Field of Blooms: The Beginning Ch. 05

"That's not true at all! He has never made me feel that way!"

"If not yet, he will once enough time goes by. Wake the fuck up Austin and see what is staring you right in the face! He is home safe and warm while you are sitting here freezing and fighting for your life. If he cared about you at all he would still make sure you're okay."

"So how is he not suffering in the cold and dark too? Why are you saying these things to me?"Austin replied as he started to tear up.

"First off, you think a family with that much money doesn't have a top of the line generator all setup for when the power goes out? Give me a break! Besides, I've only spoken the truth and deep down inside you know I am right."

Austin sat there in a sullen silence. He hated the fact that everything Tyler said was obviously on point; besides, the two of them had known each other since childhood. If Eric really did care and love him, wouldn't he have at least tried to call and check up on him? Austin started to think back on all the times they had fought and had no choice but to be honest with himself about how over the top Eric would act. Was he just too blinded by the nice things he had done for him to really see the bigger picture? Tyler was truly the first person to point these things out and it was hitting him harder than he could have ever have imagined. Austin could feel his emotions building up and he desperately wanted to avoid having an episode in front of Tyler.

"I think we should try and get some sleep." Austin said as he cleared his throat and got up to put more wood in the stove.

Tyler didn't say anything but just got up and laid down on the couch. Austin made himself a bed of blankets on the floor and settled down hoping he could at least nap. The crackling of the fire and the howling wind was able to calm his mind enough so that he finally drifted off to sleep.

By the next morning, the storm had finally moved on after having dumped over thirty-five inches of snow. The sound of Tyler messing with the wood stove woke Austin with a start.

"Is everything okay?" Austin asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah, just wanted to put more wood on." Tyler threw two more logs in. "The storm is finally over."

Austin got up and looked out the front window. "I see the plows already made it down the road at some point."

"I heard them early this morning, no clue how you managed to sleep through the noise. The road looks like it might be manageable to drive on."

"How's your leg doing?" Austin asked as he sat on the couch.

Tyler pulled his underwear up, "It looks okay honestly. Thanks for doing that for me."

"You're welcome." Austin glanced at Tyler's leg.

Tyler gave him a coy smile, "Look, I called my mom and she said they have power at the house and that you are more than welcome to come stay there."

"How did you call her?" Austin was confused since the phones weren't working.

"My cell phone, it was turned it off to save the battery." Tyler brought it out of his pocket and waved it around.

"You really wouldn't mind if I came over?" Admittedly stunned by the offer, Austin honestly did want to get out of the house to someplace there was light and heat.

"I'm not just going to leave you here. Who knows how long until they can get the power back on; besides, I'm sure you want to get a shower and some chow."

Austin stomach, almost on cue, rumbled. "I really do. I have to clean off the car and try to shovel the driveway first though."

"I'll help so we can get out of here faster." Tyler stood up and folded his blanket.

"That'd be great, just let me know if your leg starts hurting. You know, I mean too much."

The two of them got dressed and headed outside to start the task of digging out. Even with the two of them working it took over four hours, particularly with Tyler's limp in the mix, to get the car cleaned off and enough snow shoveled to get to the road. Before going Austin left his parents a note, in the kitchen, letting them know where he was and that he was okay. He locked up the house and got in his car. The journey to Tyler's house was extremely slow. With his car being rear wheel drive, it didn't take much for the tires to lose traction and start to spin. After forty-five minutes they finally arrived at Tyler's house. When they walked in, Tyler's mom gave them both a big hug.

"You boys must be so hungry!" She said as she ushered them into the kitchen. "And this must be Austin?"

"Hello ma'am." Austin said politely. "Thank you for inviting me over."

"Wow, he has manners. Your other friends could learn from him." Mrs. Stetser said giving Austin another hug. "Come on, you both need to eat. There is plenty of food so, please don't be shy."

After three days of being trapped in his house with little to eat, Austin was beyond the point of being shy. He graciously ate three big plates of food before he finally felt full. The thing he wanted next was a nice hot shower but he felt awkward asking. Thankfully, Tyler's mom was already one step ahead.

"Austin, now that you have finished eating, why don't you go and take a nice long. hot shower in Tyler's room?" She offered as she started to clean up.

