Always - 15. David

They all quickly packed up and took shelter in the Escalade. The rain was really beginning to fall. Drew switched on the heater and gave a slight shake.

“Drew, Luke, there is something we were going to tell you guys. We waited until now because we didn’t want to ruin your day.”

Drew and Luke looked at each other and then looked back at Jeff.

“What is it?” Luke asked.

“I was talking to Mike, his dad works at the police station, and he told me that there wasn’t enough evidence to arrest David. The video from the security camera just isn’t enough. They can’t make out his face. Unless one of the guys that were with him confesses and gives him up then he walks.”

“Shit, you mean nothing is going to happen to him?” Drew spat.

“Not unless one of those guys confesses, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon. If he goes down so do they. His dad already posted his bail. He’s back at school tomorrow.”

“Luke was almost killed! I bet his father is behind this! It is fucking security footage! From a school no less! Isn’t that stuff supposed to be like crystal clear?”

“Drew calm down. Getting upset won’t help. I expected this,” Luke said as he looked at Drew.

Drew sighed angrily.

“I know what we need to do,” Rose piped up.

“What?” Luke asked, looking at his friend.

“We are just going to have to find out the real reason for David wanting to kill you. Maybe if we find that out why we can stop him.”

“How in the hell are we going to find that out?” asked Drew.

“We are going to ask him.”

“What are we supposed to do? Go up and be like. ‘Hey, David! Why are you trying to kill Luke? I mean you guys used to be best friends.’ Yeah right,” Drew quipped.

“Well, maybe not in so many words but it’s worth a shot,” Rose replied.

“It would be nice to know why he is trying to kill me…” Luke trailed off.

“We are going to get to the bottom of this one way or another,” Jeff said placing a comforting hand on Luke’s shoulder from behind him.

Luke smiled and looked back, “Thanks Jeff.”

Drew parked the Escalade in the garage and cut the engine. He looked over at Luke, who was fast asleep. The time was just past eight o’clock and they had put in a long day of driving. Drew reached over and gently shook Luke’s shoulder.

“Hey, were home,” Drew said.

Luke mumbled something inaudible and his eyes blinked open.

“Rose and Jeff told me to tell you good night and that they would see us tomorrow. Are you ready to go hit the hay?”

Luke nodded and opened the passenger door. Drew quickly exited the escalade and opened the door leading into the house.

When they made their way into the kitchen they found Jane standing over the kitchen sink running water over the dirty dishes. The smell of the apple pie candle burning on the table quickly engulfed them and the both took in a deep breath.

“Man, it smells good in here,” Drew said.

“Yep, great candle,” Luke said.

“Did you boys have a good time?” Jane asked.

“Yes,” Drew beamed. “Even the storm was good; cliché but good.”

Luke elbowed Drew in the side and Jane pretended not to notice.

“Luke, dear, there is a present for you on Drew’s bed from me. I know I didn’t have to do it, but I did so just enjoy it.”

Luke smiled, “Thank you.”

“Drew,” Jane said motioning toward him.

Drew walked over and she revealed in his ear what the mystery gift was. He grinned widely and looked at Luke. Quickly he led Luke into his room and placed the wrapped box in his hand. The green and gold stripped paper was fastened with clear tape and a gold bow sat atop of the medium sized box.

Luke held it in his lap as he looked into Drew’s eyes as to a clue of what this wondrous gift may be. Drew just grinned lovingly. Luke looked down and the box and began tearing off the beautiful paper. Once the paper and bow were removed, a plain white box was revealed. He removed the top and looked under the forest green tissue paper and laid eyes upon a beautiful wooden frame with swirls and flowers carved into it. He looked at the picture that was beautifully encased under the shiny glass.

A woman, who looked to be in her late twenties, stood in front of a large oak tree surrounded by flowers. The leaves on the tree were green to match the grass under her feet and you could almost feel the warmth. She was beautiful with her hourglass figure that had been accented by her red v-neck shirt and dark blue jeans. Her skin was pale, and her hair a russet brown. Her eyes were the same shade of caramel as Luke’s, and her smile matched the sun. Then in addition her grace seemed to flood the scenery.

Luke looked at the picture and felt as if he should know the woman smiling so brightly at him.

“Who is she?” Luke asked, not taking his eyes from the picture.

“Who do you think she is?” Drew replied.

