The Secrets We Share

Jay's cache of secrets is expanding to include more secrets about more people, some of which he can't share with even Dave or his Mom.

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The Secrets We Share Chapter Five

"If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Jay and Dave got off the bus the next day at school. Keith was standing talking with some of his teammates near the front door.

"Morning guys. Nice day today," Keith said as they walked past him.

"Yeah, nice enough I guess," Jay said in a non-committal way and kept walking,

"Are you going to go through with it?" Dave asked once they were inside the door.

"I haven't made up my mind yet. I mean it sounds good to get, you know, but it could backfire if anyone finds out."

"So just be careful and enjoy what he's offering. I would."

"It wouldn't bother you if I did?" Jay asked, hoping Dave would say yes so his decision would be made for him.

"Hell no, it would bother me if you didn't."

Jay was quiet all morning, trying to make up his mind what he wanted to do. Keith had run across Jay a few times in the morning but there were always people around so they couldn't talk freely. At lunch, Jay had set his tray on his table and was about to sit down when Keith walked up behind him and 'accidentally' bumped into him.

"Oh, sorry, freshman, I didn't see you there."

"No problem," Jay answered.

"Are we good?" Keith asked with a raised eyebrow and a wink.

"Yeah, we're good, real good."

The decision was made. Now Jay hoped he could live with it.

Jay didn't say anything to Dave until they got off the bus after school.

"Don't come over for a while, okay?" Jay told Dave.

"You hot shit! You're going to hook up with Keith and let him suck your cock. Way to go, stud," Dave said. "I'll come by in an hour. That should give you enough time for seconds as well."

"I'll be lucky if I get through the first time."

"Then maybe I'll give you seconds," Dave joked and gave Jay a shoulder bump.

Jay gave him a disgusted look. This might not have been his best idea.

Keith knocked on Jay's door about ten minutes after he got home.

"Hi Keith, come on in. You want a soda? I know you don't want anything to eat."

"A soda is good, thanks."

Keith was just as nervous as Jay, neither one sure of who would make the first move and what that move might be. Jay came back from the kitchen with two sodas and handed one to Keith. Keith took a couple of sips and looked around the living room.

"Should be do it here or upstairs in your room?" Keith asked.

"My room, I guess."

Jay headed for the stairs with Keith right behind him. They walked in Jay's room and Jay shut and locked the door. Keith noticed and asked Jay why he locked the door.

"Just to make sure no one finds out what we're doing."

"Ahh, discretion. I like that."

Jay sat on the edge of his bed and looked at Keith.

"I guess this is the moment of truth. I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Keith stuttered as he walked over to Jay. He knelt down in front of him and looked at Jay's crotch. "Are you going to take it out or am I?"

Jay didn't say a word and unzipped his pants. He lifted his hips and pulled his pants down to his ankles. He hesitated, swallowed hard and pulled his underwear down to reveal a semi hard cock.

"Damn, it's huge and it's not even hard yet. I hope I can fit it in my mouth," he joked as he brought his face closer to his target.

Keith put his hand on Jay's cock and held it out straight. Jay inhaled and felt a shiver run up his spine as the second person to ever touch his cock made this real. The touch was all it took for Jay's cock to swell up to it's full potential. Keith gave it a few strokes and then opened his mouth. He kept his eyes trained on the object in his hand as he moved it into this mouth, little by little, until his lips made contact with the tip. He opened his mouth wide and pushed his mouth down, scraping the shaft with his teeth.

"Fuck! Watch the teeth."

"Sorry."

Keith pulled back and moved his lips to cover his teeth as best he could. He went back down on Jay's cock and bobbed a few times, then pulled off.

"Better?" Keith asked.

"Yes, thanks."

Jay was starting to relax and enjoy his second blowjob in as many days. It wasn't feeling as good as Dave had done, but it wasn't bad. It was more of a mechanical exercise than he had felt with Dave. Jay hoped that Keith was finding it everything he thought it would be. Just then, Keith raked his teeth across Jay's stiff cock again.

"Damn it, keep those teeth covered."

Keith just nodded with Jay still in his mouth. With this teeth covered, Keith took as much cock as he could, gagging and coughing.

"Don't try and swallow the whole thing. Just concentrate on the head."

