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– 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
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resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is
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Trials and Tribulations
Chapter
3
Red Storm Rising
Joey
just dropped his head, and laid it on his desk. I took a quick glance
at Mr. Ison, and saw he was engrossed in something, not paying us any
attention.
I was kind of in shock. I had never seen anything
like this before, and I was afraid where this was going to take me;
but I liked Joey, and I was scared for him. I didn’t know why
yet, but I was scared. I got up, and went over to Joey. I leaned over
so only he could hear me, putting my hand on the back of his
neck.
“Joey, we have to go to the bathroom, and see what
I can do for you. Okay?” I asked.
He nodded, and slowly
got up. I could tell he was in pain. I also felt like I was out of my
element, but he’s a friend, and I would do anything I could for
him. So, I just had to suck it up, and do whatever needed to be
done.
As we walked out into the hallway, I saw Roger, and
yelled for him to wait up.
“Walk closely behind Joey, so
no one can see his back.” I told him.
Roger took a look
at Joey’s back seeing the dark patches of blood vivid against
his pale shirt. Roger looked back, his eyes wide, as he nodded, and
fell in behind us.
Joey hadn’t said a word to me since
we were on the bus. None was needed now, as his body was telling me
everything I needed to know. He was in pain, ashamed, and sorry for
involving me. I could tell by the tears in his eyes, his slumped
shoulders, and the way he walked.
When we got to the bathroom
door, I told Roger to go to his locker, and get a shirt for Joey to
wear; Roger always had spare shirts for one reason, or another;
usually because of PE. I thought they would fit, and if not, then it
would be too big, and not too small. Roger took one last look, and
left quickly.
I got Joey into the bathroom. Thankfully we were
alone. I walked Joey over to the sinks. When we were in front of them
I turned him to face me.
“Joey, I’m going to have
to take your shirt off, okay?” I asked.
He looked into
my eyes. They seemed to be searching for something. I just tried to
open myself up to him, and let him find whatever it was he was
looking for. Apparently finding it, he nodded.
I started
unbuttoning his shirt. I took my time so I wouldn’t pull on the
shirt in anyway which could hurt him more. That’s when I
noticed all the red welts, plus the purple and yellow bruising on his
chest and stomach. I tried to be real careful pulling his shirt tail
out of his pants, but I caused him to wince just by tugging on his
shirt. The sharp intake of breath alerted me to just how much pain he
was in.
“You okay, Joey? Sorry if that hurt.” I
said looking up into his eyes.
“You didn’t hurt
me.” Joey whispered, as he looked into my eyes. Even now, he
couldn’t stop trembling.
Having his shirt unbuttoned and
out of the front of his pants, I turned him around. I was being as
careful as I could to get the shirt out of the back of his pants
without causing him more pain. I started to think if the situation
was different, this
could
be erotic; but, that wasn’t what I was here for now.
“Okay
Joey, I’m going to pull the shirt off your shoulders now, and
then off completely.” I warned him before I went any
further.
When I got the shirt off his back, I nearly puked.
There were bleeding welts across his back like someone had taken a
belt and tried to beat him to death. With just a glance, I could see
not only the dark bruising, the welts, and blood, but also evidence
of other beatings Joey had taken. I knew for Joey, I had to get my
act together, or I was just going to make things worse. So I pushed
breakfast back down, and turned Joey back around to face me.
“Joey,
I’m no nurse, or doctor, yet it’s clear we have to do
something before all of that gets infected. I can try and clean it up
some, but I think the paper towels in here will only make it worse. I
have a handkerchief. Then again that’s not good enough. It’s
too small”
The saddest eyes I’ve ever seen looked
back at me. He looked totally defeated.
“You just met me
Joey, but I think you know you can trust me. My Dad is the Circuit
Court Judge here. Let me call him, and get a way to the hospital to
get you taken care of. Your back looks really bad, too bad for me to
be of any help.”
“Andy, I’m scared.”
He said with his bottom lip quivering. Just looking at him, I could
see the tears forming in his eyes, and he shook in fear. This whole
thing had Joey terrified, that much I could tell.
Carefully, I
put my arms around his neck, and pulled him to me in a hug. I could
feel the tears running down my cheeks. The tears weren’t only
his; they were mine as well, mixed with his. My heart was breaking
for this guy. Who hurt him this bad?
“Joey, I got to
know. Who, who hurt you this bad? Was it your Dad?” I asked
through our sobs.
