The Castaway Hotel - 2 - 20. Chapter 20 - The One Who Slipped Away

“What the f**k are you doing?” Pat shouted at Frankie.

“I’ve got a little fag who wants to be butt-f**ked,” Frankie growled back at him. “I’m just helping him out.”

“Get away from him,” Danny said coldly, as he pushed his way through the crowd.

“Now,” added Dustin, following Danny in and adding some muscle to the request.

“Hey, he’s a fag and he wants this,” Frankie tried to reason. He was becoming a little nervous that everyone else seemed to be ganging up on him.

“We don’t care what he is,” Danny came back, “and it certainly doesn’t sound like he wants it, from all the screaming and fighting he’s doing.”

“He does want it,” Frankie insisted. “I could show you on the computer where he even said so.”

“I don’t care what it says in the computer!” Dustin screamed. “He’s obviously changed his mind and we don’t force people to do anything that they don’t want to.”

About that time I arrived on the scene. I had gone out and told the boys to wash up for lunch, as I got into the van to make a quick run to the store. Just as I was pulling back in, Cole and Graham rushed out to meet me. They were all excited and quickly relayed the story about what was happening upstairs. I raced into the house and stormed up the stairs, but by the time I got there, the other boys had already brought Frankie’s actions to a halt.

Before sending the rest of the boys downstairs, I asked Pat and Dustin to escort Frankie to my room, telling them I’d be there shortly to discuss the situation with him. I also asked Danny and Kevin to stay with me, so they could help me calm Trey down. I wanted their help, because I wasn’t sure Trey would want to open up to me and I thought that pair might be able to help me convince him he could be honest with me.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked Trey.

“NO! You heard it all already,” he sobbed.

“Well, I didn’t,” I informed him. “Would you please fill me in about what was happening here?”

“Why? So you can throw me out?” Trey challenged, thinking the worst was about to befall him.

“No one’s going to throw you out,” I assured him. “I just need to find out about what Frankie was up to and why he was trying to do what he did to you.”

Trey started crying even harder and buried his head in the bed. The three of us tried to console him and convince him we were there for him, no matter what he said. Eventually Trey lifted his head and looked at me with his tear-streaked face.

“I’m gay. Okay?” Trey sobbed, figuring this would be enough to make us turn on him. “Frankie must have found one of my journal entries on the computer, so he figured that gave him permission to come in here and try and f**k me. Is that what you wanted to know? I’ll bet now you don’t still want me to live in your house?”

“Trey, why would I want you to leave?” I asked him. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But I’m gay. I’m queer. A fag, a fairy, a fruitcake or whatever else you want to call it. I know you don’t want me here, because I might corrupt the rest of them. Right?”

I looked at Danny and Kevin and let them know that I thought it would be best if they answered this one. “Trey,” Kevin said, “I’m gay too and Dad knows it.”

“And I am too,” Danny added. “Some of the other boys might be gay, bi or even straight, but none of us really cares about that, as long as you don’t try to force them to do something they don’t want to do.”

“Really?” Trey asked amazed, as he flipped over on the bed and sat up. “You guys aren’t just saying this to make me feel better, are you?”

“No, they’re telling you the truth,” I confirmed. “We don’t flaunt it, but we don’t hide it either. Nothing has changed for you and no one is going to ask you to leave. This is your home, as long as you want to live here. Understood?”

He looked up with tears still streaming down his cheeks. His chest was still heaving, but he was smiling weakly and maintaining most of his composure. “Yeah,” he whispered. “Thanks.”

“I’m going to leave Danny and Kevin in here with you, while I go and speak with Frankie. You guys get him calmed down and then go down and eat lunch. You’ll just have to pick up from where I left off with the food until I get back down to the kitchen. I think I need to handle this first, though.”

I walked down the hall to my room. Dustin and Pat were in there with Frankie and they all had scowls on their faces. I’m sure Frankie’s was because he’d already guessed how I was going to react, while the other pair were really pissed off about what he had tried to do to Trey. I went over, sat down next to Frankie and began to question him about his take on the incident.

“Do you want to tell me what happened in there?” I began.

“What difference would it make?” he snapped back. “It looks like you’re all going to protect the little fairy anyway.”

