Do not read further if you are not of legal age to do so. The medical conditions and prison procedures portrayed in this chapter and the next are not intended to represent actual scenarios. All the usual disclaimers apply.
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE & RECAP.
My sincerest apologies for the long delay in posting a new chapter. Real life has been all-consuming, and I was going through something of a writer's block. I realize that, after almost-daily updates, a month and a half must have seemed like a VERY long wait. But I hope it hasn't made you lose interest in the boys' saga, because trust me, it's just about to get juicier. Fans of Caleb will be thrilled to find him pretty much the focus of this extra-long chapter - my way of making up for the long drought.
RECAP: Harrison confessed to Josh that he had given blowjobs to Josh's uncle Caleb while in prison. With Reid's help Josh was able to forgive Harrison for keeping this fact from him and the two finally consummated their love with Harrison losing his virginity to Josh. Meanwhile Harrison found employment in Mr. Fernley's auditors' firm. Not long after, Harrison's mother, Marcia, suffered a heart attack when the truth came out that Harrison was adopted. Marcia survived and Harrison told her she would always be his mother. Finally, Harrison was determined to hook Reid up with a new boyfriend.
LOVE IS ALL THAT MATTERS
~ Chapter 22 ~
From the Narrative of Harrison Ridgeway IV:
"You look half-frozen," I told a shivering Reid. "And your
nose is as red as Rudolph's."
Reid rubbed his nose gingerly. "The water was cold," he
admitted forlornly.
"That's why you shouldn't go surfing after dark," I pointed
out as I tossed him a towel to dry his still-wet hair. "And
you should dry your hair properly."
"I didn't have any other time, what with the caf‚ and all.
And the competition is less than two weeks away!" grumbled
Reid, toweling his blond hair. "At this rate I don't know
whether I'll keep my second placing, let alone have a shot
at the championship."
"Okay, Mr. Grouch. I'm sorry I asked."
Reid broke into a grin and ruffled my hair. "You know I'm
not mad at you. So did Josh tell you the big news?"
"What big news?"
"I was waiting for Reid to get home before I revealed it,"
said Josh, appearing at the doorway. "But I guess you'll
have to wait just a little bit longer, Harry."
I felt overwhelmed by curiosity now. "Wait, what is this big
news?
Reid pretended to ignore me. "Oh, right. Well, I'll just hop
into the shower and then we'll talk about it." He winked at
Josh.
I glared at both of them. "Hey! You can't leave me in
suspense like this. What's the big news?"
"What, you can't wait a few minutes longer?" teased Josh.
"It's so unfair when you two gang up on me. You," I said to
Josh, "are not getting any from me tonight if you don't
spill the beans right now."
Josh held up his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay. I'll tell
you."
Reid shook his head in mock disappointment. "I should've
known your horniness was going to be our downfall, Josh."
Josh grinned. "Well, it was a dire threat. Okay, come on
into the dining room and we'll let Aunt Marcia know as
well."
We all went into the dining room. Reid stopped and sniffed
the air.
"Is that your cooking I smell, Aunt Marcia?" he asked Mom.
"No, actually I did the cooking," I announced proudly.
Reid pulled a face and Josh teased, "Is it even going to be
edible?"
I was about to retort when Mom smiled and said, "Don't
worry, Josh. Harrison followed my instructions to the
letter, so I can assure you that it will be edible."
"Mom!" I cried. "I can't believe you're joining their side.
What, did everyone make a pact to gang up on me today?"
"No, of course not, baby. Not when we need your help," said
Josh.
I looked at him. "What do you need my help for?"
"Well ... this is our big news. This morning, someone from the Surf Fest organizing committee came over to tell us that the Surf `n' Sand has been picked as the official venue for their post-competition party."
"Wow. That's great!" I exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"Because, silly, we only found out ourselves this morning. Which you'd know if you'd been paying any attention to what Josh said at the beginning of his sentence," said Reid.
