Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2018 05:38:12 +0000 From: Dylan Greene Subject: Black Creek Boys: Chapter Six 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 to keep 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 Six The drive into Savannah had been mostly quiet, Zack seemed deep in thought and Alex was still refusing to speak to me. Daniel on the other hand had remained standoffish, even muttering under his breath whenever I said something. Considering we were on our way to the CPS office, I wasn't particularly inclinded to push the boys any further then what was already being asked of them. If Daniel needed to express himself by being rude, I'd let him, just today. With the tension building, I'd put on some music, though none of the boys seemed interested in singing along, to be fair to them nethier did I, but it was still better then silence. The boys offered no resistance or questions once we arrived, instead getting out of the truck and following me into the small office building without making a fuss. It wasn't until we were greeting the older woman at the front desk that one of the boys finally stopped acting like some sort of automation as Daniel reached for a bowl of green peppermints on the front counter. Carrie, the older woman who had phoned Rosietta to let her know we were here, smiled and told the other two boys they could have one as well, though neither of them gave her so much as a glance while stating their "Thank you's." to the woman. Daniel on the other hand took a handful and attempted to shove them in his pocket before I could chastise him. Sadly enough for him, I'd seen him and told him to put them back. I began to turn towards the direction the other boys had gone to sit down when I heard the crash of glass and turned to see green peppermints everywhere and Daniel looking up at me with anger in his eyes. Carrie, of course, rushed to the aid of the adorable little boy, asking him if he'd hurt himself and guided him away from the glass as I muttered my apologies to her. I offered to help the woman clean the mess, but she called some man named Tom, and pointed me away from the broken glass. I sat down next to Daniel, thinking it'd just been an accident, but just then Rose arrived to take us back to a private seating area where she could speak to us alone. As we walked down the hallway, Rose complimenting the boys on how handsome they all were, Zack whispered in my ear, telling me that he thought his youngest brother might be mad at me and I was begining to suspect the same. "So, Mr. Streetman here is your Uncle, right boys?" She asked once we all sat down. While sorting through her paperwork, laying what she needed on the coffee table between the two facing sofas, we took our places opposite her. The boys all responded confirming my relation with them, and Rosietta continued on. "Good, my name is Rosietta Claytor, but you can call me Ms. Rose if you'd like." "Forgive me Ms. Rose, but we do have somewhere else to be if you wouldn't mind-" Zack began as I cut him off. "Don't be rude Zack, Rosietta is doing us a huge favor right now." I spoke sternly, though Rose didn't seem too happy with me for speaking at all. "Thank you Mr. Streetman, but I'd prefer it if you let the boys speak as they please, rude or otherwise." She'd spoken to me just as sternly as I had to Zack, which caused me to bite my tongue. Using my formal name was just another layer on the cake as she was making it very clear to me that she wanted to keep this professional. "Zack Streetman, it says here that your fourteen and your Uncle has told me that your mother and her boyfriend, a Paul Matterford, kicked you out of their house sometime last year. Would you mind elaborating?" I was sure Zack had seen this question coming, we'd even spoken about it at breakfest, and yet it seemed to catch him off guard. "Paul said I was a queer and Momma threw me out after he told her to." He awnsered in an almost disinterested tone. I looked the other two boys over and they seemed to have a similar expression as their brother, almost like they weren't really there. Rosietta did her best to pry the boys open bit by bit, though neither of the three offered anything more than I already knew. Alex and Zack told her about Paul beating on them and even Daniel told her of a time or two he remebered Paul snapping at him. The way they spoke so emotionlessly, caused me to grow more and more afraid of what sort of damages the boys had suffered because of the abuse and neglect. It wasn't until Rosietta asked Alex and Daniel about the night that their mother dropped them off that any of the boys started to soften up. I'd sat there and watched the boys talk about that night, Zack mostly watching his brothers as well giving me a glance or two now and then, but Daniel was the one that broke emotionally first. Rose had asked him about whether or not his mother had told him she would be leaving when he started crying. Both Alex and Zack attempted to comfort him but when I reached across Alex to touch his knee, Daniel started yelling and even threw a punch my way, accidently hitting the top of Alex's head with his elbow, sending his brother to the floor. I could feel Rosietta's eyes on me so I made no movement to stop the flailing boy nor did I yell at him. Instead, I let him hit me as he wished until Zack was the one that pulled him back down. I'd wanted to cry so badly that I felt like my face was going numb, but that might have been my lip and eye starting to swell from where Daniel had managed to hit me. Alex, of course, had attempted to take a swing back at his brother but I quickly pulled him back to the sofa now sitting opposite his brothers with me inbetween them as Zack moved to do the same with Daniel. Rosietta didn't speak for a few moments until she simply shut the folder she was holding and calmly suggested we begin the individual interviews instead. She guided us out of the small room where three other woman of various ages were waiting to speak to the boys. Neither Daniel or Alex so much as looked at me before stomping off with their respective counselors as Zack turned to me. "Are you okay Dylan?" By this point I just couldn't handle the situation any more and the tears I'd been trying to hold back finally got the better of me. I didn't understand where Daniel's anger was coming from. Alex I understood because Zack had explained it to me, but Daniel seemed so mad it felt like I was the one that had hurt him somehow. I nodded back to my oldest nephew while Rosietta insisted that Zack speak to the older woman waiting for him while she spoke to me. I hadn't been expecting to be questioned myself, at least not by Rosey, but I figured I'd trust her above anyone else here. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that Dylan, you need to understand that it's very doubtful Daniel is actually mad at you." I looked at the the woman I considered a friend like she'd gone mad, causing her to chuckle as she opened the door to her office. "You see, it's actually a sign that he feels safe with you, I know, I know, it sounds crazy, but consider this," She pointed to a seat in front of her desk before she sat down and logged into her computer. "He was always forced to hide his emotions out of fear of what would happen if he spoke up, his oldest brother stepped up and was thrown out, then Alex started getting the brunt of Paul's abuse. Now that Daniel feels safe, he's free to express his anger at his abuse and since your both an authority figure as well as the one that makes him feel safe, he directs that anger at you, while knowing you won't hurt him for it." The entire time Rose had been speaking, she'd also been typing and writing various things on her computer as well as in her notes. She'd look over at me every few seconds only to refocus on what she was doing until I finally wiped my tears and spoke up. "Paul Matterford is a registered sex offender." I spoke calmly, Rose gave me a long stern look as what I said sunk in. She made another note in her papers, circling it twice before turning to look back at me for an explination. "After we spoke I got a call from a Police Officer named Gary Blackwell, he was asking me questions about Sarah, apprently she and Paul both have warrants out for their arrest and he told me that my nephews were living in the same house as a registered sex offender." I leaned forward, in tears once again, as Rose came to sit next to me, offering me what sympathies she could. "Dylan, I'm so sorry. I'm, I just don't know what to say. I knew I should have let someone else take this case, I just didn't want you to have to go through all this without a friend." After a short round of hugs and mummbled thanks, Rose returned to her desk and resumed her professionalism. She and I spoke over various things about the boys, what they needed as far as clothing and food as well as the obvious need for therapeutic care, but we also spoke about what I needed to do to make sure the boys were safe and remained with me. I already knew the boys would be placed in my care but given the circumstances, Rose told me we could rush the adoption process and sever Sarah's parental rights. It was about forty minutes later when the first of the three other woman came knocking on Rosietta's door to imform her that they were done with one of the boys that Rose and I ended our conversation and I went out to sit with Daniel, the knot in my stomech from earlier pulling at my insides as I saw his look of anger when he saw me again. We sat in silence for about five minutes before Daniel finally spoke to me, though he still refused to look at me. "I hate you." He said in one short breath, glancing in my direction as if to see my reaction. I couldn't help but feel the need to tell him I loved him, but the words got stuck in my throat as I just sat there staring at the side of his face. "I said I hate you." He repeated himself as if I hadn't heard him. This time I also sensed a hint of pain or perhaps sadness in his voice. He turned and looked at me and I couldn't help but feel slightly afraid of just how much an eight year old child was able to cause me so much pain with something as simple as words. "I said I hate you Uncle Dylan." Again I just staired at him, my words still clinging to the back of my tongue, unspoken. "I hate you!" He whispered harshly, standing up and stepping towards me, tears begining to form around his eyes. I couldn't help but remember back to when I was his age, screaming at my older sister, telling her how much I hated her because she'd done something to upset me. I'd never meant it, at least not back then, but I'd known just how much it hurt her to hear me say it and it'd been the only way I'd known how to hurt her. I shook my head at Daniel, mimicking the way my sister had always done with me, causing the young boy to pause, just as I had all those years ago. I couldn't help but feel the bittersweet pain of those memories running almost parallel to now as I gently replied to Daniel's challenging glare. "I don't care, I still love you." I saw the same conflicted expression on Daniel's face as I had alaways had whenever my sister had said those same words to me. It was almost like I could feel the same expression on my own face, the mixture of pain and confusion as my anger melted into shame. Just as I knew it would, Daniel's face finally contorted into tears as he attempted to gasp for air. I reached out and pulled the small child into my lap and held him there as he slowly started crying. I began to sooth him just as Zack arrived, his own interrogator in toe behind him on her way to speak with Rose. The older boy actually gave me a smile as he sat down silently beside us. After a few more minutes, Daniel had calmed down and stopped crying, though he still clung to me like some horrible monster waited for him outside my reach. Once Alex arrived, giving me an exasperated look before sitting down next to me. He and Zack started talking about what they wanted for lunch while we waited for Rosietta to come back for us. When she finally arrived, she gave me a huge grin when she saw Daniel sitting in my lap and asked the boys if they would mind if she took me away for a