Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 14:22:30 -0700 From: B.E. Kelley Subject: Keys to the Kingdom, Chapter 6 This story is a work of FICTION. The events described are my own invention. Any similarities to actual events or persons are strictly coincidental. The author retains the copyright, and any other rights, to this original story. You may not publish it or any part of it without my explicit authorization. This story contains depictions of consensual sexual acts between teenage males. It is intended for mature audiences only. If you find this type of material offensive or if you are under the legal age to read said material; please proceed no further. It takes a while before there is any sex in this story but I think you'll like it. As always comments are welcome but please, be gentle. Please send your comments to: HailCaesar2011@hotmail.com The Keys to the Kingdom Chapter 6: Aiden Jack was adjusting well to his new surroundings. He mopped around the house for the first couple of days but Ethan and Nicky did their best to keep him busy so he wouldn't have time to miss his parents. If he wasn't running with Ethan then he was usually helping Nicky with his fastball. I'm glad Nicky has Jack, Cam and I are pretty useless when it comes to baseball and Ethan hasn't picked up a bat since an incident he had in gym class several weeks ago. It had been a bright spring afternoon and Ethan's gym class was playing baseball on the athletic field. When it was Ethan's turn to bat he stepped up to the plate and was surprised when he got a hit. In the excitement he forgot to drop the bat and accidently hit another boy when he tried to avoid being tagged out. The coach understood it had been an accident and the other boy hadn't been seriously hurt, but Nicky teased Ethan relentlessly. Ethan hadn't been out to play catch with Nicky since then and he got up and left when Nicky shared the story with Jack. I hated to see Ethan upset so I suggested that the next time Nicky gave him any trouble he might want to remind him how he'd been pinned by a girl during wrestling season. That seemed to perk Ethan up and put an end to this little spat. I also took the boys on a short sailing trip on Long Island Sound. We only went out a few miles so that we'd be home for dinner that evening. I don't like to go far without Cam or another experienced sailor, when I have the boys with me. Ethan is however, a very competent sailor, his dad taught him well. Under my watchful eye he took charge of the boat and soon had Nicky and Jack taking orders to raise sails and tighten down lines. I sat back and enjoyed the ride; I didn't have to take the wheel until we got back to the dock. I told the boys that we might sail up to New York City on the 4th of July to watch the fireworks and they agreed that would be a great idea. Before we knew it the week was over and we'd be spending the night without Cam. One of his friends at the hospital needed Friday night off and Cam agreed to fill in for him as the surgeon on duty in the emergency room. I'm glad Cam is senior enough that he works the day shift as his normal routine because I was tossing and turning without him. After a while I got up and looked in on all of my boys, even Jack. Eventually I grew tired and by midnight the house was quiet but for the gentle murmurs of sleep. The phone rang at about 12:30am, I was about to grab for it on the third ring but someone beat me to it. A few seconds later Ethan was standing at my bedside. "Daddy, dad's on the phone for you," Ethan yawned. I sent Ethan back to his room then picked up my bedside phone, Ethan hung his phone up when he got back into bed and I was able to take Cam's call. "Cam it's after midnight is everything ok?" I asked. "I'm fine but I'm dealing with an emergency here at work. I've got a situation here that I think we need to get involved in but I need to talk to you about it first," Cam informed me. "Ok," I answered as I sat up and tried to make myself more alert, "what's going on?" "It's been a pretty slow night here and I've been hanging out in the ER in case a trauma patient comes in and I saw the paramedics bring in a boy who had been badly beaten," said Cam." "That's terrible," I said, giving him a moment to further collect his thoughts. "You don't know the half of it hun," Cam explained, "the second I saw this boy all I could think about was Ethan. The boy is the same age, same height, same hair color; if I didn't know better I might think they were twins." "Yeah, I can see how that would be upsetting but I'm still not sure what this has to do with us," I confessed. "They took the boy down to radiology to be x-rayed for a broken arm and that's when I ran into Molly from social services," said Cam. Molly is a family friend who basically made it possible for us to adopt Nicky and Ethan. She'd arranged my own adoption when I was a boy and has become something