Swimming to Freedom

by Robbie Michaels

  Brandon tore into the envelope, pulled out its contents and examined it, his eyes going as wide as humanly possible.

  “Holy fuck!” he whispered.

  “You are going to college,” Jeremy said emphatically.

  “Holy fuck,” Brandon repeated. “This can’t be real.” He flipped the check over and looked at the backside, before flipping it back over to reread the front. “This can’t be real. This has to be a trick. He’d never… he’d never do this. No. This is a trick. It has to be.”

  “No, it’s real. That check is to cover the cost of your college education. And anything left afterward is yours to do with as you wish to get yourself established in life. But you need to go to college.”

  “No. We’re both going to college. Half of this is yours.”

  “No. I’m not there right now. Hell, I may never be. I don’t know. I didn’t expect to ever have it as an option. I may. I may not. I don’t know what the future holds for me.”

  “Then half of this money goes into reserve for you.”

  “No,” Jeremy said shaking his head.

  “Yes,” Brandon practically yelled at his brother.

  “No. That check is yours. It’s for you and your education. I got a separate check from him to cover college costs for me if I decide to go. I honestly don’t know if I can go back and be a student. It hasn’t been that many years, but I don’t know if I could do the whole student thing again or not. And besides, you were always the smart one. I was never as smart as you, so getting you into college is far more important than it is for me.”

  “You can do it.”

  “I don’t know. I’m not making any decision one way or the other right now. I’m not ruling anything in or out. I only just got this worked out with him last night, so I haven’t had long enough for this to sink in and be real yet.”

  “How… how in the world… how did you ever get him to part with money? He valued money more than he did anything else. He certainly never spent any on anyone but himself.”

  “It wasn’t easy. It took a little fancy footwork on my part. A couple of threats too, but those are secret.”

  “Tell me,” Brandon asked, intrigued.

  “They wouldn’t be secret anymore if I went around telling people, now would they?”

  “No!” Brandon told his brother with a smile that threatened to split his face in two.

  “Tell you what,” Jeremy said. “If you’re still interested in, let’s say in five years, I’ll tell you.”

  “Has it been five years yet?” Brandon laughed.

  “I don’t know. Where’s that college diploma of yours?” Jeremy teased.

  They headed back toward Tyler’s house, Brandon working hard to process what his brother had told him and some of the roadblocks to his future Jeremy had simply brushed aside without breaking a sweat.

  “Now that we’ve got the easy part done with,” Jeremy said.

  “Wait. That was the easy part? Do I need to sit down? I’m not sure I can handle anything more shocking and life altering than the contents of this envelope.”

  “You can handle it.”

  Brandon stopped walking, turned to face his brother and said, “Okay, hit me with it. Let’s get the tough stuff started.”

  “Tell me about Tyler.”

  “I thought you said this was going to be tough.”

  “It is more important than anything we’ve talked about so far. I want to know about him. I want you to tell me how you met. I want you to tell me everything. I want to know if he treats you right. If he doesn’t, I need to know so I can talk to him and correct that problem right now.”

  “No, he treats me great. He…. I love him.” Brandon and Jeremy walked slowly as Brandon shared his story with his brother. He omitted nothing, like all the details about the Saturdays Tyler and Joel gave up to help him do never-ending lists of chores from their father and have some time together. He told Jeremy about how it drove their father nuts to have Joel whisk them away after the chores were finished so that they could have some time together by themselves at Joel’s house.

  Jeremy was furious when he heard the part about Brandon having to live for weeks under a bridge. Brandon was terribly worried when his brother got so angry his face turned red. It was a scarier thought when he told Jeremy about the flash flood and his face went from red and furious to pale white and shaky.

  With no warning, Jeremy pulled Brandon into a hug and held him tight for nearly a full minute. “Thank goodness you’re okay. If anything had—”

  “Nothing did. I made it to safety. It’s over. It’s done. It’s history.”

