Regrets And Heartaches - 12. Chapter 12

As everyone sat at the dinner table eating, Joey didn’t mention the conversation he had with Janet earlier. The only thing they talked about is Joey harming himself. No one is happy with Joey after seeing the cast on his leg. They all pretty much said the same thing to Joey and that is no surprise to him.

“What we need to do is put Joey in the guest room down here for now.” Harold pointed over to the spare room. “That way he doesn’t hurt himself going up and down the stairs every day. Even with our help, he can slip and there is no way any of us can catch him if he starts to fall. The next time Joey falls, we will not be so lucky.”

Helen concurred, “I agree with Harold on this, you guys. I know Caleb you want to take care of Joey and have him in your room, but we need to start thinking about his safety. If you want to stay with Joey in the guest room, we are fine with that. If you chose to do that, you will need to let Fran use your room to sleep in.”

Caleb looked over at Fran and felt bad for her. She already is in a room that isn’t hers. Now she is being asked to move out of it. If he doesn’t stay down with Joey, she will be sleeping on the couch. Already Alan is sleeping on the couch and no one likes that.

Caleb said, “Mom, I will be staying with Joey in the spare room. Fran can use my room for now so she can have her privacy. I know Joey cannot go up and down the stairs. I also know that Joey, Fran and Alan cannot move back into their house right now. Joey needs help on things that we take for granted everyday.”

She answered, "Good, that is settled without a fight. Now as far as moving your stuff Caleb, I think you should leave everything as is. Just bring down everyday things and clear a couple drawers for Fran to use. Once Joey gets better, things will go back to the way they were. So there is no need to do any major moving around.”

Caleb agreed with his father. They continued talking about the other changes that are going to happen in order to make sure that Joey can get around the house a lot easier. As they talked, Joey felt bad that they are making a lot of changes in their daily lives. He already feels bad after hearing what is going on with Helen and her job. Now this, he feels that he cannot keep putting these guys through this.

After dinner, Joey asked to speak with Harold in private. He needs to talk with someone about what he talked with Janet about this morning. That way he can get an opinion that will help him along the way and help him make the right decision.

“Harold as you know, my mother wanted me to have kids. You know, carry on the blood line and the family name. That is one of the reasons we moved here to Alamogordo. After giving it a lot of thought, I agree with my mother. Although she went about it all wrong, I should have kids to carry on the blood line with the family name.”

“I really hope Joey you are not thinking what I think you are thinking on doing. Your mom is going to be locked away for a very long time. There is no need to do anything that she had planned for you to do. You are your own man and have been that for a very long time already Joey!”

“I think you are confused on what I am saying here. If you are thinking that I am going to break up with Caleb and go with a girl, you are way off base. There is no way I will leave Caleb. I love him way too much. I made that mistake once and it hurt me a lot. I lost Jake for making the wrong decision. I will not loose Caleb now that I have found him.”

“Good, I thought you were thinking about leaving Caleb to get it done. I still believe that you should not do anything that your mother demanded of you that you had not planed to do. Anything we do in life, changes our future. No matter what it is, every decision changes us in one way or another.”

“I agree with you on that sir, but this I do want. Jacob and I talked about adopting and were very close on doing that. We did talk about having our own kids later in life, but that is as far as it got, talking about it. It has been something that I have been thinking about for a long time already. So I went and talked with……”

Joey told Harold about the conversation he had with Janet. As he went through everything that they discussed, Joey could see at times Harold didn’t look happy. In fact at times he looked angry about the conversation. A couple of times Harold asked whose idea it was to talk about this is and Joey told the truth. He made it clear that it was his idea and she told him to really think about what he wants before he does anything.

“I agree with Janet on telling you to really think about it what you are doing before you do it. This is a life change that you cannot take back once you make it. Also you need to talk with Caleb about it before you do anything. It will involve both of you to be bringing up this child. So you both need to agree on wanting the child in the first place.”

Joey stared at Harold, thinking about what he just said. He is right about needing to talk with Caleb about him having a kid. He wants to spend the rest of his life with Caleb and he hopes that Caleb feels the same way. Still, this might cause friction where this is no friction at right now. In Joey’s mind there is really no clear way through this.

"You brought up a lot of things for me to think about that I was not thinking about before. I do want to spend the rest of my life with Caleb, but I don't know if I am already to take on such a huge responsibility of child right now. Before going any further, I will give it more thought and get back with you before I do anything else."

Harold didn't answer; he got up from where he was sitting at and patted Joey on the shoulder as he walked out. He didn't like what he just did, but he knows it is the right thing to do. Joey's life is nowhere near put together right now. So to bring a child into this world at this point of time wouldn't be wise.

Caleb kept looking over at Alan, because he kept looking up at the clock as if he needs to be somewhere. Exactly at eight o'clock, Alan got up and left the living room. He didn't say a word to anyone when he walked out. He passed Joey on the way out and neither of them said a word to each other. He did notice though that Joey seems to be in his own little world right now.

Alan glanced back into the living room to make sure no one is following him. Once he felt secure that no one paid any attention to him, he walked as fast as he could to Fran's room. Before entering, he tapped on the door the way he and Fran discussed. Not waiting for Fran to say anything, Alan walked in.

"Hey there hot stuff, I am glad that you finally came in." Fran looked up as she spoke in order for Alan to read her lips. "Did anyone see you or get suspicious of you leaving the living room when you did? Think really hard, because my brother and the others know how to make it look like they are not paying attention when they are."

"As far as I know, no one got suspicious of me leaving the living room. In fact as I was leaving, Joey was walking in. I am pretty sure that Caleb and Joey are going to be paying more attention to each other than where I am at." Alan sat on the bed and kissed Fran on the lips.

Neither of them broke the kiss. Instead they both wrapped her arms around each other and fell onto the bed at the same time. Neither of them has gone further than kissing the opposite sex. So that makes them both virgins as far as foreplay and anything after that. They agreed that nothing will go further than just kissing for now.

Caleb said, "I think something is going on with Alan tonight. Before you came in, he kept looking up at the clock or at the time on the VCR every five or ten minutes. Right at eight, he got up and walked out of the living room. There is something very fishy going on with that guy; I just cannot put my finger on it."

"I should have told you this when I found out Caleb. Fran and Alan are more than friends; I think they are a couple. When I count down, I don't think it went any further than a close friendship. But I think in the last couple weeks, it has blossomed into more than just a close friendship."

