Primary Target - 8. Chapter 8

All four of us piled into Dad’s new Santa Fe. No one said anything as Conner took the front seat and I sat right next to my boyfriend. I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to that! I have a boyfriend now! The excitement coursing through me wouldn’t let me sit still. But I felt Mason grab my hand and I glanced over at him. He looked scared.

“Shh, it’s okay babe,” I whispered to him, rubbing my thumb over his hand. “Dad will explain in a little bit. I know he will.”

“Boys,” Dad said as I caught him glancing at us via his rearview mirror. “It seems this situation is a bit more complicated than it appears to be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“Son, it means that Eddie has been doing this for quite some time – he has a few priors on his record. He moves in to an unsuspecting family like Mason’s here and inserts himself as the dominant one after seducing the single parent – he’s even done it to a few men before, but mostly goes after women. I’d say more, but I don’t want to upset Mason just yet, but rest assured that we’re going back to Mason’s house to both arrest Eddie and rescue Richie from this mess.”

“Thank you,” Mason started crying as I watched what seemed to be a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders. “Oh, thank you so much! No one has ever listened to me before about Eddie! I knew something was up with that man – I saw things in his eyes I wish I could forget! I’ve even said something to the guidance counselor in middle school and she just wrote it off as me being ‘moody’ or some other lame reason.” Mason stopped talking and just broke out into full-out sobs. I rubbed his back, hoping to console him as best as I could given my position in the car.

Dad punched the SUV into overdrive once a few police cruisers flanked us. The drive was quick and we sat outside Mason’s house. The boy next to me I could tell wanted to freak out. I wrapped my arms around him and he latched onto me in a tight grip. I felt him convulse as the tears started flowing faster. Dad told us three to stay here a moment as he climbed out of the vehicle. He was gone before I could think it. Mason extracted himself from my grip and slid out of the SUV. Conner and I did the same – we didn’t want Mason to do something really stupid. I quickly ran around and grabbed him as he absentmindedly started for the house.

“No, babe,” I whispered. “Just wait here. Dad knows what he’s doing. We’ll only be in the way or might even get hurt if we go in.”

“B-But R-Richie,” he whispered as he struggled a bit harder to get away.

“Mason, he’ll be fine. Trust me, you'll just get in the way.” He relaxed a bit but not by much. He stood next to me and slid an arm around my waist as his head rest on top of my own. A few twitches wracked him, each one making him grip me a bit tighter.

Officers slowly trickled into and out of the house over the next hour. Mason grew increasingly worried about his little brother and it was taking both me and Conner to keep him calm and even distracted as best we could.

Then Dad came out.

He held onto the limp body of a young boy and, as my heart leapt into my throat, he ran to the ambulance and placed him on the gurney. Luckily, Mason was oblivious to this and for now, I wanted to keep it that way. I didn’t want my Mason feeling bad about seeing his brother in whatever condition he currently was.

“Why can’t they find him?” Mason groaned. “He shouldn’t be this hard to find.”

“Who? Eddie? Or Richie?” I asked.

“Well, Richie really, but I wonder why they haven’t found him either…” Mason looked away. I glanced at Conner – he saw Richie being loaded into the ambulance earlier. Conner gave a slight nod – it was about time to tell him.

“Mason, I think I just saw my Dad come out with who I could only guess was Richie. They need to get him checked out at the hospital, it seems.”

“Oh no! Richie!” Mason stared at me, hard. “Xander, I need you t-to come with me! I-In case I can’t hold it together!”

“Alright, but if they tell us to back off or something, we will, right?”

“Y-Yeah, of course,” Mason said. He pulled on my arm and dragged me towards the ambulance. We got there just as it started to pull away. “Wait! I want to see him! I-I need to see him!” It was too late; the vehicle was en route to the hospital, sirens blaring.

“Son,” Dad said as he heard Mason’s plea. “We think your brother is in a bad way right now. He has several fresh bruises along his flank – he was unconscious when we found him and his breathing is a bit shallow. Eddie is on the run and there are blues after him right now. He should be in custody within the hour I’d guess, but don’t hold me to that. In any event, we need to get you and your brother situated into a foster home – you’re not going back to him if I can help it.”

“Dad, can they stay with us? We have the room at the house, you know that.” I took in my father’s face as he contemplated this. I just got my first boyfriend… I wasn’t about to lose him to some system!

Dad ran his hand through his hair before he said, “I’ll see what I can do, son. It’s a little irregular, but it’s been done before.”

I woke up Sunday with a bit of a headache. The events of yesterday came back to me in a big mess like someone threw a mud ball filled with data into my brain. I usually only felt this scatterbrained right before a test in my least favorite subject – history. I sat up, only to feel an arm draped across my belly. I totally forgot that Mason stayed with us last night and it put a smile on my face. He didn’t want to be alone during the night, so I offered him my bed amidst stern warnings that nothing should happen and we both promised. Nothing did happen between us as the boy next to me was very distraught over all the transpirings of yesterday with maybe the exception of a few reassuring kisses and lots of cuddling. I never realized how good it could feel to just have the body of someone you think you love so much lying next to you, arms entwined or a head resting on the other’s chest. I never felt more relaxed even with Mason’s panic attacks – I hope my presence lessened them at least for him.

My sitting up made him stir a bit next to me. I watched as he tried to fight the process of waking up and failed. Slowly, my eyes left his bare chest and danced their way to watch his eyes flutter open reluctantly. A small moment of fear gripped him, but it faded as soon as he saw me staring at him.

“Morning,” he slurred sleepily.

I planted a kiss on the top of his head. God it felt good to do that! “Good morning Mason. I’m sorry if I woke you – I’m not used to anyone sharing my bed just yet.” I couldn’t help but giggle as I haven’t felt this happy in ages it seems. I’d have to call Jared and share my good news with him sooner or later. I bet my best friend from Ohio would be ecstatic for me – he was the only one back there that really tried to find me a good boyfriend. Part of me wants to believe he was just trying to help me break from my obsession with him whereas the rest of me just believed he wanted me to be happy.

