Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 16:23:15 -0700
From: R B <castoryteller@hotmail.com>
Subject: Summers End Chapter 12

This story is a work of FICTION. The events described are my own invention.
Any similarities to actual events or persons are strictly coincidental. The
author retains the copyright, and any other rights, to this original story.
You may not publish it or any part of it without my explicit authorization.

This story contains depictions of consensual sexual acts between teenage
males.  It is intended for mature audiences only.  If you find this type of
material offensive or if you are under the legal age to read said material;
please stop reading now.

Comments are always welcome at: castoryteller@hotmail.com

Summers End
Chapter 12

Alec

I caught up to Thomas and followed him out the back door.  The rain was
pouring down but he wouldn't stop.  He was drenched almost the instant he
went outside.

"Thomas, come back!" I shouted after him but he wouldn't listen.

I took a deep breath before chasing after him, letting the rain soak into
my skin.

"What's wrong, what did the letter say?"

But he still wouldn't stop.

"Thomas, please?" I shouted.  This time he stopped dead in his tracks and
turned to face me.  His whole body was shaking with rage.

"You were right!" said Thomas.

"About what, I don't understand.  Why are you so upset?"

"They lied to me!"

"Who, Mrs. Lodge?"

"Mrs. Lodge and Henry and everyone else!"

"Thomas you're not making any sense. What's this about?"

"He's my father! Henry fucking Lodge is my dad!"

"Oh shit," my eyes popped out of my head.

"I have to get out of here," Thomas sniffled and then he stormed off again.

"Wait, let's go back inside and talk this out," I pleaded.

"No.  There's nothing to talk about.  I wanna see my mom," his voice
cracked.

"Sweetie, she's..."

"She's dead, I know that, but I'm still going."

He was furious and everything he said frightened me.  He was in no
condition to go anywhere.  I couldn't stop him but I didn't want to see
things get worse so I did the only thing I could do and followed him.  We
were halfway to the boathouse when the last person I wanted to see turned
up on the path before us.

"Hey charity case, still crying over that busted nose?" Roderick Lodge
smirked as the rain dripped from his blond hair and down his forehead.

Thomas pushed past him and kept going but Roderick wouldn't let things go.
He grabbed Thomas by the shoulder.

"I'm talking to you," said Roderick as he spun Thomas around.

Thomas was in no mood to put up with Roderick's bullshit.  His hand was
balled into a fist and as he turned he brought it up and buried it in the
middle of Roderick's face.

"Ah!" Roderick shouted and fell on his ass.

"Fuck off you twisted fuck!" Thomas shouted.

"Y-you can't talk to me like that.  I-I'm telling," Roderick's bottom lip
quivered as blood trickled from his nose.

"You want another one?" Thomas shouted, brandishing his fist at the bully.

"N-no, I'm sorry," Roderick blubbered.

Thomas turned in disgust and continued towards the boathouse.

"What was that about?" Roderick whined as though he were the victim.

"You heard him, fuck off," I rolled my eyes and followed Thomas.  I caught
him just after he entered the boathouse.

"What are you doing, you can't go sailing now," I reminded him.  The waves
were crashing against the shore so loud you could hear them in the
boathouse.

"I'm not taking the sailboat," said Thomas as he wiped his eyes and
operated the controls to lower one of the speed boats into the water.

"What about needing a license?"

"I don't care.  I have to get out of here."

"Then I'm coming with you."

"No."

"Thomas, please, I love you," I pleaded as he stepped into the boat.

"Alright," Thomas sighed.  "Untie the stern while I get the engine started.
I'll meet you at the end of the quay."

"Ok," I agreed.

At least this was progress.  He wasn't saying no anymore.  I kneeled down
and heard the engine roar to life as I untied the stern.  I started walking
to the end of the quay when I noticed the boat was moving too fast.  It's
not like he could just apply the brakes, there was no way I could jump
aboard.

"Thomas, damn it," I shouted after him.

"I'm sorry Alec," he shouted back.  "I have to do this myself."

He applied more speed and broke into open water.

