Three Roads

This story contains sexual situations if you are under the age of 18 please do not read. None of the characters are to be used without consent of the author

Three Roads - Chapter 9 - The Right Side of the Year

There are many people who believe very strongly in the Christmas spirit. It's not just about giving or receiving gifts, there is a whole attitude that comes along with the holiday season. For some people the crowded department stores and ubiquitous decorations evoke loneliness or sadness for loved ones that will not be seen, for others they see love and devotion to those that matter the most. Toby was one of those who believed very strongly in the Christmas spirit. He felt that most people tried harder during the Christmas season to be nice and caring individuals, even if they had to fake it. He believed that extra effort was what was truly beautiful about the Christmas spirit. Right now though, Toby was making an extra effort to ignore all of the commotion downstairs. He knew there would be a lot of people coming over for Christmas, every year the entire family descended on his house for Christmas dinner. He was hoping against hope that his family had gained an ounce of consideration over the past year and would not start arriving until at least noon. As he glanced over at his bed side clock and saw eight a.m. he silently cursed to himself. He knew it was only a matter of time before one of his cousins or aunts came into the room telling him to get up. He decided he'd let them do just that and enjoy his last few minutes of peace ; it would surely be the last few minutes alone he would have until tonight. He heard footsteps on the stairs and quickly closed his eyes. Moments later there was a knock on the door. Toby laid still with his eyes closed. The knock came a little harder this time, but still Toby laid quietly. The door opened and he still didn't move until he felt the weight of someone sitting on his bed.

"Alright, Mom," he said still not opening his eyes, "I'm awake."

"I prefer it when you call me daddy." Richard said.

Toby jumped up and looked at the smiling face of his ex boyfriend.

"Hi sunshine." Richard smiled.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Jesus, do you always have to be such an asshole? I swear you weren't like this when we were together." "You should know by now that using the Lord's name in vain with my grandmother in the same house is not good for your health. She'll kick your ass if she hears you."

"Alright alright."

"Why are you here?"

"You seem to ask me that a lot these days."

"Well you're always in places where you haven't been invited."

"Your mom did invite me, I'm family too." Toby gave Richard a stern look.

"What? I am family. Just because we're not together you want to kick me completely out? I'm glad we didn't have children."

"You're not funny and move so I can get out of bed." Richard stood up and Toby climbed out of bed. A crude whistle from Richard reminded Toby that he wasn't wearing any pants.

"Damn, I miss seeing you in those tight briefs. They make your ass look so eatable."

"I'm going to take a shower," said Toby dryly while putting on some shorts, "you need to be out of my house when I get out." Toby walked out of the room with his towel in hand.

"Merry Christmas to you too." Richard mumbled to himself.

Five hours away, Eric also heard a knock at his door.

"Come in." He said hoarsely. He smiled when he saw it was his mom, Carol.

"Did I wake you?" She said with her hands behind her back.

"No, I've been up for a while. I didn't get out of bed cause I thought you were still asleep."

"Oh, honey I can't sleep past 6 am these days. Anyway I have to go to work.."

"On Christmas mom?" Eric asked disappointed.

"I know," she said sincerely, "but I make triple time today at the store and we could always use the money."

"Yeah, but I was kind of hoping we could make dinner and just watch some really bad tv." Eric gave her a weak smile.

"Here," She said handing him a box, "I have to go, but I want you to open it before I leave."

Eric took the box and smiled when he saw all the pieces of tape that were keeping the top of the box firmly in place. He slowly pulled each piece of tape apart."

"Any day now." His mom teased. He finally got all the tape off and smiled widely when he saw the sweater and the scarf laying in the box.

"It's beautiful Mom."

"I'm sorry I couldn't buy you anything but money is tight."

"Mom, don't even, it's beautiful I love it. How long did it take you to make them?"

"Two weeks. I'm getting so much better now. You know Marcia, from down the street? We get together at least once a week and just talk and do this kind of stuff together. We have a good time."

Eric got up and walked to his desk.

"Merry Christmas." He smiled and handed his mom a very small box.

She opened the lid and gasped when she saw the beautiful cross, attached to its chain, "Eric this had to cost a fortune."

"Don't worry about it Mom and you're worth much more than that too."

Carol gave her son a tight hug, "I love you so much."

"I love you too Mom."

She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry I have to leave you on Christmas."

"It's ok. I'll just watch really bad tv by myself," he smiled weakly, "will you at least be home for dinner?"

"I should be."

