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CHAPTER 15
(1)
Adam said very little as he and Jesse walked home. He wasn't sure if Jesse was mad at him or just worried. He knew that there was a copy of the tape they had done in his backpack but couldn't decide if he ever wanted to watch it; He more did than didn't though. Having sex with Jesse was one of the greatest experiences of his life, he prayed that what they had done earlier wouldn't ruin that forever.
"You okay?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah, just thinking about earlier." Adam replied. "Jesse?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you mad at me? I wouldn't have done it if you had said, no; just because wanted to do that stuff doesn't mean I'm not happy with us."
"No, babe. I figured it might happen sooner or later if we didn't get away from all of that, I guess I'm more annoyed at Tommy taping us without asking first. That was not a scene I wanted on tape. What the fuck happened, why'd we do that?" Jesse said. He was deeply worried about their activities and not for the legal reasons.
"I don't know. I guess it's because we both really wanted to. We were in the mood. The time just seemed right." Adam looked up the road toward McDonald's parking area where his mom was picking them up.
"We can never let your mom know what all we did." Jesse said. "She would be furious at me and hurt and more stuff than I can think of."
"She's going to want to know what happened, Jesse."
"Yeah. Let's just say we did a short film together. The scenes are on separate tapes so we just let her see the shaving one if she pushes. I have the others in my bag that she wanted to watch of me." Jesse added. He was still not sure about Francine watching him having sex with other boys; If he could find a way around it, he would.
"She's here." Adam said as he nodded over to where the Volvo station wagon was parked. He moved toward the car as his mother got out of the driver's door.
"How did your experiment turn out?" Francine asked. She had spent the day worried about what her son and his lover were up too. It had to be something sexual, she just prayed that it wasn't anything dangerous. She knew that Adam had a level head and would never do anything really wrong, but sometimes he let his love for Jesse over rule his judgment.
"Okay, I guess." Adam said. He opened the back door and tossed his book bag on the floor board.
Jesse tossed his in as well and closed the door. He stood watching the conversation between mother and son.
"I want to see it." She said. "I have to know." Francine bit at her lip. She had decided that no matter what she would watch the tape, that way she would know what to expect if anyone ever said anything about what her son had done.
"Mom..." Adam began. "I don't know about that. It wasn't anything too bad." Even to him, the words sounded like a lie.
"Let's go home." Francine said as she got back into the car. She pulled the door closed and fastened her seat belt before putting her head back against the seat back. She could feel the tears burning her eyes. She felt ashamed for letting things get to this point. She kept telling herself that they would have done whatever they wanted no matter what she said, but that was no help. She was the mother. It was her responsibility to keep not only Adam, but Jesse safe, and she had failed.
The boys got in the back seat without speaking. They sat at opposite ends of the car, afraid to move close together.
"Mom?" Adam said. "Are you okay?"
"Not right now, I'm not, no. I need to think about all of this. I need to talk to the both of you and I need to think." Francine said. Her voice sounded so distant, so upset, exactly the way she felt.
Adam looked at Jesse. He felt like he wanted to cry. He reached his right hand out to his partner for emotional support.
Jesse took his lover's hand and squeezed tight. He mouthed the words I love you.
Francine backed the car up and pulled out of the parking lot into traffic. She had no appetite and was pretty sure the boys didn't either.
(2)
Phillip walked into the book store shortly after Jesse and Adam had left. By his estimation, Tommy, that other kid and Clay should be the only ones there. He had stood and watched the boys go in there hours ago and didn't think they were ever going to leave. He was suppose to have gone in with them but hadn't felt a strong desire to be around that many of them at one time.
He walked across the street and up to the door. He could see Clay walking around the back end of the store space, there was no sign of Tommy or the other boy. He was a cute kid but Phillip had no idea who he was. It felt like Clay was trying to replace him every time a new kid showed up. They were all better looking, and younger than he was and that was probably why Clay was acting different with him. He wanted those pretty boys in his bed.
Phillip pushed the door open and walked in. He let the door close behind him.
"Where the fuck have you been?" Clay asked as he walked toward the front area. "I thought you were going to get close with Jesse and Adam."
