The Trip

This is a description of what a Cat 3 hurricane is like for people who have never been through a hurricane: Sustained winds of 111 mph with gusts of up to 130 mph, some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings, with a minor amount of curtain wall, outside walls, failures. Mobile homes are destroyed. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by floating debris. Terrain may be flooded well inland. With a water surge of 9-12 ft

I have had the honor of beta-reading CE300's work. We submit stories to share something; a simple gift that we don't take lightly. Even when he was going through a rather rough period he wrote to me, concerned with when he would be able to deliver this chapter. I hope you enjoy this final chapter of The Trip. I know I did. Peace and Joy all, Shell.

Ch. 4 Homecoming

Lying there with Justin in his arms Josh must have dozed off because the knocking at the door startled him. Carefully he moved Justin off of him, and wrapped himself in a towel and made his way to the door.

"Hey you guys might want to get dressed and head back to the basement." Marks eyes had none of their usual merriment in them.

"Dude, what's wrong? I don't like the look in your eyes." Josh said as he moved to the hallway and shut the door so as not to wake Justin.

"Shane says the wall of the hurricane is here and everyone needs to be below ground."

"Okay, let me wake Justin and we'll be right down."

Josh walked back into the room to find Justin up and sitting on the bed. He walked over giving him a kiss then explained what Mark had relayed. He tried to stay as calm as he could cause so as not to alarm Justin, but Justin sensed that things where a great deal worse than what Josh was letting on. When they reached the living room Justin witnessed the growing ferocity of the storm through the back door they hadn't had time to cover.

The lake house was on the northern face of the mountain saving it from wind damage in previous storms. There was no peaceful surface on the lake as the winds churned the waters.

Justin's anxiety was ratcheted up when he saw the power that the storm was unleashing. Reaching the relative protection of the basement eased him a little. Josh made his way over to Jason, whose usual self assured demeanor was blown away by the rising winds.

"What's going on?"

"We're in trouble. I listened to the radio; this storm is bad it categorized a 3 that means winds of 111mph to 130."

"Do you think we'll be safe here?" Josh asked.

"As long as we stay in the basement and don't leave till it's over then yes I think we should be fine."

Jason tried to hide the worry in his voice but it was no use. Josh was really worried now. Jason was one of the most masculine guys he knows, nothing scared him. They went to Terror behind the walls for Halloween and that didn't even faze him. But now when he looked into his eyes he saw something he had never seen before, it was fear.

"Tell me the truth, cause your eyes are telling a different story." Josh said as he pulled Jason toward the stairs.

"We're in deep shit here. This storm has winds of up to 130mph, we're surrounded by trees and there is a lake less than 500 feet from the house. Yeah the house sits uphill but you never know what could happen. I'm more worried about the rain water rushing down the mountain." Jason's lips were tight as he voiced his concerns. He hated being at the mercy of anything including his own fear.

"Do you think we should have left?" Josh was starting to think that they should have.

"No, the traffic trying to get away from the storm would've been horrendous since it was last minute. I have no doubt in my mind we would have been caught out in this. I say we just batten down and try to keep our minds off of what's going on outside." Jason met Justin's eyes and held them as he spoke he knew he had already been through enough as it was. He did not want Justin to think he bore any blame for their current situation. As usual their intelligent friend had made the right choice, it wasn't his fault there was no perfect solution.

Josh felt lost and helpless. This trip was pushing him further and further outside of his realm. Hell, up to this point he was the heir apparent; a life of where nothing was out of reach. He had been the star quarter back for his football team, top jock in all sports he played, prom king two years running, whatever he said or did it happened. Now here he was in the middle of the sticks with a hurricane outside the door and he couldn't do a thing to stop it. All he wanted to do was grab Justin and run like the wind to carry them off to safety. He pulled himself together knowing that he had to stay strong for Justin. As he sat on the couch he pulled Justin into him and wrapped his arm around him. He never thought that he could enjoy holding someone as much as he did with Justin, and he knew that Justin felt safe in his arms. At least there was one thing he still had control of.