"Bye mom." Eric once again hugged his mother and watched his mother walk out of the room. He wished he had enough money to give to his mother so that she would not have had to work on Christmas, he wished that he could have bought more gifts for his mother, but more than anything he wished for himself that his mother made it home in time for dinner. He thought about calling Toby to talk and hopefully make himself feel better, but he figured there was no point in bringing someone else down on Christmas. He turned in his bed and faced the wall. There was no point in getting out of bed anytime soon ; he would be spending Christmas alone.

Back in Maine, Cooper had had the worst night of sleep ; but then again he said that every Christmas morning. He loved that no matter how old he was, he still found it hard to sleep the night before Christmas because he was so excited. He looked at this clock and saw that it was a few minutes passed eight a.m. He jumped out of bed and walked quickly down the hall to his older sister Angela's room. He knocked on the door softly:

"Ang, you up?" She didn't move. He counted to himself one, two,..three

"Argh!" He jumped on her bed and she screamed from the shock. She sat up clutching her chest and breathing very quickly.

"I hate you more than any person or thing on this Earth." She said glaring at her younger brother.

"No, you love me more than any person or anything on this Earth...except your vibrator." Cooper teased.

She stifled a laugh and threw a pillow at him, "What do you want?" She asked laying back down.

"It's Christmas, it's time to open presents."

"Goodness Cooper you're almost nineteen, Christmas isn't for you anymore."

"You're never too old to get into the magic of Christmas my dear sister." Cooper smiled. Angela pretended to be snoring. Cooper whined, "Come on get up."

"Alright, just stop your bitching."

"Yay!!!"

"Man, you're such a queer." Angela laughed.

"You know it." Cooper said shaking his ass a little bit. The two siblings laughed and walked arm in arm down the hallway to where their parents were waiting for them.

Toby walked down the stairs and was greeted by the familiar faces of his family. He inwardly smiled. As much as he complained about how loud and inconsiderate his family could be, he loved them, they loved him, and he knew he was one of them. Most of the people who came to these family gatherings were from his dad's side of the family, though you would never know that from the way his father acted. His father was always usually in some corner watching the mayhem that engulfed his house whenever more than a few of his family members got together. Toby didn't get to see his mother's side of the family as often, but there were usually a few members of his mom's side of the family in attendance at every function. He greeted the different members of his family and responded to the standard questions of how school and tennis were. He excused himself when he saw that Richard was in the corner talking to one of his cousins. He headed to the kitchen were his mother and his grandmother were cooking.

"Hi baby." His grandmother said kissing him on the forehead."

"Hi, grandma." Toby gave her a big hug. He loved the way his grandma smelled. "How are you?"

"Oh, just surviving on the Lord's mercy." She said smiling.

"Aren't we all." His mom said.

"Mom, can I talk to you?" Toby asked quietly.

"Yeah, but you have to move with me, I'm too busy cooking." She said.

"You invited Richard?" Toby asked dodging a pot his mom moved dangerously close to his head.

"Yes."

"Can I ask why?"

"He's family." Toby gave his mom a look.

"Don't look at your momma that way," his grandmother interjected, "she brought you in this world, she can take you out."

"Mom, but you knew we had broken up. It's a little uncomfortable for him to be here for me."

"Alright, I'm sorry. I won't invite him again ok?"

"Thank you Mom."

Richard walked into the kitchen and Toby threw him a dirty look even though Richard did not look in his direction.

"Grandma do you need any help?" Richard asked kissing Toby's grandma.

"Oh, baby, no thank you.....oh wait." She smacked Richard in the head wit her hand. Toby couldn't help but laugh, "That's for cursing earlier, the Lord don't like it."

"Toby can you bring your radio down here from your bathroom. Me and your grandma want to listen to some music while we cook?"

"Yeah, mom, I'll do it now." Toby walked out of the kitchen and headed back up the stairs to his bathroom. He had to take a leak so he closed the door behind him. He made that sigh that only comes when true relief is being felt. The door opened and Toby made a move to cover himself. It was Richard.

"Jesus, a closed door means you should knock." Toby said angrily.

"It's not like I haven't seen it before." Richard closed the door behind him.

"Can you go out or turn around or something?"

"Are you serious?" Toby gave him a long look and Richard finally turned around. He heard the toilet flush and he turned around again to see Toby washing his hands.

Toby started to speak in a mocking tone, "Grandma do you need some help? She's not even your grandma Richard, why don't you go bug your own family?"

