Absolution
Chapter Ten
Christmas was coming up and, for the first time, I could not wait. It was December 15th, Frank and I had been together about two months and he was now seventeen years old.
One thing I had learned about him was the fact that he loved the snow. He would call me, at two in the morning, during a snow storm—we’d already had two, resulting in four days of missed classes—and talk excitedly. I would usually go pick him up if the roads weren’t too bad, and we would walk around down town holding hands.
My mom had fallen in love with Frank almost more so than I had. She’d openly accepted him into out already dysfunctional family. He had spent the last Thanksgiving with us and my grandparents. Mom had also made him a birthday cake on Halloween. By the look of shock on his face, I guessed he’d never had one before which made my heart break for him.
The snow steadily fell outside. The ground, trees, roofs, and outdoor furniture was now covered with a thick blanket of white. The roads weren’t bad yet, though. I was sitting on the couch facing the window and reading a book Frank had leant me. Every once in a while I would look outside and I knew he was watching too, or maybe he was even outside in the terrible cold building a snowman. Making a snow angel.
He’s my angel, I thought before cringing. God, I was turning into a sappy romantic. But I’d rather be a romantic and have my Frank then be alone like I was for so long.
Mom bustled into the house, carrying several plastic bags. “Honey, call Frank. This storm is supposed to be terrible by tonight and I wasn’t to make sure he’s not alone. I don’t know how his parents can leave that sweet kid alone so often, it’s just terrible. Michael! Can you help me with this stuff, please?”
Without another world, she headed towards the kitchen to sit down her heavy bags. I stood up, pulled on my jacket, and walked outside while dialing Frank’s number. He answered on the third ring, while I was picking up a particularly heavy bag.
“Hey, Gee.” He said, sounding cheerful.
“Hey honey.” I grunted, heaving four bags into the house. “Your parents are home, right?”
“Nope.” He said, surprising me. I usually knew when his parents were out. “They’re working, and then going to some gala dinner until midnight. Have you been outside?”
“Yes. It’s windy as fuck.” I complained, setting the bags down on the kitchen table. Mikey and mom were hastily putting the groceries away, but mom paused to glare at me. “Sorry, mom.”
“What’d you do?” Frank asked curiously.
“F-bomb. Hey, she says there is a huge storm on the way—.”
He cut me off, laughing. “It looks like it’s already here to me.”
I smiled. “Would your parents mind if you came over since you’re all alone?”
“I don’t care. I’ll just write a note.” I heard a crackle and assumed he was shrugging.
“Okay, babe. I’ll come and pick you up as soon as I can get the snow off of my car.” I was now in my room (the basement) and looking for my keys. Maybe my lack of lights was a bad idea when it came to finding car keys. Or finding anything, actually.
“They’re probably on the dresser.” Frank said, automatically knowing why I’d trailed off.
I looked to the dresser, narrowing my eyes. They were there. “Well, thanks… I think… have you got cameras in here?”
He giggled, sounding like a child. “Maaaaybe.”
“Good, we’re even then. I’ve got one in your parents’ room.”
“That’s not even funny!” he said, but then burst out laughing.
I smiled. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay?” I made my way into the kitchen, stopping at the back door.
“Okay… am I going to stay the night?”
“Of course he is.” Mom answered before I could say I’d take him home when his parents got home. “The worst of it is due tonight and no seventeen year old needs to be alone in this weather. Nor do I want you driving in it. If it’s anything like the ice storm of ’97—.”
I tuned mom out, because this was a frequent occurrence. I think she secretly lives for natural disasters, so that she can prattle them off to Mikey and I at inopportune times. “Yeah. I’ll see you in half an hour.”
…
…
Six o’clock, nearly four hours later, and Belleville was in a “state of emergency” which I think is ridiculous. Cars aren’t allowed parked on certain roads, people aren’t allowed out, and there has to be six inches on the ground already.
“Wow.” Frank said, looking outside. We were all in the living room watching the news. Both Frank and I were curled on the couch, Mikey was on the floor next to us, and Mom was in a chair watching the snow build up higher and higher on her car.
