Concrete - 15. Lockup

Bang, bang, bang

“Police! Open up!”

Adam’s eyes snapped open in a panic. He sat up, and saw Jamie was already stuffing his legs into his jeans. “What’s going on,” he asked.

“The fucking police are here!” Jamie cried. “Get dressed. Hurry!”

The banging continued as Jamie finished fastening his jeans. Adam sat up and tried to get his underwear on at least. Harper was awake, and whimpering on her bed, and he hushed her as gently as he could.

“It’s okay, Harper. They just want to talk to daddy,” Adam said, pulling his pants on, then bouncing off the bed for Harper’s instead. He wrapped an arm around the girl and watched warily as Jamie got up to answer the door without his shirt.

There were two white, male officers standing at the door. The first one barged in without a word and backed Jamie against the table.

“What the fuck?” Jamie scowled. “What do you want?”

The second cop stepped casually into the room. “Are you Jamie?”

Jamie bared his teeth in anger. “Yes.”

“Hands behind your back. You’re under arrest.”

“Fucking Gordon,” Jamie scowled, but already, he was putting his arms behind his back.

“No.” Adam’s heart dropped into his stomach. “Jamie.”

“Daddy…” Harper whimpered beside him, watching as Jamie was aggressively cuffed by the first cop. “Adam, what’s happening?”

Adam hugged the girl tight. “What’s this about?” he asked the cops in a loud, shaky voice. “We didn’t do anything wrong. Did Gordon send you?”

“Quiet, Adam,” Jamie hissed, flexing his strong, restrained arms. “Don’t fight with them.”

The cops ignored Adam anyway. The first guy checked the cuffs, then pushed Jamie down into the chair while the second took a brief look around the room. He focused on the bags by the door.

“These yours?”

Jamie looked toward his drug bag. The cop was looking right at it. “Uh…”

“T-there’re mine,” Adam spoke up. “I just moved out of my friend’s house. It’s everything I own.”

The cop curled his lip. “Gordon’s house?”

Adam pressed his lips together and nodded.

“He’s accusing your boyfriend of assault. And he’s saying he stole his car, which is outside, and a bag of money.”

“A-a bag of money?” Adam laughed nervously. “We didn’t take any money.”

“And that’s my car,” Jamie snapped, pulling against the cuffs. “Gordon gave it to me.”

“Did he loan it to you? Or did he actually take you to the title bureau and put it in your name?” The first cop asked.

Jamie blinked. “We were at the DMV a couple weeks ago. I just figured he took care of it.”

“The title bureau is different,” the cop said lazily. “The car’s still in Gordon’s name.”

“Well, fuck…”

“You want to finish putting your clothes on?” The second cop asked, turning away from the bags. “It’s pretty cold out there.”

Jamie sighed. “Yeah. All right.”

Awkwardly, the cops helped Jamie drape his coat around his bare chest. Then he stepped into his boots and kicked them on. Adam watched with tears in his eyes.

“You can’t do this!” he whispered, and the second cop looked up at him boredly. “Jamie only hit Gordon because Gordon was forcing me to have sex with him. He was basically raping me.”

“Do you want to file a report?” the guy drawled. “I’ll need your name, address, and phone number.”

Slowly, Adam shook his head. He couldn’t give the cops his name. His parents would come swooping down to get him in an instant.

“All right, then.”

Once Jamie was dressed, the cops stood him up.

“Wait.” Jamie tugged against the police and met Adam’s tear-filled eyes. “Take my phone. It’s in my back pocket.”

Adam let go of Harper and moved carefully across the room. He felt silly, walking around in his underwear, but the cops weren’t even looking at him. He took the phone out of Jamie’s back pocket, then looked up into his pretty blue eyes. “What do I do, Jamie? Tell me what to do.”

“Call T,” Jamie said firmly. “He’ll know what to do.”

Adam was reluctant to agree, but he nodded. He didn’t know what else to do.

The first cop took Jamie’s bicep and steered him toward the door. “Let’s go.”

“I’ll see you soon, Harper,” Jamie called over his shoulder. “I love you both.”

The second cop sneered, but he kept his mouth shut. He followed Jamie and his partner out of the room, then quietly shut the door behind him.

There was silence for a few seconds. Adam stared after Jamie, his entire body cold with worry and fear. Then Harper started to sob, and Adam hurried back to comfort her.

“I hate the police!” Harper wailed.

“I know,” Adam said soothingly. “But they’re just doing their jobs. It’s Gordon who did this.”

“I hate Gordon, then!”

“I hate him too,” Adam agreed, combing his fingers through Harper’s fine hair. “We’re going to figure this out, though. I promise. Your daddy won’t be in jail for long.”

Harper looked up at him needily. “Promise?”