"Can we stop the dramatic tv show I hate you bullshit? I'm sorry I hurt you Toby, but I love you and I want to make it right."

"You can do that by leaving." Toby picked up his radio and walked past Richard. Richard grabbed his ex boyfriend by the shirt and pushed him against the bathroom wall causing the radio to drop on the floor. Richard was holding Toby against the wall. Both boys were breathing heavily, but it was taking every ounce of self control in Toby's body not to punch Richard in the face. Richard broke the silence, "Do you really want me out of your life?"

Toby was sitting in his backyard looking at various family members and the conversations they were having and the laughter they were sharing. He reckoned that sometimes life was simple, but other times it was almost too real. He wondered if he made the right decision about Richard. Hindsight is always 20/20 and he hoped that later down the road he wouldn't regret the decision he had made. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hand holding a plate with a piece of cake come near him. He smiled.

"Thanks."

"Your welcome. You know I never thought I'd have to find the words to tell my gay son not to be heartbroken over an ex boyfriend. Any chance I won't have too?" Toby's dad asked.

"Dad, it's not a phase."

"Oh well....you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

"Is he ok?"

"Does it matter?"

"Are you telling me you don't care what happens to Richard?"

"Not really." Toby said staring into his cake.

"Son, I know you like to live your life and be independent, and I'm glad cause that's how I raised you, but in my years I've found that in most situations the truth always has a way of falling in the middle ; its rarely ever an extreme. I hope you don't have to learn the hard way that being hard headed and unforgiving usually only hurts you in the end."

"Dad, I know what I'm doing."

"Alright. You should go out there and dance with your cousins. Get your mind off of things."

Toby smiled, "Sounds like a plan. Thanks dad." As Toby went towards his cousins, he knew that his dad would never be able to find the words to say it, but he knew his dad was proud of him.

Eric was staring blankly at the television screen. He had been watching Jeopardy on the game show network for who knows how long and had stopped trying to guess the correct answers long ago. He looked at the clock; It was almost six. So much for dinner he thought to himself. He heard his cell phone ring and seriously debated over whether to get up or not. He ran on the cold wood floor to his room and cursed all the way there. The caller ID said it was Cooper and he involuntarily smiled.

"Hey!" Eric exclaimed

"Hey bitch, how's it going?"

"I'm alright," Eric lied, "how are you?"

"I'm doing pretty damn good, just here with the fam, we're just here hanging out. Did you get a lot of gifts for Christmas?"

"Oh yeah, tons of stuff. Most of it I'll have to leave here though, but the clothes I can bring to school."

"Sweet. I got a shitload of stuff too, man can you imagine a world with no Christmas?"

Eric could hear yelling and laughter in the background, "Get off the fuckin phone!" Angela screamed.

Cooper laughed, "I got to go man, but hey Merry Christmas, and thanks for the gift of your friendship, I really appreciate it."

The line went dead. Eric threw his phone on the bed and fell on his bed. He replayed Cooper's last words over in his head. The gift of friendship? How corny and so unlike Cooper. They barely even knew each other. What it had been like a month since they had become friends...if you could even call them that. His thoughts suddenly switched to Toby who he assumed was having too much fun to think of Eric to call him on Christmas day. By the time Eric's mom got home a little while later, her son was already asleep. She wanted to wake him, but felt guilty enough leaving her only child alone on Christmas. She went quietly to her room after planting a kiss on Eric, and like her son cried herself to sleep.

All three of the boys had things on their minds. Eric was frustrated with almost every part of his life, Toby, despite his best efforts, was still thinking about Richard and Cooper was always a little depressed after Christmas ended.

"It's just so sad to see it go." He would always say to Angela. She would play the role of being the big sister to perfection by rolling her eyes and telling him that Christmas is for kids. Eric of course would have given anything to have a beautiful Christmas and he couldn't shake the post Christmas funk he had allowed himself to get into. He talked to his mother a bit, but he mostly stayed in his room thinking about all the shitty things going on his life. He had no way of knowing that a surprise was looming for him on New Years Eve. His mother had gone to a party a neighbor was having.