"Oh ... still, it's great news. I mean, your caf‚ has excellent beach frontage and it has a good number of customers. But hosting this party will really help put the caf‚ on the map. There'll be people coming from all over California for the Surf Fest."
Josh smiled at me. "Yeah, considering we've only been open a few months, I was surprised they chose us. It's a great opportunity to expand the business. But there's only one problem - Reid won't be able to help out on that day, so we'll be short of staff, even with the volunteers."
Reid interjected, "I told you I still could-"
Josh shook his head. "You'll need to prepare for the competition. And who knows, if you win, we can't very well have the champion serving people now, can we?"
"So that's where I come in," I realized.
Josh looked at me. "If it isn't too much to ask ..."
I elbowed him affectionately. "You idiot, you don't have to ask. I'd be glad to help. I'll see if Mr. Fernley will let me off early on Friday evening."
Mom spoke up. "Of course, I'd love to help as well if -"
All three of us interrupted in unison. "No!"
Mom looked indignant. I said gently, "Mom, you know what Dr. Mayer said when he discharged you. You're not supposed to over-exert yourself. It's been only a week since you came home and Phoebe has entrusted us with looking after you. What will we tell her if we let you strain yourself and something happens?"
Mom looked indignant. "I'll tell you what's going to happen - I'm going to be bored to death here doing nothing. Joshua doesn't even let me bake anything for the caf‚ any more."
"It's for your own good, Aunt Marcia," said Josh. "It's not like you've been given a lifelong ban."
Mom sighed. "Very well. Now am I at least allowed to attend this party? Or is that also considered over-exertion?"
We glanced at each other. Reid replied, "Of course you can attend. But don't let us catch you behind the counter, trying to be helpful."
Mom smiled. "Okay, the counter will be a restricted area to me for that night. Now why don't you all sit down and have your dinner before it gets cold?"
Just as Mom said `cold', Reid sneezed and mumbled, "Damn cold!" Mom stared at him with an arched eyebrow. "Uh, sorry, Aunt Marcia."
Mom ordered, "You'd better have a nice, hot shower before you well and truly catch a cold." Reid nodded pathetically.
I smirked. "Ha, I hope this will be a lesson to you not to gang up on me."
Reid glared at me and turned to Josh. "Your boyfriend is evil." Shaking his head, he went into his room.
Josh looked at me with a wicked glint in his eye and opened his mouth. I quickly said, "Remember what I told you."
Josh pretended to sigh heavily. "Reid's right - you are evil. You win this time. Now why don't you put the food in the oven to keep it warm until Reid finishes showering?"
"What was it you wanted to see me about?" asked Mr. Fernley.
I replied, "Well, sir, I hoped you'd approve my request to take a half a day off next week. I was going to submit it to Stephanie but she's on leave this week."
"Hmm ... when do you need it?"
"Next Friday, sir. I know I already took a couple of days off when my Mom was in hospital but I really hope-"
He interrupted, "I didn't deduct those days from your annual leave, Harrison. I understand the magnitude of that emergency. I trust your mother is better now?"
"Yes, sir. Except that it's hard to make her remember she's supposed to rest."
Mr. Fernley laughed. "Your mother certainly sounds like a very strong-minded woman. Well, I don't see any problem in approving your half-day leave. Just pass the written request to my secretary and she'll file it for record."
"Thank you, sir." I turned to go when the sound of Mr. Fernley's voice stopped me.
"By the way, you didn't mention why you needed the leave?"
"I didn't?" He shook his head. I blushed in embarrassment.
"It's the Surf Fest next weekend and my ... err ..." I still felt a little weird saying it out loud. Mr. Fernley, however, looked at me encouragingly.
I started again. "My boyfriend owns the Surf `n' Sand Caf‚ and he's short of hands for the post-competition party that's going to be held there."
"Oh, I see. Certainly you should go and help him out. In fact, I will be there myself."
My eyes widened slightly in surprise. I couldn't picture Adrian Fernley, in his suit and tie, on the beach. He must have seen my astonishment and smiled.
