Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2002 10:16:21 EDT From: Bwstories8@aol.com Subject: The Castaway Hotel - Book 5 chapter 10 Legal Notice: The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts. The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality. Don't read this story if: **You're not 18 or over, **If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live, **Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex. The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission is a violation of that copyright. Legal action will be taken against violators. I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this chapter and to Ataan for his suggestions about the storyline. If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com. * * * * * * * * Although the boys in these stories have unprotected sex, I strongly urge all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various sexually transmitted diseases by using condoms when having intercourse. * * * * * * * * The Castaway Hotel-Book 5-by BW (Young-Friends). Copyright 2002 by billwstories Chapter 10 - Love and hatred. March 2002 The day after Valentine's Day, Danny and Brandon came to talk to me, to explain about the ring and their commitment to each other. I was thrilled for both of him, especially since I knew how much they truly cared for each other, and I gave them my best wishes and my blessings. That's when they decided to tell me there was more to this commitment than met the eye. "Dad," Danny told me, "we've also made some other promises to each other too, things that are going to affect you, and everyone else." "Really?" I responded, due to his pausing at that point. "That would have to be a major decision of sorts, to affect all of us?" "Well, it is. We, I mean Brandon and me, have decided that after we get through with our studies, we're going to come back here and help you take care of all the boys. We will give everyone free medical and dental treatment, help support the family, and we'll do the things to take care of the house, so you won't have to anymore." "Hey, I'm not dead or decrepit yet. You're almost making it sound like I'm 80 or 90 and can't look after the boys or myself. I know I had a heart attack, but I'm not that bad off." I added a little chuckle after I said this, so they would know I wasn't upset or anything. "We know that, but we want to make sure that you can continue to help as many boys as possible, like you've helped all of us." "Yeah, Pop," Brandon added, "without you who knows what would have happened to all of us, even me. Letting me stay here with you after my parents moved away, has allowed Danny and me to stay close. We might not still be together, if it weren't for you. We just want others to have those same kinds of opportunities, so they can be who they are and not what others want or expect them to be." "Well, I appreciate that, boys, and I'm sure your brothers will too, but is that what you really want? I mean, it won't give you very much privacy if you stay here." "That's okay, we'll still be surrounded with love. We know we won't be able to have any kids of our own, so this will allow us to be like parents too, to the boys that are added later. We can help you raise them and be more than just big brothers. We both think this is the best thing for all of us." "Hey, if you're both sure. It's not like I wouldn't appreciate your help and enjoy having you here." I paused a little, looking directly into both boys' faces, trying to assess if theyy knew what they were getting into. Once I was sure that they did, I continued. "You know, this does something for me too, besides just getting rid of some of the work. It will also give me some peace of mind." "You mean because someone will always be here with the boys?" Danny asked. "Not only that, because Jake had assured me that he would take care of all of you, if something happened to me. What you boys are doing will do something even more for me, it will assure a sort of legacy for me." "Legacy? What do you mean by that?" Brandon wondered. "Well, I think many people get to the point when they get older, where they wonder if their life really meant anything. What I mean to say is, they begin to wonder if their having been alive has left any lasting impression or been a benefit to anyone but themselves, and I'm not talking about for just a few years after they're gone. We begin to wonder if somewhere down the road, say seventy or even one hundred years from now, if the things we have done will have any lasting impact or be remembered by future generations. Well, I guess I won't have that problem now. If you two are certain that you want to help others like I did, by staying here and taking more boys in and making life better for them, then I've got my legacy. You see, I know now that the things that I've started won't stop with my death. If you two continue this after I'm gone, then maybe someone else will continue it after you two are no longer around either. That gives me hope that one day people will recall everyone who had been a part of this endeavor, giving meaning to all our lives." "Wow, I never thought of it like that," Danny told me. "No, and we never considered any of that when we decided to move back and help, after we got out of college," Brandon added. "Yeah, we only wanted to do it to help