Regrets And Heartaches - 7. Chapter 7

Most of the day Joey, Caleb and Harold worked on Joey’s house, making sure everything is secure. Harold wants to make sure on what had happened the night before will not happen again. Harold does realize if a person wants to get in, they will. Just he wants to make it as hard as possible for them to do so.

Across town, Beth got woken up with banging on her door. At first she thought it is Dominic at the door, but remembered that Dominic left for out of town last night. She got up, put on her nightgown and walked over to the see who is knocking on her door.

As she looked out her living room window, she could not believe who is actually at her front door. She quickly opened the door and pulled the guy in. She noticed as he walked to the couch that he is limping and holding his arm.

“We agreed that you were to never come down here for any reason at all. What is so urgent that you have broken that promise? I really do hope that no one saw you coming up to my apartment.” Beth walked over her uninvited guest.

“Ma'am, I had no other choice but to come down here. What we discussed I attempted it this morning, but ran into a wall. You never told me that Joey had an alarm system and several people living in his home.”

The look that Beth is giving to the guy would have killed him. That is if looks could kill. She started pacing back and forth trying to figure out what to do from here. It seems that every attempt she is making to deal with Joey runs into a brick wall.

“What you need to do is get yourself to a hospital and get whatever injuries you got dealt with. What ever you do, my name or what you were doing for me is not mentioned. Once you are ready, we will talk again.”

Beth helped the guy up from the couch and walked him to the door. As he left, Beth closed the door behind him and ran to the phone. She dialed a number on the card that she pulled out of her purse. Whoever answered on the other line, she started yelling at them on what just happened.

Joey and Caleb spent the afternoon in Caleb's room talking as they lay on the bed. They took that time to get to know each other even more. They told each other stuff that normally would have taken weeks if not months of dating.

After eating dinner and watching movies, Joey wanted to get home to rest. He has a long day ahead of him tomorrow. So he got up and walked over to Fran and Alan to let them know it's time to go.

Just as they started to get ready, Harold called Joey over to the kitchen. Reluctantly, Joey walked over to see what Harold needed from him. As he walked into the kitchen, Harold asked him to take a seat with him at the table.

“Let me start out by saying this from the beginning. What I'm trying to do here is help you protect all your assets. If you feel I have overstepped my bounds at anytime while we talk. Just say the word, and I will leave things alone.

If your mother and your uncle get a judge to give them custody over you, there is nothing I can do to stop it. Right now, you got full control of your money, house and any other property. If your mother and uncle get custody over you, they will have control over everything that is yours.

I'm not saying this to scare you Joey, I am trying to get you to realize the possibility is there. Not all judges see the law the way I do or my friends that sit on the bench. So what I have done is prepared some paperwork to completely protect you and your assets.”

Harold pulled out some paperwork from his briefcase. At the same time, Joey moved his chair closer to Harold in order to read the paperwork as Harold explains it. Joey read along as Harold took him step-by-step, page by page. Any time that Joey had a question they would stop, and Harold would answer it.

“The big concern I have is this sir. Any time that I want to go and spend any of my money, I will need your permission. I am giving over control of everything to you and you can basically do whatever you want to do with it.”

“No! You have it completely wrong. By you signing this paperwork doesn't give me control of anything. You are the only one that has the right to your accounts and your property. If you sign this paper work now and then go off and buy a new truck. You can do that and you don't need my permission for that.

All this is doing is protecting you just in case your mom and uncle get custody over you. They cannot take one dollar out of your account or sell any of your property. Before they are allowed to do any of that they will need my signature and approval for it.

Other than that everything will stay the same. The only time I will ever get involved with your personal finances is if a judge rules against you and gives custody over to whomever. It wouldn't matter if it's your mom, your uncle or a bum on the street. If they try to spend your money or sell your property, I can stop them legally.”

Joey leaned back in the chair and started thinking about what Harold is presenting him. He does trust Harold, but when it comes down to money and anything worth of value. It does weird things to people that you thought you could trust. He never thought that his mother would turn on him like she has.

“Can I put anyone down as the person to be the one to give permission to deal with my assets?” Joey leaned forward on his seat.

“If you do not want me as the person and yes you can put anyone you wish. Just keep in mind, who ever you choose, must not be influenced by anyone except you. This is to protect you and your assets until you turn eighteen.”

“Can there be more then just one person? Kind of like a check and balance kind of system. The reason that I keep asking this is because when it comes to this amount of money. It does weird things to people.”

“I understand where you're coming from you don't have to explain to me. It could be more than one person on the forms. That person needs to be at least eighteen. I just want you to protect your money from your mother and uncle.”

Joey pulled out a pin from his pocket and wrote down a number. “Call this number and only speak to this person. Explain to him everything that's going on and what you’re suggesting to deal with this problem.

He will put differences aside and do what's right. Tell him that I want him as the person to be making these decisions if anything is to happen. If he agrees, you can fax over everything to him. He will sign it and file it at the district court.”

“Do you want me to call this number now and speak with him?”

“No, do it after I leave. That way if he asks you if I'm around, you can honestly tell him no. He may not like me as a person, but he will protect me from losing everything. Just explain to him everything on what you did already and what is going on. I know he will do the right thing.”

Joey got up, thanked Harold and walked out to his sister and Alan. Before leaving, Joey kissed Caleb goodnight as they reached the truck. He promised Caleb to be here in morning to pick him up for work. There is no need to get a ride from his mother or anyone else. They kissed one more time and Joey drove off.

Joey went straight to bed the minute he got home. Fran and Alan stayed up watching TV in the living room. As they watched the movie, they got closer and closer until Alan got the guts to wrap his arm around Fran. By the time they put in the second movie, Fran had her head resting on Alan’s shoulder.

They stayed up late watching movies, cuddling up to each other. At some point during the second movie, they lost all interest in the movie. Both of them wanted to kiss each other, but they are afraid on getting caught by Joey. So they just settled on cuddling with each other as they thought on how it would be going further than just cuddling.

