A note: just a reminder from the last chapter - this is set at least 10 years ago.
I would love comments - I really want to improve my writing but need feedback to be able to tell what is/isn't working. Thanks for reading and please rate if you enjoy it.
*****
Brookes implemented new programs that were far more fun, and voluntary, than the old ones. With Willis gone, he had a word with the doctor and the priest, letting them know that they were no longer operating under the old rules and informed consent was mandatory. Though the atmosphere was almost vacation-like, through it all Sean was miserable, immune to attempts to bring him out of his funk by Logan, Brookes, and James. Everywhere he went in the compound he was reminded of being happy with Jake.
So, he was relieved when Saturday came and Brookes took him home. He'd said goodbye to Logan and James and the others, promising to see them in the real world, but his heart wasn't in it even though he knew he'd miss their easy companionship.
When they drew up in front of his house Brookes turned to Sean.
"I want to thank you. Your presence there did more than you could ever know." Sean hugged him.
"So has yours, with me. I know a lot more about myself than I think I ever would have without you." Sean stood on the path waving Brookes off, reluctant to enter the house.
Finally, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the non-judgmental, free air of 'here', before entering 'there'. He was greeted with a 'Welcome Home Sean' banner strung above the breakfast bar, clearly handcrafted by his little sisters. Sophie saw him first and squealed her delight, running over for a full-body bear hug. He hugged her back before turning to Katy and repeating the process.
To his surprise, Alexie was standing beneath the banner, with a wide smile on her face and waggling eyebrows - clearly trying to tell him something. He had no idea; he'd just run with whatever she did. That was the usual procedure with free-spirited Alexie anyway. He briefly shook hands with his stern stepfather and hugged his mom, who buried her face in his neck and sobbed.
"It's so good to have you back Sean, we've missed you so much."
Alexie strode over when Sean had managed to extricate himself from his mother's clutches and wrapped him in a huge hug.
"Go with it," she whispered in his ear, before pulling back and planting a warm kiss on his lips. It was like an old sweater, they'd done this so many times before, and he had no problem putting on an enormously heterosexual show, to the point where his stepfather finally coughed disapprovingly.
"Eurgh, gross," Sophie blew a raspberry and she and Katy went off to grab snacks from the platters laid out on the counter. Alexie held Sean's shoulders.
"It's so good to see you Sean," she was waggling those damn eyebrows again. "You're so naughty, going to wilderness camp without even telling me." She batted his upper arm coquettishly. Sean thought she was laying it on a bit thick, but his mother seemed to be lapping it up, smiling indulgently at their interaction.
"Well...you know...away from people and all that..." he managed not to laugh, just, "I've missed you, too, Al" he said, hugging her to him.
Sean's mom asked Alexie to watch the girls and gestured for Sean to follow her to his stepfather's study.
"Sean, we truly are happy to have you back, and we're very happy you and Alexie don't seem to have been negatively affected by your little...problem," Sean managed to keep his face neutral, despite the cacophony of thoughts behind his dulled eyes.
"But you know you'll have to earn our trust back," she continued.
"Of course, mom, I understand," he knew his voice was monotone, but it's the best he could do. She handed him his college laptop.
"Log in, and then onto that Facebook," Sean did as he was told. He didn't see that he had an alternative. He saw that he had multiple messages waiting, but before he could click his mother whipped the computer from his hands.
She clicked, and read through some. Sean knew they would be innocent enough. Sam wouldn't have messaged lately and most would probably be about sports or lectures, probably asking where the hell he was. Then she spoke.
"Who is 'Jake'?"
"Just a friend I met there," Sean said, praying he hadn't said anything sexual in the message, "what does he say?" he added, optimistically.
"Just asked you to message him. I don't think so though. We want to put this unfortunate time behind us. I don't think any of us need to be reminded of you needing to go there," she clicked the delete button, and Sean had to stop himself from crying out in dismay.
"What is it with young people today not even using their real names on this 'social networking'?" she questioned her husband absently. She clicked into the settings and adjusted the password details. Then she did the same to his MySpace account.
"One of the ways to regain our trust will be by moving away from all this silly technology. You can spend time with appropriate friends in person. If you need the internet for study you can use the house computer when we are here. I also threw away your phone; far too much risk," Sean had been given an iPhone 2 for Christmas. His mother handed him his old flip phone.
"You can use that to talk to Alexie. I have given her your number. I will be checking your phone, so don't go adding more numbers without checking with me," she said with what she probably thought was a calming smile.
"Of course," Sean mumbled.
Sean was becoming frustrated with the litany of rules his mother was putting in place. He could only be out of the house for classes, study and exercise and she had to know where he was at all times.
"Mom, I can't live like that, I'm an adult. What about Alexie? She's not going to put up with never being able to go anywhere," he demanded.
"Alexie will understand. You'll tell her you want to simplify your life. We can come to some agreement about you taking her out once in a while once you're settled back in," his mother was stern.
"But mooom," he whined. He'd known it wouldn't be as straightforward as before, but he hadn't realized it would go like this.
"That's enough!" she commanded, "While you're under our roof you will live be our rules. And I have plenty of people on campus to make sure you are doing the right thing by your family."
"So, what if I move out?"
"And how would you pay for that?" she scoffed. "Anyway, that is not happening," she was becoming angry and unreasonable. "If you even think about leaving, I will make sure the college no longer accepts you, and that no good-quality college in the country will. Good luck going to law school after being at Community College."
Sean feared she wasn't exaggerating. She had tenure and was well respected in both the community and the wider academic arena. He believed her when she said she had that power. He'd heard stories of students being blacklisted for many spurious reasons and didn't want to join their ranks.
His mother wanted to have his homecoming 'party' then and act like everything was normal. He couldn't bring himself to do that and claimed a bad headache and tiredness from all the physical activity while he'd been away. If only she knew. He said goodbye to Al and whispered to her on the doorstep that he'd explain everything when he got a chance.
Sean spent the next few weeks in a daze. It was the summer vacation, but he had a lot of work to catch up on so focused on that. His mother watched him and checked his phone. He went to the gym and to the library, on his own and with Al, regularly, but it was obvious the College staff were keeping an eye on his actions. He managed to explain some basic stuff to Al through sneaky quiet whispers, but he kept details of Jake to himself. He felt as though he owed it to Sam to tell him first and had no idea when he'd be able to see him, as he was spending the summer with his parents.
He felt bereft without Jake. Even more so when he considered he didn't even know if Jake was missing him at all. Maybe this was a perfect, drama-free outcome for him. Having to maintain a happy façade when he was around his family so much was exhausting. Sean was happy when the break was over and he could get back to school, to try and get back some semblance of normality.
At his first practice back he was looking forward to seeing Sam, even though he knew he'd have to be careful. He didn't show. In the changing room, when everyone else had gone, he asked Coach where he was.
"He's not on the team anymore. He's playing field hockey and soccer this season," Sean was horrified.
"Did you kick him off the team?" he whispered.
"I was instructed to. He's lucky he didn't get kicked out of college. Your mother does have that power, you know?"
"You know...?"
"Your mother told me some information and I extrapolated the rest and spoke to Sam, off the record. Your mother asked me to watch you and report back to her. I think she assumed I'd be sympathetic to what she considers her problem. She is wrong. But you need to know that if you meet Sam here, and I don't report it, if she finds out it will be my job." Coach looked compassionately at Sean.
"I won't," Sean was miserable. It had been three months since he'd got back and he still hadn't seen Sam - too scared of his mother's spies. And now he wouldn't be seeing him at practice.