“It’s okay, Xander,” Mason smiled at me. “I’m just glad I wasn’t alone last night. That was probably the hardest thing for me to deal with – the loneliness. Even if I could talk to Richie, everyone else seemed like they didn’t even see me. After I saw you in the cafeteria, every time we had homeroom, I would watch you and I was afraid you were like the rest.”

“You’re in my homeroom?” I asked, unsure if he was yanking my chain.

“Yeah, in fact your friend Jess showed me that picture of you before we saw each other in the cafeteria.” I recalled her showing my phone to someone next to her, but I thought the kid wore glasses. But as I thought about it, the voice I recalled when that boy exclaimed about my eyes matched Mason’s pretty closely. “I think that’s when I first noticed you. Then I saw you and I had to see if I could see those eyes for myself. They were a dazzling blue the first second I saw you, but they shifted towards a minty-looking green as I started to pass by you.”

I giggled. “I love my eyes too. That picture Jess showed you I took before I got into the shower.” I paused. “Wait, you wear glasses? The boy sitting next to Jess wore glasses.”

“Yeah, I do if I have issues with my contacts. That morning I ran late so I just decided to grab my specs. Later in the day when I had time I slid my contacts in.” He pulled from his bag Dad had gathered from his house a case containing his glasses. Sure enough, as soon as he extracted them from said case, the stems I saw in my homeroom that day matched what he held currently. He slid them on and if it’s even possible, Mason just got a hundred times cuter. Even with his bed head, he looked totally adorable. “Ta da… What?”

“N-N-Nothing,” I stammered. “You look... way hot with those on, by the way.”

“You think so?” he shrugged. “I never really cared for them myself.” He grinned. “But if my boyfriend thinks they make me look sexy, then I might have to wear them more often.” I completely shook upon his utterance of the word “boyfriend”. My insides turned to goo. He laughed at seeing my reaction. “You get a kick out of that don’t you?” He sat there and stared at me, head slightly cocked to one side. “Boyfriend.” Again, I shuddered in delight. He laughed.

“Hey!” I regained my senses momentarily. I grabbed his hand. “So, boyfriend, what shall we do today?” I saw the same reaction in Mason I assumed I produced which made me laugh.

“Okay, I see what kind of effect it has on you,” Mason sighed with a smile. “But I think we should look at all the pictures we took yesterday and see if we need more of a specific kind.” I nodded in agreement.

I caught myself for a second. “What… about Richie?” I asked as I bit my lip, afraid I might cause him to freak out. His brother made it to the hospital in one piece and stabilized after very minor surgery to stop some internal bleeding and stayed overnight. Other than that, Richie was there just for observation. Apparently he looked worse than he really was aside from the malnutrition.

“Oh yeah,” he frowned. “I want to go see him now, if we can.”

“Conner can take us. That or maybe Dad has to go see Richie anyway for his case. I don’t know. In any case, we’ll find a way even if we have to hijack a bus.” I laughed lightly. Mason really didn’t match my mood so I stopped pretty fast.

“My brother’s going to be okay, right Xan?” Mason asked, the veil of sadness and fear threatening to take my boy away from me again. I slipped my arms around his bare torso and pulled him to me. The skin on skin contact felt delicious and I would’ve relished in the feeling but my main concern was Mason.

“Shh… of course he will, babe,” I whispered into his ear. “He’s stable and he’s got some police officers guarding him in case Eddie isn’t in custody already. He’s as safe as he can be. And he’s getting the best care.” I felt Mason melt into my grip as I calmed his nerves.

“I really like when you hold me like this,” Mason sighed contentedly. I planted a few kisses to the back of his head before I just rested my head against his, taking in the moment. I just realized I spent my first night with my boyfriend and I held him close to me after waking up together. If this isn’t perfection, I don’t know what the hell is.

“I like holding you,” I whispered again. “I’ll hold you forever if you want me to.”

“I’d like that,” he sighed dreamily.

“Hey Mason, I have a question for you,” I spoke up. He turned around and faced me, a curious look on his face. I thought the look with his glasses made him irresistible. I almost forgot my question when it came back to me. “If we are a couple, I just want to understand how comfortable you’d be with us being together in public. I don’t want to do anything you’re not totally comfortable with.”

Mason thought about this for at least a minute. His brows furrowed as he took his specs off and rubbed his eyes. He slid them back on and he sighed. It was like my boy was wrestling with some huge decision and I could guess what it was, but I stayed silent, allowing him to deal with this on his own, with no pressures coming from me. I wanted him to make this decision on his own terms.

“Xander, I… I don’t want to hide anymore. I’ve done my share of it and people let me hide completely. It’s time I force people to see me again – even if me being gay does that. Any attention is better than none. I’ve been alone for so long now and, even if we’ve been together for a short time as a couple, you’ve made me see that being alone and in the shadows is just that – lonely and dark. You are my first real friend in a long time. If you’ll stand with me, I’d stand with you proudly in the sun anywhere.”

The tears pooled up in the corners of my eyes at his rather metaphorical speech – it touched me. It also made me feel a bit special – I could display my affections and love for this boy and not have to hide it like it’s wrong or something. I also didn’t forget that since I’m the GSA president, maybe my relationship will help the whole school out in some way. Maybe.

“I’ll stand with you anywhere, babe,” I said as I hugged him. “Even in a pit of lava. As long as we’re together.”

“I hope we don’t have to try that one out,” he giggled. I did too.

“Let’s go get a shower,” I suggested as I held my hand out for my boy.

“You mean together?” he asked a bit hesitantly. He still took my hand.

“We don’t have to just yet,” I offered. “But I’d like to – I want to help relax my boyfriend.”

“Maybe next time. I don’t want us to rush into things too fast – I’d like us to at least go on a date before we jump into the shower together.” Disappointed, I nodded, but I still held a smile on my face. He held to his beliefs even in this stage of “puppy love” and it made me want him all the more. He didn’t bow to my suggestion just because I wanted it. He wasn’t ready and I respected that. “Can I go first?”

“Sure,” I nodded. “If you need anything, let me know. Feel free to use my stuff – anything in there is fair game for you.”

“Okay,” he giggled. “It’s just a shower.”