Caleb looked over at Joey with a stunned look on his face. After a few minutes, it dawned on Caleb that Joey is unable to see the look on his face. Until he gets his sight back, he and everyone else is going to have to say everything in words and not depend on expressions.

"You should have told me or my parents about this. They have spent several nights together alone either in the spare room or the living room. If my parents would have known that they are a couple, they would not have allowed them to be alone. Come on Joey, look at what we do alone, can you imagine what they'd do?"

"To tell you the truth I think Alan is so afraid of messing up what he has, he is not willing to do more than just kiss my sister. This poor guy has gone through a lot and believes this is his last chance living in my house to living a normal life. I do not believe he's going to do anything that would jeopardize that. At the same time I do know that he is more than likely with my sister in the spare room right now."

"If you trust him being alone with your sister, who am I to say anything. I do hope though that you are right on what you are saying. Because if they're doing more than just kissing in that room right now, things are going to get a lot messier in the months to come. Something that neither you nor your sister is ready for right now."

Joey didn't want to discuss the love life of his sister, so he just agreed with Caleb in order for the conversation to end. He started asking Caleb to describe the scenery of the TV show and that got Caleb off the subject of his sister and Alan. Before they knew it, Fran and Alan walked in and told them that they are heading to bed. Since Alan is sleeping on the couch in the living room, Joey and Caleb got up, bidding goodnight to everyone and headed to the spare room.

It has been a while since Joey and Caleb have been together and it was noticeable on both of them when they were getting undressed. Caleb immediately noticed Joey's hard on the minute he turned around. It just made his hard on even harder when he saw Joey's. He walked up to Joey, gently pushed him onto the bed and started kissing up and down Joey's neck.

Joey doesn't need his eyesight for this; he already knows Caleb's body like the back of his hand. He reached down and wrapped his hands around the back of Caleb's head. Caleb took that as a green light to continue what he is doing. He started making his way from Joey's chest to his six pack and stopped at the waist band of Joey's underwear.

He looked up at Joey and can see that he is enjoying every thing that is happening right now. He turned his attention back to Joey's underwear and slowly pulled them off. The minute Caleb pulled Joey's underwear far enough to free Joey's dick, it popped out to attention. Caleb moved between Joey's legs and just looked at what he has been missing. He was happy that place didn't get a chance to harm Joey in this area. He heard that sometimes, they connect things a guy’s penis and do awful things in this area.

Knocking out those ugly thoughts, Caleb gently took Joey's dick into his hand. Using the pre-come that is already leaking like a faucet from Joey's dick as lubrication, Caleb started to jerk Joey off. After the first couple strokes, Joey started to moan in ecstasy. The way Joey is moaning is making it hard for Caleb to not explode.

Caleb removed his hand and started licking the head of Joey's dick. That did it; Joey started to shoot without warning. After the first shot of come, Caleb got Joey's dick in his mouth and swallows the rest of Joey's load. At one point Caleb thought that he wouldn't be able to swallow all the come that Joey is shooting. He knows that this is weeks of cum, but he never knew that the human body could store this much cum and shoot it out all at once.

Trying to keep himself from going out of his mind, due to the pleasure that he is receiving from Caleb, Joey kept grasping at the covers on the bed. Never before has he felt this kind of pleasure while making love. Nor has he ever shot his load as quickly as he did tonight. It is just that Caleb is making him go to a different plain of existence each time they make love. A plain that he has never reached before in the past and he believes it’s because both of them really knows what the other wants.

Knowing that it's just a matter of minutes before he explodes, Caleb quickly got up from between Joey's legs after he sucked Joey dry. Crawled over to Joey and asked him where he wanted him to cum at. Not saying a word, Joey reached up and wrapped his hand around Caleb's dick. He guided Caleb's dick to his lips and didn't stop until he was able to wrap his lips around it.

Just like Caleb thought, he is ready to explode. His head fell back as he started to shoot in Joey's mouth. The only thing Caleb could do is just go along for the ride that Joey is giving him. He shot cum after cum into Joey's mouth and when he thought he had no more, somehow Joey got him to shoot a couple more times. Once he got drained, he fell onto the bed and didn't move an inch, struggling to get his breath.

Helen slowly opened the door and walked over to Caleb to wake him up. She gently started to shake him and didn’t stop until he started to stir. When he opened his eyes, Caleb started to panic seeing his mother looking down at him. The first thought that crossed his mind, looking up at his mom, "Are Joey and I still above the covers naked?" He looked down and breathed a side of relief. Sometime last night, he doesn’t remember how or when he got himself and Joey under the covers. It would have been embrassing if she caught them above the covers naked as the day they were born.

“Sweety, I don’t know if you forgot to set the alarm or just slept through it, but it is time to get up. You cannot afford to be late another day of school this semester. The principal has been turning the other way, but you don’t want to take advantage of that.”

“Okay mom, I am getting up!” Caleb looked up at his mom hoping that she will leave since he is awake. “Mom can you please leave, I am not fully dressed under the blankets. I don’t want you to see me in my underwear!”

Helen chuckled hearing her son say that. “Caleb you don’t have anything I haven’t seen before. Don’t forget I am the one that gave you birth. I have seen you naked and there is really nothing that has changed on you that will surprise me.”

“MOM, please don’t say that! I know you gave me birth, but I don’t want the first thought of the day of you looking down at me as a baby naked in my crib. Please will you leave so where I can get dressed for school.”

“Fine I will leave, but you better not lay back down and fall asleep like you do. If I come back in here and find you asleep, I am going to pull the covers off you and throw ice water over you body.” Helen started to leave, but when she reached the door, she turned back around. “Don’t make me come back in here Caleb, because I cannot afford to send you to a shrink to fix any damage I might do to you.”

Helen started to laugh again as she shut the door. Caleb knows the excuse he just gave his mother is a stupid one. She is smart and can read right through him. She probably knows that he is more than naked under the covers and that is why he didn’t want to get up.

Caleb rubbed his eyes as he looked over to Joey. He loves the way Joey looks while he is sleeping. In Caleb’s eyes, Joey looks like an angel as he sleeps. He has this look on his face that can only be described as peaceful. While Joey sleeps, he is at peace with the world, no matter what is going on in his life at the time.

