Shane grinned, his hands slipping around my waist as he planted a soft peck on my cheek. The warmth of his lips lingered on my skin, grounding me in that moment of simple peace, even as the storm raged outside.
That’s when the world turned black.
“What the hell are you doing?”
The words cracked through the kitchen like a whip. Arjun’s voice was so sharp, so raw, so feral, that it splintered the air and sent a spike of pain into my skull. I winced instinctively and looked around in confusion.
Cynthia had just set a pan on the counter; the clatter sharp, but ordinary, was a small, domestic accident that was not worthy of such rage. But Arjun wasn’t staring at her. His eyes, dark as onyx and hard as stone, furious, were fixed on me.
“Playing around like that is not permissible.” Each word, slow, deliberate; each syllable pressed into the space between us like a nail driven into wood. “It sets a bad example for the children.”
I froze. The words echoed in me, bouncing against something I wasn’t ready to face. A part of me understood what he had seen, but my mind fought against giving it form, as though speaking it would make it too real.
Shane’s arm tightened around me, solid, protective. His voice, low and steady, vibrated against my side. “We’re not playing around.” His tone carried no apology. The edge of it making it clear that Arjun’s outburst had sliced into him as well.
Arjun’s mouth twisted, his lip curling upward in a sneer. The disdain in his face was so thick I could almost smell it. “So you two are faggots? I thought you were just best friends.” The slur spat from his mouth like venom, poisoning the air.
“We’re that, too,” Shane answered, unflinching; his gaze steady
The silence in the room tightened until it was suffocating. Arjun turned his fury on Cynthia, his words as sharp as a blade. “Did you know they were queer?” His jaw worked as he clenched it, cords straining in his neck. Violence wasn’t in his hands yet, but it vibrated in his body, coiled and waiting.
My chest constricted as I turned to my sister, begging with my eyes for her to meet mine, to give me some sign she was on my side. But her gaze fell, slipping from mine like water draining through cracks. Her silence was a verdict.
Arjun drew power from it, his sneer widening. “You cannot stay in my house.”
“Your house?” My voice cracked on the words. The betrayal dug deeper than his insult, it sliced at the very ground beneath my feet.
From the corner of the room, Rushil Rushil’s small, questioning voice pierced the tension like a bell. His eyes blinked up at his father. His question shattered what little air remained between us. “What’s a queer, Daddy?”
Arjun didn’t hesitate. He pivoted, his answer cold and cruel and wielded with precision. “It’s when one man puts his peter in another man’s butt.”
The casual cruelty of it, said with his child listening, landed like a hammer against glass. Shards of humiliation, rage, and despair tore through me. My teeth ground together until my jaw screamed with pain. Shane’s hand clamped my shoulder, a lifeline against the storm building inside me.
“That’s not an accurate definition,” I managed, though my voice shook with fury. “And what the hell do you mean calling this your house?”
Cynthia’s voice trembled when it finally emerged, thinner than I’d ever heard it. “Mom and Dad gave it to us. They’re going to live at the lake house. Mom said… they were going to tell you tomorrow.”
The floor tilted beneath me. My fists curled, nails biting into my palms. Heat rose and battled with an icy dread spreading in my chest.
Arjun’s voice came next, low and vicious. “That’s right. So like I said, get the fuck out of my house. You disgust me.”
Something snapped. Thought unraveled, reason evaporated. Fury, or maybe despair, took the reins. My legs moved before my brain could stop them. I spun, lurched toward the door, and yanked it open.
The storm struck instantly. Wind howled like a living beast, snow slashing at my face in icy needles. The cold was merciless, stealing heat from my skin with greedy hands. The door slammed shut behind me, the world shrinking into a blur of white and gray.
I staggered forward, half-blind, half-running. My tears froze on my cheeks, turning the world to a watery blur. Every direction looked the same—shifting curtains of snow erasing the horizon.
I turned in a circle, breath sawing in my chest, lungs burning with icy air. Nothing. Three hundred sixty degrees of endless storm.
And only then, the truth hit me. I had charged outside with no coat, no gloves, straight into a storm that didn’t care if I lived or died. I had no idea which direction I’d just come from. What had I done? My fingers curled against the pain. Fortunately, my shoes were still on.
Fortunately? A bitter laugh rose in me, sharp and broken. I was going to freeze to death, but at least I’d die with my shoes on.
My judgment was clouded. Think. I needed to think. Was I going to be found in the spring frozen to death right next to my front door?
I had to keep a clear head.
Should I just start walking and hope to run into a familiar landmark? If I moved, maybe I’d stumble across Shane’s truck, the garage, something solid. But what if I missed it? What if I was only feet away and walked in the wrong direction?
Shit! The word ripped out of me, lost in the gale.
The truth slammed into me: I was going to die.
