From: Snwdemon

Subject: Playing the game: Rodie's Story continued.

Chapter 13: New beginnings {M/t, M/b, no sex}

WARNING: This story contains descriptions of sexual acts involving MINOR boys. I wish to explain that this story is not true! Further, it is not intended to promote illegal acts against minors, but to demonstrate that young boys can love each other even when adults believe that they are too young. The sexual acts described in the story are the result of my imagination. I have not performed these acts and I do not encourage others to perform them with minors. If the subject of boy/boy or homosexual love between minors offends you, or this material is illegal to possess in your place of residence, or if you are under the legal age to possess such material, do not read further!

By downloading this story: You implicitly declare and affirm under penalties of perjury that you are not a minor or in the company of a minor and are entitled to have access to material intended for mature, responsible members of society capable of making decisions about the content of documents they wish to read ." The story is copyrighted under my pseudonym, Snwdemon. A copy has been placed in these archives for your enjoyment. The story cannot be used to derive monetary gain. However, if you want to place a copy of this story in your free access archives please email me for my permission. The story cannot be placed in archives that require payment for access, or printed and distributed in any form that requires payment either directly or indirectly. Any similarity to individuals, living, or dead, is partially accidental. Reference is also made in context to locations, businesses, characters, and people to define the story line. No other implication about the true sexuality or actions of the people, or places mentioned is intended.

Author's note: Please see the author's note at the beginning of chapter 12. Thank you.

Playing the game: Rodie's story cont.

Saturday September 8, 2001 (afternoon)

Too soon though, it was time for them to leave for the train station in Charlotte and Rodie had a very tearful goodbye with Canyon, Stevie, his mom and Jim, and Marco and Eddie. After they had driven away, Rodie let Mark pick him up and carry him inside their house while John, Eric, and Derrick followed. Once they were inside, Mark sat down on the couch with Rodie still in his arms. For a few moments, Rodie relaxed and hugged Mark firmly. However, everything became awkward again when he lifted his head and looked around at the others. Then he blushed and moved off Mark's lap and scooted to the far side of the couch.

"I'm sorry," he said as he looked at Derrick and then Mark.

"What for?" Mark asked with a perplexed look. When Rodie didn't answer, he looked at his dad, Derrick and Eric before standing up. "Dad, I'm taking Rodie home, so if you need me, I will be there." He then went over to Rodie and held out his hand.

"What do you want?" Rodie asked silently to him as he met Mark's hard stare.

"We need to talk, just the two of us. Right now!" Mark told him silently and Rodie finally looked away before getting his arm crutches.

"Ok...I can walk on my own and I don't need your help." Rodie said stiffly as he stood with some effort and left the room. Mark followed, and then he ignored Rodie's protests when he picked him up, carried him down the steps, and out the door.

"Stop it. I'm going to help you whether you want me to or not; and we are going to talk about this. Now, we can do it here in front of everyone, or wait until we get to your house. I don't care where it happens, but we will talk, understand?" Mark said firmly as he put Rodie down and steadied him. Rodie glared at him for a few moments before his eyes began to fill and he dropped his head before turning away. Mark followed him to his house and they went inside. Rodie used the elevator while Mark used the stairs. Rode then went into his bedroom and sat on his bed while Mark followed.

"Now that we are alone, you can tell me why you don't even want to touch me. What is wrong Rodie?" Mark asked him in a demanding tone of voice. Rodie could feel his anger, confusion and his love for him.

"You already know Mark. I'm letting you go, so you can be happy...just like you let me go." Rodie said as he looked at the floor. Mark came over and sat down beside him. He reached over and turned Rodie's chin until they were looking at each other. Rodie's cheeks were wet from his tears and his bottom lip trembled a bit.

"Why? I still love you and you love me. So why are you doing this?" Mark asked him gently.

"I have to...because you are supposed to be with Derrick. If I don't let you go then he's going to be hurt." Rodie said before looking away. "I've hurt enough people already and I don't want to hurt the people I love anymore."

"No, you haven't hurt us and that isn't the problem either. I'm not telepathic like you, but I'm not stupid either. You won't let me touch you and for the last two weeks, you have been doing the same thing to Jim. Now what's wrong and don't lie to me anymore because you aren't a good liar." Mark told him matter of factly and he saw Rodie twitch when he said Jim's name. Mark had a suspicion about what was wrong, but he needed Rodie to admit it if he was going to be able to help him. He watched as Rodie's emotions played out on his face and finally his shoulders slumped and he hung his head down.

"I'm scared of you. I love you and Jim and I want to be with both of you too...but I'm so afraid that you guys will hurt me...just like my father hurt me." Rodie told him with his voice being just barely over a whisper. Hearing this confirmed Mark's suspicions and he used his talents to convey all of his compassion, love, and caring to Rodie.

"You are scared that we will hurt you like your father did when we make love right? That's why you won't let either of us get close enough to touch you, right?" Mark asked him and he saw Rodie nod his head a little before his body began to twitch and jerk as his tears came with his choking sobs. Mark pulled him into his embrace and held him gently. "It's ok Rodie. I understand now and it is all right for you to be scared. I know that I've grown taller since everything happened, but I'm still pretty small compared to other guys my age. I love you so much...I could never hurt you, neither could Jim and you know that."

"I know, but I can't help it. I get so scared with you guys and I know you won't hurt me, at least not on purpose, but all I can think about is what my father did to hurt me and I remember the pain. I tried to face it...I really tried with Jim the night we got home, but I couldn't do it. What am I going to do now? I can't love you or Jim because of him...at least not like I want to love you. I know you both say that you won't hurt me like he did, but I can't make myself believe that because all I know is what my father did to me. You've seen the pain he caused me and what that pain did to me. I can't go through that again and survive it. Why can't he just leave me alone now that he is dead? Why does he have to keep on hurting me?" Rodie sobbed into Mark's shoulder. Mark just stayed quiet while he soothed Rodie as he wept. However, his mind was going over what Rodie said and after several minutes, he thought he knew the answer. Rodie had quieted down, but looked up with surprise and consternation when Mark began to laugh.

"I'm sorry Rodie, but I know the answer to your problem. It's just so simple that it made me laugh is all. You are afraid to have sex with us because we are both bigger than you now and when we do it that it will hurt the same as it did when your father raped you, even if we are careful right?" He asked and Rodie nodded with a small frown on his face. "Well, you are right and you are wrong. Yes, it will hurt the same if we forced you to do it like your father did because you were trying to stop him but he forced it in anyways. That is why it hurt so much because it ended up tearing you up inside when he did that. It's the same as if someone forced a stick up your butt and it will tear you up inside the same way. However, you are wrong too because we could never hurt you in any way, especially that way and if you tell us to stop, or that it hurts, then we will stop. That is because making love with you is not the same as rape. It won't hurt like what your father did though because we love you and we do not want to hurt you either. We won't force you and we will stop whenever you tell us to because we want you to enjoy it as much as we do. There are things that all of us can do together to relax you back there so that you won't be hurt. Just remember that it might hurt a little bit at first because you really haven't done it before so you are not used to doing it. Also, the damage that your father caused may not allow you do have sex in that way no matter what any of us do to be careful. However, even if you cannot have anal sex doesn't mean that you cannot have sex or make love to us because anal sex is just one way. We will be very careful and as gentle with you as we can be so that we won't hurt you in any way, but even if you can't do it that way, we can still make love with you in many other ways. To be perfectly honest with you though, I really don't think that you are ready to do this yet and I mean both physically and mentally ready. I think you are still way too small physically to even consider having anal intercourse even if you can. The first time I tried to do it, it felt like he was splitting me in half and I was a lot bigger than you are now."

"I want to though, but I'm still so scared too." Rodie said softly. "So what can you do to help?"

"I know you are scared and you will always be the first few times no matter what I do. You will be scared when you are with Jim the first few times too until you can see that he isn't going to hurt you. That is how trust is built between sex partners or a better term for it would be lovers. See, when two people are lovers, they get naked and leave themselves utterly vulnerable to their partner. However, because of the trust that is built from their love for each other, they know that they can be completely vulnerable with their partner because they both will trust each other to not hurt the other. That is why I don't think you are ready to take that step and have anal sex yet because I don't think that you have developed that kind of trust yet. I became sexually active when I was 12, but I didn't have intercourse until I was 14 almost 15. You cannot count what your father did to you as your first time because he raped you. So your first time being sexually active was with Jim, but you were so screwed up inside because of what your father did to you that I wouldn't count that either. Therefore, if you really think about it that way, then you are really still a virgin in that sense. What you need to do for now is to learn and fool around with Jim, me, or whoever you want to fool around with for the time being. Try some things and enjoy yourself, just remember that you are not ready to go all the way and have intercourse yet. There is no need to rush into that because you have your whole life ahead of you and one day you will be ready to go all the way. For now though, just take things a little at a time and you will know when it is the right time for you to go all the way ok." Mark told him and Rodie's frown deepened.

"Fool around? What do you mean? I don't know if I can do that because even that scares me." Rodie exclaimed as he sat up and looked at Mark who was smiling.