Nick had always deep throated Keith and he didn't want to give a bad blowjob so he tried to go deep again. Once more his teeth scraped Jay who instinctively pulled back. Jay looked down at his cock and saw red marks on the side of the shaft.

"Okay, one more time and I'll be extra careful," Keith promised.

He grabbed Jay's cock, starting to soften a little from the pain of the teeth, and squeezed it to keep it hard. He jammed it in his mouth and pushed down hard. Once more he gagged and coughed, only this time he spit up some bile, drooling it on Jay's bush when Jay pulled away.

"Enough! You've had a cock in your mouth so now you know what it's like," Jay said as he grabbed a T-shirt on the bed to wipe himself. Keith slumped back on his heels and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I'm sorry, Jay. I promise it will be better next time."

"Next time? You said you wanted to try and you've tried. Game over," Jay snarled.

"Come on, you've got to give me another chance. I can't walk away a looser. It's not in my nature."

"Oh, and being a good cocksucker is your nature?" Jay asked in disgust.

"You know what I mean. I really want to do this again."

"Maybe. But not until the battle scars on my cock heal," Jay said, looking down at his sore and red meat.

Keith stood up and extended his hand to Jay.

"No hard feeling?" then laughed at the unintentional pun he had made.

Jay flopped his soft cock around in a circle.

"Nope, no hard feelings here at all," Jay snickered.

"Great. Ah, you promise you're not going to say anything to anyone about this."

"You know I won't tell anyone. We'd both be screwed if this got out."

"Okay. See you in school tomorrow."

Jay walked down stairs with Keith and let him out the front door. Keith turned and waved with a blank expression on his face, then went to his car. Jay closed the door and went to take a shower. He felt dirty and violated, nothing like he felt after he and Dave had done this.

Jay came out of the shower and headed for his room, his towel over his head drying his hair as he walked. He got inside his door and removed to towel.

"What the hell?" Jay shouted as he stood naked in the doorway and spotted Dave sitting on the edge of his bed. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just happened to be in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop in and see how things went with Keith," Dave smirked. "You shouldn't leave your front door unlocked, you know."

"I know now!" Jay grumbled.

Jay had to sound upset but he was actually glad Dave had come over. The hook up with Keith was an absolute failure. Jay was so glad he and Dave had did this yesterday. Otherwise Jay might never want to try getting a blowjob from a guy.

Dave looked at Jay's red and scratched cock.

"Damn, I thought Keith was going to suck your cock. It looks like you let a mountain lion eat you."

"Keith kept uncovering his teeth and scraping me. I finally told him to stop when he went to deep and gagged. He wanted to try it but he had no idea what he was doing."

Dave stood up and came over to Jay, reaching his hand for Jay's soft cock.

"What you need is an expert taking care of you," Dave cooed.

"What I need is a week or two to recuperate and let the wounds heal. Sorry, but not going to play today." Jay said as he pulled away from Dave.

"That asshole. I should go offer him a blowjob and then bite his cock right off his body."

"I promise I'll make it up to you soon," Jay offered.

"I'm not going anywhere," Dave smiled.

Jay got dressed and they played video games until Dave had to go home for supper.

"See you tomorrow, Jay. Hope you're feeling better."

"Thanks. I don't think it could feel much worse."

Jay saw Keith a few times in school the next day. Keith just smiled sheepishly and nodded his head. Finally at lunch they had a chance to talk briefly.

"Hey, I'm sorry about yesterday," Keith apologized.

"We all have our talents. Nick had his talent and you throw a mean football. To each his own. No hard feelings, at least not until I heal," Jay laughed.

Keith's face turned red and he smiled and walked away.

The next few weeks were uneventful. Jay had healed and he and Dave had a couple of low key jerk off sessions. Christmas was on a Thursday this year so it was going to mean a ten day holiday break from school. Jay's Mom traded some shifts and didn't have to work Christmas Day but did have to work Christmas Eve from noon until midnight. She didn't want to leave Jay alone all that time so she got the okay from her supervisor to have Jay come to the ER at 5:00 and stay until midnight. Dave's family was leaving Christmas Eve around 5:00 to go spend Christmas with Dave's aunt so they agreed to drop Jay at the hospital. Jay and Dave planned to spend the afternoon at Jay's house until they left.

Dave showed up at Jay's house just as his Mom was leaving.