He got up and quickly put on the first pair of sweatpants he found on the floor. Caleb didn’t care if the sweatpants are his or Joey’s, he just needs them to wear as he goes to his room and then to the bathroom. Although his mother has seen him naked, probably his father as well, but he doesn’t want the others to see him in his birthday suit.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, Caleb made his way back to the guest room. Just like the mornings before, Caleb set out Joey’s clothes where he can get them without a problem. As he walked out of the room, he remembered that Joey is naked under the covers still. He turned around, closed the door and made his way over to the bed.

As slowly as Caleb could, he pulled the covers off of Joey, Trying his best not to wake him up from his sleep. Once he slid the covers off, he noticed that Joey already has a morning woody. He sat on the bed and wrapped his hand around it. Jerking Joey’s dick off a couple of times, Caleb stopped. He knows he doesn’t have time to do this and he doesn’t want to wake Joey up either.

He got off the bed looking around on the floor for Joey’s underwear. Caleb found them under the bed and picked them up. Just as slowly as he took the blanket off Joey, he started putting Joey’s underwear on. Lifting the left leg first and then the right one. Once he got Joey’s underwear around his ankles, Caleb slid them up Joey’s legs.

The front side was easy to get on, besides tucking Joey’s hard on into the underwear. But the back side is giving Caleb a problem since Joey is on his back. Caleb pulled Joey to his right side, moved the under over his butt, and then moved Joey to his left side to do the same thing. When he started to move Joey’s underwear over his butt, Joey woke up and started to mumble something that Caleb cannot understand.

“Go back to sleep babe, it is not time for you to wake up. I am just putting on your underwear where no one walks in and sees you naked here in the bed. I want to be the only one that gets to see you naked!” Caleb leaned down and kissed Joey on the lips as he laid Joey back on his back. “Please go back to sleep babe! I love you and I will see you after work tonight!”

Joey mumbled I love you to Caleb and fell right back to sleep. After covering Joey back up, Caleb leaned in for one last kiss before school. He walked out with a heavy heart and the reason for that is he doesn’t want to leave Joey’s side. No matter what he has been told, he is scared that Joey will be taken from him again. If that ever happens again, he doesn’t know what he will do without him.

Caleb joined his friends in the cafeteria, but didn’t eat anything on his tray. At first they ignored it, but when they tried to get him into their conversations. Caleb didn’t even look at them when they asked him something. Finally they had enough and started to throw pieces of food at him.

“What hell man, why are you throwing food at me?” Caleb looked at his friends with anger in his eyes. “Fuck, now I have shit in my hair and all over my clothes. This isn’t cool at all man, this isn’t cool at all.”

“Don’t get mad at us! We are sorry for throwing food at you, but you are not paying attention to us.” Kurt moved over to Caleb. “We all know that you are worried about Joey, all of us are. What had happened to Joey is bad, but that doesn’t mean that you need to stop living. I know if Joey were here, he would tell you the same thing. Stop thinking so much, because no matter how much you think about things, nothing will change.”

“You are right and I am sorry if I have been ignoring you guys. You know that I am not doing it on purpose, I just cannot seem to stop worrying. Everyone knows that Joey was taken right here under our noses. If that can happen, anything can happen. He is alone in my house all day and his mother and uncle are still on the run.”

“That is true, but there is no way they have the guts to try again on taking him. They have to know that the police are watching your house, his house and the school all the time now. There is no way they can come in and take Joey. Even if they hire someone again, they will not get past all the police.”

Caleb snapped out of it and joined his friends in their conversation. Just as fast as they got into the conversation about Joey, they left it. They started talking about their chances next year in football. Most of the team is returning and if they can get Joey to join. They will be unstoppable. That is if what they are hearing about Joey is true.

Throughout the day, Caleb went from class to class like a robot. He found himself so many times falling into a trance that it started to get on his nerves. Each time he did, it was harder to get out of it. He knows there is nothing he can do to change the past no matter how much he wants to. All he can do is try and make sure it doesn’t repeat itself.

When the final bell rang for the day, Caleb felt relieved. It is the weekend and he doesn’t have to see anyone from school for two whole days. Ever since what happened to Joey, everyone at school seems to look at Caleb as he walks down the halls. They look at him as if they can get their questions answered by the way Caleb looks and how he is walking the halls from class to class.

As Caleb walked to work, he started to think how lucky he has been with Joey since they met and started working together. They drove to work after school, none of this footing it. He misses the rides to and from work. Now he is tired by the time he gets to work, which makes the days even worse. He doesn’t have the strength to put up with the complaining customers, which most of whom complain just to try to get things for free.

Caleb walked into Albertson’s and was about to walk right back out when his mother called out for him. The line at the video store is already hanging out the door. The morning staff is going to clock out the minute he walks in and the other employee that his mother assigned in the mean time to help him is worthless. He gets confused really fast or he just disappears without letting him know that he is leaving.

“I need you to get in there and take care of this line Caleb! You are fast and know your way around the video store to get it done.” Helen can see in Caleb’s eyes that he doesn’t want to be here. “I know you miss working with Joey, but I need you to help me out. More so tonight because the guy I had assigned to work with you, quit this morning. To top it all off, I have no one to spare. I am trying to talk others into staying late, but you know it is hard to get anyone to work Friday nights.”

Caleb didn’t say a word to his mother. He followed his mother to the video department in complete silence. Helen exchanged one of the registers, and Caleb went right to work. Just like he thought, the other employee high tailed it out of there the minute his register got counted out. It angered Caleb, but he cannot do anything about it.

It didn’t take long for Caleb to get all the customers in and out. He is able to do more than one thing at a time and that is what you need in a person for the video department. As he checked out one customer, he answered other customer’s questions. At the same time as he did that, he checked in any new release that was turned in. In order for the video to be checked out again! Before Caleb knew it, the line was gone and the only thing left to do is straighten out the store for the next rush.

The entire evening was crazy for Caleb. He finished one rush, cleaned up and the next rush came in. This went on all the way to closing. When the closing manager came around to close off his register, Caleb was dead on his feet. All he wanted to do is get his drawer counted, clock out and go home.

When the closing manager told him the amount of money that he took in during his shift, he could believe it. There was not a slow period all night long. He didn’t even get a chance to take a break and he made that very clear to the closing manager.

On his way home, Caleb thought that someone is following him. At times he would hear foot steps behind him and at other times he would hear someone breathing as if they are right beside him. Knowing that is impossible, Caleb figured it is his imagination getting away from. It happens when he is worried or tired and right now he feels both.