  “It might be history, but that history is part of you now. You’ll never be rid of that. It is part of who you are now.”

  “And I like to think I’m stronger because of going through that nightmare.”

  “If I’d known all of this before I met with the old man, I would have demanded double the money I got for you because he owes you.”

  “Not anymore. He’s irrelevant to me now.”

  Resuming their walk back toward the house, Brandon asked, “Does Joel know about the money?”

  “No. I haven’t told anyone.”

  “We’d better pick up the pace,” Brandon said, “since they’re probably back there thinking the worst.”

  “Like what?” Jeremy asked with a laugh.

  “Like you don’t approve of me being gay and you’re trying to talk me out of it.”

  “Hell, no. I wouldn’t… I couldn’t. And besides, Joel’s sister is the one who clued me in to this whole thing. She and I have known each other forever. And one thing I’ve learned is that there is no way I’m pissing her off. I mean, really, have you met the woman? She’s fiercely protective. I took her along when I went to meet with the old man. She was like a pit bull held back by a thin leather leash that was seriously frayed. I was a little scared, and I knew she was on my side. He was just plain sweating bullets with the glares she sent his way. She looked like she wanted to break free and bite him in half for causing pain to one of her family. And I think she would have if I’d asked her to.”

  “I’ll have to keep that in mind. I don’t know her at all.”

  “She’s a good person to have on your side. And she’s just a good person too. I like her girlfriend as well.”

  “I didn’t know she had a girlfriend,” Brandon said.

  “Yep. I don’t know where she’s from originally.”

  As the house came into view again, the first thing Brandon saw was Joel sitting back against his car and Tyler pacing back and forth in front of him, looking worried.

  “It looks like someone is a bit anxious,” Jeremy whispered to Brandon. “Poor guy.”

  “Let’s go tell him he doesn’t need to worry.”

  “I agree,” Jeremy said.

  Chapter 19—A New Life

  THAT NIGHT Brandon slept better than he’d expected. He was so excited his brother was back. After years of wondering and worrying about what had happened to Jeremy, Brandon finally had answers. The next morning Jeremy returned to take Brandon out to breakfast and to spend the day with him.

  “Are you home to stay now?” Brandon asked his brother.

  “No. This place isn’t home for me anymore.”

  “So you’ll… you’ll be going back?”

  “Yep. I have a job. It’s tough work, but its good work. I like my coworkers. They’re a great bunch of guys. And I’m making good money. Living expenses are cheap since I spend so much of my time on the rigs where the company pays for everything.”

  “So when do you have to leave?”

  “I head back tomorrow,” Jeremy said after hesitating for a moment.

  Brandon nodded in acknowledgment but said nothing at first. When he spoke, he didn’t hold anything back. “I hate the thought of you leaving,” he said suddenly, surprisingly close to tears. He couldn’t quite understand why he felt so upset.

  “I’m sorry, but I have to. We’re not going to l
ose track of one another this time.” Handing Brandon a piece of paper, he added, “There is my cell phone number, my address, such as it is, and the name and number of the company I work for. Oh, and I put my email address on there, but getting emails can be tricky sometimes.”

  Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Brandon smiled at his brother. “Thanks. This helps. A lot.” He pulled a piece of paper from his wallet and wrote out all of his contact information, which he handed over to Jeremy.

  “Now promise me that you’re going to go off to college in a few weeks. They’re expecting you. You and Tyler are going to share a room on campus. You’ve got the money to pay for it now. And without Dad hounding you every step of the way, you can swim if you want or not. The choice is yours.”

  “I love the water. I feel at home there.”

  “I’ve heard from several people that you’re a really powerful swimmer too.”

  “I do okay,” Brandon acknowledged a bit shyly.

  When Jeremy dropped Brandon off at Tyler’s house that evening, Tyler’s parents invited him to join them for dinner before he headed back to where he was staying with Joel’s sister.