"Merry Christmas, Mrs. Martin." Dave greeted her at the door.

"And to you as well, Dave. Thank you for dropping Jay off later today. I didn't want to leave him alone on Christmas Eve."

"We're glad to help."

Jay and Dave went up stairs to play video games. After an hour, Dave said they should exchange gifts. They each brought out a wrapped present and handed them to each other. Jay opened a new video game and Dave opened a T-shirt with the logo of his favorite band on it. Dave pulled of the shirt he was wearing and put on his new shirt. He went to the mirror and spun around, looking at it from all angles.

"So how do I look?" Dave asked.

"Hot as always. The shirt looks pretty good too," Jay joked.

Jay walked up behind Dave and helped him take off the shirt.

"We wouldn't want to get it dirty already, would we?" Jay said with a smirk.

"Definitely not," Dave replied as the shirt was removed. " But why stop there?"

"You mean I get to unwrap my other present right now?"

They smiled at each other as Jay unbuttoned Dave' pants and pulled down the zipper. The pants dropped to the floor, then Jay put his fingers in the waistband of the underwear. He ran his fingers around the perimeter then snapped the elastic and let go.

"Hey, that hurt, jerk."

"Aw, is the baby boy hurt? Maybe daddy should kiss it all better?" Jay smiled.

Jay pulled the underwear down to his ankles. Dave kicked the pants and underwear off his ankles and stood legs apart and his boner sticking straight out.

"You can kiss what ever you want," Dave grinned and made his cock twitch up and down a few times.

"That's exactly what I had in mind. I think I'm ready to return the favor."

"Seriously? Then let's get you ready for action," Dave said as he pulled Jay's clothes off as fast as he could.

They walked to the bed, Dave sitting on the edge and Jay kneeling in front of him.

"Are you sure you want to do this? If you're not ready, we can wait," Dave said.

"I woke up at 6:00 this morning and this is all I've been thinking about all morning. Yes, I'm sure I'm ready."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Dave joked.

"Nothing," Jay answered as he extended his tongue towards Dave's cock. "There's a drop of something on the end of it. You're not pissing are you? Oh my god, that's gross. I'm not going to drink your piss. Eww, why would you do that to me. Go to the bathroom if you have to piss."

Dave fell back on the bed laughing, know full well that Jay was goofing with him.

"Piss or not, bitch, suck my cock!" Dave commanded in jest as he sat back up.

Jay giggled and licked the precum off of Dave's cock. Then he squeezed his cock and ran his hand up to the tip to get more clear liquid out.

"If this is piss, it's the tastiest piss I've ever tasted."

"Really? How often have you tasted piss?"

"Just this one time."

The two boys were giggling and laughing as Jay licked the sides of the shaft then opened his mouth and let the stiff tool slide in. All the laughing stopped, as this was now serious business.

Jay was surprised that there was no taste to Dave's member, other than the precum that was still leaking. He thought for sure that it would be like putting his mouth on a sweaty, smelly foot. There was a pleasant odor emanating from Dave's crotch, a manly smell that was enhancing Jay's experience. He had made sure to cover his teeth and was moving up and down, twisting his head from side to side. He had a hold of the base and would tighten his gripe now and then to bring more precum to the tip. Jay's other hand was rubbing Dave's thighs then fondling his balls. Jay was really getting into this and wondered why he was so reluctant to do this with his best friend. But he really was doing it. The same way that Dave had done to him. The feeling of Dave cock throbbing in his mouth and knowing how much pleasure he was giving Dave was pushing his excitement to the limit.

Dave looked down on Jay as his tongue licked his cock clean, the sensation of Jay's tongue causing his cock to twitch. The warm wet mouth encompassing the most private and intimate part of his body was beyond what he had imagined it would feel like. As a male, you always protect that area of your body, being quick to cover it with your hands if it's in any immanent danger. But now to have his legs wide open and his cock consumed by his best friend made Dave realize that he wouldn't last to long. He moved his hips back and pulled his cock from Jay's mouth.

"What's the matter, did I do it wrong?" Jay asked.

"Fuck no, you're amazing. I wasn't going to last much longer so I have a better idea."

"Better than letting me finish and cumming in my mouth?" Jay questioned.

'Much better. Come up on the bed and swing around so your cock is in my face and mine is in yours."