"I'm working on it." Phillip said. "Where's Tommy and the other kid? Who is he, by the way?"
"Ryan something or the other. He is in back with Tommy working on their shaving scenes. I thought you were going to participate in the project." Clay said. He walked around the counter and got a soda from the small refrigerator hidden under a counter next to the TV.
"I am, I guess." Phillip said. "You have all those pretty young things, what do you want me for?" His jealousy was too strong and he knew that Clay had picked up on it instantly.
"Phillip, come here." Clay said. He stood still, taking a drink from the soda can.
Phillip walked over to the man he loved more than anyone. The man who barely knew he was even alive, unless he needed something sexual done to him or with others for his enjoyment and profit.
"Phillip, I care about you buddy. You've been with me from the start and I appreciate that. I do know how you feel about me, or think you feel. I'm just not sure what you want with an older guy with no future." Clay said. He placed a hand on Phillip's right shoulder. "You're a good kid. You can go out there and be something." Clay looked into Phillip's eyes. If there ever were a chance for him to settle down and be with a younger guy, Phillip would be the one he would choose. He just couldn't see why Phillip, or any other boy, would ever want a washed up kiddie porn star and used book store owner.
"I am something. I'm a star. Isn't that what you always said? I'm your leading man?" Phillip replied. He couldn't hide the building anger, it was nearly stronger than his love.
"You are, buddy. You do what you do better than any of the others." Clay said. He squeezed Phillip's shoulder. "Some day you will want more. I want you to be happy, Phillip." He placed his hand on Phillip's right cheek.
"What do I do, Clay? Really?" Phillip could feel the tears burning at the corners of his eyes. His emotions boiled within him, confusing his love and his anger.
"You do bondage man. You do the rough stuff and you're good at it." Clay said. "I thought you liked it. You are about the only guy, besides Scott, that liked doing the rough stuff. I don't know what the fuck happened to him. He just stopped coming around all the sudden." Clay said. he took a long gulp of soda.
"He's dead." Phillip said. He thought about the night he had set up the meet in the woods for a little special fun time.
"What?" Clay sat up straight in his chair. "What happened to him?" He had been trying to find a way to reach Scott Standish for weeks with no luck.
"He wanted to take my place. He wanted to be the star, he wanted to be your main boy and I couldn't let him." Phillip said.
"What the hell did you do, Phillip?" Clay stood back up. He had forgotten his soda can and let it drop to the floor, spilling the small amount of brown liquid on the old tile.
"What do you think I did? I killed the bitch. I didn't have a choice. You have to believe me." Phillip pleaded. "I love you, Clay. Dammit, I want to be yours and only yours. I'll do anything."
"Phillip, my god." Clay said, stunned.
Tommy and Ryan had heard yelling as they were about to come into the main store area. They stood next to the open door, watching the action at the front counter.
"What the fuck?" Ryan whispered. He had finished his scene and he and Tommy had fucked for all they were worth, then got dressed to leave when they came into this scene.
"I don't know. Hush, I wanna hear." Tommy whispered back.
Phillip stood still, tears flowing from his eyes. His pain and furry sitting right on the surface, boiling up, ready to erupt. He knew what he would do if he had to. "I called him one night. He was so hot for some wild action; it was so easy." Phillip said. "He met me out past the city limits sign and we walked out into the woods. I had a knife that time. I didn't want anybody to hear us. No witnesses."
"Phillip, why didn't you come to me? We could have talked about this." Clay asked. He was shocked. How could this have happened? How could he not have seen how unbalanced Phillip was becoming? He blamed himself completely. He knew the boy had feeling for him and he ignored it, or used it to his advantage, but never dealt with it directly.
"I did it for you." Phillip whispered. "I did everything for you." Phillip reached down into the book bag he had dropped to his feet. When he came back up he had a gun.
"Phillip! Phillip, give me that." Clay said. he tried to be as stern as he could without pushing the boy too hard.
Phillip aimed the gun at Clay's chest. "See, I'm even doing this for you." Phillip fired the pistol twice. He lowered the gun. "Oh, God. No." Phillip looked at Clay as he fell. "What...what did I do?"
