Love Conquers All
by Flaming Matt
Chapter 11
November 2015
"Sarah, we have to tell them." Mike says in a pleading tone and while he understood her reluctance, the news that Matt could have been poisoned and with everything else that had happened, just made him realise that they couldn't keep this a secret any longer.
"But the note Mike, it..." Sarah then begins to responds, before trailing off as she sees his face and knows what he is going to say.
"Matt's in hospital, Jim's been murdered, Alex and Peter were attacked and Peter is still missing Sarah and I know none of it could have anything to do with that note or the phone call, but we need to let the police decide that, not us." Mike states in a serious tone, as he reaches out and takes both her hands into his own.
"I know, I know Mike, but if we go to the police, that's it, whatever these people want, it will force their hand and god knows what they will do." Sarah responds in a desperate tone and while she knew he was right, she also knew that they were risking everything and the thought scared her to the core.
"There's no other choice Sarah, what else can we do?" Mike then asks in a defeated tone, before seeing the look in her eyes. "Sarah no, I know we agreed to go and see her, but how can it help, she's in prison, what good can see do?" He then states in a serious tone and while it was an option, he didn't think it would do any good now and he wanted her to realise that as well.
"We can at least talk to her first Mike, we have an appointment this afternoon and I want to speak with her before we do anything else." Sarah then says in a firm tone and while she really did understand what he was saying, she needed to speak to Maggie first and then decide on what to do.
"If she can't come up with anything to help after Jim's funeral, then we're going to the police Sarah and I'm not asking." Mike then states in a serious tone and while he felt bad for talking to her like this, he knew that he had to put his foot down and make sure that no one else got hurt because of them.
"Okay, we give her until then and if she can't help us, then we go to the police." Sarah responds in agreement and while she was still unsure if they should go to the police, she knew she couldn't stop him going and they needed to be in this together, so she didn't want to argue about it any more.
"You can have a bath if you want to." Lily offers as she sits cross legged opposite her boyfriend on her bed and looks at him sympathetically.
"What, here?" Tobias quickly asks in a surprised tone, after being shocked out of his thoughts about his brothers and what they were going through and instead looking at his girlfriend in confusion.
"Why not?" Lily just as quickly asks in response, as she looks at her boyfriend curiously and wonders why he seemed so surprised and even a little confused at her suggestion.
"I er... well, I'll be naked." Tobias states in response and quickly blushes when he sees his girlfriend starting to smile and despite himself, he couldn't help but be a little embarrassed.
"Well yeah, that's how people normally have a bath Tobias." Lily then says in an amused tone, before getting off the bed and walking over to her chest of drawers.
"What are you doing?" Tobias then asks in a curious tone, while trying his best not to blush too much as he realises that his girlfriend wasn't getting the hint about why he was embarrassed and reluctant to take a bath in her house.
"Getting you a towel to use for when you get out." Lily responds, as she tries to find a towel that wasn't too girly for him, which to her slight embarrassment was a lot harder than she thought it would be.
"But I'll be naked and why a bath?" Tobias then asks, as he points out once again that he would have to be naked in the hope that she understood his reluctance this time.
"My parents are at work Tobias and you will be alone in the bathroom, so no one will see you." Lily then says in a reassuring tone, after realising why he seemed so shy and couldn't hep but smile at him sweetly, she just loved how confident he could be, while at other times he could be really shy about certain things and she really did find it endearing.
"You aren't going to sit with me?" Tobias then asks in a disappointed tone, before blushing as he realises what he had just said and what that implied and he didn't even realise that he had forgotten all about asking why he couldn't just have a shower.
"I er... well I guess er... do you want me to?" Lily asks slightly nervously in response and while she was surprised by his question, she couldn't help but find herself wanting to see him in the bath and completely naked.
"Well er... you're not allowed to look at me, you know like naked, but er... can I have bubbles and then you can er... come in and talk to me." Tobias responds in a shy tone, before blushing even more as he realises that he had basically gone from not wanting to have a bath and getting naked, to inviting his girlfriend to sit in the bathroom with him while he took a bath.
"Okay, I'll go and run the bath and you can take your clothes off in here." Lily then suggest with a smile, before giving him a big smile and quickly turning towards her bedroom door before he changed his mind and while she felt a little naughty, she thought he would be okay and she didn't think she was taking advantage of him.
"But you will see me naked." Tobias quickly protests, as he stands up and looks towards his girlfriend nervously and while he knew one day they would see each other naked and hopefully it wouldn't be too long, he couldn't help but feel a little reluctant to do it right now.
"No you idiot, just take everything off except your underwear, it's not like I haven't seen you in just them before or you can get naked and just wrap the towel around your waist." Lily responds with a grin, although she couldn't help but start feeling a little guilty, because she knew he could have just undressed in the bathroom once the bath was run, but she couldn't resist trying to get a sneak peek at him, even though she knew it was naughty.
"Oh er... okay I guess, but don't forget the bubbles and you can't come in the bathroom until I tell you to." Tobias then states in a serious tone, although he couldn't help but blush a little more, as his voice comes out a little squeaky and could see his girlfriend trying not to giggle.
"Okay, it shouldn't take long, so I will be back in a few minutes, so don't take too long you can use this towel." Lily responds with a little blush of her own, as she passes him the towel that she had forgotten she was holding, before turning around and heading out of her bedroom and towards the bathroom, with a big smile on her face.
"Alex, come in here please." Gordon calls out in a firm tone, before turning off the TV and waiting for his son to come in the room.
"I haven't finished cleaning the kitchen yet though." Alex says in a meek tone, after walking into the room nervously and seeing his dad looking right at him.
"Sit down Alex, you can finish the kitchen after we talk." Gordon then instructs his son, while giving him a neutral look and while he had gone over this conversation many times in his head, he still wasn't sure how it will turn out and just hoped his son would be honest, even if it isn't what he wants to hear, he would rather he was honest than try to lie about any of it.
"Okay Dad." Alex responds in the same meek tone, before walking over to the chair opposite his dad and sitting down nervously.