The next morning, Joey got up ad get ready for work. Before leaving, he checked in on Fran, but didn’t find her in her room. Joey started to get worried. He ran in the kitchen, didn’t see her, he ran to the bathroom, didn’t see her, and finally he found her asleep on Alan’s lap in the living room.

He walked up to her and nudged her awake. She blinked several times, trying to remember where she is at. She got up, moving just enough to wake up Alan. Both of them stretched, but once they saw who is standing in front of them. They both jumped off of the couch, looking at each other and then back over to Joey.

“Fran you go to your room alone. You and I will talk about this when I get home tonight.” He looked over to Alan trying to keep his poise. “I gave you a place to stay, clothes on your back and food in your stomach and this is how you re-pay me. You and I will have a talk when I get home from work as well.”

Joey walked out the door, leaving Alan standing in the living room. Alan walked passed Fran as he walked to his room. Fran tried to talk with Alan, but she forgot that Alan is deaf. He left her standing on the other side of the door when he closed it.

Alan sat down on the bed not knowing what he is going to do if Joey asks him to leave. He has no other place to go. Alan kept kicking himself on allowing himself to feel for Fran. He is falling for her, but he needs a place to stay more than a girlfriend.

Joey drove up to Caleb’s house, honked his horn. Caleb ran out full of energy and jumped in the truck. He leaned in to kiss Joey good morning before Joey put the truck in drive. Caleb noticed something is up, but figured that Joey didn’t get a good night sleep.

“My dad told me to tell you that he spoke with the person that you asked him to and he agreed. They are going to meet today and get it done. My dad wants to speak with you after work, where you can sign your part of it. I don't know what any of this means. But I know eventually you will tell me.”

On their way to work, Joey explained everything to Caleb about the conversation he had with his father yesterday. It was no surprise to Joey that Caleb agreed with his father. They finished up speaking about it, just as they drove into the parking lot of work.

Whenever Joey and Caleb work the weekend they open and close the video store. Helen schedules it that way so they could get their forty hours a week. None of the other employees complain about it because they get the weekend off.

The day went by fast for Joey and Caleb. They didn’t have that many customers, so most of the day they fooled around. As the day went on, Joey got out of his bad mood. By closing Joey is back to his normal self.

They talked all the way to Caleb’s house. Neither of them would let the other get a word in edge wise. Joey got down and walked in with Caleb. Joey found Harold and another guy in the den waiting for him. Harold introduced him to Joey as a clerk from his office. He has him here to notarize the paper work. Once Joey signs his part, it is all done. Harold will file the paper work with the clerk’s office first thing in the morning.

After signing the paperwork, Joey headed out. Caleb caught up to him as he reached the front door. The boys embraced and started kissing each other. Wanting more time, but knowing they don't have it, they let each other go. Caleb walked Joey to his truck and kissed him one last time before he left.

As soon as Joey walked into the door, he got greeted by his sister. “You and I need to talk about what you saw this morning. Nothing happened between me and Alan last night. We had fallen asleep watching movies and that is it.”

“I'm not angry about the fact that you and Alan could be together. In fact, I really hope that you two do get together. What I don't like is the fact that you and he are going to have sex. I know that’s going to happen and there's nothing I can do about.

Fran, you're different from me in many ways. The only thing I really have to worry about is not getting any stupid sexual transmitted diseases. You not only have to worry about that, but you have another major issue to worry about. You can get pregnant and ruin your life before it begins.”

“Don't you know that I know that Joey. It doesn't matter if I get together with Alan or any other guy at school. I am not going to have sex until I am out of high school and more than likely out of college as well. I am not going to depend on man for anything.”

“You got your head screwed on right but please don't give me another concern to worry about. I have way too much going on right now. I cannot be worried about leaving this house or going to bed with you and Alan alone in this house.”

“One thing you do not have to worry about is Alan and me. We are not going to do anything stupid that jeopardizes our futures. Now you need to do go and talk with Alan. He is freaking out thinking that you're going to ask him to leave.” Fran walked over to the kitchen to finish up dinner.

Joey went into Alan's room and spoke with him. He reassured Alan that he is not going anywhere. This is his home and he needs to get used to that. After their talk they walked out together and joined Fran in the kitchen for dinner.

The next couple days nothing really happened. Joey started to think that maybe his mother and uncle finally saw the light. He hasn't really seen them around since the first day of school when the police asked them to leave.

At the same time, Caleb's friends took Joey and Alan into their little group. Several times they tried and tried to talk Joey into joining the football team. They found out that Joey is not only a running back, but a very good one at that. But Joey politely said no every time they asked him to join. He explained that he only has time for one after school program and that will be the rifle team.

By Wednesday morning, the guys gave up asking Joey to join the football team. They figured they will get him to join by next season. This season is over, so they decided it is best to just drop it. They don’t want to piss Joey off because he doesn’t join now.

During third period, a student walked in and handed the teacher a note. She looked at it and called Joey up front to her desk. She handed him the note and told him to take care of it quickly. He looked over at Caleb, smiled and walked out.

The note that got handed to him read. “Please excuse Joey Alvarez from class in order to turn off his alarm to his truck.” Joey read the note several times. He doesn’t understand it because he doesn’t have an alarm on his truck.

He figured to check on his truck anyways. After the tire slashing incident he is not going to take any chances. Joey walked out to the student parking lot, over to his truck. No where in the parking lot is an alarm going off. Joey felt even more confused as he walked up to his truck.

Joey started to look around his truck. Everything seemed fine on the driver’s side. He walked around, back tire okay. He walked up to the front tire and couldn’t believe it. Someone had flattened his tire again.

Joey started to curse as he kneeled down to see the damage to his tire. He is so mad; he doesn’t hear the person walk up behind him until it was too late. The last thing Joey remembered is something biting him on the neck.

The bell rang excusing the classes to lunch. Caleb grabbed his books and Joeys books as he got up. He started to walk out when his teacher called him back in. Caleb turned around and walked over to his teacher’s desk.
“You tell your friend Joey that he has detention for three days. No one ditches my class and gets away with it. Also, let him know that his homework assignment is not just the odd numbers, but all fifty questions due tomorrow.”

