Golden secrets unraveling in time

Even if a family is blood-related, it not a chain that traps them together. A family is who we decide to keep by our side. A family is who we decide, deserve the title.

Gulping down with uneasiness, Sam nervously places the cordless phone carefully back down on the receiver.

"You okay, Mr. Hitchjack?" the nurse asks with concern, placing a gentle hand on one of his trembling shoulders.

"Yeah, I am fine. Um, just a little tired," Sam lies, praying that she buys his lame excuse. Sam forcing his eyes up, trying his best to make eye contact. But suddenly, he stops himself, knowing very well she will know he had lied with just one glance into his guilt-stained eyes.

"Well, don't worry, kiddo, Mr. Misluck will be here soon to pick you two up," the nurse softly whispers, trying her best to reassure the scared little student. "It's going to be okay."

"Sammy," a faint voice call in the distance.

"Huh?" the nurse and Sam gasps, spotting James struggling to sit up. He tries his hardest to move closer to eavesdrop on their conversation, which is certainly about him with him hearing his name constantly. Also, there is a small part of him that do not want to be left alone in the dim, creepy corner of the room.

"I think someone needs your help, Mr. Hitchjack," the nurse laugh softly.

Sam smiles, finding James's need for him to be kind of cute. I know I shouldn't be laughing. However, it is pretty hilarious watching him struggle against the weakest foe; the blanket, Sam smirks. Soft chuckling escapes from his throat, Sam nervously covers his mouth, muffling his remaining enjoyment as he continues to watch.

"I better offer a hand before he gets injured worse," Sam suggest with a small smile. He knows very well that James will definitely get hurt because of his own natural clumsiness and the curse of misluck on his back.

Leaving the nurse's office, Sam walks over to the trap young man, hoping he will exhaust himself out. Sure enough, James collapse from exhaustion seconds later, giving a weak smile to his lover.

"Enjoy your talk?" James slyly asks, trying to distract Sam from asking about his many failed attempts to get up.

"Yes," Sam chuckles lightly, covering his mouth as he continues to laugh. James turns his head away, puffing out his cheeks, not wanting to see Sam enjoy his pitiful attempt to sit up. He plops his butt on the edge of the bed and wraps his arms around James's small waist, hugging him gently. He kisses him lightly on his bandage-covered cheek. "Aww! Don't be mad, Jamey. You know I love you," he whispers sweetly.

“I can’t stay mad at you,” he whispers coldly, sending shivers down Sam’s spine. Glaring coldly in the teen’s eyes, he hisses "So, who did you, call on the phone?"

"Oh, your dad. I asked him to come and pick us up," Sam smiles, expecting one to beam across James's lips, too, but it never appears. He chews nervously on his bottom lip, wondering why James isn't ecstatic with such great news. He stares at the frown spread across James's lips, panic glimmering in his evergreen eyes.

"Jamey, what's wrong? I thought you would be overjoyed or, at least, happy. You get to miss school for one day or maybe two," Sam questions.

"It's not that. It's just I told my family's forbidden secret, which I vowed never to tell a living soul," he hisses.

"Oh... sorry," Sam whispers, lowering his gaze, feeling ashamed. Why did I force him? I should have left it alone. But no, I had to make him spill out his guts. I am a monster, a secret-hogging monster, Sam screams in his mind, clutching the back of James's shirt. He holds back his tears, blinking rapidly, forcing them back in.

"No, Sammy, you don't need to be sorry. It feels great to get that dark secret off my chest," James softly whispers. While rubbing Sam's trembling back, James hums, "Shush, Sammy, don't let your tears fall. There is nothing to be sad about.”

"So do you know if the curse mark does anything else, other than making the person incredibly clumsy?" Sam sniffles. He tries to sound calm, but unfortunately, he can't manage to hold back his tears any longer.

"Other than causing this mark on my back and it growing each year, I don't know anything else; my dad never told me. James answers before looking away. “It wasn’t a topic to discuss in our house."

"Kids!" James's dad has just pulled in. Just stay still until he gets here, okay," the nurse calls from her office.

Both boys nod their heads. Unclenching his hands from James's shirt, Sam sits up sluggishly with a feeling of uneasiness rumbling in his stomach. He intertwines his fingers in James's and tells him it is going to be fine. Staring back into his worry friend's eyes, James tries to force a fake smile; however, Sam didn't buy it for a second. He can see right through his false disguise and notice the fear he is trying to hide.

