Andrew's Misplaced Trust

Chapter 25 - Regaining Trust

There may be some real events that inspired parts of this, but I have to tell you this is fantasy fiction.

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Check out my friend Eric Murphey's update to Transitions called transitions-daily-life

New website for Grizzly Valley is coming - Covers the town, the people and places. Bruce's Dojo, Tech Tribe, Liams Automotive, Grizzly Baptist Church, Laundromat, Mac's Diner and more. You'll see Mark, Jamie, Bruce, Liam, Taylor, Sebastian, Andrew, Ethan and the rest of the town.
Work in progress at: Visit Grizzly Valley Hopefully the links work and stay up. Use the top menu for best results.

A few of you wrote in and told me you wanted longer chapters, so here you go. At this rate, there will only be about 4 more chapters to come before we move on to Andrew's adult life and meet his family. Let me know if you like the length. Sorry, sex will be coming, but you need this part of the story.

Andrew thought he could trust his daddy, but we all know how that went. Now, this new man in his life, is he the one? Can he trust him? Will it become more? Read on...

Ethan needed to run to the store to get some groceries and asked if Andrew wanted to go with him. Andrew told him he would just wait for him outside the house. Ethan had a puzzled look on his face. "Outside?" he asked.

"Yeah, you aren't going to leave me inside, are you?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I? I trust you're not going to rip me off or run away. Look around, I don't have much to steal anyway."

It was finally sinking in to Andrew that this guy really did trust him. "Thanks," he mumbled, "I'll stay here if that's okay."

Ethan handed him the remote as he left for the store.

Ethan had a blast at the store. It was different buying stuff for someone else. Someone he finally admitted he liked, but wasn't quite clear on why he liked this boy. There was a lot of tension and energy between them, and it made him feel alive and happy. Ethan didn't have much, but this boy didn't have much, and Ethan could help him. Little did Ethan know that Andrew had more cash in his backpack than Ethan had in the bank. Probably more than he made in a year.

When Ethan returned, he had all kinds of groceries and even brought some ice cream and toppings.

"Andrew, what do you want on your ice cream? I have bananas, peanuts, and chocolate fudge. I also have strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream."

"Wow, Ethan, that's great. I want a banana split with all three ice creams and chocolate if that's okay." Andrew thought this guy wasn't so bad after all.

"Do you want nuts or whipped cream?"

"No, thank you." He responded. He wanted to say yes, he wanted Ethan's nuts and banana, but he figured Ethan wouldn't find it funny.

They sat and ate their ice cream treats while watching TV. This was nice. Andrew wondered how long it would last, though. After being on the streets, he didn't get why Ethan was being so nice without wanting something in return.

"Ethan?"

"Yeah, buddy."

"Remember earlier, I said I wanted something?"

"Yes. What do you need, buddy?"

"Could you, I mean, could we go to WalMart?"

"Sure. What do you need? You haven't asked for a thing since you've been here."

"I need to find someone. The boys."

"I don't understand?"

"Well, you know, they found two bodies at the building, right?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"Well, there were six of us that lived there. I need to know that they are OK."

"How will going to WalMart help?"

"Well, that's where we, um, pick up our dates."

"Oh, really? No, never mind. When do we need to go?"

"Soon, we usually find our John's just at dusk and it's almost time."

"Let's get going. We need to make sure they are all right."

They went out, got in the truck, and took off.

"Pull in by the exit. Park over there. Stay here." Andrew was animated as they arrived. The moment the truck was put in park, Andrew jumped out and ran to the exit. Ethan could see four boys mobbing Andrew, hugging and jumping up and down.

They were all so excited, and Andrew led them over to the truck. "Ethan, Ethan, they're all OK. Meet Cole, Jimmy, Zach, and Justin.

"Pleasure to meet you boys. Andrew hasn't told me much about you, but I know you boys look out for each other. Hey, how about we all go get an ice cream? I know I'd be keeping you from work, but I'd like to get to know Andrew's friends."

The boys whispered amongst themselves. Cole put his hand to Andrew's ear and whispered, "Is this a trap? We need to earn. Since the fire, the guys have been scared and we're living in the alley behind WalMart. Life sucks. We need the cash."

Ethan saw Andrew digging in his pocket. He pulled out a wad of cash that Ethan had never seen. He handed it to Cole. "It's not a trick. I'm buying you for the night. Come with us. I promise, it will be OK." Ethan wondered if he should ask about the money or not. He figured Andrew would tell him when he was ready, and it really wasn't Ethan's business since it must have been Andrew's money.

Andrew looked at Ethan and said, "Let's go to the ice cream place next to your dad's office." Ethan understood what Andrew was thinking.

"Hop in, boys, we're going to have a fun night. Ice cream for everyone."

Zach was curious, "Are we having a party?"

Andrew quickly jumped in, "No, just ice cream, guys. Ethan isn't like that."

