The Truth about Love Songs Chapter 2

Lucas had woken up at 12pm on that wet and windy Saturday morning. He had been hanging out with Tyler till 2am again. Once he had reached home he picked up the phone and called Tyler and they spent a further two hours talking with each other. This had been a regular scenario over the pass four weeks. Sometime Lucas couldn’t keep awake and Tyler would listen to him sleep. They had kept true to their word and not moved their relationship to fast. They spent hours talking and kissing each other. They occasionally pulled at each other’s clothes and ran their hands over each other’s body but it never went further than that. 

Lucas staggered down the stairs in only his boxers and a white vest. Rubbing his chest and wiping his eyes, he walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge. He pulled out a carton of orange juice and held it straight up to his mouth and drank from it. He turned slowly and saw Charlie sitting at the table reading a newspaper. “Where is everyone?” Lucas said now pouring the juice into a glass. 

“I don’t know” Charlie replied without looking up. Charlie and Lucas had never been, what you would call, close. Their relationship had always been strained, ever since they were children. People use to think that they were twins because they looked so much alike, which both of them hated. Charlie hated it even more when Lucas used their similarities to his own advantage and stole one of Charlie’s girlfriends. In fact, Lucas had made himself quite a reputation when it came to stealing other guy’s girls. Not only had he taken Charlie’s girlfriend, but had made out with one of Bill’s ex’s. Lucas was never one for any kind of loyalty, not until he hooked up Julie, who had a calming affect on him. He always had a way with the women and had taken full advantage of that fact. 

Charlie was the same height as Lucas. They both shared the same honey coloured skin, same almond shaped eyes and the same fullness in the lips. They both had jet black hair which Charlie kept shoulder length. Lucas liked to keep his hair short and spiky so people would stop mixing the two of them up. Charlie and Lucas shared the same slim body frame, however, Lucas was much more toned than Charlie was. He did a lot of sports when he was younger and although Lucas hasn’t taken part in any over the last two years, his body still bared traces of someone who was once athletic. Charlie, on the other hand, was never one for sports, or keeping fit in any way, shape or form. He was naturally toned but his body was not as defined as Lucas’ was.

Lucas switched on the radio as he began to prepare some breakfast for himself. He took eggs, bacon and sausages out of the fridge and began heating the pan. Irritated by his brothers presence, and all the noise he was making, Charlie got up to leave when he saw, what looked like a bruise on Lucas’ neck. Lucas could feel Charlie’s eyes on him as he was leaving the room. “What are you staring at?” Lucas asked giving Charlie a curious look.

“Where’d you get that?”
“What?”
“That on your neck, the love bite”

Lucas picked up an empty pan that was next to the stove. He looked at his neck and searched for the mark. He covered it with his hand once it had been spotted. He looked over at Charlie as though he had discovered his secret. “It’s nothing” he said and continued cooking,

“Someone else’s girl was it?” Charlie said now standing by the door, waiting for Lucas’ response. Lucas didn’t. He kept his head down and focused and what he was doing. He could feel his face burning red. “I knew it” Charlie said seeing the embarrassment on his brothers face. 
“You don’t know anything” Lucas lashed out.
“Whatever man. Still the same old Lucas, always out for himself”
“You don’t know me”
“I know you better than you think. And I hope whatever bitch your fucking is worth….”
“I’m not screwing anyone” 
“Oh, then how the fuck did you get that? I guess it was an accident right?”
“Fuck off Charlie”
“Did she just fall onto your neck” Said Charlie continuing to taunt his brother.
“What’s your fucking problem?”
“Cocks like you. You think you can have anyone, do anything, fuck who gets hurt in the process”
“It’s nothing like that you prick”
“Yeah right. You’re still the same selfish mother…”
“Not that it's your fucking business…” Lucas said cutting Charlie off “…But he’s fucking single ok”

Absolute silence ensued. Charlie’s mouth fell open as he looked at the pure horror now washing over his brother’s face. Lucas couldn’t believe that he said that. He wasn’t ready to come out yet, and he especially didn’t want Charlie to know. Why the fuck did he let Charlie wind him up like that. Lucas was shiting himself as Charlie opened his mouth to speak first. 

