Green's Mr. Black SIngs A Sad Song Revised - 2. I am Brian's shameful past.

It’s so easy to live your life behind the scenes. I became so accustomed to it. Brian was supposed to be the famous one not me. Yet when the story Broke I found that everyone knew my name and they wanted to drag it through the mud. The media was working overtime on me. Some called me street trash. One news anchor called me Brian Black’s shame, another stopped short of calling me a whore but it was very much implied. Not one of them knew how hard I had worked to leave the streets behind me. No one cared that what we did was a necessity to stay alive.

My boss Victor waited for my response. He was at his from his desk as the news show on TV flashed an old mug shot of me when I was younger. I wondered how they found it. I was told all my juvenile records were sealed.

He hit pause on the video and looked at me. “Do you have anything to say?” he asked me. I didn’t, how could I say anything? I never asked for any of this. I waited for my boss to put in the last nail in my coffin. “This is bad for us Brady.”

“I know,” was all I could say. I wouldn’t look at him. The shame he felt was far less than what I was feeling. I worked for a news network as documentary producer, a role I had worked very hard to get. Working hard for two years staring at the bottom until my boss offered me the producer role. Vowing to never disappoint him I worked twice as hard producing piece after piece until I won an Emmy for my last one then the story leaked with the headlines splatter all over the magazines and newspapers.

“We have to let you go Brady. I know you’re a hard worker, I’m pretty sure what they are saying isn’t the whole truth, but the higher ups are on my neck about this.” Victor said pausing to take a breath. “If it were up to me I wouldn’t do this.”

I nodded and took the envelope he handed to me. “Thanks Vic,” I said and got up. “You did all you could do.”

“I made sure you got a severance and trust me that was a battle in it self. I’ll have to have you escorted out. I am sorry.” I knew the higher ups were angry with me for not giving them the exclusive. But I couldn’t share that story. I was someone else now. That was my past and it wasn’t just my story to tell. I wouldn’t betray Brian.

Everyone stared at me as I walked back to my desk. Some even looked sympathetic. Mike, one of the other producers helped me empty my desk and gave me a huge hug. “Call me Brady, I can help you find another job. I know some people at CNN,” he whispered in my ear.

“Thanks Mike,” I said placing the Emmy I had received just a few months earlier into the box. I had been given the award for a story I had produced for the network on Steve my adoptive father and his school. My crowning achievement forever sullied.

Victor was waiting for me when I was done. He shook my hand. “For what it’s worth I did fight for you. You are talented and I’m sure you’ll land on your feet.” I knew part of him didn’t believe that. We both knew my career was over.

The camera crews were outside waiting as I left the Building. I tried to get to a taxi as they shoved cameras and microphones in my face. All of them asking questions I would never answer.

“Were you really a prostitute,” One said.

“Tell us how you met Brian,” said another.

“Are you mad at your parents,” said someone else. I ran as fast as I could to the car that was waiting for me outside.

A friend had sold my story to the media. They investigated me until they found my real parents. They too found something to add further casting a bad light on Brian and me. They called me a deviant, saying I had ruined their lives. I wondered if by ruining they meant that they had cashed in as soon as they could. It wasn’t just a national headline; I was a shame for Brian and his family.

That night I fell asleep on my couch after drinking half a bottle of whiskey. Too many things were going through my head and I wanted to just forget but I was on every news channel including the one I used to work for. I wish I wasn’t Brady anymore. I woke up that morning when my phone rang. The TV was still on so I put it on mute and found my cellphone. A picture of Brian flashed on its screen. I hesitated.

“Hey,” I said, answering before the last ring. “I guess you’re seeing this.”

“Yeah,” he said. I could tell he had been drinking. I felt guilty. I knew Brian never drank unless there was something bothering him. He was about to get married and this situation put a dark cloud above what should have been a happy time for him and Drew. “Where did they come from?”

“Steve helped me find them last summer. When I talked to them I told them everything.” I said, waiting for Brian’s reaction. It never came. “I guess I wanted to ask why they did what they did to me.”

One thing I knew about Brian was that I didn’t deserve him in my life and this is how I had repaid the kindness that he and his family had shown me. At the very least they had given me a new start. I was indebted to them and my guilt over letting them down was overwhelming.

“Did you talk to John?” he asked me.

“He’ll be there,” I said. John was a writer friend Brian and I had contacted. We decided to fight fire with fire and tell our own story. We had brokered a deal with his agent and John was eager to help. He wanted to write our story. “He’s thrilled you finally said yes.”

