.

Doing something that he’d never done before, Gabe turned the camera around, activating the view screen so that he could show Chris that he wasn’t as bad on cameras as he’d thought. 

“One more?” Noah asked as Gabe set up his camera. 

“Should I be scared?” Chris joked.

“No more than usual!” Noah said as he reached down and kissed his man right on the lips.  Kevin got a few pictures before it was all over with, promising that he’d have them on Facebook before going to bed that night.

They waited for a while at the bar, but after a moment, Chris had to use the facilities.  As Noah promised not to move from that spot, Chris walked away.  Walking into the bathroom, Chris took one of the stalls in the empty room.  While he was taking care of his business, two obnoxiously loud, obviously gay, guys walked into the room.

“Did you see that hot ass man standing at the bar?  With all the muscles?”

“GURL!” one of the guys said.  “That is Mr. Jesse Edwards!”

“The porn guy?  With the eleven inch dick?” the second one asked for clarification.

“Sweetie.  Eleven-and-a-half of muscular goodness.”

“I’m gonna get at that tonight.”

“Not if that ugly boy that he’s been all over has anything to say about it!”

“Please.  I can take him, and besides, once that man experiences my lips for the first time, he’ll forget about that other person,” the guy said as they finished up their reason for being in there and left.

Not knowing how to react, Chris finished up his business and did up the khaki cargo shorts that he was wearing.  He stepped from the stall and looked at himself in the huge mirror above the sinks for a second.  He’d never thought of himself as attractive, but Brian had always told him that he was, even after they parted ways.  Noah seemed to be honest, but he couldn’t be sure of it right then.  What if he was ‘the ugly guy’ that was getting too emotionally attached to this man who would just use him until it was no longer beneficial and then leave him?  Would he affect Noah’s career?  What would the public think if they found out that he had a boyfriend?  Was he the snuffer that would extinguish the flame on the candle that was Noah Barnes… or Jesse Edwards… whatever he was from day to day?

He washed his hands and then dried them with two paper towels that he’d pulled from the silver dispenser hanging from the clean, white-tiled wall next to the sink.  He wasn’t sure if he could fake it, to hide what was going on in his mind.

Walking out, he found Noah just where he said that he’d be.  Noah was smiling in his direction, seeming to be happy with his presence.  Noah was, though, the master of deception.  He was in porn, pretending to like the fact that he was deep inside a bevvy of beautiful men, none of whom seemed to have a soul.  Then there was his modeling career, where he could take on any persona he wanted for the camera, to be someone else, to act as though the world around him were real and not just images from the photog’s mind.

Upon seeing him coming, Noah was excited, just as he was every time he saw Chris.  It only took him a split second, though, to realize that something was on Chris’ mind.  Something in his world wasn’t right, and Noah, while unable to determine exactly what it was, saw it in his stance, his walk, the cloudiness of his eyes.  He didn’t question it right then, but he kicked himself later for not.

The rest of the night went on without a hitch, and they all returned home at around 1:30, well before most of the bars were closing.  Noah walked into the studio to climb into the bed that he thought he’d be sharing with Chris that night.  Chris wasn’t tired, but he insisted that Noah go ahead.  It was that act that proved to Noah that something wasn’t right, but again, he didn’t question it.

Chris, instead, went out to the patio to think beneath the clear night sky.  When Noah got up a few hours later for a glass of water, Chris was still sitting out there, having not come to bed at all.  Chris tried to pass it off as nothing, just some stray thoughts.

“What’s going on, Chris?” Noah inquired.

Chris put up that face smile, the barrier that separated them right then.  “I promise that nothing is wrong,” he lied through his teeth to spare the feelings of that gorgeously sleepy man, if he had any real feelings at all.

“You’ve been quiet since you went to the bathroom at the bar,” Noah pointed out.  “More quiet than usual.”

“Noah, sweetie… It’s just some thoughts in my head.  It’s nothing, though.  Go back to bed.”

