Regrets and Heartaches

Regrets and Heartaches 33

Written by: J.P.G.

{Regrets and Heartaches is pure fiction. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is a love story. Seeing, as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it is in realistic balance in the characters' lives.

Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are a underage, (according to your state laws as a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.

This story cannot be distributed in any way, shape or form without my expressed consent. I will like to give a shout out to a reader that has helped me with ideas where the story is, thank you!}

Story Written by: J.P.G.

Edited By: Daddy Rick

Love Scenes By: Daddy Rick

I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/ Story Written by: J.P.G.

Chapter 33

Meanwhile back in the room, Cynthia was still going at it. Both Joey and Caleb were stunned that not only hadn't she ran out of steam yet, but also wasn't hoarse. Every few seconds she would try and catch Joey off guard, but he was waiting for her to strike, so Cynthia never made contact with him. At no time did the yelling stop.

It got to the point when Joey had enough. He knew if he touched Cynthia it would make things worse. Not only right now causing her to yell and kick more, but in the long run. She can and more than likely would walk out and sue Joey if he laid a hand on her. However, he couldn't let this continue. She had more than enough time to get everything out of her system.

Slowly he walked up to her, but at first for every step forward, Joey had to take two steps back to dodge her punches. Even though if you were looking from the outside on this, you would try and tell Joey to give up, but looks could be deceiving. Joey saw something in her eyes that no one else could see. A gesture in her body language that she wanted this to end as well, but had no idea how to bring it to a conclusion that would keep her in command.

Throwing caution to the wind, Joey weathered the hits he was receiving from Cynthia as he walked up to her. When he got to an arm's length away, he held out his arms and in a calm voice tried to get her to calm down. The first couple of times she didn't hear him over her yelling, but Joey wasn't willing to give up. The fourth time was the charm for him.

"Come on now let's just all calm down, sit and talk about this." Joey said in a low pleading voice. "I know if we talked things out all this could be resolved without any more yelling or hitting each other." Cynthia stopped swinging, but wasn't ready yet to give completely in. "You know I'm right here Cynthia. Let's just take a breath and sit down. Give all of us a chance to say their piece. If we do that, a lot can and will be explained."

Reluctantly Cynthia stopped yelling and relaxed a little. Even though she wouldn't take a seat just yet, Joey could see he was getting through to her. There was still anger in her face, but nowhere near the anger she had when she first walked in and caught him and Caleb. That was another positive Joey saw he was getting through to her and not to give up.

"Cynthia I can understand why you are so angry with me. Hell if I was in your shoes and I walked in and saw what you saw, I would probably have been worse. A heart is nothing to fool with and I promise you that isn't what I was doing. Not that day at the zone or the calls that followed. I always wanted to tell you the truth, but I didn't want to do that there or over the phone. Those weren't the right times and it wasn't respectful to you."

Finally after hearing Joey speak, Cynthia sat down and relaxed more. She wasn't really mad with him. Not the way she was showing it at least. No she was so madly in love with him to be that mad with him. It's just she was hurting; something that she thought Joey wouldn't do to her like the other guys she had dated in the past. She thought she had finally found her one in Joey."

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth that day at the zone?" For the first time since she started crying she didn't try to hide it. "I would have understood and still given you the discounts that I gave you that day. You should have just told me the truth."

"I know and you are right." Joey looked over at Caleb and waved him over. "Caleb here was saying the same thing before you came in." Joey realized that Caleb and Cynthia really haven't been introduced to each other. "I'm sorry, where are my manners here. I know you guys talked a little to each other that day at the zone, but really haven't met. Cynthia this guy standing beside me is Caleb, and Caleb this is Cynthia." Hesitantly the two shook hands.

"Don't you mean the hunk that is standing next to you?" Cynthia sported a smile for the first time since she walked into the room. "You guys make a cute couple. How long have you been going out?" Caleb looked at Joey and Joey looked at him, neither of them breaking eye contact with the other to answer the question. "I'm sorry it's too soon to ask a question like that. I know just a minute ago I wanted to kill you guys, and now here I am being all nice and sweet. You guys must be thinking I'm bipolar or something like that on how quickly my attitude changes."

At the same time Joey and Caleb started to laugh. Joey finally broke eye contact with Caleb and made eye contact with Cynthia. "Um, well, um...." Joey scratched the back of his head. "I don't see a problem with the question and no it isn't too soon to ask." He went into detail how he and Caleb met. "So as you can see we are in love with each other and have been the moment we met that day in the cafeteria in a high school in New Mexico."

Although every word Alex was saying about his and Caleb's relationship felt like he was pushing small knives into her side, she kept a smile on her face. As Joey talked she saw the love the two guys had for each other and didn't want to try and destroy it, even if she had a chance. These two were definitely in love with each other and were going to be together for a long time.

Trying not to keep the hurt away, she started to joke. "Neither of you guys spoke or said anything about me being bipolar." Cynthia put on a smile and faked a laugh. "I walked in here and started to go crazy, then on a dime I changed, but you guys don't seem to be afraid of that. If I saw a person like me come in like I did I would be standing on the other side of the room."

"Look as I said you had every right to be angry the way you were. To tell you the truth I'm surprised that you are able to poke fun at what just happened here. So in other words neither Caleb nor I think you are bipolar and would never go running to the other side of the room to hide from you. You are a very beautiful lady inside and out."

"If I'm so beautiful like you say I am then answer me why do I have such bad luck with guys. Every guy I have dated has either treated me like crap or just disappeared on me. I was ready to give up on love when you walked into the doors that day and now look. Not only are you in a relationship, but you're gay, which if I haven't made myself clear yet I have no problem with you being who you are. Hell some of my closest friends are gay."

Neither of the boys had an answer to her questions. One thing they have learned is when woman start to ask questions like Cynthia is asking it is best to try and change the subject. There is just no right answer and if you tried to answer the question, you more than likely would anger the young lady that is asking it no matter what you say. That is exactly what Joey is thinking and trying to figure out how to move their conversation away from where it is right now.

Back out in the hall things hadn't settled down like in the room. Tempers have been heating up on the probation floor for a while now. The guards and staff knew that any little thing could set it off and that little thing is Cynthia walking in throwing a fit like she did. The boys at first were just listening, but each of them wanted to get closer to the door than the other and since the ones that were at the door didn't want to move got heated exchanges going on in the hallway.

The guards immediately jumped in between the first group of boys that were about to get into a physical confrontation, but there were just not enough guards for the rest of the boys. Before they knew it, there were several fights beginning between different set of boys. When the guards realized things were getting out of control, they radioed for backup.

Within minutes several more guards showed up, along with Sally and a few of her staff members, but it wasn't enough. Until an unexpected person walked through the front door of the hotel with his wife then the fighting stopped immediately. The boys didn't budge from where they stood when Judge Evans walked up to them.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Judge Evans glared at the boys. "You have been given another chance to become productive citizens and this is how you repay those that fought for you to get that second chance. Hell I should revoke each and every one of you here and now and send you right back to jail where it looks like you want to be."