“Good. So I’ll see you tomorrow I guess.” he said but it was more of a question. I had avoided Brian for so long. An email there a text here but I never saw him. Sometimes we talked for hours and then Brian would beg to see me and I would find some excuse. It was easier when he was gone for a year on tour but now he was back and he called me every day. My guilt grew every time we talked.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, hoping I was doing the right thing.

“Brady don’t beat yourself up ok. We’ll figure this out,” he said before I hung up. I took a deep breath and looked at the dismissal letter my boss had handed me. I shut the TV off and went to bed. I was going to face the hardest thing I had ever faced and I had no choice.

My flight home was early in the afternoon. Brian had sent me a ticket and he made sure it was first class no matter how much I had protested. The flight attendant gave me a knowing stare as I got on the plane. Not even thirty thousand feet above the earth was I going to be immune?

“You can’t blend in business class,” Brian said.

“I can drive,” I told him.” No one will know me on the road.”

“Brady, just take the damn ticket. I’ll see you tonight,” he said and that was that.

I sat in my seat glad no one could see me from the front. I was next to a window and a man sat in the seat next to me. He smiled and opened a newspaper. On the front page of the newspaper was a picture of me with the headline: Mr. Black Scandal. I cringed and I looked away. The plane taxied out of the terminal a few minutes later.

My mom and stepdad had thrown me out when they found me kissing my neighbor a few years back. Their excuse was that they didn’t want me influencing my stepbrother on how to be a deviant. I found my stuff outside of my families apartment one day with a note that said don’t come back. For a year I lived on the streets. Slowly I learned the skills I needed to stay alive. I stayed out of trouble kept my head down and survived the best way I could.

One day I found Brian. He was half naked and bruised all over. I wanted to leave him. I had my own problems, but my conscious wouldn’t let me. He was young. Too young, and I knew he wouldn’t survive alone so I looked after him until he could look after himself. After awhile we looked after each other and soon I couldn’t imagine living without him.

Steve was waiting for me outside of the terminal. He smiled as he stood next to his truck. I walked in his direction. He put his big arms around me, hugging me tight. “I’m glad you’re home son,” Steve said. He grabbed my suitcase and guided me to his car.

“How are you,” I asked. He looked at me and smiled.

“The question is how are you?” He put his arm on my shoulder. He was older now than the last time I saw him. “Look I know its been rough for you. But we are here. Any time you need to get away I want you to come home ok. We don’t see enough of you.”

Steve let me go and opened the door to the passenger’s side and I got in, remembering the first time I had been in his car that night he found me. It still had that cologne smell. The nostalgia gave away to the guilt again and I couldn’t look at Him. Steve grabbed my luggage placing them in the back seat then he got in the driver’s side.

“I feel horrible,” I said. I felt like I was ruining these people’s lives. The media was all over Brian and me and it was my entire fault. “I didn’t want this to go this far,” I said. Steve frowned and squeezed my shoulder. He was always so protective of me and all I could do is bring shit to his door.

“Jason is home,” Steve said, in a sad attempt to raise my mood. “He called yesterday. He’d like to see you.”

“I think it’s best if we stayed away from each other,” I said glad that the media hadn’t found out about him. I broke up with Jason before the media got word of our relationship. I couldn’t do that to him no matter how much I loved him. He begged me not to do it but I resisted. I wouldn’t drag him into this as well. It was selfish of me to let them.

Steve didn’t say anything, which told me that he was disappointed in me. We drove quietly until he pulled up in front of a bar. Brian and John were meeting me here. “You sure you’re ok with this?” he asked me.

I wasn’t ok with this how could I be? Telling the world a story Brian and I had relegated to a distant past was not high on my priority list, but we had to set the record straight. I didn’t want Brian and Drew sullied because of me. I owed this to Brian and I knew I owed it to myself. We would never be clean of this but the truth was always better than what they wanted to portray Brian and me as.

“Yeah I think it’s the best thing I can do,” I left him with that and entered the bar. “Here goes nothing,” I said to myself.

Brady and John were already here. Brian sat at the back of the restaurant as John was taking out his things. Brain looked really good and I smiled when I saw the black hair. It was longer now. Brian would always be stunning to me. I always wondered where we would be if our paths had kept us together.

“Brady here yet?” John asked Brian as I approached the table.