The boys were a bit apprehensive, but they trusted Andrew. When they got to the ice cream place, Ethan told the boys to order up. "Get what you want, it's on me."

Justin snickered. "My last John said that, and I had to lick it up."

"Eww," Ethan responded. Justin realized that Ethan knew exactly what the boys did.

The boys really ate up. Ethan had to use his credit card to pay for it all. They sat outside on a picnic table, and Andrew filled them all in on the events and Ricky's status.

"So, boys, Andrew is staying with me. Do you guys have a place to stay?"

Zach spoke up, "No, we have been in the alley, it sucks."

"Did Andrew tell you about my dad?"

"No, sir." They all said in unison.

"Stop the sir crap, I'm just Ethan. My dad runs a foundation to help kids that are between homes. He has a shelter where you can all sleep tonight. Would you like that?"

Again, more whispering, and then Cole spoke up. "Um, sir, I mean Ethan, we appreciate your wanting to help, but we don't want to go into the system. Your dad would have to turn us over, right?"

"Well, technically, he has 3 days before he has to say anything, so you could get three nights there before you have to make up your mind."

"What do you mean? You mean we can leave?"

"Sure, it's not a prison. You can get a nice shower, a bed, some clothes, food, and talk to the counselors. Then, if you don't like it, they aren't guarding the doors. Just slip out. But please, give the counselors a chance. You never know what they can come up with. They might have a great idea that will help you out."

Andrew offered up, "Maybe they can find you a sexy fireman like I got!"

Ethan blushed.

More whispering. "Um, could we just come stay with you?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the space, and because I am working on becoming Andrew's foster parent, I can't bend the rules, but we can go with you and stay until lights out if you like."

More whispers. The boys were really unsure, but Andrew was reassuring. Ethan could hear Andrew, "Really guys, you can sneak out. They won't come after you. You all stink and could probably use a good warm shower and meal. Please? You'll like Mr. Thomas."

Justin was worried about earning. "But we need to earn."

"Like I said, I gave you guys enough for a couple of nights, and besides, you can get new clothes, food, and a good night's sleep here for a few nights. You won't need to earn, and when you go back to the streets, you can raise your prices since you won't stink!" The boys all giggled at Andrew's comment.

Apparently, Cole became the spokesman. "Ethan, if you promise we can get out, we will go. Can we meet your dad?"

"Sure, boys." Ethan called his dad and asked him to meet him at the shelter. They walked over and entered. Andrew showed the boys around, and they got to meet some of the other kids and the counselors. Andrew took the four to the clothing bins and found them all some nice, new, clean clothes. Then he led them to the showers. "Get cleaned and dressed, I want you all to be nice when Mr. Thomas meets you. If things go right, he will be my grandpa soon."

The boys took their new clothes to the showers and had a nice, warm shower. You could hear giggling coming from the shower. Andrew had stayed in the room to watch his friends.

After the giggling stopped, four, make that five, of the most handsome boys came out of the shower room. Ethan was proud of Andrew and thought how nice the boys looked. His dad arrived, and Ethan did the introductions.

"Dad, meet Cole, Zach, Justin, and Jimmy. These are Andrew's friends."

"Pleased to meet you. Ethan tells me you boys need a place to crash for a few days. I think we can help. We don't want you to go back on the streets, but we aren't going to stop you from leaving. All I ask is that you give us a chance to talk to you, to see what options there are. If you need any medical help, we can provide that too, but most importantly, we will give you a nice bed and warm meals. Oh, and there's a ton of snacks and games too. Just a warning though, you can't live here forever, but you can volunteer to help once you've graduated like Andrew here."

The boys were left to go play while Ethan and his dad caught up. The boys were much more at ease with Andrew guiding them, and they all said they would give it a chance.

When it was lights out time, Ethan and Andrew headed home. When it came time to go to bed, Ethan asked Andrew if he wanted to shower tonight or in the morning. Andrew opted for the morning since he was a bit tired. Andrew stripped down to his underwear, and Ethan tucked him in his bed. Andrew begged him to stay with him and promised he wouldn't try anything. He felt bad taking Ethan's bed.

"No buddy, you need your rest. If you have another nightmare, I'll be right in." Ethan got up and left for the front room.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Andrew woke up and found Ethan sleeping next to him like the previous night. He wondered if he had had a nightmare again. Just then, Ethan started to wake up. "Morning, buddy. You were talking in your sleep and thrashing, I didn't want you to hurt your arm." He said as he pushed Andrew's hair out of his eyes. "We need to get you a haircut, buddy." He laughed. The truth was, Ethan was tired of the couch and enjoyed sleeping with "his" boy.

"I don't want a marine cut like you, Ethan, but yeah, it is in my eyes." Andrew had to have a little boy look on the street, and now, he wanted to look more grown up.

"Well, let's make us some breakfast and then go see if my barber can get you in. He does a great job, and you can look like a little boy or the fine young man you are. That's up to you."

They went to the kitchen and made breakfast, and after cleaning up, they went out to get into Ethan's truck and go to the barber.

