Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2018 17:23:03 +0000 From: Dylan Greene Subject: Black Creek Boys: Chapter 5 DISCLAIMER: M/m This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This story contains descriptions of explicit sexual acts of boys and men. It contains graphic scenes of sex between consenting underage boys with adult males. If this type of content offends you or you are under the age of 18, do not read it. If it is illegal to read such material where you live or if you find the topic distasteful, then please stop reading now. You have been warned. This story is the property of the author. It can be downloaded for personal reading pleasure or sending to a friend, but if you wish to re-post them at your own site, please contact the author for permission. If you have enjoyed this or other stories on Nifty, consider donating tokeep the service free. http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html Author's Note: If you would like to contact me at greene_d_1987@hotmail.com feel free, feedback is, of course, always welcome. Chapter Five By the time both myself and Alex had made our way into the kitchen after taking our shower, we found Zack sitting at the table drinking a glass of orange juice and reading something on what I assumed to be his phone. "Morning." we all echoed as we greeted each other. Zack looked his brother over with a knowning glance as he sipped some of the orange juice before looking at me with a cheeky grin. Zack had already changed out of his black pajamas from last night and was wearing a tight fit peach colored t-shirt and loose fitting grey cargo shorts with a pair of short black socks on his feet. His hair was combed and looked to have been freshly cleaned so I assumed he'd already taken a shower. Alex had simply put on the same boxer briefs and oversized t-shirt he'd slept in since I still needed to go get the boys new clothes. We'd have to do that this afternoon after I called the police, as I assumed declaring my sister to be missing would take a few hours. "Is Daniel still sleeping then?" I asked Zack as I started to gather the various ingredients needed to make the scrambled eggs and shreaded steak for breakfest. "Maybe, he got up and went into the living room taking some of the blankets with him, so he might have fallen back asleep." Zack said absent mindedly, flicking through various things on his phone. I knew some people might have found it annoying for a teenager to be showing their phone more attention then they did an adult, but it didn't matter to me at all, most adults liked to spend time doing their own thing and teenagers were no different. I could see the argument in my mind and figured it was a pointless waste of time, some parents just didn't know how to pick their battles. Alex hopped up on one of the chairs next to his brother and the two of them began whispering just under hearing level. It was obvious what they were talking about, but I let them have their delusions of conspirasy for now. Twenty minutes later, the food was ready and Daniel was still nowhere to be seen. Both Zack and Alex had begun to moved to make their plates and I went to the living room to find where Daniel had gotten lost. He was curled in a ball, under three blankets, and sweating up a storm all while completely asleep on the couch. I began to unwrap the boy, but he seemed to start squirming around in his sleep as if to ward off whatever monster had arrived to tempt him from his slumber. "Daniel, breakfest is ready." I offered, attempting to get him to want to wake up. My efforts were rewarded with groans of displeasure before the boy finally woke up as I pulled the last blanket away and exposed his bare skin to the horrors of the frigid room temperature of what the early summer Georgia sun heated the house to. In other words, it was just over seventy degrees in the house with a slight breeze from the AC. Still, Daniel shivered before his eyes finally opened so I picked him up as he started streching as I carried the sleepyhead into the kicthen to where the food awaited him. Of course, Zack had removed his shirt last night and at some point, it apperead Daniel had wiggled out of his pajama bottoms as well. I moved to sit the half naked boy down at the table when Daniel stopped me. "No, carry me, your warm." He muttered through a yawn as he attempted to pull himself back into my shirt. Alex giggled and Zack didn't seem to care, so I sat down with Daniel in my lap as Zack moved to make his youngest brother a plate and glass of orange juice. Instead of eating, Daniel simply closed his eyes and streched again, causing his arms to reach up past my head where he held onto my neck, leaving his stomech, chest, and armpits at my mercy. "Come on Daniel, wake up and eat so I can eat too." I whispered into his ear as I began lightly tickeling his stomech, causing him to giggle and laugh. That seemed to be the final push he needed to actually wake up as he reached for his orange juice and took a drink. "I'm impressed, Dylan, normally no one can get him out of bed in the morning." Zack said, laughing. The gentle grin on the fourteen year old's face told me he was being geniune. "Yeah, Daniel sleeps like the dead and wakes up like a zombie!" Alex offered, raising his arms to make it look like he was a zombie. This caused Daniel to laugh and choke on his orange juice though, which also meant some of the juice got on my shirt. At first I didn't register the sudden look of fear on Daniel's face for what it was, I thought there might be something wrong with his juice. It wasn't until I slid Daniel off of my lap and stood up to get some washcloths from the drawer next to the silverware that Daniel seemed to relax. "Well, sounds like the perfect time for me to fetch some washcloths for you boys to use." I spoke as I grabbed the small handtowels and stopped in my tracks as I cought Daniel's glance. We stood there for a few seconds until the other two boys began to notice. The realization that Daniel had thought I'd hit him for spilling his juice on my shirt made my hands shake. I remembered similar moments from my own childhood, moments where everything was fine and then the smallest thing would set my father off. Zack stood and leaned over the corner of the dining table to reach for one of the washcloths, throwing it at Alex before