Disclaimers: See chapter 1. If you shouldn't be here, you know who you are.
Comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Joey stopped struggling against the binding that held him. He tried to focus his cloudy gaze to see the tear-filled eyes of his lover looking at him. Now that Joey knew who it was and was calmer, Stephen began by taking the gag out of Joey's mouth and untying the ropes from his wrists. As soon as he was free, Joey lunged into Stephen's arms, driving him into the headboard of the bed. Joey buried his head into Stephen's shoulder. The sobbing was now uncontrollable for both of them. They sat there for quite a while. When he stopped crying, Stephen held his boy, gently rocking him in his arms, softly humming in his ear. Stephen was there when Joey needed him the most.
Chapter 28
Stephen sat in a beach chair just inside the bedroom door. It had been hours since he had walked into this bedroom to discover a bound and helpless Joey being attacked. They had laid in bed together for an hour or so until Joey had fallen asleep from exhaustion. But the adrenalin buzz for Stephen still hadn't quieted. And so he sat, reading one of the paperbacks that Joey had brought with him when he moved in. Stephen had held the book in his hands for hours, but really hadn't read the words on the page. Each time he imagined that he heard movement on the bed, he would look up to check on his little boy. Finally he just gave up trying, laid the book down next to his chair and focused on the only thing that mattered in his life right now. He had tucked Joey into bed under the sheets and a blanket, tucking the sheets in at the side so that Joey would stay covered even as he thrashed about. Joey would moan in his sleep and cry out mostly unintelligible words. The only words that Stephen was able to clearly make out were "help me" and "Dad", but because everything else was garbled, he had no idea who the "Dad" was that Joey was speaking to. Stephen was left to wonder who was in Joey's dream, whether he was reaching to an old memory back to his childhood, seeking protection from someone who was no longer there, or was he calling to Stephen, the man who had been his savior that morning.
As Joey began tossing and moaning again, Stephen walked over to the bed, ran his fingers through Joey's hair and over his shoulders and quietly shushed him back to sleep. Stephen had successfully calmed Joey each time before, and this time again, a few gentle pats, a kiss on the forehead, and Joey settled down again. He continued to talk in his sleep for a few more seconds, this time clearly begging, "Please don't." The pain ripped through Stephen's heart.
Tending to the sleeping boy distracted him from the rage that tore through him, an anger that had exacted the blows to Kevin's face, leaving their damage, but had not completely freed Stephen from a guilt he felt. There was no real justification for the guilt. No matter how many times Stephen played it over in his head, there was no way to see it coming. He knew that he could not have prevented it. It happened in the middle of the day, and Stephen had gone to work to meet with Jeff. He had not been a delinquent parent, and besides, Joey was 19 years old. Yet, Stephen still felt responsible. He wanted to free Joey from this torment, but as long as Joey stayed asleep, Stephen was going to leave him just that way. They would have plenty of time to talk things out later.
It was late afternoon when the phone rang, shattering the quiet of the house. Stephen hurried to the kitchen before the ringing woke Joey. He wanted it to be the one call he was waiting for. Earlier, he had called to speak to Jeff after Joey had fallen asleep, but Jeff had been out of the office and hadn't received the call. The meeting that morning had not been what Stephen expected. There was a new perspective on things. Now, Stephen could turn to his old friend, not thinking that the true test of their friendship would be challenged so shortly after Stephen had revealed his news.
"Hello."
"Stephen, it's Jeff. What's wrong?"
"Jeff, Joey was nearly raped this morning while I was at the office..."
"How?" Jeff cut Stephen with a voice of alarm. Jeff still hated what Joey represented, but he was not malicious enough to take any pleasure from the boy being raped. He thought to himself that a man could not rape another man. I guess he reasoned that because you're gay, everything is fair game.
"I don't know. I walked in on the middle of it and stopped it before anything happened. But he is pretty badly shaken. We can't do anything tonight. Sorry, but we'll have to reschedule our plans."
"Is he okay?" Concern for the boy began to show through. After all, Jeff was a father too.
"I don't really know. He's been asleep all afternoon, and has been having some pretty nasty nightmares. It reminds me of the night terrors that Scott used to have."
This comment was followed by a pause of silence from Jeff. The comparisons between Scott and Joey still bothered him. But for the moment, he set that comment aside and then said, "All right. I'll let Donna know that you won't be coming to dinner tonight. When do you think that you might be able to come by?"
"I'm not sure. Tomorrow should be okay. I think he'll be better by then. And please don't mention to Donna what happened today, okay."