“Yes I am,” I said, joining them. John hugged me and patted my back. Brian did as well, holding me longer than was necessary. I melted into the familiar embrace. In another life he and I would still be together. I let that thought flutter away and took a seat.

“How’s your doc,” Brian asked.

I sighed then took a sip from Brian’s drink. “Gosh that’s strong. I’ll have one of these,” I said to the waiter a few tables back.

“That good huh?” Brian asked and John laughed.

“Well you know how it is. One day your source pans out and the next your not good enough to work in broadcast news,” I said. I didn’t tell them was that I was so nervous I wanted to run far away and become a new person in some distant land that lacked television or media for that matter.

Everything ok,” Brian asked me.

“Doesn’t matter now,” I said drinking the rest of Brian’s drink. “Let’s tell this story.”

---

My biggest regret was that I let myself believe that Brian wouldn’t be back. If you asked me then if thought he’d be back for me so soon, I’d call you a liar. No one ever came back once they got arrested. We were street kids and we knew better. But Brian wasn’t a normal street kid like the rest of us. Brian was much more.

What Brian didn’t know was that I had seen a missing person poster from his family. I knew they were looking for him and one particularly rough night I made a call. I also knew that when the cop found us one month later he was gone for good. I had set in motion something I would regret for the rest of my life. I had lost the one person that meant anything to me since I was a kid and it was my own fault because I wanted better for him even if that meant losing him for good.

"Brian I... " I tried to talk but I became a mumbled mess.

"Who's this pretty boy?" asked Terry.

Brady grabbed my shirt and punched me hard. “That's the last time you see me," he yelled and walked away.

“Brian wait,” I said as he ran back to a blue truck. There were two other guys and a girl sitting inside. The one driving stepped out of the car but Brian waved him back in. I ran after him pulling at his jacket when he punched me again.

"That's the last time you see me Brady. I thought you cared about me," he said and got into the Blue truck.

"Brian wait," I said, holding the door. "I didn’t think you’d be back.”

"And you replaced me so quickly," he said, choking back tears. "Were through. Have a good life."

"Brian I want to talk about this."

"Then Talk about it with that guy you were with. I don't want to hear it,” he said and they left.

"What you standing there for? He isn’t coming back for you kid. You with me now B," Terry said. "Come on I got some stuff to make yak forget you were ever that pretty boys bitch. You know how we need to fly, well here are your wings B. " Terry handed me a small pill with a red star printed on it. I took it and walked away from him. I needed to be alone and Terry wasn’t helping. I wanted to sulk in my misery alone.

"Leave me alone Terry," I said. "I need to go I have to get some money."

"Hey B, I'm here you know, you isn’t shit to that boy now. I'm here and I'm real,” Terry said, pushing his body on me.

I pushed him away. "I told you to leave me alone Terry. It's over now, I don't want to be with you."

"Boy I know you'll be back, there isn’t many johns out here tonight. You'll

be lucky if you get one that's willing to let you suck his dick for change," yelled Terry.

I knew he was right. Why does this shit always happen to me? I thought.

Terry was known for seducing people at the drop of a hat. He had at least four men that he frequented. An all of them were rich older men. Each one paid far too much for him and they knew it, but they couldn't resist that smile he gave them. Terry had his eye on me for weeks before he found his chance. He moved in quick when I told him Brian was gone.

I pulled my thin jacket close as the wind cut through it. I had wandered for hours not needing a direction. Finally I stopped near Terry’s corner but there was no one there where. Doing what I was about to do was a last resort for Brian and I. We had always managed to find a place to stay working together. Tonight the snow was falling hard and I needed to make enough to at least get a room at a seedy motel. At worst enough to pay for a coffee at a diner downtown. Maybe one of the Johns would let me spend the night. That was unlikely but maybe I could steal the key for an empty room.

The snow had scared all the other boys away and I lit a cigarette as a car slowed down. The man looked at me then, he kept on driving. "Dick," I said, to no one.

An hour passed by and the wind chill was cutting through me. I was getting desperate. The pills effect had kicked in and I was finding it hard to stay awake. I looked around to see if there was somewhere I could crash. There was nothing but empty lots.

I lit another cigarette as the next car approached. "How much?" was all the man said. I couldn’t see his face under the baseball cap he wore just a silhouette of his head. I knew better than to take this ride. The man inside the car was known for beating the boys when he got them in the car. There was a rumor that he killed a couple of kids that were found in dumpsters downtown a few months back.