The bullets had found their marks. One hit Clay in the left shoulder and the other smashed into his gut. Clay held the gut wound. "Phillip." He said as he fell against the desk and down behind it to the floor.
Phillip looked back to the rear of the room and saw that Tommy and the other kid were watching.
"Ryan, get back in the rear, fast. I'm right behind you." Tommy said as he backed up, still facing the front, caught eye to eye with Phillip.
Phillip raised the gun, aiming it toward Tommy. "No witnesses."
"Oh, fuck!" Tommy said. He turned and dived to the floor. He tried to get the door closed.
Phillip fired the gun four times, emptying out the chambers. He tried to fire again and hit an empty chamber. His mind flooded with everything, feeling, thoughts, actions. "I'm sorry." He said as he turned back to look at Clay laying on the cold floor.
The bullets slammed into the wall beside the door, except the one that went all the way over Tommy's head and hit the big camera. The tripod held camera fell forward, smashing the lens and cracking the casing of the camera itself as it hit the cheap green carpeted area at the foot of the king sized bed.
Phillip turned toward the front of the store when he heard sirens. He looked around, then ran toward the back of the room. He would use the basement exit to escape. He held the empty gun in his hand with it pointed downward.
"Ryan, watch out!" Tommy yelled. He couldn't believe what was happening. He never would have thought that Phillip could do something like this. Something so violent. He knew in that instant that either way, weather Phillip escaped, killed him, or both, he had lost all chance of ever having Phillip love him.
Phillip pushed Tommy back to the floor as the boy tried to get out of the way. He ran to the stairs. "Tell him I'm sorry." Phillip said. He went down the steps, out of sight.
Tommy and Ryan stared at the open area that led to the basement. They heard the door slide open and slam quickly as Phillip made good his escape.
(3)
Tommy got to his feet and ran into the main room. He didn't even think about the sets in the back or the idea of keeping the secret. It was a mute point now anyway because the police would search the place and find everything. If Clay lived he would be going to prison for a very long time.
Tommy went around the counter as a police car pulled in sideways, taking up all three spaces in front of the store. Tommy went to Clay, looking at the blood leaking from the two gunshot wounds. He could see that Clay was still breathing, but only barely.
He went to his knee beside the man as a policeman entered the store, gun drawn.
"Stay still!" The policeman, a black guy about six foot five inches tall moved fast to where Tommy leaned on one knee.
Tommy hoped that Ryan had the good sense to get out fast the way Phillip had escaped. Then he wondered if Phillip was hiding, ready to kill anyone that came out that basement door. Tommy raised both hands in the air.
"I'm not armed!" Tommy said loudly.
"Stand up, boy. Slow." The man said. His deep voice filling the area around them. He kept the gun aimed at Tommy as he stood up, still keeping his hands in the air.
"We need an ambulance, fast." Tommy said. He was so scared he couldn't move. What the fuck am I going to do now? He thought. This was it. The defining moment of his youth. He would never be able to forget any of this.
The cop reached to the walkie talkie on his belt, un-clipped it, and raised it to his mouth. "This is officer Grant. I need an ambulance and another car here."
Tommy swallowed hard. His legs were frozen but the rest of his started to tremble.
"Yes, that is the correct address." The man looked at Tommy. "Did you see who did this boy?" The man asked.
"y-yes sir." Tommy replied.
"Is the shooter still in the building?"
"I don't think so. He left through the basement loading bay. At least that was where he ran to. I didn't see him actually leave, just heard the opening of the door downstairs." Tommy said.
"I'm going to make a search of the premises as soon as back up arrives." The man said into the walkie talkie. The cop put the gun back in it's holster and walked around Tommy. he went down to one knee as Tommy had done and checked Clay's neck for a pulse. He raised the walkie talkie again. "Victim is breathing, pulse shallow but still there. Two visible GSW's to the torso. Left shoulder and middle abdomen." He said in the microphone.
Clay lay looking at the cop and at Tommy standing, wide eyed, behind him. He knew everything was over. He closed his eyes. May as well just die, he thought to himself. The pain was a numbing throb now. He tried to keep as calm as possible. Just because he should give up, didn't mean he was going to.
