Love Means No Boundaries - Andrew Grey

his balance. He saw him step backward and stumble before falling backward. Joey tried to react, but watched as his body collapsed backward, his head hitting the concrete.
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Love Means … NO Boundaries
HE HATED falling. His body tensed, and he had no idea when it would stop. All his references failed him, and he felt completely helpless. He heard Joey call to him, but couldn’t do anything.
     
The next thing he remembered, Joey’s arms were around his body, and he was helping him sit up. “Robbie, are you okay?” “Yes.” His head hurt, and he rubbed it, his fingers coming back wet. “I must have cut myself.”
    “Can you sit up?” Robbie nodded his head slowly, and then Joey’s hands were gone, and he heard footsteps hurry away. Then the footsteps returned and a warm cloth pressed to his head. “Let me help you get cleaned up.” Joey’s voice was soft and heavy, like he was scared and worried. Joey’s touch was so gentle and soft. The cloth moved away, and he felt fingers probe his hair. “It’s not large and the bleeding seems to be stopping.” The cloth pressed to his head again, and Joey got quiet for a while. “I’m sorry, Robbie.” He heard other footsteps in the barn and recognized Geoff’s voice as he asked what happened. “I fell.”
    “It was my fault.” Joey sounded guilty.
“No, it wasn’t. I fell. It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last.” Robbie began to get to his feet.
“What happened?” Arie’s voice filled the barn as footsteps rushed in his direction.
“I’m fine, Arie, I just fell.”
“What was he doing in here? He could get hurt, did get hurt.” Robbie didn’t like the accusatory tone in Arie’s voice. His fall wasn’t anyone’s fault. “Arie, I’m fine!”
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Andrew Grey
“Weren’t you watching him?” The judgmental tone in Arie’s voice grated Robbie the wrong way. “Did you leave him alone?” “That’s enough, Arie! It wasn’t Joey’s fault. I fell, it happens, get over yourself.”
    “They’re supposed to look out for you.” The accusatory tone was gone from Arie’s voice, switched off and replaced with a soothing, smooth tone. “Let’s get you out of here.” Robbie shrugged away. “I’m fine, Arie.” Robbie regained his balance. “What are you doing here anyway?” He felt Joey’s hand on his arm. He’d know that touch anywhere.
“I just stopped by to see how you were doing. I know it can take a while for you to learn new places, and I wanted to see if you needed help getting ready for the performance tonight.
    “You didn’t need to come all that way. I’m fine, and any help I need Joey can handle.” He couldn’t believe how angry he was with Arie. He had no right to come in here and take over, telling everyone what to do. He wasn’t helpless, and he particularly resented the way Arie treated Joey. It wasn’t his fault that he’d fallen. He wanted to lash out, but controlled himself. “I’ll meet you at the auditorium later.”
Robbie heard Arie’s heavy footsteps and assumed he was storming off. “Did he look mad?” They began walking out of the barn, back toward the house.
     
“Uh, yeah. If looks could kill, I’d be dead right now.”
     
“Arie,” Robbie shook his head. “He’s as gentle as a kitten.” He felt a tenseness in Joey’s muscles that wasn’t there before, and he wondered what caused it, but Joey said nothing as they continued walking.
    “Step up into the house.”
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Love Means … NO Boundaries
    “Hey, boys, dinner is almost ready.” Dishes clanked as he heard Eli working. “Looks like you took a tumble.” He felt Eli guide him to a chair and begin fussing over him, washing the cut and making sure he was truly fine. “It’s only a really small cut.” Then his fingers slipped away. “When do you need to be at the auditorium?”
    “The concert’s at eight, so I need to be there at seven-thirty.”
“We’ll drive you over, and I got tickets for all of us.”
“Excellent.” He heard the pleasure in Geoff’s voice. From the soft, fabric-muffled sounds, he figured he was setting the table. “Do you need your cane?” Joey asked.
Robbie nodded and felt the familiar object press into his hand.
Knowing his way much better now, he walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. It felt like he’d been in the house a lot longer than just a few days. In his mind, he knew where everything was. It was like this house, this farm, felt comfortable,