He hugged me tighter, and nodded his head in
response. I didn’t know his Dad, but from what I did know
already, the thought that I wouldn’t be nice to him was the
understatement of the century. How could any parent do this to any
kid, much less their own kid? If this was what this Pastor thought
was Christian love I wanted no part of it. I wanted to reach out and
grab the man by his throat, then kick his balls all the way up to his
throat, so I could choke his throat and balls at the same time!
I
gently broke the hug, pulled out my cell phone, and stepped back a
step. I looked Joey in the eyes.
“Joey, do you trust
me?” I asked.
“Yes, Andy, I do.” Joey said
between sobs. He looked at me; his eyes begged me as he continued,
“Please help me. I can’t take it anymore.”
Roger
walked in as I hit two on my speed dial. His eyes grew wider as he
took one look at Joey’s back. I could see he wanted to talk,
but I was already on the phone.
“Hold on Roger, I’m
calling my Dad.” I told him, as dad’s secretary picked
up.
“Hi Margie, this is Andy,” I began telling her
hurriedly. “I have an emergency, and I need my Dad’s
help. Is he in court?”
“Hi Andy, yes, your Father
is presiding over a trial this morning.” Margie knew I didn’t
normally call; so this immediately had her on alert. “What’s
the nature of the emergency?”
“Just tell him,
alpha two, and we’ll be waiting out in front of the school for
transport to the hospital.”
Years ago, because of a new
found status that directly affected me, mom and dad came up with a
system to communicate a dangerous situation with as few words as
possible. Alpha one meant one of us was in danger, and alpha two
meant someone with us was in danger. The alpha number was followed
with a location.
“Margie, it’s important that he
knows what I just said immediately. Okay?”
“He has
already been notified on his lap top in the court room. Go ahead and
head outside for pick up.” she told me. “Do I need to
call for an ambulance?”
“No, Joey and I will be
outside waiting. Bye, and thanks Margie.” As I ended the call,
Roger took another look at Joey, before facing me.
“Wait,
what’s going on Andy?” Roger asked, as he handed me his
spare shirt.
“There’s no time right now to
explain. I need you to go to Mr. Horn, and tell him I’ve taken
Joey to the hospital for medical treatment. I’ll have some
adult call him and explain later. Okay?”
“I’m
on it.” Roger paused, and looked over at Joey. “I hope
everything works out for you Joey.” Then he hurried out to tell
Mr. Horn what he knew.
“Joey, let me help you with the
shirt Roger brought.”
“Thank you Andy, but I can
do it.” Joey said, as he took the shirt from me, and carefully
pulled it on. Thank God it was black, so it wouldn’t show any
blood seeping through. Now, all I had to do was get him outside
without being hurt further.
“Andy, you have no idea how
much this means to me. I didn’t know if I could ever trust
anyone again. But, you make it so easy to trust. I’ll tell you
everything, just not right now. Okay?” Joey looked into my
eyes; all I could see was the pain, and his hope that I wouldn’t
ask more of him now.
“You don’t have to tell me
anything, Joey.” I took a breath. I knew some of what he was
going to have to face, due to Dad’s job. I figured I better be
honest with him. “At some point though, you are going to have
to tell some adult, so they can help me make things better for you.
You barely know me or me you, but I feel something for you deep
inside of me; in a place I didn’t even know existed.” I
paused, and wondered if I had said more than I intended. In doing so,
answered one of my own questions about myself, but I felt this was
too important not to finish. “Those feelings are making me want
to help you. If you’ll let me, I will. For now, we need to head
outside to catch the ride coming for us. I don’t know who it’ll
be, but we can trust them, okay?” I was trying to reassure
him.
“Okay.” Joey smiled, and nodded at me.
*
* * * * * * * * *
While
I had been dealing with Joey in the bathroom, things were happening
in my father’s courtroom. Margie had sent the message directly
to Judge Collins, as she had promised. It arrived on his screen just
as the Assistant Commonwealth Attorney was questioning one of his
witnesses. As it popped up on his screen, the questioning was
interrupted.
“I object your honor, hearsay.” The
defense attorney said rising to his feet.
“Would both
counselors approach?” Judge Collins asked. His tone made it
clear that it really wasn’t a question. Both attorneys quickly
approached his bench.
“Gentleman, I have a family
emergency which I must attend to immediately. Would either of you
object to my adjourning for the day, and ruling on the hearsay
objection first thing in the morning?” Judge Collins looked at
both attorneys. They shook their heads no, and stepped back away from
the bench.
