The Village

Seth’s Perspective

Nathan had already gone back to Wisconsin. Kelly, Eli, and Riley all stayed to work on the house, and it was back to work for me and Zach. I parked The Green Dragon behind Harrington House and once again collected all the church pamphlets from the windshields of the cars (and off the floor under the mail slot, and off the light post out front). They weren’t letting up and were making their presence known, that’s why one of the first things on my to-do list that morning was to get a few companies out to The Village to give me estimates on a security system. I made the coffee, then made the calls to the security companies, then went through my e-mails. The two case Worker candidates had gone through the background checks and had all their interviews with the board. No red flags, so I set up in-person interviews with each one for later in the week. I was catching up on what I had missed while I was out the office when Taylor walked in.

“Hey, Seth. I’m sorry I bugged you on your day off” he said. I know the things he said didn’t seem like a big deal on the surface, but they absolutely were. Taylor never thought twice about how his actions impacted others, but there he was apologizing for bothering me on my day off. That was progress for him.

“You didn’t bug me, I’m proud of you and was excited to hear about your job offers” I said.

He smiled and said, “I accepted the sales job at the dealership, then called Marv at the insurance agency and Shirley at the restaurant and thanked them for the job offers.”

“Good for you. Congratulations” I responded trying to suppress my smile. “How’d it all go?”

“Great! Frank at the dealership is excited to have me on board, and the other two told me to give them a call if the other job didn’t work out.” He responded. “Marv even congratulated me on the other job and told me to send my customers his way if they needed insurance” he laughed.

“Good for you. You’re taking control” I replied then asked, “How’s the apartment hunt going?”

“That’s why I came to see you” he said as he put an application form on my desk. “I need a personal reference, and a reference from my current landlord.”

“You can put me for the landlord reference since you pay rent to The Village… that’s why we have you guys pay rent, to help you establish a history.” I said.

“Do you think Max would be my personal reference?”

“Probably. Ask him at work today. Did you give him notice yet?” I asked.

“Yeah, I gave him two weeks. He said he was proud of me and thanked me for my hard work. Ricky said that if my other job wanted me sooner that we could work it out… they were both great about it.”

“Have you figured out that we all give a crap about you yet?” I asked with a smirk.

“I know” he said sheepishly. “But… well no one ever has before. You gotta cut me some slack, Seth. This is all new, I’ve always been on my own. Always.” he said looking me straight in the eyes. I felt like shit. I had tried to be patient with him, but when he came right out and said no one has ever given a crap about him, I felt like shit and wondered if we had been too harsh with the guy. But then again, maybe he wouldn’t have made the progress he had if we hadn’t. “I still want to have our regular sessions after I move out, you said we could, right?”

“Absolutely” I responded. “We’re here for you. Once a villager….”

“Always a villager” Taylor finished my sentence with a sheepish smile. “Cool. I gotta go, Ricky’s giving me a ride to work” With that, Taylor left my office. That conversation had me replaying our entire relationship in my head, from the day the agency in Atlantic City first called us about him until now. I pulled out my notes and studied Taylor’s case questioning if I handled things correctly. I ended up calling my mentor, Dr. Aarons in Wisconsin and talking through the case with him.

He answered the phone excitedly with “hey Seth, how’s it going in North Carolina?!”

“Great!” I answered and then we spent a few minutes catching up. He asked about Zach, the house, and The Village, then I asked him about his husband Bill and the kids. After we caught up on each other’s lives since last we spoke, I told him about Taylor. He listened as I walked through his history, and what had transpired since he arrived.

He gave me input on a couple of things I could have done differently, but in the end, he said, “You handled it well, Seth. The fact that he’s opening up to you, thinking about others, and taking control of his life is fantastic progress. Would you trust other people if you went through what he’s been through? Guys like him can go through their entire lives living hand-to-mouth and not giving a shit about tomorrow, or about anyone else… you’re making him think and plan.” Then he continued, “You gave him the tools to open doors and create opportunities for himself. You’re teaching him how to look at the big picture and think about others. Again, that’s huge! Whether he takes a different path or continues to turn tricks is beyond your control. All you can do is listen and lead. The rest s up to him.” Dr. Aarons was smart as hell and I valued his perspective. It was great to talk to him. Before I hung up, we agreed to talk once every other week (or if I just need input like today). I was excited to have someone to bounce things off, I was still new at this and I wanted to do right by our clients.

The rest of my morning and early afternoon was typical… paperwork, virtual counselling sessions, etc. It was after 4:00 when I got a call from a local number that I didn’t recognize.

