The Rest of Forever

by Jerry Cole

  “The Rest of Forever”

  M/M Gay Romance

  Jerry Cole

  © 2019

  Jerry Cole

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This book is intended for Adults (ages 18+) only. The contents may be offensive to some readers. It may contain graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations. May contain scenes of unprotected sex. Please do not read this book if you are offended by content as mentioned above or if you are under the age of 18.

  Please educate yourself on safe sex practices before making potentially life-changing decisions about sex in real life. If you’re not sure where to start, see here: http://www.jerrycoleauthor.com/safe-sex-resources/.

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner & are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Products or brand names mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders or companies. The cover uses licensed images & are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any person(s) that may be depicted on the cover are simply models.

  Edition v1.00 (2019.11.06)

  http://www.jerrycoleauthor.com

  Special thanks to the following volunteer readers who helped with proofreading: Naomi W., RB, JayBee, Jennie, Dawn, C Mitchell and those who assisted but wished to be anonymous. Thank you so much for your support.

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter One

  Eric glanced at the clock again and groaned. He was going to be late. That was going to result in a long, nasty tirade from his father while the rest of his family sat around in silence. They would have to listen to how Eric never amounted to anything...again, and he would never stop letting the family down.

  It wasn’t anything new. But Eric hated it.

  He could easily have called his mother and say he was held up at work. She always understood. But Adam Schoenauer wouldn’t take that as a reason. Nothing was considered good enough to miss an important meal. Or Eric could just simply not go—he hated anything that involved his father—but that meant his siblings would get the impact, and they weren’t as strong as Eric. He was there to be the buffer. Let the old, bigoted bastard rant and rave at him so they didn’t get it.

  Neither his brother nor sister seemed to realize how much Eric had sacrificed by reaching out to his family again.

  There was still so much to do. Eric warily eyed the pile of paperwork in his in-tray, most of which he was supposed to have done. That could wait until tomorrow, or he could come back as soon as the dinner was over. Working on songs was a good way to get his blood pressure back down.

  Fingers crossed the highways weren’t going to be a nightmare. It was a little over two hours from Tallahassee to Santa Monica on Laguna Beach. His mother had arranged for the dinner to be slightly later, even with her husband’s grumbling, but Eric was pushing it. He didn’t want to disappoint his mother; she was the sweetest thing ever.

  How she had married such a foul human being was beyond Eric.

  “Hey! Are you deaf or something?”

  Eric jumped, almost dropping his laptop. He grabbed it before it clattered on the desk and looked up to see Jenna Gallagher in the doorway, watching him with folded arms and raised eyebrows.

  “Deaf or something? Really?”

  “Yes. I’ve said your name four times and you’ve not even acknowledged that I’m practically right in front of you.”

  Eric winced. He hadn’t realized someone had come in. Sighing, he put his laptop into its case and zipped it up.

  “Sorry, Jenna. I didn’t mean to be rude. I just…” He grimaced. “I’m on my way to my parents’ now.”

  Jenna didn’t need a backstory. As Eric’s closest friend and colleague, she had seen first-hand how Adam behaved. In spite of declaring he wanted nothing to do with Eric, Adam had managed to become a benefactor of Eric’s company and held several shares. Eric hadn’t figured out if this was so he could force his bosses to fire Eric so his son could be brought back under Adam’s control, but that hadn’t happened yet. Jenna had witnessed Adam’s temper on far too many occasions.

  “Ah. I see. Preparing yourself for the upcoming onslaught.”

  “Essentially.” Eric shook his head as he reached for his jacket. “God, I hate going there. Makes my skin crawl.”

  “Then why do you go at all?”

  “Because then I get hassled by Dad at work.”

  Eric remembered the last time. Adam had made Eric feel two inches tall in front of his co-workers because he had purposefully not turned up for Thanksgiving, mainly because he had gone to his ex-boyfriend’s family home for the day. In Eric’s mind, the love of his life meant more than his family. Adam had made it clear that he had been wrong.

  It saved everyone but him the headache if he just gritted his teeth and got on with it.

  Jenna walked into the room and leaned against his filing cabinet. She was so petite the cabinet seemed to tower over her. With her extra-short red hair, her tiny frame and the number of sparkly things she liked to wear, Jenna could have passed for a little fairy. Eric considered her a bit of a magpie with her shiny belongings. But she was good at her job, and the over-the-top sparkle was pushed aside for her talent.

  At least she was a voice of reason for Eric. He often needed one.

  “I don’t know why you and your siblings go over there at all. None of you like him.”

  “It’s because Mom’s still there, Jen. We all love her, and we want to see her.” Eric made a face as he shrugged into his jacket. “The only way we can is if Dad allows it. Plus, my brother and sister are scared of Dad so they jump as high as they can whenever he tells them.”

