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    Mancunian
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

The Boot - Three Years On - 5. Chapter 5

It's the morning after and we know that The Major is in hospital recovering, but what is happening back at The Boot? I wonder what questions are going to be answered and do any of the answers raise more questions? Let's find out.

Through the night everything had calmed down at the shelter and all the guests had finally gone to their beds. Jeff, Steve and Kate had dealt with many questions about John/Christian, there were a few that had trouble accepting the explanations given but for the most part, with support from Beccy and Jim, most had accepted the news without much fuss. Everyone had been given assurances that John wanted nothing more than to help.

On Steve's suggestion Kate left as the guest's settled back down for the night. She needed to get some rest before the planned overnight visit of their first foster child.

Jason was tired but had trouble sleeping, he was tossing and turning most of the night, worrying. The small amount of money he had had run out and he hadn’t eaten for two days until he met Bill who brought him to the shelter. He worried, how long he could keep up the pretences before he got found out, he didn’t know, what he did know was that it was only a matter of time. He was safe for now, but decided he needed to make plans. Eventually he did get some sleep, waking up the next morning to find Jim sat on the edge of his bed waiting for him.

“Come on sleepy head, Beccy’s getting us both something to eat so let’s go get cleaned up and join her. We can talk over breakfast.” Jim gently put his hand on Jason’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled. “Come on let’s go.”

Jason nervously got up and walked with Jim to the men’s shower room, they both stripped off and entered separate cubicles to shower. After showering Jason felt much better as he dried but as he went to get dressed he felt a hand touch his arm. Shocked and terrified he jumped back, shaking with fear he immediately started a verbal assault on the owner of the hand before breaking down in tears.

Jim had only tried to get Jason’s attention and was surprised at the reaction, he got worried when Jeff came dashing in wanting to know what was going on.

Jim explained, “Jeff I wasn’t trying to hurt him or anything I was just trying to give him this,” and held out a laundry bag. “I went and got him some clean clothes and was trying to tell him that he could wear these and if he put his dirty clothes in the bag he could wash them before we left for the day, that’s all honest.”

“You … you … you mean you didn’t want anything from me, or to do anything? You was only trying to give me something?” Jason was obviously distressed, his eyes were red from crying and tears were still rolling down his ashen face.

Jim looked sympathetically at him, “That’s right, Jason I told you last night that Beccy and me would look out for you, just stick close and we’ll be there for you, that’s if you want to it’s tough out there.”

Jason slowly walked over to Jim and cautiously took the laundry bag before looking inside, calmer now and smiling, “Thanks, thanks a lot and I’m sorry, really sorry.”

“Hey there’s nothing to be sorry for, now cone on let’s get dressed and get breakfast I’m starving and I bet you are too.” Facing Jeff, “Is that ok with you Jeff, he just got the wrong Idea that’s all.”

Jeff nodded and said, “Yeah that’s ok, it looks like you two have sorted out your misunderstanding, go eat and I want to have a chat with Beccy and you before you leave today, don’t look so worried I’m just trying to figure out what we can do to help with Beccy being pregnant. Jason I’d like to have a chat with you too so stick close to Jim, I like to get to know our guests and see what we can do to help if we can.”

As Jeff left the shower room Jason and Jim got dressed then hurried off to the dining room where Beccy was waiting. Beccy sensed that something had happened but was shushed by Jim when she tried asking. The main topic of conversation that morning was John/Christian. The three of them made small talk while eating trying to get to know each other, Jim and Beccy soon realised that Jason was a young kid inexperienced in the ways of the streets, he needed someone to look out for him. After breakfast Beccy and Jim showed Jason the usual routine, every guest washed and dried the crockery and cutlery that they had used and put it away. Then they could wash their dirty clothes and bedding before hanging them to dry in the drying room, while their clothes were washing they cleaned up the shelter getting it ready for later that night.

Once the morning routines were completed guests started to leave allowing for some of the support groups to come in and set up for the day as Beccy, Jim and Jason waited for Jeff in the lounge. As they waited they noticed John come in making his way direct to the office, he was dressed very differently to way they usually saw him at night and hadn’t noticed them.

About fifteen minutes later John stood in the doorway of the office and invited the three of them in, offering them all a seat he remained standing and looked nervous. Jim and Beccy took the sofa while Jason took what had been John’s seat. As Jason sat he couldn’t take his eyes off John, mesmerised by his good looks and perfect figure he almost missed the chair but caught himself just in time.