few minutes, promising that if they agreed, we would be free to go afterwards. I couldn't help but match her grin when Daniel was the only one to protest my temporary departure. Thankfully, he found a place in Zack's lap, safe and warm until my return. Rose shut the door behind me and quitly moved to her desk as I sat down. "So, you'll be happy to hear that I looked into Paul Matterford and, thankfully, it's doubtful he harmed any of the boys sexually." She paused, sorting through her notes and paperwork. "Aperentlly, he was charged with indicent exposer to a minor when he was twenty-four, something about waking up in the bushes next to a playground after attepting to urinate late at night after having once to many at the bar." She chuckled as if discovering that Paul hadn't harmed the boys one way would lighten the fact that he'd hurt the boys another way. My glare seemed enough to put Rose back on track though, so I said nothing on the matter. "So, as you mentioned on the phone, it does appear that both Zack and Alex have suffered savere physical abuse. Zack seems a bit on the tougher side, but Susan and I agree that he's likely just putting on a show for the sake of his brothers, trying to appear strong so they'll feel safe as it were." I nodded my own agreement with this so far, as I hadn't really heard anything I didn't already known for myself. "You were also right about Alex, he definatlly seemes to seek approval, though from what he and Zack have said on the matter, Paul and Sarah would humilate and belittle him constantly so I'm sure you can understand where Alex's need for validation comes from. Expect him to look to you to find it, and make sure you give it to him, otherwise we run the risk of him shutting down entirely." I managed to interupt her finally. "He already has shut down, a little. Ever since he heard me speaking to you on the phone about me thinking Paul might have hit him, he's refused to speak to me or even look at me." I paused for a second to collect myself before I started crying again, but Rosey had already taken the opprutunity to continue the conversation. "Yes, Zack told us about that, he told you that Alex felt ashamed correct? I think Zack is right in that, but don't worry, Alex just needs to be reasured that your not upset at him for being abused and he'll open up again." Rosietta offered me a curt smile before shifting papers again. "Now, Daniel." Rose paused, the silence taking the air out of my lungs as I held by breath, the knot in my stomech spiking in pain yet again, only this time to the point that I actually grabbed at my side like I'd been stabbed. Rose looked at me in concern, but I quickly readjusted myself and nodded for her to continue. "Thankfully, it seems Daniel didn't suffer the way Alex and Zack did, however, he's a tricky one." Rose paused again, the look of concern on her face causing me to begin panicking. "Your already aware of how he didn't feel safe to express his emotions until now, though from what I saw earlier, it seems you've managed to calm him down from that." I couldn't help but feel a slight sense of relief, but there was something more to Rose's words that pulled at me. "Daniel it seems, feels like something bad is going to happen. He told Gabby that he doesn't believe that he and his brothers will be safe with you." I heard myself gasp, but I was too stunned to say anything. "Let me explain, he doesn't think your going to hurt them, not really. It's more that he's come to expect something bad to happen. Think of it like this, he isn't willing to trust himself to be happy. Almost like he can't bring himself to let his guard down." I wanted to scream and cry, I wanted to run out to the room where my nephews where waiting and squeeze Daniel with a neverending hug, but I couldn't move. "Dylan, you know I'm not a perfessional psycologist, so keep that in consideration, but personally I think Daniel might be suffering from PTSD, of course all three of the boys could be, but Daniel by far seems to be suffering from it the most." My blood went cold the moment Rose said those four letters, PTSD. It was the same thing I'd been through, the same thing soldiers who'd seen women and children blown apart by landmines suffered. I knew the boys had been abused, but for the abuse to have the same sort of effect as witnessing the horrors of warfare, I was stunned. Rose and I continued to speak about various things, everything from a list of specialists and services the boys could use to find help, as well as some paperwork so we could begin the adoption process. My mind was a blur through it all though, I couldn't stop thinking of what would happen when I went back to collect the boys. I could see Daniel sitting there, still in Zack's lap, looking at me. I could see the flash of gunfire and the splatter of blood on sand and shattered concrete in his eyes. I dreaded seeing his eyes. I knew that if I looked into the eyes of an eight year old and saw the glare of a soldier staring back at me, my heart would break in a way I doubted I'd ever manage to heal from. At some point in the proceeding paperwork and signing of documents, Rose realized my mind had lost itself in it all and she finally helped me pull myself out of my own mind by telling me I had legal custody of all three of my nephews. "Wait, don't we need a judge or someone to sign off on that?" I asked her suddenely, accidentally interupting her without meaning to be rude. "Well, yes, but I have the legal ability to grant tempory custody until then, should only take about an hour or so, perhaps a phone call to Judge Cortez to explain everything, should she care to ask, though I doubt she'll do so. Jolene Cortez and I go back a few years and she normally trusts us here to make these type of desicions." Rosey smiled at me, as if to congradulate me on becoming a parent. I couldn't help but wonder at all of it, I'd expected the process to take longer, perhaps be more difficult, turns out it's not that hard to loose custody of your children. Despite everything I felt for my sister, the good and the bad, I pitied her as a mother having lost