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Disclaimer
– If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is
a love story. Seeing, as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it
is in realistic balance in the characters’ lives. The story
contains sexual encounters between high school age minors, and has
some violence. If this offends you, or if it’s not legal for
you to read, please do not read. Also this story is a work of
fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the
product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is
entirely coincidental.
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Trails
and Tribulations
Chapter
11
Lessons
“Andy…
Andy… ANDY… Are you in there?”
I groaned
and turned my head towards the voice.
“Ah, there you
are. How are you feeling?”
I opened my eyes to see Nurse
Nancy standing beside me.
“Where… where am
I?”
“You were brought in to the Emergency Room
because of that nasty bump on your head, child.” She took my
hand in hers for reassurance. The expression on her face was all
knowing. Confidant. “You’ve had a visitation, haven’t
you?”
She had opened up to Joey and me about her nephew
the last time we spoke, to make us feel comfortable with the fact she
knew there was more to us than friendship. There was something good
about her. I kind of felt like I was with my mom again, and I figured
if I could trust her with my relationship with Joey, I could be
honest with her.
“Yes.”
She smiled at me,
“We’ll talk about it some other time if you want, but for
now let’s see how you’re doing.” She checked my
vitals, starting with blood pressure.
“How long have I
been here? Where am I? Where are my Dad, Joey, and Roger?” I
asked in rapid succession.
“Easy child. I will answer
them one at a time.”
She finished taking my pulse and
checked my temperature.
“You have been unconscious for
about three hours now. Your father, your friend, and your boyfriend,”
I blushed at the mention of a boyfriend, “are in the waiting
room waiting impatiently for me to come and get them. Once we have
determined that you are out of the woods, I will call for them.”
She
patted my forearm a couple of times. Once she was sure I was
comfortable, she hung up my chart at the foot of the bed.
“Now
remember to just rest when they visit with you.” She gave me a
wink and headed out the door.
She knew I had a vision. She
knew I had spoken to someone, but she couldn’t know it was mom,
could she? Maybe she meant the light that appeared to me in the
nurse’s office. For the life of me, I just couldn’t
figure out how she knew about either of them.
The door opened.
Dad walked in and the paleness in his face showed his concern. He
maneuvered himself over to the side of the bed where I had an IV
running into my arm and rested his hand in mine. He reached out with
his other hand, brushed my hair off my brow, and kissed my
forehead.
“I love you, Andy.” His eyes were the
same as mom’s, filled with the wash of unconditional love. “You
gave us a scare. How are you feeling, son?”
“My
head hurts a little.”
Being so glad to see my Dad and
feeling safe with him here now, I just realized that dad came alone.
Dad was a sharp man, not much escaped him. He smiled at me as he took
his seat.
“Don’t worry son, they’ll be here
in a second. I asked them to give me some time with you first. After
all, I am your father.”
He pulled the chair up close to
the bed and wrapped my hand in both of his. I noticed the concern
play out on his face. When he spoke, it was gentle. “Do you
feel ready to tell me what happened?”
I cleared my
throat.
“It was JT. I kinda knew something bad would
happen today. While Joey and I walked to my locker, I was telling
him about the dream I had when JT and his friends approached, and one
of them pushed me head first into the lockers. When I looked up from
the floor, JT had a hold of Joey, and he was choking him with his
forearm. Jonas and Kevin were the other two with him. I dunno, Dad.
Before I knew what was happening I hit JT. I couldn’t help
myself, Dad. Roger tackled Jonas and Kevin ran away like the coward
he is. This is the second time JT has attacked us, Dad. I was about
to finish JT off when Joey stopped me.”
“Joey
stopped you?”
“It
was so surreal. I heard someone say ‘stop’ just as I was
about to hit JT again. It was like a voice that commanded it be
obeyed. I turned and realized that it had been Joey that had told me
to stop. He placed his hand on my chest and suddenly all the anger
was gone. Just like that. Then he did an even stranger thing. He
forgave JT. He said he understood that it wasn’t JT, but his
father who put him up to this. He forgave the jerk, Dad. Even
helped him up.”