"I'm not selling," I said. The man didn't move. “Go away.”

"I'll pay you triple boy. I know you need it. They isn’t many looking out here tonight." The man said from the car. I walked away. I wanted to find Terry but the man followed me. The cold was cutting through my thin jacket and I was finding it hard to focus. I walked on but I didn’t really know where I was. A few moments later the man pulled up in front of me and got out of the car. I tried to run but my legs were failing me. I stumbled and fell into a snow bank. By then the man had reached me. He hit me hard with something and my world disappeared.

---

I woke up in someone’s car. It was really warm inside which I was glad. There was a heavy coat over me. The car wasn’t moving. Slowly I drifted back to sleep. I didn’t have the energy to do anything else but was glad that I was warm.

I don’t remember how long I slept but when I woke up again I was in a bathtub sitting in warm water. There were purple bruises all over my body and each one of them hurt like hell. I couldn’t open my left eye fully and a searing pain shot through my face when I tried. Someone was moving behind me. I wanted to see who was talking but I could barely keep my good eye open.

“You Brought home another one,” a voice said. It sounded young.

"Yeah, can you call social services and tell them I found the boy," Another voice said before I drifted again. “Call a snow day for tomorrow too.”

The next time I woke up I was in a small room. I was on a bed and I wasn’t naked anymore. I was wearing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. I tried to get up but my body hurt. I could barely sit myself upright.

“Where am I?” I said to no one. A moment the door to the room opened. A tall Blonde man walked into the room. He looked like he was in his late thirties.

“How are you feeling?” the man asked me. Slowly I started to remember what had happened. Was this the man in the white car? I couldn’t remember the man’s face but I remembered what he had done. I would never forget.

I tried to get up again. I wasn’t going to stick around for part two, but the pain in my body stopped me.

“Whoa bud!” The man said, slowly pushing me back into the bed. The man pulled a chair close and sat on it. “You need to rest for a bit. Someone roughed you up real bad.”

“You mean you roughed me up real bad,” I said. “Look man why don’t you let me go and I wont tell anyone what happened.”

The man looked at me for a long time. He had a really weird expression on his face. “Do you remember what happened to you last night?” The man asked. “I found you on the street. You were bleeding all over the place so I brought you home.”

I didn’t believe him. I wasn’t stupid, and I knew what was going on here. I wasn’t going to be anyone’s sex slave. Some kids disappeared on the streets and we all knew why.

“Just let me get up and I’ll be out of here,” I said but the man cut me off.

“You are not going anywhere,” The man said. “ My name is Steve. You want to tell me your name.”

One thing you learn on the streets is you never tell anyone your name. “My name is Jackson Pollock,” I said, wondering where the hell I got that. The man laughed.

“Well Jackson Pollock do you want to tell me what happened to you last night?” Steve said. “You’re lucky I found you when I did.”

“So you saved me and now you want to keep me here as your slave?” the man wasn’t amused this time.

“Why would you think I want you as my slave?” he asked me. “I just want to make sure you’re ok. Maybe give you a place to stay if you want it.”

This never happened. No one wanted to help a street kid. We were lower than scum and invisible to everyone. If anyone told us they wanted to help it was because they wanted something from us. Or they wanted to cart us off to Juvenile hall.

“Why would you want to give me a place to stay?” I asked. “What do you want from me?”

The man looked at me again. He got up from his chair. “You hungry?” My stomach growled. I nodded yes. “My daughter is making breakfast. Come on I’ll help you up.”

Steve helped me out of bed. Once I was up my bruises didn’t hurt so bad. “Can you walk?” Steve asked me and I nodded. “Good follow me.”

I followed him down a hallway. There were framed photos of several people lining the hallway. One was of a teenage girl with red hair. I wondered if that was his daughter. I stopped at one photo that reminded me of Brian. It looked just like him when I found him.

“That’s me when I was fourteen,” Steve said. “My sister took it off me a long time ago.” Steve didn’t tell me anything else. He walked further down the hallway. I followed him into another room.

The smell of food made my stomach growl even louder. Three plates were set on a small table close to a big window that looked out into the city. The teenage girl from the photo was frying eggs as I walked in. Steve poured himself a cup of coffee and motioned for me to sit. I sat down wondering when I had stepped into the twilight zone.

“What would you like to drink?” Steve asked me as he opened the fridge. “I have coffee, orange juice or milk.”

