RYAN'S ODYSSEY
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
(AUTHOR'S NOTE:) This chapter will be written through the eyes of John Titan, and Jarod Mitchell. You will not hear from Kyle and Ryan until the next Chapter. I felt that somethings about their love needed to be shown through others eyes.
I never knew Kyle could sing like that. It was so touching, and when he was finished the whole church was so quiet, just absorbing the beauty of what he had said. I didn't think anybody else had noticed, when Ryan grabbed Kyle's hand, or they just thought it was a friend supporting another friend through a diffucult time. I of course knew differently. I knew that Ryan and Kyle were in love. I knew the whole story, even the reason that Ryan wasn't playing in the game that night. I knew Jarod was behind it, and that was the reason I was being such a hardass on him at practice. We had brought up a junior varsity running back to back up Jarod, but I had been real impressed with his work ethic and how hard he worked during practice that I wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't move into second string. Ryan would be back as the starter before the next game, I had a plan that would see to that.
Your probably wondering how I found out about the whole situation. Well most of it was just intuition, and some of it was dealing with a similiar situation. You see I have a brother, Kip, who is also gay. When we were growing up, we were never really that close, and no matter how hard I tried to get close to him, he always kept me at a safe distance. I never realized the reason was because he never wanted me to find out he was gay. I can still remember the day he finally told us. I had come home from football practice, to see him sitting on the couch watching television.
"Hey, Kip," I asked, throwing my bookback down on the chair. "What are you doing here, shouldn't you be in class?"
"Yeah," he said, "but there's something I've been needing to tell you, mom and dad. Today just seemed the perfect day to do it."
"What gives bro," I said.
"You're gonna just have to wait until mom and dad get home."
There was no dramatic coming out, no tears, no angry words. It was no where near like the coming out you read about in gay love stories, where people cry, somebody get's angry. It was like he had just made a simple statement, like anouncing he was going to the store. Of course we all hugged him and told him that we supported him. Later on that night, after our parents had went to sleep and we were sitting in the livingroom watching television. I asked him if that was the reason we had never been real close. Through tears, right then and there we became closer then we had ever been.
The rest of the situation I had wrangled out of my dad. I asked him the prognosis of Ryan's injury and how long he thought he was gonna be out. He of course told me that he wasn't at liberty to reveal the details of the injury, but was positive that Ryan wasn't gonna be playing any time soon, and not to be expecting him back that season. To say it was devestating to me, would have been an understatement. I of course at that time didn't know anything about Kyle's mother, or the events that surrounded it. I wanted that state championship, and without Ryan I realized that wasn't gonna be possible. Ryan's ground game opened up the field, giving me more time to pass, producing more points and yardage. Without him on the field, we wouldn't be able to move the ball, our defense would be on the field for the majority of the game, they would grow tierd and the other team would score at will.
"Fuck," I screamed, "There goes my state championship."
"John Martin Titan," my father said, I knew he was pissed, he only used my middle name, when he was pissed at me. "Your friend, or what I thought was your friend is probably just as devestated as you, and all you can think about is your state championship. Have you even thought to consider what he is going through."
He sure made me feel bad. My father had a way of telling you how stupid you were acting without actually ever coming out and saying it. I decided to call Ryan and see how he was doing, and to tell him that I was sorry about what had happened and he would always be a member of the team.
The phone rang about four time before it was anwered by a man I didn't know.
At first I thought I had got the wrong number. "Is this the Suttermill residence?" I asked.
"Yeah," the voice said, "can I ask who's calling?"
"I'm John Titan," I said, "I'm a friend of Ryan's, would it be possible for me to speak to him."
"Ryan's not in right now," he said, and then he probably gave me more information then he should have. "He's at the hospital with his boyfriend, apparently something real bad happened to his boyfriend's mother."
"Thanks," I said, "please tell him that I called."
Who was that man, and who was he calling Ryan's boyfriend. The only person I could think of was Kyle. What was wrong with Kyle's mother? A thousand questions were racing through my mind and not one had a logical answer.
"Dad," I said, walking into the kitchen, where we was sitting reading a magazine and drinking a cup of coffee, "What's going on?"
