"How was it?" My dad was home this Saturday morning as well.
"Good."
"That all? You scored?"
"I... guess."
He smiled. "Good. You're a handsome man. I'm sure the girls are all over you." He had no idea.
"When are they coming?" I asked.
"They should be here around noon."
"Cool."
When we finished eating Tanya pulled me to her and gave me a hug. It felt so good.
"Thank you." I said.
"Everything for you, boy. Something on your mind?"
"Yes."
"Want to talk about it?"
"I don't know. It's strange."
"What?"
"You see, yesterday, something happened. Something I even dreamed of. But it was so different in reality. And in the end I felt... bad, somehow."
Tanya looked at me as if she completely understood.
"Oh boy, you're growing so fast. But some people don't care about others. You deserve someone who really loves you and would do everything for you."
"Thank you."
For a moment I thought she wanted to say something but she just gave me a smile that warmed up my heart.
When Julian came he had his friend Zach with him. I brought them to the basement.
"That, my boys, is my secret trainings room."
I opened the door and the two boys gawked at my collection of training material and my brand new punching bag.
"Cool!" Julian said.
"Absolutely!" Zach added.
I smiled and then taught them some techniques. They tried them out on the tree trunk and me. We had a lot of fun and time passed quickly.
"Your parents are searching you." Tanya warned us.
"Oh. Shall we go upstairs?" I asked.
"No. I want to do some more!" Julian answered.
"Could you send them down?" Tanya nodded and left.
Zach did a few kicks on the protected wall and Julian tried to hit the mitts in my hands when my father and Jessica entered the room.
"Oh my gosh. Since when is there a room like that in my house?" My father asked. I grinned.
"Since two years."
"No way!"
"Yes way."
My father looked around and Jessica was impressed, too.
"Did you train here much?" My father asked.
Before I could answer Tanya said: "At least three hours every day."
"No way!"
I just nodded.
"Could you... probably show us something?" Jessica asked.
"Sure."
I decided to show them a kata. I started every kata at different places so that I would always hit the punching bag with one technique.
I concentrated and began one of the hardest katas. I didn't think about them anymore. I forgot they were in my room. I felt the energy flow through my body. With every punch and kick the energy bundled and flowed out of my body.
The almost last technique was a punch and I hit the punching bag hard. I then finished the kata and saw that the metal chain, which held the punching bag, wasn't strong enough for my punch. The whole thing was lying on the ground.
"Shit." I muttered. Then I saw the faces of my father and the others. To say they were shocked was an understatement. There was fear in their eyes. Some awe probably. Even Julian was shocked. They didn't react at all. They just stood there.
Why did I have to show them? I was so stupid. Why did I have to show off? What if Julian didn't want to come anymore? I suddenly felt like crying.
"I'm sorry." I sobbed and ran out of the room.
I was lying in my bed when I felt a small hand on my back.
"I'm not scared." Julian said.
I looked at him. He was so young and yet seemed to understand me.
"Thank you."
"I want to be strong as you."
I hugged him close. "Thank you. You're the best."
"You're the strongest person I know. And you're my brother, right?"
I smiled. "Right."
"Want to come down? Dinner is ready."
"Wait a moment." I washed my face and we then went downstairs to the dining room. My father, Jessica and Zach were already sitting on the table. Tanya filled the plates. They started eating but I had no appetite at all. They acted as if nothing happened and I had no idea what they thought.
Finally I couldn't stand the silence anymore and said: "I'm sorry. I didn't want to scare you."
"You don't have to apologize. We were all just surprised." My father said. Surprised. Sure ~ "Andrew, I didn't want to react like that. I just didn't know what to say."
"I also think you don't have to apologize. You're strong. So what? Strength is nothing to be ashamed of." Jessica said and that made her go up a lot on my liking-meter for her.
"Why did you train so much?" Julian asked.
"Oh... that..." How should I answer that? I wondered if I should tell them the truth. My father would probably blame himself for not spending more time with me and not knowing anything about me.
"I watched a lot of Bruce Lee films when I was younger and that made me want to be as strong as him. I trained as much as I could and now I feel as if I achieved my goal." I said. Tanya looked at me and raised her eyebrows as if to say: What crap you're talking.
"I never saw one. Mom, can we go buy one? I want to see one!" Julian said and looked at Jessica with pleading eyes. I was sure I wouldn't be able to withstand his puppy-eyes.
"Sure. Andrew, what film do you recommend?" She asked. Oh gosh... What now?
"They are too brutal. Julian shouldn't watch them." Tanya said.
"Yes. He might get nightmares." I added and Tanya gave me a grin. She really was my saviour.
"Ok. No Bruce Lee films for you, Julian." She said and ignored his pouting. "I really like the idea that you teach Julian some things." She said. "It's good when someone can defend himself."