“You meant she, right?” Charlie was staring hard into his brother eyes, like he was trying to read his thoughts. “Umm” was all that came out of Lucas’ mouth. He wanted to say yes, he wanted to lie but couldn’t. An image of Tyler appeared into his head. He could see him smiling confidently at him. He felt warm when he thought of Tyler. He also felt more self-assured, courageous and bold, like he could be and do anything, and that included being honest with Charlie. “No, I meant him, I’m…I’m…I’m gay” Lucas held his breath as he waited for his brother to say something. He’d never felt so scared in his whole life. He knew if anyone was going to fuck up his life, it was going to be Charlie. 

Neither of them spoke, the only sound in the room was the sound of the sizzling bacon in the pan. Lucas felt like the expressionless face of Charlie, who looked at him blankly, was torturing him. He wanted him to say something, to make his move, whatever that was going to be. His heart was racing as he waited in silence. “Ouch” Lucas suddenly said stepping away from the pan. It had begun to spit out hot oil and a drop had caught Lucas on the arm. He turned the fire off and removed the pan from the hot ring. He wiped the grease off his arm and returned his attention back to his brother.

“Are you going to say something?” He said, plucking the courage up from deep within.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know. I’ve just told you that I was gay, I thought that would warrant some sort of response” Lucas walked over to the kitchen table and sat on the pulled out chair Charlie was on previously. As he held his head in his hands. He felt the chair next to him being pulled out from under the table. Charlie turned it to face Lucas. “How long have you known?”
Not removing his hands from his head he responded softly “I don’t know, I mean we’ve been seeing each other for four weeks, so since then I suppose. I’ve thought about stuff before but never really did anything about it.”

“Are you sure your…you know”
“It’s weird. I know how I feel about him and I know I want to be with him. It’s all happen kinda fast but yeah, I’m sure, I’m very sure” He turn to look at Charlie “So, what are you thinking”
“I don’t know, I mean what can I say”
“Well tell me what you’re thinking. You’re the first person that I’ve told and…I don’t know, I just want an reaction”
“Well, I’m shocked, I mean, I never thought that you would be…”
“Gay?”
“Well yeah, and what about all the girls? What about Julie?”
“Like I said I don’t know, it’s all still new to me… it was different with her…with all of them… it different with him” 
“Who is it?”
“What?”
“Who are you seeing? Someone must of give you that” He pointed to Lucas’ neck
“It’s Tyler”
Charlie thought for a second and then it came to him “Tyler Henderson?”
“Yeah, look I know you hate me but I need you not to say anything”
“I don’t hate you…much” They both smiled as Charlie continued “I’m not going to say anything, but you’re not going to be able to keep this to yourself for ever. You’re going to have to tell mum and dad at some point”
“Don’t remind me”

Charlie put his arm around his brother’s shoulders “You’ll be ok. Mum and dad are cool; they’re not going to hate you or anything. You know how they are.”
“Thanks man, I needed to hear that.” 

For the first time in both of their lives they felt a real warmness to each other. He wasn’t sure what he thought his brothers might say but Lucas wasn’t expecting it to be something supportive. It was a pleasant surprise to see genuine affection coming from him. Charlie got up to walk out the kitchen. Before reached the door he turned to his brother and said, “Are you happy Luc”
Lucas thought for a second and then replied “Yeah, I am”
“Do you think you’re in love?”
“Maybe, I don’t know,”

