Haven Chapter 2A

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: This story has sexual content, if this offends you: Bye, bye. Even worse it has gay themes and gay sex between two minors, and an adult and a minor, if this offends you please find another story. Sex is not the major topic of this story. If you are looking for a pure adult erotic story try another one on this site, there are some good ones. If erotic stories are banned where you live, leave this site immediately before you are arrested (you were warned). If you are deemed to be underage by your government and too young to read this then you should leave now. (In either case go look up the names of these people and be sure to vote against them when you are old enough).

This story is fiction. That means I made it up. As the author I may make real life problems disappear with a sentence or two. If you want real life read the newspaper. I may actually have a point or two to make other than, life can suck.

Anyway, if you think you recognize yourself or anyone you know it is pure chance, go by a lottery ticket this could be your lucky day.

There is also sexual child abuse in this story. It is not described in detail. It is in no way meant as a turn on but as an explanation and motivation to the characters. The author is appalled by this and in absolutely no way condones pedophilia or abuse. Where possible the guilty do suffer, one of the perks of fiction, the bad guys lose. Although this is posted in Adult – Youth do not expect hot sex. There are some mild scenes and talk. There are however some fairly graphic explorations between the boys.

I hope you enjoy. E-mail to str8mayb@paddedroom.us E-mail lets us writers know if what we are doing is worth further posting.

Special thanks to my favorite authors for their encouragement; Fritz, Josh Aterovis, Cole Parker, Scribe1971, Miguel Sanchez, Dark Star, and Radio Rancher (order above is not by rank but by the order I discovered them, so don’t get angry guys). Radio Rancher is my editor so any mistakes are his fault. I pay him quite well (a case of commas a month) so he should find them all. (GRIN)

Haven is also posted on www.paddedroom.us and may be ahead. Thanks Akeentia.

Happy reading.

Tom str8mayb

Haven

Chapter 2 – Trust

Sunday morning, I was about as comfortable as I could ever remember. A warm body was spooned in front of me. My erection was pleasantly nestled in the grove of the butt. As my head cleared, I became more aware of exactly who was with me. I finally disengaged myself, and went into the bathroom to start my day. When I returned, Neal was gone. After a brief moment of panic, I heard him in the living room. Relieved, I joined him.

"Good morning. Sleep well?" I asked.

"Yeah. Thanks." He was looking down at his feet. Something about his posture screamed guilt.

I sat down next to him. "What's wrong? You feel bad about something?"

He looked at me with large scared eyes. I was way out of my depth here. I took his hand and held it gently. His hand was cold and clammy.

"Neal, can you talk to me? I have no idea what is going on unless you tell me."

He was starting to breathe heavily, like he had been running. I pulled him into a hug, and just held him. His arms slowly circled me, and he was crying his little heart out. I rubbed his back, and let him cry it out.

It took some time, but he finally recovered. My T-shirt was wet, and needed to be changed. I still held him. "It's going to be okay," I said reassuringly.

He tightened his hug, then released me. I let him go. He looked at me, then got up and went into the bathroom. I went in and changed my shirt, then went into the kitchen and started breakfast. I heard the shower and waited to start cooking the pancakes until he turned it off. I had forgotten how much a hungry boy could eat. I had to make another batch of batter to fill him up. When he finally groaned, when offered more, I shut down the factory and sat across from him. "If you think you can last, I'd like to go get you a few more things today."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Shoes, for one, we forgot those yesterday. A digital camera would be nice for our trip, and maybe a laptop, my desktop is getting outdated. If I got the laptop you could use the desktop."

"Kewl."

Soon we were in the van, heading for a mall. Sunday morning is an interesting time in a mall. The place was nearly empty, and stores were understaffed, but it worked till noon anyway. We found the salesman in the shoe warehouse very helpful, and Neal soon had 2 pairs of sneakers, a nice pair of hiking boots, a pair of leather dress shoes, socks and spare laces.