The image of the jail they were in before coming here flashed in each of the boy's minds. None of them wants to go back to that place. However, at the same time they knew if they were the first to back down, they would lose street credit. The only credit they need to have the most of when they are with others that are looking for their weak point.

"Okay I will take the silence and the dumb looks on your faces that is exactly what you want me to do, revoke you sorry asses." Harold looked over at Sally. "Call El Paso PD and have them send several units down here to remove these sorry excuses for human beings. They don't realize how lucky they were on getting the second chance that they got. There are hundreds of others locked up that would love to be in their shoes and now will get a chance to do so."

Before Sally could say a word, the former chief of police son spoke up. "Sir we are sorry! None of us want to go back to jail. We are thankful for the second chance your court gave us and we want to show you that you didn't make a mistake on choosing us over the others you could have chosen. What you just walked into will never happen again, I promise."

All the guys involved in the fighting from the probation floor looked at Bill with daggers in their eyes. They couldn't believe that this guy was speaking on their behalf; more so the younger guys that were in gangs before being arrested. They are used to calling the shots, not having a person outside their gang doing it for them. The only one that wasn't upset with Bill and looked like he was agreeing with him was Bobby, the kid that pretty much was thrown out of a gang.

"Young man this should have never happened." Billy couldn't tell if he got through to the judge. His voice and the look on his face was the same, which worried him. "If I dismiss this one time, some of you, if not all of you, might get it into your heads that you have the run of the place. No sir, the staff here has the run of the place and this can't be happening."

The judge looked over at the guards. "Do your damn jobs that you were hired to do. Get these kids on their knees and in restraints before one of them decides to make a run for it." The guards didn't want to get on the judge's bad side, so they immediately did what he asked. "You guys were given a second chance and threw it out the window. Good luck back inside!"

Harold didn't give a chance for anyone to try and change his mind. He turned and his wife and he disappeared down the hall, leaving everyone stunned. Sally stood there watching the guards putting her boys on their knees and then restraints. She tried to think of something that she could do to stop this from happening, but nothing came to mind.

It wasn't long after Harold left that several police cruisers showed up. When the first officers walked onto the scene and got briefed on why they were called there, they radioed for more cruisers, which didn't take long. Within an hour from the arrival of the first police officer arriving, all the boys were back in the custody of the E.P.P.D.

All the probationers that were arrested were taken straight to the county jail. Since they were being revoked, they were not taken in front of a judge for bail. Automatically they are put back in county without bond, which angered several of the boys who had no idea that was the process. Those that knew the process sat back and took one last look at the city as they drove down the freeway to county. None of them showed it, but deep down they didn't want to go back either. They started to like it at the hotel and that is gone.

Bill and Bobby were placed in the same police cruiser, but didn't say a word to each other until they got into the holding tank. This was the second time Bill went through the intake process and he hated even more this time than the first time. From the stripping of all his personal effects, to his shoe laces, belt, stripped down naked and then patted down, he felt degraded.

When he finally got thrown into the holding tank, he quickly found Bobby and went and sat next to him. He felt that Bobby was the only friend he had there. The other guys were giving him looks to sleep with one eye open. So he thought if he could at least keep one person on his side his chances of making it through the next twenty four to forty eight hours increased just a little.

"What do you think is going to happen to us?" Bill whispered as he slid down next to Bobby on the floor. "Do you think we are going to go back to that other jail or are they going to keep us here?" Bobby didn't respond. His mind was on watching the other guys in the tank. "I really hope they don't take us back to that other place, I really hated it there. I hated being in that small, ugly room for twenty three hours a day. Not allowed anything except our thoughts."

Bobby glanced at Bill before quickly turning his attention back to the others. "To tell you the truth Bill, I don't think I'll make it there. I've got so many enemies, I'll be lucky to make it to breakfast." Bill looked at Bobby with a concerned look on his face. "Don't worry about me there Bill, I'm ready if it's my time. Just if you want to make it till..."

The big orange metal door to the holding tank opened and a guard yelled out several names. At first Bill didn't hear his name, but when the guard called it the second time, he did. Quickly he stood up and made his way out of the tank with every eye on him, at least it felt that way. A couple of the guys were staring down Bobby and Bobby was staring them down.

Bill looked around at the guard station for who was calling him once he got out, but he couldn't figure out who it was. All the guards were either talking to another inmate or were doing paperwork, not looking up from their desk. Not knowing where he should go, Bill did the only thing he was able to do and that is just stand there looking around.

The last time he was in there, he didn't look around the place. Just like this time, he didn't want to be there. However, this time he isn't as scared as he was. Don't get him wrong, he's scared shitless, but a little voice inside him is telling him that things are going to turn out right, don't worry. But the rest of his body is shaking so bad Bill was worried that he might actually shake right out of his pants and shoes.

As he stood there he realized how dim the place was. The lighting system made everything yellow, which made him sick in his stomach. The walls looked like they were white at one time, but haven't been painted in a very long time making them yellow. Or that could be the lighting making the walls that color. The floor is all scuffed up and trash thrown in the corners. The counters also look like they haven't been painted or even cleaned in a long time.

Just as he turned to his right to look at the only thing new in the place, the finger printing machine, one of the guards behind the counter looked up and called out his name. "Hey dumb ass are you Bill Carnes?" Bill nodded. "Then get your ass over here. Don't think you are going to get a special invitation to come up and see me!"

Not wanting to anger the guard more than he already was, he did what he was told. Bill quickly walked over to the counter, but without shoe laces it was making it harder than he thought it would be to walk fast. He kept tripping over his shoes that kept coming off his feet. Then when he got to the counter, he almost fell head first into it because he didn't see the small stage in front of it that rose a couple feet from the floor.

"You came in with the group from that new program in that hotel, is that correct?" Bill nodded his head. "I knew that program was going to fail. I was just saying that the other day and here you guys are proving my point." Bill didn't know what to say or do about that statement, so he just looked straight ahead. "Okay are you a member of any gang?" Bill shook his head. "I need you to give me verbal answers to my questions. You can talk can't you?" Bill answer in the positive.

"Good then, let's get this done quickly. How tall are you?" Bill answered and he quickly answered the questions that followed. "What color are your eyes? What color is your hair? Do you have any health issues or taking any medicine we need to know about. Are you a homosexual?" Not knowing why, the last question Bill lied. "Okay I need you to lift up your shirt and let me look at your chest. Then turn around to let me look at your back. After that you will pull down your pants and let me look at the front of your legs and then the back."

Bill did what he was told. He quickly pulled off his shirt, let the guard examine him and then turned around. When he heard the guard tell him to put back on his shirt, he did and then quickly pulled down his pants. Once the guard examined his legs, he was allowed to pull his pants back up. There was no doubt in Bill's mind that the guard was looking for tact tattoos.

