J. Tomas - The Man Next Door

The Man Next Door

By J. Tomas

Published by Queerteen Press

Visit queerteen-press.com for more information.

Copyright 2012 J. Tomas

ISBN 9781611523003

Cover Credits: Lou Oates , Kheng Ho Toh

Used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

Cover Design: Written Ink Designs

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the authors imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America. Queerteen Press is an imprint of JMS Books LLC.

* * * *

The Man Next Door

By J. Tomas

Fifteen year old Jake Allister came to the breakfast table with his gaze glued to his cell phone as he read the latest text from his boyfriend Thad. With his free hand, he smoothed down his shock of thick, dark hair absently. It wasnt even 7:00 in the morning yet, and already hed exchanged a half dozen texts with his boy.

As he slipped into a seat at the table, his mother glanced over from the stove. Put that thing away, she chided.

Thad texted me, Jake explained. He sent a quick replyok c u soonbefore tucking the phone into his back pocket.

At this hour? His mother scrambled the last of the eggs and scraped them onto a plate beside a stack of buttered toast. With concise movements, she deposited the plate in front of Jake and stuck the pan in the sink. Dont you two ever run out of things to say?

Jake grinned as he bit into a piece of toast. He was in lovehe never got tired of hearing from Thad, or talking to him, or about him, much to his mothers dismay. Im going over to his place after school, he said, diving into the eggs.

At the sink, his mother cut off the water she was running to wash the dishes and gave him a stern look. Are you asking me or telling me?

Please. Jake used his best puppy-dog eyes on her, which only made her shake her head and turn back to the dishes. Just for a few hours. Well do our homework, I promise.

For a long moment, she didnt answer, just tackled the pan in the sink with the sponge and concentrated on getting it clean. Jake hoped maybe that would be the end of things, but he shouldve known betteras soon as she started rinsing the suds off the pan, she asked, Are his parents going to be home?

Jake hesitated. Of course notthat was why they went to Thads house instead of Jakes apartment, where his mother ran an at-home business and would be in their way. But the truth was they wouldnt exactly be all alone at Thads. His sisters there. Mandy, you met her, remember?

Hmm.

Mandy wasnt high up on his mothers list of responsible peopleat twenty-two, she had dropped out of community college and couldnt hold a steady job. But in his mothers mind, Mandy would present a deterrent to any hanky-panky that might go on between the two hormonal high school boysif she wasnt locked away in her bedroom, chatting online with her latest internet fling. When Jake came over, he rarely ever saw her. But what his mother didnt know wouldnt hurt her.

She didnt say anything else as Jake finished his breakfastnot yes, you may go, but not no, you cant either. Jake chose to take her silence in his favor. Besides, hed already told Thad hed be there. They saw each other first thing in the morning when Thad stopped by the apartment complex where Jake lived to pick him up for school, but they werent in any of the same classesThad was a grade higher than Jakeso he wouldnt see his boyfriend again until after school let out. How fair was that? A few scant hours alone after school was the least he could ask for. It wasnt like he could invite the guy over to spend the night or anything, like he used to be able to do when he was youngerbefore he came out to his mother.

She was cool with his sexuality, for that he was grateful. But sometimes he swore she acted like he was nothing but a raging hard-on looking for sex. True, sometimes he felt like that, but he was a teenager. What else was he supposed to think about now that hed hit puberty?

Cutting off the water in the sink, his mother wiped down the countertop and, in an effort to make conversation, said, I met our new neighbor yesterday. Mr. Wagner.

She pronounced it with a VVagner. Why do you say it like that? Jake asked. Is he a vampire or something? I vant to suck your blood.

Hes German, his mother explained, and a very nice old man. He asked about you.

Jake felt a chill go down his spine when she said the word German. Hed just learned about World War II his freshman year, and now in his mind Germany was forever linked to the Holocaust. The day hed learned of the millions of Jews killed in the camps, he had come home close to tears and demanded to know why no one had ever told him about it before. Its not really something you tell a kid, his mother had explained, before telling him about a great-aunt who had died at Dachau.

Though he didnt want to admit it, Jake felt more than a little prejudiced nowwhenever he heard something said in German, he felt sick to his stomach, and the thought of ever visiting Germany made him want to run as far away as he possibly could. Hed never known his great-aunthis mother admitted even she didnt really know the woman, itd been an aunt on her fathers side who still lived in Poland even after the rest of the family had moved to Americabut he suspected she wasnt the only one of his family killed during the war. That no one had stopped the slaughterthat terrified him the most, thats what made him so angry. How could anyone let that happen? Why had no one stood up against the Nazis and put an end to it before so many lost their lives?

It was a different time, his mother often said. You just dont understand.

Maybe she was right, maybe he didnt understand, but he knew if any secret police came knocking on the doors in his neighborhood, rounding up people for nothing more than their religious beliefs, hed try to stop it. He wouldnt let it happen again.

His mind turned to their newest neighbor, an elderly gentleman hed seen moving in over the weekend. Two burly guys in a van did all the actual moving, or Jake knew for certain his mother wouldve enlisted his help. Now he was glad he didnt lift a fingerthe man was most likely old enough to have been alive during the war. How had he spent it? That was what Jake wanted to know.

Is he Jewish? he asked, his voice high and tight to his own ears.

His mother gave him a strange look. What? No, I dont think so.

Jake let that digest a moment. How old is he?

Oh, gosh. His mother leaned her hip against the counter and thought about it. In his eighties, at least. Well have to keep an eye on him, see if he needs any help with anything. He has a cat. He joked its almost as old as he is.

Jake didnt find that very funny. If the man was that old, hed definitely been alive in the 1940s during World War II. If he was German and not Jewish, then that must mean Is he a Nazi?

Jake Arthur! His mother slapped the towel down onto the counter and glared at him. You cant just