“I know,” I smiled. “I’m just trying to show you that I trust you, even if it’s only a shower.” Mason shrugged as he went into my bathroom. I leant on my headboard again as I heard the shower kick on. I mentally checked out until I heard my bedroom door open. Conner stepped in.

“Hey bro,” Conner whispered. “You asleep?”

“Nope, just waiting on Mason to get done with his shower so I can get one. What’s up?”

“Dad just wanted me to tell you that Eddie has been found… Xan, he’s dead.”

I sat bolt upright. “What?!” I knew this man was evil, but it was still a shock. I wasn’t sure how Mason would take this bit of news. “When? How?”

“Easy, tiger,” Conner laughed lightly before he turned serious again. “Police had a standoff with him at nearby motel. He had a gun and exchanged fire with the cops. They had no choice but to take him down. One of the bullets got his heart – he bled out before they could get him to the hospital.”

“Oh man, I’m not sure how Mace is going to take this,” I sighed as I grabbed my hair for a second. “I know he was a bastard for what he did to those boys, but still… he was family in a way.”

“I know what you mean, Xan,” Conner said as he patted my shin. “You okay?” I saw a bit of moisture in his eyes.

“I think so. Are you?” I had to ask – usually any mention of guns made him flinch since he was shot only six months ago.

The tears pooled up a bit faster. “I-I don’t know, really.” I didn’t let him say anything else – I just sat up and embraced him. I felt him weep silently against me as I soothed my older brother. He squeezed me tightly as I felt some of his tears running down my back. He chuckled lightly as he wiped them away as he sat back up. “Thanks, Alex. I guess I-I’m not over that event just yet.”

“Conner, it’s okay, you know? It was only six months ago when you were shot and I… I almost lost you with Mom. I wouldn’t be surprised if this hurts up until the day we die.” Silence enveloped us. Conner patted my shin again before he quietly stood up and walked out, mentioning going to the hospital once I got cleaned up. I glanced at the clock – Mason only jumped into the shower five minutes ago, so I had some time to waste. I picked up my cell and dialed a very familiar number.

“Hello?” the boy on the other end sounded so sleepy still.

“Sorry, Jared if I woke you up. You’re sleeping a lot later than I remember you doing. You miss me that much?”

“Oh, hey Xan!” he tried to sound excited, but the tiredness in his voice overrode his enthusiasm. “What do I owe the pleasure of you waking my ass up?”

“Oh nothing really… just that I have some… news I wanted to share with my best friend from Ohio. But I want you to wake up some before I tell you.” I said it all with enough mystery and playful poutiness to hopefully rouse him some more.

“Oh? It sounds good I’d guess – you sound really happy, even if you’re trying to fake the sullen attitude.” I could almost envision that perfect smirk my straight bud wore right now. Just then, the bathroom door opened and Mason came out wearing only a towel. His chest… wow! The water that still clung to his skin almost made want to rush the boy and lick each droplet off as that would be the sweetest tasting water on the planet. His wet, matted hair looked even sexier somehow – when it dried, it’d still be sexy of course. He saw me staring at him and he just laughed a bit before he turned around and did something causing me to gasp out loud.

He dropped the towel, exposing his magnificent ass.

The cheeks teased me as he swished his hips a bit as he grabbed his boxers from his bag. I stared as he bent down, attempting to put his underwear on.

“XANDER!” I jumped at Jared’s voice in my ear and I turned away from Mason instinctively and gasped in semi-fright. I heard my friend on the other end of the phone laughing. “Dude, what’s was with the silence? Staring at some porn or something and just wanted to see if you could gross me out?”

“N-No, not that Jared. I was just… distracted by what I wanted to tell you about. You see,” I turned back around and saw a curious Mason staring back at me clad in only his smiley boxers. It was enough to almost make... me… mmm. “The thing I wanted to tell you is… that… I have a boyfriend now!”

“DUDE!” Jared exclaimed. “Xan, that’s so awesome! I’m happy for you, bro! Really. See, I told you you’d find someone. So… how long?”

“Actually, we basically just started going out, but we haven’t dated yet. It’s sort of a sudden thing, but we plan on going out real soon to get to know each other better.”

“Who are you talking to?” Mason whispered. I mouthed my friend’s name and Mason just looked a bit lost – to be expected since I didn’t tell him about my best friend.

“That’s good, Xan. Again, I’m really happy for you. What’s his name?”

“Mason…” I said coyly. “He’s really great, Jared. I had to help him with some stuff, but that’s really how we got together. He’s actually here right now, so I should probably–”

“Hey, put him on for a second.” Huh? That was unexpected. I wrinkled my brows together, causing Mason to look concerned.

“Uh… okay. Just a second.” I pulled my phone down and whispered. “I’m talking to my best friend from Ohio. I had to tell him about us and… he wants to talk to you.”

“Hmm… approval from the best friend, eh?” Mason smiled as he shook his head. “Okay, here. I’ll talk to him while you go get your shower.”

“Before you do though, I feel I have to tell you something in case he brings it up. He’s straight, but before we moved, I had a huge crush on him and he knew about it.”

“Had?”

“I don’t need it anymore now that... I have you,” I smiled as I felt the blush creep onto my face.

“Aw, you’re so cute when you blush,” he smiled as he pinched my cheek. His glasses slid down the bridge of his nose. He pushed them back up. “Okay, that’s fine. I’ve had my share of crushes before. Here.” I placed my phone in his hand. “This is Xander’s boyfriend speaking.” I almost lost my footing as my knees nearly gave out. I still can’t get over that – I actually have a boyfriend now! “Yeah, Xan’s told me just a bit about you... that you’re his best friend from Ohio. Other than that not much, really.” I missed anything after that, as I shut the bathroom door and jumped into the shower.

I emerged about fifteen minutes later, refreshed and cleansed. I fluffed my hair a bit and smoothed out any strays before I exited into my room. I saw Mason still on my phone – I assumed still talking with Jared. I didn’t pay attention to his conversation as I got dressed. I pulled a pair of boxer briefs from my dresser and did the same thing – I just dropped my towel, wondering if Mason was getting his eyeful. I did hear the conversation come to an almost complete stop, but he was better at actually conversing. I slid them on along with a pair of shorts and my Paladin tee. I also snatched a pair of socks and wandered to my bed and sat down next to Mason – the boy was lying stomach down on my bed. I leaned back and lay my head in the small of his back as I slid my socks on, relishing in our contact. Mason made no move to push me away and I stayed there once I finished.