"Can we go see Ricky today?" Andrew asked.

"Sure, why don't we do that after lunch. We can go to the barber and stop by the store to get you some things that you might need. The mall has a food court and you can pick your poison." He said this in all seriousness.

"Pick my poison?" Andrew questioned.

"It's just a saying, which means you can eat whatever you want at the food court."

Andrew wondered where he got these stupid sayings from. Oh well, at least he's being nice. "Is Ethan flirting with me?" Andrew wondered.

They went to a few stores and got another pair of shorts and a couple of t-shirts. They also got more boxer briefs and socks.

Ethan was having a blast watching the boy pick and try on clothes. He loved touching the boy, smoothing out the clothes as he tried them on. There was electricity between them every time they touched. Ethan was grinning the entire time. Andrew took note that the man was enjoying himself, but was still confused as to why the man hadn't taken advantage of him. He had to want something.

Andrew got to choose this time.He didn't want to spend Ethan's money, but he assured Andrew it was fine.

When they got to the hospital, the nurses all greeted Ethan, and seemed to be flirting with him. They told them where Ricky was since he had been moved to a different floor. "That's a good sign, Andrew. If he's moved to a different floor, that means he's not in intensive care."

They got to the room, and the doctor was in there. "Hi Ethan," he said. "Is this one of the boys your team rescued?"

"Yes, this here is Andrew. He's the one that was on the ladder with me when the explosion knocked us off. The one in bed there was taken out by my partner. How's he doing?"

"Well, he lost a lot of blood and was torn up badly, but we have patched him up pretty well. CPS said that since he had to be here for a while, they would wait to place him until then, but they're trying to figure out who he really is. There's no missing child report for him that we can find. He won't talk to us about who he is. His home life must have been bad. Andrew, do you know anything?"

Ricky was looking right at Andrew. He knows the code, they don't snitch. "Sorry doctor, I told you guys yesterday all I know. Ricky didn't share that with me, and it is up to him to tell you, or not." Andrew really didn't know much. Ricky never shared anything about why he ended up on the street.

"Well, if you remember anything, please let us help Ricky. Maybe you can convince him to help himself. In any case, he's living here for a few weeks, then probably going to a long term care facility until we can reverse the ostomy." The doctor closed his clipboard and walked out of the room.

"Ricky, how are you feeling?" Andrew asked.

Ricky looked up at him, and it was obvious that he was scared, but he just grabbed Andrew's good arm and squeezed. "Andy, I'm scared," he creaked. "I don't want to be here, but I also don't want to go home. I've been away for so long and they didn't even try to find me. That tells me how they feel." He started to tear up. "I can't talk much. Could you stay with me for a while?"

Ethan looked at Andrew and smiled. "How about if I leave you two together for a while. I'll go chat with my friends here at the hospital. I'll come back up in a bit."

"Are you sure you're coming back?" Andrew asked.

"Of course buddy, I'll be back in a couple of hours. Don't you worry." Ethan said as he walked down the hallway. Andrew could hear him talking to the nurses. Ethan was a hot commodity here at the hospital. All of the nurses eyed him, and Andrew could see why. Even some of the male nurses turned their heads when he came in.

Ethan was true to his word. He came back right on time. "Hello, Ricky. I need to steal Andrew from you."We will be back tomorrow." Ethan said, as Andrew got up. Ricky didn't want to let go of Andrew.

"We will come tomorrow, I promise." he told Ricky. He would find a way if Ethan didn't want to bring him.

They went right to Ethan's place, where they made lunch. After lunch, he was asking what they wanted to do when his phone started ringing. He answered and seemed like it was urgent. "Okay, okay, we'll be right there."

Andrew was worried something had happened to Ricky. Why would Ethan say that would be right there?

"Andrew, my dad needs some help at the foundation. I know it might be hard for you, so you can stay here, or come with me. Apparently, they found a bunch of boys and girls that were being trafficked."

"What's trafficked mean?"

"Well, it means they were being sold for sex. They're being held like slaves and sold to people to do, well, the things I'm sure you had to do to survive, only they have no choice." Ethan was shaking as he said that.

"I'll go. Besides, my friends are all there too. I don't want anyone to be forced to do what I had to do. At first it was just fun, but then it became necessary. Being forced is why I ran away from home in the first place." Crap, Andrew thought, he did it again and gave too much information.

They hopped into Ethan's truck again and went downtown to the foundation's shelter. They went in to the office and Mr. Thomas told them a little about what was happened and asked Andrew to go out into the main room and meet these kids.

The kids were in the main room. Some were sitting at the cafeteria-style tables, some were on the couches watching TV, and a few were playing ping-pong and foosball.

The room was just noisy and full of kids. There were boys and girls Andrew's age and younger that looked like they had it pretty rough. Andrew wasn't expecting what he saw since he was always able to get food and clothing and never looked as ragged as these kids. He could see that they had really been abused.