“I’m not going back to bed until you come with me,” Noah said as he made himself comfortable in the second chair that was out there.

“Noah…” Chris looked into his beautiful blue eyes. “Do you trust me?” Noah asked.

“Yes…”

“Then, please… trust me enough to let me help you with whatever is going on in your mind.  I promise you that I will do my best to make it better for you.”  He reached out and took his hand.

“Noah.  Why do you say things like that to me?”

“I kinda have a thing for you,” Noah answered, honestly. Isn’t it kinda obvious by now?” he asked, seriously but with a jocular tone in his voice.  “So tell me…”

“I overheard some guys talking about you earlier, and then they said something about me not being hot enough to be in your presence.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” Noah inquired.

“I’ve spent the last few hours trying to convince myself that they were wrong, but I haven’t been able to,” Chris told him, allowing a bit of the scared, timid creature within shine a little bit.  “I’m not as hot as what you deserve.  I’m not as good looking, or as funny, or as outgoing, as the man that you need to have.”

“Come here,” Noah said as he pulled at Chris’ hand for a second.  Chris stood and walked over to him, sitting on his lap and nuzzling up against him.  “You are hot.  You have a good body, a great ass, a brilliant smile, and… your dick is about perfect.  But beyond that, you are smart.  You are wise, which those two things don’t necessarily happen together.  You challenge my mind, and my body… I mean… I grew chest hair because of you!” Noah watched as he smiled a little bit, putting the open palm of his left hand right on the right side of Noah’s chest.  “I don’t mean to sound cocky, but if you weren’t as hot… amazing… awesome… sweet… cool… are you are, you wouldn’t have kept my interest for too long.  And with that being said, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you if you’d not been able to keep it.”

“What?” Chris said as he turned his head to look at Noah.

“You heard me,” Noah smiled.

“I know.  Did you mean to say that, though?”

“I don’t ever say anything that I don’t mean.”

Chris laid his head so that his nose was right on Noah’s neck.  A second later, he repositioned himself and kissed Noah’s neck.  “Ooh…” Noah smiled.  “You’re gonna put me in a mood.”

“Thank you, Noah.”

“Did that help clear your mind?”

“Yes…”

“And Chris… if anyone ever says anything like that to you, about you, whatever… again… I will destroy them.  You don’t fuck with family I like and get away with it!”  Chris chuckled.  “What?”

“Family you like…” Chris told him.

“Oh,” Noah smiled.  “You really are sexy as hell…”

“Am not…”

“Are too…”

“Am not!”

“Are too!” Noah joked with him as Chris raised his head to smile at Noah.

“You look so handsome right now,” Chris said.

“In the dark?” Noah joked.

“No!  You always look handsome.”

“If I were as much as you are, I’d be set.”

“SHUT UP!” Chris laughed.

“Shut me up,” Noah said as Chris leaned down and kissed him.

That kiss sealed the deal for Chris.  It was in that moment that he knew Noah would protect him from any malady in the world.

“Now will you go to bed with me?” Noah asked.  “I so rarely get to share my bed with you, and I don’t want to miss another second of time to do it.”

“Do it?”

“SLEEP!  Share the bed… cuddle… all that shit that I have never enjoyed until you came into my world.”

“I can handle that,” Chris told him as they stood and walked into the house.  Chris waited for Noah to come in and lock the door before they walked through the main room, hand-in-hand, to the room where they’d be passing the night.

Neither of them had, in a long time, slept as well as they did that night.  The next morning (well, afternoon, since they didn’t get up until around two), they were inseparable.  The two of them went out for dinner and a

movie without the others, which was OK since Caroline and Tom, Gwen and John, spent the day recovering from the night before.  Chris enjoyed the attention that Noah was paying him.  At one point, though, he thought someone was looking at them.  Whereas the night before he’d internalized the words and feelings of others, that evening, he thought about how they must be jealous.  Noah, of course, enjoyed showing him off.

