Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2022 01:00:00 -0700
From: John Henry <niftyjhenry1988@gmail.com>
Subject: Growing Up Charlie Chapter 66 (Gay/Incest)

DONATION:  Nifty is a not-for-profit organization that heavily relies on
our donations to keep the site free and accessible.  Your donations pay
for web hosting fees and other day-to-day activities for the wonderful
staff of editors/publishers.  You can donate on the website
at http://donate.nifty.org/  Every little bit counts.

DISCLAIMER:  This story is a work of fiction, and contains explicit,
sexual content involving adults over the age of 21 and minors under the
age of 16, and scenes of incest involving step-parents/step-children.  If
viewing this material is illegal where you live, OR you're a minor under
the age of 18, please stop reading this.  If you're not sure about this
legatilty, please stop reading until you have looked into your own, local
laws.  Any likeness or similarity between persons, places, products or
concepts are purely coincidental.

If you would like to leave any positive feedback, please let me know.
Thank you.

Chapter 66


Tensions within the Barton household were only matched by fear and dread.
Rick called the police immediately after Ry told him that Charlie may
have been kidnapped. All thoughts of Brenda and her bullshit faded
instantly. The only thing that mattered to him was getting his baby home
safe and sound.


Detective Jenkins arrived at the Barton residence a few hours after
Charlie was reported missing. He interviewed everyone about their most
recent interactions with Charlie.


Billy and Trevor explained that they hadn't said much to Charlie since he
had an attitude. Billy broke down wishing he had been more compassionate
towards Charlie, given they were both victims of sexual abuse, but Billy
didn't want to upset the boy anymore than he was. Trevor remained calm
and stuck to the facts about his interactions, which were the same as his
boyfriend's.


Rick felt like shit. He was completely wrapped up with Brenda that he
didn't really take the time to talk to Charlie. He did try, a few times,
but Charlie just ignored him, so Rick decided to let Charlie go at his
own pace. Rick only admitted to himself that he didn't have the emotional
energy to put up a fight with his 10-year-old. Charlie was clearly in
pain, but he didn't want his father anywhere near him...or so he told
himself. Was that for Charlie's benefit or my own, Rick admonished
himself.


Will arrived with the detective. He had been spending his time with the
cops on his payroll trying to track down Justin, who had proved to be
much more clever than they expected. It was presumed that Justin stole
Mark's car, but given the make and model was one of the most common in
the United States, it was hard to track. Without Charlie's phone, Will
wasn't capable of turning on the tracking spyware he installed months
ago. Though he kept a level demeanor, Will was seething on the inside. He
made it clear to the officers that they weren't to touch Justin but to
bring rapist to the Will immediately upon capture. Those who saw what
Will had done to Joey's dad shivered at the thought of what the former
felon would do to the child molester.


Ry was the last to be interviewed. He hadn't stopped crying since Will
dropped him off. Ry needed to confess everything, unable to stop himself.
As soon as he got in Will's car, he unloaded every little detail. Will
drove in silence, letting the young man vent. Will could tell that Ry
meant no harm to Charlie. Ry's guilt was punishing him enough, so even if
Will felt that Ry was victimizing Charlie, Will didn't feel a need to
avenge the little boy.


"You don't tell anyone what you've told me," Will said, as soon as he
pulled into the driveway. "Do you understand me?"


"What about Charlie?" Ry said, trying in vain to calm down. "The
police need to know what happened and why Charlie left, don't they?"


"You leave that to me, but you don't tell anyone; not Billy, not Trevor,
and especially not Rick."


"Why?" Ry was scared and confused by Will's request.


"You need to trust me," Will said, pulling Ry into a rare hug. "I'll
do all your talking."


Ry did as he was told, even though it pissed off his father and brother,
who demanded answers.


"Ry," Detective Jenkins said kindly, "are you able to answer my
questions?"


"Of course, he's ready," Billy spat bitterly.


"Billy," Will said, plainly annoyed, "that's enough. You're not the
only one upset by this."


Ry took a deep, settling breath and said, "Yeah, I think I can."


Detective Jenkins asked, "Could you tell me when the last time you saw
Charlie was?"


"Around 10 p.m.," Will answered.


