Flash Fiction - Second Shot - The Senior Year - 15. Chapter 15

"We won't get to you today, Peter." Mary Alberts said. "Why don't you all go home? You need to be back at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow."

Jason snuck a glance at Peter sitting to his right. He didn't need to speak for Jason to know he didn't like the news.

"Do you or Danny need to speak to the boys?" Raymond Henry asked.

Jason couldn't hold back a smirk. Only Pop could call Daniel Humber 'Danny' and get away with it. Well almost. The assistant D.A. raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Henry, are you referring to Mr. Humber?"

"Forgive me, Ms. Alberts." Raymond nodded, a twinkle in his eye. "Yes, I meant Daniel Humber. Danny and I have been friends for forty years. Old habits are hard to break."

"Um…." The young assistant D.A. must have suddenly realized who she was talking to. Jason didn't know all the particulars, but his grandfather made a significant donation to the county prosecutor's general fund to help pay for the trial efforts. "No sir, we…Mr. Humber and I won't need to see anyone until tomorrow. The best thing for Peter, and Jason since he might be testifying tomorrow as well, would be for them to go home, relax and go to bed early. We've prepped them as much as we can."

Peter nodded but kept silent. The tightness in his lips and the rigid posture spoke for him.

"Ms. Alberts, is it for sure we'll testify tomorrow?" Jason didn't want to miss three days in a row of practice. He also knew Peter wouldn't ask the question, even though he wanted to know.

"I can't say for sure, but I expect Peter's testimony will be over tomorrow." She shrugged and gave him a sympathetic smile. "I know this is difficult for you all, but I can't be more specific. Anticipating what a defense attorney will do is not an exact science. But given my knowledge of the case, yes I expect both of you will be finished tomorrow. "

"Will you give Martin our goodbyes, please?" Jason's father motioned toward the door after he spoke.

"Of course, Mr. Tellerman." She smiled at Jason and then Peter. "Relax guys, it will be over soon enough."

Jason heard Peter mumble something that sounded like, 'sure' but he never looked up from the floor.

* * *

Pushing the plastic shelf, Jason watched the DVD slide into the player. Peter's mood hadn't improved and they'd yet to talk about it, so he pushed paused and grabbed the remote.

"You were quiet during dinner." He rolled onto their bed next to where Peter lay, staring at the ceiling. Propping himself on a pair of pillows, he turned toward his boyfriend. "Wanna talk about it?"

First Peter tried to look over without turning his head. Then slowly he twisted left before a smile finally stretched his lips. "Talk about how quiet I was? Isn't that pointless?"

Smiling back, he put a hand on Peter's bare chest. "I was going with why you were quiet, not how quiet you were." Gently running his fingers over the fine hairs covering the tight muscles, Jason stopped when he realized they'd not get far in the conversation if he continued.

"It's just annoying." Peter shook his head and turned his attention back to the white ceiling.

"Since I know you don't mean having to eat with my family and yours, I'm going to guess you mean having to come back tomorrow."

"Of course." Grabbing Jason's hand, Peter brought the joined fingers to his lips. "I like having dinner with our families. It's always fun watching your grandfather and father jockey for the check. "

Jason laughed remembering his father's face. "I still don't know how Pop managed to get the bill paid before it was brought to the table."

"Yeah, that was impressive." When Peter rolled on his side, Jason saw the first hint that the foul mood was thawing. "But back to today, they could've let us go first and not make us come back. You especially."

"Yeah, I know, but my dad says Martin is an excellent attorney. I'm sure he had his reasons." Jason hoped so, because missing another day of practice better be worth it.

A soft sigh escaped Peter's lips. "I know. Mom and Erin said the same thing."

Coming back another day only felt like half the problem. "I'll be there for you."

"What…?" When their eyes met, Peter's face relaxed. "Oh yeah. I know that. It's just…."

"Just what?" He didn't need Pete to explain, but if it helped him feel better, Jason was ready to listen.

"I want it over so we can try to move on." Frustration quickly gave way to something else. "I hate having it linger over our lives."

"I know." Jason wanted the trial to end, but he wasn't confident it would truly bring closure. But it would be a start. "So movie, then sleep?"

"We can watch the movie." Peter propped up the pillows behind him and leaned back. "But I'm not promising we'll go right to sleep when it's over."

Jason's smile turned into a laugh when Peter raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Didn't the assistant D.A. tell us to get a good night's sleep?"

"Nope." Peter grabbed the remote from where it rested between them. Pointing it at the DVD player, he paused long enough to wink. "She said get to bed early. We've done that. What we do now that we're here is our business."

Jason didn't really want to watch the movie anyway. "Good point."