Well, my dear readers, the time has finally come for the latest chapter of Field of Blooms: Confessions. Forgive me for the delay. This chapter was by far the hardest I have ever written. This will take you on an emotional roller coaster; I know it did for me and my wonderful beta reader/editor and best friend Ti. She worked very closely with me to help get this chapter finished. If you have made it this far in the story, I know this will touch many emotions. Now for the normal disclaimer. This story is a complete work of fiction and any likenesses to persons or events are coincidental. All persons are 18 or older. This story is not short by any means. As you know my stories contain a lot of detail and dialog and little sex. Okay, now that is all said and done with, grab a snack, a drink, and maybe some tissues and enjoy the next chapter of Field of Blooms: Confessions.
Good evening and thank you for tuning in to channel 6 action news. We bring you an update from South Jersey. Two weeks ago, the second young, gay male in less than a year was found beaten on the side of the road. He is currently in a coma and the police are requesting assistance from the public with any details they might have. While it is not yet known how many perpetrators were involved, police are looking diligently into all leads. The victim's name is being withheld at the request of the family. We will continue with updates as information becomes available.
When Becka turned back to work on the history assignment, she noticed a distraught look on Austin's face, "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, it's scary what happened to David."
"Yeah, it is, and to be found in the same place as your attack makes it that much more unsettling." Becka noticed a shift in Austin's body language, "Austin, I need to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me."
Looking up at her, Austin's eyes shifted downward in trepidation, "Sure, you can ask me anything."
She reached out and took his hand, "David was the one who attacked you in the field behind your house a few weeks ago, wasn't he?"
Austin visibly tensed as he tried to pull back but Becka did not let go of his hand.
"I saw the way he was looking at you that Saturday in detention and couldn't help but notice how upset you got."
For so long Austin had been keeping secrets, letting go was proving to be difficult. She was his best friend though and he didn't want to lie to her
.
Feeling shame for having been victimized yet again, along with fear of admitting who it was out loud, Austin couldn't bring himself to look at her and answered in almost a whisper, "Yes, he was."
"Austin, why haven't you told the police yet?"
"Because he said he would kill me if I spoke a word to anyone." Austin teared up, "Deep down inside I believe he'll do it."
"He is in a coma. There isn't anything he can do to you," Becka reassured him.
"Becka, I have caused so much drama this past year, from Eric losing his mind and assaulting Tyler, to my parents wanting to send me away I just can't bear to bring on anymore."
The last part was more of a shock to Becka than anything else, "What do you mean send you away?"
"I overheard them talking the other night, and mom was telling dad that since the second bashing she doesn't feel like it's safe here for a gay teen. They think it might be good to send me to Florida to live with my grandparents."
"What the..."
"Yeah, and from dad's response, he agrees with her."
"Oh, hell no! They can't do that, what would I do without my best friend?!" She thought for a moment, "Have you mentioned any of this to Tyler?"
"Good god, no! I don't know what he would do if I told him that David was the one who attacked me. As for Florida, I know he would be upset so, I don't want to say anything until I know for sure."
"I get your feeling cautious and not wanting him to know it was David. As for your parents sending you off, that's a whole other story. Austin, you have to tell Tyler."
"Becka, I don't want to upset him."
"Austin, you need to tell him. Imagine how he'll feel to find out you've been keeping this a secret from him. Besides, he might be able to figure out a way so you don't have to go."
Austin thought for a moment, "You're right. He's coming over around 1:30 so I'll tell him then. Becka?"
"Yeah Hun, what's up?"
"Would you mind sticking around in case it doesn't go well?"
Later that afternoon when Tyler came over, Austin explained what he had overheard about his parents sending him to Florida. Unfortunately, he simply could not bring himself to tell Tyler about David. At first, Tyler was not happy, but he said he would come up with an idea that his and Austin's parents might agree to. The three of them hung out for the rest of the afternoon watching TV and chatting about mindless gossip.
Around five o'clock Becka headed home for dinner while Tyler stayed with Austin. He had been waiting all day to tell Austin about a special surprise. "I've been thinking about the two of us getting away. Here, let me show you a picture," Tyler said, pulling out his phone.
Austin's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Wow, where is that?!"
Tyler explained that his family had a cabin in the Pocono Mountains and thought it would be romantic for the two of them to go up for a weekend. Tyler mentioned that they could even go skiing or snow tubing. As they continued talking about their getaway, Austin's excitement grew.
