A Different Love - 23. Chapter 23

I woke up a little after nine o’clock on Saturday morning sporting a blinding headache. Tiny pin pricks of light flashed relentlessly before my eyes and the slightest movement made my head throb violently. Spasms of pain ran up and down my arm and I winced and gasped sharply as the cotton bed sheet brushed against the bare skin of my wrist. Tentatively drawing back the material and forcing myself to look, I was shocked to see the scraped and reddened skin running in a jagged line along my wrist and forearm. Broken only by a band of white where my watch had been, the wound looked surprisingly clean and dry to say that it must have happened the previous night.

Before my fuddled brain could even begin to work out what had caused such a nasty abrasion, for some unknown reason an image of my watch came back to haunt me, and an inexplicable feeling of dread slowly crept over me. From somewhere deep within my sub conscious came the sudden realisation it was missing and the desperate urge to find it became all consuming. Without thinking of the consequences, I quickly pulled back the covers and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. It was the worst thing I could possibly have done. My head began to pound mercilessly and all I could do was perch on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands, vowing never to drink that much again.

After a while, I slowly raised my head and glanced around the room with blurry eyes. The fact that my clothes were missing from their usual place on the chair disturbed me. I'd clearly got home at some point, even though I couldn't remember how or when. So where were they? I had a vague feeling that something else wasn’t quite right but for the time being my addled brain refused to enlighten me.

I normally took my watch off the last thing at night and placed it on the bedside cabinet alongside my alarm clock, but this morning it was nowhere to be seen. My heart sank like a stone as my worst fears were confirmed. It was definitely missing! Even though it could have been anywhere in the room, somehow I instinctively knew that it wasn’t. As I sat there it slowly dawned on me what else was amiss and I glanced downwards to confirm my suspicion. Instead of the snug fitting cotton briefs I was wearing the previous night I was now inexplicably dressed in a pair of white sports shorts. I recognised them immediately as my own but couldn't for the life of me work out why I would be wearing them in bed.

As I tried to stand up the room spun violently around me and I held on to the headboard, overcome with dizziness and unsure if my shaking legs would even support me. Swirling multi coloured patterns on the curtains seemed to take on a grotesque life of their own and a giant wave of nausea suddenly swept over me. Momentarily ignoring the pain and dizziness, I rushed down the hall to the bathroom, making it just in time. My chest heaved several times as I was violently sick and the pounding in my head increased tenfold. As cold sweats began to trickle down my aching body, I slowly sank to the bathroom floor and waited for the pain in my chest to subside. There was a sudden tap on the door and mum’s concerned voice broke through the harsh sound of my laboured breathing.

“Jason, are you ok love?”

There was a pause as she waited for me to answer and just as I was about to, my chest heaved and the retching began all over again. I quickly flushed the toilet to mask the sound and in between a burst of sickness, shouted out over the noise of gushing water.

“I’m ok mum, I’ll be out in a sec”

“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything” she replied, but I could tell from the tone in her voice that she knew I was far from ok.

The heaving finally stopped, and my legs felt weak as I struggled to stand up. Bending over the sink, I doused my hands and face in ice cold water and winced as some of it splashed onto my wrist. Finally, I stood up straight and glanced in the mirror with a growing sense of trepidation. The reflection that stared back at me was like a character from a horror movie. My hair was standing upwards in every conceivable direction, as if I’d stuck my fingers into an electric socket and my face was pale and drawn. I rubbed my cheeks to try and reinstate some colour into them, but all it achieved was to make the surrounding skin appear even paler. I felt absolutely shattered and my eyes were red and bloodshot as if I’d had no sleep at all. I slowly wandered back to my bedroom intending to get dressed but suddenly remembered my clothes were missing, so I hastily pulled on a pair of pyjamas instead.

Mum was standing at the sink with her back to me as I walked into the kitchen and she greeted me without turning around.

“Morning love. How was your night out? I didn’t hear you come in”

“No, it was late” I mumbled vaguely, having no more idea what time it was than she did.