"That's not what I mean. Sex isn't love; it is just a small part of true love. The other important parts are trust, caring, compassion, sharing, and giving all of your self to your partner. Sex is just one of the ways we can express our love and it is the ultimate way of sharing yourself with your partner. That is why you are so afraid now, it is because you have skipped all of the learning steps for true love and you just know about forced sex only. Now you have to go back and start all over at the beginning and learn about love the right way now. That is the reason you fool around with those who you trust and love now is so you can learn these things and build the trust that you will need for later when you are ready for loving someone completely. By doing that, you learn what you like, what you don't, what you are comfortable with doing and what you are not willing to do at all. I fooled around with Matt for almost two years before I went all the way with him. We started out just kissing at first, then touching each other. We then started masturbating followed by oral sex then finally anal sex. By the time that we did all of that, I knew that Matt would not do anything to hurt me on purpose and that's why I was able to go all the way with him even though I was still scared about doing it. You can't just jump straight to anal sex, so that's what I mean by fooling around first. By doing it this way, it will deepen your love for your partner while also building up the trust between both of you. Then when you both are ready to go all the way, it's not so scary at all because you both will know things about each other that nobody else will ever know. You will both know from experience of how gentle and caring your partner is, and that is what will allow you to take that final step for intercourse without fear. When you do go all the way, that time will be very special for you and your partner whoever it will be because you will trust him completely." Mark explained to him and Rodie thought it over for a few long moments before he looked at Mark and smiled.

"Ok, so I'm supposed to fool around with you first...but what about Derrick? Won't he be mad if we do that kind of stuff together?" Rodie asked him.

"No, he won't be because he knows that I love him, and that I also love you and Jim too. That is what true love is about. Derrick loves me and he knows I love him. He also knows about us and he loves you just as much as I do too. You have that effect on people, you know. He loved you since the day he met you the first time, just like I loved you the first time we met on the beach. He knows that we have a special relationship and he knows about me and Jim too. However, he understands that I still have some unfinished business with both of you and he is willing to wait for me because he knows that he is the one I want to grow old with. You are my first true love and you always will be no matter what. So don't worry about Derrick so much because he knows and understands." Mark told him and Rodie relaxed his frown. Then he gave Rodie a mischievous grin and said. "If you want to we can include him when we fool around together so that you won't think he will get jealous, and Eric can help too."

"All three of us?" Rodie asked with a shocked expression on his face. However, after he thought about it for a few moments, the more he liked the idea. "So what should we do then?" Rodie asked him and Mark could clearly see the pent up desire in his eyes.

"Like I said, we will do whatever you want to do as long as it doesn't involve intercourse. Remember that when Jim comes home too. I know you want to be with him, but take it slow and let us teach you how to love and trust so later on you can love Canyon and Eric when they are ready for that. Just remember that it is ok to say no or tell us to stop if you do anything with us." Mark told him. "Hey, what if we give you a massage later on? That will help relax you and help you rest tonight because the twins are coming over tomorrow."

"A massage? How is that fooling around?" Rodie asked him with a small frown.

"You'll see. Trust me on this, you will love every moment." Mark said with a wide grin as he brow beat him.

"You...you promise that it won't hurt?" Rodie stammered to him and Mark could see that Rodie wanted to trust him, but he could also see the fear slipping back into his face.

"I promise Rodie. I will not do anything that will hurt you and Derrick and Eric will promise too." Mark responded as he conveyed all of his compassion, love and caring to Rodie.

"Eric? He's going to be there too?" Rodie asked again with a look of surprise and confusion.

"Oh yes, he will be with us too. He can do something really special and with him with us, I think that you won't be as scared too." Mark told him and after a few moments of silence, he saw the tension leave Rodie's face as he relaxed.

"Yeah, I guess so, ok." He said quietly before smiling at him and saying, "Anyway, I'm going to need all the rest I can get for tomorrow." Then he let out a soft laugh, hugged, and kissed Mark. "Thanks Mark; I love you too. Let's go back now because I want to stay with you guys." Mark helped him stand up and steadied him before getting up himself. Rodie got his crutches and took his medication before they both went back over to the other house. Rodie was immediately tackled by Brutis when he came in, who woofed and whined with excitement in between licks while wagging his entire butt. After a few minutes of being mauled and slobbered on, Rodie sat up and kissed Brutis on his snoot.

"Now stop it and behave. I've missed you too, but this floor is killing me." Rodie told him as he petted and scratched Brutis's big head. Brutis licked Rodie's hand and whined with understanding before sitting down on his haunches even though his curly tail still quivered with his excitement. "Hey, someone help me up please?" Derrick and Eric quickly got up, helped Rodie to stand up, and then helped him over to the loveseat.

"That is so neat the way Brutis understands you Rodie. Hahaha, you've got a psychic dog dude!" Derrick told him and the others laughed too.

"He isn't a dog. He is my fur child, and my friend...he saved my life." Rodie told them with a smile, then he patted the cushion beside him and Brutis jumped up next to him. "My appendix burst and I was too sick and weak to call for help so he let everyone know that I needed help." Rodie hugged Brutis affectionately before continuing, while Brutis responded with three full face licks with his purple tongue.

"I remember waking up that morning and my stomach and side hurt so much. I had an ulcer and the medicine I took for my stress made it hard for me to go to the bathroom a lot of times. Mom and Jim thought so too and gave me something to help me go, but I was still in so much pain afterwards. Jim had me take a hot bath and then lay down and it turned out to be a huge mistake because the heat made the infection speed up causing my appendix to burst. I was so sick that morning. I was burning hot, it felt like there was this red hot knife in my side, and someone kept twisting it. My fever was so high that I couldn't reach out to anyone except Brutis, he started howling, and licking my face until everyone heard him. Next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital and being so weak that someone had to feed me because I couldn't lift my arms. Ever since then, he's been my best friend." Rodie said in his soft voice as he gently petted Brutis's massive head in his lap. "I think I linked us together somehow that morning because ever since, he always knows how I'm feeling. I could probably undo it if I wanted to, but I never will. So we are stuck with each other, for better and worst."

"Yeah, I know what you mean about being linked. I don't have any special abilities like you guys, but ever since Mark and I met, I know what he is feeling. He was a mess after that night he was shot and you were hurt so bad. Then, once I thought things were settling down, you OD'd and I literally had to knock him out to keep him from killing himself. Don't ever do that again because it damn near killed me to hit him like that and then carry him almost two miles to my house. He is a lot heavier than he looks and it took me six months to forgive myself for hitting him. So, if you ever get another idea like that again, you better tell me first so I can chain him up in a padded room." Derrick told him with a sort of half smile, but Rodie could see that he was dead serious though before he looked away letting his long hair cover his face. Just then, Brutis sat up and whined softly as he looked at Rodie. When Rodie looked back, he had tears in his eyes.

"I know Derrick and I'm really sorry for it. I hurt a lot of people, but mostly I hurt the ones I love the most because of my selfishness. I know that it is not an excuse for what I did, but I never thought about everyone I was hurting when I OD'd. All I really wanted was for the pain inside me to stop." Rodie told him before wiping away the tear streaking down his cheek with the back of his hand. "And you are wrong because you do have a very special talent just like the rest of us. Everyone in the world has something special that they can do, but most don't ever discover what it is, while some who do know how to use it, only uses it to help themselves and not others."

"That's bullshit, and you know it Rodie!" Eric said as he stood up, but he momentarily flashed his smile and dimples at his dad for his cursing. "You didn't do anything that any of us would not have done if the same thing happened to us. The only difference is that I wouldn't have waited so long afterwards if it had been dad trying to kill me and one of my first real friends that I had. The one who should be sorry is your father because he is the grownup and he should have been proud to have a son like you. I know that all of us are proud to be with you."

"Maybe it would be for you Eric, but it's not like that for me. The rules are different for me because I'm different. I know and feel what anyone is thinking and feeling around me. It is different for me because I can also control a person with my mind only...even kill them with just a thought, just like I almost did to that sicko who was going to rape you. The only reason that he is in jail now is because of Mikki. She was the one who saved him by undoing what I did to him. That showed me how powerful I really am. However, it was only after I tried to kill myself that I realized that I can't be selfish and feel sorry for myself because when I do that, then everyone that I've connected to me will end up being hurt. I wish that it wasn't like this sometimes, but it is the truth and I can't change it." Rodie explained to him. "I know what all of you did for me after my suicide attempt and what it cost each of you too. That is a huge debt that I owe each of you and it puts a heavy responsibility on me now. So I cannot play the game with the same rules that you play with."

"But that's not fair," Eric said. "Why does it have to be different for you and not us?"

"No Eric, it isn't fair, but it is the truth. Also, what really isn't fair is that all of you now have to play by these different rules too because of me. That's because each of you has discovered your own special talents and you know how to use them also because of me. The reason it is now different for all of us is because we all know that we can use our talents to help others which is good, or we can use them only to help ourselves which is wrong and selfish." Rodie told them, then he motioned for Eric to come sit beside him and for John, Derrick and Mark to come closer too. "I want to ask all of you to promise me something and I will promise all of you that I will do the same thing. I want you all to promise me that there will no longer be any secrets between us. It is really important for us to promise this and tomorrow I will get the twins to promise also. We have to do this if we are going to be able to change things for Canyon and Stevie. So, I promise not to keep any secrets from all of you if you do the same. I've already got Mom, Jim, Marco, and Eddie to promise along with Nell and Dr. Mike too. So that leaves just you guys and the twins."

"I promise Rodie," Derrick said and the others did the same.

"Good, because I really need to know some things before I can help Stevie and Canyon and all of you need to know some things about me too." He said to them and then he was quiet for a long moment before continuing. "I know that you, Eric, and Mikki tampered with my mind in order to help me get better. I haven't had a nightmare about what my father did since I left to go to Oaklawn. I know that he raped me and everything in general, but I can't remember any details of what he did to me. You guys helped Mikki make me forget all of those things didn't you?"

"We had to Rodie. It was the only way to stop you from reliving what he did to you every time you slept. Before you went to Oaklawn, you would only sleep for a couple of hours and sometimes you went days without sleeping at all. It was killing you and it only made your depression even worse every time you had a nightmare." Eric told him as his eyes began to fill.