"Why did you do it Alex?" Gordon asks in a soft tone, after deciding to not come down too hard on his son and while he could see the surprise on his face, he just stared at him expectantly.
"He was taunting..." Alex then begins to answer, after being momentarily being caught off guard by his dads tone of voice. "I was weak and stupid Dad, he was saying things about Peter and I was too stupid to ignore him." He then says in an honest tone, after pausing for a few moments to really decide how he wanted to answer his dads questions and knew that he had to just be honest, even if it disappointed his dad.
"Name calling and taunting doesn't excuse what you did Alex, you should be better than that." Gordon then says in a disappointed tone and while he wanted to go as easy as he could on his son, he also had to be honest and he wasn't going to pretend everything was all right, because if the other boy decided to press charges, than his son was in serious trouble and there would be very little he could do to help him.
"I know, but the things he was saying dad, they were horrible and I know I should have been stronger Dad, but he was talking about Peter and I couldn't stop myself, I really tried, but what he said, it was too much." Alex then says in a guilty but honest tone and while he knew he should have never even let his former friend in the house, he did and what was worse, he had let him get inside his head.
"Tell me what he said Alex and I want the truth, so don't let me find out you lied, otherwise the police will be the least of your problems young man." Gordon then decides to say in a serious and firm tone, while maintaining eye contact with his son, who he could tell was struggling to hold the gaze himself.
"He said people were saying I... they were saying I killed... Dad, he said the other kids and even adults were saying I killed Peter and then hurt myself to get away with it." Alex decides to say as he gives his dad a desperate look and while he didn't tell him everything, he couldn't bare his dad not believing him.
"That's it?" Gordon asks in response and while he could feel his anger at the other boy increase, if that is all he did, then his son had a lot to answer for.
"Dad?" Alex then asks in a confused and devastated tone, he was hoping his dad believed him, be he hadn't even thought about whether his dad would understand and to hear him almost dismiss his former friends words and what he had just told him hurt almost as much as the thought of never getting to see his boyfriend again.
"Alex, what he said was horrible and nasty, but to do what you did to him, there's no excuse Alex and I thought I raised you better than that." Gordon states in a disappointed tone, before sighing and rubbing his face with his hands, he was hoping his son would say something that justified what he had done in some way, but if that is all that happened, than he wasn't what to do next.
"It wasn't just that Dad, he just kept saying it over and over again and then when I was getting mad, he kept taunting me and asking me if this is what happened with Peter and if he said something I didn't like and I got angry and hurt him, I know I was weak Dad, I know, but I was so angry and he kept smiling and taunting me and I just got so angry and I wanted him to stop, I just wanted him to stop saying those things." Alex quickly states and again, while he knew it didn't make what he did right, he was desperate for his dad to understand what had happened and for him to not hate him.
"Why would he taunt you like that, especially if it was obvious you were getting angry?" Gordon then asks in a confused and curious tone, after listening to his sons pleading and realising that even though he was still disappointed with him, the other boys behaviour was very odd and knowing Jarred as well as he thought he knew him, he was definitely what he would consider a coward deep down and this didn't make sense to him at all.
"I don't know, he just came around and said that he wants to make amends Dad and then he started being weird and saying weird stuff." Alex responds after a few moments in a hesitant tone, as he wasn't quite sure if his dad was actually talking to him or just thinking out loud.
"Wait, he said he wanted to make amends, but was openly taunting you and trying to get a reaction out of you?" Gordon then asks in a suspicious tone and while he didn't want to condone what his son had done, he couldn't help but want to know what exactly happened, because something wasn't adding up and it was becoming apparent, that Jarred wasn't the completely innocent victim like everyone, including himself had assumed.
"I shouldn't have let him in dad, he was acting weird before that, but he was saying stuff about Peter and I thought I could get him to slip up or something, I didn't think he would say the stuff he did though and I just lost it Dad, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." Alex then states in a sincere tone, before starting to sniffle and before he knows what's happening, he feels himself being embraced and begins to cry as things get too much for him.
"Tell me everything that happened from when he first came around, to when you did what you did and I want the truth Alex, so I need to know everything." Gordon then states in a serious tone, after almost ten minutes of holding his crying son in his arms and while he wasn't sure if this would help or lead to anything, he was still curious about the other boys behaviour and there was also something else that was bothering him, but he needed to hear everything that happened, before he gave it any serious thought.
"I won't lie Dad, I promise." Alex then manages to responds in a calmer tone, than he was actually feeling and sniffled a few times to try and compose himself enough to go through it all again, before finally leaning back a little from his dad's embrace and beings to tell him everything he could remember.
"If he sees Matt awake, shouldn't that snap him out off it?" Wesley asks in a hopeful tone, after getting a little uncomfortable sitting in silence for so long, especially since it left him thinking about his brother and he just didn't want to think about that at all today.
"Nothing else has worked, but Sarah is worried that if Ben snaps out of it, he will break down completely and she isn't sure if that will be good for Matt to see and could upset him." Mitch responds honestly in a slightly startled tone, after almost nodding off while sitting in silence for so long.
"Damn, but er... well if it helps him snap out of it, Matt will understand once someone tells him what happened." Wesley then states in as positive a tone as he could manage and while he knew there was truth in what the older boy had said, he had faith in his friend and knew he would be okay, even if Ben did break down at first.
"True, but we don't know how Matt will be when he wakes up, Erica said that he should be fine and not have any lasting effects, but until he wakes up, they can't know for sure." Mitch then says in a reluctant tone, he just hated having to be this honest, but he couldn't let them get their hopes up too much, because a lot could still happen and after everything that has happened recently, he wasn't taking anything for granted again.
"I can't believe they never told us they got engaged though." Carter then says, after deciding to try and change the subject, to something a little more light hearted and while he could tell he caught both of them off guard a little, he could see that they both seemed a little relieved as well.