On Monday, they had to leave, though, to head back to Georgia, and Noah had to get ready to leave on a two-week trip to the Pacific Northwest for a shoot.  Just as he’d done with his return from Paris, though, he planned to fly back into Dothan, rent a car, and then go home after spending a couple of days in Blakely.

While he was in Seattle, though, he thought of the perfect idea for Chris’ Christmas present.  There was a major publication that had been hounding him for months to sit for an interview about himself, about his life, about his past, his present, and he hoped would come to his future.  As he chatted with Chris one night, he composed an email to the editor, saying that he would agree to do it on several conditions.  First, he would allow for a list of questions, but he wanted to answer them in written form.  Second, he had to approve of the photographer and setting for the pictures.  Third, he had to approve of the layout before the magazine went to print.  Finally, the magazine had to pay, in addition to his expenses and fees, for Chris to be flown to wherever the shoot was taking place.  He knew that most of his demands were lofty, but he could command it.  He also knew that he’d given himself a bit of flexibility with the other three so that they would approve the fourth, to him, the most important one.

The whole time he worked, Chris was on cam, sitting at his desk, grading papers.  “So I just realized something,” Chris said as he turned to the camera.

“What’s that?” Noah asked.

“You can so tell that we are some bitches in love!” Chris smiled.  “We haven’t said a word to each other in an hour, and yet we’re still just sitting here on cam, working away.”

“It’s been that long? I just thought it was a couple of minutes.”

“No.  Cause I looked at the time when I started to grade these shitty, shitty papers, and it’s been an hour.”

“Damn,” Noah said as he hit send quickly so that he could concentrate his attention on something that mattered — Chris.  “I can’t wait till next week, by the way.”

“Oh yeah.  Why is that?” Chris inquired, smiling.

“Because I get to see my boyfriend, and we get to hang out… have a good time…”

“Fuck like rabbits…” Chris joked.

“That too…” Noah said as Chris laughed.

As they chatted, Noah got an email from the person that he’d been communicating with about the article.  He agreed to all of Noah’s demands.  He just smiled but didn’t say anything to Chris.

“OK.  I gotta run to the store, get some goodies for dinner.  What should I eat?”

“Um…” Noah smiled, looking away, “I got something you could eat if you were here…”

“You are a sick and twisted man, Noah Barnes,” Chris smiled.

“Says the man that’s dating me,” Noah moved to lie on his stomach.

“Seriously… what should I have for dinner?”

“I’m having ‘country cooking’ for dinner tonight,” Noah told him, looking at the clock in the corner of his screen.  “Speaking of which, I need to get ready.”

“K…” Chris looked at him and smiled.  “I’ll talk to you later, NoNo.”

“I can’t wait, Christopher,” Noah looked at the screen.  With a smile, Chris turned off his camera, which broke the connection between them.  Noah closed his computer and went into the bathroom to get ready for a dinner out with a couple of people he was working with.

As he was undressing and stepping into the shower, for the fourth time that day, Chris was slipping a pair of shoes onto his feet and a cap on his head.  He grabbed his keys and his wallet and walked out the front door of his home that faced Chattahoochee Boulevard.  Walking to his car, he climbed in and quickly backed of the space.  His next-door neighbors, with whom he wasn’t on as good a relationship as Caroline and Tom, were all sitting on their porch as he pulled the 4runner that he drove from the driveway.  He drove toward downtown, driving across town to a small market that he preferred to Harvey’s even before finding out that Noah’s nephew, Katie’s brother, was the manager.

As he entered, he greeted a couple of his students before parading around the grocery store doing what he normally did on Wednesday evenings, other than talking to Noah.  To him, nothing was out of the ordinary as he filled the metal cart with necessities.