Rubbing her hands vigorously on a nearby towel, she turned around to face me and the smile immediately froze on her face. “Jason, you look awful!!”

“I know mum” I agreed, wallowing in self-pity “I feel awful too”

“Did I hear you being sick in the bathroom just now?”

“Yeah afraid so” I answered sheepishly “I’ve got a shocking headache as well!”

“How much did you have to drink last night?” she went on, shaking her head in disapproval

“Well....I began hesitantly, trying to muster all the lame excuses I could think of “You know erm.....not that many really....well it didn’t seem that much at the time anyway....I wasn’t really counting.....”

“No, obviously not!” she interrupted, raising her eyebrows in dismay.

There was a short silence between us, and her initial reactions of shock and disapproval soon turned to concern as I knew they would, and she shook her head despairingly.

“You’d better take something for that headache then” she sighed, rummaging through a draw. “It’ll make you feel better”

“Thanks mum”

She soon found some tablets and pushed two of them through the foil wrapper onto the work surface. One of them immediately took off and began spinning towards the edge, almost certainly bound for the floor. As I reached out to grab it the sleeve of my pyjamas rode up, revealing part of the injury to my wrist.

“Jason!!" She exclaimed, grasping my hand in shock “Whatever have you done to your wrist?”

I desperately attempted to make light of the situation, hurriedly making up a story as I tried my best to reassure her. “It’s nothing mum; I tripped over the kerb, that’s all”

“It doesn’t look like nothing to me! Here, let me take a look”

I winced and pulled away slightly, but she held on firmly and as she drew up my sleeve her eyes widened. “Jason! You need to be more careful; you could've really hurt yourself”

I cursed inwardly and tried to play it down. “It looks much worse than it is mum, honest”

“At least you’ve had the good sense to clean it anyway” she went on, ignoring my attempt to make light of it.

I just smiled and nodded my agreement without saying a word to correct her. I knew from experience that in this kind of situation it was best to say as little as possible. Instead, I quickly swallowed the two tablets and couldn’t believe how good the cold water felt as it hit the back of my throat.

“I don’t know” she said, sighing helplessly “What on earth am I going to do with you”

It was obviously a rhetorical question, but I wouldn't have been able to answer anyway. Instead I quickly gave a practical response that I knew she would approve of.

“I’ll go and put some cream on it mum.”

“Make sure you do” she added, tutting to herself.

At times like this, I was sure she thought I was still a child, but I didn’t really mind as it was comforting to know that she was genuinely concerned about me.

“And you’d better not let your father see it either” she continued, lowering her voice to make sure he didn’t hear. “You know he doesn’t like you to drink too much”

“He won’t mum, don’t worry”

She nodded her head, satisfied that I understood and gently squeezed my shoulder. “You look absolutely shattered love, why don’t you go back to bed for a couple of hours?”

It seemed like a good idea. A few more hours sleep might just help me to get rid of this throbbing headache and make me feel somewhere near to being human again.

“Yeah, I think I will mum” I answered, eagerly taking the opportunity to disappear before she asked any more awkward questions.

“Ok then love, see you a bit later”

“See you mum”

I wandered down the hallway in a daze, stopping abruptly at the coat rack as a sudden idea occurred to me. Could my watch possibly be in the jacket I’d worn last night? It was certainly worth a look. After a few seconds of feverishly searching amongst the other coats, I was surprised to find that the jacket I’d worn the previous night was nowhere to be seen. There was definitely something strange going on, but I couldn’t for the life of me work out what it was. I had a vague memory of Nathan helping me put it on before we left the pub last night but now it was definitely missing. He was the only person who could explain what had happened and I was desperate for some answers. As thoughts of Nathan came flooding back, every nerve end in my body began to tingle. My head was still throbbing with pain as I sank slowly down on the bed, but the thrill of spending time with him somehow made it all seem worthwhile. Snuggling down under the covers, I thought again what a brilliant night out it had been and desperately hoped that I hadn’t blown it by getting hopelessly drunk. For some reason I couldn’t fathom, Nathan seemed to like me, and I was absolutely crazy about him. The way he made me feel tied up my stomach in knots and just thinking about him sent shivers running up and down my spine. I was desperate to spend more time with him but for the life of me, I couldn’t even remember if we’d agreed to meet up again. He must think I was a complete idiot! How on earth could I allow myself to get so drunk that I couldn’t even remember getting home? And where the hell was my missing watch? It was a present from mum and dad for my eighteenth birthday and the last thing I could afford to do was lose it. I knew it had been expensive and they’d even gone to the trouble of having it engraved on the back. Because dad was unable to work, they were always short of money and it was obviously something they considered important enough to spend a considerable amount of money on. The very least I could have done was look after it properly! For the first time in ages I prayed, desperately hoping it would turn up somewhere. As soon as I felt a bit better, I would have to go back to the pub and ask if it had been handed in. Within minutes I’d fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep, totally exhausted and spent.