"Thank you very much."

"Tyler can show you where it's at and bring you some fresh towels."

"Thank you, Mrs. Stetser that would be great!" Austin didn't hesitate and started to followed Tyler to his bedroom.

"Oh Austin," Mrs. Stetson called out.

"Yes ma'am?" Austin turned in response.

"My son told me what a fine job you did taking care of him. Thank you, Austin that was very kind of you." Mrs. Stetson walked over and gently touched Austin's arm. Now you go enjoy a nice long, hot shower.

Once finally in the privacy of Tyler's bathroom, Austin stripped quickly as the water was heating up. Even though he had a hot meal his core was still frozen. Standing under the hot stream his body started to relax and warm up. After twenty-minutes he finally felt like his entire mass, from head to toe, had fully returned to a normal temperature. He toweled off and changed into the clothes that Tyler had left out for him. After he got dressed, he walked back into Tyler's room and started looking for his meds in his bag. A feeling of anxiety washed over him as he realized that he forgot them at home and, worse yet, he had already missed his morning dose. He knew he had no choice but to go back and get them. Just then Tyler walked into the room and placed his hand on Austin's ass giving it a squeeze, sending chills down his spine.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a fun night." Tyler said with a sly grin.

Austin's stomach tossed as he pulled back, "I have to go back to my house."

"Why do you have to go back there?"

"Because I forgot my meds and I can't miss another dose."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you." Tyler's grin widened as he rubbed his cock.

Austin quickly hurried downstairs, grabbed his keys and headed out the door. On the way home he was glad that the weather had cleared and the roads weren't as bad. He thought about how Tyler had just grabbed his butt then his own crotch in front of him and suddenly realized that last night wasn't a fluke. It dawned on him that it must have all been planned and Austin's stomach turned again and he suddenly felt nauseous. As he pulled into his driveway, he finally felt safe. Once inside, Austin hastily began rummaging around the living room looking for his meds. Suddenly, he heard a car door shut. Thinking it was his parents; he stopped what he was doing and went to the back door. To his surprise, he saw Eric standing there.

"What are you doing here?" Austin asked.

"I came to check on you since every time I tried to call it went right to voicemail."

"Oh, I'm so sorry; my phone must have died at some point in the night." Austin said sarcastically.

Eric responded, clearly irritated, "There is no need for the attitude, Austin."

"Really Eric? You left me out in the woods to fend for myself. I have been stuck in this house for days without power, so excuse me if I'm not that happy to see you." Austin walked back into the house with Eric following closely behind him.

But when they walked into the living room Eric noticed the extra blankets and the two plates still sitting out. "You were here alone?"

"Yes, I was."

"Really? Then whose plate is that?"

Before Austin had a chance to say anything his cell phone went off.

"I thought you said your phone was dead?" Eric asked with an accusatory tone as he looked at Austin.

"It was. I need to go change." Austin started to walk upstairs.

"Don't walk away from me!"

Austin turned his back on him and went into his room.

"Are you seriously going to ignore me like that?!" Eric yelled as he walked into Austin's room.

"I didn't ignore you. I answered your question." Austin said as he took off his pants.

"What in the fuck are you wearing?!" Eric pointed to his underwear.

Austin suddenly realizing that he was wearing Tyler's boxers quickly came up with a lie, "They are just my underwear."

"No, the fuck they are not. You only wear tight fitting underwear and you hate the color green!"

"Oh my god Eric, they are an old pair!"

"Bullshit Austin, bull fucking shit!" Eric yelled.

"Why the fuck, do you all of a sudden care?! You already called me a slut on Saturday when you found out about me and James."

Just then a text tone came across Austin's phone but Eric grabbed it before Austin had a chance to. Austin watched in fear as Eric's eyes grew wide with rage.

"Who the fuck is this?" Eric asked in a chillingly calm voice. "And why are they asking how much longer you're going to be?! You just said you had been home alone!"

Austin hadn't saved Tyler's number in his phone and Eric was to mad to recognize it, but that didn't stop Eric from snapping.

"Eric wait, I can explain." Austin was trying to defuse the bomb that was about to go off.

