Gay

Keywords: The, My, 22, Name, You, Ch., Say, Way,

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Jamie placed one more box on top of the stack in the back of the U-haul and moved aside so Ash could close the door. "Is that everything?"

"Yep. That was the last box." Jamie wiped the sweat out of his eyes, not that it did any good. The late August sun was relentless, especially at three o"clock in the afternoon. He couldn"t wait to get back inside the air-conditioned apartment. But first, thanks were in order. "I appreciate your coming over here and helping me load all this up, man. Dillon wanted me to wait until he got back, but I hate packing. I figure it"s better just to get it over with." When Ash nodded his agreement, Jamie said, "I still can"t believe your dad is doing this. I can"t believe he bought and furnished a house near Garman just so the three of us wouldn"t have to live in the dorms."

Ash grinned and shrugged back into the t-shirt he"d shed while they were loading the truck. "I can. You know my dad, Jamie. He"s still pissed that you wouldn"t keep that money Ben left you. You should have known he"d find a way to pay you back, somehow. He feels like he owes you for all you"ve done for me. Hell, I wouldn"t even be here if it weren"t for you." His face fell. "Not to mention the way you helped me when Chad. . .well, you know."

Jamie nodded. "How are you doing with that?"

Ash sighed. "I still can"t believe he"s gone, even though it"s been over three months. After everything he did, I think a part of me will always miss Chad."

"Understandable. He was a part of your life. And watching a guy kill himself isn"t something you just get over."

"I know. I"m glad that you and Dillon didn"t have my death to add to the shit you"ve already been through. Where did you say Dillon is, again?"

"Saying goodbye to Heath."

Ash leaned against the back of the truck. "Heath"s not coming to the going-away-party your aunt"s throwing for you guys tonight?"

"Nope."

"Not that I"m sorry to hear it, but why?"

"Said he didn"t want to be around a bunch of people right now. He"s taking Megan"s leaving town a whole lot harder than I thought he would."

Ash curled his lip. "It"s his own damn fault. I feel the same way about Heath that I feel about Chad"s father."

Jamie propped his foot on the bumper of the U-haul. "What do you mean?"

"You saw how Mr. Minton acted that night at the police station. A whole roof full of people heard Chad confess to killing Ben, and Mr. Minton still didn"t want to believe it. He practically accused us of pushing him."

Jamie winced. "Don"t remind me. Talk about misery. The thing is, though, I felt sorry for the guy. He"d just lost his son. He must have loved Chad a lot to be so torn apart by his death."

Ash shook his head. "That"s just it. Up until that night, he acted like he didn"t even know Chad was alive. Mr. Minton drank or gambled away every paycheck he ever got. If it hadn"t been for Chad"s grandma, the guy wouldn"t have even had clothes to wear. And Chad"s mom was just as bad, leaving him home alone every night while she was out screwing around on his dad." Ash spat on the ground. "Heath"s exactly like they are. He treated Megan like some whore he picked up for the night, then acts like he"s dying with love for her now that she"s gone."

"Yeah, well, some people don"t know when they"ve got it good. At least Megan sounds like she"s doing okay. She called us this morning to tell us she finished up her summer credits. She sounded better than she"s sounded in a long time."

"Yeah. I talked to her for a little while last night. She"s still giving me lip about not walking with the rest of you on graduation night."

Jamie"s skin itched just thinking about that stupid cap and gown. "You didn"t miss anything, believe me. Megan did miss you at graduation, though. She mentioned you not being there only about a hundred and fifty times. She"s really come to depend on you."

"I"m just glad she had someone to lean on. With you guys, her family, and me, Megan was able to pull it all together." Ash drew a deep breath. "Someone should have done something like that to help Chad. I should have done something. If I had, maybe--"

Jamie didn"t let him finish. "Don"t even say that. You had no way of knowing that the guy was obsessed with you. He killed Ben because he wanted him out of the way. You couldn"t have known Chad was that close to the edge. Ben sure as hell didn"t, or he wouldn"t have taunted him that night."

Ash shoved his hands in his pockets. "I know. Here I am bellyaching, when you"ve been through just as much as I have. How are you taking this?"

"I can accept it. Morgan"s gonna do life for offing Carpenter, and with Mitch"s testimony, a good chunk of Carpenter"s clients are gonna get what they deserve. As for Ben"s killer," Jamie shrugged. "Seeing Chad take a twelve story leap still gives me nightmares, but I"m dealing with it. You still in therapy with Dr. Carson?"