you and help other boys," Danny continued. "We don't care if anyone remembers us later." "Well, I didn't do it to be remembered either," I responded, "but knowing that this won't die with me gives a sense of pride and some peace of mind. Now I won't have to worry about the rest of you, if I should not be here tomorrow." "Don't talk like that, Dad," Danny scolded. "You're going to be with us a long, long time, and we're going to help out, to make sure that happens." "Yeah, Pop, maybe we're the ones being selfish here. We just don't want to lose you and." he hesitated, trying to decide what he wanted to say. When he knew what he meant, he continued. "And maybe we both want others to think of us, like they think of you." I wasn't sure how to respond to that, so I just reached out and drew Brandon toward me and gave him a big hug, and then we pulled Danny into the act too. After we all embraced and let each other know how much we cared, Brandon whispered something in my ear before he moved away. "I'm going to get Danny a ring for his birthday, but it's a surprise, so don't say anything." "Hey, what are you telling Dad?" Danny wanted to know. "Oh, nothing. I just thanked him and told him I loved him." Danny wasn't sure if he believed him or not, especially after Brandon winked at me and Danny saw that too, but he let it drop, knowing he could trust him, at least on important matters. Although the Olympics had started before Valentine's Day, we were more focused on that special day and didn't really get involved in the games. Now that we had celebrated the day for lovers and put it behind us, we focused on watching the many competitions. We had a great deal of fun viewing the various sports, and there was a lot of excitement throughout the final ten days of the winter games. It was also nice to be able to do this as a family and share all that excitement. We also enjoyed watching the various countries interact throughout, and we took note of their ability to compete against each other on one level, yet still remain friendly, regardless of the outcome. For example, after the controversy in the skating competition, it was reassuring to watch the Russian and Canadian dance pairs maintain a close relationship and interact so nicely, especially during the final skating event. It helped to reaffirm that they were more concerned about the love of their sport, than about the politics of the Olympics, which can also be part of the competition. For some of the boys it was their first opportunity to watch events such as the luge, skeleton, and curling, but they also got to see other seldom watched competitions, such as snowboarding, ski jumping, and cross country skiing. We all enjoyed the nightly spectacles, as we were glued to the TV each evening from start to finish of the coverage. The younger boys were even willing to take a short nap after school, so they could stay up to watch all the televised activities. That was fine with me, and we enjoyed them together and cheered as a family unit. The end of the games was also the start of something else for our family, as Trey and Nick announced that they had both decided to come out to their friends. They explained that this had not been an easy decision for them, as they knew it would probably cast aspersions on the rest of the family, once their sexual preference was out in the open. Similar things had happened in the past, when it was just assumed that different members of the family were gay, including Shannon, and some sort of repercussions usually followed these supposed revelations. The boys were acutely attuned to this fact and didn't want to make matters worse for anyone else, but they felt they had to be true to themselves and let the chips fall where they may. Trey had asked Dion to come out at the same time, and announce he was bi, but Dion wasn't ready to make that move, at least not just yet. Even though the shadow might also fall across him, he felt he had enough success with female companions that any rumors to that effect wouldn't last for long. He assured Trey that it would not change things between them, but he just wasn't ready to make such an announcement right now. Maybe sometime, but this wasn't it. The boys started disseminating this information slowly, first telling only those friends they felt might be most open to accepting them for who they were. Ironically, most of these friends were female, and those girls didn't seem to have much of a reaction about the boys' announcements, other than to indicate they were wondering how long it would take them to finally admit it to them. They explained that they had suspected for some time about the boys, but gave them the benefit of the doubt and waited for them to open up on their own. Now they felt satisfied that it had finally happened. The general response from the male friends who had been told about this was 'whatever floats your boat', or 'hey, you've never tried anything with me, so whatever makes you happy'. The boys were thrilled that it was going so well to start, but they knew that it wouldn't last forever. They knew that somewhere down the line waited a bigot or other narrow-minded person, who wouldn't accept anyone who was different from himself. Now they just had to wait and see what would happen next. It was early in March when Trey came to me asking my opinion about another