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, a
situation has arisen unrelated to these proceedings, which demands my
attention. Therefore you are excused for the day with the same
admonishments I gave you at the end of yesterday. Do not discuss
these proceedings with anyone. We’ll pick up with the ruling on
the defense’s objection first thing in the morning at
eight-thirty sharp. Have a good day.” Judge Collins excused the
jury. Everyone stood as the jury left the courtroom.
“We
are adjourned until eight-thirty tomorrow morning.” Judge
Collins stood as soon as the jury was out of the courtroom motioning
for the bailiff.
“Ben, it’s my son. We need to
meet him in front of the high school right away.”
The
bailiff radioed dispatch, alerting them there was a problem. Judge
Collins raced to his chambers, removed his robe, grabbed his jacket,
and walked back into the courtroom to exit the building.
“Judge,
two Deputies will meet you at your SUV, escort you to the school, and
aid you in anyway necessary.” The bailiff quickly informed
Judge Collins.
*
* * * * * * * *
Joey
and I headed out to the front of the school. When we got outside,
there were two Sheriff’s cruisers with blue lights flashing,
and parked in between them, was my Dad’s blue SUV. Dad got out
as soon as he saw us, and started walking towards us.
“Andy,
what’s wrong?” The concern in my Dad’s voice made
me want to cry.
“Joey has been almost beaten to death
Dad, and it was by his father. I’ve promised I would help him.
He has really bad cuts and bruises all over his upper body, front and
back. He needs to see a doctor, not a school nurse.”
Dad
nodded, and helped me get Joey into the front passage seat of the
SUV. As dad was walking around the front of the SUV, the Deputy in
the lead car walked over to talk to him.
“Bob, we are
heading to the hospital. Do me a favor; call Miss Anderson, at
Department of Community Based Services. I want her to meet us at the
hospital.”
The Deputy nodded, and made some quick
notes.
“Oh, and I want to have a State Detective to meet
us there as well. Stay with us, but the lights won’t be
necessary Bob.”
“Yes Sir. I’ll call it right
in, and have everyone at the hospital waiting for us.”
I
knew when Dad said to call Miss Anderson that she worked for child
protective services. I had met her at one of the functions Dad had to
go to. I watched as Dad hurried over to the driver’s door of
the SUV.
After dad got in, he looked over at Joey sitting in
the front seat, and then glanced at me in the back. I knew he saw all
the emotions and pain I was feeling for Joey written all over my
face.
“Joey,” Dad began, waiting till he had
Joey’s attention before he continued, “I’m Judge
Collins, Andy’s father. He’s promised you that he would
help you, and I will do everything in my power to see that he keeps
that promise. You need to trust me so I can make that happen,
Okay?”
“Yes sir,” Joey whispered, as he
gently nodding his head up and down.
“Good. Why don’t
you tell me what’s going on as we head to see a doctor?”
Dad tried to keep Joey at ease while we pulled away from the
school.
“It started last summer, sir.” Joey’s
voice was soft, and he seemed to be talking to the floor. “My
Babe Ruth assistant baseball coach gave me a ride home one night
after a game. The game was on a Wednesday night, so both my parents
were at church. On the way home, the coach put his hand on my thigh
as he was telling me what a good game I had, and how good I could be
some day. He started rubbing my leg then, and told me that he would
help me be as good as any player that ever played in the
league.”
Joey seemed to be looking for the words he
wanted to use, so I leaned forward and put my hand on his shoulder to
let him know I was here for him. He turned, looked at my hand, then
looked up into my eyes, and smiled a half smile.
Looking
forward and down at the floor board, he continued, “He made me
feel special. My parents aren’t the huggy, kissy type. I can’t
even remember the last time either one of them gave me a hug or a
kiss. Coach was showing me attention and I liked it. I had prayed and
prayed to God to help my Father to show me love and attention. And
here was Coach Boland, who was only seventeen, just three years older
than me, showing me what I’ve been praying for. So, I thought
God was answering my prayers.
“As the coach rubbed my
thigh, he looked over to me. I looked back and smiled, because I was
very happy, and I wanted him to know it. I guess he figured that I
was okay with whatever he had in mind, because the next thing I knew,
he had pulled off onto a side road, parked, and turned off his
headlights.
“He said he wanted to make me feel good,
because I was his favorite player. I told him I wanted to make him
feel good too. That’s when he moved his hand up my thigh, and
started rubbing my junk through my uniform. He asked if that felt
good. I was scared, but it did feel good, and I told him so. He
stopped rubbing me, and started unfastening my belt and uniform
button. As we looked in each other’s eyes, he unzipped my
uniform, and put his hand inside my briefs. By this time, I was erect
and afraid I was going to get into trouble no matter what I did. So I
let him take a hold of me and jerk me off.
