Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 02:17:02 -0400 (EDT) From: ErastesTouch@aol.com Subject: A Throw Away Kid, chapter 4 Throw Away Kid - by Erastes Copyright 2000 by Erastes Chapter 4 – The Eye of the Storm. The next day at school, Bryce found Greg as quickly as he could and told him the good news. Greg was very happy about it, but he had also suspected that he would be able to come. The two were very antsy all day, which meant they were hardly able to keep their minds on their work, and they spent their whole lunch period talking excitedly about what they might do. They made many plans, but this only added to their distraction during the afternoon, and then the boys flew out of the school when they were finally dismissed. The two of them joked around and had all kinds of fun with each other the entire way to Greg's house. They playfully punched, tripped and stole each other's hats, as they enjoyed some harmless childish fun. They had almost reached their destination before Bryce began to look at the different places they passed, but he wasn't exactly prepared for what he saw. He and his friend may have only lived a few blocks apart, but it was obvious that they lived in two different worlds. The houses here were much nicer and better kept than the area where Bryce lived, and the lawns were all freshly mowed and the shrubs neatly trimmed. These people weren't rich, but they were obviously better off than the people around where he lived, and they took more pride in their neighborhood as well. Greg's mother greeted them almost as soon as they walked through the door and led them to the kitchen for a snack. She worked part-time, but only when Greg was in school, so she was home when he arrived in the afternoon. She was a good-looking woman, with a warm friendly smile, and she apparently doted on her adopted son. Bryce was quick to notice how she treated Greg and how good she was to him, so he started to become jealous. Why couldn't his mother have loved him like this? Why did she bother to keep him if she didn't love him? Why hadn't she let him be put up for adoption, so he could have been taken in by someone as loving as this? Why had Greg ended up in such a good home, while he had been forced to endure years of neglect and abuse? Why did God hate him so much that he made his life as miserable as it was? As Bryce continued to ask himself these questions, Greg was trying to get his attention, because he wondered why Bryce was so distracted. Finally Greg shook Bryce's shoulder and brought him back to the present, and then he took him upstairs to show him his room. Grey had a nice bedroom, which had a lot of boy type toys and other things in it. He had a couple of trophies and some sports gear on display, both on the wall shelves and top of his dresser. There was also a Dallas Cowboys pennant above his bed, a Notre Dame pennant on the opposite wall and a Motocross poster hanging above his dresser. On his closet door was a Taylor Lautner poster and there was a Chord Overstreet poster on the inside of the door to his room. Bryce was busy checking out the two posters, because he had never seen pictures of either boy as large as these and he thought both guys were extremely good-looking and really hot. He didn't know why he thought this way, but he just did, and Greg caught him staring at the posters. "Do you like my posters of those two?" "Yeah, I guess so." "I do too. I think they're both hot, but those pictures make them look even hotter. I wish I were as good-looking as them." "You are," Bryce blurted out, but he began to wonder if he'd made a mistake saying this, almost as soon as the words escaped his lips. "No way. Those two guys are gorgeous. I'm just average," Greg replied. This comment seemed to encourage Bryce, since Greg hadn't reacted negatively to his comment, so he decided to keep going. "No, you're not average," Bryce insisted. "You're as handsome as either one of them." "You really think so?" Greg followed, as if he didn't believe what he'd heard. "Yeah. I wouldn't have said so if I didn't mean it," Bryce confirmed. "Well, you're not bad yourself," Greg stated, while eying Bryce more closely. "Thanks, but you're just being nice," was Bryce's retort. "No, I'm not... well I am, but that's not why I said it," Greg insisted. "It's true. I've thought that since the first day you showed up in our class." "Is that why you've been so nice to me?" Bryce wanted to know. "That's one of the reasons," Greg admitted, "but I also know it's hard being the new kid in class. I had overheard the secretary giving your address to our teacher, so I knew you lived close by and that you were probably a foster kid. That didn't matter to me though, especially after I saw you. That's when I knew that I wanted to be your friend." "I'm glad," Bryce confessed. "I've never had many friends before." "Well, you do now," Greg confirmed. "Hey, maybe you could spend the weekend here. Do you think your foster parents would allow that?" "Maybe, but I'll have to ask," Bryce answered. "They let me come over today, so maybe they will. I'll ask when I get home and then I'll tell you tomorrow. Ok?" "Sure, that will be fine," Greg replied. "Come on, let's go outside and play." The boys then went racing out of the house and out into the yard. Greg found a rubber ball lying in the grass, which he picked up and threw to Bryce. The boys then proceeded to throw it back and forth, while they talked about all kinds of different things. Once they finished playing catch, they continued to do a variety of other stuff, until it was time for Bryce to go home. As Bryce got ready to leave, Greg ran inside and told his mother that he was going to walk Bryce home, which she agreed to, but Bryce didn't