Starting Over 2:

A New Chance

by tim the story guy

I know everyone is asking, "Another chapter so soon?" I realize that where I left off was a bit mean, and I don't want anyone plotting to do terrible things to me. This story is © 2005 by tim, and is protected by copyright law. Please do not copy to distribute, or post this story to other sties without the author's permission. This is a fictional story. Any similarities to actual people or events are purely coincidental. This story contains sexual situations between teen males. If this subject offends you, or you should not be reading this type of story, you assume all responsibility for continuing. Please send all comments to: timthestoryguy@yahoo.com. Thanks, and enjoy the story.

Stories on Nifty by tim the story guy:
Training Day - in the adult/youth section (Completed 9/17/04)
What A Gas! - in the adult/youth section (Last update 5/19/05)
Orgasmia - in the sci-fi/fantasy section (Last update 5/24/05)
Sweet Sixteen - in the sci-fi/fantasy section (Last update 11/13/04. Story will continue this summer.)
Allen 1, 2, & 3 - in the high school section (Last update 5/29/05)
Fate - in the high school section (Completed 5/21/04)
No One Else 1 & 2 - in the high school section (Last update 5/31/05)
Starting Over 1 & 2 - in the high school section (Last update 6/06/05. Update in progress.)

Stories on Nifty by tim the story guy and James Clark:
City Mouse, Country Mouse - in the high school and rural sections (Last update 1/02/05)

Starting Over 2: A New Chance

by tim

Chapter 16

Phillip kept a close eye out for Kevin as he drove to Frank and Rebecca's house, but he didn't see any sign of his boy. Phillip was very worried about Kevin when Carter met him at the door, but Carter was frantic and close to the point of a panic attack.

After Phillip got Carter to stop crying, he said, "Come with me Carter. We will back track carefully to my house, and we'll find Kevin."

Frank promised to call Phillip's cell phone immediately if he heard anything at all, and Carter left with Phillip. The drive back to Phillip's house was torturous for Phillip and Carter. Phillip would nearly stop every time either of them saw a shadow, as it was now getting dark outside. No sign of Kevin was spotted by the time they returned to Phillip's house though. Phillip immediately called the police, while Carter sought out Wayne for comfort. Wayne told Benji to go upstairs and tell Tommy, Zack, and Seth to not do anything because the police would be stopping by, then he took Carter to his office. As soon as the door was shut, tears once again flowed from Carter's eyes.

"Please Wayne!" cried Carter. "There has to be something that someone can do! We know what has happened, and I can't stand the thought of losing Kevin like this!"

"Please try to keep calm, and think positive Carter." said Wayne, as he hugged the crying boy. "It's true that no one has heard from Kevin this evening, but no one has heard from Billy either. Don't you think that if he did something bad to Kevin that he wouldn't be able to wait to gloat about it?"

"Then where is my Kevin?!" cried Carter. "I know that nothing would keep him from being with me if he could. Why does something awful happen to every guy I fall in love with?! It's not fair Wayne!!!"

"Carter, please listen to me!" said Wayne. "Travis is gone, and we know there's nothing that can change that. Kevin isn't gone though, and we have to believe that. We will find Kevin, and we'll find out what happened. I promise you that Carter. You haven't lost Kevin yet, and we'll do everything we can to make sure that you don't. I know how important he is to you, and how much you two love each other, but he's important to a lot of people now. I'm worried myself, and how do you think Phillip feels now? Kevin is just like a son to him. Please believe that we will find him safely, okay Carter? That's the best way to help him right now."

"I'll try Wayne, but it really hurts right now." cried Carter, as he tried to start drying his tears. "If anything happens to Kevin, I don't know if I'll ever be able to love anyone else again."

"We'll deal with that when the time comes Carter, but we're all hoping that it never does." said Wayne.

By the time Wayne got Carter ready to go back out, the police had arrived. Both officers were very informal, with one introducing himself as Andy, and the other as his partner Bob. "Okay everyone, we need to know as much about Kevin's situation as possible." said Andy. "Don't hold back anything, because you never know what it might be that leads us to him. How was Kevin's life in this house?"

"I've been taking care of Kevin for almost two years now." replied Phillip. "He was thrown out by my sister and her husband, and I've tried to give him the best and happiest life that I could. Kevin is very happy here, so it's not a case of a runaway."

"We have to consider all possibilities though sir." said Andy.