The minute he walked in, Caleb walked straight over to the living room to join Joey on the couch. As he sat down next to Joey, he felt like something is wrong. The same feeling he had on the way home, he is feeling right now. He cannot put his finger on it, but there is something off. When he felt Joey’s hand grabbing his, it brought him out of his mind.

“How was school and work today? Helen told me that you had to work by yourself in the video store this evening. That had to suck, more so that it is Friday, one of the two busiest days of the week.” Joey looked over at Caleb as he spoke.

Caleb didn’t look at Joey; he just looked straight ahead to the TV. “It sucked working by myself in the video department tonight. I didn’t even get a break this evening. It seemed that I only had enough time to straighten up the store between rushes. So when Jack came up to close me out, I gave him a piece of my mind. I don’t care if they barely had enough people to cover the floor. Everyone else got a break during shift except me.”

Joey felt bad for Caleb. Up until now, he has never seen Caleb this angry before. Jack should have taken over the register in order to give Caleb a break. At least a fifteen minute break away from the customers. It is hard to run entire department by yourself on a slow day, more so on a busy day like a Friday.

Helen walked in to see Caleb slumped in the couch. “Thank you for what you did this evening. I know it wasn’t easy, but you got through it. Tomorrow I will make sure you have someone in there to help you out.”

Caleb knows if he says anything right now to his mother, it will come out wrong. So he just shook his head and continued watching TV. She got the message that he is angry and walked back to the kitchen to warm up dinner for him and Joey. Joey refused to eat until Caleb was home. He didn’t want Caleb to eat by himself.

When Helen walked out, Joey turned to Caleb and tried to get his attention again. He told Caleb that when he returns to work, he will never have to work alone again. Caleb just nodded his head and continued watching the TV. Finally Joey gave up trying to let Caleb figure out what he really wants to show him. He put his hands on Joey's face and turned him where they are looking at each other eye to eye.

"You got to be kidding me, come on, you got to be kidding me!" Caleb jumped up from the couch and walked directly in front of Joey. "When did you, I mean, when, I mean, dam it, I can't believe what I'm seeing. When did this happen to you Joey?"

Joey smiled as he grabbed a hold of Caleb to settle him down. "When I woke up this morning, I was able to see things very blurry. Then as the day wore on, I was able to see things more clearly. Although I cannot completely open my eyes I can actually see everything clearly as if I can open my eyes completely." Joey leaned in and started whispering. "I think if we have sex again tonight. Maybe my eyes will completely open up again."

What Joey whispered into Caleb ear made him laugh. He pulled Joey stays close to his and started looking at Joey eyes. They are still black and blue and in some areas still closed, but you can see the cracks where Joey is able to look out from. He leaned in and kissed each of Joey's eyes as he kept thanking the man above for this gift.

"If you believe it was the sex that got you to see again. I will be more than happy to help you out there. You should have told me the minute I walked in the door that you were able to see again. Here I am like a stupid little kid acting like a stupid little kid, when you are getting better through the worst time of your life."

"Don't you ever call yourself stupid, or a kid." Joey placed a hand on each side of Caleb's face. "You are not a stupid little kid. And what happened to you at work today you do deserve to blow off some steam. If I were in your shoes I would be doing the same thing. Jack should have at given you your break that every employee gets during a shift."

"Man every day you make me fall more and more in love with you. I am surprised that my mom didn't let the cat out of the bag. When she came in here it had to be hard for her not to tell me that you are able to see again. How were you able to keep my mom from spilling the beans?"

"No one knows yet that I am able to see again. I wanted you to be the very first person that I tell. You are my boyfriend, and we share everything good or bad, we share it. You will always be the first person I go and tell anything to. At least everything except anything I want to be a surprise to you." Joey giggled as he let go of Caleb's face.

All choked up Caleb didn't know how to respond to what Joey just said. He is just happy that Joey is able to see again. That means Joey is getting better and moving on and what had happened to him in that ugly place. The quicker that he gets better, the quicker they can forget about what had happened.

Just then, Helen walked in to let the boys know that their dinner is ready. They got up and walked over to the kitchen together. When Helen saw Joey walking without assistance from Caleb, she knew something is going on. Instead of going up to her room like she planned, she followed the boys the kitchen to see what they are hiding.

"There is something you boys are not telling me!" Helen sat down at the table with Joey and Caleb. "I noticed Joey you didn't need Caleb's help as you made your way to the kitchen. There are really only two explanations that comes to mind; either you have memorized where every piece of furniture is located at and hoped that nothing got moved or you are able to see again. By you looking at me and I'm seeing the cracks in your eyes is telling me you're able to see again."

"You caught me and I'm glad that you did. I would like you to put me back on schedule. I would like to return to work tomorrow and help out Caleb. He needs the help and you cannot find anyone willing to work in the video department. Everyone hates that department, because there's so much work to do there."

"I'm happy that you are able to see again, but I don't want you to rush into anything. There will be someone helping out Caleb in the department tomorrow. So you don't have to worry about rushing back to work the very minutes you're able to see. You are getting a lot better a lot faster than the doctors thought you would. Let's not rush and cause you to stumble on your recovery."

"You know that I respect you and I will not do anything to lose your respect. With that said I do not want to ever see Caleb dead on his feet like he is right now. So I will go to work no matter if you put me on the schedule not. I don't need any help anymore to get where I need to go, and you know I'm stubborn enough to do what I'm saying."

Helen looked Joey straight in the face and can tell he means what he's saying. Not only is he not losing her respect. He is gaining even more of her respect on the way he cares for her son. Joey is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her son happy. Seeing that her son is happy, it makes her even happier.

"Okay, if we are going to do this we are going to do it my way. If you or my son tries to sidestep any of the rules I put down here tonight, you will be barred from the store until we get a clear bill of health from your doctor. Am I ,making myself clear on this to you two?" Helen looked directly at Joey and Caleb as they shook their heads in agreement.

They sat there listening to the rules Helen is putting down. Joey can return to work with Caleb tomorrow, but with restrictions. First he will need to always be wearing sunglasses while at work. The reason for that rule is so where he doesn't get any rude comments or questions thrown at him. Second, he can only work the cash register. He has a cast on his leg and that makes it impossible for him to do anything else in the store. And finally he must let either Caleb or her know that he is not feeling up to working. Even if he already went to work, and he starts to feel bad, he must let them know.

Both of the boys agreed to what Helen lay down as far as the rules for Joey to return to work. She got up, hugged the boys and headed off to bed. Joey and Caleb stayed up, a couple more hours before they headed off to bed. They wanted to do more than just sleep, but decided against it.