“I don’t know. I feel like I should though.”

“That is your mother.”

Luke stared at the picture, trying to drink in everything about her. Tears came to his eyes and he voice broke, “Where did your mom get this.”

“I don’t know. You will have to ask Mom.”

Luke looked up at Drew. Many emotions were held in his eyes; happiness, sorrow, the ever most constant fear, and love.

Drew wiped his tears away with his index finger and smiled.

“There is more,” Drew said taking the picture from Luke’s fingers.

He flipped over the 5x7 frame and removed the picture from its frame. On the back was writing. It read:

Allison McGowan, one month pregnant.

Luke carefully placed the picture back into its frame and handed it to Drew. Swiftly he kissed him on the lips and then retreated to the Kitchen. Jane was washing dishes and the room smelled slightly of lemon dish soap now in addition to the apple pie. Luke went up to her and from behind embraced her in the tightest hug he could manage.

“Thank you so much Jane,” His voice broke as the tears began to fall freely again.

“I thought it would make for a good gift,” Jane said as she turned and grabbed a dish towel.

“You have no idea what this means to me.”

“Yes, I do. I never knew my mother and every day I wish my father would have told me her name; why she left. Your mother loved you, and you have the right to know as much about her as possible.”

“Where did you get this though?”

“Our neighbor, Ms. Stevenson. She met Drew in the driveway the day you were released from the hospital. Drew told me about it and I went over and paid her a visit. She knew your Mother quite well. She was the one who took that picture. She also told me that if you ever wanted to stop by and talk about your mom she would be more than happy to talk to you.”

Jane pulled the surprised boy into a hug. He smiled at the thought of learning about his mother. Then Luke sniffled and pulled away from Jane. He smiled at her. She returned his smile with laughter. He looked at her with one raised eyebrow.

“What?” he asked confused as to why she would be laughing at him.

“When were you two going to tell me?” she asked.

“Tell you what?” he asked.

“You boys think I am stupid,” she spoke with amusement in her voice. “Besides, anyone could tell just by the way you two look at each other. You smell like him. Plus, the light in his eyes is back and he is smiling and laughing like he used to. Gosh, it is great to hear his laugh.”

“You know?” Luke’s voice what one of pure astonishment.

“Yes, I know!” Jane giggled.

“I understand if you wish for me to go.”

“What?” It was now Jane’s turn to be confused. “Luke, I would never want you to leave! I’m happy for you and Drew; so very happy. You made my boy happy again, and you’re happy. Luke I am so very glad you two found each other. I am worried about this mess with David, but Drew knows how to handle himself. He would never let anything happen to you. He loves you; I can see it.”

“I love him too.”

The tears once again reached the surface and Luke began to cry once more. Only this time they were happy tears. At that time Drew came into the kitchen to find Luke crying. He walked over and stood beside him and gave him a concerned look. He saw the tears in his eyes and felt the need to pull him into his arms. Although, with the presence of his mom he just placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder.

“You okay?” Drew asked.

Drew was taken by surprise as Luke wrapped his arms around Drew and nuzzled his face into the side of his neck. Drew impulsively hugged him tight and looked fearfully at his mom.

“She knows Drew,” Luke whispered. “She knows and she is happy for us; really happy.”

Drew looked at Jane with a shocked expression.

“It doesn’t bother you that I’m gay?” Drew asked.

Jane walked over to her son and Luke moved to his side, still holding on. Jane placed her hands on either side of Drew’s face and looked him in the eyes.

“I love you, and I wouldn’t care if you loved a polka dotted vampire as long as you were happy. Although, I am quite glad it was Luke.” Jane kissed Drew’s forehead and then Luke’s. “I just have one request.”

They both looked at her quizzically.

“Please try and refrain yourselves from engaging in any sexual activities until at least a week after I take out Luke’s stitches or until his ribs heal.”

Both boys blushed furiously and pulled away from each other.

“Well, I was young once too and I know that is stupid to ask for you two not to have sex. But please don’t jump into anything you’re not ready for.”

They nodded, still beat red. Jane laughed and Drew and Luke hurried out of the room. Both were extremely embarrassed by Jane’s words, but Drew was also in awe that Jane had accepted him just like that. Luke could see the surprise on his face, and was beginning to realize his own surprise.