"Yes. Some techniques can be really helpful." To a certain degree...
After dinner Jessica and Julian left. I wanted to go to my room when my father stopped me.
"Andrew, can we talk?"
"Sure."
He led me to the couch and remained silent for a few moments. I just waited.
"Andrew... I wasn't just shocked because of your strength but also because I realized how little I know about you. I had no idea you were that strong. And there are so many more things I don't know about you."
Yes. I thought. The same went for me. My father and me had grown so distant over these past four years.
"Honestly, at first I was a bit scared when I saw that huge punching bag fly away. I never saw someone that strong. But when you saw our reactions you looked so vulnerable and... and I... I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"Andrew, can we try to... to get to know each other again?"
"Sure."
"We should talk more."
"These two weeks we talked more than in four years." That came out before I could stop it.
He looked at me as if I hit him. "You're right." He said. I wondered if I should apologize for my remark but it was true so I just kept quiet.
"That thing with Bruce Lee... it that all?" He asked after a few seconds.
"What do you mean?"
"I just thought you looked a bit... nervous when you said that. It's not the whole truth or am I wrong?"
"No." Then I grinned. "I never ever watched a Bruce Lee film."
He looked stunned for a moment then smiled. "I see. So what's the truth?"
"I'm not sure you'd like to hear it. It' not nice."
"I don't care." He said. He asked for it so I told him.
"Alright. When I was eleven a boy and his friends began to beat and blackmail me. Then mom died and we moved here. I decided to become strong so I took all those karate and taekwondo classes. And you know what? They were useless! I got beaten here, too. I really began to wonder if there was something about me that attracted bullies. But someday Tanya introduced me to an old Japanese fighter and he taught me a lot. I trained like crazy. You heard it: At least three hours a day. A few days ago I finally mastered it completely and got rid of my bullies." Yes, that was my life story summarized in a few sentences. I felt like I didn't live until now. As if the mastering of Qi had awakened me. As if I could finally start over and begin a new life. Without beatings. Without fear.
My father stared at me. He opened his mouth, then closed it and opened it again.
"I'm so sorry. I had no idea." He said.
"I didn't want you to know."
"Why?" He asked and looked a bit hurt.
"First: You were in a lot of pain because of mom. Second: There was no chance to tell you and third: I wanted to do it on my own."
"Oh, son. I'm really sorry. You are so strong."
"You don't have to apologize again and again."
"Then you accept my apology? I'll try to make everything better now."
"Apology accepted." I wondered if I could have said these two words two years ago. I was really angry and pissed at my father. And my mother? I was probably pissed at her, too. But Sensei taught me so much about forgiveness. I didn't even hate Black or Marc...
"Thank you. But I still wish it were me that could have helped you." He said.
"It's in the past. We should stop talking about it."
"Ok." He looked like he wanted to add something but he just hugged me and it felt really good. Yes, my life was really getting better and better.
---oOo---
On graduation day my whole family was there. Julian was with me all the time. I said goodbye to Jake and Jane, Louisa, Sam and Paul. I had really come to like them these last weeks. I would probably miss them but I was happy to have finished high school.
We went out to eat and the day was just great. Summer vacation was coming and I was happier than ever.
Dad and Jessica decided to marry in five weeks. They had a lot to organise and to prepare. In the first two weeks I spent almost every minute with Julian. We went out a lot. I taught him how to swim and we went shopping, eating, biking... I would really miss him when I went to college and I couldn't meet him everyday anymore.
In the third week I got myself a job. I didn't want to live off my father's money all the time. And I could use some money for college.
Mike called once and asked if I wanted to hang out. I hesitated but I had nothing to do anyways so I went to their place.
"Hey Andrew." He said and gave me a flashing smile. Why did he have to look so good?
"Hi Mike. Noone else here?"
"Nah. Some of them are on vacation, some are working and Jim is sick."
"Oh."
"So, what do you want to do?"
"Don't know. How about getting some food."
"We could order some Pizza."
"Ok."
I felt a bit nervous. I didn't know what Mike wanted. Hell, I didn't even know what I wanted. Mike was good looking. But that was...
"Want to watch some movies?" He asked.
"Oh... um... ok."
"Cool. I'll get some popcorn."
A few minutes later we sat on the couch and - yes, you got it right - watched gay porn. Like the last time Mike took his hard on out and enjoyed his time. Then he moved closer to me and began to open my pants.
---oOo---
A few days before the wedding my father gave me something.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Open it."
There was a lot of money in the envelope and two tickets for a cruise ship.
"I thought your honeymoon was in Hawaii." I said.
"It is. That is for you and Julian."
"No way!"
"Yes way." He grinned. I was speechless. Two weeks on a cruise ship. Without parents. I couldn't believe it.
"Th... that... really? But..."
He laughed. "Enjoy your time and take good care of Julian."