  “But you don’t.”

  “I think we’ve established a long time ago that I don’t give a shit about Dad.”

  “Fair point.” Jenna shook her head, scratching her nose with a sparkly silver nail. “Your mom needs to get up and leave. How can anyone love a man like your dad?”

  “She’s not strong enough to leave him. I think she’s clinging on to the old Adam Schoenauer she remembered from before.” Eric shook his head. “And Richard and Ruth are not brave enough to stand up to Dad. They saw what happened when I did it, and that sc
ared them. I go to make sure I get the brunt of it.”

  “You can handle it?”

  “Not really, but better than they can.”

  The awful thing was that neither his brother nor sister knew what he was doing for them. They were terrified of Adam and recently had started treating Eric with similar contempt. Neither of them had been too bothered about Eric being gay, but in the last year they had started being a little colder. Eric didn’t need to guess who had made them change.

  At least Richard’s girlfriend was decent. Louise had somehow stuck around Richard as Eric’s stuck-up younger brother acted a bully and turned into his dad more than he would care to admit. She was sweet and Eric had found her to be more than the simple airhead that Adam made her out to me. If she was there, at least Eric would have someone to talk to.

  “Sheesh.” Jenna shook her head and pushed off the cabinet, rolling her shoulders before stretching her arms above her head. “What a shit family you’ve got.”

  “Just him, thank God. His siblings are saints compared to Dad.” Eric picked up his laptop bag, grabbing his wallet and cell phone off the desk. “We just got the short end of the stick.”

  Jenna just shook her head in agreement. Eric slid his wallet and cell phone into his pocket. Then he picked up his keys. “Well, I’m off. I have a long drive ahead.”

  “Call me when you get there, so I know you’ve arrived?” Jenna nodded toward the window. “The news said there had been an accident on the highway this afternoon. Should be clear by now, but just take care.”

  “Sure thing.” Eric kissed her cheek. “Catch you tomorrow, Jenna.”

  “Same. Oh, I nearly forgot.” Jenna hurried after Eric as he left the room. “Tina extended the deadline for the new batch of songs that were due tomorrow. She remembered you were dealing with a headache and you might need a couple of days to get over it.”

  Eric found himself smiling. His boss was ever the charmer.

  “What’s the new deadline?”

  “This time next week.”

  “That woman deserves a bottle of wine.”

  Jenna laughed. “I’ll put a note on the calendar.” She patted Eric’s arm before walking away. “Have fun.”

  “You’re joking, of course.”

  He could still hear Jenna laughing as he entered the elevator.

  ***

  Eric could feel the beginnings of a panic attack as he pulled onto the street where his parents lived. His hands were trembling, and his sweaty palms kept slipping over the wheel. This was going to be a very long evening with a lot of loaded comments in Eric’s direction.

  If it was anyone else, Eric could handle it. He had dealt with homophobes who went out of their way in their attempts to humiliate him. But with the main instigator being his own father, there was something different about it. Fathers were supposed to protect their children, to stand up for them. Not treat them like pariahs or something contagious.

  Eric had known when he was in junior high that he was gay. While most of his friends preferred to sneak porn magazines into their rooms, smuggled in their schoolbooks, Eric was more fascinated with the male variety. He had always had crushes on male actors and sports stars.

  Keeping his sexuality a secret from his family had been tough. Everyone kept asking when Eric was going to get a girlfriend, be a man. His uncles had even attempted to set him up with girls, but Eric turned them all away. Then one Thanksgiving, Eric had gotten fed up with it all and blurted out that he was gay. The silence could have been cut with a knife. That was the first time his father had punched him.

  Even now, thirteen years later, Adam Schoenauer still hated the fact his eldest son was gay. Judith, Eric’s mother, hadn’t batted an eyelid, which had made Eric wonder if Judith had known all along. His brother and sister hadn’t appeared to mind, although their opinions seemed to have differed in the last year. Their extended family, from his old-fashioned grandfather right down to his youngest cousin, had accepted it with good grace. Eric hadn’t been treated any differently. It was just his father, Adam.

  Jenna was right. He shouldn’t have to go if he hated it so much. But Eric found himself wanting to protect Richard and Ruth. They may have been high-flyers, Richard being an accountant and Ruth a successful real estate agent in spite of her young age, but neither could stand up to their father. Ruth still burst into tears if Adam said the slightest thing against her. Eric made sure he was there, so they didn’t have to suffer. Plus, he got to see his mother.