The electronics store didn't have what I was looking for, in the way of a camera and the lap tops were way overpriced. Out to the van, and off to another mall. I was getting to like this van. At first it was like driving a tank, it is huge. But now I like being able to see over cars, and being able to judge traffic way in advance. Also this size vehicle gets more respect then the little car I had a couple of years ago. At the second mall, I found a digital camera I liked; it took pictures and short movies. I decided on the large memory card, and a spare, just in case. Neal thought I had a lifetime worth of memory. They also had a nice laptop with a large screen and more features than I thought I would ever use. The software package was also top of the line. I asked how long to install the gaming package, and several games I wanted and two Neal had been drooling over. The salesman said he should be able to have it ready in a couple of hours or less. I looked at my watch and it was getting close to noon. I told him we would check back after we ate. Neal was surprised when I headed for the van and not the food court. I just grinned and said he was in for a treat.

Ten minutes later we were there. It sure didn't look like much from the outside, but inside were the world's best hot dogs. They fixed these things with anything you could imagine. Neal was lost, looking at the menu. I told him to start basic, maybe some slaw, or onions and sauerkraut. He decided to try one with slaw. I got one of their specials.

I almost laughed at Neal, when his hot dog arrived. He looked at it like it was from another planet. The dogs were made here and were larger than the average hotdog. They put it on a freshly baked roll with homemade slaw. I was wondering if I made the right choice, until mine was set before me. "Dig in Neal. You got to eat it before it eats you."

He giggled then picked it up and took a tentative bite. I watched him. His eyes got huge as the succulent flavors took over his senses. I was about half way through mine when he was done. I signaled the waitress. When she arrived, my mouth was pleasantly full. I nudged Neal and nodded to the waitress. He took the hint and ordered another with onions and chili. He looked lost, when she asked how many alarms. I almost choked on my dog, I held up one finger. I have survived their four alarm but just barely. Three is my usual level, and I'm actually afraid of the five. I thought he might finish his second before I had finished my first but he had to force the last couple of bites.

He talked about how good they were all the way back to the mall. As we entered the mall, one of the kiosks caught my eye, cell phones. I talked to the salesman and soon had two phones, which should be good even on the farm. Neal's phone could receive calls from anyone but could only call five numbers, set from my phone. Right now he only knew one person to call, so he was okay with it. My phone had a modem jack, so you could access the net through their server, I decided that I would try the 3 month plan, and see if I needed it. The computer was ready by the time we got there. Now back to the apartment.

Neal called me six times by the time we got home. God he was cute. I was amazed at how fast he had infected my heart. Once back in the apartment, I fixed us each a cold drink. "Neal, can I talk to you a minute?"

"Okay," he replied cautiously, in response to my serious tone.

"I know how bad things have been for you. I hope you are beginning to trust me. I don't want you to have to go back to the place you were before. We may need to prove how badly you were treated. That is one reason I got the camera. I didn't want film that someone else would see, when developed. Will you let me take some pictures of your bruises?" I waited for his response.

He looked at his feet while he thought. "Just you right?"

"That's right, unless a judge needs to see."

"K"

I had him remove his shirt, and I took a front and back picture. Then I came closer and used the zoom, and documented each bruise. I realized there was no documentation as to when these were taken. I then had him stand by the TV, and turned on the Weather Channel. The forecast came on; I took a couple of pictures that showed the time and date. Then I asked Neal to remove his pants. He did, slowly. "Wait buddy, leave the briefs, we don't want to shock a judge." Looking relieved, he giggled at that, and I quickly finished up. He dressed and watched, as I downloaded the pictures, and burned them onto two CDs. I then showed him I erased the camera, and computer file. "Thanks Neal. I hope we never need those, but at least we have them if we do."

He nodded and sat and watched me as I closed down the computer. I looked up and he was just staring at me. His face held no clue as to his thoughts, and he seemed to be withdrawing right in front of me. Somehow, I knew there was something very important happening, and I needed to do just the right thing. The trouble was I didn't have the faintest clue. I had hoped he would open up after this morning, but he was shutting down again. I was suddenly terrified I was going to lose him. I was surprised to realize how important he had become in such a short time, but he had.

I don't know why I did what I did, but it was one of those things that God just makes us do, I suppose. I Jumped up grabbed Neal and wrestled him to the floor, and proceeded to tickle him. I was as gentle as I could be, because of his bruises, but the surprise attack, had him in fits of laughter. He begged for mercy, and I stood over him grinning. "That should teach you." I stated, and walked off to the kitchen.

He yelled at my back, "That wasn't fair! You made me pee my pants!"

