Empty Spaces

Okay, this will be one of my last introductions, I don't think I'll feel the need to continue them once I get to the point that I'm starting to post the continuation of this story that had never previously been posted. If you've kept reading from the beginning, thank you, I definitely appreciate the commitment to the characters and their stories. Hopefully it's not a let down, this part doesn't have any sex in it either...but it's the last time that will happen. And it was important to set up the first main romance in the series. It's (very!)-loosely based on personal history, and I wanted to stay as true to reality as possible. So once again, I hope you enjoy, and thank you! -Brad

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Going for a drive was one of the few things that didn’t make Seth Johnson feel like a complete loner in his new ‘gay’ reality. In fact it gave him a sense of freedom, of purpose, despite not having any particular destination in mind. Seth’s mind was such a buzz of worries, doubts, and nagging feelings of possible rejection, that it felt good to get away from it all. Soon he was on the outskirts of town, doing just a bit over the speed limit, noting how the summer breeze had a slight chill in it; fall was just around the corner.

After aimlessly driving around for awhile, with no real destination in mind, he finally decided it was probably around time to get back home. He knew his father would be off work soon-assuming he did in fact make it in today- and it was better that he be around, just in case he decided to try and drown his problems in beer and vodka. Seth felt bad for his dad, but all that he could do was stick around and try to clean up after the mess that he made. His dad was not known for his subtlety when he was drunk, and tended to break things, either by accident, or because he’d thrown them at Seth. Seth’s father, Nate, used to be an incredible father, and husband. But when his sister Carol had been stabbed in a seemingly random act of violence, the rage that Nate felt was inconsolable. That was when he started drinking. The loss of his sister fuelled this deep, dark part of Nate’s soul, and he just seemed to lose it. Seth’s mother, Claire, couldn’t take it anymore. She knew she had to leave, and she hated doing it, but there was no way she could live with him anymore. He was just a shell of a human being…he looked the same on the outside, but there was no trace of what he used to be on the inside.

Nate barely seemed to notice when Claire left him, deep down, he understood, but he was still torn up about Carol’s death, and he didn’t have time to worry about such a silly thing like divorce. His work had given him a lot of time off after her death, and he got even more during the divorce, but when he finally did return to his job at the steel plant, it just seemed to anger him more. He felt that he didn’t have a purpose. He just had his mindless job. So, a month later, he quit. Seth couldn’t bring himself to face his father and make him understand how stupid he was being, so he just silently went along with him. Nate had gotten several jobs after he quit the steel plant, but they had gotten progressively worse. Now, he was working a job that he hated even more. A 9-to-5 desk job in a cubicle, where he crunched numbers on his computer. The only reason that he kept this job was because the pay was pretty good, and he didn’t have to do a lot. Despite the fact that he still felt he was doing something useless, he had given up the idea of trying to live his dream, and just tried to live-period.

There had been two incidents over the past three years that Seth still tried to forget about-but they haunted his dreams. The first was coming home one day after football practice to find that his dad was nowhere to be found. Going into the backyard, Seth saw a ladder propped against a tree, right underneath a powerline. Seth saw Nate, standing next to the tree, preparing to ascend to his death. Seth didn't even really process what was happening, he ran to his father and tackled him down from where he had been starting to climb. He called the paramedics and they took Nate to the hospital. There, he proclaimed his anger at his son, and said, “You should have let me fucking die! I can’t deal with this, I can’t deal with you!” Eventually, after getting out of the hospital, he tried once again. This time, he waited until he knew that his son was going to be out of the house for a few hours, and he tied a cord to the shower rod in the bathroom and tried to hang himself from it. However, the rod broke while he was hanging there, and he was knocked out when he landed heavily. When Seth came home later that evening, he found his father, still alive, still unconscious, and once again got the paramedics to come. This time his father thanked his son, and told him, “Seth…there's nothing I can say that would make what I did okay, and I can't tell you how sorry I am…about everything. While I was hanging there; hanging onto life as it were, I got a sort of vision…from Carol. She told me that eventually everything would be ok, but I had to stick with it. I know she’s right, and I know that we can make it through this now. I just need you to be as strong as you have been.” This brought tears from both of them, and they had been closer since. However, Nate still wasn’t happy. They had never found Carol’s killer, and this thought of despair still lead to him drink his problems away. Every time he would drink, he would find fault with his son, and beat him, or throw things at him, or just verbally abuse him. It was a wonder that with all this, Seth was still able to remain a pretty decent human being.