"Mikki wasn't going to make you forget, but then you found out about something that he did after you and your mom came here and that really pushed you over the edge. She didn't have any choice after that happened." Mark explained to him, but he didn't say anything more. Rodie looked at him, then at Eric and John and he could see that they knew about this also.

"Remember, we all promised that there won't be any more secrets. What did my father do? If you won't tell me, then I will find out on my own from Mom or Jim." Rodie told them, but he already knew it would be bad.

"Alright Rodie, I will tell you because Mark and Eric gave their word to Mikki that they would not ever speak about it again to you under any circumstances." John told him as a look of profound sympathy came over his face. "You were so depressed after your suicide attempt and all of us were so worried about you. Then, when you were in the hospital; it was by pure chance that you saw the story about your father and the crimes he committed on the news. Before he came here to kill you, he raped and tortured two other boys before murdering them, you knew about that, but you didn't know who they were. The story identified the boys and that is what pushed you beyond the point of no return." John told him gently. Then with his face full of compassion, he said with great sadness. "The two victims your father murdered were Andrew and Christopher. I believe that they were your two friends at your home in Virginia before you came here. Like Jim told you, they realized that they were losing their best friend who just happened to be very special. They each had come by your house to make up with you and that is when your father took them. He told them that you had moved and that he would take them to visit you, but you don't need to know the rest after that." Rodie listened with tears in his eyes before burying his face into his hands and crying softly. John stood up and gently lifted him up into his arms before soothing him as best he could. It took a long while for John to sooth him enough to calm down in order to finish what he started.

"Why them?" He asked tearfully after he was sitting down again. "No...don't say it. I know why he did it. It was the only way he could hurt me after I left and came here. Now I have an even heavier burden on my soul, and I will make it right some day...some how." He said quickly before anyone could answer, but the last part he said more to himself than to the others with him. He just knew that he didn't have the time or energy to deal with this right now, so he pushed it off into a back corner in his mind and wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands along with sniffling one final time. There would be time enough to grieve for them later once he was home with Jim again. Once he had collected himself, he then looked at the others and gave them a weak smile.

"This isn't over, but I will deal with it my way later on. Remember how I showed you how I could share pain with others Mark?" He asked him and both Eric and Mark nodded. "Well, I am much better at it now and I am not limited to just sharing pain anymore. I can share anything that any of us can do with any one I choose. I can give each of you a chance to use and understand each others talents, or let you use and understand mine. However, I still haven't reached my full potential yet because I haven't stopped growing and maturing yet. This is why I seem so much more powerful now than I was when you met me two years ago, and why the control and range of my talents will continue to increase and develop as I get older. The reason for this is based on someone's genetics and how they develop mentally and physically over time; it's sort of like puberty. It's pretty complicated to explain, but to simplify things, let's just say that all of our talents manifest at early ages usually when we are toddlers, but we are not able to fully understand them or able to use them completely until after we have developed or matured to a certain age. That's why two years ago I was really limited with what I could do, but now I'm not as limited as I was back then."

"So, as you get older, then your talents will grow too right?" Eric asked him, but Rodie shook his head no. "But, that's what you just said though."

"I know Eric, but there is a reason why it won't happen for me like I just explained. My talents and my control will continue to grow as I get older, but I'm like you are now Mark. I won't grow much more than what I already am because of the damage that my father caused to me when he beat and raped me. My body is not producing the hormones my body needs to make me mature physically. That's why Dr. Mike was saying that I need hormone replacement therapy like you are getting Mark, but I refused to start it right now though." He told them.

"Why? If you are going to need it, then why are you waiting?" Mark asked him with some consternation.

"I can't start it now. If I start the therapy now, then I will start growing and physically maturing and that will cause me a lot more problems later on that I don't need." Rodie told him, but he could see Mark's eyes narrow with anger.

"This is important Rodie and you can't put it off because of some whim or fear of yours." He said emphatically with frustration. "I'll talk to Jim about this and maybe he can fix this problem of yours so you can start your treatment."

"You will not say anything to him." Rodie said in as loud of a voice that he could manage which was about the same as a normal tone of voice for everyone else. "I have to wait because of Canyon. He is just barely 10, and I'm going to be 13 this coming May. If I start sprouting hair all over my body and physically growing while he isn't, then it will cause him to withdraw away from me. All of his life he has mostly dealt with adults because of his gymnastics talent and not his psychic talents because no adult believed him when he told them about his talents and visions. His own parents put him in a mental hospital for two weeks because they thought he was cracking up under the competition pressure when he tried to warn them about the accident that killed them and took his arms. Now that he has lost his parents and his arms, he has to rely more and more on his psychic talents more than ever just like I had to when my neck was broken and I was paralyzed. If I hold off for another year before I start my HRT, then I can help him through this transition period as he begins to learn how to use and develop his talents to help him compensate for the lose of his arms. I can't do that while trying to deal with the mood swings and stuff that you went through when you started HRT."

"Oh, ok," Mark said with understanding before he smiled and laughed. "Yeah, it is going to be pretty wild when you first start the therapy with the mood swings, not to mention the circus that's going to be going on in your pants too." Everyone laughed including Rodie who also blushed pink.

"Well, if I wait then I shouldn't have to worry about that part too much because I will have some help in dealing with those problems." He said as he continued to blush. "It should be fun for Jim though," he said before looking at Mark and saying, "and you too!" Now it was Mark's turn to blush while they all laughed together.

"Another reason I have to wait is because Canyon doesn't know about us yet. He had a vision of his future that told him about all of us, but he isn't old enough yet to understand it completely. He is just beginning to understand that he is gay and what it means to be openly gay like I am." Rodie told them and then he laughed and said. "You should have heard him when Dr. Mike explained to him where babies come from. I'll quote him as to how he responded. He said `Oh my god! That's gross! You mean that my mom...and my dad...did that...together, to make me. That's disgusting!'" John, Mark, and Derrick roared with laughter with Rodie while Eric's face showed that his own recent reaction to "the talk" was pretty much the same as Canyon's. "I know that I'm older than he is, but to him, I'm not because we are identical to each other physically and because I understand his talents. As he begins to grow and go through puberty, so will I. However, this will also depend on Eddie and Marco, but especially you Derrick."

"Me? What can I do for him? I don't have any talents like you all have got, so how can I help him?" Derrick asked with surprise. Rodie looked at him for a moment while his brows knitted together before he looked at Mark and then Eric.

"You mean that none of you have told him yet?" He asked them quite sternly. Both Mark and Eric slowly shook their heads no in answer to him before looking down at the floor. Rodie looked back at Derrick and asked him, "How much do you know about our talents?"

"I know almost everything that they know about your talents and I know that Mark is an Empath, sort of, but his biggest talent is compassion. Eric confuses me a bit because he wants everyone to think that his talent is innocence, but it isn't. I just haven't figured out what his talent really is yet. Other than that, Mark is a good dancer, but he's much better at gymnastics though. He's almost as good at it as I am and Eric can be a great dancer if he would stop holding back." Derrick explained to him in response to his question.

"Well, you are sort of right, but I can't tell you unless they give me permission first." Rodie said before looking at Mark and then Eric. "So, can I tell him?"

"Yeah, you can, but Dad doesn't know either. It don't matter now though because of our promise remember. No more secrets." Eric said with a smile as he looked at his brother.

"You are wrong son, I've always known." John told him with a sly grin as he winked at Rodie.

"You knew? How? Who told you?" Eric asked with surprise.

"Eric, he's your Dad. We all got our talents from our parents silly. That's why it hurt me so much when my father rejected me. Mom is a Telepath like me, but my father was an Empath and that's why I'm both. Only he tried to suppress it because he thought of it as a curse and that's why he enjoyed it so much when he hurt me...and my friends now that I know. He felt my pain and terror and that's why he couldn't control himself because he refused to acknowledge his own talents. It's also why he hated me so much...because I knew I was special and openly accepted, and used my talents." Rodie explained as his eyes filled briefly and then he blinked a few times before continuing. "That means that half of your talents came from your Dad, so he would recognize those same talents in you. He probably knew what your mom's talents were too since he loved her for so long so he would recognize those talents in you also." John just nodded in agreement with Rodie while Mark and Eric stared at their father with shocked surprise.

"Eric, what is your biggest complaint every time we watch the movie `Ghost' together?" John asked him.

"Oh God, you and Mark bawl your eyes out like a couple of babies...," he said with his voice trailing off as his eyes opened wide as he looked back and forth at his brother and his father. "Mark got it from you! His talent is compassion because he cares so much about everything and he can make others care too no matter how stupid it is."

"Yes, he got that talent from me, but his talents for gymnastics and dancing came from your mother. She was a dancer too before we got married, but she stopped when she got pregnant with your brother." John told him and then he continued as he remembered her while everyone could see his love that he still carried in his heart for her. "She stopped performing, but she never stopped dancing. However, she never regretted giving up her career because she could see herself in both of you. I know that you try to hide it from everyone Eric, but all of us can see that your brother is almost as good as you are at dancing. It is nothing to be ashamed of and I know your mother is just as proud of both of you as I am."

"You really think she is proud of me...of us Dad?" Eric asked him quietly as tears began to slip down his face. John held out his hands to both of his sons and they moved over beside him as he hugged and kissed them both.

"I know she is. You two were her greatest accomplishments in her life. She never became famous, but that didn't matter because she knew that both of you would be one day. You guys were her greatest glory and she loved you more than life itself." He told them as he dried Eric's eyes while Mark wiped his with his thumbs. "Right now, she is up there in heaven smiling down on us and when you dance, she's up there dancing along with you, so always remember that."