"Better go put some dry ones on. I don't want any wet butt prints on the furniture." I replied.

He came into the kitchen after changing. There on the table was a sundae I had made for him. He looked at me then the ice cream. "I don't understand."

"Good. If you don't eat that, I will. Then I'll be too full to fix dinner, and you will just starve to death before breakfast." I told him.

That ended the discussion as he gorged himself.

I left him to enjoy it, and went into the living room and stretched out on the sofa. I was lying there trying to figure out what to do about Neal. I heard him get up rinse his bowl (Good, boy!) and, nothing. I looked in that direction, and he was standing looking at me. I realized he thought I was asleep, so I watched him. He got the cutest grin, and tried to sneak up to me. Suddenly he attacked. 85 pounds (38kg) of tickling boy landed on me. Even though I was sort of ready, he had me laughing till tears were running down my face. I finally caught his hands and stopped the attack. He was lying on top of me, and we were nose to nose. Damn cute nose too.

I grinned at him. "Thanks, I needed that."

He gave me a strange look.

"Neal, are you waiting for me to do something?" I asked him.

He didn't move, and the expression on his face froze. "Okay, I take that as a yes. You're waiting for something bad aren't you?" His eyes said I had hit the nail on the head. "Hmmm, how about I fix spinach for dinner?" Again blank. "Okay, haggis."

"What's that?"

"Achh, not a drop of Scott's blood. Probably English." I said in a very poor attempt at a brogue. "Haggis is the Scottish national treasure. It made from things not fit to eat any other way, brains, lungs, liver, and seasoned with salt pepper, onions and fat, stuffed in the stomach and boiled until everyone is hungry enough to eat anything."

"Eeewww! Gross," he made a face at that.

"English, definitely English." I grinned at him.

He relaxed some. "Look Neal, I am not some kind of monster. I'm not going to hurt you. There is no way to prove that, but it's true. Twice today you have withdrawn and looked at me very strangely. I got the feeling you are upset by something. If I'm doing it, I'm sorry, but if you don't talk to me about it, I can't change."

"I'm kind of scared." He admitted.

"Okay. See, was that so hard? Stupid question, yes it was. I can imagine I would be beyond scared, if I had been through what you have. I would be terrified."

He nodded.

"So, now this guy has taken you home, bought you new stuff, and hasn't asked for anything." His eyes telling me I was on track. "This guy is talking about doing a bunch of neat stuff, and acting like you will be a part of it." He nodded again. "You can't figure out why anyone would do such a thing. You don't know the price and whether you can pay it."

"Yeah," he sighed softly.

"Well, this guy has just had his life torn up too. I don't know how to make you feel safe and secure. I can tell you I will fight for you. I'll do everything I can to see that you don't have to go back to that place." I wasn't sure to tell him about the lawyer, so I didn't.

He relaxed on top of me. I released his hands, and hugged him. He grunted and I realized I had hugged too tight. "Sorry"

"It's okay. I liked the hug."

"Yeah, but it will be better when there aren't bruises."

"Uh, huh," he agreed.

We just lay there until my stomach growled. He went into a laughing fit. "That tickled!" he gasped, and crawled off.

"Let's go find some good food!" I said as I got up.

"What about some Haggis?" he teased.

"Hmm, I wonder if there's a Scottish Denny's near here." We left the apartment laughing.

We didn't get any haggis, but did find a nice Chinese Buffet. I made two passes and Neal three. I decided to take Neal to a movie, to get his mind off things for awhile. By the time we got home, it was getting pretty late. Once we were ready to go to bed, Neal got that distant look again. He was outside the bathroom, looking towards my bedroom.

I motioned to him, "Neal? Come in here a minute, please."

He came as far as the doorway.

"Please come in." I patted the bed next to me. I was in bed and covered up. He crossed the room like he was going to the gallows. He finally reached the bed, and just stared at me, absolutely no expression on his face. It was scary. "I'm going to ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, or don't want to answer, then don't." I waited until he nodded. "The past two nights, you have come in and slept with me. I assume that you feel safe and protected, and not alone then. So why are you afraid of me now?"

