Tales from Bentonville, Chapter 94
By David Lee
Warning:
This story contains scenes of love and sexual interaction. Much of this involves males with other males. If the reading or possessing of such material as this is illegal in your country, state, province, county, municipality, etc., please leave this site immediately and do not proceed further. If you are under the legal age to read this, please do not do so. It is not my intention to offend anyone or to get you in trouble.
The author retains all rights to this original story. Please do not publish without explicit authorization from me.
Disclaimer:
This story is completely fictional. Most of the places mentioned, and none of the characters exist in real life. Some may possess physical or personality characteristics of people I know or have known. But if you see yourself in this story, your imagination is better than mine!
"Tales from Bentonville" is a romantic story centering on the lives of high school kids. Lovers of other ages may appear, but not normally in a cross-generational sense. References to sex with under-age kids may be made for the sake of the story line. However, I feel that child molestation is a crime and should not be glorified or tolerated.
This is my fifth attempt at writing fiction. My other stories on Nifty include: "Zeke" (August 29, 2005), "Always and Forever" (March 25, 2004) under High School, "Brad and Alan's Canoe Trip" (April 23, 2004) under Camping, and "Jacob and Jacques" (May 30, 2004) under High School. Some characters from previous stories may have cameo roles in this one. However, you need not read them first.
Our only reward for contributing to Nifty is your e-mails. Please write if you like the story. Please include the name of the story in the title of your e-mail. I get a lot of spam!
Finally, thanks and hugs to Tom and David who edit for me so that there are fewer mistakes! They not only proof-read, but make other valuable suggestions.
dlee169@hotmail.com
Tales from Bentonville, Chapter 94
On a Friday toward the end of September, Bentonville schools had classes only until 11:30 because of a teacher in-service day. Most of the students were not terribly disappointed to be getting out early to begin their weekend. The day was warm and sunny; a perfect day for lying out, washing the car, or just about anything other than schoolwork.
Jerry was supposed to be taking Carrie to the Coralridge Mall to shop as soon as they were dismissed. He had dragged his feet about going, but he had given in when she reminded him of the opportunity to look at guy toys (like pricey mountain bikes) in the big two-story sports store while she tried on shoes.
Shortly before classes ended, Jerry suddenly had a feeling of uneasiness. He'd not had one of those experiences in some time and had wondered if they might have ended with the death of his kindred spirit, Miss Charlotte. This fleeting vision seemed to have something to do with Brent. So when he met up with Carrie, he said that he needed to find her cousin to make sure he was okay.
Instead of finding Brent at the locker he shared with his boyfriend, Jerry saw a rather worried looking Mike standing there deep in thought.
"I have a bad feeling about Brent," Mike said. "He was supposed to call me last night, but didn't. I called there and his father said he was feeling sick and couldn't be disturbed. He's never been too sick to talk to me before. He's not in school today either and something doesn't feel right. Am I silly to worry?"
"You need to go with your gut feeling," Jerry answered. "I am sensing some sort of trouble too."
"Yeah, you're really sensitive to things like that aren't you? You have a gift; I don't."
"Most people have some ability to sense things that they can't see or prove intellectually. The problem is that they discount those perceptions. Come on, let's get Carrie and we'll all go over to his house."
When the three young people arrived at Brent's place, they rang the bell, but no one answered. They tried the door, but it was locked. They peeked into the garage window and saw that the cars were gone.
"Maybe he got really bad and they took him to the doctor," Mike said fearfully.
"No, he's here and he's in pain," Jerry said. "I can feel it. How are we going to help him without being guilty of breaking and entering?"
"I know where Aunt Jodie keeps a spare key," Carrie spoke up.
A minute later, she found a Ziploc bag that was buried in loose dirt under one of the rocks in the flowerbed. She extracted the key and opened the back door.
The sickly-sweet aroma of blood hit their senses as the walked in. There was a trail leading from the kitchen toward the hallway. On the floor of his bedroom was Brent lying in a pool of his own blood.
Jerry quickly felt for a pulse and found a fairly steady, but weak one. He asked Carrie to call 911 while he tried to see if Brent was still losing blood.
Within a few minutes, Darrin and John arrived with the ambulance. Sheriff Larkin came in a couple of seconds behind them. He asked a few questions of the teens while the medics were getting Brent stabilized to transport him to Cosgrove General. Jerry and Carrie told Sheriff Larkin all that they knew while Mike held Brent's limp hand talking to him, pleading that he mustn't die.
Mike wanted to ride in the ambulance and Darrin was about to give in despite the fact that it was an infraction of the rules that could cost him his job. But Jerry came to up with an alternate plan.
