Kevin raced off, Mark following a split second later, yelling out as he ran, “That’s so not fair, you got a head start!”
Marie looked out the kitchen window, hearing the shouts and yells from Mark and Kevin as they both raced towards the house. She smiled, thinking how good Kevin had been for Mark over the last few months, he had always been there, supporting him while they struggled through the first few weeks of Mark being home from hospital. Holding and kissing him when he woke during the night, scared and confused from the nightmares that the medication caused, patiently changing the bandages, trying to draw the pain away with words of love.
As much as she wished Mark had fallen in love with a nice girl, she couldn’t deny what Mark and Kevin had. Pure and unadulterated love.
She laughed has the two boys neared the house, Mark now was trying to piggy back Kevin, in an attempt to slow him down, but Kevin persisted, staggering the last couple of steps and tapping the backdoor with his hand, before shaking Mark off and turning around to poke his tongue out at him, mouthing something that looked suspiciously
Like ‘I win’.
But when Mark reached out and hooked his arm around Kevin’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss, Marie looked away, she might be fine with the theory of her son loving another man, but when it was displayed right in front of her, well, that was a different matter.
The back door opening and then slamming shut shook her out of her stupor, Mark’s voice echoing down the hall.
“Mam? Where are you? Got something for you from Mae.”
“In the kitchen son,”
A few seconds later, Mark appeared, closely followed by Kevin. Both of them were filthy, covered in dirt and leaves, with grass stains on the knees of their pants.
She looked them up and down, shaking her head, “Honestly, look at the state of you two! You’ll be lucky if I can get those clothes clean again.”
Mark sheepishly held out a brightly coloured envelope, which was now covered with grubby finger prints.
Sighing, Marie took the envelope and then looked expectantly at the two of them.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Go and shower, both of you, and put those dirty clothes in the laundry.”
The two boys backed out of the kitchen, and down the hall, arguing over who got the first shower.
Rolling her eyes impatiently, Marie stuck her head around the kitchen door and yelled down the hall, “We have two showers you know!”
Reaching the top of the stairs, Mark turned shyly to Kevin, wondering whether or not he should ask. Biting his lip nervously, he looked at Kevin, who was watching him.
“You ‘kay babes? Looks like something’s troubling you.”
Mark nodded his head, then shook it, and then shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s just,” he broke off, blushing furiously.
Kevin ran a finger down Mark’s cheek bone, and under his chin, making Mark look at him.
“Yes?”
Taking a deep breath, Mark let it out in one big rush,
“Waswonderingifyouwannashowerwithme”
Kevin knew what Mark had said, but smiling, decided to tease Mark a little.
“What?”
Mark looked like he was about to hyperventilate now, “Nothing! It’s nothing, don’t worry. You shower up here, I’ll take downstairs.”
He turned to go, stumbling over his feet in his hurry.
Reacting quickly, Kevin grabbed Mark’s arm, turning him back around, tugging him close for a kiss.
“Course I’ll shower with you. I was just playing.” He rubbed his nose against Mark’s, laughing softly, “Eskimo kisses. You know babes, you didn’t have to get so worked up. It’s only me, and I love you. So I don’t want to see you get that worked up again over asking me something, deal?”
Mark was looking shyly at the floor, nodding.
“Hey,” Kevin nipped Mark gently on the nose, “I said, deal?”
Looking up, Mark nipped him playfully back, “Deal!”
Kevin smiled, kissing him softly, “Good, now lead the way, kind sir!”
Once in the bathroom, Mark felt his shyness return. They hadn’t actually seen each other with no clothes on yet, just with bits of no clothes on, and Mark couldn’t help but to worry what Kevin was going to think of him.
Kevin, apparently had no such qualms, clothes already gone, he had the shower on, and was testing the temperature of the water. He turned back around, looking in confusion at Mark.
“Mark? You can’t shower clothed.”
Mark blushed, and tugged at his top, dropping it on the pile of clothes on the floor.
Sensing Mark’s discomfort, Kevin gave a small smile.
“Tell you what, I’ll get in now, and you can join me, sound fair?”
Mark nodded, and watched as Kevin stepped into the steam, closing the door behind him.
Taking a deep breath and deciding it was now or never, Mark quickly stripped down, pushing his and Kevin’s clothes into a neat pile, before crossing the short distance to the shower. Opening the door, he stepped inside, smiling at Kevin who was in the process of washing his hair.
“Want me to wash your back?”
Downstairs Marie smiled when she heard just the one shower start up. She wasn’t surprised, and to her own surprise, she found herself not minding. Mark was turning 25 in a week’s time, and Kevin was 21, so they were both adults, even if they didn’t act like it all the time.
She picked up the enveloped and ran her finger under the seal, almost 100% positive that she knew was inside. A single piece of paper fell out, and scanning it quickly, she smiled in triumph. Finally, an excuse to get Mark out of the house and mingling with his other two ‘families.’
She placed it on the kitchen table and continued with preparing dinner. Ever since Kevin had joined the family, they had been going through food at an alarming rate. He had an appetite of a lion that boy. Or as he put it, he was a growing boy, who needed plenty of food.
After about twenty minutes, Kevin and Mark reappeared, abet cleaner than when they first went upstairs.
Picking the invitation up, Marie held it out to Mark, who took it, and read it, turning pale as he did.
“No Mam, I’m not going, I can’t!”
“Now you listen to me Marcus, you will be going, and that is final.”
“But Mam, can’t you see? I can’t face them, not after what I did.”
Marie turned to face him, “Mark, that’s exactly why you have to go. Everyone wants to see you, heaven knows Pat and Mae are always on the phone asking how you are. And they want to meet Kevin too. This would be a perfect opportunity for him to meet everyone.”
“How do they know about Kev?”
Marie rapped him lightly on the forehead with her knuckles.
“Hello? Kian and Shane have told their families. If you’d answer their calls, you would know. And before you protest, everyone still loves you just as much, and as I said before, want to meet Kevin.”
Hesitantly, Mark held the invitation out to Kevin, who took it and read it.
“I agree with Marie, Mark. You need to get out and about. If you can’t face you’re family and friends, then how are you ever going to be able to stand up on stage in front of your fans again? I’ll go with you, I’m more than happy to go. You know that, please Mark, no one will judge you.”
For a few minutes, Mark just stared at the ground, thinking long and hard about it, before he finally nodded.
“Okay, I’ll go, but only if you’re there with me. Then I can show you off.”
He smiled, an ‘old Mark’ smile, like the ones before the suicide attempt, one with hope and happiness engrained in it, not just fear and loss.
Marie caught the smile, and felt relieved, maybe, just maybe if that one tiny smile was to go by, this party was going to do him a lot of good.
And just cause i could, heres the invite to the party,
