Desmond 10

Usual disclaimers apply.  The following contains male-to-male sex.
If you are under age or such reading is illegal in your country, 
please go elsewhere.  Otherwise, please enjoy.

Desmond crossed the lunchroom to sit sat at a table in the back, taking a sandwich out of the paper bag he brought. He’d been working here for almost three month now, and he had no complaints. Driving around the city had taken some getting used to, fortunately the longest trailer the company had was forty five foot; most of the time he was pulling a thirty foot one. It made negotiating some of Seattle’s narrower street manageable.

He found it nice to be paid hourly; he no longer had to worry about getting stuck in rush hour traffic. He worked around eleven hours a day and he was paid for all of them, even if the truck wasn’t moving. He did start very early, but he didn’t need as much sleep as before, so it worked out. At the end of the week he did bring in a little less money than when he had been doing over the road, but the peace of mind made up for it.

Over all his big worry had been buying Martin a car so he and Jason could get to school. He had been nervous about letting Martin drive that first time, but he showed he could handle the car safely. Martin also promised he would find work to pay for the gas himself and any repairs the car might need. He was true to his word, within a week of he was working as a waiter at a restaurant near the college. Jason had found work at the college’s book store.

“Hey Pat!” Desmond said as a woman entered the room. She waved and sat at his table. Patricia started work at the same time he did, they’d become friends from talking about their family. She was a divorced mother with a sixteen year old girl. They didn’t often get to talk once the day started since traffic usually kept them from taking their lunch at the same time.

She took out a container from the handbag and opened it, revealing a salad. “Traffic’s been kind on you too this morning?” she asked, taking a fork out of her bag.

Desmond nodded while he finished chewing, “they finally got done with the construction on the ninety nine so traffic’s moving smoothly. Are the Lumpers at Thoronton still giving you problems?”

“No, I let their boss know in no uncertain terms that if one of them touched me again I was going to slap them with a lawsuit so fast that everyone’s head would be spinning,” having said that she started on her salad.

Desmond chuckled and they ate in silence for a while. He was about to ask her a question when he saw something on the television set that was always on. He ran to it and raised the volume.

“ . . . has stated that the student had already been suspended and sent home. His victim was transported to the VMMC ER center,” the news caster said as the image switched from a shot of a man on his kneed over another one, punching him to one of an ambulance moving away, “the doctors have stated that his wounds are severe, but not life threatening. Neither the police nor the college have theorized about the reason for the attack, but students have confirmed that the attacker had threatened the victim multiple times since the beginning of the school year because he was Gay. The school didn’t comment on . . .”

Desmond lowered the volume and grabbed his cell. “Come on,” he muttered as it rang on the other end, “pick up already. Martin!” He said when the line picked up, “are you and Jason ok?”

“I just caught the attack on the news, for a second I saw you holding Jason, he looked pretty shook up.”

Martin was silent for a second, “he is; he was talking with Tony when Stiltson just jumped him and started beating him up, screaming about how he was an abomination in God’s eyes and religious stuff like that. I got there fast enough to pull Jason away. I wanted to try to stop him, but I just didn’t know what to do; the guy sounded like he was on drugs or something.”

“You did the right thing focusing on Jason, now I want the both of you to go home.”

“Fuck that,” Desmond spat, “if I have to I’m going to talk with the school, but I want you home. I’m leaving work right now myself so I’ll meet you there. Understood?”

“Pat,” Desmond said across the room, “Tell Corinne I’m taking the rest of the day off, family emergency.” Before she could reply he was out of the room.

He was fretting the entire drive back, even though he kept telling himself he shouldn’t. Martin and Jason weren’t children, but he couldn’t help worrying about them.

When he arrived Martin’s car was already there. He ran inside and hugged them both, “Are you ok?” Desmond asked them.

“We’re fine,” Jason replied, “I was just a little shook up, that’s all.”

Martin shrugged and headed for the kitchen, “probably that religious crap he’s always spouting.”

“Stiltson’s part of that ‘protect the family’ group; he’s always forcing flyers on us. He’d been bugging Tony for a while now, trying to get him to go to one of their meetings, probably to show him the error of his ways.”

“How about you, did he ever try to get you to go? Or you?” he asked Martin when he came back with three beers, which he handed to them.

“No,” Jason said twisting the cap off his bottle, “he doesn’t know about us, no one does.”

Desmond nodded, happy that his kids were safe, but annoyed that the incident had happened at all.

Desmond knocked softly on the hospital room’s door frame. The man sitting next to the bed looked up at him while the woman on the other side didn’t move. She was holding her son’s hand and her eyes were wet from tears she’d cried. The teen’s head was almost completely covered by bandages and tubes were coming out of his mouth and nose.

“I don’t want to intrude,” Desmond said quietly, “I just wanted to drop off these flowers.” He showed him the basket.

The man motioned him in, “thank you,” he said after Desmond placed it on the table next to the bed, with the other two already there.

The man was silent for a moment, and then stood indicating Desmond should follow him. He closed the door to the room as they left it. “He’s not doing well,” he said with a hollow voice, “the docs did everything they could but he was in pretty bad shape. They’re saying it’s up to him now.”

Mark searched his memory for a moment, “Tony’s friend from school. He mentioned him a few times.” He looked back at him, his eyes were has hollow as his voice. “Can you tell me what kind of person does that to another one, just because he’s different?”

Desmond couldn’t maintain eye contact, “Fear and stupidity would be by guess.”

Mark nodded after a moment, “you want to know what’s worst? That kids father came by a few days ago to give me a bible and tell me I should take that as a sign of God’s disfavor. He said I should go to one of their meeting so I can find out how to get back in his good graces. The only reason I didn’t deck him was because Maurine was there.”

Desmond placed a hand on the man’s shoulder, “it’s a good thing you didn’t. Those kind of people are wrapped up in lawyers. They would be as happily ruining you as ‘saving’ you.”

“Maybe you’re right, but it isn’t fair they can get away with doing this to my son.”

“They’ll pay for it, you can believe me, there’s always consequences for these kinds of actions.”

Mark looked at him for a moment and then turned to head back to his son’s room. “From your mouth to God’s ears.”

Desmond watched him walk to the bed and sit next to it; he could read the defeat in the man’s body. He turned and headed out of the hospital, smiling to himself. He wasn’t going to wait for God to do something about this. He was going to take care of this himself.