Eric's eyes flashed red as he threw the cell phone against the wall and charged Austin. He grabbed him by the throat and slammed Austin against the wall. Hitting hard, the resounding thud rang through Austin's head filling his vision with stars.

Eric gripped harder, "Who the fuck is that?!"

Austin clawed at Eric's hands trying to get some air as he gasped, "Eric please, I can't breathe."

Eric threw Austin onto the bed and got on top of him, "I come here to see extra plates and blankets, and then I see you are wearing someone else's underwear! How fucking stupid do you think I am?"

Austin was trying with all of his strength to get Eric off of him, but he was much bigger and a lot stronger. Then, Eric's eyes locked onto something on Austin's neck, something that Austin didn't even know was there, a hickey. Eric completely lost control.

"You fucking dirty slut! After everything I have done for you, this is how you repay me?!"

"Eric please don't!"

But it was too late, Eric had already past the point of no return. He swung and hit Austin hard in the face. Blood starting pouring out of Austin's nose as Eric continued his attack. Austin tried to fight off the blows but Eric was too powerful for him. He mustered all his strength so he could roll to the side. With that, he was finally able to push Eric off of him. Though it was not Austin's intent, Eric went crashing into the desk causing everything to go flying.

In that split-second Austin was able to get off the bed and run to the door but Eric was right back on top of him before he could get it open. Eric looked completely crazed as he body-slammed Austin knocking the wind out of him. Exhausted, sore and feeling too battered to steady himself; Austin sunk to the floor shaking and gasping for air. Eric reached down and pulled Austin onto his feet before throwing him onto the bed.

"This is what you're going to do; you are going to take this dick like the slut you are so you will never forget me!" Eric said as he yanked Austin's underwear off.

He spit in his hand before placing his cock at Austin's entrance, "I'd relax if I were you."

Before Austin could take another breath, Eric shoved himself in.

"I want you to always remember this dick because you will never have it again." Eric huffed as he pumped even harder.

It didn't take long for him to unleash his load deep inside of Austin.

Eric got off the bed and stood next to Austin, "I'm done with you. You are exactly what everyone has ever said about you, nothing more than poor white trash!"

Austin was left on the bed still struggling to catch his breath. Tears rolled from his eyes as he laid there, his head was spinning, face pounding and his ass was burning. He looked over at his cell phone; thinking it was broken, he couldn't even call for help. Given the house still was without power he knew staying there was not an option but he didn't know where he could go. Reluctantly, he decided to go back to Tyler's.

He was able to pull himself up into a sitting position on the bed and slip on a pair of sweatpants. His head was spinning as he slowly stood up. Finally, at least somewhat steady, he threw a change of clothes into his back pack along with his cell phone, charger and headed for the bathroom before leaving.

The somber image looking back at him in the mirror brought on sudden shivers and his eyes welled again in tears. He had to clean the blood off his face, as best he could with no running water,and change his shirt before going anywhere. With everything else, Eric actually called him white trash which stung worse than any strike ever could. Tyler had warned him about Eric and the whole class thing. Had it not been visible before or did Austin just refuse to see it? Austin's heart sunk thinking of the huge altercation. He loved Eric but knew this was wrong in so many ways. They'd never had a fight this bad and he was now convinced he'd lost Eric for good.

Walking out to his car, Austin felt shame enveloping him, the shame of what had just happened and for not seeing Eric for who he apparently was before this. He hated the idea of returning to Tyler's but he also didn't feel safe staying in his own home. After all, what if Eric decided to return?

As Austin pulled up Tyler's driveway his heart began to race as he knew he was going to have to explain the marks on his face. The house looked a little dark so maybe he could just sneak in and not be seen by anyone. Unfortunately, Tyler and his mom were sitting in the living room when Austin walked in.

"Austin, what happened to you?!" Mrs. Stetser rushed over to him noticing the dried blood around his nose.

"I slipped on some ice and fell." Austin didn't want to offer more.

"Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?" She asked looking over his face.

"No thank you ma'am, it should be okay." Austin said, not meeting her gaze.