“I can’t believe she doesn’t have even the slightest problem with me being gay,” Drew said sitting down on the couch.

“Yeah, she was even giddy about it,” Luke said as he sat down beside him.

“Maybe she is just in shock or something.”

“Or maybe she is afraid of losing the one son she has left. You couldn’t blame her. You should be thankful she is taking it this well. I mean look at what happened when my dad found out…” Luke trailed off as he looked down.

Drew saw the hurt look on his face and used an index finger to tilt his face up.

“Hey, don’t dwell on that. None of it was your fault.” Drew gave him a reassuring smile.

“To bad everyone can’t be like her.” Luke laid his head on Drew’s shoulder. “We go back to school tomorrow…What do we do?”

Drew sighed, “Well, first off I have to switch from Spanish to German.”

“Don’t do that. You’ll never catch up. Jeff has that class with me. I’ll be okay.”

“Luke,” Drew began but was cut off.

“No, Drew Jeff will take care of me. Besides, we can’t be around each other all the time. We are going to start to get sick of each other.”

“Yeah, you can be kind of clingy,” Drew smiled.

Luke laughed and punched him in the shoulder. “Oh, yeah, I’m the clingy one.” Luke rolled his eyes with a smile.

“I don’t know about you but I am tired,” Drew yawned.

“Yeah, me too.”

“What do you say we hit the sack?”

Luke nodded.

Drew had turned off the light and was about to lay down on the futon when Luke grabbed his arm. It was dark and Drew could barely make out Luke’s face, but he could smell his minty breath. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he could see the pleading look in Luke’s eyes.

“Drew,” Luke said, his voice nervous, “will you, I-I mean I want you to…” Luke was blushing furiously and he was glad it was dark. “I-I just want to wake up next to you.”

“Okay,” Drew whispered.

They climbed into bed and Drew wrapped his arms around Luke. As Luke laid his head on Drew’s chest he could hear his heart beat. That’s when he realized that the rhythm of Drew’s heart matched his own. This was all new to him. Having someone to care for him the way Drew did was something he had only dreamed about. In the past year he had lost all hope of ever finding who would love him. Luke smiled to himself and fell asleep to the sound of their hearts.

Drew opened his eyes and smiled. Luke was curled into his side sleeping peacefully. He looked down and ran his fingers through Luke’s shaggy hair. Luke began to stir and then looked up at Drew.

“Good morning,” Drew smiled.

“Morning. What time is it?” Luke yawned.

“It is six o’clock on Monday morning. Are you ready for this?”

Luke nodded, “Yeah… It’s just another day. Nothing much has changed. People still fear me, the teachers still hate me, and David’s still wants to kill me. Yep, just another normal day.”

“Come on,” Drew smiled, “Let’s get ready for school.”

They both slowly got up from the bed.

“Hey, is today the day Jeff said the team was going to give you your tryout, since you missed the last one. You know the one you wouldn’t have had to miss if would have just gone without me.” Luke rolled his eyes.

“Hey, I wasn’t going to leave you here by yourself, and you couldn’t go with your injuries.”

“Let’s just get ready to go. Were confronting David today, remember?”

“I still don’t think that is a good idea. You know if he tries something we are all getting in trouble. If he goes after you he and I will get into it then his lackeys, Jeff and half the boxing team. It will be one big ol’ brawl.”

“Just try to keep your cool. Who knows we might be able to talk Rose out of it.”

“Maybe…”

As the boys pulled into the parking lot Drew’s car was already getting some stares. When they parked and began to walk into the school the staring got worse. People were even stopped with the jaws hanging to the ground. As they were making their way up the steps to the school Drew was ambushed by Rose.

She came from behind him, “Drew!”

Before he could turn around she had launched herself on to his back and he nearly fell over. He quickly hooked his hands under her knees and she held on.

“Where is Jeff?” Drew asked as he piggy backed her up the stairs.

“He over slept, but he is on his way,” she laughed.

They reached the top of the stairs and Rose hopped down and smiled.

“Too lazy to walk up the stairs I see,” Luke laughed.

“Hey you never complained when I did it to you back before your knee injury.”

Luke smiled at his friend and realized how much he had missed her as she stood there in her washed out jeans and flip flops. Her hair hung loosely over her shoulders and she was casual in her black t-shirt.

“Just try and give him a better warning next time,” Luke laughed.