taking one for himself. His grin was gone and in it's place was a distant stare that broke me out from my funk. Sitting down in the chair next to Daniel, who hadn't sat down just yet and was waiting for his own washcloth. I held it out between us for him and as he reached for it, I grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him into a side hug before planting a gentle kiss on top of his head. This earned me a silent hug from the small boy as well as another one of those geninuine smiles from Zack who had been watching me closely the last few moments. Once I had grabbed myself a plate of my own food, the boys seemed to be eating slowly, Zack having put his phone away and both Daniel and Alex were silent as they focused on eating. I figured this was as good a time as any to talk to them about what we'd be doing today, but I decided it'd be best to start with good news. "So, this afternoon, you boys feel up to going shopping? You still need new clothes, well, Zack seems to be doing pretty well in the fashion department, but I wouldn't mind buying you some more clothes if you want Zack." Daniel and Alex laughed as their older brother began to blush. "There's nothing wrong with looking nice." Zack said to no one in particular, yet to all three of us. "I'm not sure how Romeo will feel about you buying me clothes though." He said, mixed emotions on his face. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind you having clothes here as well, especially since you asked to move in with your brothers." Alex's eyes went wide as he looked to his older brother and Daniel simply gasped. "You gonna live with us again?" Daniel managed to ask first, since Alex had started to get teary eyed again and had to wipe his tears on the washcloth his borther had given him. "I was thinking about it, yes. But I don't think Romeo would like that." Zack spoke to his brothers but turned to me as he said the last bit. I could tell he didn't want to tell his brothers no, but he seemed to be hesitating for some reason on saying yes. "Speaking of, if I'm going to adopt the three of you, I doubt CPS would be happy with me letting you live with Romeo. You can still live where you want to Zack, Romeo already told me as much and I won't stop you, so don't worry about that." Zack seemed to cheer up at that, it was clear that Zack loved Romeo, but I could tell that he had a fear of disapointing the man similar to how Alex felt the need to please me. It was propably because of the neglect from their mother, but I'd have to make sure Romeo wasn't fostering that type of relationship. By this time, Alex had already managed to hug his brother and Daniel was just staring at his brothers from across the table, seemingly doubfonded. It had not been my intention to cause the boys to become emotional, and I second guested my decision to bring up the second topic but figured it needed to be done today. "Well, that's settled I guess, we'll go shopping as soon as we finish lunch, unless you three want to go out to eat." No sooner had I asked the question before the three of them all asked to go to T.G.I Fridays in Savannah. "Well, that was easy, hopefully this next bit is just as painless." I said, with a short chuckle before growing serious. The boys picked up on the change of tone in my voice immediately and the three of them waited for me to continue. "We should talk about your mother." Daniel refused to look at me as he started picking at the remaining food on his plate, but both Alex and Zack were watching me intently. Alex seemed to be afraid, though I had no idea as to why. Zack on the other hand had a bit of hatred in his eyes, I just hoped it wasn't directed at me. "It's been two days since you guys arrived. Since your mother hasn't come back or called, I'm going to report her missing. I just wanted to let you boys know beforehand. There is a good chance a policeman or woman might come out here to the house to talk to us." They seemed to think this over a bit but no one said anything for a few minutes until Zack spoke up. "CPS will also want to come out here and speak to us, what should we tell them?" I could tell he was scared, but unlike when he and I spoke alone, he seemed to be trying to seem more confident. Most likely because he was the big brother and he wanted to reasure his siblings by showing them he was strong. "Yes, I think they will. Just tell them the truth, though Zack you might want to leave out you going to live with Romeo. And Alex, I'm sure I don't have to tell you not to say anything about what your mother told you." Alex looked at me from behind the edge of his cup. It was empty, but he was trying to pretend to be drinking something as if to hide from the conversation. "What did momma tell you?" Daniel asked, obviously curious as to why he'd been left out of the loop. "Don't worry about it Daniel, Momma did a bad thing and made Alex upset is all. If he don't want to tell you, don't make him." Zack spoke up quickly, putting an end to that particular conversation for now. "Will CPS take us away?" Alex asked, obviously trying to get back on topic but also asking what I was sure must be on all three of the boys' minds. "I doubt it, this house and the estate is safe enough for children, I have plenty of food, and we'll be buying you all new clothes this afternoon. Besides all that, I'm your uncle and your closest living relative so they'd have no reason to take you away. They'll just want to talk to you about your mother and Paul." I offered. I'd been in the foster care system myself so I understood the fear of being taken away from a home you liked living in only to be shoved into some hoval. "Why would they want to ask us about Paul?" Daniel asked, confused as he pushed his plate aside and laid his head and arms on the table instead. "Because he and Momma were abusive." Zack said, fully knowing what all it meant to have to speak to the CPS lady. I couldn't help but notice it seemed like this wouldn't be the first time they had to go through this process, and that just broke my heart. "I'd ask you to tell me, but I won't make you do it all twice in one day." I said to Zack, who looked at me with half-hidden tears in his eyes. I already knew enough to hate Paul, but I also knew there was no way I'd learned the full story just yet. Zack just looked at me for a few seconds before looking