  Now, as he pulled into Adam’s driveway, Eric began to wonder why he bothered. His siblings were starting to turn on him, and Judith was still standing by her husband. Even after Adam beat Eric badly enough for a hospital admission, Judith had stayed with him. The years away, trying to distance himself from his immediate family, just seemed to make the gap widen to a chasm.

  Maybe this should be the last time Eric submitted to his father’s orders. This would be the last time he agreed to a quiet family dinner. Then he wouldn’t need to see them other than at Thanksgiving and Christmas at his Uncle Jake’s place in the Everglades.

  It pained him to think that, but it would be less of a headache in the future. Eric couldn’t cope with it for much longer.

  His heart was still pounding as Eric stepped up onto the porch. The lights were on, the curtains drawn, and he could hear music. Louder than normal. Adam hated loud music, and it was loud enough that Eric’s ears were ringing.

  Even before he rang the doorbell, Eric could sense something was wrong. Maybe this was their way of punishing Eric for being late. He had caught the tail-end of the accident. While it had soon cleared, it had slowed Eric down. More than likely, they had started without him and Eric would have to sit in his seat and watch them eat. No food for him. Pity, because Eric was starving in spite of his nerves.

  He rang the doorbell. The music was so loud he couldn’t hear it. Eric tried knocking, and the door moved. It’s open? Eric said to himself. Adam would never leave any door open. The old man is paranoid. And Mom is very diligent in keeping all the doors and windows shut, especially at this time of year.

  Eric pushed the door open and stepped inside.

  “Mom? Mom! It’s Eric!”

  No answer. There had to be an answer from someone. Ruth still lived at home and Richard lived nearby but often used his old room. Four people in the house couldn’t have missed him coming in.

  Then again, the music was on very loud. And it was not music Eric would have expected Adam to listen to. It sounded like a very old record from the sixties. That was Judith’s passion, and Eric could fondly remember dancing to her records when he was little while Adam was out at work. She didn’t dare have fun when Adam was around, certainly not after he retired.

  The record player, having sat in the corner of the lounge gathering dust, was playing Frank Sinatra. Eric hadn’t heard that record in years, but he wasn’t keen on listening to it while he went deaf. Covering his ears, he hurried across the room and turned it off, taking the record out. Then he looked around for the cover. If he just left it on the side, Adam would berate him for being untidy.

  That was when Eric realized he was standing in blood. It was scattered across the floor, a stark contrast to the cream carpet. His sneakers were sinking into it, making a squelching noise.

  What the…?

  Now Eric was really beginning to panic. Had Dad snapped? Had he attacked Mom? Eric could only hope his mother was okay. Adam was many things, but he had never raised a hand to his wife, as far as Eric knew. Had he finally gone for her and it had gone too far?

  If that was the case, where were they?

  Then Eric saw the blood smudged in a thick trail toward the dining room. The bookcases that stood on either side of the archway blocked most of his view into the other room, but he could see an empty chair at the dining table, right at the end. There was another empty chair beside it. A glass was knocked over, and water was dripping off the tablecloth onto the carpet.

  Feeling
a shiver down his back, Eric hurried into the dining room. The, he jerked back with a gasp. Four bodies were sitting around the table, tied up and their heads down. Blood was everywhere. Eric could feel his blood ringing in his ears as he realized it was his family sitting around the table.

  “Oh, shit!”

  Eric’s legs gave way, and he sagged to the floor. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t.

  He couldn’t remember hitting the floor moments later.

  Chapter Two

  Kyron was not looking forward to this. He had gotten the call on the way home from work, preparing himself for a quiet evening in with no one to bother him. His paperwork was up to date and nobody had called in a murder.

  Until he was halfway home and was told by his boss to turn around and head out to Santa Monica. A family had been murdered while at dinner and the local cops weren’t equipped to deal with it. So, they had brought in the FBI.

  Kyron had hoped he could get out of it. Not a chance. His boss wouldn’t allow it. They had to be on top of everything. And Raquel Sadique loved to be in the thick of it. So did Kyron, but not to the detriment that he lived at the office. He couldn’t remember the last time he had had a day off. They were few and far between.

  He felt a moment of nostalgia as he turned onto the street where the crime scene was. It had been a long time since he had been in Santa Monica. His family hadn’t been rich enough to own a place here, so they lived in Panama City. Kyron mixed in with several rich kids at J.R. Arnold High School. Some of his friends lived in Laguna Beach. But that had been a long time ago.

  Kyron pulled up beside a black jeep and climbed out, clipping his badge to his shirt pocket. There were reporters outside the house already, attempting to get past the cops guarding the crime scene tape that blocked off a good portion of the street. Kyron could see one with a camera in his hands sneaking up to the side of the house. One of the uniformed cops saw him as well because they were quickly on the photographer and were forcibly marching him away, Kyron hearing his protests out in the street.