Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 18:36:53 -0500
From: Rhaven <rhaven2002@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Long Road Chapter Eight

This story contains strong language and sexual content between
boy/man.

For more stories and poems, please visit:

www.rhavenlore.com


CHAPTER EIGHT

Jeremy had asked the question and gotten an answer that he couldn't,
wouldn't accept. He wasn't sure how long he had been silent, how long
he had stared blankly at Bram. Jeremy forced himself not to react. He
thought over what Bram had just said, but it still wouldn't sink it.
Jeremy couldn't believe, no matter what Bram said, that he could have
killed his mother. He wasn't a murderer.

"Bram." Jeremy began and quickly cleared his throat. "I. what happened
to your mother was an accident." Jeremy finally managed to say. He
recalled what Maggie had told him, 'a horrible accident' she had said.

"You don't know what happened. how can you say it was only an
accident?" Bram almost screamed. "You weren't there, no one was
 there!"

"Hey!" Jeremy said calmly. "Then tell me what happened, I'm here for
you Bram, I'm here to help."

Bram sat up on the side of the bed. Jeremy couldn't tell if the boy
was going to run off or was just thinking. He carefully moved closer
to him and put his hands on Bram's thin shoulders.

"My dad hired you." Bram whispered in a weak voice. Jeremy arched an
eyebrow and moved even closer.

"Yes, your dad hired me. What does that have to do with anything?"

Bram shook his head slowly, mumbling to himself.

"Bram, talk to me." Jeremy squeezed the boy's shoulders to let him
know he was still there.

"I'm such a fool." Bram said slowly. "The last nanny my father hired
tried her best to seduce me, my father's idea of controlling me. He
couldn't manage my life long distance. so he hired someone to direct
me, to make me happy. So. so he could have a clean conscious" Bram
started crying. " He hired her and he hired you."

"I don't understand." Jeremy said slowly not liking how Bram sounded.

"Sure you do." Bram said flatly. "And now so do I."

Bram started heading for the door, but Jeremy jumped out of bed and
stopped him.

"Wait a minute Bram! Wait a damn minute. Are you accusing me of
manipulating you? Do you really think I seduced you, because you're
father wanted me too?" Jeremy couldn't believe what was happening. One
minute they had been calmly talking, what was happening?

Bram rushed passed and ran from the room. Jeremy quickly followed.

"Talk to me Bram! You can't seriously think I was using you."

Bram stopped and looked back at Jeremy. There was so much hate in his
eyes that Jeremy backed away, Bram wasn't looking at him, he was
looking at a stranger and that scared Jeremy.

"I trusted you." Spat Bram.

"Bram, please."



Jeremy stood stunned as the boy ran to his room. He couldn't believe
what had just happened. Bram confessed of murdering his mother and
then went psycho. Some how, Bram had convinced himself that Jeremy was
nothing more than a slave of Mr. Brice. He thought about rushing into
Bram's room and confronting the boy. He knew he should, but his mind
had turned to mush. Jeremy wondered for a moment if indeed he was a
pawn in Mr. Brice's parental game. Had the man done his research so
well as to discover Jeremy's innermost desires? Everything was
crashing down around him, his stomach churned and rolled, he just
wished someone could come and save him.

Jeremy sat up the rest of the night, hoping that Bram would return to
him. As morning dawned, Jeremy's heart sank lower. Bram had not
returned and Jeremy was beginning to believe he never would. He
reluctantly headed downstairs and met Maggie in the kitchen. It wasn't
something he wanted to do, how was he going to explain all this to
Maggie? But he had to see the woman, he had to discover the truth, no
matter how harsh it was.

"Good morning!" Maggie said cheerfully, placing a cup of coffee in
front of Jeremy. "Did you sleep well?"

"No." Jeremy said plainly, shocking the woman with his negative
response. "Tell me Maggie. did you decide to take the weekend off or
did Mr. Brice tell you to?"

Maggie frowned and sat down at the table.

"What's going on Mr. Roberts?" She said staring intently at Jeremy.

"Did he tell you to leave?"

Maggie cleared her throat and looked down at her hands.

"Mr. Brice suggested it, but I don't understand why you would need to
know that."



Jeremy shook his head and wanted to cry, it was all a game, they were
all puppets. Mr. Brice had known of his passion for painting, Jeremy
should have seen this manipulation, how could he have been so
controlled? It still seemed impossible, he didn't want to believe what
he was thinking. He tried so hard to remember that his love and the
love Bram had shown him was true and pure.

"Tell me how Mrs. Brice died."

"Mr. Roberts, I don't think that's something we talk about at
breakfast." Maggie stood, but Jeremy slammed his fist on the table.

"Tell me damn it! You know what happened don't you?"

"No need to get angry." Maggie unenthusiastically sat back down. "It
was five years ago." She began, though Jeremy could tell she didn't
want to talk about this. ".this had been the family home then, so full
of live. You couldn't have found a happier family. I have to say I
wasn't pleased at how spoiled Bram was, one moment Bram would be our
little angel and the next, flopping around on the floor in one of his
tantrums. I never knew what kind of mood he would be in, it changed
quicker than the time." Maggie managed to laugh, despite her sad look.
Maggie looked past Jeremy, obviously seeing imagines that no longer
existed.

"Bram was in a foul mood that day. wanting nothing but to play
outside."

"Outside?" Jeremy said surprised.