"I can't believe Tobias managed to keep it a secret, all the random and embarrassing things he comes out with, I would have bet anything on him letting it slip by accident." Wesley then says with a small smile and while he did want to learn a little more about what Mitch had said about their friend, he couldn't deny that it was nice to talk about something positive and wanted to make the most of it, even if he was still feeling a little guilty about actually knowing about his friends engagement and not telling his boyfriend about it.
"I can't believe my twelve year old little brother beat me to getting engaged to someone, that has to be like against the rules or something right?" Mitch then asks with a grin and while he was initially a little hesitant to have this kind of conversation, it did feel good to get away from all the negative stuff and just relax for a few minutes and he could tell that the two boys needed it just as much as he did.
"He would beat you to getting married as well, if they didn't have to wait until they were like eighteen or something." Carter quickly points out with a playful grin, as he looks up to the older boy and couldn't help but find his expression amusing.
"Yeah Mitch, you got to up your game, otherwise Erica might start wondering if she is dating the wrong brother." Wesley then teases with a massive grin, before hearing his boyfriend giggling and quickly joins him, he just loved the sound of him giggling and it had been a while since he last heard it and he realised just how much he had missed it.
"The rate he is going, he will have kids before me as well." Mitch then states with a shake of the head, after deciding to try and not let them bait him into being embarrassed, although as he looks at both the boys faces, he can tell that they were more than a little surprised by his own words.
"I know medicine and technology is improving a lot Mitch, but I'm pretty sure that Matt and Ben can't get pregnant." "Carter then states with a grin, which widens when he not only sees the look on the older boys face, but also feels his boyfriend giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
"Smart ass." Mitch weakly retorts after a few moments, after failing to think of any comeback, well he had a few, but despite their closeness, they were still kids and they were in a hospital, so he had draw the line somewhere and reluctantly held back.
"You think they will have kids one day though?" Wesley then decides to ask, after giving his boyfriend a quick and thoughtful glance, as he thinks about their own future and while they wouldn't do what their friends had done and get engaged any time soon, he was in love with him and he never wanted to lose him.
"It's good that you pay attention to what I say sometimes Moron." Carter quickly states with a shake of the head, after assuming that his boyfriend had either zoned out in his own thoughts or just plain ignored him.
"I mean, like adoption or something like that you idiot." Wesley quickly retorts in an irritated tone, before quickly giving his boyfriend an apologetic look. "Sorry." He then says in an ashamed tone and while it was hardly the worst thing he has done or said recently, he just hated himself every time he snapped at his boyfriend.
"Oh, well er... don't worry about it." Carter then says in a slightly unsure tone and wasn't quite sure what he should say in front of the older boy.
"Guys, well more you Wesley, if you need to talk, I'm here for you, no matter what and I mean that." Mitch then states in a sincere tone and while he actually found himself thinking about what the boy had said about adoption, he couldn't ignore the odd and tense little exchange between the two boys and wanted to try and help as much as he could.
"Maybe later, but I don't want to... well not today Mitch, I just want one day." Wesley responds in a sad tone, before feeling himself being pulled into his boyfriends arms and gently rests his head against his.
"Adoption is possible, but that's so far away and besides, they will probably be too busy babysitting all of Tobias's kids." Carter then states in casual tone, after deciding to try his best to change the subject and lighten the mood again, he knew how much his boyfriend wanted to get his mind of what happened to his brother and the funeral and knew this would do the job.
"Fucking hell, seriously guys, I'm just hoping Lily is a calming influence on him." Mitch then states with a shake of the head and again, while the adoption subject piqued his interest, the mention of Tobias, just pulled his focus more and his brother was so adorably unpredictable.
"I love it whenever he says 'The Sex'. It's just so funny and no matter how many times we all tell him that it's just called sex, he still says it." Wesley then says in an amused tone and while there were a lot more things he could say about his friend, he really didn't think Mitch would appreciate hearing those kind of details about his brother.
"Has he at least stopped getting naked or stripping down to his underwear whenever he stays over at someone else's house?" Mitch then decides to ask, as he thinks about his brothers habit of getting naked as often as he can and while he knew Sarah and his dad were going to have a word with him about it, he was curious as to whether his brother had at least stopped doing it around his friends houses.
"Ha! As if Mitch, I swear he will be a nudist when he gets older, I mean, well er... that's a real thing right?" Wesley asks in response and despite knowing that this must be a little awkward for the older boy, he had been the one to bring it up and decided that he might as well go with it.
"He's basically one now Wesley and yes, nudism is a real thing and you would be surprised how many people do it." Mitch answers honestly and with a little smirk, as he thinks about his brother and his almost carefree attitude.
"He looks so hot naked too." Carter then says in a thoughtful tone, before blushing and holding his hand over his mouth as he sees the older boy looking at him in surprise and then feels his boyfriend pulling away from him a little bit.
"Well cheers for that Carter, just the sort of thing I want to hear." Mitch quickly responds sarcastically, as he shakes his head and looks at the small boy in amusement and couldn't help but think about all the times his little brother and Matt had said similar things about each other by accident and despite everything going on, it gave him a warm feeling inside.
"I love when you blush, want to go for a walk?" Wesley then asks in a hopeful tone, he knew his boyfriend had put a temporary ban on any serious sex stuff, but he wanted some affection and was hoping he would get the hint.
"Er... yeah, okay." Carter responds with a smile, after being a little surprised by his boyfriends request. "You don't mind, do you Mitch?" He then asks in an apologetic tone and while he knew it was stupid to feel guilty for leaving him alone, he wanted to make sure he was okay with it first, even though he really wanted to run away as quickly as possible and hide in embarrassment, after what he had just said.
"Go ahead, but don't go too far or for too long, I promised both your parents that I would take you home." Mitch responds with a smile, while also reminding them both, that they weren't allowed to walk home alone and that it wasn't open for negotiation.
"Promise and we both have our phones on." Carter quickly responds, before letting out a little surprised yelp, as he is playfully pulled to his feet by his boyfriend, who gives him a cheeky grin.
