The Long Road Ch. 01

"Well, are you ready?" He asked.

"Ready for what" Kyle answered his question with a question.

"Did you forget we were going to Alternate Universe Family Games tonight for Killer Bunnies? We thought we'd go early and grab a bite to eat first.

"Thanks, but I'm really not up to it."

"Kyle, you haven't set foot out of this house in weeks except to go to work and the gallery. Don't you think it's time you rejoined the human race?" When he didn't respond, Andy motioned to Tommy who shut off the car, got out and walked up the sidewalk. "He's decided not to go." Andy told his lover.

"Not an option. You grab one arm and leg, I'll grab the other and we'll drag his ass there if we have to." He looked at Andy, and then they both grabbed Kyle by the arms and legs before he even realized what was happening and started carrying him to the car.

"Guys, put me down, please. I'm really not up to it."

"We agreed, remember? You need to get out of that house. You can't stay holed up forever."

"I get out."

"Going to work or the art gallery is not getting out. You need to start having some fun again." He caught the look in Kyle's eyes. "Okay, what are you afraid of?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you hiding? What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not hiding."

Andy decided that now would be a good time to blast him. "Oh, really, is that why you never call us to go out? Every time we call you to ask to go somewhere with us you don't return our calls. I'm beginning to think that you don't want anything more to do with us, that our friendship is gone. We've done our absolute best to be there for you and this is how you repay us? By turning your back on us? Let's go, Tommy. We can still have fun." He stormed off towards the car. Tommy just shrugged his shoulders and followed Andy.

Kyle stood there, stunned by Andy's words. Just as Tommy started to pull away from the curb, he ran after them. "GUYS WAIT" He yelled. Tommy pulled up to the curb. "You guys are right. I've been a total self-absorbed ass and I'm sorry. I'm just not sure how much fun I'd be."

"There's one way to find out. Go lock up and get in.

Kyle ran back, locked to door and climbed into the back seat of Tommy's car. "So where are we going?"

"We're treating you to Ruby Tuesday's. We know how much you love their salad bar."

"Yeah, I do. Whenever they see me coming, they close it down. I've been known to do serious damage to it."

"We'll just have to make sure they don't have the chance to."

"Do we have time? You know how crowded that place can get on a Saturday night."

"Relax. I called the store and the game doesn't start until seven, and I made reservations.

After a wonderful dinner in which Kyle went back to the salad bar three times, the arrived at their destination for the evening.

"Hi, Welcome to Alternate Universe Family Games. How can I help you guys?"

"We're here for the Killer Bunnies game."

"Cool. You're a little early. It doesn't start for another half hour, but you're welcome to hang out. How long have you been playing Bunnies?"

"Actually," Kyle said, "we never have. I got a set for my birthday and I've studied the rules, but they're a little confusing."

"Just the starter set, or did you read the rules for all of the expansions as well?"

"All of them." Kyle answered.

"Did you read them in order?"

"There's an order?"

"Ah, that's why you're confused. If you don't read them in the right order, it can get confusing. KATIE!" the store manager yelled.

A tall woman came up to the counter. "Yes Zack?"

"These three gentlemen are here for Bunnies tonight."

"Cool! Welcome. I'm Katie. I'm a representative of the publisher and I will be hosting the event tonight." The boys took turns introducing themselves to the store owner.

Zack reached under the counter and withdrew a box, handing it to Katie. "Can you take them into the back room and give them a quick rundown on how to play? They've read all of the instructions, but not in the proper order so they're a little confused."

Katie glanced at the time. "Sure. We've got plenty of time for a quick lesson. Guys want to come with me?" She led them into the back room and quickly taught them how to play. Shortly there after, Kyle was surprised to hear a familiar voice behind him.

"Hey Mister Matthews, What brings you here?"

"Hello Sherry, Jamie." He greeted two of his students. "I've heard you guys talk about Killer Bunnies so much, my friends and I decided to check it out. This is Tommy and Andy. Guys, these are two of my students, Sherry and Jamie." Handshakes followed.

As he took a seat, Jamie asked them "So what do you think of the game, Mister Matthews?"

