Accidents Happen - 26. Chapter 26 - Scott's Past

Chapter 26 – Scott’s Past

Charlie had the shortest visit possible with Barbara. She was in the process of being packed up for her transport to the rehab center when Charlie arrived.

“Hi Charlie. Did you come to see me bundled up like a holiday turkey so they can move me out of here?”

Charlie laughed.

“Not really, Mom. Just stopping by to make sure you are okay. I have a date tonight.”

“Then don’t let me keep you. Get your butt home and changed.”

Charlie leaned over the wheel chair Barbara was tucked into and kissed her cheek.

“Have a good night, Charlie. Don’t worry about me. I am sure half the family is already waiting at the rehab center. I’ll be lucky if I get any rest with that mob scene.”

“Come on, you know they are all worried about you.”

“Yeah, they may be worried but the damn nurses keep waking me up so they can take my blood pressure, and later so they can take my blood. I feel like a human pin cushion. Then when I finally do get to sleep, guess what, it is visiting hours and the hoards arrive. I can’t wait to get home so I can sleep in my own bed and not have someone wake me up every half hour.”

Charlie smiled. Listening to his mother complain was a sure sign that she was feeling better.

“You’re still here? Give me a kiss and get yourself ready for your date!”

“Yes, Mom,” said Charlie shooting her a mock salute.

Barbara rolled her eyes and let Charlie kiss her cheek.

“Ready to go Mrs. Wagner?” asked the transporter guy as he walked into the room.

“I’ve been ready to go since the surgery was over. Let’s hit the road.”

Charlie followed his mother as far as he could till they went down a patient’s only hallway toward the waiting ambulance that would bring her to the rehab center. Charlie walked to the front of the hospital, handed in his pass, and ran out to his car. The drive home took fifteen minutes.

There was no way Charlie was going anywhere without stopping for a shower. He let the day’s pressures go as he considered what could possibly happen tonight. His mind raced in circles as he wondered just who Cameron and Andrew were.

As Charlie stood to get dressed he altered his normal clothing. Instead of the dress shirts or tee shirts he always wore, Charlie went into his closet and pulled out one of his old hooded sweatshirts. He was feeling sort of nervous and wanted comfortable clothing he could hide in. Charlie dug out his favorite jeans as well and a pair of sneakers. Glancing in the mirror, Charlie nearly laughed. He looked like he did in high school.

“Oh well. Scott didn’t say this was a fancy dinner. More like he wanted to talk.”

Charlie glanced at the clock and noticed it was getting late. He didn’t have much time and this was the first time he was going to Scott’s house. As he left the apartment he realized he had nothing to bring for Scott tonight.

Mom would kill me if I arrived at someone’s house without something.

Charlie made a mad dash into the local grocery store and picked up some cannoli. It wasn’t what he would normally have made but he hoped it would go with whatever Scott had made for dinner. Hoping he wouldn’t be too late, Charlie drove straight to Scott’s.

The house was a corner house as Scott had said. It made it easy to find. There was a big apple tree on the front corner of the property. On the opposite side of the front walk was a double drive-way. Charlie pulled in alongside Scott’s car.

The house itself was an old summer home that had been converted to a year round residence. The house had to be at least eighty years old or more. There was a wraparound porch up front and a rocking chair sat not too far from a pile of logs that had been cut up. Charlie was almost up the steps when Scott opened the door.

“Hurry up inside Charlie. It is cold out there.”

Scott stood in the doorway in a blue sweater that brought out the color of his eyes. He was also in a pair of dark blue lounge pants. Charlie immediately felt better about what he had chosen to wear.

“Here, I stopped and picked up dessert.”

“Thank you. You didn’t have to, you know.”

“Mom would have killed me if she found out I went somewhere without an appropriate gift.”

Scott smiled.

“How is Barbara?”

“You know Mom. She is ready to go home already. The rehab center is going to have to sit on her for the next three days.”

Charlie followed Scott into the house. The living room was bright and cheery. The walls were a cream and a tan throw rug covered most of the hardwood floors. There was a large fireplace against the wall and television had been mounted above it. The light tan couch and love seat looked comfortable but Scott crossed quickly into his kitchen.

The aroma of Italian sauce filled the air. Charlie could detect the smell of garlic and oregano.

“I’m making lasagna. I hope you are hungry.”

Charlie didn’t have to answer as his stomach growled at that moment.

“Guess that answers that,” laughed Scott.

Setting down the box of cannoli Charlie wasn’t sure what to do. He could see the table was set for two already. The food was prepared or just about done so there wasn’t anything for him to help with.

“Go take a seat, Charlie. Tonight I get to serve you food for a change.”