Before Bill was able to button his jeans, the guard came around the counter and escorted him to the end where the finger printing station was at. Bill was a little confused. He didn't understand why he was being finger printed with ink when there is the new finger printing machine right behind him, but he didn't voice his concerns. He just did what he was asked to do.

The guard took a roller to the ink and then rolled it across a black pad. Once he felt he had enough ink on the pad, he took Bills right hand and pressed his fingertips onto the black pad. As he was doing that, he was giving Bill instructions on how he wanted it to go, and then followed it up with a request for him to relax, which was hard.

Even though Bill thought he wouldn't be able to relax, somehow he did. Before he knew it, the guard finished his right hand and was started on his left hand. When he was done with that, he pointed out the sink for Bill to wash the ink off of his hands. Once he was done and rejoined the guard at the counter, the guard took him to the new finger printing machine and did the same thing over again, but this time without the mess of wet ink.

When Bill walked back into the tank, half the guys that were in there when he left were already gone. There were some new ones that were there that he didn't know, and he didn't give them a second look. He started scanning the tank and was lucky to find that Bobby was still there in the same spot where he left him. The only thing different was that Bobby looked asleep, but when he got close to him, Bobby's eyes shot open and stared right at him.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you up." Once again whispering as he slid down to the spot next to Bobby on the floor. "Go ahead and try and get some sleep. I will keep an eye out for you and if anyone walks or looks our direction I will wake you up."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I won't be getting any sleep until I'm alone in my room. As I said before I made many enemies here." Bill slid away from Bobby a couple of feet. "Don't worry I don't consider you an enemy, at least I hope you aren't one." Bobby chuckled making Bill feel a little more at ease. "But some of these guys in here are and I need to be careful."

"If this was my first time in this place I would say something stupid like they wouldn't even think of trying with those guys standing out there." Bill pointed to the wall where on the other side was the guards were at work processing in inmates. "But I know better than to say something like that. Those pricks out there wouldn't lift a finger to help someone that is getting their ass kicked in here. They would stand back and wait until it was over before pulling out the ones involved." Bill shook his head as he moved back the couple of feet he moved over.

"I know there isn't much I can do if things go south in here, but I will have your back if things do." That put a real smile on Bobby's face. "Compared to who had your back in the past, I know I'm not much, but I will go down swinging."

Bobby knew Bill was selling himself short as far as defending himself. The guy not only is on the fit side, but has been in a fight before from what he understood. That is what got him in trouble in jail in the first place. Even though the fight he was in went too far and for all the wrong reasons, he has raised his fist before and actually won.

The boys didn't talk much anymore. They sat mostly in silence, watching as others came and went from the tank until they were called out with the others that came in with them from the hotel. Even though they tried, neither of them got any sleep. Sluggishly they pulled themselves up from the floor and walked out of the tank and faced the wall like the others were doing.

Once they were patted down they were told to walk in a single file line behind one of the guards to the other side of the floor. The walk felt long to Bill, but it was actually short. When they got to the other side, they were put in another holding tank the same size as the one they were just in, but was dirtier and it smelt like urine. Thankfully they didn't stay in that tank long.

Just like on the other side, they were pulled out one by one to the counter, re-asked medical questions before giving a TB shot and their arm band. As soon as the last one that was in their group was called out, they were all ordered out of the tank. Bill knew what was coming, and it did happen. They were ordered to face the wall and they were patted down once again before they were instructed to get into a single file line and follow the officer.

This time it wasn't a straight walk to where they were going. It was a maze through several hallways to get to a small little room where they were ordered to stand against the wall. The room had a counter from one side to the other. Behind the counter was one guard who was putting baskets on the counter that Bill knew too well what they were going to be used for.

The guard looked up and cracked a smile. "Veterans, boy do I love it when I have nothing but veterans here." The guard pounded the counter with a closed fist. "You guys know what to do, so do it." Everyone started to strip down. "Just keep your underwear and your socks. The rest of your shit goes into the bag that's in front of you."

Bill tried to crawl inside the wall as he stripped down. He felt very uncomfortable in a room full of former gang members who would kick his ass the second they found out he was gay. Trying his best not to look over at any of the other almost naked guys in the room, Bill pulled off his shirt, kicked off his shoes and then his pants. Neatly he folded his clothes and placed them in the bag before leaning against the wall with his arms across his chest trying to warm himself up.

"Now starting from my right, one at a time step forward and place you bag in the basket in front of you. Once you do that, sign the forms that are in front of the basket. Don't sign the wrong forms or use the wrong basket because if you do, you will see the mean side of me and that is a side you don't want to see. Do you all understand?" At once everyone said yes. "Once the forms are signed, take the jump suit and shoes I give you and step back. Don't put them on."

No one questioned why, they did what the guard asked. One by one they stepped forward, put their bag of clothes where they were told to put them, signed the forms, grabbed their jumpsuit and then stepped back. The whole time this was happening; Bill kept his eyes to the front. A few of the guys he had wanted to see in boxers, and even naked, but not here. He knew if he stole a quick glance of one of them, he would get hard instantly.

Once everyone had their jumpsuits, they were escorted out of the room to another holding cell across the hall. As they walked into the cell, they were handed a towel, a small piece of soap and something was squirted into their hair. The last time Bill went through this process he asked another inmate what the stuff was that was squirted in his hair. The answer he got back was two words, `for lice'. No more information was needed.

The next hour was one of the hardest hours in Bills life since he found out he was gay. It took all his willpower to not get hard with all the naked bodies running around. The minute the door to the cell was closed, everyone raced to strip off their underwear and then their socks in order to be one of the first to get into one of the two showers. Bill stepped back against the wall with Bobby to let all the others go before them. He and Bobby were the last to shower.

Bill thought once he had his shower and put the jumpsuit on he was going to be warmer than he was when he first walked in, but he wasn't. He was shivering as he sat back down next to Bobby. It felt like the air conditioner was turned on full blast and was aimed straight at him. Nothing he did worked. Finally he ended up rolling up in a ball with his head between his legs.

Somehow Bill had fallen asleep because when he woke up he saw Bobby's face looking back at him. Bobby hadn't slept a second, so when the guard walked in and yelled breakfast, he was the first to hear. It took him a while to wake up Bill, but once he was awake, they got up and walked over to the gate and grabbed their carton of milk and box of cereal before sitting back down in the far corner of the holding tank that gave Bobby the perfect vantage point to see everything.

All the boys mumbled complaints about their small breakfast under their breaths, but went on and ate it. Just as they finished eating, the door opened again and a guard stepped in yelling for them to get onto their feet and step out. They all thought they were going to head to their assigned floors and tanks, but they were wrong and found out quickly they were wrong.