Caleb shook his head. He walked out angry about the fact that he got chewed out for something he didn’t do. Caleb reached his locker and threw the books in and slammed the door shut. He walked to the cafeteria wanting to know why Joey didn’t return to class.

After grabbing lunch, Caleb found his friends at the same table. He walked over and sat down. Not evening saying a word to Lonnie and the guys, he turned to Alan. Caleb tapped Alan on the shoulders where he would look up at him.

“Have you seen Joey since this morning?” Alan shook his head no. “He got called out of class and never came back. Now our math teacher is angry with him. She gave Joey detention for the next three days. I don’t know what the hell he is thinking, but he is fucked. He better have a good excuse to tell her tomorrow.”

Caleb dropped it and started eating. Lonnie and the others got Caleb’s mind off of Joey by talking about next session. As it got closer to fourth period, Caleb started to worry about Joey. He is no longer angry with him, he is now worried about him.

He got up from the table and walked outside. Lonnie and the others followed him. Caleb walked to the student parking lot to see if Joey is in his truck. He found the truck, but Joey is nowhere to be found. The bell rang, and everybody headed back into the building.

By the end of fourth period, Caleb knew that there is something wrong. This is not like Joey at all on not going to class. Ditching him at lunch yes, but not jeopardizing his grades and attendance record!

When the bell rang, Caleb hoped to find Joey at the lockers with his puppy dog face on. Asking for forgiveness and without a doubt, Caleb knows he will give it to him. But as he got to the locker he didn't find Joey standing there like he had hoped.

By the end of the day Caleb couldn't stop thinking that something really bad has happen to Joey. He walked out to the student parking lot and found Joey’s truck. He turned right around and headed to the range. Without thinking, he walked right in. The instructor shouted to him to leave the range.

Caleb walked out, followed by the instructor. “I don't know who you are but no one walks into my range without protective gear on. You are not a student of this program are you? I have never seen you before today.”

“No Sir, my name is Caleb and I am a friend of Joey's. He never returned back to third period when he got called out. I am getting very worried because this is not like Joey to do this. I am wondering if Joey came to class and is here for practice.”

“You are right. We were all surprised to find Joey not here. He did not come to class or to practice. Let me see if I understand this correctly Caleb. Joey came to school, got called out, but never returned to class.”

“Yes sir, that is correct, and now that he is not here at practice. I am really worried about him. He loves this program, and there is nothing that will keep him away from it.”

“Look, I am sorry for getting angry with you. Let me finish with practice and I will go down to the office and see why he got pulled out of class. For the meantime, you could either stay here or come back in about forty minutes.”

Caleb decided to come back to talk with the instructor. He walked over to the pay phones and called his mother. She instructed Caleb not to go anywhere and that she and Harold will be right there. Caleb hung up the phone and walked over to Joey's truck.

About thirty minutes later, Harold drove up. He got out of his car and walked up to Caleb. “There is probably nothing to worry about son. Joey might have just walked off to blow off some steam. You know as well as I do there are a lot of things going on in his life right now. Let's just wait here for Joey.”

“No dad, I really do believe there is something wrong. Joey has done this in the past but has never skipped class and especially not ROTC and rifle team practice. Even if he would've done that, why is his truck still here?”

Harold agreed with what his son just said. He started walking around the truck to see if maybe Joey is inside. He tried the driver side door, he found it locked. He then walked around and tried the passenger side door. He found that door locked as well.

As Harold turned to walk back to Caleb, he saw a shiny object through the corner of his eye. Harold walked over to the back tire and kneeled down. The glitter that he saw is a syringe. He realized right there and then that something has gone wrong. There is no way this syringe was here when the boys drove in this morning.

He walked over to his car and called the police with his car phone. Caleb noticed his father on the phone. Caleb walked over to his father’s car to see what his father found out. Just as he reached the car, Harold got out.

“You told your mother that Joey's instructor is going to go and check at the office on why they called him out. What time did the instructor tell you to come back at?”

“He told me about forty minutes from the time I left him. That was almost an hour ago, when I talked to him. Why are you asking dad? Did you see something that confirms my worries about Joey?”

“We do not want to jump to any conclusions right now. Caleb I need you to go to that instructor and have him come out and talk with me. I have called the police to be on the safe side. I believe you when you told me that Joey would never do this.”

Caleb tried to ask his father again, but Harold stopped him. Caleb did as his father asked of him. He walked back over to the ROTC class to see what, if anything, the instructor found out. All the way back over to the range, Caleb couldn't stop thinking that his suspicions is dead on.

The Sergeant Major agreed to speak with Caleb’s father. They headed back over to the student parking lot to find several police cruisers with their lights on. At that point, Caleb started to run back over to Joey's truck.

As he arrived he saw the police officers taken pictures of Joey's truck. Caleb walked up to his father and another gentleman in a suit. Both of them looked at Caleb with a worried look on their faces.

“Son, this is Detective Benson. He has been working with me dealing with Joey's mother and uncle. Originally he was assigned to investigate Joey’s stolen property. Although Joey dropped the charges, Detective Benson wouldn't let up.”

Detective Benson reached out and shook Caleb's hand. Just then Joey's rifle team instructor walked up. He looked around at all the commotion going on. There is something going on here that he or Colonel Chandler is aware of.

“Hello sir, my name is Harold Evens and this is Detective Benson.” They shook each others hand before Harold continued. “Caleb here is my son and Joey is his friend. I understand that you were going to get some information from the office for Caleb.”

“Yes, your son came into the range earlier today very worried about Joey. I told him that I would see if I could find out why they pulled him out of class. By the way, I am Command Sergeant Major Burgess.”

“Sergeant Major Burgess, what did you find out from the office if anything?”

“Someone walked into the attendance office and told the clerk that the alarm was going off in a student parking lot. This person gave the clerk a license plate number and a description of the vehicle. All students have to register their vehicles with the office for things like this.

Anyways, the attendance clerk looked up the license plate number and sent a note to Joey's class. That is why he got pulled out, but what happened after that. No one in the attendance office, registers office, counselor’s office or principles office knows.”