her children. I couldn't imagine losing the boys nor the pain and sense of loss I'd feel if I did. Of course, Sarah had actually lost the right to call herself a mother by her own actions as well as according to the law. She deserved whatever horrbile suffering a mother who lost her child would feel. Rosietta was kind enough to let me regain my composure before leading me back out to the boys waiting in the private seating area. Despite my misgivings about seeing Daniel after what I'd learned, once I did see the three of them again, I couldn't help but smile as they looked first to me and then Rosey. Alex was the first to speak, which suprised me since I was under the impression he wasn't speaking to me. "Did Ms. Claytor say we could live with you Uncle Dylan?" The boy asked, a hint of both hope and sadness in his voice. Daniel followed up with, "If you say we can't I'm gonna hit you!" Daniel spoke coursly to Rose, who grinned and looked wide eyed at the small boy, almost as if she was inviting the challenge. "We don't hit people, Daniel, now apologize to Ms. Claytor before she runs off and calls her big scary wife to come knock some sense into the four of us." I spoke with a stern chuckle, which also seemed to earn an amused glare from Roseitta. "Wait, Ms. Claytor is married to a woman?" Zack asked suprised as Daniel mumbled his apologies. "Yes, I am. Her name is Alyssia Ross, she and I own the pig farm just down the road from your family estate." Rose offered Zack in response. He seemed to look at the woman in a new light, as if he was seeing something inside her that he'd missed before now. "If you boys want, I could introduce you to your Aunt Alyssia sometime, I'm sure she and I could find some use for three boys on a farm." I said, causing both myself and Roseitta to laugh as all three of the city-kids in front of us looked horrified at the idea of doing farm chores. "That actually reminds me, Dylan, I've been to your home before and I know it's safe for the boys but since someone from my office still needs to make a visit just for the sake of the paperwork, why don't we get together for dinner tomorrow night?" I loved the idea, two birds with one stone as Alyssia, Rose's wife would have said if she was here, and I really did want to introduce the boys to Alyssia. "Of course, with the seven of us there it might be a bit crowded, but that old house could use a bit of laughter again." The boys all stayed rather quiet, but that was fair enough considering everything they's just been through. As Rose and I hammered out the details after a few minutes, it was soon time for us to leave the CPS office so we could all take a breath of release. On our way out I mentioned to the boys that we would be stopping by the police department so I could fill out some paperwork but that it wouldn't take too long till we would be on our way shopping. Daniel was the first to speak up, he'd been a bit standoffish again, but he seemed to be more shy than upset like he had been. "I'm sorry I was so mean to you Dylan." He said after a few minutes in the car, we'd all been stuck in our own thoughts here and there, but once the youngest spoke up the rest of us were pulled out of our various funks. "It's okay Daniel, when you were in that room speaking to the woman, Rosey was speaking to me as well. She told me why she thought you might have been upset, so I don't blame you and I'm not mad at you, okay?" I asked, looked at him in the rearview mirror a few times to make sure he was okay. He wasn't. "I didn't mean it, I don't hate you Uncle Dylan!" The small boy spoke, half choking on his own gasps for air as his face shattered into a torrent of tears. Zack turned around in the front seat to look at his youngest brother as Alex slid over into the middle seat so he could hug his brother. For my part, I simply reached behind me to grasp Daniel's knee. "It's okay Daniel, I'm not going to lie and say it didn't hurt to hear you say those things, but I'm not mad, I'm really not okay?" I asked him again, attemtping to comfort him. Luckily the police department wasn't all that far from the CPS office, so I was able to park the truck and turn around to comfort the boy. Zack was the next to speak up, closely followed by Alex. "I told him he shouldn't have said that to you Uncle Dylan. Zack seemed to be a little lost himself, as it seemed he'd tried to talk to his brother earlier only to realize just now that it'd backfired. "Yeah, Daniel was only mad because he thought you'd hurt me is all, I told him you hadn't though." Alex was now teary eyed himself, most likely blaming himself for this whole mess. I just shook my head at it all, as I took a short moment to collect my thoughts. It seemed after Alex had begun to shut down when I learned about what Paul had done to him, Daniel noticed and figured that I'd hurt his brother, so he got mad at me. Due to Daniel's little outburst, Zack had taken it upon himself to set Daniel straight, not realizing what the real cause of it all was. In their own ways, each of the boys had attempted to help each other, only to get tangled in the web of their shared pains. It was sweet, but also so troublesome that I couldn't help but chuckle at the work I had cut out for me. "Okay, that's it, everyone out of the truck, now." I said a little more sternly then I really needed too. All three boys froze before quickly following my instructions. I had the three of them standing in a line, Zack watching me trying to see what I was about to say or do, Alex once again refusing to meet my gaze, and little Daniel standing there still in tears, obviously waiting for some sort of punishment he seemed so certain was about to come his way. "Firstly, Zack, if and when one of your brothers misbehaves, please leave it to me to talk to them about it. It's one thing for you to comfort them, but it is not your responsibility to scold them." I opted to speaking slightly less sternly than I had a moment ago, but to be fair I was only really saying this now for his brothers' benifits. "Yes sir." The young teenager almost whispered in turn, shifting his gaze from me