“I’ve been reading what the papers have said about you, Thomas. Please tell me that they have it wrong. That you didn’t kill those people by having sex with them. Then burning down a home because you thought that the owner had put it in the paper about what you were?” Thomas asked his dad what part he didn’t want to believe. “I don’t want to believe any of it. But a great deal of it bothers me, son. Do you have HIV?”
“Yes. Lucky me. I have a disease that helps me kill off the people easier. You should be proud of me.” Dad asked him why he’d think he should be proud. “I told you what I was going to do, didn’t I? You can’t think that I’m still gay, do you? After all that I’ve done for mankind?”
“I think that you need help.” Thomas asked him if he knew someone that could carry on for him now that he was getting sicker. “No. I don’t mean that sort of help. I think you need help with your thoughts. You can’t possibly think that this is the right thing to do, Thomas. We didn’t raise you like that. I’ll give you bail money and a good attorney if you come home and seek help. I should have done it years ago.”
“Dad, I’m not mentally ill. I’m a man on a mission. And I’ll be able to carry it out again once you get me out of this place. Just help me this one time. I’ve never asked you for anything before concerning what I do.” Dad didn’t answer him, but he could hear him crying. “Dad, please. I can’t do anything from here.”
“I’m afraid that you’re finished, Thomas.” He asked his dad what he meant. “I’m not going to help you unless you admit that you have a problem. I don’t know why it upsets you so much that you’re a homosexual, son, but obviously it has. You never understood that no one cares anymore what your sexual orientation is. It bothered you on levels that I just don’t understand.”
“You’re right, you just don’t understand. And if you call me that once more, I’m going to hunt you down and show you just how I take care of them.” Dad told him he was sorry. “Don’t be sorry, Dad, just help me get out of here.”
“No. I’m sorry I can’t help you. I won’t help you. You’re sick, son. As much as I hate to say this, I’m ashamed of you. Not for being gay, which you are, but for thinking that there is something wrong with someone being that way.” Before he could correct his dad on what he said, Dad continued. “You’ve made your bed, now you’re going to have to deal with the consequences of it. I have nothing more to say to you. Nothing at all. Do not call here again.”
The dead line had made him angry. Banging the handle of the phone on the wall until it broke didn’t make him feel any better about the fact that Dad had hung up on him either. But it did get him into trouble with the cops.
Since then he’d not said a single word to anyone, not even the court appointed attorney that had been assigned to him because his father wouldn’t help. Calling him back the next day had done nothing for him. The number had been changed, and there wasn’t anyone that would help him get the new one. His family had deserted him in his hours of need.
“Mr. Bailey, Thomas Bailey?” Instead of answering the person, he turned around and looked at the door. “I’m here to represent your father in the matter of you burning down the house of Mr. Carey. Do you know where I can find him?”
Thomas just rolled to his side again. Of course his dad would help out someone else. Not him. And it wasn’t because he was gay, either. When the man laughed, Thomas had to fight the tears that seemed to fill his eyes every time he thought of him.
The man spoke again. “Mr. Bailey, I’m also to inform you that you’ve been removed from the will of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bailey, Senior. That all monies that were to come to you have been forfeited and given to the families of the victims that you murdered.” Thomas sat up then, and stared at the man standing there. “In accordance with the law and as requested by Mrs. Thomas Bailey, you will not contact them again. They have a restraining order put out against you. However, the Baileys have paid for your funeral. When you pass on, the police have knowledge of how to reach someone that will notify them of your demise. The family cemetery that has been in the Bailey family for generations will not accept your remains. Do you have any questions?”
Shaking his head, Thomas took the envelope the man held out to him. Thomas sat there while the man, whoever he was, left. His parents had disowned him. Not only that, they had made it so that he wasn’t to come to them if he were able to get out of this. Nor would he be buried in the family cemetery. He thought that hurt him more than anything.
Long after the man left him there, Thomas sat there with the envelope in his hand. It had his name on the front, but it was typed rather than handwritten. He had an idea that it was going to be from his father, telling him again how ashamed he was of him.
Opening it up, he looked over the typewritten letter that said everything that the other man had just told him. There wasn’t a note from his dad or his mother, telling him how sorry they were. They didn’t tell him that they loved him, that they wished that he’d have come to them sooner. Nothing but an itemized list of things that he could no longer do. He’d been well and properly disowned by them.
Lying back down, no longer caring who saw him, Thomas sobbed out his misery for what they’d done to him. Then, as he lay there, thinking how they’d mistreated him, he realized that he’d been the monster all along. That with their help, he could still be there with them and living a life that was productive in a positive sort of way.
Not that he was going to forgive them for calling him names. No, he would die knowing that he was no more homosexual than his dad was. But it did hurt him in ways that he couldn’t fathom that they’d gone so far as to cut him off from everything that he’d grown up with.
His meals came and went while he mulled over what they’d done to him. The more he thought about it, the more he was thinking that this wasn’t their fault. All they’d ever tried to do was to make his life better for him. Calling him a gay wasn’t nice, no, but in the large picture of things, that was all they’d ever done to him that was wrong before all this.