"Just get going and I'm heading in to sit with Matt, so if I'm not out here, then just look in the room, because I will probably stay in there." Mitch says as he gets to his feet and looks at the two boys and despite the lows in all their lives at the moment, he was happy to see that they had each other and he could see that they truly loved each other, even if their relationship seemed a little different from his little brothers and Matt's.
"If he wakes up, say hi for us." Carter then says with a smile, as he is slowly pulled away by his boyfriend, who he could tell was being a little weird, but just put it down to needed a private cuddle or something like that.
"Horny bastards." Mitch then mutters quietly to himself in an amused tone, before sighing a little bit as he turns to the rooms door and walks inside to sit with his little brothers fiancé.
"Can I come in now?" Lily asks through the door and while she was a little tempted to just walk in and try and catch him naked, she just about managed to control her confusing feelings and remember that she was meant to be looking after and comforting him, not trying to see him naked.
"Er... okay, but no trying to peek." Tobias calls out in a slightly nervous tone, he wasn't shy about his body and he had wanted to be naked with her before, but his friends and family have made it clear, that getting naked and being seen naked, is not something he should be doing as much as he has been and it was starting to confuse him a little bit now.
"I promise." Lily responds in an excited tone, after opening and walking through the door, before finding herself staring at her boyfriend and while she could only see above his chest, she could feel her heart beating faster and faster.
"Is the seat okay there?" Tobias then asks, he had actually spent almost five minutes trying to figure out where to put it and although he was nervous that it was too close, he wanted her to be able to at least reach over and hold his hand or squeeze his shoulder and he was sure he had enough bubbles, that even being that close, she wouldn't be able to see his willy and stuff.
"Oh, yeah, it's good and I can even hold your hand." Lily responds with a smile, after taking a few moments to stop staring at her boyfriend and looking at how close the chair was to the bath and couldn't help but think that if it was any closer, than she would be sitting in the bath with him.
"Am I weird?" Tobias decides to ask in a curious tone, after a few minutes of silence and while he probably could have come up with a better conversation starter, he was genuinely curious about what people thought about him and his girlfriend never lied to him or at least he didn't think she did, so he was sure she would be able to help him figure out how people saw him.
"Probably the weirdest person that I've ever met." Lily answer with a little smirk and while she could have lied, she didn't think he was asking it in an insecure way and she didn't think he was weird in a bad way, she actually liked it, which was a little surprising, but in a good way.
"But you still want to be my girlfriend." Tobias then says in an even more curious tone, as he smiles at her with a little blush and while it probably wasn't the best of compliments, he had asked the question and she had answered honestly and he could tell that she didn't say it in a negative way.
"I guess that makes me, just as weird as you Tobias." Lily responds with a warm smile, before feeling a little braver and reaches out to gently stroke his arm, which he currently had laying across the side of the bath.
"Some of the other kids and even some adults give me funny looks sometimes." Tobias then says in a distracted tone, after tensing up for a few moments as he feels his arm being gently stroked and he could feel himself reacting to the touch and quickly found himself finding another reason to appreciate the bubbles.
"There are always people who don't like someone Tobias, nobody can be friends with everyone, but it doesn't bother you though, does it?" Lily then decides to ask in response, as she looks at him curiously and tries to quickly work out if she needed to be ready for him to get upset or not.
"It never used to, not back in England, but being here is still er... well it's good, but also strange and I'm different now too." Tobias answers as honestly as he could, it was still confusing for himself to understand, so explaining it to someone else, was not as easy as he had hoped it would be.
"Everyone changes Tobias, it doesn't have to be a bad thing or something to be sad about." Lily then says, before smiling at his expression. "I've changed since I met you and it's definitely a good thing." She then adds in a warm tone, before reaching over for a flannel and dipping it in the water.
"What are you er... oh." Tobias then says in a slightly panicked tone, after seeing and feeling his girlfriends hand going in the water and he can't help but tense up a little, before relaxing as she lifts her hand hack out and begins to slowly use the now wet flannel to wash his shoulders and back.
"Before I met you, I would never have sat next to a bath while washing a boy, I mean, even if I was babysitting or something, it would have been too weird, but with you, you're just special and I just want to be with you all the time and I really like this." Lily then decides to say with a smile, as she gently starts exploring both her boyfriends back and chest, in the pretence of washing it with the flannel and while she knew that she was taking a risk, she just couldn't stop herself and as long as he didn't tell her to stop, then she was going to carry on.
"I er... oh... well I er... I like it too." Tobias then says in a distracted tone, as he feels himself being touched and while it felt amazing, it was starting to feel a little too good and he couldn't help but blush, his friends had touched every part of him and it had felt so good, but his girlfriends touch was almost electric and he couldn't believe how much better it felt.
"You don't believe what those other people say though, do you Tobias?" Lily then decides to ask, after realising that she was almost going down below the water with her hand and while she definitely wanted to explore his body, she just couldn't shake the feeling that with everything that was going on with her boyfriend right now, that she would be taking advantage of him and was hoping this would distract her from those thoughts.
"Not really, but sometimes it's hard not to." Tobias answers in a sad tone, although inside he was both disappointed and relieved that his girlfriend had moved her hand back up to his shoulders, as it was slowly getting lower and lower and despite it being exciting, he wasn't sure what would happen if she went low enough to realise his willy was hard.
"I guess so, but your family loves you and your friends and I really, really like you Tobias and that's what really matters." Lily then says in a sincere tone, before blushing slightly, after realising that her hand was now under the water again and when she notices her boyfriend tensing up a little, she realises that she was actually touching his bum. "I er... never liked someone, like I like you before Tobias, no one." She then says in a nervous tone, as she starts to explore his bum cheeks with her hand and while she knew she should stop, she couldn't help herself and the fact that he didn't seem to be making any effort to stop her, she thought that it was okay to carry on.
"I er... I know and I er... oh..." Tobias then begins to try and respond, before trailing off in surprise as he feels his girlfriend not only rubbing and squeezing his bum, but also slowly making her way down his chest and stomach, with her other hand. "Lily, I don't er... think, oh..." He then tries to say, but as her hand goes under the water, he can only gasp in surprise, as her hand stops just below his bellybutton.
