Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2006 18:33:29 -0500
From: Ron <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: Apple of Her Eye  Chapters 5 and 6

The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities to anyone is purely
coincidental. The story is intended for a mature audience. It may contain
profanity and references to gay sex. If this offends you, please leave
and find something more suitable to read. The author maintains all rights
to the story. Please do not copy or use without written permission. Send
comments to Ron at ronxy@woh.rr.com.

Apple of Her Eye   Chapter 5

I was getting really bored lying here in this hospital bed. I think the
term for it is stir crazy. I was going nuts. The nurses would come in and
check on me from time to time, but since I was getting better their
visits were becoming less frequent.

Television in a hospital sucks! No MTV or Comedy Central. Only the major
channels, and all they show are those dumb soap operas. Sorry, but I just
can't get into `The Young and the Restless.' Then there is that stupid
hospital channel. The one time I tuned into it, they were talking about
breast cancer. Yeah, right! That was entertaining! Even if they had shown
some tits, I wouldn't have been interested!

I was starting to feel better. The pain was beginning to subside. The
doctor was ordering less medication, so I didn't sleep as much. It would
have been better if I was sleeping. At least I wouldn't have to sit here
bored out of my mind. I was just ready to get out of here. At least at
home I had cable TV and my PlayStation to keep me occupied. I would even
be happy going back to school, just to have something to do.

My mother usually arrives around four o'clock. Schools lets out at 3:00,
but she often meets with students or talks to other staff before coming
to the hospital. I know she gets tired. She comes directly here and stays
until visiting hours end at 8:00. Then she goes home and grades papers
and works on her lesson plans before going to bed. She will be just as
happy as me when I finally get released.

I looked at the clock. It was almost 4:20. I was beginning to get a
little worried. I just figured she was in a staff meeting or parent
conference. My mother is always punctual. She is one of those people you
can set your clock by. I guess it comes from being a teacher. Half her
life is determined by bells. So when she didn't show up at 4:00, I
became concerned.

I would be glad when she got here. At least it would break the monotony.
We really didn't talk about much. She would tell me how things were
going at school. She teaches at the same school I go to. Lucky kid,
right? She would tell me that my teachers were asking how I was doing.
She also said some of the students were concerned, but I didn't believe
that.

Often it would get really quiet and I could tell she was staring at me.
It would become very unnerving. I knew she wanted to ask me about the
beating, but didn't know how to approach the subject. I had made it
quite clear that was an issue I did not want to discuss.

I also knew that she had to have heard all the rumors that were probably
running rampant. The fag who got tripped in the cafeteria, ran out and
then got his ass kicked in the bathroom. She would just look at me. When
I would glance at her she would give me a small smile and then go back to
watching TV.

I wondered what she was thinking. Was she disappointed in me. Did she
regret having a gay son. I know she wanted to talk about it. We would
talk about it soon, but now just wasn't the time. Too much had happened
to me recently and I didn't think I could handle much more.

After a few more minutes, the door finally opened and she entered the
room. She had a wide grin on her face. It was like she was keeping a
secret from me.

"Hey, honey. How was your day?" She asked.

"I'm fan-tas-tic!" I replied sarcastically. "The activity director
has kept me so busy today. I'm really bushed. It has just been
go..go..go all day!"

"Well, that's nice dear," she replied, playing along. "I'll guess
I'll have to talk to her and tell her you need more rest."

"Seriously Mom, when I can I leave this prison? I'm bored to death!" I
whined.

"I'm going to talk to the doctor tonight and see if he can release you
soon." She said while feeling my forehead. Why do mothers do that?

"I have a surprise for you," she said with another wide smile. "You
have a visitor, a friend has come to see you."

Shaun!! It had to be Shaun! He wasn't mad at me anymore! Who else would
come to visit me? I had pushed all my other friends out of my life over
the past two years. I figured they'd leave me anyways when they found
out I was gay. So I just made it easier for them.

So he did care about me. He came to visit me and see how I was doing. My
stomach started to do somersaults.

"Just a minute, Gary. Let me go get him." Yes, it was Shaun! She left
the room and closed the door behind her.

It was about five minutes before the door opened and she came back in. I
couldn't see anyone with her. She turned and looked behind her, then
retreated once again. Seconds later she came back in holding someone's
hand.

Who is this? This isn't Shaun! I didn't know who he was. I think I
remember him from school. I'd passed him a few times in the hallway, but
we had never spoken. How could she say he was a friend?

However, he was cute...very cute! He was rather small. He must have only
been about 5'5" tall and weighed about 120 pounds. His hair was blonde,
cut short and spiked on top. Adorable would best define him. He was also
very shy. He was hiding behind my mother with his head down. He wouldn't
look at me.

"This is Todd Mathews." My mother broke the awkward silence. "He's in
my Advanced Algebra II class. He's been here everyday after school to
see how you're doing. I've tried to get him to come in and see you, but
until today he has refused."

What is going on here? Why would a kid I have only seen at school a
couple of times and never even spoken to, be coming to the hospital
everyday to check on me? I was suddenly becoming very confused.

