Brandon and Eric - 3. Chapter Three: Crisis

Chapter Three: Crisis

Lucas and I watch television in the living room, because neither could sleep. In my case, the loss of Eric keeps me up, the need to feed his seemingly endless appetite accounts for Lucas' awakened state.

Ten minutes pass, when I hear a knock at the door. A thud quickly follows, leading me to think,

'Mom forgot her key, yet again."

Imagine my shock, when I open the door, to feel a body fall on me, The unexpected impact, sends us sprawling to the ground.

As I gather my senses, I observe an unconscious bloodied Eric, which freaks me out, I react by slapping his face, in a vain attempt to arouse him, at the same I yell,

"Eric, wake up, please open your eyes!"

I scream for Lucas. He runs over, exclaiming,

"Bran, what's... Oh My God!"

Next, he rushes over to the phone, where he dials emergency. Before he returns to suggest,

"Brandon, let's move him to the couch."

"No, I don't want to risk something happening, the ambulance should be here shortly. Go call your dad!"

Within ten minutes, Mr Reynolds arrives. He immediately takes charge, quietly saying

"Son, stay calm. We don't know what happened to Eric"

I continue to hold my poor boy. I frantically search to detect, whether he is still breathing. Finally, I discover he is, however barely. Then, I hear him mumble,

" Love you."

I respond,

"Me, too. Please don't leave me, stay awake!"

I gently rub his temples, to keep him from closing his eyes. He reacts with a stare.

His action, causes me to quietly add,

"Don't move, Eric, help is on the way."

At that very second, the paramedics arrive. After looking him over, they move him out to the ambulance.

I ask to ride along with him, but they say no, so I declare, in no uncertain terms,

"Now you listen to me, Eric is my special friend. When he got beaten up, he came:to me for help. I love him, I am going with him, Period!"

The paramedic looks, then he winks.

Wow, I can't believe I said that out loud to a total stranger, but I don't care, I won!

On the way, they revive my boy, although he still has a hard time talking,

Once there, they rush him in.

As I follow, I meet Mom. She runs up, she kisses me on the cheek, then she leaves with Eric.

With the immediate danger over, my adrenalin collapses. Next thing I know, I find myself on the ground, where I pass out.

While unconscious, I dream my mother comes out to tell me my boy died, despite all valiant attempts to save him.

I awaken from my nightmare screaming,

"Eric!"

It takes me a minute to realize, I lie prone on the floor. Aside from my head, which rests in someone's lap. Looking up, I see, what appears to be my own eyes, stare back at me. They turn out to belong to Mr Reynolds. He smiles, next he brushes my hair out of my face, before he says,

"Hello, Son, welcome back. You gave us quite a scare, Kiddo!"

The sole word, penetrating my foggy brain is 'Son'. Suddenly, a thought dawns on me,

'He is my father.'

Next, I realize Lucas must be my twin brother!

The sole word 'Dad' escapes my mouth.

Other than that, I say nothing. However, my brain spins, leading me to conclude,

'Wow, I never thought, I would be comfortable saying that!'

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty, For a minute, I thought I might need to treat two patients."

"Principal Reynolds called me 'Son': So, Lucas must be my brother!"

"You got that right, Bro, we're twins!"

I glanced in the direction of my sibling, whose face shines, like a kid,'s on Christmas morning. My head starts throbbing,so I lean back onto my father's lap.

Returning my attention to Mom, I hear her state,

"We will fill you in on everything, later, For now let me explain, Eric was severely beaten. He sustained one broken rib, plus a cracked one. In a few minutes, he will be moved into surgery. Fortunately, he doesn't have any internal bleeding, nor brain damage. However, his nose is broken, his left eye swollen, plus his body battered. There are also signs of multiple older wounds. Brandon, you may see him for a few minutes, before we take him for surgery".

The invitation to visit my love, arouses me. My mother guides me to my boy's room, where I observe his lifeless form. The parts I see, appear covered in bandages. Tears begin to stream down my face, I run up to him, gently clasp his hand and lower my lips to his ear, whispering,

"Eric, it's me, I am right here, beside you, I don't know whether you hear me, but if you do, I need to let you know I love you with all my heart and soul. I want to be with you: If I could, I would swap places to spare you any further pain. Please come back to me, we have a long life ahead of us, hopefully together as partners. You're a fighter my friend, the strong person I known. If anyone can make it through this, it's you!"