"Oh, I get the idea," Jay said as he moved into the position Dave had described.

As soon as they were comfortable, they looked down at each other, smiled and took each other's cock in their mouths. Dave was right. This was a much better idea. The boys soon got into a rhythm of bobbing up and then down on each other at the same time. It was as if they were sucking their own cocks. Dave reached around and grabbed Jay's ass cheeks and pulled their bodies tightly together. Jay did the same and they became one hot sweaty mess of flesh. Dave always had the quickest trigger and was the first to shoot his cum in Jay's mouth. He didn't bother to let Jay know he was about to fill is mouth with salty white goo because he didn't want to break the mood. Dave had no sooner finished emptying his balls then Jay let loose with a torrent of sperm like never before. The two boys had swallowed as much as they could and lay catching their breath with each other's softening cocks still in their mouths. They finally rolled on their backs, lying next to each other.

"Thanks, Jay, that was the best blowjob I've ever had," Dave commented.

"Not like all the others, huh?" Jay shot back with a giggle.

"Nope, this was the best. Always will be no matter how many more I get. Did you like it?"

"Yeah, right up until the time you came."

"Sorry I didn't let you know I was ready to shoot my load."

"No, not that, once you came I knew we were done and I couldn't keep sucking you."

"Not for a least another half hour," Dave teased.

"I can live with that. I'm so glad we did it like that. We'll have to think up more ways to do it."

"Or different places?" Dave added.

"What ever. As long as we keep doing it, I'm happy. I need a soda, you want one too?" Jay asked.

"Sounds good."

Jay got off the bed and went to put his pants on to go downstairs.

"Hey, wait, I've got an idea."

"I liked your last idea. What this idea?"

"Come on, I'll show you," Dave said as he took Jay's hand and led him out of the bedroom.

"Let me at least put on some pants," Jay protested.

"No, that's my idea. No one is home so we can stay naked," Dave grinned.

He told Jay about being naked while he cleaned up the paint in the garage and being in the kitchen naked..

"It was really hot."

"You're perverted, you know that?"

"Come on, you'll see what I mean."

The boys went downstairs, Jay looking around nervously to make sure no one was home. They went to the kitchen to get a couple of sodas from the refrigerator. The cool air from the open refrigerator door hit his naked body causing him to shiver. It also reminded him that he was naked, making his cock begin to chub up.

"See, I told you it would be fun," Dave confirmed when he saw Jay reacting to the cool air.

Dave reached over and took Jay's cock in his hand and squeezed it.

"It's even better when you have a friend to enjoy it with."

Jay faced Dave and smiled, reaching out to take Dave's cock in his hand as well.

"Okay, so now we have a soda in one hand and a cock in the other. What's next?"

"What ever comes naturally," Dave snickered as he began to stroke Jay. "Let's move to the living room and get comfortable."

The boys went and sat side by side on the couch, Dave putting one leg over Jay's leg. Then reached over and stroked each other, slow and steady, knowing this orgasm would take a while, enjoying the touch of each other's hands on their respective cocks. First Dave, then Jay, shooting a much smaller load than just a half hour ago, but just as satisfying.

They went up stairs and showered, one at a time, and got dressed.

"What better way to spend the day before Christmas," Dave commented.

Jay just smiled and gave Dave a quick bro hug. Dave's family showed up and picked up Jay to drop him at the hospital.

"Thanks for the ride. Enjoy Christmas day with you aunt." Jay told Dave.

"I will but it won't be as much fun as today was."

Jay went inside and met his Mom at the nurse's station.

"Jay, this is my supervisor, Nurse Benson. She's the boss here so mind what she says."

"Of course, Mom."

"Hello Jay, I'm glad to finally meet you. Your Mom has told me so much about you."

"I'm glad to meet you as well," Jay politely replied.

"Here's a set of blue scrubs you can put on so you look like you belong here," Nurse Benson said handing him a top and bottom to wear.

"Perfect timing. It's my supper break. Let's go get something to eat," Jay's Mom said after he had donned his blue scrubs over his street clothes.

Jay and his Mom went to the cafeteria and had almost finished eating when her pager went off summoning her back to the ER. Jay grabbed the two puddings they hadn't had a change to eat yet and took them with him.

