Good Enough Chapter 15
#16 of Good Enough
Chapter Fifteen--A Moment of Clarity
It was nearly midnight when they pulled up outside of the Blackwell Family home and, all at once, panic and fear rushed through Damien's mind as he tried to think. How exactly was he supposed to sneak his friends in? Or maybe he should just knock and be honest. Or perhaps he could pretend like they had no choice.
"You okay? You're breathing really hard," Thomas said, his paw on Damien's shoulder.
"Uh-huh," Damien answered weakly. "Um... I just thought about the fact that my parents don't know we're here. Or that we were even thinking about coming here... Or anything. And I don't know if they'll let you guys stay over or anything. Then what?"
"Then we'll go back to school," Thomas said. "No biggie."
"Then I'll go back with you," Damien offered. "I mean, I don't have to--"
"It's fine, pup," Thomas assured him. "I don't mind dropping you and picking you up. Right now, let's just see what'll--"
A loud scream pierced the night air and they both looked back to see Anna panicked and Ozzy jolting awake. Then, a loud bang on Damien's window made them turn and, almost reflexively (with speed he didn't know he possessed), Damien jerked back flopping awkwardly across the armrest into Thomas's lap... A wide, toothy grin flashed at him from the other side of the glass and bright azure eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. Then the mouth moved, mouthing words audibly.
"Gotcha again."
"Nate!" Damien hissed. "You fucking jackass!" he shouted, moving out of Thomas's lap and forcing the door open as quickly as he could, hoping to hit Nathan's nose. But Nathan was already beyond his range and the force of opening the door made him fall out onto the sidewalk. Above him, Nathan snickered mischievously.
"Fuck you," Damien huffed as he stood. Within seconds, Thomas was beside him, arms crossed.
"Not cool, fucktard," Ozzy remarked as he got out, yawning lazily.
"Well, whatever," Nathan scoffed nonchalantly. "So, what brings this little clique to our neck of the woods?"
"I'm here for fall break," Damien explained angrily. "And they're my..." He trailed off. "Guests?"
"Did Dad approve of your 'guests'?"
"No..."
"So, you were going to let strangers into our house without even telling anyone?"
"... Yes? I mean, no. Well, it's complicated."
"Complicated or not, you know he'll kill you if you let strangers in."
"He knows us," Ozzy said. "We all met in the hospital."
"Weren't you the one sleeping on the floor?" Nathan wondered.
"Yes, sir, I was," Ozzy answered proudly. "And you"--he poked Nathan in the chest--"deserve a gold star for paying attention."
"Poke me again and I'll snap your neck, rabbit," Nathan warned darkly. "I don't like being teased."
"Only if you understand when you're being teased," Damien murmured. He chuckled.
Nathan's heavy paw grabbed Damien's muzzle, keeping it shut. "The only reason I let you make a joke is because I need a good foot rest, midget."
And, with ease and nonchalance from years of practice, Damien was hefted up onto his shoulder and carried up to the front door, his friends following behind in bewilderment. Damien didn't bother to struggle--Nathan would just tighten his grip and Damien knew he would never overpower the brainless meathead that his brother was.
They entered and, on the staircase, was Selene, a periwinkle robe pulled over her nightgown. She stopped on the second to last stair, looking in confusion as her two sons and three others walked into her home.
"Welcome home, Damien," she said, "but why are your friends following you?"
"I'll tell you if he puts me down," Damien offered.
"Drop him."
Nathan dropped Damien unceremoniously on the wood floor. Damien quickly stood up again, briefly registering the indignant looks on his friends' faces as they regarded Nathan with clear dislike. Thomas was about to speak, but Damien hurriedly spoke up.
"I was hoping they could spend the night," Damien stated. "We'll be here for all of fall break."
"I thought you all were going up to some cabin," she noted.
"We were there but some stuff happened and we had to leave," Damien explained.
"What stuff?"