At about the time he was halfway through his shopping list, Noah was getting out of the shower.  There were people knocking at the door to his room, so he let them in while he went back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.  He joked with the guy and girl, a working couple, that he’d befriended easily the previous week.  Unlike a lot of models that he worked with, they weren’t cut-throat bitches out for only themselves.  They were nice, Mid-western, with so few inhibitions that it was amazing.  To a degree, they were like Noah was, so it was nothing when he walked out of the bathroom in just a towel, dropping it right in front of them to put on his underwear and didn’t bother to turn as he adjusted himself.

It took him no time to dress and for the three to leave.

In Blakely, it was no time before Chris was finished with his shopping and headed toward the checkout.  At the register, he chatted with the checker as she scanned all his things.  Finished, he swiped his debit card and waited for the approval to come through before wishing the nice lady a good evening.

It was a dark night, and one of the lights in the parking lot wasn’t working right.  Beneath it, there were a bunch of kids hanging out, which didn’t bother him until a group of four of them started walking toward him.  Suddenly, he was uncomfortable.

“Hey…” one of the kids said as he walked quickly to the truck, shaking as he reached for the clicker to unlock his door.  “We’re talking to you!” the same guy said again as Chris struggled to ignore him.

One of them ran over and knocked the cart over as Chris was at a loss, in that moment, over what to do.  “Look.  I don’t have any cash, so if you’re trying to rob me, you’re not gonna get much.”

“We’re not here to rob you,” one of them said, including a racial slur.  “We’re here to teach you your place in the world.”

“What are you talking about?” Chris asked.

“Few months ago, you insulted my minister,” the first kid said.  “You just don’t do that in a town like this,” he said, smiling as Chris remembered coming to Noah’s defense months before, against his brother.

Scared that his life would soon be over, Chris began to shake.  A moment later, there was a bright light as the guy struck him against the side of the head with something, knocking him to the ground.  They continued hitting him, though, and kicking him.  It was their intention that he pay with his life for a crime that he hadn’t committed.

An angel, though, came out of the store and screamed so loudly that it could have woken the dead.  The kids, suddenly scared, dropped their weapons and ran off.  All their friends who were waiting beneath the light, jumped into their cars and drove off, including one girl who’d decided to video it as a souvenir.

Two of his students that were working that night ran out of the store to help him as a third, knowing that he was close to Tom and Gwen, grabbed his cell phone and tried, feverishly to get in touch with one of them.  A fourth person was dialing 911.

When the police and an ambulance arrived, they found him unconscious, lying in a puddle of the blood flowing from his body and the milk that he’d purchased just moments before.

Walking from the store, the kid that was calling the teachers got a ring on the phone.  Caroline answered.

“Can I speak with Mr. Bailey?” the kid nervously asked.

“Yes.  Hold on one moment,” Caroline said as she handed Tom the phone.

“Hello?” Tom said.

“Mr. Bailey, this is Josh Carnes, from your third period class.”

“Yes Josh.  What can I do for you?”

“Mr. Bailey, Mr. Williams was just attacked.”

“Where?  When?” Tom stood from the sofa, turning white as a ghost.

“At Food Lion, in the parking lot, some guys just beat the shit out of him.”

“OK.  Have the police been called?”

“Yes sir.”

“OK, Josh.  I want you to listen carefully.  Go tell the police that my wife and I have his medical power of attorney, and that we’ll meet them at the hospital.”

“OK.”

“Thank you, Josh,” Tom said as he hung up the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Caroline asked.

Tom, shaking as much as he had the day that Noah had showed up at their house, said simply, “It’s Chris.”

“OK,” Caroline said as she jumped up and ran down the hallway to get some shoes and a coat.  She was wearing a pair of shorts and a white tank top that she often wore around the house.  By the time she made it out, Tom was waiting at the back door, with papers in his hand.  “So what were you telling that kid about his medical power of attorney.”

“A few weeks ago, he and I had a discussion during our prep period, and he said that if something happened to him, that he had no one to make medical decisions.”

“That baby has no family?” Caroline asked.

