Page 151 of Silent Damage

“Thank you,” I whisper. “For telling me—letting me in. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. You were all alone, and I’m so mad at myself for doing that to you.”

Gabe shushes me, then cups my cheek. “I’m not alone anymore.”

Hearing him say that makes me feel hope. “No, you’re not.”

“Neither are you,” he adds.

“I love you, Gabe.”

“I love you too, Jason.”

Chapter 35

Jason

After we cried, I fucked Gabe over the log.

Kidding!

We were blubbering messes—there was no way we were fucking.

Or should I say making love?

Oh wow…

Lovemaking.

We walk back to the trailer, my arm around his shoulders and his around my waist. When the trees clear and the trailer emerges, we find Linda pacing back and forth in the backyard, smoking a cigarette.

There’s a little mountain of butts in the ashtray on the table, so it’s safe to say she was worried.

When she sees us, she starts coughing. “Oh, thank God,” she croaks, slapping her hand against her chest. She hacks some more, and Gabe pats her back. “Wrong pipe,” she says.

Once the coughing dies down, she looks at us. “So…?” she asks.

“I told him,” Gabe says.

Linda looks at him with wide eyes, and I know it’s not just because he told me.

He spoke to her.

Without hesitation.

Eyes that looked at the inside of a prison cell for two years to protect her son tear up as she hugs him.

They have their moment, Linda whispering how much she loves him, and Gabe telling her she gave him everything.

When they part, I don’t give any warning; I just wrap my arms around Linda and whisper, “I’m so sorry I was a dick.”

She pats my back, “Oh honey, you don’t have to—”

“You’re the best Mom in the world,” I add before she can finish.

Linda’s breath hitches, and she squeezes me tighter. “And you’re a great kid who deserved better,” she says.

Linda looks at me with a loving expression and rubs my shoulder before glancing at Gabe and me and asking, “Are you two together yet?”

I pull Gabe closer, wrapping my arm around his shoulder, and say, “Yeah, we’re boyfriends now.”