"Of course not. We'll make it tomorrow night. If he's not better tomorrow morning, call. There's no hurry at this point. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, Jeff. And by the way, thank you again for what you've done."
"We'll see how everything goes. Just call if you need something."
Stephen smiled at the phone as he set it in the cradle. The Jeff that he knew had once again become the old friend that Stephen could count on. Jeff had grudgingly acknowledged that Stephen was the same guy that he had known all these years. But Jeff had also let Stephen know that he wasn't comfortable with the changes and that they both would just have to be patient to see if Jeff could accept everything. Stephen left the meeting with a feeling that what had happened was that Donna had gotten a hold of Jeff and read him the Riot Act.
From the bedroom came a soft, groggy voice. "Who was that?"
Stephen walked back to the bedroom, happy that the boy in his bed was not distraught anymore. He walked in smiling and took a seat on the edge of the bed next to the still-dazed Joey. "That was for me. Don't worry about it. How do you feel? Would you like something?"
"Yeah, my mouth tastes like a old sweat sock. Could I have some water, please?"
"Just stay there, my love. I'll be right back with some."
Stephen went to the kitchen for a glass of water and some crackers, just in case Joey decided that he was also hungry. He walked back into the bedroom to see Joey trying in vain to stand up next to the bed. Each time Joey tried to raise his body from the bed, he would get half way up and then fall back to sitting. He turned, in slow motion, to look at Stephen standing in the doorway.
"Stephen, help me. I've got to get to the bathroom, but my head is spinning so bad that I can't seem to stand up."
Stephen set the tray down and walked over to the naked young boy. He pulled Joey up and slipped one of Joey's arms around his neck. He grabbed Joey around the waist and helped him manage the slow journey to the bathroom just past the bedroom door. They entered the bathroom, where Stephen sat Joey down at the toilet and took a seat on the side of the tub.
"Baby, look at me for a minute."
Joey turned his head towards Stephen. He seemed to look through Stephen and to somewhere beyond. Stephen looked as Joey's eyes gazed past him and recognized that Joey wasn't completely there. He guessed that Joey had suffered a concussion. That thought scared him for a minute because he had been taught not to let someone with a concussion sleep. Of course, if anything had happened to Joey while he slept, Stephen would have been all over it. He had nowhere to go and all eternity to wait for Joey to come back to him. Stephen was grateful that nothing had happened, but he knew that they were in for a long night, as he was not letting Joey go back to sleep soon.
"Joey, do you remember what happened this morning?"
"I remember some of it, but I don't know if I could tell you the whole story."
"I want to ask you one thing. Did he hit you or punch you?"
"Let me try to think." Stephen sensed that Joey meant it literally. He could see that Joey had to replay the events step by step so that he could remember. Joey's face finally flashed on the answer Stephen was searching for and began to comprehend the events of the day. Joey took on the look of a frightened child. Stephen slid over to Joey, putting his arms around him and kissing him gently on the top of his head.
"Yeah," Joey began slowly, measuring each word as he spoke, "I remember that after he tied my hands up, I started screaming for help. He slapped me pretty hard on the top on my head to shut me up. I felt dizzy after that, but I don't remember anything. I guess he hit me harder that I thought."
"Okay, I'm going to call the doctor. Let's see what he suggests."
Stephen first went to the bedroom and fished out some clothes for Joey. He dressed Joey in the boxers, shorts, and t-shirt that Joey was laying out when he was attacked. He helped Joey stand up again, but this time took him to the sofa, where he set him up with some pillows in a sitting position so he could watch the television. He also retrieved the tray that held the water and crackers from the bedroom. He set those up in front of Joey on the coffee table. Then he went to the phone, not letting Joey out of his sight, while he consulted with the doctor about how to handle Joey's problems.
The evening passed quietly. The two sat on the sofa together, Joey nestled safely in the arms of Stephen as they watched a baseball game on the tv. Nothing was said. They didn't discuss anything - the game, the attack, or anything else. Stephen spent most of the time running his hands all over Joey, from his face to his stomach, as far as Stephen's reach would allow without causing Joey to move. He repeatedly kissed him on the back of the neck and the shoulders. He touched him constantly as much for his own benefit as he did for Joey's. He needed that contact, the assurance that Joey was in one piece. He had lost one little boy before, and to lose another one just when they were becoming best friends would have been too much to bear.