“Shane!” My voice cracked the air, desperate. “I love you.” I wanted that to be the last thought in my mind, the last words on my lips, the last tether tying me to life. “Shane,” I screamed again, the wind tearing the words away. Who knows where the wind would carry my words. “I love you.”
And then, “Dumb fuck.”
I jerked, heart hammering against my chest. Did I just hear that? Was the storm mocking me? Were my words being echoed back, or did I just call myself a dumb fuck?”
“Taylor, dammit. Answer me.”
Was that Shane? No. It couldn’t be. There was too much noise in the wind. “Shane. I love you!” I shouted again and again until my throat scraped raw.
In an instant, hands, strong and unyielding, seized me. An orange extension cord lashed around me like salvation. Shane’s face blurred through the snow, his voice cracked with fury and fear. “Taylor, you stupid, dumb fucking idiot. What would I do without you?”
I was safe. Relief shattered me. My knees buckled. I could barely stand. I could hardly walk. I lost balance completely when we reached what must have been the stoop outside the apartment door. As I heard the latch click, I passed out.
When I woke, it was two in the morning. I was naked, trembling, cocooned in Shane’s arms beneath a heavy mound of blankets. The heat of him seeped into me, pulling me back from the edge.
I pressed my lips to the warm rise of his chest. He stirred instantly, eyes opening, voice breaking with relief. “You’re awake. Thank the Lord above. I thought you might not come back. I couldn’t wake you, and you were so cold.”
“You saved me,” I whispered.
He cupped my face, his thumb brushing the edge of my jaw. “I heard you screaming. We’re lucky I did.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, shame burning in my throat. “I was stupid.”
“You’re not stupid,” he said firmly. “You scared me. That’s all. Your brother-in-law is a cruel bastard, but… we’ll figure it out.”
I swallowed hard, tears slipping free. “I’m hungry,” I told him. “I mean I’m really hungry.”
Shane let out a rough laugh, tension breaking. “Figures. You didn’t eat yesterday, and I barely touched anything after I found you out there. Too busy worrying if you were going to wake up.” His grin crooked faintly. “Life with you is certainly an adventure.”
“Would you rather have a boring husband?” I asked, half a smile trembling at my lips.
Shane froze in place, his head turning toward me. He looked at me intently; the silence in the room punctuating the suddenness of my remark.”
“I didn’t plan on asking you until next summer after taking you to that state park with the waterfall,” he admitted meekly.
“Oh,” I added casually, “I wasn’t asking you to marry me. Not yet. I didn’t figure that I would ask you until after I graduated from the auto mechanics program. I just wanted to know if you’d rather marry someone boring.” I got out of bed and walked over to him. I wrapped my arms around him. He was quiet.
“Here’s how I see this thing playing out,” I said.
“This thing?” he asked with a smile tugging at his mouth.
“Yeah. Our first Christmas. It starts with that big blue box in the corner.” I saw him glance toward the corner. “That’s right,” I continued. “You were supposed to open that one last night. After you see what’s in it, I think we should have something to eat. I’m going to let you make it because I’m still in a weakened condition.”
“Oh, you are, are you?”
“That’s right. I need to save my strength for the love-making we’re going to do after we open the other presents.”
“I thought we were going to sing Christmas songs after we opened the presents.”
“Well, we can, but I’m worried about my core temperature. It might still be a little low. I think we can use the science principles of friction to warm me up.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“You can sing while you’re making love to me,” I suggested. “In fact, it might be a nice change from all the grunting you usually do.”
Shane rolled his eyes.
“I heard that,” I grinned.
“Yeah? Well, you still roll your eyes louder than I do. And before I get all distracted by this sex talk, I want to know what’s in the box. It’s been bugging the shit out of me all week. It’s kind of big, and it doesn’t rattle.”
“You picked it up?” I feigned being dismayed.
“Of course,” Shane admitted proudly.
“You broke a cardinal rule of Christmas presents. You don’t shake them, and the only time you’re allowed to pick them up is to move them when reorganizing presents under the tree. I may have to give that gift to someone else now.”
“Don’t even try it,” he warned with a chuckle.
“Well, in that case, I’ll probate the sentence on account of ignorance. Now, go open it.”
Shane ran over and tore into the package as if he were six years old. “Clothes? You got me clothes?” He laughed as he pulled out a matching set of pajamas. He held them up and then began to cry. “I love them. And I love you.”
We put on our matching PJs and spent our first Christmas together realizing how blessed we truly were.
The world beyond was cruel and cold. But inside these walls, any walls, with him, we could conquer anything. Together, we would be valiant.
Together.
This was never intended to be a multi-chapter story, but as some of you pointed out, the two men were likable and deserved more. I gave them a few challenges, and as with most of my characters, love and happiness will rule the day. I appreciate all the comments and e-mails. I'll keep writing as long as you keep reading.
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