“That’s
when he kissed me. I had never been kissed like that before, by
anyone. It felt good, and I liked it. So, I kissed him back as his
hand stroked me. Then he stopped, had me raise my hips up, and he
pulled my uniform down to my ankles. After he rose back up, he leaned
in, and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. Then as he took me in his
hand again, he leaned over and took me in his mouth.” Joey
stopped then. He was shaking as he sat there in the warmth of the
truck.
Finally, Joey looked up at dad, and said, “I felt
it was wrong, but it felt so good. I almost came right then, but he
pulled down on my balls preventing me. It felt like it a million
volts of electricity going through me forever, because every time I
started to feel that I was going to shoot he could sense it, and he
would pull on my balls again not letting me. I had been kinda…
well… jacking off since I was thirteen, but when he finally
let me cum, I had never felt anything like that before. I think I
passed out for a minute or two. The next thing I knew he was kissing
me. I could taste myself on his tongue, as he pushed it inside my
mouth.”
Dad cleared his throat. It wasn’t often
Dad seemed nervous, but he asked Joey, “For now, could you keep
it less sexually descriptive?”
I thought, ‘No shit
Dad.’ I was harder than a diamond drill. Don’t get me
wrong, I felt Joey had been taken advantage of by an older boy, but
it was hotter than hell. I mean, I would have loved for a sexy older
boy to have given ME a blowjob. Yet, I knew there was a lot more to
this story.
Joey looked up at my Dad, and replied, “Yes
sir. That was all that happened that night. He drove me home. When we
got there, he went in with me, and talked to my Dad. He offered to
drive me home after every game, if it would be helpful for my
parents. My Dad agreed, and thanked him. I was happy with it, since
it seemed my parents weren’t even interested in watching me
play.”
Up until now, through this part of the story, his
face seemed kind of neutral; but now, it changed to a sad look, as he
continued, “I had never thought of myself as gay before. I
still hadn’t thought it through to be honest, but I went to bed
that night happy. Someone, even if it was another boy, was showing me
the attention I had been praying for. So when I prayed that night, I
thanked God for bringing Eddie Boland into my life. The next time
Eddie gave me a ride, things went as before, but he wanted me to do
the same for him. I hadn’t thought about this happening.
Looking back, I should have, but I hadn’t. He had made me feel
good, and I wanted him to feel good too; so, I did the same for him
that he had done for me the last time he gave me a ride home. As time
went by, he started doing less and less until it was just me making
him feel good. I think I would have lost interest in him completely,
but he was still giving me the attention I wanted at the games, and
took me places with him, like out for ice cream and stuff.”
“After
school started back up, I didn’t see him except at school, but
he never spoke to me, and things went back to as they were before. My
grades fell from A’s to B’s with some C’s. My
parent’s felt I wasn’t applying myself as I should, and
thought I was just being lazy. In a way, they were right. They just
didn’t know why. It wasn’t that I was being lazy. I just
stopped caring as much. I was lonely. I had friends and everything,
but now I had this secret, and I had lost the attention I was getting
to make up for the lack of attention I wanted from my parents. Eddie
had been giving me the attention I hadn’t been getting from my
parents, but now he was gone too. For my parents, the church and its
members were the most important thing. I just couldn’t measure
up.” Joey paused again, and seemed to take what he had said so
far in. It seemed to be forever before he began to tell us the
rest.
“After being grounded a couple of times for my
grades, I buckled down, and brought them back up. I learned how to
put on a happy face, and my friends stopped asking what was wrong all
the time. I stayed out of trouble, but I became more and more a
loner. By the end of the year, I really didn’t have any friends
left. It wasn’t that they didn’t like me anymore; I had
stopped being a friend to them.”
I had been watching
Joey’s face closely; there was no happy face mask hiding his
pain now. I could clearly see he was a lonely boy. I wanted him to
know that he would never be alone again, if he would let me be there
for him, and I started rubbing his shoulder.
He paused again,
and turned to look at me. When our eyes met, I tried to pour my
feelings into them. I wanted to let him know I would be his friend,
and never walk away from him, no matter what. I don’t know for
sure what my feelings were for Joey, but I knew they were getting
stronger by the minute, and I wanted him to know it.