"I'm not a big fan of surfing, in case that's what you're wondering. But I promised my nephew I'd be there. My sister - Carter's mother - won't be able to come down from Toronto, so I will have to be the one cheering him on."
I was intrigued by the mention of Carter. The name seemed awfully familiar. I suddenly remembered Reid mentioning it. "Did you say your nephew's name was Carter?"
Mr. Fernley looked puzzled. "Why, yes. Do you know him? Carter Holborn. He's studying engineering at the local university."
It was the same Carter, I realized. "No - I mean, yes. Well, not personally. I've never met him but I know he won the Surf Fest last year. And he's dating Liz Parker - she works at the caf‚."
A look of realization passed over Mr. Fernley's face. "So that's where I'd heard the name of the caf‚ before! Of course - Carter mentioned he was dating the girl who worked there. You said you've never met him?"
I shook my head.
Mr. Fernley smiled. "Then I'll have to introduce him to you. He's not that much younger than you - he's 21."
"Sure, I'd love to meet him." It would be interesting to meet Carter, I thought to myself as I left Mr. Fernley's office. Although he was supposed to be a frequent visitor to the caf‚, I had somehow never met him. I recalled Reid saying that Carter was hot. I grinned to myself as I imagined the look on his face when I told him the guy he'd been lusting after was not only Liz's boyfriend, but also my boss's nephew.
Phil's voice broke into my thoughts. "Judging by the huge grin on your face, I'm guessing Adrian approved your half- day leave. You lucky devil. I can never a good enough excuse to get time off from work." He grinned to show that he was joking.
"You're not coming to the Surf Fest?" I asked.
"Do you really think you could keep me away when the beach is crawling with half-naked surfer boys from all over California?"
I laughed. "No, of course not. Well, if you're in the area, you could always drop by the Surf `n' Sand Caf‚. I may be doing the serving, unless Josh can find more volunteers."
Phil grinned wickedly. "That depends on what, um, `services' you'll be offering."
I played along. "The only way to find out is to come."
"Then I wouldn't miss it for the world."
From the Narrative of Caleb Fischer:
"Hello, uncle." Joshua smiled, but I noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes. I wondered whether everything had turned out alright between him and Harrison.
"I was starting to think you weren't coming this month. Usually you come at the beginning of each month but it's already the middle of June now. Still, I'm glad you came. How did things work out?"
He looked blankly at me. "What do you mean?"
I stared at him. Hadn't Harrison gone to see him? He'd promised he would. "Didn't Harrison come to see you?" I asked.
"Oh, that," he said, pretending to be casual about it. I should have seen the warning signs, but I didn't. "Yes he did. He's living with me, as a matter of fact."
I grinned widely. "That's wonderful. Even better than I would've imagined. So everything's worked out alright. Why didn't you bring him with you?"
"He's only been out of prison for a month now. I didn't want to remind him of his ordeal here so soon."
"Ordeal?" I asked, puzzled. "It wasn't that bad, surely. I know the first day was a bit rough, but after that the other inmates pretty much stayed away from him."
Joshua put his hands on the table and glared at me. "By ordeal, I meant the part where you coerced him into sucking your cock so that you'd protect him."
"Wh-what?" I was stunned. "I never forced him to - Surely he didn't tell you that."
He struggled to control the rage in his voice. "Of course he said what you told him to. It's not him I blame. You knew how vulnerable he was and you took advantage of that."
"I didn't. It just ... happened." I myself realized how lame that sounded. "Look, Joshua, I know it wasn't the smartest thing to do but-"
He didn't let me finish. "Wasn't the smartest thing to do?" he repeated incredulously. His voice was so loud that the prison guard looked towards us. He lowered his voice, but I could sense the anger underneath his apparent calm. "You knew how I felt about him and still you wanted ... You make me sick."
