Date: Wed, 11 May 2022 00:55:17 -0700
From: John Henry <niftyjhenry1988@gmail.com>
Subject: Growing Up Charlie Chapter 69 (Gay/Incest)

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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.

DELAY NOTIFICATION:  I've been going through a lot of personal issues the
last few months, which has caused a huge delay in my writing.  I will be
releasing the remaining chapters when I can, but there will no longer be
a set schedule.  I ask that everyone have patience.  I'm not going to
leave the series hanging.  I just need to take more time than I had
expected when I started writing this book.  Thank you in advance.

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

Chapter 69


It has been three months and ten days since Charlie went missing.


Billy had been feeling ill for quite awhile. Guilt wracked him since
Charlie's kidnapping; he couldn't shake Charlie's words from his mind:
You're the reason I was raped! Billy woke up most nights from nightmares
of what Justin might have been putting Charlie through. He never meant to
take his baby brother for granted. He assumed it's just what brothers
did; however, with both of his brothers nowhere to be seen, Billy felt
alone and disgusted with himself.


At school, he often saw Ry wandering the halls. A few times Billy tried
to stop him, but Ry just ignored Billy and went about his business. Given
that Ry was in advanced programs, he and Billy didn't have any classes
together. At lunch, Ry would disappear. Billy was the more popular of the
two, so there really wasn't anyone to tell him where Ry might be. This
concerned him a lot, as it was the last week of school before the summer
break, and Billy wanted to fix things before it was too late.


Whenever it was Billy's weekend to stay at Will's, Ry would be somewhere
else. Billy tried talking to his father about it, but Will would either
sidestep the conversation or tell Billy to fix it himself. For a few
visits, Billy was confused with where Ry was staying until one evening,
Ry came back to get a few things from his room, and Trevor came in with
him.


Billy couldn't help but be jealous. Trevor remained civil but distant,
making it clear that, though he still cared for Billy, he wasn't ready to
get back together until Billy and Rick fixed the situation with Ry.


After his last class of the day, Billy began to clear out his locker.
Technically, he didn't need to be at school, since it was also the final
period and he had work in an hour, but he wanted to do something to do
and was required to leave his locker as it was assigned to him.


"Hey," Trevor said, rounding a corner.


"Hi," Billy said, awkwardly. "What's up?"


"Not much," Trevor said, leaning against the nearest locker. "Thought
I'd stop to see how you're doing."


Billy wanted to tell Trevor off. He felt abandoned by his boyfriend, but
he also understood why Trevor put distance between them. "Thanks. I'm
fine."


"No, you're not," Trevor corrected. "You've been pouting every time we
make eye contact."


"I wasn't pouting," Billy said, trying hard not to pout. "I just miss
you, that's all."


"I miss you, too."


"Then why can't you take me back?"


"You know why, and since you haven't spoken to Ry--"


"--It's hard to speak to someone who disappears whenever you come within
a mile of him."


"That's fair." Trevor removed his backpack from his shoulder, opened it
and pulled out a small, wrapped box. "Happy Anniversary."


Billy took the gift and unwrapped it. It was a small, black, felt box.
Billy looked at Trevor quizzically before opening it. Inside was a
half-heart necklace. "What's this?"


"Just a symbol of how much I love you." Trevor reached into his shirt
and pulled out the other half. He took Billy's side and held it against
his. Together, in small letters, it said, "Billy & Trevor 4 ever."
"I'm not keeping my distance because I don't love you. I'm staying away
from the principal of the situation."


"I know," Billy said quietly, as tears came to his eyes. "I love you,
too. I didn't want Ry to leave. I was upset over what happened with
Charlie, and I took it out on Ry. I didn't mean to. I love and miss them
both so much."


"Then I didn't you say so before I moved out?"


Billy jumped and turned around. His ex-boyfriend limped towards him,
looking tired and somber. "I wasn't thinking," Billy pleaded. "I'm
sorry I blamed you, I'm sorry for being mean to you, I'm sorry for
everything I've ever done to you. Please, Ry, please come home!"


"How does Rick feel about it?" Ry asked. The confused look on Billy's
face conveyed a lot.


"Dad wants you home, too," Billy replied. "He's been wanting to ask
for a while, but--"


"--But, he can't bring himself to do it, because he still blames me,
right?"


Billy was growing frustrated. He knew how he felt but couldn't find the
right words to express it, and Ry's assumptions were only making him more
flustered. "Stop putting wording in my mouth. That's not at all what I
meant, and you know it."


"No, Billy, I don't. It's been three months since Charlie was taken, and
I've been living with Will for about half of that. At any point, you and
Rick could've come by or call."


"I have come by! Every time I've gone to my dad's house, you've been
gone, so stop playing the victim. If you wanted to talk to me, you
could've called, texted, left a note on my bed or in my locker, too. I
get we upset you, and I'm sorry that it's taken so long for us to talk
about any of this, but you haven't exactly made yourself available,
either."


Ry knew Billy was right about the last part. Ry couldn't bring himself to
be around those he had called family since he was 12 years old after the
way they had made him feel. It took everything he had to stop calling
Rick "Dad." "I get that, but you made me sound like a child rapist.
Why would I want to be around people, whom I considered family, when they
called and treated me like a monster?"


"We were in the wrong, Ry. I get that now. Dad and I shouldn't have made
you feel like you were responsible--."