“He was an only child; his father was killed in Iraq; his mother… killed herself, putting him into foster care,” he explained as they climbed into the car.  “Brian is the closest thing he has to family; they were in foster care together,” Tom said of the friend that they’d met a couple of times.  “So he asked, if something happened to him, that we make decisions about his care.  And then there’s Noah…”

“Noah…” Caroline started to cry.  “I’ve got to call Noah.”  She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number from memory.

Noah was sitting in what passed for a restaurant that offered country fare.  “Hey there, most amazing sister ever,” he answered the phone while sitting at the table.

“You need to come to Blakely,” she said.

“Why?  What happened?”

“Chris was attacked,” Caroline managed to get out of her mouth as Noah started to cry.  The people he was with, Jordan and Miriam, watched as he wiped his eyes.

“Is he OK?”

“We’re on our way to the hospital now,” she answered.

“OK.  I’ll be there in a few hours,” Noah said, not thinking that he was out of town on work but willing to drop anything and everything for him.

“OK…” Caroline said.  “I love you; be careful.”

“Yes ma’am,” Noah said as they hung up the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Miriam asked.

“My boyfriend… I just talked to him a couple of hours ago…”

“Noah?” Jordan asked.

“I’m gonna be sick,” Noah said as he quickly walked out of the dining room, through the front door to the parking lot.  He walked over to one side and began throwing up.

“It’s OK, dude,” Jordan said as Miriam got the car that they’d rented and pulled it to where they were.  Jordan helped him into the front seat.  They drove him back to the hotel where they were both staying. Noah was shaking as he packed his things.  Jordan was calling various airlines to see if any of them had a flight to either Dothan or Albany, Georgia, that would put him there as quickly as possible.  With Noah’s credit card in hand, Jordan booked him on a flight to Atlanta.  From there, given the hour of the day that it would be when he arrived, he would have to rent a car that would take him the rest of the way to Blakely.

As they were leaving, they called the photographer, Adam Bouska, with whom Noah had worked before.  He understood completely and said that they’d discuss making things up later.  “Right now,” Adam told him, “you need to be there and not worry about me.”

“Thank you,” Noah said as they arrived at the airport.  Grabbing his suitcase from the trunk of the car, Noah hugged both Jordan and Miriam, and went inside the terminal.

By the time he got on the plane, he was numb, running on adrenaline.  As the plane took off at around seven o’clock, Pacific Time, Noah fell asleep.  When he got to Atlanta nearly five hours later, he turned on his phone to a slurry of messages from, it seemed, everyone he knew.  The ones from Caroline were the ones that he began reading first, though.

As he walked to the subterranean train that would take him to the car rental terminal, he dialed her number.

“Hey…” she said to him.

“How is he?”

“He is in route to Montgomery by helicopter.  We’re in Troy right now.  We should be there within an hour,” Caroline told him.

“What happened?”

“All that Brian could tell us from what the witnesses said was that they walked out of the store and saw four guys beating him up.”

“Why?” Noah wondered.

“They heard some slurs…”

“He was bashed?!” Noah assumed.

“That’s what Brian thinks happened,” Caroline told him.  From the sound of her voice, there was something more that she wasn’t telling him.

“What aren’t you saying to me, Caroline?” Noah asked after a second, knowing that his sister was rarely silent, which let him know that there was more to her story that she was telling him.

“The kid that called the house told Tom that he recognized one of the guys that was beating him up.”

“And?”

“Either Dad or Jimmy might be somehow involved in all this…” Caroline said as Noah stopped, dead in his tracks.  A vein of rage that had lain almost dormant for a decade found its way to the surface of his mind. 

“Say something…” 

There was nothing but silence on his end.  “Noah…”

“I’ll call you back when I get the car,” Noah finally said after a deep breath.

“OK,” she responded as he stepped onto the train, immediately losing his signal.  In just a second, it was speeding off to the baggage claim and then to the terminal for car rentals.  The people were nice and accommodating, but all they had was a huge truck, bigger than even the green bean had been.  In it, though, a moment later, he commanded the roadways, flying down I-85 like a blue streak that rumbled in the familiar sound of a Dodge.

