Escaping the Pain - 15. Chapter 15

Tap had run by Mr. Echels office for the keys to Dane's new place when he was out picking up lunch on Wednesday. He was somewhat dismayed, however, to learn that the place was unfurnished. When he got to the coffee shop to make some subs his sister Tammy was there.

"Hey sis, how's it going?"

"Slow," she stuck out her tongue and made a face as she rubbed her belly ruefully. The lunch rush hadn't quite started yet so she was still alone. Tap found himself talking to her about all the new things going on in his life. He hadn't seen as much of Tammy lately, with him missing work in the shop to spend time with Dane.

"Hmmm," Tammy looked thoughtful for a minute when Tap told her about the lack of furniture in Dane's new apartment. "Why don't you take lunch to your boyfriend and then you can take..."

Tap interrupted her, "Hey! How'd you know about that?"

Tammy looked smug, "I didn't, you just told me. But c'mon, like it isn't obvious? We're family Tap; we can see those things you think you are hiding so well you know."

Tap made a face, "That's actually scary when you think about it! But seriously, I haven't talked to you in like a week, how'd you find out?"

"Mom."

Tap looked panicked now, "Wait? What? Mom knows? Oh God!" He carefully put down the knife he was using to slice up tomatoes and braced his hands against the counter. He really wasn't ready for his mom to start up with the 20 questions and his dad to start asking what Dane's intentions were. It was his worst nightmare and he just knew they would do it too. Oh god, what a disaster!

"Chill!" Tammy was laughing, "look, from what Mom said they totally approve of the kid, so stop worrying."

"Easy for you to say!" Tap said with head still down as he tried to keep from getting sick with the way his stomach was feeling.

"Yeah well, how do you think Ted and I felt when we told everyone we eloped? You know it can't ever get worse than that!"

Tap remembered that vividly. Tammy, not being exactly the girly type of daughter his mom always wished for, had eloped to Vegas with her boyfriend 5 years ago. His mom hadn't been so upset about the marriage itself as much as missing out on planning a fancy wedding. With him being gay that really only left whatever girl Brett finally ended up convincing to marry him to give his mom the thrill of a big church shindig.

Tap felt a bit better. Tammy was right. "Okay, you win." Picking the knife back up Tap finished slicing up the waiting tomatoes while Tammy finished her original thought before he had so rudely interrupted her.

"Anyhow, as I was saying," she arched a brow at him as he grinned, "you can borrow my digital camera and then go hit that furniture place down on Washington Street before closing. They do same day delivery but I bet you can get it arranged for first thing tomorrow before Dane's released if you get there too late to set it up for today. He can give you some idea of what he likes and you can take pictures of stuff and then call in the order."

Tap thought that over, "That actually sounds perfect. Thanks Tammy!" Tap kissed her on the cheek as he threw the sandwiches in a bag. He got her keys and grabbed her camera out of her car before he left, zipping back to the hospital, excited now that he had a plan.

Dane was more than happy with the idea too. "Hmm, I like neutral colors I guess, nothing too light so it won't show stains and stuff. I don't know how long I'll really need it with college next fall but maybe the manager could rent the unit furnished or something after I leave."

"But where will we stay when we come home on breaks?" Tap asked. "Trust me; we do not want to stay with my family too often."

"We come home?"

"Well yeah, you got into State right?"

Dane nodded, he had asked Tap to check his email to see if he had any acceptance emails and he had 3, though none had offered full scholarships. He had been offered a partial academic scholarship at State. "But it's not a full ride," he objected.

Tap laughed, "You don't need one anymore, remember? Besides, I'm going there on a baseball scholarship, I sort of thought that might sort of tip the scales in their favor?" Tap had wound his fingers with Dane's and gave him a forlorn look, like his feelings were hurt.

Dane smiled ruefully, "I keep forgetting about the money but you know there is nothing more I would rather do than go to school with you. I know I haven't been really telling you how I feel but I want to try to make this work, to have a relationship with you."

Tap was grinning now, "Me too, babe, me too." He leaned forward and gave Dane a searing kiss, full off all that the emotion was yearning to heap upon his hot little boyfriend. But it was too soon, too new. Tap was a bit scared of how much Dane had come to mean to him already and he was trying to take things slow, for Dane’s sake.

Dane broke the kiss, pulling back to pant a little as he tried to get enough air to stop the spinning his head was doing. "Hmm, nice. I can't wait to get out of this place and spend some time alone with you."

Tap immediately became serious, "You can't overdo anything, you're hurt. I won't cause you any more pain."

Dane ran his fingers down Tap's cheek, "I know. I promise." He smiled at Tap.

"Good. Now how about we talk furniture, I've got some shopping to do."

Dane and Tap talked about the sort of stuff they liked and then Dane called Mr. Echels to see about opening a line of credit at the Grey's Furniture Emporium.

"Sure thing, Dane. I'm glad your friend thought of that. I'll call the building manager and let him know about the deliveries. He can meet the workers and let them into your apartment tonight or tomorrow if Tap could just call and let me know what he sets up. I'll leave an envelope with petty cash for him with my secretary if he cares to stop by after school for the rest of the items you'll need."