****

"I can't believe that school is already over. It seems just like it was yesterday that we were starting 9th grade." Shane said he was clearly bored with the card game.

"I know just think in a few months we'll all be going off to college." Jason said with a slight tone of sadness in his voice.

"So since you and Justin are a couple, I'm assuming that you guys are, are you guys going to try and get a dorm together?" Shane asked as he shifted on the couch to face Josh and Justin.

"Well I'm not......" Josh started to say but Justin put his hand on his leg to stop him.

"If I was going to Rowan I'm sure we would."

"What do you mean 'if'?" Shane asked as the other guys all turned their attention to Justin.

"Angel you don't have to say anything." Josh said. He could see the look in Justin's deep blue eyes that he wasn't ready for this secret to be let out.

"Everyone is going to find out sooner or later. I'm not going to Rowan because I have to start my radiation therapy next week."

"Radiation therapy for what?!" Shane asked, not wanting confirmation of what he knew.

"I have stage 1 thyroid cancer and the doctors want me to go for radiation therapy rather then get an operation. But if it doesn't respond then I may have to have surgery, so either way no plans for college for a while."

"Oh my god. Justin I'm sorry I didn't mean to pry like that." Shane wished he had kept playing cards and felt horrible that he had asked the question.

"It's okay I was going to tell you guys anyway but I was going to wait till the last night to break the news."

"So when did you find this out?" Jason asked.

"I found out right before school let out. They wanted me to start the therapy this week but I told them that I had this trip planned out and I was not going to miss it since it's the last time we will be together."

"What do you mean the last time?" Jason queried confused.

"This is the last summer of our high school years. After this everyone is going off to college and when next summer comes around some of you will have summer jobs or internships, we might not be able to get together like this. That's why I told them to wait till next week; I wasn't going to miss this for anything."

"Damn Justin, what's the survival rate for this?" Jason asked.

"Pretty good since they found it early and it's fairly common."

The news was just too much for Josh to handle. He felt like his entire would was crashing down around him before it really even started. There was too much out of his control. Thoughts of losing Justin flooded his head like a raging river, even Justin's assurance the outlook was promising could not hamper the flow of emotions. 'What ifs' assaulted him. No matter how he looked at it no cancer was good no matter how common it might be. Josh felt that familiar tightening in his chest and could feel the tears start to form in his eyes. He tried to hold back the tears but it was no use a singular tear escaped his eye and rolled down his face.

"They caught it in time hun." Justin hadn't even realized that he called Josh that till he saw the look on Josh's face. Josh reached over and pulled Justin into him and held onto him with all of his strength.

"I know but I don't want to lose you; I've only started to love you."

"The doctors told me that I have an outstanding chance of beating this. Thyroid cancer has a high survival rate with treatment."

"You don't think you could do the therapy and go to school at the same time?" Mark asked as he moved closer to Justin.

"I had talked to my doctor about it and he advised against it since some of the side effects are tiredness and a loss of white blood cells. With going to college and the stress of that life style he said it could really hurt my recovery."

Josh was overwhelmed with the news and planted a kiss on Justin's lips right in front of the other guys. The president could have been standing there and he wouldn't have cared. All he cared about was his little angel. The kiss took Justin by surprise which caused him to pull away, feeling uneasy doing that in front of the guys. Josh noticed this and he felt bad that he caused Justin embarrassment.

"Damn guys I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that in front of you." Josh said as he started to feel guilty for kissing Justin in front of them.

"Dude! Don't ever be sorry for showing your affection for the one you love. If someone has a problem with it then that is their issue not yours. The only time it's your problem is if you feel guilty or embarrassed. I give you mad credit for doing that." Mark said as he gave both of them a playful smile.

His words put both of them at ease, Josh more than Justin. Justin was not used to someone showing him this type of affection and he was surely not used to a guy showing him any type. His dad never told him that he loved him or hugged him. He couldn't remember the last time his dad showed any interest in his life. Then his father wormed his way into his consciousness. If Josh slipped up and kissed him in front of their friends like this what would happen if he slipped and called him hun or love or angel in front of his dad. Considering his grim fate caused a visceral reaction, the onslaught of triggered a migraine.

