The Cockney Canuck - 75. Chapter 75 The Fugitive

I didn’t just hate Don, I hated everything that he stood for. All the twisted logic of a society, which could be so shallow and two faced. He had made me feel like I had let the family down and brought shame upon them. It wasn’t as if we were robbing banks or plotting a terrorist attack. We were having sex, an act of love practised by almost everybody in the world at some point in their lives. We were underage, sure, but we weren’t twelve, we were fifteen and it didn’t seem to bother him too much when I was dating Fran. He gave me a ride to her house and all but pushed me through the door. He even bought me flowers to give to her, hoping that it would seal the deal for me. I’m sure he would have offered her money if he thought it would have helped. He knew what I was there for and he was proud of me, even though we were officially too young. It had nothing to do with our ages, that was just an excuse. The only reason why he didn’t agree with it now, was because Nathan was a boy.

It was clear from the beginning that he didn’t like Nathan and now he had a reason to banish him forever. Never mind the fact that he was supposed to be Daniel’s best friend. He may not have been talking to me at the time, but I didn’t think that anyone would be asking Daniel what he thought about this new rule.

I kept thinking about what Walter had said to me earlier, about Don having to respect my rights and although it seemed logical, it was difficult for me to imagine Don curtailing his rhetoric because of some unenforceable law. Don hated people like Walter, one of the caring, liberals who were gradually chipping away at the good old fashioned family values that he seemed to hold so dear. He would always moan when one of them appeared on the evening news. I should have paid more attention to this side of him, then maybe I would have been better prepared.

I wasn’t expecting him to embrace my sexuality in the way that Nicola had done, I knew there would be issues because he clearly didn’t understand it, but I was hoping for a more measured and sensible approach that we could have built upon for the future. Instead, he had not only slammed the door shut in my face, but he had locked and bolted it too. There seemed to be no way back for me; he had left me absolutely nothing to work with. It was either his way or the highway and my answer could not have been more emphatic.

It didn’t need to be like that, Sue had shown how it was possible to adapt without giving up on her core values. She had handled it better than I had expected, proving herself a worthy occupant of a position which I had previously tried so hard to keep her from. I wondered what my real mom would have made of it all. I know she would have stood up for me no matter what, even against her brother and maybe Sue would do the same. It was a mistake for her to leave me alone with her husband, but I had never seen her as furious as she was with Don that morning when she stood between us and stared him down.

After Walter left, I decided to stay in the tacky diner. I needed to eat and make a phone call, so I ordered a western omelette and another milkshake, and then moved tables so that I had a better view of the main road. I felt a little safer knowing that Don would never think of looking for me in such a dive, that’s if he was even bothering to look for me at all.

I was anxious to find out what had happened after I had left. I would have liked to have seen Don’s expression when Daniel told him that I had gone. The image that kept coming back to me though was of Amy crying as I ran out, it hurt me to see her so upset and I couldn’t get it out of my mind.

After staring at my phone on the table for ages, I finally summoned up the courage to switch it on. It was just after two o’clock and in the three hours, since I had left, I had received countless texts and voicemails from the family. Sue's were predictable. She was apologetic and worried, pleading for me to let her know that I was okay, even if I didn’t come home straight away.

Nicola’s approach was slightly different. She was at Jimmy’s house and wanted to come and collect me and take me back there. She promised not to tell anyone where I was, but there was no mention of how long I would be able to stay there for. He lived with his parents just out of town but although it was a tempting offer, I had never met his family and it would have been awkward.

Daniel had barely talked to me at all in two days, but his two text messages were perhaps the most revealing. He told me that his dad had calmed down, was talking sensible and that nothing would be said if I came home. I didn’t know quite how that would work, but in his second message, he urged me to go to the hospital if I felt that I couldn’t go back home. He clearly thought that I wasn’t well enough to be out on my own and ended the text by saying that he was worried about me and that mom was frantic.

I managed to read the first dozen or so texts before my eyes filled up again, but there were new ones arriving all the time and one, in particular, got my full attention. It was from Nathan, who was obviously still completely unaware of my predicament.

‘How did it go today? Call me later when you get time. Love you lots X’.

I wanted to call him straight away but I didn’t want him to worry and there was little that he could have done to help anyway, so I resisted the urge with the intention of speaking to him later.