of a family friend. "Molly says the boy's name is Aiden Kerry, he's 14 years old and been in foster care since his parents died in a car accident two years ago. Until now there haven't been any problems but that all changed earlier this evening," Cam explained. "The police were called when Aiden collapsed in a truck stop near the interstate; apparently he walked in all beat to hell and passed out. The paramedics brought him here and the ER attending doctor is treating him for a broken arm, three bruised ribs and bruises that cover most of his upper body. It looks like there's been sexual abuse as well; the attending is going to administer a rape kit when they bring the boy back from having his arm set." "According to Molly, when the cops went to Aiden's foster home they found his foster parents extremely agitated and the mother blurted out something like "whatever he told you, we didn't do it." That was more than enough to set off alarm bells for the cops and they took them in under suspicion of child endangerment. Molly was called because DCF has legal custody over Aiden and she needs to figure out a place for him once the attending releases him," said Cam. "Jesus, that's horrible, Cam, what do you want to do?" I asked. "I have to be honest Brenden, I'm pretty upset. All I can think about is our boys and what if something like this happened to them? I've talked to Molly and she's willing to place Aiden with us. I know it's not a good time with Jack just getting here and the move coming up but I know Aiden will be safe with us and after everything else he's been through I don't know if I can say that about another foster home," Cam admitted. "Ok, I'm going to call my parents and see if dad can come stay with the boys, then I'm coming down there," I told Cam. "Get here as quickly as you can Bren, I need you," said Cam. As soon as I got off the phone with Cam I woke my parents. I shared the situation with my dad and he said he'd jump in the car and head over right away. I wasted no time getting dressed and sat on the stairs in the foyer waiting for my dad to knock on the door. Dad knocked softly when he arrived so as not to wake the boys. When I opened the door he was still in his pajamas, apparently he'd just thrown on his robe and got in the car after he'd hung up. I told dad he could reach me on my cell phone if there were any problems and started to put on my coat when Ethan came down the stairs, he'd been unable to go back to sleep after answering the phone and came downstairs when he'd heard the commotion in the foyer. "Daddy, what's going on, is everything ok?" Ethan asked, a hint of tension in his voice. I think it's a result of the trauma he endured the night his father was killed but I've noticed that things like late night phone calls tend to make Ethan a little tense, as if he's preparing himself for bad news. It's easy to forget some of the horrible things the boys have experienced, once they've adjusted. Thank God for the resilience of children. "Everything's fine, son, why don't you go back to bed?" I offered. "It's late, where are you going, why's grandpa here?" Ethan asked. I thought for a moment before answering him and figured I'd get out of here faster if I answered him honestly. "Dad's dealing with an emergency at work, there's a boy that needs us to take him in, I'm heading over to the hospital now to deal with the situation," I answered, carefully leaving out the details. "Can I come; is there anything I can do to help?" Ethan asked. "I don't think so sport," I replied, "that's no place for you to be. I want you to go back upstairs and get some sleep." "I can't go back to sleep now, are you sure there isn't anything I can do?" Ethan whined. Before I could respond grandpa stepped in and came to my rescue. "I'm not going to be able to get any sleep on that couch," Grandpa Phil stated, "why don't you stay here and keep me company?" Ethan grudgingly agreed, I thanked my dad for his quick intervention and then raced out the door. New Haven is a fairly quiet city at night and the traffic was light, I found myself in the hospital parking lot in no time. I asked the nurse at the desk to let Cam know I'd arrived and soon he was coming through the door. While he'd been waiting for me to arrive, Cam had observed the attending physician collect the rape kit and listened to the police question Aiden. The look on his face was one of disgust as he pulled me into the hall to bring me up to speed. "It looks like the former foster parents have been abusing Aiden for almost a year," Cam explained. "Apparently the father lost his job about a year ago. There wasn't enough money to support the family and they didn't want to lose the money the state paid them for taking care of Aiden, so they started selling him at truck stops around the area. He's been forced to do God knows what with who knows how many men," Cam added with a hint of rage in