When he’d begun this crusade his only plan was to ruin people who were gay. To put something in their local paper that made them aware of the predators that were in their area. But after having sex with the first couple of men, he began seeing that he was enjoying it too much. That was their fault, and that made Thomas kill them.
Even putting things in the paper hadn’t done anything to them. Most of the places that he went to, Thomas would sit in coffee shops and wait for someone to read over the words that he’d put there. He was disappointed when all they did was skim the article before going on to the next page. Thomas discovered that people, as his father had said, didn’t care all that much anymore.
There had been a few that had cared, he knew that. But they usually did nothing about it. Mostly men would bitch and moan about having another one of those sort of people in their midst, but nothing more than that. Violence against homosexuals in smaller towns was where he got the most reaction. Even that wasn’t what he wanted.
Thomas had wanted outrage. He wanted them burned and hanged. There were times when he was so disappointed in his fellow man that he’d burn down a building, fun for him, just to see if they were the type to get up in arms over anything. He thought about that too as he laid there.
Murderer. Arsonist. Homophobic. Those were just a few of the people that he’d become. He’d also become a thief and a liar, as well as committing mail fraud. Things that, now that he had time to reflect on it, he knew he’d never been before he had his first sexual encounter with a male.
Sitting up on the bed, something occurred to him. Not in that moment, but it was enough to make him sick at himself. Christ, he thought. I am a homosexual. And he’d been one all along. That made him more depressed than anything else. He’d been a bigger liar than he’d thought he’d been. Because he’d been lying to himself all this time.
~*~
The first house was what Easton really wanted, but Wayne explained that they didn’t want to take the first one they saw. Not only would that be nutty, but there might be one out there that was better than the first one. They only had to pull up in front of the second one to know this one wasn’t it.
“On average, how many homes do you show someone before they decide?” Easton smiled when he only stared at him. “Seriously? Are there people out there that know that the first house they look at is it?”
“Rarely. But the funny part is, they’ll usually end up buying the first house more times than not. I think they have expectations, and I try very hard to get all their little things checked off in the first house. The price is usually higher, but if you find something you like, then I guess they’ll figure out a way to work that out.” Easton drove them to the next house as he thought about what Wayne had said. “What is it about the first one that you really liked? I mean, other than the big back yard.”
“Let me think. I love the double doors when we walked up on the decking. The wrap around porch was a nice touch.” He thought about it some more. “That’s it really. The yard, and the statement it made when we first walked up. That’s not a good reason to buy a house, is it?”
“No. You know what I saw? The kitchen needed to be overhauled. There was a back yard, but there were too many trees hanging over it that one day would fall over and break it down. The creek was too close as well. I could just see that thing flooding about three times a year.” Easton said that he’d not thought of that. “That is why you need me to go with you. You’re for pretty, and I’m for how much work it’s going to take.”
They were both laughing when they pulled into a diner to get some lunch. Deciding to change the kids, they cleaned up diapers and gave them their bottles while stretching. Both of them had been really good this trip, and neither he nor Wayne wanted to make them fussy by keeping them in the car too long. The diner was the perfect place for them to take the babies in their car seats.
While they ate, they talked about the next house. Number three and four were closer to town, and within walking distance of the schools. Not that either one of them had decided if they were going to let them go to public schools or not. Wayne was leaning toward private, and Easton thought that the pack house was the best and the safest place for them to be.
On the road again, this time with Wayne driving, Easton told him that they needed to get furniture as well. It was hard to believe that they’d lost so much, and were having so much fun in replacing it all. Easton thought of something as they were trying to find an address.
“When the kids get old enough to do projects and stuff, we’ll have to find a safe place for that.” Wayne just glanced at him. “I was thinking about what we might have lost had they had anything like that already.”
“You don’t know a great deal about kids, do you?” Easton laughed. “I guarantee you that if we had a bonfire yearly, we’d still have stuff to stick to the fridge that would weigh it down. My mom saved shit like that all the time. I will admit it was fun going through it all when she passed away, just the little memories, but I didn’t keep it. Can you imagine what our kids would say if we were to have that shit for them to help us clean out? They’d never let us live it down.”
The drive where the house was had trees lining either side of it. The trees were bare by now, of course, but he could see the piles of leaves on either side of the long road. Pulling up to the house, neither of them moved as they sat there taking it all in. Christ, it was fucking huge.
“What do you think about curb appeal for this one?” Getting out was his answer to Wayne. “Look at the deck surrounding it, Easton. It’s wrought iron, and I can see hanging baskets from the eaves. So far, I’m not seeing a great deal of needed work.”
The house was empty. All the houses that they were looking at today were. Since Wayne was a realtor, they didn’t have to have someone opening the houses up for them. Using the key to open the front stained glass door, they entered what he knew was going to be their forever home.