Josh noted the change in Justin immediately. "Headache?"

He nodded in affirmation. Did Josh know him that well?

"I think my heads going to pop; I'll run up and grab my pills."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I can get them for you."

"Josh I can get it, I'll be quick."

Justin emerged from the basement and got a good look out the back door at what the storm was doing. He had never in his life seen anything like that before. The trees where bending and swaying in the wind so hard they looked like those blow up dolls you see in front of car dealerships. The rain was pelting the window with such force it sounded as if it was raining pebbles and the old lake house moaned and creaked under the mercy of the wind. Justin wasted no more time looking at the storm, made his way to the bedroom and to his suitcase where the pills lay. His hands were shaking and he struggled with the lid but he finally got it open. He shook out three pills, exceeding the recommended dose, went to the bathroom and swallowed them down. He wished the fifteen minutes to pass swiftly so the pills could breech his wall of pain.

He was making his way back down the stairs when a tree finally gave into the brutal wind and came crashing down on the house. The impact shook the house to its foundation. The tree landed on the back deck smashing it to rubble and crushing the doors.

Adrenaline carried him to the bottom of the stairs toward the basement. Josh and the other guys came running up the stairs to see what had happened. Wordlessly Josh grabbed Justin and they jostled back to the basement. Josh was gripping Justin's hand and he could feel Justin trembling.

"Angel are you okay?"

"Yeah, just scared. Maybe we should have tried to make a run for it?"

"No, we did the right thing staying here. If it's this bad here just think what it is like out there in the open. We will be safe as long as we stay down here."

"If something happens to one of the guys they are going to blame me cause it was my idea to stay."

"Justin, you didn't hold a gun to our heads we all agreed it was the better choice to stay here and ride it out. So if something would happen, which I don't think it will, no one is to blame." Josh said as he tried to reassure him. "Let's go over to the couch and relax. You can lay your head on my lap and I'll rub it to try and help with your headache." Josh said as he enveloped him in the safety of his arms.

****

It was about 5pm when Jason told them that he was going to shut the generator down to give it a rest and save some fuel. With the force of the storm he had no idea when they might be able to leave and didn't want to run the risk of running out of fuel, even though he knew the tank was extra-large he didn't want to take any chances. Everyone agreed with his prudence and they lit some candles and broke out the monopoly board and started playing a heated game. Putting five jocks in one room and having them play a game of monopoly may not have been the brightest idea they had. Josh looked over at Justin, who was sitting on the couch, invited him to join. Justin just shook his head silently. It wasn't long before Josh was bankrupt and took a seat next to Justin; he mumbled that he always hated that game anyway and the other guys just laughed. By the time it was down to Shane and Mark the other guys had fallen asleep in the dimly lit basement.

"Look this game is going to go on all night long at this rate." Mark said.

"Are you saying you're going to forfeit?" Shane said with a smirk on his face.

"Hell no! I think we should just call a tie."

"Hmm, okay I am getting a little tired and my eyes are killing me from trying to strain in this light."

"Good! Mine too, but I wasn't gonna admit it." Mark said as they both laughed.

"What a trip this has turned out to be. It's going to be talked about for year to come." Shane said as he packed up the game board.

"You're telling me. It's funny how you think you know someone and something like this happens and it just turns your world upside down." Mark said as he looked at the other guys sleeping.

"Yeah Justin and Josh and Steve are all dealing with some heavy issues. Justin has cancer and their love triangle made things worse. Did you think they were gay?"

"Not so much Justin, I kind of always thought he was. Josh on the other hand, really shocked me. He had no gay tendencies that I could see." Mark shrugged.

"Yeah, it was kind of a shocker for me too. Now Steve on the other hand, I could tell. It was easy the way he kinda clung onto Josh any chance he could get." Shane cast his eyes on the sleeping Adonis.