matter. He had two classes that were each requiring a major project from each student before the end of the semester. He explained that he had an idea about how he could combine the two projects into one, satisfying both course requirements. He told me what he had in mind, and I advised him on a few minor points, before I told him that he would now have to run this by both of his teachers, to see if they would agree to accept that idea as well. I think he was hoping that I would intercede on his behalf with his teachers, but I explained to him they were his courses, it was his idea, and they were his teachers, not mine. Therefore he would have to convince them on his own, and not rely on someone else to do it for him. He wasn't fully convinced he'd be able to do that, but he asked to meet with them anyway. After speaking with both of them individually, they each agreed to allow him to do one project, to meet the requirements for both classes. They also told him they would need to monitor the progress along the way, making sure he was staying true to their particular requirements. He agreed to this, and now he could begin. The two courses were English and history, and what Trey had proposed was this. He wanted to write a play, which would be acceptable to the English teacher, to meet the writing requirement. The play was to be about a black American World War II sailor and a Japanese pilot who had been marooned together on the same small island. He promised the history teacher that he would research the time period and keep all the details authentic, so his history teacher also agreed to his plan as well. He was going to use the play to show that bigotry and preconceptions can be overcome, even at times of great stress. He told me he hoped that this concept would be translated over into other areas too, such as gay rights and racial equality, themes he and Dion were very concerned about. I promised to help him with any problems he might encounter along the way, even proofreading it for him, but the work would have to be his own and I wouldn't do it for him. He said that was exactly what he expected me to say, but he just wanted my support, because he knew this wasn't going to be easy to pull off successfully. He had decided to do this because he enjoyed writing, having written several stories for his English classes before, which were well received. He concluded that he could use the historical setting to hopefully kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. I told him I admired his ingenuity and knew he would do his best, and then he went off to do his research into the historical aspects of this assignment. Also in March, I got an email from Nigel and his boys, happily accepting our offer to have them stay with us, so we could take them on short trips, and they gave us the timeline for their stay. I informed the boys of this, asked for volunteers to help me with the planning, and then we set about arranging things for their stay. Of course I included Jake on the planning committee, and four boys, the four who had formed the closest attachment to Nigel's sons when we were together in England. This meant Danny, Brandon, Ricky, and Kevin would help Jake and me plan what we'd do during their stay, as they knew the other boys' interests better than we did. They had maintained internet contact with them in between, so they were more familiar with what they might like to do while they were here. A few days later, our first problem occurred, concerning Trey and Nick's coming out. Someone had scratched a message into Nick's locker, which read 'death to all faggits'. The spelling error was that of the author. Obviously he wasn't the brightest bulb in the pack. I was chagrined to learn about this, not from Nick, but from Shannon. In speaking with Nick about this later, I learned that he felt it was an isolated incident, and it would be better if it weren't made into a big deal. I finally conceded he might be right, but I still chided him for not informing me about what had happened. He apologized for not doing so, and then promised he would not make that same oversight again, and he would tell me if anything else like that were to occur. After dinner I called one of the night custodians at the high school, one I knew personally, and I told him what had happened. He asked for the locker number, told me he'd scratch out the rest of the message, and repaint it before morning. I thanked him and told him I owed him for his help. He laughed and said this one was a freebie. I didn't tell Nick about having done this, however, as he wanted to keep this low-key. I think he was pleasantly surprised the next day, to see it had been taken care of though. Things went well for the next week, so we began to think that graffiti on Nick's locker was an isolated prank, until something else happened. It happened as Trey was leaving the library after school one afternoon, after he had finished doing some research for his project. He was heading to meet Kevin and Vinnie, to get a ride home. Kevin always worked out with Vinnie in the gym and training room after school, so he had the car to get them back and forth. Trey had already told them he'd need a ride home, so they were expecting him to join them after they finished. As he made his way from the library toward the gym, this guy began to harass