He smiled
like he understood what I was telling him with my touch and with my
eyes. He brought his right hand up, and patted my hand on his
shoulder. I took it in mine, and squeezed it. We were stopped at a
red light, and Dad looked over at us. I didn’t care at that
moment what he thought of our display. Joey needed a friend, and damn
it, I would be that friend no matter what anyone thought, including
my Dad. I gave him a nod to continue.
He looked at my Dad, and
said, “When summer baseball started, my Dad insisted I play. I
don’t know for sure if he thought it was good exercise for me,
or a way to get me out of the house and from under afoot. When he
took me to the first practice, Eddie was there, and volunteered to
give me rides again this summer. Dad was all for it, and thanked
Eddie for his thoughtfulness. Things kind of picked up from where
they ended last summer. After games or practices, he would drive to
an out-of-the-way place, and have me do things for him.
“One
night when we got to the place he was going to park, someone was
already there. Since I needed to be home soon, he drove me home. When
we got there, the lights were off, and it looked like no one was
home, except for the car parked in the driveway. He wanted me to do
him in the driveway, before I went in. I was scared, and told him I
didn’t want to get caught. He kept telling me he would watch,
and make sure we wouldn’t.
“He pushed the seat
back, and told me to get it out. I reached over and was unzipping him
when the dome light came on, and he pushed me away saying, ‘Get
off me you fag!’
“Someone grabbed me by the shirt
collar, pulled me out of the car, and threw me to the ground. When I
looked up and saw my Father standing there looking down at me with
disgust, I was like a deer caught in head lights. I didn’t know
what to say or do.
“That’s when I heard Eddie say,
“I can’t believe he was fagging on me like that. I was
tired and had just pushed my seat back to rest a minute before the
drive home and the next thing I knew I felt his hands on my
junk.”
Joey dropped his head, and said, “I knew
then, no matter what I told my Dad, I wasn’t going to be
believed. Eddie had skillfully told a story that fit what Dad had
seen. Besides, what he was saying wasn’t a total lie. I did
have my hand on his junk as I was unzipping him. Dad told him to go
home, and never to come around me again.”
Joey shook his
head, “Eddie jumped in his car and drove out of there like a
bat out of hell, leaving me sitting on my ass scared to
death.
“That’s when dad grabbed me by the hair and
pulled me to my feet. He told me to get my faggot ass to my room, to
get ready for bed, since there would be no supper for me tonight, and
that we would talk about this tomorrow. As I started to the house, he
kicked me on the ass, and yelled, ‘Move faster you son of
Satan.’
“I ran as fast as I could to my room, with
tears running down my face. I closed my bedroom door behind me, and
just fell face forward onto my bed. I had my Dad’s attention
now, but it wasn’t the type of attention I was looking for.
Instead of seemingly indifferent towards me, he hated me now. Once he
told Mom, she would too. For what seemed like forever, I could hear
Dad yelling, and my Mom crying asking him what they were going to do
with a faggot son. Finally, I couldn’t take anymore, and I
cried myself to sleep.”
Tears were flowing down Joey’s
face now. It was breaking my heart. His father and mother were only
thinking how other people would think of them having a gay son. His
Dad didn’t even ask him for his side of the story. I felt my
own tears falling again.
“I woke the next morning with
my pillow drenched from my tears. I guess I cried throughout the
night. I rolled over and tried to collect my thoughts. I went through
everything that was said and happened the night before. I started
trying to figure out if I was a fag, and going to hell like my Dad
preached. I didn’t want to be different from other boys, but
when I thought about it, I never really thought about girls in a
romantic way. I didn’t want to go to hell though. Maybe it was
just a phase or something. Yet, when I was honest with myself, I knew
I liked doing the things I did with Eddie. I loved it when he kissed
me. I even liked the things he wanted me to do. Just when I decided I
was a faggot and going to hell, my father came into the room, told me
to get my faggot ass up, take a shower, dress in my Sunday clothes,
and to meet him in the kitchen.”
I so wanted to stop
Joey here, let him know I was his friend, and if there was a hell, he
wouldn’t be going there; but, I know from hearing my Dad
talking about court stuff, I shouldn’t interrupt Joey.
“I
took a shower and even though it was only Friday morning, I dressed
in my Sunday clothes, suit and tie. I took a really close look at
myself in the mirror for the first time in a long time. I saw a
scared kid that didn’t know what was going to happen next and
knew his parents hated him for what he was, a faggot. Knowing there
was nothing I could do about anything coming my way, I marched to the
kitchen to meet my fate. When I walked into the kitchen, Dad was
dressed in his Sunday clothes as well. He grabbed me by the arm and
pulled me out the backdoor towards the church next to our house.