"It's not that important," Damien said. "Anyway--"
"Damien, what happened?" she asked severely.
"Well," Damien began, looking to his friends for support. Thomas looked confused, Anna looked afraid and Ozzy was too busy wiping drool from his chin to really know what had been asked. "We... just... It was a split second decision."
"Damien Jaime Blackwell, answer your mother."
The new voice, familiar and commanding, came from the top of the stairs. Marcus looked down at his third child, eyes narrowed in agitation. Out of the corner of his eye, Damien could see Nathan mouth something else, but couldn't make out what was being said. All he could focus on was his father's cold, unflinching gaze.
"It needed to be fumigated," Thomas said suddenly. "We didn't know until we got up there."
"Hmm... and who's cabin was this?" Marcus inquired.
"Torrie's family's," Thomas replied automatically.
Selene looked over them. "Where is Torrie? You didn't leave her up there, did you?"
"She went back to her hometown, to see her parents," Damien lied hurriedly. "We'll meet up with her again at school."
"So, don't they"--Marcus indicated Damien's friends--"need to check into their hotel?"
"That's the thing... they don't have a hotel room," Damien explained. He spoke to the ugly carpet his mother had put at the foot of the stairs. It was easier than looking up at his parents, who radiated irritation. Beside him, Nathan snickered. "They just need a place to crash and I was hoping--"
"Of all of the irresponsible, immature, stupid things you've done, this has to be one of the worst," Marcus said in a voice of cold calmness. "You didn't even bother to call first or hell, text. You can just drop your friends on our doorstep and--"
"It's just for a little while," Damien insisted. "They'll be in and out in a few days and we'll be back at school."
"No. Damien, this is beyond irresponsible. This is just flat-out disrespect," Marcus snarled. "Who do you think you are to make a demand like this?"
"I just..."
"Just what? Didn't think? That's obvious," Marcus growled.
"I'm sorry," Damien murmured weakly. He felt a familiar touch on his shoulder and saw Thomas standing beside him.
"We'll just head back to school," he said kindly. "I'll come back and pick you up in a few days, okay?"
"I'll go with you," Damien offered.
"No, stay with your folks," Thomas remarked, but he sounded bitter now. "No biggie."
"And it's 'no biggie' to let them camp out in the living room for a little while," Selene said, looking at her husband. Her face betrayed no emotion, but her eyes were strangely expressive. She and Marcus stared at each other for what seemed like hours and the tension in the air seemed to double. Even Nathan's snarky laughter had paused as he waited to see who would win this battle of wills.
Suddenly, someone else appeared at the top of the stairs--a young Labrador named Phil with bright yellow fur and a disheveled appearance, clad in a tank top and boxers as he shuffled towards the bathroom. At the sound of the toilet flushing, the tension seemed to flush with it and when he emerged to find them all staring at him, he seemed to be finally awake.
"Why's everyone standing around?" He looked over the banister. "Oh, hey, dude. Didn't think you were coming. Is that the panther you told Amy about?"
"Hi, Phil... Why does he get to stay but they have to leave?" Damien wondered.
"Amy asked ahead of time," Nathan remarked.
"Where's your girlfriend?" Damien challenged. Nathan fell silent.
"Damien, get the spare blankets out of the closet," Selene ordered and she was once more staring at Marcus. "It'll be okay, Marcus. It's just for a little while." She turned back to Damien. "Your friends can sleep in the living room. But only if you're a gentleman and let Anna have your bed."
"Your dad's almost as scary as a hydrogen bomb," Ozzy remarked as he stretched out on the couch.
"Hey, you lazy rabbit, I was going to take the couch," Thomas said.
"You take the floor," Ozzy replied, shrugging off his shirt. He tossed the shirt towards Thomas, who caught it with a scowl. "Besides, I need a comfortable spot to--HEY!"