My mother finally answered my questions. "He found you in the boys
restroom the other day. He ran for help and then came back and stayed
with you until the medics arrived. He's been very worried about you."

Todd was still standing behind my mother with his head down. He was
blushing! His cheeks were red. It was so cute. I began to giggle.

Suddenly, he looked up at me and I fell into his blue eyes. God, he was
so cute! He looked at me and a small smile began to form. I could see his
lips begin to curl at the edges. We stared into each others eyes for a
moment, and then he again directed his eyes back to a spot on the floor.

"Thanks, man. That was nice of you." I told him appreciatively.

"It's OK, nothing really. Hope you're feeling better." He said
timidly. He was still looking at the damn spot on the floor. I wanted him
to look at me so I could see those beautiful blue eyes once again.

"Tell you what boys," my mother broke in. She had been looking back and
forth at us, noticing our reactions. "I'm going to run out and get a
pizza. I talked to the nurse and she said you can eat anything you want.
I know you're getting tired of the great cuisine they feed you here."

"Oh, no! What shall I do!" I said clutching my chest, playing along
with her. "You're going to feed me like a commoner!" I could hear Todd
giggling in the background. I could quickly get used to that giggle.

"Deep dish or thin crust?" She asked us.

"Thin crust!" We both responded at the same time.

"What kind?" She asked.

"Pepperoni!" Again at the same time. I couldn't believe it. It was
like we were on the same wave length or something. How weird is that?

My mother smiled as she looked us. Then she looked at me and winked. What
was that? She seemed to be very happy to see Todd and me together. I
guess she knew that I had few friends left. She had to know what Shaun
had said about me, knowing that our friendship was over.

"You boys stay out of trouble," she said smiling. "I'll be back in
about a half hour. Todd will you be alright?"

"Yes, Mrs. Carson. I'll be fine." He replied . She ruffled his hair,
then came over and kissed me on the cheek.

"Then I'll be right back with two very large, thin crust, pepperoni
pizzas." She exclaimed and left the room.

To say the next few minutes were awkward would be an understatement. I
looked up at the TV, occasionally watching Todd out of the corner of my
eye. He stood there, shuffling his feet and looking down at the floor.
Neither of us were very comfortable at the moment.

Finally I broke the silence. "Why Todd? Why did you help me? Why have
you been coming by everyday after school?" I had to know. It just
didn't make any sense. Why would a complete stranger go to such lengths
to help me?

He looked up at me and I could see tears begin to form in those beautiful
blue eyes.

"My brother did this to you."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * *

Apple of Her Eye   Chapter 6

Wow! That was all my mind could comprehend. Wow! I kept looking at Todd
and trying to put it all together.

Todd Mathews. Josh Mathews. Couldn't be. Brothers. Blond hair. Blue
eyes. Cute. God. My mind couldn't even begin to think in complete
sentences. It was like it was going into overdrive.

But why was Todd here now? How did he figure in all this? He didn't have
anything to do with Josh beating the shit out of me. How did he even know
what happened? Only four people had been in the restroom, and Todd was
definitely not one of them.

My eyes wouldn't leave his small body, standing by the door, looking
like he would leap away at any second. He still had his head down and his
foot kept tapping silently on the cold floor.

"What do you mean your brother did it?" I was finally able to speak
after several awkward minutes. My mind was beginning to process all the
information that was contained in that one sentence.

He just stood there, still refusing to look at me. He was picking
nervously at the tie string on his hoodie.

"My brother, he did this to you. I'm sorry." Tears began to fall from
his eyes, and he wiped them away with his sleeve. "I'm so sorry," he
repeated.

"How do you know?" I questioned. "I haven't said a word to anyone
about what happened." I hadn't told anyone about the incident. Not my
mother, the doctor, the police or school administrators. There was no way
he could know anything.

"I saw Jimmy trip you in the cafeteria, and you fell pretty hard. You
got up and ran out. I felt sorry for you so I got up and followed you."
He was speaking so softly I could hardly make out what he was saying.

"Why?" That was the only thing that could come to my mind at the
moment. He still had not looked up once while he talked to me.

"I don't really know. Your mother is my math teacher and I knew who you
were. I guess I just felt sorry for you or something." The tears were
still falling down his red cheeks while he dried them occasionally with
his sleeve. I would have given him some tissue, but I didn't know where
they were.

"I saw you run into the restroom and I was going to follow you. Just
then I saw my brother and two of his friends go in. I waited around a few
minutes. I was afraid to go in. Then I saw Josh and his buddies come out.
Josh was really red in the face and he was rubbing his knuckles." Todd
cried. The tears were flowing freely and he was making no attempt to stop
them.

"After he left, I came in and saw you lying on the floor, all bloody."
He lifted his sleeve to his face, wiping away tears.

I didn't know what to say. I was dumbfounded. At the moment, I felt more
sorry for Todd than I did for myself. Here I was, laying in bed with a
broken arm, ribs and bruises all over my body, but I felt immense sorrow
for Todd.

He suddenly went into the restroom to my room. He closed the door and I
could hear him gently crying. After a couple of minutes the water began
to run in the sink and then I heard him blowing his nose. A little later
he opened the door and stepped out. For the first time since he began his
story he looked me in the eyes.

