Heaven On Earth Ch. 09

Only a few minutes later, I heard a loud clicking at the front door. Quickly, I yanked on the wet pants from the floor and entered the living room. The clicking noise persisted. I tiptoed to the door and realized that the sounds were coming from the outside and the handle was jiggling. I looked out the peephole and into the hall. The head was down, looking at the keyhole and fumbling with the lock, but the beautiful auburn hair was unmistakable. Jane.

For a fraction of a second, I considered opening the door, but Erica's warning about Jane clicked in my head. Why on Earth was Jane trying to get into the apartment without knocking? All of her stuff had been cleared out, and she hadn't called me to tell me that she was coming. In fact, there was no reason for her to come at all. The handle continued to jiggle as she tried her key, unaware of the changed locks. As I started to go grab the phone, she gave up and left. I thought about calling the police anyway, but I reasoned that it wouldn't have done anything considering she did have a key to the apartment. More importantly, the police had the key that Laura had used to get in as evidence, but Jane had another key. Whatever it was about, it certainly made me more suspicious of Jane.

I walked back into the bedroom where Brian was still sleeping. I had never realized how empty I felt before I met him. He was rolled over on his stomach, and I took a seat next to him. I ran my hands up and down his smooth back, stopping at the crack of his ass and moving back up to his shoulder blades. Thinking about Jane gave me a twinge of fear that I was going to lose him. I would have given up anything to keep him with me. I bent down and kissed his shoulder. I knew that I could be childish, selfish, and spoiled; I was young despite what I wanted to think. But somehow I had done something to deserve a lover like him. We had a quick and strong connection, based on the mutual understanding that we both needed stability and love in our lives. Some people tried for years to have what we had in a month. How lucky could I possibly be?

I let the tears roll down my face. Brian stirred beneath my fingertips. The way he blinked and opened his eyes made me want to start kissing him all over again. He rolled over and smiled warmly at me.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi, yourself. What's wrong, babe? Why are you crying?"

"I was just thinking about us and how lucky I am to have you."

"Come here," he said as he pulled me in for a long kiss. It wasn't rough or rushed; he kissed me with meaning, with the same kind of longing that I had for him. "I feel the same way," he said. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not long. You only dozed off for about fifteen minutes. Actually, we had a visitor while you were sleeping."

"Who?"

"Jane."

He immediately sat straight up. "Is she still here?"

"No, she never came in. She was trying to get into the apartment with her old key."

Brian cocked one eyebrow at me. "Well, that's more than a little odd. I wonder why she would try to come in uninvited."

"I have no idea, but we should be on our guard. I'm beginning to think that Erica was right in saying that Jane had some part in Laura's attack."

Brian thought about this for a moment. "Well, there's nothing we can do or really say about it right now. In the meantime, we should have dinner."

"Are you always hungry?" I joked.

"No, but I'd say we had a pretty intense workout that gave me an appetite. How about we go down to my apartment and I can make dinner for us?"

"Sounds good to me."

Rather than let him go downstairs in his still wet clothes. I took him to my room and tossed him a couple of things to put on. I know we weren't going far, but it would be pretty uncomfortable to walk around in his clothes. Of course, I wouldn't have minded if he walked around naked, but something told me that there would be a slight problem with that. Brian was virtually the same height as me, only a little taller and a little more muscular, so I deliberately tossed him some of my smaller clothes. He put them on and gave me an unamused smirk when he realized how tight they were.

"I think you look great," I said.

"You would."

I chuckled to myself as I put on some drier clothes. He snuck up behind me as I was fishing through the drawers and started tickling me. I regretted the day he found out that I was ticklish, but there wasn't much I could do to stop him anyway. I fell into his attack and collapsed in a fit of laughter in his arms.

"Absolutely evil, that's what you are," I gasped out.

He cackled as we headed downstairs with him walking in front of me so that I could keep my eyes on him. Once in the apartment and in the kitchen, I started pulling out food, insisting that I help with dinner. Brian gave me a fearful look, but he decided to let me do it anyway. He pulled out some noodles and sauce for making lasagna. My job was to make sure the meat didn't burn and Brian would take care of the seasoning. He steamed some vegetables while I unceremoniously dumped some rolls into a pan and popped them in the oven. As "we" were finishing up the preparation, Brian said that he was going to his room to change into some "real clothes."