Billy, Rick and Trevor all shared the same, puzzled look. Billy looked
like he was about to say something but clammed up the second he caught
the severe look on Will's face.


Detective Jenkins continued to ask questions about that night, and Will
proceeded to answer for Ry. Ry was painfully aware of the looks his
family was giving him, but he couldn't yet tell the whole story. Ry was
grateful that the detective wasn't being mean about Will responding for
him and wished the others would be so kind.


All-in-all, Will told the truth. The only details left out were those of
the sexual contact between Charlie and Ry and the conversation they had
after. It was difficult to rationalize why Charlie might have left the
house without a notable cause, but Will knew he could talk to Jenkins
later and give the whole story then. Ry hadn't, legally, done anything
wrong, since Charlie was the aggressor; however, the rest of the Barton's
didn't need to know any of those details.


"Well, I think I have everything I need for now," Detective Jenkins
said, getting to his feet. "If I have any further questions, I'll be
sure to let each of you know, and if you happen to remember anything, no
matter how small it might be, don't hesitate to call me, also."


"So that's it?" Rick said, indignantly. "That's all you're going to
do? Ask us questions? Why aren't you out there looking for Justin? What
evidence did you find in the trailer park? What did Joey have to say?"


Detective Jenkins, who had seen this before many times, recognized Rick's
attitude and frustration. "I'm not the only person working this case,
Mr. Barton. Justin is a murder suspect, on top of being wanted to for
sexually assaulting Charlie. We're taking this very seriously, I assure
you. I have kids of my own, and I'm not going to stop looking until
Charlie comes home and Justin is rotting for his crimes."


Rick seemed satisfied for the time being. He thanked Detective Jenkins
and walked him to his car.


The second the detective was outside, Billy asked, "What the fuck was
that all about?"


"Billy," Will said, sternly, "I said to drop it."


"No! I won't drop it! My brother is missing, and I think Ry knows more
than he's telling; otherwise, why would you be answering his questions
for him?"


"I have the right to answer for my clients, Billy."


"So why didn't you answer for the rest of us, then?" To Ry, Billy spat,
"What aren't you telling us?"


"What's going on here?" Rick said coming back into the house.


"Ry knows more than he's letting on," Billy said, before his birth
father could stop him.


"That's enough, Billy," Will said, strengthening the threat in his
tone; however, it wasn't enough to detour the teen.


"No it's not enough, Dad! Why are you protecting him? Ry, what the fuck
do you know?"


"Charlie was molesting me," Ry blurted. The room fell silent. Ry saw
the look on Will's face, clearly indicating that Ry had fucked up but it
was too late to take it back.


"What do you mean, Charlie was molesting you?" Rick asked.


"Charlie was sneaking into my room at night and...and...." Ry couldn't
bring himself to finish


"And what?!" Billy demanded, obviously shaken by the revelation.


Ry looked at his brother, pleading him to drop it; however, Billy's look
was one of determination and anger. "He--he--he--"


"SPIT IT OUT!"


"BILLY THAT'S ENOUGH!" Will shouted. Billy jumped, having never been
yelled at by his father before. "It doesn't matter what Charlie did, and
frankly, it's none of your business. Ry didn't interrogate you when Dan
Clark was molesting you, so why in the fuck are you doing it to him? The
answers you want won't bring Charlie home any faster, so for the last
fucking time, drop it!"


Rick moved next to Ry and said, "I want to know why you didn't say
anything to me about it."


"I don't know," Ry said, knowing it was a lie.


Rick clearly saw through the ruse. "We both know you're too smart for me
to accept that as an answer, Ry, so why didn't you say anything till
now?"


Giving up, Ry said, "I didn't know if I could. You've been so wrapped up
with Brenda, and not to mention you and Charlie haven't been getting
along...I didn't want him to get in trouble."


"I doubt Dad would've gotten pissed about a one-time incident, Ry,"
Billy said, avoiding Will's gaze. Ry shuffled uncomfortably and dropped
his eyes. Billy's heart began to race once more. "It was a one-time
incident, wasn't it?"


Ry didn't answer.


"Ryland," Rick said, lifting his eldest child's chin, so their eyes
met. "How many times did Charlie do this?"


