The following story is fiction and may contain sexual content and situations between males of various ages. If it is illegal for you to view such content then please leave this page immediately. All characters and names are figments of my imagination and are not meant to resemble or portray any person in real life - past or present.
All work is copyright protected by the author, me. No reproduction is permitted without explicit permission from me.
Enjoy!
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Three - Hunter's Fall
Thank god for my work. It's the only thing that kept me sane for the first month or so after Scottie left. It was to the point that I think mom was going to have me see a shrink.
Though, she and I have never really discussed it; I think she pretty much assumed that Scottie's leaving was a large part of my depression. I guess I'm going to have to break down and really talk to her about who I am. IF I can figure that out for myself first!
Late August and September were busy times for me. School started again, yuck!, and the autumn harvest kicked in. I spent a lot of afternoons and evenings taking in hay, chopping fodder and getting things ready for the winter months. I generally don't do the day to day stuff at the farm. Mr. Yoder, the old farmer I work for, generally just has me help out with harvest, planting, and bailing hay and such. And no, he's not Amish; though his family was Amish a generation or two back. He's a really nice guy and always treats me well.
I guess he knows this is my spot up here because even though there are no cattle here, or crops, he keeps my little plot on the hill mowed. And he really doesn't have to. It's not even his property. It's part of the property my grandparents left to my mother. Mr. Yoder rents about 120 acres off of us for planting and grazing. The other 100 or so acres are my stomping grounds. They're pretty much woods and a few steep meadows that wouldn't be good for much other than just to roam in.
I've always loved it up here in late autumn. The leaves are down, the air is crisp and fresh and there's a brisk breeze blowing through the trees making that mystical whooshing sound as it blows though.
Halloween is coming up soon, and mom's decorating the house now. Pumpkins, witches and ghosts are all over the front porch. Mom really likes to dress the place up on holidays.
Me, well.. I'm doing my normal late afternoon pondering session. Did I mention that I ponder a lot? And, YES, a lot of that pondering still concerns Scottie. It's just, well, he didn't just leave. He ceased to exist, more or less. No forwarding address to contact him. Nobody seems to have known his family very well. I've asked around and they all just knew Scottie's family as the people in old Mrs. Harris's house. I even asked Mrs. Harris about them, and she didn't know much. She rented the house to them, in case you're wondering.
Sometimes I wonder if I just dreamed it all. You know, that over-active, hormone driven, teen imagination - and all that stuff. But in the end, I know it happened.
I still have his clothes from when he had the electric fence accident. And YES, I washed them. Heh, I sleep wearing his shirt. Mom saw me walk into the bathroom with it on one morning and she gave me a very strange look; but she never said anything about it.
What still bugs me is how much the whole thing bothered me. I mean, well, I didn't even seem to realize I felt anything for him until the last few days before he left. Yeah, we spent a lot of time together and stuff, but I never really thought it was anything more than friendship.
OK, damnit! It still bothers me. I think I cried enough tears to supply Morton Salt for a year. And I think I better head home before I start again.
After the long trek home I head to the back door to sneak up into my room. Not sure I want to face mom at the moment. "What the fuck?!" I mumble to myself as I realize the door is locked. Guess I have to go in the front..
"Todd? That you, Hun?" I hear as I walk in the front door.
"Yeah mom. How come the backdoor is locked?" I ask.
"Oh, I didn't realize it was locked when I closed it last time. Sorry `bout that", she responded. "There's a letter here to a Mr. Todd Conlon, by the way", mom said - holding the letter out to me.
I grab it and take a look at the envelope. Interesting, no return address; though it is postmarked from our post office. Probably something from someone at school.
Opening the envelope I realize it's a Halloween card. On the cover of it is a picture of a goofy looking ghost holding up a sign with a bunch of mixed letters on it. On the inside written in bold type it says "Even ghosts can be dyslexic - Happy Halloween!", then further below in handwritten script "That's what happened to me every time I tried to tell you, Toddy. Hope I didn't scare you too much. Happy Halloween - S."
No!
Why won't he let me get over him?! Just when things are slowly getting back to normal he sends me this!
When I realize that my eyes are more than just a little wet I dash towards the steps. I can't have mom see me like - .
"Todd - Stop" mom says - her tone pretty much telling me that I better listen.
As she grabs my shoulder and turns me around she says "Todd, what the - Aww, honey.. this has to stop now."
Mom pulls me into a hug just as the flood gates really open up.
After a few minutes of just standing there holding me she pulls me over to the couch and sits me down. "Todd, we need to talk about this now. I've watched your emotions bouncing around all over the place for the last couple of months and it's been driving me nuts seeing you hurting. I'm not going to just sit here and watch it anymore", she says with a worried look on her face. "I was waiting in hope you would come to me and tell me what's been bothering you, hun. I'm not waiting anymore."
Looking me right in the eye, she says "Todd, I love you. I always have and I always will. You're my baby boy. You mean the world to me and nothing is every going to change that."
"Keeping that in mind - I know this has something to do with Scott", she continued as I dropped my eyes to the floor.
Lifting my chin, she continues, "Honey, I saw this coming about six months ago. You two were very close even from the start; but soon I started noticing something else developing. It scared me at first. A physical closeness was developing between you. I really don't think anyone else would have noticed it - but I'm your mom, and we know these things", she finishes with a smile.
"How could you know, mom? I didn't even realize it until just before Scottie left", I asked.