She had invited him, but he really felt like being alone ; That's what he was anyway, he didn't want to start the new year with people he didn't or barely knew. After a few hours of bad television (he was no better at Jeopardy) he decided to give homochat.com another visit. There had to be tons of lonely men out there who wanted to have someone to bring in the new year with as much as he did. He had been on for thirty minutes and just like the last time he had entered the chat room, no one had talked to him. He got up to go to the bathroom and when he returned there was a rectangular box glowing at the bottom of his screen. His heart immediately sped up. The screen name was something he would never ever say out loud but he had gotten used to seeing them as almost all the screen names were a combination of some body part and a number. He clicked the box and up came a screen that was half taken up by a picture of the guy talking to him. He immediately recognized the picture ; it was an old high school acquaintance named Michael. Michael was the first gay person most people from Eric's high school came in contact with. Eric had a few classes with him and he always seemed pretty cool, though he wouldn't call them friends. Eric was actually glad they had not been friends, Michael had the strangest eyes he had ever seen. He couldn't explain what exactly that meant, as Michael's eyes were brown, but he always felt they were looking through him....but he was horny and lonely so he somehow got around to inviting Michael to his house "just to hang out" as Eric had put it. Michael said he would be over around 8:30, so Eric began running frantically around his room trying to get it as clean as possible....that lasted all of about ten minutes and Eric spent the next hour or so trying to occupy his time. He couldn't believe it ; he had invited a guy over to his house. He was finally going to....do something with a guy. He checked his bedside clock every few minutes until it was 8:35. He wondered if Michael had changed his mind and was no longer coming.

The doorbell rang and Eric began running to the door. He ran back to his room to check his hair and then ran back a few seconds letter to make sure he looked ok for Michael. He opened the door and it took him a few seconds to register that the person before him was much shorter than him, that the person before him looked nothing like how he remembered Michael, and finally that the person before him was not a man at all, it was a woman ; It was his mother.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Eric said frantically.

"I was just coming to check on you, " his Mom said putting down her coat, "I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Well as you can see I'm fine, you can go back to your party now."

"Don't be rude!" His mother yelled.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't yell at me." Eric said staring at his mother.

"Let's not fight, I don't want to fight."

"You started..."

"OK." She said holding up her hand. The doorbell rang again and his mother looked toward the door with a confused expression. She walked to the door and answered it. If Carol had been asked directly, she would have instantly said that she was an open minded and fair person but she couldn't possibly imagine what this obviously gay boy was doing at her doorstep.

"Can I help you?" She said raising her eyebrows.

"Mom it's for me." Eric said coming up to the door.

"Hey." Michael said raising his sunglasses, "how it's going?"

"You invited someone over?" His mother asked.

"Yeah...he's a friend...I didn't think you'd be here." Eric stammered.

There was a long silence as neither Eric nor his mother knew what to say. Michael, who was still standing at the door, decided to walk in and take the place in.

"Very nice," He said twirling around, "it's nice and cozy." Neither Eric nor his mother had said anything yet. Michael didn't believe silence was golden so he spoke up again, "Should I leave or are we gonna hang?" He asked looking at Eric.

"Um..."

"Well, I just came to check on you and I see you've made a little friend so I will just go back to my party."

She turned to Michael and gave her best attempt at a smile, "It was nice to meet you."

"You too." Michael said smiling. As Carol walked down the street she said a silent prayer to God thanking Him for her son. Maybe her son would be able to talk some sense into that boy. She was glad her son was a God fearing boy and that she had raised him right. She also thanked God that her open mindedness was accompanied with morals ; she couldn't imagine what it would be like to allow her son to parade around town like Michael obviously did, living in sin. She closed her prayer by thanking God that she didn't have to deal with a gay son.

Back at the house the two boys had settled in Eric's room. Michael was going through Eric's CD's.

"You know I'm a little disappointed in myself. You're the only one that's gotten by me. But If I had taken a look at your CD collection I would have known right away that you're gay." Michael said.

Eric laughed nervously, "So what do you want to do?"

Michael raised his eyebrows, "I don't know what do you want to do?"

"Why don't we watch a movie or something, have you seen Cruel Intentions?"

"A bunch of hot young sexy people being immoral? It's like my favorite movie."

"Why don't we watch something funny instead?" Eric asked.

"That's cool, whatever you want." Michael said. They decided to watch Rat Race because Michael had never seen it. Eric popped the CD into his laptop and turned to Michael.

"Um, I don't know how you want to do this, it only reaches so far. I can sit on the bed and you can have the chair or whatever." Eric stuttered.

"We can both sit in the chair."

"It's kind of small."

"I promise I don't have cooties." Michael walked over and sat down in the chair. Eric sat down and immediately felt the warmth of the boy sitting next to him. They watched the movie for a few minutes before Eric felt Michael sitting even closer. Eric jumped a little when he felt Michael's hand began to run his leg.