It was several hours later before I stirred and opened my eyes, feeling so much better for the extra sleep. By now my headache had receded somewhat and the feelings of nausea had subsided. I lay there for several minutes, trying once again to recall the events of the previous evening, but I was still unable to remember anything beyond leaving the pub. What I needed was a long hot shower, but it was several minutes before I managed to struggle out of bed and head for the bathroom.

The hot steaming water cascaded over my body as I stood in the shower and closed my eyes. Despite my stinging wrist, the feeling was heavenly, and I slowly caressed the smooth contours of my body, gently beginning to trace the outline of my firm stomach muscles. After a short while my hand began to wander slowly downwards until my fingers pushed their way through the wiry pubic hair curling around them. My cock began to stiffen almost immediately as I gently grasped it, massaging the soft skin gently upwards and downwards. My back arched with sheer bliss as erotic sensations of pleasure began to flow throughout my body. If only these feelings of sublime ecstasy could last forever! The sudden fear of exploding too soon made me reluctantly hold off and instead I began to gently fondle and caress my heavy balls. By this time my throbbing cock was fully erect, and I gently stroked the taut skin with my fingers, pushing and squeezing it firmly against my stomach. All of a sudden I was back in the pub watching Nathan’s slim figure as he walked towards the bar. In my mind’s eye he stooped to pick something up, causing the material of his jeans to tighten seductively around his backside. Within seconds I was rock hard, and my hand swiftly moved into overdrive, pumping up and down like an out of control steam hammer. As my body reached a mind blowing crescendo the blood rushed to my head causing my heart to pound frantically. The relief when it came was overwhelming. Every muscle in my body tensed as a long stream of thick creamy liquid shot across the tiles, instantly washed away by the gushing water. Even after reaching climax, I desperately tried to hold on to the feelings of pure unadulterated ecstasy and my hand continued to squeeze every last drop from my stiffened member. Finally, I leant wearily against the wall, temporarily exhausted and spent. The pounding in my head had returned with a vengeance, but I couldn’t help smiling to myself as I got dried and rubbed cream into my arm. There was no doubt about it. The pleasure definitely outweighed the pain! My legs felt weak and shaky as I wearily returned to my bedroom and dressed, willing the watch to reappear on my bedside cabinet. It didn’t of course and I wondered again where on earth it could possibly be. Sudden pangs of hunger and the sound of the kettle boiling in the kitchen reminded me that I hadn’t eaten anything at all this morning. My earlier nausea had completely gone by now and I was dying for something to eat. As I passed the front door on my way to the kitchen there was a loud knocking sound and I automatically turned back to answer it.

“CAN YOU GET THAT?” my mother’s voice sounded from the kitchen. “MY HANDS ARE COVERED IN FLOUR”

“YEAH COURSE” I shouted back, wincing with pain at the sound of my own raised voice. The insistent knocking continued and unable to stifle a gigantic yawn, I opened the door. If this was someone trying to sell me something I’d...... Instead, it was a huge surprise to see Nathan standing there with a wide grin on his face and a large carrier bag in his hand.

“Have I just got you up Jason?”