Thomas grabbed Ozzy's arm and started to pull him off the couch, but Ozzy pulled back, instigating a tug-of-war that, while amusing to watch, was amazingly noisy. Within seconds, a loud shout emanated from upstairs.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Amy screamed and a deathly silence fell over them.
"Was that your mother?" Ozzy whispered.
"No, that was my sister," Damien explained. "And she's even scarier when she's angry. Tommy, just let him have the couch. We can sleep on the floor. It's no big deal."
Thomas, who had been staring fearfully at the ceiling, looked down at Ozzy, scoffing at the smug grin on Ozzy's face. "Why am I your friend?"
"Because I'm awesome."
"You're an ass."
"You're a dick."
"Bigger than yours."
"Can we not do this again? I already know you're bigger than me," Ozzy remarked, "and I did not complain."
Thomas smiled a weird, snarky grin that was almost comical. "Yep. You liked that it was..." He trailed off, seeing Damien's discomfort. "Uh... Sorry. It was just a--"
"It wasn't a joke," Ozzy interrupted with a wink, though he let out a small squeak of pain when Thomas slapped the back of his forehead. "Ow! Don't do that! What was that for?"
"Don't put ideas in his head!" Thomas snapped.
"Ideas about how big your dick--Ow!"
"Shut up!" Thomas hissed.
Damien sighed heavily. "Tommy, it's ok. I'm fine. I'm going to sleep."
"You sure? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm... I'm great!"
Damien smiled weakly and settled down on the blanket he had laid out on the floor.
It was a powerful slap that woke Damien in the middle of the night, less than two hours after he'd drifted off to sleep. His breathing was ragged, his eyes wide and terrified and his heart pounding painfully in his chest. Thomas was over him, looking just as frightened as Damien felt and Ozzy was no more than a few steps away, looking intrigued, but worried.
"Did you just slap him?" Ozzy breathed in surprise.
"I was calming him down!" Thomas defended.
"Why would that calm anyone--He's awake!" Ozzy gasped. "Dude, are you okay? You look fucked up!"
"I... I just..." Damien stumbled in his words as he steadily calmed down enough to realize he wasn't being attacked. "I just... had a nightmare."
He gently pushed Thomas aside. He stood and started to walk off, but he quickly became aware that he was being followed. Thomas was right behind him.
"I'm fine. Just need some air."
"Dude, I know that you need more than air," Thomas answered. "Want to talk about it?"
"No."
"Come on, Damien," Thomas insisted. "You know you can tell me."
"And me!" Ozzy added.
"You stay here," Thomas ordered. "We'll be back in a minute."
"Hey, I just need--Let go!" Damien insisted as Thomas started to steer him towards the front door and onto the porch, illuminated by a single light beside the door. The door closed behind him and they stood there, silent and waiting. "Look, Thomas, I'm okay... Really..."
"Don't lie. I know you must've had a really bad dream to make you shake like this."
Was he shaking? Damien hadn't realized he was. He swallowed thickly and tried to force his voice to stay calm. "It was nothing. Just a dream."
"About?"
"It's not important," Damien replied. "Please, I just... I want some water."
"I'll get you some."
"I want to--"
"What're you so scared to tell me?"
Damien looked him in the eye and, all at once, the dream came back. He instinctively took a step back. That weird feeling of arousal, then fear and terror. Pain... His heart pounded furiously in his chest.
"Hey, focus! Talk to me."
He made a reach for Damien but at once, Damien moved backward. His foot slipped and he was sure he'd fall but Thomas was quick enough to catch him. With ease, Thomas pulled him forward. Damien found himself pulled into Thomas's chest and he felt torn. Part of him was screaming to push away... but he wanted to stay. He was enjoying this embrace.
"What's wrong with you?" Thomas said and Damien could feel his chest rumble with each word.
"It's hard to explain..."
"Start at the beginning," Thomas offered. "I promise I'll be a good listener."
"Promise you'll keep a secret?"
"I promise."
Damien pulled away, feeling regretful as he did, and sat down. Thomas sat beside him and waited.