“Thank you, Sergeant Major we will need the name of the attendance clerk that spoke with the person that reported the alarm. Also if possible we would like to speak with the Principal now. I would like to speak with his attendance clerk as soon as possible. She holds the key to all of this.”

Sergeant Major Burgess agreed with Detective Benson and left to get the Principal. The meantime, Detective Benson looked around the truck. Besides finding the syringe at the back tire, Detective Benson found signs of struggle.

Several handprints on the passenger side front fender, passenger door and drag marks. He also noticed the tire on the front passenger side had been messed with. Where there should be mud, there isn't. It looked like someone had done something to the tire. Detective Benson doesn't know what, but he plans to find out.

“Harold, after taking pictures I would like to impound the truck. We are going to lift as many fingerprints as possible before the truck is moved. I am telling you something happened out here. What ever happened isn't good for Joey.”

“Do what ever you need to do but find out what happened and soon. If you need any warrants. Let me know and I will direct you to a judge that will issue them for you. There is no doubt in my mind, if there is foul play here and who is involved.”

The principal walked over and before introducing himself. He handed a piece of paper with the attendance clerk's name, address and phone number. Not wasting anymore time Detective Benson ordered a black-and-white to the address.

“Principal, please forgive me, you did introduce yourself to us.”

“Sorry about that Detective, my name is Tim Fisher, the school principal. If there is anything you need, and I can help you please ask. Something like this has never happened at this school before. I have been principle now for ten years.”

“Principal Fisher, do you have any surveillance cameras in this parking lot or near this parking lot?”

“Sorry detective, we never have had a need to install surveillance cameras. Like I said before, this school has never had problems like this before. We take pride in the safety and security that our students have here.”

“There is really nothing you can do at this point. If I need to speak with any more of your staff or students I will go to you directly. For the mean time I would like this to be kept between us. We do not know all the facts and people do talk.”

Principal Fisher agreed and headed back to the building. Sergeant Major Burgess stuck around to see if he could help in any way. He has grown to like Joey and cannot believe there is somebody out there that is willing to hurt him.

Detective Benson handed over what is becoming more and more obvious as a crime scene to the technicians to process. He made sure that they understood that this vehicle needs to be towed to the impound yard. They need to see if they could get any kind of prints off the front passenger side wheel.

Harold took Caleb into the car and headed home. They cannot do anything there except get in the way. Caleb did not speak one word on the way home. He couldn't stop thinking on what an ass he was being with Joey. He never thought in his wildest dreams that anything like this would actually happen.

Helen met her husband and son as they walked into the door. Caleb walked passed her not saying a word. The only thing on his mind right now is Joey’s safety. He doesn’t mean to be rude to his mother, but he just cannot stop thinking that he could have been there for Joey. Maybe if he went with him, instead of staying in class things might be different. So many scenarios kept popping into Caleb's mind.

“What did you find Harold when you went down there? Do you think that Joey is just upset and walked off to blow off steam? Or is this something more that we all should be worried about?”

“To be completely honest with you, I really do believe if something went wrong. There are just too many "what if’s." Someone lied to get Joey out there alone. What we have found out in just the last couple hours, points to foul play.”

“What about Joey’s sister Fran and his friend Alan that lives with him? Do they know that Joey might have been taken by force?”

“I haven't even thought of them yet. The minute I got down there to Caleb and looked around that track, a creepy feeling I have never felt before went through my body. The only thing I have been thinking about all is what the hell happened here.

Its best, I think that we should go and pick up Fran and Alan from Joey's house. They cannot be there alone. More so now than ever after what has happened. I will go ahead and pick them up and you stay here with Caleb. As you can see our son is really hurting right now. I think he's blaming himself for what has happened here.”

Harold looked at Helen as he walked out the door. She just stood there frozen at the very spot she was standing in when they walked in. Harold closed the door behind him, and headed off to pick up Fran and Alan.

Helen found the strength to move and headed over to her son. She found him sitting in the living room in the dark. Not turning on the lights she just walked over to sit next to Caleb on the couch.

When ever anything has come up in her kid’s lives, she has had an answer or a speech to help them through it. But this time she is lost for words. Who prepares a speech for their kids on a kidnapping of their friends or family? She doesn't know what Caleb's going through because this has never happened to her until now.

So, they just sat there in the dark by each other. They didn’t say a word to each other. A few minutes after Helen sat down Caleb started to cry. She grabbed a hold of her son, and just held him as he cried. Still she was unable to console him with reassuring words that she's normally not short of.

When the front door opened Caleb broke free of his mother and wiped his face. Turning on the light in the living room, Fran, Alan and Harold walked in. Fran ran over to Caleb and kneeled in front of him.

“Caleb you didn't see anything on what happened with our brother? You guys are not fighting and he's just out there blowing off steam. Please Caleb if there's anything that you know, tell us so we don't worry.”

Caleb looked straight into Fran’s eyes. “Your brother and I haven't fought in a while. We are starting to learn how to deal with each other when we get into our moods. He got called out of class and never came back.”

Everyone jumped when they heard a knock on the front door. They all ran to the front door and answered it hoping to see Joey on the other side. Instead, standing there on the front step is Detective Benson. Harold asked him in as the others went back to the living room not happy to see it is Detective Benson at the door and not Joey.

“Have you found out anything new since we left you at the school Detective Benson?”

“We are putting a rush on everything that we've found near the truck. We have already received a preliminary report back on what was in the syringe. They have not typed it yet, but it is some kind of knock out drug.

With this coming back are ready. We can say, almost without a doubt that someone has taken Joey by force. I have a very good idea who that someone is, but right now I have no proof to even bring them in.”

“We cannot allow this to go on very long. If you and I are thinking about the same people, you know as well as I do why they took Joey in the first place. What did the attendance clerk tell you about the person that walked in and lied to her?”

“She actually gave us a full description of the person. The description does not match at all that of Joey's uncle. We do have one good thing going for us right now on the description. That guy has a cast on his left arm and is favoring his right leg.”

