Year 4, part 2

(Here we go - at last! How are those dicky hearts?)

(This one for Baruch, because he asked).

Jared woke in the morning and looked straight into Ethan's big brown eyes. He popped a quick kiss on his lips and grinned at him.

"Hey. How's the most beautiful boy in the world?"

"I don't know, Jared. You tell me and then I'll know."

"I wasn't talking about me, you twit! You're the most beautiful boy ever, no doubt about it. Welcome back, Ethan."

"Welcome back to you too. Thanks, but you're wrong."

"Am not!"

"Are so, Dumb Blond!"

"Hey! Shut up."

They started wrestling together, totally wrecked the bed, struggled and fought until they slid giggling to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs. The fighting stopped in a hurry when the bedroom door opened. They looked up at Ethan's parents and scrambled to cover themselves up with the tangled duvet. For once, their faces were the same, they were both bright-red.

Busted! So embarrassing.

However, no-one was upset with them. The parents were both smiling widely.

"Good morning, Boys," Mr.Stone said. "About time you were awake. Welcome back, Jared."

"Yes, welcome back," said Mrs. Stone. "It's lovely to see you here. Now that you're both out of bed, you can get dressed and fix this mess! Breakfast will be ready when you are." She closed the door.

Jared grinned. "Your mum saw your bum!"

"She's seen it before. Been a long time though. Anyway, they saw yours too, and a very nice bum it is."

"Shut up. You really think they saw it?"

"Course they did. It was sticking up in the air, they couldn't miss it."

"That's not good."

"No, but it's okay, they're not growling. Let's fix the bed."

On the other side of the door, the parents were smiling. "So Jared sleeps naked too?"

"Sure looks like it. So, what do you think? Happy now?"

"I'm not sure. It looks a lot better than yesterday, but I don't know. There's still a lot of the holiday to go yet. We'll wait and see what happens, I guess."

"I wish you'd just make up your mind, John. Yes or no, and if it's yes, go for it."

"I know, but it's a big decision. I don't want to rush into it. We'll get there."

"I wish we would and the sooner the better. All right, I'll wait, but you'd better decide before this holiday is over."

"I will, don't worry. Do you think that they had sex last night?"

"I think it's pretty obvious that they did. We know our boy is gay and that he loves Jared. They're both 14 now, it was always going to happen."

"I was never as sure as you were, Kate. Especially in the last couple of days."

"You are never as sure about anything. The last couple of days were a worry. They must've needed time to adjust, they've both changed, but only on the outside."

"I hope you're right. Jared's a good kid, I've always liked him."

"So have I. Come on, you were going to do this fish for breakfast. About time you got started."

"Slavedriver."

"Do it, John."

"Yes, Boss."

No-one saw a lot of Jared and Ethan in the next few days. They were around but they only had time for each other. They'd even taken to showering together. When everyone else was going for a day-trip to Blenheim and Picton, they said no, they weren't going with them.

The other kids didn't mind. That meant there'd be more room in the van. They'd get 2 seats each!

The families left together, Jared and Ethan waved goodbye, grinned at each other and rushed back to the bedroom. Their plan was to spend the day in there, but they were soon getting restless. It was hot and sticky in there and it was a beautiful day outside, so they changed their minds, got up, got dressed and went out for a walk.

They didn't go downtown, they had no money anyway. They went the other way, around the bays and out to the seal colony.

They didn't go out to the end of the fishermen's wharf. It was only short and they were getting sick of the sight of fish. They didn't stop at Taylor's Beach either. The small swimming beach was crowded, but they didn't have their togs with them and they'd seen it all before.

At the back of the beach, there was a small, temporary, road-side cafe set up. There were tables and chairs under big umbrellas and a gas-fired kitchen set up in an extended trailer with a tent roof. It all looked and smelled great, but they had no money. They kept walking.