“It’s a shame you never came to this conclusion earlier, It would have saved me having a broken nose and you a fat lip” Lucas frowned at Charlie as he continued “Maggie Jones, the girl you stole from me. If you came out earlier we would never of had that fight.” He smiled at his brother and walked out of the kitchen. Lucas took a deep breath and hung his head low. Even though Charlie had shown him support he was worried, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he would have to have this conversation with his parents and if they rejected him he didn’t know how he would cope. Lucas got up and walked over to the pan on the stove. He contemplated cooking some more bacon but decided he wasn’t hungry anymore. He threw the dirty pan into the sink and made his way to his room. He grabbed his phone, which was on his bedside table charging and pressed the button that instently brought up Tyler’s number. It rang about four times before a groggy but sexy voice answered. “Hello” it said softly 
“Hey, sorry to wake you” Lucas said getting comfortable on his bed.
“Mmm, you know I don’t mind when I get to hear your voice. What’s up?”
“I told Charlie”
“Told him what?” Tyler said yawning 
“About me, about us” The phone went silent for a minute. “Are you still there”
“Yeah, I’m just shocked that’s all, I thought you wasn’t ready to tell your family yet?”
“Well I wasn’t but it just came out. Look do you think we could meet up? I really need to see you”
“Ok, but it can’t be here, mums having one of her classes again, the house is full of old people. I’ll pick you up in ten minutes and will go to the Raven Inn”
“I’ll be ready”

Two and a half hours later Tyler and Lucas were enjoying their second beer. They had been in the pub for one hour sixteen minutes and were sitting in their regular corner, which was dark and cosy. In the four weeks they had been dating they had frequented the pub several times. They found it easy to talk there. The place was never busy and the owner was generally preoccupied talking to one of the regulars, who was often found propping up the bar. Tyler and Lucas occasionally observed them having heated conversations about baseball. Lucas didn’t understand a word of what they were saying but Tyler found their arguments hilarious. 

Tyler and Lucas sat unnoticed with their fingers entwined, discussing the morning events. 
“So do you really think he’s cool about you being gay?”
“Yeah I do. Charlie’s the kind of person that hits first and asks questions later. If he had a real problem, he would had said or done something there and then. Part of me doesn’t care anyway. It might ever be easier if he came out and said something to everyone.” Tyler raised an eyebrow. “Well it might be” Lucas continued weakly. They smiled at each other. 
“It doesn’t matter what happens, you know I’m here right?”
“Yeah, I know. I just wish this wasn’t so hard”

Tyler gave Lucas a sympathetic smile and then kissed his hands. “Listen, before I left the house I got a call from that agent, he wants to see me” said Tyler changing the subject “I think he’s going to sign me up”
“What, that great. When do you have to go and see him?”
“A week Monday” 
“Have you told your mum you’re thinking of quitting collage yet?”
“Well I’m still alive so the answer is no” Tyler said with a smile. “But acting is everything to me. I’ve got to go for it”
“Everything?” Lucas said with a raised eyebrow
“You know what I mean. I need to give this my all if I want to make it and if that means leaving collage early then so be it. I know I can do this.”
“Of course you can. You’re a natural star, you’ll be fine”
“You’ve never seen me act before”
“No, true, but I have faith in you and I feel it in my heart” 

“When you faggots have finished your gay talk can you drink up and leave, we’re closing early today”, they heard the owner yell. It made both Tyler and Lucas jump at the sound of his deep husky voice. They hadn’t noticed that he had been putting the chairs up around them. “But it’s only three o’clock.” Tyler said looking and sounding a bit confused. 

He wasn’t offended by the barman’s referral to them as faggots. On the second visit they had been there the owner had noticed them holding hands under the table. He, not so politely, informed them that it wasn’t a gay bar however the could come in if they didn’t do any of that gay shit. At the time Lucas was so offended, he had refused to drink in there again but Tyler convinced him to change his mind. “What does that stupid fuck know. Look, it's quiet and out of the way. No one is going to see us here. We can be all alone. He’s not worth thinking about”. He told him. Since then the owner never spoke to them. They use to catch him glaring at them when they would kiss but he never said a word. 