I smiled, putting my hand over Frank’s. Before I had only seen snow as troublesome, but after seeing how Frank’s eyes lit up I had grown to love it. Longed for it, just to see him so happy. With Christmas coming up, he’d been a little down. With this snow excitement, though, he seemed like his hyper and carefree self.
Mom rushed off, muttering about having to call our grandparents to make sure they still had electricity.
“She acts annoyed but she loves it.” Mikey told Frank, laughing.
Frank smiled and nodded.
“Hey, let’s go to my room.” I stood up, stretching.
“Okay.” Frank smiled again apologetically at Mikey before I dragged him down to the basement, shutting the door behind me. I guided him down the stairs carefully although he’d been down here loads of times, and then fumbled to turn on my lamp. He closed the distance between us, wrapping his arms around my neck and pressing his lips gently to mine.
A tingle ran throughout me as I kissed him back hungrily, wrapping my own arms around his thin waist. There was something different in this kiss though, and Frankie seemed very jittery and nervous. Why hadn’t I noticed this before? He’d been here hours.
I pulled back, touching his face. “Whats wrong?”
“Can we just kiss again before I tell you?” he asked me, which made me nervous.
I kissed him gently, stroking his cheek. He shuddered and I remembered how often he did that. How sensitive he was to touch. It was him that pulled away this time. He rested his forehead against mine and linked our hands. “I’m sorry.”
“What?” I asked him.
“My dad… uncle. He…” Frankie shook his head.
“Come, let’s sit down.”
He took a deep breath and nodded, wrapping himself around me when we sat on my bed. “My uncle thinks I’m seeing Neil.” He said into my chest, squeezing my hand. “He had it out with Neil’s dad, who of course told Neil. I’ve been forbidden to see him—like that’s going to happen—and Neil warned me about four days ago.”
I stroked his hair and cheek, watching him. Now that I thought back, he had seemed a little out of sorts these last few days. Maybe that was why and not the fact that Christmas was coming up.
Frank began to stutter as he continued to speak. “I-If she finds out that w-we’re together… he’ll go after your mom’s job.”
It hit me, suddenly. His uncle was my mother’s boss. That is what the problem was. He wasn’t worried about his uncle knowing as much as my mother’s job. “Oh God, Frank.” I pulled him closer to me. “My mom’s job is not at risk… not one bit. First of all, if your uncle thinks you’re seeing Neil then he’s got no clue about us. He’s guessing, don’t you see?”
“He thinks you’re Neil, Gerard.” Frank looked at me pointedly. His lip was trembling slightly. “He knows.”
“He doesn’t know who I am. Only your mom has seen me that one day and I bet she doesn’t remember what I look like. If she saw me today, she wouldn’t know who I was.” I assured him.
He stood up. “You don’t get it! You saw that rally he organized! You don’t know what he’s like! He’s terrible!” he took a deep breath, looking scarily close to tears. “He knows something is going on. He’s going to be following me. If he figures it out and your mom loses her job—.”
“Does he know my last name?” I asked him calmly.
He bit his lip, shaking his head.
“So he follows us around, and follows me home. Our name isn’t on my mailbox and I hardly doubt he’ll care enough to look up my address on all of his employees. Especially if he can see I’m a twenty-one year old man and no one under forty-five works in the firm.”
“That’s not very good logic.” He muttered.
“It’s logical logic.” I countered as he played with my fingers, frowning sadly. “Hey, honey… look at me.”
He looked up and into my eyes. His own green eyes were now teary as well. “I h-hate being a problem for you because you’ve got so many already… I don’t want to be the 17 year old nuisance.”
I kissed him gently, before saying, “You aren’t being a problem at all. Honey, I love you.”
“S-Should we hang out less? More in secret? Or if you don’t want to see me at all, I unders—.”
“If you’d listened to me, you would have heard me say you weren’t a problem and that I loved you.” I whispered, leaning closer to him.
He closed his eyes, sighing in relief. “I’m so sorry.”
“Your uncle doesn’t matter. Fuck him, fuck your mom. No one is taking you away from me, Frank. No one.”
