Unforgivable - Prologue. Prologue

Unforgivable

Prologue

August 23, 2008…

“Are we there yet?” Pierre called from the backseat, in his best whiny five year old voice, making Corey smile. Pierre had been one of his best friends since the first day the redhead moved to town, in grade 9. Over those four years Pierre had mastered the art of irritating Andrew, the other member of their close-knit group.

“I told you, Perri,” Andrew answered as he pulled into his driveway. “I was busy earlier, and forgot my bag.” When the blonde gave Corey a wink and a smug grin, he could guess what… and who… his friend had been busy with. With his easy going personality, and blue-eyed good looks, Andrew was very popular with the girls in their high school. Having the build of a rugby player didn’t hurt his chances either. Pierre liked to tease Andrew by calling him their ‘token straight friend’, but the blonde would only shrug, swearing that having gay friends made him seem ‘enlightened’, which apparently was as attractive to girls as catnip was to cats.

“Stop with the Perri crap.” Corey could almost hear Pierre’s eye roll. The redhead hated the nickname, and knowing that only made Andrew use it more often. The two had an interesting relationship. Corey firmly believed he was the only sane one of the group.

The three friends were each going to different schools in the fall, and wanted to spend their last week together. They’d made plans to stay at Pierre’s family cottage, and were supposed to leave as soon as Corey got off of work, but had to double back to pick up Andrew’s duffle bag. Luckily, they were only ten minutes out of town when he realized he didn’t have it.

“I’m coming with you,” Corey said, opening his door. “I gotta pee.”

Pierre chuckled as he followed them out of the vehicle. “I warned you about guzzling an extra-large.” Corey smacked his friend, and hurried after Andrew. “Hey!” the redhead called after him, pretending to be hurt. “You’d have been the one peeing on the side of the road if horn-dog here wasn’t too busy getting laid five seconds before picking us up, to remember anything else.”

“Oh, I had her screaming my name for much longer than five seconds.” Andrew grinned at them, lewdly adjusting his dick in his shorts.

With his parents and younger sister away visiting family, and Jason, Andrew’s older brother, helping a friend move out of town, the house was dark. Jason, who was home from University for the summer, also happened to be Pierre’s boyfriend. He’d promised to come up to the cottage in a few days so he and Pierre could spend time together before he left for school. Their goodbye kiss earlier earned the couple gagging noises and good natured teasing from the two other friends.

In the 14 years Corey had known him, he’d always looked up to Andrew’s brother. Jason was two years older than their group, but he’d always taken the time to talk to his brother’s friends. He never made Corey feel like a pest, even when he had good reason to… like the summer Corey and Andrew turned 11, and wrecked Jason’s bike trying to see if they could ride double in the gravel pit. That was also the summer he and Andrew sported matching casts. The college student was one of the very few ‘out’ guys he knew, and his open attitude motivated Corey to come out to his family when he was 15. Over those years, brotherly affection developed into a bit of a crush on the older boy. Although he’d felt a twinge of jealousy when Jason and Pierre began flirting heavily with each other, he was genuinely happy for his friend when the two started dating at the beginning of summer.

Music could be heard coming from the direction of the living room as soon as they entered the house. He looked at Andrew, who appeared to be as confused as Corey felt. As far as they knew there should’ve been no one home. As the three young men walked towards the noise, an image of the last slasher film they’d watched flashed through Corey’s mind, making him chuckle. They were now the dumb teens in those movies who always got killed going into dark rooms and basements.

Faint light from the street was coming through the window, and he could barely make out something moving on the couch across the room. “Jase?” Andrew called out just as his hand reached the light switch.

When the light turned on the sight before them stunned Corey into immobility. It was Jason, balls-deep in some unknown brunette, both muscular bodies glistening with sweat and the stranger’s legs thrown over Jason’s shoulders. The look of surprise on the lovers’ faces might have been comical in different circumstances, but Corey only felt disgust and nausea.

“Jason…?” His best friend’s hurt voice pulled Corey out of his shock. He turned to Pierre, and the tears on the sweet redhead’s face nearly broke his heart.

“Fuck, Drew, what are you doing here?” Jason pulled out of his… friend… and sat at the edge of the couch with his head in his hands. “You guys are supposed to be at the cottage by now.”

“That’s all you have to say for yourself, you cheating asshole?” Corey’s voice was an angry hiss. He stormed up to his friend’s naked sibling and punched him on the jaw. “How could you do this to Pierre?”

The brunette started to pull on his clothes beside them. “I’m going to head out, Jase. I’ll be at the club if you make it back.” Grabbing his shoes, the other man quietly left the tension-filled room.

“How could you do this to me, Jason?” Pierre’s voice was rough with emotion. “How could you do this to us?”

Jason looked up at the three angry young men before settling on his boyfriend’s tear streaked face. “Come on, Pierre,” he answered with a sigh, running a hand through his sweaty hair. “We’re both young. Did you think we were going to get married or something? This was supposed to be fun. Hell, we’re both moving in a week.”

“Jase….” Andrew sounded shocked and disappointed as he stared, wide-eyed, at his brother.

Pierre recoiled as if he’d been hit. “Fun? That’s what this was to you? A fling?”

“Well this isn’t fun,” the naked man muttered so quietly only Corey would have been able to hear him. He glared at the jerk.

”Was he the only one?” Pierre stepped closer to the couch. “Were there more?”

Jason met his gaze, but didn’t answer. There was no need… the truth was written all over his face. Pierre nodded, turned, and walked out of the room without another word.

“You disgust me,” Corey spat at his one-time friend, before chasing after Pierre who was, by now, outside. He silently climbed in the back seat with the other boy and put his arms around his slim shoulders, hoping to give comfort. A few minutes later Andrew walked out of the house with an angry scowl on his face. He hopped in the front seat and started the car, before turning to his friends in the back.

“Did you know?” Pierre whispered, blinking back fresh tears.

“Fuck no!” Andrew protested vehemently. “I’d have kicked his ass myself.”

Pierre sniffled, and rested his head on Corey’s shoulder. Andrew stared at their devastated friend for a moment before taking a deep breath and backing out of the driveway. Pierre was understandably upset and cried off and on during the drive, refusing any attempts to talk. Feeling helpless in the face of his friend’s pain, Corey was relieved when Pierre finally drifted into an exhausted sleep around an hour into their trip.

“I know he’s your brother, Drew,” Corey said quietly. “But Jason’s a fucking asshole.”

Andrew’s lips tightened in a grimace as he glanced in the rear-view mirror. “You’ll get no argument from me. I can’t believe he did this. I mean, I know he’s a flirt and all, but I never thought he was actually cheating.” Andrew sighed. “I hope Perri’s going to be ok.”

“He’ll be fine. He’s strong.” Corey continued to rub the redhead’s back. “We’ll be at the cottage with him for the rest of the week, and then he’ll be in Sarnia. The distance should help.”

The two friends lapsed into silence. Corey rested his head against the seat, still having a hard time believing Jason cheated… more than once… even though he’d seen the proof with his own eyes. He thought he knew the man, and would never would have suspected him capable of such callous disregard for another person. How could Jason have fooled them… fooled him so easily? Any respect he had for Jason Sedor died in that car, as his friend’s tears dried on his t-shirt.

Although Pierre would be too hurt to see it, it was good that he learned what kind of man his boyfriend was before they went off to different schools for the year. Who knows how many people Jason would’ve slept with while he was away? If his father’s never-ending string of affairs, and his mother’s naïve belief that ‘this would be the last time’ taught him anything, it was once a cheater… always a cheater.