Harold almost fell to the ground when Detective Benson told him about the injuries. By his description, there is no doubt in Harold’s mind that this person is the same one that broke into Joey's house last Saturday. Harold got control of himself in order to tell Detective Benson about the break-in.

“I know you are a judge sir, but I asked you if anything weird happened since we talked last. A break-in at Joey’s house five days before this happened, is a big piece of information I should have been given. I need to speak with whoever was at the house when this happened.”

“I didn't keep anything from the Detective Benson. The boys gave statements to the police that day. All you need to do is dig those statements up and you will have all the facts. Right now I want to protect my son. If I cannot help it, I don’t want him speaking with you or anyone unless you need information from him.”

Detective Benson agreed with Harold on leaving his son out of this. Harold showed Detective Benson out and joined his family in the living room. They sat there into the late hours trying to piece together anything that might help the police find Joey.

Joey woke up with a pounding in his head, unable to see. He tried to get up, but he couldn’t. His hands and legs are tied up and a gag had been placed in his mouth. Joey felt a bump, letting him know that either he has not been out that long or who ever is doing this is taking him some where far.

He started to wiggle to get free. Unable to loosen the ropes around his hands and feet, Joey fell to his back and started kicking at the wall. With the sound his feet are making as he hits the wall, Joey figured out that he is in a van or truck.

The van came to a complete stop in hurry, causing Joey to roll all the way to the front of the cab. The doors opened, bringing in the sun light. Joey closed his eyes in order for them to adjust to the bright son.

Still his head is banging as if someone is hitting over and over again. All of a sudden he felt hands around his legs; Joey got pulled towards the door. He started kicking and screaming, but there isn’t much that he can do. His screams are muffled with the gag in his mouth and his kicks are not doing anything at all.

“If you don’t settle down, we are going to give you another shot. Are you going to settle down or not?” Joey heard a male’s voice talking to him as they pulled him up.

Joey actually head butted the guy, causing him to stumble back letting him go. Joey fell back hitting his head on something. He started to black out when he heard another voice off in the distance yelling at him. Right before he completely blacked out, Joey felt someone punching him in the gut a couple of times.

As Joey woke up, he felt the same banging in his head, but worse. He also has shutting pain coming up from his gut where they hit him. Rubbing his head, Joey saw that his hands and feet are longer tied up. He realized that he is no longer in the van. He got up from the floor and looked around.

With the glow from the light in the hall, Joey could see a little in the small room. There is not bed, mattress, or toilet. It is just a concrete room from top to bottom and side to side. Joey walked over to the door and looked through the small window. The only thing he saw out the window is a hallway and another door straight across from his.

Joey started to pound on the door, yelling at the top of his lungs. “Let me out of here, you cannot keep me here! What you are doing is against the law! You kidnapped me and brought me here against my will!”

Joey kept screaming over and over gain. Causing others to start pounding on their doors and yelling as well. Some one started to walk down the hall hitting the doors as he made his way to Joey’s. He opened it and walked in.

“I am going to give you a choice to either shut the hell up or I will shut you up.”

“Fuck you, you are going to be in……..”

Before Joey could finish his sentence, the guy hit him across the face with a stick. Joey went flying against the wall, bleeding from his mouth. As Joey spit out the blood, a couple of his teeth went with the blood.

“Are you going to shut up or am I going to have to shut you up? You have no rights as a human being, because you are not one. You are scum and until you learn to live your life the right way, you will always be scum.”

Joey got up and walked over to the guy. He spit blood in the guys face. The guy wiped his face and started hitting Joey with the stick. Joey protected his face, but the guy got every where else on his body. He didn’t stop hitting Joey until he went down. Joey doesn’t even know if the guy actually stopped hitting him once he was out.

Joey woke up wrapped in bandages, but still in the same room. It took every bit of strength for Joey to get up, but he did. He limped over to the door. Looking into the hallway, Joey started to yell once again. Once it again it caused the others to start yelling along with Joey. Once again causing the same guy to walk into the room!

“You don’t know when to quit do you little fucking faggot. You parents put you in here knowing what we do. They didn’t seem to care if you came back to them or not. By the looks of it, you are not going to walk out of here. We are going to rid this planet of you faggots one at a time, one way or another!”

This time the guy didn’t even give Joey a chance to respond. He started to hit him until he blacked out again. He woke up in so much pain, Joey couldn’t move a muscle. He just blacked out again due to the pain.

Joey got woken up with hot scolding water being thrown on him. He jumped up crying out in pain. Someone slid in a plate of food and closed the door. Joey dropped to the floor and rolled into a ball crying in pain.

Due to the hot water and the beatings, Joey couldn’t fall to sleep. His body is in to much pain, each time he dozed off, the pain woke him up again. He finally gave up on sleeping and just laid there on the floor looking out into nothing. Trying to take his mind out of this place to a time where he was happy.

After leaving Harold, Detective Benson headed over to Beth’s and Dominic’s apartment. As he arrived he waited for backup to arrive. Once Detective Benson got his back up, he walked over to Beth's and Dominic's apartment. He knocked on the door couple times and waited for someone to answer.

Beth opened the door and allowed Detective Benson and the uniform officers in. Detective Benson looked around the apartment for any signs of Joey. Knowing that he won't find any he turned his attention back to Beth.

“Where is your brother-in-law Dominic at? I need to speak with you and him at the police station. So you need to get Dominic and get dressed. Then accompany these officers down to the police station.”

“Dominic is out of town for a job interview. Am I under arrest or something? I don't understand why I have to go down to the police station with these officers. If you need to speak with me you can do it here. Other than that, if you want me to go down with you to your police station, you will need to arrest me.”

Detective Benson turned to one of the officers and whispered to him. The officer left, leaving only Detective Benson and the other officer. He pulled out his notebook, flipped it open before saying anything else.

“When was the last time that you saw your Joey and daughter Fran?”

“It has to be weeks at least. As you know I am not allowed to go near my kids. Joey made sure of that with his new boyfriend’s father. I found out who that guy is that came to my house and served me the paperwork.”

“I know that you're lying to me right now about when the last time you saw your son. I barely missed you and Dominic last Monday at your sons and daughters school. You broke the restraining order, and the police officers let you go.

