“My friend, Jag, said the book is all about learning to be yourself rather than following the crowd or something like that,” Kyrone explained. “I’m paraphrasing, but that sentiment reminded me of what you’d said about living the life I want rather than the life Dad wanted for me.”
Jared traced his fingers over the seagull on the cover.
“Anyway, I liked what Jag said, and I thought you might too.”
“Thank you.” Jared felt tears building up in his eyes, and his throat became thick and tight. He tried to clear it so his voice wouldn’t sound fragile when he spoke. “It was a really nice thought, but…”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. He was overwhelmed by the thoughtful gift, at the way Kyrone was trying to give new meaning to the ink on his skin. But it wasn’t that simple. He didn’t want to give the tattoo an arbitrary meaning. He wanted to knowwhyhe’d got the tattoo in the first place. The seagull was a big, bold statement and far from a starter tattoo, so he must have really wanted it. Added to that, reading washard. Even though the book was short, it would take him an age to read it, let alone make any sense out of it. Not that Kyrone had known any of that.
“But?” Kyrone prompted.
“Could we go to my place?” Jared asked before he changed his mind. Kyrone was too great a guy to keep in the dark any longer.
“Sure. Why?”
“There’s something I want to show you.” He looked up into Kyrone’s eyes. “There’s something I need to tell you. But not here,” he added quickly.
“Do you want to take a shower first?”
Yes, but Jared knew his resolve would probably get washed away with the sweat and grime on his skin, so he shook his head.
“Your clothes are on the chest of drawers. I’ll call a taxi.” Kyrone smiled, but worry burned in his eyes.
Jared kissed his cheek, letting his lips linger against his boyfriend’s dark skin. “Thank you, Ky,” he whispered. “I’ll explain everything. I promise.” Still clutching the book, he stood up and made his way slowly to the bedroom to get dressed.
* * *
Jared tried to think positively as he let Kyrone into his room, but he was scared that the truth would be too much for him and he’d walk away. Not that he was going to back out. The longer he stayed silent, the harder it would be to face the conversation. He’d put everything in motion. He just had to keep the momentum going.
There was nowhere else to sit, so he gestured to the bed. Kyrone looked anxious as he took his coat off and sat on the edge of the bed. Jared could feel him watching as he took his own coat off and then went across to the bookshelf to trade the book Kyrone had bought him for his scrapbook. He sat beside Kyrone, balancing the scrapbook on his knees, with his palm resting on the plain cover. Kyrone wrapped his arm around Jared’s shoulders in a comforting gesture. He didn’t speak, which Jared was oddly grateful for.
“I was in an accident,” he said. “A really bad one.”
Kyrone squeezed his shoulder. “What happened?”
Jared breathed in deeply. “Apparently, I was in a car with a friend from university… Housemate,” he corrected. “There had been a bad storm the day before. We were stuck in traffic, and a tree—it must have been damaged from the storm—fell on the car.”
Kyrone began to stroke Jared’s arm. “Apparently?” he asked. “You don’t remember the accident?”
Jared shook his head. “The passenger… myhousemate…was killed instantly. And I… I…” His voice broke, and he bowed his head.
“What happened?” Kyrone prompted gently. “You were hurt?”
“My head.” Jared choked out. “Traumatic brain injury. I…” He brushed tears from his eyes, but they fell down his cheeks anyway. “I was in a coma for weeks.”
“Shit,” Kyrone breathed. “When was this?”
“Eighteen months ago.”
“I’m so sorry, babe,” Kyrone whispered, hugging him tightly. “Is that why you get migraines?”
Jared nodded. “And why I’m so thin. I lost a lot of weight and muscle mass while I was unconscious. And I…”
“Take your time,” Kyrone said, kissing the top of his head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
It felt good to hear those words. Jared could only hope they would remain true. “I get tired easily, and I have trouble reading, and I…” He gulped in air. “I lost my memory.”
“Of the crash?”
