A Place In My Heart - 10. Chapter 10 – An Unusual Summer

Jordan and I had started playing JV baseball and everything was going well. It felt really good to be playing a sport where my best friend was playing the role of my best friend again. I mean, football and basketball season were really the pits this year, since Jordan and I weren’t speaking during either of them. Not only was it great to be playing together again, but it was also nice to be able to concentrate on the game, instead of our relationship. Our old competitiveness also returned.

Jordan and I had already discussed the fact that we both wanted to be named the most valuable player of the baseball team this year. This meant there would be a no holds barred competition in our efforts to earn that honor, on a friendly level of course, since we were each going to do whatever it took to prove our case. Damn, our juices were flowing and we each took complete advantage of every opportunity to throw a verbal jab at the other one, whenever we did something to support our nomination.

For example, one game when Jordan was playing shortstop, one of the opposing batters ripped a shot up the middle of the infield. Jordan had positioned himself shading toward second base and dove for the ball. He speared it just after the first hop, scrambled to his feet and threw the runner out. Our team went crazy over his fantastic play, and after he brushed off his uniform and returned to his position, he looked over at me as I stood at my position at third base.

“Bet you wish you could do something like that, dontcha, stone fists,” he teased, before he shot me that wicked grin of his.

Later during the game, I came up to bat and the pitcher threw me a waist high fastball over the outer half of the plate. I got my bat moving early, made solid contact with the ball and ripped it over the left center field fence. As I crossed home plate and was greeted by my teammates, I took a moment to throw a verbal punch at Jordan.

“You know if you’d work on that body of yours once in a while, you might be able to do that too, instead of all those puny infield singles,” I jabbed.

He gave me his ‘yeah, in your dreams’ look, so I flashed him my best killer smile.

The whole season went like that, as we taunted each other about our personal accomplishments and intimated that the other wouldn’t have been able to do what we’d just done. Jordan hit for a better batting average, but I had more extra base hits and more RBI’s. Jordan had an excellent season at shortstop, as well as doing an excellent job pitching, while I did well at both third base and shortstop, when Jordan was pitching. When the season ended, we were 14-0 and the team voted us co-MVPs. The competition had been fun, but I think we enjoyed sharing the award with each other more than anything else. We were two halves of the same whole and two parts of a single MVP, if only in our own minds.

Just as soon as school ended, Jordan and I went back to work for Dad K’s construction company. It was near the end of our first week on the job when Dad K got an emergency call at work and then he came over to get Jordan and me, before he sped off to the hospital. All he knew was that Justin had been injured, but he didn’t have many details about what had happened or how badly he was hurt. All Dad K had been told was that Justin had been injured on the tennis courts behind the high school and had been taken to the hospital. Jordan and I immediately asked each other if a tennis injury could be that severe, and even though we didn’t think so, we felt we would soon find out. We all walked into the emergency room and were directed to the cubicle where they were treating him. As we walked in, we saw Justin lying on the examination table.

“What happened, Justin,” Dad K asked, and it was easy to hear the panic in his voice.

“I feel so dumb. It was a stupid accident,” Justin answered.

“That’s not important,” Jordan added. “We all do dumb things at times, but what’s wrong and how did you get hurt?”

Justin still looked slightly embarrassed, as he glanced from one face to the other. After a brief pause, he began to tell us his tale.

“I was playing tennis with my friend Bobby on the end court at the high school. Bobby was returning one of my shots and hit it way over my head and over the fence. I mean you know those fences are about ten or twelve feet [3 to 3.7 m] high, but he cleared the whole thing. I didn’t want to run all the way to the other end to use the door leading into the courts and then have to run all the way back around to get the ball, because then I’d have to do it again in the opposite direction to get back to the court. Instead, I decided to go over the fence instead, because it would be quicker.

I climbed to the top, jumped down, got the ball and threw it back in to Bobby. Then, I climbed to the top of the fence again and was ready to jump down when one of my shoelaces got snagged on one of the wires at the top of the fence. I didn’t notice it at the time, but it threw me off-balance when I attempted to jump down. My foot got hung up for a second and my body weight went forward, so I ended up landing hands first on the tennis court. I thought I heard a snap and was in a lot of pain, so I think I might have broken both of my arms. They’ve already wheeled me over to radiology and took some x-rays, so the doctor is just waiting to see how much damage I did. Once he sees that, he’ll tell me what he’s going to do next.”

“Just relax,” Dad K told him, “and I’ll go see if I can find a nurse or the doctor and see if I can get any information. At least you didn’t break your neck, but that still wasn’t exactly you brightest move.”