"But Mrs. Brice insisted he come in, we were having guest for
dinner.funny, I can't remember who was arriving." Maggie stopped to
reflect on her memories, but seeing Jeremy's impatience continued. "I
had chased Bram from one end of this house to the other, but the boy
refused to take a bath. I remember how frustrated Mrs. Brice, it was
rare for her to lose her temper, she was such a gentle woman. too
gentle perhaps. She took over the chase. oh lord, if I had only caught
him. If only I hadn't been so damn slow."

Jeremy reached over and patted Maggie's hand. "Go ahead Maggie. tell
me what happened."

"Bram. "Maggie began again. "Ran out back and Mrs. Brice was close on
his heels. I didn't witness the accident. There was only one witness
to what happen and he's never talked about it." Maggie sniffed back a
tear and looked up at the ceiling.

"Apparently Mrs. Brice had tripped on the steps and fell. she hit her
head on the side of the fountain."

The old woman stood, pacing the kitchen slowly, trying her best not to
picture the horrid image of the past.

"The doctor said that she died almost instantly from the impact. It
was several minutes before I found her. with Bram standing over her.
What does it do to a boy, seeing his mother die right before his eyes?
I wonder how different things would be, if only. if only Mr. Brice.
hadn't."

"Hadn't blamed Bram for her death." Jeremy finished for Maggie, she
nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Jeremy stood and gave Maggie a tight hug. "Thank you Maggie. I'm sorry
for asking you to relive that, but I had to know."

"He needs you Mr. Roberts. It's not right for a child to grow up
without love."

"I just hope." Jeremy swallowed hard. "I just hope I can break down
those walls Bram has surrounded himself with."

He headed upstairs and into his room. All these thoughts raced through
his mind, what could he say to the boy who blamed himself for his
mother's death? A boy who wanted his father's love, only to be
betrayed with deceit. How could he prove that he was in love with
Bram?  He sat at his desk all day waiting for Bram to show up, but he
never did. Finally, he found himself at Bram's door. He knocked
gently.

"Bram. Bram can we talk?"

"I have nothing to say to you." The boy yelled from the other side of
the door. Jeremy knew there was no way he could force Bram into
talking, he just hoped that the anger Bram was feeling would subside
and then they could talk. Time healed all wounds or that's what they
say. Bram would suffer from this pain forever; Jeremy knew this,
because he too suffered from his parent's ignorance.

Friday arrived; it had been the longest and loneliest week in Jeremy's
life. Jeremy couldn't count how many attempts he had made to talk with
Bram, but the boy refused. . Bram would have nothing to do with him,
he had made up his mind and nothing Jeremy could say was going to
change that. Jeremy was stubborn, but a time comes when even the
strongest must surrender. That night Jeremy packed his suitcase.



As Saturday arrived, Jeremy found himself at the front door with his
suitcase and Maggie standing next to him.

"Are you sure about this Mr. Roberts?"

"What choice do I have Maggie? I can't help Bram if he hates me. He.he
won't even talk to me."

"At least, go say goodbye." She said pushing him towards the stairs.

"I'll give it a try." Jeremy slowly and headed up the stair. It almost
felt as if he was walking to the electric chair, the truth was, he'd
rather die than be rejected by Bram once again. The dread of defeat
flooded over him and washed away all his strength, Jeremy commanded
himself not to cry, though he knew it was a hollow order. He inhaled
deeply as he stared at the boy's door.

"Bram. I. I'm leaving. I just. I just wanted to tell you, that I wasn'
t sent here to manipulate you or anything. When I first arrived, I . I
wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, I had convinced myself
that I would hate it here." Jeremy sniffed back a tear, but continued.
"Then I met you and that love I felt. that I still feel. it renewed
me, I have never felt so alive as I did when I was with you. All I
ever wanted was to see you happy. and I'm sorry if I failed in that or
caused you pain." Jeremy inhaled deeply again, the sadness he felt was
overwhelming, all he wanted to do was take Bram in his arms and hug
him for eternity. However, something had happened, something had gone
wrong, chaos had sliced into this utopia and there was no way of
fixing it. "Goodbye Bram. I. I love you." Jeremy didn't wait for a
reply, he couldn't bare hearing only silence.



He walked back downstairs, gave Maggie a quick kiss and headed
outside. His suitcase seemed to weigh a ton as he walked to the
driveway. The taxi hadn't arrived yet, but he couldn't stand to be in
the house any longer and he couldn't look back, he knew if he did, he'
d have no strength to leave. Jeremy walked outside, sat down on the
front steps, and started to cry.

He heard the front door open, but didn't turn around. Probably Maggie
with a cup of coffee, he thought.

"Jeremy?"

Jeremy stood up quickly and turned around. Bram was walking towards
him and crying.

"Jeremy, please don't leave me. I don't want to be alone anymore. I
love you so much. Please. please don't leave me."

Jeremy swept up the boy into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"I'm not going anywhere. I can't leave you; you are my heart and my
soul."



THE LONG ROAD WE TRAVEL

ALONE IT IS AN UNTHINKABLE QUEST

OF INNER PAIN AND NO REST

BUT HAND IN HAND/MAN AND BOY

O' WHAT AN ADVENTURE/O' WHAT A JOY

THE LONG ROAD WE TRAVEL

TOGETHER UNITED AND ONE

UNTIL THE OUR TIME IS DONE

WITH EACH OTHER WE WILL ENDURE

LOVE; SO SIMPLE AND PURE

THE LONG ROAD WE TRAVEL

WALKING; US TWO

OUR JOURNEY IS TRUE



THE END

For Now.To be Continued