“Hey Seth? This is Marilee from the coffee shop a few doors down. You stopped in and introduced yourself a few weeks ago” said the pleasant voice on the other end of the call.

I remembered meeting her, her shop is directly across from the church (The church from hell as Eli calls it). “Hi, Marilee. Nice to hear from you. What’s up?” I asked assuming she was calling about a donation, or looking for parttime help, or something of that nature. That’s usually what the local businesspeople called me about.

“Listen, I know you said you work with youth and we have a weird situation” she said. My interest was piqued and I just listened. “These two younger guys… like late teens, maybe twenty-ish stumbled into my place from the church across the street about a half hour ago. The one guy is a little hysterical, and the other one seems drunk or something. All I know is that they asked for help, but I’m not sure what’s going on. I didn’t really know who to call and I was hoping you’d have better luck making sense of it.”

The words ‘stumbled into my place from the church across the street’ got my attention. “Where are they now?” I asked.

“The one is passed out in a chair in my office and the other is sitting next to him shaking like a leaf. The one guy said they were brothers.” Marilee said sharing what she knew.

I thought for a moment then answered, “I’ll be right over.” She thanked me and sounded relieved to have some help… any help. I locked up the office, went out the back door and down the alley to Marilee’s Coffee Shop. I knocked on the backdoor and she let me in.

“Thanks for coming Seth, I didn’t know who to call” she said greeting me.

“Where are they?” I asked and she led me to a small office and opened the door. There sat the two boys, one of them was fast asleep in a T-shirt and boxers and the other one was wearing a uniform shirt from the coffee shop and had a look of terror in his eyes, the poor kid was scared shitless. “Hi, I’m Seth” I said reaching my hand out to shake his.

“Benjamin” the scared young man said taking my hand. “That’s my older brother Joel.” He said nodding towards the sleeping boy.

I explained who I was, what The Village did, and that I was there to help them. He explained the situation to me; “Joel was heading back to school in Atlanta and we were going to go to lunch before her left. He was outside packing up his car while I was in the shower, when I finished, I went out to help him but he was gone. His car was there and half-packed, but he was gone.” Benjamin had panic in his voice as he spoke. Marilee had left the room and come back with a couple of cups of coffee for us.

“It’s alright, Benjamin” I said. “Take a deep breath.” The kid was a mess. His face was bright red, his eyes puffy, and he kept looking around nervously like he was waiting for something to happen.

He took a deep breath then exhaled before he continued. “I went into the house looking for him but couldn’t find him. There were still a few boxes left in his room. The only other one in the house was Mother. I asked he if she had seen Joel and she just said he needed to run an errand with Father. I waited all day but he didn’t come back.” He took a little break from telling his story to sip his coffee and catch his breath.

I rubbed his back to comfort him while Joel continued to sleep. He was so flipping nervous and keyed-up, like he was waiting for someone to break into that room. “It’s okay, you guys are safe here” I said sensing that he needed reassurance. He nodded.

Benjamin continued, “my room was next to Father and Mother’s and I heard them talking through the walls that night after I went to bed.”

The way he said ‘Father and Mother’ was bone chilling… it probably wouldn’t have elicited that response in most people, but when I was growing up, we didn’t say “dad and mom” or any other term of endearment. We said Father and Mother as a sign of respect… whether we wanted to or not. It was forced and expected. I was suddenly transported back ten years when I was a scared little kid obeying my parents out of a fear that they had labeled as “respect.”

“I heard them talking about Joel using words like “homosexual”, “faggot”, “queer”, and the big one around our house “sinner.” None of that was new information, I know Joel’s gay but I don’t care, he’s my brother and I love him no matter what.” He paused and took another breath, “anyway, when I heard them mention the church, I knew what happened to Joel. Father’s church has a program to cure homosexuals. This guy Barret we knew from church went through that program last year and came out pretty messed up. He dates girls now, but it’s like the rest of him is gone. He used to be so much fun always smiling and laughing, but now it's like he’s dead inside. I didn’t want that to happen to Joel.” His fists balled up as he spoke (I don’t think he even realized it) and the anger was starting to overtake the fear. He stopped and just stared for a moment, collecting his thoughts, and trying to keep his composure.