  Brandon felt a bit comforted and conflicted during that dinner. Usually he was most aware of Tyler’s presence, but that night his attention was split in two, part on Tyler but more on Jeremy. He wanted them both to be part of his life and relished the brief moment when he had just that.

  “I hope not too many people in town knew Brandon was living under the bridge all those weeks,” Jeremy said to Tyler’s father when there was a lull in conversation.

  “Oh, everyone knew,” Tyler’s dad said.

  “Excuse me?” Jeremy said, shocked.

  “Jeremy, everyone knows everything about everyone else in a small town. Once we got back home, in the days right after that I had a lot of folks around town tell me he was there. They all knew he’d been staying with us, so they wanted me to know about what was going on.”

  “And I thought I was being so careful,” Brandon said, shaking his head.

  “That’s the way things work in a place like this. I’ve always suspected it’s because there isn’t much else to do but watch what everyone else is doing.”

  “I haven’t lived in a place this size in years,” Jeremy admitted. “So I’ve forgotten a lot of how it works. If they all knew, why do you think they didn’t offer to help him?”

  “That’s another part of life in rural America—you don’t get involved in some other family’s drama.”

  “But they’ll talk about it,” Jeremy said with a sad shake of his head.

  “Of course,” Tyler’s dad said, joining him in laughing about small-town life.

  FOR THE remainder of that summer, six days a week, Brandon and Tyler worked full-time at the farm stand. After work Tyler drove them home, and Brandon helped out around the house wherever he and Tyler could be useful. Together they mowed the yard… well, Brandon mowed since he quickly learned that Tyler hated to mow. Washing cars proved to be the next most entertaining thing, or at least Brandon thought so when he had the hose in hand, not so much when Tyler had it. Still, with the heat of the summer, it was a relief for both of them. Painting the living room was hot work.

  Even though they ended up laughing and getting more paint on each other than they did on the wall on their first attempt. Brandon was concerned Tyler’s dad was going to be upset with them when he saw what they’d been doing, but was pleasantly surprised to see Tyler’s dad burst out laughing when he walked into the room they had been painting, at least theoretically.

  Tyler and Brandon swam every other day in the pool where Tyler’s team had trained. It took a bit of work to get back to where he’d been earlier, but Brandon got there.

  Brandon was embarrassed when Tyler brought up an uncomfortable subject one night over dinner. In fact, he nearly choked when he heard what Tyler was asking.

  “So, about this whole not sleeping together thing,” Tyler started.

  Brandon wanted to hit him. He loved him and adored being naked with him, but right at that particular moment in time, all Brandon wanted to do was to smack some common sense into him.

  “I know that you’ve probably already been together… sexually,” Tyler’s dad said, obviously uncomfortable at discussing the topic with his son.

  “We have,” Tyler said very matter-of-factly. Tyler appeared to be completely comfortable with the topic, but Brandon felt himself blush seven shades of red. He wanted to slip down out of his chair and disappear into a big hole that he pulled in after himself. But he couldn’t do that. “It’s not like it’s something we haven’t already done—we’re not virgins—so why can’t we continue to do what we’ve done many times?”

  “Tyler, you’re my son and it’s hard for me to think of you as an adult.”

  “What about when we get breaks from school and come back here?” Tyler asked. Brandon wished he could kick Tyler and tell him to let it go, but the angle wouldn’t let him.

  “I… I guess things will be different then. You’ll be coming back to us as… I guess as men. But for now, until you go away, you’re still, for just a little while longer, boys.”

  “I don’t care how old a person is,” Brandon said. “I’m guessing that to their parents they are still their little boy or little girl, and just as we wouldn’t want to hear our parents going at it hot and heavy, they don’t want to hear us going at it. If nothing else, it’s a simple matter of respect. So stop arguing. Your father’s rule is not unreasonable.”

  Tyler’s mom and dad had sat quietly watching and listening to the entire exchange between Tyler and Brandon.