I couldn’t remember Don ever sending me a text and he rarely called my phone, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that his name wasn’t on the list of messages, but when I listened to the voicemails the first and last were from him. He sounded calm and even apologised for losing his temper but I didn’t want to hear his voice and had no interest in what he had to say. I erased both messages after the first couple of sentences.

Sue must have called Rory and Fran because they had also been trying to contact me and there was even a text from David asking me if I wanted to meet up with him at the beach. I had never been as popular, but the advice from everyone seemed to be to go home, and that was the one thing that I felt I couldn’t do. The house on Taunton Road which I had struggled for six months to think of as my home, now felt more like enemy territory than a place of refuge. It was at the time, probably the very last place on earth that I wanted to be.

Of all the messages, I replied to only one of them and that was Sue. I felt that I needed to do that, but I kept it simple.

‘Sue, I’m at a friend’s house. I’m safe and well but I can’t come back yet. X’.

I added the ‘yet’ before sending it because it sounded less final like there was a chance, but that was not how I felt. At least she knew that I was safe, even if it wouldn’t stop her from worrying.

When I finished eating I sat looking at the phone and weighing up my options. There was someone else who I had known for some time, who I didn’t expect to make anyone’s list of possible accomplices.

‘Maybe just for once, he could come in useful’.

“Hey man. What the fuck, if it isn’t my English buddy. I heard they let you outta the hospital. How’s it going?”

“Hi, Alex. I’ve had better days…so what are you up to right now?”

Calling him was a gamble and when he told me that he was at home kicking it, I started to worry.

‘Maybe this was a bad idea after all’?

“What are you kicking Alex?”

“You, dumbass,” he said laughing. “It’s an expression; you’re such a dick.

It was a relief to discover that he wasn’t actually kicking something or somebody and he seemed to be in quite good spirits until I told him my story. Unusually for him, he didn’t interrupt or question me, even when I mentioned my boyfriend, although not by name. When I finished, he took a while to reply.

“Where are you, dude?”

“That’s what everyone wants to know,” I said. “I’m downtown, close to the train station.”

“You’re not thinking of going anywhere, are you. Like jumping on the next train to fucking wherever, someplace far away.”

“I was going to but I missed the last train to Toronto.”

“Holy shit; are you serious?”

“I can’t go back there Alex. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“Toronto is a bad idea, you can come over here,” he said. “My old man’s at home but he don’t give a fuck. Looks like he’s hammered anyway.” He laughed and I giggled nervously with him. I had never met his parents but it was a relief to know that he had some kind of parental supervision, however minimal.

“You really don’t mind?”

“No, man. I got some weed if you want some?”

“It’s okay Alex, I’ll pass on that.”

“So you know where I live, get your ass over here and you can tell me all about that cute fucking nurse that you had looking after you in the hospital.”

“Lorna?”

“I don’t know her name, dude, but I heard she was hot. I knew that you wouldn’t be interested though, but I didn’t say that, of course.” As he laughed, my phone beeped to let me know that Sue was trying to call.

“I don’t know where you got that information from,” I said.

“So, are you coming over, or do I have to come and get you?”

“Well…I dunno,” I said. “I suppose I could.”

“Dude, why else did you call me?” He laughed again. “You can stay here if you want, you know that. It’s not like I’m gonna tell anyone.”

“Thanks, Alex, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Be quicker than that, dude,” he said and laughed.

When I ended the call there was a new voicemail message from Sue. I would listen to it after I phoned for a taxi.

* * * * *

Taking a taxi to Simpson Drive, seemed like a smart move at the time but it threatened to backfire when the driver recognised me.

“Are you going home Robbie?” he asked and I suppose usually I would have been. Maybe I was being a little paranoid, but I was worried in case the driver found out that the police were looking for me and told them what address he took me to. I didn’t want to take any chances so I asked him to drop me outside the elementary school in the next street and I walked the rest of the way around the block.

In contrast to my two previous visits, Alex’s house was busy and noisy. I had already met his cheeky younger brother Luke, who greeted me at the door, but not his dad who was asleep in front of the television when I arrived. I thought that it was funny how Alex still insisted on introducing him to me, despite the fact that he was obviously unconscious.