down at his plate. The food was nearly gone at this point so he just pushed it aside and stood up to disapear into the living room. "I think he's upset." Alex said, holding onto the edge of the table, having slipped off of his chair so only the tips of his fingers and his eyes were visible from my position. It was an instictual attempt to hide on his part, and I knew that all three boys were upset in various ways. "It wasn't my intention to upset him, but yes, he is upset. You two leave him be for awhile if he wants to be left alone." I stood to start taking plates to the sink to wash off as both boys agreed to leave their older brother alone. Normally I would have made the boys clean their own plates, but given the conversation, it was best to let them off the hook this time. Shortly after I finished doing the few dishes we'd made and put the leftovers in the fridge, Daniel asked me if he could watch TV in the living room and I agreed. Zack still hadn't come back around but Alex had found a place in my shadow. He'd been following me around for about three minutes but hadn't said anything yet so I took the initiative. "If you need an umbrella, they're in the hall closet." The boy looked up at me with a puzzled expression. "You keep following me around like a shadow so I figured you were trying to hide from the sunlight." I offered with a snicker. "Oh, I just don't know what to do." Alex said in response, blankfaced and seemingly oblivious to my sense of humor. "You could always go watch TV with your brother." I offered. Alex quickly shot down that option as he wasn't interested in cartoons. "I'd prefer if you weren't there when I called the police, but if you promise to stay quiet while I'm on the phone I'll let you sit in my study with me." I offered as a second option while I wiped the kitchen table clean with a washcloth before piking up the other washcloths the boys had used to take them into the laundry room. A short while later, after I started the laundry round, I went to find Zack and make sure he was alright, Alex never leaving my shadow, though he still hadn't said much. I figured he just wanted to be close to me or that he wanted to be there when I called the police about his mother. Either way I didn't really mind the company. I found Zack upstairs, there were three bedrooms and a second bathroom, though two of the bedrooms were being used as storage and the third one was empty for the time being. Zack was in the small hallway between the bedrooms sitting in the window seat that overlooked the woods behind the house as well as the backyard. I turned to motion to Alex to stop where he was on the landing rather than come all the way up, and he seemed to understand my meaning without getting upset or feeling offended. I made sure to step on a few of the more creaky floorboards so Zack wouldn't be suprised or think I was trying to sneak up on him. "Zack, I just came up to see if you were alright." I spoke softly, giving him the chance to awnser or ask me to leave him alone before I contiuned speaking. He didn't seem all that interested in saying much, but I could tell he wasn't crying or angry anymore. "I'm fine, just thinking." He finally said after a few moments. He raised his right hand to his mouth and starting biting his nails, an anxiouty quirk no doubt, but I didn't say anything about it. As I sat down opposite him, I could see Alex had somehow managed to avoid the creaky steps on the stairs and was currently trying to peer over the last four or five steps at us to see what was going on. "I just wanted to let you know that Daniel is downstairs watching telivision and Alex will be in my study with me while I make a few calls." I was trying to make conversation for the sake of getting a feel for how the teen was doing, and I could tell by his lack of reciprocation that he didn't feel much like talking. "If you need anything, just give me a shout." I offered before standing to go back down stairs, Alex scrambling to return to the landing before I could see him peeking. "Thanks, but I'm fine Dylan, just thinking about things." Zack responded, finally opening up a bit, though I could tell he wouldn't be sharing whatever it was he was thinking about with me, at least not at the moment. It was good enough for me, I'd just wanted to make sure he hadn't gone off to have an emotional breakdown or anything. If he was doing okay, that's all I needed for now. Everyone needed a little space now and then so there wasn't anything wrong with him walking off the way he had. As myself and Alex made our way downstairs again, the thought occured to me to ask Zack if he wanted to convert one of the upstairs rooms into a bedroom for himself. If Alex continued to sleep in my room, and Daniel in the room opposite my own, Zack could always have the second story room to have his own space away from his brothers. I'd have to save that thought for later, at least until this afternoon. In my study, I told Alex to go look for a book to read on the shelves, which was funny because he went right up to my old encyclopedia collection and just looked back at me in disgust before I pointed him a couple shelves down to where the actual books were. He seemed to settle on an old poetry book, I wasn't sure but it looked like my mother's Robert Frost collection. These boys were a curious sort, I thought to myself with a smirk as I walked over to my desk and pointed to a sofa near the middle of the room for Alex to plant himself on. Before long, I'd looked up the non-emergency line for the Savannah police department and called in. The recpecionist was a middle aged woman who asked me about the nature of my call this morning, once I told her, she told me I would be transfered to a differnet line and to allow for a few minutes till someone could take the call. Not ten seconds later a man awnsered and started asking me various questions about the person I was reporting missing, such as what my sister looked like, her age, and of course the last time I'd seen her. By the time the conversation had turned to the last time I'd seen Sarah, I told the man that she'd arrived in the middle of the night with two of my nephews. I looked towards Alex just in case he started getting emotional again. He looked up at the mention of his and Daniel's names as the officer asked for their full names as well, but his