"Sir, can you hear me?" The policeman said to Clay.
Clay nodded. He couldn't get enough breath to speak.
"EMTs' are in route. You're going to be fine, sir." The officer continued.
Tommy stood where he was. He had lowered his arms back down. He chewed his lip, something he had picked up from Adam, and turned toward the back. He saw that Ryan was peeking around the doorway. Go, he mouthed silently. Get out. Hurry, he said, making sure to make the words so that Ryan would get what he was trying to say without speaking.
Ryan stared out around the corner of the door. He was in pure terror. If he got caught here, there could be trouble for Greg, and Harry too. Fuck, he thought, the tape. he looked at Tommy who was saying something. He got the words, nodded and moved quickly, with great care to be silent. He started to head for the stairs then decided to get that fucking tape.
Ryan walked over to the table where Tommy had left the master tape of their shaving scene, and fucking that followed. He slipped it under his shirt, making sure it was anchored in the he front of his jeans. He made his way to the basement stairs and went down, very slowly. When he got to the bottom he walked through the dungeon like area and out the partially open sliding door. There was just enough room for him without having to open the door further.
Once outside, Ryan ran through the back parking area and hid behind a wooden fence as a police car with sirens blaring roared past, squealing tires as it made the turn and went out of sight. He breathed deep and walked down the road behind the store, making sure nobody could see him.
Phillip sat in his truck, watching the action in front of the store. After he had made it out of the building he had worked his way around the block and into the parking lot of the grocery store across the street. He sat hunched down, barely able to see out the side window. When the second police car came into view, quickly followed by an ambulance from the opposite direction, he cranked up and drove out of the parking lot and joined the light traffic heading toward Manchester Expressway. He would go straight home, replace the gun after reloading it so his dad would never know it had been used. He couldn't keep from being upset. He hadn't wanted to actually shoot Clay, just scare him, but he had gotten so mad at. He could barely remember what had made him mad enough to fire the gun. Tommy. There was another problem he had to deal with. Tommy and that new kid, Ryan something. What the fuck was he suppose to do about them? He hadn't hit either of them when he had emptied the gun so they were witnesses. They would tell the cops who shot Clay, and tried to shoot them. Fuck! He thought to himself. There was no way he could go home now. He had to find somewhere to hide. Somewhere safe to think, to plan what to do next.
(4)
Francine hit the stop button on the VCR remote. The tears that had been burning her eyes from sadness were now more of anger. She wasn't really mad at Adam or Jesse. It was that son of a bitch that got them into this situation. She had seen some things like what she had just watched right after her husband had died. She had been left to go through his things and decide what was to be given away and what was to be trashed. He had kept a small collection of tapes hidden away in his home office.
She stood and walked to the machine, removed the tape and placed it on the top of the entertainment center. There was another tape there to watch, this one just with Jesse and others though. She wasn't sure she was ready to see anything any more than what she had already watched. The boys were gay and they had been having sex for several months, she had dealt with those issues, or she thought she had. Thank God all they had done was the shaving. If there were more, she didn't want to know about it.
She walked up the stairs slowly, running her hand along the mahogany wood of the banister. She remember when they had moved into this house. How happy they were. Adam had been three then, or was it four? She hadn't seen her first book published yet, that wouldn't happen for another three years.
Francine knocked on the bedroom door that her son shared with his lover. God, what a world. Her fourteen year old son having a male lover nearly the same age, with so much experience. How damaged was Jesse, emotionally? It just seemed so unreal to her.
"Come in." Adam called.
Francine opened the door and walked into the room. It was neat as always, the bed made, no clothes on the floor, everything was perfect, just as Adam always kept things.
There was Adam, her baby, sitting on the bed with one leg under him and the other over the side of the bed. He wore the same jeans and shirt he had been in when she had first seen him that morning.
"I don't know what to say to either of you. I think that I have been more than accepting and willing to work with both of you on this relationship. I can deal with the shaving bit, that wasn't so bad, kind of cute even." She paused. "It's going to make you itch like wild when it grows back in." She paused. "I have a feeling something else happened. If it did, I don't want to ever know about it. Is that clear?"