Picking up the papers that had been left behind about the house, he read off the things that it had. “New kitchen upgrades. All appliances stay. There is a new furnace, as well as a unit for each of the floors so that neither the furnace nor the air conditioners are starved trying to keep the house at the right temperature.” He looked into what to Easton was the library. “It says here that there is a pool outside this room that has a pool house, but it could be converted into a house for the staff. Will we need staff?”
“Yes, for a home this big. I’m not dusting every day to keep it clean. Did you see this room?” They were in the dining room now. “These floors are solid oak. I’m betting that they’re here long after the kids are in college. And they’ll look this good too. What else does it say?”
“The cabinets appear to be built in, but can be moved out if necessary. The floors are finished under them, so we won’t have to worry about redoing the floor.” He liked that idea, but he did love the built-ins too. “The kitchen has a walk in pantry as well as a deep freeze. The refrigerator is front glassed, and the temperature can be turned up or down according to your needs.”
They walked through the rest of the house, making notes here and there while they did so. There was a Jack and Jill bathroom between what Easton thought were nursery rooms. There were three more bedrooms on this floor, as well as a master suite. Moving up to the next level, they were both surprised to find not just a couple of more bedrooms, but a cupola. They took turns looking at the views from there.
It took them longer to descend the stairs than to go up, as they were making sure that there were linen closets, as well as ample room for clothing in the closets. Easton wanted to find the person who was selling the house and pay whatever they were asking. Wayne must have seen the look on his face, and told him to hold his horses.
“According to information that I have on the place, it’s been on the market for some time. The asking price is a bit low even for it being unsold for so long, so I want to make sure that there are no hidden things that we’ll have to take care of. Such as a crack in the subbasement. Or the water to the house not being accessible during the colder months.” He pulled out his cell phone. “I won’t be too long. Just let me do this.”
While Wayne made the calls, Easton pulled the kids from their car seats. Easton thought that toting them around in their seats all the time would get him and Wayne in better shape. He knew his arms were stronger since he’d been carrying them around. Alex was awake but not fussy yet, so he pulled Abby out of her seat. She was asleep still, but woke up when he freed her.
“Well, hello there, guys. It must be tough to be carried around all the time.” Alex continued to stare at him while Abby closed her eyes again. “Your sister isn’t in the mood to play around, just so you know. What do you think of this house, little man? You think you’d like to grow up here?”
When someone knocked on the door, he wasn’t sure if he should answer it. Easton was positive that he wasn’t going to go to the door with the kids in his arms. Wayne must have heard it too, and had it open before he could figure out what to do.
“I think we have our first visitor,” Easton whispered to his son. “What do you think? Should we offer him some of your milk, or perhaps a pacifier?”
“Who are you talking to?” Easton smiled at Wayne when he asked. “You’re nuts—you know that, right? They no more understand you than the walls would. I’ve just heard from Thomas’s father. I’m afraid to open it.”
“How did this person find us? It’s not like we have a sign on us telling people where we are.” Wayne told him that he’d given the list to his secretary. “Oh. So this guy is running around town asking if we’ve been there. I don’t know Mr. Bailey, but I’d think he wouldn’t let the world know he’s looking for us if this is something bad.”
Sitting on the floor with him, Wayne
handed it to him. Easton told him that his name wasn’t on the envelope, so Wayne finally opened it. While he was doing that, he asked if they wanted to make an offer on this house. Then he took out the papers.
“Holy mother fuck.” Asking him what it was got him nowhere, so he took the paper from Wayne. But it wasn’t a paper, it was a check.
“He paid you for the damage to your home.” Wayne said it was their home. “All right, our home, but that’s a great deal of money. Was the house worth that much?”
“No. Not even close. The letter…. Here, let me read it.”
As he read it over, Easton changed Alex. He was getting tired again, so he laid him on the blanket that was under them.
“It says that this is for compensation for the house and the contents. It goes on to say that he’s very sorry about the trouble that Thomas caused us, and that he hopes that this would cover it. It’s five million dollars, Easton. It should cover a lot of things. What do we do with this? It says that he doesn’t want any of it back. That by us cashing it, we’re telling him that we are forgiving him and his wife for raising a person that would do such a thing.”
“How much is this house?” Wayne told him that they could get it for lower than the asking price. “All right. How much would it cost? If that check covers it, we should use it. Then with the left over, we fill it. While we didn’t lose a great deal of personal things, this is going to go a long way in making this house personal for us. Don’t you agree?”
He did. As they were loading the car back up and armed with their notes, Wayne called in an offer on the house. Before they were buckled up and the car turned on, their offer was accepted. They got the house for less than five percent of the check that the Bailey’s had given them. Now they had to fill it up.
Chapter 9
Thomas stood before the judge to await his fate. He’d been doing a lot of soul searching in the last few days, mostly about his own stupidity. And during that time, he’d made a list of every deed he’d committed, sure that the police had missed a few in his spree to end the world of his kind. When he was seated again, he asked to be able to talk to the judge.
Easton: Forbidden: Paranormal Romance Page 10