his voice. "The beating he got tonight was almost a blessing in disguise. The son of a bitch was forcing himself down Aiden's throat and when he couldn't breathe Aiden bit him. The guy beat the shit out of him but if he hadn't done that Aiden might not have gone into that truck stop and the police would never have been called," Cam stated, trembling with disgust. "My God, that's terrible," I said, shocked. I could see why Cam was so upset; the thought of what Aiden had been subjected to made my stomach turn. "There's more," Cam added. "Tomorrow morning we have to take him in and have a full battery of tests done," Cam continued, "with all the sexual encounters that have been forced on him there's no telling what kind of diseases he's been exposed to." I could only imagine what these tests might discover. I think we were both worried about the implications these tests might have for Aiden. Cam filled me in on a few more details and then he took me to see Aiden. Molly was with him when we walked into the room and we exchanged greetings then I got my first look at the boy. Cam had been right, I had to do a double take, the resemblance to Ethan was uncanny. He had green eyes where Ethan has blue but the differences in the rest of their features are few and far between. The main difference between the two boys, at least for the present, was that Ethan's skin was soft and clear and Aiden's was covered in black and blue bruises that made your blood boil when you thought about someone doing that to an innocent boy. "Hey Aiden," Cam began, "this is Brenden, my partner I've been telling you about. The doctor attending your case says you're free to go, are you ready to get out of here?" He didn't speak he just nodded his head so Cam helped him get out of bed. He was a little ungainly on his feet, he limped a bit from his injuries and his broken arm, in a cast and sling, made his movements cumbersome. Cam had helped him into a wheelchair for the trip down to the car. He was only wearing a pair of hospital scrubs and when I asked where his clothes were I was told that they'd been taken as part of the rape kit so they could be checked for fibers and tissue samples, anything that might tie a suspect to the crime. We said our goodbyes to Molly then made our way out to the car. When I left the house Grandpa Phil had a cup of coffee and made Ethan a cup of hot chocolate then headed into the living room to wait. They watched a little late night TV and chatted about the week that had passed. It was almost 3:30 in the morning when Cam and I pulled into the driveway. When we came through the door Cam and I were supporting Aiden, he'd be walking with a limp for a while, due to his injuries. Jack was just coming down the stairs, he'd gotten up to pee and heard Grandpa Phil and Ethan talking, so he came down to see what was going on. He joined Ethan and Grandpa as the welcoming committee. Ethan and Jack seemed shocked by Aiden's injuries and looked a little pale. Cam quickly introduced them. "Aiden, this is Brenden's dad. The boys call him Grandpa Phil. That's our nephew Jack and this is our son Ethan," Cam informed him. Aiden didn't look at grandpa directly but I think having Jack and particularly Ethan, there might have been a good idea. I saw Aiden glance at them briefly; his eyes lingering on Ethan for a moment, I think he was relieved just a bit by the presence of someone who appeared to be his own age. "Ethan, would you mind loaning Aiden a pair of pajama's for the nigh?" Cam asked. Ethan was caught just a bit off guard by the question; he seemed to be entranced by Aiden's bruises. "Huh, what?" he stuttered, "I mean um yeah, sure dad, no problem. "Thanks son," I stated, "why don't you take Aiden up to your room so he can get changed while we decide where to put him?" "Okay," Ethan answered. "Come on Aiden, its right this way," Ethan offered, while reaching out to put his hand on Aiden's shoulder so he could guide him up the stairs. Aiden flinched at the touch and pulled back like a frightened rabbit. His reaction startled Ethan who pulled away in the other direction. "I, I, I'm sorry," Ethan stuttered, "I saw you guys helping him when you came in, I was just trying to guide him up the stairs." "It's okay Ethan," I assured him. "Aiden," Cam said soothingly, "I want you to go upstairs with Ethan so you can get ready for bed, its okay, he'll take care of you." "Okay," Aiden muttered in a hoarse whisper. Ethan headed for the stairs with Aiden limping in tow. When he reached the first step Ethan held out his arm for Aiden to hold on too as they made their way up the stairs. He was hesitant at first but when he realized he wouldn't be able to make it up the steps on his own, he grabbed on to Ethan's bicep for support. Once the boys disappeared up the stairs and we heard Ethan's door close, Cam and I let out a sigh of relief. "Oh my God, what happened to that kid?" Jack