The next morning, they got up, showered and got dressed before Helen even made it downstairs. The only thing that took time is putting the plastic bag around Joey's cast. The time they lost on that, they got back by taking a shower together. It took all of their energy in their bodies to keep themselves from pleasuring the other while in the shower, but they did it.

Harold came down first to see if what Helen told him it is true. As soon as he walked into the kitchen he walked over to Joey asking him how many fingers does he see? Joey answered the question, which put a smile on Harold face. Before joining the boys at the table he poured himself a cup coffee.

"This is very; I mean very good news Joey! When Helen told me last night that you are able to see I thought I was half asleep. The very first thing I asked Helen when woke up this morning is if I heard her right and she we confirmed what she told me last night. I had to see it for myself so I came down here as soon as I heard you boys making noise."

"Everything that Helen told you is true. As far as my ability to see again, but if she told you anything else beyond that. I cannot confirm or deny it." Joey winked at Caleb as he said the last part. "Being serious now, it feels good that I am able to see again. I know that I still have a long ways to go, but this is a positive direction."

"For sure this is a positive direction for you right now. I agree with Helen that you cannot rush this, but at the same time. I think you are going about it right as well. You need to get out of this house and get back to some kind of normalcy of your life, the quicker you do that, the quicker you win and your mom and uncle lose."

Until Helen joined them, they talked about what to expect on his first day back to work. Harold tried to make it clear as he could to Joey to take it easy on his first day back. He will not be as fast as he was or know everything the customers are asking him. If he runs into a problem, all he has to do is ask for help.

On the way to work no one said a word to each other. When they arrived at the Albertson's, they entered through the back door. Helen has Joey and Caleb wait in the stock room while she went up front to get Joey a pair of sunglasses. When she returned with the sunglasses, she let Joey and Caleb go on their own.

While Joey checked in on the details that were returned in the night box, Caleb finished cleaning the store that he was unable to do the night before. They actually had about fifteen minutes of spare time to talk before the store opened. Some of that time they had to use to count the registers that Helen brought down.

The first couple hours were very slow, but once it picked up, it never died down. Although Joey couldn't do anything on the floor, Caleb is not working no where near as hard as he's been working since Joey has been gone. He even got to take his morning break during a small rush period. Something that he couldn't do even with the help his mother got him.

Around one or so, Caleb's friends actually showed up at the store. When they walked in, they found Caleb working on the computer and thought he was alone. As quietly as they could they walked up to try to scare him, but Caleb saw them the minute they walked in the door. So when they reached Caleb, they look like fools when they jumped out.

"Come on man that was scary don't you think?" Trent asked as he jumped on the counter. "We came down to try to talk you into going out with us tonight. You have been stuck in that house for weeks and not hanging with your friends as much anymore. We are starting to think that maybe you don't want us as your friends."

"First get you little scrawny ass off of my counter before my mother comes in here and catches you." Caleb started to slap Trent on butt and didn't stop until he got him off the counter. "And secondly, you guys know you are my friends and nothing can change that. So pull your face out of you ass and see what's in front of you. We have known each other almost our entire lives. There is nothing that will ever change our friendship. If any of you guys ever question it again just look at what we have accepted through our friendship."

"Your right, we are just bored and thought that maybe you would want to hang with us tonight. There are no parties or anything like that for us to go to, but we can hang like the old times. Can't you remember that we didn't need to have a party to actually have fun hanging with each other?"

They sat there, reminiscing about the good old times. The only time they stop talking is when a customer came to be checked out or had a question about something. Beyond that, they kept talking and laughing about the pranks they pulled and got away with. Over and over again, they kept asking each other how in the world they got away with what they got away with.

None of them noticed when Joey walked in; they were so involved in their conversation. The store could have been on fire and they would not have noticed. At the same time, Joey did not interrupt them talking about what they did in the past. He wanted to hear as much as he could to get to know Caleb even more.

Lonnie turned around to find Joey standing behind them. He stumbled forward causing the others to look at Joey as well. Since he got caught, Joey decided to go ahead and walk back behind the counter to help Caleb check in any movies that might have been returned while he was at break.

"Wow, you look. wow man, everything we heard must be wrong because you look good." Ivan stuttered as he tried to digest the fact that Joey is already walking around. "Since you are back to work already, are you going to go back to school soon? I know everybody at school is wondering when you're going to return."

"For now I am just returning to work. As soon as the doctor gives me a clear bill of health to return back to school, I plan to go back. It is very boring, just sitting around at the house, with nobody around to keep me company. So for now, I will take what I can to get out of the house and if that is work, I will do that."

Before any of the guys could respond to what Joey said, several customers walked up to the counter. Kurt, Lonnie and Ivan moved to the side, but after seeing the customers coming in one after another they realized that Caleb will not have a chance to talk again with them for a while. They shook both Caleb's and Joey's hand as they left the store. Kurt turned around, mouthed, "Call me!" as he formed a phone with his hand. Caleb shook his head yes as he turned his attention to the customers.

The rest of the day flew by for Joey and Caleb. Before they knew it, they started to count out their drawers and clean the store for the next day. Just like before, Joey and Caleb finished up way before Helen got done with her paperwork. Caleb loved waiting for his mom, not the other way around. Joey and he work so well together, they can close the video department down in record breaking time.

On the way home, they talked with Helen about how their day went. Helen enjoyed how lively the car ride home is. She sees how much her son has come back to life since Joey has come home. She has missed the love that her son has for life. Ever since Joey got kidnapped, she thought that the kidnappers also stole her son from her as well.

When they got home, Fran and Alan walked out of the house to greet Joey. They couldn’t believe it when they were told that Joey is able to see. Just like Harold, they wanted to see it for themselves to believe it. Not letting Joey breath, Fran and Alan took turns asking Joey questions on how his site came back. When Joey thought he answered all the questions, they came back with some more.

“Okay, let me relax for a minute! There is plenty of time for questions and I promise to answer them all. The good news is that I am getting better. My eyesight coming back is proof of me getting better. Soon things will be completely back to normal and I will be returning to school.” Joey sat down at the kitchen table with the others.

Helen got everyone to lay off of Joey by asking them to help her make dinner. Joey and Caleb were the only ones that were not asked to help. In return, they headed over to the living room for some privacy. But when they walked in, they found Harold sitting in the chair watching news on the TV.