"Come here," I said, reaching out my hand for his. He walked over
hesitantly and took my hand.

"It's not your fault what your brother did. Hell, it's not even your
brothers fault. I provoked him into fighting me. I was mad and lashed out
at the nearest person. Josh just happened to be there." As I spoke I
squeezed his hand. Surprisingly, he squeezed mine in return.

"I know. He told me." Todd responded. "We talked about it later that
night."

"He told you?" I couldn't believe that Josh had admitted what he did
to me to someone..

"Yeah, he feels really bad about it. He told Mom and Dad too. They're
going to go see the principal, Mr. Snow, tomorrow morning."

"No!" I shouted. Todd dropped my hand and stepped back away from the
bed. I guess I had reacted a little too strongly and I had scared him.

"You've got to tell Josh not to go!" Again I was getting excited. "It
wasn't his fault. It was mine. I don't want to see him get suspended
and miss out playing football and basketball." Josh was quarterback and
captain for our team. We were getting ready to go into tournament play.
Our team was 7-1 and we had a good chance of going to state. He was also
star forward on our basketball team. We had played together for the past
two years, even though I only came in off the bench occasionally. The
last thing I wanted was Josh to get punished for my stupid behavior.

"It's too late now. Josh and my parents have discussed it and they
think Josh should admit beating you up." Todd seemed to have relaxed a
little and he was now speaking to me with less nervousness.

"Well, I have to do something about it." I said. "Let me talk to my
mom and see if there is anything she can do. Maybe she can talk to your
parents or Mr. Snow. I don't want to see Josh suspended."

"I don't want to see him get suspended either. I really love my brother
and this could be a major setback for him. He's been accepted to several
colleges on an athletic scholarship. This could really hurt him." Todd
looked like he was getting ready to cry again.

"It'll will be alright. I'll make sure he doesn't get suspended. He
should have kept quiet about this. I didn't tell anyone he was
involved."

"It doesn't matter," Todd said sorrowfully. "He knew he messed up and
couldn't live with himself until he made it right. He really felt bad
for hurting you. He cried last night. I've never seen him cry before."

Now I really felt like shit. I was mad at Shaun and ended up taking it
out on an innocent bystander. Now I could ruin their future. My future
was already ruined, but I didn't have to ruin Josh's too.

"I'm sorry." I said. Now it was my turn to cry. I could feel the tears
begin to run down my cheek.

"Why?" asked Todd.

"I didn't mean to hurt Josh."

"What a strange thing to say," responded Todd. "Josh almost kills you
and you say you're sorry for hurting him."

"My life is so fucked up." I was crying so hard. I pulled the sheet up
over my head so Todd couldn't witness me falling apart. It was true. My
life was a mess, and now I drag someone else into it.

Todd came over to the bed and tried to pull down the sheet from my face.
I fought to keep it covering my face.

"Look at me." He said gently. He again pulled at the sheet and this
time I did not struggle with him.

"You're not fucked up." I looked into his eyes and could see his eyes
were moist, but there were no tears. "You're fine just the way you
are."

This time he took my hand and held it. We gazed into each others eyes for
what seemed like hours, but probably was only about 15 seconds. I got
lost his blue eyes. He kept squeezing my hand and gently rubbing his
thumb over my knuckles.

He probably would have stood there for a long time, but suddenly the door
flew open and my mother entered carrying two large pizza boxes, a large
bag of potato chips and two liters of Dr. Pepper.

Todd quickly dropped my hand and stepped back from the hospital bed. My
mother gave us a strange look, then looked us over and smiled.

"You boys been good while I was gone?" She said with a grin. "You seem
to be getting along really well."

"Yes, Mrs. Carson," Todd spoke first. "Everything's fine."

"Well, that's wonderful," She replied. "You boys hungry?"

"Yes, Ma'am." We both said excitedly at the same time.

"Good, then let's eat." She said as she opened up the pizza boxes and
pulled out some paper plates she had bought.

We had fun eating. It was obvious that my mother and Todd had a good
relationship. She told him a couple of embarrassing stories about me. One
involved me trying to open a can of paint in the garage and spilling it
all over myself, the floor, the walls and my mother's car. Todd laughed
so hard he cried. I just turned a beautiful shade of red.

When we finished my mother cleaned up the mess we made. It was almost six
o'clock and my doctor would soon be in. He usually made his rounds in
the evening.

I knew I had some things that had to be said. I didn't want to say them,
but tomorrow would be too late. Josh and his parents were going to see
Mr. Snow in the morning. I knew I had to face the truth...and my mother.

"Todd, could you wait outside for a minute? I need to speak to my mother
alone?" He looked at me and I could tell by his eyes that he knew what I
wanted to say to her.

"You don't have to do this, Gary." He said almost pleadingly.

"Yes I do." I simply replied.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I hope you are enjoying the story.  This is my first attempt at writing
fiction.  Some of you have written and asked me for longer chapters, so I
have combined some.  Thanks to you who have written.  I enjoy hearing
from you.   Ron.  Send comments to ronyx@woh.rr.com.