Indefensible - 2. Chapter 2

Indefensible

Chapter 2 - Best Friends Pt 1: Donny and Brad

"Are you even paying attention to what I'm saying, Mr. Prescott?" Don Landry demanded sternly.

"Sorry, Mr. Landry, I was just thinking about Mikie again," Jeff said as the smile faded from his face and he looked back at the man sitting across from.

"Michael Kesler is dead, Mr. Prescott," Don said shortly.

Jeff sighed and, propping his elbows up on the small metal table, leaned forward into his hands. As he roughly rubbed his dark blonde eyebrows and temples he began breathing slowly and deeply in an effort to retain his composure.

Gradually the frown on his face began to disappear and his face resumed an emotionless, mask-like appearance. "When I woke up the next morning..."

"The next morning?" Don asked, his voice filled with confusion and growing frustration.

"After our one year anniversary" Jeff explained distractedly as though it should have been obvious.

"When I woke up the next morning..."

"Mr. Prescott, please try to pay attention to the subject at hand!" Don demanded angrily as he rose to his feet.

"When I woke up the next morning," Jeff continued for the third time, completely unfazed by Don's outburst, "I found a note on Mikie's pillow. I can still remember every word...every comma."

"That's nice" Don said, as he sighed with resignation and turned to pace the small room.

______________________

A Notable Morning

"Good morning, Sexy!

If you're reading this I'm still on my morning jog. Don't get up! I'm going to fix you breakfast in bed when I get home. Just roll over and get back to sleeping like an angel.

Love you like crazy,
Mikie"

Smiling Jeff re-read the brief note written on the yellow, lined stationary from the desk they shared. Then he sighed knowing that while he wanted to wait for Michael to return, his bladder didn't.

As we swung his legs out of bed and placed his feet into his slippers he heard a crinkling sound as his left foot came into contact with another note.

"Fine, you can go pee, but you better get right back into bed again!"

Smiling and laughing Jeff got up and made his way to the bathroom.

After relieving himself, he brushed his teeth as he gazed into the bathroom mirror. Noticing that his normally straight, long blonde hair was in a state of serious disarray he pulled open the drawer and reached for a hair brush. Immediately his hand came into contact with yet another note.

"Will you stop it already, baby! You look incredible just as you are."

Laughing out loud now Jeff couldn't get over how well Michael knew him; however, he was beginning to suspect that if he searched the house he'd find quite a few of these little notes.

As tempting as that idea was he didn't want to risk ruining Michael's fun so he dutifully returned to bed and did his best to fall back to sleep.

An hour later Jeff awoke to the feel of his husband's soft lips on his own, and as he opened his eyes he found himself looking directly into Michael's beautiful dark blue ones.

"Good morning, sweetie" Michael said affectionately as he ran his hand along Jeff's cheek and leaned down for another kiss. "I fixed you breakfast."

Jeff glanced to their bedside table to find that Michael had truly gone all out. He'd prepared Jeff's favorite - eggs Florentine, English Muffins with blueberry jam, a bowl of strawberries, and a tall glass of orange juice.

"Oh, Mikie! It's incredible! I can't believe you did all this." Jeff said happily as his eyes danced over the feast by his bedside.

"You can't?" Michael asked with a mock wounded look.

"Okay, well of course I can! You're only the sweetest, most beautiful, most amazing, most awesomest guy in the word, so I guess I can believe you made me breakfast in bed." Jeff said with more sincerity and affection than those words, with their typical over-the-top tone, would convey.

Smiling widely Michael gently tilted Jeff's head back and playfully kissed his throat.

"So are you going to eat it before it gets cold?" Michael asked after raising his head.

"Am I?! I'm starved!" Jeff exclaimed excitedly as Michael shifted off of him and onto his side of the bed in order to allow Jeff to place the tray on his lap.

As Jeff lay there eating his breakfast Michael kept one arm around him while the other gently rested in his lap, occasionally rubbing his stomach or taking Jeff's own free hand between bites.