“This is my asshole dad,” he said and I cringed. “Dad, this is my friend from school, Robbie. He’s from England.”

He mumbled something incoherent but didn’t get as far as opening his eyes as Alex picked up the empty beer bottles from around him and carried them into the kitchen, where I finally got to meet his infamous older brother Brad.

“Hey, is this Robbie? Shit man, how are you feeling?” He put his arm around me as if we were close friends and gave me a hug. I told him that I was fine, but I must have looked uncomfortable.

“Get away from him, Brad,” said Alex. “He just got outta the hospital, he doesn’t want you all over him, do you, Robbie?”

His brother was talking to a girl with heavy eye makeup and a big stud in her nose. They were both drinking beer and smoking. “This guy almost died you know?” he said. “He was in a fucking coma.”

“Really? Oh my God,” said the girl.

“What was it like, man?” he said. “I mean, could you hear shit and stuff, that must be creepy?”

“Yeah, I could hear some things, like people talking but it wasn’t scary. I just felt tired all the time.”

I didn’t expect them to be able to understand; nobody did, even the doctors. It was impossible to explain, so I preferred not to talk about it at all.

“Come on dude, we’ll go downstairs,” said Alex, but his attempt at snatching a beer from the fridge failed when Brad took it off him and swiped him around the head.

Watching Alex on the receiving end for a change was amusing but he hated anyone laughing at him. His reaction always made it even funnier and usually brought out the worst in him but it never stopped me and on this occasion, he was frustrated even more when he realised that he couldn’t retaliate.

“Shit, I can’t even hit you, can I?”

“No, Alex. You would probably kill me,” I said mocking him.

“I like your accent,” said the girl as I followed Alex downstairs.

“Thank you.”

Alex laughed as he sat on the couch. “You’re funny, man. You’re so fucking polite and the chicks love you, but you prefer fucking guys.”

‘So do you Alex, remember’?

I ignored his comment for the greater good, conscious of the fact that I needed someplace to stay and when I sat in his armchair, I could have fallen asleep straight away.

"You look totally fucked man, are you sure you’re okay?”

It was the first time that I had been able to relax since leaving the house earlier and all the stress and physical exertion seemed to be catching up with me. I was totally exhausted.

“I feel like shit,” I said. “I’m supposed to be resting.”

“You’re not gonna die or anything are you?”

“I hope not,” I said opening my eyes wide. “But at the moment, Alex, to be honest, I don’t really care.” It was the truth, but I couldn’t explain that feeling either.

“Well I fucking do man; I don’t want the cops coming around here, my brother would kill me…then my dad would probably kill him…and the cops would kill my dad. Hey, I’m only kidding…but you do look like shit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking so bad.”

I smirked. “Thanks, Alex. I knew I could rely on you to cheer me up, mate.”

“Of course, mate,” he said mimicking my accent. “Think nothing of it, just don’t die okay?”

‘Easy for him to say; maybe today was too much too soon’?

“Alex, would it be okay if I took a shower?”

“As long as you bring it back,” he laughed. “No, help yourself, man. You’ll probably feel a lot better afterwards.”

I nodded and stood up looking down at my dirty t-shirt and shorts. “Err…do you?”

He looked at me and smiled. “You haven’t got anything else to wear have you?”

“Just these, I ran outta the house, remember?”

“So let me get this straight. You wanna hide here from your bad uncle, use my shower, and borrow my clothes…do you wanna sleep in my bed too?”

“NO!” I said. “Definitely not. I don’t wanna do anything like that Alex…not again. I thought…?”

He stopped me by putting his finger up to his mouth and then pointing to the ceiling to remind me that his brother was upstairs. “I was kidding,” he said. “We agreed, remember?”

I nodded and smiled, relieved that he didn’t even want to talk about it.

‘He’s probably too embarrassed’?

I wasn’t embarrassed, but I needed him to know that I wasn’t up for a repeat performance. It was good that he understood and no doubt he was still feeling bad over what happened, but I was just happy to forget about the whole thing.

“Can I borrow a towel too?”

He huffed. “Go take a shower dude, I’ll go get you some clothes to wear and a towel and shit.” He pushed me gently in the direction his bathroom. “I wouldn’t do this for anyone else you know.”