Ry scoffed. "You didn't just make me feel responsible. Rick flat out
blamed me for Charlie running away, as if I was the one who abused him!
I've spent every opportunity I've had since I was kicked out trying to
find Charlie on my own...and yes, Billy, I was kicked out." Billy looked
like he was going to argue that point, which Ry wasn't going to let him
do. "Anyway, I've been going online, posting Charlie's pics and
information everywhere I could, hoping that someone, somewhere might see
him."


"Any luck?" Billy asked, hoping to change the subject.


"Obviously not, but I'm still trying. What have you and Rick done, aside
from hating and blaming me?"


"Goddamnit, Ry, we don't hate you and we don't blame you," Billy
snapped, letting his anger get the best of him. "We've been doing the
same as you, actually. Dad has been putting up posters all over the
state, leaving town on his days off, even. I've been going to different
chat rooms and websites, posting pics and asking for help."


"I haven't had any luck," Ry said, feeling himself get emotional.


"Neither have we," Billy said, pulling his brother into a hug for the
first time in ages. "We can't let Justin win, and not doing this
together is allowing that to happen."


Ry hugged Billy back and said, "I want to come home."


"Then come home, Ry."


"What about Rick?"


"I know he'd be happy to have you home."


"That remains to be seen," Ry said, pulling away from Billy.


"Then come by when Dad's off work and see for yourself."


"Maybe." Ry looked at his watch and said he needed to go before walking
off.


"I hope everything works out," Trevor said, causing Billy, who had
forgotten his boyfriend was even there, to jump.


"I hope so, too," Billy said. "Does this mean we can start hanging out
again?"


Trevor pulled Billy into his arms and kissed him. Billy nearly buckled
under the sensation he had long been missing. Trevor pulled away and
said, "I'll think about it." His smile betrayed his coyness.


"How about you stop thinking about it and fuck me in the bathroom?"


"I suppose that's an option worth considering," Trevor said, kissing
Billy once more. The pair then went to the nearest boy's bathroom for
some much needed make up sex.


Ry was nervous. He hardly said a word as Will drove him to the dinner
Billy had planned. Normally, Billy's cooking would've been all that made
Ry nervous, but it would be their first meal together since he was kicked
out of the house.


"You don't have to do this," Will said, taking Ry's shaking hand. "You
owe them nothing."


"I know," Ry said, squeezing the older man's hand. "I need to do
this...even if it's just for Charlie."


"I understand."


Billy's energy was a little too manic for Ry's liking. It seemed that
Billy was trying to hide something from Ry by being too enthusiastic;
however, he chose to ignore his brother's behavior and focused, instead,
on what he wanted to say to his adopted father, while he began to clean
the house.


Rick came home around 6 and was very surprised to see his eldest son
sitting at the dining room table. Though they made eye contact, father
and son didn't say a word, as Rick went upstairs to take a quick shower
and change out of his work clothes.


"Hey, Ry," Rick said, awkwardly, as he took his usual seat at the head
of the table. "Is everything alright?"


"I guess," Ry responded.


"I asked him to come," Billy said, setting down a pan that he hoped
would pass as lasagna. "I hope that's alright."


"Of course," Rick said. To Ry, he asked, "What have you been up to?"


"Just school and looking for Charlie," Ry replied, avoiding eye
contact, while also trying not to look at what Billy put on the table.
"How about you?"


"Work and looking for your brother."


Ry flinched. He knew it hadn't been that long since he lived with Rick
and Billy, but the sound of Rick referring to Charlie as his brother,
reminded Ry of their last conversation; the pain was still fresh.


"Eat up," Billy said, stabbing a knife into the blackened substance in
the pan. He served Ry and Rick first and waited for them to take a bite.
He knew it was horrible. That was part of the plan. He hoped if the food
was bad enough, it might start a conversation between his father and
brother. Unfortunately, after they hesitantly took their bites, neither
said a word. Billy took his own bite and couldn't blame them. It was
disgusting.


An hour of silence passed. Everyone wanted to say something but nobody
could muster a word. Will sent Ry a text asking how things were going. Ry
only responded with, "You were right. I shouldn't have come." A few
minutes later, Ry said aloud, "I think I'm going to go."


"Please don't!" Billy blurted desperately. To Rick, "Dad, please don't
make him go again."


A tear fell down Rick's cheek. He looked at his eldest child and said,
"Please don't go, Ry. I'm so, so, so sorry for what I said. There's no
excuse for what happened, and I've regretted every second since. Please
come home."


Ry fought his own tears. He had waited weeks to hear those words, but he
couldn't shake the pain. However, he said, "I guess I could move back."


"Excellent!" Billy said, excitedly. "I'll take you to Dad's and help
you pack."


"Okay."


Billy and Ry went to Will's and packed up Ry's room. Will was skeptical
and accepted Ry's decision, nonetheless. Once they got home, Billy help
Ry unpack and set his room back up. Billy also bought a pizza along the
way and promised Ry to never cook that crap again.


"Good night, Dad," Billy said around midnight before heading to bed.


"Good night, Billy," Rick replied, giving Billy a loving hug, conveying
his thanks for bringing Ry home. To Ry, he asked, "Are you going to bed,
as well?"


"Yeah," Ry said. "I'm going to continue to look for Charlie online,
and I want an early start."


Rick gave Ry an awkward hug and said, "Good night, son. I'm happy to
have you back."


Ry barely returned the embrace and said, "Good night, Rick," before he
went to his room, fully aware of the pain he had just caused his adopted
father.


***Coming Soon, Chapter 70***