"You ok?" Michael said looking at him. All Eric did was nod. Eric's dick immediately became hard as Michael's rubbing became more insistent. When Eric didn't complain, Michael moved his hand a little closer to Eric's crotch. Eric had seen Rat Race numerous times but he was no longer aware of what was going on, as Michael was now rubbing his crotch through his jeans. Eric had his eyes closed and was really enjoying the feeling ; he had imagined that it would feel good to have someone else touch him in this way, but this was better than he had expected. He opened his eyes when he felt Michael moving. Michael was now on his knees.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to make you feel even better." Michael smiled. He unbuckled Eric's pants and then slowly unzipped Eric's jeans. Eric wasn't sure what made him do it but he jumped up out of the seat hitting his knee into Michael's nose.

"I'm so sorry."

"Fuck! What did you do that for?" Michael yelled.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to get up, I didn't mean too."

"I'm bleeding." Michael said looking at the blood on his hand.

"Let's go to the bathroom." Eric said helping Michael up.

A few minutes later they had been successful in getting Michael's nose to stop bleeding and they were cleaning him up.

"I'm really sorry for all this." Eric Started.

"It's cool....so....you're gay?

"I guess so." Eric said looking down at the ground.

"You know it's not like the plague or anything." Michael said.

"I'm not so sure about that."

"When you think like that I'm sure it does seem like the plague." Michael said simply.

"Not everyone can parade around town and just be fine and not care what other people think."

"Bullshit. It was hard for me, it's hard to be yourself no matter what your situation in life is. People will always talk about you no matter what you do so you might as well live your life the way you want to."

Eric nodded his head ; he had never thought of it that way before.

Michael continued, "I have a confession. I'm glad this happened tonight cause I always wanted to be your friend."

Eric smiled, "Really why?"

"I don't know I guess you just seemed like a cool person." Michael shrugged.

Eric smiled wider, "Really?"

"Yeah, you're hot stuff man, you just got to believe in yourself."

Eric again nodded. "Well I got to get going, gotta make an appearance at a buddy's New Year's Party. You wanna tag along?"

"No, I think I'm just going to bring in the new year with my thoughts."

"Alright that's cool," Michael tightly hugged Eric, "I promise it'll get better." he whispered into Eric's ear.

Eric really liked Michael and he felt as if he had made a new friend, but he was relieved as he watched Michael's car speed away. His thoughts were spinning and all over the place. He walked to his room and laid down on his bed. It had felt so good to have Michael touch him and be close to him, it made him feel alive and like he was worth something ; It was exhilarating to be that close to another boy. The smell, the power...it was all that but also that he wanted it so strongly was what made it so good for him. He was glad though that he had stopped things ; Michael seemed to be a great guy, but Eric didn't want his first time to be like that, with someone he barely knew. Plus he couldn't imagine himself with a guy like Michael. Again, he barely knew Michael but he knew enough to know that it's not what he wanted.

Almost out of nowhere a thought sprung into his head: What's so wrong with being gay? He'd heard both Toby and Cooper and many other people on television say that there was nothing wrong with being gay, but when he thought it just a minute ago it was as if he had never heard it before. He sat up in his bed and began to smile. He remembered a conversation he had had with Toby a while back and he remembered his own words about how small the differences were between people whether they be man or woman, black or white, or gay or straight.

"It's such a small thing." He said out loud to himself.

He looked at the clock and it was half an hour until midnight. He made a decision then that he wanted to start the new year right and with the hope that by being truthful about who he was that maybe things would be better. He got down on his knees and said a quick prayer.

God please guide me and give me the strength to handle whatever comes my way. Give me the wisdom to be able to accept that this may not play out the way I want it to or the way I think it should, but that I will hear your voice to lead me down the right path. Amen.

He felt an adrenal rush as he shook the mouse to his computer. He signed onto his chat service and was glad when he saw that Toby was online. Here goes nothing he thought.

EJ16: Hey man how's it going?

TennisPro12: Hey Eric buddy. I'm ok, how are you.

EJ16: Ok too. What are you up to, I thought you'd be out partying or something.

TennisPro12: No it's a low key New Years

TennisPro12: Me and Coop are chatting

EJ16: Can you put us all in a chat room I want to talk to both of you

TennisPro12: Yeah give me a sec

Eric saw the invitation inviting him into the chat room, he clicked accept and saw that both Toby and Cooper were also there.