"Well, Kevin is my boyfriend, and I know him better than anyone." said Carter, which got a raised eyebrow from Andy who thought they might be close to being onto something. "Kevin and I both have the greatest homes in the world. Our parents or the people we think of as parents are the best and most loving parents we could have. I know Kevin is just as happy with his Uncle Phillip as I am with my mom and dad."

"What do you think might have happened tonight then, young man?" asked Andy.

"We've been having problems with Kevin's cousin Billy." said Carter. "Billy hates both of us because we're gay, and he tells us that over and over. He ambushed Kevin earlier this week, and gave him a bloody nose. It would have been worse if I hadn't broke it up, and bloodied Billy's lip and blackened his eye. I know he wants to get even with us for that, and for having him kicked out of the mall."

"Do you mean the mall about five miles from here?" asked Andy.

"Yeah, that's the one." replied Carter. "The security guard there was really nice, and banned Billy from the mall when he tried to rape one of our friends."

"That security guard is my brother!" exclaimed Andy. "This is starting to make more sense by the moment. My brother told me all about that incident, I just didn't realize that you were the kids he was talking about."

"Do you want me to check the emergency rooms Andy?" asked Bob.

"I think we better, just to be safe." replied Andy, who then turned back to Carter and the other men. "I don't want to worry you guys about this. This is just a precautionary step. We should hear back from the station in about five to ten minutes."

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"What in the world is that?!" asked Lester, as his parents were leaving the mall in Cincy, to go back to Covington.

"It looks like some drunk staggering down the sidewalk." replied Earl to his son.

Lester peered out the window and said, "I don't think so dad, he looks kinda like my age. I think he might be in trouble."

"Oh my God Earl!" exclaimed Mildred. "I think Lester is right. It looks like it might be a boy, and he might have been beaten up."

Earl stopped the car in front of the boy, and he and Lester got out to see what was going on. Earl saw that Lester and Mildred were indeed right, and it was just a boy who had been beaten by someone. "What's your name son?" asked Earl, as he gently took ahold of the boy's shoulder.

"Kev,.... Kev,..." was all that Kevin could say before passing out again.

Earl sent Mildred just up the street to call for help, while he and Lester stayed with the injured boy.

Meanwhile, Andy and Bob had heard back from the station and had heard no reports from the emergency rooms or morgues in the area. The last part almost freaked Carter out again, until Andy explained that since they hadn't heard anything from there, that was good news. Then Andy and Bob left to coordinate a search of the area between the school, Kevin's house, and Carter's house. Carter and Phillip decided that they needed to go out one more time to help with the search.

"Is there anything that you can think of Carter?" asked Phillip desperately. "Anyplace at all where Kevin might have gone that no one has looked yet?"

"Oh shit, why didn't I think of it?!" screamed Carter. "He might have cut across the back of school property as a shortcut to my house!!!"

Phillip drove as fast as he could to the closest place to access the back of the school property. The gap in the fence there was no where near wide enough to drive through, so Phillip got out a couple of flashlights, and the two set out on foot. Carter called out Kevin's name as loudly as he could, but no one answered his calls. About halfway across the property, Phillip's flashlight spotted a large lump on the ground.

"Stay right here and don't move Carter!" ordered Phillip, who then ran toward the form lying on the ground.

"KEVIN!!!" screamed out Carter, who then easily caught up to and passed Phillip.

When Carter and Phillip reached the person lying on the ground though, it turned out not to be Kevin. Instead, it was Kevin's cousin Billy. Billy was breathing okay, but his face was bloody and he was unconscious. Phillip pulled out his cell phone and called for an ambulance, then turned his attention to Billy.

"What did you do with my Kevin, you asshole?!?!" screamed out Carter.

"Carter, please stay calm until we find out what happened." ordered Phillip. "Seeing as how Billy is lying here and Kevin isn't, it might be safe to assume that we'll find Kevin okay now. I need you to go back to the car and wait for the ambulance, okay?"

"Okay Phillip, I'm sorry." replied Carter.

At the same time as the ambulance arrived, officers Andy and Bob also pulled up. They went out to where Phillip was waiting with Billy. "Hi Phillip." said Andy. "We have some news for you, but under the circumstances it's kind of confusing."

"Is it about Kevin?" asked Phillip. "Is he okay?"