Not only there wasn't any blankets and sheets on the floor outside of the holding tank when they walked out, but they were greeted with handcuffs and chains. Once they were secured, they were escorted back to the elevator and through the long tunnel that led to the courthouse. Along the way several of them asked each other what they thought was going on, but each of them were as confused as the other. The only thing they could agree on was that they thought they were not going to see an inside of a courtroom for several weeks, not the next day.

They walked right through the small holding tank outside the courtroom straight in to the jury box. The guards yelled at them to take a seat and not say another word. Even though they wanted to see if the others might have figured out what was going on, they did what they were told. They quickly sat down and looked forward, not saying a word.

As the boys were settling in, back in the judge's chambers Harold had just walked in. He was grumpier than he was the night before. Rarely does he work on Saturdays and he really hated to have to work this one. It was Jacob's parent's wedding and he and his family was invited to go, which he was really looking forward on doing. However, he now finds himself having to be here before the crack of dawn to revoke all the probationers he went on the limb for to put in his program.

Since his court wasn't scheduled to be in session, he only called in the staff he needed to do the proceedings. His court reporter, a couple of bailiffs and the assistant district attorney that was assigned to his court room, who just like him, was none too happy having to go in. Knowing that, Harold quickly put on his robe and headed to his courtroom. The faster he got the court into session, the quicker they all will be able to get back to their Saturdays.

The bailiff called the court into session and had everyone stand up when Harold walked in. The boys looked at judge to see what kind of mood he was in. They all knew the mood a judge is in is the way the judge is going to rule. In other words, if the judge is in a good mood, he or she would hand out light sentences. If a judge was in a bad mood, well you'd better watch out. And in their case today, they could see that their judge wasn't in a good mood. So they prepared themselves for the worst, being revoked and sent back to the place they had nightmares of.

"Okay let's go ahead and get through this as fast as we can." Judge Evans said as he sat down hitting his gavel several times to get everyone's attention. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I have things to do. If I don't get home and do what I promised my wife that I would do, well let's say I will be sleeping in my office for a couple of days."

Everyone in the courtroom except the boys waiting to be sentenced laughed. They knew they weren't going to go home, so there was no need to laugh at something they didn't find funny. Where they were going was hell on earth. A place that is a nightmare even to the hardened criminals, even worse for the young boys standing in the jury box before Judge Evans.

"Why don't all the defendants come forward all at once?" The boys knew they couldn't object because it was a request not an option. They didn't understand why Harold put it in a form of a question, but they were not given any time to really think about it. The guards made them move out of the jury box to the middle of the courtroom quickly, giving them no time to think.

"To say I'm disappointed on why we are here today would be an understatement to say the least. I really believed that you boys were the right ones to be the first to take advantage of the new program you were all in. But I got a wakeup call last night when I walked into the hotel and found all of you fighting with each other."

Just as the judge glared down at the boys, Sally and several of her staff members walked into the courtroom. After the boys were taken away the night before, Sally went up and spoke with Harold in his penthouse. She did her best to try and get Harold to change his mind, but when it was all said and done and heading back to her office, Sally felt she didn't change a thing. Instead she thought she might have made it worse, and being here this morning confirmed it.

"Other's that are locked up right now would kill to have the chance each of you were given to be a productive citizen of this community. But what do you guys do with that chance? Throw it away by fighting! Come on now that is a stupid reason to be revoked and sent back up, don't you guys agree?" Each other of them in one way or another agreed with Harold.

"If you guys agree with me, why were you fighting?" This time no one answered. "One of you needs to step up on behalf of the others and be able to answer my questions. I need to see there is still a chance that each of you could be put on the straight and narrow. A chance that each of you could become law abiding citizens of our community and able to leave your troubled past where it belongs, in the past! So who is it going to be?"

Harold looked in the eyes of each of the young boys standing before him. He saw they were scared. He even saw regret in their eyes, but they were either too afraid to speak up or too proud to. Most of them were former gang members. All they knew and were taught since they could walk is to never show weakness and more so in front of a fellow gang member.

No one spoke up, frustrating Harold. Just as he was about to begin to hand down his sentence Bobby stepped forward. "Sir, with all due respect, you are right. Everyone that has been already sentenced to serve time would kill to be where we were before yesterday. We all know that." Bobby pointed towards the others. "There is no excuse for what happened last night and I'm not about to make up any to dishonor you and this courtroom.

What I will do is tell you that it will not happen again if you give us another chance. We allowed our old ways to take over and all we can do is promise to try to not let that happen again. But like everyone knows getting rid of bad habits is very hard to do. More so the only way of life that the majority of us grew up in and only knew until now. It will be hard, but with the help we were receiving it was getting us there. Let us prove to you that you didn't make the wrong decision when you deferred our sentence to probation to be served out at the hotel."

Since Bobby was the first that Harold had sentenced to the new program he remembered him well. The story of what he did to get locked up and what happened to him while being locked up was given to him in great detail by both attorneys, defense and prosecutor. The part of what happened at the county jail was the item that persuaded him to give the young man the opportunity at the new program. He never thought Bobby was going to make it through the first couple months, more so be the voice for all the probationers.

"This program is in the testing phase. There are people out there waiting, foaming at the mouth for it to fail. They believe none of you could be rehabilitated and should be locked up for the rest of your natural born lives." Harold could see in the boy's eyes that they were hanging onto every word he was saying. "This piece of news shouldn't be a surprise to any of you!"

All at once the boys shook their heads. "When I got here I put together this program in hopes that some of you would take advantage of it and make a new life for yourselves. Breakaway from the gang life and stop breaking the law! Don't get me wrong, I never thought everyone I would assign to this program would survive and become productive citizens of this community. There are those few no matter how many times you reach out with a helping hand they slap it away every single time. But I never thought everyone in the program would slap the hand away."

The look on the boy's faces said it all. Harold could see they were preparing for the worse, which was being sent back up and never to taste the air of freedom in their young lives again. Maybe they will get paroled with a few years of their lives to live in the free, but more than likely that wouldn't happen. Mainly due to what happens to those that get long sentences. The light at the end of the tunnel was so far away. They give up and become worse than they were when they first went in. That is the cycle Harold was hoping to break with this program of his.

"I'm about to do something I never have done all my years on the bench, but before I do, let me make a couple things clear here and now. No matter what sentence I hand down here today to you boys, the program and I will survive and go on. I was handpicked by the governor to run this courtroom, which is a lifetime appointment. I will not be going anywhere any time soon nor will the program I helped make become reality.

And second all of you know I mean business when I say I will always follow the rules this court has set for you guys. Not only the laws that all law abiding citizens have to follow, by the rules the program has set for you to follow and the conditions this court has set for you. If you break any of those rules and conditions, you will be sent right back here and never given another chance at this program or any other program that might come down the pipe line."