Jared was disgustingly happy as they walked along. The stupid grin hadn't left his face. Ethan was much more quiet, quite glum really. It was almost like he was walking along under his own personal cloud.

They got to the seal colony, but they timed it wrong. Most of the rocks were underwater because the tide was in and there were more people than seals around. So they carried on and started on the Peninsular Track, around the small bays below the cliffs.

They were in no hurry, but it was slow going because of the high tide. They kept having to wait, and then dash between the waves. That was, kind-of, exciting and, sort-of, fun, but it was hard work, so they gave up on that and climbed a small gully to the top of the cliffs.

That was hard work too, but they made it. They clawed their way to the top and sat on a small ledge up there, looking out to sea. It would've been a great view, but there was nothing to see but sea.

"Ethan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, it's all good."

"It is good, or it should be, but you're a misery-guts." He took hold of his hand and looked into his eyes. "Something's bothering you. What's wrong, My Friend?"

"Oh, Jared," he sighed deeply. "It is good, it's great. It's a nice day and we're here together, just you and me. But it's only temporary, isn't it? Another week and a bit and we have to go back to our separate worlds. I love you, Jared, I really love you. Every time we've been together is the best time ever, but then we have to go home for long, long months alone. I hate it. I totally hate it when we're not together. I tried to kill myself a couple of months ago."

"No! You didn't tell me that. Shit, Ethan! What would you do that for?"

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to know. I swallowed a whole lot of pills - packets of them. I just wanted to end it, but Mum found me and they rushed me to the hospital. They pumped my stomach out and it was awful! The worst thing that's ever happened to me."

"I'm glad it was. I hope it fucking hurt if it stops you from doing it again. I love you, Ethan. I don't want to live without you."

"I don't want to, I can't live without you. After all that, when the dust settled, that was when the parents decided that we were coming back to Kaimoana. We're only here so I can be with you. I was worried sick that we wouldn't get together again."

"Dork. Of course we were going to be together. We're always going to be together."

"Jared, could you love me as much as I love you?"

"Nope."

"No?"

"No. I love you much more than that." He kissed him.

They sat up there on their perch, side by side, arms around each other and heads together, quietly thinking.

Jared broke the silence. "You ever, ever! even think about doing something like that again and I'm going to kick your arse!"

"I don't want to - now. But what's going to happen when we go home? It's so good being here with you. I hate to think about another 50 weeks alone."

"Not going to happen."

"It's not?"

"It's not." They kissed and sat thinking again. until Jared said, "Okay, here's the plan. I promise you that, when we go home, I'm going to message you every single day and I want to hear from you everyday too."

"Thanks and I will. But is that enough?"

"No, it's not. There's more yet."

"More?"

"Yeah. We are both going to get jobs, doing whatever we can - mowing lawns, picking fruit, stacking supermarket shelves, or whatever. Every school holidays from now on, every holiday, either I'm coming up to your place or you're coming down to mine. I know it's not perfect, but it's what we've got. We can get through a couple of years, and then we'll be going to Uni and we'll go together, live together and never be separated again."

"Never?"

"Never!" He kissed him, pushed him off and grinned. "So, that's the plan. Now relax and enjoy our holiday will you?"

"Yeah, I'll try. I will. Thanks Jared. I love you heaps, big heaps."

"I love you mountains! One more thing, when the parents get back tonight, we're telling them everything. We're going to tell them that we're in love and what we're going to do about it."

"Are you sure? I think my parents already know, but do yours need to?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. They need to know and, anyway, they're pretty bloody thick if they don't already think something."

"Okay, we'll tell them." Ethan stood up, looked down and offered his hand. "Come on, My Love. Let's go back now. I think I want to go back to bed."

"Sounds good to me." Jared grinned, pulled himself up and hugged him again. "Let's go back to bed."

He stepped back and smiled, and that was when their world went to hell. Jared fell off the cliff!

(Is that a cliff-hanger or what?)