"I just called Ryan's house to let him know I was thinking about him, and someman answered the phone and said he was at the hospital with his boyfriend. What did he mean?" "I don't know, I'm assuming he's talking about the boy that was there with him," he answered.
"Kyle, you mean" I said, "Kyle's the team manager, and probably Ryan's best friend, but why would he call him his boyfriend, unless of course...
...there is nothing wrong with Ryan's knee, is there," I said.
"I quess it won't hurt to tell you, since you have already figured out most of it anyway," he said, "No, there is nothing wrong with Ryan's knee, and yes him and Kyle are boyfriends."
"Why did he feel that he had to fake an injury when I know the championship means as much to him as it does to me," I said.
My father explained the situation to me and about how Ryan had told him about Jarods blackmail scheme. I knew there was something I had to do, but what I wasn't sure, until the idea, the greatest idea I had ever come up with crossed my mind, and I called every single guy on the team, and set my plan into motion. Friday night, we would be on our way to the State Championship.
Okay no matter what you may think of me, I am not completely heartless. I am truly sorry about Kyle's mother, and even though I still hate him, I am not in no way happy about the situation. I'm not gonna divulge Kyle and Ryan's twisted little secret to anybody if they both do exactly like I ask.
I attended the funeral just like everyone else, had to keep up appearances so nobody would get suspicious if you know what I mean.
Practice all week, John was riding my ass hard. The left tackle missed the block and I was thrown for a loss, he jumped all over me, saying I hit the hole to slow. I wasn't quick enough, I was messing up the plays, and then to top it all off he brought up some freshmen. Was he stupid or something, did he think this geeky looking twerp was gonna outshine me. Hell no, I didn't sit on the sidelines all last year to waste this opportunity.
The newspaper had Marshall has a touchdown favorite, saying that with All-State Runningback, Ryan Paul Suttermill, out for the season, it was gonna be a long year for the Storm. I crumbled the paper up and threw it in the trash. I was gonna prove the damn paper, and anyother's who didn't think I was just as good as Golden boy wrong. When I got to the stadium for gametime, John and a few of the other were already there, it was required by couch that we all arive before five o'clock, even though the game didn't start 'till seven. At exactly five o'clock the coach locked the door to the fieldhouse and if you weren't in there at that time, then you didn't play in that weeks game. I took my place next to my locker, picked up the playbook and studied it. I was gonna impress everyone that by the end of the night they would all be saying Golden Boy who?
I was in my own little world, when I heard John Titan yell across the room. "Kyle, Ryan, man I didn't think you all were gonna make it. Glad you did, because we got a big surprise for you, and after tonight we will be on our way to the state championship."
I didn't like the way he turned and looked at me well he said it.
RYAN'S ODYSSEY
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I could feel his breath on my chest, as we both slept soundly on top of Kyle's bed. After the funeral service, we had all went back to Kyle's house. The house was loaded with friends and family, who had come to pay their respects. They each brought enough food with them, that Kyle and his father wouldn't have to cook for weeks. I wasn't even sure if Kyle and his father could cook, since I had never seen either one of them make as much as a bowl of soup. One thing I had never understood was why when you were in a tragic situation, people tended to bring you food, like eating was gonna make you feel better, or even forget about the pain you were in. I stood by Kyle until everybody had left and then we excused ourselves and went up to his room. I just wanted to be near him, hold him, and let him know that I would never leave him.
"What time do we have to be at the stadium?" he asked.
It kinda took me back. I hadn't expected that he would still want to go to the game after everything that had happened.
"You still want to go to the game?" I asked.
"I have to, Ryan," he said.
I didn't ask why he thought he had too. I knew Kyle and knew it was something he felt was right, and I would do what I could to support him. I grabbed his hand and lead him to the bed, my lips touching his as we laid on top of his bed, before we drifted off the dreamland. The next thing I remembered was waking up and seeing his beautiful hair laid across my chest. I kissed the top of his head.
"Wake up, sleepyhead," I said, "It's four, we need to take a shower and get ready to go. If were not their before five coach locks the door and nobody is allowed in."