"Can I?" Lily then asks in a nervous and almost breathless tone, she hadn't planned this at all and could still hear a voice in her head telling her to stop and how she was taking advantage of her boyfriend, but she couldn't help herself and was hoping her would let her continue.
"Yes." Tobias eventually answers in a nervous and quiet tone, after thinking for a few moments and while he knew his brothers and friends would probably give him a lecture and tell him off, his hormones were now in full control and as he feels her hand sliding a little further down, he thought his heart was going to explode in excitement.
"Lily? Lily where are you, Lily?" Mrs Rose calls up from the bottom of the stairs, after getting home a little earlier than she had planned.
"You think Jarred is the one who broke in and attacked you, before kidnapping Peter and hiding him for all this time?" Gordon asks in a shocked tone and while it sounded absurd and like an obvious attempt to lie, he found himself surprisingly not dismissing it straight away.
"It sounds stupid Dad, it sounds really stupid, but it's what I think and I'm not the only one." Alex quickly answers in a slightly surprised tone, after realising that his dad hadn't dismissed what he had said and while he knew that it didn't mean he believed him, it at least meant that he was listening to him and that gave him hope that he would be able to convince him.
"It sounds ridiculous Alex and neither Matt or Ben are in any condition to confirm or deny what you've told me." Gordon then states in a calmer tone than he was feeling, before pausing for a few moments after thinking about the other two boys and knew that he should be there for Matt, even if he had been told that the boy was okay now, he still felt like he should be there, especially since his theory about the boy being poisoned was confirmed.
"Is Matt really going to be okay?" Alex then decides to ask in a concerned tone, he may be in trouble himself now, a whole world of trouble, but he was genuinely concerned for his friend and knew his dad wanted to be at the hospital, which just made him feel even more guilty over what he had done now, even if he did think Jarred deserved it, he should never have lost control like he did and was now starting to fully understand the consequences of his actions and how they weren't just affecting himself, but those around him as well.
"He will recover, but there could be complications, especially given his past medical issues, but we can talk about your friends later Alex, because right now, you need to do a lot more explaining, because it just sounds ridiculous and I think you know that." Gordon responds in a serious tone and while he wanted to just cuddle his son and make everything okay, the truth of the matter was, his son could end up in juvenile detention and unless this story he had told him was true, there wouldn't be anything he could do to stop that happening.
"I told you everything and well even I didn't fully believe it Dad, but it kind of made sense and Matt thought the same, I promise Dad, I'm not lying." Alex states in response, but he can tell straight away that his dad wasn't convinced. "Dad, why would Jarred come around just to make peace, but then say all that stuff he said to me? He had no reason to even come here, but he did and he lied about why he wanted to talk to me, just to get inside, why would he do that?" He then asks in an almost desperate tone, he just couldn't bare the thought of his dad hating him and being disappointed in him and was just praying that at the very least, he would believe that he wasn't a bad person.
"It will be his word against yours Alex and he's the one in hospital right now and two police officers witnessed you attacking him." Gordon then states in a reluctant tone and while he believed his son, well he believed that he was provoked and wasn't a bad person, but the story about Jarred breaking into the house and kidnapping Peter was too absurd, especially with no real evidence to support it.
"Why were the police even there though Dad?" Alex then asks in a confused tone, after realising for the first time, how strange it was that they had turned up out of the blue and at that particular time.
"What do you mean?" Gordon quickly asks in response, after being taken aback by the question and actually finding himself wondering about the timing of it all.
"They just showed up, but why? Why would they randomly walk into a house and just happen to find me beating Jarred up?" Alex responds in a confused tone and while he knew it was suspicious, he couldn't really think of an answer himself and was hoping his dad would be able to help and think of something that made sense.
"Well that is something I can ask them about, but it's likely that they were walking by and heard you two fighting Alex." Gordon answers honestly and while he was now very suspicious himself, he knew both officers and he had no doubts about their integrity, but still, it was a pretty big coincidence and something he was going to look into.
"We weren't that loud Dad and come on, they just happened to be walking past and they didn't even knock or anything, they just came in, I mean even if they heard shouting, surely they would have knocked or something first, right?" Alex then asks in a hopeful and questioning tone, he didn't really know anything about the law, but he was hoping that he had at least said something that his dad would find interesting enough to look into seriously.
"Like I said Alex, I will talk to them about that, but I want you to go over what you and Matt talked about again, I want to make sure I understand it all." Gordon responds in a firm tone and while he felt a little guilty for using that tone, he didn't want to get his sons hopes up too much, even if he did believe him about his story now, it might not help and whether other people believe it, is something he wasn't so sure about and knew he had to do this the right way.
"Okay Dad." Alex responds in a disappointed tone, although as he looks at his dad, he can see that he wasn't angry or disappointed and while it wasn't much, it gave him hope and decided to do as he was told and starts to go over everything he talked to his friend about, in as much detail as he could remember.
"Erica?" Carter calls out in a curious tone, after seeing her walking past them and looking worried.
"Oh, hello boys, are you okay?" Erica asks in a distracted tone, as she stops and looks at the boys in surprise, before looking around again in concern.
"Yeah, but are you all right?" Wesley asks in a worried tone, after giving his boyfriend a quick glance and seeing the concern on his face as well, they knew Erica was meant to be with Ben and the way she was looking around wasn't giving him a good feeling inside.
"Where's Mitch boys?" Erica then asks, while ignoring the boys question and while she knew that it was rude, she was starting to get really worried and was hoping they could help her.
"He's with Matt, should we get him Erica?" Carter quickly offers in a concerned tone and while he could be wrong, he was sure that Ben must of run off or something, because he couldn't think of anything else that would explain how she was acting right now.
"No, no not yet." Erica answers in the same distracted tone as before, as she continues to look around.
"Where's Ben?" Wesley then asks in a worried tone, after deciding to cut to the chase and find out what's going on.