"

"

"

"

"Jared! NO!!" Ethan dropped to his hands and knees and looked over the edge.

At least he didn't fall over the sheer cliff-front, that'd be instant death. Instead, he fell into the steep gully that they'd climbed up. That was bad enough. He fell and crashed and slid and bumped and rolled all the way down to the bottom. His scream stopped before he was halfway down.

"Oh, Fuck, Jared! Don't be dead. Please, please. Don't you fucking dare be dead!"

Ethan scrambled and slid down the gully as fast as he possibly could, crying all the way. Jared was lying in a crumpled heap in a mass of bull-kelp seaweed, just above the water-line.

"Jared! You alive?"

He moved! He looked up and grimaced, "I think so. Oh Fuck, Ethan, it hurts!"

"Hurts?" He dropped down beside him. "Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere," he sighed. His eyes rolled up and he blacked out.

"Oh bloody Hell!"

What was he going to do? His love lay bleeding. There was no cellphone coverage there, of course. There never bloody is when you need it.

He couldn't possibly carry him all the way out. Could he drag him? Fuck no, that'd be dumb. That'd hurt him even more. They were all alone there. He didn't want to leave him, but it looked like he'd have to. He couldn't just sit there and watch the boy he loved dying.

"Dying? Oh Fuck, Jared. Don't die!"

A couple of older ladies came around the point - trampers doing the Peninsular Walk. He'd never been so glad to see anyone in his life! He wanted to call out to them and beg them to help Jared, but he couldn't. He couldn't get the words out.

He ran forward, stood, waved and bawled. It was enough because they came over to him.

"What's the matter, Son? Are you hurt?"

"No, not me," he sobbed. Jared," he waved at him. "Jared's hurt. He fell off the cliff."

"Oh, my! Let's have a look at him." They went to Jared.

Ethan stood there crying and feeling useless. The ladies dropped down beside him. One of them looked up.

"Have you called for help?"

"No. I can't. There's only you. There's no cellphone coverage here,. The cliffs are in the way."

"That would make sense." She looked at the forbidding cliffs rearing above them. "Okay. I'll tell you what we're going to do. We will stay here, with Jared. You run back to the carpark by the seal colony, call for an ambulance, wait there for them and come back with them. Okay?"

"Yes! Yes, I'll do that. Thank you."

"No worries, Lovey. We'll wait, you go and get help."

She slipped her jacket off and spread it over Jared. The other lady did the same. All that Ethan was wearing was a t-shirt. He took that off anyway and laid it on him.

"Every bit helps, I suppose," the lady smiled. "Is Jared your brother?"

"No, he's my friend, my best friend ever!"

"Good then. You go and get help. Hurry but be careful. It won't help anyone if you're injured too."

"I'm going. I'm going. Oh, thank you. Thank you so much."

He ran back to the carpark. The tide had gone down a bit, so it was easier and faster than on the way out. Back at the carpark, he called 111 and the call-centre operator called the local hospital. Ethan sat on the road and waited for the ambulance to arrive.

It seemed like forever, but wasn't long really before they pulled up. Two guys got out and Ethan told them what the problem was. One of them put bags on a stretcher and lifted it out of the back. The other one took his jacket off and held it out.

"Here, Boy. Put this on."

"I'm all right. It's not cold."

"Then why are you shivering? Put it on. If nothing else, it'll stop you getting sunburnt."

"Okay. Thank you. Can we go?"

"Yes, we're going." He closed the doors. "Lead on, MacDuff."

The two men carried the stretcher and Ethan led them back to where Jared was with the ladies. They tended to him, patched the worst of his wounds, loaded him on to the stretcher and took him back to the ambulance. The ladies didn't come with them, they were going to go back the way they'd come. They both wished Ethan luck. He said thanks and goodbye and hurried off after the stretcher-bearers.

Back at the ambulance, Jared was loaded into the back and one of the medics got in with him. The driver got into the front, and then looked back at the lost-looking boy standing there.