“Orange juice,” I said. Steve pulled out a carton of orange juice and placed it on the table with a plate of toast. Then he brought out two glasses, placing one in front of me.

The girl smiled as she joined me, placing a skillet with scrambled eggs on the table. She sat next to me. “Hi I’m Jenny, “she said extending her hand. I didn’t shake it and she shared a knowing glance with Steve. Steve frowned and served me some of the scrambled eggs.

“Eat then we can talk,” Steve said.

I ate in silence and nearly devoured my plate. Steve put more food on my plate and motion for me to keep on eating. Steve and Jenny ate quietly looking at me every few minutes. I ate as much as I could and watched as Jenny and Steve talked to one another. She was talking about someone named Tyler when a phone rang.

“That must be social services,” Steve said, getting up from his chair. “I’m going to take it in the other room.”

I needed to leave. This was about to get ugly. Social services never helped kids like me. Street kids fell through the cracks and no one cared. Panic was starting to take hold of me. If social services found me I would be sent to Juvenile hall or worst I’d be placed with a foster family. I got up fast wondering how I was going to get away when Jenny said, “He’s not a bad guy you know.”

“What?” I asked.

“He’s really trying to help you,” She said. “Like he did me.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s what he does.” She was looking straight at me now. “Sit and wait. He’s getting social services to agree to let you stay here for a while. He’s a good guy I promise.”

“But he did this to me,” I said, pointing at the bruises.

She rolled her eyes and said, “Steve wouldn’t hurt a fly,” she said so matter of fact that I had no choice but to believe her. But if he wasn’t the one that hurt me then who was the man that did? “He got a call last night from a friend who saw you on the sidewalk last night. He went out there to find you in a snowstorm I might add. So relax.”

I sat down. “I don’t understand. What do you mean it’s what he does?”

“Steve is a social worker,” She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “He takes in kids like us. So stop being stupid and be glad that it was Steve that found you.”

Kids like us? I didn’t know what she was thinking with her expensive clothes and her nice house. I wasn’t anything like her. She probably didn’t even know what it felt like to be thrown out of your own house. Or what it felt like to struggle every day just to find something to eat. How could she?

Jenny cleared the table. “Look man you can either run and go back to your shitty life on the street or you can be grateful and stay. Steve isn’t going to hurt you ok. He’s a good man. He wants to help you.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” I said, regretting every word as she stared at me. I hadn’t noticed before but Jenny had the same sad eyes street kids always had. Like they had given up long ago and they had no reason to shine. I felt awful. “I’m sorry I said. I’m just not used to anyone helping me.” Anyone but Brian I meant.

“It’s ok. It’s new,” She shrugged. “So do you want to tell me your name?”

“I’m Brady,” I said more out of shame for being a dick than wanting her to know. I was breaking a rule and I knew that. “Does he really help kids like me?”

“Yeah, he brings home kids that need a place to stay sometimes. Most are just runaways with parents looking for them so they always leave with their parents. We get a few foster kids that need a place to stay for the night sometimes. My Brother and I we had no parents so Steve adopted me and my uncle Adopted my Brother Tyler.”

I was still cautious but the words she was telling me made sense. I didn’t sense any fear coming from her when Steve was around and in the pictures I had seen in the hallways all of the kids were happy. So where did that leave me. I was sure my parents didn’t want me back. I was crazy if I really wanted to go back to the streets. Worst of all Brian wanted nothing from me. I had no one and these people wanted to help me. I fought through my own instincts and decided that I owed it to myself to find out more.

“So what now?” I asked Jenny. She was about to answer when Steve returned with a folder.

“Now we fill out some paperwork so you can stay here with us,” Steve said. “I just talked to social services and they agreed to let you stay here. Provided that you can answer a few questions.”

For the next few hours Steve asked me questions and I did my best to answer. I told him about my parents. I told him about Brian. I also told him as much as I could from the night before, I even told him my name when he asked me again. Steve never judged me, which I had expected him to, but he wrote down as much as he could as I spoke.

“I’m going to send these to social services then I have to run a few errands,” he said. “I want you to come with me. I think we need to have those Bruises taken cared of.”

Steve gave me a change of clothes and some new shoes that were a little big on me. “You look ok,” Steve, said when he saw me. Jenny was holding back a smile. “Come on lets go. We can stop by the mall after and get you some clothes that fit.”