So, as Seth drove back along the highway towards his house, it was with mixed feelings of despair, worry, and anger. Anger that his father couldn’t snap out of his problems and be a real father, the way that he used to be. Seth was still about three or four blocks away from his house when he saw someone running. He looked kind of familiar, and as he slowed down to look, the person came into view and looked at him too, showing his face. Realizing it was Corey Silver, and that he looked more upset that he’d ever seen him, Seth slowed down to talk to him. Corey was not a fan of Seth in any way, so he kept running, going faster now to try and get away. Seth, not understanding what was going on, and really only trying to help, decided to be a little more forceful. He sped up again, got in front of Corey, and then used his car to block his path. He threw open the door of the car without turning it off, and stepped outside. Corey was looking at him angrily, still with tears streaming down his handsome face.

“What the fuck do you want?” Corey said to Seth. Seth was taken aback; he’d never, in the 12 or so years of going to school with Corey, known him to swear. “Dude, chill…I just wanted to see what’s wrong, it’s obvious that you’re upset.” Corey looked at him and said quite snappishly, “Why do you fucking care if I look upset? Seth you're one of the most conceited, toxic people I've ever had the misfortune to meet-what do you know about real problems? You are the last person I want to see right now!” Really, he was the second-last, but Corey didn’t feel the need to be precise.

Seth was turning red in the face. His anger at being told that he was a stuck-up asshole, who didn’t have any problems was really too much. Everyone knew about their divorce, but almost no one knew at all about his father’s other problems. And since half of the people they went to school with had divorced parents, Corey hadn’t thought Seth was dealing with all that serious a problem, certainly not anything that merited trying to empathize with him for, or to see if there was anything else that he was going through. “You don’t know me at all! You don’t know what the fuck I’ve been through! How is it up to you to decide how I feel?” Seth practically shouted, tears welling up in hist beautiful blue eyes thinking about the past few days, this last summer, and all the problems he’d faced since his aunt had died. “You can’t…you don’t know what I’ve been through, so for you to judge me like that…” Seth couldn’t finish his sentence, he was crying too hard now.

Corey looked on shocked. He’d never seen this display of emotion from anyone like Seth before. He’d always looked so in-control, so calm, so cool…he couldn’t even begin to imagine what the boy was thinking. He felt bad for what he’d said, but he still didn’t want to talk to Seth. Of all people, Seth would understand his problems the least. So, trying to be as polite as possible he said, “Listen, I’m sorry for what I said, I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge you it’s just…well, it’s not as if you haven’t been an asshole in the past. Hell, you’ve pretty much been nothing but an asshole to everyone who isn’t ‘cool enough’ to be in your clique. I’m not trying to be rude, but I don’t like you. I don’t respect you. I don’t think I have anything in common with you. And, I’m okay with that. I’m happy not really knowing you, and you’ve been more than happy staying with your group of friends. Let’s keep it that way.”

Corey started to walk off, but Seth grabbed him by the arm. He wasn’t hurting him, but he wanted Corey to at least listen to what he said. “You know what? I probably deserve that, but what if I want to change? What if I want us to be friends? You haven’t exactly given me a chance to try to get to know you…” Corey looked at him, pityingly and said, without much emotion, “I don’t need to. I know exactly what kind of person you are. And that’s more than enough for me to know to stay away from you. Good-bye Seth…” And he walked away.

Seth didn’t understand. All he was trying to do was be nice by asking Corey what was wrong. He started to doubt himself. “Am I really an asshole like he says? Do I really make people feel that way about me?” he asked himself. He slowly got back into his car and continued on his way home, feeling much the worse for his run-in with Corey. Seth dried his face off with the towel that he kept in his gym bag for football practice, before he walked into his house. He didn’t want his father to know that he’d been crying. He reached the front door, and heard the familiar sounds of the television. How normal it seemed, coming home to a father watching some tv. But he knew that by now, his father would be on at least beer number seven, and probably down half a mickey of vodka…straight. Seth opened the door quietly, turning the door handle slowly, and pushing it until there was enough space for him to walk in. He closed the door behind him and walked into the living room.