Andrew was happy to see that his friends were playing games with these new arrivals. He wasn't sure why, but he figured that it would help these new kids, and also help his friends. The little group of six boys really did have it easy considering they were on the streets. Except for the incident the night of the fire, there was never anything bad that happened, and the Johns were all respectful of the boys.

"Hi," a little girl said as she came up to Andrew and reached out to take his hand. She held on to Andrew, making sure he paid attention to her. She looked to be about 5. "My name is Sally. What is your name?"

"Hi, I'm Andy."

"How did you get your owie?" she asked, petting his cast.

"I fell from a burning building when it exploded. That man over there rescued me. He's a fireman. "

"Neat," she said as she let go of Andrew and ran to Ethan. Andrew could hear her talking to him over the crowd. He walked over to the foosball table, where there was a heated match going on between three boys his age and Zach. The new boys had tattered clothes and were banged up pretty badly.

"Dude, they really got you, didn't they? We had some John's that were rough, but our daddy would have killed them if they broke an arm and kept us from earning."

"No, my John's were really kind and gentle. The place I was staying caught fire and then exploded, and I fell from the building."

"So how long have you been here?"

"I'm not staying here, I came here with the fireman that saved me. I'm living with him for a bit. My friend Zach here is staying here and just got here yesterday."

"What about your pimp? Isn't he looking for you?" he asked.

"We were living on the streets making a living, but we didn't have a pimp. I guess we were lucky." Zach wanted to be part of the conversation.

"Oh," they all said at the same time.

"See those three over there? They were living with us and one other friend when our building burned. You guys like Zach here and would get along with them too. Make sure you go introduce yourselves and play games with them."

Ethan motioned for Andrew to come over. They sat down, and Ethan quietly asked if the kids were giving him any information. They discussed the interactions and asked Andrew if he could help them try to get a description of the people who handled them so the police could find them. They didn't want to interrogate all of the children, but needed to get a good description of them. "Do you think you can get information from them and remember it to help us describe them, or at least find some of the kids that will tell us so we can create a drawing?"

"Yeah, I can try, but I can tell they are afraid of those people."

"Most of these guys play head games, and these kids are scared of them. Do what you can, but don't be too obvious. Use your street smarts."

Andrew's broken arm story had already made it around, and everyone wanted to know about the explosion. Andrew was able to get a few of them around one of the picnic tables and told his story. He didn't know how he was going to get them to give information about their captors, but thought he would try.

"I know you guys were all forced to have sex, and you know I fucked for money too, but I never had a pimp. What was he like?"

They all kind of looked at Andrew when one little girl asked. "You did it on purpose?"

"Yes, I ran away from my dad because he was forcing me to do things I didn't like with his friends. I didn't like being forced, but because I'm just a kid, I didn't know how I would survive, so I wandered until I met a friend who explained how to pick up guys and have sex for money without getting hurt. Unfortunately, it almost killed my friend, who is still in the hospital." Andrew started to shed a tear. "Those guys over there are my other friends. They lost their home and are here trying to figure out what's next. They might find a foster family, go back home, or just leave and go back on the streets."

A girl of about thirteen said, "You mean we can leave? Fuck this place, I'm outta here." She grabbed her bag and went for the door. Ethan gave Andrew a look, and Andrew just shrugged and nodded 'no' to Ethan. Ethan got the message and let her leave.

The little girl who was about eight looked at him. "It didn't hurt when you had to do stuff?"

"Yes, at first when my dad had his friends do things to me, but when I was on my own I was able to only do what I wanted. That is until the last night before the explosion, when we were beat pretty badly, or at least my friend was."

"I know it always hurts me," said a boy about Andrew's age. "We would get beat if we didn't do it. Sometimes the beating didn't hurt as badly as the sex. He always made sure we knew he was in charge and would use us for his pleasure if we resisted with a customer. The guys were rough."

Andrew had an idea to get them to describe the guy. "This man you're talking about, was he about 6 feet tall with dark hair, a goatee, and pretty fit? His attitude sounds like the guy that beat Ricky and I."

"No, he was short, kind of like that man over by your fireman friend. He was about twice as big around, and he had light brown hair. No way it was the same guy." One of the boys said.

"Yeah, and he had a really funny looking dick!" laughed another boy. "I learned not to laugh at it though, or he would shove it in my mouth and down my throat and it hurt. It was curved down like a candy cane with a huge purple head."

"I hope they can find this guy, he needs to go to jail." Andrew said.

"He told us if we told anyone about him he would kill us, and that if he ended up in jail he had contacts that would find us and kill us."

"Guys, do you really think he would do that? Mr. Thomas won't let that happen to you." Andrew was worried that he might actually be able to.

"Probably," sobbed a young girl. "He hurt me every day to get me ready for work. I just wanted to die some days. It hurt so bad. Maybe if he does find us it would be better than having to keep doing this."

