Jumping Over My Mountain - 30. Chapter 30

Jumping Over My Mountain
by Tiffani Chin

Chapter 30

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*********CREW********

“So Storm, glad you came out tonight?” Skyler asked slapping his twin on the shoulder.

“Came out?” I laughed to myself at the double meaning and Zeke slapped my stomach lightly.

“Big dork,” he muttered as he looked at me good-naturedly.

Storm shrugged. “I’m getting there.” He held up his drink which was almost empty.

Skyler laughed. “Cheer up Storm. It’s my going away party. Stop feeling so bummed.”

Storm shrugged off Skyler’s hand and folded his arms. Zeke and I studied him, but didn’t say anything.

Ever since the car accident and his encounter with Kate, Storm had had some moody moments. It was unlike him, but at the same time, I understood his feelings. I’m sure it wasn’t easy raising Sean on his own, and then seeing Sean’s mother getting on with her life.

“It’s ok Storm,” I said nudging his side. “Enjoy tonight and then start your brooding again tomorrow,” I suggested. Zeke snorted into his hand.

“Is it bad that I miss being home with Sean?” Storm asked.

I smiled. “Nah, Storm. It’s natural. He’s your baby,” I laughed.

“The cutest baby ever,” Zeke added making Storm smile.

“Yeah, he is,” Storm agreed. He looked at us. “Thanks guys.”

“Just relax Storm. No need to constantly worry about Sean. You need to have some fun. You’re always in father mode. Give it a rest, will you? Just for one night?” Skyler said. “This is our farewell party before I head to the West Coast for a year. Won’t you miss me?”

Storm eyed Skyler; Skyler waited expectantly. “Well, aren’t you going to answer me you little bitch?” Skyler demanded. That got Storm laughing. “I’m leaving. You don’t care?” Skyler went on mockingly. “What a dick!”

Storm chuckled. “Yeah, how can I not miss that? Being called names every other day?”

Skyler shrugged. “You’ll miss me once I’m gone. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” He stuck his tongue out at his twin before he got tapped on the shoulder and began engaging in conversation with some people I had never seen before. I had almost forgotten how popular Skyler was.

“Why don’t you dance?” I said tugging on Storm’s sleeve. “Those girls have been looking in our direction and I’m not sure who they’re checking out, but you’re the only straight one in this group, so by process of elimination or something…” I trailed off.

Storm smiled and downed the rest of his drink. “Jeez, I have to do everything around here, don’t I?”

“What about Annabelle?” Zeke asked as Storm walked off. He frowned. “Isn’t he still dating her?”

I shook my head. “They hit a rough patch. It wasn’t a bad parting, but she got a job across the country and neither could handle long distance. That’s another reason why Storm’s been in such a funk. I guess meeting people is hard for him when the only person he socializes with is Sean…”

“And Sean can’t even talk yet,” Zeke said laughing to himself.

I slapped his arm. “That’s not true. Storm had a field day when Sean said ‘Da.’ That’s almost Daddy.”

“Oh yeah, and Sean’s birthday party was a blast,” Zeke said sarcastically.

“He turned one! That’s a big deal,” I protested.

“Sean won’t even remember turning one! He spent the entire day spitting on everyone!” Zeke exclaimed. Then he looked at me. “Sorry, I’m just crabby because of all this stress. Packing and deciding what to bring is annoying as hell. I’ve barely begun,” Zeke admitted.

“You’re leaving in four days!”

“I know!” he exclaimed. “I’m terrible!”

“Are you going to miss home?” I asked. “Is that why you’re stalling?”

“Maybe,” Zeke said looking around. “I have been getting along with my mother, you know that. You’re finally not acting like an asshole.” I nudged him. “So I’ll miss you, but at least you’ve made up with Hiro and you’ll be in good hands.”

“I don’t need someone to take care of me!”

Zeke shot me a hard look. “Yeah. You do.” He held up a finger when I was opened my mouth to argue. “Don’t try lying to me.”