"I don't know, he said he was just going to go to the toilet and that was almost twenty minutes ago, we need to find him boys." Erica answers in a worried tone, as she looks at both boys almost desperately.
"We've been out here for that long and haven't seen him come out, should we go and look in the toilets?" Carter quickly asks in a calm tone, after seeing the worry on her face and knew that she was probably feeling guilty as much as she was feeling concerned.
"Damn it, I was meant to be looking after him, if anything has happened..." Erica then begins to say, before finding herself being cuddled and interrupted.
"Erica, he's probably just wondering around inside or in one of the canteens or toilets, we'll find him." Wesley states in a firm and confident tone and even if their friend had somehow left the hospital, it was the middle of the day and it wasn't like he was a small kid or anything.
"Yeah Erica, even if he did leave, it's not like he's never walked around town on his own before and people know him, so he will be fine." Carter then decides to say, after letting her go and stepping back beside his boyfriend with a shy smile.
"I know, I know, but he's not himself right now and well, just try his phone and check the toilets, I'll let the receptionist know to keep an eye out for him and then check the family rooms and canteens." Erica then says in a calmer tone, than she was actually feeling inside, but the boys were right and even if he was in denial, he was still aware of everything around him and he had been on his own since they came to the hospital a few times already, although that didn't stop her from worrying about him.
"We'll find him." Wesley then says with a smile, before pulling on his boyfriends arm and leading him towards the hospital, with Erica following just behind them.
"Is he okay?" Sarah asks in a soft tone, after walking over and standing beside her sons bed.
"They think he will wake up within the next few hours, but apart from feeling tired and maybe nauseous, he should be fine." Mitch responds honestly and although they were all aware that Matt could have some lasting damage from the poisoning, he didn't want to bring that up.
"Have they told you anything about how he was poisoned and what with?" Mike then decides to ask, after seeing that Sarah was checking over her son and thought it was best if he did the talking until she was ready.
"The doctor was reluctant to tell me any details, but he knows our situation and eventually told me that it was his medication and that someone had replaced some of the OxyContin, with something called Barbiturates, they checked the bottle you gave them and at least a third were the wrong pills." Mitch answers in a reluctant tone and while he knew they would be told anyway, he still felt uneasy telling them and the look and both his dads face and Sarah's didn't make it any easier to say.
"What?" Sarah then quickly asks in a shocked tone, after looking up from her son to the young man.
"They want you to bring in all his medication Sarah, just to check for any more tampering and..." Mitch then begins to say, after remembering what else the doctor had told him, before looking up at his dad in surprise, when he interrupts him.
"Tampering? They think someone did this on purpose?" Mike asks in a surprised tone and while Gordon had mentioned poisoning and then being asked to hand over Matt's pill bottle, sort of confirmed that he was poisoned, they assumed it could have just been a mix up with the pills themselves and not someone tampering with them and he couldn't help but give Sarah a worried look.
"It's the only way it could have happened, these pills aren't manufactured together apparently, so there is no way that they would have been mixed up like they have been." Mitch answers as honestly as he could, but it was hard to remember everything the doctor told him and while he wasn't stupid, some of the words and descriptions the doctor used, where a little hard to remember.
"But why only some of the pills, why not all of them?" Mike then asks in a curious tone and while he was still worried, well in fact he was actually scared, he wanted to understand exactly what happened and then try and work out why.
"Why does that matter?" Sarah then asks and while she knew that he was asking his son, she didn't see why he was focusing on that and not on the fact her son was poisoned on purpose.
"Look, the doctor could only tell me so much and without further tests, they can't be completely sure, but in his opinion and it was off the record, he thinks that whoever did this, wasn't trying to kill Matt, that's why only some of the pills were changed and not all of them and the ones that were changed, weren't as strong as they normally are." Mitch then states quickly, after seeing the look on both their faces and knew that they didn't understand what he had told them and while he again couldn't quite remember everything the doctor had told him, he knew that he got the point across.
"But how? And why? No one else goes near his pills and no one else has been at the house." Mike then says in a confused tone and while the fact that whoever did this, wasn't trying to kill Matt should be comforting, it was still disturbing and he was trying to think of how it was even possible.
"Simon, your friend Simon, it has to be him." Sarah then states in a serious tone, after thinking about who it could possibly be and the only other person who has been at the house, who she didn't really know that well, was Mitch's friend and he would have had the opportunity.
"What? You can't be serious Sarah?" Mitch quickly asks in response, while he looks at her in both shock and concern, his friend had only been to their new home a few times and he had been with him every time and the last time had to have been at least a month ago, so it made no sense at all.
"The time fits and he had the opportunity." Sarah then says in the same serious tone, as she looks at the young man and despite them being friends, this was her son and for her, he was more important than his loyalty to his friend.
"What opportunity? He hasn't been to the house for at least a month, maybe even two." Mitch quickly responds in a slightly defensive tone, his friend was many things, but he wasn't capable of something like this and he had no problem defending him, even in this situation, his friend just wouldn't do this.
"He was here at the weekend Mitch, he was fixing the pools filtration system." Sarah quickly states in a slightly confused tone, because he should know about it, Simon had talked about him and knew that he was with Erica that day.
"He doesn't know the first thing about pools Sarah and he would have told me if he was coming around." Mitch quickly says in a concerned tone, because he knew she wouldn't lie and make something like this up, but he knew his friend and there was no way he would know anything about pools and how to fix anything to do with them, which just made this even more confusing.
"Well he was here, I saw him and spoke with him Mitch, I didn't imagine him." Sarah retorts in a slightly annoyed tone, although she was starting to doubt herself, she hadn't really seen him before and while he had been to the house in the past, she was never there and she only vaguely recognised him when he had turned up at the house, but he was a friend of Mitch's and she had let him in.
"Can't you just phone him?" Mike then asks in a curious tone, after keeping out of the conversation, as he tried to work out what exactly happened, because he remembered Sarah telling him about Simon being at the house, but even though at the time he didn't make anything of it, he also knew that his eldest son would know if his friend had been at the house and he would definitely know if he knew about pools or not.