"We will Dad. Now you don't have any reason to goof up on purpose in class, squirt. Sometimes Marco, Derrick and me, we all wanted to spank you because we knew you were screwing up on purpose just so the others wouldn't see how good you really are." Mark told him while Eric blushed cutely.

"I did it because I didn't want to spoil everything for you. You are the best dancer at the school, but Marco said that those people who came to see all of us dance really prefer kids who are younger. So, I messed up on purpose so that they would pick you to go to that school is all. I can try out again later on after you get in there." Eric admitted guiltily. His admission also let everyone know and understand how much he loved his brother too.

"Well, I guess you got some hard work to do because I got in, but I turned them down." Mark told him and Eric looked at him with shock and disbelief.

"But, why? Marco said that it is one of the best dance schools in the whole country. Why did you tell them no?" Eric asked him as he tried to comprehend what his brother had done after the sacrifice he had made for him to win.

"I turned them down because I want to be a gymnast, not a dancer, and I also don't want to leave here. Marco can be my coach and teacher for my gymnastics and contemporary dance and I can't leave Rodie or Derrick either. However, the reason I said no is because it would mean that you would not be able to go there unless you paid the full tuition because of their silly policy of offering a single scholarship per family." He said with a frown as he looked at Eric. When he spoke again, it was his turn to show everyone how deep his love for his brother was too. "You will do much better in that school than I could because you are still young enough to learn classical ballet. You already know the basics and they can teach you the rest so that you can be great at it. I am still learning it, but I will never be great at it because I started too late. Your next audition with them is right after Christmas in January, so you better get ready to work your butt off between now and that audition because you are going to go to that school Eric. I already know what I'm going to do later in life, but you can be one of the world's greatest dancers if you get into that school and dedicate yourself. Even though you messed up your audition, they only picked me over you by just one vote because they could see what all of us see when you dance and that is greatness."

"Really? But, how did they know after I messed up on purpose?" He asked while showing his talent for innocence at the same time.

"They knew because of everything else that you did. Your balance, jumps, technique, and most of all, the passion you had while you danced. Everything was so perfect even though you messed up the steps in the routine on purpose. Screwing up the steps of the routine couldn't hide your skill and they saw that just as we did. When you did those pirouettes, they were so perfect that they knew you screwed up on purpose in order for your brother to get the scholarship. If you were that clumsy, then you would not have been able to do those pirouettes at all; and to do them the way you did it, that takes a high level of skill and talent. A lot of the pro dancers today could not have done those like you did and that's how they knew. That's why you got three votes while Mark got four because they knew." Derrick explained to him and Eric realized how he gave himself away.

"But if you aren't going to be a dancer Mark, then what are you going to do?" Eric asked him while his face was tinged with guilt.

"I never planned on being a dancer Eric. I love gymnastics too much to be just a dancer. I'm going to do what I've always wanted to do, which is to teach modern dance, gymnastics and choreography like Marco after I'm finished competing. Marco says that I am going to be one of the world's best gymnastics coach if I continue training and learning from him and that is what I have always wanted to do. However, I know how you feel about dancing and you get bored when Marco is teaching your class gymnastics. You have the talent and the passion for dance and you are a big ham because you love to perform. So now is your chance to make all of us, and especially mom, proud of you by being the best dancer that you can be." Mark told him and Eric just jumped up and hugged him tightly as his tears came.

"I won't let you down," Eric said as he cried. "I will make all of you and mom so proud of me, I promise. Thanks Mark."

"I already am Eric. You made me proud when you helped Mikki save Rodie." Mark told him. After a few moments had passed, Rodie asked them again.

"You guys still haven't told me what you did to me after Mikki made me forget," Rodie said to them.

"Isn't it obvious Rodie?" John told him. "Eric's talents, besides his dancing, are perception and trust. That is what you got from me Eric, only for me, it is the talent of persuasion. That is why I have succeeded as a salesman all my life because I can persuade anyone to believe whatever I am telling them. Rodie, Eric has the ability to alter the perception of the people around him so that they can perceive things in the way he wants them to. A perfect example is how everyone thinks he is so innocent. Everyone thinks he's innocent only because that is what he wants us to think and he also has the ability to make people trust him, the same way that I can. It's the same as your talent of making everyone love you. Mark's talents are his compassion and hope."

"Mikki couldn't make you forget what happened, but she figured out how to make it so that when you remembered, that you would not recall every horrifying detail like you were doing. Instead, she made it so that you would remember it in general, but I made it so that the details of what happened would seem unimportant to you so that you would easily forget all of those horrible things. That's how I changed the way you remembered them by changing the way you perceived them. It's what allowed you to forget those things and move forward instead of being stuck in the same place. I also gave you back your innocence too sort of." Eric told him with complete honesty and without using any of his talents. Then John continued.

"When I told you about Andrew and Christopher just now, you remembered the news story, but not the details right? That's because unless one of us really presses you for specific details, you will not recall any details except what your father did in a general way only and then you will just as quickly forget that I even brought up their names. What she had them do to you is what healed you Rodie because it allowed you to put those horrible things in the past where they belong and allowed you to move on from them. Mark made you care about yourself and others again by restoring your compassion and then giving you back your hope that things will get better. That is what allowed you to care about Stevie and it made you want to do what ever you could to help him so he would not suffer for years as you did. However, the only reason that worked was because Eric did what even Mikki thought was impossible. He changed your perception of yourself and your perception of what your father did to hurt so many people, including you. Then he gave you back your sense of innocence and wonder of the world around you and of the people around you so that you would see the good in the world and in the people instead of just the bad things. If Mikki would have let him, he could have made you a virgin again, but she drew the line at innocence. The most important thing he did to you was to give you back your ability to trust yourself which allowed you to trust others again...especially men." He explained and Rodie realized that what he was saying to him was true.

"Eric, can you let me remember how I felt after I heard the news about Andy and Chris? I don't want to know what my father did to them though." Rodie asked as he looked at Eric. "Please? They were my only friends that I had before I came here and met all of you. We had a fight when I told them about what I could do and that's why they stayed away from me. But, we had been best friends since we were babies and I hoped that they would remember that and come back. Now, I know that they did come back, only I was here by then. I don't want to forget them; or how I felt when I found out what my father did to them. I have to remember everything for them, even if it hurts." Eric nodded with understanding and then he came over; placed his hands on the sides of Rodie's head and then kissed him on the forehead before stepping back.

Rodie gasped when Eric kissed him and unlocked those memories. He could now recall that dark period after he learned of Andy's and Chris's fate. All he wanted to do was to die and nobody could help him so he kept falling farther and farther into that black empty hole that was his depression. He remembered how Mike and the others had kept him restrained and sedated for weeks to prevent him from hurting himself until Mikki, Mark, and Eric were able to use their talents to heal him inside and pull him back out of that deep, dark hole. Now he understood why he had to follow Stevie to Oaklawn once he met him in the hospital after Mikki and the others made him forget. The single detail that Eric had made him remember was his emotional pain every time he saw Stevie and that is why he always saw himself when he looked at Stevie. However, he also saw that what they had done was only temporary and that once he got to Oaklawn, then his hope, trust, compassion, and willpower became all his own because both Mark and Eric had slowly undone most of the changes they made to him. The only thing Eric didn't undo was how he altered Rodie's perception of the things his father had done. Therefore, other than keeping the details of what his father did to him, and the other crimes his father committed hazy and unimportant unless asked for specifically, then all of his accomplishments at Oaklawn were of his own doing. However, with this understanding, it also brought his tears back because he knew that they had saved him once again from himself.

"You saved me again guys and I will never be able to repay you for doing that. But, I think I know how to start, if Derrick will promise to help." Rodie said in his quiet voice.

"What can I do that's so special Rodie?" He asked him. "What can I do that would even compare to the things that all of you can do."

"Derrick, in some ways you are as innocent as Eric seems to be. Your talents are probably some of the most powerful ones I've ever encountered because it allows you to overcome anything you set your mind on. Your natural talent for gymnastics made you one of your generation's next great gymnasts until you lost your arm. Then you had to fall back on your other talent, willpower. Because of that talent, you have become as good or even better at gymnastics that you were when you had both arms. You were told by how many doctors that your career in gymnastics was over, and that your life as you knew it was over when you lost your arm?" Rodie asked him.

"Twenty two I think. But, why does it matter?" Derrick asked him.

"It matters because your talent enabled you to never stop trying, but more importantly, to never stop believing until you found the one person who allowed you to overcome your missing arm and return to what you love the most. Your talent of willpower also allowed Marco to do the impossible because you gave him the willpower to succeed in training you to overcome your missing arm. You are now ranked as the world's #1 male disabled gymnast and they are even talking of changing the rules so that you can compete in the Olympics in the future, or at least perform in one. That is your talent and everyone can see it when you do the things that you were told were forever impossible for you to do with only one arm. Now, I need you to use your talent on Canyon and help us to get him to compete again. By doing that, it will let all of us give him back his hopes, his dreams, and his life because gymnastics was his whole life. He had worked so hard to be the very best in the world, and then everything was taken away in an instant. He lost his parents and his arms, but most of all, he lost gymnastics and that is destroying him. Now, with Eddie's and Marco's money, along with their unconditional love, and he will have Marco to train him as he trained you to overcome your handicap, then we can save him from going into that dark place I went because if we don't, then he won't come back like I did. He needs your help, no, our help so that we can make the only impossible dream that he has left become real again and that will give him back his will to live once more. Just as all of you guys gave me back my will to live again by using your talents on me so that I would care about Stevie; we have to do the same thing for Canyon by giving him back gymnastics." Rodie explained to him and Derrick realized that he did do the impossible because he was better now at gymnastics than he was before he had lost his arm.