One thing I had learned about him was the fact that he loved the snow. He would call me, at two in the morning, during a snow storm—we’d already had two, resulting in four days of missed classes—and talk excitedly. I would usually go pick him up if the roads weren’t too bad, and we would walk around down town holding hands.
My mom had fallen in love with Frank almost more so than I had. She’d openly accepted him into out already dysfunctional family. He had spent the last Thanksgiving with us and my grandparents. Mom had also made him a birthday cake on Halloween. By the look of shock on his face, I guessed he’d never had one before which made my heart break for him.
The snow steadily fell outside. The ground, trees, roofs, and outdoor furniture was now covered with a thick blanket of white. The roads weren’t bad yet, though. I was sitting on the couch facing the window and reading a book Frank had leant me. Every once in a while I would look outside and I knew he was watching too, or maybe he was even outside in the terrible cold building a snowman. Making a snow angel.
He’s my angel, I thought before cringing. God, I was turning into a sappy romantic. But I’d rather be a romantic and have my Frank then be alone like I was for so long.
Mom bustled into the house, carrying several plastic bags. “Honey, call Frank. This storm is supposed to be terrible by tonight and I wasn’t to make sure he’s not alone. I don’t know how his parents can leave that sweet kid alone so often, it’s just terrible. Michael! Can you help me with this stuff, please?”
Without another world, she headed towards the kitchen to sit down her heavy bags. I stood up, pulled on my jacket, and walked outside while dialing Frank’s number. He answered on the third ring, while I was picking up a particularly heavy bag.
“Hey, Gee.” He said, sounding cheerful.
“Hey honey.” I grunted, heaving four bags into the house. “Your parents are home, right?”
“Nope.” He said, surprising me. I usually knew when his parents were out. “They’re working, and then going to some gala dinner until midnight. Have you been outside?”
“Yes. It’s windy as fuck.” I complained, setting the bags down on the kitchen table. Mikey and mom were hastily putting the groceries away, but mom paused to glare at me. “Sorry, mom.”
“What’d you do?” Frank asked curiously.
“F-bomb. Hey, she says there is a huge storm on the way—.”
He cut me off, laughing. “It looks like it’s already here to me.”
I smiled. “Would your parents mind if you came over since you’re all alone?”
“I don’t care. I’ll just write a note.” I heard a crackle and assumed he was shrugging.
“Okay, babe. I’ll come and pick you up as soon as I can get the snow off of my car.” I was now in my room (the basement) and looking for my keys. Maybe my lack of lights was a bad idea when it came to finding car keys. Or finding anything, actually.
“They’re probably on the dresser.” Frank said, automatically knowing why I’d trailed off.
I looked to the dresser, narrowing my eyes. They were there. “Well, thanks… I think… have you got cameras in here?”
He giggled, sounding like a child. “Maaaaybe.”
“Good, we’re even then. I’ve got one in your parents’ room.”
“That’s not even funny!” he said, but then burst out laughing.
I smiled. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay?” I made my way into the kitchen, stopping at the back door.
“Okay… am I going to stay the night?”
“Of course he is.” Mom answered before I could say I’d take him home when his parents got home. “The worst of it is due tonight and no seventeen year old needs to be alone in this weather. Nor do I want you driving in it. If it’s anything like the ice storm of ’97—.”
I tuned mom out, because this was a frequent occurrence. I think she secretly lives for natural disasters, so that she can prattle them off to Mikey and I at inopportune times. “Yeah. I’ll see you in half an hour.”
…
…
Six o’clock, nearly four hours later, and Belleville was in a “state of emergency” which I think is ridiculous. Cars aren’t allowed parked on certain roads, people aren’t allowed out, and there has to be six inches on the ground already.
“Wow.” Frank said, looking outside. We were all in the living room watching the news. Both Frank and I were curled on the couch, Mikey was on the floor next to us, and Mom was in a chair watching the snow build up higher and higher on her car.
I smiled, putting my hand over Frank’s. Before I had only seen snow as troublesome, but after seeing how Frank’s eyes lit up I had grown to love it. Longed for it, just to see him so happy. With Christmas coming up, he’d been a little down. With this snow excitement, though, he seemed like his hyper and carefree self.
