Broken Boy Ch. 02

Dirk was sent home, so there was a free seat next to Shae in the class, so we sat together. We were friends again and Shae helped me cool my injuries during lessons. He had such small hands, girl's hands. But it was cute and... beautiful. Fuck! Again. Do I think Shae is beautiful again?

I remembered when I was lying on the ground, and he ran to me. That expression on his face and in his eyes. Fear? But he didn't look like he was afraid of anything. He was worried about someone. Was he worried about me?

I drove him home again after school. We talked on the way and Shae occasionally asked me how my face was. The ice helped to alleviate the pain a little, but still. I bet I'll have a blue eye.

When I pulled up in front of Shae's house, he unbuckled his seat belt, opened the door and was about to get out but within moments he stopped and sat back in the seat but left the door ajar.

I looked at him questioningly, and he looked into my eyes and smiled. He was thinking about something. Then he leaned towards me and slowly approached my face. He was very close, I could feel his breath on my cheek and then... then... he gave me a soft kiss on my right cheek.

What? Did he really kiss my cheek? When he did that, I felt like an electric shock went through me. My eyes wide open. I looked at him as he slowly returned to his seat. He smirked and walked out of the entire seat and closed the door. To make matters worse, he also waved his small and delicate right hand cutely to me as he left. That little brat.

Damn. What's going on between us?

***

Beginning of October. It was getting a little cold, and it was time to put on a sweatshirt.

So like every day I got up and took a shower. I got dressed and ate and went to pick up Shae. Then we both went to school, which was still the same and still just as boring, but I will never forget how that day continued.

I pulled up in front of Shae's house, and he looked at me and smiled.

"Adam? Do you want to come in with me?" he asked me with a sweet smile. "Can we play some pc games if you want?" he added.

"Well, I'm for... just... are your parents home?"

"Ruby is definitely home, but Michael doesn't come until the evening." he replied.

"Okay. I think it's time to meet Ruby." we laughed a little and we both got out of the car and I locked it remotely.

I was hoping that one day Shae would invite me to his house... but when I walked in, I got a weird feeling. As if something should happen today.

"I'm home." Shae said out loud when we got to his house.

"I'm in the kitchen, sweetie." a female voice called back.

Shae led me into the kitchen and there was a woman with very long light-brown hair and a sweet smile standing at the counter. Wow Ruby looked young. She must have been somewhere in her mid-thirties.

"Ohh you brought someone." she said, walking right up to me, and we shook hands.

"I'm Ruby Sheldon. Shae's mom. Well, adoptive mom." she smirked a little.

"My name is Adam... Adam Bellini." I said and kissed her hand which I shook, and she stopped.

"Ohh... you're a gentleman. I'm glad Shae found someone like you, Adam." she said with a big smile. "So you're that Adam what Shae keeps talking about?" she added with a smirk

"RUBY!" Shae yelled at her and started to blush.

"Well sweetie? There's nothing wrong with that." she smirked again, teasing him.

Shae must talk about me really often. I looked at him. He was all red as a tomato... but not from anger, but from embarrassment.

"Will you stay with us for dinner, Adam?" Ruby asked me.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm happy to stay." I smiled.

Ruby interviewed me for a while and told me everything Shae said about me. Indeed, the boy talked about me quite often. Then we walked together, Shae and me up the stairs to his room.

***

Shae's room was much smaller than mine, but he still had a lot of stuff in there. He even had several stuffed animals, among which he added his teddy bear that he carried in his bag.

Shae pulled one of the smaller chairs over to his desk and turned on the computer.

"So... what are we going to play?" I asked.

"Well, I have one of my favorite games. It's called Gothic, by Piranha Bytes."

"Okay... what's this about?" I asked with a smile.

"It's about one nameless hero who is an instrument of the war of the gods and his task is to save or destroy the Kingdom of Myrtana which is at war with a horde of orcs." he replied with enthusiasm.

"Well, that sounds like fun."

"But Adam, I must warn you. This game is different from the others."

"How different?"

"Well... its controls aren't WASD and mouse like other games, but... it's played with cursors."

I admit that I haven't played a game yet, except strategies that would be played on cursors.