asked. "Yes, he definitely looks a little worse for wear," Grandpa Phil stated, "what's going on?" "Jesus guys, the things this kid has been through make me sick," Cam replied. Cam and I filled them in on what we'd learned about Aiden and the horrors he'd faced. When we finished they were as pale as we were. It's not every day you meet someone who has been beaten and abused by people who were supposed to take care of them, thank god for that. After hearing the whole story grandpa went home to try and salvage some sleep from the night and we told Jack to move back into Ethan's room for the night once we got Aiden set up in his room. Meanwhile Ethan was helping Aiden get ready for bed upstairs. Aiden leaned against the wall and watched Ethan as he dug through his dresser looking for something Aiden could sleep in. After a minutes search Ethan pulled out a pair of pajama bottoms and an old tee shirt, then handed them to Aiden. "Here you go, it's not much but you should be comfortable in these," Ethan said as he handed the garments over. Ethan then sat at his desk and pretended to be looking for something. He wanted to give Aiden as much privacy as he could, while still being in the room with him. Aiden started to take off his clothes but soon found it difficult with a broken arm in a sling and a leg he couldn't put all his weight on. He stumbled and banged into the wall. Ethan turned to discover Aiden with his shirt stuck under his arms and a knot in the drawstring of the scrubs he was wearing. Ethan went white as a ghost and then turned green as his stomach turned on seeing the mass of bruises that made up Aiden's chest. Aiden looked away from Ethan, his face burning with shame and embarrassment for what had happened to him. He felt disgusting and all he wanted to do was wash the filth off of his body but he craved sleep even more, he was exhausted after his ordeal. "Here, let me help you, it's hard with one hand," Ethan offered once his stomach settled down. Ethan helped Aiden take his shirt off then put on the tee shirt he'd given him. It took a bit of work to get things settled with that cast in the way. Ethan then untied the cumbersome knot in Aiden's pants which allowed them to slide down so Aiden could step out of them. Ethan helped him pull up the pajama bottoms; then tied the drawstring for him so they stayed comfortably in place. "Thanks," Aiden whispered. "It's ok," Ethan assured him, "if you need anything else just ask me." It was about that time that I knocked on the door. "Well, we're going to have you sleep in Jack's room for now," I announced, "Jack's going to bunk in here with Ethan so you can have some privacy. I'm sure you're exhausted so why don't you come this way and you can get to sleep." I took Aiden's hand and guided him into the hall. Before I closed the door I noticed the look on Ethan's face and decided to come back and have a chat with him before he turned in. I led Aiden down to his room then Cam and I helped him into bed. We tucked him in; made sure he was comfortable but didn't kiss him on the forehead like we usually did with Ethan and Nicky. Given the circumstances, we didn't think Aiden would react well to being kissed by two strange men. We wished him a good night but we weren't sure he'd heard us, he seemed to drift off to sleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Both Cam and I were exhausted but I told Cam to head to bed, I wanted to have a word with Ethan before I joined him. I entered Ethan's room and found he and Jack curled up under the covers. I sat on the bed and looked down at my son then gently brushed my fingers through his hair. Ethan surprised me when he opened his eyes. "Sorry, I thought you were asleep," I said, "why didn't you say anything when I sat down?" "I was just thinking," Ethan replied, "about what happened to Aiden." "Pretty terrible huh?" I asked. "Oh daddy, it's awful," Ethan said choking up. "How could someone do that to him?" he demanded. "I wish I knew son, but the important thing is that he's here with us now and that we do everything we can to help him get better," I replied. "I'll do whatever you need me to do," Ethan committed. "Well for starters, Jack will be in charge tomorrow morning because your dad and I have to take Aiden in for some tests, don't give him any grief. We'll probably be gone before Nicky wakes up so I want you to explain about Aiden's injuries to him. I don't want him to get freaked out when he sees him, that would just upset them both," I told him. "Sure I understand that, I sort of had a bad reaction myself. I'll talk to Nicky as soon as he gets up," Ethan agreed, "anything else?" "Yes," I continued, "when we get back we're going to have a talk with you boys, I want you to pay attention and do whatever we ask you. Other than that, just help us look after Nicky the next few days so that we can spend some time with Aiden and get him used to