*For
this month my flashes will be about brothers. If that doesn’t appeal, you might want to
skip this round. Welcome
to the Wednesday Briefers flash group. The short stories have a maximum of a
1000 word count plus links at the bottom to the other flashers. The prompt for this
week is: "I'm glad that I'm finally done with..." or use the
alternates.
Use: pony, magician, strike
or "When did you last
see...?"
or use either a sunset or sunrise in
your story
or "I know I'm forgetting
something..."
or use: purple, ambidextrous, sugar.
Choices
Two days ago, Sandler turned
eighteen. Today the long awaited day had arrived, and he’d graduated high
school. Finally. It had been a horrible year. His mom had been having an affair,
and when his dad had found out, things turned ugly. His parents had divorced
and what a mess that had been. Months passed while they fought over every
little thing, called each other ghastly names and, thanks to that, all the cops
knew their address from memory. The nasty atmosphere had gotten to him. He
spent less and less time at home.
It was Saturday night and everyone
had gathered at a bonfire. There was nothing else to do where they lived. While
he was there, he’d locked his keys in his car and only realized it after
everyone else had left. Alone, daylight coming soon, and afraid, he’d called
Cooper for help. He called the brother he hadn’t seen in over five years. His
parent had kicked Cooper out as soon as he turned eighteen because he was gay.
Needless to say, he’d never told his parents he was gay also. That wasn’t the
only thing he hadn’t told his parents.
He loved his brother, was in
love with him. Cooper had refused to touch him, saying Sandler was too young.
But Sandler knew the feeling was mutual. He’d seen how Cooper looked at him,
seen the porn videos that featured twinks that looked like him. His brother
kept in touch after he left, but only to the extent of sending gift cards on
holidays. Outside of that, Cooper refused to have anything to do with him. Their
parents never knew what was brewing between them, and Cooper wouldn’t allow
things to develop as long as Sandler was underage.
When
he called Cooper tonight, he hadn’t known what else to do. No way was he
calling his parents, and that was if he could find either of them. It was the
weekend, after all. After Sandler explained where he was, Cooper remembered the
place. All the kids through the years had hung out in that field in the middle
of nowhere. It had taken Cooper close to an hour to get there since he lived in
the big city and had been at work.
* * * *
Almost
an hour on the dot; headlights lit up the area. A slick, midnight black
chromed-out Chevy truck made its way slowly over the ruts to where Sandler
waited.
“Nice,”
Sandler whispered as the truck parked. His brother was doing well, it seemed,
at whatever he did for a living.
The
truck headlights went out, but the remains of the bonfire provided ample light.
Sandler’s eyes bugged out of his head as the door opened and a leather-encased
leg stepped out. What followed made his mouth go dry. Cooper wore tight leather
pants, a black mesh shirt with a leather vest, and black biker boots. His wavy
blond hair was shoulder length now.
“Hey
Sandy.”
Sandler
blushed at the old nickname. “Coop? Is
that you?”
“Yeah.”
Sandler
saw that Cooper wore black eyeliner on his big brown eyes, and he had a silver piercing
through one eyebrow. The light from the fire showed the tats through the mesh
shirt too. There were muscles that hadn’t been there before. And stubble on Cooper’s
face was new too. Sandler shook his head—his brother had grown into a man. A
very sexy man.
“Wow.
You look… wow. Different.” Sandler watched as Cooper used some sort of tool to
unlock his door.
After
Cooper was done, he moved by the fire, away from Sandler. “And you look the
same as always. I mean that in a positive way, little brother. To me, you were
always perfect.”
“I
missed you.” Sandler stepped closer. “All those years—I missed you.”
Cooper
stood his ground, letting Sandler come closer. “I missed you too. All those years,
I wondered if you understood I didn’t abandon you.”
“I
knew why you left. The whole neighborhood knew why. Our parents screamed it
loud enough when they kicked you out. But things weren’t the same after you
left. I felt so alone.”
“Our
parents wouldn’t have let you go with me—you were too young. Damn young. They
probably would’ve called the cops on me if they thought for a second I was
interested in you.” Cooper shrugged. “Back then, I couldn’t have supported you
anyway. I could barely support myself. But, yeah, I felt alone without you
too.”
Sandler
stopped in front of Cooper, barely inches between them. “You wanted me then. I knew you did. I just knew it! And now? What
about now? I’m eighteen, Cooper. Same age as you when they kicked you out. Mom
and Dad can’t control what I do. Hell, they don’t care anyway—too busy with
their own lives to worry about me.”
Cooper
ran his hand over Sandler’s hair. “True, you’re a man now, but you know nothing
about me.”
“So?”
Sandler moved closer, their chests touching. “You think that matters to me?
I’ve waited for you for a long time,
Cooper.”
“Still.”
Cooper took a card out of his wallet. “Take this week to think about what
exactly you’re doing. We’re brothers, Sandler. Very few will accept us as a
couple. It won’t be easy, and like I said, you know nothing about who I am now.
Next Saturday night come to this address if you still want me. That will get in
you immediately. Just show the card to the bouncer. After you see where I work,
and what it is I do… we’ll talk. If you want to run after you see what I am,
then you can. I’ll never know.”
Sunrise
broke across the land.
“I’ll be waiting.” Cooper turned back to his
truck. “Head home, Sandy, and think about this.”
“I
don’t need to think, and I’ll be there!”
“I…
hope so.”
TBC.
Make sure to check out the other flashers!
Tali m/f
Nephylim m/m
Cia
m/m
Michael
Mandrake m/m
Julie Lynn Hayes m/m
