Matt

Andy and I thought Knots 2 would cover our whole sophomore year, but as you can see from your reading, it is much longer than we expected. Dillon’s trial was starting after the first of the year and we thought Knots 2 should end with this chapter. Consequently, this chapter quickly covers most of the events that occurred from the middle of the football season to the first of the year. Knots 3 will begin with Dillon’s trial and cover the rest of our sophomore year. At least that's the plan for now.

Andy

The remainder of the football season went smoothly. The JV finished 6 and 4 and the varsity with a 7 and 3 record. I remember thinking how cool it was going to be for Matt and me to play on the same team next year.

Matt got more playing time and Frank Kutcher was pissed. But what the hell could he do? I kinda understood how he felt because I’d been jealous of Matt too. The problem for Kutcher was he was going to be a senior next year and Matt and I would be juniors. He’d have us hot on his heels.

Randy came by one Sunday before football ended, but my parents were home. It never occurred to him to come on Saturday, and of course I didn’t tell him.

It was awesome having the afternoons free for a couple weeks before basketball started. Unfortunately, we had Dillon Burke’s trial ahead of us and who know what was going to happen then. I figured the shit was going to hit the fan and the shit was going to land all over me. Matt was concerned too. He was far more in the closet than I was and in some ways, had more to lose.

My grounding ended at the end of football. I managed to keep the contract with my parents. It made me feel proud. My parents took me out to dinner to celebrate.

Of course I was horny as hell and had no idea what I was going to do now that I was free. Randy made sure to let me know he had plans for Kyle and me the weekend after football ended. I told him we had Dillon’s trial coming up and we should hang low until the trial was over. He didn’t give a shit, so I figured I’d be seeing him and Kyle.

Ollie had earned a rep after his fight with Barnes. He began to make other friends. We all wondered if he was going back to his old lifestyle now that he had some popularity, but he didn’t. He liked his new status.

Thomas and Matt’s relationship was put on hold because we’d been grounded, but I figured they’d start up again now that football was over and we weren’t grounded anymore. I planned on doing everything in my power to keep them apart. Matt meant too much to me to let him go.

Despite my concerns with Thomas, Matt was spending more time with Gina. They even went to the show a couple times. He was only grounded for two weeks. Sometimes they met before school to talk about that stupid book, The Picture of Dorian Gray.

*****

The first Monday after football ended was a cold miserable gray day. Matt stayed after school to meet with the sophomore class officers to plan the next class meeting. Emily was waiting for Gina so she and I sat on a bench and talked. She’s a great friend. I think she would have jumped at the chance to date me if I wasn’t gay.

Emily headed for the bus and I stayed behind because I told Matt I’d wait for him. There wasn’t much to do, so I headed out to the gym to shoot baskets at open gym. It felt like someone was following me. I turned and spotted Evan. He moved toward me slowly like a tiger. I didn’t like the look he had on his face.

I looked him in the eye like they say you should do when a crazed dog looks like it’s going to attack you. “What’s up Evan?”

“So we’re friends now?”

“Just trying to be friendly.”

He moved in close to me. Evan was three inches taller than me and outweighed me by fifty pounds. “We’re not friends. You’re a cocky little shit and I plan to crush that cockiness out of you.”

I stepped back. “I’m sorry, Evan. I can be like that sometimes, but it’s just in fun. I’m really sorry.”

He stepped closer to me again. I kept moving back until my back hit the wall of the gym. I looked around and no one was there. “Evan, we can work this out.”

“Too late for that you little fag,” he said. “I know all about you.” He punched me in the stomach and when I bent over he slammed me in the chin with his fist. My head flew back. He hit me in the nose and blood spewed out. I put my hand up to protect my face, and he went back to my stomach. Something felt wrong inside. Blood was dripping from my nose and I was blinded by the tears. I took a few swings and hit nothing but air.

“Stop. You hurt me,” I cried out through my tears.

“I don’t give a shit. You’re not walking away from here.”

I was doing everything to stay erect because I knew if he got me on the ground, he’d kick me. He hit me in the side of the head and then in the jaw. I got dizzy so I grabbed ahold of him to stop the hitting and to keep from falling, but he threw me off and slapped me before throwing me to the ground. I felt the first few kicks, but something was wrong; my vision blurred and faded to black as I passed out.

That may have saved me. The next thing I remembered was waking up in the hospital. One of the basketball kids found me lying passed out just outside the locker room. They said no one else was around.

I was in a coma for two days. My intestines were bruised and I had internal bleeding. Evan hit me hard enough and often enough to give me a concussion. His kicks bruised my kidneys and I had black and blue marks all over my back, chest, and legs.

My parents and Matt were sitting at the foot of my bed when I awakened. My mom rushed up and kissed me. My dad came to one side of the bed and Matt the other. Dad grabbed my hand. “You had us worried.”

Matt winked and grabbed my other hand and held it for a couple seconds. I hurt all over and didn’t want anyone to touch any part of my body. Right then, even if Matt and I were alone, I wouldn’t have wanted him to touch or suck my dick. It’s strange how sex can seem so unimportant when you lying in the hospital.

I explained what happened and Evan was arrested for assault and eventually expelled from school. He was out on bail while he awaited his trial. That meant I was in constant fear for my life until the trial. All I could hope for was he didn’t want to risk further jail time. He was guilty and there wasn’t any way I wasn’t going to make sure he went to jail for at least a couple of years.