"NO! You guys, you won't ever have to do this again. Ethan's dad will make sure of it. There is no way that he would ever find out where you end up."

Andrew figured he better not press for more details or they would figure it out. Changing the subject, he asked if anyone wanted to play foosball and got a group to go over and take turns playing. He went to the table where his friends were playing and introduced the new kids. They had a blast playing. Andrew sneaked away to go talk to Ethan and Mr. Thomas.

Andrew told Ethan and his dad all about what he had learned. He said that would help a bit, but the police were still trying to find any cameras or other witnesses at the warehouse where these kids were found.

After the afternoon of playing and chatting with these kids, Andrew realized how bad they had it. He had to work to survive, but it was different. These kids didn't even have the basics. No good clothes, little or no food, and getting fucked by their pimp as well as their Johns, which were pretty rough. They lived in a crappy warehouse that made the one Andrew lived in look like a mansion.

When it was time to leave, Andrew asked Mr Thomas "Where are these kids going to go?"

"Well, as you know, they can stay here for a few nights and we hope we can figure out if they want to go home, or if they should get placed in foster care. Some of them were kidnapped, so I'm sure they want to go home, but others were runaways and that makes it more difficult. They may not want to go home. I think you understand that."

"Yeah, I hear foster care sucks, but going home for me would be a death sentence. I could never go home and am afraid of what foster care is like."

"Hey, I've got your back. I'm going to be your foster family if you let me." Ethan said to Andrew. He knelt down and put his hands on Andrew's shoulders. He looked into his eyes and said "We're a team now, we are going to get through this."

Andrew wanted to kiss him right there and then, but realized that would be a big mistake. Instead, he just reached out and hugged him tight. Tears were running down his face and dropped down Ethan's back. Ethan hugged Andrew tighter, then pushed him back and whispered, "We're going to be okay."

When they got home, Andrew was really worn out. The past few days have really been hard. They sat on opposite ends of the couch.

"Andrew, buddy, I'm so proud of you. I like the way you handled your friends. You were worried about them, and instead of leaving them to be on the streets, you thought about how you could help them. You're a very caring person."

"Ethan, are you serious about being my foster parent?" He asked, still not believing that Ethan would want to keep him.

"Andrew, I'd be happy to have you stay. I don't want to make decisions for you, and I know you don't want to go into the system. I really am trying to get the foster parent application approved for as long as you want. Sarah and I are working hard to get that done. I hope that's what you want."

Ethan looked very content. For now, Andrew was pleased with the answer.

"I can't help everyone, but I feel a strong connection to you, Andrew. I can't explain it. I know you thought I just wanted you for sex, but that's not it. You know that, right?"

"Yes, you've made it clear, but." Ethan cut him off.

"No but, it's not right. That's not why I care about you, Andrew. It started the moment I got to the top of that ladder. You looked so vulnerable, scared and, well, cute. I knew I needed to get you to safety and we had to do it quickly. I wasn't thinking about why you were there or who you were, just that you were in need and I was there to save you. Then, everything changed. As we were falling, all I could think about was that you were going to fall to your death."

"You weren't worried about yourself?"

"No, Andrew, I was there to save you." I know you've accused me of just doing my job, but this was different. Yes, my training is to save people, but not put ourselves in danger. We have to be able to help even more people, but as we fell..." Ethan started to cry. "I knew I couldn't lose you. When we came to, and were put in the same ambulance, I took that as another sign."

"So that's why you stayed by my bed? I thought it was because you landed on me and felt bad."

"Yes, and I'm so glad I stayed. I can't imagine how you felt, all alone. For all I knew, your family was in the building. I knew about Ricky, but didn't know the situation. Nobody came to find you, so I knew I needed to stay. Then, when you got into a rage and ran streaking out of the hospital, the moment caught you, I felt something I've never felt before. An electricity, an energy, something. We connected. Something told me I needed to help you, and frankly, you needed to help me."

Andrew didn't know what to say. "How can I help you?"

"I just told you how impressed I was at how you helped your friends. Just being with me is helping me. I see how my dad cares for kids, but you, I don't know, you have a different perspective and used it to help your friends. My dad and I love each other, but something is missing. I think he's so focused on trying to get closure for my brother that he doesn't try with me. My dad has tried to make amends for himself by running the foundation, but he wasn't there for me emotionally. I never had the chance to get to know my brother, and there was always a dark shadow over me from losing him."

"Do you miss Lincoln?"

"Of course, but sometimes I also resent him. I mean, I wish I knew what happened. I wish I knew he was okay, but I don't and probably never will. At the same time, I miss what we could have been. We didn't have a normal family after that. Mom left, pregnant with my sister, dad focused on the foundation, and all I knew to do was help dad get his closure. I didn't realize until I was holding you that I could actually make a real difference to someone that needed me." Ethan was now tearing up. "I'm sorry if I'm being sappy and I hope I'm not scaring you off, but I really do feel like we are connected via the universe. Maybe you're my brother reincarnated. Maybe you're who I am supposed to raise and care for. I don't know, but Andrew, I mean this when I say it, I feel a connection to you that I've never felt with anyone before."