to Daniel before saying, "Sorry." Daniel nodded to him as more tears began to fall from his eyes. "Secondly, Alex." I could see Alex look up at me with a worried expression as he started to tug at the hem of his shirt, obviously nervous. "I am not mad at you, I do not think lesser of you in any way. No matter what Paul or your mother has ever said or done to you, you have no reason to be afraid of what I think of you. I love you, you already know that." My voice had gotten even more softer as I'd continued to speak, which seemed to put Alex at ease, even as his shyness turned into tears threatening to break free from behind his eyes. "Lastly," I said with a sigh as I turned to Daniel, who seemed to be both shaking in fear and shrinking in a subconsious attempt to hide from me. "You've done nothing wrong Daniel." He seemed completely taken off gaurd by that statement as I smiled warmly at him. "If you ever think someone is hurting one of your brothers, I want to you come find me, and if you think I'm the one hurting them, I want you to call the police or even Ms. Clyator, okay? And that goes for you two as well." I looked at each of the older boys, making sure all three of them knew exactly what I meant. My words were followed by three sets of "Yes, Sir's." as I opened my arms in a hugging gesture so they would know I wasn't mad at them. Damiel was the fastest of the three, and ended up being squished between me and his older brothers, which enticed a giggle from him as Alex was the first to tell me he loved me, even as the other two followed suit. "I love you all as well, so let's go in there so I can get the paperwork out of the way and we can move on to the fun half of our day." They all agreed and within twenty more minutes, the police report had been filed, I chatted with one of the officers on my my sister's case, and we were back in the truck on our way to the mall. The boys had all thankfully calmed down and seemed to be in good spirits for the most part. Which was a nice step away from all the waterworks that I was begining to worry might cause the four of us to become dehydrated, and after yesterday that just wouldn't be any fun at all. "So boys, you want to go boot shopping or clothing shopping first? The boot store is next to the mall, so we can hit up one and just run over to the next easily enough." By now it was only around one thirty or so, and given the two younger ones ate a second breakfest, I doubted anyone was hungry just yet, but I also knew there was a lovely little mexican resturant next to the mall we could always eat at in a couple hours. Of course, Alex and Zack both asked at the same time, "Boots?" which only made me chuckle before I explained that we were all going to be getting at least two pairs of new cowboy boots. None of them had ever owned a pair of their own, so they were rather excited at the idea. Boots it was then. The smell of fresh leather and the sweet smell of shoe polish washed over us the second we walked through the doors. The cool air blowing down on us from the AC overhead the front door was always a nice touch, especially on a warmer summer afternoon like today. "We can pick out any pair we want right?" Alex asked with a gleam in his eyes as he picked up a pair of hideous orange dyed boots. "Any pair that fits you at least, if you find a pair you like but they're not in the right size just find someone that works here and see if they can help you find the right size." The boys had started to drift a little, but I didn't want them to just runamuck over the place, so I pointed Zack towards the other two while I called out to the younger ones. "You two stay close to your brother, I have to talk to someone about something." As the three of them walked towards the teenager section, obviously being dragged there by Zack, I turned my attention to a cheery looking woman who was looking at me with an amused expression. "Seems you have your hands full, hope your brothers aren't giving you any trouble sir." My brothers? Oh, right, I was far too young for them to all really be my sons I guessed. "It's all good, my nephews are just exicted, they've never had proper boots before." I spoke, smiling. "Aww, that's so adorable, anything I help you with just let me know and I'll be more than happy to help you and those cute boys." She said, blushing at her mistaking the boys as my brothers. I wasn't an idoit, I was picking up on the obvious attraction the woman had to me, not that I was interested in her or anything, but I didn't mind the flirting myself. "Actually, there is a specific boot I'm looking for, Conroy Geller, the manager here keeps a small selection for custom orders." The clerk smiled broadly at me at this, as she knew she'd be getting a small bonus on any custom orders. "All I'll need is your name, and then we can look at the custom designs and I'll be happy to place the order." She spoke as she moved to get a portfolio from under a nearby counter. "No need for that Ma'am, it's style G37, the Streetman. My great-great-grandfather was the frist Streetman to buy that style boot back when this store was first opened, since then, every Streetman, man, woman, and child, has had that style boot. It'll be the same for my nephews over there. No reason to forget tradition." I winked at her as she put the porfolio back under the counter. "Of course sir, I apologise Mr. Streetman. I'll have someone measure your nephews and I'll place the order as soon as possible." I nodded at her with a warm smile before making my way over to where I could hear the boys arguing about who should be allowed to look for their boots first. "Boys, someone will be around shortly to measure your shoe sizes, till then, unless you already know your shoe size, you'll be with me while I go look at some boots." I got another round of "Yes sir's" before Alex and Daniel both moved to follow me, though Zack stayed back to continue looking at various boots. He seemed to only be looking at the same size of boot so I left him to it. I'd picked out a nice looking gray and tourquise set of boots with a silver threaded design when one of the