_________________________

Free Nights and Weekends

"Hello! Brad!?!" Donny said quickly and loudly afraid that the other boy might have already hung up.

After a brief pause Brad's voice came through on the other end of the line. He spoke softly and his words were taut with emotion.

"Donny...hey...I um" Brad fumbled as he desperately tried to hold the tears back.

"Brad, it's okay. I'm here; tell me what's going on, bro" Donny said soothingly

"Its mom" Brad choked out as he broke down and began openly sobbing.

"Oh Brad" Donny said sympathetically as he ran the fingers of his free hand through his disheveled brown hair and slowly sank to the floor near his bedroom doorway.

As Brad sobbed and Donny softly whispered words of support Beth got out of bed and, wrapping the comforter around her naked form, crossed the room to take a seat beside her boyfriend on the tan carpeted floor. As she leaned into him she gently arranged the soft duvet around his equally nude body. Once she was content with her efforts she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's shoulders, placed her head in the crook of his neck and settled in for their long conversation.

Once Brad had begun to compose himself he crossed the room and began examining the framed pictures on his desk.

"Hey Donny, you remember that summer before 7th grade when we went to your aunt's cabin in the woods?" Brad asked as he picked up a picture of two scrawny 12 year-old boys with toothy grins and arms casually thrown around each other's shoulders. In the background of the picture a murky, greenish pond was just visible

"Remember?" Donny asked laughing. "How could I forget? You threw my first-ever cell phone into the pond!"

"Hey! That was an accident." Brad giggled as his first smile of the evening broke out over his round, boyish face.

"Yeah, I remember that trip, man. It was awesome!" Donny said as his own smile broadened. Then it faded slightly as he thought with some melancholy, sometimes I miss my mom too.

"I think I managed to stay mad at you for all of five minutes" Donny added as he shook the thought off and redirected all of his attention to his friend.

"Five minutes? Two tops and you know it!" Brad playfully responded

_________________________

Idyllic hi-jinks

Cassandra Landry smiled and she removed the apron from around her slim waist and smoothed her simple floral dress. "The pancakes are ready, boys" she said as she carried a large plateful from the counter to the plain wooden table in the center of rustic kitchen.

The cabin, though somewhat Spartan, was charming. Her sister seldom used it and was more in love with the idea of owning a place in the woods than she was with actually spending time there. Barbara always was impractical, Cassandra thought as she readjusted her light brown hair into a ponytail and set about pouring the boys their orange juice

"Don! Karen!" Cassandra called as she crossed the open room which served as a kitchen on one side and a den on the other.

" ‘Semen'? I can't believe you got semen on the board, Don!" Karen joked as she playfully shoved Don's shoulders and grabbed her pen to mark down the points he'd won on his last turn. They were playing scrabble and, as was typical, Don was winning.

"I, uh...couldn't help it" Don said with mock sheepishness.

"Guys!" Cassandra gently chastised as she shook her head and indicated Donny and Brad with her eyes.

"Sorry, Cassy" Karen apologized sincerely, but without any hint of embarrassment in her chipper voice.

"So what did you make for us poor wordaholics?" Karen asked as she put down the pen and pad and stood up throwing an arm around her best friend's shoulders and ushering her back towards the kitchen section of the room.

"Pancakes," Cassandra replied, ‘but if either of you like I can whip up some eggs too."

"Pancakes are fine, angel." Don stated as he approached Cassandra's other side and, removing his glasses, made it a point to lock his green eyes with his wife's dark blue ones. "Everything you make is delicious to me, doll." He added as he leaned in for a kiss.

"Can we have some more, Aunt Cassy?" Brad asked eagerly as he set his fork down with a loud clink.

"Of course, darling" Cassandra replied warmly but with some surprise. She was stunned to see that both boys had already cleaned their plates. It's impossible to keep these two full, she thought with amusement as she served them a second helping.

