I'll Give You A Hand - Chapter 1
As things start to heat up in the Thomas household. Riley just wants to follow his dreams.
I want to thank all the the furs who have been waiting patiently for this story. The cover art was made by PingTheFox, go look at his Deviant Art page and give him some love!!! ----> http://pingthefox.deviantart.com/ <
Chapter 1
Saying hello to goodbye
The orange sherbet sky was beyond the horizon. I was walking home from a friends house on a calm evening just thinking about the future. My name is Riley Thomas and I am just an ordinary gray wolf, nothing unique about me at all. My house was off in the distance. A little country house with a barn to the side. My family are farmers by trade, and take proudly in what they do. My father, David Thomas, wants me to have the house and continue on the Thomas farming legacy. We clash all the time about that; I constantly tell him I want to go to college but he just ignores me and says it's just a phase, like other things.
I was so lost in thought that I did not realize that I was walking up to my porch. Before I opened the door I took a deep breath.
"Okay, here I go."
I opened up the door and hurried past the kitchen on my left.
"Riley!" My dad called me. "Come ova' here a minute!"
"Coming Dad!" I hurried back to the kitchen where my mother and father were sitting. "What did you need Dad?"
"I have great news!" He replied.
"Like what, a new car?"
"Even better! Yur' mom and me have decided that you're going to own the house when yur' twenty-seven!"
"Why? I don't want the house."
My mother tuned in at this point, "Riley we just thought it would help you get back to farming. As you know-"
"Yeah I know Mom, the Thomas's are the best farmers in the area!"
"Hey! You watch yur' tone with yur' Ma!" I ain't going ta' take any back talk from you, understand?"
"No, I don't understand. I just want to go to college! I don't want to be a farmer, I don't want this house, and I don't want to be like YOU!"
"What is that suppose to mean?" David questioned.
"It means I don't want to be a straight, simple-minded, asshole-of-a-farmer!"
"Riley!" Christina, Riley's mother, shouted!
"Oh that's right! I furgot yur' a fagot! So you wanna go to college and do what? Become a Fag Fashion Designer or somethin'?" David snapped.
"Oh that is another thing, why can't you just except I'm gay? And no I don't want to be a fashion designer. I want to be an author who touches the hearts of millions of people!"
"A Fag Author, hmp!" With that David walked over to Riley and took the back of his hand and whipped it across Riley's face leaving a red imprint. The force was so violent Riley spun as a loud thud came from the floor. Riley opened his eyes and tears came strolling down his face. He started to pick himself up when his dad said. "You can go to college and we will pay for the first year. After that I don't want to see you around here no more." David was looking down at Riley with a spiteful look. Riley just stared back with a broken look.
With a choked voice Riley said, "Fine." Riley got up and walked to his room.
The nest year was filled with plenty of fights between David and Riley. Riley got a job at a quicky mart and raised enough money to buy a purple 1998 Monte Carlo. When the time came David and Christina paid off Riley's first year of college. Riley began to pack his stuff up but was lost in a trance of thoughts.
Looking down at my packed boxes it seems kind of sad. I waited my whole life for this. To go to college and become an author. The way I am leaving is terrible. I just wish my mom and dad could understand that this is who I am. A gay gray wolf named Riley Thomas that wants to go to school. Maybe I came on too strong with the whole _I'm gay_thing? I bet after a year or two they'll miss me? Or the could still hate me. I guess I have to take my chances.
"Big bro? Why do you got to leave?" Mark Thomas, Riley's little brother, asked. He must have came over by me when I wasn't looking. Mark had tears in his eyes as he ran up to me. He latched on tight while he was trembling. Mark had black fur, because he was a black wolf which he got from our grandfather. His eyes were big and it was hard to keep myself together without tearing up.
"Cause' I have too. I don't belong here..."
"Is it cause' you hate Dad?"
"No Mark, it's because I want to go to school and he doesn't want me to."
"Is farming that bad?"
"No I just want to follow my dreams." I began to cry, the feeling of choking as I spoke was unbearable.
"I don't understand Riley." Mark began to down pour as well.
"Maybe one day you will Mark." I put the last box in my car and closed the trunk. My father called Mark back over to him. Mark gave me one last look before he headed over to him. My dad walked over to me and just stared.
"Are you here to gloat?" I asked in a rhetorical tone.
"No...I just-" I cut him off before he could even start.
"Here I go Dad, your tragic failure is leaving forever!" I walked over to my car and got in. I stared the engine and drove off. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw my dad with his head down. What was he going to say to me? Whatever it was it is too late now.
Looking down the road I began to cry again. I should be happy but I couldn't get rid of this tight knot in my chest. I am leaving not just my home but my family, memories, good times, and bad times. I guess the only thing I can say is hello to goodbye.