It took him about an hour and a half to get from Atlanta’s international airport, the gateway of the South, to Alabama’s Capital City.  The hospital that Chris had been taken to was a huge complex on the northern side of the city, so the exit that Tom had told him take lead him right to the front door.  He parked, leaving his things in the car as he went toward the front door.  He stopped at the information desk, recently manned by a lady wearing a pink jacket, and found out where Chris had been taken. Following her directions, he made it to the waiting room that was shared between a half-dozen ICUs.

Caroline immediately stood as he walked in, briskly moving toward him with her arms stretched out wide.  Tom looked like a little kid as he sat in a chair, his arms crossed and his head positioned toward the floor.  He was fast asleep, though when he woke, Caroline knew that he’d say something to her for letting him fall asleep.

“How is he?” he asked.

“He’s resting,” Caroline told him.  “Do you remember Tom’s frat brother, George?”

“The hot daddy with salt-and-pepper hair?” Noah asked.

“That’s the one.  He’s on staff here, and he said that, from the exam that he did, Chris has a concussion, but it doesn’t appear to be as serious as the people in Blakely were thinking.  Um…” she stammered trying to correctly remember what all George had told her a few minutes earlier.  “He’s got some bruised ribs, but none are broken.  His shoulder is messed up, and he might have to have surgery, but they won’t know for sure on that one until they can get him in for some more scans.”

“OK…” Noah told her.

“Caleb, Luke, and Katie are on their way.  Katie’s gonna go to Blakely and get some of his things.”

“I’m going with her,” Noah declared.

“No… Noah… Caleb is going with her, if anyone.”

“No.  I’m going to go with her, and I’m going to find him…”

“NOAH EDWARD!” Caroline declared, using his full name and waking Tom in the process.

“Caroline… He will pay for what he’s done.”

“Brian will take care of it,” Caroline said.

“He’s not going to get away with this,” Noah looked her dead in the eye.

“I know that, as do you,” she informed him, “but you’ve got to let Brian do his job.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” Caroline said as Noah looked away.  Caroline took his arm and guided him to one of the chairs.

It was as he sat, to wait, that the gravity and reality of the moment found themselves knocking on his door.  Chris was the love of his life, and there was nothing that he could or would do to change that.  He hoped that Chris would come out of it OK, but he knew that there would be a lot of hard work that had to be done.

At the same time, he could vividly remember the last time he’d spoken to his brother; Chris had been there, coming to his defense.  He could deal with them hurting him, but he was going to make them pay for what they’d done to Chris.

At exactly six o’clock, Tom’s friend George, dressed in jeans and a polo, with a stethoscope around his neck, came into the waiting room, smiling as he sat next to Tom, stirring him a little bit.  He gave them an update as to Chris’ condition before turning to look at Noah.

“He is conscious, but not really lucid, and he keeps saying your name,” George told him.  “I’ve gotten it approved by hospital staff for you to go in and sit with him.”

“Thank you,” Noah said as he stood and walked over to hug George.

“You owe me,” George joked.

“Name it and it’s yours!” Noah said.

“Free membership to your website,” George smiled at him.

“Free to all three.  You got it,” Noah smiled at him.  George had long before come out of the closet, much to the chagrin of many of his frat brothers.  Tom was one of the few that didn’t care who he slept with.  He’d even agreed, when he came out to his family, to be there out of a brotherly sense of love.  The two men hugged again before George smiled and took him back to Chris’ room.

The scene wasn’t as bad as he was expecting.  Chris had slipped back to sleep, but it was as a result of the pain meds that they had him on.  The hospital in Blakely had taken care of stitching up the cut above his eye, but they were good for little more than that.  His chest was wrapped, as was his left shoulder.  There were a couple of bandages on his arm.  His left eye, though, was swollen shut.