"Don’t you worry, I am never going to leave you," Sam assures James. "I am always going to be by your side, no matter how rough it gets."

Sam embraces James in a weak bear hug, smiling wider as James wraps his hands around his waist, resting his head on his shoulder. James yawns softly, letting his drooping eyelids gently flutter close. He snuggles his head in the crevices of Sam's neck. Smirking to himself, Sam admires Jamey sleeping soundly and drooling globs of saliva down his neck. He wishes he can stay like this forever, maybe minus the drool. Shrugging his shoulders, he smiles, Well, no one is perfect.

"James, Sam, I am here," Aaron hollers. He rushes through the front doors of the nurse's office, breathing heavily.  Placing his hand on the back of the nearest chair, he struggles to catch his breath. He looks up at most the startling sight, his son sleeping like a baby. Aaron contentedly watches James snuggling his head into Sam's neck while Sam softly hums a familiar little tune. He shakes his head in disbelief. Am I dreaming, Aaron wonders? He can't believe that this is real. He has never seen his son so at peace. He tiptoes carefully toward the bed, making sure not to make a noise, before silently kneeling down to Sam's level and stares straight into his blue eyes. Aaron delicately places a hand on the small boy's shoulder, squeezing it gently, thanking him. Sam can't help but smile with the satisfaction of not feeling useless anymore.

"Thank you, Mr. Misluck," he whispers.

Aaron laughs, "Call me Aaron. We have known each other for a while. So can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Sam answers quickly, feeling uncomfortable about calling an adult by his first name. Shrugging his shoulder, he wonders, what does he want to know? Maybe he wants to know how James got hurt. Sam screams in his head with streams of sweat pouring down the spine of his back. Sam jumps from soft sound of whimpering banging off his ears, he nervously looks down at James twitching in sleep with his face dripping in pain. Sam’s delicately rubs his back, trying his best to soothe troubled teen in his arms.

"This is very important, so listen very closely," he warns in a serious tone. He waves his hand, gesturing Sam to move in closer. "When is the wedding?" Aaron laughs at Sam face flashing bright red, as he tries to hide the evidence in the hairy mess on James's head. He wishes that Aaron hadn't seen them cuddling in school. Standing up, Aaron gently lifts James up from Sam's grip. Cradling his small sleeping boy in his big hairy arms, he struggles to hold back his tears, as he looks at his son's banged up body. Sam jumps off the bed, ready to get out of this nerve-wracking place as soon as possible.

"I guess you are ready then," Aaron grins, seeing how eager Sam is to get out of here. "Thank you for taking care of the kids," he calls to the nurse in her office.

"Be careful and change James's bandages every day. Oh, I forgot," she quickly adds, walking out of the office, moving closer to Aaron's ear. "Your son has a concussion. So please can you two keep an eye on him every hour?" she whispers softly.

Aaron smiles with Sam smiling up at him. "Don't you worry. We have all the help we need." He grins at the nurse. "He will be fine, as long as Sam is by his side," Aaron reassures her.

Sam blushes redder each time Aaron comments on how great of help he is going to be. Rocking back and forth on his heels with eagerness, he didn't want to stay a minute longer in this place.

"Bye," Sam cheerfully yells to the nurse. "Thank you."

"Bye, Mr. Hitchjack. Don't forget to change your bandages, too," the nurse quickly comments before returning to her work.

Aaron quickly spins around, not noticing Sam's wrapped-up wrist when he came in. A feeling of uneasiness consumes his mind. What are those bandages from? he wonders. He wants to ask him, but he knows Sam will tell him in time. His eyes shift from side to side as he watches Sam rubbing his wrist with a dash of fear dangling through his wide eyes.

"Rrrrreeeeady, kiddo?" Aaron tries to sound cheerful. He notices a big grin stretching across Sam's face, as soon as he mentions the word ready, which, in kids' vocabulary, means we can leave. Sam feels great walking through the front door at noon.

He eagerly pushes through the last tinted door, allowing the blinding sun to beat on the darkened school. A big blast of chilling Autumn air fills up his lungs with the sweet scent of pine coating his senses. Looking in the distance, he locks his eyes on an old, rusted down, gray Mustang sitting on the side of the road.

"Sam, I need for you to do an incredibly important task for me. Can you sit in the back and hold James's head still? One more thing, and this is extremely important. Yell or scream when you see any signs of him struggling to breathe," Aaron asks as soon as they get near the back door of his car.