Just then, my mom approaches me, saying,

"I know you love Eric: I will do everything in my power to insure he returns to you in perfect shape."

"Thank you, Mom."

I head back to the waiting room.

"My boys, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Let's get a bite to eat."

"Okay." I concur, realizing how weak I suddenly feel.

We make our way to the cafeteria, while we chat about all sorts of things, except our newly discovered relationship. Then, Dad says,

So, Brandon, would you like to ask me some questions. I expect you were as shocked as I, the moment we met."

"Yup. How long have you lived here?"

"Since I graduated college."

"Did you ever think about me?

"Oh, Son. every day."

My father holds my hand for a few minutes, his gesture feels so right.

"May I inquire as to when you realized you liked males?"

I think,

'Fuck, where did that one come from?'

After, a few seconds to find the right reply, I reply,

"By the time I entered eighth grade, I started watching boys rather than girls."

"My child should you think of something, please feel free to talk to Lucas, your mother or me. By the way, I see how much Eric means to you, therefore I will do, whatever I can, to make sure he is protected from his father."

With that,he messes my hair, before he adds,

"I asked Jean's dad, an attorney, to work on the case, In addition, I requested Aaron's mom, who is a social worker, be assigned to him. She assured me, he shall be placed in a loving, safe home. Finally, should we need a judge, we have one in Vynse's father."

Once we finish our meal, we return to the waiting room, where we meet the rest of the Brat Pack. Jean greets me with a hug, stating,

I am so sorry, for what happened. If you need anything, my friend, simply ask."

I start the ball rolling, with my block buster news,

"Hey, Queen Bee and you commoners, I have an announcement: Lucas is my twin brother, and Mr. Reynolds my father!"

Before I can continue, the guys surround us, showering my bro, plus me, with hugs and slaps on our arms. Then, one by one the bunch leaves, till I'm alone with my sibling.

We pass the time shooting the breeze, until the topic of his ex comes up.

"You know something, Bro, I was ready to hunt down Eric. I wanted to kick his sorry ass, for the way he mistreated you yesterday, His action surprised me, because, I saw the deep emotions you both exhibited. But, at least, you two might have a chance. On the other hand, my relationship ended. I mean, how can you forgive and forget someone, who cheats on you. As far as I am concerned, that person can't love you. Therefore tell me, is what you possess for the boy the real thing or plain lust?"

I stand there without saying one word. However, deep down in my heart, I know the answer. After several minutes, I gather enough courage to reply,

"Yes, Bro, although he may be my first, I love him with all of my heart. I sincerely believe he is the only one I will ever want, or need!"

The dam bursts on me yet again. Once more, my newly discovered twin embraces me.

These are not tears of pain, but reflect everything, which occurred in the past hours.

As I cry, I recall every event,

I find my soul mate. The next day he rejects me. His father beats him to the point he is near death. Then, he admits he still loves me

I can't lose him now!

If all this isn't enough, I discover my father and twin!

After I regain control of my emotions, we chat some more. Eventually, we run out of things to say. Then, time feels as if it stopped, which, in turns, has me crawling up the walls.

Finally, my mother comes out, still wearing her surgical garments, With a reassuring smile she states,

"I have great news: Eric will make a full recovery! At present, he remains unconscious, however he should wake up shortly. Then, he will be taken to his room. Considering his age,great physical condition, plus the severity of his injuries, he might be released in three days. Before you ask, you may see him, once they move him into his room."

Hugging me, she walks back through the doors.

With the understanding my boy will not only live, but return to his previous state, I resume normal breathing, for the first time, since my boy literally fell on me.

Once again, tears of joy start falling. In response Dad pulls me to his chest, he pays with a wet shirt of his own.

I think,

'Wow, how good he feels, but damn is he tall!'

"Good, Son, let it out, he shall be fine."

My father hugs me tighter. After several minutes more, I manage to compose myself, once more.

"Yeah, Bro, our Eagle will fly high again!"

Lucas' remark breaks the remaining tension. In response, we laugh. That, in turn. sets our dad off.

Some minutes later, Mom returns. She sits next to Dad.

The two immediately begin to chat. I'm blown away, seeing my folks communicate directly for the first time.

With my family surrounding me, the wait becomes more tolerable

Then, I get the word I have so long awaited.

Hey everyone I know this chapter is a little short but I wanted to focus more on Eric's crisis in this chapter.