"If you tell me how, I'll be happy to try." I replied with a smile.

And so we started playing. Shae for a while and me for a while. It was a game full of tasks that you need to complete and gain experience to improve your character. But the control was really difficult for me and I died in the first fight with a monster.

We played for about half an hour and I needed to pee. I asked Shae where they have a toilet, and he replied that it was on the ground floor under the stairs. After I defecated, I thought for a while and didn't go back to Shae's room but went to the kitchen to see Ruby.

"Ohh, Adam... dinner isn't ready yet. It will be in a few minutes." she said when she saw me coming into the kitchen.

But that wasn't why I came here. I wanted to know something... something she could answer.

"Mrs. Sheldon... may I ask you something?"

"Sure Adam... but please call me Ruby. We're both adults." she said, and I smiled a little.

"Well Ruby, there's one thing I'd like to know, but unfortunately Shae can't or won't answer it for me."

She looked at me curiously.

I sighed. If Shae couldn't tell me, I was hoping maybe Ruby would be braver to tell me, but then again, Shae might be upset that she told me. But I wanted to risk it.

"I'd like to know... what happened to Shae. Why is he still so sad?"

"Adam..." she sighed. "Surely, you remember what happened last time you asked him about that?"

How could I forget.

"Sure... but that's why I won't ask him again, but I want to ask you. Please... please tell me what's bothering Shae so much. I just want to help him somehow, and I want him to be happy." I begged her.

She smiled a little at me.

"You seem like a good person, Adam. Okay... but what I'm about to tell you might change you. You might suddenly see Shae in a completely different way than you see him now."

I wanted to know anyway.

"Shae... he was in my class since first grade. He was my favorite student. He was always so smart, and he wasn't afraid to ask me for help when he didn't know what to do. Then... one day his mom died. He had to live with his father, and when he came to school... he wasn't that same happy boy I knew him to be." I was quiet and listened to her every word. "One day... and I remember it exactly, it was a Thursday... Shae came to my last class. He and his whole class were supposed to write a test. Everyone wrote it... except him. I've never known him like this. He didn't write that test and slept with his head on the table. When I asked him what was going on with him... he didn't want to talk to me, Adam." tears began to flow down her face, but she still had the courage to continue telling the story.

I was quiet and listened to her every word.

"One day... and I remember it exactly, it was a Thursday... Shae came to my last class. He and his whole class were supposed to write a test. Everyone wrote it... except him. I've never known him like this. He didn't write that test and slept with his head on the table. When I asked him what was going on with him... he didn't want to talk to me, Adam." tears began to flow down her face, but she still had the courage to continue telling the story.

"One day... and I remember it exactly, it was a Thursday... Shae came to my last class. He and his whole class were supposed to write a test. Everyone wrote it... except him. I've never known him like this. He didn't write that test and slept with his head on the table. When I asked him what was going on with him... he didn't want to talk to me, Adam." tears began to flow down her face, but she still had the courage to continue telling the story.

"I noticed his hands. He had purple bracelets on his skin. I wanted him to take off the sweater he was wearing, but he didn't want to. Then, when I talked him into it, I found out why." she said and fell silent for a moment, looking into the distance. "He had a purple red body Adam. Someone beated him hard. And... and... here on his chest, someone made some writing in his skin..." she said pointing to the spot. "I immediately took him to the hospital to see my husband, he is a doctor and surgeon, and on the way Shae told me who did all this to him..."

"Who was that?" I asked, trying to hold back tears.

"His... his father, Adam. Later, he even tried to kill him in the hospital. Luckily, one of the cops investigating Shae's case shot him. He's dead." I didn't know what to say to this.

"Would you believe it? His own father tortured him and tried to kill him. When we adopted Shae... he needed help. Medical and mental help. We went to a psychologist with him because he was so traumatized, and he still is... just not already to such an extent, but he is still not completely mentally well. He started having nightmares where his father chases him and always kills him in the end. It usually happened once every quarter of a year... then once a month and now... now it's... now it's slowly every day." she burst into tears and began to sob.

I hugged her and she cried on my shoulder. She was shorter than I. She was about the same height as Shae. Well, maybe a bit taller.