"He's on holiday, remember I told you about the investigation into Peter's disappearance and we won't hear from our officer until at least tomorrow." Mitch answers as he looks at his dad with a concerned expression. "I'll be right back, I need to get my coat and phone from outside." He then says in a worried tone, before getting up and walking out of the door, after realising that he had left his coat outside with his phone in it.
"Sarah, this is getting too weird, I know we're going to see Maggie in a little while, but we need to go to the police straight away, because Mitch is being serious about Simon and he wouldn't say it, unless he knew it was true." Mike then quickly states in a quiet tone, he knew his eldest son would be back any second and he didn't want him to hear this quick exchange.
"I know, but... let's see what Mitch is doing and then speak with Maggie, then we can decide what to do Mike." Sarah responds in a stressed tone and while all she wanted to do was cuddle and comfort her sleeping son, this was getting more and more complicated and confusing and she knew that they needed to go to the police, but she was still scared of the note they had received.
"Okay, but we..." Mike then begins to say, but as he hears the door opening again, he quickly stops talking and looks over to see his eldest son walking towards then with his phone in one hand and his coat in the other.
"I thought you said you couldn't get in touch with him?" Sarah decides to asks, after seeing the young man holding his phone and also making sure that he hadn't overheard her talking with his dad just now.
"I'm not calling him, just take a look at this." Mitch responds in a worried tone, before passing his phone to her. "That's Simon." He then states in an even more concerned tone, after seeing her expression and had a sinking feeling that he was right about his friend not being at the house.
"But he was the right age and he knew you and I recognised him Mitch, I've seen him before and with you, who else could it be?" Sarah then asks in a sickened tone, as she realises that whoever she had let in, wasn't Simon and the fact she was positive that she recognised him, didn't do anything to reassure her of what had happened.
"Oh fuck..." Mitch then says in a horrified tone, before seeing both his dad and Sarah giving him worried looks. "Let me have that." He then says, as he reaches over for his phone again, while also thinking that what he was thinking, couldn't even be possible.
"Mitch, what's going on?" Mike then asks in a nervous tone, he could see his eldest sons expression and the tone of his voice, let him know that whatever he was thinking, wasn't good and that worried him even more.
"Was it one of these Sarah?" Mitch then asks in a worried tone, as he shows her a picture of him and his two former friends with Simon and although it was still impossible, he needed to rule it out right now, otherwise someone had a lot to answer for.
"It was him, the one on the left of you." Sarah responds in a horrified tone of her own, as she not only recognises the person who came to the house, but also knew now, who he was and what he was.
"Conner? You let Conner into the house?" Mike then states in a stunned tone, after looking over her should and seeing the picture and he couldn't believe what was happening. "He's in prison though, Mitch, you told us he was in prison." He then states in a questioning tone, as he turns to his eldest son in confusion.
"He is, he er... no one told me that he had..." Mitch then begins to say, before trailing off for a few moments, as he tries to process everything. "I need to make some phone calls." He then says, but as he starts to turn towards the door after taking his phone back, he is surprised to feel a hand on his arm and gives his dad a questioning look.
"We need you to stay with Matt." Mike states in a reluctant tone, after giving Sarah a quick glance and while this was important, they needed to speak with Maggie and they both had to go and someone had to stay with Matt and he knew Sarah would feel better if his eldest son was the one watching over him.
"What? Where are you going?" Mitch quickly asks in a confused tone and while he would stay with him, he was surprised that Sarah would leave him and even more surprised that his dad would be going as well and couldn't help but wonder what they were doing.
"We can't tell you, but it's important and we will only be gone for a few hours Mitch, we wouldn't go unless it was important, you know that." Mike answers as honestly as he dared and while they could trust him with where they were going, he didn't think it was necessary and wanted to keep as much stress off his eldest son as possible.
"Mike will call the station and ask about Conner on the way Mitch, if he's been released and we haven't been informed, then we will find out why, but I really need you to be here with Matt, I need you to protect him and I don't want you leaving this room, unless someone else you trust is here." Sarah then decides to say in a firm tone and while she wanted to take a softer approach and knew she didn't need to be so intense, she couldn't help herself and everything was just getting to her right now.
"I promise, but I'm going to phone the station, I need to call them anyway and they might try to fob you off or something Dad, they won't be able to do that to me." Mitch then says in a serious tone and while he wanted to handle this himself, he could tell that they were both serious and he just had to trust them, because he knew Sarah would never leave Matt, unless she had a very good reason.
"I promise we won't be long Mitch, but if anything happens, then call us, we will have our phones with us." Sarah then says in a calmer tone and while she was struggling to keep herself together, she only needed to take one look at her son, to know that she had to be strong for him and that was enough to keep her going and to find out what was going on and how it was all connected.
"Ben is with Erica and both Wesley and Carter are either in the canteen or outside, but they should all be back here within half an hour, so Matt won't be alone for one second, I promise." Mitch then says, before being a little surprised to not only get a hug from Sarah, but also his dad and he couldn't help but look at them curiously, before they both walked out of the room, leaving him on his own and decides to sit down and look at the poor boy, who was still asleep on the bed and wondered how one person could go through so much and he just hoped he could come through this as well.
"Lily, where are you?" Mrs Rose calls up again, but just as she is about to start walking up the stairs, she sees her daughter appear at the top of them.
"I'm just up here Mum, but what are you doing home so early?" Lily asks in response, while doing her best to act normal and relaxed.
"I finished work early and I'm just going to do a few things and then head next door." Mrs Rose responds with a smile, before noticing that her daughter looked a little flushed and her hands were wet and had bubbles on them.
"Oh er... okay, well I'm going to..." Lily then begins to say, before getting a little worried when she is quickly interrupted by her mum.
"Where's Tobias? And why are your hands wet?" Mrs Rose asks with a suspicious look and while she had no issues with them being in the house alone together, she wasn't quite sure why her daughter was now looking so guilty. "Lily, tell me the truth and don't lie to me." She then says, before slowly walking up the stairs and even though she can see the worry on her daughters face, she wanted answers and she wasn't going to give her a chance to lie her way out of whatever she was up to.