A doctor spoke with Steve after he had me checked out. I watched from the room as the doctor told Steve what he found. Jenny was sitting next to me playing on a cell phone. It was unreal. Less than twenty-four hours earlier I was bleeding on a sidewalk. Now I was sitting in a hospital with stitches on the side of my face and bandages wrapping my body. The medication they gave me helped too.

Steve shook the doctors hand and walked into the room. “Brady can I talk to you for a moment alone?” he said.

“That’s my cue, I’m going to head to the school and make sure they plowed,” Jenny said and left the room. Steve watched as she left then closed the door.

"We need to talk about the drugs you’ve been taking. I also need to know how long you've been taking them," Said Steve, as he sat next to me.

"I haven't,” I said. “I usually don’t.”

Steve looked relieved. "OK that's a relief, I really don't want to put you in rehab.”

Steve filled out some insurance paperwork before we left. Then he drove us to the mall. The mall was packed. People were coming and going from everywhere and it made me a little dizzy.

“First lets get you a hair cut,” Steve said and I followed him to a salon a few stores down from the mall entrance. The salon had glass windows with displays of hair products inside. Above the store a sign said Jimmy’s Hair Works Unisex Salon. Inside the salon there were pictures of attractive models with perfectly crafted hairstyles. We waited a few minutes until a tall man greeted us. He was taller than Steve and had blue spiky hair.

“Steve,” the man said and I watched as they embraced. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“Jimmy this is Brady,” Steve introduced me and Jimmy took a long glance at me.

“That’s one hell of a shiner,” Jimmy said. “I can’t do much about that, but I can definitely work with that hair. Follow me Brady.”

I watched myself in the mirror as the man cut my hair. I hadn’t seen how bad my face looked. The black eye was bruised in shades of dark purple that were darker than my skin. “So tell me how you two met?” Jimmy asked as he cut my hair. I wasn’t sure if he was talking to Steve or me. I was glad when Steve answered.

“Found him last night,” Steve said with a smile as he read from a magazine on the chair next to me. “Figured I could help.”

“Angel Steve to the rescue,” Jimmy said and they both laughed. Then Jimmy leaned in next to me. “Don’t worry you’re in good hands. He rescued me too.”

Jimmy finished cutting my hair. I looked better now. The haircut made me look good and he cut in a way that took away the focus from my black eye. I couldn’t remember ever getting a haircut at a salon. My mother used to just buzz my hair with clippers she borrowed from a neighbor, the whole time complaining how much haircuts cost at the barbershop.

“When that heals it will look better,” Jimmy said as Steve pulled out his wallet.

“Jimmy thanks for everything,” Steve said.

“What are you doing?” Jimmy asked, pointing his scissors at Steve’s wallet. “Your money is never good here. Now sit down so I can take care of you too.” Steve smiled and sat down. A few minutes later we both walked out looking like new men. Jimmy waved at us telling us to come back next time we were at the mall.

“He’s really fond of you,” I said as we left. Steve smiled.

“Yeah Jimmy is a good guy,” he said as we approached a department store. “He was the first kid I rescued. Found him on the streets. He was difficult but overtime we grew to trust one another.”

I wondered how many kids Steve had helped. The more I got to know him the worst I felt for thinking the worst of him. Steve was really an angel.

"I can’t afford to pay you back for this,” I said as he put a third pair of jeans in my arms. “These pants are fifty dollars a piece.” No one had ever bought me clothes except my mother and she complained the whole time that they were too pricey.

“Nonsense, You can’t wear the same ratty clothes to school every day,” he said as he placed a fourth pair of pants in my arms. “Relax I have money don’t worry about that. We’ll need to get you some clothes and some school supplies.”

“School supplies?” I asked. “I haven’t been in school since.”

“But you will be attending now,” he said, cutting me off. “Don’t worry I run a school for kids that need a little help. You can catch up there if you work hard we can get you into college.”

I hadn’t stepped into a school and going to college that was a pipe dream for kids like me. I wondered how he could think that a kid like me could ever be college material?

Steve piled on some more clothes and paid for them. He looked like he was enjoying himself as I awkwardly stood behind him. He was buying me clothes that were more expensive than anything my mother had ever bought me. It was making me uncomfortable. The price of just one the jeans could feed me for a week on the streets.

“Lets go to that store over there,” Steve said pointing at a shoe store. "We can get you a pair of boots and a pair of sneakers and get you out of those clown shoes.”