I huffed but didn’t have time to come up with anything witty because my eyes locked on Hiro, who was making his way from the bathroom.

“What took you so long?” I asked once he was within earshot.

“Some girl vomited on me,” he replied.

“Eww,” Zeke and I said at the same time, wrinkling our noses.

“That’s disgusting,” Zeke said.

“I helped her clean up and then I had to clean myself up,” Hiro explained indicating his damp shirt.

“Do you stink now?” I asked taking a cautious whiff of my boyfriend.

He smiled. “They had stuff in the bathroom. And some guy had cologne.”

“On him?” Zeke asked in amusement. “Who carries cologne on them?”

Hiro shrugged. “He did.”

“No wonder you smell good,” I said inching closer to Hiro. Hiro looked at me and wrapped his arm around me.

“Want another drink?” Zeke asked. “It’s buy-one-get-one-free until midnight and we have about eight minutes left.” He looked at his watch for affirmation.

“No, I’m good,” I said. Zeke took off to the bar.

“You ok?” Hiro asked.

“I’ll miss them,” I stated simply. Hiro followed my line of vision to Zeke and Skyler. They were both engaged in an animated conversation with a group of people.

“You can visit them,” Hiro reminded.

“That’s true,” I agreed. “But I’ll still miss them, you know, being around all the time.”

He smiled. “I’m sure once they get settled Zeke will be hounding you to visit. And you can stay for awhile, since you don’t have any obligations to rush home to,” Hiro pointed out.

“But what about you?”

Hiro shrugged. “I can visit too, if they don’t mind.”

“They won’t mind, silly,” I said knocking him with my hip. “We’re a package deal.”

“Yeah, I kinda got that,” he smiled.

“A two-for special,” I grinned. I bumped hips with him again.

“A two-for special,” Hiro agreed.

******

“When did you know you were gay?”

“What?” I asked looking up at Kenny in surprise. I was in the middle of filtering through his video games, but froze when I heard that question. Kenny knew I was gay, but had never been curious enough to ask more questions.

“I was wondering when you knew. Like, for sure,” he said.

I peered closely at Kenny and studied his face. “Is there something you want to talk about?”

He remained silent and stared at his fingers.

“When I was in high school. I had an inkling when I was thirteen, but I made it official, well in my mind, at fifteen. From then on, I never looked back,” I answered with a smile.

Kenny was still quiet, avoiding my eyes.

“Anything specific on your mind?” I asked gently. I waited patiently.

Finally, he looked up. “I was just wondering.”

“Yeah?” I asked softly.

“Umm, I’ve been having some thoughts lately,” he began.

I gave him an encouraging look.

“Well, I know it’s normal and stuff, but um, I don’t know,” he sighed.

“Does this have anything to do with Jarett?” I wagered a guess, knowing how much time the two spent together. Since meeting, they had become really close, almost like best friends.

Kenny’s head popped up. “How did you know?” he asked in surprise.

“Just a thought,” I said smiling. “Jarett, um, he’s a forward kid. Are you sure he’s not just, well, confusing you a bit?”

“I thought about that, and truthfully, no. Jarett hasn’t pressured me or influenced me or anything. He’s been nothing but a good friend. But he makes me feel really good, like I’m the most important person in the world. If someone makes you feel that good about yourself all the time, shouldn’t you want to be with him?” Kenny asked.

I smiled. “I think so, but that doesn’t mean you have to be in a romantic relationship. How about being just best friends?”

“Yeah, but I kind of want to be more than friends,” Kenny said, looking down at the carpet. “Although, I’m not ready for doing too much; but I don’t know,” he blushed. “Sometimes our hands touch and I imagine it would be nice to hold hands, hug, and stuff.”

My smile widened. When Kenny peeked at me, he turned even redder.

“What?” he asked.

“You definitely have some sort of feelings for Jarett. Why don’t you talk to him? Clear the air?” I suggested.