“And
JT didn’t fight back?”
“Nope.
He was shaking, like he was shocked, but the moment Joey reached out
to help him. The moment their hands touched, Dad, it was like, like
he was at peace. All calm. It was like he couldn’t understand
why Joey had forgiven him and Joey simply told him he understood.
Then JT apologized and walked off as though nothing had
happened.”
“Well, son, if Joey had not stopped you
there would have been hell at school today.”
“Dad,
I don’t understand this myself and I don’t expect you to
understand. I’m sure Joey will explain later.”
“He’s
a fine boy, Andy. He’s been through hell and back, and maybe
he understands that what is happening is because certain people have
no control over their lives. They are controlled by what others say
and do.”
“Maybe
so, Dad, but something even stranger happened
in the ambulance.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Go
ahead, son.”
With tears in my eyes, I told him about Mom
appearing to me and what she had said. After talking for twenty
minutes or so about what he called my visions, he stood up to leave.
His eyes were misty and at the door, he took a moment to compose
himself.
“I’m going to get Roger and Joey, and let
them come in and visit awhile.” He wiped the tears from his
eyes before he spoke again. “Now, you and Joey don’t get
carried away. You need to take it easy for a few days,” he
chuckled and winked at me, then left.
I rolled my eyes and
wanted to throw something at the door, but instead, I grinned at the
thought of me and Joey getting carried away.
I was alone, and
in the next few minutes, I made peace with God. I prayed he would
understand why I had been mad at Him, thanked Him for letting me see
Mom, and asked Him to watch over my family and loved ones. I asked
that He guide me, to help me limit my mistakes. I had just said
‘Amen’ when the door opened.
“Andy, are you
okay?” Joey asked, rushing to my side. He took my hand and held
it tightly. His forehead was creased with worry lines. Tears ran a
fine film over his eyes. Roger, beside Joey, nodded a
greeting.
“Yes, babe, I’m okay.” I squeezed
his hand.
Roger leaned over, his face tight with concern.
“What did the doctors say?”
“I don’t
know. I haven’t seen any since I’ve been awake.”
Joey
lightly kissed my lips, like he was afraid to hurt me, but God, that
felt so awesome. It pumped strength and health into me, like someone
had shot adrenalin into my veins. I felt much better, and stronger. I
wrapped my free arm around Joey’s neck and kissed him
passionately. It wasn’t a tongue wrestling, spit swapping kiss;
it was sweet and tender and it showed how we felt about each
other.
When we broke the kiss, he stood up all red faced, but
his eyes were full of love and adoration. Roger grinned and Joey
blushed brighter than ever before. I looked down at his crotch and
noticed he was harder than a rock. As I looked closer, I knew it
wasn’t just from being hard that had him so embarrassed. His
pants had a slowly growing wet spot. He had shot his load just from
our kiss alone. It was then that I realized my tummy was covered in
jazz too.
“Wow! That was some kiss.” Roger said,
and patted Joey on the back. His eyes scanned my body and stopped at
the tented sheet. He turned away from me, trying to suppress a
laugh, but he wasn’t successful. I glared back, but he was
trying really hard to stop laughing.
With his face as red as a
fire truck and a grin that cut across his face from ear to ear, Joey
just shrugged, causing us both to laugh wildly, joining in with
Roger. Oh God, it hurt my head, but it felt so good.
After we
all calmed down, I squeezed Joey’s hand. “Babe, you
better clean up the best you can, and when you finish,” I said,
“bring me back something to wipe my tummy.” I
winked.
Joey released my hand and retreated to the bathroom,
closing the door behind him. Roger sat down in the chair dad had been
sitting in earlier, shaking his head, and still chuckling.
The
smile and the jokes faded quickly. I felt nervous about what Roger
was thinking.