"Yep. He upped my sessions to twice a week just in case all this turned out to be more than I could take, and he"s recommended a good therapist not far from Garman." Ash pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Speaking of Garman, I"d better get this truck back to my dad. One the guys who works for him is gonna drive it up there for us tonight. You and Dillon gonna head up in the morning?"

"Yep. We"re gonna crash with Aunt Sadie tonight and then head out at dawn. You?"

"We"re heading for New York tonight, after the party. Dad and I are driving up together, then he"s gonna ride back home in the U-haul with the guy who"s driving the truck." Ash started towards the cab of the truck, then stopped. "Hey, I just thought of something. How are you guys gonna get both cars up to Garman? Is someone gonna drive the Firebird up there for you? Cause I"m sure my dad would be glad to, if you asked him."

"Not a problem, dude. The Firebird is staying here."

Ash narrowed his eyes. "Don"t think that by leaving the car here you"re gonna get out of learning how to drive. Dillon and I have both told you that we"re gonna teach your ass to drive once school starts, whether you like it or not."

Jamie smiled. "Believe me, that"s a fate I"ve resigned myself to. When I said the car was staying here, what I meant was, it isn"t mine anymore. I sold it."

Ash whistled. "I"d have bet good money that you"d never get rid of that car. What made you change your mind? Price too good to turn down?"

"Something like that." Jamie didn"t bother to tell Ash that he"d sold the car for a whopping one dollar and fifty cents.

"Cool. Who bought it? Whoever it is got one heck of a sweet ride."

"Actually, I sold it to Mitch. Now that Morgan"s sentencing is over and the investigation is coming to a close, he"s out of protective custody. He"s gonna need wheels for his new job." Jamie glanced up for just a second at the cloudless blue sky. "I think Ben would have wanted it that way."

"You"re probably right. Where"s Mitch gonna be working, anyway? Chicago?"

"Nope. He"s working for the guy who bought Nora"s house. Blake, I think the guy"s name is."

"Over at the new domestic violence shelter? Damn. I guess he and Ben knew all about that. Violence, I mean." Ash turned away, but not before Jamie saw the sadness and pain shadowing his eyes. Jamie started to say something, but thought better of it. Some wounds couldn"t be healed with words. Ash took a second to compose himself, then said, "Okay, enough of this. Things to see, people to do, that sort of thing." He punched Jamie on the shoulder. "See you at the party, roomy."

"You know it." Jamie watched as Ash got into the truck and pulled out of the driveway. As nice as it was of Aunt Sadie to throw them this party, Jamie had another party in mind. A private party. All he had to do now was wait for Dillon to come back, and then it would be time. This particular celebration had been delayed long enough.

#

Heath grabbed two sodas out of the fridge, taking one for himself and tossing the other one to Dillon, Slumping down on the couch, he said, "So, you"re a college man now, huh? How does it feel?"

Dillon stretched his legs out in front of himself and leaned back in his chair, kicking a pile of clothes out of the way in the process. Heath"s apartment had reverted back to the pigsty it once was, but Dillon was too excited about leaving for Garman to worry about it. "It feels damn good, even though I won"t officially be a "college man" until I take my first class."

Heath cracked open his drink and took a sip. "You"re in at Garman, and that"s what counts. You made it, kid. Oh, that reminds me," he placed his can on the coffee table and reached into his pocket, "I have something for you." Heath pulled out an envelope and passed it across the table to Dillon. "I should have given you that the night you graduated, but, well . . . you know."

Dillon knew exactly what had happened graduation night. Heath had been so afraid of ruining it for Megan, he"d stayed away. Dillon didn"t say anything, though. Heath was hurting bad enough without having it rubbed in his face. Instead, Dillon reached for the envelope. "What"s this?"

"Open it and see. Call it a late graduation present."

Dillon slid his finger under the flap and broke the seal, recognizing the watermark of a cashier"s check sitting inside. Dillon pulled the check free and nearly dropped it when he saw the amount. "Eighty-thousand-dollars? Jesus Christ, Heath, where did you get this kinda money?"

Heath shrugged. "I always knew I wanted to be a firefighter, but Mom and Dad thought it was beneath me. Dad wanted me to follow in his footsteps, the next big time lawyer from the Carver clan. The old man set up a college fund for me, same as he did for you. And just like you, the thing was in my name, so I got to keep it when I moved out. I never used it, and I figure it"s only fair for you to have it."

Dillon didn"t know what to say. He tried to give it back. "I can"t take this, Heath. You could use this money for anything. Hell, you could buy yourself a house."

Heath"s eyes darkened.

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Keywords: The, My, 22, Name, You, Ch., Say, Way,