"So my talent is never taking no for an answer?" He asked with a confused expression.

"No Derrick, your talent is pure willpower. That is what made you succeed after you lost your arm when everybody else said that there was no hope at all. That kind of willpower is a gift and I'm asking you to share it with Canyon so that we can give him back his hope, compassion, and will to live again. We can do all that we are capable of doing for him, but if you don't give him the willpower to try, then he will die." Rodie told him and he could see that Derrick now understood. "So will you help us heal him and also help me heal Stevie?"

"I will do whatever you need me to do." Derrick answered and they all went over and hugged him.

"Look boys, it's getting late, so let us figure out the sleeping arraignments and get some sleep." John told them.

"Ok Dad, we are all going to stay in my room tonight. Eric, go over to Rodie's house and get his pj's, clean undies, and the bag with all his meds that is in the bathroom. Oh and don't forget the jug and his robe either." Mark told him before Eric scampered out of the house. Then Derrick and Mark helped Rodie to Mark's room, and then Mark helped him undress to his bikini briefs and leg braces. When Eric returned a few minutes later with Rodie's stuff, Derrick came in from the bathroom with two large tubes of body lotion.

"Are you sure that this will be all right with them?" Rodie asked Mark with a soft whisper, but Mark could still see the fear in Rodie's eyes along with a hint of despair in his voice. He saw Rodie's small hands trembling and he saw how he quickly balled them into fists in order to hide it from all of them.

"Shhh. Just relax Bright Eyes. I promise that none of us in here will hurt you in any way." Mark told him in a soothing voice as he sat down on the king sized bed next to him.

"Wha...What are y...you going to d...do to me?" Rodie asked him haltingly as he tried to control his building fear. Then with a pleading expression and tears in his eyes he said, "P...ple...please...d...don't hurt me?"

"How can you even think that any of us could ever hurt you in any way? You know that I could never hurt you Rodie, never and neither could Eric or Derrick ever hurt you too. We will die first before we would hurt you. I know you are scared, but don't be ok. I love you...we all love you and we will not hurt you ever. I promise, ok." Mark told him while he put all of his love and caring into those words.

"I promise too Rodie, I love you and will not ever hurt you." Eric told him while sending Rodie all of his trust, his perception of innocence and of hope.

"I also promise, Rodie. I know that you might think I'm weird or something, but I love you too, just as much as they love you. I loved you the first time I met you, and I let Mark go when I saw how much he loved you and how badly you needed him. I missed him very much, but I knew that he was helping you to get better when he went away with you and Eric. Then he came back, but you didn't, and I have been so worried about you until you got home. You don't know how powerful your gift of making people love you really is. I have loved you completely since the day I met you, but I know that I'm not the right one for you." Derrick told him sincerely as he knelt on the floor in front of him. "I am almost a man now and I can see the pain and fear that I cause you and it hurts me when I know that I'm the reason someone I love is being hurt."

"It's n...not your f...fault Derrick. I...I just c...can't help it. Th...the fe...fear is always there. It ss...stops me fr...from being with an...anyone that I love. I h...hate myself ca...cause of it." Rodie said in his quiet voice as another tear slid slowly down his cheek.

"That's why we are all here together, Bright Eyes. You are afraid because you are so small, while a man is so much bigger and stronger than you are. I remember that night, and how you fought your father when he was choking the life out of you. You did everything that you could to make him stop, but you couldn't because he was too strong and so much bigger than you are and you almost died. You really did die that night; several times that night, and that is why you are afraid and you have a panic attack like now. You can't remember that night, or your father choking you so hard that he crushed your larynx and broke your neck. Not consciously, but subconsciously, you do remember. You remember every horrifying detail of him choking you to death, of how you felt so helpless and weak as you slid down into the darkness. You will always feel this way until you find a new memory that is the exact opposite of that night." Mark explained in his calming and soothing voice. "That is what we are going to do for you right now. Eric, me, and Derrick are going to give you a new memory so you won't be afraid anymore. What we are going to do is give you a full body massage and whatever else you want us to do, but you will control us with your mind. You can stop us whenever you want and even hurt us if you want, because you will be in complete control over us the whole time. So, do you think it will help so that you can be with Jim when he gets home?" He asked him and Rodie was silent for a long moment as he thought over everything he said. He trusted Mark enough to know that he was probably right, but just to be sure; he decided to test Mark's theory.

"I think you are right Mark, but there is a way to be sure that you are right." Rodie said in a calm voice now that he knew what Mark and the others were trying to do.

"There is? Well, what do we need to do then?" Mark and Derrick asked him almost simultaneously.

"Ok, I will need you and Eric to help me while Mark watches me to see what happens ok." Rodie said to Derrick. Then he blushed prettily before saying, "um, we also have to be naked too." Mark burst out laughing when he said that while Derrick flushed red while a shudder seemed to pass through his entire body. "What's the matter? You don't have to do this if you want to. I will understand if you say no."

"No, that's not it Rodie. Derrick is a sound sleeper, but he talks in his sleep too. When you said that all of you have to be naked together, you just made one of his most favorite dreams come true is all." Mark said with a chuckle as he hugged Derrick from behind and kissed his neck. Derrick had been blushing crimson while Mark explained this to Rodie, but when he looked up and saw Rodie's questioning eyes, he just smiled shyly as he nodded his head in agreement. Then it was Rodie's turn to blush, which only made him look even sexier to Mark and Derrick. It was Eric who broke the silence though.

"Ok, so what do we got to do with you once we are all nekkid with you, or are we just supposed to perv out on you or something?" Eric said with a smirk that showed his dimples too.

"I'm not really sure about all of it Eric. The only way I know how to see if what Mark said is true is to try and do the same thing that caused my last panic attack when I was with Jim. I will be honest with you guys and let you know now that I'm scared silly right now. I don't know what's going to happen, but if I do panic, it's not your fault ok." Rodie told them, and they all let him know that they understood. He took a few moments to calm his self and after a few deep breaths started undoing the straps on his lag braces. Once he had removed his leg braces, he looked at them and said, "OK, I guess I'm ready to try this." Then Eric stood up and shucked off his clothes until he was just in his briefs and then Derrick did the same. Rodie's eyes widened a bit as he watched Derrick, who was to his eyes like a young Adonis undressing. However, Derrick didn't stop when he got to his bikini briefs though; instead, he peeled those off with his left hand and stood up facing Rodie. A small gasp escaped from Rodie's mouth as his bikini briefs tented up as his eyes drank in Derrick's chiseled body. However, a look of fear came into his eyes as a small shudder went down his spine when he saw Derrick's erect 7" circumcised cock standing straight out from his slender but muscular hips.

"Impressive Derrick," Eric said as he stared at the massive dick that was close enough for him to touch if he chose to. Instead, without any shame, he quickly pulled his briefs down and stepped out of them. His now 3 ½" hard cocklet stood up almost at a 45 degree angle from his smooth, hairless body and it flexed every fifteen to twenty seconds. He had grown four inches since the day he had first met Rodie over two years ago and so had his cocklet too. His uncut 2" cocklet was now a decent sized 3 ½" and it was an inch wide.

"Not bad yourself Eric, and you are only 11." Derrick told him which brought a large, dimpled smile of pride to Eric's face.

"Almost 12," Eric chimed proudly.

"My turn, I guess," Rodie said nervously while his soft voice was just barely above a whisper as he hooked his thumbs into the sides of his briefs. While he was not ashamed of his body, he wasn't particularly pleased about it either. The scars on his side and stomach from the surgery for his burst appendix seemed ugly to him. It was the same for the scar at the base of his neck from where the tracheal tube had been and the 6" long scar down the center of his neck, back, and shoulder blades, but that was hidden well enough by his hair though. It was still the faint scars on and around his slim 3" penis and scrotum that brought him the worst feelings of shame still no matter how many times others told him differently. After another couple of deep breaths and as his eyes began to fill, he slid his briefs down past his hips before leaning back a bit and pushing them to his knees. Then he lifted each of his legs with his hands until he was able to pull his foot out of the briefs. Mark came over and helped him, and then Rodie placed his hands on the bed about a foot behind him and leaned back allowing the others see his nude body completely although his erection had disappeared as his shame for his body built. However, Derrick's reaction took away his feelings of shame almost instantly.

"My God, you are even more beautiful than I could ever have dreamed, Rodie." He said in an awed and quivering voice as his eyes welled from the beauty and perfection he saw before him while his cock flexed excitedly.

"I...I'm not ugly because of all th...these scars?" Rodie asked him with a sniffle.

"No Rodie; you are the most beautiful boy I have ever met. There is no such thing as flawless perfection. What makes real beauty into perfection are the simple and slight flaws perfectly placed to highlight the beauty and perfection of the body as a whole. You are that perfection of beauty Rodie; that is all I see." Derrick told him as he tried to memorize every detail of every inch of Rodie's beautiful body that he could see.

"Ok Rodie, we're all nekkid, so what do we do now?" Eric asked him with a giggle while he squeezed the tip of his boner.

"Um...I guess I can try with you first Eric. I don't know if I can do this with all of you watching me though." He said to him and Eric jumped onto the bed and bounced a few times on his hands and knees before flopping down in the middle of the bed.