My boyfriend laughed a bit. “That’s a funny story,” he mused as he craned his head back and looked at me seductively. “I’ll have to remember that one. Alright, he’s out of the shower now. We’re going to go see my brother in the hospital now.” He paused. “Yeah, I’ll tell him. It was good talking to you, Jared. I can see why you’re his best bud… Yeah, I’ll be good to him, I promise. Alright, later.” He closed my phone and put it on my chest as he rolled beneath me, putting my head on his stomach.

“What’d you two talk about?” I asked, looking up towards him.

“Not much. He just told me stories about some of the things you two used to do. Like the time you guys got in trouble in front of your entire middle school assembly for pantsing each other.”

I groaned, closing my eyes. “He told you that?!”

Mason giggled. “Yep, and he told me that you almost flashed the whole school, because Jared accidentally got a hold of your boxers too.” Again I groaned.

“Remind me to never let you talk to him again,” I complained, recalling that event. I don't even remember what started it all – just that we were called on to head upstage and I stepped on his pants cuff, dragging his jeans halfway down. Not to be outdone, as I stepped around him, he actually grabbed my pants and yanked them down. I barely had time to grab my boxers before he pulled them down.

“Hey, not all the things he told me about you are bad. Like he also told me about what you did for the orphanage down there for Christmas last year.”

That Christmas was special – it was the last one in Sandusky for us. It’s not a big one – the orphanage – but I heard from Dad about how the kids there weren’t getting any presents that year due to it not being in the budget. I decided to fix that with the help of my friends. We each took a toy – new or used – and gathered them together. Dad took us all in the Santa Fe and delivered them to the ten children there, ranging in age from four up to fifteen. I will never forget the smiles on their faces when we started handing out the gifts. I even remember getting a hug from the fifteen year old, saying that that was probably the best Christmas he’s had in a long while, since his parents died near Christmas.

“Yeah, that was something special we did alright,” I said wistfully, still picturing’s Derrick’s face after I handed him an old Game Boy with some games. The smile shining through the tears on that teen’s face was probably the best gift I received that year, especially if I could help him out during such a trying time in his life. I wiped a fresh tear from my eye before I cleared my throat. “Okay, we should get going to the hospital and see how Richie is doing.”

“Yeah, I hope he’s doing okay,” Mason said sullenly.

The drive out to the hospital with the whole family was quiet. Conner sat in front with Dad, both glancing back a few times to see how Mason was doing. I held his hand the whole time, hoping to give him some comfort, but it seemed to be doing only a little good. I could see Mason retreating back into that shell I saw sitting on the corner behind the gas station only yesterday. My boy’s world is totally upside down right now, I understood that. I just hoped what I was doing was enough to keep him at ease. The trip gave me a little time to reflect on my own issues that I was ignoring to help out Mason – Bates. That jackass was really never too far from my mind but I managed to keep those disparaging thoughts hidden while Mace dealt with his own little crisis. I just bet that man’s plotting something, even if he’s in some sort of custody.

He sat stonily once we pulled into the lot. I slowly coaxed him out of his shell enough for him to get out of the vehicle. Again, he latched onto one of my arms – I didn’t even try to extract it, not that I didn’t like him holding onto me. We walked in, Dad asking for Richie’s location. A nurse told us his room and floor. We proceeded directly to his room and, once outside it, Mason seemed frozen.

“Babe, what’s wrong?” I whispered to him. “Don’t you want to see your brother?”

“I-I do, but… I’m a-afraid of what I’ll see in there.”

“I’m here with you, babe. I’m not going anywhere.” I reached up and stroked his face. “Whenever you’re ready, we’ll go in.”

I saw him sag a bit as he collected himself. “Okay… let’s go in before I change my mind.”

He opened the door and stepped in with me right behind him. I held his hand and he squeezed it forcefully as I cleared the threshold. I felt him trembling again. “Conner, grab him a chair please?” Quickly, my brother moved both of the chairs from the other side of the room over to where we were. I nodded to my brother in appreciation before he and Dad slipped out. I helped to get my boy sitting in one of them. I slid mine closer to Mason as he reached out and touched the resting form of Richie tentatively, almost like he was made of glass.

“Richie…” he breathed. I saw the tears collect in his eyes before I finally decided to look at his brother. Mason was right – I could make out the boy’s ribs even through the hospital gown he wore. There were a few bruises on his cheeks and one big one on his forehead. His light brown hair seemed a bit unkempt – a little too long, in my opinion, for the eleven year-old. I glanced back at Conner catching him looking through the window in the door and mouthed the question, “Did you tell Mason?” He shook his head. I took a deep breath.

“Mason, what are your feelings towards Eddie right now?” I asked softly.

The tears gave way to rage. “I hope the fucker’s dead.”

“What if I told you that he is dead?” His head whipped towards me in disbelief.

“What?” The rage morphed into something else. Confusion maybe. “How?” I told him what Conner told me earlier. He turned away from me and fixated on Richie again. His eyes seemed blank. But they sparked up again when Richie emitted some kind of groan. “Richie! I’m here, buddy! C’mon, wake up!” Mason sat up and took his brother’s hand in his. Richie reacted and started squirming some more. I reached over and pressed the nurse’s call button, alerting them to come to the room. I stood up and watched as Richie’s eyes danced under his lids, fighting to awaken as Mason tried to coax him out of this sleep. The nurses came in but left just as quickly once we said he was trying to wake up.

A doctor came into the room followed by some of the nurses that entered just a minute ago. I backed off a bit, but not far enough when Mason grabbed my right wrist. He implored me to stay with his stare and I stopped trying, but I also wanted to make sure that the staff had plenty of room to work. The doctor proceeded to check Richie’s vitals and just as he grasped his other arm, checking the bruises on it, the boy sat up. He looked around and I saw the total fear etch into his face as unfamiliar people surrounded him.

Then he saw Mason.