“Yeah, but what if it’s one-sided? Jarett is a flirty person. Maybe I’m nothing special,” Kenny said looking out the window.

“Hey, that’s not true. You’re a great catch. Smart, sweet, cute as hell. Good at video games. A good listener,” I listed off. “Although I’ve never seen Jarett with any of his other friends, I have noticed some chemistry between the two of you. Maybe he never goes any further because he thinks you’re straight. Talking will help,” I advised. “No one is a mind reader.”

“What if he rejects me?” Kenny whined.

I laughed and ruffled his dark hair. “Listen kiddo, you’re seventeen. Love and relationships are the biggest bitches ever. You’ll just have to deal with it.”

He shot me a dirty look; clearly he didn’t want to hear that. “Can I have some better advice than that?”

I snorted and tilted my head. “Give me a minute.”

Kenny flopped onto his bed and sighed.

About five minutes later, I flopped onto the bed beside him. “Ok, I got it.”

Kenny turned on his side and looked at me.

I took a deep breath. “As clichéd as this sounds,” I began. “No one ever knows how life will turn out. You have this idea, this little plan, or you take certain people for granted, thinking they’ll always be there years from now. Well, none of that means anything. Things happen. Randomly. I guess what I’m trying to say is that, whether it’s good or bad, you can’t anticipate it. You have to adjust and make it work somehow, you know?”

Kenny looked at me, frowning.

“Take me for example,” I tried again. “My family was killed during my senior year of high school. Everyone expects senior year of high school to be the best year of their lives, but for me it wasn’t. I was living in a black hole and was just so depressed and out of it. Then my first boyfriend cheated on me. Everyone dreams of meeting the perfect guy and living happily together. That didn’t go according to plan. Then I got into this bad accident,” I sighed. “Nothing goes as planned, Kenny. You don’t always get your hopes and wishes. Sometimes you might, but you have to get through a lot of bullshit before that happens. It’s called life. Nothing is easy or cut and dry.”

“Are you happy, Crew?”

“I am. I do wish my family was still alive, but that’s not how it turned out. I guess I don’t have any regrets, because everything I’ve been through has made me who I am today. Hopefully, I can say I’m a stronger person because of it, but we’ll see.”

“I think you’re super strong,” Kenny said.

“Thanks. See, how could Jarett not want you? You’re too sweet!”

He giggled and looked away.

“Kenny?”

He met my eyes.

“Take a chance,” I said seriously. “See where it leads you. It can be the most wonderful thing in the world, or the most horrible thing in the world,” I paused. “But remember, if things don’t work out, you’ll always have your family and friends to help you through it. You’ll always have me.”

“Thanks Crew,” he said quietly. “I know you’ll be there for me.”

I studied him, then grinned. “And if Jarett ever does hurt you, I know for a fact that Hiro would kick his ass. Like hardcore.”

Kenny burst out laughing.

“Kenny, I’m serious.”

“I know,” he continued laughing. “That’s what’s so funny.”

******

“I know it’s only been a month since I got here, but you have to visit as soon as possible. Don’t even worry about disturbing me and my schoolwork, just come!” Zeke said excitedly. “It’s so great here and I have so many places to take you. There’s this great burrito joint…”

I smiled as I listened to Zeke go into details of the restaurants he had tried and what foods he had eaten. It was funny to hear how enthusiastic he was over a meal.

“Crew, no joke, these burritos are amazing. There’s the normal sized one and the monster sized one and you can choose what you want in it…”

I heard loud noises in the background, the sounds of guys and girls yelling, water splashing, and the unmistakable laugh that belonged to Skyler.

“What’s going on?” I asked curiously.

“What?” Zeke asked. “Huh, oh wait a sec will you? Skyler!” he shouted. I pulled the phone away from my ear and cringed. “Skyler, watch out. Donny fell off the kayak!”

“So what?” I heard Skyler shout back, although it was fainter.