“Well I got tickets to the game so your going to have to leave” The owner continued.
Lucas and Tyler picked up their coats, finished their drinks and left.

It was 9 PM before Lucas had reached home. He had Tyler had been hanging out all day, driving around at first and then when he knew his mother wasn’t going to be there, Tyler took Lucas back to his place. They made out and watched movies all afternoon till Lucas got a call from his mother, telling him to come home.

As he stepped in the door he saw his mum and dad waiting for him in the front room. Charlie, Bill and Sarah were in there as well. He walked in with his eyes on Charlie. He felt a rush of anger towards his brother as he made his way over to the empty chair next to the fireplace. Charlie looked into his brother eyes and saw that he was seething. He opened his eyes wide and shook his head discreetly, hoping Lucas would see that this had nothing to do with him or anything to do with what they had discussed earlier. Lucas looked at his parents and waited patiently for them to start. 
“Where have you been all day Lucas?” His mum began
“Out”
“Well we know that smart arse, but where?”
“Just out with a friend”
“I knew it” she his mum walking away with her arms crossed “ He been with some girl, hasn’t he?”
“No, I’ve just been with a friend that’s all. And even if I was with a girl, so what? It’s not like I haven’t had a girlfriend before.” He turned to Charlie who was smiling softly to himself, which made Lucas want to smile, but he didn’t.

“You may have had girlfriends in the pass but at least your grades were good. Since you’ve been here Lucas you have been doing terribly. Your grades have slipped so far I don’t think you’ll ever be able to recover.” 
“It’s fine I’ve been getting extra tutoring” Lucas said rolling his eyes at his mother. Charlie gave Lucas a knowing smile and returned his attention back to his book.
“No it not fine” she yelled, “It’s far from fine. You’re…” 
“Ok Ok” his father interjected, He pulled his wife to one side and continued “We just want know what’s been going on with you. You’ve been so distant lately. You’ve been coming home all hours of the night, and when you are here you’re locked in your room. You never speak to anyone anymore. You always look tired.” He walked over and sat on the arm of the chair Lucas was on “We just want know what’s going on. Is it drugs son?” Both Charlie and Lucas let out a loud laugh. Lucas could believe he was having this conversation. Bill and Sarah both gave Charlie a dirty look, which made him stop immediately. Bill sat forward in his chair, which was opposite Lucas’. “You can talk to us about anything Luc, you know you can” He said looking sympathetically at his brother. Sarah stared at him with her head slightly tilted to one side. She also looked concerned for Lucas’. 

“This is crazy,” Lucas said standing up and walking towards the door. But before he could leave his dad grabbed his arm and pulled him back onto the chair. “Your not going anywhere until this is sorted” 
“Lucas, we’ve got all night so you better start talking” his mum said. She looked so cross, her face going red.
“I don’t believe this,” he said resting his head on back of the chair.
“Well you better believe it. We have had enough of your attitude” 
“What attitude?” Lucas was getting nervous now. He knew how persistent his parents were. He knew that they could crack him. But he wasn’t ready yet. He had just about gotten comfortable with Charlie knowing his secret and now he was being forced into a position he really didn’t want to be in. He Looked at Charlie for some help, hoping he might intervene in someway, but Charlie remained silent. He was looking down at his book but Lucas knew he wasn’t reading it. His head started spinning. How was he going to get himself out of this without telling them that he was gay? He wished Tyler was here, he needed him more than ever. 

