Diary of a Teenage Taxidermist (24 page)

Robert dropped to the seat and stared at the slow swing of the door. He could only hope that would be the end of it.

Ethan casually got back to the sandwich and looked up at Chris. “My day is only getting better. I’ve got a favor to ask. Would you
please
help us out with your pickup truck in the afternoon?”

Robert tore his gaze away from the faces that demanded he explain himself, and smiled at Chris. “That would be a huge favor.”

“I’d owe you,” said Ethan.

“Okay, but you don’t try to navigate.” Chris shook his head with a sigh and bit into his pizza.

“Deal.”

And that should have been it. Robert would have loved to just chat about movies or the latest gossip, but unfortunately for him, lunchtime changed into “The Rob Show” with questions flying at him from each side. At least the attitudes were good. Some people excited, some joking around, some curious.

All in all coming out was a great idea. There was no reason to be sorry that he didn’t wait till college.

Chapter 17

Robert was happy to slow down now that they were out of the war zone that was Ethan’s house. He parked his ass on one of the wooden boxes containing Ethan’s work supplies and drank some water from a plastic bottle. Now that he, Ethan, and Chris started unloading the pickup at Robert’s house, out of immediate danger, the reality of what they’d done started hitting Rob with more force.

Technically speaking, they’d committed burglary. The garage belonged to Ethan’s parents, and with him being locked out of there, they had no right to break in, much less take all the equipment, some of which was expensive, and carry it off. Sure, Robert and Chris were technically just two guys helping their friend move, but Ethan could have problems if his parents wanted to make this hard on him. After witnessing how distressed they had been by Ethan’s accident, Robert didn’t believe they’d be capable of forcibly reclaiming the contents of the basement just to make their point.

Ethan had already prepared his clothes and the likes neatly packed, but the workshop wasn’t nearly ready for them when Ethan opened it with a pair of keys he’d stolen from his mom’s purse earlier that day. What followed was two hours of frantic handling of chemicals, and wrapping taxidermy in paper and bubble wrap. Robert and Chris even managed to take the freezer, though they had to remove several dozen dead squirrels, birds, and rats beforehand and carry them upstairs separately. The tiny bodies were completely stiff, and Robert had a vision of their limbs or tails breaking off if they fell to the floor, though the texture of the fur was still there, making Robert feel like he was petting a dead animal. Which was probably because he was.

Ethan moved the corpses with utmost care and put them in boxes. He wanted to help carry stuff, but the thought of Ethan climbing up the stairs too quickly only to fall down and impale himself on something gave Robert such shudders that he made Ethan promise he would let Chris and him finish the job. It was strange how Ethan’s accident made death an all too real possibility and made Rob find Ethan so fragile sometimes. Especially that his boyfriend’s body bounced back from its frail state and though his frame was small, Ethan was as strong and confident as ever.

Robert groaned and picked up the box he’d been sitting on for the last five minutes and carried it into the open garage, only to walk straight through the door in the back and into the basement where they were establishing a temporary workspace for Ethan. Robert still hadn’t figured out what he’d tell his mother, but he doubted she’d notice, as she almost never went all the way downstairs.

Ethan had the most serious expression on his face as he made his way down the stairs, holding on to the railing and with a massive vintage bird cage in his other hand. “I think we’re almost done.”

Robert gave a nervous laugh. “All weasels back in the freezer?” he asked, and Chris answered him with a low grunt from the farthest corner of the basement. Rob hoped that meant ‘yes’ because he didn’t even want to imagine the smell of so many carcasses thawing.

Ethan put the cage on top of one of the boxes and made his way into the darkness. His quiet presence made Chris yelp and Rob started laughing.

Ethan took a box out of Chris’s hands and hugged it to his chest. “These don’t go in the freezer! They’re stuffed, not frozen. Can’t you see the difference?”

Chris scratched his head. “They all look stiff to me to be honest.”

“Guys, take it easy.” Robert smiled and put the box by the wall, alongside several other containers and bags. The stuff Ethan needed on a daily basis was already stored in Rob’s bedroom, which was giving him a permanent silly smile.

“What are you gonna do with this?” asked Chris, picking up the mohair throw that Ethan used to cover his bed with.

Ethan smirked and petted the fur. “I can think of a few things. Rob made me take it.”

Robert pressed his mouth shut, moving his gaze between Chris and Ethan as a hot flush spread all over his face. He loved that spread. Just thinking of it took him back to his and Ethan’s first time, the proper one. “It’s very nice,” he said, just to tell Chris something.