"He's in the bath and I was er... well I was just sitting next to the bath and talking to him." Lily eventually answers in a quiet and weak tone, as she steps back from the top of the stairs, just as her mum stops in front of her.
"He's in the bath and you were in there with him?" Mrs Rose then says in a slow and stunned tone, while she looks her daughter up and down and despite the situation, she could clearly see that she was dressed and there wasn't enough time for her to get dressed, plus her hands were wet and well, she was just curious about why the boy was in the bath in the first place.
"I didn't see anything, he made me put bubbles in and I had to wait until he was sure I wouldn't be able to see anything, he's just having a bath Mum, I promise." Lily quickly responds in a slightly desperate tone and while she couldn't quite read her mums expression, she didn't think she looked mad, she had seen her mad enough to know that much, but she was still confused about what was going to happen now.
"Why are your hands wet then Lily?" Mrs Rose then decides to ask and while she was satisfied that nothing had gone on, she was still suspicious and wanted to make sure that she had nothing to worry about.
"I er... was just washing his er... back and chest, he was just so upset and sad Mum, I just wanted to do something nice and a bath always helps me, I was just trying to help him." Lily quickly responds honestly again and while she actually had almost done something naughty, she hadn't actually done it and while it was bending the truth slightly, she was still technically being honest and she was hoping her mum wouldn't push it any further.
"And he's still in the bath?" Mrs Rose then asks and while she knew she was probably going to embarrass him, she was going to go in and check on him, just to make sure he was actually okay, because she knew what he had been through and had promised Sarah that she would keep an eye on him.
"Yes, but he's just er... well can I go back in, I don't want him to be alone, he doesn't like being alone that much." Lily answers honestly and this time she didn't have to bend the truth and she knew her mum would understand what she meant and could she her relaxing and finally got her answer and knew she wasn't angry at her or anything like that.
"I'm going to have to go in and speak to him Lily and before you say anything, I'm not angry and I won't upset him, I just need to make sure he is okay and I won't get too close to the bath, even if he does have bubbles in it." Mrs Rose then says and while she could see the worry on her daughters face, she knew she had to speak with him and make sure he was okay.
"Please don't Mum." Lily then says in a pleading tone, she knew her mum only meant well, but she knew her boyfriend and she knew he wouldn't be able to handle her mum seeing him basically naked in the bath.
"Lily, I promised his mum that I would look after him and if he is upset, then I need to..." Mrs Rose then begins to say, before being surprised by her daughter interrupting her and while she has done it before, she knew it was rare that she actually did it and decided to at least hear her out.
"Mum please, he's sad and upset, but he's okay and he was opening up to me and it's really important that he does that, Matt and Ben both told me that while he is quite open, it's only when he trusts someone completely, that he actually starts talking about the personal stuff that he's feeling and he just started doing that Mum and if you go in there, you're going to just scare and embarrass him, please Mum, trust me." Lily quickly pleads in a sincere tone and while she didn't like interrupting people, especially her mum or dad, she was serious about her boyfriend and knew that she had to stop her mum going in the bathroom.
"I trust you Lily, you know I do Sweetheart." Mrs Rose then begins to say, before pausing as she sees the look on her daughters face. "I'm going to be downstairs for a little while, then I will call up before I leave Lily, but I want to see you both before I go, so make sure he is out of the bath and dressed in the next twenty minutes and no arguments Lily." She then states in a serious tone and while she still wanted to go in and see the boy now, she was impressed with her daughters words and wanted to show her that she trusted her and also to encourage her maturity and honesty, even if she was still a bit suspicious of what they were doing, she wasn't going to get into that kind of conversation right now, but was definitely going to sit down with her husband and discuss whether it was time for a serious conversation with their daughter about certain things, especially now that she had a boyfriend and it appeared to be serious.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you Mum and I promise that you can trust me, I just want to help him and look after him, he's special Mum and he's really sweet." Lily quickly responds, as she just as quickly cuddles her and while she felt a bit bad for not being one hundred percent honest, she knew she wasn't doing it for the wrong reasons and she was happy that her mum trusted her and wanted to make sure that she didn't make her regret that.
"Twenty minutes Lily and I don't want to have to wait for you both to come down, when I call, I expect you both to come straight down." Mrs Rose then says and again, while she wasn't completely sure that she was doing the right thing, she was determined not to be one of those parents, that never trusted their children and not give them enough credit, even if she was still wary of the fact her daughter was now going to sit in the bathroom with her naked boyfriend having a bath, but again, she wanted to trust her and not overreact.
"I promise Mum." Lily responds with an appreciative smile, after letting go of her mum and stepping back.
"You're a good girl Lily and I trust you, so don't do anything to change that." Mrs Rose then says in a serious tone and while she felt a little guilty for saying it, she needed to make sure she understood, that she was giving her a big opportunity here and that she didn't want her to waste it.
"I know Mum and I promise." Lily then says, before blushing a little as she feels her mum giving her a kiss on the cheek, before walking back down the stairs and waits until she is out of sight, before turning back to the bathroom and slowly walks to the door and opens it, only to stand in shock as soon as she walks in. "Tobias!" She then manages to say in a quiet and shocked tone, as she sees him standing there and quickly moving his hands to cover himself.
Authors deserve your feedback. It's the only payment they get. If you go to the top of the page you will find the author's name. Click that and you can email the author easily.* Please take a few moments, if you liked the story, to say so.
[For those who use webmail, or whose regular email client opens when they want to use webmail instead: Please right click the author's name. A menu will open in which you can copy the email address (it goes directly to your clipboard without having the courtesy of mentioning that to you) to paste into your webmail system (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo etc). Each browser is subtly different, each Webmail system is different, or we'd give fuller instructions here. We trust you to know how to use your own system. Note: If the email address pastes or arrives with %40 in the middle, replace that weird set of characters with an @ sign.]
* Some browsers may require a right click instead