“Yes. I promise,” Adam said. “As soon as the sun finishes coming up, we’ll call Jamie’s friend, T.”

“I know T,” Harper said hopefully. “I knew him from before, when me and daddy lived with mommy.”

“I’ve never met him,” Adam said. “This will be the first time.”

“He’s nice,” Harper said. “He’ll help us.”

“I hope so…”

“He will. I know it,” Harper said adamantly.

Adam checked the time on Jamie’s phone. It was just after six in the morning. He figured T, whoever he was, would still be asleep, so he sent him a quick text for when he woke up.

This is Adam. Jamie’s friend, he typed. Jamie was just arrested, and Harper and I are at the Super 8 close to the trailer. We don’t know what to do.

He thought he’d have to wait until it was light out, but almost immediately, there was a reply.

What?! What the hell is going on?

“He replied,” Adam said to Harper. “He’s awake now.”

“I told you he would help us,” Harper said, snuggling into his side. “He’ll figure everything out.”

Adam turned back to the phone. Can you call me? he asked.

Yeah. Give me a sec.

Adam sat the phone in his lap and put his arm around Harper again. He stroked her hair soothingly as he waited, and after awhile, she sank into his side and went limp. Adam checked her face and was relieved to see she’d gone back to sleep. Gently, he moved the girl back to the pillow and got up to look out the window.

There was a tow truck loading up the Impala. Adam watched in bitter silence. He was glad he’d thought to bring in all the bags last night…

Suddenly, Jamie’s phone started buzzing. Adam fell into the chair and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Hey. So, you’re the boyfriend?”

Adam smiled faintly. “Yeah… Did Jamie mention me?”

“He did,” T said. “What’s going on?”

“Jamie caught me and Gordon having sex last night. And it wasn’t exactly consensual.”

“Um… okay?”

“Jamie went crazy,” Adam said. “He punched Gordon until he was unconscious, then we packed up and left in the car.”

“To the Super 8?”

“Yeah. That’s where we are now,” Adam said, watching out the window as the car was towed away. “Gordon called the police, I guess, and told them Jamie stole the car and beat him up. The cops found us here. They arrested him.”

“Well, it sounds like you weren’t far from the trailer. You should have come here.”

“We didn’t know,” Adam said, letting the curtain fall shut. “Jamie was going to call you today, but he didn’t get a chance.”

“So, you and Harper are at the motel by yourselves?”

“Yes. And she’s had a real rough night.” Adam looked over his shoulder at the girl. “She saw the fight between Jamie and Gordon, then she was here when the police came banging on the door. She’s asleep now.”

“Can you get her back to her grandma’s house?”

“No, and I wouldn’t want to even if I could,” Adam said firmly. “Jamie left me in charge of her. I have to take care of her.”

“Well, shit,” T said. “I guess I’d better come pick you up.”

“I have money.” Adam glanced at the bags. “I can pay you.”

“Not necessary. I just need a couple minutes to finish waking up, then I’ll get going.”

“What are we going to do?” Adam asked. “Can we get Jamie out of jail?”

“I don’t know yet. I’ll have to see what’s going on first.”

“Gordon really messed everything up for us,” Adam said. “I never thought for a minute he’d call the police.”

“I’m going to call him after I hang up with you,” T said. “Maybe some sort of arrangement can be made.”

“Okay.”

“Hang tight, kid. I’ll call you when I’m at the motel.”

“Thanks, T.”

“No problem.”

Adam hung up the phone and sat in silence for a few minutes. He thought about taking a shower, but he wasn’t in the mood. He was incredibly sleepy…

He got up and curled on the bed in the fetal position. He could smell the remnants of Jamie’s cologne and he teared up a little as he thought about the strong, beautiful man getting dragged away. It wasn’t fair.

It took some time, but Adam finally lost consciousness, the phone gripped in his little hand.

***

Adam woke with the phone buzzing in rapid succession. He sat up and rubbed his eyes in confusion.

Sunlight poured through the window and when he checked Jamie’s phone, he saw it was well past nine.

“Hello?”

“What room are you in?” It was T again. “I’m here.”

Adam climbed out of the bed and went to the door. He didn’t remember what the number was, so he stuck his head outside.

A white Mercedes cruised up. It stopped right as Adam stuck his head out the door and pulled into the front spot.

“I think I see you,” T said as a mixed boy waved through the windshield.

“I see you, too,” Adam smiled a little, relieved. He hung up the phone and held the door open as T shut off the car and got out.

Adam took in the other boy’s appearance as he strode up. He understood why Jamie had a crush on him. T was very cute. But Adam was totally immune. All he could think about was Jamie.

He ushered T inside and shut the door. “Did you talk to Gordon yet?”