The boy practically leapt for his brother, clutching tightly around Mason’s neck and trying to almost climb inside him. Everyone stopped at once, seeing the situation playing out before them. The doctor and nurses tried to calm him, but he wasn’t for that. He started wailing, driving everyone’s hands to their ears at the awful sound. Mason was whispering in his ear, and it seemed to have an effect. The wailing slowly died down. A nurse stepped by me and said they were going to step out for a bit to try and let him calm down without using drugs. I nodded, knowing Mason would have to comfort Richie to the point to let them back in.

The last staff member left, leaving just us three in the room. Richie was considerably calmer, but still seemed on edge. He stared hard at me, almost trying to will me away. I told Mason I could step out, but he just shook his head.

“Hey buddy,” Mason said to his brother. “I want you to meet my friend Xander. He’s good people, trust me. He’s the one that saved you from Eddie. I’d really like it if you’d be nice to him – he’s a very special friend.”

I whispered in Mason’s ear. “Does he know about you? You know…” Mason nodded.

Richie relaxed some more and sat more on his bed than in my boyfriend’s arms. His face also showed a calmness not present before, but there was still a hint of uncertainty. He glanced first at Mason before shifting to me. He turned once again to his brother and pointed at me. “B…Bo…Boyfriend?” he struggled with his words.

“Yes Richie, he’s my boyfriend. So you don’t need to be scared of him. He’s here to help me so I can help you. Do you understand?” Richie nodded. “C’mon, use your words. Eddie isn’t here to scare you if you talk. I miss your voice, buddy.”

“Un… understand.” I felt so bad for the kid. I wonder how long he was subjected to that torture and how long, consequently, it’s been since he’s actually talked. He talked so slowly, so hesitantly.

“Good,” Mason said. “Now, those people that just left – those were hospital workers. Nurses and doctors. They were here to make sure you’re doing okay and not hurt too badly. Can we let them back in so we can see about getting you out of the hospital?”

Richie’s eyes grew and I almost felt the panic exuding from the boy. “NO! D-Don’t want… g-go… back!”

Mason was on him in a flash. He stroked his face and hair, bringing some of the calm back. The preteen was still shaken about having to go home and most likely into the cage if Eddie had anything to say about it. “No, no! That’s not what I meant, bro. We’re never going back to that house ever again. We’re safe now.” Mason hesitated. “H-He’s gone, Richie.”

The panic in the room lessened a bit more as the younger boy pushed off Mason. “G-Gone?” He wasn’t sure what Mason meant.

Mason struggled to speak, so I decided to save him the trouble. “Richie,” I said calmly. The boy whipped his head in my direction and I could tell he looked like he wanted to hide from me. “What your brother means is that… Eddie’s dead. He can never come back and put you in that cage. You’re free now.” I saw him relax considerably, almost liked he feared I’d bring Eddie back or something. “I’m sorry if I’m scaring you, Richie. I don’t mean to. Honestly.”

He pointed at me slowly. “Okay,” he said with a small smile. He looked up at Mason. “I like.” He emphasized me again by shaking his pointing hand. He looked back at me. “You… kill him?”

I smiled a bit. “No, Richie. I didn’t kill Eddie. The police did that because he was trying to escape them and fired his own gun at the officers.” He nodded as his smile grew a bit bigger.

“We’re going to have to work on your grammar a bit, bud,” Mason said. Richie just shrugged.

“A… After I…” he struggled with the word. His brow furrowed in frustration before he looked towards us for help.

“Get better?” I offered. Enthusiastically he nodded.

“Where… we go?”

“You’ll be staying with me at Xander’s house,” Mason said, glancing back at me for confirmation.

I nodded. “Yeah, my dad works for the DCF. He’ll make sure you stay with us and we’ll get you better in no time, dude.”

Richie seemed very calm now, almost like a normal kid. “D-Doctor come back.”

“You’re ready for the doctor and staff to come back in and see how you’re doing?” Mason asked.

Richie nodded. “Stay. Both.” He paused. “Scared.”

“Don’t worry,” Mason said as he patted his brother’s face gently as he pushed the nurse’s button again. “We’re not going anywhere.” Richie nuzzled his face into that hand. He loved the attention, being deprived of it for so long, I imagined. He even grabbed Mason’s hand with both of his and pressed it against his cheek; I felt my heart totally breaking for this boy. How could someone do that to this sweet kid? I wiped away a tear that streaked my face.

Richie saw me. “Why sad?” His face was curious.

I sniffled a bit. “I’m sad for what happened to you, Richie. It should never have happened. It makes my heart hurt for you.” Richie’s smile became subdued for a moment. He took the hand of Mason’s he held and leaned forward, pressing it into my cheek. I smiled at the gesture as did Mason. “Thanks Richie, but it seems like you–” He wasn’t done yet as he took my left hand and nuzzled into it like he did Mason’s.

“Family. Missed this,” Richie cooed as he settled into the bed resting on my hand. He looked somewhat dreamily at me. “You b-brother too now.” Just then, the nurses came back in with the doctor. Mason’s hand slipped from my face and into my free hand.

The next ten minutes Mason and I spent keeping Richie calm as he was submitted to a few tests as he kept tensing up. They all checked out – miraculously the boy didn’t pull any stitches out when he jumped onto Mace – and Richie was released into my father’s care about a few hours later. Richie still seemed scared, but when he stood between me and his brother, he was as happy as could be. I had to introduce my family to him after I explained to them his very sensitive nature. Dad was already on top of it, but I still had to caution him as sometimes he’s known to have a few outbursts of anger and admonished him that he’d probably hurt Richie psychologically if he did. Dad just laughed at me, saying he knew that already and why he gets paid the big bucks. Conner seemed a bit nervous meeting this kid, afraid he’d say or do something wrong. But after a bit of reluctance on Richie’s part, he warmed up to the two of them, at least enough to get to the car at least.

Conner brought it around while the other four of us waited. Dad climbed into the passenger seat and Mason went in first. Richie seemed terrified of the big vehicle. I whispered in his ear that it’d be okay – Richie would sit between me and Mason. He relaxed a bit, but held onto my arm in a death grip and did the same to his brother once he was seated. His eyes were either open so wide I feared they’d fall out or scrunched shut so tight they’d pop out of his mouth or ears. Both Mason and I talked to him, saying it was safe. At one point I glanced at my boyfriend and he sort of shrugged. I’d have to ask him about it later.