being with our family. Okay?" "Okay daddy, I can do that." I pulled the blanket up over Ethan's shoulders then kissed him on the forehead before bidding him good night. I then went down the hall to my room and joined Cam in bed. The next morning Cam and I were up early. We let Aiden sleep as long as we could but soon had to wake him and get him ready for the testing he'd undergo today. We woke Ethan and barrowed some clothes from him then he went back to bed while Aiden made his way back to the hospital with us. After the testing Cam and I are going to have to talk to the boys about what's happened to Aiden. Given their reactions to his injuries thus far I don't know what they're going to think when they find out about how badly he's been abused. More importantly, now that we know that at least Ethan and Nicky have been experimenting with each other we have to make sure they don't do anything with Aiden. I doubt there is anything to worry about since Aiden is clearly in no condition to engage in those activities but we have to make certain, given the myriad of sexually transmitted diseases he could have been exposed to. I don't know if Aiden was just being brave or if all of the trauma he'd been exposed to had numbed him but he endured the various tests with little more than a few whimpers. The doctors ran tests for every sexually transmitted disease imaginable. Some of these tests involved taking blood samples; others involved taking tissue samples from Aiden's penis and anus. By the time the testing was done there was no part of that poor boy that hadn't been poked and prodded by gloved hands. I wanted to do what I could to comfort the boy but Cam, ever the doctor, told me the best thing we could do was to let the attending doctors do what needed to be done. When the testing was over the only disease they had found was a case of Chlamydia which they treated with a dose of azithromycin. We'd have to wait a few weeks for some of the results to come back, most importantly the results of the HIV test. The ride home was a little awkward, Aiden didn't say anything and Cam and I didn't really know what we could say to him. Cam had spoken with a psychiatrist friend of his and learned that people who have suffered sexual assaults like this often feel dirty and ashamed, as if they've invited the kind of attacks they've been subjected to. They also slept a lot because dealing with everything that resulted from their abuse was exhausting. Ultimately the best thing we could do for Aiden was to watch over him, give him time and space and wait for him to open up to us. When we walked in the front door three heads popped out of the kitchen like a Three Stooge's movie. Jack, Ethan and Nicky peered around the corner and came to join us once Cam gave them a gesture beckoning them forward. Ethan must have spoken to Nicky like I'd asked him to because there was no expression of fear or disgust on his face as he looked at Aiden's wounds, just his usual bright, happy smile. The most inquisitive turned out to be Debbie, she couldn't figure out why this new boy smelled so much like Ethan when Ethan was standing next to Nicky. She walked around Aiden a dozen or so times sniffing like a truffle pig then gave up and sat next to Nicky, her pet boy. Cam and I quickly reintroduced Aiden to Jack and Ethan then he got to met Nicky and Debbie. His eyes traveled over each face and once again seemed to linger on Ethan, maybe he noticed the same resemblance Cam and I had noted. "Aiden would you like the boy's to give you a quick tour of the house?" Cam asked. "I'd really like to take a shower and get some sleep if I could," Aiden said flatly. "Sure no problem," I said, "Ethan would you mind helping Aiden out?" "Yeah daddy I'll take care of it," Ethan agreed. Ethan remembered what had happened when he tried to help Aiden last night so this time he walked over to the stairs and waited for Aiden to grab his arm. Ethan guided Aiden up the stairs and into the hall bathroom then started the water so it could warm up. Next he helped Aiden take off his sling then his shirt. Ethan knew that Aiden wouldn't be able to get his cast wet and so after his shower that morning he'd stocked the bathroom with some supplies. He helped him put a garbage bag over his cast then used duct tape to keep water from getting in and soaking the plaster. By the time Ethan had helped Aiden take off his pants and socks the water had warmed up to a comfortable temperature. "I noticed you're still limping," said Ethan, "are you going to be ok in the shower?" "I think so, but would you stay close just in case?" Aiden asked. "Ok, I'll sit on the counter and if you need any help just ask me," Ethan complied. The hot water felt good on his body and Aiden thought he could feel the layers of invisible filth washing off. He had endured so many months of torture and now it seemed to be over and all he could think about