“Briefly, but he wasn’t making any sense,” T said, looking curiously around the room. “He said you stole from him.”

“You mean this?” Adam went to the far wall and yanked the drug bag out of the pile. He threw it on the floor at T’s feet. “This is it. Gordon’s drugs. Only, Jamie stuffed his money in there, too, and I don’t know how much of its Gordon’s.”

T shook his head. “That’s all Jamie’s as far as I’m concerned.”

“Well, Gordon’s pressing charges for it,” Adam sneered. “The police were looking for a bag of money. It’s a good thing they didn’t take it.”

“Yeah. Good thing,” T snorted.

“So, how do we get Jamie out of jail?” Adam asked. “There has to be something we can do.”

“What I think we should do first, is go see Gordon,” T said, crossing his muscular arms. “If he’s pressing charges, then we need to get him to drop them.”

Slowly, Adam nodded.

“Get Harper up. We should go now,” T said, looking toward the girl on the bed. “They’ll try to sentence Jamie as soon as possible, so we might miss our chance if we mess around.”

“Okay.” Adam started towards the bed.

“And put some clothes on,” T said, and Adam suddenly realized he was still in his undies. “It’s freezing out.”

Adam paused before he shook Harper awake. “I’ll get dressed first,” he muttered to himself, then went to grab his bag. He quickly pulled his clothes on, then found Harper an outfit, too. She was already stirring when he got back, and he shook her gently to get her to sit up.

“Hi, T,” Harper said sleepily, looking across the room at the older boy.

“Hi, sweetheart. I heard you had a bad night.”

“It was the worst,” Harper whispered, looking up at Adam. “They took my daddy away.”

“Hopefully, it’ll get better now that T’s here,” Adam said cheerfully. “He’s already coming up with a plan.”

“A plan?”

“Yes. We’ve got to go back and talk to Gordon.”

Harper made a face. “I don’t want to go back there.”

“It’s okay, she can wait in the car,” T said.

“You heard him,” Adam said, then he handed Harper her clothes. “Can you go in the bathroom and get changed? We have to leave. Now.”

Harper bit her lip, but she took the clothes and got up to go into the bathroom.

Adam watched her go, a faint smile on his face. He was proud of the brave little girl…

“So, can you explain what you meant by you and Gordon having non-consensual sex?” T asked into the silence.

“Oh.” Adam looked up, his cheeks filling with an attractive pink. “Gordon was forcing me to suck his dick. He said he’d kick me out if I didn’t do it, and I was too afraid to go against him.”

T frowned. “I would have let him kick me out. That guy is gross.”

“I know,” Adam moaned. “But it’s complicated. After Gordon took me in, my parents filed a missing persons case on me. I can’t afford to be on the street. I’ll get caught.”

“Caught?” T snorted. “You mean rescued?”

“I don’t want to go back to my parents,” Adam said. “I ran away for a reason.”

“Jamie didn’t say you were a run away, just that you were under eighteen.”

“I can’t believe he even told you that,” Adam said. “He was really worried about my age at first.”

“Well, it’s not illegal,” T said. “Sixteen is the age of consent in Ohio.”

“Oh.” Adam deflated a bit. “I was hoping we could use my age as a bargaining chip. I didn’t tell Gordon I was only seventeen.”

“No, you guys can technically have sex. It’s legal. But kidnapping a minor isn’t,” T said slowly. “Maybe we’ve got a bargaining chip, yet.”

Adam smiled a little. “I’ll say whatever you want me to.”

T nodded. “Just follow my lead. When we get there, Gordon’s bound to be upset.”

Adam nodded. He wasn’t looking forward to going back to Gordon’s either, but he was willing to do whatever it took to free Jamie…

Once Harper was dressed, the three of them left the room. They didn’t check out, but T insisted on bringing all their belongings.

They really weren’t far from the trailer. It took a little over five minutes to get back to the park. Adam looked around the dirty little allotment as T drove his nice car through it. The place was so trashy, Adam couldn’t believe he’d called it home for almost a month.

T parked his car next to Gordon’s trailer with Adam’s help. He didn’t know the exact location, but he said he’d been here once before.

T left the car running for Harper then, he and Adam got out and started for the front porch. T knocked, then stepped back to wait. Adam folded his arms uncomfortably and waited behind him. He had no idea how this was going to go.

Gordon opened the door a crack. “Oh, fuck me,” he muttered when he saw it was T. Then, he pushed the door open and let him in.

Adam scurried in behind T, then ran right into Gordon.

“What are you doing here?” Gordon’s face was all bruised up. His eye was swollen shut and his lip was busted. He looked a right mess.

Adam drew himself up. “I’m here because Jamie got arrested. I have to save him.”

Gordon sneered, then slammed the door behind him. “I don’t know how. We’ve got court today. They’re probably going to sentence him to another two years.”