Charlie smiled and walked into the dining room. He hadn’t realized how open it was. As he sat down he realized the windows toward the back of the house looked out over the water. Though the sun had set the lights from Scott’s backyard made the water of the bay twinkle.

“Scott, you have a wonderful view.”

“Thank you. Just one of the perks of buying a home this far down near the water,” said Scott as he set a bowl full of salad on the table.

Charlie sat and watched as Scott leaned in and pulled out the lasagna from the oven. He let it cool for a few moments while he grabbed out a pitcher of iced tea from the fridge.

“Normally I would serve wine but I know you prefer not to drink, Charlie.”

“Thanks. I didn’t think you would remember.”

“When it comes to you, I pay attention.”

Charlie found he was nervous and grateful that he wore his hoodie. He slipped his hands into his pockets to keep from nervously tapping them on the table.

Scott came back to the table a moment later with plates of lasagna for Charlie and another for himself.

“Salad is there. I have Ranch and Italian dressing as well,” Scott said pointing out the bottles. “Oh, and just wait a minute.”

Scott hurried back into the kitchen and then walked out with a fresh loaf of sliced French Bread.

“See I remembered you didn’t like Sesame seeds so I didn’t get a loaf of Italian bread.”

Charlie laughed.

“You didn’t have to go through so much trouble.”

“No trouble at all, Charlie. I just wanted to make sure dinner was the way you like it.”

The food was delicious but both Charlie and Scott were nervous. It seemed for most of the meal the only sound to be heard was the occasional tap of a fork on the plate.

Finally, Scott couldn’t take it any longer.

“Okay, this wasn’t the best of ideas. I had hoped we could have a nice meal and this wouldn’t get in the way. Instead, we are both trying to ignore the giant elephant in the room.”

Charlie looked up at Scott but he still didn’t want to be the one to bring it up.

“Cameron. Yeah I can see I am going to have to tell you all about him.”

“And Andrew,” Charlie said softly.

Scott looked shocked.

“How did you … Cameron. I should have known. When did you see him again?”

“Tonight. We had to hire a rehab nurse for when Mom comes home. The hospital set me up to interview Cameron.”

“So he told you all about Andrew,” Scott stated and he was beginning to get mad.

“Actually, no he didn’t. He said I wasn’t like Andrew. When I asked who that was he got quiet and said he was sorry but it wasn’t his place to tell me. So I’m asking you Scott, who is Andrew?”

“Let me clean up here. Then we can go sit in the living room and I’ll tell you all about Andrew and Cameron.”

“Okay.”

Charlie knew Scott needed a few moments to collect himself. He often did the same thing when he needed time to pull himself together and face something unpleasant. He helped clean up the table and put stuff into Scott’s fridge.

“You don’t have to help me, Charlie.”

“You know me, Scott. I can’t just sit around and wait. I can help you clean up.”

Scott sighed and just filled the sink with hot soapy water. As he washed the dishes up, Charlie stood beside him and dried. The silence between them was sort of comfortable this time. When they finished, Scott started up a pot of coffee and took Charlie into the living room. Once Charlie was seated Scott walked over to the book-case and pulled down a photo album. He crossed and sat down beside Charlie and opened the book. He flipped a few pages and then handed the book to Charlie.

“That is Andrew and me,” Scott said pointing to a full page picture of a younger Scott and a handsome man alongside him.

Charlie looked at the picture. Andrew was nearly as tall as Scott. Andrew looked like a massive mound of muscles. Charlie would bet the dress shirt he was wearing had to be custom made to fit his gigantic form. His chest was huge and the arms on Andrew looked like they were twice the size of Scott’s. Charlie suddenly felt very insecure.

How could Scott possibly go from someone like that to me?

“Andrew was my lover, Charlie. He and I had a life together. It is hard to talk about. We were together nearly ten years.”

Charlie turned and could see the tears that were ready to fall. He couldn’t help but reach out and hug Scott. He couldn’t bear to see the pain that was so clear in his face.

“Andrew was in a car accident about a week after that picture was taken. A drunk driver flipped his car over three times with the force he was hit. He had to undergo emergency surgery. I had to sit there alone waiting to hear whether he would survive. Then again, they wouldn’t let me in to see him because I wasn’t family.”

Charlie could hear the pain behind each word as Scott sat there slowly filling him in on this chapter of his life.

“His parents had disowned him when he came out. His sister eventually showed up and signed for the things that needed to be done. It was weeks before he realized he would walk with a limp and the doctors still had him on blood thinners. Eventually he was sent for rehab daily. Cameron was the nurse assigned to his case. For nearly a week he was at Andrew’s side encouraging him to try and not give up. I was so appreciative that he allowed me to go in with Andrew. It gave me more time with him. What we didn’t know was that with all the damage done to his body there had been a blood clot. After rehab one day he went back up to his room and the clot broke free and hit his heart. By the time I came back from dinner Andrew was gone.”