"Fuck," I swore and then ran to get help.



Henry

"Henry, what does it say?" asked Christine, the concern evident on her
face.

"It says that Thomas...he's my son," I practically choked.

"Oh my God," said Christine, echoing my comment from a moment earlier as
she touched her finger tips to her lips.

"What's this now?" said Christine's father.

"Uh, mom, daddy, why don't you go upstairs and freshen up, ok?" said
Christine.

"That boy who was just here is yours?" said Mrs. DaLaughter.

"Later mom, we'll talk about it later," said Christine as she ushered her
parents out.  Jillian got up and followed them without having to be asked.

"Mother, this is true?" I was still in shock.

"I'm afraid it is."

"His mother..." I started.

"Alexandra," mother interrupted.

"I-I don't even remember her," I confessed.

"You wouldn't. It was only a brief dalliance," said mother. "Thomas was
conceived the summer before your first campaign."

Christine stood there and watched us for a moment then she took the seat
beside me.  I couldn't imagine what she must be thinking but I felt her
support when she took my hand and held it in hers.

"I have so many questions..."

"I know, Henry I'm sorry," said mother.

"I have so many questions but foremost, why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Your father, Henry he was so proud of you. All he wanted to do was protect
you," said mother.  "He swore me to secrecy."

"Protect me from what?  My son?"

"It's very complicated..." mother began.

"How could you do this, the two of you?  That boy is my child and all these
years he's been here, right under my nose, and you never thought you should
tell me?" I was growing angry.

"There were times I wanted to but..."

"But what? It conveniently slipped your mind?"

"I was protecting him!"

"Protecting him from me?" I demanded incredulously.

"Protecting him from your lifestyle.  Henry, a child is not some cute
little pet you can set aside when the next love of your life comes along,"
said mother.

"Did you ever stop and think having a child might have changed me?"

"You weren't ready."

"Maybe not but that wasn't your determination to make.  I'd have been there
for him had I known.  I would have done the responsible thing and been his
father!"

I wanted to say more but I heard a commotion coming from the foyer and then
Alec burst into the study.  His hair was plastered to his forehead and his
clothes were drenched.

"Mrs. Lodge, Thomas, he ran away," Alec exclaimed.

"What?" mother, Christine and I replied simultaneously.

"He's really upset.  He took one of the speed boats and just took off,"
Alec continued.

"In this weather? Oh dear God," said mother and then she grabbed me by the
shoulders.  "Henry, I know you're angry with me right now but please, you
have to go after him!  He could get hurt or God knows what..."

"Of course I'm going after him," I replied and then turned to Christine.
"Honey, I don't know what to say about all this.  I honestly never knew and
I..."

"Henry," said Christine.  "Would you shut up and go get our son?"

"Our son?"

"Our son," she smiled. "I don't know how all this came about and I don't
care.  The how and why is in the past. For the present, go find Thomas
before he gets hurt."

"I love you," I hugged her and then turned to Alec. "Did he say where he
was going?"

"He said he wanted to see his mother.  I don't know wh..." Alec started but
mother cut him off.

"Mt. Auburn.  Henry, Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Boston. That's where Alexandra
was laid to rest."

"Ok, I'm going after him.  Alec, tell Carson to call the Coast Guard and
give them a description of the boat Thomas took."

"Got it," said Alec.

We dashed out of the room, Alec headed for the butler's office and I for
the boathouse.



Thomas

I couldn't stop crying.  I guess I was in shock.  Shocked that something so
far-fetched had come true.  Shocked that I'd lived with Mrs. Lodge for 10
years and she'd kept this secret from me all this time.  Shocked that
despite how much time I spent with Henry Lodge and how well we got along I
never sensed any kind of connection.  It was all too much to handle.  I
wanted my mom more now than at any time since her passing.

I was feeling so many emotions, anger, fear, resentment, I couldn't think
straight.  Taking the boat was a bad idea, a decision I never would have
made had I been thinking rationally.  The storm was blowing rain right into
my face and the boat skipped over the rolling sea which churned like a pot
of boiling water.  The sea always demands your respect, it's a dangerous
place for humans to be and I was traveling through it at a time when
reasonable men were hold up by the fire with friends and family.