"Ok, shoo you guys so I can perv out on him. I'll call you if he panics or anything?" Eric told Mark and Derrick and they both stepped through the connecting bathroom into Eric's room and closed the door. Eric laid down facing him with a wide, dimpled grin as Rodie lay down on his side facing him. Eric could see the uncertainty and fear in Rodie's multi-colored eyes and he frowned briefly as he thought of how to calm him and make him relax. "Hey, I know. Connect us together so I can hear your thoughts and you can hear mine ok? It's ok, really; I just want you to let me hear and feel what you and Jim felt when you had your last panic attack is all."

"Alright," Rodie said in a voice just barely above a whisper. Eric scooted closer to him until their bodies were almost touching and then he touched his forehead to Rodie's and closed his eyes.

"Is this what you wanted?" Rodie asked him silently.

"Yeah, but I'm not supposed to be interested in sex stuff yet cause I'm only 11. NOT! Ok, you ready now...then think back to what happened with you and Jim when you had the panic attack. Start at the beginning from when you guys came in the room if you can ok?" Eric asked him with his mind. Rodie thought back to that night and Eric could see what happened through Rodie's eyes as he followed Jim through the bathroom into Jim's bedroom. He watched as Jim dumped Rodie onto the bed and sat his leg braces on the opposite side of the bed before lying down on his side facing him after undressing. Everything started slowly with a few soft pecks on the lips as Jim gently hugged Rodie closer to him before rolling onto his back so that Rodie was lying on top of him. Then Rodie showed him how things heated up a bit and took him through everything up to the point his panic started.

"Ok, don't go bonkers on me, but I'm going to do some of the things Jim did and let's see how you react to me." Eric told him and when he felt that Rodie was calm and relaxed enough, he gently pulled him closer until their bodies were pressed up against each other. Then, as he continued to hold Rodie close, he started giving him small pecking kisses on his lips while he let his hands begin to gently caress Rodie's arms, shoulders, back and sides. He could sense Rodie's desire and passion building along with his own as he imitated the things that Jim had done. Once they began to really kiss with their tongues, he then deliberately slid his hand down to Rodie's butt and after a couple of caresses; he slid his fingers between the cheeks and pressed down slightly on Rodie's small anus. He felt it tighten and spasm before yielding to the pressure and allowing Eric's finger to easily slide in up to the second knuckle. Rodie remained relaxed and Eric could sense the almost overwhelming desire from Rodie for him to not stop. He gently pulled his hand free and broke their now passionate kiss. When Rodie opened his eyes and looked into Eric's, he was panting and his long pent up desire almost made him plead with Eric to not stop. After a few long moments, he sighed, and then smiled at him.

"That was fun," he said a little breathlessly to Eric as he smiled at him. Eric smiled back giving him a healthy dose of his dimples.

"Yeah, it was and no panic attack too. So, let's finish our little test here and if you have any problems with them, then you can stay in my room tonight." He said to Rodie while wiggling his eyebrows at him. That set off Rodie's giggle box and soon they both were giggling hilariously at each other.

"I've got to pee now, but you have to help me to the bathroom because I'm not wearing my leg braces." Rodie told him after giving him a final peck on the lips and rubbing noses with him.

"Hang on and I'll get Mark to help you. I'll probably drop you if I tried to pick you up because we are almost the same size." He said before rolling out of the bed and hurrying to the bathroom door. As he pushed it open, there was a loud bang, then a grunt and then Mark came out holding his nose.

"Geez, Eric! You almost broke it." Mark complained as he held his bruised nose between his fingers.

"I should've and it serves you right for peeking on us like that. Now help Rodie to the toilet before he wets YOUR bed." Eric said with an evil little cackle that only a younger brother could make as he scampered into his bedroom.

"Are you ok?" Rodie asked him as he came over and picked him up into his arms.

"I'm alright," Mark told him as he carried him into the bathroom and stood him in front of the toilet. He continued to support him as Rodie used his left hand to aim his still hard penis and proceeded to relieve himself for almost a minute. "You really did have to go, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I should have gone before I started messing around with Eric." Rodie said with a slight blush as Mark helped him over to the sink so he could wash his hands. Then Mark picked him up, carried him back into his room, and sat down beside him on the bed.

"I wasn't really peeking at you and Eric. I was just listening in case you had a panic attack is all. Obviously, you didn't, but was it the same to you with Eric as it was with Jim?" Mark asked him and Rodie understood what Mark wanted to know.

"Sort of," he said. "I mean, Eric pretty much did the same things that Jim did, but it was really different too." He told him and then his face flamed red while his eyes welled up a bit. Then he looked away and said in almost a whisper, "I didn't want him to stop."

"I know and it's ok to feel like that. I know what it's like after you've had sex for the first time. I know your father hurt you, but you said that wasn't the first time he had intercourse with you." Mark said to him with a look of understanding and Rodie nodded before wiping his eyes and sniffling before looking up and meeting Mark's eyes. "It's all right Rodie, you are not alone anymore and never will be again, I promise." Mark told him as he gently stroked Rodie's long hair. Eric and Derrick came in wearing their bathrobes and sat next to them on the bed because they felt Rodie's pain and all of them sent him their love to reassure him. It didn't take long for him to respond to their love and his tears lessened, then stopped after 10 minutes had past. Then he lifted his tear streaked face and kissed Mark before smiling.

"Thanks guys; I love all of you and I'm not sad anymore because of all of you. It's just that it still hurts when I remember what I was like back then. I was hurting so much inside and I didn't know how to make it stop until I came here to the beach and found you guys." He said as he sat up and began to wipe his face with his hands. Eric got up, went into the bathroom, and returned with a washcloth and a hand towel for him. After wiping his face, he shook out his hair and finally noticed that Mark was naked like the rest of them. "So what do we do now?"

"Nothing, cause I know what's wrong with you now," Eric said with a dimpled grin. "When you let me see what you did with Jim, I found what's causing your panic attacks...and I know how to fix it now."

"You do?" Rodie asked with surprise. "What did Jim do wrong?"

"He didn't do anything, you did it. It was your fault for the attack." He told him. Then he got a mischievous smile on his face and said, "I shouldn't tell you because then you will stay in my room tonight and we can finish what we were doing just now." He said with a wicked smile. Derrick was the first to laugh and soon all of them were laughing and giggling together. Their laughter was not for what Eric had said, but for their realization that he wasn't a child anymore, nor as innocent as he led others to believe that he was. "I know that you told us that you can't use your talents on others unless they give you permission. The problem is that you are doing the same thing with Jim and us, even when you are with Jim to have sex. You can't do that though because if you are not connected, then anything he does in the same way that your father did it will trigger those memories of him and that caused you to panic. Come over here and I'll show you." He said as he took off his robe, laid down on the bed and motioned for Rodie to move over to him. After a few moments, they were lying next to each other with their bodies pressed together tightly.

"Ok, this time, don't connect us. Now kiss me." Eric instructed him and Rodie did as he said. He started out with a few small pecking kisses and relaxed as his desire began to build again as Eric caressed his sides and back. However, once they started French kissing and Eric began to rub his hand over Rodie's pert bottom; his fear came back full force. He began to tremble and finally pushed Eric away from him when he slid his fingers between his butt cheeks.

"No, please...y...you p...promised not to h...hurt m...me." Rodie spluttered through his tears as his fear and panic reached its climax as the painful memories of his father doing the same things came back to him. Mark and Eric quickly sat him up and hugged him.

"It's ok, remember that it isn't real. It was just a test to see why you panic is all. Everything is all right now, so calm down. You are safe and nobody will hurt you." Mark said soothingly while Eric hovered close by him. It took a few minutes of Mark's gentle soothing before Rodie relaxed once more.

"I'm sorry, I knew it was Eric, but I couldn't stop it from happening." Rodie said in a trembling voice as he hugged his knees.

"See, it's just like I told you. I saw the memories when we did it the first time, but we were connected and that let you ignore it. When I did the exact same thing just now, we were not connected so when I rubbed your butt and then pushed my hand down there it triggered the memory and you panicked. So to stop the panic attacks, all you have to do is connect your mind to whoever you are with ok." Eric explained to him and Rodie understood. Then he frowned at him.

"I thought you said that you guys fixed it so I wouldn't remember the things my father did to me." Rodie asked him.

"We did, but we can't make you forget them. We can make you not remember something someone said to you, but we can't make you forget it. Mikki also told us that the more...um...I can't remember the word she used, but it's sorta like the word strong." He said as he struggled to remember, and Mark quickly came to his aid by saying `vivid.' "Yeah, that's the word she used. Anyway, the more vivid the memory is to you, then that makes it harder for us to make you not remember it. That's why if someone does something to you the same way your father did it, it will trigger those memories, and you panic. You will remember it because there is more than just one thing for you to forget. A lot of those memories were very vivid because you felt fear and pain, but you also felt other things like happiness, pleasure, desire, and then revulsion and shame too. She told us that when you mix all of those emotions together in a single memory, it makes it too strong for us to erase. That's why we couldn't make you forget them, so we just sort of made them unimportant is all, but you can still remember it if whoever you're with does the same things your father did to you, or if someone asks you the right questions." Eric explained to him.

"That's wrong though Eric," Derrick told him with a confused expression. "He shouldn't have those feelings because his father raped him. There is nothing happy or pleasurable about being raped."

"He wasn't just raped Derrick, his Dad molested him for years before he raped him." Eric told him while rolling his eyes up towards the ceiling.

"You were molested and then raped?" Derrick asked Rodie with some surprise. "When did it start?"

"When I was six." Rodie answered in a sad, soft voice. "But he didn't start having sex with me until I turned 9.

"Then what happened after that?" Derrick asked him with concern.