"I don't know," Ry said, just above a whisper, as tears began to fall
from his soft gray eyes.


Rick's tone hardened. "When did it start?"


"When we stayed at Will's the day Charlie attacked you."


"And how many times since then?"


"Almost every night."


"Rick," Will interjected, grabbing the hand that Rick was using to hold
Ry's face, "you can't blame Ry for what happened. It's not his fault,
and it's not Charlie's fault either. Many children who have been sexually
abused end up abusing others. It's a sick cycle, but you can't hold them
accountable."


Rick looked at Will and asked, "How long have you known about this?"


"Ry told me when I picked him up at the trailer park," Will said. "I
advised him to let me do the talking, so the police would focus on
finding Charlie and Justin, while not making Ry look like a suspect. It's
very easy for the police to focus on the wrong person."


"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Rick growled.


"Yes, I would," Will said flatly. "Because of that, Billy's
grandfather didn't face the justice he deserved, while I rotted in a
prison cell for his crimes. However, that's neither here nor there.
Charlie needs to be our focus."


"Get out of my house," Rick said, yanking his hand out of Will's.


"Fine," Will said, walking towards the door.


"Both of you," Rick said, turning his gaze from Will to Ry.


"What?!" Ry asked. "But Dad?!"


"Don't call me that, not anymore. We both know you're not a sound
sleeper. You let Charlie do those things to you, and you just lied to me
about it. There's no way you couldn't have known what he was doing, yet
you didn't try stopping him till last night. You didn't come to me or
Billy about it, so we could help or stop him; instead, you just let a
10-year-old have his way with you. And not just any 10-year-old, MY
10-year-old, MY baby, MY son. No son of mine would've let that happen
repeatedly. How are you any different than Justin?"


"Ry," Will said, in his cold, dead voice. "Please get your things.
You're living with me from now on." Unable to say or do anything else,
Ry left the living room as fast as he could and went to his room. To
Rick, Will said, "You have no right talking to him like that. You're
hardly innocent yourself, Rick, and you will regret how you've treated
him."


"Is that so, eh?" Rick said. "Are you going to make me pay, Will?"


Will gave a small smirk and said, "For your sake, I better not be the
one." To Billy, Will said, "And you're okay with this? With Rick
kicking Ry out?" Billy looked uncomfortable but nodded. "I see," Will
sighed, "Ever the daddy's boy."


Billy almost started crying himself. He had never experienced such
loathing or harsh words from Will, but he couldn't help but agree with
Rick. Charlie was missing, and Ry kept important information from them,
while also letting Charlie perform sexual acts on him.


Will hurried Ry out of the house with a promise to return for the rest of
Ry's belongings the next day. Rick slammed the door closed.


Trevor, who had been silent the entire time, finally said, "I think I'm
going to go."


"Are you sure?" Billy asked, hoping that his boyfriend might stay and
comfort him.


"Yeah, I'm sure. No offense, but what you did was pretty fucked up, and
I don't know if I can be a party to it."


"What's that supposed to mean?" Rick snapped.


Unbothered by Rick's tone, Trevor said to Rick, "You have been carrying
out an affair with your stepson since he was eleven or twelve. Don't you
think it's rather hypocritical to be condemning Ry for being sexual with
Charlie? I can see why Ry didn't say anything. Look how you reacted. I
don't think him saying anything earlier would've made a difference."


To Billy, he said, "And you not only cheated on Ry with your adopted
father, but previously had a sexual relationship with another adult that
only stopped because that adult tried to rape you, and you show that
thanks by condemning the boy who saved you? What does that say about you?


"I get your grieving, but so is Ry; in fact, if anyone has a right to
grieve Charlie's disappearance, it's Ry. Rick, you've been so
self-obsessed with Brenda and her fake pregnancy, you've made no time for
anyone else. And you can save the sanctimonious indignation. You made no
effort that I've seen to help Charlie, while wallowing in your own self
pity.


"I promised I wouldn't say anything about your relationship, and I keep
my promises. With that said, until you two get your shit figured out and
make amends with Ry, you've got nothing else coming from me." With that,
Trevor left.


Rick and Billy looked at each other, quietly recognizing the pain and
guilt on the other's face.


***Coming Soon, Chapter 67***