Jeff broke the silence, “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting as you can see John dropped by and I needed to let him know about last night’s events. There are a few things that I’d like to chat about with all of you but I think John wants speak with you first so I’ll let him do that then we can talk after. Is that ok with all of you?”

Jason was still transfixed as Jim nudged his arm, “Hey earth to Jason, are you ok?”

“Erm … Erm … yeah … yeah … I’m fine.” Jason looked a little flustered answered and returned to the here and now.

“So are you good with John talking first?” Jim asked, oblivious to what was going on in Jason’s head.

“Yeah anytime.” Was the instant reply.

Beccy had a giggle at the reaction, “Sorry, yeah I’m good with that too.”

Jeff was looking on slightly amused by the situation. John had a puzzled expression on his face until the penny dropped, then his expression changed to one of embarrassment.

“Ok, well I want to apologise for the deception and misleading you and not telling you who I really am. If I can I’d like to introduce myself properly. My name is Christian Edwards not John and I’m not homeless that was a ruse. Now that the truth has come out I promise that I will explain why and answer any questions that anyone has, I only ask that you wait to ask your questions until tonight when I can speak with the other guests and I will answer those questions tonight. If you can let our other guests, your friends, know I would be grateful. I give you my word that there has never been or ever will be any intention to cause any harm, I only want to help.” John looked on hopeful and was relieved when all three nodded their agreement. “Thank you, your trust means a lot to me I hope that I haven’t lost it.”

Jim and Beccy stood and walked across the room, Jim stood squarely in front of John placing his left arm around Beccy he held out his right hand to John. As the two men shook hands he spoke, “I can’t speak for everyone but I think I can speak for Beccy and me, you haven’t lost our trust and you will always have it. Both of us have liked you from day one, we always thought that there was something different about you, now we know what it is that’s the only thing that has changed. When we overheard Jeff telling Andy about you and what you have done we were surprised, but you have gained our respect and thanks, thank you for everything you have done and are doing for all of us who are homeless.”

John felt relieved there was the glint of a tear in the corner of his eyes and was surprised by the tight hug he received from Beccy, “You’re the best friend any of us here have and we never knew it thank you. I think I love you.” To everyone’s relief she quickly added, “But not as much as I love Jim, he’s everything to me and mine forever.”

“I’m happy to hear that and from what Jeff tells me congratulations are in order so we need to try to find you somewhere better than here to stay and get you two settled down pretty quick. I’m going to be looking into things as soon as I can.” Turning his attention to the young man who had remained quiet, “If I remember right your Jason, I hope I haven’t said or done anything to make you feel uncomfortable and welcome to The Boot. You are welcome here any night and to take advantage of any of the support services that are here during the day. Stick close to Beccy and Jim they are good people and I hope to see you tonight so that we can talk. Jeff will give you all the help he can and the info that you need, I know that he would have done that last night if he hadn’t been side-tracked worrying about The Major.”

Steve knocked on the closed office door and entered with fresh coffee and tea, “Hope I’m not intruding, I thought that you may all like a drink while having your chat. Andy is about to leave as he’s back on shift tonight and I’ll be off in a few minutes too as we have our visitor later, Kate is home on her own and nervous as hell so I need to calm her down and get some rest myself.” Noticing John he started to apologise, “I’m sorry John I didn’t mean to let the cat out of the bag.”

John cut him off, “No need to apologise it was bound to come sooner or later and I know it was unintentional. Could you do me a favour and ask Andy if he can help me out for about thirty minutes, I could really do with an extra pair of hands.”

“Sure John I’ll ask him to come and let you know, I need to rush off. I’ll see you tomorrow night, I know you said not to say it but I really am sorry.” Steve then left to go home for some rest and to get ready to meet his and Kate’s first foster child.

Andy agreed to help John and they left to collect The Majors possessions, leaving Jeff to his chat with Beccy, Jim and Jason before they left for the day, then handing over to that day's support services.

What do you think, have any questions been answered, or are there only more needing to be answered?
It's clear that the immediate future is going to be busy for some, I wonder what's still to come?
Thank you to everyone who is still reading, especially those who have left reactions and comments. Please don't be nervous about commenting, I read and welcome them all, maybe sometimes getting ideas for what to add in the future.
I am writing without the aid of an editor or beta reader as that's how I want to do it so any errors are all mine, if you see any let me know and I'll try to correct them.
Copyright © 2019 Mancunian; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Story Discussion Topic

Welcome to The Boot World discussion forum. This includes all of the stories from The Boot Series and the Lost Soul Series. The Boot was the first story posted in this collection of stories, it was originally intended as a one-off story. Like many one-off stories, it grew and The Boot Three Years On was written as a follow-up. Some readers asked about the back story of some of the characters, which led to the Lost Soul Series. Together they form The Boot World. Both Series have grown and in
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Jason is infatuated with John. Is it a form of hero-worshiping, or is it more of a lust thing? Jason seems to be much too young for John.
;–)

Becky & Jim will not only need housing, but also some form of income. There are usually programs to specifically help pregnant women. Naturally, they need fairly longterm support because even after they have the baby, they can’t go back to work. Childcare is also an issue, especially until they begin to go to school, and after-school for at least a half dozen years or so after that.