understand why. Greg, however, made the reason perfectly clear to him as they made their way there. Excitedly, Greg explained to Bryce that he didn't want to wait until tomorrow to learn if he could spend the weekend. He wanted to know now, so when they got to the foster home Bryce introduced Greg to his foster mother and then asked her if he could spend the weekend with him. She thought about it for less than a minute and then told him he could, which sent both boys into a jumping frenzy, with Bryce's foster mother trying to calm them both down. When they did, they went back outside, so they could savor their success. A short time later, Greg said good-bye and then walked the short distance back to his own home. The time between that moment and Friday night was almost too much for Bryce to endure. It seemed as if it was taking forever for the time to pass, especially after he got to school and Greg told him that he had special plans for when he was there. He wouldn't tell Bryce what these plans were, but he did tell him that he'd love it. So when Friday finally arrived, the boys walked to Bryce's house after school first, so he could pick up his things, and then they walked the rest of the way to Greg's house. Once again, Greg's mother met them as they came through the door and told them to take Bryce's things up to Greg's room. She also told the boys that they were to immediately come down for a snack, because she had freshly baked cookies and milk waiting for them. She also announced that she had made a chocolate cake for desert, after dinner, and the boys thought it was fantastic news. They both loved chocolate cake, not to mention the cookies, so they were looking forward to having these treats. After they finished their snack, the boys went out to walk around the neighborhood for a while, to see if anything exciting was going on. They didn't find much, but they did horse around with a couple of boys from down the block for a brief time, and then they walked back to Greg's house. Almost as soon as they arrived, Greg's mother had them wash up for dinner and then they sat down to eat. That's when Bryce got to meet Greg's dad for the first time. Greg's dad had just arrived home from work and seemed really nice. Bryce thought that Greg's mother was nicer, but he really hadn't had a chance to get to know Greg's father very well. It did seem as if he loved Greg and was interested in what was going on in his life, as well as wanting to do things with him. Bryce knew this because Greg's father had asked Greg about his day, but he also asked if Greg had told Bryce about their plans. Greg quickly admitted that he hadn't told Bryce the details, because he was saving that as a surprise. Bryce was fascinated as he watched the two of them interact with each other, but it also made Bryce envious again, and reminded him of the imaginary father he created to do the same things. Greg's father had noticed this change in their visitor and thought he should include Bryce in their discussion, so he started to ask him questions about himself. This seemed to perk Bryce back up and soon his regrets were forgotten. He had been totally distracted by this man's sudden interest in him. After they had finished their scrumptious dinner and enjoyed the delicious dessert, the boys went into the other room to decide what they would do next. After discussing their options, they ended up playing the 'Guitar Hero' on Greg's X-box, which would be another new experience for Bryce. Greg was very patient with Bryce and showed him how to do everything, and then they competed against Greg's parents. Everyone seemed to have a great deal of fun, and even though it was the first time that Bryce had ever done this, he performed rather well. It was also more fun than he'd had in ages and he really liked his new friend and his family. After the last round of challenges ended, the boys went up to Greg's room and played some other video games for the rest of the night. When Greg's mother came up to check on them, she told them it was time for bed and that they should get ready to go to sleep. After brushing their teeth and going to the toilet, they came back to Greg's room, stripped down to their underwear and got into Greg's double bed. Bryce was planning to just go to sleep on the floor, but Greg wouldn't allow it. Instead, he told him there was more than enough room in the bed for both of them and insisted that Bryce joined him. Bryce certainly didn't mind, especially if Greg didn't, so they both got into his bed, but they ended up talking for quite a while before they fell asleep. The next morning they awoke before Greg's parents, so they just stayed in his room and entertained themselves. They started playing video games again, but soon they began to complain that the other one was cheating, which they actually were and they both knew it. Jokingly, they started wrestling and trying to pin each other to the floor, so the loser would have to admit that he was the one who was cheating. They were having a good time doing this, but they must have made a little too much noise, because Greg's mother showed up at the door to see what they were up to. When she saw that they were wrestling and it was all in fun, she made some comment about them being typical boys. Then she told them to get cleaned up and dressed, before they came down for breakfast. The boys did as they were told and hurriedly washed their faces and hands with a washcloth, after taking a leak. Then, they headed downstairs to meet Greg's mother in their kitchen, where she greeted them with a smile as they walked in. She then asked them what they wanted for breakfast and Greg told her that he would like scrambled eggs and toast. Bryce, however, said he'd just