"Derrick, don't do this ok, it will only hurt him if he has to remember." Mark said in almost a pleading tone to him.

"No, I have to know everything that happened." He said and Mark's face flushed with anger, but Derrick cut him off before he could speak. "It's very important. You told me that his father violently raped him and then nearly beat him to death only. You never said anything about him being sexually molested for years before that happened."

"It happened ok. What difference does it make if he was molested before his Dad raped him. All that matters now is helping him to forget so that his panic attacks will stop." Eric said angrily as he rushed to Rodie's defense.

"Because it is not the same thing Eric," he said hotly. "Being molested and being raped are completely different and no matter what you do to him, he will never forget about it and his pain will never go away. Trust me; I know the difference and what you guys are planning on doing now will only hurt him more." Then he looked back at Rodie, "I know it hurts and I can help if you want me to, but only if you tell me everything he did to you because it really is important."

"I can't remember everything...because of what they did," he said softly.

"You have to unblock those memories Eric, please. Help him so he can remember him being molested because I can't help unless he tells me what happened. You don't have to make him remember when he was raped though, just the time when he was being molested only." Derrick asked him and then he added, "Afterwards, you can fix it again so that he doesn't remember, but I don't think you will need to do that if I'm right about this." Eric looked at him for a moment and then looked over to Mark for help. However, Mark was frowning with suspicion as he watched Derrick, but then he nodded to Eric to do as Derrick had asked.

"Ok, but that means he's going to remember how he felt too and that's going to be hard to erase again." Eric warned them.

"Trust me Eric, you never erased those feelings if I'm right and you never will. There is only one way to help him if what I'm thinking is true." Derrick told them all and then he blushed and looked away before speaking quietly. "This is going to hurt me just as much as it hurts him. Remember Eric; just unlock his memories of the time that he was molested only and nothing more."

"Alright. You have to tell me Rodie, when did it start and when it stopped." Eric said and Rodie nodded.

"He started when I was six and it stopped when I was 9 and a half." Rodie told him quietly. Then Eric put his hands on the sides of Rodie's head and touched his forehead to his. They were quiet for a full minute before Rodie let out a small cry and opened his eyes and then Eric released him. Rodie's eyes brimmed once more, he began to tremble, and Eric picked up his silk robe and draped it over Rodie's shoulders.

"I know it hurts Rodie, but you have to tell me about it, please?" Derrick asked him gently and Rodie nodded and took a few deep breaths before speaking.

"I was six when it started. He was bathing me and it got hard. He kept rubbing it after he rinsed me off and then he put it in his mouth. I started to resist, but then I felt his desire for me, how much he wanted to do this to me, so I let him. He had always seemed so distant from me, I didn't think that he loved me as much as my mom did. This happened not that long after I realized I could read others thoughts and that day when I read his, I found out why he was so distant. After that, I started letting him do the things that I saw in his mind, and he started acting like a real father then. He'd do things with me like all of my friends fathers did with them. I thought that it was because I wasn't letting him kiss me down there, or me kissing him down there is why he didn't love me as much before, so I let him do whatever he wanted. I didn't know it was wrong until I was eight when a cop came to our school and told us about not letting someone touch us there like that...not even our parents. I told my father what the cop had said and that what we were doing was wrong. That was the first time he hit me and made my nose bleed, then he called me a dirty little faggot whore. He told me that he would beat me if I ever told anybody about what we were doing. That's when he turned mean...not just to me, but to my friends and to mom too. Soon, my friends no longer wanted to come over to the house anymore and he started to hurt me when we did it. He would make it hard and then he'd flick the tip really hard with his finger until I cried from the pain, or he would bite me until I bled. That's why I have all those scars down there on my penis and stuff. Then he started doing things to my butt like sticking his finger up there and other things. I think he was getting me ready for sex for a couple of months before my birthday though. It hurt really bad the first time he put a small dildo in my butt. It was a little bigger than Eric's is now. After a few times I sort of got used to it, and then he used a bigger one until I got used to that one, then he used an even a bigger one. He did it to me the first time right after I turned nine. It was about a week after my birthday and I was really depressed because my only friends that I had left; Andy and Chris, didn't come to my party." He said as his eyes filled. "Nobody showed up even though I invited everyone I knew at school, but it didn't matter if they came or not. What hurt me so much was when Andy and Chris didn't come. I knew what my father was doing with me was wrong, but after my birthday, I didn't care anymore. It hurt so bad the first time, but I was so lonely by then that I wanted him to do it. He was all I had left and I needed him to love me even if it was wrong." He said in his soft voice as his tears spilled down his face while his eyes had a pain filled distant look in them as he went back over these memories. Mark gently pulled him into his arms as Rodie let out a few strangled sobs as he remembered his unbearable loneliness back then.

"It's all right Rodie, try not to think about all of those things you felt because it is what was messing you up so much inside." Mark told him and then he looked over at Derrick and said. "This is enough. I won't let you do this anymore."

"He doesn't have to Mark; I know what's wrong with him now." He said as Rodie looked up at him, questioning him with his multi colored eyes and then Derrick continued. "You knew what you were doing with your father was wrong, but you said that you didn't want him to stop because he was all you had left. Then afterwards, when your mother was home, you felt so ashamed and you hated yourself for doing those things. However, your mistake is that you are blaming the wrong person. Your father was the one who was to blame, not you. He knew that you were blaming yourself and he kept you believing that it was your fault even though it was tearing you apart inside. He did that so he could continue satisfying his own lust and desires for you and he knew that you wouldn't tell your mom because he made you believe that she would blame you." Derrick told him and then his reached over and gently lifted Rodie's chin until their eyes met. "However, you did try to stop it. You told him no or that you were going to tell, but somehow you stopped him from molesting you, and you did it while protecting the secret. You stopped him by not letting him be alone with you anymore and when you were alone with him, you would lock yourself in your room or stay out of the house away from him until your mom came home again. You managed to keep him from touching you for almost six months and that's why he started hating you because he could no longer satisfy his lust and desire for you; and it is why he enjoyed it so much when he assaulted and raped you that night."

"He's right Rodie; there was nothing you could have done to stop him. It was never your fault for anything he did...to you, or your friends; but we can stop him from hurting you now. We already have started and after tonight he will never be able to hurt you again forever." Eric told him with tears in his eyes.

"H...how?" Rodie asked them. "How can we stop him if I can't stop hurting inside because of what he did to me?"

"I know how to stop him from hurting you," Derrick told him as he understood everything, but he knew that Mark and Eric could not help him yet because they had not gone though what Rodie had gone through...what he had went through. Then he came over and knelt in front of Rodie. "You always felt ashamed after you let him have sex with you, didn't you? You felt so dirty and you hated yourself for letting it happen again. You felt just like I did afterwards every time my Dad molested me. I hated myself because of it, because I liked it and because I wanted him to do it again. It took away my loneliness and sadness for a little while because it felt like he wanted me...that he loved me because I let him do these things even though I knew it was wrong. Afterwards, I always felt so dirty and repulsive that I would take a very hot bath and scrub myself so hard that I would bleed. Even then, I still felt dirty and I hated myself for it, and then my mom would come home and I felt so guilty. I would lie to her about the scratches and scrapes on me from where I scrubbed so hard so she wouldn't find out about our secret. I felt so ashamed of myself for lying to her and that made me hate myself even more. It went on and on until I couldn't stand it anymore and I started hurting myself on purpose, hoping that I would die so my pain inside would finally end." He said as his tears slid down his face. Both Eric and Mark stared at him with stunned expressions as he revealed his secret and private shame to them.

"You know," Rodie cried as he lurched forward and fell into Derrick's embrace. "You know what it's like...you know how I feel. It never went away...even after they made me forget, I still feel this way, and it still hurts. Its never going to stop...its never going to go away no matter what anyone does to make me forget and its always going to hurt like this, isn't it?" Rodie asked him quietly as Derrick held him tenderly with his arms even though his right arm ended at his elbow.

"No Rodie, you are right that it won't ever go away completely, but I know how to change it so it doesn't always hurt. I know how to fix it so that you will no longer hate him for what he did and so you won't hate yourself anymore. I know how you feel right now, because it happened to me also. My father molested me too...for five years until I was 11. I also tried to kill myself too when my pain and loneliness became too much to bear alone anymore, so I cut the veins in my elbow because I heard that they could save me if I just cut my wrist. They still saved me, but I lost my arm because I cut too deep and they couldn't fix everything in time. That's how I lost my arm and it was when I was in the hospital that I finally told my mom everything. She had my dad sent to prison for what he did and got a divorce, but I still hated myself for everything that happened. Nobody could help me forget, or make me stop hating myself until I met Marco. He made a deal with me, he promised to give me back my gymnastics career, but only if I stopped blaming myself for what my father did to me. I did that, but my pain didn't stop and I still hated myself. That stopped when I came here and met Mark. He's the one who helped me to stop hating myself and he is the one who stopped my pain too. Now it only hurts when I have to talk about it like this, but then it goes away again." He told him as they cried together.

Then Rodie connected their minds and he shared with him everything that had happened; and how he felt up to the time period of the rape since he still couldn't remember that because of what they had done. Derrick responded by sharing all of his memories with Rodie and they knew they were the same. That they were kindred spirits with tortured souls and Rodie knew that Derrick had the answer that nobody had been able to give him so far. That was how to make the pain go away so he could finish healing and go on with his life. "Don't cry anymore, I know how to make things right for you, but I'm not the one who is supposed to. I need to talk to Mark and Eric, so just calm down and relax. Everything will be made right soon, I promise." He told him as he dried Rodie's eyes as he helped him back onto the bed. Then he kissed him on his forehead, stood up and put on his bathrobe before asking Mark and Eric to follow him. They both kissed and hugged Rodie before following Derrick into Eric's room.