When they got back to the ER, every cubicle was filled with patients, three of them with policemen standing guard at the doors. Jay was curious to know why the police were there but knew better than to ask. Nurse Benson was like a battlefield commander, directing her staff in different directions all at the same time with different jobs to care for each patient. Jay sat in a chair at the back of the nurse's station and looked on in awe at everyone calmly hurrying from one task to the next. Finally things slowed down as each crisis was brought under control. Nurse Benson looked back at Jay.

"Quite a show, huh?" she asked with a smile.

"Wow! Is it always like this?"

"Not usually. Holidays and weekends are the worst. I'm glad your Mom is here tonight. She is one of the best nurses we have. She never gets rattled and she just goes about her business."

Jay beamed with pride at Nurse Benson's praise for his Mom.

"Why are so many policeman here?" Jay finally asked.

"For privacy reasons, I can't give out too much information but one of the patients got stabbed in a fight, one is a drunk driver injured in a crash and the third one is a minor who was in a fight. The policeman is keeping an eye on him until his mother gets here."

"Damn! Oops excuse my language."

"That's okay, it can get overwhelming in here at times until you get used to it. Could you do me a big favor?"

"Certainly. Anything you want," Jay replied.

"Could you take this paperwork up to the lab. They forgot to take it with them when they collected blood samples for the alleged drunk driver. Go down the hallway and take a left, the lab will be halfway down that hallway. I take it myself but I don't dare leave right now."

"I'm glad to help. I'll be right back if you need anything else."

Jay took the paperwork and headed for the lab, happy to be a part of the team. He dropped the papers and headed back to the ER.

"All delivered," Jay reported.

"Yes, they just called asking who was the new orderly," she said with a chuckle. "I told them you were just a fill in for the night."

"Is there anything else I can do?"

"Yes, actually. The patient in cubicle three has been asking for some water. He been asking for a while but he can't have water just yet until we take x-rays and learn the extent of his injuries. If you could take him a cup of ice that would hold him for now. Tell him to suck on the ice and let it melt in his mouth."

Jay garbed a cup and filled it with ice from the ice machine. He headed down to cubicle number three. He was on his second mission, wearing blue scrubs and feeling like he really was a part of the staff.

He pushed open the door and slipped inside. The boy in the bed had his eyes closed, or at least the good one. His left eye was swollen shut, there was a gash on his forehead and his nose and lips had been bleeding. This poor boy had taken one hell of a beating.

He walked up to the side of the bed and quietly said,

"I've brought you some ice. You can't have water yet so let the ice melt in your mouth."

The one good eye shot open and through the swollen lips, Jay heard a familiar but unsteady voice.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" the voice barked.

Holy fuck! It was Nick in the bed.

"Nick? What the hell happened? Jay asked in astonishment.

Jay assumed that Nick had picked on the wrong person and got his ass kicked. As soon as he asked Nick, he thought about the warning Nurse Benson had given him about patient privacy.

"I'm sorry, Nick, it's none of my business. I just brought you some ice."

Nick struggled to raise his head to reach the cup in Jay's outstretched hand.

"No, don't try and lift your head. They want to take X-rays before you move around too much to see if anything is broken."

"Everything is broken! What are you, fucking blind?" Nick growled.

"I have s spoon and can give you some ice. Open you mouth," Jay said as he pulled the spoon from his pocket he had saved for his pudding.

"Easier said than done, asshole!"

Jay knew that Nick must be in pain and was lashing out at because of it. Jay scooped up some ice and brought it gently to Nick's swollen lips. Nick opened his lips as much as he could, letting Jay put a small amount of ice in his mouth.

"Let that melt and I'll give you some more."

Jay stood back and waited until Nick opened his mouth again. Jay saw himself like a mother bird feeding her baby, waiting for the mouth to open before giving it any more. Jay put the rest of the spoonful in Nick's mouth and refilled the spoon. They repeated this several times until Nick signaled he had enough.

"Thanks, I feel better. You didn't answer my question, why are you here? "

"My Mom is a nurse here and she had to work tonight so she brought me along. I'm just trying to help out, that's all."

"You better keep your mouth shut about this, if you know what's good for you," Nick threatened.

"Patient confidentiality. I can't say any thing if I wanted to, which I don't," Jay responded like a true medical professional. "Do you want some ice before I go?"