attention shortly drifted back to the book of poems. He'd propped it up on his knee as he'd laid back with his head on the sofa's arm rest so he could easily look at me from behind the book. Alex seemed to be flicking threw the pages here and there, most likely skipping poems that didn't interest him and lingering on the ones he felt like reading. I continued on with the retelling of the conversation I'd had with my sister as well as what had happened a few hours later when she and Paul had run off. I left out the fact that Paul had pulled a gun on me and that my sister had stolen ten grand from my home. For now, the police didn't really need to know about any of that. Once the officer seemed to have just about everything he needed from me he told me to expect a call from CPS shortly so I asked him if he'd need to come out to my home or anything. He told me it wouldn't be necessary without offering an explination as to why not. I'd just hung up the phone as Alex peered around the side of the book he was reading and asked what would happen next. "Well, the police will try and find your mother, make sure she is alright and everything, but they will most likely end up charging her with abandonment of you boys as well as neglect. Possibly a few other charges depending on whatever they find at your guy's old home." I was trying to make it all sound far less scary then it was, as truth be told I was excited. I highly doubted Sarah would ever get the chance to consider herself a mother ever again, even if she wanted to come back into the boys' lives. Now, if one of the boys wanted to try and reconnect with their mother, that was their choice, I wouldn't stop them, but Sarah would never be welcomed into my house ever again. "What about CPS, have they said we can stay here yet?" Alex asked, worried that I hadn't mentioned anything on that front just yet. "The police officer told me that I should expect a call from them any moment, but whoever CPS ends up sending out here to speak with you boys will still want to speak to you all before they make any final decisions on where you live. Though, if they try and take you from me they'll have a fight on their hands. As far as the law is concerned, as your only adult relative I have the right to claim you boys and take you into my custody." That seemed to be a bit much for Alex to follow, but he still seemed satisfied by my awnser and returned to his book. A few minutes later, the phone rang and I awnsered only to be greeted by a young woman, her voice seemed familer but I couldn't place it until she sarcastically asked me why I hadn't given her a proper hello. Just went to show how much the last to days had thrown me off, I'd known Roseitta for years and she was one of my best friends. "Ahh, that's where I know you from, Roseitta, how's Alyssia been? I haven't seen you guys in what? Two weeks?" Roseitta simply laughed and after a few minutes of catching up she returned focus to the reason she'd called me. Alyssia was the friend of mine that lived down the road about ten minutes. She'd served as a member of special forces for a number of years before retiring from active duty. When I came home from Iraq, she'd heard through the grapevine about everything that had happened to me, and since we lived so close she came over for a visit one day and really helped me get out of the funk I'd been in at the time. We'd been friends for years since then, afterall, it really helped to have someone I could actually talk to about all the things I'd seen and done. Roseitta was Alyssia's wife, been married just over eight years if I remembered correctly, not that their marriage was considered legal in Georgia or anything. After Alyssia bought the pig farm and divorced her husband, she and her daughter moved down from Virgina, though oringally Alyssia was from New Orleans. Roseitta had been born in America and both of her parents had been Americans, but you could clearly see they were from Hispanic heritage. Roseitta had been thrown out at a young age, similer to Zack, though she'd been about fifteen at the time. She hadn't had much to do with her family since then and it was that origin of her's that had inspired her desire to work for CPS to try and help a few children here and there where she could. Alyssia and Roseitta were good people, and I knew that if she was the one calling me from the CPS office I'd be in good hands. Hell, Alyssia would give her hell if Roseitta tried any CPS bullshit on me, I knew that much. "So, Dylan. I heard what your sister did, and I'm sorry for that, but we've spent enough time being personal and I need to ask you a few questions about the boys." She sounded serious now so I knew she wasn't being my friend right now, she was doing her job. "Ask away, Roseitta, I understand." I offered in response. "First, when the boys arrived or hence after, have you noticed any bruises, injuries, or scars we should know about?" Straight to the point like always, it was one of the many quirks of Roseitta that I knew Alyssia loved her for. "I haven't given them full body examinations, but no I haven't noticed anything. Although, on that note, I have reason to believe that the man my sister was with might have physically abused my oldest nephew, Zack." I watched Alex out of the corner of my eye, but he seemed to be hiding behind the book he was reading. "Zack? I have an Alex, eleven, and a Daniel, eight. The police officer didn't mention a third child, how old is Zack?" Roseitta asked, clearly shocked that she'd actually missed a child. "He's fourteen. He wasn't with his brothers when Sarah left them here, that's most likely why I'd forgotten to mention him to the police officer. I apologize for that Rose." I offered. "Well, where did you find him then Dylan?" Roseitta asked quizzicly, I knew she was trying to understand a fuller picture of what she was dealing with, but I could also tell she was trying not to be to pushy since we were friends. "Well, Alex and Daniel told me about him yesterday, Sarah and Paul threw him on the streets last year. The boys knew where to find him and so when we went into Savannah yesterday, we swung around and looked for him." I didn't want to mention the exact location of where I'd found my oldest nephew, as I didn't want to throw another wildfire in the boys' direction. "The streets? Damn, Dylan, it's