"I will. Thank you so much! I don't know what to say."
"Just give me a hug."
I did.
---oOo---
That evening my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi. Mike here."
"Oh, hi."
"I wanted to ask you..."
"I can't. My parents wedding is in a few days and we'll go on vacation."
"I see. Ok, see you. Bye."
"Bye."
I hung up. I had dreamed almost every night of Mike. But my dreams were so different from reality. Mike was sweet, caring and loving in my dreams. Last time we met was just like the first time. I felt used and dirty. Mike was good looking but nothing else. I couldn't really talk with him and everything I got was a bit of sexual release.
I felt better now that I had declined him. I wondered if I could have managed had he come personally. His smile was still hard to refuse...
---oOo---
The wedding was beautiful. Jessica looked incredibly pretty in her dress. My father looked good as well. Not to forget Julian. He had a suit on as well and looked sooooooooo cute!
My parents had invited a lot of friends and their families. I met Jessica's parents and they were pretty cool. I think everyone enjoyed the wedding.
When they left it was already late and Julian was asleep in my arms. They both kissed him and he stirred in his sleep. Then they said their goodbyes left for Hawaii and I took Julian to the ship. We checked in and went to our cabin. It was small but comfortable.
I put Julian into the bed and went to sleep myself.
---oOo---
"Andy? Andy!"
"What?"
"Andy, where are we?"
I sat up and sleepily rubbed my eyes. "On a cruise ship."
"Why?"
"Mom and dad gave us tickets for a cruise ship."
"Are they already in Hawaii?"
"Soon."
"So it's just you and me?"
"Right."
"Wow! That's so cool." He beamed. What a good sight so early in the morning - his cute face.
"What's the time?" I asked.
He looked at his wrist watch. "It's... almost eleven."
"Ok. Shall we go get some breakfast and then explore the ship?"
"Yes!"
Many people had already eaten but there still were some families. The food was good and when we finished we went for the deck first.
"Wow!" Julian cried. The ship was huge and we were surrounded by water. It was a warm, sunny day and there were some people lazily lying in the sun.
We walked around a bit and then went on. There was a pool and also sport activities like dancing courses, fitness rooms, aerobic and more. There was a wellness and a beauty section. It was incredible.
For a while I lost Julian but when he came back he wasn't alone. There was a girl his age next to him.
"Andy, this is Melanie. She says there are activities for kids. May I go?" He asked.
"Sure. But be sure to come back to the cabin later."
"Cool." They grinned and went away. I wandered around, not sure what to do. I got myself something to drink and then sat down on the deck to observe people. There were so many different people. Old ones, families, couples, newly weds and the employees.
When the sun was too hot I went inside to the wellness section and got myself a massage. The woman kneaded my whole back. It felt great. Then I went to the gym.
"Hi. What would you like to do?" The woman at the reception asked.
"Are there any interesting courses?"
"Yes. There will be a dancing course in a few minutes and a self-defence course at two o'clock. There also are Yoga and Pilates-classes. Aerobic and..."
"What sort of self-defence?"
"For all kinds of people."
"Hm. Ok. I'll do that one." Hehe, I really had to be bored to take a self-defence class. It was probably one for women and old people.
I changed into gym clothes and then went to the room. I was the first so I just lay on the ground and took a nap.
"Boy... boy. Wake up."
I opened my eyes.
"Whaaaaa!" I cried. A ghost! I thought the first moment. But then the ghost turned into the scariest face I'd ever seen.
"Are you okay?" Scary-face asked.
"Erm... ye... yes. Just a... bad dream, I guess."
Scary-face smiled a scary smile. His teeth were black and one was missing. His face was old and wrinkled, his scary eyes bulged out, he was almost bald and... I realised that he was just an old guy.
"Sorry." I said, a bit embarassed.
"It's okay. You here for the course?"
"Yes."
"It will begin in a few minutes."
"Oh. Ok." I looked around and there were a dozen people in the room. An old woman, her friend, her husband, a middle aged woman, another one, a girl, another old woman and... wow! That guy was so attractive and around my age. And his body was so muscular and... just wow! He saw me staring and smiled.
"Hello everyone, I'm Pete and your teacher today." A man around 35 said. "I will teach you some useful techniques. We will exercise in groups. Please pair up with someone."
Mister attractive came to me and smiled. He had incredible white teeth. "Hi. I'm Nick."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Andrew. Want to pair up with me?"
"Of course. Besides, I don't want to crack the bones of these old people."
I grinned.
"Ok. Self-defence is something really important. We hear stories about beat up people every day. But it is also good for our body. First I want to show you how to block a punch." Pete said. Ok, this lesson was going to be reeeeeally boring. He showed it and we had to block the punches of our partners.
"Where are you from?" Nick asked while punching me.
"Queens."
"Cool."