"Carrie and I will take you. She can call my parents and hers to let them know of our change of plans. You can use my cell to call your mom so she knows where you are."
"I'd better try to call Aunt Jodie first. She's already in Cosgrove with grandma trying to get her settled at home after her surgery. She's been down there several days."
"So Brent was home alone with your uncle?" the sheriff asked.
"Yes he was, as far as I know. I don't have much communication with Uncle Jack," Carrie added.
John was driving the ambulance as rapidly as possible without taking unnecessary risks. Jerry was over the speed limit at times trying to keep it in sight. When they got into town, he followed it closely through the traffic lights, green or red, keeping his eyes wide open and his left foot cocked to slam on the brakes at a moment's notice if necessary.
The emergency room staff transported Brent into an examining room immediately. Mike wanted to be in there too, but was told to wait outside.
Dr. Kirkwood, the very capable and sensible physician who was on duty, greeted Darrin and John warmly asking them to accompany him during the preliminary examination. He wanted their first-hand report of the boy's condition when they had arrived at his house.
"Could I ask a huge favor?" Darrin said.
"Go for it," Dr. Kirkwood responded as he checked Brent's vital signs.
"I know it's highly unusual, but could you allow that boy in the waiting room to come in to talk to his buddy. I have a feeling that it might be good for both of them."
"I trust your judgment. Just make sure that he scrubs his hands and doesn't interfere with anything. If he faints, you're responsible for hauling his butt out."
"Thanks!" Darrin nodded.
Mike was grateful to be able to be with Brent. He did exactly as Darrin instructed him. He crouched down toward the back of the examining table and held Brent's hand while he talked softly to him. Brent opened his eyes for a moment and squeezed Mike's hand.
"That's a good sign," Dr. Kirkwood announced. "He's responding to external stimuli. We need to get him prepped in case we have to do any surgery. You'll have to go back to the waiting room, son."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir!"
But before he left, Mike did something that was as sweet as it was brave to do in front of strangers. He kissed Brent's bruised cheek and whispered to Brent that he loved him. Brent responded again; this time with a slight smile.
For the teens in the waiting room, it seemed like hours had passed, but in fact it was only about 45 minutes when Brent's mother burst into the room.
"I had my cell off and only got your message a few minutes ago. Please tell me what's going on. Is he okay?"
Carrie told her aunt as much as she knew. Then Mike related how Brent had responded to his touch and his voice. (He left out the part about the kiss.)
After another hour or so, Dr. Kirkwood came into the waiting room looking pleased.
"I'm Brent's mother," Jodie introduced herself. "How is my son?"
"He's very weak from loss of blood, but is in remarkable condition considering the trauma he's obviously been through. He's being transferred to a room close to the intensive care unit, but it's more of a precaution than a necessity. If he weren't stable, he would BE in intensive care. You may see him in a few minutes. I know that I should probably restrict his visitors today to just family, but I'll assume that you're all related. His best bud here seemed to give him more strength than the IV we started in the examining room."
In room 324, the blinds were tilted to soften the light. Brent looked nearly as white as the sheets that surrounded his body. Jodie saw him as her little boy, fragile and in need of care. Mike saw him as his wounded prince, battle scarred, but strong and brave.
Jodie stood on one side of the bed holding his right hand and Mike on the other side holding his left. Brent squeezed both hands slightly.
"Are you awake, Baby?" his mother asked.
Brent squeezed their hands again. He tried to talk, but his mouth didn't seem to want to cooperate.
"We'll use a code so you don't have to force yourself to talk," Mike suggested. "You can squeeze once for yes' and twice for no'. We'll do the talking for you."
"Do you know where you are?"
One squeeze.
"Are you in a lot of pain?"
Two squeezes.
After a few minutes of "twenty questions", both Jodie and Mike sensed that Brent was tiring.
"Do you want to rest now?"
One squeeze.
"Shall we go?"
Two rapid squeezes accompanied by the shaking of Brent's head provided Mike the answer.
Jerry and Carrie said that they needed to go back to Bentonville soon and asked Mike if he wanted to ride home with them. Of course he didn't and his decision was reinforced by the fact that Brent had a surprisingly strong grip on his hand.
Brent's mother asked if it would be okay for her to step out to an area where she could use her phone to call her mother and Brent gave a hand signal that it was.
When the boys were alone, Brent tugged at Mike to let him know that he wanted him closer. Mike bent down and Brent managed to whisper in his ear.
"I love you, Baby," he rasped.
"I love you, too," Mike assured him.