“I know Alex,” I said and winked at him.

“Go fuck yourself, but not in my shower.”

He was right; I felt a lot better after a long cool shower and when I stepped out, he had left a clean towel for me hanging by the sink. The door was left ajar, so I wrapped the towel around my waist and ventured outside where Alex was lying on his back on the couch watching television.

He looked up and laughed at me. “What’s so funny?” I said.

“I forgot how pale and skinny you were.” He got up and walked into the bedroom, switching on the light and pointing to a pile of clothes on the bed. “These should fit your cute ass,” he said and he chuckled. I smiled and stood nervously watching him until he turned to leave, laughing to himself. I guess he had a point; it was a little late to start acting shy around him. He had seen me undressed more times than Nathan and Fran put together. Mostly because we did sports together at school every Tuesday, after which we would have to share a communal shower.

“You know it’s kinda neat, I’ve never had a fugitive in the house before,” he shouted from the couch.

“I’m not a fugitive,” I said. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Okay, so if the cops knock at the door, I’ll just tell them you’re down here, right?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.”

His room was dark and dingy even with the light on and it brought back vivid memories of the last night that I spent there. It may have been fun, to begin with, but it had ended badly and painfully for me. I sat on the bed and thought about what had happened and how it had happened. I was a willing participant, but only after he had given me drugs, which he knew would make me feel horny. They were strong and took nearly two days to wear off.

At the time, I was too embarrassed and scared to say much. I just wanted to forget about it and I think that he did too, but what he did was wrong and maybe even bordering on rape, even though I allowed him to do it. I wasn’t sure if this was technically true or not but it wasn’t something that I enjoyed or wanted to do at the time. It was irrelevant I suppose; I would never have accused him of such a thing let alone pressed charges.

This probably wasn’t the time to be worrying over something that was done and dusted. Alex wasn’t my enemy, he was helping me, and even though I had vowed never to go back there, he and his brothers had welcomed me into their house and it was the only place that I had to go.

On the bed were a pair of briefs, shorts, and a t-shirt. The briefs were too small and the others were a size too big for me, bringing back memories of my first visit to his house, during a thunderstorm. Another embarrassing and crazy night, where I ended up in his clothes and then out of them again. He didn’t need to give me any drugs that night.

I rested my head down on the bed for a while and closed my eyes.

‘Maybe Don was right about me, maybe I am depraved?’

* * * * *

“Hey buddy, cmon, tell me that you’re not dead, man.”

“What…oh, Alex. Shit, what time is it?” I lifted my head, yawned and looked around me. I was lying on top of his bed and he was sitting smiling at me. I rubbed my eyes as they adjusted to the unfamiliar surroundings.

I wanted to ask him what he was doing in such close proximity, watching me, but then I realised that I was the one who was invading his space, sleeping on his bed, and in his room.

“It doesn’t matter what time it is,” he said. “You don’t have to go anywhere.”

“Sorry, I must have needed to sleep.”

“It’s okay, it’s cool,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you but….”

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “I’m in your bed.”

“No, that’s not why I woke you. I don’t mind where you sleep. But I just thought that you might be hungry, that’s all.” He stood up and smiled nervously. “I got us some pizza.”

I sat up and put my feet on the floor. It was too real to be a dream, but Alex was never this nice to me, not even when he was being nice to me. I needed some more time to get my head around this, but when I stared at him quizzically, he returned it with his trademark lopsided smile. It usually worked with the girls but I wasn’t falling for it…not again.

“You bought me a pizza?”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, get your ass out here, we need some help eating this fucker.”

I stood up and followed him outside, where his little brother was already tucking into a super large pizza. I felt a little scrawny in his baggy clothes and uncomfortable without any socks, on a floor littered with crap. Luke had the armchair so I crossed the room as if it were a mine field to sit on the couch next to Alex.

“I’ll clean up around here tomorrow,” said Alex. “And you can help.” He was pointing to his brother.

“I’m going out tomorrow, remember?” said Luke. “With Joey and his dad.”

“Oh yeah, well, make sure you’re home, like before seven,” said Alex. It brought a sour face from his sibling. “I mean it, Luke.”