Once everyone had finished their breakfast Karen volunteered to clean up the kitchen and do the dishes while Don and Cassandra went for a walk.

"Go on and have some fun!" Karen urged heartily, her vibrant blue eyes sparkling with their usual excitement. "I've got my crew here to help with this situation" she added as she put an arm around each of the boys and looked down at them winking.

"Mom, will you help me teach Donny how to play chest when we finish cleaning up?" Brad asked hopefully as he smiled at his best friend.

"Chess" Karen gently corrected adding emphasis on the final s. "And of course I will, honey"

"Oh boy! You're gonna love it, bro! It's so much fun!" Brad said enthusiastically to Donny, his bright, pale blue eyes dancing with excitement.

Don and Cassandra each gave both boys a quick hug and then turned to leave, with Cassandra carrying her camera and Don carrying the basket of lunch which they'd packed. They intended to spend the entire afternoon and well into early evening, hiking through the woods.

"You guys listen to Karen." Don urged with as much sternness as he could direct at the two well-behaved kids in front of him.

"Okay," they both replied in unison.

"This game sucks, man!" said Donny an hour later as he irritably pushed the rest of his pieces from the board and began to fiddle with his new cell phone.

Brad felt slightly guilty for beating his friend twice in a row and began to wish he'd thrown the second game. "I'm sorry, Donny; you wanna do something else?" Brad asked.

"Yeah. Oh I know; let's go fishing!" Donny said already brightening at the idea.

"Umm alone? I dunno. What if we see a bear or something?" Brad asked nervously.

"Don't worry, man, I'll protect you." Donny said with youthful confidence. Brad was a very small boy for his age and Donny was already considerably taller and more muscular, but at twelve he still had a good bit of filling out to do.

"Uhh, okay. Yeah, I guess so," Brad said eager to please his friend. "Can I ask my mom to come too though...she um, really likes to fish." Brad added lamely.

"Sure! I bet Aunt Karen knows all kinds of fishing tricks anyway!" Donny said, immediately warming to the idea.

"I'm sorry, boys, I can't." Karen said, genuinely disappointed on missing a fishing trip with her son and his friend. "I really wish I could, but I want to make a special dinner for everyone tonight."

Karen was eager to do whatever she could for the Landrys; she was very appreciative for all the support they'd offered she and Brad over the years, especially since her divorce. There was no way she wanted Cassandra to get home from a pleasant day with her husband and immediately have to begin preparing the night's meal.

"You guys go ahead though; I know Donny has his new phone." Karen said cheerfully with a wink toward Donny.

"Yup, I sure do! Comon', Brad!" Donny said grabbing his friend's hand and pulling him toward the room they were sharing so that they could grab their things.

"Uhh, Mom, are you sure? I mean what about bears and wolves and..."

Karen knelt down so that she could be at eye level with her diminutive young son.

"You'll be fine, angel," she said confidently as she brushed his brown bangs to the side and kissed his forehead.

Both boys had been to the cabin before and Donny had been coming every summer since he was very young. As a result neither boy paid much attention to the path as they walked through the wooded area toward the pond a couple of miles away.

"Are you nervous about school starting?" Brad asked.

"Nah, I ain't nervous. I'm kinda looking forward to seein' B...everybody" Donny said as he imagined the pretty brown-eyed girl he'd grown so attached to at the end of the last school year.

"Everybody or Beth's body?" Brad playfully teased.

"Braaaddd!" Donny whined, his cheeks flushing.

"Oh, chill out, man. I think it's great." Brad replied sincerely

"You do?" Donny asked, surprised that he wasn't in for another round of teasing - something he'd gotten used to when the other guys in his class had begun to suspect his infatuation.

"Yeah, I don't know her too well, but she seems like a cool girl. Besides, how can I not be happy for my best friend?" Brad said with a wide smile as he ruffled Donny's wavy brown hair and gave him a friendly shove.