His eyes got big, and he blushed and then started to shake. Suddenly he threw his arms around my neck, and cried. This poor kid had ragged edges all over his emotions. I wrapped my arms around him and rubbed his back while he cried. After a few minutes, I reached over and turned out the light. A few more minutes, and he wound down and I got him under the covers, and spooned up behind him, holding him close. I was soon asleep.

When I next became aware of things, it was morning. I opened my eyes and took stock of things. I was lying on my back the covers were mounded up several feet above my morning wood, but It felt like it was out in the open. Ahh, Neal was sitting up under there, looking at it? I guess to a ten-year-old, it must look huge, and exciting. I cleared my throat.

There was a flurry of activity, and Neal's head popped out from under the covers. Guilt and dread were allover his face. "I… I… Ahh, I…"

I reached out to ruffle his hair. He cringed like I was going to hit him. I changed my intention, and hugged him instead. "Neal, there is no reason I will ever hit you. I know you think you have done something bad, but you haven't. It's okay Neal, really. I'm not angry or upset in any way. Please don't be scared of me." I released him, showing he could go if he needed too.

He continued to stare, the fear left and was replaced by disbelief. "What are you going to do?"

"Well, I guess I'm going into the bathroom and piss, and then take a shower. What are you going to do?" I asked back.

"Uhh, wash up and get dressed?" he mumbled.

"Sounds like a plan. Then we'll figure out breakfast." I got up and went into the bathroom; I was looking forward to a hot shower. As I was adjusting the water temperature, Neal can in, and washed his hands. I just smiled at him, and he quickly dried his hands and left. While showering I tried to figure out how to deal with this. He was as curious as any ten-year-old or maybe more, because of his experience, and scared to death, because of those same experiences.

When I was dressed, I found Neal sitting in the living room, just sitting staring at his shoes. "Come on sport, let's go find some food." I led the way to the new van and we took off across town to a little place I sometimes ate at, during the week. They were open this early every morning, so we got a booth towards the back. The waitress brought a menu and asked for drinks. I ordered coffee and Neal asked if he could have orange juice or milk. I ordered both for him. He looked puzzled.

When we were alone I said, "Neal, I'm really not mad, honest. I don't know how you survived this experience, but you have. All boys are very curious about things, and it is normal to explore. What you did this morning was normal boy behavior. Now usually it's with another boy, but I didn't mind."

The waitress brought the coffee, juice and milk, and told us she would be back with our order. Our breakfasts arrived and we ate in silence. When we finished, I paid the bill and left the tip. As we got back on the road, I decided to take Neal to the city zoo. He got pretty excited. He really enjoyed the animals. I bought him a set of postcards of the different animals. He also was eyeing a stuffed buffalo. I asked if he wanted that. He looked at it and said he had one like it, his daddy had given him. That settled that, I handed the buffalo to him, and headed to the checkout. As we came up in line he looked at the price and frowned, and started to take it back. I touched his shoulder and he looked at me. I held out my hand towards the buffalo and said, "Please."

He handed it to me and cried, as I paid for it and handed it back. I was amazed that something like this would mean so much to him. He hugged that poor toy tightly, all the way home. When we entered the apartment, the light on my answering machine was blinking. I pushed the play button.

"Mr. Richards, this is Fred Clemets. The investigator has found some very interesting facts. I have followed up and things have been arranged, with amazing speed. I have some papers you will need to sign when you arrive, and until then, you have official temporary custody. Any questions please contact me."

Neal was standing there hugging the buffalo, staring at the answering machine, trying to figure out what that was about. "Was that about me?" he had that scared uncertain look again.

"Yes, I have no idea how he got that so soon. That was the lawyer I told you about. I called him Friday night, after you were asleep. I told him you need protection, and to find out what had gone on and what had to be done, so you never had to go back."

He stared for a few seconds, then ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. I followed and could hear him crying inside. I tried the door, it was locked. "Neal, I didn't mean to upset you; we need to talk, remember what I said about never forcing you." He cried louder. Well that was successful.

I sat down across from the door and waited. It took quite a while for him to cry himself out. After it got quiet, I waited and heard the lock click as he opened the door. I didn't dare move a muscle. He looked at me sitting there waiting for him.

"Why?" he asked.