"No, I'm good, thanks."

Jay turned to leave the room when Nick spoke out.

"You answered my question, but I didn't answer yours?"

Jay thought for a moment then remembered he had asked Nick what happened to him.

"Your business, not any of mine."

"I fell out of bed," Nick replied bluntly.

Jay turned back to Nick and started to snicker.

"You think this is funny?"

"No, not you. That just reminded me of a nursery rhythm. I didn't mean to laugh."

"What nursery rhythm?"

"Rock a bye baby on the tree top, when the wind blows the cradle will rock, When the bough breaks the cradle will fall, And down will come baby, cradle and all," Jay recited the rhythm his Mom used to sing to him when he was a baby.

Nick's face went blank the a few tears dripped from his open eye.

"Oh my god, I haven't heard that in years. My mother used to sing that to me to get me to go to sleep."

"Mine too. When you said you fell out of bed the first thing that came to mind was the line about the cradle and the baby falling."

Nick was starting to get more emotional. He looked around the cubicle and then back at Jay.

"Where's my mother anyway? Is she here? She didn't get arrested too, did she?" Nick asked in a panic.

"They said you mother was on her way here. That's why there is a cop here until she arrives." Jay informed him.

"A cop is here? Am I under arrest too?" Nick said as he started to raise his head off the bed.

"Keep your head down. You're not under arrest that I know of. Why would you or your mother be arrested? " Jay asked again, his curiosity getting the better of his discretion.

Nick looked around again and motioned Jay to come closer. Jay moved in close and waited for Nick to talk.

"My father did this to me."

"Damn, that's not right. Why did he do that?"

Nick started to cry, trying to lift his hand to wipe away the tears. Jay could see that it was painful so Jay took the napkin he had in his pocket and gently dabbed the tears on Nick's cheek.

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" Nick pleaded.

"Nick, you know I can keep a secret. Nobody knows anything about all the shit I know."

"My father has been molesting me since I hit puberty. He's made him suck him a couple times a week. He even tried to fuck me but it hurt so much I yelled out and he stopped, fearing I wake up my mother. He even made me suck Keith to get playing time. But you already know that part."

"I knew you did, but I didn't know that your father made you do it. So why the beating?"

"There was a Christmas party at the garage where he works. He came home really drunk and wanted me to suck him but he couldn't get it up. I got angry and called him a limp dick and a flaccid fagot. He didn't take kindly to that and this is the result," Nick said pointing a finger to his face.

"Shit, you've got to report him. He can't get away with this." Jay said as the anger built up within him.

Now he understood the anger that had been festering in Nick and why his only outlet was to bully other people the same way he was bullied.

"NO, you promised you wouldn't say anything. Please, you can't. If this got out my next beating would be to my death."

Jay reached out and took Nick's hand in his. Nick squeezed it hard and didn't let go. He smiled at Jay having the weight of years of abuse lifted off his shoulders. He knew it might not change anything, but now someone knew what he was going through.

Just then Nick's mother flew through the door.

"Oh my god, Nick, I'm so sorry this happened," she exclaimed. She looked at Jay and asked, "Who is this? Leave us alone, right now. You don't belong here."

"Mother, this is my friend from school. I told him everything, he knows, mother, he knows," Nick confessed.

"You keep your mouth shut and get the hell out of here!" she yelled.

Jay was scared and tried to let go of Nick's hand so he could get out quickly but Nick held on with a death grip.

"No, mother, I want him to stay. He has to stay." Nick said with determination in his voice.

She glared at Jay and then turned back to Nick.

"Where's father? Did he get arrested?" Nick asked.

"Yes. They are going to hold him overnight and then release him in the morning if we don't press charges. I'm not sure if I want him freed for Christmas Day or keep him in jail."

"Look at me, mother, look at me. You want that monster to come home and do this to me again, or worse?" Nick said as tears began to roll down his face again. "Let the son of a bitch rot in jail!"

Jay instinctively moved to wipe Nick's face but his mother grabbed Jay's hand and stopped him.

"That's a mother's job."

She took a handkerchief out of her purse and rubbed Nick's cheek like she was trying to scrub off the cuts and bruising.

"Ow, damn it, take it easy. You're hurting me."

Nick's outburst brought Jay's mother into the cubicle to see what was going on.