“You sure you’re okay?” He
paused until I nodded. “You passed out on us twice; once in the
nurse’s office, and again in the ambulance.” He paused
again, shuffled the chair closer to the bed, and put his hand on
mine. “You scared me in the ambulance, Andy. The EMT thought
he’d lost you. He said something about you going into shock and
that your vitals were crashing.”
A tear streaked down
his cheek. I turned my hand over and took his. I squeezed it and he
dropped his head, as if humbled.
“Andy, I love you bro.
I don’t want to lose you. You’re more than my best
friend, we’re brothers.” When he spoke, it was clear that
he was losing the battle to hold back a sob.
“I love you
too, Roger. You have always been there for me. You were there for me
this morning. You’re right; I love you more than just a best
friend.” I paused “We are brothers.” We both
squeezed the others hand and shed a few tears together. This was
becoming an emotional morning for me.
Just then, Joey
returned. He knew that Roger and I had just had a special moment by
the understanding turn of his lips.
He stood on the opposite
side of the bed and discreetly passed me a towel. I lifted the covers
a little, and cleaned off my tummy and the gown I had on. It hit me
then that someone had undressed me and put me in this hospital gown.
Once I was done, Joey took the towel back to the bathroom.
Dad
returned with the doctor, the same doctor that had examined Joey the
previous week. He took my chart and read it. Then he checked my
pulse, took my blood pressure, and paused every few minutes to write
something down. We watched him in silence.
“Open,”
he said, and stuck a thermometer under my tongue.
He pulled it
out, examined it, and wrote on my chart. After removing the IV from
my arm, he asked, “how are you feeling, Andy?”
“There’s
just a slight ache where I hit my head.”
“That’s
good.” He smiled, and then turned to Dad standing beside him.
“The x-rays came back negative for concussion. I believe that
once he settled down from the fight, there was the realization of
what could have happened, and it scared him enough that he went into
shock. While in the nurse’s office, his system fought back and
rebounded. However, when he realized he was being taken to the
hospital, he went into shock again.” He turned and gazed at me,
“You should thank the EMT for stabilizing you en-route, young
man. He probably saved your life.” He looked at my dad before
he continued, “Now, with the x-ray and the fact his vitals have
returned to normal, I’m going to release him on the condition
he takes it easy the rest of the week. That means nothing strenuous;
no sports, and no tree climbing,” he glanced at Joey, “and
no extracurricular activities.”
Both Joey and I blushed.
Dad and Roger chuckled.
Dad shook his hand and thanked him.
The doctor told him he would fill out the paper work and a nurse
would bring the papers for him to sign.
Before he left, he
turned to me and put a hand on my arm.
“Andy, you seem
like a really good boy. And I would love to get to know you, but we
have to stop meeting like this,” he paused, “while we are
getting the paperwork taken care of, you may dress. Your clothes are
hanging over there in the closet,” he pointed towards the
closet. “I mean it, for the next few days, you are to take it
easy, and let’s hope there aren’t any hidden injuries.”
Turning back to dad he said, “Someone will be with you in a few
minutes.”
“Thank you, doctor.” Dad said,
shaking his hand.
Dad glanced at me, “Go ahead and get
dressed, Andy. I’ll step out and give you some privacy. You
seem to have enough help here.”
“Extracurricular
activities!” Roger laughed. “You’re lucky he didn’t
catch the kiss and the aftermath.” He laughed harder and rolled
off the chair onto the floor. Once again proving to me someone could
ROTFLMAO. I looked over at Joey and rolled my eyes. He grinned and
extended his hand to help me off the bed.
I had finished
dressing when Dad and Nurse Nancy returned.
She nodded at Joey
and said, “Don’t forget to come by the clinic Wednesday,
Joey. We have to see if you are healing properly. Are you changing
the bandages twice a day?”
“Yes ma’am, and
the last couple of days they have been a lot less, umm...messy, when
we take them off.”
“Good, good. Then I look
forward to seeing you Wednesday.” Turning to me, she continued,
“and you too, Andy. The doctor wants to see you both, Joey at
3:30 and you at 4:00. Are those appointment times okay?”
