CHAPTER 13: SALACIOUS BROTHERS
The two brothers carefully read each and every word of the letter. Eric, Carol, and Gill watch them both, trying their darndest to figure out the meaning of the letters. Cameron was the first to finish. He politely folded the letter up and placed it in his back pocket. Ryan followed up with the same action. The two brothers looked at one another. They shared a knowing glance.
"For fucks sake, don't leave us waiting," Eric burst out.
"Nothing much to tell. He apologized to me and said his goodbyes," Ryan said.
Everyone looked at Cameron. They wanted to hear what Marcus wrote to him as well. Cameron didn't want to divulge the contents of the letter to them.
"It's personal," is all he offered up.
Frustrated, Eric said, "Personal? Oh, come off of it, Cam. He broke it off with you. Just come out and say it."
Cameron fired back, "You don't know shit, Eric. Why are you so invested in this? Don't you have a woman at home to keep you busy?"
"We just made peace as a family. Why can't you two stay the course," Carol asked as she sighed.
Cameron responded, "Because Eric can't keep his nose out of folk business."
"Because you're not telling us anything. Especially when I know the truth."
With a raised eyebrow, Cameron asked, "And just how the hell do you know the truth?"
Everyone looked at Eric. He looked around the room, and then he let out a long sigh. He knew the gig was up.
"Because I encouraged him to end things with the both of you."
Ryan shouted, "What the hell, Eric!"
"You've gone too far, Eric," Carol chastised him.
"I've gone too far," his voice raised above a respectable level. "Me? I didn't protect a pedo. I didn't seduce a family member, and I didn't fuck any of my brother's boyfriend. I happen to think I haven't done enough to live to the standards of this family."
Cameron sneered, "You didn't make a pass at Marcus because you know he would have rejected you. You know you didn't stand a chance."
"I didn't make a pass because I'm not queer. If I had pulled my cock out, he would have taken it. I'm bigger, better, and bolder. From what I learned about him today, that's just the way he likes it," Eric said as he tugged his cock.
Cameron felt a rush of rage. He swung at Eric. His fist connected with the side of Eric's face. Eric quickly returned a punch back to Cameron.
"You really want to fight me over him? I did it to protect you both. You're my brothers!"
"Then say that, Eric. Don't goad me by saying unnecessary shit about someone I love," Cameron shouted.
"You love him? I thought it was just sex. I don't know what to say. I guess all I can say is I'm sorry, but Cam, you're better off without Marcus. You both are. He's a disaster."
Ryan uttered, "Even if that's true. It wasn't your right to take away our choice, Eric."
"None of us are perfect in this mess, but it was our mess to make right. We don't tell you what to do with Jessica. None of us thought she was right for you." The betrayal echoed through Cameron's voice.
"Eric, I know my words don't mean much right now. I've been a terrible father, and I've done some terrible things, but I want you to know that the best thing we can do is let people choose the path that works for them in life. We can't force them to be who we want them to be." Gill knew there was a chance his words could or would fall on deaf ears.
Cameron sucked his teeth, "That's rich coming from you. You spent years trying to force me to be someone and something that I wasn't."
Gill nervously apologized, "I'm sorry."
"DO NOT APOLOGIZE TO ME," shouted Cameron. "I don't want your apology. What I want, you can never give me. You took everything, and just when I thought you couldn't take anything more, you took away my right to tell Marcus. So fuck all of you. I'm out of here!"
Cameron walked out of the house and slammed the door behind him. He slammed it so hard that the picture of the family hanging on the wall fell and broke. Cameron's blood boiled, and his heart raced with passion and fury.
There was a passion for Marcus that still burned deep inside of him, and then there was fury with Gill. He had been ruined more times than he cared to count. Cameron walked to the barn. He needed to be somewhere he felt at peace and in control.
He moved along the path quickly. He was angry and moving with an urgency that was more rage than speed, actually. As soon as he entered the barn, he let out a loud yell and kicked a bale of hay. The two horses in the barn reacted to his aggression.
"So, now you're scaring the horses."
He quickly turned around to find Ryan standing there. He had followed his older brother. Despite everything that had occurred between them, Ryan cared. In fact, he loved Cameron.
"Why are you here," Cameron asked him.
Ryan said as he closed the door, "Someone has to be. Marcus isn't here. He left us both. My letter said he picked his own healing and that we should pick ours as well."
"Yeah, well, Marcus is an idiot. I'm healed already."
"Are you Cam? I'm not, and I haven't had half the things happen to me that happened to you."
"I'm built differently. I can handle things, Ry."