Justin made a face and Dad K left the room. Jordan and I stayed with Justin and he turned toward us, once his father was gone.

“Pretty dumb, huh?” Justin asked, rhetorically, but I decided to answer him just the same.

“No, Justin,” I replied, “just bad luck. Don’t worry though. It may be a pain and an inconvenience, but even if you broke something, it will heal in a few weeks.”

“Yeah, but we just started summer vacation,” he whined. “This means I won’t be able to do much before we have to go back to school.”

Jordan and I were still trying to make him feel better when Dad K came back into the room with a doctor.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Singh and I’m the orthopedist who was called to treat you. I’ve looked at the x-rays and it appears you’ve broken both arms.” Justin groaned. “Your right arm is fractured in two places, the first is near the wrist and the other is just below your elbow. Your left arm is fractured between the wrist and the elbow, but you also fractured the first two fingers on that hand, so we’ll have to put casts on both arms. I’m afraid we’re going to have to use plaster casts and I’ll want to check you out again in six to eight weeks. If the rest of you will excuse us, I’ll make sure those fractures are set properly and then apply casts to them. You may go back to the waiting room and I’ll let you know when I’ve finished.”

We did as he suggested and talked about how this was going to affect Justin. Since we realized he wasn’t going to be able to do very much until the casts came off, Jordan and I assured Dad K that we’d do what we could to help entertain him. He thanked us and said he knew he could count on our help, and then we sat and waited to be call back into the treatment area.

It was more than a half an hour later before we were paged, so we got up and followed the nurse back to Justin’s cubicle. He was sitting on the examination table with plaster casts on both arms. The cast on his right arm went from three-quarters of the way up his fingers to just below his shoulder. The doctor said he had to immobilize the fingers on that hand, because moving his fingers could slow down the healing process on his wrist. There was also some kind of padding on the underside of that cast near the armpit, to prevent chaffing on his chest.

The left arm was cast from the palm of his left hand to a point half way between his elbow and armpit, but his fingers were also splinted. It appeared that the doctor had used metal strips with padding on the inside to immobilize each finger when taped into place. Once each of the first two fingers had been splinted, he taped all four fingers on that hand together, to prevent the muscles from moving, which might slow down the healing process. Justin appeared very pathetic sitting there and looked even worse than we’d imagined.

After we got over the initial shock, the doctor told us that Justin wouldn’t be able to do very much for himself for a while and it was important that he keep the casts dry when bathing. After giving us a quick rundown of the other things we should know, including what Justin could and couldn’t do, he released him from his care. We then led Justin out to the car and took him home. I told Jordan to sit in the front seat, because I wanted to sit in the back so I could help Justin. I realized he wouldn’t be able to fasten his seat belt or open and close the car door, so I planned to do all of that for him. Jordan agreed to let me do those things for his brother and I think Justin was grateful for my help.

Justin was really depressed during the entire ride to the house, but I knew this was only the beginning of the bad mood he was going to be in. After I helped him out of the car, we all went back to Jordan’s room to talk.

“This really sucks,” Justin stated, with a tinge of disgust and disappointment in his voice. “Not only won’t I be able to have any fun this summer, but I won’t be able to do anything for myself. I’ll even need help to eat and go to the bathroom.”

“Don’t worry, Justin,” I told him. “We’ll help you with whatever you need.”

“I know you will, but it’s still embarrassing, because I’ll need as much help as I did when I was a baby,” he whined.

“I know you won’t like having others do those things for you, but we’ve already seen and handled everything you’ve got,” I offered. “Just don’t think about it and everything will be fine. You know you can count on us, little bro.”

“Yeah, we’re here for you no matter what you need,” Jordan chimed in. “Hell, I’ll even wipe your butt, if that will help.”

“Yeah, it will help, because somebody will have to do that for me,” Justin quipped. “Thanks guys. I knew I could count on you and I love you both.”

“And we love you too,” Jordan responded.

“Yeah, we’d have to love you, if we’re going to wait on you hand and foot and wipe the shit off your butt,” I teased.

“Wait on me hand and foot? Heck, this is starting to sound better all the time,” he joked. “Two slaves to do everything I command.”

“Don’t get too cocky, you little twerp,” Jordan chided, “or you’ll be on your own and sitting in your own shitty underwear when you can’t get to the bathroom by yourself.”

“Ok. Ok. I get the point,” he relented. “So I don’t have two slaves, just two wonderful, loving brothers who will do anything for me, as long as I don’t act like an ass.”