Sam nods as he lifts the rusted handle up, revealing aged leather seats, scatter with small tears throughout the seams. Sliding down the leather, allowing the seat and his butt to meet, Sam quickly buckles up, with eagerness pumping through his veins. He did not want to be apart from James any second longer with all the wounds he had obtained that day. Aaron gently lays his son's head on Sam's lap, before carefully closing the car door. He is thankful the hinges didn't squeak this time as it will definitely wake the wounded teen up. Then, before he gets into his car, he stretches out his worn-out muscles that had contracted as he carried his not so light teenage son. Letting out a heavy sigh, he slides into the driver's seat.  Aaron holds his breath while he tries to jiggle his silver key into the ignition, hoping it will start right away. He breathes out in contentment with the sweet sound of the engine purring loudly in his ears. He swings his head to the side and catches Sam carefully petting James's head as he softly hums the same tune from earlier. He let out a sigh, knowing he shouldn't disturb their beautiful moment. Aaron smiles as he turns back to face the road before pulls out.

***

Fifteen minutes later, Aaron finally pulls in front of a familiar yellow house with brown shutters after what feels like days of driving. Sam stares at the bare rose bushes, grinning as he remembers James explaining to him about why his dad decided to cover their yard with roses.

***

It was early in the spring, Sam and James had just finished up de-weeding the last row of rose bushes. James let out a sigh of relief with finally being done for the day. Tossing aside his worn-out gloves, he allowed his clammy flesh to wipe away the beads of sweat dripping from his brow. He stretched out on his back, welcoming the warm sensation of the sun dancing on his pale white flesh. As he leaned back further on the cool pavement, he relished the damp stone cooling off his sweaty back.

"Hey, Sammy, did I ever tell you the reason why my dad decided to plant all these roses?" he asked in an exhausted voice.

"No," Sam said simply, staring at all the rosebuds starting to bloom, right before his own eyes.

"It was because my mother's favorite flowers were roses. A long time ago, my dad used to give her a whole bouquet every day, just to make her smile. Even when she was admitted to the hospital for complications with her pregnancy, he showed up each day with a grin on his face and a big bouquet of roses in his hand. Then the day I was born, her spirit left her body, and my dad couldn't just let her go. He wanted to keep her close. Therefore, he planted each rose bush with a little bit of her ashes mixed in with a handful of fertilizer. It’s a way for him to  always keep her close to the family. But something puzzles me about the story." James looked at Sam, making sure he was paying attention to his tale. Sitting up on his knees, he whispered, “I don't get how her ashes are still with us after so many years."

"What do you mean, how?" Sam asked with slight confusion in his voice.

Leaning in, allowing his chin to rest on his mud-covered knees, he explained, "I just don't know how because she died right after I was born, which means she never lived here. Her body should have been back in my old town."

"Jamey, I might have an answer to ease your puzzled mind. Did you ever see a vase with a small lid on it around your house?" Sam asked.

He placed a finger on his lips and thought. "Um...I think so, yeah. Dad wouldn't let me play near it," James said, lost in his thoughts.

Well, I hate to be the person that puts a damper on your curiosity on what you imagine in that vase." Sam sighed before clearing his rough voice. "James, what probably was in there was your mother's ashes. Maybe it was a way to keep her close until your dad found a proper place to lay her down."

Oh... that makes sense now," he said sorrowfully.

***

Sighing at the distant memories, Sam smiles, "Aaron's theory still makes sense, even if I never met her in person. I know she must have been a kind and gentle person because she produces such lovely flowers each year," he whispers. Staring out the window, Sam images the whole frost cover yard dress with rows of delicate plants, showing off their beauty to anyone who takes the time to look. However, Sam's favorite part of the roses are not the delicate petals, but the lovely aroma they release. Whenever the small plants start to open up early in the spring. Sam can't help but smirk as he remembered how much fun James and him had during the warmer months. They made such a great team back then, taking care of the plants with plenty of love and dedication. However, when fall and winter came around, the Mislucks' household was usually a little depressing. With each one of the rose bushes slowly loses its beautiful silky petals and settle down back in the dirt for a nice, long deserved rest. To collect and store enough energy over the cold and chilly months to be able to survive all spring and summer long. However, the flowers still confuse Sam on how they know when exactly to bloom to acquire as much sun as possible each year. But he did have to admit, these flowers are one of a kind when it came down to their beauty. On this, everyone in the neighborhood can agree. Shifting his gaze back down to the sleeping boy, he plants a light kiss on his bruised nose.

"Honey, we are home," he whispers in James's ear.