"At school it's Mister Matthews. Here it's Kyle. I've only played a quick learning game, but it seems pretty awesome." He gave them a genuine smile, the first one anyone had seen in a long time. As the evening progressed, Kyle came out of his shell more and more, and really enjoyed himself. By the end of the evening, he was so hooked on the game that he became a regular fixture there on Saturday nights, and eventually started hosting parties for his friends and family on Friday nights. Tommy and Andy had both become equally hooked on it and bought a complete set for themselves.

At home later that night, as they performed their nightly rituals, Tommy gazed upon Andy with a bemused look. "Who'd have thought a card game would have brought Kyle out of his funk?"

"Yeah, who'da thunk it." Andy replied, quoting Erica Eleniak as Ellie May Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies movie.

"Thank God it did. It's nice to have him back." He said as they crawled into bed and snuggled up to each other. "Good night, baby."

"Good night."

Without even thinking about it, in unison they both said goodnight to Kyle.

Chapter 10

He felt weak. He couldn't move his arms or legs very much. His head, chest, and right shoulder hurt like hell. He was surrounded by strange voices. Slowly and with a great deal of effort he was able to open his eyes.

"Well, back among the living I see. You gave us quite a scare. We almost lost you, but you'll be okay now." The nurse said.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You're at County General Hospital." A doctor said, coming into the room. "You were attacked and stabbed several times. You lost almost a quarter of your total blood volume. Fortunately your blood type is the most common of all, and we had an ample supply on hand."

An unreadable look crossed Jay's face as he digested that information. "Why am I restrained?"

"The restraints are in place to keep you from moving around too much and tearing open all of the stitches, which are over two-hundred. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"Why you were wandering alone in that particular section of the park in the middle of the night?"

"I don't know. I guess I don't really care what happens to me."

"Why's that?"

"I've lost everything. I have nothing left."

"Define everything."

"I've lost my job, my security clearance, my home, and most importantly, my boyfriend."

Without further prompting, Jay told the doctor about the phone call, the threats, the blackmail, everything. Nothing was left out.

"Hmm...I see. It is easy to understand why he misinterpreted what he saw. Why didn't you call the police?"

"Doctor...."

"Curtis."

"Doctor Curtis, I'm a field agent for the FBI. If I had called the police, they would have laughed at the FBI agent who can't protect himself and his boyfriend from the bad guys. Not only would they not have helped, but they would have had a field day with it."

"I see. So, does you boyfriend know where you are?"

"No."

"Would you like me to get in contact with him?"

"It would be a waste of time. He doesn't want anything more to do with me."

"I can see why you would think that. Put yourself in his shoes. How would you react if you came home and found your lover having sex with another man?"

"I would probably react the same way, but after I calmed down I would have wanted an explanation. I wouldn't have thrown him out until I had one."

"Everyone reacts differently to the same situations. However, there were mitigating circumstances he needs to know about. Do you have any proof to back up what you're saying?"

"No, but I will never forget his face."

"What about the FBI? Would they help?"

"I doubt it. My supervisor is extremely homophobic. He wouldn't do anything but fire me. Once he finds out that I'm gay, he'll have my security clearance revoked. You can't even mop the floors without a clearance. That would be the end of my career in law enforcement."

"Why's that?"

"Once my security clearance was revoked, not even the local yokels would hire me. True or not, the implications are that I could not be trusted."

"So what do you intend to do?"

"There's nothing I can do. My life is totally over."

"Why do you say that?"

"Like I said earlier, I've lost my job, my home and my boyfriend."

"Well, I probably can't do anything to help with the job, but I think I can help in the other areas. I take it the two of you were living together?"

"Yes we were."

"Is he out?"

"Yes. He's totally out."

"So it probably wouldn't be a problem for me to call him."

"Why? So you can try to convince us that we're sick and need help to be cured of our homosexuality?" Jay responded sarcastically.

"You need help, but not for the reasons you think. You need help to deal with what has happened, get your life back on track, and hopefully get back together with your boyfriend, if that's what you want. You owe it to the both of you." Doctor Curtis put as much compassion as he could into the last statement.

"You mean you don't think we're sick or diseased?"

"No, I don't. Homosexuality has been determined by the American Psychiatrists Association to be a biological condition, not a choice, disease, or mental disorder. What is your boyfriend's name?"

"Kyle. Kyle Matthews. His number is 555-3485. If you talk with him, please tell him that I love him more than life itself and I'm so very sorry and I want to see him so I can explain why I did what I did."

"Okay." The doctor looked at his watch. "I'll check in with you later."