Joey laid back on Stephen, with his head resting on Stephen's shoulder. One might think that Joey would have resisted being touched by anyone, but this was his Stephen. He needed him there, to make sure the nightmare didn't come back. He enjoyed the feeling of the older man protecting him. He paid no attention to the television. His focus was on the man who cradled him. Joey's mind wandered, partially from the concussion and partially from the flashbacks he had. He remembered being four years old. Sitting next to his dad in the car as they drove around town. Slipping his small hand inside the large hand of the man he was walking with. For all those years, he hadn't had that comfort. He missed it. It didn't matter why he was getting that comfort now, it just mattered that he was getting it. And he couldn't get enough of it. He ran his hand over any part of Stephen that he could touch. Sometimes, he would intertwine their fingers, studying every line and knuckle, and hold it near his chest. He would occasionally kiss him on the cheek.
They got up occasionally to see if any other injuries might surface. The tv was on most of the evening, but neither really paid much attention to anything but each other. They were happy listening to each other breathe, the feel of the raising and lowering of their chests as they inhaled and exhaled. When the ball game ended, they surfed the channels, never finding anything of interest. It wasn't until well past midnight, when Joey had kept a light meal down and his eyes weren't as dilated that Stephen finally relented and the two boys made their way to the bedroom and sleep.
When Friday morning rolled around, Stephen was shocked to find what woke him up. As his eyes cleared, he looked down to see Joey sucking his dick. It certainly felt good to Stephen, but he was amazed that Joey would think of sex this morning after everything that had happened the day before.
"Mmmmm, good morning."
Joey barely pulled his lips off of Stephen, mumbling, "Morning."
"Um, I love what you're doing, but you don't have to do that for me, okay?"
Joey wanted to be there. But he'd have to stop playing with his favorite toy to answer Stephen's questions, and he wasn't in the mood for interruptions. "I'm taking my temperature. I couldn't find a thermometer in the bathroom, so I figured this was the next best thing. I figured that the hotter I was, the bigger it would get. That way I could tell if I was alright. Next dumb question, please."
"Excuse me. I'll let you go back to your business."
Stephen, raised his arms to rest them behind his head. This way, he could watch Joey as he worked. Joey was full of energy, quick as a hummingbird, as it seemed he was racing around Stephen's body, playing with his nipples, rolling his balls in his fingers, running his hands all over Stephen's body, not able to get enough of Stephen, while still sucking away on Stephen's very hard rod. Stephen closed his eyes and thought of the young man's naked body. In his mind, he remembered back to just a couple of days ago, with Stephen laying on top of Joey. He could still recall the feeling of being inside Joey's ass, pistoning back and forth and the pleasure that Stephen felt the first time he and Joey had made love. The memory was so clear that it didn't take any time before Stephen was warning Joey of his impending orgasm. Joey made sure that he was waiting for it as several spurts of Stephen's seed filled Joey's throat and mouth. When he was done, Joey slid up to kiss him and share some of his treasure. What a great way to start a morning!
They showered and dressed for the day. Stephen went through his usual routine he did every morning before going to work, even though they really had nowhere to go. Joey began following the same routine, much like the little boy who wants to shave just like daddy, even though whiskers on his face are years away. Joey showered, shaved, and dressed exactly the way that Stephen did it. If Joey did have a routine before he met Stephen, it had been forgotten and replaced by one that would stay with Joey for the rest of his life. When they were done, Stephen announced, "Okay, time for breakfast. Let's go."
They walked to the front door and the blinding light of the sun brought an immediate throbbing to Joey's head. He turned away from the door, truly in pain.
"I can't go out. That hurts too much."
Stephen closed the door again, quickly hugging Joey to him. "Wait a minute, I'll be right back." He retreated to the bedroom, where he brought out a pair of the darkest sunglasses he owned for Joey to use. "This will help. We will stay inside today."
Joey put the glasses on and slowly opened the door. This was better. He nodded his approval to Stephen and they walked out the door, heading to the parking lot. Joey looked down and pointed for Stephen to see a trail of blood splattered here and there on the sidewalk in front of their unit. "Look at this! Did you hear anything last night?"
"Nope. Not a thing." Stephen wasn't going to bring up yesterday, at least not now. He didn't want Joey to remember anymore about the events than what he would recall on his own. The sooner forgotten, the better. He felt the anger boil again as he pictured what he saw as he entered the bedroom yesterday. He didn't want Joey to see the picture in his mind. "I hope the apartment manager knows about this to clean it up."
After breakfast and a couple of errands, they returned to their apartment. While they were putting things away, Stephen had to bring up a topic that would probably upset Joey, but it had to be done.
"Hey, listen, we've been invited to dinner tonight."