There was his father, semi-conscious; sitting slumped on the couch, plastered in front of the television. Nate grunted at the presence of his son. “What tooky oo slong boy?” he slurred. “Dad, you know that I have tutoring after school on Wednesdays and Fridays. I just got held up a bit longer than usual trying to help this one kid with his math problems,” Seth said, keeping his voice level, so as not to betray how upset he was with the condition his father was in. Nate used to be a good looking guy. He kept himself fit, he ate healthy, and he took pride in his physical appearance. He had dressed a bit like a farmer back then, being from Alberta, and he often wore plaid shirts and even a Stetson every now and then, and he had a nice goatee as well. He had been such a handsome man, and his ‘almost Southern-drawl’ like voice had certainly attracted much attention when he was younger, including that of Seth’s mom. But now, in his present condition, Nate needed a shower, a haircut, and a shave. He was wearing the same ragged pair of jeans he’d worn for a few days now, and a shirt that looked as if it had been used to clean up mud from the floor. His hair was long and shaggy, and fairly unkempt, and his body odour had started to come across through his clothing. The only reason he was able to keep his job with this ragged appearance was because he did do a good job, and his bosses all felt sorry for him. But Seth wasn’t sure how much longer that was going to last.

Nate looked up at the boy and practically screamed with rage. “I don’t fuckin’ care what chu been doin’. I telly oo to be here for fuckin’ four clock, theny oo betta fuckin’ be here for fuckin’ four clock!” Seth kept himself calm, it was difficult, but he kept the pain and sadness out of his voice as he said, “Dad, I’m really sorry, it won’t happen again…” His dad looked at him in disgust. “That’s too righty oo won’ta! Now, get tha fuck outta here before I beat yer ass boy!” Seth hurried out of the room, his eyes stinging. It pained him to see his dad like this, but there wasn’t anything he felt he could do about it. He went to the kitchen to start making dinner. It was something he was expected to do every night, but Seth didn’t actually mind, he loved cooking, and it took his mind off his feelings. His cell buzzed, and he grabbed the sidekick he’d bought himself awhile ago, and clicked it on. “Hey Jules, what’s up?” He kept his voice sounding upbeat, and he thought he’d tricked her. “Okay, you always were the worst liar in history,” she responded, “what are you trying to hide? Seriously, I’m getting a little sick of you not trusting me with things…” Seth felt bad for not telling Julie; they were friends after all, and he had just dropped one bombshell on her that she took really well, but he just didn’t feel like this was something he was ready to talk about. “Okay, you’re right, I’m not exactly in the best mood right now,” he started, “but I really don’t feel like talking about this. I promise that I’ll tell you as soon as I’m ready, but until then, I need you to understand.” She hesitated a second, but decided against pushing the subject. “Ok, just promise me that eventually, when you feel up to it, you’ll tell me what’s going on. You know, after the other day, there’s obviously nothing I can’t handle, and Scott’s the same. He actually even told me that he respects you even more for being brave enough to come out to us…he’s really proud of you!” Seth smiled at this. It was something he needed; to hear that his friends were still definitely okay with him. “Yeah, don’t worry, I do promise to tell you. It’s just…I’m not ready to talk about this yet. But, how about dinner on Friday at Dock’s? You, Scott, and I…we always have a great time there. Remember the time we honestly got drunk on virgin Daiquiris?” Julie laughed lightly, “Are you kidding me? The waitress was wondering whether or not to take Scott’s keys, but when she saw the bill and realized none of us had had a single drop of alcohol she just thought we were nuts! Friday is definitely on, I can’t wait. And make sure you stay out of trouble, alright? I need you to be able to talk to us on Friday! I love you, and I’ll see you there!” Seth hung-up the phone, and continued making their dinner. He put half of it on a plate for his father, and brought it out to him in the living room. The tv was still on, but his father had fallen asleep in his drunken stupor. Seth placed the plate on a tv tray in front of the man, and went back to the kitchen to eat his share.

When Seth had finished eating, he went up to his room and tried to focus on doing his homework. But his mind was just not in it, and for some reason, he felt himself being drawn to the river. He just felt the urge to drive out to the waterfront. He snuck out of his room and went downstairs. Seeing that the plate of food was empty, the tv was off and his dad was asleep again, Seth crept out the door and into his car. He put the top back up, noting that it had gotten colder, and grabbed his favourite Bench sweater from the backseat. Throwing it on, he got in the driver’s seat and started up the engine, feeling content for the first time since coming home; the car a constant reminder of the presence of his mom in his life. He connected his phone and went to his music library, selecting his favourite song by The Frey. He had always felt the music made him feel, in all the senses, and the song's lyrics told a story that was reminiscent of his own life. He pulled out of the driveway and made his way downtown.