"Tyler, take Austin up to your bathroom and help him get cleaned up. I'll be up in a few minutes to check on him." Mrs. Stetser said, obviously concerned. "Oh Austin, which would you prefer Ibuprofen or Naproxen. I can tell you're in pain but don't want to risk giving you something you might be allergic to."

Austin grimaced as he responded gratefully. "I don't have any drug allergies so either would be fine."

Tyler could tell that Austin was lying through his teeth and the moment they got into his bathroom he wasted no time asking questions.

"So, you slipped on some ice, huh? It must have been pretty pissed off at you to beat your face up like that." Tyler raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I did." Was all Austin wanted to answer while knowing Tyler wasn't going to let up.

"You know, I tried calling and texting you a few times. Funny thing, the first time it rang but then when I tried to call a little later it went right to voicemail." Tyler said as he watched Austin start to clean the rest of the dried blood off.

"Can I please lay down? I'm not feeling too good." Austin asked as he finished up.

"Fine, but you're going to tell me what happened." Tyler walked over and sat on the bed. "Let me take a wild guess, Eric showed up?"

Austin was too exhausted to argue, everything just came spilling out. "Yes, he did. He saw the extra plates and when I was changing, he saw your boxers and snapped."

"My boxers? He knows they are mine?"

"No, I told him they were an old pair of mine, he obviously didn't believe me. It didn't help that he saw the hickey you left on my neck!"

"Oh."

"That's all you have to say?"

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry for doing something that we both wanted to do? Don't try and act like you were innocent in all this, Austin. I didn't force you to suck me off."

That last sentence hit Austin like a bolt of lightning. Tyler was right; he knew that he wanted to do it as much as Tyler did.

"This is the guy that you say loves you? Look at yourself in the mirror and then tell me he really does love you!" Tyler pointed to the mirror across the room.

"I cheated on him! I deserve what he did to me!"

"Wow, you can't possibly be that dense! You told me that he had broken up with you before he left you alone in the woods; so technically no, you didn't cheat on him. Even if you had, do you really think that beating the shit out of you is okay? Look at yourself, bloody nose, busted lip, blood shot eyes, and welts on your face. Yeah Austin, he sounds like a real winner!"

Just then a knock came at the door and Mrs. Stetser walked in. "Hey Austin have you called your parents to let them know where you are at?"

"No ma'am, I haven't." Austin reached in his bag and pulled out the shattered remains of his phone, "I haven't tried turning it on but am guessing it broke when I slipped."

"Well try plugging it in so it can fully charge and then see what happens. A lot of times it's just a cracked screen." Mrs. Stetser offered.

Tyler looked at the phone then at Austin and just shook his head, "Here, you can use mine."

Austin took it and dialed his parent's number as he stepped into Tyler's bathroom and closed the door. They were surprised to see him calling from a different number but were relieved to hear that he was safe. He explained to them that the house had lost power so, he was going to be staying at the Stetser's. They asked why he wasn't going to stay at Eric's but he told them that he didn't feel comfortable staying there with the way Eric's mom treated him, which wasn't a total lie.

"Austin, who is this Tyler kid? We've never heard you talk about him before." Mr. Montgomery questioned.

"He's a guy from school." Austin didn't want to give away too much information.

"Are you sure you're going to be safe there? We can try and come get you and bring you back to the hotel with us."

"No, I'll be fine dad, I promise." Austin wanted to end the conversation before more questions were asked. "Hey I better go so I can give Tyler back his phone."

"Okay son. If you need anything call us. We should be home once everything with the power is back to normal."

"Okay, I love you guys."

"We love you too son."

Austin hung up and went back out to hand Tyler his phone. When Austin handed the phone to him, Tyler noticed the bruises starting to show on Austin's wrists.

"What the fuck are those?!" He pointed to them. As Tyler began to look over Austin a little closer, he spotted marks around his neck as well. "What else did he fucking do to you?!"

"I really just want to sleep Tyler." Austin said, looking completely defeated.

"Austin answer me!" Tyler's tone was stern and harsher than intended.

"He fucked me, okay?! Is that what you want to hear?! He fucked me one last time so I'd never forget him! Now please, I just want to sleep." Austin pleaded.

"Fine get some rest. If you need anything let me know." Tyler responded realizing Austin was in no conditionto talk.