have peanut butter and jelly toast, like he normally had at his foster home. Greg's mother made it for him, but she prepared enough scrambled eggs so he could have some too. Bryce began eating everything as if it were a race, so Greg's mother told him he should slow down and enjoy it. She also told him that she'd fix him more, if that was what he wanted, but he told her that he'd had enough and it was all very good. Of course, praising the cook and eating like that only helped to endear him to her, so Bryce didn't have to worry about being invited back again. After breakfast, they all went outside and loaded into their car, but Bryce still had no idea where they were going. On the way, Greg finally told him that they were going to visit his grandparents. He explained that they lived out in the country, but not on a farm or anything like that, it was just a small housing development in the middle of nowhere, which was populated by a bunch of old people. Even though it didn't sound as if it would be very exciting, Greg informed Bryce that there were some great places to explore around there, and he'd show him as much as he could. After hearing this exchange, Greg's parents told them that they had to spend some time with his grandparents first, but if they promised to be careful, they could go exploring if they wished. Greg was used to doing that nearly every time he went there anyway, so this time he'd just have someone to drag along with him. The boys were both very excited now and could barely wait to arrive. As soon as the car stopped in the driveway, they bolted out of it even before the engine had been turned off. Bryce followed Greg, as he raced into the house to say hello to his grandparents. When they asked who Bryce was, Greg eagerly began to tell them all about his new friend. After the boys talked to Greg's grandparents for a while, his parents gave them permission to go out and do some exploring for a while. The boys then told Greg's grandparents they'd be back soon, as they sped out the door and raced behind the house. When they finally came to a stop, Bryce decided to take a moment to check out the area. The place seemed pretty interesting. There was a small cluster of homes, but behind them were open fields and a scattering of trees, which spread before them on all sides. It was then that Greg informed Bryce that he had something to show him, and then he led him through one of the fields, toward a line of trees and whatever lay beyond. As they made their way through the small cluster of trees, they suddenly came upon a small creek, but it turned out to be more than just that. At some point, someone had built a dam across the creek, which had caused a small pond to form behind it. It was probably no more the four feet at its deepest point, but it looked so inviting and beckoned to them. It was secluded here, but open enough to give access to the creek and small pond, which was lined by trees on both sides. The water appeared to be fairly still and quite clear, which almost made it seem as if this area had remained untouched for centuries. This, in turn, elicited the inevitable reaction. "Hey, Bryce, do you want to go swimming?" Greg asked. Bryce looked at the water and then at his friend. "Yeah, that sounds nice, but we don't have our swimsuits or towels with us," he answered. "No big deal. We can just go swimming without anything on," Greg suggested. "You've seen other guys naked before, haven't you?" "Well, yeah. Sometimes I've seen one of the other guys at my foster home without anything on. You know, when they were changing or getting ready to shower." "You aren't bashful about me seeing you, are you?" Greg followed. Bryce wasn't sure if he was or not, but he wasn't about to let Greg know that. "No, of course not," he told him. "We all got the same things, right?" "Yeah, we do," Greg agreed. "They may be a little different, but basically they're all the same." "Do you think it's safe here?" Bryce wanted to know, because he wasn't sure if he was comfortable with the idea. "I mean, aren't you worried that someone else might come here and see us swimming without anything on?" "Nah, everyone around here is old and they never come out here," Greg assured him. "I always come to his place whenever we visit and I've never seen anyone else around. I don't think my parents would ever come out here either, because I don't think they even know this is here." For some reason, Bryce now wanted to see Greg naked and that thought excited him. He was mentally picturing what Greg would look like without his clothes on and hoped that he'd be able to get a good look at what he had between his legs. "Well, ok. I'll do it, if you will," Bryce agreed. "Let's do it then," Greg urged. The boys immediately began to strip out of their clothes and threw them on the ground beside where they were standing. When they got down to just their underpants, they looked at each other and grinned. "We'll do it together," Greg announced, without giving Bryce a chance to back out. Bryce nodded and both boys pulled down their briefs. They spent the next few seconds checking each other one out and making sure they saw what the other looked like down there. They were both pleased to learn that they were pretty much identical, because they were both a couple of inches limp and circumcised, which made them relax even more about doing this. At this point, they decided to get closer to each other, so they could have a better look and be able to compare their packages. Without saying a word, they kept inching closer to each other, until their penises were almost touching, and then they just stood there. "See, I told you we would be the same," Greg announced. They both remained staring at each other's goodies