Finally arriving at the mall, he parked by the Cineplex at the far end of the parking lot. He turned off the car and and stepped outside, locking it behind him. He walked away from the mall, towards the boardwalk and the river. Looking across to the far side of the river, he could see the buildings of the city with the same name, yet somehow in a completely different country. He noted that there were more US flags flying from two or three buildings on the other side of the river, than there were flags on the Canadian side. “Ha, that’s patriotism for you…” He laughed to himself.

Seth started walking along the boardwalk towards the marina. He didn’t know why exactly, but something there was pulling him towards it. As he got closer, he noticed that there was only one car in the lot, a metallic blue Jeep that he recognized from school, but he couldn’t think of whose it was. As he kept walking towards the marina, he saw a figure at the end of the boardwalk, their silhouette making a strange shape with the railing at the edge of the walkway. In a flash, Seth knew exactly what was happening, the person, whoever it was, was standing on the far side of the railing. The side directly above the cold water of the fast moving St. Mary’s. Seth had no idea how he had been drawn there, but he knew exactly why. This person was about to let himself fall in! There was no way that Seth could not intervene, whether or not he actually knew the person, or whether he even liked whoever it was-Seth had endured too much death and suffering in his lifetime to allow another person to end one more if he could do something to stop it. He ran quickly to the end of the boardwalk, until he was within a few feet of whoever it was; it was still too dark out for him to see, all he could tell was that it was a guy.

“Please don’t do this…it’s not the right answer. Whatever problems you have, we can sort them out…please don’t let go!” Seth pleaded, hoping that the person could heed his warning. Then he heard a response, in a strangely familiar voice. “You don’t know me! You don’t have any idea what I’m going through. Just leave me alone, to do this one last thing in peace!” Suddenly it came to him. “Corey, please don’t jump, you mean too much to too many people. What about your parents? What about Lauren? Not to mention everyone in the world who enjoys your show…including me!”

Corey was shocked to realize that it was Seth once again. He didn’t understand why this guy just wouldn’t leave him alone. But as he thought about what Seth had said, he realized he was right. He couldn’t just leave his parents, or Lauren…not like this. Not because of Kyle. Corey deserved better than someone like that, and he deserved a better farewell than letting Kyle get the best of him. He slowly drew back from the edge, and made his way back over the railing. Corey was lifting his right leg over the wooden railing when he heard a horrifying sound. The snapping of wooden planks beneath his feet! With a look of sheer horror on his face, Corey began falling into the rushing water below. He just managed to grab hold of the railing with one hand before he was all the way in, but he knew he couldn’t hold on for long. The water was much colder than he would have expected, and it was sapping every last bit of energy from his body. He knew he was going to die, and he realized this really wasn’t how he wanted to go.

Seth reacted almost instantly and used his football training to tackle the railing next to him, and brake off a shaft of wood about a meter long. He held the beam with both hands, and slowly lowered it to within reach of Corey, whose face was slowly turning blue. “Hold on Corey!" he yelled, hoping Corey was still conscious enough to hear and understand 'I'm not letting you go!' he was saying in his head. Corey was almost at the point of losing consciousness when the beam of wood was finally within his grasp. With a big lunge, he reached out, but he missed the beam. He was able to grasp onto the same piece of railing as before, but there was no way he was going to be able to try again; he just didn’t have the strength. He had never been a good swimmer, and the thought of drowning terrified him. Seth realized that the chunk of wood wasn’t going to work, so he remembered his NLS training, and began tearing off his clothes. With just his boxers left, he jumped to the edge of the railing. There was no way even he could beat the current with an undertow as strong as this one, he only had one chance to grab Corey. Taking a deep breath, Seth wrapped his legs around one of the remaining wooden posts of the railing, and let his torso drop down into the icy water. Immediately, he started losing strength. Fighting to stay afloat in the current, he reached out and grabbed Corey’s hand, just as he was letting go. With a great effort, he was able to grab Corey’s other hand, and started to pull. He heard creaking from behind him, and he realized that the part of the boardwalk he was dangling from was moments from breaking off. He had to move quickly if he was going to save Corey-and himself.