"Kevin has been taken to the hospital." said Andy. "He was found by a family who were on their way home from the mall. He was pretty much beaten up like Billy, but the hospital says he should be okay. They finally got him to stop drifting in and out of consciousness."

"How can both boys be beaten up like this?" asked Phillip. "What in the world happened tonight?"

"I really don't know the answer to that sir." replied Andy. "I guess we will have to see if Kevin can tell us anything when we get to the hospital."

Phillip and Carter followed the police car to the hospital, which followed the ambulance with Billy inside. The doctors got Billy into a treatment room right away, as Andy and Bob followed Phillip and Carter to see Kevin. Before they could even get to the room, they heard Kevin calling out, "I want to see my Carter!"

Carter ran into the room and threw his arms around Kevin as tears began running down his face. "What happened to you my love?" cried Carter.

"I don't really know for sure." replied Kevin. "I started through the school yard, and heard something behind me. I turned and didn't see anyone, so I picked up a big limb and went on. The next thing I knew, something hit me from behind and I started swinging. I knew the limb connected a few times, but whoever it was got me a few times too. I think I heard him hitting the ground as I did though. When I came to, I didn't even stop to see who it was. I just started walking. I don't know how far I walked, but I could feel blood trickling down my face. The next thing I knew, some nice guy and his son were trying to help me, then I passed out again and woke up here."

"So the other person struck you first, then you fought back?" asked Andy.

"Yeah, but I didn't know how much fighting back I was doing." said Kevin.

"It was enough that you knocked Billy out cold." replied Carter.

"Oh shit!" exclaimed Kevin. "Not him again!"

"We're going to help you take care of that situation tonight son." said Bob. "Billy is being treated right now, but we're going to see what can be done about him before he leaves here."

"I hope you do." said Phillip. "This could have been so much worse tonight. It was still pretty bad that both boys were unconscious for some time."

"Well, we know from experience that it can't go on like this." said Andy. "You do realize that, right Kevin?"

"I wish he'd leave me alone and move on more than anyone sir." replied Kevin. "My head still hurts like hell. By the way, what happened to the nice people who helped me tonight?"

"They had to get home to Covington." replied Bob. "The boy did leave his address and number though. He wanted to know that you were okay once you got to feeling well enough to call him or visit."

About that time, officers Andy and Bob heard a commotion out in the waiting room. Phillip knew the voice causing the commotion all too well, as it was his brother Edward. The two officers went out ot the waiting room, followed by Phillip. Carter was ordered by the officers to stay behind with Kevin.

"I want to see my boy right now!" bellowed Edward. "I don't give a flying fuck what any piece of shit flat foot cop says!"

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to lower your voice." said Andy. "This is a hospital, and I'll place you under arrest if I have to."

"Who the fuck are you?!" shouted Edward.

"I'm officer Andrew Banner with the Cincinnati Police." replied Andy. "We are investigating what happened between your son and his cousin, Kevin. If you know anything about what happened tonight, we'd like to hear it. We have to find out your son's side of the story though before it gets tainted by anyone else."

"Is Billy under arrest for anything right now?" asked Edward.

"No, no one has been arrested for anything yet sir." replied Bob. "We would like to solve this little problem before it gets to that point."

"Then you ain't talking to my boy until he talks to a lawyer!" yelled Edward.

"Edward, please stop being a part of the problem!" said Phillip.

"That's the asshole you should arrest!" said Edward, still rather loudly. "That faggot has put his faggot nephew up to attacking my boy for no reason! This is all his fault. He should have stayed in Florida where he belongs!"

"Sir, could you please watch the name calling?" asked Bob, knowing about Andy's brother.

"Why?" asked Edward with a sneer. "Does the Cincinnati Police run around defending worthless faggots now? It's bad enough that my boy has been harassed by my brother's faggot nephew and his faggot friends, and then by some worthless faggot flat foot at the mall. I won't have him harassed by you assholes too!"

"The security officer at the mall that you're talking about happens to be my brother!" said Andy, who was now getting annoyed with Edward. "From what he told me about the incident at the mall, if he had called me, your boy would be in jail right now for rape!"

Edward glared at Andy, then Bob said, "If you make one threatening move sir, I will taze you right here and then someone will be going to jail!"

"I ain't staying no where!" yelled Billy, as he limped into the waiting room. "Dad, please help me! These assholes are saying that I can't leave the hospital! I just want to go home!"

"Before you can go home Billy, we need you to tell us what happened tonight." said Andy.

