I arrived home a little earlier than normal because the new camera man got so excited during the shoot that he managed to drop the camera he was using just as he creamed his jeans. That wouldn't be so bad, but he dropped it on the head of the guy who I was fucking. Then when he saw all the blood, he vomited onto the guy, the bed and me. Needless to say, the mood was blown... no pun intended.

Like I said, I arrived home earlier than normal and had time to get changed, have a small bite to eat and begin stripping the paint off the stair railing leading to the basement.

When Seth arrived, he found me in full gear, a jumper, rubber gloves, a respirator, goggles, etc. because I was working with some nasty chemicals. He didn't speak, he didn't have to.

"What happened to your eye?" I asked through the respirator.

He had a really nasty black eye and when I asked my question he lowered his head and slumped his shoulders so much that his backpack, which had been slung over one shoulder, fell to the floor with a sold thud, indicating it was full of text books.

"May I have some ice please sir?" He asked, and I was impressed that even in his deteriorated state, he had remembered the `sir'.

"Wait for me in the kitchen while I get out of these things." I told him.

I went on down to the basement where I stripped off the gear before heading back upstairs. I had been wearing only a pair of gray boxers under the jump suit and that's how I was dressed when I came back into the kitchen.

Seth hadn't gone to the kitchen like I told him to do, but was, instead, standing down the hall from the basement door. I pulled the door shut and said, "Come on, you shouldn't be breathing those fumes. They'll rot what little brains you might have."

I took his hand and walked him to the kitchen where I opened the freezer and pulled out a small bag of frozen peas. Placing it over his eye I then thrust my fingers under his arm pits and lifted him off the floor, depositing him on the granite island countertop.

I brushed the hair off his forehead and softly asked, "So what happened? Did you get in a fight?"

He shook his head softly that he hadn't been fighting, "Not exactly sir."

I thought that was all he was going to say, but then he surprised me by spilling his guts. "At our school there are these two guys, Mitchel and Oscar; everyone is scared of them. Well there is this one bathroom that they always stand by the door during lunch and no one goes in to that bathroom because they are scared of Mitchel and Oscar. If someone does try to go in, they stop the boy and threaten him. Everyone knows not to go anywhere near it when Mitchel and Oscar are standing there."

I interrupted him to ask, "Did you try to go in today?"

One again, he shook his head, indicating that wasn't the case.

"I was only walking by with my tray of food when Mitchel reached out and pushed me, making me drop my lunch." Seth said.

I placed my hand on his knee and asked, "Is that when he punched you?"

Once more, Seth shook his head. "I got mad and swung at him and missed, but then they both started hitting me."

Seth began to tear up.

"If the Principle hadn't stopped them..." he whimpered and his lower lip started to quiver.

"I was so scared!" he said and that was the last he was able to tell me right then because he broke down crying.

I pulled him to me and wrapped my arms around him. "I'm so very sorry that happened to you! I really am!"

While holding him I stroked his hair and tried to comfort him as much as possible. He didn't cry long.

"I-I'm sorry sir. I..." he started to say.

"That's alright. Let it out!" I cooed.

He started to pull away from my embrace, so I let him and looked into his uncovered eye, "Do your parents know about any of this?"

Yet again, he shook his head `no'.

"My dad is going to be mad sir. He hates when I get in fights." Seth confessed, "Last time, he grounded me for a whole month and it wasn't even my fault then."

"A month?" I asked but not out of concern for the boy but because I suddenly had the thought of not getting to see him for a whole month.

Then I thought; did I really just get concerned with not getting to see Seth for a whole month? Just over twenty-four hours ago, I would have given anything to get rid of him, now I feared I wouldn't see him for four weeks?

"Maybe he doesn't have to know." I suggested.

Seth hung his head as he shook it disagreeingly, "Soon as he sees my eye he'll know and ground me again sir."

"I might have an idea." I placed my hands under his arm pits and lifted him off the counter, back to the floor. Taking him by his one free hand, I led him upstairs to the master bathroom.

"Sit down on the toilet seat there." I instructed as I opened the medicine cabinet. "When I was a bit older than you, I got in a fight with my older sister. She gave me a nasty black eye. But to keep my folks from finding out, she covered it up with makeup every morning until it healed."

"Makeup sir?" Seth scoffed.

I chucked at his tone.

"Well, I don't have makeup, but I do have something that will work just as well, and if your dad or mom finds it, they will not question it." I held out a tube of flesh toned acne cream.

"In my line of work, a pimple is unwelcome no matter where it appears on the body, so I keep a tube to cover up the zit right before going to work." I said as I unscrewed the cap and knelt down before him.

I took the cool pack from him and dropped it into the sink.

"This might sting, but we need to get that eye camouflaged." I said.

He sat perfectly still and only winced once as I began applying the cream under his eye.

"That should just about do it! Take a look." I said and stood up so that he could then look in the bathroom mirror.

"Wow!" he exclaimed.

"It's not a perfect match, but like I said, it is acne cream so your parents should just think you are trying to keep from getting zits."

"It looks like makeup sir." It wasn't what he said but rather how he said it; like he was thrilled to be wearing makeup.

"There is one more thing we can do to blend it in more. A bit of corn starch powder and I have some that isn't baby scented.

After applying a tiny bit of the corn starch powder to his face, unless someone was really looking closely, they'd never really notice.

"If you keep out of your parent's way for a few days, you'll likely not have to worry about them finding out. Just get up each morning, take a shower and then apply it before you leave the bathroom."

"I have to take my bath before bedtime sir." He said.

"Alright, then apply it right after that and in the morning wash your face and apply it again. Just remember not to put it on too thick, and don't use too much powder."

He kept turning his head from side to side and smiling.

"It still hurts sir." He confessed and started to reach up to it.

I stopped him and said, "You're going to have to resist touching it and try to tuff it through the pain. In a day or so it will not hurt much at all."

After a moment or two longer of him staring at himself in the mirror, I said, "Is your homework done?"

He shook his head, "I got a lot too sir."

"That sucks!" I said as I took the acne cream and pushed the tube into his front pant pocket.

"Well, why don't you go get your books, sit down at my kitchen table and get to work on it? I'm going to find something to put a bit of this corn starch powder into for you to take home. Then I will help you get your homework done quicker today. I have a surprise for you afterward and then you can go home."

"Alright!" he said and started to race out of the bathroom, but he stopped only a couple of steps away, turned and came back in. He grabbed hold of the front of my shirt and pulled me down. He then kissed me right on the lips.

It was only a soft, quick peck, but it was still a kiss.

"Thank you sir!" he said with a smile and then raced all the way downstairs.

When I found him, he was indeed sitting and doing his homework. He smiled when he saw me coming.

"I found this." I said, holding up a small bottle with a label that read, `Silver Secure Foot Powder'.

"Foot Powder sir?"

The way he asked nearly caused me to laugh.

"No! It's just a foot powder bottle. I put the cornstarch into it." I said with a smile.

I then said to him, "While you are doing your homework, I'm going to finish up the basement railing. That should take me about forty-five minutes to an hour. Think you can have your homework done by then?"

He nodded, "Yes sir?"

TO BE CONTINUED