Having Jason stay with Beccy & Jim will allow Jason to help out with the housekeeping chores, possibly including cooking, cleaning, and laundry (especially important after the baby is born).

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18 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

Jason is infatuated with John. Is it a form of hero-worshiping, or is it more of a lust thing? Jason seems to be much too young for John.
;–)

Becky & Jim will not only need housing, but also some form of income. There are usually programs to specifically help pregnant women. Naturally, they need fairly longterm support because even after they have the baby, they can’t go back to work. Childcare is also an issue, especially until they begin to go to school, and after-school for at least a half dozen years or so after that.

Having Jason stay with Beccy & Jim will allow Jason to help out with the housekeeping chores, possibly including cooking, cleaning, and laundry (especially important after the baby is born).

Thank you for your comments @droughtquake, you've picked up on many aspects of the story, your comments challenge me on how to develop the story and I really like that, you're keeping me on my toes.

Yes Jason does seem to have developed an instant 'crush' on John, let's hope it doesn't cause too many problems in the future. Jason is is a bit of an enigma but I can't say too much at this stage.

Pregnancy for any couple has it's problems and challenges, for a homeless couple they would be magnified and have some completely different and extra ones too which are bound to surface later in the story.

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The way Jason jumped and got upset when Jim touched his arm whilst trying to hand him the bag of clean clothes after he had got out of the shower leaves me thinking something has happened to Jason in the past. My immediate suspicion would be that Bill has sexually assaulted him in some way, but it may go even deeper than that. We were told in chapter 3 that Jason "looked worried, scared even" when he first found out that John was not who he had been pretending to be, which makes me wonder whether he has been let down by people pretending to be something they aren't in the past.

Like Droughtquake, I'm not sure whether Jason's apparent infatuation with John/Christian is simply hero worship or something a bit deeper. And if it is something a bit deeper, we may finish up with a little bit of jealousy should the looks Kate has seen John giving Gary, the new support worker, be what she wonders if they are.

You're keeping me well hooked with this story, @Mancunian. I particularly like the way you are weaving several different threads together in it: The Major & Kevin and Ian's adoption of him, the pregnancy, the fostering, Bill's predatory nature, to name just a few. You have a talent for storytelling, and I eagerly await the next installment. :thumbup:

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40 minutes ago, Marty said:

The way Jason jumped and got upset when Jim touched his arm whilst trying to hand him the bag of clean clothes after he had got out of the shower leaves me thinking something has happened to Jason in the past. My immediate suspicion would be that Bill has sexually assaulted him in some way, but it may go even deeper than that. We were told in chapter 3 that Jason "looked worried, scared even" when he first found out that John was not who he had been pretending to be, which makes me wonder whether he has been let down by people pretending to be something they aren't in the past.

Like Droughtquake, I'm not sure whether Jason's apparent infatuation with John/Christian is simply hero worship or something a bit deeper. And if it is something a bit deeper, we may finish up with a little bit of jealousy should the looks Kate has seen John giving Gary, the new support worker, be what she wonders if they are.

You're keeping me well hooked with this story, @Mancunian. I particularly like the way you are weaving several different threads together in it: The Major & Kevin and Ian's adoption of him, the pregnancy, the fostering, Bill's predatory nature, to name just a few. You have a talent for storytelling, and I eagerly await the next installment. :thumbup:

Thank you @Marty for your comments it's good to know that I'm making it interesting, like @droughtquake's comments they help to keep me focused. 

There is more to Jason and his back story which will begin to unfold as time goes on, as for his feelings toward John/Christian we will find out all in good time. By Gary I think you mean Andy (I had to check incase I'd made an error there, lol) he's new and new people always peek our interest 🤔.

I've been doing a lot of reading on site of many different authors work, both well established and newer authors, in the hope of learning something from them and I hope that what I have picked up I'm putting to good use, there is a lot of good reading and good authors on GA to choose and learn from. Intertwining several story lines is just one idea that I'm trying, I just have remember not to overdo it as I don't want to spoil what I believe is a good story. 