As
we entered the sanctuary, I noticed there were several men waiting
there for us. I realized after looking around that they were the
Deacons of the church. Dad let go of my arm when we got in front of
the altar, and told me to strip.
I was shocked, and I shook my
head no. He slapped me hard across the face, and said, ‘I told
you to strip.’ I pleaded with him not to do this. He slapped me
again. I lowered my head in defeat, and started taking all my clothes
off, laying them on the front pew. I was so ashamed and humiliated;
the tears flowed from my eyes. All the men gathered around me, laid
hands on my head, shoulders, back, chest, and then started praying
for me. I closed my eyes doing my own praying for help, pleading with
God to get me out of this. All of a sudden, I felt an open handed
palm hit me hard enough in the forehead to knock me to the floor.
Then my Dad started shouting, ‘In the name and authority of the
Lord Jesus Christ, we renounce all the power of darkness which may
exist in this area or in the life of Joseph Matthew Adams for any
reason. We bind all evil spirits assigned to Joseph Matthew Adams and
forbid you to operate in any way, in the name of Jesus Christ. In the
name of Jesus Christ, I command all evil spirits… get out now!
Spirits of homosexuality get out in Jesus' name!’"
Joey
stopped his story for a moment, while his body was wracked with
tears. When he began to talk again, it was softly. “I can
remember thinking to myself, ‘Oh my God, they’re
performing an exorcism on me. They think I’m possessed.’
It was clear that dad had told them about me, and they were trying to
cast out a demon. I didn’t know what to say or do. I started
crying in shame and embarrassment. Then I heard myself mumbling,
‘Jesus help me.’ Over and over again I asked Him to help.
They thought I was asking for Jesus to help save me from the demon,
when I actually wanted Him to save me from THEM. They started
praising God for saving me from Satan.” Joey’s voice
began to crack, as he continued, “I swear to God, I couldn’t
help it, but I started to laugh at them. I told them I was asking God
to save me from them. That’s when the beatings started. Dad
took off his belt, and started hitting me as hard as he could. I
balled up trying to protect myself, but I was laying there naked.
There wasn’t much I could protect except my head and junk.”
I
was stunned listening to Joey talk. How could this have happened in
front of a group of men? How had Joey been able to go on?
“I
guess the ferociousness of his attack stunned even the deacons. One
of them called out, ‘Brother Adams, in the name of God, stop
this madness!’ Dad shook his head, and looked down at what he
had done to me. But instead of saying he was sorry, or that he loved
me, he said, ‘I will not have a faggot son that’s
possessed live under my roof.’”
Joey’s voice
sounded raw. I was ready to cry just from hearing the pain and
honesty in his voice, as he told Dad and me what had happened to him.
However, Joey wasn’t done with his story yet.
“I
cried out, ’Dad, I’m not gay. I swear Eddie lied, and I
swear whatever you think I did, I’ll never do it again. Jesus
is my Lord and Savior.’ I was broken, and I needed my Dad’s
love and acceptance. I would do, or say anything he wanted me to
say.”
Joey was openly crying again, making his words
hard to understand.
“Joey, it’s okay. We
understand. I think I would have said and done anything too if I
thought my Dad didn’t love me anymore.” I told him,
squeezing his hand again.
“He’s right Joey. We do
understand son. Just let it all out.” Dad’s voice was
gentle, as he spoke, but I could see the anger in his eyes when he
looked into the rear view mirror.
Joey composed himself as we
pulled onto the hospital grounds, and continued, “There’s
not much more to tell. He had me dress and go home. As I left, the
Deacons were praising God; because they were sure they had cast a
demon out of me. I thought the horror story was over, but I was
wrong. Whenever I made any mistake or forgot to do something I had
been told to do, he beat me. Telling me I may have fooled the
deacons, but I hadn’t fooled him. He said he was going to beat
the devil out of me if he had to. That the Bible said spare the rod
and spoil the child. I guess about a month later, one of the church
ladies noticed I had a black eye and some other bruising. She started
asking some questions and the next thing I knew Dad announced we were
moving because he had been transferred to Pine Hills. That was two
weeks ago.
“Everything was fine through the entire
packing and actual move here, until the first day of school. I had
forgotten to call home, and let anyone know I was at your house,
after school. I also didn’t know that Mr. Horn had called my
father to apologize for the way I was treated my first day of school.