We arrived home about twenty minutes later, with a calmer Richie exiting the vehicle. After the first five minutes, he seemed okay but was still holding onto us for safety. But near the end, his hold on us relaxed and I saw him smile a bit as he glanced out at the scenery shooting past us. We entered the house and again Richie latched onto Mason, the fear returning. Dad and Conner stepped into the kitchen, starting to work on a late lunch. The rest of us took a seat at the dining room table, me on one side of the frightened boy and Mason on the other. We pushed our chairs closer to him and Richie took each of our hands. His head was darting around very quickly, his eyes as wide as saucers.

“Hey, buddy,” I whispered to him, drawing his attention to me for a few seconds. “You’re safe here. Nothing’s going to hurt you here. I promise.”

He relaxed again, but not to the point he should be. “S-Sure?” he asked, taking his eyes off me for a second. But then the fear returned quickly and upgraded itself to sheer terror. Without warning, Richie let out a banshee-like wail again and disappeared into the living room, screaming as he did. I quickly turned to the direction he looked last and saw a startled father and brother, one of them holding a wooden spoon for the sauce one of them was preparing.

“The spoon,” Mason sighed as he stood up. “Eddie sometimes used to use a wooden spoon to beat Richie when he was ‘bad’ enough.” He darted into the living room and I followed, but at a distance. I wasn’t sure if my presence was welcome now. I rounded the corner and I saw Mason trying to persuade Richie out of the darkest corner of the room – the one behind the recliner. He saw me and it hurt me to see him flinch. I held my hands up, showing they were empty.

“L-Liar!” he screamed angrily at Mason as he pointed towards me. “N-Not s-sa-safe!”

“Richie, Xander is sweet,” Mason coaxed. “You have to realize that none of these people are like Eddie. They are the nicest people ever. Especially Xander. Do you think I’d want to go out with someone that could hurt me like Eddie did? That wouldn’t make sense, right?” It took about a minute, but reluctantly Richie shook his head. Suddenly, I had an idea that might help Richie. Something my therapist in Ohio suggested when I was still upset with the bastards that stole my mother’s life from her and her family. I held up a finger and disappeared from the room. I quickly darted into the storage space under the stairs and pulled out two of my old stuffed animals. One was a large zebra that someone won at a carnival. Another was one of my favorites – a stuffed tiger that Dad picked up while stationed in Korea. It was a bit worn but I think it’d do. I also detoured into the kitchen and retrieved the last clean wooden spoon. Both Conner and Dad eyed me warily, but I explained my plan and both seemed hesitant but agreeable to it.

I returned to the living room and Mason finally got Richie out of the corner. Both of them sat in the middle of the living room floor. Mason was holding his younger brother and Richie turned to me, still cautious of me. “Richie, I have a few things for you. And I’d like us to do a little exercise as well. The exercise probably won’t be fun, but it’ll help you face your fears a bit. Do you trust me?” Mason’s eyebrow arched.

Richie looked at my hands holding the stuffed animals. Before I reentered the living room, I tucked the handle of the spoon into my lower back and pants – I didn’t want to scare the boy any more than he already is, but I knew he’d need to use the spoon to confront his fears. His eyes diverted to mine, studying them. Slowly he nodded, but it wasn’t too convincing. “…Trust you.”

“Okay, thanks for trusting me,” I said with a smile. “Now, first I want you to have my old stuffed tiger. This little guy helped me when I was afraid my dad would never come home since he used to work for the Navy. You know what that is, right?”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Not stupid. M… M… War stuff.”

“Yeah, military is the word I think you wanted to use.” He nodded, a small smile forming. “But he sent me this when he was stationed in Korea. I want you to have him – he’ll help keep you safe.” I handed the stuffed animal to him. He took it and quickly drew it to his chest, cuddling with it.

“Thanks,” he said with glistening eyes. “Never got stuff before.”

“Okay on to the next thing. I brought this stuffed animal,” I said as I held up the huge stuffed zebra. “So we can do a little role-play. You know what that is?”

“Make pretend?” Richie asked.

“Sure,” I said. “In a way that what’s role-play is in the sense of what we’re going to do.” I sat down on the sofa and I carefully placed the spoon between the cushions. I stood up and then knelt before my boyfriend and his little brother. “I’ll explain exactly what we’re doing but I need to tell a story as to why we’re doing this. I think it’ll help keep you calm when we get actually to doing the role-play. You with me so far?”

“Understand,” Richie nodded. I could tell he was more relaxed again in my presence. I hoped this exercise thing won’t scar the poor boy and I really hoped this was the right thing to do.

“Okay, now I may get upset while I tell you this, because this happened pretty recently, before I moved here.”

“Where from?” Richie asked.

“I used to live in Ohio, but we moved here about a month ago, before school started. But about six months ago… m-my mom was killed. It w-was a senseless act of t-two men that I-I don’t think I’ll ever understand.” I explained what happened to the boy as I watched him through my blurring eyes. I saw the emotions play out on both of their faces as I bared my deepest wound to these two, feeling like I was reliving it. My mind’s eye played a cruel trick on me as I watched again as the bullet hole suddenly appeared on her perfect skin. I stopped as I started to cry again. I felt arms wrap around me – little arms.

“Sorry,” Richie said as he squeezed my waist, doing his best to comfort me. I hugged this poor kid to my chest, feeling that this was all backwards. I wanted to laugh at the situation, but I didn’t. It was enough to get me to stop crying.

“Thanks Richie. I needed that.” He looked up at me and beamed. I wiped at my eyes with the heels of my palms. “But the reason I told that story is because all of us – me, my brother Conner, and my dad – all went into therapy for about a month after… s-she died. I was very withdrawn during that time and even the mention of the word gun or seeing one sent me into a panic as I was forced to relive the event over and over again.”

“S-Spoon…” Richie said, a bit of realization and a lot of fear in that one word.