“Yes
ma’am.” I answered.
Dad said, “Someone will
pick them up from school and have them at the clinic on time.”
“If
Andy has any pain, the doctor advised acetaminophen, just the regular
strength. Don’t worry about the stitches; they’ll
dissolve in about a week, and be sure to keep the area clean. Does
anyone have any questions?”
She took her time and made
sure she got an answer from Dad, Roger, and Joey, and then she
glanced at me.
“No ma’am.” I said.
“Good,”
she smiled. “The orderly will be in shortly to help you to your
vehicle.” Pointing at Joey and me, “I’ll see you
two Wednesday.” I wondered what she would have to say the next
time we met. She turned her focus to dad, “Judge, if you like,
by the time you pull your car around, they should be there.”
“Thank
you. I’ll see you boys out front.” They left together as
the three of us waited for the orderly.
At home, Joey and
Roger helped me upstairs. Joey propped up the pillows so I could sit
up with my back against the headboard and they sat on the bed Indian
style, facing me.
I told them about the dream and vision. I
explained what the figure in it had said to me, including how I had
lost faith, and that it was time to believe again. Then I told them
about mom coming to me. It wasn’t easy to tell them what she
told me, how she held me, or how I felt about the whole thing. They
sat wide-eyed as I told my story, but I could tell they believed
every word.
“Wow, Andy, I’m glad you got to speak
to your mom again. That’s so cool.” Joey smiled and held
my hand. His gentle presence made me feel safe.
“I’m
glad too, Andy.” Roger said with a tear in his eye. He had
loved my mother, like a second mother, just like I loved Aunt Alice.
I knew he missed her, too. “It makes me happy she’s in
heaven, she deserves it.” Roger’s voice was choked with
emotion, and he tried not to sniffle.
Dad stopped at the door,
and looked in. “Boys, Andy needs to rest after today’s
events.”
“Okay, Uncle Sam.” Roger said,
climbing off the bed. Joey did too, but stayed behind as Dad and
Roger walked downstairs.
He leaned over and gave me a
butterfly kiss. “That’s all you get, cutie.” He
said with a smile. “I can’t go home with my pants showing
like they did at the hospital.” He grinned.
“That’ll
keep me until the next kiss.” I winked. “I love you Joey,
forever.”
“I love you too, Andy, forever and
always.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Judge Daniel Whitt
entered his closed courtroom and the bailiff instructed everyone
rise. There were two defendants, who sat alone at the defense table,
and two attorneys sat at the prosecution table. Behind them was Miss
Anderson from the Department of Community Based Services. After the
judge had taken his place, he motioned for them to be seated.
He
turned to the Commonwealth attorney, “This hearing is for the
purpose of determining bail. Who are these other people with the
Commonwealth?”
“Your Honor, Tom Smith,
representing the Commonwealth, and on my right is Carl Bennett,
attorney for the victim. Seated behind me is Miss Anderson, Child
Protective Services.” The assistant commonwealth attorney
answered. “It is the Commonwealth’s position that neither
of the two defendants receive bail due to the ruthless, brutal nature
of their multiple assaults over several months and the felony child
neglect after the severe injuries the victim sustained, by not
allowing any medical attention be given for the same
injuries.”
Judge Whitt nodded, turned towards the
defendants, and said, “Mr. and Mrs. Adams, do you have
counsel?”
“No, sir,” Pastor Adams answered
the judge solemnly.
“Mr. Adam, when addressing this
court, you will stand.” The judge advised him.
The
pastor slowly rose, with his back straight, and his chin held high,
“I’m sorry Sir, I didn’t know. I’ve never
been in a courtroom before. As a God fearing man, I’ve always
been on the right side of man’s law. As the Lord said, ‘Render
therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto
God the things that are God’s.’ I pay my taxes, obey the
speed laws, I do not…”
The judge interrupted the
pastor.
“Mr. Adams, do you understand the charges being
brought against you?”