Andrew was starting to get a bit weirded out with all this talk, but also felt a strong connection to him. "Ethan, when you held me, it felt amazing to me too. I was in a rage when I was running. I was scared. No, I am still scared, Ethan. I don't want to go home, I don't want to go back on the streets, and I don't want to go into the system. When you grabbed me, I'll admit I was angry, but in just a second you calmed me down and I felt feelings I've never felt since. Never mind." Andrew choked up a bit. "I didn't want you to ever let me go. I'm sorry I was making fun of your boner, but I didn't know what else to make of that feeling and connection. You do realize that my interaction with men, especially when I was naked, was all about sex." Andrew laughed trying to feel better.

Ethan looked at him "I didn't know that then, but I do now! You don't ever have to do that again. You are safe with me."

"You say that now, but when you learn of all the things I did."

"Shhh, nothing will change how I feel. I don't know what this connection is. It's not a sexual thing at all, Andrew, but it's a connection I've never felt before. I've never thought about having anyone in my life. Not a girlfriend, not a boyfriend, not a kid, but meeting you changed me inside. It's what I'm missing."

They sat in silence for what seemed like 10 minutes.

Andrew looked over at Ethan, who looked like he was deep in thought. "Would it be okay if we just sat on the couch and cuddled?" Andrew asked. "I don't mean this in a sexual way, but I need you to hold me and touch me like you did. I promise not to make any more moves on you.

They sat in silence for a couple of hours. Both of them were deep in thought about what life had given them and why they had happened into each other's lives. Ethan absentmindedly started stroking Andrew's arm, and Andrew instinctively nuzzled into his side. They both fell asleep. When Andrew woke up, he was startled awake and realized where he was. Ethan was still asleep and had a smile on his face. Andrew just stayed there staring into Ethan's face.

A few minutes later, Ethan woke up to see Andrew's beautiful blue eyes staring into his deep green eyes. He smiled even more and said, "Hi, cutie."

"Hi yourself, mister fireman." He responded, and that caused Ethan to laugh.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

Andrew nodded, and they walked to the kitchen. Just then, the phone rang. Ethan grabbed his phone and was talking to someone that sounded official. "Okay, that's great news!" he said as he hung up the phone.

"I think they found one of the guys that hurt Ricky and you. They're waiting for some DNA samples to see if it's a match to the samples from your face."

"But those weren't from the guy that hurt Ricky. He was just another guy they called Victor. It wasn't his house."

"Oh, hold on." Ethan said as he grabbed his phone and called back the last caller. "Hey, Andrew just informed me that the guy that you got samples from isn't the one that hurt Ricky but an accomplice. Okay, right. " And then he hung up the phone.

"They put pressure on that Victor guy that they believe matches the DNA to identify the guy that owned the G Wagon. There aren't many of those around, so it was fairly simple to pick him up once Victor gave them some basic information. We need to get you to do an ID on him for the police so they can search his place before he hides anything. We need to go to the police station to look at some pictures. By the way, Victor isn't really his name."

"I don't want to see either of them. They already have photos of me and I don't want him to know where to find me." Andrew was really scared. If they thought Ricky was dead, there is only one person that could narc on them and they would do everything to find and kill Andrew.

Ethan held on to one piece of information that would have made Andrew really scared and not want to help. In fact, it kind of scared Ethan a bit. He was going to have to head to the shooting range to sharpen his skills just in case. Thankfully, as a fireman, they were also sworn officers, so he could legally carry a firearm. He never had, but today that would change.

"You're not going to see him. You will just pick him out from photos, and then they will get a warrant to search his house. The sooner we do this, the more likely it will be that they find the pictures, so you won't have to testify against them."

"Okay, we can do it."

"Let me get something from my room." Ethan excused himself to go grab something. When he came back, they got into the truck to head to the police station. "Can we get McDonald's on the way? I'm starving."

"Sure." They headed out and grabbed food.

At the police station, they were taken into a small room. Ethan was kept out as an officer showed Andrew six photos. He immediately picked out "Sir". The officer thanked him. Then he pulled out another sheet of six photos. The guy called Victor was on that sheet, and Andrew thought he looked familiar, not from that night but from somewhere else. The third set had the guy that was helping "Sir." Now that they were all identified, they would hopefully get locked up.

"Thank you, Andrew" the officer said as he led him back to Ethan.

They headed back home, and Andrew wanted to cuddle again. "Ethan, can we sit and cuddle again. I really need the comfort." Ethan seemed a bit leery of it, but agreed. Andrew didn't want anything sexual, just human contact and he knew Ethan was uncomfortable because he thought Andrew wanted something sexual. "I just need to be held, nothing else."

"Ethan?"

"Yes?"

"Something is bugging me. That Victor guy, he looked familiar but not from the fuck party. Sorry, I mean the..." Ethan interrupted.

