| Chapter 10 - Beautiful Dreamer |
| Lance woke up in a darkened room. He lay there for several minutes trying to remember how he�d gotten here and what was going on. He looked around and found Chris asleep in a chair by the bed. What was going on? Where was Joey? If he came in and found Lance alone with Chris, there�d be hell to pay. He wasn�t in the mood to spend time in the closet. It was scary in there. He could hear everything that happened outside the closet door and he always thought the worst of every bump that he heard. He just knew that it had to be Joey coming to punish him for some crime he wasn�t sure that he had committed. He stood up and walked the short distance to the bathroom. He could feel Chris stir when he moved. Dark eyes opened and looked at him. There was something he couldn�t quite read in them. �How are you?� Chris said reaching out to touch his arm. Lance tried to not flinch at the gentle caress. �I�m okay�what happened? You really shouldn�t be in here in case Joey comes back.� Lance said looking at the floor. �Lance�Joey isn�t going to hurt you anymore. I told you that already. He isn�t going to be able to hurt anyone.� �Chris, he didn�t�� �Don�t. We both know that your lying and it�ll kill me if you try to lie to me. I saw it with my own eyes. You need to be safe.� �I was safe�he never hurt me that bad.� There was silence. �Really I mean at least he cared enough to correct me.� �Lance he didn�t care�that�s why he abused you.� �You don�t get it. It�s not the same thing.� �I do get it�he hurt you and we all let him and I feel terrible about that, but now he isn�t going to be able to hurt you because he is in the mental hospital upstate.� �Mental hospital?� �Yes a mental hospital. Johnny wouldn�t put him in jail. He�s convinced there has to be something wrong with Joey other than the fast that he�s an asshole.� �Chris�� �Yeah�.� �Do you think he really loves me? Is that why he did the things he did?� Lance said hopefully. �No Lance he didn�t love you, he was using you.� �But why?� �Because he just�did.� �But�� �What?� �I really want him to love me.� Silence. �Do you think he�ll love me when he gets out of�the hospital? I mean maybe he�ll be cured and stuff and maybe then we can have a real relationship.� Chris just stared at the floor. �Yeah I guess it could happen.� �That�s great. Maybe, if we get married, you can be our flower boy.� Lance said with a giggle. �I�m gunna go take a shower.� �Yeah� Chris said with a sigh. |