Tap nodded, hearing what Mr. Echels suggested over the phone.

"He'll do that Mr. Echels, thank you. I had forgotten about all of this, really." Dane hung up the phone. "Okay, babe, go be a good gay boy and shop till you drop. Just not more than $10,000 Mr. Echels said."

"$10,000 for furniture?" Tap's mouth dropped wide open.

"Well, we've got to buy a bed, couch, table and chairs, a coffee table, a TV and entertainment center plus we're going to need things like towels, sheets, dishes, food..."

"Oh, uhh... I guess this is going to be a bit more involved than I thought." Tap looked a bit panicked, “maybe I should write all this down.”

Dane laughed. "Don't stress. We're teenagers, it's not like we are talking House Fancy or anything. Why don't you go pick out the furniture. Don’t worry about bringing back pictures, I trust you. Maybe you can pick up Neri after practice. I bet she'd love to go shopping and you know she'll make sure we have everything."

Dane and Tap smiled at each other, both secretly thrilled at thought of being together, especially after high school ended and they could move in together for real. Tap kissed Dane goodbye and then went to Grey's, picking out a queen size sleigh bed in cherry. He liked the warm color of the wood so he also got the dining room set and the wood living room furniture to match. He went with a nice micro suede couch in brown on the advice of the sales clerk helping him and then he had to rush to the school, almost late for Phys Ed. Coach wasn’t mad at him anymore but he didn’t want to push him anymore.

Tap called Neri on her cell after class and she agreed to let him pick her up after practice to go shopping. He could practically hear her rubbing her hands together as she planned out where they would go and what they'd need to buy. He almost groaned at the thought of it all but then realized that if she wasn't helping he'd probably forget something important like toilet paper and then where would they be?

Tap was right, she filled his car, literally filled it! Tap groaned when he saw all the bags of things but Neri even remembered to buy shampoo and soap. Tap dropped it all off at Dane's new place, putting it out of the way in the spare room so the furniture movers wouldn't have to maneuver around it all. He made a quick stop at the hospital before heading home for the night.

"Hey son," Patrick greeted him as he walked in the door. "You're home late."

"Yeah, sorry Dad. I was shopping with Neri for Dane's apartment stuff." Tap fell onto the couch with a big sigh, kicking off his shoes and putting his feet up on the coffee table.

"Better you than me!" Patrick laughed. "Better not let your mom catch you with your feet up on her glass table."

"Patrick Donald Leeran, get your butt in here!"

Patrick laughed harder when Tap heard his mother snap, quickly yanking his feet off the table and dropping them to the floor with a guilty look on his face. Keri appeared in the doorway, an apron on over her jeans and blouse and frowned at her son.

"Well, c'mon. Get the lead out." She turned back into the kitchen.

Tap exchanged a look with his dad who just shook his head. Tap entered the kitchen a bit apprehensively but smiled when his mom handed him a plate warm from the microwave.

"Eat, eat. You missed dinner again."

Tap grabbed a bottle of juice out of the fridge and sat down at the island to eat the plate of stroganoff and vegetables. "I know, Mom, I’m sorry," he said between bites.

"I hope this won't become a habit," she said, giving him a warning look.

"Well I don't think Dane is going to be up to much cooking on his own. Charlie came by the hospital yesterday to go over what his hours would be and what I would need to do to help Dane out until he's more mobile. He's got 3 early evening classes so I thought that maybe Dane could just come home with me after practice on those days?" Tap turned big eyes on his mom who snorted.

"Like I'm going to fall for that look, young man. Do you think I just met you or something? Don't worry; your Dane is welcome here anytime. I'm glad he won't be moving away or going to live with some strangers but I'm worried living alone could be a bit much for someone your age. We'll give him all the family he needs, though."

Keri was one of those women who had a heart big enough to want to help everyone she saw in trouble or hurting. That wasn't always something she could do but in this case giving the sad boy her son had picked as his first boyfriend a family to belong to was certainly possible. Tap got up from his chair and went around the island to give his mom a big hug.

"Thanks, Mom."

Keri reached up and pulled Tap's head down, pushing the hair back to lay a gentle kiss on his forehead. She patted his arm when he stood back up straight, taking off her apron. "Go finish your food. Tomorrow I want to start a little earlier in the coffee shop, Tammy is going to come in at 9 so I can take you grocery shopping for Dane. I don't want you living on potato chips and cookies when you are over there."

"Okay, Mom. That would be great. I love you."

"I love you too."

** ** ** ** ** ** **

Thursday morning Tap was up and busy before the sun, getting all the errands out of the way with his mom's help before he dropped her back off at the coffee shop to pick up her car.

"I'm going to help Dane settle in and then go to practice. Charlie is coming in early today and tomorrow so that Dane can get plenty of rest, so I’ll actually be home early."

"You don't have to do that son." Keri smiled at Tap. "You go ahead and go back to Dane's after practice. I'm going to throw together a casserole and I'll bring it over for you guys so you don't have to worry about dinner, okay?"

This time Tap leaned over to kiss his mom on the cheek. "You're the best Mom. See you later."