and didn't appear as if they wanted to take their eyes off of the other's penis. "Have you ever touched anyone else's wiener before?" Greg wanted to know. "No, have you?" Bryce countered. "Just one other boy's wiener," Greg admitted. "We were friends last year, but he moved away. We touched each other's wieners a couple of times and thought it was fun. Would you like to touch mine now?" Bryce felt his heart leap to his throat and it began to beat faster after Greg asked this question, and Bryce knew what his answer was going to be. He had always wondered what it would be like to touch someone else there, but he just didn't have the courage to ask anyone else if he could do it, so he could find out what it would be like. Even though Maury had touched him before, he had never touched Maury, and he wouldn't have wanted to anyway. This was different, though. Greg was his own age and he was cute, really cute. Even before he had a chance to answer or reach out, his own body gave him away. Suddenly his little dick began to stiffen and rise, indicating his interest in his friend. Greg noticed this immediately and let him know about it. "Wow, you're getting a boner," he blurted out. "Go ahead, touch mine and then I'll touch yours. Wow, yours is getting even bigger." Greg was right, it had gotten bigger and thicker too. Bryce's skin was all hot and his body was trembling with excitement. Slowly, he reached out his hand and touched Greg's penis, gently fingering the tip and then touching it all over. Reacting to the contact, Greg's penis began to grow too, because the stimulation of Bryce's touch was arousing him as well. The two boys laughed about this, as they were now both very erect, and then Greg reached over and began playing with Bryce's stiffy too. The boys were not only touching each other, but they began to stroke the penis they had in their hand, using one or two fingers and their thumb to do so. This also caused the boys to giggle even more, because they thought these new activities tickled, but neither one wanted to stop. It just felt too good and neither of them wanted it to end. Eventually, they did stop, but they were both breathless and still very excited. "That was really neat," Bryce confessed. "Yeah, it was great!" Greg added. "We'd better go swimming though, if you still want to do that. It won't be too much longer before we'll have to head back to the house, or else my parents will begin to worry about us." Bryce agreed that he wanted to go swimming, so they ran to the edge of the pond and jumped in. The water was cool, but refreshing, and their little dicks quickly wilted under the sudden change in temperature. It didn't seem to bother them though, and they probably didn't even notice that fact, because they were now too busy just being boys. First, they splashed each other and then they chased each other around, while playing their own version of tag in the water. They did this for about thirty or forty minutes, before they began to tire, and then they got out of the water and lay on the bank. As they rested on their backs and allowed their bodies to dry, they kept glancing over and checking out each other's body. They were still intrigued, even though they had seen it 'all' before, and continued to stare at the other's boyhood. Once their bodies had dried, they decided they had better get dressed and head back to Greg's grandparents' house. They continued to goof around all the way back, and they were still laughing and joking around as they walked in the door. "I'm glad to see you boys are getting along so well," Greg's grandmother told them, as they walked into her living room. "It's good that you are such good friends. Good friends can be hard to find, but they can last a lifetime. I hope that's how it will work out for the two of you." The boys sort of understood what she was saying, so they said they hoped so too, but how can anyone know what his future holds. Now that they were in the house, Greg's grandparents had some really neat old things for them to check out. They had this thing they called a stereoscope, which was kind of like looking through a viewfinder or a pair of binoculars. A pair of pictures was placed in a holder at the far end of the apparatus, but when you looked through it there was just one image. The pictures were of the same scene, but had been taken at slightly different angles, so when you looked through the lenses at them, it combined the two images into one and gave it added depth. This made viewing the scene to seem closer to looking at the real thing, rather than just looking at a picture. Greg's grandfather said he had received this as a gift from his grandfather, so it must have been really, really old, well at least that's how the boys perceived it. In addition to this device, Greg's grandparents also had a piano that played by itself. Well not completely by itself, because somebody had to pump the pedals, but no one had to touch the keys. They called it a player piano and it played music by following a series of holes that had been punched into a roll of heavy paper that had been placed on rollers inside of it. The holes told the piano what keys were to be played and the piano followed the script precisely and played whatever song was on that scroll. Greg's grandfather played the first song, so he could show the boys how it worked, and then he put in a new scroll in and let Greg do it. After that song ended, he changed the roll again, so Bryce would get a chance to 'play' the piano. Both boys thought this was really neat and had fun doing it. They all had dinner there too and enjoyed a big pot roast that Greg's grandmother had prepared with onions and carrots. They also had some mashed potatoes with gravy, along with