The store associate showed us a few pairs of shoes and sneakers. I chose a pair of black sneakers and Steve had the attendant bring out a pair of boots I could try on. The sneakers fit better than the shoes Steve had given me. The Boots were nice and warm so I kept them on. Steve barely winked as he paid for it all grabbing a second pair of sneakers he said I might need for gym class at his school.

I froze as we were leaving the store when I saw somebody I never expected to see again. There a few feet from me was Brian. Steve called for me but I was moving closer to him.

"Who is that?" Steve asked, pulling me back.

"He was my boyfriend," I said as a woman joined Brian and gave him some money. Steve gave them a strange look. Then he nervously grabbed my shoulder.

"Come on Brady we have a lot to do," said Steve, leading me away. "I think it's best if you just stayed away from them for now."

As I walked away I thought of the last thing Brian had said to me. How could I have been so stupid? Brian came back for me. How could I had doubted what was between us? There he was and Steve was pulling me away. I looked back hoping to see Brian but the lady Brian was with was walking towards us.

“Steven,” she yelled and we both turned around. Steve stared at her for a moment and turned pulling me harder away.

“Lets go,” Steve said.

"Hey what's wrong? Does that lady know you?" I asked but Steve didn't answer, he just led me to a cell phone store.

A few minutes later I had a new cellphone. I was now feeling bad. He had spent so much money already and this cell phone was expensive. All Steve said was that I would need it as we left the store. Steve took it and programmed his cellphone, Jenny’s and the number to the house into it.

"Get yourself some CD's,” Steve said. “We can load them into your cellphone on my computer at home.”

I browsed around the store until I found a copy of a song Brian used to sing for me. That’s when I saw Brian leaving the store. I tried to follow as he walked out of the store. "Brady!" Steve called when the stores alarm set off. I stopped when I realized I was still holding the cd.

"If you don't pay for that I'll have to call security," said the store

clerk.

"It's OK I'll pay," said Steve, handing him a twenty. "Keep the

change. Brady next time you run out of a store with merchandise please make sure it’s paid for."

"I need to talk to him Steve,” I pleaded. “You don't understand I love him more than anything in the world, I can't lose him."

“Brady, I think we need to get you settled first,” Steve said. “We can find him after.”

“Please Steve,” I said. “I will do anything.”

Steve sighed. He looked at me for a moment then said, "Ok come on let's go before they leave." Steve led me back to his truck and we followed them downtown.

Brian and several other people entered a fancy restaurant. That lady that had called out for Steve was also there and I could tell Steve was uncomfortable but I was grateful that he had taken me to Brian.

"They are going into that restaurant," I said, getting out of the car but Steve pulled me back in.

"Do you really want to storm in there while they’re having lunch? When they’re done you go talk to him. I'm hungry and I'm sure you are too. Let's go to that diner across the street."

Steve ordered two chicken club sandwiches. He ordered coffee for him and a hot chocolate for me.

"So tell me about him?" Steve said as the waitress left our table.

"You want to know about Brian?"

"Yeah tell me about him."

"I met him a couple of years ago when he was kidnapped," I said.

I had spent the night behind a building that had a heat exhaust. It was really cold out and it snowed hard that night. I was glad I found the spot I had. In the morning a loud cough woke me. A boy was walking by me half naked. He looked so frail. There were bruises all over his body and wrists. His blond hair was stained red from a cut above his right eye.

“Are you crazy?” I said to the boy. He looked around looking for who was speaking. “What are you doing walking around like that? It’s cold outside.”

The boy finally focused his gaze on me.

“I don’t have clothes. I don’t know where I am,” he said. I felt bad for the boy. Another casualty of cruel parents I thought but this didn’t seem right. The Bruises weren’t all new but the cut above his eye was. This happened sometimes on the streets. I knew he had been one of those kids. Every few weeks I heard from other street kids that they found a boy badly beaten or sometimes dead. I didn’t like this and I wasn’t about to involve myself. I reached into my bag finding a set of spare clothes and a spare coat I had found. I tossed the clothes and the coat at the boy. I guess it was the least I could do.

I gathered my things as he put them on. I could find some more clothes somewhere else. “Where are you going?” the boy asked. This was the thing you never did. You never helped new street kids because they became leeches.

“I’m outta here man,” I said. “There’s a shelter a few blocks back if you want to wash that blood off. Good luck with everything.”

I walked away. After a few blocks I noticed he was still behind me the boy was following me. I felt bad I guess he was really new. I let him follow me a few more blocks. Then he was keeping my pace. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“Brian,” he said. “My name is Brian.”