I couldn't believe my sole nephew was telling me how disgusted he was with me. Of course, I realized my stupidity in what had transpired. Harry had been young, confused and in need of comfort. There were a dozen other ways I could have given that to him which didn't involve sex. But my pent- up sexual frustration had clouded my judgment and now it seemed it was going to cause me to lose my nephew.
I thought hard on how I could best phrase my words. "Joshua, I didn't know what would happen. When I first saw Harrison, the only thing on my mind was to keep him safe from the other inmates, like you asked me to. But after some time, he started to get to me. The wide-eyed innocent look, his eagerness to please . I know I should've resisted, but I just couldn't. Don't you understand, Joshua?" I looked beseechingly at him.
He didn't look so much angry as confused now. "No, I don't. I thought you were straight."
"I am, but in here, it's a different story. Practically the only sexual release I would've had is by turning some hapless inmate into my bitch. I never wanted that. When Harrison did for me, he offered it of his own free will. If you're worried that he did it because he had feelings for me, then you shouldn't be. What was between us - it wasn't love. As far as I could tell, he was merely experimenting with his repressed homosexuality. For the first time he was free to do so, away from his father. Whatever happens inside prison doesn't travel outside these walls."
"He told you about his father?"
I looked up at the strange note in Joshua's voice. "He told me that his father tried to disown him for getting caught. I got the feeling he was terrified of his father, but he didn't say exactly why."
"He didn't tell you about the abuse?"
"Abuse?" I was shocked. "Do you mean the congressman abused his son?"
He sighed. "It's a long story. And a sad one. Harry isn't really the congressman's son. He's adopted. And the congressman used to beat him whenever he didn't perform up to his expectations."
I could hardly take in the dreadful secret behind Harrison's innocently boyish demeanor. It was frankly unbelievable that anyone could have the heart to beat him. "How did you know this?"
"I guessed it a long time ago, uncle. But every time I brought it up, he would defend his father. I should have told Aunt Marcia my suspicions, but like an idiot, I didn't. I let him suffer in silence. At least I was able to make up for it. I've made sure the congressman will never come near Harry again, at the risk of losing his political credibility."
He seemed to notice that he was talking as usual to me. Looking annoyed with himself, he turned away from me.
I said, as soothingly as possible, "Joshua ... I'm truly sorry I hurt your feelings. I can't honestly say I didn't want what happened. But it was just a few blowjobs, and nothing more. That was all it was. You've got to believe me. Please, Joshua. You're all the family I've got in the world now."
He looked at me. "I guess I do believe you. Harry told me pretty much the same thing. I just wanted to hear it from you. In a way, I should be thanking you; if not for you, Harry might never have dared to come out of the closet."
"So ... you're not mad at me?" I asked cautiously.
He sighed heavily. "No, I suppose not. We are family, after all. Next time I'll even bring him to see you."
My face melted into a grin. "Thanks, Joshua. You don't know how much this means to me."
He gave a slight smile. "So, about Harry ..."
"Yes, tell me everything that's happened."
"Well, I don't have that much time, but I'll tell you as much as possible." He narrated the events that had occurred in the weeks since Harrison's release from prison. I was amazed at how much the boys had had to deal with, but still managed to come out on top.
The guard informing us that visiting time was nearly up brought the conversation to a close.
"I've got to go now, Uncle Caleb. But I promise I'll visit you soon - and bring Harry with me." He got up to go.
I called out to him. "Joshua?"
He turned back and looked at me enquiringly.
"I just wanted to say, I'm proud of you. If Carol and John were still here, they would have told you the same."
There were tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Uncle Caleb. I'll see you soon."
I walked back to my cell after Joshua's visit, feeling extremely upset with myself. I thought of the crisis I'd so narrowly avoided. I'd always known it was stupid to let myself get physically involved with the boy who my nephew loved so completely. Yet I had allowed myself to think with my cock instead of with my head, and it had almost cost me my only family.
Why was it so hard to get some sexual relief without all the drama? I furiously slammed my fist into the open palm of my other hand.