I was crying, the rain was in my eyes and I was overcome with emotions.  I
was in no condition to be piloting a boat and I never saw it coming.  It
was a jagged rock sticking up from the sea but with the waves rolling as
they were it was nearly impossible to see.  That is until I hit it at ten
knots and ripped out the bottom out of the boats hull.  I was thrown over
the console and smacked my head on the bow.  The blow dazed me but
fortunately I wasn't rendered unconscious.

There was a gaping hole in the hull which was still impaled on the rock.
The boat sank fast leaving the bow sticking up and me clinging to it for
dear life.  My heart was filled with regrets.  I let the situation consume
me and now I feared I was going to pay for it with my life.



Henry

So many thoughts and feelings were running through my mind I didn't quite
know where to begin.  I was angry with mother for not telling me about
Thomas and angry at myself for leading such a cavalier lifestyle as to have
allowed this to happen.  But, despite all that I was excited.  I have a
son!  I've always been fond of Thomas and maybe it's because deep inside,
on some subconscious level, I knew he was mine? Whatever the source of the
connection was, the only thing that mattered right now was finding my boy.

I was terrified something had happened to him.  The storm blew in so
quickly no one was really prepared for it.  Local boats were heading for
shore but my boy was out there somewhere trying to make his way across
Nantucket Sound in some of the worst weather I've ever seen.  I sped as
fast as I dared with the visibility as bad as it was and reduced speed when
I saw a jagged black mass in the distance.  With the waves rolling as they
were my ability to maneuver the boat was limited and I was forced to slow
down before I hit whatever it was.

As I got closer to the object I was able to make out the shape of a boats
bow.  A boat identical to the one I was piloting.

"Thomas!" I shouted but couldn't hear anything over the wind and rain.

I moved closer, careful not to hit anything that might be lurking under the
surface of the water as the waves heaved up and down.

"Thomas!"

"Here, I'm here," I heard a faint voice.

I maneuvered the boat around the broken boat and the jagged rock formation
and there he was.  Clinging to the boat, chest deep in the frigid water,
was Thomas.

"I'm here, I'm right here," he sniffled in a voice that made him sound so
helpless and small.

I quickly threw him a life jacket and maneuvered closer as he slipped it
on.  When I was close enough, Thomas grabbed on to the railing and I hauled
him aboard. I stood him up and checked him over for injuries but other than
a little bump on his forehead he seemed ok.  He stood there shivering and
shaking with sobs.

"Tommy, are you alright?"

"I'm sorry," he cried and my heart ached.

"Its' ok son, its' ok," I wrapped my arms around him.

"I didn't know what else to do," he sniffled.

"I know you're upset. This is a big shock for me too.  Tommy, I promise you
I didn't know.  If I did, well, things would have been different."

"Really?"

"I would have been a father to you, I swear it."

He didn't say anything but I thought I saw the hint of a smile as he looked
up at me.  His body stopped shaking from sobs for a split second but then
began to shake from cold.

"Let's get you home and out of those wet clothes and we'll have a nice long
talk, ok?"

"Yeah, ok," Thomas nodded meekly.  The poor kid, he must be exhausted from
this ordeal.

We couldn't really talk on the boat, the wind made conversation nearly
impossible.  Instead, Thomas hunkered down low in his seat and hugged
himself tightly.  I would have thrown a blanket over him but it would have
been drenched in seconds making him all the more miserable.  When we
finally returned to the boathouse, I killed the engine and tied us to the
quay.  When Thomas was safely on the dock I turned to head up to the house
but sensed he wasn't following.  He was standing there with his lip
trembling.

"I wrecked the boat," Thomas mumbled.

"It's alright, no one's worried about that," I assured him.

"Mrs. Lodge is going to be so mad at me," he broke into fresh tears.

I walked over to him and gave him a hug.

"I think it's safe for you to start calling her granny, kiddo," I patted
his back.