“Donny’s drunk. He can’t swim,” Zeke called out.

“What the fuck? Take some swimming lessons,” Skyler responded. I heard a loud splash.

There was a pause and finally Zeke came back on the line. “Sorry about that.”

“Is someone drowning?” I exclaimed with alarm. “Aren’t you going to do something?”

Zeke laughed. “Oh no, no. That’s just Donny, being you know, Donny. Skyler is dragging his ass out of the pool as we speak. Stupid Donny. He does this every time, you know?”

“I need more information than that,” I stated dryly. “I don’t know Donny personally, remember?”

“Oh right,” Zeke said snorting. “Well, Donny loves getting shit faced drunk, like all the time…”

“Some school,” I smirked. “By the way, isn’t it like 3: 30 over there?”

“Yeah. So?”

“So isn’t it too early to be getting shit-faced?” I asked.

“Listen man, it’s never too early to get shit-faced,” he paused. “At least over here in sunny California,” he snickered. “We know how to have fun, unlike those dark intellectuals of the East Coast. Anyway, he gets all drunk and loves to go kayaking in the pool…”

“Kayaking in the pool?” I asked. “How does that work?”

“Can I finish my story?” Zeke asked in exasperation.

“He’s breathing!” I heard Skyler’s voice shout out. A bunch of cheers echoed from somewhere.

“Hail lifeguard Skyler!” a girl screamed.

“Sky-ler, Sky-ler, Sky-ler,” a bunch of people chanted. I smiled in amusement. It appeared that Skyler’s popularity followed him from the East coast.

“Thank you my adoring fans!” Skyler called out in a mock English accent.

“Good job!” Zeke shouted back. Once again, I pulled the phone away from my ear and flinched.

“Fuck, Zeke, I’m going deaf here.”

“Sorry. So, everyone likes to kayak in the pool after a night of drinking. It always seems more fun after boozing. Although, no one ever moves in the kayak; we just sit there since there’s no current or wind or whatever,” Zeke went on.

I rolled my eyes. “I look forward to meeting all your friends.”

“You’ll have a blast!” Zeke went on excitedly. “Oh man, I miss you. It’s only been a month since I’ve seen you face to face; but I’m not used to being away from you. School didn’t really count, because I was a few hours drive away. Right now, I’m literally across the country.”

“Don’t worry, Zeke. I’m fine,” I assured him, knowing that was the real source of his missing me. “I have Hiro, and Brett’s killing my ass with physical therapy and workouts, and I’m babysitting Sean. Life is good. Just relax and have fun out there. I’ll be seeing you soon enough.”

“I know, I just can’t wait.”

“Hey, I got some news,” I said casually.

“What’s that?”

“I finally got the settlement money.”

“What, from Daniel’s folks?” Zeke asked. “It’s about time.”

“I know, but the amount is huge,” I whispered. “I had never really asked Hiro about the details because at the time we weren’t talking, and since we got back together, well, I didn’t want to talk about that stuff, period. But man, imagine my surprise getting a check for a few million.”

“Are you shitting me?” Zeke exclaimed.

“No,” I said laughing. “All those pictures of me and those hospital statements of my condition, the long physical therapy, loss of income in the future, apparently, it was an easy settlement. Daniel's family paid exactly what the lawyers asked for without question. For them, it’s like chump change or something.”

“Wow, Crew. You’re rich. You’re freaking rich,” he sputtered.

“Hiro and I were thinking of renovating my house a bit. Maybe add more rooms? I don’t have too much space. I don’t know if I’m ready yet to get rid of my family’s things,” I trailed off.

“Hey, I think adding more rooms is a good idea,” Zeke interjected quickly.

“Also a home gym. You think adding a pool might be too much?” I asked. “I mean, the campus pool isn’t too far from my house.”

“Only if you want a pool,” Zeke said. “Jesus, you’re loaded! Add five fucking pools!”

“I’m not gonna blow it all,” I replied.