him. "Hey, if it isn't the faggy sissy boy," he said, mockingly. Trey tried to ignore him and keep going, but this guy wasn't about to allow that to happen. He moved around and got in Trey's face, renewing his attack. "Hey, you freakin' homo, don't think I'm just going to go away. Just cuz your old man used to be a big shot in the school, don't mean you're protected or anything special." Trey just glared at him this time, as the guy began to grin, pleased with himself and what he had said. "Look, I'm not bothering you, so just leave me alone," Trey advised him. "You bother me by just being alive, you fucking queer!" the boy exclaimed, trying to impressed the group that had begun to gather. "Look, layoff. Okay?" "No, it's not okay. I hate little fairy cocksuckers, so I hate you." "I don't even know you," Trey countered. "Doesn't matter. All I need to know is that you're queer. Are you the fudgepacker or the fudgepackee?" He began to laugh and look to his peers for support at this point. A couple of his friends were laughing with him, and egging him on, but most were just standing silently on the sidelines. Trey tried to walk away again, and that's when the situation escalated. The boy sucker-punched Trey in the back of the head, causing him to bend forward to protect himself, and then his attacker began to throw a series of punches at his body, finally kneeing him for added emphasis, knocking him to the floor. Trey had never been a very physical person, as in the sense of defending himself, so he didn't know what to do next. He also wasn't very muscular or strong, so when he tried to fight back, it was quite ineffective. This only served to embolden his tormentor, causing him to become even more aggressive. "Oh, that almost hurt me, you little fairy. That might be a punch to your boyfriend, but I've been hit harder by a three year-old." His tormentor was laughing again, as Trey tried to get up and escape, but that's when the other boy decided that kicking was a masculine attack procedure. He began to use Trey like a large soccer ball, kicking him in the ribs, in the legs, and even in the head. The kick to the head almost knocked Trey out completely, but no one stepped in to help defend him. Now the boy began to gloat, thinking himself superior at this point. He turned to face those who surrounded them, but only a couple of his buddies gave him any acknowledgement. The others merely stared, or turned away to leave at that point. Still, no one came to Trey's rescue. The boy must have felt like he had to give Trey one more kick before he left, firmly planting his foot in Trey's ribs, and Trey felt something snap. He knew that one of his ribs was now broken, so he positioned himself on that side, to protect himself from further harm. It turned out that he didn't have to do this, as his attacker had decided he was through with him by then, leaving with his friends and laughing as they strode down the hall. Trey lay there for a few minutes longer, trying to adjust to the pain and gather his strength. Still no one came to help him. Instead, they all left, leaving Trey to fend for himself. Trey slowly made his way to the gym, to find Kevin and Vinnie. He was walking kind of hunched over, trying to protect that fractured rib, and his face was starting to show the signs of bruising and swelling. That wasn't all that was noticeable, however, as he also had a little blood drying on his face, from where it splattered from the cuts in and around his mouth. His brothers looked shocked when they saw him, and they immediately began to question him about what had happened. "Holy shit, Trey! What in the hell happened to you?" Kevin asked him. Trey looked at him and started to speak, but it wasn't easy with all the swelling and how sore he was feeling. Eventually he managed to get out a few words. "Some guy started giving me shit, calling me all kinds of names, and then he attacked me." Both boys eyed his injuries carefully, noting how badly he'd been beaten. "Man, he really messed you up," Vinnie told him. "Were you alone?" Again, Trey had some trouble getting out an answer to this question, but finally he was able to respond. "Kind of. There were other people there, but nobody helped." He took a deep breath her, and the boys could see the tears forming in his eyes. "And two of my so called friends just stood there and watched this happen." The boys wanted to sympathize with him and make him feel better, but they had a greater need to find out what had actually taken place. "What was wrong with them?" Kevin spat out. "Why didn't they help you?" "I guess they were scared of getting hurt or worried they might be labeled gay too. I guess I'll never know, because I certainly don't plan on speaking to either of them again." By now Trey was in tears, and the boys tried to comfort him. Once he was able to get his emotions back under control, they helped him to the car, and drove him home to tell me. I was shocked when I saw the other two boys leading him in. Immediately I questioned them about what had happened, hoping there was a logical explanation for all of this. Once I gotten a rough idea about what had happened, I told Trey to get back into the car, so I could drive him to the emergency room at the hospital, and get him looked at. I wanted to know exactly how much damage had been done to him and be sure he was