Joey looked at Stephen curiously. Why this sudden announcement? What was so important that he wasn't even consulted? "Do they know about us? Are they family, someone who has to know?"
"They are like family, but it is important to me that we go."
"Okay, who is it?"
"Jeff."
"No. No way." Joey took a step away from Stephen. What was he thinking? He had witnessed everything that had gone on between Jeff and Joey a couple of days ago. Joey wanted no part of Jeff. He had stood up to Jeff once, but was not ready for another battle.
"Could you listen for a minute, please?" Stephen held Joey by the shoulders. He knew that Joey's respect would buy him the time to say what he needed to. "When I met Jeff yesterday morning, some things had changed. I suspect that Donna got a hold of Jeff when he told her about us. And I think that we have a friend in Donna. If anyone will change Jeff's mind, it's Donna. Please, reconsider and give Jeff one more chance."
Joey eyed him carefully. This evening was not going to be comfortable, to say the least. Joey reasoned that maybe Stephen needed this the way that Joey needed to confront his step father. "Okay, but on one condition."
"Whatever you want, you got it."
"If I say go, we are out of there. I don't want a repeat of what happened in this apartment. Agreed?"
"Agreed!" He hugged Joey. "Thank you. I am so proud of you. Thank you for loving me."
"When is dinner?"
"Seven."
Chapter 29
At seven sharp, Stephen's car turned into the driveway and came to a stop. Before getting out of the car, Stephen leaned over and kissed Joey. This was a warm, almost passionate kiss. He told him, "Don't worry about tonight. No matter what happens here, we are going to go home afterwards, and I want to make love to you. That will give you something to think about tonight over dinner."
They climbed out of the car and walked up the path to the front door. Stephen rang the doorbell of the Wood residence. They waited and watched through the sheer curtains on each side of the oak front door as Jeff walked from the living room into the foyer of the house. As Jeff approached, Joey slipped his hand inside of Stephen's, squeezing tightly. Already, the tension that Joey feared was building, and Jeff hadn't even opened the door.
Joey watched the doorknob turn slowly and then the door creak open.
"Stevie, hey buddy, come on in."
"Hey, Jeff, how's Mr. Partner doing." Stephen reached out to shake Jeff's hand. To the side and behind Stephen, Joey watched in amazement as the two friends acted as if the altercation that happened two days ago had never taken place. He wondered how everything could be so quickly forgotten. In Joey's life, every mistake was remembered and brought up frequently to remind him how he just wasn't good enough. The turmoil in his mind almost caused him to miss Jeff's welcome to him.
"Joey. Please come inside. Donna has been waiting to meet you." The tone to Joey was more formal. Their eyes met, each showing an unidentifiable uneasiness. But there didn't seem to be any of the venom that spewed in their first meeting. Jeff stepped back, opening the door to his home as any gracious host would who was entertaining business associates. "I'll let her know that you're here. Go ahead to the living room. I've got some things in the bar for us to have. Fix yourself whatever you like."
Stephen led Joey into the living room. The room was well appointed, with a sofa in the center of the room with a couple of matching chair facing each other. On the back wall was a large fireplace in one corner, next to a large window that opened into the back yard, revealing a swing set along the back fence. Bookshelves lined the walls that faced back towards the front of the house. Stephen walked to the wet bar on the left side of the room. This house had been the one place that he did run to after the accident whenever he had the need for human contact. It felt like a second home. He turned his head so that Joey, walking behind him, could hear, "What do you want to drink?"
"Just a soda. Or do I need something stronger?"
Stephen laughed, "No, you're safe here. You might even enjoy yourself. Relax."
Just as Stephen reached the bar, the stampeding of little feet came charging down the stairway that landed just outside the door to the living room. In rushed a pair of smiling faces, hollering louder and louder to see who could get the most attention.
"Uncle Steve! Uncle Steve!" The two boys flew through the room, grabbing Stephen at the waist, one on each side of him so that their arms wrapped around Stephen, and the two heads buried themselves into his sides.
"If it isn't my two favorite boys." Stephen winked at Joey, letting him know that the two urchins had been replaced at the top of his list. Stephen kneeled down to hug them both at the same time. This was a practiced ritual. Stephen knew better than to show favoritism to these seven-year-olds. They were getting older, but that still didn't keep them from fighting for preferred nephew status. He finished the hug and then stood up, dusting their hair with his hands as he spun them around to face Joey. "Boys, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine. This is Joey. Joey, these are Greg and Glenn."