truly a blessing you managed to find him, but you should have called this in yesterday. Why did you wait till today?" Now Roseitta was starting to sound like the classic accusitory CPS I'd known as a foster child. "To be honest Roseitta, I wanted to let the boys feel some semblance of peace before we started this whole mess. Don't forget, I was a foster kid, I know exactly what the next few weeks and months will look like for these boys. Don't try and play that hard ball shit with me, you know where I come from." It was my turn to throw a bit of venom Rose's way, though from the sounds of it she understood my meaning. "I apologize Dylan, I didn't mean to. Still, you should have called, given the circumstances, the only one of the boys that really sounds like he might need a checkup at the moment is Zack, if he was on the streets we'll want to see if he needs any medical treatment and we'll want to run some blood tests to make sure he hasn't been on any drugs or other substances. Daniel and Alex will also need to be questioned, if this Paul was abusing Zack chances are he did the same to the two of them as well." She paused for a moment before continuing, as if to collect herself. "Don't forget where I come either Dylan, I know what the streets do to a child, and if Zack's been out there for a whole year then he'll need help, not just a home, he'll need therapy." She didn't need to remind me of all that, I already knew all three of these boys would need to see a speacialist at some point, Zack especially. "I know Rose, I know, and I apologize as well. You should also know that Zack was thrown out for the same reason you were, apprently Sarah and Paul found some of his porn and Paul threw a fit, started hitting on him and whatnot, so Sarah threw him out." I could hear Roseitta choke up at that, but she collected herself and continued on with the questioning. "Have you noticed any signs of mental or emotional trauma with the boys Dylan?" I didn't really want to awnser that, at least not with Alex in the room, obviously listening in on my side of the conversation. "Yes, Zack is pretty much how you would expect, I'm honestly suprised he's already started to trust me, but it was touch and go for a while. The only reason he agreed to come out here with me is because he wanted to make sure his brohters were safe." I could tell Alex was really trying to keep himself from being noticed as he was eavesdropping fairly heavily. Whenever I cast a glance his way he'd reposition the book so I couldn't see his eyes. "Daniel, the youngest, suffers from migraines and it was raining pretty nasty for a few hours yesterday. He seemes to really rely on his brothers for emotional support and shuts down easily. Likely because of the verbal abuse from both Sarah and Paul." I could see Alex was waiting to hear what I'd say about him, and as I hesitated, Roseitta also asked about Alex. "He's the most affectiante out of the three, but I worry that he tries to put others ahead of himself at times. From what I've seen, he seems afraid of disapointing me and I'm worried Paul might have abused him emotionally, possibly..." My voice trailed off as I went teary eyed. Alex had sat up, at first he seemed upset that I was talking about him, but he quicklly changed tune as I mentioned his own abuse. He'd gone teary eyed as well and I could see by the pained expression in his eyes that my theory was correct. "Possibly what Dylan? Please don't say sexual abuse, I hate those cases." Rose spoke in a hushed tone as if she'd suddenly gone weary. I couldn't say it, not with Alex present, but I knew I had to anwser Rose. "No, I don't believe so, I was talking more about physical abuse. Zack's the only one that's said anything and Daniel doesn't seem to display any signs of it, but both Alex and Zack do. I should mention though, Daniel seemed to think I'd be angry with him earlier this morning when he spilled orange juice on my shirt, I want to say he seemed more afriad I might yell at him then hit him, but I'll leave the anaylasis to the professionals. Where Alex is concerned, I think that after Zack left, Paul turned his anger towards him." Alex had made his way over to me, crying, and had crawled into my lap for comfort. "Is that crying? Are one of the boys with you Dylan?" Roseitta sounded concerned. "Yes, sorry, it seems Alex was listening in on our conversation and caught the tail end of it. Give me a moment will yeah?" I asked as I put the phone down on the desk. Despite the fact the phone was no longer next to my ear I still managed to hear Rose telling me to take my time. Alex was sobbing into my chest silently, he'd curled up into a ball similar to how Daniel had done, but he was shaking so heavily I thought he might just fall out of my lap. I whispered "I love you," into his ear as I embraced him into a hug and held him there for a few seconds. "How'd you know? I never told you he hit me." Alex sobbed. I'd wanted to avoid this, but it was something that would come up sooner or later so I'd figured it might be better if he learned I knew from me and not from some lady asking him questions. I pulled the boy out of his ball formation so his head was leaning back on my shoulder so I could look into his eyes. He managed to wrap himself around me again, as he seemed to hold onto me with both arms as if he might lose me otherwise. "Alex, when me and your mom were little, my father hurt us the way Paul hurt you. I remember it well enough that I could see the same pain in your eyes. Little things, about you and your brothers, things you boys might not even know you do. It's things like that that tell me what you've been through." Alex had stopped crying, but I was still holding him when I picked up the phone again. "Hey Rose, sorry, Alex needed me for a moment and between the two of you, I prefer talking to him." I said with a laugh, which caused Alex to giggle. "Oh no, I agree Dylan, I don't much like talking to adults anyway." She said with a chuckle, though I knew she was still telling the truth. I'd heard her complain about one horrible parent after another and to a point I could agree, adults were far more manipulative and generally just a pain to deal with than kids were. "Well, I can only assume that CPS would like to come out and check out the boys today, any idea what time? I was gonna take the boys out to buy