"Well it's not like we're DATING or anything." Donny said smirking at the ridiculousness of the idea. "I just don't mind talkin' to her sometimes."

"I know man, it's cool," Brad said. Then as another thought occurred to him he stopped walking and nervously looked at Donny.

"What's wrong?" Donny asked, puzzled by his friends abrupt stop.

"Oh uh, nothing" Brad said unconvincingly as he started to walk again.

"Brad, what is it?" Donny asked firmly grabbing the other boys shoulder and turning him back around.

As Brad looked into Donny's concerned green eyes he began to relax and decided to tell Donny the truth about how he was feeling.

"It's nothin', I guess I was just thinking maybe you'd..."

"Maybe I'd?"

"Like her more than me" Brad said embarrassedly as he broke eye contact and looked at the ground. The next thing he knew Donny had wrapped him in a tight embrace and was soothingly rubbing his back.

"Brad, don't be crazy." Donny said softly into Brad's ear. "I love you, man, you're my best friend and that's never going to change. I'll always be here for you. Always. I swear."

"Really?" Brad asked as he pulled back and looked into Donny's face with moistening eyes.

"Well, yeah," Donny said simply with a sincere smile. "Besides, I kinda have different feeling about you two." He added with a smirk.

As the boys sat on the edge of the bank and dangled their lines in the water they took turns playing Eye Spy. When that had gotten tiresome they fell into a casual silence.

"Donny," Brad said finally breaking the silence, "I'm bored."

Donny was bored too. They'd been fishing for over an hour and neither had had a bite; however, Donny was reluctant to give up just yet.

"You wanna play with my phone? It's got Snake on it." Donny asked in an effort to keep his friend entertained.

"Yeah!" Brad said excitedly.

Donny had been given the phone as a surprise when they arrived at the cabin early yesterday evening. Don had taken him aside and said, "Son, your mom and I are really proud of you for making such good grades last year."

Brad always made straight A's, seemingly without trying, whereas Donny tended to be an average student. Their 6th grade year, however, Donny had finished with honor roll, all A's and B's.

"We also wanted to make sure we could keep track of you and Brad without forcing you guys to stay around the cabin the entire trip. So..." With that Don had pulled out the new cell phone from his pocket and held it up for Donny.

"Wow!! You mean it? Oh boy! This is so awesome! I can't wait to show Brad!" Donny had excitedly rambled all at once as he eagerly grabbed the phone and began to carefully examine it.

"You're welcome, son." Don had laughed.

"Oh yeah, thanks Dad!" Donny said as he threw his arms around his father's neck.

Brad was contentedly playing snake on Donny's phone - one hand carelessly holding his fishing rod - when all of a sudden he got a bite.

"Eeeoohhh!" Brad exclaimed as the fishing line was pulled from his hand and he desperately clamped onto it with his knees and feet. As his hands tried to recover and grab the rod the cell phone slipped from his grasp and tumbled down the steep embankment, making a soft PLUNK as it slipped into the water. Brad stared wide-eyed and didn't react as the fishing pole was also pulled from his grasp and into the water.

Donny gaped open-mouthed as the scene unfolded, and after his phone had tumbled into the water he simply stared after it for several seconds. Then he dropped his own pole and slid down the embankment to the spot where his phone had entered the pond.

"I can't find it!" Donny exclaimed in frustration after he'd searched for several seconds.

"I can't find it!" He said again as he continued his frenetic search, - going deeper into the water until his waist and lower torso were completely submerged.

Brad sat helplessly on the bank staring as Donny searched. He was embarrassed, riddled with guilt, and already fearful about how his friend would react to all of this.

"It's gone." Donny said sadly after several minutes as he climbed back up the embankment.

Brad tentatively held out a hand to help Donny climb back up.

"I got it." Donny said, glaring at the hand as if it were a dagger.

"Donny, I'm REALLY sorry" Brad pleaded as his friend finished climbing back up onto the bank and kicked off his water-logged sneakers.