Adam’s face went white.

“Now, I know you guys had a fight, but you can’t seriously want that,” T asked. “Right?”

“He deserves it,” Gordon growled. “After what he did to me…”

“What about what you did to me!” Adam cried. “You were forcing me to suck you! I didn’t have a choice!”

Gordon rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t forcing you, Adam. You were totally asking for it.”

“No, I wasn’t!” Adam stamped his foot. “You were threatening me!”

“All right.” T stepped between them. “Everybody needs to keep their heads on and act like adults here.”

Gordon glared around him at Adam. “You’re fucking Jamie, aren’t you? You’ve been keeping it from me.”

Adam sighed. “Yes. All right? Jamie and I are together.”

“I knew it.”

“We’ve been sleeping together almost since the beginning…” Adam dropped his head in embarrassment. “I love him, Gordon.”

Gordon narrowed his eyes. “You little slut. I gave you everything and you still went after fucking Jamie!”

Adam shrank into himself, humiliated.

Gordon started to make more insults, but T held up his hands. “Stop. This isn’t why we came. We don’t want to fight with you.”

“What did you come for, then?”

“To make some kind of deal,” T said. “I don’t want Jamie going back to jail either.”

Gordon sniffed, then stepped around them and went to the couch. “I’m pressing charges on him today. He beat me up, took my car, then split with my money and my drugs.”

“He beat you up because you were messing with his boyfriend,” T said calmly. “He had a reason to do it. Can’t you agree with that?”

“No,” Gordon said, falling back on the couch and pulling a cat into his lap. “Adam was mine first. Jamie knew better than to start dating him.”

T huffed. “Gordon. Come on.”

“What!?” Gordon cried. “That bastard took what was mine!”

“I’m not yours,” Adam whispered, and Gordon gave him a long-suffering look. “I never was. That was never part of the deal.”

“Yes, it was,” Gordon snapped. “How stupid are you, kid? You had to know I’d expect something from you eventually.”

“You lied to me, then.” Adam nervously licked his lips. “You promised me a safe place to stay while I figured out my life. You imprisoned me instead. You forced me to sleep with you… You mistreated me so badly.”

Gordon glowered down at his cat.

“You lied to Jamie, too,” Adam continued. “You told him he owned that car.”

“I did not,” Gordon said. “He had to know I didn’t transfer the title.”

“Well, he didn’t,” Adam said. “And I didn’t know either. You lied to us both.”

“Fine!” Gordon pushed the cat off his lap and turned around to glare at Adam. “What do you want me to do about it now? Huh? Jamie’s got court at noon.”

“Drop the charges,” Adam pressed. “Please. Maybe they won’t send him back to jail. Maybe we can make this right.”

“I can’t change my statement now,” Gordon said bitterly. “They won’t believe me. They’ll say I was coerced.”

“Just try,” Adam begged. “Please. It’s the least you can do.”

Gordon made a face. “I don’t know…”

“If you can’t make up your mind, then consider the fact you’ve been harboring a runaway for weeks,” T said, putting a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “His parents would really like to know where he is right now, and if Jamie goes to jail, he won’t have much choice but to contact them.”

“Yeah,” Adam said quickly. “They filed a missing persons on me. When they find out you came and picked me up, it’ll turn into kidnapping charges.”

Gordon looked up, a scowl on his face. “Oh, are you trying to blackmail me now?”

“Maybe,” T laughed. “Nothing else has worked.”

“Fine. I’ll drop the damned charges.” Gordon sighed. “But I don’t know how it’s going to play out.”

“That’s all we can ask,” T said, smiling gently. “It’s out of our hands now. The powers at be will give their judgement on our poor Jamie.”

“Maybe you should come to court with me,” Gordon grumbled unhappily. “Jamie will need picked up if he gets out today.”

Adam looked hopefully at T. “Do you think he could get out today?”

“He might,” T said, scratching his stubbly chin. “But we shouldn’t put Harper through another shit fest. We’ll go back to my house and wait.”

Slowly, Adam nodded. He wanted to watch Jamie’s trial, but he agreed with T. Harper wouldn’t be happy if they sentenced Jamie to more time. It just wouldn’t be good.

“I’ll call you when it’s over, then,” Gordon said.

“Good. We’d appreciate that,” T said, then he turned back to Adam. “You think Harper wants to eat? We can grab some food on the way home.”

“I don’t know about her, but I’m starving,” Adam said shyly. “That’d be nice.”

“All right, then. We’ll get out of your hair, Gordon,” T said. “We’ll talk to you soon.”

Gordon muttered something under his breath, but Adam didn’t care what he’d said. He had the older man’s assurance he’d drop the charges, and nothing else mattered. He followed T out of the trailer.