I know you know what's going on, because you are not asking me why I am here asking you about your son and daughter. So what I am going to do is call a friendly judge to give you your wish. I will be taking you down to the police station on breaking the restraining order last Monday.”

Detective Benson whispered to the other officer and he left. Detective Benson walked out of the apartment and stood at the front door looking in. Beth had no idea what is going on. The only thing she knows for sure is that this Detective is out to get her and Dominic and it looks like he is going to succeed.

“Detective I do not know what you have against me and Dominic but if you do not stop harassing us. I will make sure that you will finish off your career as a meter maid. Don't think I don't have the connections or the money to do it.”

Detective Benson started to laugh at what Beth just said. “I know for sure, ma'am that you do not have the connections or the money. If you think you're going to get your hands on Joey's money. You have another thing coming. He protected himself, his money and his assets where you guys can never touch it."

"So, what ever you did, you better undo it. The longer that Joey is gone, the worse it's going to be for you and Dominic. I will make sure that both of you are behind bars for the rest of your lives if anything happens to your son or daughter."

"Oh by the way, I hold the same respect to you and Dominic that I do to every criminal I deal with. From the first day I met you, I knew you were nothing but bad news. You robbed your own son and threatened him in some way to drop charges. I don't know what kind of parent you are but one thing is for sure. You are not a good parent at all.”

Just then, the first officer to have left walked up and spoke with Detective Benson in a low voice. Beth tried to listen, but couldn't hear anything what they are talking about. She knows what ever it is must be good news because Detective Benson is smiling.

Once the first officer finished talking, the second officer walked back up. What ever he is telling Detective Benson isn't good news. The smile he had on his face went to a frown. Detective Benson's turned and looked at Beth.

“Your luck is going to run out, and I'm going to be there when it does. I am going to make your life a living hell from here on out until I get my answers. I will not leave a stone unturned. People like you and Dominic cannot keep secrets.”

Detective Benson looked away from Beth and asked his officers to speak with ever neighbor in this apartment complex. When they exhaust everything in the apartment complex, start talking with the surrounding stores and houses!

Someone saw something and didn't know what they were seeing at the time. Call in more officers if they need to, but get it done. The next time I knock on this woman's door I want to be able to take her down to the police station.

Beth walked up to the door and closed it as the officers started knocking on her neighbor's doors. She walked over to her couch and sat down. She started thinking that someone had to see the guy come over to her house on Saturday morning. When they police officers find that out and tell Detective Benson. He is going to put two and two together. He will have enough take her in.

Beth got up and called Dominic. He answered the phone after the second ring. They talked for about fifteen minutes and came to an agreement that he will be coming back in. She hung up the phone and sat back down on the couch.

The door opened to the room where Joey is being kept. Joey glanced between his legs to see who is walking in. With the light from the hallway coming in, Joey couldn’t see that well through the dry blood around his eyes. All he could make out is a guy in his forties, beard, jeans and a coat.

The door closed once the guy collected his tray. Joey curled tighter into a ball in the far corner of the room. Trying everything to wake up because he is thinking that he is stuck in a nightmare! There is not a place like this that could be real. There is no way a person could walk off the street, stick a needle in his neck and then abduct him in broad daylight.

All of a sudden Joey heard tapping on the wall. He ignored it at first, and then he heard someone whispering on the other side of the wall. Joey crawled closer to the wall to see if his mind is playing tricks on him. He heard nothing, so Joey started to crawl away from the way. Then he heard the voice again, Joey knows that he isn’t hearing things.

“Hey new kid what is your name? Where are you from? Who put you in here? Hey new kid, we know that you are there. Answer me, I heard you yelling earlier. Hey you, hey new kid, answer me please.” Joey kept hearing these sounds coming out of the wall.

“Yeah, um, yeah who are you?” Joey stuttered in a low voice.

“My name is John Forman. I have been here a little over three months. Just like you, I got brought here against my will. No matter how hard I try, I cannot find a way out of this place. Plus each time I try, the punishments get worse then you got earlier today.”

“How do you know that I got brought here against my will? You work for this place don’t you? Don’t try to trick me; I am not going to talk with you.”

“Hold on a minute there, hold on. Don’t you remember when you first got here you yelled on the top of your lungs? The little I could understand through your yelling, you got brought here against your will.”

Joey thought back to earlier, it is sketchy, but he does remember yelling at the doo. He just cannot remember what he yelled out. The guy could be telling the truth, but how does he know. Joey just curled back into a ball and ignored John.

After a while Joey couldn’t hear John anymore. He figured that John had given up on talking to him. The door opened again, but this time. Two different guys walked in and grabbed a hold of Joey. Every ounce of power, Joey tried to fight back. He started clawing at the walls and floors. As they dragged Joey out, Joey ripped several of his finger nails off trying to claw into the ground.

They dragged Joey down the hall screaming and kicking. They threw him into a room with no lights. Joey looked up just as a fist came flying at his face. All it took is one hit and Joey went down like a ton of bricks.

Joey got woken up with a bucket of hot water being thrown on him. He started screaming in pain as the water hose got turned on. Joey ran to the corner of the room, trying to take cover, but with the force of the water. Joey got slammed against the wall. He slid down to the floor covering his face from the water.

Who ever is controlling the hose finally turned off the water. Joey didn’t move from where he landed at. The same two guys that pulled him out of this room, walked over to him. They stood him up and ripped off his clothes. Within minutes Joey stood there as naked as the day he was born.

Once again the water hose got turned. The pressure, in which the water is coming out of the hose, caused Joey to slam against the wall again. Joey started slip on the floor, and eventually lost his balance. Joey once again landed on his butt on the floor.

After the water got turned off again, the two same guys walked up to Joey. They picked him up and they dragged Joey to a metal spring mattress. One of the guys held Joey against the metal mattress as the other clamped the metal bracelets around his wrist and ankles. Once they handcuffed Joey to the metal mattress, they stepped away.

