Chapter Four: Is it over?

Finishing up his last shift at the bookstore, Jayden excitedly handed over his uniform to the boss, eager to get out of here to meet his boyfriend. He was allowed to call him that now; he was no longer just some stalker that drew him from the sidelines of the pitch. He was actually a real boyfriend to someone, an amazing guy that had practically taught him the ropes of his sexuality.

He quickly said goodbye to the few friends he had made over the summer, before he hurried out to his Camero parked outside. The plan was to meet Reid at his apartment, like usual. They'd probably end up playing a few video games, drinking a few beers, before they started making out again. Reid had yet to pop the younger boy's cherry, deciding to let him learn about all the other pleasures they could experience together before he dropped that bomb on him.

Instead of getting a change of clothes, Jayden drove straight over there, knowing the way like the back of his hand. He hurried up the two flights of stairs, surprised to find the door to his apartment left open slightly.

Jayden gave the door a light knock, slowly stepping inside to find out where Reid was. There was no sign of him in the kitchen or the front room, so he made his way towards the bedroom, feeling his heart sinking in his chest as he saw two people lying on Reid's bed. They were still fully clothed, Reid partially was anyway. He was wearing a pair of his cargo shorts that ended just below his knee. His beautiful bare chest and stomach was exposed, and a hand that wasn't his own was resting over his stomach.

Jayden felt sick to his stomach. He felt so stupid. He had completely invested himself and his trust in this boy, when he had been seeing someone else the whole time. Jayden hadn't even stepped foot in his bedroom before, let alone sat on the edge of the bed, but the boy in his bed right now was close enough to him to feel his breath on his skin.

He clumsily bumped into a side table in his haste to get away, alerting Reid and the other boy of his presence. Before they could get a good look at him, Jayden slipped away out the door, taking the stairs down two at a time as he could feel tears in his eyes, threatening to spill.

He should have seen this coming. He was just another notch on Reid's belt; he was never going to be anything serious to him. He should have paid more attention to those stupid stories his friend used to read to him. She knew her stuff after all.

"Jay, Jay!" Reid hurried down the stairs after him, struggling to put his arms through the sleeves of the t-shirt he had pulled on over his head. "Wait up a sec." He caught the younger boy's arm at the bottom of the stairs. "Wait; give me a chance to explain."

"I don't wonna hear it." Jayden kept his head down, not letting Reid see the tears in his eyes.

"Jay wait, what you saw... it wasn't. We're not." Reid struggled to explain, realising how much he had hurt him with what he had seen. "It's Lloyd. He came back."

Jayden lifted his head, revealing the tears running down his cheeks. "So he's back and I'm out of the picture?" He spoke softly, trying to keep his lower lip from quivering. "Its fine, I understand. I have to go." He pulled his arm away from the older boy, quickly turning for the door again.

"It's not like that." Reid followed him outside, wincing as his bare foot hit a sharp stone. "Ah... Jay, wait please... let me explain. I'm not back together with him." He caught up to Jayden before he climbed into his car. "I'm not, I swear. I love you." He blurted it out, stopping Jayden from what he was doing. "He came back... I wasn't expecting him... I didn't even know he'd be here, he just showed up."

"Then why were you on your bed with him? He's your ex."

"Yeah, I know that looked bad," Reid agreed with him, anxiously scratching the back of his neck. "He came by at a bad time. I was waiting for you. I just got off the phone with my Mom. My father's been in a car accident." He paused as his voice broke, feeling as though he was about to burst into tears himself. "He's pretty beat up, they're not sure if he's gonna make it. I left my door open for you, but he came in. I didn't know he was here, I swear."

Feeling as though he was the one in the wrong here, Jayden took a step closer to the tearful jock, gently wrapping his arms around him. Reid immediately let out a sigh of relief, clutching the younger boy's body tightly in his embrace.

"Do you want me to drive you to see your Dad?" Jayden queried, knowing if he declined the offer then it was all just a lie to try and win his trust back.

"Yeah." Reid nodded, indicating towards his bare feet as he took a step away from him. "I need my trainers."