"I'm not going to let it." Adam said. He bit his lip. He had not meant to say that, it had just sprang out.
"Oh, you like being smooth?" She asked. She was a little taken back by his comment. She had rarely seen her son nude after he had turned twelve. He had such a beautiful body.
"Kind of, yeah. I haven't decided yet. I guess it kind of depends on how Jesse feels about it." Adam said.
Jesse looked at them without speaking. He didn't really have an opinion about Adam's remaining smooth. It was sexy, he was sure of that much. That seemed pretty minor compared to the other stuff she had seen. He wondered if she had watched any of his videos yet.
"I have a feeling something else happened. If it did, I don't want to ever know about it. Is that clear?"
"Understood." Both boys said in unison.
"Jesse, I'm not angry with you about this. I guess I should be, but for some reason, I'm just not. I trusted you to keep an eye out for my son, to take care of him and I suppose you have to some degree.
"I wasn't even sure I wanted to go through with it. I never wanted Adam to be any more exposed to that shit than he already was." Jesse said. He felt regret and shame for everything that had happened. He had to think that if he hadn't gotten involved with Adam romantically this would never have happened. He was damaged, he knew that the first time he and Adam had kissed. He was dirty, where Adam was pure, innocent. Now, Adam had been soiled and it was his fault. He had led his lover down a road that neither of them should have even known about.
"Jesse, I can see that you are upset. Please don't think this is all your fault. It's that man's fault. He was the one that got you into this, in a way, he led Adam into it through you. It has to stop though." Francine knelt in front of the very sad looking teenager.
"I shouldn't have... I never should have done anything with Adam. It's all my fault." Jesse couldn't fight the tears that began to flow down his face. He gave in to the pain he felt, leaning forward against Francine Conner's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
Adam moved over to his mother and boyfriend. "Hey, it was me that kissed you first. Remember? I think I had a hand in this to." Adam ran his hand through his lover's head of thick brown hair.
Francine moved away and let the boys be together. She sat on the bed and watched as her son consoled his friend. She had no more tears to let out. Her eyes were dry and burning as she watched the two of them together.
"Jesse." Adam said as he got on his knees, pushing Jesse's legs apart so that he could get in close. He wrapped both arms around Jesse's neck, pulling his head close. "I love you. You didn't do anything that I didn't want done."
"You were sweet, innocent, and I've done so many things; I've been so bad." Jesse said.
"See that computer? I was doing things to myself long before you and I got together. I read things, tried them out by myself and then with you. I knew what I was doing, Jesse. I knew what I wanted then, and I'm even more sure now." He raised his face to Jesse's and kissed the boy. "I love you. I want you, and baby, I need you." He touched his forehead to Jesse's, smiling as he looked into his lover's eyes.
Jesse took a deep breath and tried a small smile. "I wanted to be with you, to hold you so many times the last few years. I was so scared you would hate me if you knew I was in love with you. It was so amazing when you told me you wanted me too. I never should have done any of those damn movies. I should have just told you what I wanted, what I needed. I wish you had been my first." His tears were drying up and he could breath easier.
"I'm not going to ever hold any of that against you, Jesse. Hell, you came in with some experience and as far as I'm concerned, I'm glad. You are the best lover I could ever imagine." Adam said. His voice was just loud enough for Jesse to hear, but he suspected his mother knew what he was saying, just the same.
"I'm going to leave you two alone for a while. Don't think this is over though. We will be making some hard choices in the near future." She looked at the two boys. "I hope the two of you will appreciate each other even more after this. You do have something special between you, don't let other people and past mistakes interfere with that up." She walked to the door and left the room, closing it behind her.
"That was pretty wild." Jesse said. He pulled Adam up and into his lap. He could feel his partner's tight ass moving against his crotch.
"Yeah, it was. I thought it was over. I thought she was going to make up be apart." Adam said. He placed his head on Jesse's shoulder.