"Why did you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me the truth?" Mark demanded in a hushed, but angry voice. "You said that it was an accident as why you lost your arm."

"It was an accident, because I never wanted to lose my arm when they saved me...I just wanted to die is all. I cut myself to the bone from the inside of my elbow to the opposite side of my wrist. They had to make a choice and they chose to clamp the severed arteries closed in order to save my life. By the time they had gotten me out of danger, it was too late to save my arm because too much time had passed, and I had lost too much blood already. After giving me 11 transfusions, they said that my hand and forearm were dead so they amputated it." He told him while his own eyes flashed momentarily with anger. Then they saddened and his shoulders slumped. "I was going to tell you after we became friends, but then you met Rodie. I could see how you felt about him, so I stepped back and kept quiet. Then, after everything that happened to you and to him that night, I knew that I couldn't tell you until you both were well again. However, when you came home a few months ago, you were different and you wanted to be with me as a lover and not just a friend anymore. I knew I had to tell you, but it is hard for me to even talk about it with Marco or my mother. It's not something I can share with just anyone or something I want others to know about either because if everyone here knew again, then I would be just as alone as I was when he was molesting me. It still hurts just as much now as it did back then, the shame and loneliness is still there, and it always will be. I was going to tell you a few weeks ago, but you came over and said that Rodie was finally coming home and you were so happy. I decided to wait again until he was settled, and then tell you. You just don't know or understand how much pain this causes me or him." He told them as he sat down on Eric's bed and they could see his pain in his face before he covered it with his hand and wept. Mark's eyes filled as he sat down beside him and then he embraced Derrick lovingly. They both cried together for a few minutes while Eric went and sat at his desk feeling like a total lump for the way he had acted. Then Mark lifted his head and started kissing Derrick's eyes and forehead.

"I'm so sorry Derrick...for everything. I should have listened to you when you were trying to tell me. I love you and I love Rodie so much. I was just so happy that he was finally coming home though, and I didn't mean to ignore you when you needed me." Mark told him tearfully.

"No, don't be. This is a good thing, even though it hurts us so much. The most painful thing about what happened to Rodie and me is how alone we were because of our secret. That's why Marco has been pressuring me to tell you for a long time now. He was my first real friend and the first man to truly care about how I really felt inside. I could never hide my pain from him for some reason and he always ended up getting me to talk about these painful things. I always felt better afterwards though, and after I met him, I no longer felt like I was all alone anymore. That's why Rodie has been struggling so much, because on top of everything he has done to recover, he still has had to carry this pain with him. Most doctors treat rape victims and molestation victims the same, but it isn't. With rape, a person loses their control of everything around them, leaving them completely vulnerable in the power of their attacker. That's what it is about, control and power. However, molestation is the complete opposite of rape. It is about love, happiness, and pleasure. It is also about betrayal of trust, constant shame, unending pain, and complete loneliness. A molester is usually someone the child trusts completely and they use that trust in order to slowly isolate their victim, but they are always there after each let down so that their victim bonds tighter and tighter to them until they are the only one left that their victim can turn to. That is when the molestation becomes more brutal and extreme, even though the child knows it's wrong, they allow it to continue because they need their abuser to care and love them since they have no one else to turn to. It's the broken trust, loneliness, and shame that cause the victim their pain. Then when the pain gets so bad, the child tries one last time to save themselves by telling on their abuser or they try to escape like we did by attempting suicide." He told them. Then he continued after a long pause.

"Of course the abuser is prosecuted and that means that the victim who is already isolated and burdened down with this shame, pain, and loneliness has to go to court and recount every single lurid detail all over again to a large room of complete strangers. That is not all though, after doing that, then they have to spend hours or like me, even days being cross examined where I was forced to admit that I liked it, that I wanted him to do it, and that I felt that it was my fault for seducing him. It's like being molested all over again, only this time it's ten times worse because everybody knows now and that isolated me even more which only increased my shame and pain. Most of the adults blamed my father of course, but all of the kids where I lived blamed me and I was pushed back to the brink of suicide again just as I was before. Death was a welcomed answer because it would have ended my pain. That's why we moved here and mom took that degrading job in that bar. She did that so I could start over again without everything hanging over me like some black cloud. Marco kept his promise and gave me back my career and then you came here. I had made some friends by being this really tough guy in order to hide my pain and I picked on you so I could hide the fact that I loved you the moment I saw you. Then Marco brought us together by telling you how I was almost gang raped here at the school. Yet, you still liked me and became my best friend, but not my boyfriend like I wanted. Even that helped me to open up just a little and share some of my pain with you and the more I opened up with you, the more you cared. Remember our first time Mark?" Derrick asked him as they wiped each others eyes.

"Yeah, it was pretty awkward for both of us; and very emotional too." He said with a half smile.

"I know, but it ended my pain inside though," He said before turning towards Eric. "Come here Eric, because you need to hear all of this too." Eric got up, shuffled over to them, and stood in front of them awkwardly while staring down at his feet.

"I'm sorry too Derrick, I didn't know that it happened to you too. I just thought you were perving out by listening to everything he said. I'm just a dumb kid and I didn't mean those things I said to you in there." Eric admitted shyly because he truly felt bad for the way he treated him when Derrick was the only one of them who knew what the real problem was and how to help Rodie.

"Nonsense Eric, you are his best friend and you did what you thought was right in order to protect him. I wish I had had a friend like you when it was happening to me, because if I did, I might still have my arm. There is no shame in that, but I still need your help so that we can stop Rodie's pain and stop him from hating himself. That is Rodie's biggest danger now because if he cannot find a release for his pain then he will never forgive himself. That's what I had to do with you Mark our first time. That's why it was so screwed up that time. See, the reason is that his pain won't go away and neither will his shame is because everyone he has tried to love before, including Jim, he has always managed to turn them into his father in his mind before he can actually have sex. That's why he has been having these panic attacks because it is his last defense to protect himself from being hurt again. If you had done what you two were planning with him, then Rodie would have been back in the hospital tomorrow on a suicide watch because all you would have done would have brought back all of his loneliness, despair, all of the shame, and then sent it crashing back down on him again. What you have to do is to counter everything his father did to him before he raped him. How do you counter loneliness and despair Mark?" He asked him.

"With love and understanding...right?" Mark answered.

"Right and that's what you have to do with him. Just like our first time, this will be the same with him." He told Mark.

"Why Mark?" Eric asked him. "Why can't you do it? Of the three of us, you know exactly what he is feeling inside and you also know what to do with him to help him get better. So why are you telling Mark to do it when you should be doing it." He said by pointing out the obvious while Mark agreed with him. However, a look of utter anguish and pain came over Derrick's face as he covered his face with his hand and then a muffled sob came out from him. After a few moments, he lifted his head and looked at them with his tear reddened eyes.

"I can't," He said to them in a soft, but anguished voice. "You know about some of the dreams I have been having Mark. Those dreams always involve me having sex with a young boy...like Rodie. In my dreams, I am now my father and I'm doing everything to the boys that he did to me...and sometimes I get violent in those dreams and really hurt the boy. That's why I started seeing that doctor Mark, he's a psychiatrist, and he specializes in treating molesters and their victims. Victims of molestation are most likely to become molesters themselves when they grow up. I'm terrified that I'm going to turn into the same kind of monster that my dad was. That's why I can't do this, because he needs the only thing that you can give him and that's your love and compassion. I can't do it because of my dreams and I don't want to be alone with him...not like this." He told them with a sob. "You have to do this Mark. Eric, I want you to go in there and fix it so that he doesn't remember his shame. That's how you can help him heal tonight. Then Mark can do the rest."

"But how is that going to help him?" Eric asked him with his innocent eyes.

"Because, every time he does anything sexual with anyone, he will feel ashamed about it afterwards the same as he did with his father, and he won't do it again, then he will start having panic attacks all over again too. It's the only way he can protect himself from going back to that dark depression he was in. His panic attacks are still bringing back his loneliness and his pain. By taking away his shame, then Mark can change his memory about sex just as he did for me so that Rodie won't feel ashamed about it anymore. It took Marco almost a year to take away enough of my shame by just talking to me just so I could be with another person sexually. Then the first time I had sex with you Mark, I cried, remember? It was the first time I had done anything sexual with someone else since my father molested me, that's why I cried. Not because what we did hurt, but because you took away all of the pain that I believed went with sex because of what my father did to me. You showed me the way true love and sex should be; which is happy, gentle, and openly sharing with each other. Most of all, the reason my pain stopped was because it was no longer a shameful secret about what we did and it wasn't wrong either. Sex didn't hurt me anymore because there was no shame and you changed the way I thought about sex in general. Now there isn't any shame, or pain, but most of all, I wasn't so alone because I could talk about it without fear or shame to others I trusted like my Mom and Marco, and now you guys. That is what you have to do for Rodie now so he can finish healing inside. You said that Rodie opened up to Stevie, but never to his doctors, but he opened up to both of you first and that is why you guys have to do this together. So, go in there and heal his soul so he can live again. If you do this right, then you will be amazed at how fast he will get better, I promise." Derrick told them as emphatically as possible so that they would understand, and after seeing their faces, he knew that they did understand. Then he kissed Eric, then Mark hugged and kissed him good night, and he sent them back to Rodie. Then after using the bathroom, he got into Eric's bed, turned out the light, and then softly cried as he tried to sleep.

End of chapter 13.

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