The Trip Ch. 04

"I thought you wouldn't want to involve the police." Jen said as she took the smoke from Justin and took a drag herself. Justin looked at her in complete shock.

"I didn't know you smoked."

"I haven't in twenty years. Now Justin I'm going to ask you a very personal question and I want you to be honest with me. Did your dad do anything else to you?" Jen asked praying that the answer was no.

"If you're asking me what I think you are no he didn't."

"Okay good." Jen said with a rush of relief. "Justin what happened to your face?"

"Oh, there was a little incident in Virginia."

"What kind of incident?"

"Long story short Steve jumped me and knocked me over a nightstand. Come to find out he is gay and has been in love with Josh for a very long time. But everything was settled and he apologized for it. So please don't worry." Justin said trying to keep it as short as possible.

"He jumped you?! Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"Just my side where I landed on the nightstand. It's okay, please don't worry."

"Are you sure? Do you want to go to the hospital and get it checked out?" Jen asked knowing that his body was already weakened from the cancer.

"No, I am fine." Justin said with a smile.

"So what is going on with Josh? Why was he sitting by the bathroom door crying?" Jen asked as she took another drag.

"He promised me that he wouldn't tell anyone what dad had done to me."

"Justin you know he did the right thing. He loves you or he wouldn't have done it. I know that a lot's hit you at once, and I know you're hurt. Are you going to punish him for loving you?"

"I know, I know. I just don't know what to do. So much has changed. And what's going to happen with my cancer, how am I going to get therapy? Dad swore he wasn't going to pay for it if anyone ever found out."

Jen snorted, George was a lying sack of shit. She knew he often went on about what he paid for, which was actually nothing, but she thought it a harmless delusion. "There's no need to worry about the procedure that will be taken care of." Jen said with a smile. "I'm going to go and send Josh up so you two can talk about things. Justin, he really loves you and I know you know how precious that is." Jen said as she gave Justin a kiss on the forehead.

Josh was sitting on the floor outside his bedroom door. When Jen saw him she told him that he can go and talk to Justin. Josh was nervous when he sat on the bench next to Justin. Ready for a tirade but was pleasantly surprised when Justin leaned into him and kissed him.

"I'm so sorry Justin for upsetting you, but if breaking your confidence keeps you safe I....." Josh was interrupted by Justin giving him another kiss.

"I'm not mad anymore. I know you did it because you love me. I'm sorry. No one has ever loved me so openly and completely before. I love you." For whatever reason, he knew his mother loved him, but whether real or imagined, it felt limited, conditional. But this, what Josh offered was unrestrained and complete.

"Justin, I told you, I have only begun to love you." Josh said as he pulled Justin to him, and ravaged his mouth.

Jen walked down the hallway, her head was swimming; the scar. She could not believe that her husband could do something as horrifying as that. Now what was she going to do with Justin. His cancer treatment was covered by her insurance but he needed someone to be with him almost twenty-four hours a day. A nurse wasn't covered, she thought George would look after Justin but that was out of the question. She had no family and couldn't afford to hire a nurse. As she descended the stairs and made her way to the kitchen she saw Cindy and Jeff sitting at the island. .

"How is everything with the boys?" Cindy asked.

"I think everything is going to be fine." Jen said as she took at seat with them.

"I do have one question though. What's going to happen with Justin's radiation therapy? He told Josh had he was afraid that his dad wouldn't pay for it." Cindy asked.

"It's not George's insurance he's on, it's mine. The main problem is now is who's going to stay with Justin and take him to the treatments." Jen replied.

"Well, Jeff and I were talking about this, and if it is okay with you, we'd like Justin to stay here." Cindy offered.

"I wouldn't want you guys to have to do that. Justin's my son and I wouldn't feel right pawning him off on someone else." Jen replied.

"You're not pawing him off, Jen. We offered and would love to have him stay here. Then you can have peace of mind knowing that someone will always be around to watch him." Jeff said with a smile.

"Besides you know right well that Josh is not going to leave his side for one second of the day." Cindy said with a smile.

"You're right there. As long as you guys don't mind then I think it would be the best thing for him." Jen said as she took a sip of her coffee. "But I don't think we should tell him tonight. Let's let today's events settle and then we'll talk to him."

"We can tell him tomorrow after he has had a good night's sleep." Jeff said.

"I better get going home. I have some things to take care of when I get there." Jen said as she stood up and walked toward the front door.

"Okay, you let us know if you need any help or if George is still there when you get home." Cindy offered.

"Thanks. Trust me he won't be there when I get there. Tell Justin I'll see him tomorrow." Jen said as she walked out the front door.

Jeff went up to Josh's room and asked the boys if they needed anything before they headed to bed. They declined the need for anything and said their goodnights.

"I think I could use a shower," Justin said as Jeff left.

"How about a nice hot bath? We can soak the road off."

"Sure."

Josh bounded to the bathroom while Justin removed his pajamas from his bags. "I'll call you when the bath's ready."

Justin waited longer than just the time to draw a bath, but then again bathrooms were for more than just bathing so he patiently waited. When he entered the bathroom he was floored. Josh had a bubble bath drawn surrounded by white candles and soft music playing. Josh was only dressed in a towel and he looked regal in the soft flickering candle light. Josh made his way over to Justin and led him to the waiting bubble bath. He slowly started to undress Justin taking care not to hit his cuts and bruises. Once he had Justin completely naked he dropped his towel and slid into the water guiding Justin in with him. The tub was big enough for Justin to lie back on Josh's body and still have room to stretch out his legs. Justin felt like he was being hugged by a cloud. The feeling of Josh's hard body and the soft bubble sent Justin was a new sensation, and he reveled in it. He knew that this was beginning of many new beginnings.........

Thanks for reading the final chapter of The Trip: Homecoming. I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Keep a look out for the next up and coming series "New Beginnings" Which will follow Josh and Justin on their next leg of the journey.

Much Love,

CE300

Thanks again to my wonderful beta reader/editor Shell for her wonderful insight. She has really helped make this story flow!