"I know, babe. I did too." He hugged Adam closer to him, feeling the boy's arms wrap around his neck. "Can we discuss this no pubes thing?" He said. He was joking, but he really did like Adam's soft brown pubic hair, but damn the smooth look was hot. His own crotch felt strange to him without the thick bed of hair around his cock. He had developed hair there and under his arms over two years before Adam had popped the first hair out over his cock.
Adam laughed, pushing his face into Jesse's shoulder. "Yeah, we can talk about it." He hugged his lover tightly.
(5)
The EMT's got Clay on the stretcher and out of the store quickly.
Tommy sat in one of the three chairs under the front window of the store. He watched as the police walked all over the place.
"Captain, come back here and check this out." The black officer called.
A heavy set white man of about fifty or so nodded to another officer and began walking back. "What've you got?" He asked as he approached.
"You're not going to believe this, Cap." Officer Grant stepped aside so his commanding officer could see the back room.
"Oh, God. This is the place we've been looking for." The older man said. He wiped his face with a handkerchief.
"I'd say so." Grant replied.
"God damn. A fuckin' comic book store as a cover for kiddie porn. I never even considered the idea."
"Nobody did, Sir." Grant said. He had been on the team tracking the porn ring for months and they hadn't found a clue. After the tips that were called in they had investigated them with no result. Now, it looked like the calls were to throw them off the scent.
"What do we do with the kid, Captain?" Grant asked as he looked at the boy sitting at the front of the store.
"Take him to the station and call his parents. We'll interview him and see how much he knows about all this shit." The captain replied with a wave of his arm toward the bedroom scene.
Officer Grant returned to the front of the store. He looked at the boy sitting there, looking scared and alone. He had feared this moment for a long time. Meeting up with one of the kids being used. He knew when he agreed to join the special task force that he would have to interview the kids but not under these circumstances.
Tommy looked up at the officer. He didn't know what to say so he remained silent.
"I'm going to take you down to the station, son. We need to contact your parents and see if we can get all of this worked out." Grant said, using a tone much softer than that he had spoken to the boy with at the beginning. He had to remember this kid was as much a victim, maybe more of one, than the man who had been shot.
"Yes, sir." Tommy said. He stood up and held his hands out as if to be handcuffed.
"I'm not cuffin' you kid." Grant said. "Come on." The officer walked to the door and pulled it open.
Tommy lowered his arms and walked silently past the policeman and out to where the police cars were parked. The ambulance was long gone, taking Clay to either live or die. He thought about how much he had looked forward to Clay getting busted. To being through with the whole damn mess, but he never wanted this. He didn't want the guy to be shot, he sure as hell hadn't wanted Phillip involved. That hurt almost as bad; seeing what the one guy he wanted to spend forever with, throw that all away, not even realizing what he had lost.
"You okay?" Grant spoke as he held the back door of a Chevy Caprice open for the boy.
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry. I was just thinking." Tommy said as he got into the back seat of the squad car.
The man nodded, as if in understanding, and closed the door. He climbed in the front seat, behind the wheel and turned the ignition. Grant looked both ways and drove out into the street, merging with the evening traffic.
(6)
Phillip stopped the truck across the street from Adam's house. He wondered if they had heard what had happened yet. He sat, listening to an old rock music station, trying to decide if he should go up to the door, or keep on driving. He looked down at his shirt. There were splotches of blood that had sprayed from Clay when the bullets had hit. Phillip looked in the rear view mirror to see that he had some blood on his face as well.
The young man lowered his head, wanting to cry. The two boys in that house were happy. They had everything they wanted in each other. They had everything he had wanted with Clay and now, would never have. He looked up and stared at the house with sadness that turned over in him and became a steadily building anger, based on resentment he had been feeling since he had watched the two boys fall in love.
He cranked the truck up and pulled away from the curb, moving slowly so he wouldn't attract attention.
(7)
Everybody in the house heard the knocking on the front door. Adam and Jesse were in bed, each reading a different comic book. Francine was in her office working on her new novel.
"What the.." Jesse placed the comic on the bed between them and slipped from under the covers. He wore only a pair of boxers. He walked to the window and opened it. "Who's down there?"
"It's me. Tommy." The boy called. He moved from under the porch so that he could see Jesse in the window. "I need to talk to you guys. Please? It's important."