“That’s better,” I agreed. “Now, is there anything you need, before I go out and talk to dad?”

“No, I’m fine. I just want to rest for a few minutes,” he answered.

We left Justin lying on the bed and went out to find Dad K. We discovered him sitting at the breakfast counter.

“Dad, you know Justin’s going to need someone with him all day long,” I pointed out. “He isn’t going to be able to do anything by himself, so I’d be willing to stay here with him and help out.”

“That’s very generous of you, Tony, but I don’t think it will be necessary,” he countered. “I was planning to hire a nurse to stay with him while we’re at work and then we can all help him out in the evening.”

“I don’t mean to knock your plan, Dad, but I don’t think Justin will be too happy about a woman having to hold his dick while he’s peeing or wipe his butt when he has to take a crap,” I stated. “He’s used to me and I think it would be easier on him if I did those things for him. Besides, I can help to keep him entertained too, because I know the things he likes and I’ll be able to help him with more than just the necessities. What do you say?”

“I hadn’t thought about it quite that way, but I’ll admit that I still tend to think of him as a little kid,” Dad K agreed. “You’re right though and Justin wouldn’t want a woman doing those types of things for him. I guess I’ll just have to hire you instead. You can work here and take care of him, instead of showing up at the construction site. Do you think you’re parents will let you live here with us until Justin gets better?”

“I don’t think they’ll mind, but let me call to be sure,” I offered.

I phoned home and explained the situation to my parents. I then asked if they’d mind if I stayed with the Koontz’s until Justin’s arms were healed and they agreed that would be find. My dad even offered to come get me and bring me home, so I could pack up whatever I needed, and then he’d drive me back as soon as I had finished. I then explained this to Dad K and he was thrilled.

“Look, I’m going to pay you double, because this job will take up twice as much of your time,” he told me. “Just let Jordan or I know if you need any help or if you want a break from being with him. Deal?”

“Of course it’s a deal, but you don’t have to pay me double or even pay me at all. He’s my brother too,” I countered.

“I know you’d do it for free, but you’ll be taking on the majority of the responsibility for Justin and I would have had to pay someone else, so it’s only fair,” he reasoned. “It will be worth it for all of us, so don’t argue with me, young man, you’re getting paid and you’re getting paid double. That’s final.”

Dad K then gave me a big hug and kissed me on the forehead. I knew this was much more than an employer/employee sort of thing too. This was all about family.

“Let an old man spoil his son once in a while, will you?” he quipped. “Do you want to tell Justin about this or shall I?”

“I’ll do it, but I’m going to make him squirm for a while first,” I announced. “Play along with me, if he comes out to ask any questions. Ok?”

“Certainly,” he agreed. “I needed a way to pay him back for all the worry and trouble he’s caused, so get him good.”

I nodded my understanding and then slowly walked back to the bedroom. I worked out the scheme in my head, as I made my way back to Jordan’s room. I opened the door and Justin was still lying on the bed, while Jordan was on the computer.

“Dad just hired a nurse to look after you while we’re at work,” I announced, as soon as I entered the room. “I know her too, because she used to work at my old doctor’s office. She’s old and fat, but she can also be a real bitch. You better do what she tells you, especially when your clothes are off, or she’ll tear your dick off and rip you a new asshole.”

“Oh, shit. Is she really that bad?” Justin whined and I nodded. “I’m not going to have to let her help me go to the bathroom and all, am I?”

“I guess you will, unless you want us to put you in a diaper while we’re at work,” I continued, making him squirm. “We’ll all be at the construction site, so we won’t be able to help you with those things during the day. Who else is going to be able to do it for you, if she doesn’t?”

“Damn. I’ve got to go talk to dad.” Justin said, as he slid off of the bed.

As quickly as he could, considering he had no arms to help him maintain his balance, he sprinted into the kitchen. He looked at his dad and began to speak.

“Dad, Tony said you just hired a nurse to look after me during the day.”

“Yes, it’s all set,” Dad K played along.

“Tony says she’s old and mean. Can’t we get someone else?” he pleaded.

“I tried, but she’s the only one available,” Dad K replied.

I could see a smile begin to form on Dad K’s lips, even from where I was hiding, but Justin was too concerned about his situation to notice it. He was intent on trying to think of something that would convince his father to get someone else.

“But she’s going to see me naked and touch me there,” Justin whined.

“Well, you’ll just have to get used to that,” Dad K advised him. “It has to be done and she’ll be the only one here to do it. Your mother used to do many of those same things for you and it didn’t bother you then.”