various workers here walked up with one of those kid sized foot measures. "Take your shoes off and let the man take your shoe size, that way we know what we're looking for." I didn't have to tell the boys twice, as they seemed to be eager to take off their sneakers. Before long, we had their shoe sizes, and the clerk from earlier came to tell me my order had been placed and they already had two sets of the boots at the store but the other two would be shipped over from a sister store and would arrive sometime tomorrow. Of course, this peeked the interest of Alex and Daniel, both of whom demanded to know what sort of boots I'd picked out for them. Zack turned his head around an aisle with a shoe box in his hands and joined his brothers in their mutual demands to know what I'd picked out for them. "Well, if you three follow me and ask the lady at the counter nicely, she might just show you what the boots look like." I smiled at the eagerness. I was looking forward to their reactions mysel. The boots themselves weren't really anything special, but I figured once the boys knew just how long our family had been wearing that style of boot, they'd like them. We made our way to the counter and waited for the clerk to finish helping an elderly woman with her purchase as she turned to us with a smile. I nudged Daniel on the shoulder before reminding him to ask politely. "Um, miss, our Uncle said he ordered us some boots, we were wondering if you would mind showing us what they looked like, please." Daniel seemed a little shy, but once the attractive clerk flashed him her grin, he blushed and looked away. "Of course young man, one of my coworkers already pulled two of the sets of boots from the backroom, sadly we didn't have them in all the sizes, so we had to order them from another store. You'll be able to pick them up tomorrow if you like though." She said the last bit with a sense of apology to the boys as she pulled two boxes from behind the counter and handed them to Alex and Daniel. "Mr. Streetman, your size and that of your oldest nephew will be here by tomorrow morning. My manager said he'd see to it personally, something about selling boots to your family since he was a teenager if I recall." She said with a slight chuckle as she turned to go help another customer check out. "Are we allowed to open them?" Alex asked which caused me to give him an amused grin. "Of course, I want to see you two to try them on, and I hope you don't feel too left out Zack, but I promise you you'll get a pair too." Zack looked at me with a confused expression like he didn't understand what was so important about the boots. "So I know you boys probably don't know this, but these boots were first designed by a man named Victor Kurscoff, he designed the boots for your great-great-great-grandfather back in 18-somthing or another, no one is really sure anymore." Alex seemed a little amazed by all of that info, though I wasn't sure if Daniel was even listening after being distracted by shreading the box the boots came in. To be fair, the boots themselves weren't the exact same design, as they'd been improved and adapted over the years, but they were fairly true to the original from what I could tell from the old photogrpahs. "So these are kinda like family heirlooms then?" Alex asked, eyes getting wide. "Sort of I guess, my first pair of boots were in this style when I wasn't even able to walk yet. Same for your mother actually. Every member of our family has worn a pair of these boots for five generations, well, six now that you guys have a pair. The boots were a simple black style with silver designs decorating them. Nothing all that fancy or anything, but I hoped the boys liked them all the same. "Woah, they even say Streetman on the bottom of the heel." Zack said, as he was helping Daniel put one of them on. All three boys stopped trying to get the boots on so they could turn the boot over and look at the name. "Thank you Uncle Dylan." Alex said, hugging me in the process. I couldn't wait to take a photo of the three of them in matching boots. I'd have to find the old photo album in the attic, but it would also be fun to show them the picture of me, their mother, and my mother when we were little in our first pair. Eventually, we left the store with a pair of boots each, plus the two black boots for Alex and Daniel. The store manager, Conroy made his way over to us at one point to apologize for not having all the sizes for the boots in stock, not that I was all that upset. After storing the boots in the truck, we made our way into the mall proper, all of use wearing our new boots, though I'd had to tell Alex not to where the black ones, not until I could get a photo of the three of them together. We looked around at various pieces of clothing for an hour or so before Daniel started complaining about being hungry, which ended up causing the other two boys to start saying they were hungry as well so after we paid for what all we'd already picked, we made our way back out to the truck. The inside of the truck was a little crowded and since we'd picked out enough clothing for now, and since the boys agreed, we'd leave finishing the clothing shopping for another day. "Where are we going for lunch?" Daniel asked with a huge grin, obviously far happier then he was this morning, which made me smile. "I was thinking Mexican, there is an amazing little place across the street I think you'll like." Alex seemed just as excited as his little brother, though Zack seemed a little withdrawn. He'd been quiet for a while now and had been a little out of it when we were looking for clothing for him, which of course he'd kept insisting wasn't necessary for me to buy for him. I'd waited to talk to him about it until we we're sitting at our table munching on salsa and chips while Alex and Daniel were off washing their hands in the bathroom, just an excuse I gave them so I could talk to Zack alone. "You doing okay Zack?" I asked while I peered over the menu, I already knew what I wanted, but I was just looking at the options to see what sort of things the boys might be interested in. "Yeah, just