"Yeah, okay. I'll be right down." Jesse said. He closed the window and went to the closet for a pair of jeans.
"What's all that about?" Adam asked. He looked at his lover with concern. He wore his reading glasses, which were round rimmed and cute, or so Jesse and his mom had convinced him when the doctor said that he had to wear them last summer. Heck, that was even before he and Jesse had moved from friendship to lover status.
"Something's going on with Tommy. I'll let him in and we'll be right back up." He bent slightly and gave Adam a quick kiss before leaving the room.
Jesse walked down the stairs quickly and unlocked the front door. What the hell was up now? He wondered. Tommy's voice had sounded all wrong. He tried to remember if he had ever heard his friend so upset before.
"Who is that?" Francine Conner called from the second floor. She had crossed from her office to grab a house coat when she had hear the knocking.
"It's Tommy." Jesse said. He opened the door to let the other boy into the house. "Dude," He said, looking to his friend. "What's the deal, man?"
Tommy was visibly shaken. His eyes, usually dancing with life, were now cold with fear or sadness, or something in between. "Clay's been shot."
Jesse looked at the boy with shock. "Shot? By who?" He asked.
Francine, hearing the exchange came down the stairs quickly. She stood listening to Tommy explain. She wondered where her son was.
"Phillip came in the store as me and Ryan were leaving the back room. We heard arguing and stopped at the back room door to listen. It sounded like Phillip so we opened the door. He was standing with a gun pointed at Clay. They kept talking and Phillip was getting really mad, crazy mad. He just fired the damn thing right into Clay! Like, three times, man."
"Oh, my god." Francine said. She had a hand at her mouth. "I only know Phillip from what you boys have said about him. Why would he do such a thing?"
"Hey, what's going on?" Adam said as he made his way quickly down the steps. He wore his plaid housecoat.
"Let's go in the kitchen." Francine said. "I'll make some coffee." She walked off down the hall as she listened to Tommy bringing Adam up to speed.
The boys walked down the hall and into the kitchen. The three of them moved to the table and took seats without saying anything.
"Guys, I'm scared. I've known Phillip for years, way before Clay even came on the scene. He has never been the way I saw his today. Never." Tommy said. His voice cracked and he felt tears in his eyes again. He tried to fight back the urge to cry. "A little high strung at times, but not like this."
"I've kind of wondered about him the last few months." Jesse said. "I know he's been your friend for a while but I always wondered if he might be a little off." Jesse said.
Francine listened in as she poured the coffee into four mugs. This wasn't exactly what she had feared but it was awfully close. How could she have let her son become involved with people who could do these things? She knew Jesse wasn't a bad kid, but he sure had some bad friends, scary ones. Tommy was sweet kid too, but he had always made her a little nervous.
Adam, like his mother, listened without comment. He wasn't really sure what to say anyway. He barely knew either Phillip or Clay. Hell, he didn't really know Tommy all that well. He had been around because of Jesse but that was about it until the relationship between him and his lover had begun. That was when he started to get to know the boy better. He liked him, that was for sure. He wouldn't have done what he and Jesse had done with him if he didn't.
"I have this freaky feeling he might come here, to get you two." Tommy said.
"What?" Francine said as she took a seat.
"Phillip has been jealous of Adam and Jesse being together for weeks now. He has talked about how much he wanted to have a boyfriend. The one he wanted was Clay though." Tommy said. He hadn't started to deal with how much this hurt him inside. He really did love Phillip. He had for a long while.
"Dear lord." Francine said. "I guess you to will stay home from school for a few days, at least until they catch the boy."
"Mom, no way. Adam said. "I am not about to hide."
"Same here." Jesse said. He looked at Adam with pride. His boyfriend was growing some strength.
"I don't know, boys." Francine said.
"We won't have to worry until Monday either way." Jesse said. "We'll just stick close to home this weekend and see where things stand Monday morning. Besides, we can find something to do." He said, looking at Adam.