He explained what all had happened, the names, the punch, and my
offer to volunteer to help with the concession stand. Mr. Horn was
proud of my offer, and told dad he thought I was going to make a fine
student. But the only thing my father heard was I had been called out
as a faggot, and got my ass kicked for it. So when I did get home, he
told me we had to move here because of my faggot behavior, and we
weren’t moving again. He started hitting my sides with his
fists and kicking me until I fell to the floor. Then he took off his
belt and started hitting me as hard as he could, while my Mother
stood there and watched, until I passed out. When I woke up on the
floor, my Mother told me to go to my room and stay there until one of
them told me otherwise. I don’t know what time it was, but when
I got to my room, I just collapsed on my bed, and didn’t move
until my Mom woke me the next morning.
“She said I would
be staying home that day, and if I didn’t cause any problems, I
could go to school the next day. I stayed in my room all day
yesterday. No meals were offered, and I was too scared to ask. Last
night Dad came into my room, told me he had called the school, told
them I had a doctor’s appointment, and helped finish unpacking
afterwards. He said if anyone questioned me about it that that was
what I was to tell them. I just nodded, too afraid to speak. He got
up and left. I guess today in class, Andy noticed blood on my shirt,
and called you for help.”
He finished as dad pulled up
to the emergency room ambulatory entrance. Dad got out, and came
around to help me get Joey out of the SUV. When I looked up, I could
see the tears falling down Dad’s face. I hadn’t seen my
Dad cry since my mom died. We walked in, with the two Deputies
following us. Dad looked around and stopped a nurse.
“I
want this boy examined, all injuries documented, photographed, and
treated immediately. All questions can and will be answered by Miss
Anderson of The Department for Community Based Services, or his
attorney when he arrives. Is that understood?” Dad said to the
nurse who clearly knew who he was.
“Yes sir.” She
said, and told me to follow her to an empty room with Joey. As we
followed her I overheard my Dad tell the Deputies to check the lobby
for Miss Anderson and the State Detective. He then walked outside,
and pulled out his phone; I assumed to make a phone call.
She
told Joey to take off his shirt, and that she would be right back.
After she left, I helped Joey take off his shirt for the second time
today.
While Joey and I were waiting on the nurse to return,
Dad walked in. His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Joey for the
first time without his shirt on. I was seeing that anger again in his
eyes I saw in the rear view mirror of the SUV when Joey had been
telling his story. He walked behind Joey and looked at his back as
well. I could see tears falling down his cheeks. He quickly tried to
wipe them away, but there were too many. Then he got in front of Joey
who was sitting on some type of raised bed, squatted down to be eye
level with him, and looked him in the eyes. There was no doubt in my
mind that Joey could see how much my Father cared by his tear
streaked face.
“Joey, I swear to you on my life, no one
will ever hurt you again like you have been hurt. The doctors are
going to examine you, take some pictures so we can prevent this from
happening again, and then fix you up. Once all that is done, we are
going to find you a safe home and a loving, caring family for you. Is
that okay with you?” Dad asked.
“Yes sir, I want
that very much. Thank you, sir.” Joey looked at my Dad with
hope, his voice was barely a whisper, but for a moment he looked
happy.
“WHERE IS MY SON? I WANT TO SEE HIM RIGHT NOW OR
I WILL SUE EVERY ONE OF YOU!” Someone shouted on the other side
of the door.
I saw the happy look that was on Joey’s
face vanish, his body tense; when it did, I saw pain flicker across
his face. My father saw Joey’s reaction also. Due to Joey’s
reaction, we then knew who was doing the shouting. I placed my hand
on Joey’s shoulder for support, as my father moved in front of
Joey to protect him. I could feel how badly Joey was shaking with
fear.
The sound of his Father’s voice had Joey nearly
jumping out of his bruised and battered skin. Dad looked at me with
sadness in his eyes, and I looked back at him with flames of hatred
in mine. I nodded yes to his unvoiced question, letting him know I
had no doubt from the way Joey was reacting that the voice we were
hearing did indeed belong to Joey’s Father. Dad looked back at
Joey as we began to hear several loud voices now out in the main
emergency room.
“Joey, as I promised, everything is
going to be fine.” My father seemed to change then, from my
easy going Dad to Judge Collins in an instant. Then he looked back at
me, “Andy, you and Joey stay right here. Do not, for any reason
leave this room. Is that understood?”
“Yes.”
We both answered at the same time. Dad turned and left the room.