"I didn't know, Todd. But I had my suspicions. I actually read up on it - to see if I'd maybe done something wrong to cause it. I read books, magazines, whatever I could find. Slowly I realized that it's just something that is; that even you, most likely, didn't have any choice in the matter, if you actually were attracted in some way to guys. And honestly, I don't understand it. But I don't have to. All I have to understand is that you're my son, whom I love very, very much, and that who you choose to love is your choice and not mine."
I slowly open up and tell mom about the last day or so before Scottie left, and about the kiss on the hill - with tears running down my cheeks the whole time.
"And, then as things are finally calming down, I get this" I say while handing her the card.
"Aww, honey, I know this brings it all back up again. But honestly, I think Scottie was scared to death. This is his way of explaining himself to you" she says, trying to calm me.
"I wish he could know that I don't hate him, that it's just the opposite. But I have no way of letting him now that. He caught me off guard when he kissed me. I wasn't angry, I was shocked!", I said in frustration.
We went on discussing the situation for another few minutes, but I was yawning big time. The stress of the evening had totally worn me out.
I hugged mom, thanked her, and told her I love her then headed up to bed.
Rolling over in my bed I look over at the clock on my dresser. WOW! I guess I was tired. Good thing it's the weekend or I'd be in deep shit for missing school.
But, since it is Saturday, I just roll back over and stretch. Sitting there just daydreaming, I happen to glance down and notice that "Little Todd" needs some attention.
Well, he's not THAT little. I'd say I'm a bit larger than average - I think. But then again, I'm far from a professional on the subject.
Soooo.. After a few minutes of strenuous morning arm exercise (what did you expect? I am 16 for fuck sakes!) and a quick cleanup session, I run across the hall and jump in the shower.
Clean and refreshed I run downstairs and fix a bowl of Lucky Charms. Mom bitches at me for eating sugary cereal; but now, since she knows about my secret, I'll just tell her it's because I think the leprechaun on the front of the box is hot.
Wow, it sorta feels strange to think something like that. In a way, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
After finishing breakfast and putting my dishes in the sink I head upstairs and put some warm clothes on. I'm in the mood for a late morning walk. Maybe I'll get lucky and see some deer up on the hill. We usually get a lot of deer this time of year on our property because we don't allow any hunting.
Grabbing an old cane I use as a walking stick, I open the back door and head down the hollow. It's a beautiful fall morning. The crows are cawing in the distance and the blue jays are out in force getting fat before winter sets in. We have a lot of hickory and oak trees on our property so there's an army of squirrels running around across the forest floor grabbing acorns and nuts for their winter store.
I figure I'll take the back way up to my spot. There's a small beaver dam on the creek further up the hollow and I want to see if any of them were out in the pond. Our place would be a hunter's paradise if we actually allowed hunters. But mom has always been adamant about not having anyone killing animals on our property, and I guess the thought of it bugs me too.
Well, that was a wasted detour. Didn't see one damn beaver. Or should that be dam beaver? Heh, ok, my jokes suck. Heading further up the hollow, I can see the tree line up by my pondering spot, so I veer off that way. As I get nearer the top of the hill I notice some movement in the bushes at the very edge of the tree line.
I start walking slower, keeping low so as not to scare whatever is up there. Might actually get lucky and see a deer.
As I get closer I notice that whatever it is it's awfully dark - too dark for a deer. But it's too big to be anything else.
I start creeping much slower as I get near, trying to sneak up as closely as I can.
"What the hell?! It's a person. Another fucking hunter to run off", I'm thinking as I stand up - preparing to yell at the guy.
"Hey! This is private property. We don't allow hunting so you're trespassing", I bellow. The guy is dressed in a dark coat and cap and blue jeans.
I musta scared the shit out of him because all at once he looks in my direction then bolts the other way. I'm thinking "What the fuck is going on?" and take off after him.
As he gets to the top of the hill, he crosses over the tree line and trips over the old, half broke down, fence that runs along the line and he falls face first into the woods.
Seeing my chance - I sprint over to where he fell, swinging my walking stick up over my head. All at once my brain overrides my adrenaline rush and I think "Oh fuck, if this is a hunter he probably has a gun!"; but it's too late - I'm pretty much committed since I'm nearly on top of him.
Standing with my stick readied over my head, just in case, I jump the fence line - just 3 feet away from him.
"TODD!! Please!! Don't!!" I hear in a very scared voice.
"What the fuck?!" I'm thinking. As I'm lowering my walking stick he lifts himself up into a sitting position and finally turns to face me
Staring out from below an old dark, dirty baseball cap, and a shock of dirty blond hair are the most beautiful deep, dark green eyes I've ever seen.
As I lower my walking stick, he says in a very scared and tired voice "Todd, I'm sooo sorry."
I take two very slow, deliberate steps toward him and hold out both hands to help him up off the ground.
As I pull him up, my heart pounding in my chest, feeling as scared as he looks; I put an arm over his shoulder and pull him in for a huge hug.
Finally, releasing him and stepping back, with tears running down my face I tell him "Scottie, the card you sent. What you said in it was wrong. You said it perfectly that night you left me." And with that, I lean in and kiss my Scottie.
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This is my first attempt at writing a story. Please feel free to contact me at terry@thestorycloset.org with any comments or feedback. A few newer chapters and updates of mine, and other author's stories, can be found at http://terry.thestorycloset.org .
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