I was beginning to see how things worked in that house. When Alex had introduced their dad as an asshole, he was probably being kind to him. I didn’t know what happened to his mom because Alex never mentioned her, but his dad was a lost cause and Luke seemed to take most of his instruction from his brothers.

I thought it was sad and it made me feel uncomfortable, but it showed me a side of Alex that he had previously kept hidden. He was the same age as I was, but he carried the responsibility of a father and he was certainly more of a dad to his baby brother than the real one was.

‘I can’t believe he bought me a pizza…wait a minute. Is it drugged or something’?

I needed to stop being so suspicious of him and relax. I knew he had a good side, he just didn’t show it all that often.

“Thanks, Alex,” I said. “You didn’t have to buy me dinner.”

“I didn’t,” he said. “You did. I found some cash in your pocket and thought…well, you know…I knew you’d wanna pay me back somehow.”

I almost choked, but I was laughing and I didn’t really care. At least it put my mind at rest, now that I knew why he did it. I wasn’t expecting him to help me out at a cost to himself or even purely as a favour, Alex wasn’t like that, but if all he wanted from me was food, then I was more than happy to foot the bill.

“Oh, I had to buy my brother and his girl some fries and peanut butter ice cream, I hope you don’t mind?” I smiled at the combination and shook my head. “You got some change though, which I put towards the hydro and heat.”

I didn’t see why I had to pay for the heating when it was nearly thirty degrees outside, but I didn’t question it.

“So I haven’t got any money left then?”

“No,” he said. “That took pretty much all of it, but you don’t really need any money if you’re staying with me dude.”

‘You had me fooled’.

“Yeah, right.”

“Oh, and I found your phone.”

“Don’t tell me. You sold it right?”

Luke thought it was funny but Alex’s smile was quickly replaced by his ‘I wanna hurt you, expression’.

“See, I try to be nice to you and you just insult me. This is why we always end up fighting.”

“We don’t fight,” I said. “You just hit me and I yell. That’s not a fight.”

“You always try though, I bet you’ve swung more punches at me than most guys,” he said. “Probably not more than Jenny though, but you always miss.” He found it funny and Luke seemed to laugh at everything, but I was trying to imagine Jenny punching him. I thought they had split up ages ago.

“You better be careful,” I said. “One day I might get lucky.”

He seemed to think about it before replying in true Alex fashion with a sharp punch to my upper arm. “I doubt it,” he said.

I rubbed my arm and frowned at him as he laughed with his little brother. The truce was over but at least I knew where I stood; I preferred it when Alex was trying to beat me up—in the friendliest possible way—than when he was being overly nice to me. Those were the times that usually ended badly.

That evening we sat and watched a movie, but it was difficult for me to get the events of that morning out of my head. I could barely concentrate and Alex could tell. After a quick play fight with Luke, he grabbed him by the waist and stood him up straight.

“Say goodnight to our guest,” he said and Luke politely obliged before Alex led him upstairs to bed.

He was gone for about twenty minutes and I couldn’t help wondering if he was upstairs reading a story to his baby brother. It seemed likely but so out of character for a guy with such a super tough image. I would have paid good money to have seen it, but he probably would have beaten me up if I ever told anyone. After a while, I could hear him talking to Brad in the kitchen before coming back downstairs with a lit joint in his hand.

“Not for me Alex, I don’t like drugs.”

“It’s only weed, it’ll help you relax,” he said. “Otherwise you’re gonna drive yourself crazy thinking about what happened today.”

“Will it help me sleep?”

“Probably,” he said and laughed as he took a drag.

I eyed him suspiciously. I had smoked cannabis before in England with Tom; not regularly but enough times to know how it would affect me. “Just one puff then,” I said as I held out my hand. He passed it to me and I took a long drag.

I was coughing for about ten minutes, but Alex found it highly amusing, almost falling to the floor with laughter. Determined not to let it get the better of me, I tried again with much the same results. My third attempt was much more respectable, but by that point, it no longer really mattered.

It did help me to relax though, and Don’s hatred no longer dominated my thoughts. I was too busy laughing to worry about him anymore. We watched Saturday Night Live and although I had seen it plenty of times before, that particular show was the funniest one ever. I lost track of time and either it ended or he switched channels because suddenly we were watching the local news from upstate New York and even that was hilarious.