a little hungry is all, I forgot to make myself a snadwhich when I made one for Alex and Daniel. Kinda my fault on that front I guess." He seemed to have completely missed my meaning, but I pressed on. "You know, I told you that if you were hungry all you had to do was let me know." I could see him shift in his seat uncomfortably at that, not that he said anything. "Is it becuase I'm buying you and your brothers things?" I asked, matter-of-factly. "No, yes, I don't know!" Zack said in frustration, flipping through his own menu, seemingly not reading any of the dishes but not wanting to look at me. "It's okay Zack, I understand. You don't have to be ashamed-" I started before being cut off. "I'm not ashamed okay? I don't mind you buying us stuff, Alex and Daniel don't really have anything so I get it. I just, don't know, I guess I didn't expect everything to be so damn expensive, that's all." I sighed as Zack finally seemed to relax a bit, but not completely. "Zack, you don't have to worry about money-" Again, I was cut off and it was starting to annoy me just a little. "I know you have money okay, my mother was always telling me how much money you had. I get it, it's nothing for you to spend nine hundred dollars on clothes and over six hundred on fucking boots okay! I get it." The boy was starting to get pissed off and even though I wanted to reasure him I had no issue with the cost of things, I also could see that I was just pissing him off more with every attempt to calm him down. If you keep talking to me in that tone I'll make sure to rack up a bill on the deserts just to piss you off." I snapped my menu shut, causing Zack to shake his head in disgust with me. "Yes I have money, I earn enough to live well, and I'm not going to force you or your brothers to go without simply because your not accustomed to having things or being able to have things. To be honest, I'm suprised you paid your mother any mind." I added that last bit with a hint of sarcasm so Zack knew I wasn't really upset. It seemed Zack was about to say something to rerort by the time the other two boys came back to the table, but he thought better of it now that the boys were within earshot. Both Alex and Daniel had a few met marks on their clothes where it appeared they'd splashed each other with a bit of water while they were washing their hands. Before long, we had our meals ordered, our drinks delivered and a tray of various appitizers sitting between the four of us. I was glad to see Zack relax a bit as he helped Daniel pick what he wanted. Myself and Alex chatted a bit about the food, as he was really excited about eating Mexican, which was apprently rare for them. Before too long, our actual meals arrived and the four of us continued to chat and eat till desert came and went and it was time to divide leftovers into little boxes. I showed them how to carve their names into their boxes with a toothpick and after I paid the bill and left sixty dollars as the tip, we were on our way with our leftovers, three full and happy boys in a row behind me out to the truck. It took a few minutes for everyone to settle into their seats what with all the bags of stuff we'd bought throughout the day, but we managed to fit inside the truck. It was only nearing about six or so, but i figured they'd had a busy enough day what with the CPS interogations, shopping, and not to mention all the food. By the time we pulled into the driveway and I parked the truck, Daniel had fallen asleep with his head on Alex's lap. "Alright boys, Alex you wake up your brother so we can get this stuff in the house, I need to run back into Black Creek to pick up some groceries, and I want the three of you to take showers while I'm out. Zack, you'll be in charge." Zack set about helping me unload the truck while Alex helped Daniel wipe the sleep from his eyes before they started hualing their things into the house as well. Before long, the truck was emptied and I went into the house to use the restroom before heading out. Alex stopped me in the hallway on my way back out though. "Dylan, where should I put my stuff?" He asked, clearly not sure if he should put his things in my room or not, having stacked up his bags of clothes and such just outside my bedroom door. "Once we convert the guess bedrooms into actual bedrooms, I figured you could have the room next to Daniel's. Even if your sleeping in my bed, you'll still need your own room silly." I said with a smile, which quickly faded when I sall the look on Alex's face. "Hey, Alex, I'm not saying I wouldn't want to share a room with you, but at some point your going to want your own space. Besides, even if you only use your bed to sit on while reading or doing homework, you'll still have somewhere you can get away from your brothers if you ever want to." He seemed to understand what I was trying to say as he nodded and cheered up some, but I could still see he'd prefer sharing a room with me. After asking Daniel to help Alex move his things, I went and found Zack in the living room, sitting in the recliner drinking a glass of orange juice. The thought occured to me that perhaps Zack had a thing for orange juice and I made a mental note to pick some up along with the other groceries. "You don't mind watching them for about half an hour or so Zach?" The look on his face told me I'd asked him a very stupid question. "I use to watch them for multiple days at a time, even when I was Daniel's age. It'll be fine." I was both relieved, but also slightly pissed off that Sarah had made her eight year old son take care of his five and two year old little brothers for multiple days with no adult supervision. I hollered to the boys and gave everyone hugs before getting back into the truck and setting out for Black Creek. The small grocery store didn't have a huge selection but I was able to find the few things I didn't already have at home. For the most part, I just picked up a few things here and there I figured the boys might like that I didn't normally keep stocked in the house. The list included, multiple types of ceral, normal and chocolate milk, orange and