“Right,” I agreed. “So what the therapist had me do was a role-play. She put up two stuffed animals or pillows and told me to think of them as the people that… m-murdered my mom. Then she handed me a toy gun.” I swallowed as Richie stared at me intently. “At first, I threw the toy gun across the room, afraid of it. I thought it was a real gun at first. But after she explained what she wanted me to do, I was a bit more at ease, but still very scared. But what she wanted me to do was imagine a scene where I had the power, I had the control. And for the most part, it worked.

“I felt the anger well up inside me towards those two cowards and I started venting my frustrations out on ‘them’.” I laughed a bit. “She had to use one of those toy guns that makes sounds, you know? I think I almost drove her insane with the sounds of the ‘gunfire’.”

Richie’s brow furrowed, thinking. He held his hand up, wanting time to speak. “Want… me pretend zebra Eddie? Beat with w…woo…” He paused for a second. I knew he needed to say it; I waited patiently. “Beat with w-wooden s…s-spoon? Might help?”

“That’s exactly what I’m hoping you’re up to doing. It’s really scary confronting something or even someone that holds so much fear or a strong, negative emotion for you. I had the gun to overcome – it led me to venting a few choice words I had for the holders of those guns but I digress – whereas you have the spoon that’s your enemy. If you still trust me and you’re willing to try, we should get started. The sooner you face this, the sooner you will be in control of it.”

Richie looked back at Mason, who sat quietly absorbing all of this. Mason shrugged. “Richie, this is up to you. I can’t make this decision for you. But I’ll be here with you every step, bro.”

Richie nodded. He poked me. “Stay?” I nodded. “O…Okay, try.”

“Alright. If you’re really ready for this, go dig between the couch cushions I sat on earlier – I hid a wooden spoon there. If you’re truly ready, you’ll be able to pick it up. If you can do that, use it to do whatever you want on the stuffed zebra – remember you’re pretending the zebra is Eddie, okay?” Slowly, Richie nodded as I slid over next to Mason. The boy slowly and very carefully inched towards the couch.

“Will this really help Richie?” Mason whispered to me.

“It worked for me – you should ask my dad about it and he’ll tell you I was a wreck after it happened. Granted, we all were, but I just shut down until I went through that with my therapist. Even Jared will tell you I stopped hanging out with him and our friends and I even ignored his calls – I just shut everyone out more or less.” Richie now knelt before the couch, his hand shakily reaching into the couch cushion. His hand recoiled when I guess he touched the spoon in some fashion. But I saw the edges of his face and what I saw showed determination. His hand plunged back into the cushions and swiftly produced the spoon. That determination started to falter as he stared at the spoon.

He dropped it and scurried away from it and towards us, staring at the spoon the whole time. He looked back at me, tears in his eyes. “C-C-Can’t…” I pulled him in between us.

“That’s okay, Richie. I think this is a big first step for you. You held onto the spoon for about ten seconds before you dropped it. That’s a big improvement over screaming at the sight of it. It really is. I want you to try one more thing and we’ll stop for today, alright?”

“W-What?”

I slowly and gently craned his head towards the spoon. “Do you think you can break it? That’s something my therapist had me do – she had me kick and mangle the toy gun she gave me. It really helped me to show that it’s only an object. Of course I'd never really try that with a real gun, but I think you see my point. Can you try?”

“H-How?”

“Either put it under your foot as you yank it upwards or break it across your knee. You could also put the spoon part under the edge of the couch and try to break it using leverage. Any way you can think of. Though I must ask that you don’t throw it, please? You might hurt yourself with it or someone else. Okay?” The boy nodded and I heard him swallow. He slid over to the spoon and delicately picked up the spoon, afraid it might bite him or lash out at him. “Alright, now show the spoon it doesn’t have any power over you. Break it.”

Anger suddenly washed over the boy’s face – a good sign. A primal scream escaped his throat as he cracked the spoon across his knee, snapping it in two. And then the dam burst. He snatched up the stuffed animal and he squeezed the neck of it. Hard. “This is what I think of your fucking spoon you fucking bastard! You fucking coward, you’re nothing but a useless piece of fucking human flesh! God damn son of a bitch! I hope you rot in hell for what you did to me and Mason! And if you even touched a hair on my mom’s head, I’ll come find you in hell and push Satan himself out of the way so I can torture you myself for eternity like you planned to do to me and my brother!” The grip on the stuffed toy was cast iron – his knuckles were turning white from the pressure he applied. If that was really Eddie, I bet the man would be dead about three times over from a broken neck and asphyxiation from the hold Richie had on the toy.

Just as suddenly as the dam burst, the void of no longer holding some of that anger in hit the boy and he released the zebra. He fell to his knees and started to bawl in frustration, sadness, and anger. I nodded to Mason and he picked him up and hugged him tightly. “Don’t worry buddy,” Mason whispered as he stroked his sobbing brother’s head. “He won’t ever hurt your again. You’re safe here with me and Xander and his family.”

Nothing was said, the only sounds filling the room was Richie’s bawling. I slid over and ran my hands over his back as Mason held him. A few times, Dad and Conner came and checked on us, but I shooed them away. Conner mouthed that dinner was ready before he disappeared the last time. I relayed the message once Richie calmed down enough. I handed both of them a tissue box and both of them dabbed at their eyes. Richie also blew his nose.

Dinner was quiet. I sat at one end of the table, across from Dad. Conner sat across from the brothers. The only few words spoken were to compliment the cooking to either Dad or Conner from Mason or me. Richie stayed quiet and mostly played with the food. At first, I assumed it was due to not really eating a lot during Eddie’s reign in the house. But as the meal progressed and I watched him seeing him glance around the table and studied how everyone ate the spaghetti, my assumption seemed unfounded. Mason caught onto this and helped him by showing if he twirled his fork in the noodles, he’d have better luck. Once Mason showed him, the food on his plate started to disappear quickly. He even held his plate out, indicating he wanted more. Mason just shook his head and served his brother.

Once Mason and I cleared off the table, I saw Richie looking upset again. I nudged Mason and shook my head at Richie. He saw and without saying a word, I finished loading the dishwasher and wiped the table as Mason picked his brother up and just simply hugged him. The boy latched his arms around Mason’s neck and I think I saw him shaking like a leaf. Slowly, Mason lowered him back to the ground, but he held his brother’s hand while hugging the stuffed tiger I gave to him. He slipped away from Mason and he surprised me by latching onto my waist.