"But, Bri, your ass looks so hot in those pants."

He shot me a glare as he walked towards the bedroom. He was nearly bursting out of the jeans I gave him. He returned a few minutes later with a black book and was flipping through the pages.

"Thinking about throwing me away for some old flings?" I asked.

"No, it's my address book. I was going to give you the name of the therapist my family knows. Here she is. Kennedy Blaine." He scribbled down her name and number on one of the back pages of the book and ripped it out.

I took it from him without any discussion if only to avoid another argument like the one we had earlier. We sat down to a wonderful dinner, and the best part was that I only burned the bottoms of the rolls. Conversation with Brian was so easy that we could sit down and talk for hours. Neither of us realized that two hours had passed since we sat down when there was a knock on the door.

Brian got up to answer the door. I began to clear the table of the dishes. It was so late that it didn't take a psychic to know who it was. Erica walked into the apartment and gave it a once over.

"Is there a reason why you haven't packed up your stuff?" she asked Brian with her hands held firmly on her hips.

"We're getting to it," he replied, falsely hurt by her scolding.

"I'm sure you are," she rolled her eyes.

I sat back in the kitchen laughing at them both. The interaction between Brian and Erica was quite amusing. They fought as though they had grown up together. It made me think of the way Jane and I used to be. I truly missed the amount of time that we used to spend together. It's not easy losing your best friend, and even though having Brian meant a lot to me, it didn't feel right to replace Jane's role in my life.

I must have been very lost in thought because I almost dropped the plate I was holding when Erica came up next to me and kissed my cheek. She didn't seem to notice that I was startled.

"How are ya, hun? You look a little tired."

"I'm fine," I replied.

"Well, why don't you sit on the couch for a bit, and I'll finish up here, babe," Brian said.

I didn't really understand the sudden concern from the two of them. It was a little late, but I felt fine. Not wanting to protest, I plopped down on the sofa and turned on the TV. Brian and Erica began talking about something in the kitchen, but as long as I didn't try to listen to them, I couldn't hear them over the sounds of Comedy Central.

Ten minutes later, they came and sat down on either side of me on the couch. Brian got up a few seconds later and went to the bathroom.

"Do you mind if we watch somethin' else, Evan? I watched Comedy Central while I was sick, so I'm a little tired of it," said Erica.

I started feeling around the couch for the remote. I reached between the cushions and felt something hard and pulled it out. It wasn't the remote. It was a video tape labeled, "For Evan."

Erica started gushing over how sweet it was for Brian to make a tape for me. I smiled to myself, basking in the warmth of new love. "I love you, too, Bri! Thanks!" I called.

"For what?" came the reply.

"Not to ruin your moment, sugah, but I wanna watch it! Put it on!"

I laughed at Erica's zeal as I pushed the tape into the VCR. There were a few moments of blue tape before we saw what was very obviously a homemade film. Brian was sitting on the bed in his room as the camera shot him straight on. The sound quality was not very good, so it was difficult to identify the whine of the camera man's voice.

"So why are you making this video?"

"Because I've found the man that I want to spend my life with. I love him more than anything else," Brian said.

"And does he know you love him?"

"I know he does. I tell him I think about him all the time and that no one else is ever going to be as good for me as he is."

"And does he love you?"

"I sure hope so."

Brian came back out of the bathroom.

"What are you watching?" he asked.

Erica quickly shushed him, waving wildly at him. She loved the mushy stuff. Brian made an audible gasp as he looked at the video. He was almost to the VCR when a naked Noah stepped out from behind the camera.

"You're damn right I love you." He pushed Brian back on the bed and started kissing him right as Brian was able to eject the tape.

We all stayed silent for a moment. Brian looked down at the tape, Erica closed her eyes, and I stared at Brian. Brian was the first one to speak.

"Erica, would you mind leaving for a bit?"

"Excuse me? After that horrible display, you expect me to—"

"Erica, go!" he said, with an unfamiliar harshness. I had never heard him speak to her like that.

She stood up and left the apartment without so much as another word or even a look back at us. Brian looked at me next.

"Where did you get this?" he almost whispered.