was making himself clean. Aiden scrubbed his skin raw in some parts, he was so eager to wash away the taint of what had happened to him. Everything was going fine until he tried to wash his right leg and ended up putting too much weight on his damaged left. He felt himself slipping and instinctively grabbed for the shower curtain to stop his fall but only succeeded in pulling it down on top of him. Ethan reacted at once and shut off the water so it wouldn't spray all over the room; he then pulled back the shower curtain and wrapped his arms around Aiden to help him back to his feet. Aiden surprised Ethan by clenching on to him tightly. At first Ethan thought Aiden was trying to help himself up but quickly realized this was an embrace. Something had snapped in Aiden, all the emotions that he'd been damming up seemed to break loose with that fall and when Ethan held him so gently the dam came apart. Aiden wrapped his good arm tightly around Ethan; buried his face into his shoulder and started sobbing. Ethan didn't know what to do but instinct kicked in and he started to rub up and down Aiden's back assuring him that everything would be ok. Cam and I had heard the crashing shower curtain when Aiden had fallen and we rushed up the stairs to make sure he was ok. We found him in Ethan's arms when we burst through the door; we weren't prepared for such a touching scene. We stood there in silence with nothing but the sound of Aiden's cry's filling the room and when he stopped, Ethan helped him up and got him dried off. When he was dressed in his pajama's, Cam picked Aiden up, carried him to his room and got him settled in bed. When we were alone, Ethan hugged me tightly and did some of his own crying. He didn't know what to make about what had just happened with Aiden, all he knew was that his heart had been touched by the pain of someone else's suffering and the tears started pouring out. I held on to Ethan until he composed himself and then took him downstairs so that Cam and I could have a chat with him and the boys. When Cam came downstairs he joined the boys and I around the kitchen table. We quickly explained that not only had Aiden been beaten but he'd also been sexually abused. We didn't go into the full details but there is one thing we wanted to make clear. "We took Aiden in to have some medical tests this morning," Cam began, "and unfortunately he does have a case of Chlamydia. Now, I want to stress that this disease is highly treatable and he's already been medicated for it, but there are other diseases that he might have been exposed to and we won't know those results for a few more weeks." "Can we catch something from him by being around him, like a cold?" Nicky asked. "No," Cam answered, "you can't catch anything by being around him and it's ok to touch him or give him a hug. I don't want you to think it's unsafe to be near him or treat him like he's going to infect you." "For the most part, the diseases he's been exposed to are only transmitted through sexual contact and the exchange of bodily fluids," Cam explained. "So what's that mean?" Nicky wanted to know. "What it means," I started, "is that we know teenage boys sometimes like to experiment with each other and engage in sexual touching. That can't happen with Aiden because we still don't know what kinds of diseases he may or may not have." "You think we're going to have sex with him?" Jack blurted out. "No Jack, I just want everyone to know that any innocent experimentation with Aiden is strictly off limits. The bottom line boys, is that we don't know what he may or may not have. It's bad enough that he has to endure this and we just want to protect each of you so we're telling you this in order to be safe rather than sorry," I explained. "Ok, that makes sense," Jack agreed. "Yeah, I understand," said Ethan. "Me to," Nicky chirped. That went a little easier then I'd expected. I felt we had to have this discussion after we discovered Ethan and Nicky were exploring their sexuality. I don't think anything has happened with them and Jack but I felt we had to include him in on the discussion as well. I don't want to risk exposing our boys to something just because we were too embarrassed to discuss it with them like adults. By the time everyone left the table I think we had a clear understanding as to how to keep everyone safe. "What was Uncle Brenden talking about when he mentioned experimenting?" Jack asked Ethan. "Oh, that," Ethan blushed, "I'll tell you about that later, let's grab Nicky and go down to the park for a while." "Cool, bring the bat and I'll teach you how to run bases without it," Jack laughed. "Yeah, well, you know Nicky got pinned by a girl during wrestling season," Ethan offered. The boys continued to banter as they collected their gear then left for the park. Cam and I hadn't slept much at all the night before and so we decided to follow Aiden's lead and take a nap.