“It’s
veeery
nice.” Ethan snorted and pulled the fur out of Chris’s hands. He took a few steps closer and rubbed the mohair over Rob’s cheek and neck, causing little sparks of pleasure rush for Rob’s groin. “Rob loves how
nice
it is…”

Chris watched them in silence, but with curiosity in his eyes. Robert knew he and Chris were friends, that Chris didn’t mind gay people, but that didn’t mean he wanted to have any insight into the gay sex life of Robert and Ethan. With a low sigh, he turned to look at his boyfriend. “Yeah, I think we already established that,” he said to stop Ethan from making him even more embarrassed.

The silly grin on Ethan’s face waned, and he took a step back, hugging the throw. “I’ll go check if enything’s left in the car.”

Robert sighed and brushed his hand over Ethan’s shoulder to soften the blow. “Sure. We’ll just finish this here and join you.”

Ethan put the fur on one of the boxes and rushed to the stairs, making Rob’s heart stop for a terrifying moment by tripping over the first step, but the rest of his climb was slow and steady. Sweat still managed to bead on Rob’s neck.

Chris sat in an old creaking chair and stretched. “Are you gonna keep him in the basement?”

Robert blinked and groaned, slumping into a chair. “No, he’ll be living with me. Upstairs,” he said with a slow smile. His arms ached to cuddle Ethan again.

Chris shuffled his feet, looking away from Rob’s face. “And your mom is fine with this? I mean… I know he can’t get pregnant, but still…”

Robert cleared his throat. Technically, he hadn’t asked her about that yet, but was sure she could be convinced. “She wanted to meet him anyway,” he said with a small smile and poked Chris’s arm. As unreasonable as it all was, he just couldn’t bring himself to make detailed plans for each and every possibility. He could just go with the flow for once. It wasn’t like the world would end if he made a mistake.

“But… but this is big, Rob. You’re gonna live with him? Like some married couple? What if it doesn’t work out? You get annoyed with him or something.” Chris frowned and looked up at Rob with concern emanating from his face.

The smile died on Robert’s face. As much as he wanted to deny it, he knew Chris was right. And the fact that he was actually worried about Rob and Ethan made it even worse. All Robert could do was to suck it up and smile. “I know, it’s crazy, but I just can’t stand him being so unhappy. Does that make sense?” he asked, looking up at Chris, whose frown deepened.

“Weird, but it actually makes a lot of sense. It’s, like, a proper reason. Wanting to bang him every day wouldn’t be.”

Robert laughed out loud, immediately relaxing. “I fucking love you, man. You just say something, and all trouble goes away,” he said with a small smile. He was lucky to have a friend like Chris.

Screams from upstairs had them both on their feet in a split second. One of the voices was definitely Ethan’s, but the others were too muffled to recognize. Robert shot a look at Chris, dropped everything, and ran upstairs, ready to intervene. There were rarely any violent incidents in this area, but who knew? What if it was Pat coming over to his house for some crazy vendetta?

Instead, they ran all the way to the driveway, and he completely froze at the sight. Ethan’s dad was pulling his son to the car, and Ethan writhed and screamed as if he were being flayed alive. Ethan’s mother was no better, her face as red as her hair and voice raised to match Ethan’s. Ethan was having a screaming match with his mom.

“I’m not going! I’m eighteen, and you can’t make me do shit! I can even quit high school if I want to!” yelled Ethan.

The sight of Ethan being jerked away from him against his will was like rocket fuel to Robert’s legs, and he rushed outside without a word. He didn’t even need to say anything because the moment Ethan’s parents saw him, Ethan managed to break free.

“Robert, you can’t be serious about this.” Ethan’s mom turned to him with a frown and shook her head. “He is completely out of control, his grades have fallen, and he doesn’t want to go to college all of a sudden. Who’s going to support him if he moves out?”

Ethan ran over to Robert and hugged his waist to an angry groan from his father.

“I’ll get a job!” Ethan yelled back while pressing his cheek into the middle of Rob’s chest. “I would have gotten paid for my squirrel project if it wasn’t for—”

Ethan’s Mom stopped him mid-sentence. “Ethan, if I hear the word ‘squirrel’ one more time, I’m going to stuff you myself!” she screamed. Rob had never seen her so out of control.