"Hey, Lad, are you here on your own?"

"Yes. It was just Jared and me walking."

"You walked out here from town? Okay, get in the front here with me and we'll take you back to town."

"Oh, thank you!" He jumped in and they rushed back to the hospital.

Jared was off-loaded and carried in there, Ethan trailed along behind, but stopped when they went into the operating theater. When the driver came back out, he led Ethan over to the lady at the reception desk.

"Come and see my wife. You can help her with the paperwork while you're waiting."

She smiled and said, "I think you'd better sit down, Love. You're as white as a sheet."

He nodded and sank into a chair next to the desk.

"All right? Now, you were with the boy who fell?" She opened a computer screen and peered at it. "Right. Name first. The name is?"

"Umm, Ethan Stone."

She typed that in. "That's my sister's name, she is Mrs. Stone. Now, Ethan fell down a cliff by the Peninsular Track?"

"No, he didn't. I mean, I'm Ethan. It's Jared who fell."

"Oh, the patient is Jared?" she amended the screen. "What is Jared's full name?"

"Kersten. Jared Kersten. Sorry, I don't know his second name."

"Doesn't matter for now. But his name is Kersten?"

"Yeah, that's it. He's from Christchurch."

"That's really funny, you know."

"What's funny. I don't see anything."

"Your surname is Stone, like my sister's, and your friend's is Kersten, which is my name."

"You're Mrs. Kersten? Wow. Just like Jared's mum. Are you related?"

"I wouldn't have a clue. My husband might be, it's his family name. We'll find out later. Now, Jared's home address and next of kin?"

They filled in all they could and left the rest to be completed later. Ethan called his mother and told her what had happened. They were already on their way back from Picton. They'd come straight to the hospital. While he was sitting there waiting, Mrs. Kersten brought him a drink. He didn't want it, but she insisted that he drink it.

"It's meant to be good for the nerves. Can't do you any harm anyway. You drink it."

When the doctor came out, he stopped and looked at Ethan. "You were with The Boy who couldn't fly? Come with me and I'll have a look at you."

"It's okay, thanks. I wasn't hurt. I didn't fall."

"Maybe not, but you look like you might be in shock. Come into my office."

The doctor led him in there and checked him over. He wasn't in shock, just very upset. Dr. Stevens kept him talking until his parents got there. He didn't want another drink. He could maybe handle a whisky? He wasn't getting one!

They sat talking until there was a commotion outside. Dr. Stevens smiled. "Sounds like your family has arrived. We'd better go out and see them."

They went out to the reception area and Ethan rushed to his dad. He needed a cuddle. He stood and cried in his father's arms until he was passed to his mother. The Kerstens all took a hug too, even the little ones. They all sat down and he told them what had happened.

Dr. Stevens told them about Jared's injuries. "He's a mess, but it's mostly abrasions and contusions - cuts and bruises. His right wrist is broken and the other one is sprained. But, that's about it really. He's a lucky boy. We'll keep him in here overnight, and you can, maybe, take him home tomorrow. Jared is young and strong, he'll soon recover. Ethan did well, looking after him and getting him here."

"I did nothing!" Ethan sobbed. "It was all other people who helped."

"But you got them to help. Thank you, Ethan. He is sleeping now and he'll stay that way. You might as well all go home and rest. Come back in the morning."

They all got to have a look at Jared sleeping in his bed. A pathetic sight he was too. Ethan didn't want to leave and said he'd stay the night there, but he couldn't. Mrs. Kersten didn't see why not and she wanted to stay too, but she couldn't either.

They all went back to the motels. Ethan spent the night in the spare bed in the Kersten boys' room, he didn't want to be alone.

Next morning, rather than wait for the others, Ethan walked to the hospital as soon as he was awake. He didn't even stop for breakfast, wasn't interested and couldn't wait.