"It's fine, You've been through a lot. I know he looks familiar to you. Do you know why?"

"No, I can't place him. Maybe from church? I would have recognized him though. Ethan, its really bothering me. Do you know anything?"

"Andrew, please don't panic." Andrew pulled tighter to Ethan, not knowing what was next. "Victor is that fucking asshole cop that kept threatening to take you to jail. He's locked up now and not a threat, but this changes things up. The case has been moved to the FBI, as it should have been from the start. They're now investigating the entire police department."

"But they know where I am. They know you. Ethan, we have to go somewhere."

"Buddy, we are going to be fine. Here, feel my shin." Andrew reached down to feel a lump of metal on Ethan's shin.

"What's that"

Ethan pulled up his pant leg to expose the Beretta M9 Semi Automatic pistol he grabbed before they left for the lineup. "We're safe."

"Wow, can I shoot it someday?"

"Sure, we can go to the range, bur only if Sarah says we can. It would be good for you to know what to do in case I can't use it."

"What do you mean if you can't use it."

"Andrew, I will protect you with my life. I've already proven that, but if for some reason I am not able to use it, you should be able to defend yourself. It won't come to that, but it's always good to be prepared. The Boy Scouts taught me that."

When they went to bed, Andrew begged Ethan to come sleep with him to make him feel safe. He promised not to do anything sexual.

Reluctantly, Ethan agreed, and they went to bed after they both took a shower. Ethan figured since he had to help with the shower, they should just do it together.

They slept amazingly well that night. Sometime in the night Ethan became the big spoon and the two slept with Ethan's arms hugging Andrew. Morning wood was the wake up call. Andrew felt something poking him in the ass. It felt so good, but he wouldn't take advantage of it today. He rolled over, waking Ethan.

Ethan wiped his eyes and looked at Andrew, "Morning cutie."

Andrew wanted to lean in and kiss him, but knew it would ruin his chances of having this happen again. "Morning, my hero." he said, batting his eyelashes at him. "See, that wasn't so bad. I slept so well. Did you?"

"Yes, I really did," Ethan agreed. "I just don't want you or anyone to get the wrong idea."

"I don't either, and I promise I won't try anything. Maybe we can do this until we figure out what's next. I haven't felt safe for a long time. Last night changed that. It's no different than a dad and son cuddling through a nightmare. Please think about it." Ethan didn't really respond, but he was thinking about it.

They got up and had their breakfast and were watching some local morning show on TV when the phone rang. It was the FBI agent in charge of the investigation. "Yes. Yes, great, I'll let him know." Ethan said.

"Andrew, your identification allowed them to charge and hold all three men. They also searched the house and found lots of photos and computers with video, along with the sex room. This is going to be a big case. According to the FBI, there are a ton of boys that have been abused there. You don't have to worry ever again. They even found a few other police officers in the photos."

Andrew hugged Ethan tight, and tears were running down his face.

"Am I going to have to testify? Will my name and picture be in the news? I don't want anyone to know. The pictures they have of me are really not things I want anyone to see. Ethan, please promise me that you won't ever see them. I don't want you to see all of the horrible things we did."

"Andrew, I don't ever want you to worry. I don't need to, or want to see those pictures, but even if I did, I wouldn't ever think badly of you. I know you did only what you had to do." Ethan was staring right into his eyes. "The things you did weren't bad, the situation was. You should never have been forced to do it for any reason. They can be very wonderful things to experience and share with the right person. The conditions and reasons that you did them may not be the same, though. You understand? Sex can be wonderful. Coupled with love, it's one of the most amazing things in the world." Ethan averted his gaze at that point.Andrew wanted to know what he was thinking.

Ethan was thinking about Andrew. He realized early on that he loved this boy, but just now realized that he was falling in love with him. He was also realizing that he had never truly fallen in love with anyone before. His inner struggle was hard. For now, Andrew would be like a little brother or son to him. He was going to fight to make sure this boy was protected.

"Andrew, I need to call Sarah to see what we can do to make sure you stay safe. I'll ask her if we need to go somewhere and get an update on my foster application." Ethan inquired.

"OK, whatever we need to do, I promise I will help out and not be in the way. Don't make me leave you." Andrew was begging at this point.

"Hold on son, let me chat with Sarah." He said as he walked into the bedroom, leaving Andrew in the front room. Andrew could hear his conversation with Sarah. Did he just call him "son"?

"Sarah, it's Ethan. What's the status of my foster application? I want to make sure Andrew can stay with me. They made some progress in the case and it could get interesting." There was a pause while Sarah was telling Ethan the options. "Really? How long can you do that for?" Another pause "Okay, that sounds good. In the mean time, can you work on the other paperwork?" pause. Why couldn't Ethan put her on speaker? "Okay, we will see you tomorrow then." And Ethan hung up.