  “Why are you laughing?” Tyler asked his dad when he noticed the man was amused by something.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I’m just so delighted that you found someone as wonderful as Brandon. Who knows, maybe he’ll be able to—”

  “Maybe he’ll be able to what?” Tyler asked, sounding irritated.

  “Nothing,” his dad said.

  “We believe you’ve found a good man in Brandon,” his mother tried to fill in for his father. “We couldn’t possibly be happier in your selection of a boyfriend, dear.”

  Brandon was worried that Tyler would be upset, so he was pleased to look at Tyler and see him smiling.

  “They think you’re a good influence on me,” Tyler whispered to him loudly enough so that everyone could easily hear him. “Even though I’m a pretty good guy already.”

  “That’s what I think,” Brandon smiled back at him.

  Tyler looked amused but quickly stopped and said, “Hey, wait. About which part? You influencing me, or me being a good guy?”

  “Yes,” Brandon said, meeting Tyler’s grin with his own.

  More from Robbie Michaels

  Caught in the Act: Book One

  When Adam’s father catches him in bed with his best friend, he rips Adam away from his comfortable life in the city and sends him to a farm in the country, hoping some hard work will “fix” him. Adam is supposed to work with Ben, a hostile young man who clearly doesn’t want him there, no matter how hard Adam tries to prove himself. When Ben kisses him, Adam is shocked and delighted but terrified his father will once again pull him away from a home he’s grown to like.

  As their relationship grows in secret, Ben promises to stay with Adam when school starts to help him get to know the place and the people. However, Amelia, a young woman Ben had dated, latches on to Ben again. Adam is furious at being abandoned to fend for himself on his first day in a new school. A physical confrontation with Amelia lands Adam in trouble again, and his father’s involvement complicates all their lives. Betrayal and an uncertain future threaten Adam and Ben’s budding summer relationship.

  Caught in the Act: Book Two

  After a rocky start to the school year, Ben and Adam are getting their feet on solid ground, despite a lot of obstacles. Amelia, Ben’s former girlfriend, isn’t willing to let Ben go so easily. At Christmas, Amelia delivers a bombshell th
at keeps Adam and Ben apart over the holiday. When Adam returns from seeing his family, Ben, who avoids conflict at all cost, will not talk to him.

  Adam figures out Amelia’s scheme, and when he confronts her, she retaliates by arranging an ambush in the school parking lot one night.

  Ben is horrified when he sees Adam lying battered in the hospital. Adam is more than physically broken. His spirit is wounded, and he sees only the negative, the struggle ahead, and Ben’s betrayal. Healing, both in body and mind, is a long arduous road.

  It’s up to Ben to convince Adam that there is still good in life and that he’ll be there to help Adam every step of the way. If Adam will let him.

  The Most Popular Guy in the School: Book One

  High school can be some of the best years of life—and some of the toughest. Mark Mitchell’s strategy for surviving is to emulate the mighty turtle: pull back inside his protective shell and keep a low profile to avoid trouble. And it works—nobody bothers him. Of course, nobody really knows him, either, even in a town so small it seems like everybody must know everyone else.

  Mark certainly knows Bill Cromwell, whom he meets officially when his father volunteers him for manual labor at the school. Bill is his polar opposite: outgoing, gregarious, athletic. But when a massive snowstorm traps the two boys together for three days, Mark learns that being popular doesn’t mean you can’t be bullied or abused—or gay—and that bullying doesn’t stop at the school doors.

  Mark isn’t naïve. He’s seen the news reports of gay teen suicides, and he’s determined not to become a statistic. But it’s not himself he’s worried about.

  The Most Popular Guy in the School: Book Two

  A few short months ago, Mark Mitchell was a shy nerdy kid who kept his head down and stayed off the radar. He had nothing in common with the in-crowd. But then he got snowed in with Bill Cromwell and learned not to judge a book by its cover. One thing led to another, and now Mark has a boyfriend. A popular boyfriend. A boyfriend who wants to go to prom with him. But Mark worries that Bill is risking too much—his popularity, his friends.