"You need to work off some of that anger, buddy," said Max, startling out of my reverie.
I'd been so deep in contemplation I hadn't realized we were outside my cell. To Max I mumbled a reply, "Yeah, probably."
He grinned sympathetically and held the cell door open for me. "Shouldn't be that difficult," he added.
"Huh?"
Max nodded towards the other occupant of my cell, who was currently sprawled on his bed, reading a book. The summer heat was making its way into the cell, and Julian had his shirt off. His blond hair fairly sparkled in the sunlight from the cell's single, barred window. I'd always thought him to be a good-looking kid, but at that instant he looked positively delectable. The seed Max had planted in my mind took root immediately.
After all, why not? Julian was more than willing to put out for me; he'd said as much when he first came into my cell, and he'd been living up to that promise every night after lights out. He was one person didn't expect me to be anything - not a good uncle, nor a noble protector. He had no expectations whatsoever of me, and that was precisely what I needed so desperately at that moment.
I pounced on him before Max was even done locking the cell door. I heard the guard chuckling but I ignored him as I was too busy fumbling with the drawstring of Julian's pants.
Julian stared at me in surprise - and with good reason. In all this time we'd only had sex under the cover of darkness; certainly never in the middle of the day. Then he started to giggle. "You're certainly frisky today."
"I need you out of these pants," I stated, as my over-eager fingers only succeeded in making a mess of the drawstring knot.
Julian set aside his book and gently took over the task from me. His nimble fingers made quick work of the knot. As he slipped off his pants, followed by his boxers, I pulled my own cock from my pants and spat into my hand, using it to lubricate my cock.
Julian was observing my preparations with calm amusement. "I take it your nephew's visit went well then?"
"What?" I jerked my head up from between his legs to gaze at his enquiring face.
He smiled and repeated his words. "I said, it must have been a good visit."
I hid my grimace. "As a matter of fact -quite the opposite."
A puzzled expression crossed his face. "Oh, why -"
I let my breath out in a loud hiss. "What is this, an interrogation? I don't want to talk about it, okay?"
He shrugged. "Okay." I could see from his face, though, that he still had questions.
I wasn't planning on answering them, however. "Great, now if you don't mind ..."
I hoisted his legs onto my shoulders in order to provide easier access to his ass. The next few minutes passed in silence, except for the sound of my balls slapping against the smooth cheeks of his butt as I thrust into him. The tightness of his ass, especially the way the muscles seemed to grip my cock snugly, was working wonders to dispel the knot of anger and disappointment in my stomach.
Suddenly he broke the silence. "Uh, Caleb?"
"Uhuh?" I asked, not letting up in the velocity of my thrusts.
"I know I might've said I liked it rough, but -"
I finally came down from my euphoric high to see that he was wincing; I was really pounding his ass hard.
"Oh fuck, I'm sorry," I began to apologize.
He waved aside my apology. "S'okay. You'd think I should be immune to it." He watched my face closely and tentatively brushed his hand against mine. "Sure you don't wanna talk about what happened back there with your nephew?"
I looked first at his face, and then at his hand on mine. I sighed and sat back on my haunches. "You remember I told you about the guy who was in here before you?"
He nodded. "Sure, cute redhead who used to give you blowjobs."
I frowned. "I don't remember telling you he had red hair." (Personally, I wouldn't have called Harrison's hair color red; there had been more brown than red in his hair. Though I could see why people had mistaken him for a ginger.)
Julian shrugged. "If it wasn't you, it must have been someone else around these parts." He laughed at the look on my face. "What, you didn't expect someone to tell your current squeeze about the previous one?"
I winced at his use of the word `squeeze', but had to admit that he was right. One can't exactly expect privacy to be the prevailing concept in a prison setting.
"Well," I continued, "I don't suppose they told you he was more than just my `squeeze', as you put it. I was supposed to look after him, keep him safe ... y'know."
Julian looked intrigued. "Who for? And why?"
I took a deep breath and admitted, "My nephew. Harrison was - is - the love of his life."