butternut squash. Greg's grandmother was a really good cook and the food was delicious. Bryce didn't think he was going to like the squash, but she had put brown- sugar or something like that on it, so it was really sweet After they'd finished eating their meal, she brought out a home-made blueberry pie and put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of each slice, for anyone who wanted it. After they finished their dessert, they sat around and talked for a while, and then they listened to Greg's grandparents tell them about what it was like when they were younger. They had some great stories to tell, about things like Woodstock, Vietnam, and Watergate. Some of the stories they told were interesting, while others weren't, but the boys sat quietly and listened to them anyway. When they finished telling their stories, it was time to leave, and the visitors got into the car and drove back to Greg's house. Greg's mother called Bryce's foster home to make sure that he had permission to spend the night again, and once that was settled the boys were told it was time to get ready for bed. The boys weren't all that tired yet and were still pretty wound up from their earlier sexual exploration and the fun they'd had at Greg's grandparents' house. It was obvious that it was going to take a while for them to calm down enough to sleep, but they did as they were told and went to Greg's room. After brushing and flushing, they stripped down to their underwear and got into Greg's bed. That's when Bryce felt he should thank Greg for everything he had done and the great time they'd had together. "Greg, I had a really good time today," Brice began. "Thank you for inviting me to stay over this weekend." "You're welcome, but I had fun too," Greg replied. "I like you a lot and I'm glad you're my friend." "I really like you too," Bryce agreed. "I've never had a friend like you before, so this is very important to me. I'm so glad you wanted to be my friend." The boys talked for a while longer, until they had talked themselves out, and then they went to sleep. Bryce felt as happy and content this evening as he had ever felt before, and he managed to scoot over against Greg and stayed close to him throughout the entire night. He wasn't exactly cuddling with him, but he was close enough to make it special, and he enjoyed a greater sense of peace and happiness than he had ever known. The next morning, Greg noticed Bryce was snuggled tightly against him when he awoke and was kind of excited by it. He liked Bryce more than he could ever let him know, maybe in a way that wasn't quite 'normal.' Although neither of them had reached puberty yet or knew much about gay love, it was clear that they shared an attraction that neither of them dared to mention. They thought if they spoke those words aloud they would scare the other away, since they weren't certain that the depth of their affection was mutual. They spent most of that day together playing games, taking a trip to the local park and just hanging around with Greg's family. The closer it came to the time for Bryce to go back home, the more he wished that he didn't have to leave. Not only was he attracted to Greg, but he liked Greg's parents as well. They were nice and included him in everything they did. They even did some other things just because they thought Bryce might enjoy it. Even though this was his first weekend with them, he was beginning to feel that he was part of their family and he looked forward to being able to come back again. When it was time for Bryce to leave, Greg's father drove him home and then Greg walked him to the front door to say good-bye. It was very emotional parting and they even hugged before Greg left. Bryce also waved as they drove away and kept it up until their car drove out of sight. Bryce then went inside to face the reality of life as a foster child. The boys got together nearly every chance they got and Bryce was invited to stay over nearly every weekend. About the only weekends that he didn't go over were the weekends Greg's parents had other things planned, like a wedding, another family gathering or something with Greg's parents' friends. On about his third weekend visit, Bryce and Greg even took a shower together. It happened because his parents decided to take them someplace on short notice, so to save time the boys decided to shower together. This didn't really end up saving any time, because they became totally interested in each other's bodies again. Both boys sprouted erections and then played with their own penis, before switching over to grasp the other's boyhood. They were beginning to not only learn that this little activity gave them very pleasurable sensations, but they were also beginning to like doing it with each other. They continued this for as long as they dared and then they got out of the shower, dried off and got dressed, before hurrying downstairs in time to leave. There were other weekends together and a great deal more fun. The boys were beginning to learn not only about each other, but also about themselves, especially about their bodies. Bryce was even beginning to think that life had finally dealt him a decent hand, because things weren't all that bad at his current foster home. His foster parents pretty much let him do want he wanted, so he spent as much time with Greg as he could, and things were better for him than they had ever been. Just when he was ready to put his past behind him and move on toward the future, life dealt him another cruel blow. It seemed that just as things were becoming bearable for Bryce and he was beginning to think he had at last found happiness, something unexpected happened, something that would turn his world upside down. His problems all began