“My name is Dale Pugh, the director of this facility. You are here because of your choices in life. Your parents came to us to help fix what they had failed at. They know what we do here and they gave us permission to do what ever it takes to get you back on the right track in life.

You have no rights in this place. As far as you are concerned, you are nothing more than trash to us. There are only two ways you are getting out of here. Either by changing your ways and becoming straight, or through the back door in a body bag! In my opinion, I like it when you kids leave out the back door in a body bag.

Here is how it is going to go while you are in here. We have all sorts of devices that we use to make you give up your evil ways. As you saw earlier, when you get out of line, my staff will do what it takes to put you back in line. If you refuse to go where they want you to go, they will drag you. Once again as you seen earlier, we do not care if you rip out every finger nail, break ever finger or toe. You are going to go where we want you to go.

You will not have classes here. You will not talk, see or know anyone else here. You will spend your time in that room or this one. Since we do not issue uniforms or allow clothes to be brought in here. You will not wear any. You will be naked at all times.

That is one of the reason you will be naked at all times. The other reason is for us to see if you get an erection looking at one of my male staffers, pictures of guys or videos. Each time you get an erection, their will be consequences.”

Mr. Pugh stepped away from Joey. He walked over to a switch board flipping on a few switches. Joey just looked straight ahead and figured if he didn’t say anything, they would take him back to his room. Boy was he wrong about that.

Mr. Pugh started to turn a black switch to the right. Joey started screaming out in pain as he started to get electrocuted. He tried to pull himself off the mattress, but couldn’t. AS Joey struggled to get free, he didn’t even fill the handcuffs digging into his wrist and ankles. Eventually Joey passed out!

When he woke up again, he found himself back in the small room. Joey cannot believe how cold he is. Then he remembered that they took his clothes away. He curled into a ball trying to stay warm.

The next morning, Harold took Caleb, Fran and Alan to school. None of them slept at all through the night worrying about Joey! Fran could feel that Joey is in pain somewhere. She wants to just go out looking for him and bring him home, but Harold insisted that they go to school. Everything that can be done is being done.

As they walked into the cafeteria, everyone looked up at them. There goes the idea on keeping what had happened here yesterday quite. By the looks of it, everyone knows. Caleb, Fran and Alan got their food and headed to their table.

Lonnie and the guys didn’t say anything at first. They don’t really know what to say or do. All they know is that Joey was kidnapped and their best friend is his boyfriend. They want to be there for Caleb, but at the same time. They don’t want the whole school to know that Caleb is gay like Joey. So they just ate in silence.

Caleb, Fran and Alan just picked at their food, not really eating. Once the bell rang, they felt relieved. Relieved that class is starting and not too many eyes will be on them. They got up and headed to their first period class.

Once the tardy bell rang, the teacher took attendance. Just as he finished taking attendance, the TV turned on. The Principal’s office came on the screen and a few minutes later the Principal sat down at his desk.

“Teachers and students please excuse this interruption. By now many of you have heard rumors floating around the halls of this school. The phones here in the office and at the district will not stop ringing. Concerned parents keep calling trying to get to the truth of the rumors that are spreading like wild fire.

Let me set the record straight and put all rumors to rest. Yesterday one of your fellow students was taken from the student parking lot by force. At this time we do not know who is involved in this kidnapping. All we know is it is a kidnapping and it happened during school yesterday morning.

The police are investigating what happened here yesterday. My staff and the board will hold an emergency board meeting this evening to speak with any parent that has questions. We will answer any questions that we can that will not affect the investigation.

Through out the day I will be in meetings revising school policies. More than likely we will be installing cameras around the school and in the schools parking lots. At the same time, we will discuss making this a closed campus and amending other policies.

Some of the changes might be over board and will be corrected down the line. We just want to keep the student body and staff here as safe as possible. We have prided our selves on keeping our school safe. That got shattered yesterday when one of your fellow students got abducted from the student parking lot.

If any of you saw anything yesterday, please talk to a teacher or come to my office. If you are worried for your safety, drop a note with a teacher or my office. We just want to bring this student home as quickly as possible. Thank you and please go about your business as normal. We are doing everything to keep you safe here at school.”

The screen went blue and then off. Caleb got up from his seat and walked out of class. His teacher tried to stop him, but he brushed passed him. As he walked out to the parking lot where Joey’s truck had been parked; he started crying.

He sat down on the pavement trying to get control of himself. He didn’t even hear Fran walking up to him. She sat down next to him and grabbed his hand. They just sat there looking where Joey’s truck was parked yesterday. Today a beat up old car is parked there, but they didn’t care.

Several security guards walked up to Caleb and Fran. “What are you students doing out here in the parking lot. You need to come with us.”

Caleb looked up at the security guards. “Why did you even ask us why we are out here when you didn’t want the answer? You should have just walked up to us and order us to follow you. That is all you want, you don’t care.”

Caleb stood up, looking right into the face of the guard that asked the question. The guard reached for his night stick as the other guard radioed in for help. Caleb didn’t back down even when Fran tried to pull him away.

“You stupid fucks didn’t do your jobs yesterday. Now you want to come out here and give a hard time to students. Where in the hell were you yesterday when there was someone here abducted my boyfriend, WHERE WERE YOU? You guys are nothing but a fucking joke. I hope you loose your jobs for this.”

Several teachers and staff walked out. Even with them there, Caleb didn’t back down at all. He continued yelling in the guards face. The guard felt he had just cause and he threw Caleb to the ground, putting his knee on Caleb’s back.

The principle got there just as the guard threw Caleb to the ground. “What are you doing to this student? Get off of him right now!”

The guard just looked at the principle as he let Caleb up. “This student started yelling and causing a big scene out here. I let him go on in hopes that he would settle down, but he didn’t. He left me no other choice but to use physical force to get him under control.”

“You have no right to treat any student in this manner. I don’t care what they are doing; we do not touch a student in anyway. Their parents trust us to keep them safe while they are in school. Not to abuse them and send them home.

Go to my office and wait for me there. This is all I need today, more cops. Are you okay son? I am very sorry for what a member of my staff did. There is no excuse for what he did and I am not going to make one up.”