I was holding back tears. "It was in the couch. It said it was for me, so I thought you left it there for me."

He set the tape on top of the VCR and crossed the room to sit next to me. He reached over and tilted my chin so that I directly faced him. "I thought I meant those words when I said them to him, but there was always some doubt in my mind. I don't have any doubts with you, please believe that."

"I do, Bri. I'm not mad, but it stings a bit, you know?"

He pulled me close to him and kissed my scarred cheek before he gently began to rock me in his arms. "I don't know how on Earth that tape got here."

"I think I can make a pretty good guess, Bri."

"But how? Noah hasn't been inside my apartment except for the one time when you were here. All the other times I've met him at the door or the place where we were going."

I winced at the words, "all the other times," but managed to keep a straight face. "No one else has a way to get into your apartment, right?"

"No, no one. Noah never lived with me, and I still have Chris' key."

"Or do you?"

"What are you getting at, Evan?"

"He's obsessed with you Brian. Maybe he took Chris' key and made a copy so that he would have a way into your apartment."

"That seems a little extreme for him to do that without him telling me."

"If my ex-girlfriend's sister can be a raving psycho-rapist, then your ex-boyfriend that left a sex tape of you and him for me to see can copy a key."

"I'd rather not think about it too hard."

Perhaps at one point in my life, I would have argued to continue talking and do something about Noah, but having Brian around took the fight out of me. He snuggled up next to me and lay there for a few minutes.

"Maybe if there's someone getting into my apartment, we should go back upstairs."

"Maybe if there's someone trying to get in, we should stay here and scare whomever it is."

"We don't know who or what's going on. It could be dangerous."

"Alright," I said, "but check one thing before we leave."

"What's that?"

"Grab your extra key."

He stood up and went into the kitchen. I listened to him pull out a couple of drawers before he came back to the couch.

"It's gone," he said.

"Are you sure you didn't put it somewhere else?" I asked.

"No, I've never had to use it," a dark look came over his face.

"Come on," I said. We walked out of the apartment and he locked the door, not that either of us felt any more secure with it locked.

Once we were back in our apartment, Brian hugged me tightly. After a little while, I pulled away and kissed his cheek.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that," he said.

"It's really okay. But I have to ask you..."

"What else is on the tape?"

I silently nodded. He seemed to look straight through me, staring at me at me for a minute or so before he exhaled deeply. "Let's get ready for bed, babe," he said quietly.

He disappeared into the bedroom while I locked the door and turned on the alarm system. I could hear the shower running as I walked into the bathroom. Brian's clothes were in a small pile outside of the door, and I followed suit and stepped in with him. There was nothing overly sexual about the shower; it was simply our loving caresses and strokes. Brian kept hugging me a lot, burying his head in the space between my neck and my shoulder. I had a feeling that there was something more on that tape other than ordinary sex between Brian and Noah.

***

The two of us laid in the second bedroom. Brian had fallen asleep with his head on my chest. I had my left arm lightly draped around him, but despite how relaxing it was, I couldn't sleep. Brian was not easily shaken by anything, but seeing that video had thrown him for a loop. It had been nearly an hour since Brian went to sleep, and my eyes were wide open, gazing at the ceiling.

"You're not sleeping," he murmured.

I shifted my arm to let him sit up. "No, I'm not."

"You're still thinking about the video, aren't you?"

"Yea, Brian, I am. You're beginning to worry me."

He took another one of those deep sighs. "Evan, I love you more than anything else. What I'm about to tell you, you're only the second person to hear it. And no, the first was not Erica. I doubt that I'll ever tell her."

Now he had my undivided attention and then some. "Who was it? Noah?"

I could see him shake his head in the dim glow of the street lights. "No, Evan, it was my therapist, Kennedy Blaine."

I waited for him to continue. Whatever it was that was bothering him, he was having an intensely hard time saying it.

"I really want you to talk to her because I know something of what you're going through right now. I love you so much, baby; I don't want you to hurt like this. I don't want you to feel the emotional pain of abuse."

"I love you, too, Bri, but I don't understand what you're trying to tell me. He moved a little closer to me, and in the light, I could see the tear streaks down his face.

"Noah and I had an abusive relationship."