My face immediately broke into an equally wide smile and I greeted him enthusiastically. “Nathan! Am I glad to see you?”

“Why, what’s the matter?”

“Come into my bedroom quickly” I whispered urgently, nervously glancing towards the kitchen “I want you”

“I’m sorry Jason, but I never have sex until at least the third date” he answered solemnly.

For a split second my heart skipped a beat before I realised he was joking and I grabbed his arm, quickly ushering him down the hall to my bedroom.

“Don’t be daft” I hissed “I need to talk to you! It’s important”

Before we could enter the room, my mum called out from the kitchen and my grip on Nathan’s arm tightened slightly in panic.

“Who is it, love?”

“Oh, it’s ok mum. It’s nobody” I answered anxiously, holding my breath.

“Thanks” remarked Nathan in a low voice as he tried to hide a smile “You really know how to treat a friend!”

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that” I hissed, beginning to panic

“I know you didn’t, I’m joking you idiot” he said, grinning all over his face.

I quickly ushered him into the bedroom and hastily shut the door behind us. My breath escaped slowly in a huge sigh of relief and Nathan gazed at me with an expression of concern on his face.

“Jesus Christ Jason, you look like I feel” he remarked, sitting down on the bed. “Are you ok?”

“Better than I was first thing!”

“Yeah, I know what you mean” he agreed, raising his eyebrows “We did have quite a lot to drink”

“Look, I’ve got something to ask you Nathan” I said impatiently “Have you seen my watch, I can’t find it anywhere?”

“Oh!” he said reluctantly, fishing about in his pocket. “You mean this one”

There was complete silence and my heart dropped like a stone as he withdrew his hand and began unfolding a white handkerchief. My eyes opened wide and I gasped with horror as he revealed what was left of my watch, sitting in the palm of his hand. It was smashed almost beyond recognition. The glass was missing, one hand was nowhere to be seen and the other was crumpled and bent. The face was dented and cracked down the middle so badly that half the numbers were illegible.

“Oh god, please don’t let it be!” I pleaded in a hushed voice, as if praying would make any difference.

It seemed like a bad dream and as if any further proof were needed, I reached out and turned it over with shaking hands. Sure enough, there was the engraved inscription on the back, somehow mocking me with its heartfelt message of sincerity.

'To Jason. Happy Eighteenth. Love from Mum & Dad'.

The air was heavy with despondency as I stood there in stunned silence “What on earth am I going to do Nathan” I cried desperately.

“Look, don’t worry!” he exclaimed, taking a step nearer.

Tears of frustration began to run down my face as I ignored his answer and carried on as if he hadn’t spoken. “I know it was really expensive. It must have taken them ages to save up for it and now I’ve smashed it to pieces”

“Don’t worry Jason, I’ll fix it” he promised, desperately trying to reassure me “Don’t get upset”

I was having none of it though and suddenly erupted in anger. “HOW THE HELL CAN YOU FIX IT NATHAN, IT’S SMASHED TO PIECES” I shouted angrily.

“I don’t mean fix it as in mend it” he explained meekly “We can replace it. They need never know”

“I can’t afford another one” I cried in an agitated voice. “Besides, its engraved and everything”

Nathan’s face became set with an expression of determination, and he carried on unabated. “Then I’ll lend you the money” he insisted “We’ll manage it somehow”

His hand gave my shoulder a sudden gentle squeeze and I quickly put my hand on top of his. The touch of his warm skin against mine set my pulse racing and an involuntary shiver ran up and down my spine.

“Look, we’ll find a way. I promise!” he reassured me again “Now come on, calm down”

His firm yet sympathetic manner seemed to pacify me and as my panic subsided, I gazed at him regretfully. “Sorry for shouting at you Nathan, I know you were only trying to help”

“Don’t worry about it Jason.” he answered, smiling again. “What are friends for if you can’t rant and rave at them now and again?” He slipped his hand from beneath mine and stood me at arm’s length facing him. “Ok now?”

“Yes thanks Nathan”

There was a sudden hesitant tap on the door and mums puzzled voice rang out. “Jason! Are you alright?”