EJ16: Hey guys

HanginwithMrCooper: My bitches! How's it hangin

HanginwithMrCooper: by the way eric that is the most creative name I've ever seen

EJ16: haha shut up

TennisPro12: now now boys don't make me have to break out the whip J

HanginwithMrCooper: please do I'm so horny it's not even funny

EJ16: ok ok

HanginwithMrCooper: J

EJ16: I have something to say and I want you to let me finish before you say anything

TennisPro12: ok

HanginwithMrCooper: the forum is yours

EJ16: I think I might be gay. I invited a friend over and nothing happened but I don't know it just made me think about how small it really is and I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys before but I hope we can all be friends I just ask you don't tell anyone until I'm really comfortable with it I'm telling you guys cause you're my friends and I hope you'll accept me.

Eric stared at what he had written and for a moment lingering on whether or not he should press enter. Once he put it out there, there was no going back. He closed his eyes and hit enter. Both Toby and Cooper smiled at the same time, though Toby had been hoping this moment would happen in person

HanginwithMrCooper: welcome to the club now we can check out got guys 2gether

EJ16: lol that is lovely

TennisPro12: congrats man you know I'm here for you

EJ16: thanks guys it means a lot

TennisPro12: I hate to cut out but the fam is calling me for the countdown

TennisPro12: We'll talk later Eric when u get back. Happy new years guys

EJ16: you too

HanginwithMrCooper: I'm gonna head out too

HanginwithMrCooper: happy new year to u guys and again congrats eric

EJ16: good night guys.

Eric signed off and felt like he was on cloud nine. He knew he was on a high right now since he had just come out, but it was a beautiful feeling to feel a lot of the weight lifted off of him. He was glad his mother wasn't at home at that moment or he probably would have come out to her too. He knew that coming out to her would take a little bit of planning and that he would have to find the right words but he knew his mother loved him and that she was open minded and that she would be accepting of him. He couldn't believe that he was actually contemplating coming out to his mother. He smiled widely to the ceiling. Things were going to be ok.

Toby was clapping and dancing with his family to celebrate the new year. He was glad that everyone was healthy and happy and he felt like he had a lot to look forward to in the upcoming year. He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and saw that it was Tim calling him.

"Happy new year Tim." Toby beamed.

"Happy New year to you too." Tim laughed, "Wow I can hear your family in the background. They're so loud."

"That how we Blacks do it, we go all out."

"Well, I got to go but I just wanted to say thank you for making my year a great one and I know this one will be even better."

"It definitely will be. I'm glad you're by my side Tim, and thank you for making my year brighter."

"Aw you're so sweet. I'll call you tomorrow?"

"You better."

Tim laughed, "Bye."

"Bye."

Richard was sitting in his room alone. He could hear his family yelling in the other room. He didn't feel like being in anyone's company at this moment. He looked at his computer screen and saw that it was 12:03. He had made a terrible mistake in leaving Toby. He thought it had been the right thing to do but it was glaringly obvious to him now that he shouldn't have done it. He was already trying to put it behind him. He had learned at an early age that tragedy always breeds something positive and that was the outlook he was choosing to go into the new year with. He went to bed that night being sure that he and Toby weren't over and that they would in fact get back together. He was right about one thing, tragedy always breeds something positive, if nothing else, the lessons we learn from our painful experiences provide us with invaluable lessons. He had no way of knowing that his year would provide him with a harsh lesson in just how true that could be.

Cooper had just gotten out of the shower and hugged his family good night when his phone alerted him that he had a message. The number had been withheld so he checked his voicemail. He felt like it was Christmas all over again when he realized the message was from Kevin.

"I blocked my number cause I was afraid you wouldn't answer if you knew it was me. You're probably out and having fun right now....... Look man, I'm horrible at this kind of stuff but I'm sorry for being an asshole and I hope we can be friends again. I hope to see you back at school."

Cooper saved the message and sat on his bed smiling. His heart was beating faster and he couldn't help but think of the possibilities of what this meant. He had Kevin back. He listened to the message three more times before going to bed that night and snuggled up to his pillow pretending it was Kevin.

Thanks for taking the time to read the ninth chapter of Three Roads. Thank you for all your compliments I do appreciate them. I love writing this story and I'm glad you guys enjoy it too. All constructive criticisms, words of support, or plain old questions can be sent to tenniswiz12@MSN.com.

I also have an e mail list going to let interested readers know when I send in a new part of the story. If you want to be on that list, feel free to e mail me.