We left for the stadium at a quarter till five, with Kyle driving my truck. Nobody on the team knew that I wasn't really hurt, so we both had to continue the sharade we were too far into. I was a little nervous as I stepped out of my truck, I hated the fact I was gonna have to sit on the sideline well Jarod started the game. I had thought about what Dr. Titan had told me about trusting somebody, but I was still afraid. At ten minutes 'till five I hobbled into the fieldhouse followed by Kyle.
John saw us and yelled, "Kyle, Ryan, man I didn't think you all were gonna make it. Glad you did, because we got a big surprise for you, and after tonight we will be on our way to the state championship."
"Looks like your gonna have to do it without me," I said, pointing to my knee.
The room fell quiet for a minute as the entire team, with the exception of Jarod gathered around me and Kyle.
John was the first to speak, "Your uniform is hanging in your locker," he said, "we can't have our starting runningback not ready for the game." and then he did something that not only shocked me and Kyle, but I think the rest of the team. He leaned over and kissed me, not on the cheek, the forehead, but right on the lips. "We know," he said, "and we don't have a problem with it, hell I think most of us have known since forever."
"How?" was the only thing I could say.
"I called your house the other day to talk to you and some man said you were at the hospital with your boyfriend, I put the rest together myself."
I dropped the crutches, the tears almost streaming down my face, and walked towards my locker, and there it was my number 43 Jersey. When I put it on, it was like I was transformed, kinda like Clark Kent putting on the Superman costume. "Does Coach know?" I asked.
John nodded his head, "I had to tell him,"
Well all this was going on Jarod was standing by his locker shocked at the sight going all around him. "I aint' gonna play with no fucking faggot on the team," he said.
"That's right, your not gonna play on this team," John said, "cause as of this moment you are no longer part of this team, you've got five minutes to grab your shit and hit the door, because only real players are allowed in the fieldhouse.
I had walked into the stadium, and took my usual seat, about four rows up from the bench, when Kyle's dad came and sat down next to me.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked.
I slid over a little so he could fit in.
The stadium was usually packed to capacity for a hometown football game, but I quess with everyone hearing about Ryan's injury, people just didn't want to come out if Ryan wasnt gonna play.
The PA system went on and we heard a voice coming over the speakers. "Ladies and Gentlemen, there has been a change in the starting line-up of the Angel Falls Storm. Starting at tailback, instead of Jarod Mitchell, will be Ryan Suttermill."
The soound vibrating through the stadium was deafening. I could see people all around me grabbing their cell phones, others leaving their seating, and I knew before the kickoff the stadium would be packed to capacity. The towns Golden Boy was back.
I stood next to coach Benson, holding the tape kit. I had already set the water out by the bench, taped up the players that needed taping and taken last minute instructions from coach Benson.
The lights to the stadium went out, and a single light above the press box came on, and then the sounds of a single drum vibrated through the stadium, follwed by a thundering voice, "Football fans, stand up and give a round of applauce for our very own Angel Falls Storm. Ryan and John lead the charge out of the fieldhouse to the capacity packed stadium. The night was magical, I had never seen Ryan run like he did that night, nothing could stop him and I felt like every touchdown he scored was because of me. We won the game by a landslide, Ryan had four touchdowns and over three hundered and fifty yards.
After the game John invited us over to his house to celebrate, but we both declined saying we had planned our own little clebration.
We stood in our room at my father's house, dancing slowly to the music in our hearts. Has we slowly undressed each other. A single candle burned above the dressed and Ryan walked over the the speaker, grabbed a Cd and set it into the stereo.
"This song tells you everything I feel for you," he said, laid down next to me on the bed and pushed play the sounds of Billy Gilmans "Spend another night" filled the room.
We made love for the first time that night and I knew I would never Spend another night without him in my dreams.
THE END.
THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO HAS FOLLOWED THE STORY AND SENT ME E-MAILS YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED AND TREASURED.
THIS PROBABLY ISN'T THE LAST WE WILL HEAR FROM RYAN AND KYLE, BUT ONLY TIME CAN TELL.
STAY TUNED HERE FOR MY EXCITING NEW STORY
LUXURY OF LIES-COMING SOON! ! !