Since Harold is in the living room, Joey and Caleb decided to go out to the back and sit on the porch. All they want to do is have some alone time before dinner and bed. On their way out, they grabbed their jackets and a blanket to keep warm. Although winter is over, they are still very cold and getting snow.

After dusting off the lawn chairs, Joey and Caleb sat down and quickly get under the cover. At first they didn’t say a word, they just got close to each other to share body heat and look up at the stars. The quietness unnerved Joey, since he is not used to this. He needed to say something to break the silence before going crazy.

“Caleb I have had something on my mind for the last couple of days and I need your input. Please do me a favor though! Don’t say anything until I am completely done, or you will throw me off and then I will get lost on what I am trying to tell you. Do I have your word Caleb that you will not interrupt me or get mad with me?”

“Of course Joey, you have my word not to interrupt you until you are done. As far as getting mad with you, I cannot promise that I won’t. What I will promise is I will do my best not to get mad. If I do, I hope we can talk through it, not yell at each other.”

Joey knows asking Caleb not to get mad at him was the wrong thing to ask. That wasn’t right of him to ask that of someone when he knows he cannot give the same promise. At least Caleb did say if he does get mad at what ever he has to say, he would like to talk it out, not yell at each other.

“As you know, one of the things my mom and uncle demanded of me is having a baby or two. That way not only our family blood line continues, but our family name with that blood line continues. To me, I don’t see the difference if I have kids or my sister. At least one of us would have kids and carry on the blood line. My mom and uncle didn’t think that way. Instead they thought like their parents thought and wanted it done their way.

Now I know I don’t have to follow anything I was asked by them when we moved down here, bit I am not going to lie to you. I do want my own kids. Jacob and I were very close to adopting our first when we split up, but the girl we were going to adopt the child from had a miscarriage. Even if she didn’t have that miscarriage, I would not be part of that adoption since I left Jacob in the middle of it.”

Joey looked at Caleb and saw the confused look on his face. He is going way off the subject on what he wants to discuss with him. He knows that he rambles on when he gets nervous and normally Jacob use to pull him back in. Since Caleb and him are new at the dating scene with each other, Caleb hasn’t learned yet how to wheel Joey back in.

“Sorry for rambling on Caleb, let me get right to the point of this conversation before we are called in for dinner. I want to have my own kids, not later, but very soon. I should have discussed this with you before approaching someone to help me get there. Sorry I didn’t and I am trying now to make up for that.

The other day I talked with Janet to see if she was open to the idea of carrying my child. She had no problem with it, but wanted me to think on it before I made the decision one way or another. I have been going back and forth on it for the last day or so. I even approached your dad, and he told me to talk with you. So here I am I want to know what you think about it. Please don’t be mad with me for not discussing this with you before going to your dad or Janet.”

“First Joey I am not mad with you at all. I am glad you trust my dad enough to talk with him about this stuff. I really hope this is not a one time thing to get my fathers opinion on what ever you are bothered with. My dad and mom are very smart people and they have gotten me through some hard times.

Now as far as you talking with Janet before talking with me, I am not mad at you about that either. I don’t want to be in a relationship that we have to report to each other on every move we make. We are going to need to make decisions when the other is not around. You talked with her, but you didn’t make the decision without talking with me. That means you value my opinion and want it.”

Joey pulled Caleb into him and kissed him on the lips. Every time they sit down and talk, he learns something new about Caleb. Tonight he learned that Caleb has some traits like Jacob. Both of them don’t want to control him. Just like Jacob, Caleb wants him to feel free to get information about a decision. After weighing everything out, talk with him about it. As long as he is included in the decision making, Caleb will not get mad.

“I have known that you have wanted to have your own kids since we met. I want to have my own kids as well, just not now. Look, I have no problem with you going out and having a kid or two. You can depend I me to be at your side, helping you with the kids. I just think it is too early for you or me to have any kids right now.

First, we are both still I high school. Where in the world will we have the time to bring up this kid? As soon as we finish our day in school, we go straight to work. That is not fair to the kid and anyone we ask to babysit for us. Secondly, what about college? You……”

Caleb went down a small list of things that Joey needs to think about before having any kids. On top of the list are these questions. They still have a year and half of high school. After that they are going to go to college. It will be hard for them to take a baby along for the ride. Plus where ever they go to college, it will not be close to home where Caleb and Joey could ask their families to help with the babysitting while they are in classes.

“You bring up several things for me to think about. Before I do make my decision, I will make sure that there is nothing out there lingering. At the same time, I want to help out poor Janet. She is having financial problems right now, and I hoped that this arrangement would benefit both of us.”

“What ever you decide, I will be behind you one hundred percent.” Caleb pecked Joey’s lips with his a couple of times. “Just do me favor, let me be the first person you tell when you make your decision. That way if anyone comes and asks me if I knew, I can be honest with them and say yes.”

“I promise Caleb that you will be the first person I tell when I come to my decision. Now let’s get our butts back into the house. You may be use to this freezing weather, but I am not. Don’t forget I am a Texan, and in Texas we don’t get this dam cold. Man-o-man, do you guys have some cold weather. My ball are frozen, I don’t….”

“Don’t finish that sentence if you know what is best for you!”

Caleb reached over and squeezed Joey’s package. Joey jumped, not suspecting Caleb to do something like that. Just as he reached over to return the favor, Caleb jumped up from the lawn chair, pulled the blanket off of him and started to run inside the house. Joey jumped up and started to run after Caleb.

“No you didn’t just do that. You are going to pay for what you just did.” He ran into the house, after Caleb through the kitchen. “Come over here and get your medicine. If I don’t get you now, you are going to have to be looking over your shoulders all night long, but trust me. I will get you back before the night is over.”

Caleb couldn’t stop laughing as Joey chased him all over the house. When he ran into the living room, Joey jumped over the chair that Harold is sitting in. Causing Harold to get up to see what is going on. By the third time in the kitchen, Helen stepped between the boys and stopped them from killing each other.

“I don’t know how you are running with that cast on Joey? When I saw you jumping over me as I sat in the chair, I for sure thought you were going to land on that leg and finish crushing it. But you didn’t, instead you landed on the other. So it goes to show the things we have heard about you playing football are true.”

Joey out of breath leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. Just then he felt the pain shooting up and down his leg. He must have been thinking more about catching Caleb than thinking about his leg. If he was thinking about his leg, he would have felt the pain a lot sooner. Joey walked over to the chair and sat down.