“Killjoy,” he teased. “Dork. Old man.”

“I will invest it, maybe create a trust for Sean, and help you out with your loan.”

There was silence at the other end of the line. Then he spoke, “You don’t have to do that, Crew.”

“Yeah, but I want to. I love you, you’re my best friend. I want to help.”

“I appreciate the offer. Let’s see how my future job hunt goes after I graduate. Maybe you can help me pay off half, so I won’t seem like a total moocher.”

“You’re not a moocher!”

“Are you gonna start wearing some bling-bling?” Zeke teased.

I snorted. “Ah, no! Gaudy jewelry really isn’t my style. I’m a white guy, remember?”

Zeke started crowing with laughter. “Yeah, we’re a couple of white boys.”

“Who you talking to?” I heard the faint sound of Skyler’s voice.

“Crew.”

“Say hi for me.”

“Did you get that?” Zeke asked. I heard the smile in his voice.

“Yeah. Say hi back for me.”

“Will do. Listen Crew, I’ll call you tomorrow, ok? We’re going to get some food now. Hunger levels increase ten-fold after drinking binges, apparently.”

“Sure.”

“Miss you lots.”

“Miss you, too.” I hung up the phone and stared at it for a few seconds with a contented look on my face. I surveyed my house, the house I hadn’t lived in for months, and I realized it felt good being back. My home. With all my memories. And hopefully I’d soon be building new memories with Hiro.

Venturing to my brother’s room, I cautiously entered it, feeling as if I was somehow disturbing it. I felt something nudging my leg. Looking down I spotted Sushi peering up at me, almost curiously.

“Hey Sushi.” I rubbed his short fur gently before directing him into the living room. I walked further into the room. While I often dusted the room and did some light cleaning, everything else had remained untouched. Even now, it still made my chest ache thinking of my older brother. The room even still smelled of him, Lucas’ own unique smell.

My fingers traced over two photos in Luc’s room. One was of the whole family. The other was of just him and me. It was taken during a snowboarding trip. I was sprawled out on the snow. His arms were wrapped around me and we both had huge grins on our faces. I smiled faintly, trying to remember how old we were. I looked like I was thirteen or fourteen. Our hair and eye colors were different, but we had the same dimples, lips, and rosy cheeks. Everyone knew that we were brothers. “Big brother. Bossy Lucas,” I murmured.

Drops of water fell onto the glass and I frowned, wondering where it was coming from. Then I touched my cheek feeling the moisture and stared at my wet fingertips slightly dazed. I swiped my nose with my sleeve and then grabbed the family picture. I stared at everyone and a shaky smile formed on my lips. “I miss you guys, more than you will ever know,” I said softly. “I never forget. Never.”

“I’ve had a rough year. A rough four years, actually,” I laughed dryly. “It hasn’t been all bad though,” I shrugged. “But a lot more drama and bullshit than most people my age go through.” I sighed. “What can you do, right? That’s life. At least I can walk again. Be grateful for the little things,” I chuckled.

Tugging on the blanket, I stared at the photo. “I’m back together with Hiro. I hope you don’t mind him living here.” I paused, my ears twitching for nonexistent voices.

“I think I’m finally in a good place,” I said quietly. I grinned. “Let’s hope it stays that way, huh? Keep your fingers crossed for me.”

Staring at the pictures, my smile faded, and I pressed two fingers to my lips, and then pressed them against the picture.

“Crew?”

I sat up and made my way out, but Hiro found me first. “What’s up?” he asked in a soft voice, studying the room and then my face.

“Nothing,” I said reassuringly.

“Ok,” he nodded, still looking thoughtful. “Ready to head out for dinner? Kenny and Jarett called. They’re already on their way to the restaurant.”

“That’s right. Our double date.” I had almost forgotten.

Hiro smiled. “You ready?”

Taking a small breath, I shut Lucas’ door and took Hiro’s hand. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

******

Thanks to Frances for editing and Gary for beta-reading.