all right. When we walked into the emergency room, the receptionist wanted to know if he'd been in a car or motorcycle accident. Once I explained what had happened, we filled out the required forms and they took him to x-ray. Once they had taken a few pictures of his body, from the waist up, they took him back to an examination room, and we waited for a doctor to come in and look at him. It was quite a while later before the doctor entered, but he did do a thorough examination of Trey once he started. After the examination, he left the room without saying a word. A few minutes later, a nurse came in and asked me to come with her, as they wanted to show me the x-rays. I thought this odd, but I followed her out of the room, down the corridor, into another room, and then she showed me Trey's x-rays. He did have a fractured rib, as he suspected, but other than that there were no serious injuries. She asked me to wait there, so the doctor could explain his injuries and advise me as to what we'd have to do for Trey. This seemed highly irregular to me, so I asked her why I couldn't just rejoin my son and have him tell the both of us together. She said she didn't know, but that is what she'd been told to do. I gave in and waited patiently. What I didn't know was, that while I was with the nurse, the doctor had gone back to see Trey alone, to question him about his injuries. I guess he or the others felt there was a chance that I, or another family member, had beaten him like that, but suspected that Trey wouldn't open up and tell them the truth if I was present. After they were convinced that this was not the case, I was told I could rejoin Trey and the doctor would explain things there. Once again I thought this a bit odd, seeing as how I had waited several minutes for the doctor in the other room, but the nurse told me that it had gotten busy in the ER and this was one way they could save a little time. Bureaucratic red tape! Why can't they just do things the simplest way to begin with? When I got back to Trey's room, I found him in an agitated state, but he was glad to see me. He quickly explained the types of questions the doctor and others had asked him, the insinuations they had made, and he was visibly shaken that they had even suggested such a thing. After I got over my initial shock about what had happened, I explained to Trey that they were only doing their jobs, and it wasn't personal in nature. If they didn't do this when there was a possibility that something of that nature had actually taken place, they would never be able to protect kids who were being abused, physically, sexually, or emotionally. Once he understood this, he started to calm down. A short time later, the doctor rejoined us, gave us a couple of prescriptions for Trey, and explained to us what he would need to do to take care of himself, so he would recover from his injuries. We asked him a few questions, listened to his answers, and then we thanked him and left, driving back home. On the way, I asked Trey many of the same questions he had been asked by the medical staff, including if he knew who this boy was or why he had singled Trey out. First of all, Trey said he didn't recognize the boy at all, but he was sure he'd remember who he was, in case he ever saw him again. He said the only thing he could think of, as to why the boy attacked him, was that he had just told people at school that he was gay...and possibly because he wasn't a fighter, like Nick. I told him he was probably right, and we left it at that. Once we got home, some of the boys wanted to run down to the school, to see if that boy was still around, so they could settle the score. Danny, Brandon, and Shannon wanted to go down to the school and kick some ass, as they so graphically put it, but I kept them under control and at home. I told them that Trey and I would handle this, though we hadn't discussed yet just how we were going to do that. However, I assured them it would definitely be handled a bit differently than they would have done it. After dinner I talked to Trey about this alone, trying to get even more details about what had happened, who had been there, either actively or passively, and then I discussed with him about how he wanted to handle it. At this point, he wasn't sure what he thought we should do, but he knew that he wanted to accomplish two things. First, he wanted to get even with that boy, and make him suffer too, but he didn't want to draw any more attention to himself in doing so. We discussed some possible ways to handle the situation, not making any specific decisions until he'd had time to think all of his choices over. I didn't want to rush him, and I didn't want to make him uncomfortable with what we were going to do, but I didn't want this guy to get away with it either. If we gave even the slightest indication that we weren't going to seek some justice for this vicious attack, then it would send out a message to him and others like him, making it open season for anyone who didn't like something about someone else. It would more or less tell them that they could beat these people up, or do other things to them as well, without having to worry about any repercussions from their actions. * * * * * * * * If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mails may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.