“What is causing you two to be running around this house like idiots?” Helen pointed at Joey and Caleb with her cooking spoon. “Joey you are lucky that you didn’t hurt that leg even more. Plus everything else that is still healing. You Caleb, you should know better. You know that kind of horse playing is not allowed in this house!”

“Let’s all just settle down here for a moment. The boys were just having fun, blowing off some steam. Joey didn’t hurt himself nor did Caleb. They now know they cannot be doing something like this, at least while Joey has the cast on!” Harold winked at his son as he sat down next Joey, patting him on the shoulder.

“Fine, I don’t want to be the bad person here. Joey you and Caleb go and wash up for dinner. Caleb look at Joey’s leg and make sure he is not hiding anything from us. If he re-hurt his leg, let us know. I rather know now where we can take him in, than later when it is worse.” Helen walked back to the stove to stir what she is cooking for dinner.

Joey and Caleb walked over to the bathroom. When they walked in, Caleb fell to his knees and started to look up and down Joey’s leg. When he touched near the cast, he noticed Joey jerking his leg away. By the fourth time, Caleb got worried. He got up from the floor and looked Joey in the eyes.

“You know I can tell already if you are lying to me or not? Are you in more pain right now than you were when we were sitting out side?”

Joey tried to look away, but Caleb held his face to face him. “I know I should not have run on it, but I did. Because I did that, it is hurting right now. Give it an hour or o and it will stop hurting me. Please don’t tell your mom that it is hurting. She will stop what she is doing and take me straight to the emergency room.”

“You know I don’t like lying to my mom! If your leg doesn’t stop hurting you within an hour, you will tell my mom that it is hurting.” Joey smiled at Caleb and turned to the sink to wash his hands. “You also cannot take any pain medicine to bring the pain down to the point you can stand it. The only time you can take anymore pain medicine is when you are scheduled to do so, not a minute earlier.”

“Man do you sound like your mom!” Joey raised his right hand. “I swear that I will not only tell your mom if the pain doesn’t go away within an hour, I will not take any pain medicine as well. There is no way I could have hurt my leg worse than it was when the cast got put on. I skipped ran after you. My bad leg may have hit the ground three or four times the whole time I was chasing you.”

“Sure it did, were you counting how many times it hit the ground while you were chasing me? I don’t think so! There is no way you could have done that, because you were struggling to keep up with me. I don’t believe the rumors about you playing football. If you couldn’t catch up with me, there is no way you are as good as they say you are.”

Caleb started to laugh as he threw water on Joey from the sink. Joey fell back a couple steps, but got right back into it. By the time they stopped throwing the water at each other, they were soaked to the bone, laughing like crazy. Joey fell to the ground, pulling Caleb with him. Caleb fell on top of Joey and started kissing him.

“I love you some much Joey! You bring things out of me I never though another guy would be able to. Thank you for making me laugh and just being you!”

“You took the words right out of my mouth. You bring me to life when I though I was dead after leaving Jacob. I have said this many times to you and others, but I do mean it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you Caleb, no one else. I really believe the man up stairs brought us together because we are meant to be together.”

Caleb kissed Joey once more before getting up. Once he got up, he helped Joey to his feet. They both cleaned up the mess hey made in the bathroom before heading to their room to change out of the wet clothes. Just as they finished changing, Helen called everyone down for dinner.

The rest of the evening went without anymore surprises. While Joey and Caleb were sitting watching TV, Caleb reached over and tapped Joey on the leg. Joey didn’t pull back or show that he is in pain. Before deciding that Joey wasn’t in pain, Caleb tapped on his leg once more about thirty minutes later. He got the same response from Joey and that sold him. Joey didn’t hurt his leg while chasing after him.

They went to bed wanting to make love, but decided against it. They have to get up early in the morning to go to work and do a ten hour shift. Without a good eight hours night sleep, they will not be up to handling the complaining customers.

Just like the morning before, Joey and Caleb took a shower together to save time. But this time they couldn’t control themselves. While Joey soaped up Caleb’s back, he reached around and started to soap up Caleb’s dick. He noticed the second he touched Caleb’s dick, he is already hard like he is.

He turned Caleb around, rinsed the soap off of his body before falling to his knees. He immediately took Caleb’s dick in his mouth and started sucking. Not having a problem getting back on the horse taking Caleb’s entire dick. Caleb fell against the wall of the shower and started to moan as Joey went down on him.

This time Caleb tried his best not to explode as fast as he did the other night, but Joey knows how to hit all the right buttons. It didn’t take long for his balls to rise and start shooting his come into Joey’s mouth. Joey swallowing every drop of Caleb’s come as if this is the first time he has tasted come.

Joey started to fall back after sucking Caleb dry, but Caleb wouldn’t hear of it. He reached down and pulled Joey up and pushed him against the wall. He fell to his knees and too Joey’s hard, leaking dick into his mouth. Just like Caleb, Joey fell against the wall and started to moan as Caleb went down on him.

Just like Caleb, it didn’t take Joey that long to hit his climax. After about five minutes sucking on Joey’s dick, he exploded into Caleb’s mouth. When Joey shot his last shot, at least he thought he did, Caleb kept sucking Joey’s dick. A couple minutes later, Joey reached his second climax and shot for the second time. He cannot believe that he actually was able to shoot twice in less than five minutes apart.

Caleb got up from his knees, licking his lips. “I am collecting on the past due sex you owe me. Although it wasn’t your chose to go where you were taken, I still demand back pay of what you owe as far as my milk shakes.”

Joey started to laugh as he regained his strength. He leaned on Caleb as they got out of the shower. They dried each other off, causing once again each other to get hard. This time they reframed from helping each other out. They cannot afford to spend anymore time in the bathroom if they want to get to work on time.

After getting dressed, eating breakfast, Joey and Caleb walked out to the driveway. Helen does not work Sundays, that means they either are going to have to walk it or go back up and ask for a ride to work from one of Caleb’s parents. Joey decided to go through door number three and have Caleb drive them.

“Caleb, babe, you have a learners permit, right?” Caleb shook his head with a confused look on his face. “Okay then, I have a driver license and that means you can drive us to work in my truck as long as I am in the truck with you. So there is no need to go back in and wake up your parents when we can drive ourselves to work.”

“Wait a minute there Joey! You are going to get us both in trouble here. I do have learners permit, but I am only allowed to drive when my parents are in the vehicle. Let’s just go and wake up my mom or dad and ask them for a ride. I don’t want to get into any trouble with my parents.”