when a simple audit was conducted at the Department of Social Services. The problem didn't really concern him directly, but it did affect him when numerous charges were lodged against multiple individuals connected with the department. As it turned out, one of the examiners had uncovered the names of a dozen or more children on the department's lists of placed foster children, but these children didn't actually exist. When he checked the names against a list of those currently in the system, he discovered these children were now either too old to be in foster care or they had been taken out of the system prior to even the previous audit. During the course of this investigation, the auditors discovered that these supposed foster children all appeared under the supervision of the same two caseworkers, out of a much larger staff. These children were allegedly placed in several different foster homes, all under the supervision of these two individuals, and each of these homes also had other children assigned to them. After starting a legal investigation into the matter and interrogating the various foster parents and caseworkers, one of the foster parents broke down and admitted to the scheme. What had been happening was this. The two caseworkers were creating new files and records for children who had become too old or left the system. They would change specific information from the original records, in order to make it appear as if the children appeared eligible, and then they entered this information into the system. The caseworker would then supposedly place these children with the foster families they were working with and send them checks for the child's care. The foster parents would then cash the checks and kickback half of the amount to the caseworker that had made the assignment, so both parties prospered. The foster parents and caseworkers were both raking in the cash, without experiencing any additional expense or work, so it was all pure profit for them. It was ingenious in some regards, but the attempt to pull it off was really dumb. Things like this seem to get discovered sooner or later, especially when the participants get greedy and try to amass even greater sums of money. In this case, adding more and more imaginary children into the system was what tripped them up. The investigator may have overlooked a few children, but after coming up with a dozen or more names he couldn't find an immediate match for, he decided he had to check the matter out in depth. That was the crooks' undoing. Once the fraud was discovered, the caseworkers were arrested, along with the foster parents who were involved, which meant all of the foster homes were immediately closed. Because there were so many children involved in this mess, the local system wasn't able to handle the large number of children that were now without a place to stay. Many of these children were shipped off to adjoining jurisdictions, under an emergency mutual cooperation agreement. Unfortunately for Bryce, his foster family was one of those involved in this fraudulent scheme, so he was one of the children that got moved to a new location. This meant he would not only be moving to a new home and attending another new school, but he'd be moving away from the only true friend he had ever had. In fact, he didn't even get a chance to tell Greg about what had happened, because the authorities met the children when they came home from school and were ready to whisk them away. They helped the children pack up their belongings and loaded them into their cars, before driving them away. Bryce had asked for permission to call Greg, but was told he wouldn't be allowed to do that, so he didn't know how Greg would find out that he was gone. Of course, when Bryce didn't return to school Greg would probably investigate and discover his old foster home was empty, but he thought Greg deserved better than that. The problem was that he had no control over the situation, so Greg would have no way to learn where he went or how to contact him. Maybe Bryce could find a way to get in touch with Greg when he got to his new home, but he would have to wait and see where they sent him first, and then he'd have to try to find a way to get in touch with his friend. Needless to say, Bryce was upset and very distraught because of this. For the first time he could remember, he had been happy and had someone he felt close to, but he was suddenly ripped away from all of that and was now on his way to who knew where. He did his best to keep from crying, especially after they were given a brief explanation of why they were being moved and where they might be going. He wanted so badly to just break down and get it out of his system by having a good cry. That would release his pent up frustration, but there was no way he was going to do it in front of a bunch of other kids, especially if there was any chance that they'd end up in the same home or going to the same school. Instead, Bryce sucked it up, as he always did, and retreated into his fantasy world, where he thought about his fantasy father who was supposedly coming to rescue him. For as much progress he had made since coming into the foster care system, he now regressed to a state similar to the one he was in after the final incident with Maury. He was emotionally broken, mentally withdrawn and now he was being physically removed from the only source of security and hope he'd had – Greg and his parents. * * * * * * If you enjoy reading these stories on Nifty, then please consider helping out. There are costs associated with maintaining a site such as this, so if you are able, please make a donation to help keep this valuable asset up and running. Thank you, Erastes and the entire Nifty staff.