apple juice, a couple cartons of ice cream to replace the casualites of war that was yesterday's ice cream dinner session, as well as a few frozen pizzas, chips, and such. Nothing overly trashy, but I still knew what sort of things boys liked. It'd already been about twenty-five minutes or so and I knew the drive back to the house would put me at around thirty-five minutes, but I have this huge urge to drive over to Alyssia's place as all the emotions from the past few days and the realization of all that was happening crashed down on me. Alyssia had been there for me when I came back from Iraq, she'd help me pull myself out of my depression and helped be get over most of my PTSD after what happened. It was weird, on the one hand I knew everything was going to be fine and that I was more then able to take care of the boys, but on the other hand I was terrified of it all, and the realization of it had waited until I was halfway home to hit me in the face. In the turn in the road between my house and Alyssia's, I paused, calmed myself down and decided I'd just call Alyssia when I got home instead. The funniest thing happened when I started up my driveway, I noticed Alyssia's big ass silver ford sitting in the grass just off the side of where I parked my truck on the gravel. "Roseitta." I muttered to myself, of course she'd told Alyssia what had happened first chance she'd gotten, and since Rose had likely gotten off work a couple hours ago, it made sense that she and Aylissa had come over. I picked up about half the bags of groceries and made my way up onto the porch before attempting to wrangle my hand free enough to twist the door handle without dropping six bags. Don't ask me why people always felt the need to make as few trips from the car to the house as possilbe, because I don't understand the logic either. "So, Dylan. Seems your family came home." Alyssia spoke, sipping what appeared to be a glass of my whiskey as she sat on the porch in one of the wicker lounge chairs, not to mention scaring the crap out of me. "I don't know what all they taught you in Special Forces, but damn Alyssia, we've talked about you creeping up on me." I said with a chuckle, picking up a couple bags I'd dropped. "When your done frolicking about, we should talk." I had an eerie feeling I was about to be scolded by this very intimitating black woman sitting on my porch, though I had no idea why. Of course, it was at that exact moment that Rosey opened the door allowing the sounds of wresting boys through the door as she called out to them. "Boys, come help your uncle with the groceries, I'm sure Missie will be more than happy to kick your butts at wrestling when your done." The boys hurried to get the bags from the truck, and even Missie, Alyssia's seventeen year old daughter moved to help as well, not having to be asked. "Don't worry, I'll show them where everything goes so you two can talk." Rosey added, speaking to me with a knowing glance in her wife's direction. After leaving the bags on the kitchen table and pouring myself a glass of white wine, I joined Alyssia on the porch just as Missie was leading the gang up the porch steps, her hands full with most of the bags as the boys grumpled behind her about how strong she was for a girl. I cast an amused glance Alyssia's way, which she returned with her classic deadpan resting bitch face. "I'm actually really glad you came over, I wanted to talk to you." I said once everyone was back in the house and Alyssia and I were alone again. "Oh I bet you did, but I gotta ask, why the fuck didn't you call me the second that bitch and her man meat showed up here?" She hadn't yelled, hadn't even raised her voice, but her words made me grit my teeth like I was five years old being chewed out by my grandma all the same. "Alyssia, I-" I attempted. "No, you know the rules, if you need me, you call me. Period, I don't care what time of day or night." Still, she hadn't raised her voice, but there was something about the way she took a sip of her drink that felt like she'd spoken with a sharper tone then she had. "I'm not going to apologize Alyssia." I said, more sternly then I really felt the right to. I couldn't even look at her as she sat there for a few moments digging her gaze into the side of my head as if she might figure out what I was thinking. "Fine." She drank the rest of her drink in one shot before standing up and placing her hand on my shoulder. "I guess, we'll take our leave then." "I'm not going to apologize because my nephews needed me more then I needed you Alyssia." She hadn't gotten more then two feet from me before she turned around to face me. "That I understand, but why did I have to hear about all of this from my wife instead of from you? One phone call Dylan, that's all it would have taken. We're suppose to be family aren't we?" I could tell she was hurt that I hadn't let her in the loop and I guess I should have, but I'd been so focused on the boys I'd lost track of everything else. "I'm sorry, Alyssia. I just needed to take the time to make sure those boys were okay. It's taken everything I have to keep it together enough to make sure they were okay, and I just don't know what I was suppose to do differently." I'd started crying again, sure I'd been crying a lot the past couple of days, everytime I learned some new layer of what the boys went through I had cried. But I hadn't really taken the time to feel anything else. "Shh, everything's gonna be fine. I raised a daughter and Rose helps take care of children for a living, we'll help guide you." I couldn't help but feel a sense of security in the large woman's arms as she hugged and held onto me. These past few years, she'd been like the sister I'd always wanted, sometimes she'd even been like the mother I'd lost so young. I felt closer to her then I'd ever felt to Sarah, and it was that thought that helped me relax some as I begin chuckling. "So then, Auntie Alyssia, shall I introduce you to your nephews? I asked her with a cheeky grin. "Oh, I already met them, but sure, I'd love to." She laughed loudly as we walked into the house. To Be Continued...