“Thanks. Everything.” Those two words touched my heart as the boy gave me an extra squeeze as he spoke.

“It’s my pleasure, little man,” I said as I ruffled his hair. He backed away out of instinct – no one like their hair getting messed up, right? – but he smiled widely before he hugged me briefly again and returning to Mason’s side.

Dad came in and smiled seeing the dishes were in order. He likes to run a tight ship, he always says and each time he does, Conner and I groan at the obvious Navy plug. “Richie, do you want to come with me and pick out a room? We have two spares and one’s got your name on it. What do you say?” The boy looked between Mason and me a few times, a bit of apprehension showing on his face. Both of us nodded, trying to say that he was okay. Slowly, but very hesitantly he looked at my dad.

The boy sighed as he turned towards me. “Okay.” Dad took the lead and ushered the younger boy out of the room, leaving Mason and me alone for the first time all day. I sighed, finding this whole ordeal stressful. I went to say that to Mason, but I couldn’t even get a word out before I found him attached to my lips. The kiss was fervent, passionate as Mason gently but firmly held the sides of my head still. I felt my knees liquefying the longer he suckled on my lips. I moaned in response, completely oblivious to anything else.

Mason slowly pulled away and bit his lower lip, trying to savor what just happened between us. I found myself blushing a little, but smiling nonetheless. “Thank you. Thank you so much for being you, Alexander Jacobs. I… I-I can’t express how much happiness and joy I feel right now.” He stopped and stared into my eyes. I saw so much pride, happiness… love I think in his fiery silver orbs. He rested his forehead against mine for a moment, but our difference in height made impractical to maintain for too long. “You’ve not only saved me, but you’ve gotten Richie to not only warm up to you, I think he’ll be almost back to normal soon enough thanks to you. I… I don’t think I can ever truly express how that makes me feel.”

I felt my eyes water, but I did nothing to stop any tears from escaping; I let them fall. The pure emotion this boy currently was made it almost too hard to be near him, but I endured. It was highly enjoyable. “Mason… just being here… with me.” I stopped as my throat threatened to cease working. “That’s all I need.” I leaned into him as his arms wrapped out me, cocooning me in the feelings I could almost taste oozing through his shirt.

It didn’t last nearly as long as I wanted it to.

The wailing preceded the terrified boy and instantly, Mason gently pushed off me and intercepted his brother. “Richie, what’s wrong?” Again, the boy clung to his big brother and the horrible sounds coming from such a small looking boy slowly simmered down. Dad peeked into the room and motioned for me to come to him. I followed him to the foyer.

“What’s up Dad?” I asked.

He rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t think I’m… qualified to help Richie. He seemed okay with me, but he was very stiff and unresponsive while I showed him the spare rooms. I must’ve done or said something to set him off and he ran down the stairs screaming like he did.” This was upsetting Dad, I could tell. I know sometimes he can get pretty angry over the smallest things, but his desire to help people – poor children like the Jacksons – made him a softie. Having Richie react the way he did really hurt Dad, more so than he was letting on. The way he slouched as he stood before me was the biggest giveaway – the one thing he took from the Navy was the stance of holding one’s head high and back straight. If he knew his CO was here, he’d most likely be doing fifty for not standing at attention or something.

“I have an idea that benefits me, Mason, and Richie.”

“You?” Dad asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Why not move one of the beds into my room for Richie? When he’s more comfortable, maybe we can look at getting him situated in one of the spare rooms. There’s no rush – I think the kid’s adorable. Like a cute puppy – I just can’t understand how Eddie could hurt such a kid…” I paused and shook myself out of my rambling. “Anyway, back to my point. I have the space in that room for another bed.” I smiled a bit wryly. “I’d suggest that my bed was big enough for the three of us, but I don’t think you’d go for that.”

Dad quickly cleared his throat. “No, son. I wouldn’t like that. But how would this help Mason?”

“Dad,” I said seriously. I knew I had to approach this with a level of maturity. “I know it’s sudden, but I really think I love Mason. Now, before you say something,” I continued over him as he was about to object. “This will work out for all of us, I promise. If we all share my room, I get to spend time with Mason while we keep Richie nearby. I already know he’s going to have issues sleeping tonight – it’d be unwise to let the boy sleep on his own. I mean… he’d end up in either my bed or Mason’s anyway, so might as well save the trouble and keep him close right?” Dad nodded slowly. “And with Richie in the room, you can be a hundred percent sure that nothing would go on between me and Mason. Think of Richie as a very good contraceptive – I don’t want or need an audience when it comes time for that sort of thing.”

“Which, young man, better be a long ways off,” Dad admonished.

“Dad, would it help if I said that earlier I suggested to Mason that we take a shower together, but he declined? He wants to go slow.” I paused again. “I kind of do too, as I don’t want our relationship based just on sex. I just want to make sure those two are sleeping easy is all, really.”

Dad bristled a bit when I mentioned sex, but he recovered quickly and looked down thoughtfully at me. “Xander, you surprise me sometimes. Alright, I’ll go ahead and move one of the beds into your room, but I’m going to also suggest that we set up Mason’s stuff in the other room that’ll still have a bed. It might be good for you two to have separate spaces if the need arises. Sometimes people deal with stress better by themselves and that’ll give him or even Richie a place to go if they want.” He started glaring at me. “Don’t make me regret this.”

I smiled as I hugged Dad. “Don’t worry – we’ll be good. Especially with an eleven year-old watchdog in the room with us. Just pretend that we’re playing house our something. Richie’s our ‘son’ and we’re the ‘dads’ living in a one bedroom flat or something. It’ll be fun.”

Dad rolled his eyes hard at me. “Just remember that these aren’t dolls you’re ‘playing’ with. Now go tell your brother to come upstairs to help me. I might need to rearrange your room a bit.” I just nodded as I ran to find Conner. But I stopped when Dad started speaking again. “Oh, wait for a second. I’ll need to run to the store after this. Is there anything you need?”

I smirked back to him. “Wooden spoons. Lots of wooden spoons.”