some clothes as their mother hadn't really left them with much." I asked as I did need to know when my home would be invaded by CPS. "Well, if your coming into Savannah, you can bring the boys in yourself and we can get it all over with fairly easily, or if you'd prefer I can swing by your place before I head home tonight, though it'd be around five at the earliest." Roseitta offered in kind. "Oh, I can definattly bring the boys in, that would work perfectly." I said, as I began rubbing Alex's back absentmindedly. Once both I and Rose had agreed on a time, I stood up, carrying Alex in my arms for a few feet before slinging him over my shoulder, causing the boy to start laughing. The oversized t-shirt had rode up his backside, leaving his beautiful bubble butt covered only by his indigo boxer briefs which were so loose fitting that they clearly showed the curve and crack of his behind. We made our way to the living room where Daniel was peeking from around the corner so high off the ground I was confused until I realized he was peeking around the corner while standing on the sofa. I put Alex next to his little brother and called Zack to come downstairs only to turn around and see him drinking another glass of orange juice as he awnsered me from the kitchen. "Well, Daniel, you need to get a shower, why don't you go help him Zack?" I asked, speaking to Zack and Daniel, "And Alex, you go ahead and get everyone's laundry in the laundry room and I'll show you how to start the washing machine." I gave them their orders and waited for them to head off to attend to their chores as they just stayed where they were. Of course, Daniel was the one that asked me what I was going to be doing in the meantime. "I guess, I'll be making a list of things we'll need to buy, might as well get more then just clothing since were going all the way into town. I'll also need to go feed the chickens, unless one of you feel up to the task" I offered, a part of me was actually kinda excited to get the ball rolling, the sooner I got custody of the boys the better in my mind. Of course, it was that moment of happiness that just had to be ruined by the phone ringing. As the boys finally went off to do as I'd asked them to, I went into the kitchen and picked up the phone. "Hello, Dylan Streetman speaking, do you mind-" I was cut off by the man on the other end of the line. "This is Officer Gary Blackwell from the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department, I understand you called here earlier to report a Sarah Streetman missing. Is that correct sir." The officer spoke in short abrupt phrases causing his sentences to become choppy and harder to follow as the blood rushed to my forehead. It was all I could do not to think the worst had happened, had Sarah overdosed or done something else stupid with the money and gotten herself killed? My thoughts were racing and I couldn't think properly. No matter how much I hated the woman, she was still my sister and I'd only ever wanted her to end up happy and safe somewhere, even if she hadn't wanted me in her life. "That's correct Officer Blackwell, has something happened to her?" I finally managed to ask as Alex peeked his head from around the laundry room door to see me now sitting at the kichten table. "Oh no, we haven't found her yet, I was just calling to confirm that you had indeed seen her when you said you had." I was getting confused, why would I have lied about seeing her? I asked myself. "Yes, she was here at my home, I told one of your fellow officers all of this earlier, I don't understand why you would have thought I was lying." I said, more out of confusion than anger. "We wanted to make sure she had really been there is all sir, we've been attempting to locate her for some time now and I was suprised to see her name on the missing persons list." The officer spoke, again choping his words into short and abrupt phrases where he shouldn't have, making himself more difficult to understand. "You've been looking for her? Has she committed crimes I wasn't aware of?" I asked, worried of what I might hear and scared whatever crimes Sarah had done might have involved the boys. "Sarah Streetman, also known as Sarah Gillard on the lease of her trailer you told us about, is wanted for various drug trafficing charges as well as two counts of assault with with a deadly weapon, illegal possesion of firearms, and multiple public indecency and criminal misconduct charges. There is also an old charge on her record of savere child abuse concerning her eldest son, apperently she broke his arm with a frying pan when he was four." As Officer Blackwell read off the list of charges my sister was accused of and had most likely committed, I felt a painful urge to vomit coming up from the base of my stomech like I was being cut with a knife. "Oh my god, she..." I couldn't speak, my eyesight went red and I swear I saw the wood of the table bend and pull like my eyes were straining as I put a hand to the back of my head. "I'm sorry to ask sir, but is there anything else you could tell me about the last time you saw your sister?" I was crying now, tears of anger that spilled over the edges of my eyes and burned my skin. Before I knew it, Alex was by my side, still in nothing but his underwear and my t-shirt as he held my hand attempting to comfort me. "I hadn't wanted to say anything, since money isn't really an issue for me, but as she was leaving, she stole ten grand from the hidden compartment at the end of the staircase railing. Our family has kept money hidden there for genereations so she knew about it." I spoke as my eye sight was finally starting to clear, I wanted to kill that woman with my bare hands for what she'd done to Zack. How could someone break a four year old's arm with anything? Much less a fucking frying pan? "You just let her take the money then?" The officer could tell there was more to the story then what I'd already mentioned so I forced myself to continue. "There was a man with her, Paul, I can't remember his last name at the moment but he had what I think was a revolver. He threatened to shoot me so I told them to just go." Alex was starting to get teary eyed as well, I wasn't sure but I don't think he knew about Paul having a gun the other night. "Paul, do you mean Paul Matterford?" Officer Blackwell asked, giving me a breif discription