"Whatever," Donny muttered as he abruptly stormed off in the direction they'd come, leaving his soaked shoes and his miserable friend behind.

"Donny...," Brad called weakly as Donny disappeared into woods.

Heartbroken Brad sat down on the grass and buried his face in his knees and arms as he sobbed loudly.

Donny, not having gone very far, stood leaning against a tree just out of view. As he listened to his friend cry he began to feel guilty about his actions. His father had frequently spoken to him about the value of friendship and the importance of forgiveness.

Donny quietly crept back to where Brad sat, still gently sobbing, and without saying anything he sat down next to his best friend, put an arm around him, and gently pulled Brad's head onto his shoulder. Brad immediately latched on and gradually cried himself out as Donny soothingly stroked his longish, light brown hair and rubbed his back.

"You okay?" Donny asked gently once Brad had quit crying.

Sniffling hard one last time Brad pulled back and nodded.

"I'm really really sorry, Donny. I just feel so..."

"Sshhh, forget about it, bro; I have." Donny said with a smile as he rubbed Brad's shoulder.

"But what are you gonna tell your parents about the phone?" Brad asked.

Donny shrugged, "I guess I'll just say I dropped it in the water by accident"

"No!" Brad said adamantly, "there's no way I'm letting you take the blame for this. It was all my fault."

"Maybe they won't care when they see how upset you boys are about it." Don said startling them.

Both boys immediately turned their heads to find Don and Cassandra standing a few feet away smiling sympathetically.

"It was my fault, Mr. Landry" Brad said quietly as he addressed the man formally as "Mr. Landry" instead of the usual "Uncle Don".

Don knelt down and placed a hand firmly on Brad's shoulder as he gazed at him benevolently from behind his glasses.

"Forget about it, Brad, Donny already has," Don said with a smile and wink at his son.

Brad looked like he was about to start crying again so Don just pulled him into a bear hug then turned it into an opportunity to tickle the boy.

"Donny, help!" Brad pleaded between laughs as he rolled around on the ground.

Giggling Donny immediately knocked his father gently off his knees and "pinned" him to the ground.

"Okay, Brad, I got him!" With that both boys began tickling Don as Cassandra watched from the sidelines thoroughly amused.

"How about if I get a quick mug shot of the two ‘partners in crime'?" Cassandra said holding up her camera.

Happily the two boys stood up, threw their arm over the other's shoulder, and gave Cassandra their toothiest grins.

___________________________

A Hurried Goodnight

"That was one amazing vacation!" Brad said nostalgically as he repositioned the ice to his knee.

"Yeah, it really was." Donny agreed as he stroked Beth's long brown hair as she slept with her head in his lap.

"Thanks for talking to me, Donny." Brad said as he quietly dumped the slushy water from the pack into the sink and began heading back up to his room via the backstairs.

"Hey Brad," Donny said, suddenly sensing that Brad wanted to hang up soon. "Can I ask you something?"

There was only one answer Brad could give to that question, and only one answer he wanted to give; unfortunately they weren't one in the same.

"Sure, Donny" Brad said trying to mask any sign of nervousness in his voice as he re-entered his room.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I feel much better now. Thanks again for staying up with me. I'll talk to you tomorrow, good night." Brad poured out quickly in an attempt to evade the true meaning of Donny's question.

As he heard the other end of the line click Donny removed the phone from his ear and stared at it contemplatively.

Finally he put the phone down on the floor near his side and stretched out, repositioning Beth so that she was lying next to him on the carpet. As he put his arms around her and tiredly closed his eyes he thought, something isn't right...but Brad would tell me.

As Brad placed the cell phone on his desk his eyes once again wandered to the picture of he and Donny at the pond. He gingerly picked the picture up and moved it from his desk to his bedside table. Then he climbed into bed and, after positioning his pillows, he lay on his side still facing the photograph.

"Love you, Donny" he whispered quietly as he extended his arm and gently brushed his finger over the faces of the boys in the picture.