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.Eric drank from his bottle."So, I walk in and there's my mom and dad and my brother, all in a nice little row on the couch.I just nod and say 'Hey, good night, I'm going to bed,' and my father."Eric stopped and cleared his throat.Scott moved to the table and sat down in the chair next to him."My father tells me I have an hour to get my things and get out.""Jesus." Scott hadn't meant to say anything, but that was just too far out of his realm of experience.His own parents had cried when he told them he was gay, but they had also said that they loved him."I asked why.Turns out my brother had heard something, or seen something, thought I might be queer.So he set me up.The guy I'd just been kissing and feeling up was a plant.My fucking brother paid him fifty bucks to find out if I was gay or not, give me his number as proof, and then report back.My parents.well, they didn't want a hell bound fag in the family and they just threw me out.Gave me thirty bucks to get a room for the night and that was that." He met Scott's eyes."They haven't spoken to me since.""God.Why would your brother do that? What did it matter to him?"Eric shook his head."You'll love this.We had three cars.Four drivers.It was just a case of eliminating the competition.I went, he got the car to himself.""You're serious? Man, that is fucked."Eric nodded."Yeah.Completely fucked." He finished his beer with three quick swallows."Now I'm real careful about who knows my shit, you know?"Eric was looking at him and Scott met his eyes.The fact that Eric trusted him, trusted both him and Drew, meant a lot.More than Scott had really known before that exact moment.He couldn't think of anything to say so he just nodded and handed Eric another beer.They finished making supper in silence and ate in front of the TV.When Drew came home they all drank too much and watched a stupid movie, laughing in all the wrong places.Scott kept thinking about Eric.Chapter Twenty SixUsually Eric was more than happy to get home and find one or both of them there, but this time he was dreading seeing Drew.They had both been on the same call that afternoon and it hadn't been good.Eric and his partner had rolled up on the address and gotten the back doors open in time for Drew to hand him a little girl.She was seven years old and had been home sick from school when the fire started.Her mother hadn't been able to get up the stairs to her room, the hall blocked by fire.Drew had gone in to get her, had carried her out in his arms and had given her to Eric.She died on the way to the hospital.Eric had done everything he knew how to do and had kept doing it until the ER doctors could take over.They had worked on her for another twenty minutes or two hours or for however long Eric had been allowed to stand there watching before they had called the time of death.Now Eric had to face Drew.He went into the house and headed straight to his room, but he heard Drew turn off the TV and come after him."Shit," he said under his breath as he unbuttoned his shirt.He'd do just about anything to avoid doing this.Drew stood in the doorway, eyes intent and piercing."She make it?"Eric looked at him and shook his head slowly."I'm sorry, Drew.I tried, I swear—"Drew was gone, footsteps going down the hall to the kitchen.Eric sighed and changed his clothes as fast as he could.When he got to the kitchen Drew was sitting at the table with a bottle of beer in front of him and a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand.Eric glanced at the calendar.Scott was due home in three hours and Drew was off for thirty-six.Long enough."Glass? Or are you just gonna drink from the bottle?"Drew just looked at him, brown eyes full of pain and anger."Look, it makes no difference to me.I'll be here to drag you into the bathroom when it's time to puke it all up."Drew took a deep breath and put the bottle on the table, unopened.He looked at the far wall for a moment, then at Eric."Just pisses me off beyond all reason, you know?"Eric knew.He knew because he'd worked on that little girl.He'd felt her slipping further away and hadn't been able to stop it.He'd heard her last breath and felt her last heartbeat.He knew how unfair it was.Drew walked through fire to save her.Drew had done his job
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