Scott stopped talking and sobbed into Charlie’s shoulder. Charlie felt like a fool for not giving Scott the time to tell him. Unfortunately, the run in with Cameron had opened old wounds and left Scott unprepared for the depth of emotions he felt. Charlie felt responsible as well. When Scott could talk again he forced himself to finish the story.

“I sort of shut down, Charlie. I found I couldn’t cry for Andrew. Cameron tried to help me and he did become a friend for a while, but I found being near him reminded me too much of Andrew. After his death his parents came to claim what was his. If his sister hadn’t stepped in I would have lost every part of him. That was five years ago Charlie. I haven’t’ really dated or wanted to since. Of course then there was the first time I met you and well here we are.”

Charlie could see the haunted look in Scott’s eyes. He felt horrible forcing Scott to relive this whole thing. He couldn’t understand how any family could ignore the mate of their child. He knew damn well if anything happened to Becca, Rick Jr., or himself that their partners would still be considered family. Knowing that Andrew had died suddenly and that his family basically thought no more of his relationship with Scott and ignored his pain was beyond comprehension to him.

“Scott, you know my family wouldn’t treat you that way. You’ve met them.”

“I’m not comparing them. Andrew’s family never really accepted he was gay. They therefore couldn’t accept that I could feel anything when he died. I think that is part of why I was unable to grieve as I should have then.”

Charlie continued to hold Scott close. He really didn’t know what else to say. Instead he just clung to Scott and massaged his back while Scott pulled himself back together.

“The coffee has to be done. Sit here. I’ll be right back.”

Scott nearly leaped for the door-way and Charlie let him go. He knew that Scott needed a moment to just pull himself together away from him. It was like when his father cried, it was something hard to witness but when it was over you need to give him the space to put his dignity back in place.

It took a few minutes till Scott came back in carrying a tray that had the coffee and a plate full of the cannoli that Charlie had picked up. There was even a little pitcher of milk and a sugar bowl.

The two sat drinking their coffee and eating the cannoli. Charlie couldn’t help but shoot looks at Scott. When he finally set down his coffee cup and turned to talk to Scott he was met with Scott’s lips.

The kiss that followed was hungry. Scott’s hand buried itself in his hair bringing their faces close as Scott’s tongue began to assault his oral cavity. The sheer intensity of it nearly short circuited Charlie’s brain. He was so lost in the kiss he hadn’t noticed at first as Scott’s other hand slipped under the hem of his hoodie and began to massage his stomach. Moments later though he couldn’t deny the pleasure he felt when Scott began to pinch and squeeze his nipple. The hard on he developed was painfully trapped in his tight jeans.

When the kiss finally broke Charlie felt breathless. His whole body tingled. Then Scott leaned in and bit gently on his ear lobe and slid his tongue around the edge.

“Charlie, please, let’s go up to my bedroom. I need you tonight.”

The words alone did terrible things to his body. They had been so close to doing this once before. He couldn’t deny the desire to be with Scott. He knew the ultimate decision would be his.

Scott stood and offered Charlie his hand. Charlie reached out and took it. They climbed the stairs slowly and as they were about to enter the bedroom, Scott stopped and raced back down the hallway. Charlie was stunned and didn’t know what to say until Scott came running back to him with a bag in his hand.

“This time, we have the condoms.”

Charlie started to blush and then laughed. Scott did as well but they went into the bedroom and closed the door behind them. It would be hours later when they collapsed exhausted but totally satisfied into a well deserved sleep.

It was early the next morning when Charlie woke again in Scott’s arms. He could hear his cell phone’s alarm clock ringing off. Carefully he slipped out of bed and grabbed his clothing. He padded down the hall till he found the bathroom. Under the sink he found clean towels, so he took a shower. He decided he would go commando till he got home and could get changed quickly for work.

Charlie was just about to slip down-stairs when Scott came down the hallway naked.

“You can’t leave yet. Just let me hit the bathroom, Charlie.”

Charlie blushed and nodded. He hurried downstairs.

“What is it with you, getting out of bed and just sort of running off,” said Scott as he came down a few moments later wrapped in a towel.

“I’ve got to get home and change into the proper clothes. I’m not exactly dressed for work here. Besides Scott, my lesson plans and all are in my satchel at home.”

“Granted, but do you have to try to sneak out without even saying goodbye.”

“I wasn’t sneaking. You were asleep …”

Charlie never got to finish his sentence as Scott kissed him again and the towel fell to the floor.

Charlie knew then he was going to be late for work.