"Jay, what are you doing in here. Get back to the nurse's station right this minute," his Mom barked at him.

"Please, can he stay. I don't want him to leave," Nick implored her.

She did some quick thinking on her feet and explained to Nick that Jay was needed to help care for another patient. His mother was going to have to leave for a few minutes so the portable x-ray machine could come in and take pictures of Nick's upper body. Nick reluctantly let go of Jay's hand and made him promise to come back as soon as he was done with the other patient.

"Jason Martin, just what do you think you're doing in there with a patient? His Mom barked at him as soon as they were outside the cubicle"

"Nurse Benson had me take him some ice. I didn't know it was Nick from school. We just got talking and he didn't want me to leave. I didn't mean any harm."

"You get back to the station and sit back down in your chair. I'll deal with you later."

He scurried back as quick as he could so he didn't upset his Mom any more than she already was. Nurse Benson picked her head up from her paperwork and looked at Jay.

"What was that ruckus all about?"

Jay explained to her what had happened and apologized.

"He hasn't said a word since he was brought in here. You got him talking?"

"We're friends in school so he felt comfortable talking to me," Jay explained.

"Did he tell you what happened to him?"

Jay thought for a minute and then replied trying to hide a smile.

"Honestly, he said he fell out of bed."

"Where was he sleeping, on the roof. Seriously, what did he say," she asked again.

"I hope you don't get mad at me, but he asked me not to tell anyone. In the interest of protecting a patient's privacy I don't think I should reveal what our conversation was about."

Nurse Benson looked at Jay with a stern look on her face. She turned back towards her desk and had all she could do not to break out laughing. Jay had turned her instructions against her. Clever boy.

Jay's Mom came into the nurse's station and went right over to Jay.

"Well, young man, what have you got to say for yourself?"

Before Jay could speak, Nurse Benson interrupted.

"Your son and I have already handled the matter. It's done."

"But, I want to . . ."

"No, it's done. The matter was between my new orderly and myself and we've discussed it. Now go check on those x-rays and see how badly he is injured."

Jay's Mom was very quiet the rest of the evening. Nurse Benson sent Jay on a few more errands outside of the ER. On the way home after the shift was over, Jay's Mom finally talked to him.

"So, what have you got to say about tonight?" she asked.

"I was impressed by your professionalism and the way your took care of what ever a patient needed."

"That's not what I mean and you know it. I talking about the incident with that boy, Nick. His mother told me her husband had beaten him but I think there is more to it than that."

"Mom, you know I can't break a patient's confidentiality," Jay told her.

"That line of crap worked on Nurse Benson, but it won't work on me."

Jay took a deep breath and had to decide if he was going to stonewall his Mom or break his word to Nick. No matter what punishment his Mom handed out, Jay felt it was important to keep his word.

"Nick told me what led up to the fight but made me promise not to tell anyone. As much as you want to me to tell you, I can't break my promise. I hope you understand."

Jay's Mom stopped the car and hugged Jay.

"How did I ever get such a perfect son?" she asked.

"Good genes, I guess."

She pulled out and kept driving home.

Now Jay was keeping secrets from his Mom. Christ, how far would this go? Who would be next? What would she think of his when the truth came out, which Jay was sure it would. There is no way that years of sexual abuse would be swept under the rug, not now that the police were involved.

They got home just after midnight and pulled in the driveway. Jay had a brief panic attack. He looked around quickly to see if Dave or Keith was hiding in the bushes for another round of sex. He took a deep breath and realized how silly he was being.

"Promise me you won't wake me up at first light to open presents like you've always done," his Mom laughed.

"No way. I'm sleeping in and we can open presents when we get to them," Jay replied.

His Mom gave him a kiss on the forehead and they went to bed.

Jay and his Mom had a wonderful Christmas Day. They opened presents, made a big meal, reminisced about past Christmases, longingly remembering Jay's Dad. Dave called mid afternoon to wish Jay and his Mom a Merry Christmas. He told Jay that he would be home on Monday and they had to get together. Jay was all for that. He had two more days without having to worry about keeping anyone's secrets. He was going to enjoy the solitude.

Thank you for following my story. Please feel free to share your thoughts, good or bad. I always enjoy hearing back from my readers.

Jonathan Perkins Tryitlikeit27@yahoo.com