Julian's eyebrows shot up so high they almost disappeared into his blond fringe. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed.
In any other situation I'd have laughed at his sheer astonishment. But under the circumstances I couldn't even muster a smile.
"I suppose it goes without saying that your nephew didn't take it well," said Julian with a trace of sympathy in his voice.
I shook my head. "Didn't take it well would be putting it lightly. He was so mad, I thought he'd never speak to me again."
"But surely he has to understand that this sort of thing all the time in here."
"Yeah, that's what I told him too. He thawed after a while."
"That's good. So what's the problem?"
"The problem is ... I still feel guilty," I confessed. "Joshua might've forgiven me, but I'm not sure I can forgive myself. I should've known better."
"Caleb ... you couldn't help it. You can't blame yourself for developing feelings for your cellmate. An uncle and nephew with the same taste in men isn't -"
I know he was trying to be helpful, consoling even, but his words hit a raw nerve. I jumped up furiously. "Who told you I developed feelings for Harrison? I didn't! And I don't have the same taste in men as Joshua. I don't have any taste in men at all."
Julian kept silent.
"Well?" I said dangerously, daring him to speak.
"Caleb," he said finally, "you don't have to deny it, you know. I've been with plenty of guys before, and I know when they're in it just for the sex, and when they're looking for something more. And you -"
"Don't even go there," I warned.
Julian plodded on determinedly. "You're one of the latter." He gave me what he must have thought was an encouraging smile, but it only served to rile me further.
"I'll have you know I've been in relationships with women all of my life. I even married two of them!"
He gave a wry grin. "If I had a dime for every time I heard that ..."
Deep down I knew he wasn't trying to be condescending, but that's what it sounded like to my rage-addled mind. I exploded. "You think you know everything? Well, you don't, even if you have all the worldly experience of a low-rent hooker!"
As soon as the words were out of my mouth I knew I'd gone too far. Julian looked like he'd been slapped in the face - hard. I tried to backpedal: "Julian ..."
But he wasn't having any of that. He pulled himself off my cock and started to get off the bunk. "Where're you going?" I said, "I wasn't done yet!"
He looked at me coldly. "Well, I'm done." A tinge of regret showed through the icy facade for a second - "I thought you were different" - then the emotionless mask was back: "but you were just like the others."
"I didn't ask for this; you did! I only took what you were offering. If I'd wished, I could've had you, willing or otherwise."
Julian started to turn away from me, but not before I caught him rolling his eyes.
My temper, which had always been my downfall (it had landed me in here), got the best of me. "DON'T YOU DARE TURN AWAY FROM ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" I shouted.
He ignored me. The next few seconds passed in a blur. I tried to grab him around the waist, he tried to avoid me, and somehow or other, my fist ended up connecting with his side. The next thing I knew, he was crumpled on the floor, clutching his side and writhing in agony.
"What the -" The initial shock wore off, and I knelt on the floor beside him. "Julian, are you -"
He shoved me aside roughly and made a beeline for the washbasin. I could only watch in dismay as he threw up. "I didn't even hit you that hard," I said weakly.
He couldn't reply because he was rinsing out his mouth. When he began to walk feebly back to his bunk, I tried to touch his arm in a gesture of comfort, but he shrugged me off. "Just leave me alone," he said as he climbed into his bunk.
Staring at his naked form curled up on the bed, I thought to myself how very young and vulnerable he looked. I wanted to apologize for my harsh words, but the earlier commotion had drawn onlookers and apologizing in front of them would only make me lose face.
So I just got into my own bunk and tried to figure out how I could make it up to him later that night, when we were alone. Little did I realize that I wouldn't get the chance to.
From the Narrative of Joshua Spencer:
I traced a finger along the pale skin of Harry's back as we spooned together in bed that night.
"Harry?"
He rolled over. "Yeah?"
"I went to see Caleb today." I felt him tense up slightly.