"I was... with someone I really liked," Damien began nervously. "That's how my dream started... We were just hanging out. And then we started... kissing and stuff. You know, the kind of stuff that couples do like..." He trailed off, his face burning with embarrassment.
"Sex?"
Damien nodded.
"Who was this person?"
Damien looked up at Thomas but wished he hadn't looked into those shining, two-colored eyes. Even in this relatively low light, those eyes seemed to glow.
"I don't remember," he stated.
"You're lying."
"Then I don't want to say!" Damien insisted. "Look, who he was isn't important!" Then, realizing what he'd said, "I really don't want to go into details about who I was dreaming about!"
"Okay! Okay!" Thomas said. "Then let's keep going."
"It started getting... rough," Damien explained. "Bad... I remember asking them to stop and that I didn't want to keep going. But they kept trying to hold me down. I managed to get away but they came after me and then suddenly I fell and they were laughing and I felt like I couldn't breathe and--" He found himself crying, his tears stinging his eyes.
"Hey, hey, look at me!" Thomas said. "Calm down. It's okay... You're alright, it was just a dream."
Damien breathed deeply, and he felt himself get pulled closer towards Thomas. He was sobbing now, into Thomas's shirt despite his best attempts to hold back the tears. He wasn't sure how long he had cried, only that Thomas didn't say a word. But Damien felt his paw on his shoulder. And when he finally managed to calm down, he looked up at Thomas who looked down at him with an unreadable expression.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to--"
"I'm not mad," Thomas explained. "I understand how it feels to have a really bad dream. Wish I had a shoulder to cry on when I had horrible nightmares like that..." He chuckled derisively. "But it's okay. I won't ask who you were dreaming about. I won't keep asking questions. But if you need to talk, I'm here, just like you're there for me."
Damien looked at that smile and he wondered what it would truly be like to kiss this panther in reality. Not that horrible, rough, aggressive monster from that nightmare, but the gentler being seated beside him now, the one he had come to know and the one he was starting to realize that he truly did like.
Was this what falling in love was like? Not some magical experience with the world stopping and hearts floating around. But something simpler. Just simply the idea that he wasn't looking forward to looking _at_Thomas. But wanting to look forward _with_him...
"Thanks," Damien said. "I appreciate it."
And there it was again: something like a small click in his mind when Thomas gave him another hug before they went back inside. No, it wasn't some dramatic realization. It was something smaller... and Damien couldn't help but wonder... Was this really falling in love?
"You okay? You look kind of sick," Thomas noted. He put his paw up to Damien's forehead, but Damien recoiled as the touch drew him from his thoughts. Thomas jerked back. "You sure you're gonna be okay? You seem even more jumpy than normal."
"Yeah, I'll be fine, although, it's kind of cold out here," Damien explained.
"Yeah," Thomas agreed. "Time to head back inside?"
"Yeah..."
They stood and Thomas reached for the door at the same time Damien did. At that moment of contact, Damien let out a small gasp-like noise and pulled back. He chortled a bit, a strangled-sounding noise that made Thomas hesitate.
"You sure you're okay? You're acting really weird, pooch."
"Yeah, I'm fine! Just"--he forced a yawn--"really tired."
"You gonna be able to get to sleep?"
"Yeah... No problem." He smiled, a wide toothy grin that he was sure might've looked even more forced than the yawn. But Thomas shrugged.
"Okay... Hope you can get some good sleep then."
"Thanks... You too."
Perhaps it was simply because Damien had gotten used to Ozzy, but he was unsurprised to see him in the living room, leaning on the windowsill with his gaze directed exactly to where Damien and Thomas had been mere moment before.
"Aww," he said playfully. "That was so adorable!"
"Were you spying on us?" Thomas asked.
"Just making sure our little Damien was okay," Ozzy said.
"He's not 'our' Damien," Thomas scoffed.
"Fine. Your Damien," Ozzy remarked. "Is that better, kitten?"