Mom rushed off, muttering about having to call our grandparents to make sure they still had electricity.
“She acts annoyed but she loves it.” Mikey told Frank, laughing.
Frank smiled and nodded.
“Hey, let’s go to my room.” I stood up, stretching.
“Okay.” Frank smiled again apologetically at Mikey before I dragged him down to the basement, shutting the door behind me. I guided him down the stairs carefully although he’d been down here loads of times, and then fumbled to turn on my lamp. He closed the distance between us, wrapping his arms around my neck and pressing his lips gently to mine.
A tingle ran throughout me as I kissed him back hungrily, wrapping my own arms around his thin waist. There was something different in this kiss though, and Frankie seemed very jittery and nervous. Why hadn’t I noticed this before? He’d been here hours.
I pulled back, touching his face. “Whats wrong?”
“Can we just kiss again before I tell you?” he asked me, which made me nervous.
I kissed him gently, stroking his cheek. He shuddered and I remembered how often he did that. How sensitive he was to touch. It was him that pulled away this time. He rested his forehead against mine and linked our hands. “I’m sorry.”
“What?” I asked him.
“My dad… uncle. He…” Frankie shook his head.
“Come, let’s sit down.”
He took a deep breath and nodded, wrapping himself around me when we sat on my bed. “My uncle thinks I’m seeing Neil.” He said into my chest, squeezing my hand. “He had it out with Neil’s dad, who of course told Neil. I’ve been forbidden to see him—like that’s going to happen—and Neil warned me about four days ago.”
I stroked his hair and cheek, watching him. Now that I thought back, he had seemed a little out of sorts these last few days. Maybe that was why and not the fact that Christmas was coming up.
Frank began to stutter as he continued to speak. “I-If she finds out that w-we’re together… he’ll go after your mom’s job.”
It hit me, suddenly. His uncle was my mother’s boss. That is what the problem was. He wasn’t worried about his uncle knowing as much as my mother’s job. “Oh God, Frank.” I pulled him closer to me. “My mom’s job is not at risk… not one bit. First of all, if your uncle thinks you’re seeing Neil then he’s got no clue about us. He’s guessing, don’t you see?”
“He thinks you’re Neil, Gerard.” Frank looked at me pointedly. His lip was trembling slightly. “He knows.”
“He doesn’t know who I am. Only your mom has seen me that one day and I bet she doesn’t remember what I look like. If she saw me today, she wouldn’t know who I was.” I assured him.
He stood up. “You don’t get it! You saw that rally he organized! You don’t know what he’s like! He’s terrible!” he took a deep breath, looking scarily close to tears. “He knows something is going on. He’s going to be following me. If he figures it out and your mom loses her job—.”
“Does he know my last name?” I asked him calmly.
He bit his lip, shaking his head.
“So he follows us around, and follows me home. Our name isn’t on my mailbox and I hardly doubt he’ll care enough to look up my address on all of his employees. Especially if he can see I’m a twenty-one year old man and no one under forty-five works in the firm.”
“That’s not very good logic.” He muttered.
“It’s logical logic.” I countered as he played with my fingers, frowning sadly. “Hey, honey… look at me.”
He looked up and into my eyes. His own green eyes were now teary as well. “I h-hate being a problem for you because you’ve got so many already… I don’t want to be the 17 year old nuisance.”
I kissed him gently, before saying, “You aren’t being a problem at all. Honey, I love you.”
“S-Should we hang out less? More in secret? Or if you don’t want to see me at all, I unders—.”
“If you’d listened to me, you would have heard me say you weren’t a problem and that I loved you.” I whispered, leaning closer to him.
He closed his eyes, sighing in relief. “I’m so sorry.”
“Your uncle doesn’t matter. Fuck him, fuck your mom. No one is taking you away from me, Frank. No one.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Sorry its been so long. College is a real time killer.Want more?
Ideally, I want to fix up this story and make it better. (Likewise with my other story, Pros and Cons.) What do you guys think about me doing that this summer?