Jared was still sleeping when he got there, so he just sat and waited. The nurse told him that Jared was fine. (He didn't look fine!) He'd had a good night and no problems. He did better than Ethan then, he had a terrible night, every time he dozed off he saw Jared falling again. He waited in the reception area.

Mrs. Kersten arrived before he woke. She sat with Ethan.

When the nurse finally came out and said that Jared was awake and they could see him now, Mrs. Kersten stood but Ethan stayed where he was. She stopped, looked and sat down again.

"Ethan, Honey? Don't you want to come in and see him?"

"Yes, of course. But, well, you're his mother, Mrs. K. You go first, I'll wait here until you've done."

"Oh, Ethan!" She hugged his shoulders. "You really are a sweetheart you know. If I go in there alone, the first and only thing Jared will want to know is 'where's Ethan?' Come on, we'll go in together."

"Well, if you're sure? Thank you."

"I'm positive. Come, Ethan."

Jared was awake and alert, a bit uncomfortable but not in any pain. He was still tired and a bit 'woozy', probably because of the pain-killers. He just wanted out of that place!

They had to leave him and go back out and wait while the doctor checked him over. Mrs. Stone arrived with the other kids while they were there. When the doctor came out, he had good news - they could take him home.

Jared's right wrist was broken, with a cast on it, and his left one was sprained and bandaged. He would need a lot of looking after, he wouldn't even be able to feed himself for the next few days, but they could do that at home just as well as the hospital staff could. They were all delighted and said that it wouldn't be a problem. (No-one wanted to think about wiping his butt, but somebody was going to have to do it!)

They arrived at the motels and helped Jared inside. The fathers weren't there and no-one knew where they were. It was lunchtime before they turned up and they were both smiling widely when they walked in and greeted Jared.

Mr. Stone looked at his wife, he nodded and she grinned. "Yes! About time too. Thank you, John."

Ethan frowned, he didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

Mr. Kersten said, "You'd better start packing, Kids. We're going home today."

"Aww, Dad. No!" Carrie protested.

"Aww, Dad, yes," he replied. "There will be other holidays. Jared needs to be at home in his own bed and we're going there today. No arguments."

Ethan was shattered and trying not to cry. He'd waited so long for this holiday and it'd all gone to hell and now it was going to be cut short.

Then it got better, much better, and even better yet! Mrs. Kersten started it.

"Okay, I agree. Jared needs to be at home in his own bed and alone." She looked pointedly at Ethan. "We'll pack up and go home today. However, I'm going to need help in looking after him. Can Ethan come with us? He could stay for the rest of the holidays, and then we'll fly him home."

Ethan looked hopefully at his parents.

"Yes, of course he can go with you," Mrs. Stone said. "As long as you can put up with him."

"That won't be a problem," Mrs. Kersten replied.

Mr. Stone said, "Don't fly him back though, there's no point. Keep him there with you."

"Keep me there?" Ethan worried. "Don't you want me anymore, Dad?"

"We want you, but you stay in Christchurch."

"But . . but, why?"

"Because there's no point in your coming back up north. We are going home to pack up and we're shifting to Christchurch. I've got a new job there. I confirmed it this morning."

"You did? You have? We are? Oh, Dad! That's great. That's really, really great! Thank you."

"Yes. We thought you would be pleased."

Mrs. Kersten said, "You'll be needing somewhere to live. When we get back, I'll check-out the real estate listings for you."

"Thanks, but there's no need for that. I bought a house this morning."

"You did? Wow. Whereabouts is it? Christchurch is a big place."

"It's in Richmond South."

"That's our suburb!"

"I know. Cal knows the place well and he recommended it."

"Cool, Dad. Thanks for that. What street in Richmond?"

"I believe it's called Selwyn Drive - no.39."

"Selwyn Drive? That's our street. That's right next door to our house!"

"I know that too. I think we'll like the neighbours. We've sort of got used to being next door to them."

"Fan - bloody - tastic!"