“Yeah, but I was a baby or little kid then,” he reasoned. “I’m bigger now and other parts of me are bigger too. I’m not keen on having her see those parts or hold them.”

“I’m sorry Justin, but that was the best I could do,” Dad K told him. “She had kids when she was younger, so she’s seen those things before. You’ll just have to grow up and accept this like an adult.”

Justin shoulders drooped in defeat and he slinked out of the kitchen and walked down the hallway toward the bedroom again. He hadn’t seen me follow him out to listen to the conversation with his father, but he also didn’t notice me as I raced back to the bedroom ahead of him. My sides were nearly splitting when he dragged himself into the room and then went over and flopped down on the bed. He let out a big sigh as he did so.

“Can it get any worse?” he groaned to himself.

I was beginning to feel badly for him, seeing him suffer like this. I mean, two broken arms were bad enough, but to throw this terrible news on top of it was more than any kid could take. I couldn’t stand to torture him like this any longer, so I decided to take him off the hook.

“Cheer up, Justin. It’s not going to be that bad,” I stated.

“That’s what you think,” he moaned.

“No, hear me out,” I insisted. “Dad didn’t hire that old nurse… he hired me. I’m the one who’s going to be staying here and taking care of you.”

Justin thought about this for a minute before he responded.

“You bastard,” he screamed. “You knew that all along, didn’t you? And Dad… was he in on this too? You just wait until my arms heal and I’ll break them again, when I smashing your smirking face in. I’ll get back at you for this, you just wait and see.”

“Easy little brother. We were just pulling your leg a little,” I told him. “Dad was going to hire a nurse, but I volunteered to do it instead. I was going to do it for free, but Dad insisted he had to pay me for doing it. I knew you wouldn’t feel comfortable with an older woman groping your private parts, so I thought you might feel more comfortable with me. I’m only doing this because you’re my little brother and I love you so damn much.”

“Thanks, Tony. I’m sorry I just said those things. I appreciate everything you’re willing to do for me and I love you too,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean it when I said I was going to smash your face in. I just couldn’t believe you did that to me while I was already feeling so badly about my summer being messed up.”

“I’m sorry. I just thought we could all use a little laugh and it might distract you from feeling so depressed for a while,” I explained. “I didn’t want to make you feel bad, though.”

“I know. It is kind of funny, NOW, although I didn’t think so then,” he agreed. “I still love you, bro, and thanks for offering to stay with me.”

I moved in with the Koontz’s that night and stayed the entire time Justin was recuperating. Dad K bought a king size bed to put in Jordan’s room, to replace the full-size bed, so we could all sleep together comfortably, since we were all getting bigger and Justin’s casts would take up a lot of room. They would probably also hurt on of us too, if he flopped one of them against us during the night. The three of us slept together nearly every night after that, although once in a while Justin would sleep in his own room, so Jordan and I could have some private time with each other, and then I’d go over and join him once we were done.

Taking care of Justin turned out to be more than a full time job and I guess I was a little surprised by just how much I had to do for him. When he woke up, I’d take him to the toilet, pull out his penis and I’d hold it for him while he urinated. Then, I’d shake off the last remaining dew drops, before I’d tucked it back into his underwear. Later, I’d remove his underwear, wrap a trash bag over each of his casts, to keep them dry, and then I’d help him get into the bathtub, so I could bathe him. I’d clean him all over, shampoo his hair and then I’d help him out of the tub and dry him with a towel. I would then help him get dressed and carefully work each item of clothing over his body, so I didn’t hurt him, before I would kneel down, put on his socks and shoes, before I tied the laces on his Nikes. Then, he’d wait on the bed while I took my shower.

Next, we’d go to the kitchen to eat our breakfast. If he wanted cereal, I’d have to pour it into the bowl, add the milk and feed it to him, one spoonful at a time. If he wanted toast or eggs, I’d have to prepare them for him and then put each morsel into his mouth. I’d even have to hold the glass up to his lips and tip it for him whenever he wanted a drink of his milk or juice, so I asked Dad K to buy some straws he could use, to make this easier on him. When we were finished eating, I’d take him to the bathroom again, but this time to brush and floss his teeth, and then I’d brush his hair as well, if it was also needed. It was almost like raising a small child.

After breakfast, I’d have to help him do whatever it was that he wanted to do at the time. If he wanted to watch TV, I’d turn it on, change the channels and adjust the volume for him. If he wanted to use the computer, then I’d sign on, call up the sites he was interested in and flip through the windows, as we went along. He and I looked at a lot of pictures from Jordan’s and my favorite sites and we read a whole bunch of stories on Nifty, under the gay-young friends or the bisexual-young friends’ sections.