"Andrew, Sarah says that I'm already approved for 30 days, basically until I go back to work. That gives us time to work out whether I can be your permanent foster. I know you don't want to go home, and I'm sure that won't happen. I'll do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't and I will do everything I can to... He paused. "to..." he started choking up. "Andrew, I want you to be my son, my little brother, my friend, my whatever we are. I'm going to figure out how we can do it." Ethan was crying and went over to hold Andrew. Andrew was crying because he was happy that Ethan wanted him.

Ethan's phone rang again. It was the district attorney calling. After he had a short chat he explained the call to Andrew. "The DA wants to talk to you about the case they have. Apparently, there are some interesting things that have popped up. They also have some questions for you, so I need to make sure Sarah is there too. I'll arrange it for tomorrow and have them come here to make it easier on all of us."

"Ethan, is it going to be okay? What do they want to know? What's going on?" I was worried as to why Sarah and the DA both needed to be here.

"They found out more about these guys and it may be helpful information Sarah can use to build our case for you to stay here." he said.

"How will that help us? I don't understand." Andrew said.

"Apparently your father is involved." Ethan said, then he hugged Andrew tight.

"What? I don't understand. How do you know who my father is? I haven't given anyone information about me on purpose, so that asshole won't ever find me again. How is he involved?" Andrew was screaming and struggling to get out of Ethan's embrace. His rage overtook him, and he began pushing and hitting Ethan.

"Shhhh, it's all going to be okay," Ethan kept repeating and holding him tight. Andrew finally stopped struggling when he was worn out and nearly went limp as Ethan guided him to the couch. Ethan kept holding him until they went to bed together.

Andrew woke up and didn't know how long he had slept. When he woke up, he was still in Ethan's arms. His morning wood was pressed deep into Ethan's belly. He wiggled free and ran to the bathroom. "Gotta pee!" He yelled as he launched out of bed.

He was in the middle of letting his morning piss go when Ethan walked in and joined him. While they'd seen each other naked, he usually gave Andrew as much privacy as he could when he was going to the bathroom. "Move or get wet." Ethan said as he unleashed his morning piss.

"Sorry, I had to go so badly I couldn't wait." He finished, shook it off, and tucked it back into his underwear. His cock was beautiful, but that's off limits for now.

"It's fine, not like we haven't seen each other before." Andrew responded.

They got ready for their day because the DA and Sarah were coming over after lunch. Andrew paced a zillion times, wondering how his dad was involved and how they knew he was his dad in the first place.

The doorbell rang, and Andrew ran and opened the door. "Hello." Ethan had caught up and was standing behind Andrew. There were two men in suits at the door.

"You must be Andrew Owens," the District Attorney said, as he held out his hand to shake. Andrew was shocked. How did he know his name? "I'm District Attorney Markowitz. I'm here to get your help to put these guys away. This is FBI Agent Daniels. I believe he's the one that spoke to you, Ethan."

"Owens?" Ethan whispered and looked at Andrew quizzically.

"Yes, sir." Andrew responded. "How did you figure out my name? I don't want to go back home. Please don't make me."

"Son, you don't need to worry. I don't think you'll be allowed to go home when we are done, and frankly, I don't think the state would want to put you in that situation. Can we sit down so we can all talk?"

Just then, Sarah arrived. "DA Markowitz, this is Sarah McFadden, our social worker," Ethan said, introducing them as they shook hands.

"Andrew, you helped us identify the three men that hurt your friend Ricky and took advantage of you. I need to understand the whole story so we can build an airtight case, so I want to walk through some of the things that happened. I know some of it may be hard to tell, but please don't hold back, I need to hear it so we can put them away, and help keep you from having to go back home. Most importantly, you are not going to get in trouble for doing things with these men." Markowitz looked at Ethan.

"Andrew, it's okay buddy, If you want me to go out of the room, I will, but nothing you tell them will change my mind about you or how much I care about you." Ethan said as he hugged Andrew.

"It's okay, Ethan, I need you here. But you never told me how you figured out my name." He was scared and was not sure what to expect.

"Andrew, son, we will get to all of that, but first things first. Where did you meet the men that hurt you?"

"Ricky had done work for them before, and he said they wanted another boy the night he got hurt, so we got a ride from him to their house. That was the first night I met them, but Ricky had been before, lots of times." Andrew offered.

"So, when you say he did work for them, do you mean he had sex with these men for money?"

"Yes, we had sex, took photos and videos."

"Son, are you sure you didn't know any of these men?"

"Yes, I mean, Ricky arranged it. I had never seen the man we had to call Sir before in my life. I remember all of my clients. There were only three guys there, but the one that he called Victor did look familiar, but I really couldn't figure out where I knew him from. He wasn't one of my clients, but Ethan told me he was the cop that kept threatening to put me in jail. I don't know why he looked familiar to me though."

"Yes son, he was a police officer, but is it possible he knew your dad?" DA Markowitz asked.

End of Andrew's Misplaced Trust - Chapter 25 - Andrew Thomas