When Jodie came back into the room she said that she was concerned about getting in touch with her husband.
"Did you kids leave a message for his dad? I'm been trying to get him on his cell, but it seems to be turned off. That's odd because he almost always has it on."
At the mention of his father, Brent became agitated.
"What's wrong, Baby?" his mother asked.
"He did this!" Brent rasped. "He left me for dead."
"Oh, Brent, that can't be. I know he has a quick temper and is hard to live with sometimes, but he's never laid a hand on you or me."
"He did it!" Brent said, attempting to raise his voice.
Mike leaned over Brent and whispered in his ear that he believed him and that he would tell the sheriff as soon as he could. Brent settled down after that and fell asleep.
Sheriff Larkin came into the room quietly about a half hour later.
"I don't want to disturb him if he's sleeping," the sheriff whispered.
"Please come out in the hall because I have something to tell you," Mike said in an equally hushed tone.
Outside of Brent's room, Mike told the lawman how Brent had reacted and what he had said.
"I had a strong suspicion that his father was the one who beat him because the house was locked up before you kids let yourselves in with that hidden key. It was the only scenario that made any sense. I'm going to call the state patrol office to have an alert posted for his vehicle. Do you know off-hand the make and model of his car?"
Mike didn't, but Jodie did. She was still trying to come to grips with the idea that Jack could do such a thing, but she didn't hold back any information.
It was getting toward dinner time, so Jodie sent Mike to the cafeteria to get something to eat. He hadn't eaten since breakfast. The shock and stress of the day had suppressed his appetite until she mentioned food. Suddenly he was ravenous.
After eating a substantial meal, Mike came back to watch over Brent while Jodie went to see if she could find something that would stay in her stomach. She wasn't sure that she could at that point.
Later, Jodie took Mike out into the waiting area where she was allowed to use her phone and she called his mother. She asked if it would be okay for Mike to spend the night at the hospital with Brent. After a quick conference between Mike's parents, permission was granted.
Mike spent the night curled up in a chair beside Brent's bed while Jodie stretched out on the couch as best she could.
When a nurse came in during the early pre-dawn hours, she smiled at the sight of Mike's head resting on the bed and Brent's fingers tangled in his hair. From his steady, even breathing, it was evident that Brent was sleeping soundly. It was time for a pain pill, but based on her years of experience, the nurse knew that it was better to leave him alone than to disturb him to see if he needed one yet.
An hour or so later, Mike awakened to the feeling of Brent's fingers caressing his head. He turned to check on his buddy and found that he was awake.
"I have to pee something fierce!" Brent whispered. "Can you help me to the bathroom?"
"No way am I gonna get you out of bed. The nurses would have my balls. There's a urinal here for you to use. I'll help you."
After that task was accomplished, Mike had to take his turn in the bathroom. He was coming out when a nurse knocked and entered the room.
"I have a `happy pill' for you," she smiled.
"Is it possible to refuse it?" Brent asked. "I hate the feeling of not being in control. That Tylenol with codeine gives me hallucinations. I'd rather take some ibuprofen if I may. I'll risk a little pain to avoid the green monkeys climbing on my bed."
"I don't blame you a bit," the nurse replied. "I react the same way. However, I will have to give you regular Tylenol because the doctor won't let you have anything that could thin your blood."
Brent's mother awakened when the nurse returned. After using the bathroom to freshen up, she said that she should go check on her mother.
"She won't rest until she comes to see that you're okay, Brent. I'm going to put a little makeup base on your face to hide the bruises. There's not sense in making her feel worse than she does already."
"Oh, Mom, do I have to wear makeup?"
"I'll use it sparingly. It's not going to make you gay or anything."
Brent held back the tears. He wondered how his mother was going to react when she found out about him. He worried too about how he could protect Mike from being outed.
Author's notes: Thanks to all who wrote since last posting -- Jim We, Luiz, Tom A, Tim E, Tim P, Jim C, Mel, Carroll, Jonathan, Rad, Paul R, and my editors, Tom H and David S.
David S says that all gay couples should talk to a lawyer to make sure their rights are protected in case of illness or death. The family of your partner can keep you away from making any decisions on the part of your lover if you don't. Please make sure that you are protected. I've heard some horror stories including a guy who wasn't allowed to see his hospitalized lover because he wasn't family. He had to find out that his lover was dead from hearing it on the news! Please get some documents signed.
I recommended a story: "From Behind Those Eyes" by Viv. I'd lost track of whether the story was completed. Viv says that we can got to http://viv.gayauthors.org/FTBE.php to find it.
David