I decided to take the break in his story as an opportunity to let him know he wasn’t alone. “My Father and Mother belonged to the same church when I was growing up in Texas” I said. He looked up and locked his eyes to mine while he hung on my every word. “My oldest brother Brad was away at college and just stopped coming home one year. My parents told me and my siblings that he was too busy with school and the swim team to come home at holidays. I tried to call him and his phone had been disconnected. I asked about him all the time and they just made up excuses. Father and Mother acted like he just never existed and eventually I just stopped asking. A couple of years later everything hit the fan.” I told him about Brad’s abduction and me, Brian, and Eli being locked up and having to beg god for forgiveness for betraying our father, basically just for loving our brother.

“What happened? How did you get away?” he asked out of desperation. His eyes told me he was looking for hope, a happy ending to his own story. So, I told him about me and my brothers moving in with Brad and Scotty and a quick synopsis about how we all ended up more than okay.

“So, how did you end up here?” I asked the scared kid.

By that point Benjamin seemed more at ease and composed. “I got in Joel’s car and went to the church; I used to help out at the church a lot when I was little, so I know how to get in when it’s closed.” I totally understood what he was saying, I was the same way when I was younger and part of the church. I knew my way around. “I snuck in and looked around. But no sign of him. Then I heard a noise and followed it to one of the Sunday School rooms. There was Joel strapped to a chair in just his underwear and he was passed out. I didn’t see anyone else around so I started to unstrap him, my heart was racing and I was breathing heavy as I focused on getting him the heck out of that place. I was so engrossed that I didn’t hear Mr. Mason, one of the Church Elders come in. He put his hand firmly on my shoulder, then put me in a headlock and dragged me to another room without a word. I was struggling and demanding that he let me go, he completely ignored me as he threw me into an empty room with a Bible.” The Benjamin paused and aksed, “What day is it?”

Marilee was standing next to me with a look of horror on her face as she listened to the boy.  And answered “Monday.”

“That was Thursday night” Benjamin said.

“How did you get out?” I asked as I looked around the room. I now understood Benjamin’s paranoia and started to get nervous that the church would find us. I knew how these guys thought… they saw themselves as morally superior, appointed by god, and ultimately doing his work. They would find them.

“After Mr. Mason brought me lunch, I asked to use the bathroom. He waited in the hallway as he always did. While I was peeing, I heard someone yell his name then heard his footsteps walking away towards the voice. When I entered the hall, he was talking to someone at the other end of the long corridor. I tiptoed around and looked in the windows of the other rooms until I found Joel” he said nodding towards his still sleeping brother. “He was out of it. I slapped his face until he came too enough to put his arm around me and stumble out of the church. They took my phone and car keys, everything. Joel was just in his Boxers so I put my shirt of him and we came in here… it was the closest place.”

“All I had was a uniform T-shirt” Marilee said explaining Benjamin’s attire.

I took a deep breath, then asked Benjamin if I could hug him. He didn’t answer, instead He stood up and took the few steps towards me and embraced me with all he had, he started to sob. “I don’t know what to do” he said through his sobs.

“That’s okay” I replied, “I do.” I didn’t, but he didn’t need to hear that, he needed me to figure out a plan and I would.

“Marilee, can you keep an eye on these guys while I go get them some clothes?” I asked and she agreed. I assured Benjamin that I’d be right back then went to The Village to figure it all out. We had some donated clothes in the basement and I grabbed some stuff that I thought would fit. I called Terrance as I rummaged through boxes. Terrance was an ER Dr. He was off for the next two days and offered to come to us to check Joel out. “No, we’re too close to the church, I need to get them out of here.”

“Bring them to our place. Do they need a place to stay?” Terrance asked.

“Yeah. Probably” I responded. “I’m still trying to figure out exactly what’s going on” He said he would check with Harris to see if they could stay with them at least for now. I was relieved, at least they would be safe tonight. I finished gathering clothes then put my computer in my bag, locked up the office, got in The Green Dragon, and moved it down a few buildings parking it at Marilee’s backdoor. By the time I got back Joel had woken up. I spoke with him for a minute to see how he was… he was awake but sill groggy. He collaborated Benjamin’s story. “Here guys, I brought some clothes for you to wear for now. My friend Terrance is a Dr. We’re going to go to his house so he can check Joel out” I said going through the plan with them. Benjamin nodded but Joel just kind of stared at me.

“A couple of people from the church stopped by and asked if we had seen two boys” Marilee said. “I got rid of them.”