"I'll get em." He unlocked his car, feeling his heart breaking for Reid as he had never seen him hurting like this. He had seen a glimpse of it when he was telling him about Lloyd a few weeks ago, but he had always been so happy, lively and cocky since then. He opened the passenger side door of his car, allowing Reid to climb inside, before he turned back to the door behind him.

Lloyd was just walking out as he looked up, looking very cute and much older looking than him. Jayden could easily see why Reid liked him. He reminded him of a familiar good looking actor from The Notebook movie that he had been forced to watch with his fan-girl best friend.

Ryan Gosling.

He even had the same gorgeous sandy blonde hair style as the actor. He didn't know why Reid was with him when he could have a Ryan Gosling look-a-like. Even he would choose Lloyd, he was gorgeous.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Jayden quickly turned for the stairs, hurrying up them towards Reid's apartment door. He hoped that Lloyd hadn't closed it behind him, as he didn't exactly have a key to get inside. The door was still slightly open though, making him sigh in relief. He grabbed for Reid's scruffy sneakers behind the door, along with a set of keys to the apartment, before he hurried back outside to Reid.

Lloyd was nowhere to be seen, thankfully, and Reid was still in the car, drying his tears away with his fingertips. The younger boy climbed into the car with him, fetching him a tissue from the pack he always kept handy in his glove compartment. "Here." He handed it over to him. "I'm sorry I..."

"I'd be pretty pissed too." Reid stopped him there, leaning back in his seat while he dried his eyes. "I'm sorry you walked in on that. I never wanted to hurt you like that. I know exactly how it feels and I would never do that to you. He just stopped by to see me. He came by at a bad time, so I didn't kick him out..."

"I understand." Jayden spoke softly, starting up his car. "Buckle up; I'll take you to see your Dad."

He drove him off to the hospital, holding his hand as they walked through the halls. It turned out that he wasn't lying to keep him, as his mother was in the relative's waiting area, talking to a doctor dressed in scrubs, with a surgical mask around his neck. He appeared to be delivering bad news to the woman, from the tears that Jayden could see rolling down her cheeks.

He felt Reid clutch his hand tighter, before the older boy bravely took a few steps closer into the room in an attempt to hear what the doctor was saying to his mother. Without his boyfriend's hand in his own, he felt as though he wouldn't have even been able to walk through the front door. He felt like his lifeline at the moment, keeping him from falling apart.

"Reid." His mother finally spotted her son, not noticing that he was holding hands with the boy beside him. She ushered him closer, gently pulling her son into her embrace. "He's just been in surgery, sweetheart. He ruptured his spleen in the accident. They managed to stop the bleeding, but now they're concerned about the bleeding on his brain. All we can do is wait while they try to fix the problem. Who's this?" She finally acknowledged the presence of the younger boy.

"Oh... uh... this is my... friend... Jayden." Reid nervously introduced him to his mother.

"I'm sure I saw you at the hospital when Reid broke his arm." She remembered, giving the young boy a smile. "Thank you for being there for my son. He's very sensitive behind that stereotypical jock front that he puts on. You don't look like a jock yourself. If you took one step on that field, they'd break you in half."

"Yeah, he works at the shop with me." Reid answered for him, holding his hand behind his back, so that his mother wouldn't notice. "When can we see him?" He changed the subject back to his father.

"Oh, not for a while yet." His mother dabbed her eyes, holding her son's free hand between her own. "He's gone back into surgery again. We can wait; you're welcome to stay too, Jayden. I'm going to go and find a coffee machine or something. Look after my bag." She pointed to it on the chair behind her.

Jayden watched the woman walking away, feeling guilty for deceiving such a heart broken woman. He was in love with her son and she had no idea about their relationship or what her son got up to while he was away at college. He couldn't leave though; he'd feel guilty for leaving his boyfriend when he really needed him if he did.

Reid took a seat beside his mother's bag, gently pulling Jayden down with him. The younger boy sat on the chair beside him, clutching his hand tightly in his own to let him know that he was there for him.

After all, it was the only thing he could do for him now.

Author's Note:

Never thought I'd update this again. I'm mostly into writing fanfiction stories at the moment.

Let me know what you thought of it please!

~ Holly