"Bye, sweetie."

Tap had to remind himself to drive the speed limit after he dropped off his mom. The furniture had just been delivered when they had gotten to Dane's apartment with a trunk full of groceries. His mom had helped him put it away and they had made sure the furniture was spaced correctly for Dane to maneuver with his chair and crutches. It all looked good, really good with the bright wood and the tan sofa against the pale cream walls and carpet. There were plenty of windows already covered with nice blinds and the appliances were new. For a first apartment it was excellent. Keri had even commented on how much better it was than her and his dad’s first place. Tap had smiled with an almost proprietary pride, sort of feeling like it was his and Dane's apartment.

Picking Dane up took a few hours. It took time to pack up the medical stuff he had accumulated as well as the electronics and books Tap had brought over. After that Dr. Wickels did one last check on Dane's arm and leg and the healing slice on his head.

"Well you look pretty good young man! Remember to do what Charlie tells you to. Oh and please don't take this the wrong way but I hope we never meet like this again."

Dane held out his hand to the doctor, "Thank you for taking care of me, sir."

"You're welcome, young man. Good luck! Remember to come back in 3 weeks to have more x-rays done."

"Sure thing." Dane was barely able to sit still after that as they sat waiting for the nurse to come with a copy of his discharge paperwork and a wheelchair to push him out the building. He got a lot of goodbyes from the nursing staff as he was wheeled out.

He was sweating by the time they made it downtown to his new home, though. Tap tried to take it easy but Dane was on edge from just being in a car. The pain he was in was bearable, though Tap had insisted on stopping at the pharmacy on the way home to drop off Dane's prescriptions.

Getting inside was another chore, Tap hovered the whole time, though Dane only had trouble over the small step down into the living room before he collapsed carefully on the couch. Dane wiped the sweat off his face with the back of his hand.

"Whew, that was harder than I expected." Dane leaned his head back against the couch, "This couch is super comfy, good choice Tap."

“I didn’t do anything really,” objected Tap, “I just went with your ideas and the salesperson’s suggestions.”

Dane opened his eyes at looked at Tap, "You've done more for me than anyone else has in a very long time. It means a lot to me.” He reached over with his good hand to lay it along Tap's neck and cheek. He smiled at Tap before his hand fell down to his lap and he leaned his head along the back of the couch again.

"Why don't you stretch out and take a bit of a nap,' Tap suggested, "I'm going to put a few things away and then head over to practice after Charlie gets here. I'll come back afterward; Mom said she's coming over with a casserole. Everything is all settled so you can just take it easy."

Tap helped swing Dane's leg up and then propped it up with a few of the pillows Neri had picked out. He went to the spare room and grabbed the throw blanket Neri had also picked out and laid it over Dane who was already gently snoring, a small smile on his face. It took Tap a minute to figure out how to turn off the ringer on the new cordless phone but he finally got it silenced so that nothing would interrupt Dane's rest.

Tap put the towels in the bathroom cupboard and the shower stuff away. Then he made the bed up with the pale blue sheets, covering the soft bed with a silky soft microfiber blanket and folded a quilt at the bottom. With the deep color of the wood and the warm colors of the bedding the room had a warm comfortable feeling to it, even with the blank walls. Tap was more for sports posters and pennants but Neri had insisted the clean simple look was what Dane would like the best. From his reaction to the living room Tap guessed Neri was right. He didn’t want to admit that to her though.

It didn't take Tap long to put the kitchen to rights either; the few pots and pans he had purchased and the utensils fit nicely in the cupboards and drawers between the stove and the sink. Cups just seemed to go in the cupboard between the sink and the refrigerator while the plates and bowls went over the breakfast bar. Tap decided to make some soup and sandwiches for lunch. He dumped a can of soup into a pot and turned on the stove, making the sandwiches while it slowly warmed.

"Dane, wake up babe. I've got some food for you." Tap put the bowls down on the coffee table and went back into the kitchen for the plate of sandwiches. Dane was yawning and rubbing his face when he came back into the living room.

"Hmm, I do feel better." Dane tried to pull himself up to a sitting position but groaned when he moved. His pain pills were wearing off quickly. Tap had already thought of that though.

"Here, let me help you." Tap gently moved the pillows out from under Dane's leg and helped him sit up before slipping a pillow under his heel on the coffee table. He put Dane's pills in his hand and then gave him his drink, putting it down on the table when he finished swallowing. Handing him his bowl Tap balanced the plate of sandwiches between the two of them on the couch. "Let's see what's on daytime TV, shall we?"

The pair sat and ate while watching some teen reality show on MTV. Dane snorted, "Those guys are idiots. The girls on that show are totally playing them."

Tap laughed. "Yeah, seeing that makes me glad I don't have to worry about that. At least, I hope not," he winked at Dane.

"If you think I'll ever act like some catty spoiled brat you better think again!" Dane pretended to be indignant, then he smirked, "well, at least until my bitch slapping arm heals up, that is." Tap burst out laughing at the triumphant look on Dane’s face and it wasn’t long before Dane joined in. They were both still laughing when Charlie knocked.