"Oh. Why didn't you tell me you were going to? I wanted to see him, too."
"It's the prison, baby. I didn't want to upset you. And . there were some things I needed to talk to my uncle about, privately."
He gazed at me in understanding. "It was about me, wasn't it? About what happened between me and Caleb when I was in prison?"
I nodded and watched his face closely as he replied.
He looked a little disconcerted. "I thought you believed me when I told you nothing-"
I interrupted. "It's not that, Harry. Of course I believe you. I know you won't lie to me. It was my uncle I was slightly suspicious of."
Harry squinted at me. "Are you telling me ... you thought your uncle was in love with me?" He started to laugh.
I felt very stupid and rather irritated. Harry, noticing the look on my face, immediately stopped laughing.
"Hey, don't be like that. I just couldn't stop myself laughing at the thought of you getting all jealous over a non-existent love affair."
"It wasn't completely non-existent. You gave him a blowjob - more than one," I pointed out.
"Oh, Josh, you idiot. Don't get me wrong - I like that you're jealous over me. But really, you're being ridiculous. I thought we'd sorted all this out weeks ago. Caleb is no threat to our relationship, or the way I feel about you." He kissed me. "I love you, Josh - you and no other."
My fears allayed, I smiled at him. "Okay. I love you, too." I kissed him on the nose and he giggled. Within seconds, we were lost in our exploration of each other's bodies as if we were doing it for the first time. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep that night. My jealousy was abated - at least for the time being.
From the Narrative of Caleb Fisher:
Julian had declined to come down for dinner that night. I was worried, because although he might've been trying to hide his tiny whimpers of pain, he wasn't doing the best job of it.
As for me, I was still searching for the right words for my apology. How does one apologize for using such a lowly insult when he had only been trying to help? His attempts at consoling had only served to put me on the defensive, but that was no excuse for my behavior.
"Lights out!" the guard on duty yelled out, and most of the lamps in the cellblock went out accordingly.
"Julian!" I whispered across the space between our bunks.
He just groaned softly. I got out of my bed and covered the short distance between our bunks quietly.
"Look, Julian, there's something I've got to say."
"I don't think now's the best time, Caleb," he mumbled.
I put my hand on his bare shoulder and was shocked to find it covered with a thin sheen of sweat. I pressed my hand to his forehead; he tried to brush it off, but not before I was able to make my diagnosis: he was running a fever.
"Julian, you're not well," I stated.
"I'm fine," he protested faintly. Then he grimaced as another wave of pain hit him.
"I'm gonna call the guard to take you down to the infirmary," I told him.
"No!"
"This is not the time for stubbornness. You need medical help."
He shut his eyes and swallowed. "Okay ..." he conceded.
I hurried over to the cell door and yelled out into the corridor, "Guard! My cellmate's sick!"
As soon as I heard the sound of approaching footsteps I returned to Julian's bedside and grasped his clammy hand. "You're gonna be okay."
All animosity was forgotten; he held my hand tightly. I heard the door swing open behind me. The guard on duty took a quick look at Julian and came to the same conclusion as I had.
"Rob! Some help back here," he yelled out to his colleague. "We gotta take this guy over to the infirmary."
"What's wrong with him?" I asked anxiously.
The guard gave me a look. "Do I appear like a doctor to you?" To Julian he asked, "Can you walk?" Julian nodded. "Come on then, kid."
Just then Rob arrived, and the first guard asked him to lock up the cell behind him as he supported Julian out into the corridor.
"You'll tell me how he's doing, right?" I called after him.
He didn't reply, but Rob did. "I'm sure you can ask Max about him in the morning," said Rob, knowing of the friendship I'd struck up with the older guard who wasn't on duty that night. With those parting words, he swung the cell door shut and locked it.
I was left alone in my cell, with only my burgeoning guilt for company.
To be continued ...
Please send your feedback to justinr_88@yahoo.com. Once again my apologies for the LONG delay in completing this chapter. I promise to send in subsequent chapters more regularly.