“Rule number one you never tell anyone your name,” I said.

For the next few days I showed him the ropes. He took to them easily helping me find shelter and food. As the weeks went by I guess we became partners in the streets. He looked out for me and I looked out for him.

Steve looked at me uncomfortably. "So I helped him out you know? I showed him the ropes. He never told me he wanted to go home."

"Did he tell you why?" Steve asked me.

"Well he kept saying something about his family not caring for him and that it was their fault.”

"So how did you two start dating?"

Brian and I never spoke about that. We always just knew we were together. “It just happened,” I said.

"So what happened how did he get back with his parents?" Steve asked me as the waitress came back with our food.

I filled in on what had happened when Brian was arrested. Steve listened but it was more like he was gathering details. I guess it was his angel instincts kicking in. An hour later the People Brian was with were coming out of the Restaurant.

"They're coming out. Can we go?" I asked.

"Wait till we see him, it seems like they are all leaving without him,"

Steve said as he placed some money on the table. The Lady Brian was with left the Restaurant with a man and two little girls. Steve was more visibly uncomfortable now.

“Who is that lady?”

Steve sighed loudly and took a sip of his coffee. “That is my sister. I haven’t seen her since I was fifteen. I saw her last when my father kicked me out.” Steve said. “I was only fifteen and a small fifteen at that. I was lucky a man found me and took me in. His family adopted me and treated me like I was one of his own. So when I saw her at the mall I guess I kind of shut down.”

He left me with my mouth open. Steve was just like me. I felt awful for thinking he was the man that beat me up. “I’m sorry,” was all I could say.

Steve smiled. “That family saved me and I’d like to do the same for you,” he said. “Peter the man that saved me was a social worker and his wife Laura ran several charities including a soup kitchen. It was their dream to open a school that would help street kids. I followed in their dream and with the help of my brother we opened a school.”

“So you really do help kids like me?” I asked.

“I help anyone that needs it,” he said with a smile. I got the sense that he really meant that. When you are a jaded street kid you can forget that there are people that genuinely want to help. And I began to respect him for that. I still wouldn’t be ok with all that he bought me but I vowed to pay him back every cent.

Steve paid for our meal and we left the diner. I took a deep breath and waited for Brian to walk out. I was nervous and trying hard not to freak out.

"I can't do it," I said. Steve looked at me like I was an idiot.

"Brady you have to go in there if you want to talk to him," he said as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out.

"Can we wait a few minutes?" I asked Steve nodded. He was just as nervous as I was. A fact he confirmed when he nervously tried to light his cigarette. I took the lighter from him and lit it. I wanted one too but I sensed the answer would be no if I asked.

“Thanks,” he said.

A few moments later a car pulled up. A boy got out of the car holding a present. “Uncle Steve,” the boy said, joining us. I watched awkwardly as they hugged. “What are you doing here?”

“Tyler this is Brady.” Tyler looked at me and extended his hand. I took it and we shook hands.

“I’m Tyler,” he said but I couldn’t keep my eyes of the tag on the gift. It was for Brian. Brian’s birthday was today. My heart stopped then I did a stupid thing.

"Brady stop!" yelled Steve but my fist were already reacting. Next thing I knew they were connecting with Tyler’s face. Brady Punched me back real hard but it only fueled my anger. I jumped on him but Steve was already pulling me off. Brian held Tyler from me.

“Uncle Steve how do you know this guy?” Tyler yelled.

"He’s staying with me," Steve said. Brian was looking at me.

"Brian, can I talk to you?" I asked.

"What's going on Tyler?" Brian asked, ignoring my question.

"This guy just punched me, I don't know why,” said Tyler.

"I hit you because Brian is mine. He's my boyfriend," I said.

"Tyler this is my ex. Brady." Brian said and broke my heart again. “I’m not yours.”

"Brian we can't be over, I won't do it again, I'm sorry," I said, getting loose from Steve.

"You wanted it this way Brady, now deal with it without me," he said as I tried to get closer but he backed away.

"Brian who are all these people?" asked another man.

"That's Tyler and that's Brady my ex, I don't know who he is," Brian answered. “This is my Uncle George.”

"This is my uncle Steve," Said Tyler.

"Hi I’m Steve, nice to meet you." Steve shook hands with Brian and the man.”

"Come on Brady let’s go," Steve said, pulling me away.

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