Unconditional Love

Chapter 4: The Good Son

The noise from Brent’s alarm clock woke him up forcefully. He still wants to go back to sleep. He did not get enough sleep last night because of Liam. Well, he always got sleep deprived because of him and it is evident in the dark circles under his eyes. Though no one seemed to notice because he was wearing a pair of big glasses.

“Good morning, son.” his mother greeted him.

“Good morning, Mom.” as he kissed his mother.

“You sleep in a bit today. I was about to knock on your room to wake you otherwise you'd be late for school. Were you having a hard time sleeping last night?” she asked.

“Yeah, it was too hot.” he lied.

“Was the air conditioner in your room not working?” she asked.

He did not answer his mother’s question as Brent didn’t wish to tell another lie. He never tells lies to his parents, as well as disobeying them. But Brent can’t tell his mother that he has difficulty sleeping because he is in love with his best friend whom his mother knows so well.

Leah is now transferring the food she cooked to the plate while Brent prepares the table. As usual, it is him and his mother because his father is away. He is assigned somewhere in the Middle East. Brent’s father works for the air force and not just ordinarily works for that institution, but he is a high-ranking official.

The reason why Brent never reveals his true identity to his parents and everyone else. Not even a single soul has any idea about who he is and he is intending to take his secret until he dies. No one knows what will happen in the future, but Brent got himself ready.

He prepared himself for being alone forever and seeing Liam has his own family. He sometimes even pictures himself at Liam’s wedding standing beside him because he will surely have him as his best man. Liam will cry tears of joy while waiting for his bride at the altar and, later on, he will also be the Godfather of Liam’s eldest child. Tears flowed continuously like waterfalls from his eyes when he imagined those scenarios.

“By the way, son. Your father will soon come home.” her mother happily announced.

“Really, Mom. When is that?” he asked excitedly.

“A week before your graduation,” she replied.

Oh my God. So he will attend my graduation. Wow, I’m so happy,” Brent said.

“Of course, he wouldn’t miss it for the world,” his mother said.

Brent was so happy with the news his mother told him. That’s what he likes about his father. He will do everything not to miss a very special occasion. He always finds a way to be present at an event that means so much to him and his mother. Brent has no idea how he does it but maybe his position has something to do with it which is why he was able to do what he wanted and he can go home whenever he likes.

His smile slowly faded when an idea crossed his mind. Lt. Col. Bryan Harper, Brent’s father, is a good man, he is also a good husband and father. He was always away because of his job, but that didn’t keep him from failing his obligations. He always makes sure that they are well and that they have all that they need by calling them every day. He never missed checking out on them.

While his mother is a religious and conservative woman, she values family, religion, and her beliefs so much. She follows whatever is written in the bible and she strongly believes that relationships of the same s*x are a mortal sin. The combination of his parents' characters are the factors that keep Brent from telling them the truth about him.

There was no way he could tell them. Both would be very upset and disappointed. That is the last thing that Brent would do. He loved his parents so much. Another thing is that his father wants him to also join the air force. He never said anything about it, but now he presumes that his father is going to make him decide since he will now go to college. His father’s job was noble, but it was never his thing. How can he ever join the air force with his skinny noodle arms? He has poor eyesight and, as far as he knows, if an individual is not physically fit, he will not pass. Brent was pleased with the idea because he now had a valid excuse not to join the military. Now he has a good alibi to decline.

“Hurry up now, honey. You are running out of time.” his mother’s reminder shifted Brent from dream land to reality.

“Okay, Mom.” he said and added up his pace.

As he was walking in the hallway, he saw Liam standing next to the mailbox looking so bored. Brent can’t help but laugh at how he looks. At the same time, his heart laughs together with his mouth at the sight of the person he dearly loves. Liam heard his laugh and turned his gaze at the newly arrived Brent.

“What took you forever?” he confronted his best friend.

“You know I move like a turtle, unlike you who moves like a cheetah,” he smirked.

“Whatever, let’s go.” as he turned his back and walked so fast.

“Hey, wait up. Slow down, cheetah.” he teased.

“You should adjust or else we’re going to be late.” Liam said.

“I suggest you give this slow turtle a ride on your back so we’ll get there on time.” Brent joked.

But the next thing that Liam did was unexpected. He got down with his right knees on the ground and offered his back to Brent. At first, he was hesitant to accept Liam’s offer. That would be odd and very awkward. He just froze while looking at his best friend’s back in awe. But his deep baritone voice took him back to his senses.

“Are you just going to stand there and waste our time?” he asked loudly.

“Oh okay. Sorry about it.” he hurriedly rode on Liam’s back.