“Lucas” his father yelled, breaking his train of thought, “Are you listening to me?”
“Yes. What?”
“I said who’s this friend you’ve been hanging out with?”
“You’ve met him already” he lowered his voice as he said “Tyler”
“The boy that’s supposed to be helping you?”
“Yeah”
“Do you know this boy Charlie?” his father said, turning attention to his silent son in the corner. Charlie wanted to say no and keep out of it but he was a rubbish lair. For some reason his parents always manage to see right through him. He hated it. He could never get away with anything. By the time he was sixteen he had decided to stop trying. It wasn’t worth it. Lucas also knew of Charlie inability to lie to his parents. “Of all the fucking days” Lucas thought to himself as he began to get more and more nervous watching his brother. Charlie lowered his head and tried to pretend he didn’t hear anything “Charlie” his mother shouted making him jump. “Do you know this boy” She said sternly” Charlie gave Lucas a look that said “Sorry” and then answered him mother. “ Yeah, I know him”

“Well, what’s he like”
“Ok, I guess, I don’t really talk to him. He’s older than me”
“Is Lucas doing drugs with him”
“Oh come on mum” Lucas said hoping divert that attention away from Charlie
“Quiet you. If you’re not prepared to give me the answers I’m looking for then maybe your brother will. Well, do you know if this boy Taylor does drugs”
“Tyler” Lucas said correcting his mother
“From what I know his a good guy, popular. He does sports and stuff so I don’t think he’s into that kind of shit”
“Then what is this all about Lucas, ‘cause we know something is going on with you” She said turning her attention back to Lucas. 

Lucas took a deep breath and stood up. He glanced at Charlie, who was looking at him encouragingly, and said to his parents “I’ve not been doing drugs, in fact it’s nothing like that. I have something to tell you all”. He took a deep breath “Tyler and I… ” He took another deep breath. He felt his body shaking slightly “…We’re together. He’s my… boyfriend…I’m gay. ” 
The whole room fell silent. No one moved a muscle or said a word. Lucas looked nervously from his mother to his father and back again. He felt his legs go weak so he sat back down in the chair. He felt sick. He couldn’t believe he had said it, that it was all out in the open. He closed his eyes and wished as hard as he could that he could take it back. He wasn’t ready for this, for their reaction, whatever it was going to be. Bill was the first one to speak. “Wow, well we wasn’t expecting that. Are you sure? ”

“It’s not something you wouldn’t be sure about now is it” Said Sarah, getting up and walking over to Lucas. She got down on her knees in front of him and held his hands. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“I don’t know, I guess I was scared, still am if the truth be told”

“You don’t have to be, it’s not as if we’re going to stop loving you” Sarah smiled warmly at her brother and hugged him close. Lucas suddenly felt a little more relaxed has he felt his sister’s warm embrace, then he heard Bill talk. “Yeah man, I’m mean, there’s nothing you can do or say that would make us think differently of you or make us love you less”. 

Lucas’ smile widened and he turned to hear words of encouragement from his mother and father. But nothing was said. He could see tears in his mother’s eyes as she stared into the fireplace. His father had his head down low. Neither of them wanted to look at Lucas. His sister released him from her hold and he got up and approached his mother. “Do you still love me?” He said first. He stepped closer and said, “Mum, please don’t be mad at me.” He tried to put his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged him away and walked out of the room. As she left he could see such disgust in her face. Tears flowed from her eyes as she glanced back before walking through the door. Lucas’ heart sank. He couldn’t believe his mother had just done that. She looked at him like he was dirt, like he was the worst thing in the world. He turned to his father, looking conformation that he wasn’t but all his father said was “We just need some time” and followed after his wife. Tears began to stream out of his eyes. He had never felt so alone, so abounded in his whole life. 

“They’ll be alright Luc, their just going to need time to get use it that all” he heard his sister say as she rose from the floor and stood by his side. Lucas couldn’t think straight; his head began to spin. “Why did she just walk away like that? How could they not even look at me? Did they not love me anymore?” Round and round the questions went. He wanted them to stop; he needed to get out of there. He couldn’t take being there for a second longer. He felt such pain at his parents reaction. All he could see was the look of disgust on his mother’s face. Lucas grabbed his coat, pushed passed his sister and ran out the door. He needed Tyler. As the door slammed behind him he could hear Charlie shouting after him, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to be there anymore. He couldn’t.