* * * * *

I couldn’t remember going to bed that night but at some stage, his girlfriend Jenny made an appearance and it was her voice that woke me the next morning. I had no idea what he was doing to her in the next room and I didn’t really want to know either, but whatever it was, he was obviously very good at it because she kept telling him, and in no uncertain terms.

At first, it sounded as if she was having some kind of asthma attack, but I resisted the urge to rush in and help administer first aid after recalling similar squeals of delight coming from Fran’s otherwise eloquent lips. I shuddered at the rather unpleasant thought, unable to believe that any male could actually enjoy such a task, and my heart went out to poor Alex.

‘Rather him than me’.

I covered my head with the thin sheet, but it didn’t help any and it was too hot, even though I was only wearing a pair of Alex’s tight briefs.

‘How the fuck does he fit that snake of his into these things’?

I threw off the sheet to give some air to my sweaty body, just as Jenny reached an earth-shattering finale. I couldn’t remember getting into bed the night before or even getting undressed and I would have worried if it wasn’t for the performance in the next room. Alex hadn’t shown any interest in me since I arrived, so it was possible that my previous visits had satisfied his curiosity, and that boy X was now back in his own camp.

That’s what I wanted to believe; it seemed to be a plausible explanation and Jenny was the perfect foil. On the other side of those wafer thin walls though, it was only half-time, and as Alex took over the lead vocals my ears pricked up along with something else. Jenny may not have been a shining light academically, but she was obviously a girl of many talents and I could only admire her stamina as she worked him into a near frenzy. I could tell by her muffled tones that she had her mouth full and I knew exactly how difficult a task that was. Alex packed a fairly hefty tool but unlike me, I didn’t hear her choke or cough once, which was quite impressive.

I was never into voyeurism but I would have liked to have seen her technique if only to pick up a few useful tips to use on Nathan one day. I suspected that their unashamed broadcast, as erotic as it was, did little justice to what was actually going on in there, but my vivid imagination soon had me reaching for my own sturdy tool.

After all my concerns over Alex, I couldn’t believe that I was suddenly jealous of this girl with a mouth like an anaconda, but in the heat of the moment, I would have gladly swapped places with her in an instant. To back up this claim, when he finally erupted I wasn’t that far behind, soaking my friend’s briefs and causing me yet another logistical headache…but it was worth it.

As Alex and I both basked in a heady post orgasmic bliss separated only by a layer of drywall, we were interrupted by heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. I guessed that it had to be his dad and wondered if their noise had finally managed to wake him from the dead. I quickly picked up the sheet from the floor and covered myself before he came into view.

He looked rough; wrinkled and unshaven, with sunken eyes, and a Gorbachev like bruise across his forehead. I could smell him from the doorway. A foul combination of stale tobacco and beer that followed him around the room as he stumbled past my bed and stared at me.

“Who the fuck are you?” he mumbled, but I didn’t reply. “Where’s that no good son of mine. Alex, are you in there, you Little fucker?”

He didn’t bother knocking but Alex was prepared. “What the fuck do you want?” I cringed when I heard Alex address his dad, expecting it to escalate but this hard-nosed approach was obviously the only language that the old man understood.

“There’s no fucking milk upstairs.”

“So, what do you want me to do about it?”

“You’re too busy partying all the fucking time, to get any groceries. Luke wants some breakfast and there’s no fucking milk.”

“Maybe you should’ve got some yourself then, before getting drunk yesterday and passing out!”

‘Go there Alex’.

“Who’s she?” I heard his dad ask.

“This is Jenny, dad. My girlfriend. Remember?”

“Hello, Mr Baker,” she said weakly, but I was surprised that she could talk at all after the oral battering that she had just taken.

“I don’t know,” he said. “There’s so fucking many, I lose count.” Poor Jenny couldn’t have been too happy with that statement, but you would have to be completely stupid to believe anything that he said.

“Jenny’s been my girlfriend for six months now. Haven’t you got anything better to do?”

“Don’t talk to me like that in my own fucking house,” he said. “And who’s the kid out there?”

“He’s a friend, leave him alone.”

His dad sneered and shuffled out of the bedroom and I watched him as he walked around the bed and up the stairs, mumbling to himself.