"I bet you can." Francine said. She felt a little better seeing that the boys were dealing with things fairly well. She knew Jesse would be fine, there didn't seem to be anything that he couldn't handle. It was Adam that she had to worry about. He had been so sheltered. She knew that her over protection was probably a problem for him but she couldn't help herself. It had been bad enough for her to open up and let Jesse become a part of their lives once she realized they were a couple rather than just friends, as they had been for so long.
"God, you two can be so embarrassing!" Adam said in mock annoyance. He loved that his mom was cool with him having a boyfriend with all that it involved. She had been way more accepting than he had ever thought possible.
"I guess I need to get home." Tommy said. "I'm not real fond of walking out there now though."
"Well, stay here tonight. I'll call your mom." Francine said.
"The cops kept me at the station for hours. They tried calling my folks a dozen times before giving up and offered me a ride." Tommy said. He had hoped that Mrs. Conner would offer to let him stay. He didn't like to think about what was going to happen now that Clay's side business was out in the open. He didn't like his chances of survival much at this point. It would be bad enough that he was gay, but starring in a bunch of porno movies? His dad would kill him for sure.
"I'll try anyway." Francine said as she stood up and walked over to the wall phone near the door to the living room.
"Man, this is so fucked up." Jesse said. He kept his voice down. "Thank god we took the only copies of the tapes from this afternoon."
Adam's eyes grew large. "Jesse. Those tapes, are you sure they are the only ones?"
Jesse looked to Tommy for the answer. He was the only one that would know for sure how much had been taped and on which machines.
"Yeah, you have everything. I only used the handheld and the main stationary cameras. You took all three tapes with you before they could get copied. It's the tapes with me and you that I'm worried about. Dude, think about how much shit we did on film." Tommy said.
Jesse's face lost color quickly. He didn't know what to say now. There had been a lot of weird shit taped for Clay's various projects. Something for just about every sick taste that anybody could have.
"You okay?" Adam asked. he squeezed his boyfriend's hand.
"Yeah, babe, I'm good. Scared shitless, but I'll make it." He looked over to Francine who was talking animatedly into the he phone while using her free hand to point and express herself to someone who couldn't even see what she was doing. It was just her way, he had learned.
"It'll be okay. I love you." Adam said. He kissed Jesse on the cheek.
Jesse squeezed Adam's hand in return and moved his head to smile at his lover. He was so afraid that Adam's mom would force them apart when she found out all the things he had done.
Francine slammed the received down and stormed over to the table where she nearly threw herself into the chair. "Your mother is a first class bitch." She said, looking right at Tommy.
"No shit." He said. "What did she have to say?"
"It's not repeatable. Let's just say that she has had words with the police and in agreement with her husband, you are no longer welcome there." She let out a long breath.
"Shit. I knew this was going to be bad." Tommy said.
"Don't worry, dear. You can stay here for now." She said. She knew couldn't toss the boy out, not now, not ever, really. How was she suppose to raise three gay teenage boys? She had the money, sure, but the patience?
"Thanks, Mrs. C."
"You are welcome. It's very late so why don't you three go on up to bed. We'll clear out the upstairs storage room and fix it up for you over the weekend."
"You mean I can stay here for good?" Tommy asked, shocked.
"Let's take things one day at a time. I was just thinking that Jesse and Adam are going to want their privacy as a couple again pretty soon." The idea of three boys sharing one bedroom and one bed, no matter how large, couldn't add up to good things in the long run. She could deal with Adam being a couple with someone, but she didn't know how to think about him as part of a trio.
"You okay, mom? You just got the weirdest expression on your face." Adam said. He looked at him mom and considered what she might be thinking. When he hit on what that might be, he was a little shocked as well.
"I'll be fine. You boy's go on up. I need to sit here and think a little longer."
"Okay." Adam said. He kissed his mom and left the room.
Jesse kissed her as well before he and Tommy joined Adam at the staircase.
"This is going to be different. For all of us." Jesse said.
"Yeah, it is." Tommy said. he still felt the shock of knowing his parents were done with him. He wondered if he could move in with Greg and his boyfriend, then dismissed the idea because there he would be used and not even get paid for it.
"Let's go." Jesse said. He took Adam's hand and they walked up the stairs side by side with Tommy trailing behind.