Using all the strength he could muster, he pulled himself back up to the boardwalk, still holding on to both of Corey’s hands. Corey was now unconscious. With one last great pull, he was able to heave them both back onto the walkway. Fighting against the cold setting in, Seth tried to remember his mouth-to-mouth training. Knowing that help would take too long to get there, he was the only chance that Corey had. Seth placed his mouth against Corey’s, and was shocked by how cold they were. Scared as hell, he began filling Corey’s lungs with air, and listening to see if it had worked. He heard nothing, and Corey still wasn’t breathing on his own. So Seth tried again, breathing his own air into Corey’s lungs. Again and again he did this, praying that he wasn’t too late. Just when he was about to give up hope, Corey coughed, and spluttered, and a mouthful of water came shooting out of his mouth. Seth was so relieved, and he picked Corey up and pulled the other boy to him, trying to warm them both up. Corey was delirious, but alive, and the warmth of the other boy’s body was helping. Corey knew that there was still a good chance that Corey would get hypothermia, and knowing he wasn’t far from the hospital, he scooped Corey up into his arms, grabbed his clothes, and ran for his car. He tossed his clothes in the backseat, and laid Corey down on top of them, trying to make a sort of bed. He jumped into the driver’s seat, and without putting on his seatbelt, he took off, like a bat out of hell.

They made it to the hospital in record time, and he again grabbed Corey out of the backseat. He saw that he was shivering fiercely and made a mad dash into the emergency room. The nurse at the front desk took one look at the boys, one of whom was clearly still turning blue, and said, “Take him to floor three right now, I’ll have a nurse ready to receive him as soon as you get there! Run!” Not stopping for a millisecond, Seth did exactly as she said, and was relieved to see not only a nurse ready for them, but also a doctor and a wheeled stretcher. He laid Corey down on the bed, and as he was rolled away by the doctor, his heart finally slowed down for the first time since he’d seen a mysterious figure at the end of the boardwalk.

After pulling on his clothes once again, and parking his car in the visitor’s lot, Seth made his way back into the hospital. He went back up to the third floor, and sat in the waiting room. After about 20 minutes, Corey's parents arrived, wrought with panic and worry. He barely had time to point them in the direction of his room before they were off again, without so much as a whisper. Seth couldn’t help but worry about Corey; after all, he admired him so much, and despite their earlier argument, he felt that they had so much in common, he almost felt as though he needed the other boy. The time in the waiting room seemed to snail by, and every time a doctor or a nurse would walk by, he would look up hoping to hear good news. But each one would just continue walking down the hallway, and Seth would continue to wait.

It was almost three o’clock in the morning by the time someone came to get him. A very pretty nurse, in her mid twenties came to get Seth, smiling at him. “Thanks to your efforts young man, Mr. Silver is going to be just fine, although he is quite shaken up, as anyone would. His parents would like to speak with you, and Corey himself specifically asked that you to come see him.” She smiled at him again, and led him to Corey’s room. “I’ll leave you guys alone, but only for ten minutes. He is recovering from quite a traumatic experience, and he needs his sleep, ok?” Seth agreed and walked into the room, a little awkwardly…he wasn’t sure how to feel.

Seth was looking at his feet and didn’t look up until he got to the bed. Slowly he raised his eyes to see Corey’s face, a more-or-less normal colour, but very shaken up. Corey smiled at Seth, and for some unknown reason, this one smile made his heart jump. “You saved my life,” Corey said simply, “…you saved my life after everything that I said. I guess that means that I don’t know what I’m talking about. If you had been who I thought you were, you wouldn’t have done even half the things you did for me.” The smile that had been on his face disappeared slowly. “I owe you an explanation, but I’m just not ready to talk about it. I just need some time to think things over. I want you to know though, that I’m so grateful for you being there for me, and...I’m sorry for everything I said…” A single tear escaped his eye, and somehow, in his soul, Seth knew exactly what Corey had been through. It was something like what he himself had been through this past summer. He didn’t need to say anything; he just reached out and grasped the other boy’s hand in his. They smiled softly at each other, knowing that they had both misjudged the other, and Corey gradually fell asleep, still holding Seth’s hand. When the nurse did come back, she was with Corey’s parents who thanked Seth for doing what he did for their son. He felt a little awkward around them, but said that he would return to visit soon. The nurse felt awful for asking Seth to leave; there was never a good time to bring bad news, but the sooner the better, and it was important that no one else be around to hear...