Noah took one of the two chairs that was sitting next to the door and pulled it to the right side of his bed.  Before sitting down, he leaned over and gave him a gentle peck on the lips.  Chris stirred and blinked a couple of times, but it was just a figure there with him.  The only way that he knew that it was Noah was because of the way the light reflected off his skin.  He smiled.  Noah took his hand and sat there, beside him.

Luke, Caleb, and Katie arrived a little while later, and George arranged for each of them to come, one at a time, since Noah wasn’t leaving his side, to visit with him.  Katie was as furious as Noah was, but she was more vocal about it.  They left a few minutes later, Caleb with instructions not to let her anywhere near any place that their family might or might not be.  If they had to stop, they had to do it in Dothan, before or after they left Blakely.

The rest of the day, Noah and Luke stayed with Chris as Caroline and Tom went to get some sleep.  There was a comfortable silence between them that seemed to echo around the room.

“So when Caroline and Tom get back, Luke started, “I think that you and I should go for a run.”

“We’ll see,” Noah answered, honestly.

“No,” Luke said, prompting Noah to look up at him.  “We both need a run, for more than one reason.”  Noah took a deep breath and turned his attention back to Chris.  “You know that you always think better after a good run.”

“Luke… We’ll see…” Noah told him, looking back at his best friend.  “That’s the best I can say right now.”

“OK…” Luke smiled at him.  “So what’s on your mind?”

“Nothing…”

“How long have we known each other?” Luke inquired.  “I’m sure it’s long enough to know when you’re not telling me something.”

“I want him to be OK,” Noah told Luke, his voice resounding his wish.  “I want… whoever was responsible for this… to pay.  Dearly.”

“Dude.  You got to trust your cousin,” Luke told him.

“I know,” Noah told him.

“And if he don’t,” Luke moved and leaned down on his legs, still in a seated position, “Imma be right up there with you.”

“Thank you…” Noah said as he started to get emotional again. 

“Noah?” Chris said as he started to come to.

“I’m here, Dude,” Noah said as he stood beside the bed.

“I’m gonna be OK,” Chris said, opening his good eye for a moment, a split second before machine dispensing pain meds clicked, buzzed, and he went back into a place of make believe.

When Caroline and Tom returned, rested, they gave Luke and Noah some relief.  Noah, at first, refused to leave, but Luke convinced him that he needed to run, rest, and relax.  He knew his friend was right, but it took Caroline and Tom both promising to call him before he could, or would, actually leave.

The two of them went to the truck that Noah had rented and climbed in.  Together, they went to the hotel that Caroline and Tom had rented and changed into a couple of pairs of shorts that Noah had taken with him to Seattle.  Since the hotel didn’t have a gym, they’d contracted with a local fitness place that was a block or so away.

They stretched a little bit as they walked outside, all while the ladies working the front desk stood and watched them for a second.  “It’s a shame they’re gay!” the older, most prim, proper lady said as the other one snickered.

“OK.  Run to the gym; run on a treadmill; and then weights for a little while,” Luke said, having formulated a game plan for them.  Noah, not really caring, said that he would go along.

When they got there, they had the place to themselves, except for a single guy working the desk.  He greeted them and checked their hotel keys before they walked inside.  It was nice that they had the run of the place, for the most part, without ogling eyes staring at them, watching either or both of their every moves.

As they went about their business, Caleb and Katie, ever the dynamic duo that they were, were coming into Blakely.  Katie made Caleb stop at the high school, where the billboard had been changed to send Chris get well wishes.  They found, as they turned onto Chattahoochee that the street was basically blocked of traffic as there were cars lining both sides and people walking up the middle of the street.

“Oh God!” Caleb said as they finally got to the house.  There were a ton of kids standing out front, most of whom had left flowers and cards of condolence.  They drove around to Caroline’s house, pulling in her driveway and walked through the yard to Chris’ house.  Gwen was standing, along with a group of teachers, at the edge of Chris’ driveway.  She turned and saw them coming up, walking over to them and hugging each of them.