“No, Sir. I do not
understand at all. I’ve committed no crime. Yet, I have been
thrown into jail, just like Saint Paul and Saint Peter. All I did was
to try to turn my wayward son from a life of sin. Our country is
being torn asunder by the wicked, foul, disgusting homosexuals that
are an abomination before God. I did what any God fearing father
would have done. I laid down the law in a way my son would never
forget. The evil acts he was committing are sinful, and that the road
he was on was leading to damnation.”
The judge’s
eyes narrowed, “Is it by choice that neither of you are
represented by counsel?”
“That is correct. We
don’t feel we need a lawyer, since we have done nothing
wrong.”
“It is always wise to have an attorney
when you are involved in a court proceeding. If you cannot afford an
attorney, the court can appoint one for you. Are you sure?” The
judge waited until both of them said yes.
“Very well,”
turning to the commonwealth attorney he said, “what is the
Commonwealth’s recommendation?”
Standing up, Mr.
Smith said, “Your Honor, the Commonwealth recommends, no bail
in this case. However, if one must be granted, we recommend a one
million dollar cash bond on Mr. Adams, and a five hundred thousand
dollar cash bond on Mrs. Adams. We also recommend an order that
neither defendant have any contact with the victim; a five hundred
foot restraining order, and a gag order placed on both defendants
from speaking publicly about this case, which includes said church.
We also request an order that the Commonwealth, through Child
Protective Services, be given temporary custody of the minor victim
until this case has been decided. At which time, the foster family
presently housing Joseph Matthew Adams, the minor victim in this
case, may wish to proceed with adoption of said minor.” He
paused, looked at both Mr. Bennett and Miss Anderson. After receiving
a nod from both, he turned to the judge and said, “I believe
that covers everything for the Commonwealth at this time.”
“How
in heavens name am I supposed to come up with a million dollars?”
The pastor screamed at the prosecution. His face had become red and
his hands gripped the edge of the table in front of him. Mrs. Adams
sat quietly and glanced up at her husband as though in
shock.
“Order!” The judge banged his gavel. “I
will not allow any outbursts in my courtroom!” He leaned
forward, giving the pastor a stern look, and then he turned to the
state attorney before he continued. “However, he makes a very
good point.”
“Your Honor, we have documented
medical evidence that Mr. Adams, routinely beat his son with such
severity that the boy has suffered broken bones, welts, and bruises
from months of abuse. Mrs. Adams witnessed these beatings and did
nothing to stop them, nor did she bother to have her son treated by a
doctor afterwards, and she never reported these beatings to anyone.
In fact, she assisted in the cover-up of the crimes. Therefore, your
Honor, she is a co-conspirator in this case.”
“Your
Honor,” the pastor rose to address the judge. The earlier anger
had faded and now his approach was meek.
“Mr. Adams, you
may address the court concerning the bond.”
“Your
Honor, my wife and I have done nothing wrong here. A million dollar
bond, they say?” He glanced first at his wife then across to
the table of lawyers sitting on the other side of the room. “Are
they out of their minds? I don’t know what my lying faggot son
has told them, but all we did was to try and correct his life-style.
I’m flabbergasted at the amount of money they want for just
applying the rod instead of spoiling the child. Besides, doing the
Lord’s work does not pay that kind of money, at least not here
in Eastern Kentucky.”
Judge Whitt sat back. The
courtroom was silent. There was a look of concern on his face as he
turned and focused on the Commonwealth Attorney. “Were
photographs taken in this case?”
“Yes, your Honor.
May I approach?”
“Approach.”
Mr.
Smith picked up a folder and gave it to the judge. Without betraying
his thoughts, Judge Whitt looked through the folder, returned it to
Mr. Smith, and with a wave of his hand, motioned for him to retake
his seat.
* * * * * * * * * *
A light knocking on my
open bedroom door woke me. I rolled over and looked up, and saw dad
standing there with a smile on his face.
“What would you
like for supper, Andy?”