"How far away is the cabin? When can we go?"
Thrilled by Austin's childlike excitement, Tyler couldn't help but laugh, "About two and a half hours. To answer your second question, we have that three-day weekend coming up. How does that sound?"
"Awesome! I've never been skiing before, so if you don't mind, let's do that. Is it going to be hard to learn?" Austin asked as he looked at the picture again.
"A little at first but once you get the hang of it, it is super fun," Tyler smiled at Austin.
After school let out that Thursday, they jumped in Austin's sleek back Crown Victoria and headed towards the Poconos. They made great time with traffic being light. Soon they turned onto the road leading up to the Stetser family cabin. When Tyler told Austin it was his family's cabin, Austin assumed that it would be a huge monster of a place. When they pulled into the driveway though, he was surprised to see an average-sized, two-story cabin sitting on the side of the mountain. He breathed in the crisp mountain air as he stepped out of the car.
"Oh, it feels so good to be here," Tyler said as he stretched his arms up.
"Mmm, smell that mountain air. Oh wow, that view is amazing!" Austin loved breathing in the crisp fresh air as he looked out over the mountain.
"Wait until you see it from the cabin," Tyler smiled as he started to get the suitcases from the trunk.
They made their way up the cobblestone pathway and into the quaint two-story cabin, and Tyler flicked on the lights illuminating the interior. It had that old rustic cabin feel with soft brown leather sofas, dark wood tables, vaulted ceilings, and a large fireplace encased in roughened field stone. Tyler gave Austin the grand tour. On the first floor, there was an open floor plan containing the kitchen, living room, dining room, and a smaller guest bedroom. The second floor held three larger bedrooms, each with its own private balcony. Then Tyler took him to the master bedroom which also had a fireplace and bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub.
"Close your eyes," Tyler instructed as he stood in front of a set of French doors.
Austin closed his eyes, then felt Tyler slowly lead him through the doors. "Okay, open them," Tyler beamed.
When Austin opened his eyes, he saw they were standing on a private balcony overlooking the mountainside, "Wow! That is beautiful!"
The balcony overlooked the side of the mountain and from that vantage point, Austin could see all the way down into the valley.
"I told you the view was better here." Tyler turned smiling and took Austin in his arms, "We are just in time to watch the sunset."
The two of them sat in the rocking chairs and watched as the sun started to paint the sky. Soon the yellows and oranges started to dance across the horizon before turning dark purple and red as the sun sunk lower. After the colors of the evening had faded, Austin and Tyler went back inside and started to unpack.
"Why don't you take a bath while I start dinner?" Tyler smiled
a
s he gave Austin a peck on the cheek.
"You're going to cook dinner? I kind of thought it was going to be pizza takeout," Austin chuckled.
"I'm not all glitz and glamour," Tyler laughed. "Now take a bath and relax. Dinner should be ready in about an hour."
As Austin soaked in the tub, he delighted in the aromas wafting up from the kitchen. Smiling to himself, he thought how lucky he was to have such an attentive boyfriend. He just hoped he'd made the right decision by not telling Tyler about David being the one who was responsible for the most recent attack.
Soon Tyler was knocking on the bathroom door, "I hope you enjoyed a good soak before dinner."
"Absolutely!"
"So, are you getting hungry yet, handsome?" Tyler asked.
"How'd you know?"
Tyler chuckled, "That expression on your face. Come on, go get dressed. Everything will be ready in less than ten minutes."
"I must say, smelling dinner cooking for the past twenty minutes definitely made me very hungry," Austin smiled as he started to get out of the tub.
"I'll meet you downstairs," Tyler said as he kissed Austin one more time before he went back to the kitchen.
Back in the bedroom, Austin put on a pair of jeans, black Diesel underwear and low-cut socks, and a dark red sweater. As he came down the stairs, his jaw dropped when he saw everything Tyler had done. The table was set with two long tapered red candles between the white and gold china place settings. As Austin approached the table, Tyler pulled out one of the chairs and smiled as he bowed slightly.
Austin chuckled, "The royal treatment, huh?"
Tyler had cooked two beautiful Rib-eye steaks with baked potatoes topped with sour cream and cheese, fresh green beans, homemade salad, and hot rolls with cinnamon butter.
"Tyler, this all looks so good. I never knew you could cook."
"Thank you, I must confess, I do enjoy it. There is something so satisfying about taking individual ingredients and being able to turn them into a masterpiece," Tyler smiled as he took his seat.