After she calmed down, I started crying. I couldn't hold back the tears.

I remembered now. The hospital shooting. It was on all the Detroit TV channels... so it was because of Shae? Now I know why he looked familiar the first day I saw him. He was also on TV, but only in the picture. So, this was what bothered that poor boy all the time. Oh my God! I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to hold him in my arms like back then in the car.

***

SHAE

Adam went to the bathroom. Meanwhile, I continued playing, but Adam was gone for a long time. 'Where is he?' I asked myself.

I got up from the computer and wanted to find out where he was, but suddenly the door opened and Adam was standing in it, panting as if he had run up the stairs. His face was red and full of tears. He ran to me, grabbed me and held me in his arms.

"Adam what...?" I said as he hugged me tightly.

"Shhh... please don't talk. Just stay. Please." I listened and hugged him too and rested my head on his chest. I didn't know what happened, but then he told me.

"I... I already know what happened to you. I already know why you're always so sad and what's bothering you." he sobbed

"How...?" I asked him as tears started streaming down my face and I wanted to push him away.

"No, please. Don't break again." he replied, holding me much tighter.

"Just know one thing, Shae. No matter what happens. I will always be there for you and I will always protect you. Even if I have to break my oath and use violence. What I learned now... no one else should ever learn. And now I know why you didn't want me to know about it. It's terrible... but please don't think about it anymore. I'll help you even if I don't know how... but I'll think of something." when he told me this... I couldn't hold back and started sobbing.

God... I... I loved him.

***

A few days later, I decided to change my look a bit.

I started wearing contacts. Adam liked it. He said I looked beautiful. He really told me that I look beautiful... Every day that I saw him, I looked at him and blushed.

Was this what I thought? Was this... love? And then came the day that completely changed our lives.

We were at school together as usual. But then when we went to his car... Adam started talking.

"Shae... I'm glad you invited me to your house last time. In return, I'd like to invite you to mine today." he said calmly and with a smile.

"Adam... I don't know." I replied shyly.

"Please don't worry. No one's home... well, except for the dogs and the guards, but they're out." he said, and I calmed down a bit.

"Okay..." I told him and smiled at him like a little girl.

So, we got into his car and drove to his house. On the way, he told me about his house and his parents. He told me that they could speak Italian and that it was funny when his parents argued with each other and yelled at each other in Italian so that their children wouldn't know what they were talking about. He was telling me something the whole way, and I was looking at him and smiling the whole time.

I wanted to tell him. I wanted to tell him how I felt about him... that I loved him. But before I could open my mouth, he said we are already here. He drove through the gate and parked at the house. Well, it was more of a palace.

"This is Bellini's estate. Welcome to my home." he told me with a smile, and we got out of the car.

We walked down the path to the door and Adam unlocked it and invited me inside.

Wow. This really was a palace. Marble columns, red carpets and very wide stairs. There were some doors and windows everywhere and the sun came in beautifully. This really was a palace. I looked around and admired the beauty. Adam was watching me and smiling. I was like in seventh heaven. I've never seen anything like it.

"I'm glad you like it here." he said when he saw my face.

He snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked at him. He was just calmly standing next to the door with a bag on his back and smiling at me.

"So... what are we going to do in this giant house?" I asked a little shyly.

"Well, we can go to the pool and swim a little." he replied.

"Adam... but it's autumn. It's too cold to swim." I said, confused and he just smiled more.

"We also have a pool in the house for when it's cold. It's in the basement."

"But I don't have a swimsuit." I answered.

"Don't worry. You can swim in your shorts. And then I'll lend you some of my dry ones."

"Well, okay. Shall we go?" I said.

"Great."

First, Adam led me to his room, where we put our bags. God... his room was huge too. He had so many wonderful things here. A huge bed. Lots of closets in which he probably only had shirts because he practically wore nothing else. Adam took off his bathing suit and led me to the basement. We walked down a long lit corridor, and then he opened the door. It was a room where there were benches and some lockers.

"We can change clothes here. There are a lot of lockers here because when father organizes some big parties, the guests usually want to take a dip in the pool."

"Okay..." I said and started to undress.

But then I realized I had a problem. I still had my brand and I didn't want Adam to see it.