“Is he OK?” she asked.

“The last update we got, he was out of it on pain meds,” Katie told her.

“How’s Noah?”

“Um…” Caleb thought.  “Chris is probably doing better than he is.”

“Poor baby,” Gwen said as an older man in a tie came up to them.

“Bri-Bri!” Katie said as he walked over.

“Is that Cousin-Brian?” Caleb asked.

“Yeah…” Gwen answered.

“I want to meet him under different circumstances,” Caleb said.

“I’ll see what can be arranged,” Gwen smiled as she put her arm around his waist and they walked over.  “Brian, this is Caleb.”

“Nice to meet you,” Brian sort-of smiled as the two shook hands.  “So how’s Chris?” he asked Gwen.

“He’s OK,” Gwen answered.

“Noah?”

“He could be better,” Caleb told him.

“When you talk to him, tell him to call me, please,” Brian told him.

“I can do,” Caleb agreed.

“So is there anything new on your end?” Gwen asked.

“Not that I can talk about right now,” Brian told him. “Are you guys headed back to Montgomery tonight?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Katie told him.

“K…” he said.  “I’ll probably come up there tomorrow and check on everybody.”

“Chris would like that, Bri,” Katie told him as she pulled her long, straight black hair behind her ears.

“Noah would, too,” Caleb pointed out.

He talked to them for a little while, but in the end, he had to get back to work.  As he was leaving, Noah and Luke were returning to the hotel room, sweaty and nasty.  Luke went into the bathroom first to take a shower as Noah sent a long text message to Brian, apologizing for not getting back with him sooner.  When Luke was finished, though, Noah grabbed some underwear and went into the bathroom.  Clean, he returned to the room and lay down on the bed.  Luke was planning to stay awake, having gotten a good night’s sleep before their departure to Montgomery.

After a couple of hours, Katie and Caleb were on their way back to Montgomery with some of Chris’ things, as well as letters and cards from students.  Noah, who’d woken up several times, had decided to get up and get dressed to return to the hospital.  As they were arriving, Caroline was calling to let him know that Chris was awake and stable enough to move into a regular room.  Noah was excited to hear that he was doing well.

When they got to the room, Chris was, more or less, conscious.  “Hey sweetie,” Noah said as he walked over, kissed his right cheek and then stepping back and smiling.

“Hey,” Chris said, smiling at him.  “I’m glad you’re here,” he reached up and took Noah’s hand.

“Where else would I be?” Noah grinned, for his benefit.

Chris got misty-eyed for a second, which visibly upset Noah.  “Chris.  I know you’re a coffee person,” Tom said, “would you like us to see if you can have some?”

“Yes… please…” Chris answered, not taking his eyes off Noah.

“OK.  Come on, guys,” Tom said as he gathered up Caroline and Luke and left the room.

“I am so sorry,” Noah told him.  “I promise you… PROMISE… that I will never let this happen again.”  A tear came from his eye.

“You can’t promise me that,” Chris smiled, “but I appreciate the feeling behind it.”

“Is that a challenge, Mr. Williams?” Noah asked as Chris smiled at him.

“Sure…” Chris pulled Noah down.  On his mind was Noah, what had happened in the parking lot, and what had happed at the church on the day of Caroline’s wedding.  He kissed Noah, for his taking a beating meant that, for another day, Noah wouldn’t.  More than he was ready to admit, he loved Noah.  That’s why he did what he did, and that’s why, unlike Noah, he planned to put the man responsible for his infirmity away for a while.

In many ways, Noah was still a frail helpless kid, dependent on others.  Chris knew that, despite his brash, hard exterior, inside him was the heart of a child, still filled with an innocence that quietly fueled the man, the grown-up that he was.  With his life, Chris had been and would be, in the future, willing to do what it took to protect him, just as much as Noah was ready, at Chris’ command, to return to Blakely, find who was responsible, and make sure they never did anything like what they’d done to him again.

To be continued...

Posted: 07/18/14