of the man but it wasn't needed as Alex had whispered into my ear, confirming that was Paul's last name. "Yes, one of the boys just told me that his last name was Matterford. Please don't tell me he's done anything to harm the boys either, I've already been through enough today." I pleaded with the officer. Alex seemed to go pale and looked like he wanted to run which made my heart drop. "Paul Matterford is a registered sex offender Mr. Streetman, if you'd prefer we don't have to go into specifics on the issue, but since your sister had three children in the home with him you'll have to hear about it at some point." Alex could overhear the officer on the phone and his head just hung low. I whispered his name while the officer listed off various drug trafficing related crimes and other crimes such as battery, assult, and such as Alex refused to look at me. It wasn't until I reach for the boy that he flinched away from me, tears falling from his face as he turned to run away from me. Luckily, Alex ended up running face first into Zack's chest. "Is there anything else I can do for you officer? I'd like to tend to my nephews now." The officer seemed to pause before responding and Zack wrapped his arms around his now screaming brother. Neither I nor Zack broke the gaze between us as Zack didn't seem to understand what was happening but still wanted to make sure his brother was alright. "I understand Mr. Streetman, you've confirmed all I need to know for now but I would like you to come into town and help me fill out a police report if you don't mind. It's just one more crime on the list, but it'll help us nail Matterford when the time comes." Without awnsering, I hung up, leaving the phone where it was on the table and picking Alex up out of his older brother's arms. "What happened?" Zack asked with a frightened expression in his eyes. Alex had stopped screaming but had since started attempting to hit and kick his way out of my arms. "Alex, your okay, Alex!" I yelled loud enough to be heard over the commotion of the child in my arms. "No! No! Let me go, no!" Alex managed to yell back at me through his tears as I carried him into the living room and plopped him onto the sofa. "I already told you boys earlier today, if you don't want to talk to me about your mom and Paul you don't have to." Both boys were watching me now, tears of anger still leaking from my eyes as I sat down next to them and put a shacking hand on Alex's knee. The boy swiped his hand against mine, knocking it from his knee before pulling both of his legs into his chest, resting his head on his knees. Zack was the first to speak, finally picking up on his brother's actions. "What did Paul do to you?" Zack asked, the older boy's face had gone pale and he started shaking with what I assumed to be the same anger I was feeling. Alex on the other hand seemed to be trying to curl in on himself, refusing to look at either of us. I felt like my ribs had been taking a beating and my heart and lungs hurt so much. I couldn't help but remember when Sarah and Paul were running back to his truck and how I'd wanted to shoot them. I knew I'd done the right thing by letting them leave without violence but I still wish I'd have shot both of them, him especially. "Zack, leave him be." I whispered, I'd turned my attention to the coffee table and I was giving it a fairly stern glare while I waited for the red to fade from the edges of my vison. "Daniel's still in the shower right?" I asked as Zack nodded his reply. "Good, you stay here with Alex, I need to go call a friend of mine." I stood up and felt Alex's fingers grasping for my hand. He didn't say anything but when I turned to look at him, he offered me a tear filled gaze that seemed to be telling me he was sorry. "Alex, there's no reason for you to be ashamed, no matter what Paul did to you or why, you are safe here, that I can assure you." He looked away from me again when I mentioned Paul's name, letting his hand fall from mine while Zack scooted closer to his brother to be close to him. As much as I knew I needed to be the adult in this situation, I really didn't want to be this angry around the boys. Instead, I walked away from them and slowly made my way down the hall to my study. Luckily, the red in my vision had cleared, though in it's wake I was left with an overwhelming knot in my gut. For the time being I needed to focus my mind on something else, so once I made my way over to my desk, I pulled out a pad of paper and started jotting down various things the boys would need to get when we made our way to the store in town. Everything from swimsuits to new socks, I even decided to go ahead and get them all new shoes and boots, though I'd want to stop by an actual boot store to pick up some quailty ones. A proper southern man needed proper southern leather on his heels afterall. Eventually, I was joined by Zack, who informed me that Daniel had finsihed his shower about twenty minutes ago and he and Alex where sitting in the living room watching television and eating ham sandwhiches. "I've been meaning to ask you Zack, there are three bedrooms downstairs, so you and Daniel could both have your own rooms, but there is that empty room upstairs if you'd prefer some space from your brothers." I'd worried Zack would come in here and ask what I might have known about what happened to his brother, or worse yet, he'd tell me Alex told him and he'd come to tell me all the horrible details in turn. I was relieved when he played along with my feigned ignorance of that particular issue for the time being. "I don't really care. Alex and Daniel are the ones that need new stuff, I'm fine." Zack was leaning into the front of my desk, as if he was trying to see what I'd already written down. "Don't forget, neither of them have their own pajamas and while mine are a little large on Alex, Daniel is a lost cause entirely." I couldn't help but crack a grin at that as I wrote down "pajamas" on my list of items. "Other than clothing, is there anything else you want or need?" I asked, glancing up at the young teen only to be met with a puzzled look. "Want or need? I'm not sure what you mean." Zack asked, figiting. "Yeah, obviously your brothers need new clothes and such, and I'm sure you'll need a few extra things here and there so you have enough clothes when your here, but I'm sure there