"Nothing happened man!" said Billy angrily. "I was riding a friend's dirt bike, and I had an accident. What's the big deal about a fucking accident?"

"The story that we got from your cousin Kevin is quite a bit different Billy." said Andy. "There's so much of a difference that one of the stories is completely made up."

"I haven't seen Kevin tonight!" lied Billy. "Whatever that faggot told you is a lie!"

"Does having an accident on a dirt bike include sneaking up behind Kevin and attacking him?" asked Bob.

"Don't say another word son!" yelled Edward. "I told you assholes that he's not talking without a lawyer!"

"Then we don't have much choice here sir." said Andy. "A serious crime has been committed, maybe even more. Billy, you are under arrest for assaulting your cousin Kevin. You will be treated here, then transferred to a juvenile facility."

"Please no!" cried Billy in a childlike tone. "It didn't happen the way you think it did! I didn't get beat up by a faggot! I'd rather die than let that happen. Can we please talk to Kevin again first?" Billy was now beginning to sob heavily.

"Okay son, just tell them what happened." said Edward. "I know it wasn't your fault that Kevin probably ambushed you. There's no shame in that because it was a low down thing to do on his part!"

"For God's sake Edward, would you please pay attention to what's happening before it's too late?" begged Phillip. "I'm asking for you to treat me like a brother one last time. After that, you can do whatever you want. We have to talk though, because your son's well-being may be at stake here."

"What the fuck would you know about raising a normal boy Phillip?" asked Edward.

"Does this situation seem normal to you Edward?" asked Phillip. "Your son attacked Kevin, and Kevin fought back. Both boys almost seriously injured each other, and now your son feels so much shame that Kevin could defend himself that he'd rather die than admit it. You've done a great job of raising Billy as badly as mom and dad raised us."

"Just go ahead and drag them into this Phillip!" said Edward. "That sounds just like you! You never liked anyone in your family, and you couldn't wait to get away from all of us. You always think you're so much better that Terri or I, don't you?"

"Do you really think that's what happened Edward?" asked Phillip. "Mom and dad couldn't wait to throw me out of the house because they thought I would cause both of you to be gay too! They didn't trust me to be around my own brother and sister, and then they spent all of their time since then poisoning you two against me. They did such a good job on Terri that I had to take in her son because she found out he was gay. Terri threw Kevin out the exact same way that mom and dad threw me out Edward! You know I'm telling you the truth Edward. Just think about how happy we were before mom and dad started yelling at me all the time. We use to be so close Edward, that it hurts to be this way with each other now. Please stop being a part of the problem here before it's too late Edward. Tell your son the truth. Tell him how we use to be Edward. Tell him about the trip to Kings Island on your tenth birthday. I know you haven't forgotten that day because I never will. That was one of the happiest days our family has ever had."

By this time, Edward had a blank stare on his face. He had to run outside before anyone could see what would happen next. Edward was gone for nearly an hour, during which time Phillip tried to talk Andy and Bob out of placing Billy under arrest for now. When Edward finally returned, it was obvious to Phillip that he had been crying. Edward just hoped that his son wouldn't be able to see that.

"I've always been your brother Edward, even though I've never been allowed to be here for you." said Phillip. "That's not your fault or my fault though. Please don't make our boys pay for this Edward. If Billy just tells the cops what happened, they won't arrest him tonight. He may need counseling, but I think we might all need a little bit of that right now. Please help our boys before it's too late."

Edward went over to Andy and said, "I'm very sorry about some of the things I've said tonight sir. Can I have a chance to talk to Billy for a few minutes? After that, you can talk to him and I won't interfere."

"That would be great sir." said Andy. "We don't want this to be any harder for anyone than it has to be."

Edward was escorted back to a room where he could talk to Billy alone. Then he sat his son down and asked, "Things got kind of messed up tonight, didn't they son?"

"I promise dad, I would never let him beat me up!" cried Billy. "Please don't let them take me away dad!"

"I don't even know where to explain how much of this is my fault Billy." said Edward. "I know you're not going to understand a lot of what I tell you right now, because I'm having trouble understanding it myself. I do know that I messed up big time with you though son, and if anyone should take responsibility for what happened, it should be me."

"What do you mean dad?" asked Billy.