“We’re not protecting anyone,” I informed him. “All we’re doing is enforcing one of the most important rules we have in this house, and that is no one forces anyone else to do anything they don’t want to do.”

“But he wanted it,” Frankie insisted, with a hopeful look creeping across his face. “He even said so, in that thing he wrote on the computer.”

“What thing?” I asked, having not heard the details of this part of the story earlier.

“I found something he wrote in the recycle box on the computer and read it,” Frankie admitted.

“And this document said that he wanted you to have sex with him?” I pressed, still somewhat confused.

“Not exactly,” Frankie confessed, although still not giving up hope of clearing himself. “It just said he was gay and he really wanted Dustin and Kevin to f**k him. It also said he was too shy to tell them, so I was just helping him out.”

“But I was told he was screaming for you to stop,” I countered.

“Hell, he was just being shy,” Frankie tried to rationalize.

“Or maybe he didn’t want you to force yourself on him?” I offered.

“See. You’re sticking up for the damn queer,” Frankie insisted, disgusted.

“Are you trying to tell me that you weren’t forcing him to do this?” I asked, trying to clarify his take on the situation.

“Maybe I was, but he wanted it,” Frankie claimed, thinking he had implied consent.

“He might have wanted to have sex with Dustin or Kevin,” I offered, “but that obviously didn’t include you. Why didn’t you stop when he started screaming?”

“Cause I was horny and wanted to get off in his cute ass,” was Frankie’s cocky, macho response. “No big deal.”

“When you’re forcing someone to do something they don’t want to do, it is a big deal,” I assured him.

“Whatever,” Frankie snarled. “So are you kicking him out, now that you know he’s just a little cock sucker?” Frankie smirked, after completing his statement.

“No. He’s staying here,” I informed him, which caused his expression to change drastically.

“Fine. Then I’ll just nail him some other time,” he mocked.

“Frankie, I don’t think you’re listening to what I’m saying,” I emphasized, trying to make him understand. “You can’t force people to have sex with you.”

“Then I’ll just have to persuade him,” he sneered. “I’ll get his little faggot ass sooner or later.”

“Let’s put it this way,” I stipulated, with much more force. “Unless Trey tells ME he wants to have sex with you, then you don’t get near him. Understood?”

“Why the f**k do all of you care what happens to the god damn homo?” he challenged, astonished by our stance. “They like to get f**ked in the ass, so I’d be doing him a favor. Why is everyone getting so bent out of shape about me doing it for him?”

“It’s because you’re forcing him to do it,” I reiterated. “Unless he tells me those are HIS intentions and what HE wants, then I want you stay away from him – totally.”

“Then you better hire an armed guard to protect his ass, because it’s mine the first chance I get,” Frankie informed me, indicating he wasn’t going to listen to anything I said.

“Then I guess that I’ll have to make sure you never get that chance,” I warned him, before I left him sitting there and walked downstairs. I picked up the phone and began to dial.

“Hello.”

“Hello, may I speak with Judge Shay?” I asked.

“Whom might I say is calling?” the other person replied.

“This is Josh Currie,” I informed him.

“Josh, it’s me,” he finally admitted. “Will you please stop calling me Judge Shay outside of court and simply refer to me as Steve?”

“Sure, if that’s what you want,” I agreed, although still focused on the reason for my call.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that immediately,” Steve confirmed, “but I don’t like taking calls at home over the holidays, unless it’s an emergency. May I take it this isn’t a social call and is a matter of some importance?”

“You may,” I agreed. “I’ve had some major problems with Frankie and I think it would be best if you removed him from here immediately.”

“Josh, what happened?” Steve responded, aghast.

“There have been a couple of things and I think this would be best to get him out of here before the situation gets any worse,” I informed him, without giving too much away.

“Josh, I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me what went wrong,” Steve stated, emphatically. “I really need that information to know how to deal with Frankie, from this point on.”

“Steve, I feel I might be partially to blame, because I’ve been so wrapped up in Kevin’s problem and his surgery. Maybe if I spent more time with Frankie when he first arrived…”

Judge Shay cut me off. “Josh, you know better than to beat yourself up when a kid doesn’t work out,” he told me, reassuringly. “Just tell me what happened, so I’ll know what to do next.”

“Well, I think he was responsible for arranging a party here at the house when I was at the hospital with Kevin. They were even serving beer.”