“I yelled his name,” Rose stated matter-of-factly.

“That could have meant anything,” Drew quipped.

“Oh, well next time you’ll know when I yell your name from behind I’m going to jump on your back.”

“Why not jump on Jeff’s back?” Drew smiled questionably.

“He’d toss her to the ground,” Luke laughed.

“Oh, so you think I wouldn’t toss you to the ground?” Drew asked Rose.

“Nope, you wouldn’t dare. Anyhow, I have to get to class. I’ll see you two at lunch and we will go find David and see what we can find out.”

Drew and Luke nodded before Rose skipped off into the school.

“It’s just like I remember it,” Luke said as they walked through the doors.

“What?” Drew asked confused.

“My friendship with her and Jeff. However now I have you.”

Drew grinned ear to ear he was about to hug Luke when he remembered where he was.

“So do you think Jeff will get her in time to walk you to German?” Drew asked obviously changing the subject.

“Yeah, we don’t have to worry about that. He knows Rose will kill him if he isn’t here by the time first period is over.”

“Rose is a little vixen. She looks harmless but I would hate to piss her off.”

“Yeah, she gets scary when she is mad.”

By the time lunch rolled around Luke was extremely nervous and Drew could tell by the paleness of his face. They met outside of the cafeteria.

“Alright, how are we going to do this?” Drew asked as he came to stand in front of Jeff, Rose, and Luke.

“First off where is David?”

“He and his friends are probably in the gym. They normally hang out there,” Luke said looking out into space, his thoughts obviously other places.

“Well, we better start there,” Drew said with a sigh.

“Hold on, were going to need reinforcements if things turn ugly,” Jeff said heading into the cafeteria.”

When he came back he had four of his boxing buddies with him.

“Alright, I got the Calvary. Let’s go kick some ass!” Jeff said.

“Hey, were going to try and avoid a fight not start one remember,” Rose said looking at him with a ‘you better listen to me’ look.

“Sure thing Hun,” he smiled as they turned and headed toward the gym and the awaiting conflict.

As they came through the doors they saw David and his gang sitting on the top row of bleachers next to the wall furthest from them. David automatically stood up with a scowl on his face. They had told the four other guys to wait outside. They didn’t want to make David think a fight is what they had came for. Thus there the four of them stood as David approached them with an angry look. His lackeys sat anxiously on the bleachers for David’s call.

“What the hell do want?” David snarled.

“We just want to talk,” Rose said.

“Shut up bitch!”

Drew had to grab Jeff as he lunged toward David. He gave him a look that said ‘calm down’ and then turned his attention back to Drew.

“All we want to know is why you want Luke dead. Why did you suddenly turn on your best friend?” Rose said in a harsh tone.

David just stared at her after hearing her blunt question.

“What was it?” she asked.

“I could have never been friends with this fag,” David said with cold eyes as he looked at Luke.

“David you were fine with Luke. Don’t try and lie to us we know there is another reason. There has to be another reason you’re going as far as to commit murder.”

“Yeah, and he knows why,” David spoke still eyeing Luke. “I won’t fail next time. You’ll be sorry.”

“David, if you ever go near him again I will kill you,” Drew said stepping closer to David so that they were only feet apart.

David looked into Drew’s eyes and saw that same cold look. David for a minor second let his fear of Drew show and he backed up a couple steps. Then he quickly resumed his facade.

“Drew, you should be careful. It would be a shame if your mother got hurt on the way to work one day.”

“Try it and every reporter in the state will be all over it. Think about it David. Hundreds of reporters in this small town trying to figure out what the story is. All I would have to do is mention your name. Every cold secret you have ever had will be exposed. Every bone in that deep dark closet.”

“Please, that is an empty threat.”

Drew stepped closer, “Try it. These aren’t small town journalists. They dig, they pay for information. Don’t think for a minute that one of those idiots over there would keep your little secrets of murder if they were offered the right amount of cash. Stay away from my mother, Luke and everyone else in my life or I will see to it that you don’t have one anymore.”

David stepped back and clamped his jaw shut. Drew’s words began to sink in and he turned to go. But before he did he said one last thing,

“You better keep an eye on them. I won’t give up until he is dead.”

Drew turned back to Jeff, Luke and Rose.

“I think I know what this is about,” Drew said.