The boys understood and agreed with Harold, but at the same time they were thinking it was a little unfair with the amount of rules they had to follow. Even though they were not behind bars, they were still locked up. Their freedom was still taken from them and they had no idea if they would ever be able to get that freedom back. Harold at the same time was thinking the same thing and knew that some if not all the boys would be questioning if this program was worth it.

"I know these extra rules and conditions seem to be unfair, but it is better than being locked up in a place like across the street or worse, my jail house." Some of the boys chuckled as all of them nodded their heads. "And I'm not saying those that are assigned to this program will be in it for the rest of their lives. The creators of this program are hoping that by the age of twenty one either those in the program would have learned from it and move on to a regular life, or fail at it and be locked back up. Either way, they will be out of the program and onto a new chapter of their lives.

With that said, let me get to my ruling. I have already taken too much of my court personnel's Saturday morning." Harold looked at the faces of those he called in and saw they no longer looked angry. They actually have a look on their faces of accomplishment. "Before I went into my long winded speech I stated I have never done what I'm about to do in all my years on the bench. But the way this young man spoke..." Harold pointed to Bobby. "Is the reason I'm going to break away from my norm. He is the man you have to thank."

For the first time since he lost his position in the gang, Bobby felt safe. The way the others were looking at him was how they once looked at him. However, he knew this wasn't going to last. If things are going where he thinks they are going, within a couple days back at the hotel things will be back to normal. The only true friend he learned through all this he could call a true friend and actually depend on is the guy standing on his right, Bill.

"I will be placing you all back on probation and deferring you sentence to be served out in The Alvarez House. There you will follow the original conditions in which you were put on with one exception. Each and every one of you standing before me broke one if not several of the conditions you were to follow and it needs to be addressed. A night in county I feel isn't enough. It is a start, but not enough. So I will be adding three hundred more community hours to each of your already assigned community hours."

Harold heard low grunts coming from the boys, but it didn't deter him from passing down the sentence he believed the boys deserved. "Three hours will have to be completed alongside hours you are required to work in a job. I know it is possible after meeting with Miss. Hughes." Some of the boys glanced quickly at Sally and right back at Harold.

"I truly hope this is the last time I see any of you boys before me because if I do, let me say here and now you wouldn't like the outcome." One by one the boys swore in one way or another that that won't happen. "I know you guys know this, but I'm going to say it anyway to make sure it is crystal clear to you all. If any of you do, I will revoke you and throw your butts behind bars as long as the law permits me on the original charges you were charged with."

With that Harold ordered the boys to be released immediately to Sally and her staff before adjourning his court. As he walked out, he looked over at Sally and still couldn't believe that she was attacked in this very courthouse parking garage. She tried to cover up the scrapes and bruises she got from that attack, but if you look closely, you still can make them out under the makeup.

The rest of the day went off without any more surprises in the Evan's and Alvarez's plans. As soon as Harold walked into his penthouse, his suit was laying on the bed and shoes on the floor that Helen set out for him to wear for the wedding. Quickly he jumped into the shower and got ready before meeting his family down in the lobby with the others heading to the wedding.

Joey's worries were for nothing. Days leading up to the wedding he got so worried about what Jacob's family thought of him he couldn't keep anything down. When they did arrive and they met, they surprised him. The minute they caught his name, they knew who he was and who he was to Jacob, but they didn't care. They let it stay where it belonged, between him and Jacob.

Although there were one or two of Jacob's family that did care and made their feelings clear to Joey, he didn't let it bring him down. What helped him to do that was the rest of Jacob's family. Either as a group or one at a time they told Joey to ignore those few and to enjoy himself. In their eyes they still consider him family since he was part of Jacob's.

All of the residents of the hotel were at the wedding except the probationers. They were never invited, and even if they were they wouldn't be able to go. On top of that, by the time they were processed out of the county jail, the church and lunch part of the wedding was over. The only thing that was left was the reception at the hotel, which they were told to stay away from.

To make sure the proceedings were not interrupted by any of the kids on the probation floor, the guard staff was told to lock down their floor. When they were informed that the wedding party and their guests were making their way back, they gathered the boys that were downstairs doing their community service hours and headed up. Before locking down the floor, Jackson did a physical head count to make sure every probationer was accounted for. Once the count was done, and doubled checked, the doors leading to the staircase and the elevator were locked.

Bill knew his Saturday was going to be spent mostly in his room before all the commotion happened the night before, so he got ready. Normally there are two probationers per room, but Bill has been lucky so far that he hasn't been assigned a roommate yet. And one of the freedoms that they have got back here at the hotel is the privilege to be allowed a personal T.V., VCR and snacks of their own, which Bill loved since sometimes he doesn't get full at dinner.

The days leading up to the wedding, Bill stocked up with the things he liked and rented movies that he has been wanting to see. As he gathered his snacks, Bill decided on which of the four movies he was going to watch first. He threw his snacks on his bed as he picked up the movies on his night stand. He went through them as he walked to his T.V. for the movie he wanted to see first, `Patriot Games' with Harrison Ford.

After slamming the VHS into his VCR, he walked over to his bed and sat down. The minute the previews started to roll, Bill heard a knock his door. At first he was going to ignore it, but when the person outside his room knocked the second time, he decided to see who it was. Mainly because he has never had anyone knock on his door before, so he figured it was a guard.

However, when he cracked his door open, he got a big surprise. Standing there was Bobby who looked out of place. "Well are you going to let me in?" Bobby asked in a low voice as he looked down one side of the hall way before looking down the other side. That got Bill curious, so he opened his door completely open and leaned out to see what Bobby was looking at. Before he could say anything or lean back in, Bobby pushed his way past and walked into the room.

"I'm sorry if that seemed rude, but I don't want any of the guys to catch me alone in a deserted hallway." Bobby spoke a little louder as he turned and faced Bill who moved back into the room and closed the door. "I know we haven't said more than two words to each other before last night, but after last night I found that I can actually trust you."

"You can!" Bill matched Bobby's level of voice as he made his way back to his bed. "Actually I'm glad that you came around. I thought I was going to spend all afternoon and evening alone watching movies in my room. You are more than welcome to join me if you want. I have plenty of soda and snacks for the both of us if you decide to stay."

Bobby looked around the room and then at the T.V. Not asking permission, he walked over and picked up the movies to see what Bill is planning to watch. He not only liked every movie the Bill rented, but he wanted to really see them since they were released to theatres.

"I'm down on kicking it with you today if you don't mind." Bobby finally spoke after several minutes of uncomfortable silence. "But I would like to invite another to join us." Bobby could see that made Bill uncomfortable. "Not to worry the guy is cool and can be trusted or I wouldn't be kicking it with him. You know it takes a lot for me to trust another."