Thomas was about to make a reply, but the sound of footfalls made them turn. Someone else had come into the living room, her hair messy and her eyes narrowed in irritation.
"I ask for eight hours of sleep," Amy Blackwell stated in a growl, her arms crossed over her chest. "Just eight."
"Amy--" Damien began, but she held up her paw and he fell silent.
"I need my eight hours," she continued, "without you morons slamming the door and yelling all night long. If I come back down here before sunrise, I'll kick all three of you out onto the lawn. Do you understand?"
Ozzy snorted. "We ain't scared of no delicate little puppy like--"
He let out a small squeak as Amy approached. She grabbed his shirt and pulled. Despite being shorter than Ozzy, she managed to force him to bend down slightly so that he was looking her right in her eyes.
"You're in my house now, rabbit," she hissed. "If you don't like the way things are done here, then get the hell out. Am I clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," Ozzy whimpered.
She playfully patted his cheek with a snide grin. "I'm glad we understand each other." She moved back and paused for a second to look at Damien. She pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm glad you made it! I've missed you, baby bro."
"I miss when you were nice."
She pulled back. "Must you be an asshole?"
"Must you be mean to my friends?"
She jabbed him in his chest. "It's my duty as your big sister to humiliate you. Now, all three of you. Bed. Sleep. Now!"
"What if we don't want to?" Damien challenged.
"Then I'll tell them about your little secret," she warned.
At first, Damien wondered what she meant. Then, as understanding dawned, he said, "Good night, Amy! Love you."
"Love you too, Damien."
When Damien woke the second time, he was aware of the sound of snide snickering and giggling with muffled talking nearby. Sunlight was coming into the living room through the open curtains... and he realized that he was no longer resting his head on his pillow--instead, he found himself snuggling into a muscular, black-furred arm and (much to his embarrassment), he found that he had drooled slightly on the arm. Yet he was comfortable and relaxed... until he realized that it wasn't just Thomas in the room.
"Shh, he's awake," whispered a poorly hidden voice--Ozzy's.
"I know, but this is blackmail gold," another voice, Nathan's, noted. "It's gold-mail."
They stood just a few inches away, looking down at a phone that they were sniggering at. Almost immediately, Damien pushed away from Thomas, though the motion woke the panther in a very jarring way.
"What's going on?" he wondered groggily. Then he looked over. "What're those two laughing about?"
"Pictures," Ozzy said simply.
"Cute pictures," Nathan added.
"Of two little lovebirds," Ozzy continued.
"In a loving em--hey!" Nathan shouted as Damien made a grab for the phone. "Careful, half-pint. You break it, you buy it."
"Why would you take pictures?" Damien whined. "That's not fair! I was sleeping!"
"I know! That's what makes it so adorable," Nathan teased. "But I'll delete them later. I'll need them for something."
"That's not cool," Damien huffed.
"Whatever. Mrs. Blackwell's got breakfast going. It'll be ready in a few," Ozzy said. "We'll let you know when if you want to spend a little more time with your little husky boyfriend." He laughed but his laughter petered out when Thomas stood. "Hey, just a joke. Don't--"
Thomas yawned lazily, scratching his stomach as he did so. "What the hell is going on?"
"Nothing," Ozzy remarked playfully, hiding the phone behind him. "I'll let you guys get a few more minutes."
"We'll wake you up when breakfast's done," Nathan added. "But if you need me, I'll be sharing some photos." And he walked off with a triumphant stride.
"I'll help you," Ozzy offered, following behind.
"They're really chummy," Thomas noted.
"That's not good," Damien warned.
Thomas clicked his tongue irritably. "I'll deal with that later." He laid back down. "How'd you sleep?"
"I slept fine," Damien said. "And thanks, by the way. For last night."
"No problem. You helped me during those storms, so I can help you with your dreams."
Damien smiled. "I appreciate it..." Thomas smiled back.