“And?” Steve pressed.

I really didn’t want to tell him, but he did need to know. “Today he tried to force himself sexually on one of the other boys. He thought the boy was gay and wanted it to happen, even though the boy was trying to fight him off.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve apologized. “Is there anything more?”

“The other thing I can’t prove, but things have come up missing around here, ever since he arrived. I’m not sure it’s him and I wouldn’t be able to offer any proof of this, so I really hate to lay that at his feet too.”

“That’s not necessary,” Steve assured me. “That was one of the charges against him, when I placed him in your care. I guess I probably should have warned you about that, before you agreed to take him. In fact, there were several counts of petty larceny in his file. I know that’s not proof, but if you haven’t had the problem with the other boys, I’d say his being guilty was a fair bet. Look, I apologize for this and I’ll have him picked up within the hour. I’ll take care of him from here.”

“I really hate to do this to you, Steve,” I admitted. “I feel like I failed all of us.”

“Balderdash,” Steve responded. “I’m sure you did what you could and I just hope this won’t affect any future relationships we might have.”

“Of course not,” I assured him.

“Fine. I’ll take care of everything then,” Steve replied. “Just let me apologize again for any problems this might have caused you.”

“It’s not necessary, Steve,” I repeated.

“Just the same, I am. Thanks for what you did for him, but I’ll have him out of there soon. Good-bye.”

“Good-bye,” I repeated, ending our conversation.

I hung up the phone and then sought out Danny to help me. “Danny, Frankie is going to be leaving us, but I don’t want you to tell another soul, at least until he’s gone. I want you to act as a lookout for me, as I go up and pack Frankie’s things up. Would you be willing to do that for me?”

“Sure, Dad,” Danny chirped, gleefully. “I kind of expected that was going to happen, since Frankie didn’t seem to be sorry about what he’d done.”

I really felt it would be best if Frankie didn’t have any advance warning about what was going to happen, because I was afraid he might just go after Trey again or try to run away. I went up to his room and packed everything he owned in the satchels he had brought with him when he arrived. I was nearly finished, when I made another discovery. High up, on the top shelf of the closet, buried behind paper bags filled with junk, was a boom box. I assumed this was the missing boom box, seeing Frankie didn’t bring one with him when he arrived. I’m afraid this also confirmed my belief that he might be our thief.

After confirming where Frankie was, I sneaked back down, carrying his things and placed them in the closet in the foyer. Once everything was safely put away, I just sat and waited. It wasn’t long before a car drove up, two men in suits got out. All the boys rushed out to greet them, not knowing who they were, including Frankie. I think Frankie thought the car belonged to one of his friends.

“Mr. Currie?” one of the men asked.

“Yes, that would be me,” I confirmed.

“Steve sent us to collect something,” the other man stated. I think a casual observer might have thought this sounded like lines from a cheap Hollywood mobster film.

“Yes, I know,” I agreed, as I put my hand on Frankie’s shoulder. “This is Frankie.”

Before Frankie understood what was happening, both men grasped a hold of one of his arms and led him to the car. They placed him in the back seat, while Danny and I went back into the house to retrieve his things. I handed them to the second man, who put them into the trunk. While that was happening, the first man told me they were both detectives. They were at the station when Judge Shay called, so they signed out an unmarked car and drove here to do this favor for him. I thanked them for their help and the timely manner in which they arrived.

When we finished our discussion, I walked up to the still open rear door, so I could speak to Frankie before he left. “Frankie, I’m sorry I had to do this, but you didn’t leave me any choice. You wouldn’t admit that what you did was wrong and even threatened to do it to Trey later. I also pretty much knew you’d planned that party and I found the missing boom box in your room when I went in to pack your things. I take it you already sold the other missing items and spent the cash. I really wish this would have worked out and you could have fit in here. I think it might have benefited each of us, if things had gone better.”

“Shit, it’s no big deal,” Frankie stated, shrugging off what was happening. “I don’t give a f**k where I live. I’ll be fine, man. Don’t worry about me. I guess if I were you, I’d get rid of me too.”

I guess that answered all of my questions and I just stood in the driveway with the other boys, as the officers got back into their vehicle. We all watched as they backed out into the street and drove away. I only prayed that Frankie would be able to turn his life around or he’d been spending much of it locked away from others.