It took Bill a couple of minutes for him to mull over Bobby's request before hesitantly saying yes. For the first time Bill saw a smile on Bobby's face as he thanked him on his way out the door. He thought there was something wrong with Bobby because he has never seen the guy smile since he walked into the hotel, but now he can see he was wrong. Bobby only shows his smile to those he trusts, which is very few and in-between.

Bringing Bill out of his thoughts was a knock on the door. Bobby didn't wait for Bill to invite him in. After knocking a few more times, he just walked in with Garrett right behind him. When Bill saw it was Garratt, he relaxed even more. He has heard rumors about him, but he never has actually said two words to him in passing, in the cafeteria or at school. There was something in the way Garratt held himself that told Bill the rumors he heard was wrong.

"I'm not sure if you two have met before, but just in case if you haven't let me do the introductions." The two boys met each other in the middle of the room. "This is Garratt my main man, and Garratt this is Bill the guy I was telling you about earlier." They shook hands. "Garratt as I was telling you this guy is cool. He and I had each other's back yesterday and you know finding someone that would have my back here is rare to impossible."

Garratt shook his head as he scanned Bills room. "I have seen you around the hotel Garratt and wanted to stop you and introduce myself, but I never grew enough balls to do so." That got Garratt to give Bill his complete attention. "I think it's just I'm one of those people who aren't good on making friends, so I don't even bother trying to."

"That's cool, I'm the same way." Garratt cracked a smile as he sat down in the bed across from Bill's. "Just like you I have seen you around, but never had the nerve to introduce myself. Plus I figured you heard the rumors about me since you didn't even look in my direction in the halls whenever we passed each other. Let me tell you some of them are true and some aren't."

"Hell Garratt I'm in no position say a thing about you because what I did to get me here is probably worse than what you did." Garratt started to shake his head when Bobby jumped onto the bed next to him. "Even if all the rumors I heard about you is true, it's nothing..."

"Alright, alright enough with this love fest!" Bobby jokingly interrupted Bill. "Look we all did shitty things or we wouldn't be here. You Garratt you screwed with a kid at school." With his left hand Bobby made a circle and his right hand he pushed his finger in and out the circle he made with his index finger and thumb. That got a laugh out of everyone.

"You Bill you and your friends chased after a kid and beat the crap out of him. To make matters worse it was the principle's kid." The smile on Bill's face disappeared. "And don't get me started on what I have done to get me here. Let's just say what you guys have heard about me is probably all true all the way to me having no dick anymore."

Bobby playfully grabbed the area of where his dick is, making the other two laugh. "So let's stop talking about what got us here and watch some movies." Bobby turned towards the T.V. "So Bill my man what do you have for us first to watch, `Malcolm X or is it Stop or My Mother will shout?" Bill shook his head. "Wait don't tell me, don't tell me! Is it Candy Man?" Bill shook his head again. "Damn you aren't going to start it off with the best of them all, Patriot Games?" That got a positive answer, which put a big smile across Bobby's face.

Bill went to press play when Bobby jumped up from the bed and startled him "Hold one fucking minute!" Bobby turned and looked at Garratt. "Let's go to my room and grab a couple more snacks and sodas so we don't have to get up for nothing once the movies start?" Garratt shook his head as he got up from the bed with help from Bobby. "We'll be right back! So don't start that movie until we are all here."

Once again before Bill could respond, Bobby and Garratt were out the door. Bill is starting to realize that he won't have to respond to questions that Bobby asks. It seems that Bobby assumes that whatever he says is agreed upon and just does it without any confirmation, which doesn't bother Bill at all. If that is the worst thing about Bobby, he can deal with it.

When they returned and settled in, nothing interrupted them on watching the movies except of course dinner. Beyond that, they watched the four movies late into the night. The guards didn't make them turn in at their normal time, which gave them just enough time to watch all the movies. As the credits of the last movie started to roll, the intercom went live announcing in ten minutes everyone needed to be in their room for lights out.

"Man this was a fucking cool day!" Bobby was the first to speak since the last movie started as he got up and stretched out. "It was a perfect ending to a fucked up day. This we needed to get out of our minds what almost happened to us this morning, what do you guys think?"

At the same time, Bill and Garratt said yes as they got up and dusted the crumbs of the food they just ate. "Look I would help you clean up this mess..." Bobby looked around at the empty soda cans, candy wrappers, potato chip bags and popcorn bags. "But we have less than five minutes to get to our rooms before head count. All of us know what happens if we are caught in the hall when they start their counting." Both with evil grins on their faces they shook their heads. "So my man don't do a thing till tomorrow and we'll be back to help!"

Bill didn't object. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and call it a day. Through the last movie he was nodding off. The only reason he didn't fall asleep was because of either Bobby or Garratt yelling out wasn't that cool, come on that is fake or some remark like that. It wasn't that he was complaining about that because he wasn't. In fact he was thankful that they did it or he would have slept through the last movie for sure.

The three guys shook hands, made plans to meet up in Bill's room after breakfast tomorrow before Bobby and Garratt walked out. A few minutes later a guard opened the door, yelled out Bill's last name and before leaving he turned off the light and shut the door. It didn't take long after that for Bill to fall asleep. Once he was out, he didn't wake up again until the next morning.

Joey, Caleb and all the others who attended the reception the night before didn't wake up as earlier as those on the probation floor. They stayed asleep until early afternoon, and even then when they did wake up, they stumbled one at a time to the restaurant for something to eat before heading back up to their room to bum around. Basically that's all they did all day long.

When Monday morning rolled around, everyone was rested, but didn't want to go to school. None of them wanted the weekend to end mainly because they knew it was the start of another school week. The only thing that did brighten their day was the fact it was the last full week before Spring Break, which they still had no idea what they were going to do.

Joey mentioned to them a couple of times he was working with Jacob on a trip to Disneyland, but never came back to them that it was a for sure thing. Now that they are only a week off from Spring Break, they all want to know if the trip was on or not. So before Joey and Caleb made it down to breakfast they went around the table to see who was going to be the one to ask him what was up with the trip. After going back and forth for a few minutes, they decided the best way to choose who was going ask was by paper, scissors, rocks, which Thomas lost.

All through breakfast, the guys made small talk, which confused Joey and Caleb. It wasn't the small talk that confused them. It was how all over the place the guys were with their small talk. They knew something was up and finally after twenty minutes of the confusing conversation Joey asked the guys what was really going on.

At first they just stared down at their half-eaten plates of food, but eventually they all looked up and over at Thomas. "Okay, the guys and I want to know what is going on with Spring Break. You told us that you were working on us going to Disneyland, but nothing set in stone has come from you that we are." Thomas nervously rubbed his palms of his hands on his pants under the table. "What I guess I'm trying to say here is are we going to go to Disneyland?"

Joey cracked a smile as he looked around the table. "I'm sorry guys I never got back to you on this, but yes we are going to Disneyland. Jacob was taking the guys from his house to Disneyland over Spring Break and I asked if we could tag along, which of course he had no problem with. So pack your bags and be ready because we are leaving Friday night, or you can say really early Saturday morning."