Just as Stephen finished their hug, Jeff walked into the room. He spied the hugs and kisses going on in the corner. He said nothing, but in his mind, he questioned whether things were different this time. And even though things were no different than the hundreds of hugs the boys had gotten from Stephen before, because Jeff wondered, it made them different. "Okay boys, upstairs. Go play. I'll call you for dinner."
"Can't we stay down here and see Uncle Steve?"
"Not tonight boys." Jeff smiled, slightly forced, looking at Stephen and then Joey, "I'm sure they'll be back again. Maybe another day." The boys took off, stampeding even harder back up the stairs to their room. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Yes, we're fine, thanks."
Joey walked over to the bar, taking the drink Stephen had poured for him. He took a long swig, trying to calm down still. He had watched the hugs that Stephen had given the boys. How he wished that he could run over to Stephen the way the boys had and get the hug that was most needed in that entire house. He was worried - Stephen acted as if everything was too comfortable, too smooth. Something had to go wrong. When?
As Stephen and Jeff talked business, Joey stared out the window into the back yard. He was comparing the window to the one at the hotel and pictured how he had looked out at the ocean through it. That night was a safe zone for him, the beginning of a new life that he loved. His back was to the door as Donna entered the room. She was carrying a tray that had a few snacks for before dinner. "Steve, how are you, love. I've haven't seen you in weeks. My goodness, you're looking so good!"
"Thanks, Donna. I'd like you to meet the reason why. This is Joey Edwards.
Joey, this is Donna Wood."
Joey set his drink down on an end table. He turned to face Donna as Stephen made the introductions. He was smiling, more relaxed, reminding himself that Stephen had said that Donna was on his side. He held his head up, proud to be introduced as Stephen's inspiration for the first time. He was standing directly under a recessed light in the ceiling which cast a halo-like glow around his head. He smiled and looked directly at Donna.
Donna took one look at Joey. The tray that she held noticeably began to shake. Jeff hurried to her to take the tray from her. He caught it as she began to drop the entire platter. Her hands rose quickly to her open mouth to cover it. "Oh, my. I... I... I can't...No!" Words could not come out. Tears began to form in her eyes. She turned and hurried out of the room.
The three men stared at each other. Stephen and Joey moved to each other. Jeff set the tray down. "Excuse me, I'll be right back." He followed Donna back to the kitchen. Stephen directed Joey to the sofa where they both sat down. Joey looked to Stephen wondering what had just happened. Stephen read the questioning look and just shrugged his shoulders. They waited for someone to return and explain.
Jeff and Donna walked back in a couple of minutes later. Jeff held Donna's hand. Donna's eyes were still wet and very red. She looked at the young man sitting on their sofa. She again studied his features, still amazed at what she saw. She walked over to the sofa and sat down next to Joey, taking his hands in hers. She spoke, "Joey, I am so sorry. Please excuse me. But when I looked at you, I saw Scott. Scott was like my third son, he was always here playing with the twins. It was like seeing someone who had come back from the dead. I guess Jeff hadn't mentioned the resemblance and I didn't expect it. I am so embarrassed. That was not the way I wanted our friendship to start."
Joey hugged Donna. He whispered, "Thank you. It's all right. I understand. You never have to apologize for that."
Donna looked past Joey to Stephen. Donna gave him a look of approval. "How did you find this handsome man?"
Stephen smiled. "Someone was looking out for me. It's all a long story but I am just happy he is here with me."
Donna knew that Jeff was still uncomfortable with Joey. She tried to redirect the conversation. "Jeff told me the good news about your job. I'm sure you are excited. When do you start?"
Joey nearly spit a sip of his soft drink out. Now it was his turn to be embarrassed. "What new job?" He looked at Stephen.
Stephen grinned back. "Jeff, since you're the one who gets the credit, why don't you tell Joey about it?"
"Joey, after our meeting a couple of days ago, I left Stephen's apartment angry. Why doesn't matter. It honestly didn't have anything to do with you. But after I talked to Donna, I realized that I behaved horribly. I want to apologize to you for that. I must admit that I am still uncomfortable about Stephen's and your relationship, but that is for me to deal with. I have already apologized to Stephen for my actions at work. That was why I asked him to the office yesterday morning.
"I told him that I wouldn't accept his resignation, but he insisted. He said that he was tired of the long hours and now he had a reason to go home.
So I made some phone calls to one of our clients who is looking for a Controller. Stephen has worked on their account in the past and they were thrilled to get someone of his talents. They want him to start right away, but he told them that he was going to take some time off before he would start to work for them." Jeff broke into a smile, "He said something about getting his son back."