“What time is it?” I
asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
“It’s six
o’clock. Do you feel well enough to have pizza for dinner?”
He asked, knowing I would never turn down a pizza.
“Um…
I don’t know Dad.”
He rolled his eyes, turned, and
went downstairs. Suddenly, I felt very hungry. I guess my attitude
backfired on me. I quickly got out of bed and followed him
downstairs.
After dinner, we sat in the living room watching
the Reds get beat again when there was a knock at the front door. Dad
told me he would see who it was, and handed me the TV remote. I heard
voices and turned off the TV, and was just about get up when Joey
stepped into the room. The Banks family were behind Dad.
Joey
sat down beside me on the couch. Roger took a seat on the other side
of me. The adults walked off into another room, leaving us alone.
Joey took my hand and stared into my eyes.
“How are you
feeling, Andy?”
“I’m good, why?” I
looked over at Roger to see if something was going on.
“Roger
and I have been talking about what you told us this afternoon. He
also told me about some of the stuff you went through, a couple of
years ago.” Joey squeezed my hand.
A tear slipped down
my cheek and dropped onto my arm. I forced myself to look at Joey,
the tears in my eyes ready to follow the first that had fallen. Roger
wrapped his arm around my shoulders and his head came to rest against
mine. A sob exploded from deep within me and I lay my head against
Joey’s chest as he wrapped his arms around me too.
There
we three sat, Joey and Roger comforting me, knowing that I needed a
release of the emotions that had built up within me since mom’s
death. My best friend and my boyfriend realized that I had refused to
acknowledge my pain that had been growing since she died. My visions
had chipped away at the dam holding my emotions back, and now, they
broke through the dam, like a mighty rushing river, because the two
guys I loved, one as a soul mate and the other like a brother, knew
me better than I knew myself. All it took was to be embraced by their
love and understanding.
My mother’s death had affected
me far more than I had let on. Even my recovery with my shrink’s
help hadn’t been as complete as I had allowed my family to
believe. I guess the reason had been that I hadn’t grieved the
way I needed to, and it was still bottled up inside me. I had
thought, by not accepting her death that she didn’t go through
the pain she had in the end, and she wasn’t gone at all. I
realized it was foolish to pretend she was still there, like she had
never died, but it was my way of coping with it. Now, well now I knew
she wasn’t in pain and happy. Mom was happy and still there!
Though it wasn’t the way I had pretended it to be, but it was
even better this way. She WAS in Heaven, and of that, I had no
doubt.
My mother and Joey had both given me a gift today. Joey
showed me that forgiveness could change lives. My mom, through the
seemingly impossible way she had spoken with me, reassured me, and
showed me that nothing is impossible with love. The lessons they
taught me are ones I will always strive to keep.
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
OK,
so that's it for Chapter 11. Thank you for reading and I hope you
enjoyed it. I would love to hear your feedback and comments. I
respond to every e-mail. You can email me at: billybratii@gmail.com
Depending
on my editors and beta readers, I'll probably publish a chapter every
week or two, at least for the foreseeable future.
I want to
thank Mark, Joe, Cory, Alan, Kevin, Eric, James C., Jon, Wagner, Tom,
James F., Mick, Bobby, JT, Robert, Bradley, Matt, Bryan, Brad,
Kenneth, Peter, Steve, Paul, John, Chris, and Ian for their kind
e-mails with words of encouragement and advice. It really helps to
know that someone is reading and liking your work. I hope my writing
will bring entertainment, but also cause you to pause and
reflect.
There's a number of organizations out there that
offers help in a multitude of ways. They include, but not limited to
-The
Trevor Project
,
PFLAG,
Teen
Line,
and The
Mail Crew.
Also did you know that the most common type of cancer affecting men
between the ages of 15 and 35 is testicular cancer? Here's a link for
more information on the subject. The
Testicular Cancer Primer
Never
feel like there's no help, whatever the problem may be.
And
don't forget to DONATEto
help keep Nifty going!
Thank you.
Billy Martin