I silently motioned Nathan to stand behind the door and quickly turned on the radio before opening it. She stood there with a worried look on her face and I rushed to reassure her.

“I’m fine mum”

“I thought I heard raised voices, that’s all. Someone shouting”

“It can’t have been me” I exclaimed, immediately feigning innocence. “There’s no one else here to shout at”

I stood back slightly and swept the room with my hand to emphasise it was empty, desperately hoping that she wouldn’t come in to see for herself.

“It was probably just the radio mum; I’ve turned it down now”

She knew that I had a habit of singing along noisily to music in a loud tuneless voice but even so it was an incredibly weak excuse, but unfortunately the only one I could think of on the spur of the moment. The thing was though, would she believe it? My heart beat faster during the brief silence that followed and it was only when she replied that I realised I’d been holding my breath. I didn’t for one moment think that she really believed me but for some reason she decided to play along.

“Ah, that must’ve been it then!” she answered, holding my gaze for a second or two longer than was necessary.

I gave her a nervous smile of agreement and stood back slightly to close the door.

“By the way, are you feeling any better now love?”

“Yeah, a bit”

“And what about your wrist?” she continued, stepping forward to look.

My nervous anxiety immediately increased, and I instinctively stepped forward again, forcing her to move back slightly.

“Still a bit sore” I answered, desperately willing her to go “I’ll live though”

I felt really bad lying to her like this as her concern for me was completely genuine, but there was no way I could tell her the truth.

“Well make sure you keep putting cream on it love”

“Yeah, I will mum. Thanks.”

She nodded her head and finally began to turn away. As I watched her figure retreating down the hallway, I let out a huge sigh of relief before closing the door behind me. “Phew, that was close!”

Before Nathan had a chance to reply, I quickly cut in to apologise for my behaviour. “Look, I’m really sorry for dragging you in here like this Nathan. It’s just that I don’t want them to find out about the watch if I can help it. Sorry, I panicked”

“Yeah, I guessed that!” he chuckled wryly.

I gave him a weak smile, desperately trying to reassure him “It’ll be different next time though, I promise”

“Who says there’ll be a next time!” he answered indignantly, half turning away as if to go “If you think I’m coming here again....”

My face immediately fell as he pretended to be serious “Sorry Nathan, I just thought......”

There was no way he could hide the smile that played around his lips any longer and punching me playfully in the shoulder he burst into laughter. “I’m joking you idiot. There’s no need to explain, I understand perfectly”

An expression of relief burst across my face and I smiled and closed my eyes, silently praying my thanks. At least now I might discover what had really happened the previous night.

“How is your wrist anyway Jason? Nathan had continued

“You know about it!”

“Of course I know about it! It was me that looked after you when you erm.....well you know.....”

“No, that’s just the point Nathan” I interrupted, shaking my head in frustration “I don’t know!”

My head was bursting with questions, but I didn’t want to risk asking them here.

“Look Nathan, why don’t we go for a walk? I need you to tell me everything that happened last night”

“Yeah, that seems like a good idea” he said, nodding his head in agreement.

He picked up the large carrier bag he’d brought with him and began carefully taking out the neatly folded clothes I’d been wearing the previous night

“Here, put your coat on Jase. It’s cold outside”

He held it in his hands and as he passed it across to me, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity any longer.

“Nathan, why have you got my clothes?”

“Come on, let’s go” he urged “I’ll tell you the whole story outside”

I quietly opened the bedroom door and peered outside to make sure that mum had gone back into the kitchen.

“Come on Nathan, coasts clear!” I whispered, signalling to him over my shoulder.

He followed me down the hallway and opened the front door whilst I popped my head around the kitchen door. Mum was bending over the hot oven taking something out and I coughed slightly to gain her attention. She straightened up and turned around to face me with a smile on her face.

“I’m feeling a bit better now mum so I’m just going out for a walk to get some fresh air” I said, unnecessarily pointing towards the front door “Won’t be long”

“Ok love. See you in a bit”