Caleb dusted himself off before walking with the Principal to his office. Fran walked with Caleb to make sure he is treated fairly. When they reached the office, the Principal asked Fran and Caleb to sit in the conference room for now.

Harold walked into his office to find Detective Benson waiting for him. He looks like he didn’t sleep at all last night. In fact he is still wearing the same suite that Harold saw him wearing yesterday.

“Detective Benson what can I do for you this morning? I am hoping that you are bringing me good news. I need to bring home good news to my wife, son and Joey’s sister.” They both sat down in Harold’s chambers.

“Your honor, we caught a break this morning. One of Joey’s mother’s neighbors saw a guy go into Beth’s apartment, stay for about ten minutes and then leave. That guy matches the description that we got form the attendance clerk.”

“How sure are you that this is the same guy? What I mean, I don’t want you to pick up Beth and Dominic and later find out the description isn’t the same guy. I want to make sure when we bring in those two, they will not be able to leave.”

“Your honor, the neighbor described this guy exactly on what we got from the attendance clerk. At that point of time, he didn’t have a cast on, but he was favoring the left arm and dragging his leg. This matches the time line in which it would have taken him to get from Joey’s house to her apartment, with time spare. This extra time can be explained by his injuries and getting back to his vehicle.”

Because Harold knows Joey personally, he cannot sign off on any warrant. He took Detective Benson to Glen who helped him in the past. Glen signed off on warrants to pick up Beth and Dominic without asking any questions. He knows that Harold wouldn’t ask him to do other wise unless there is sufficient cause.

Joey woke up in so much pain, he couldn’t move a muscle. He just laid there on the ground looking into the dark. Knowing now who put him here, but he doesn’t know how he is going to get out of here.

Joey doesn’t understand how his mother and uncle got away with putting him in here. Joey kept thinking that this facility cannot be legal, because if it is, they would see that his mother or uncle don’t have custody over him. So they cannot sign him into a place like this. Joey just cannot believe this is happening to him.

His thoughts switched from how this happened to Caleb, Fran and even Jacob. He decided not to allow these guys to break him. One way or another, Caleb will find him. He will be going home. The pain over took Joey and he passed out again.

TO BE CONTINUED…………………

WRITER’S CORNER:

{Wow, what a chapter this one was. I threw in a twist I know no one saw coming. I didn’t even see this coming until I started writing the chapter. I talked this plot over with a reader, you all know him, Jeff. He and I talk out a lot of plots and he helps me along. He has his own stories that he writes, but he gives me some of his time. Thank you Jeff and I hope you feel well soon. We both liked the twist and here it is.

Let’s start with some other plots in the story before we get to the big one. Alan and Fran, they are going somewhere more than friends. Fran promised Joey that she isn’t going to have sex, Alan is too afraid of Joey; I don’t think he will cross that line. He needs a place to live and he knows not to burn Joey.

Trust me when I say this to you readers. This plot is going to go deeper and maybe they will be more than boyfriend and girlfriend. Tell me what you think about this plot. Do you think these guys should land up together or should they date other people?

Caleb is getting to know Joey as he told Fran. He knows when to just leave Joey alone and let him work things out in his head. Sometimes it is best to not push and let your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife or husband go to you. Don’t push when it will do more harm than good. Caleb is seeing that with Joey more and more.

It does look like Lonnie and the other guys are taking Joey into the fold. They are treating him with respect. Still don’t think it is over. You guys have to know me by now. When it looks like things are going smoothly, I throw in a wrench into the mix.

Let’s get to the plot where this chapter rested on today. We have all heard of places like where Joey got taken to. I personally don’t know anyone that got put into a place like that, but I have read about it. I am glad that I never landed up in a place like that.

I brought it up in one of my other stories, Shadow of My Father. In that saga, the church group failed on getting their hands on Josh. The difference in this story and that story is that Joey doesn’t have the security around him that Josh did. If Josh didn’t have that security, the story would be a lot different.

There are hints through out the chapter on who is involved. The question remains though. Will they get arrested and brought to justice? Or will they get away with it? I really hope that Detective Benson doesn’t let up. He gets them and they don’t get another chance on harming anyone in their family.

Joey has only been in that facility for less then a day. He has already been beaten, electrocuted, hosed, drugged and stripped. I wonder what is in store for Joey in the days to come. Can he hold out until he is found? If this facility has already done this to Joey, what else are they willing to do?

I want to see the board does in their emergency board meeting. I agree with Caleb, those guards have to go. They didn’t do their jobs and now they are trying to cover it up. They picked on the wrong student though. There has to be more than just cameras and closing off the campus. Don’t punish the students, just make them safe.

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:

 

[WOW! Most of us have heard and/or read about such

"Rehabilitation Camps" and how the "clients" who have been "sent" by others without any permission of the "client" are often torture sites. Too often this is done under some type of perverted Christian belief system even though the practices used are totally foreign to the Christian beliefs held by the vast majority of believers.

 

 

The witness's description that matched that of the attendance officer will be a real help for sure. Can the NM police now arrest and keep under lock and key both Beth and Dominic? Will they be able to trace the path from the parking lot all the way to the location of the "camp'? The "finding" and then "rescue" efforts will both be a challenge. What if the "camp" is even in another state? Would the New Mexico authorities have any jurisdiction?

 

This school was beginning to come together with students caring about each other. Will this kidnapping from their own parking lot help or hinder this positive

approach of better relationships?

 

I worry about the NM police not having a super solid case to hold Beth and uncle in detention. I am not a lawyer, but I have strong social science background and the evidence I have read about so far may not be enough. Read on and we will see if my worry is real.

 

I see Caleb's mother as a strong figure in this story. While she has not played a dominant role thus far, I sense her strength of character becoming another positive force.

She seems able to help the other youth keep themselves more together and we all need that type of person in our lives.

 

Please take the time to email our author. I know that he values feedback and ideas. Several months ago some of my ideas for his other 3 stories were actually used.

"Of course, that is a clue as to how smart he really is," I humbly observed! :-)

 

--Kent D. (sw Ohio area)