"What's going on? You don't have to worry around me." he told me when he saw me that I was just standing there doing nothing.

"Adam...do you mind...if I keep my shirt on?" I asked him.

"Yeah... I probably know why and didn't even think about it. Feel free to stay in it if you don't want me to see it. I don't mind." he answered me and smiled.

***

ADAM

I knew why Shae wanted to keep the shirt on. His brand. He didn't want me to see it. I didn't know what he had written there, but it must been something terrible.

So, we both changed into bathing suits. That meant me in a swimsuit and Shae just stayed in his shorts and his t-shirt. When we were done, we went to the corridor again, and I led him a few meters away where there were large double doors.

I opened them and turned on the light, and couldn't stop smiling when I saw Shae's expression when he saw the room. All in white and a large turquoise pool in the middle. I didn't hesitate for a moment and ran and jumped into the pool. It splashed beautifully. I emerged soaking wet and wiped my eyes and face with my hands.

"So Shae... get in the water. Jump in there." I said as I saw him standing shyly in place.

He slowly walked around the pool towards me and then went to the edge and stuck the toes of his right foot into the water to test how warm the water was. He looked like a shy little girl, but that just brought another smile to my face.

I wanted to tease him a little, so I grabbed his legs and carefully lowered him into the water."

"Adam, NO!" he yelled and laughed at the same time as I grabbed his legs.

I dipped him in the water. When I let him go, I didn't realize that where I was standing, the pool was very deep and Shae didn't reach the bottom and completely submerged in the water. I immediately pulled him out, expecting him to be upset, but he wasn't. He laughed and splashed water on me.

"You asshole." he said as he laughed.

I splashed water on him too, and he splashed it back on me.

"You little brat... you will pay for this..." I said laughing.

Shae started to swim away and I followed him. We started chasing each other around the pool and splashing water on each other.

We chased for quite some time, and then I cornered him. He had nowhere to run, so I jumped on him and grabbed his hips.

"Gotcha!" I laughed and so did he.

Then we just looked at each other, and we smiled. He also grabbed my hips. The world slowly began to stop.

We looked into each other's eyes. Shae was standing on the step around the pool, so he was almost as tall as me.

Our faces slowly approached each other. We kept looking into each other's eyes and our breathing quickened.

Our mouths slowly opened, and our faces kept getting closer.

Then my brain's music player turned on "Cinema Paradiso - Love theme, by Ennio Morricone."

Our lips met and our mouths slowly connected.

The world stopped completely and a bolt of lightning shot through me. I felt like my heart stopped. We didn't move. We stood like statues, our arms around our hips and our eyes closed.

The only thing moving at that moment were our tongues. They gently rubbed against each other and circled each other.

This moment was so... intense, sweet, and full of emotion. It was my first kiss with a boy. I have never experienced this feeling. With no one... until now. Was I really gay? This kiss made it clear to me.

I had the feeling that this moment lasted forever. I didn't want it to end... but unfortunately, everything beautiful must come to an end.

Cupid flew over us and shot an arrow through the heart.

Our lips parted, but our eyes were still connected.

Tears of joy streamed down Shae's cheeks, and he slowly leaned back against me and rested his head on my shoulder.

"I love you, Adam." he said quietly and sobbed.

I hugged him and put my head on his shoulder. He loved me.

Someone snapped me out of my thoughts.

"WOF!"

I immediately turned my head and Connie was standing in the doorway looking at us.

"Hey... someone came to see us." I said quietly, giving Shae a little shake to look.

I motioned for Connie to come over. When she came to us, I reached out and stroked her head. Shae was looking at her too.

"Shae... this is Connie. Our purebred collie. Connie, this is Shae. Meet each other." I said and Shae stroked her too.

"Hi." he said with a smile as Connie licked his cheek.

Shae was so happy. I've never seen him like this. He was so beautiful and so... beautiful. I smiled and hugged him tightly from behind.

"Shae I don't know what's going through by me... but I really think I love you too. I wish we had more moments like this together." I said.

Shae didn't say anything, just nodded that he understood me and continued stroking Connie. I leaned down to the right side of his head, my mouth was at his ear and whispered.