Seeing Justin wasn’t convinced if he was gay or bi, I thought we should read from both categories, especially since he was dating a girl right now. That didn’t really mean much though, because Jordan and I had dated girls too. All I knew was that I had made a decision that I wanted to be with Jordan more than anyone else. so that’s what I did. I was still attracted to Amber and to other girls, but I wanted to be with Jordan instead. If things changed in the future, maybe then I’d make a different decision, but unless something happened to Jordan, I couldn’t see things being any different from the way they were now.

There were other things Justin liked to do, as well. When he wanted to read a book or a magazine, I’d get it for him and flip through the pages as he read them, but I’d also put the materials away when he was done. If he wanted to play games, which meant board games, since he couldn’t use the controllers on the video games, I would spin the dial or throw the dice for him and then move his game piece. This wasn’t much fun when there were just the two of us playing the game, but it got a whole lot better when Jordan or Dad K joined us. It was best, however, when we all played.

This type of assistance was required all day long, so I couldn’t be away from him for very long, no matter if he was awake or asleep. I’d keep him company during the day and usually sleep beside him during the night. Dad K and Jordan would do some of the things for Justin in the evening, especially if he had to use the toilet or if he wanted something done, but he was my responsibility and I was going to carry out my obligation to him the best way I knew how. I loved this little shit and would do nearly anything he wanted or needed to make him feel better or to speed up his recovery.

At night, I’d get him ready for bed and remove all of his clothing, except for his underwear, brush his teeth for him again, help him use the toilet and then help him into bed beside me. Sometimes I tuck the sheet in over him, but on warmer nights we’d just sleep totally uncovered. I’d slept in the middle between Jordan and Justin, so if Justin had to pee during the middle of the night, then he’d wake me and I’d take him to the toilet. I got to know a lot more about Justin during this time and not just the physical aspects either. I got to know about his interests, thoughts, wants and needs, so we became really close. That was bound to happen, considering how much I had to do for him and as intimate as some of that help was. Justin and I ended up becoming nearly as close as Jordan and I were. I think Justin felt that way too.

During our third full day together, Justin announced he was horny and really needed to get his rocks off. Knowing how I was always horny at his age, I took pity on him and led him back to the bedroom. Once he was on the bed, I pulled his pants down and his shirt up and prepared to give him a hand job. I could tell by looking at the expression on his face that he was extremely appreciative, as I grabbed his quivering boner, wrapped my fingers around it and began to stroke it up and down. I only jerked on it a handful of times, before his body stiffened and he shot his load all over his belly. I guess he really was horny. Afterward, I cleaned him up and pulled his underwear and pants up again, and then he sat and watched me as I did the same thing to myself. You know how it is. Doing him got me all worked up, so I needed a release too.

This happened quite a few more times after that first occurrence, so I’d do the same thing for him. He even talked me into giving him a blowjob a couple of those times, but it was only because he teased me so much that I did it just to get him to shut him up. After the most recent time I’d done this for him, Justin was determined to return the favor and wanted to perform oral sex with me, but I wasn’t ready to go that far. After listening to him whine about how he would need to learn to do that too, if he decided he wanted to be with another boy, I finally relented.

His first few attempts were awkward, seeing he had very limited use of his hands, so this wasn’t working out. He then came up with another suggestion, where he said he’d sit against the head of the bed and I could slide it in and out of his mouth until I blew my load, but I wasn’t fond of that idea and tried to talk him out of it. I told him he didn’t owe me anything and Jordan would take care of me later, but he was adamant that I let him do his share. After a lengthy discussion, I finally gave in. To my surprise, he seemed more relaxed from that point forward, whenever he had to ask me to do something for him.

His recovery was pretty uneventful, but sometimes it seemed as if this was taking forever, because it proved to be an extremely slow process. The summer was just creeping by for both of us, but I never regretted my decision to do this for Justin. On weekends, Dad K would often take Justin out for a ride or go with him someplace alone, like to a movie, so Jordan and I could have some time by ourselves. During those fleeting moments, we’d make up for all of the time we’d been apart, while I’d been hovering over Justin.

On more than one occasion Jordan thanked me for all that I was doing for his brother and admitted he no longer worried about anything. He was sure that if something ever happened to him that I’d be right there to take care of him too, the same way I had taken care of our little brother. He told me how much he loved me and confessed that everything I’d done for him and his family had made him love me even more. Now, I knew things would never change for us and Jordan and I would always be together. Now and forever, we’d be brothers and lovers until the end.