While the guys went back and forth on what they need to do before Friday, at the other table across the restaurant Bobby, Bill and Garratt were eating breakfast. Unlike the others around the table of Joey's group, they were not paying attention to what was going on there. Instead they were making plans on what they were going to do at school when they are not in class.

Unlike Joey's group, they were not looking forward to Spring Break. Not only they can't do what all the other teenagers their age are planning on doing, but they have to work instead. They have been told they have to double their community service hours that week. None of them want to think about that, so they don't. They go along like any other beginning of the week and not look forward to the next week. Anything can change on a dime and if anyone needs proof of that all they have to do is look at what almost happened the prior Friday.

In no time they went from talking to playing around at the table. Between the three of them they threw pieces of food and playfully verbally teased each other, but they didn't get too loud or throw the food too high for others to catch on what they were doing. A few times they thought they were caught, but when they saw no one looked in their direction, they continued.

Every so often Garratt would glance over a couple tables from him at Ray, one of the kids that came with Joey from that camp. It seemed each time he looked over, he was caught not only by Ray, but by Bill and Bobby as well. At first they had no idea what Garratt was looking at, but by the third time they turned and saw what kept taking their friends attention away from them.

"Look man if you want to see if he will go out with you, grab your balls and go on over there and ask him out." Garratt turned all shades of red. He didn't think he was caught, and most of all he didn't think Bobby knew he might be gay. "Come on man you can't still think that none of us knows what happened between you and that black kid Jake. All of us know, and more than likely everyone in this place knows including that guy over there." Bobby pointed over at Ray. "So as I was saying, go on over there and ask him out or stop looking at him."

Garratt gathered his thoughts before responding to what Bobby just said. He figured eventually what happened between him and Jake was going to get out, but he didn't think it had happened already. It wasn't a big surprise due to how things unfolded that it is out already. He just was hoping to have a few more months of no one knowing this part of his life.

"Um dude, um, I'm not, you know..." Garratt bent his hand down, getting confused looks back from Bobby and Bill. "You know like those guys over there." Now he was pointing over in the general direction of Joey's table and still not getting through to Bobby and Bill. "I'm not gay. I have dated girls before and I'm still attracted to girls now. It's just sometimes I get these funny feelings when I see a certain guy like Ray over there. I can't really explain it."

Bobby started to laugh. "Man you are gay! You just haven't accepted it yet." He quickly looked over at Bill before turning back to Garratt with a more serious look on his face. "I know the little that you know of me you think I'm not down with gay people. If you are thinking that, boy are you wrong. There is nothing wrong being gay as long as you are yourself. And of course the gay person doesn't hit on me once they know I'm not like them.

On top of that man, since I have been here I have got to know several of those guys over there." Bobby pointed to the table where Ray was sitting at. "And they are the coolest guys you would ever meet. In fact, I know the guy you like, Ray. He is very cool. You wouldn't know he is gay if he doesn't tell you. The dude doesn't act it or throw it in your face, just like you!"

Getting frustrated with the turn the conversation has taken all he wanted to do at that moment is get up and leave the table. Mainly it was the way he was being pushed on doing something he wasn't sure he wanted to do just yet. Honestly he wasn't sure if he was gay or not. He knows that is weird and to most unbelievable because by the time a person his age they know if they are gay or not, but he doesn't. Depending on who it is, he gets feelings for both women and guys.

The confusion he is going through at that moment he blames on the way things unfolded recently in his life. He is more lost now than he has ever been since he started dating. Mainly because he knows he over reacted with Davey. He can't help himself from thinking the reason he reacted the way he did was not only because deep down inside he is just like him. Then what happened afterwards with him and Jake. He had no control there, but at times he really liked the feelings he was getting when they both wanted to be together, not forced.

"You know what Bobby to be completely honest with you two I don't know what I want to do. I mean I don't know if I like guys or girls. As of now I have dated more girls than guys. In fact, I never dated a guy, just girls. Jake was something I really can't explain. It was more like experimenting than anything else with him, which at the end I didn't like."

"What do you mean experimenting?" Bobby leaned forward speaking in a low voice. "I know I'm straight and I have never looked at another guy in that way. Not even to experiment. It's just who I am. I like girls, and when I was able to get it up, they were the only ones I was able to get hard for and want to have sex with." Bobby said with a smirk, causing Bill and Garratt to laugh.

"I know you're right and if this conversation we are having happened four months ago I would be saying the same thing you are saying right now. Maybe I dated girls because that is what I'm supposed to do and the true feelings are coming out now that I'm out from underneath my over bearing mother. Who knows, but for now I have decided to take it slow and give myself a chance to figure out really who I want to be with."

The one thing Garratt thought wasn't out there was the history between his mother and him, but he was wrong. Not only was it well known, Bobby was one of the first to hear the ugliness that was happening in Garratt's life before being sentenced to probation. That is one of the reasons he reached out to him and wanted to befriend him. They are way too close as far as family history when it comes down to their mothers. Not too much unlike what happened to Garratt with his mother, Bobby went through almost the same thing with his mother and couple of his aunts.

"Okay Garratt my man, okay I will leave you alone for now about this." Bobby's expression on his face went from teasing to serious in less than a second. "I just want you to know that whatever you decide I'm and I'm pretty sure Bill here is cool with it." Bobby and Garratt at the same time looked over at Bill who was nodding his head. "You're our friend and who gives a shit who you date. If you like guys, go for it. In fact, that guy Ray he is a real catch. As I said before he is a very cool guy and I wouldn't care if he hangs with us."

With that the guys put that conversation to rest for now. Bobby decided at breakfast that morning to help his good friend Garratt in any way he can to find happiness he felt his friend deserved. Garratt also decided at that moment he needed to figure himself out once and for all. After all he has been through and put others through, he just wants everyone to be happy. To not be afraid of what he might do to them if they are not what they think he thinks they should be.

The next couple of days were a blur for Garratt and it went so fast for the guys that were going to Disneyland. Joey didn't have all the information for them, so they didn't really know what to bring or what they were responsible for dealing with the trip. All of them have been working and been saving most of their money for Spring Break, but they still would like to know at least in the ball park what they were responsible for. Main reason for that is they wanted to know how much they would have left for spending money.

Each time they approached Joey for more detail, he just had nibbles of new information. It wasn't till Wednesday he had all the information the guys was asking for. However, once Joey sat them down and informed them that they don't have to worry about any expense except for spending money. That made them happy. Later they found out that Joey was paying for the entire trip and some of them didn't like that. When they approached him about it, he wouldn't hear what they had to say. In the end, reluctantly they all accepted the generous gift and thanked Joey.