"There are lots of answers to that. Friday I had just found out the worst week of my life had become much better, and then I saw this little guy, all alone in the bus station, and then I thought he was in serious trouble, and I stepped in to help. I figured you were running away from something or someone, and needed a friend. I am in a much better position to be your friend, than I might have been before Friday. Then I saw the evidence of what you have been through, and you told me the story. I've come to care for you. The closest I ever felt like this before, was with very close friends. Have you ever had a friend you would do almost anything for?"

Neal nodded, he thought about Brian, his friend at Juvy, who helped him recover and escape. Yes he would do anything to help Brian. He nodded, "Brian."

"What did Brian have to do so you would feel that way?" I asked.

"He saved my life; he helped me hide and stole food for me, 'til I could escape." Neal was tearing up.

"Did he have to do that for you? Or did he do that to help a friend he cared about?" I was trying to get him to think a bit deeper than he had. "What if it had been the other way? Would you have done the same for him?"

"Sure, we were buddies. He was my only friend, and I was his. I wanted him to run with me but he said it would be harder to find one boy than two together. I hate that he will be in the same fix I was in September."

"What? He was in that place too? Oh, Shit. We got to get him out of there. If those older boys find out he helped you, no telling what they will do." I was trying to figure out a plan.

Neal got wide eyed, and very scared looking.

"Okay, we have some time. Mr. Clemets knows the place, so he can work on it. Can you tell me about Brian?"

That helped Neal recover. He wasn't helpless, he was taking action. After about twenty minutes, I had a nice picture of the situation. I called Mr. Clemets.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Clemets, this is Tom Richards."

"You didn't need to call me back tonight. Everything is going amazingly smoothly. The home is very anxious to settle the matter without any undue fuss. They had a lawyer and judge get all the papers in order. You are approved as a foster parent, and for adoption if you wish."

"Yeah, that's great. Look there is another problem; we have to do something about. There is another boy in great danger there. His name is Brian Baxter. He is nine and if they find out what he did to help Neal, he could be in real danger. Can you see if we can get him out?" I pleaded.

"I have this feeling, being your lawyer is going to be very interesting. I'll get to work on it, and keep you informed. But it will take some time since he is still in their custody. I don't think they will be willing to skip steps and cut corners on this one. I'll be in touch."

"That's great. I plan on traveling there early next week. I've got some things here to settle, and then we will head west. I'm driving, so I'll probably leave Sunday and arrive Monday. I don't want to rush." I informed him.

"That will be fine. I will meet you Monday at the estate."

We said our good byes, and hung up. I grabbed Neal and hugged him.

"Is Brian really going to come too?" Neal asked.

"If there is any way possible. Mr. Clemets seems very good at making these things happen. I'm looking forward to meeting Brian." I kissed Neal on the forehead and released him.

"Thank you very much. I guess it's hard to believe you will do all this for me." Neal remarked.

I was finally understanding some of Neal's problem. He had been kicked around so much he had begun to believe himself worthless. "Well I'm trying to be a new dad for you. Would you question your real Mom and Dad doing things for you?"

"No, but they had to." Then the rest sunk in, "You want to be my Dad? Like adopt me?" He had tears on his cheeks and grabbed me around the waist in a big hug.

"Yeah, Neal, if you want me to. Only if you want me to." His head was nodding and he was squeezing me like his life depended on it, I guess in a way it did.

End note:

Maybe Neal can relax a little now. Tom has made it pretty clear he wants Neal as a son, not a toy. They still have some getting to know each other.

srt8mayb@paddedroom.us is my e-mail. Let me know what you think. Please put Haven 2 on subject line. Thank you.

Tom Str8mayb

Editor's Note;

Oh my goodness, I have read the first two chapters of this wonderful story. I am hooked. Remember when I said I wanted to strike a bargain on all the commas?

How does this sound? I will provide all needed punctuation, no questions asked. I am so interested in this story that I will do everything I can to get it posted. If I have to sell my autographed picture of Weird Al, to pay for the punctuation, I will.

As you can see this means a lot to me.

Tom seems like a really good person, and Neil is very lucky to have found someone as nice as Tom seems to be. I might be just a bit premature here, but I predict that we have us a new writer at one of the fort family of sites. Or maybe more than one.

TSL has just told me that he wants to see everything I have by this new fabulous writer. I already sent him chapter one.

Let's see if we will have another situation with two or more site hosts vying for hosting rights.

Darryl

The Radio Rancher