Emily, Thomas, Gina, Oliver, Matt, Alan, Ernie, and even Sam came to visit me in the hospital over the next couple weeks while I recovered.

Sam said, “I never expected it would be you I’d be visiting in the hospital.” It made me laugh and my body hurt all over.

Dillon’s trial was postponed one more time while they waited for me to recover. I figured Dillon and his family were pissed having to wait for us. But hell, Dillon deserved everything he got and more.

Matt

Evan beat the crap out of Andy after school while I was meeting with the sophomore class officers. One of the basketball players ran into our meeting. “Andy Gibson’s been badly beaten and is on the way to the hospital.”

They would let anyone but his family visit until he came out of his coma. When he started to stir, his parents and doctors thought he might wake up so his parents phoned and asked me to come over. I wanted to cry when I saw him. His face was cut and black and blue. He moaned every time he moved. Even his forced smile was distorted by the damage to his face. Evidently, Evan kicked him in the face after he passed out. Fortunately, they threw that asshole in jail for a few days before they let him out on bail. They should have kept him there.

Gina, Emily, and I visited Andy every day. The others came too. I was surprised when I saw Sam there. He wasn’t surprised him to learn it was Evan who beat Andy up. “I should have done something before he got to Andy,” he said. “I knew he was pissed. But I had no idea he was going to do this. He’s always had a big chip on his shoulder. It wasn’t until I thought Oliver had tried to kill himself and Evan beat Andy up that first time in the cafeteria that I began to realize I was hanging around with an asshole. The day he jumped Andy I told him I couldn’t be his friend anymore. I don’t know if it had anything to do with what happened, but it maked me feel bad.”

We welcomed him as a friend and assured him that he couldn’t take responsibility for what Evan did. Who’d have thought it would be like this after our first encounter with him.

*****

Andy got out of the hospital after Thanksgiving. He’d missed a lot of school. The school district paid for a teacher to home school Andy while he recovered. I spent a lot of time at his house. His parents still made him keep his door open and the most we ever did was sneak a quick kiss now and then. They went back to their Sunday routine and wouldn’t you know it, Randy and Kyle came by the first Sunday after Andy got home. Andy was still too sore to do much of anything. He called me just after they arrived and told me to come over. He said he needed a chaperone. We both laughed.

Randy was his usual asshole self. Kyle seemed nice, but he was still the driving force behind getting Randy to hook up with Andy. Randy had the nerve to suggest we have a foursome. Randy walked over to Andy and started to unzip his pants. Andy let out a loud groan and Randy jumped back. He came over to me and tried kissing me. I pulled back. “I think it’s time for you two to leave.”

He gave Andy and me a dirty look. “What’s the problem? We’re only trying to have a little fun.”

“Well, asshole. Andy can hardly move and I wouldn’t have sex with you again if my life depended on it. You’re a selfish asshole and only give a damn about yourself. I don’t know about Kyle, but he’s the oldest here, and he doesn’t give any more of a shit than you. He just comes off nicer, but you’re both after the same thing and don’t really care who you hurt. So, get the fuck out of here and don’t come back.”

Randy kept a calm exterior, but Kyle looked surprised and hurt by my words. “I’m sorry. Let’s go Randy.”

“You guys can go fuck yourselves. Oh, I forgot, you already do that,” Randy said. “You seemed to have forgotten how to have fun. So fuck you. We’ll find someone else.”

I patted Randy on the back. “Good. But I feel sorry for them, whoever they are.”

He spun around. “Get your hands off me.” He ran his hands up and down his body. “You’ll just have to dream about this.” He gave us a sick smile. “Let’s go Kyle. It looks like we’ll have to entertain ourselves.” Randy walked out the front door with Kyle following.

*****

Our English class finished The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian managed to cover up the murder of his friend, Basil, but the picture Basil painted kept haunting him. He was drawn to the attic one or more times a day to stare at the ugly picture of the once young man while the young handsome Dorian Gray still stared back at him in the mirror. The haunting feeling hung over him. His torment increased day by day until that last day when his despair was so great he grabbed the knife from the table and stabbed the painting as he let out a loud scream. The servants rushed to the attic when they heard his cries. There on the floor of the attic lay a withered grotesque old man with a knife in his chest. The picture of a young Dorian Gray rested upon the easel.

*****

This is the end of Knots 2. Knots 3 will begin with Dillon’s trial and cover the rest of our sophomore year. Thank you for reading. Don’t forget to be careful about the knots you tie in your life.

Chapter Quote

The Knots Prayer

Dear God:

Please untie the knots

That are in my mind

my heart and in my life.

Remove the have nots,

The can nots and the do nots

That I have in my mind.

Erase the will nots,

May nots,

Might nots that may find

A home in my heart.

Release me from the could nots,

Would nots and

Should nots that obstruct my life.

And most of all,

Dear God,

I ask that you remove from my mind,

my heart and my life all the ‘am nots’

that have allowed to hold me back,

Especially the thought

That I am not good enough.

Amen

Author Known Only to God

If you like this story, please write a review, click like, and follow me. Contact me at eliassctt@gmail.com I answer all emails.

I’d like to thank Lisa for taking the time to edit Knots. As the author, I take final responsibility for all parts of the story, including any errors.

This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales, is purely coincidental and no slanderous intent is implied.