"I mean I may have been wrong about a lot of things, and it almost caused me to lose something very precious to me." said Edward. "If I lost you Billy, my whole life to this point would be a waste. I know I've told you a lot of completely different things in the past Billy, but things have to change now. It was wrong for us to interfere in the lives of others, just to hurt them or amuse ourselves. Right now it really isn't very amusing anyway. I was wrong in how I told you that you should treat your cousin Kevin. It isn't your fault though son, it's mine. Can you do me a favor though Billy?"

"What's that dad?" asked Billy.

"I want you to tell the police exactly what happened tonight." said Edward. "No one will treat you any differently because of it, and I'll take the blame for it. We have to start putting the past behind us though son, or it will haunt us for the rest of our lives. After you tell the police what happened, then I want you to apologize to your cousin. I know it won't be easy, and I'm sorry I put you in this position."

"But what about all the things you've always told me about fags?" asked Billy.

"That was based on really bad information son." said Edward. "Everything that I told you is wrong."

"I wish you would have said something sooner dad." replied Billy. "There's been a whole lot more kids than just Kevin that I've treated that way."

"Please forgive me Billy, I thought I was doing the right thing but I wasn't." said Edward emotionally.

"It's okay dad, you're my dad." said Billy. "I've always believed everything you've told me, and I'll never stop believing in you."

"Thank you so much son!" said Edward, as he hugged Billy. "Thank you God for giving me another chance."

Billy and Edward came back out to Phillip and the police. Billy went to Phillip and said, "I'm sorry Uncle Phillip. There's no excuse for the way I treated Kevin, but I hope we can patch things up anyway. I want to tell him that before I go wherever I'm going tonight." Then he looked at the cops and said, "I was told a lot of stuff about Kevin, most of it while he was in Florida. I guess I just went along with everyone else about how he is. I thought it was my job to make him as miserable as possible, so he would just leave. I didn't know the kid at the mall was a friend of his, but I was always told that there wasn't anything wrong with what I tried to do. The fights at school though were deliberate. Then tonight I saw him cutting through the back of the school property, and I decided to sneak up on him. All I was going to do was mess him up enough so that he would want to go back to where I was told he belonged. He almost caught me once, and then things got out of hand. He must have known he was being followed because he had picked something up along the way to defend himself with. I jumped him from behind, and then he swung whatever it was at me. When he hit me in the side of the head, I guess it kinda pissed me off. All I know is that both of us just kept swinging until we both hit the ground. I don't think he ever really knew for sure who he was swinging at, even though he might have guessed it was me. I really wasn't trying to hurt him bad or kill him, just to scare him away. I know it was wrong now, and I wish I could start over again."

"That took a lot of courage to tell us that Billy." said Andy. "I don't think you're a bad kid Billy, but I think you have been taught some very bad things. I'm going to let you go in your dad's custody tonight Billy, but stay close to home and school for now. The court may not send you to Juvenile Hall this time, but I can guarantee they will want you to speak with a professional counselor. As for you Edward, I'm glad your brother could talk some sense into you before one of these boys got killed over this. That would have been the worst disaster that your families could have faced. The court may have some business to tend to with you, seeing as how you were responsible for raising Billy. I guess I'm trying to say don't leave town."

"You're right officer, Billy was my responsibility and I really screwed it up." admitted Edward. "I just hope it's not too late to make this up to everyone that this has hurt. I'm also going to have a long talk with mine and Phillip's sister, Terri. It's about time our families began to heal."

Then Edward took Phillip into a hug as a few tears ran down his cheek. This surprised Phillip more than anything he had ever seen in his life, but he did manage to return his brother's hug. Edward did remember his tenth birthday as he hugged his brother. Edward had finally grown enough at age ten to ride the larger adult rides, and it was all that he had looked forward to for months. When the family had arrived at the park though, along with a few of Phillip's friends, both of Edward's parents began to feel ill. They didn't want their son's tenth birthday to be ruined, but they also didn't want him riding the larger rides by himself, and Phillip had made plans with his friends. Phillip took one look at the sad face on his little brother though, and told his friends that he would be riding everything with his brother that day. The smile that he got from Edward as he said that, made it worth upsetting his friends plans for the day though. Anyone who looked at the two boys could tell how close they were that day.

"Thank you Edward." said Phillip softly, as the two men broke their hug. "You were always more important to me than anything when we were kids."

I think that's a much better place to end a chapter. Now I have to go out and restock my Kleenex. Please send all comments to: timthestoryguy@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in Chapter 17.