"I just hope that Steve can get help, never mind that he's gay, his temper is scary, the way he flew off the handle. Him being drunk off his ass didn't help any I'm sure."

"I think this trip has been an awaking experience for all of us. It just goes to show that you might be friends with someone all your life and there are still things that you don't know about them."

"Well, I think I'm going to try and get some sleep. I'm sure there's going to be a lot to clean up tomorrow." Mark said as he got up from the table.

"Alright, I'm going to turn in. There is no point staying up in the dark alone, no television or internet, what's the point."

Shane went around and blew out the few candles that were still lit and sat down in one of the recliners. Sitting there in the dark he could hear the howling of the wind and it did not seem to sound as harsh, maybe the storm was finally moving on.

Josh was the first one to wake up, as he started to get up he noticed that it was quiet, too quite. He decided to not to wake anyone else and ventured upstairs. He made his way up the stairs to the front door, and when he opened it the sight that greeted him left him stunned. The lake now looked like nothing more than a strange parade flotilla of debris wafting along. Most of the trees had lost most of their leaves from the force of the wind. Splintered branches covered everything, like a spilled box of toothpicks on the floor. He was happy to see that the cars had made it through the storm relatively untouched but he could tell that the lake was closer to them now then it was before the storm moved through.

"Wow, it sure is a mess out here." Jason said as he came out the front door.

"Yeah it is. I'm just glad that we made it through in one piece, well pretty much one piece. Is Justin awake?"

"Nah, he was still sleeping when I came up. This is going to be one hellava mess to clean up." Jason said as he took in all the sights.

"Well you have all of us here to help you out, and that should help some."

"But you and Justin should really start heading for home. You guys have a lot to take care of." Now that the storm had passed Jason was firmly himself again.

"I know but I want to leave early in the morning and I just can't leave a mess for the rest of you guys to clean up. Besides who even knows if we can get out of here."

"True, thanks man. Okay, I'd better call my parents and let them know what happened to the house."

Within a few hours the guys were busy helping with the cleanup, after they took pictures of the damage. Jason and Josh toiled outside cutting with the chainsaw the fallen tree that had landed on the back deck, while Shane and Mark gathered the branches putting them in a pile next to the shed for the guys to cut up later. Steve removed the boards from all the windows and doors. Justin worked in the living room cleaning up the broken glass and door shards when Steve approached from behind. He was startled when he saw the larger man at his vulnerable back. A memory of Steve's aggression as well as his father's flooded back into his mind. Again he let his guard down and now he was trapped alone in a room with Steve, a wildebeest before a lion. He knew that even if he screamed no one would hear him over the roar of the chainsaw. He started to tremble from the fear of what Steve might do.

"Justin, you need any help in here?"

"N-no. I-I'm fine."

"Justin are you okay? You're trembling." Steve said as moved towards him, but he saw Justin back away.

"Oh yeah, I'm the reason for that. I'll make this as short as I can and then I'll leave you alone. I know I apologized in front of everyone, but I wanted to tell you this one on one. I know I've always been an ass to you, and it's always been me, never you." Steve decided not to tell Justin that he was in love with Josh because he knew what awaited Justin when he got back. "I have issues, and my main issue with you was jealousy."

Justin raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"No really. You moved seamlessly in our circle, a bunch of jocks who in some form knew each other most of our lives. You don't play sports and yet everyone took to you; respects your opinion. You have something in you I wished I had; a kind of strength that for all of these muscles I don't have. That strength is how I know you're going to come through treatment and be fine." He knew that as much as he loved and wanted to be with Josh that Justin was the right guy for him. He also knew that Justin needed Josh more than ever due to what he faced when he returned home.

Justin could tell that Steve wasn't bull shitting him. He could tell by looking in his eyes that he was being sincere. Steve was actually the first person in his life that had apologized for hurting him; he really didn't know how to react to this new feeling.

"I forgive you."

"Wow, thanks. I really didn't expect you to."

"I can tell that you really meant what you said and not saying it just to appease everyone," Justin paused, "plus I guess I am pretty awesome, some jealousy is understandable."