"So, why are you on a cruise ship? Are you alone?"
"Yes. Well, I needed a break and I won some money so I decided to travel around a bit."
"Cool." For a moment I thought I saw sadness in his eyes.
"You?"
"I'm here with my brother. Our parents are on their honeymoon."
"Honeymoon?"
"My brother and me aren't related by blood."
"Oh, I see. Why did you take this course?"
"I was bored."
"Ah. Me too." He grinned. "This is so lame."
"Definitely."
"Should we show those old guys some real action?"
"What do you intend to do?"
"Hm... how about a real fight. You get angry and try to punch me... And then... Do you do any martial arts?"
"Karate and Taekwondo."
"This is going to be great. I do Judo."
"Won't we get in trouble for this?"
"We are paying guests. And we're on sea. They can't send us away. And we won't do anything too dangerous."
Ok. Why not, I thought.
"What did you just say?" I cried and shoved him away from me. Everyone's attention turned to us.
"Weakling!" Nick answered.
"You..."
"Don't know what to say?" He mocked.
I attacked him - of course not with all my strength. He blocked nicely and I then had to avoid a huge flood of kicks and punches.
"Stop it, guys!" Pete said.
When I had my back to the wall and couldn't retreat anymore I grabbed Nicks arms.
"Ever did a summersault?" I whispered. He just grinned. I threw him in the air and he did a 360° turn and then landed on his feet.
By now everyone was staring at us in half shock, half awe.
"How was that?" Nick asked.
"Not bad."
"Not bad? That was great. Ok guys, Pete, we're outta here." Nick took my hand and we ran away. When we were out of their sight Nick began to giggle and I couldn't hold it anymore and just began to laugh out loudly. Nick did too.
"That... that was... so funny!" He said, trying to breath normally.
"Hahaha, it was... hilarious. You saw... their faces?"
"Yes... hahaha, that was the best!"
I don't know how long we laughed but people began to look at us strangely.
"Want to go to the pool?" I asked.
"Sure. Meet you there in a few?"
"Yes. See you."
When I came to our cabin Julian was sitting on his bed.
"Hey Jules."
"Andy! Where have you been?"
"I was in the gym. How was your time with Melanie?"
"Great. We went to watch movies but then she had to go. Lunch."
"Oh. You hungry?"
"Yes."
"I'll get you something. Want to come swimming, too? I promised someone I'd be there."
"Ok."
We changed into our swimming trunks and then went to one of the restaurants. We got ourselves some hot dogs and then went to the pool. Nick was already waiting.
"Hey Andrew."
"Nick, this is my brother Julian. Julian, this is Nick."
"Hi Julian. Nice to meet you."
Julian hid behind my leg. Sometimes I forgot he was shy with other adults. "Hi." He just whispered.
Nick and I went into the water while Julian sat on a sun chair and finished his hot dog.
"Cute brother you got." Nick said when we walked inside.
"Yes. He's a bit shy but when he opens up he's just like... a sunshine."
"Hehe, you got great parents. They paid for you?"
"Yes."
"Wow. You're lucky."
"I guess. You aren't?"
He shook his head. "No." But he didn't say anything more and I didn't want to ask him if he didn't want to talk about it. I shoved water in his face and we soon were playing around like the younger kids.
"You are so childish!" We heard a voice.
"Who are you?" Nick asked.
"I'm Lea. And you guys?" She was a pretty girl our age.
"I'm Nick and this is Andrew."
"Cool. Want to join us for dinner?"
"Us?"
"My friends and me."
Nick looked at me and I nodded. "Sure, why not."
"Cool. Around six in the restaurant?"
"Yes. See you."
When she left Nick grinned at me. "You interested in her?" He asked.
"No. You?"
"Nah, I'm not interested in a relationship right now. I just broke up with my... partner."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"No need to... was an asshole anyway." His eyes made it clear that he didn't want to talk about it so we just continued playing and soon Julian joined us. He opened up a bit and the afternoon went by fast. Later we took a shower, went to get some clothes and met again in the restaurant. The girl, Lea, was there with three other good-looking girls. Too bad I wasn't interested.
One girl was constantly flirting with Nick and it looked like he had fun teasing the girls.They were upbeat and fun to be with. One of them, Corinne, took quite a liking to Julian. She tried to make him laugh all the time. After the food Julian was so tired and almost fell asleep.
"I have to go. Julian has to sleep." I said with an excusing smile.
"Sure. See you."
I took Julian in my arms and he put his arms around my neck. I smiled one last time at our new friends and brought Julian to bed. I wasn't that tired but I lay down too and thought about the girls and Nick.
When I finally fell asleep I had very interesting dreams. And there were no girls.
---oOo---
Here's another chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading. I'd love to hear your opinion, good or bad. You can contact me at azulasn@yahoo.com
Azula