He slowly put his arms around Ethan and squeezed him tight. He swallowed hard, straightening his back to be even taller and more imposing, and it was partially to make himself feel better about what he was doing. Being stern toward adults was so much easier when you could look down on both of them. “It’s his decision. He can stay as long as he wants, but if he wants to move back, I won’t be stopping him,” he said.

“Is your mother agreeing to all this?” Ethan’s mom asked in a voice that sent chills down Robert’s spine. The need to protect Ethan though was too strong for him to deflate even one bit. Ethan was counting on him, cuddled up in the safety of his arms. There was no way Rob would betray that trust.

He gave Ethan’s mom a slow nod. “I understand why you’re worried, but he is stressed after all that happened. With all due respect, I don’t think he’s coping with the pressure.”

“Christ! All we want for him is to get his grades in order. He is still grounded though for not coming back from prom on time. Whatever it is between you two… we can discuss.” She pursed her lips.

Robert stared at her. They had to be desperate to come up with that. What would the arrangement be? A conjugal visit once a week? Before he could speak though, Ethan’s dad stepped closer.

“Ethan, you might be eighteen, but you’re still a child. You only become an adult when you can provide for yourself,” he said, a bit red-faced.

Ethan finally turned his face away from Rob’s chest. “I said I’ll get a job,” he hissed through his teeth.

Ethan’s dad groaned. “Where will you get a job, Ethan? Think for once. You haven’t even graduated from high school!”

“I’ll find a part-time job to support my art freelancing, and I’ll be just fine!” Ethan’s grip on Rob’s sweatshirt tightened.

“What’s happening here?” came the all-too-familiar voice from behind, and Robert felt his knees soften like butter in a hot pan.

“Hi, Mom,” he shouted back. “Ethan’s things are almost unpacked,” he added, hardly keeping his voice level.

His mom walked up to them in her pajamas and slippers. “What do you mean?”

He smiled at her, trying to stay as calm as possible, even though his whole body tensed up at the prospect of her denying it all. “We talked about this when you came to the kitchen last night. Ethan’s gonna live with me for a while.”

Mom gave him a slight frown but slowly nodded and scratched her head. “Yeah, I think you might have said something. I heard shouting though. Is everything all right?”

Ethan’s mom came closer. “I am so sorry this is happening. Ethan won’t listen. I can’t imagine it’s fine for him to stay here, right?”

Robert looked over his shoulder and positioned himself so that his mom would see how distressed Ethan was. “He needs a break,” he said, looking at her with pleading eyes.

Ethan rubbed his eye and looked up at her as well. It scared Rob that he wasn’t entirely sure whether Ethan was actually going to cry or just playing his part.

“I won’t be a problem, Mrs. Hunter. And I’m planning to get a part-time job, so I could pay some rent…”

Robert watched his mom’s face turn a shade darker, and the frown on her face only deepened when Ethan’s dad spoke again.

“I know this is a very inconvenient situation for you. I am so sorry my son put you in this position. We know how much Robert cares for Ethan, but don’t you think this is going too far?”

Mom took a deep breath. “Please, let’s just calm down and figure this out. We have enough space so Ethan staying here for a while wouldn’t be a problem. It’s up to him. Ethan?”

Ethan looked to his parents, but stayed cuddled into Rob’s body like a little bird looking for shelter during a storm. It made Robert feel lightheaded that it was him Ethan turned to for protection. “I’d like to stay here for a while…”

Ethan’s parents stood still, looking at them in silence. Mom must have completely woken up now because she walked up to Rob and touched his arm. “Maybe make Ethan some cocoa, and I’ll talk to Mr. and Mrs. Merrick, all right?” she asked, but with the way her eyes seemed a bit narrower than usual, Rob knew she didn’t fall for his stupid lies. Not that he really expected her to. She tended to be forgetful and casual about little things, but he had taken it too far.

“Thanks, Mom,” he said, swept by a flood of heat in his chest. He hadn’t even realized how tense his muscles had become before they relaxed.

Chris cleared his throat somewhere behind Rob. “I… I’ll be going, guys. See you at school,” he muttered and quickly walked off to his pickup truck, gesturing for Rob to call him.

Ethan looked back at his parents once more, but soon Robert led him back to the house with a heavy heart. He hoped this wasn’t all a terrible mistake. What if Chris was right, and they’d fall out after moving in together? He opened the door and let Ethan in first before following. The sound of it closing didn’t give him nearly as much relief as he expected.