It was the most unforgettable and memorable day of his life. Liam was carrying him on his back like they used to do when they were kids. Brent was sickly when he was young and his pediatrician forbade him to get himself very tired. He should not do intense physical activity such as playing hide and seek, as it involves running, jumping and any other things that involve being active.

So his good friend always carries him home on his back to keep him from getting very tired. But as they grew up, Brent was not that sick anymore. He overcame that stage in his life and he thanked his parents so much for being there for him. Though that’s what responsible parents do. His parents are not open-minded and Brent knows that they will never accept him for sure, but he still considers himself lucky that God gave him responsible parents.

“Are we there yet? Brent asked all of a sudden.

“Take a look yourself, are you blind?” Liam asked sarcastically.

Brent laughed because annoying his best friend was very effective. It always made his day seeing his best friend pissed. Liam is a jolly and talkative person but he easily gets annoyed. He could get into his nerves effortlessly. Only Liam could take out his cheeky and fun side, as Brent could only feel comfortable with no one but Liam. To everyone, he was nothing but an introvert, aloof and serious. Nobody knows he is a tease, naughty and a menace.

“Stop laughing, it makes you heavier.” Liam complained.

“What, me heavy? Are you serious?” Brent asked.

“Yes, very serious. I have no idea how you got so heavy when you are very skinny.” Liam said bluntly.

“Ouch, thanks for the compliment, bro.” he said.

Liam just laughed. When they reached the apartment’s door on the ground floor, Liam then put Brent down. It would look odd to see two men giving a piggy back ride to the other, though maybe some will consider it because Brent looks like he needs help with his skinny body. It was fine that they did it inside the apartment because tenants know them and they are used to seeing the two of them doing it.

“What are you doing, bro?” Brent asked.

He saw Liam take something out of his pocket and went in front of a black Yamaha Scooter.

“Obviously, I’m going to ride my bike.” he winked.

“Wait what?” he asked again.

“Earlier you were blind and now you have become deaf.” Liam groaned.

“This is your scooter? Wow, but it looks feminine.” said Brent, trying to annoy Liam again.

“And what makes it feminine to you? Did you see any t**s or v****a on my bike?” he sarcastically asked.

Brent couldn’t help but laugh out loud at Liam’s sentiments.

“Stop laughing. Let’s go.” as he handed Brent a helmet.

“Cool.” Brent said as he took the helmet from Liam and put it on his head.

“I know right.” Liam said proudly.

“Where did you steal this?” Brent teased afterwards.

“My Dad gave it to me, idiot.” he replied and Brent once again laughed.

In just five minutes, they reached school. Everyone was greeting the famous Liam, while Brent seemed like he never existed. But Brent was so used to this kind of situation every day. When they both arrived in their classroom, they still had fifteen minutes which they spent talking. This is the only subject that they are classmates on.

“Thanks to your bike, we arrived early and still have time to chit-chat.” Brent said as soon as they sat on their respective chairs.

Their teacher is kind and considerate. She lets her students choose which chair they want, so Liam and Brent, of course, got the opportunity to sit next to each other.

“Yeah, thanks to Dad,” he said.

“What’s the occasion dude? It is not your birthday. It’s too early for a birthday gift.” Brent wonders.

“It is his gift to me for studying hard. I didn’t see this coming. I told him that I was still not sure if I would be the valedictorian. That was so expensive and I thought it would be a perfect gift if I would become the valedictorian, but as of now, we still don’t know. He should have bought that after the announcement of the students with special honors.” Liam said sadly.

“You’re so ungrateful. Instead of saying that you should kiss your Dad and hug him tight while saying thank you,” Brent said.

“I already said and did that dude.” he said.

“By the way, when did you get that bike? I didn’t see that yesterday,” he wondered.

“He gave that to me just early this morning. I’m sure you are still snoring by that time, so you have no idea,” Liam said.

“Oh I see. I have the biggest gift from my graduation too,” Brent announced.

“Really what is it?” Liam asked excitedly.

“Dad, will attend the graduation. Mom said he would go home a week before our graduation day.” Brent answered.

“Really wow, I’m happy for you bro. Uncle Bryan is really amazing. His presence means so much and it can’t be compared to any expensive gifts out there,” he said.

As he spoke, Liam’s face brightened and God knows how much Brent did his best to stop himself from kissing the man in front of him. Whenever Liam had that bright face and his bright smile came after, he had no clue how Brent’s heart beat wildly and melted after.

Brent just smiled, keeping the love that he had for his best friend to himself. He was indeed happy that his father would attend the most important event of his life. Brent did not notice the time that the fifteen minutes was over and their teacher arrived. The class then started, so Brent focused himself on the lesson that their teacher was discussing.

=Sarsi=