‘What is it with middle-aged men in this town'?

Don may have considered himself to be streets ahead of Alex’s unfortunate father, but in my books, they were pretty much on level pegging in the good parenting stakes.

There were voices around the house now so I decided to ditch Alex’s gooey underwear before cleaning myself with the sheet. After a quick scan of the room, I saw the shorts that he had lent me on the armchair opposite and decided on a quick naked dash to the bathroom, grabbing them on the way past.

I closed the door behind me just as I heard them walking out of the bedroom and I managed to pee and have another quick shower before Alex began pounding on the door. There was no lock and when I asked him to pass me in the towel that I had used, he simply walked in, threw it at me, and then stood in front of the bowl to pee.

He was wearing a pair of boxer shorts but I was naked and had to push the door shut when I saw Jenny walk past.

“I didn’t wake you up this morning did I?” he asked as I dried myself.

“Yes,” I said.

“Sorry.”

“Doesn’t matter, sounded like you were having fun.”

“Oh man, she’s as horny as fuck.” It was the impression that I got too.

“Doesn’t your dad mind?” I said.

“He can’t complain, me and Brad look after him. He’d starve if it wasn’t for us.”

I was mesmerised by his extraordinarily long pee, which must have set some kind of record, but when he turned around he caught me watching him as he tucked his beast away.

“Still interested huh?” he said and he smiled at me as he walked out, leaving the door and my mouth wide open. When I noticed Jenny staring at me from the armchair, I quickly covered myself with the towel and waved rather nervously at her, before shutting the door.

I hated having no toothbrush, hairbrush, or clean underwear and especially no socks. My clothes had now dwindled to just the one item; Alex’s baggy, knee length, dark-blue board shorts, which without underwear, allowed a bit too much movement underneath for my liking. My dick wasn’t used to that amount of freedom and I felt a little exposed as I went outside to search for the t-shirt that I had borrowed.

“You passed out last night dude,” said Alex laughing with Jenny. “We had to get you undressed.” They thought it was funny, but I couldn’t remember anything and I didn’t respond to their jibes. Alex may have been privy to my body on a few occasions but I didn’t like the idea of him undressing me when I was asleep. I think it bothered me even more than Jenny for some reason. I had just given her a quick peek of my junk as I stood in the bathroom, but her only reaction was a smile.

She looked a little tired and I wasn’t surprised, but I was probably more embarrassed by her pornographic vocals than she was and found it difficult to speak to her without picturing Alex’s dick in her mouth. She must have known that I had heard them, but it didn’t bother her and she made no attempt to get dressed either, preferring to lounge around wrapped in just a bedsheet.

Bare skin seemed to be the order of the day, with Alex seemingly content in just a pair of boxer shorts, but I wasn’t comfortable until I found the t-shirt that I was wearing behind the sofa bed and pulled it on.

At least Luke was wearing pyjamas when he ventured downstairs and squeezed into a non-existent gap on the sofa between his brother and me. “You’re still here,” he said to me. “I thought that you would be gone by now.”

I didn’t understand. “Why?”

“Because last time you left really early,” he said. Jenny picked up on it straight away.

“You stayed here before?” she asked.

“Yeah!” said Luke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “A long time ago, though. You remember don’t you.” He was looking at Alex but his brother was clearly uncomfortable with the topic of conversation, so he turned to me for confirmation. “I saw you leave in the morning through the hatch. Why did you go so early?” He smiled at me before Alex stood up and led him upstairs promising him some breakfast and leaving me to deal with his girlfriend.

“I never knew you guys were such good friends,” she said.

“We’re not really,” I said. “I just needed a place to stay.”

“I know that. Alex told me what happened to you.”

“Oh…err, what exactly did he say?”

“Your parents threw you out because you’re gay.” She smiled at me. “You don’t look it though.”

“Thanks.”

“That’s okay,” she said missing my sarcasm. Then she started to laugh. “So Alex invited you for a sleepover, huh. That’s really fucking cute. What did you do, stay up late, watch horror movies and eat candy?”

I didn’t like where this was going. “Not exactly,” I said.

“I didn’t think so,” she said and laughed. “So I guess he’s been fucking you too, eh?”