Back on the other floor of the hotel Garratt was more lost than he was when the week started. By Wednesday he was starting to pull out his hair. With his upbringing ringing in his ear, he fought the feelings that were hitting him really hard about Ray. The more he saw Ray, the more his stomach tingled. Then Wednesday evening while working off some of his community service hours it hit him. The upbringing he was brought up in was all wrong.

Flashes of all the times his mother told him that she was the only one that cared for him and she was the only one he could trust. All along she was doing him more harm than good. Then the memories of the nights when he and his mother slept in the same bed made him sick to his stomach. It wasn't like when a person is young and has a bad dream and then goes running to jump in their parent's bed for security. No it was nights that if he didn't live it, he would think it was being made up to get him attention.

As those memories came flooding back to him, he knew without a doubt he shouldn't be using what he was taught by his mother to keep him from his true feelings. Simply put now he knows his mother was not only wrong, but had to be sick in the head. No parent should do what she did to him. So the lessons she taught him he figured had to be wrong. At least the majority of them that came from the hate within her, for she hated a lot of things and people.

After finishing up his community hours, he quickly made his way up to his floor. He wanted to speak with Bobby and Bill before lights out. With time not on his side, Garratt rushed down the hall to the elevator and then down the hall to Bobby's room when he got on their floor. Not bothering to knock when he reached the room, he just barged in. Bobby jumped to his feet in a fighting stance when his door swung up, but when he saw it was Garratt he relaxed.

"Man you are lucky that I even looked to see who came rushing into my room." Bobby sat back down on his bed as he waved Garratt over. "Normally I would have started throwing punches and asking questions once I knew the person barging in was out for the count. What is so important that you were willing to risk the wrath of my fist?"

"I need your help on something, but before I ask it I want you to hear what I have to say without interruption." Garratt didn't wait for an answer from Bobby. He went right into what he wanted to say without an interruption from Bobby. Only giving up information Garratt thought his friend needed to know in order for him to give his opinion. Once again, little did Garratt know, Bobby knew everything. Everyone knew everything about his life before the hotel.

"So you can see why I'm so damn mixed up in the head. I know what is wrong and what is right, at least I think I do. Because of what I was taught by my hatful mother I have no idea what I should do about these feelings I have for Ray. All I know is what my mother taught me and what I have seen others doing. Hate the faggots because being a fag is wrong."

"Look I don't know what to tell you about your mother because I never met the woman. But what you just told me about her and what I saw in the news during her trial she is a nasty piece of work. With that said my man, you need to throw out everything she ever taught. Also stop paying attention to what others think or say about a subject or an issue. No one can tell you who you should and shouldn't fall in love with, no one."

"Okay, okay then!" Garratt jumped up from the bed that was across the room from Bobby. He started to pace around the room, not saying a word for a couple of minutes. Then all of a sudden he stopped pacing and he turned and looked at Bobby with an evil grin. "Your right, the hell with all this negative shit, I'm going for what I want and that is Ray. Can you help me on that?"

"That is what I'm talking about man, go for it!" Bobby jumped up and high fived Garratt. "You go for what makes you happy. If Ray is the one, then I say let's get you guys together!" Garratt with the evil grin still on his face rushed over to the door, stunning Bobby. "Hey man, hold on just I minute there! I didn't mean we do it just this second. I was thinking on getting with Bill in the morning and putting something together."

"I can't and I won't wait another night. I want to do it now!"

Garratt turned and ran out the door. Bobby knew if he didn't catch up with his friend, his friend would be singing love songs in a jail cell. Something he didn't want to see happen. So he went running after him, and just as he stepped out into the hallway he saw Garratt stepping into the elevator. Not wanting to invite unwanted attention, he didn't yell, he just ran as fast as he could to the elevator and made it just in time to put his arm into the door as it was closing.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WRITER'S CORNER:

{Welcome back one and all to another chapter in the saga of `Regrets and Heartaches'. I know I don't write that much on this saga, but I have been meaning to fix that. The main reason I don't is there wasn't a lot of developed characters in it yet. Well I took this chapter and started to develop characters that were there in the back ground in this story and characters from my other stories. I hope you bear with me as I do this, if you do, you won't regret it.

With that said, let's get down to what this corner is really about. I will start off where this chapter began with Cynthia. When we left them in the last chapter she had lost it and was hitting into Joey, which he probably deserved. Also outside the room the hall was filling up with others, mainly probationers, from the hotel.

Let me first touch on what happened in the room with Cynthia. It took her a while to settle down and hear Joey out, but once she did, she seemed nice. She was hurt, and who could blame her. The way Joey handled this whole thing was wrong and got two people angry with him who eventually forgave him. The only thing Joey didn't get a chance to talk to Cynthia about is the real reason why he played the cruel game on her. I guess common sense finally prevailed and he realized that wasn't the right time to touch on that subject.

Out in the hall things went from okay to very bad. With all the changes that have been happening on the probation floor, the boys were reaching boiling point. Well it looked like this issue was the tipping point. The only bad thing that came out of that is Harold walking in and catching them fighting like he did.

Due to that, they spent the night in county lock up. If Harold was trying to scare them, I think he got his message across, don't fuck with him. These guys may act all big and strong, but deep down inside they are scared of being locked up. Lucky for them Bobby stepped forward and spoke when it counted. Because he did that, they all were put back on probation and allowed to return back to the hotel with just one small change, extra community service hours.

If there was a silver lining in this, I would say it was the friendship that developed between Bobby and Bill. Through that development of a friendship, Garratt was brought into that circle of friends. I don't know what is in store for these three boys, but you guys better rest assured it is going to be a lot fun. Well to put it the right way, a roller coaster ride.

If any indication of that being true, just look at the ending of the chapter. Before I get there let me touch a little bit on Garratt and where he came from. He was developed in the original `Rebirth' and brought over to this story. In the first twelve chapters you can read about Garratt's mother, her trial and what happened in that home between them in more detail. In the next chapter of this saga I will write about it, but I won't go into a lot of detail. You guys know I don't like to repeat myself on any plots that have been written in complete detail already.

Back to the ending of the chapter! It looks like Garratt is throwing caution to the wind, but at what cost. I really hope that Bobby is able to pull him out of that elevator and back to reality before anything goes wrong. However, you guys know me and how my evil mind works. Anything can happen here and the only way you guys are going to find out what happened is by coming back to the next installment of this saga. See you guys then! LOL!

There is so much going on in this saga. I can keep writing, but I won't. You guys are going to need to tune in to the next chapter to see what is going on. More plots are going to open and old ones will be closed. This story, like my others, will keep you on your toes. Do not miss what is coming up in the chapters to come.

I do not want to say too much more and spoil the future chapters to come, so I will not. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER: (March 20th, 1992 Wednesday Garratt had just stepped onto the elevator to go and see Ray. However Bobby is right there and had put his arm into the door as it was shutting in hopes to pull Garratt off the elevator and back to his room.)