must be other things you boys might want." Now, I knew the boys hadn't grown up with much, but it never dawned on me that the boys might not even know how to "want" things. I'd heard from Rosietta that some of the kids that she worked with didn't even know how to ask for help when they needed it. It wasn't a matter of being afraid or not wanting to have to ask, it was something deeper than that. They had grown up with so little that even the smallest things like new shoes or a hot meal seemed so far out of their reach that the children wouldn't even understand how to ask for them. Similar to how normal people would never even think to ask for a set of royal jewelry, it simply wouldn't cross their mind. I realized that a few moments of silence had past and I was making Zack nervous. "Zack, when we are shopping, if you like something, just tell me. If your hungry, tell me and I'll make sure your fed, okay." I opted to speak gently, making sure to let the poor boy know he wasn't in trouble. "Okay." He whispered in return, moving to leave as I could tell he was still rather uncomfortable with the conversation. I would have given him a hug to reasure him, but he'd moved too far away and I didn't want to make him feel any less comfortable about the situation than he already did. It was nearing ten in the morning and I knew we needed to get a move on if we were going to get all the shopping done since the CPS office and the police report would likely take a few hours. We'd just eaten breakfest and as I entered the living room, I noticed the half eaten sandwhiches. I figured it'd been all Zack could think to do to comfort Alex so I didn't say anything, though it meant we would propably end up eating a late lunch. "Okay boys, take your plates into the kitchen and wash them, there should be a towel in there next to the sink. I'll go get your clothing out of the dryer. We'll leave once your all dressed." They'd begin moving around before I'd even finished speaking which was nice, though Alex still wouldn't talk to me and Daniel seemed to be standoffish himself for some reason. As I gathered their laundry and folded what wasn't needed at the moment, I was greeted by the sounds of silverware against glass and the sound of three boys washing their dishes before the sounds of small feet slapping against the spanish tile in my direction. The younger one began to strip his dirty laundry off to replace it with what was clean, but Alex hesitated, catching my gaze on his small body before picking up his clothes and running off to change in private. Zack had noticed it too, and seeing my reaction decided to speak on Alex's behalf once Daniel had returned to the living room. "He's nerevous about you seeing him now that you know Paul beat him. I was the same way when Romeo found out what Paul had done." The young teenager paused in thought before continuing. "No amount of reasurance can really wash away the shame of being abused, at least, that's how Romeo explained it to me." I could hear the sadness in Zack's voice as he too seemed to still have lingering feelings of shame at being abused by Paul. "Do you know if Paul hit Daniel too? Or if your mother hit either of them? The Police told me about what she did to you when you were four, if I had known what you boys were going through, I would have..." My voice trailed off as the edges of my vison began to grow red again. I needed to calm down. "No, I don't think so, Alex would have told me if he had and Momma stopped hitting us once I started hitting her back." He'd said that last bit with a sense of pride, and I couldn't blame him. Finding the will to defend not only yourself from an abusive parent but to defend your siblings as well, that took a level of courage I'd rarely seen outside of my fellow Veterans. "God, I wish you boys had grown up better, if only I could have been there-" Zack cut me off. "So what, we had it hard, tough. If you'd been there Uncle Dylan, I'm sure you would have put a stop to it but you weren't there, you had no idea what we were going through and Alex and Daniel won't hold that against you, and I won't either!" Zack was getting worked up again and I was starting to get concerned with how emotional and stressful the past few hours had been. Today was suppose to be a good day, it'd started so well. "I still hold it against myself Zack, even if you boys don't. I'm your uncle, I should have been there." I paused only long enough for Zack to try and say something else, though I cutted him off by adding. "Besides, it's like what Romeo told you about being ashamed of being abused, in my own way, I'm ashamed I wasn't there for you and your brothers." I could tell Zsck had no idea what to say to that, he'd just looked at me with those soft grey eyes we both shared as a pained expression held over his face. "I'm proud of you Zack." I told him, and I meant it. My words seemed to cause him to stop dead in his tracks, frozen as he just looked at me for a few more moments. "I-" He started before going silent. He seemed confused so I felt the need to elaborate some. "You've looked after your brothers well. Even with everything you three have been through you've done right by your brothers, which is more than your mother could ever claim. I'm willing to bet that every shread of decency in those boys is there because you took care of them, kept them safe, and showed them a better path than the one your momma showed you." My words seemed to have stunned the poor boy, but after a few moments his face cracked and the waterworks were on full force once again as he reached for comfort. Just as last night in the study, he gave me as tight a hug as he could and refused to let go. I couldn't help but hold him to me as well, though after a few more moments he'd calmed down and begun to loosen his grip. I had my chin resting on his head so that I could give his hair the occasional kiss as I rubbed his back. With a long sigh, he finally pulled away with a cheeky grin on his face. "I can see why Alex likes you so much." He offered with a wink after he'd dried his eyes, causing me to chuckle. "Well then, go check on your brothers while I get dressed to go out, I want the three of you in the living room with socks and shoes on by the time I'm done." A smile and a "Yes sir." later, he was gone and I went to my room to change. To Be Continued...