“Come on Caleb, you are allowed to drive when ever there is a licensed driver in the vehicle. It doesn’t matter if it is your parents or not. Just as long as the other person has a legal driver licenses, you can drive. There is no need to go up and wake your parents up for a ride when the solution is right in front of us.”

Joey pointed to his truck as he finished talking. Caleb still not comfortable with Joey’s solution, he walked back into the house and a few minutes later Harold walked out with him in his robe and slippers. Joey couldn’t help but laugh when he saw Harold half asleep, without his morning coffee.

“Boys get into the car where I can get you to work on time. We forgot that Joey cannot drive right now and walk because of that leg. You two should have reminded us when we went to bed last night. That way we would not be rushing right now to get you guys to work on time.” Harold talked with a little anger in his voice.

He drove out of the driveway without warming up his car. Neither Joey nor Caleb has ever seen Harold drive as fast as he is driving right now. Joey cannot tell if they angered him and if so. What did they do to make him angry? Caleb was being responsible when he decided to get him to give them ride, instead of using Joey’s idea.

When they got to work, Caleb got out and ran in to clock them in. The mean time Joey thanked Harold as he got out of the car. As he walked around towards the front door, he turned around and waived Harold down. When Harold saw Joey flagging him down, he rolled down the passenger’s side window as Joey wobbled up to the car.

“Why are you angry with us Harold? Caleb did the right thing by going up and asking you for a ride. I wanted us to use my truck and he didn’t want to do that. Instead he did the right thing and went and asked you guys to give us a ride.”

“Sorry Joey if you think I am angry, because I am not. I am still half asleep and haven’t had my coffee yet. Thank you for being honest with me and you are right. My son did the right thing by coming to get us to give you guys a ride. You and I will talk when you get home tonight. For now you cannot use your truck until your doctor gives the okay, do I make myself clear on that Joey?”

Joey shook his head up and down. “Sorry again Joey, but I cannot stand to see you hurt again. My son really loves you and we have grown to love you as a son. We don’t want to see you get hurt or rush yourself to get better. Please be patient and everything will go back to the way it was before it all this happened to you.”

Harold reached out to shake Joey’s hand. Joey took Harold’s hand and shook it. He stood there as Harold drove off. Trying to remember the last time a parent figure treated him like this. The last one’s to treat him like a human being, without a motive, was his aunt and uncle. He misses being cared about from a parent.

Joey walked in with a renewed sense of where he is going from here. One thing is for sure is that he wants to be more and more around Caleb’s parents because they care about him like a son. He will take Harold’s advice and take it slow, not rushing the healing process in anyway. Eventually everything will heal and his life will get back to normal.

TO BE CONTINUED………..

WRITER’S CORNER:

{This chapter covered more days in it than the last couple of chapters. Ever since I wrote chapter seven, eight, nine and ten, I have had a problem on getting the time line to speed up in this story. Now that I have, I am hoping to continue in the chapters to come to cover between four to seven days in a chapter.

Also this chapter is very interesting. Let’s start from the beginning where we found out a little more where Fran and Alan’s relationship stands. Where I left these guys off at is an assumption that they are going to get together. In this chapter I confirmed it and now we know they have moved into a relationship. Do you all think this relationship is going to last? Do you think if found out, they are asked to end it?

Joey talked with Harold before talking with Caleb about his plans on a baby. Harold told him to go back and talk with his son about it. At the same time he told Joey that he feels that Joey’s life is too much in the air right now for him to take on something like that. Still after talking with Harold about it, it seems that Joey still wants to go through with it.

I know! I know the direction I went with Joey’s eye sight is different. Please do not send emails letting me know that it is not possible for that to happen. If I didn’t move Joey along on getting better, faster, the story would be dragging on. You guys would get tired of me writing that Joey woke up, walked to the kitchen, living room, watched TV and went back to bed. I needed to put back some spice into the story and that is by giving Joey his eyesight back. Remember this is fiction story and things that don’t happen in real life can actually be written in this story.

I love the way Caleb cares for Joey. He really does love him and wants to protect him. The scene the morning after they had sex and he took the time to put Joey’s underwear on so that no one else would see him naked! That shows care and love that Caleb has and that will keep this relationship strong for a long time.

Also when Joey talked with Caleb about the baby thing, he took it well. He didn’t get all up in arms and start yelling at Joey for not talking with him before talking with Janet and Harold. It looks like Caleb is laid back and wants Joey to feel like his own man. Too many relationships fall apart because on in that relationship wants to control everything that the other one does. That never works and always ends up causing problems.

Finally we had several sex scenes in this story. It was going to take time for sex to come back into this story, but it is here. It is going to get more in detail in the chapters to come, but in this chapter I got it going. I really hope you enjoyed the scenes, but I have said this several times already. My stories are not going to be full of sex. So if you are reading it and hoping for a jerk off session, you should move on to another story for that.

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. Don’t 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 won’t. 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:

[We covered a lot of territory in this chapter but it has given us a good deal of additional insight into the people of this story. A number of plots remain without solution or closure but this only builds our/my interest in the chapters yet to come.

I am glad that Joey is willing to take a more 'healing' approach to his recovery even though it goes against his very natural teenager feeling of immortality. That is, to me, another sign of his growth to adulthood.

Caleb's mother, Helen, took on more of a leadership role during this chapter. I had seen this element of her personality before but I am pleased to find it showing up in a more explicit way now. She and Harold make a good team!

When the raid on the "Camp" was made more than a hundred young men were released and sent back to their home cities/states. Were they accepted back into their families and communities? If not, what has happened to them? I worry about such possibilities as these abused youth being just 'dumped' out into the streets or allowed to become under the 'legal system' in places. If Corey finds out that this type of problem is reality for some, what will his reaction be?

Because the "Camp" was located so close to the TX/NM border, it had 'patients' from at least three states as well as staff. Will these different states be able to work together when necessary to help the 'patients' recover in a positive way? One of the elements of Regionalism is "Cross-jurisdictional Cooperation" and this is often done at the local level, i.e. fire departments helping each other on big fires. But can states also find ways to cooperate on behalf of people?

Our author, Jacob, relies on our feedback. Please take the time to email him with your own reactions, ideas, suggestions, etc. He does read them and for this story sends them on to me as well! Best wishes!

--Kent D. (sw Ohio area)