Thank you again for commenting and please feel free to comment at any time.

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1 minute ago, Mancunian said:

By Gary I think you mean Andy 

Correct! My mistake.

I'll leave my original mistake uncorrected. That way you might even get other people re-reading the earlier chapters as well. ;)

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Back in the saddle after a short absence. 

Getting caught up with this fantastic story !!!  So many sub-plots going on it keeps me spellbound..

I'm sure Jason's story will be forthcoming.  There is definitely a connection to Chris/John. 

And Bill - he's creepy!

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9 hours ago, KayDeeMac said:

Back in the saddle after a short absence. 

Getting caught up with this fantastic story !!!  So many sub-plots going on it keeps me spellbound..

I'm sure Jason's story will be forthcoming.  There is definitely a connection to Chris/John. 

And Bill - he's creepy!

Welcome back @KayDeeMac and thank you for the great comments, as you catch up you will see how it all pans out and how some of the sub-plots are connected. Ooops I hope I haven't said too much, lol.

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I think Christian/John coming clean is a good thing for everyone.  I wasn't entirely comfortable with his decision to lie.  If it was to get the guests more comfortable with him, then that blows up in in his face when they find out, which it did.  I am not surprised at the mixed reaction, I doubt I would trust him if I were them.  It would take him regaining that trust over time.  Poor decision to start out with.

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13 minutes ago, CincyKris said:

I think Christian/John coming clean is a good thing for everyone.  I wasn't entirely comfortable with his decision to lie.  If it was to get the guests more comfortable with him, then that blows up in in his face when they find out, which it did.  I am not surprised at the mixed reaction, I doubt I would trust him if I were them.  It would take him regaining that trust over time.  Poor decision to start out with.

You're right in many ways it was a poor decision, but one made with the best of intentions. There is no doubt it will make a difference to the guests, hopefully not too much damage has been done.

Thank you for continuing to read and I hope that you are enjoying the story, your reactions and comments are also appreciated.

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4 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

Well just enjoying this story, it's exceptionally good! We will see where the answer lead to this coming evening!

Thanks for the compliment, I do my best.

Yep that's the first hurdle overcome, later could be a different story, or could it?

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18 minutes ago, raven1 said:

Other comments have admirably covered anything I would say. Great chapter!

I'm sure that you have your own thoughts too and I'm always happy to hear them. All comments are welcome and appreciated.

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I surmise Jason was sexually abused by a family member which resulted in him leaving home or was sexually abused since living on the streets after having been kicked out of home for being gay. I suspect the former as it appears he may have only been on the streets for a short period of time as he is not wise to the ways of the street. I suspect an infatuation with John/Christian. 

I hope to learn more of Beccy and Jim's back story @Mancunian, after all they are going to be parents. Hopefully Christian can find employment for Jim and a place for them both to live. Maybe Jason could live with them and help out too.

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2 minutes ago, Summerabbacat said:

I surmise Jason was sexually abused by a family member which resulted in him leaving home or was sexually abused since living on the streets after having been kicked out of home for being gay. I suspect the former as it appears he may have only been on the streets for a short period of time as he is not wise to the ways of the street. I suspect an infatuation with John/Christian. 

I hope to learn more of Beccy and Jim's back story @Mancunian, after all they are going to be parents. Hopefully Christian can find employment for Jim and a place for them both to live. Maybe Jason could live with them and help out too.

A small part of Jason's past is revealed at a later stage in the story, I'll not give any of it away as I don't like to give spoilers. Your suspicion of an infatuation is correct but you will have to read on to discover if it goes any further.

No real back-story for Beccy or Jim has been written, I'll consider that as a possible future project. They could be interesting stories, thank you for putting that out there. 

You will discover more of what the future holds as the story continues. 😀

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Jason is very edgy and easily startled/frightened by Jim's simple touch.  It demonstrates how he was abused.  Seeing the difference between Jason in this chapter and Jason in the Baxter Boys is amazing.

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35 minutes ago, raven1 said:

Jason is very edgy and easily startled/frightened by Jim's simple touch.  It demonstrates how he was abused.  Seeing the difference between Jason in this chapter and Jason in the Baxter Boys is amazing.

At this stage in his life, Jason is the lad you want to put your arms around to comfort, reassure and protect if he will let you get that close. It will take a lot for the inner Jason to match the outer Jason that he likes tp project, but at times like this, the inner Jason comes out.

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