I
got up and rolled a stool over to the bedside. With as hurt as Joey
was, I simply wanted to look at him and not have him bend more then
he needed to. From the first day I met Joey, I knew I liked him. I
don’t know how to explain it. I just knew that he would be a
good friend. Something deep inside me was telling me I had to get to
know him and be his friend. When I had first met Joey I noticed he
was the athletic type, and he was drawing the attention of the girls
at school too. That day at my house he seemed so carefree and happy.
Now, Joey seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders,
and the pain he was feeling was real. Emotionally, he had been hurt
as badly as he was physically. As I looked into his sad eyes, I
realized I was feeling something more than a tug of friendship
towards him. I was feeling a real attraction to him. As looked at his
injuries now, I prayed, ‘Please God, help me to take away his
pain.’
I realize that almost from the moment I met Joey,
things in my world changed. When I had seen what JT was trying to do
to Joey, I found I went into protect mode with him. Then after I saw
the bruises and the blood on his body while I helped him remove his
shirt in the restroom, I wanted to hurt whoever had done this to him
just as badly. Even now, I wanted to run out into the emergency room
and beat his Father so horribly that he would hurt as terribly as
Joey did. I can’t remember when I have ever been this angry
before. If I had my way I would tie him to the statue in front of the
Court House, take a whip to him, and let him feel the pain, the same
pain he had cause my
Joey
right
now.
My Joey, those two words hit me like a ton of coal. There
may be times I can be as bright as the bottom of a coal bucket, but
today, right now, I knew I had to put down that anger and allow my
other feelings to show and be known. Joey needed me to be here to
support him. I moved closer to Joey, kicking the little foot step out
of my way so I could move to where he was sitting on the edge of the
bed and between his knees. I took both of his hands in mine and
leaned over placing a single kiss on the back of each hand.
“Joey,
I can’t explain why or even exactly how I feel. This is all new
to me. When I saw the back of your head that first morning on the
bus, I wanted to know you.” I was nervous but I had to get this
out. I took a deep breath and continued before Joey could say
anything. “When I saw JT hit you, I wanted to tear his head
off. When I saw your cuts and bruises this morning, I wanted to badly
hurt whoever done that to you. Right now my anger at your Father is
boiling to the max.” I kept looking him in the eye; however I
also found myself stroking his hand as I talked. “But I think
what’s so scary to me was when you turned and looked at me that
first morning in homeroom. I felt like I was seeing the face of an
angel. When our eyes locked and you smiled at me, I felt like I was
going to burst. Every nerve ending in my body was firing. I had this
irresistible urge to kiss you.” I grinned. “If we had
been alone, I probably would have.”
Joey started to
speak, but I stopped him with my index finger to his lips.
“Please,
let me finish first or I’ll never get it out.” I quickly
said and he nodded yes. I was afraid to look at him as I blurted out
the rest. “You have been through a lot this past year. I think
you’ve been though more than most people could take. You told
dad and me that you had come to realize you were gay. Just because
you’re gay and I’m pretty sure I am that doesn’t
mean we are both attracted to each other. But,”
He put a
finger to my lips and stopped me.
“Andy,”
he started with a smile. Looking from my lips and then into my eyes,
he continued. “Shut up and kiss me. You had me at hello.”
I
put my hands by his knees on the bed, rose from the stool, leaned
towards Joey and slightly turning my head to the right, I timidly
brushed my lips against his. They joined ever so softly at first.
This was my first real kiss, but somehow I knew what to do or maybe
it was pure instinct that took over. I felt his tongue hesitantly
probing my lips and I happily granted its admittance. WOW my first
French kiss! I had seen the movies and read a lot of boring books
with true love kisses with all the bells, whistles, and fireworks
exploding everywhere. Oh my God, I was not disappointed. I never
wanted this kiss to end, because right now I felt everything was
perfect.
However
nothing ever goes totally the way I want it to. We were right
in
the middle of a kiss that I knew I was never going to forget when the
door started to open. I was just starting to get the hang of kissing,
but the sound of the door ended that. I jumped away from Joey like a
scalded dog falling back over the doctor’s stool busting my ass
on the floor. I looked up at Joey’s shocked face and then
towards the door to see the nurse walk in with one of those hospital
gowns in her hand. She looked down at me sitting on the floor and
smiled.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
OK,
so that's it for Chapter 3 Thank you for reading and I hope you
enjoyed it, so far. I would love to hear your feedback and comments.
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 like to
thank Kenneth, Peter, Steve, Paul, John, Mark, Ian, Chris, and James
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