Shit, they were looking for them. I know The Village was on their radar and figured they’d stop by my office… luckily, no one was there. The boys got changed into the clothes I’d brought them, they fit okay, but the shoes were huge but would have to do for now. Marilee handed Benjamin a bag of ham and cheese croissants and a couple of sodas for the road, he hugged her and thanked her for her kindness. She saw us out to the car and we headed out to the country to see Terrance. During the drive, I gave Benjamin my iPad and had him fill out some basic forms. This was an emergency and I was skipping our typical intake protocols, but I still need to be responsible and make sure The Village was covered, I needed to know who these guys were and get their authorization to help them. Joel was in his own world as he sat in the backseat, and Benjamin was upfront with me discussing what they needed.

“Is there anyone you want to call to let them know you’re okay?” I asked.

“Aunt Kayleigh” He answered without hesitation. “She’s my mom’s sister and hates my dad and his church crap. Her and Uncle David live in New York.”

Joel was listening from the back seat and stirred a little, “Call her, Benji. She’ll help us” he said, his speech slurred. Those were the first words he had spoken.

I looked at Joel in the rearview mirror and asked, “You doing okay back there, buddy?” He smiled back at me with a dopey, drug induced smile and gave me a ‘Yup.’

“So, Benji… is that what you preferred to be called” I asked trying to make the nervous kid more comfortable. He nodded, then I asked, “Do you know your aunt’s number?”

He shook his head ‘no’ then said, “but I know the name of her company, I can call her at work.” I handed him my phone and noticed that the battery was down to about 20%. Benji took the phone. Googled his aunt’s company, then called her. He talked to her for a few minutes, his voice cracking the entire time as he tried to remain calm… that poor kid. His fucking father just ripped his world apart. I could totally relate to him and all the mixed emotions from that time in my life were twirling around inside my head.

Benji pulled me out of my head by handing me the phone back, “she wants to talk to you he said.”

I took the phone and spoke with her as I drove down the highway towards Harris and Terrance’s place. I was feeling her out at first, making sure she was a true ally and not going to turn the boys back over to the church of doom. It was clear that she was not a fan of her brother in-law and that she was on the boy’s side. “Listen,” she said with a stern and determined tone, “I’m going to call my husband and we’ll get there as soon as we can. I need to get Joel back to school in Atlanta, and make sure he’s safe from his father and the church, then I can bring Benji back to New York with me for now” then she paused and took a deep breath. “I appreciate all you’re doing for my boys, but I don’t know you, Seth. Do you think you can keep that prick Gerald and my brainwashed sister away from them until we get there?” It was now crystal clear that she was on their side.

“I can” I replied confidently. “I’m taking Joel to see a doctor now to make sure he’s okay and I have a safehouse for them to stay for the next couple of days. I can come up with longer-term arrangements if needed.”

She seemed relieved by my confident answers and said with a nervous laugh, “This aint your first rodeo, is it?”

“Nope, I’ve lived through this shit myself. I got their backs” I said. Then I decided to hedge my bet… I mean, she seemed trustworthy and, on their side, but I did NOT want to throw them from the frying pan into the fire. “Kayleigh, please promise I can trust you. Benji and Joel need help.” I know it was kind of weak, but it was all I had… sincerity.

“Seth, I love my boys and I hate my brother in-law and that fucking cultish church of his with a passion. My sister is useless, but we’re here for them” she said in a tone I had heard from my brother Brad a million times. I believed her. “Is this the best number to reach you?” she asked.

“Yes. Keep me posted on your itinerary”

“I will” She responded. “And you keep them safe.”

“I will” I promised before hanging up. My phone powered down as I did. Shit! The battery died just as we were pulling into Terrance and Harris’s drive. I turned to Benji and said, “Terrance and Harris are good friends and good guys. You can trust them. You’re safe here.” He gave me an obligatory smile as we got out of the car and went to the back to help Joel out. He was coming around.

We barely had Joel out of the car when Terrance and Harris came running from the house to help. I made all the introductions, and Benji thanked them for their help. We got them into the house and Terrance checked Joel’s vitals etc. He asked a lot of questions and Joel did his best to answer. Terrance concluded he was fine but they had obviously drugged him. I stayed there with them for a few hours,,, frankly I had lost track of time. Joel was starting to come out of his drug-induced funk, I could see he was a bright, good kid under there. Harris made Joel some soup and kept putting plates of food in front of Benji, the poor kid was starved. When Joel could finally speak, he told us that he’d been locked in a room in the basement of the church and forced to pray. At one point they had hooked him up to electrodes, asked him questions and would shoot volts of electricity through him when they didn’t like his answer. At night they’d put something in his water to make him pass out, he said he didn’t mind that because it was better than staying awake all night freaking out about being a prisoner. “Well, it’s 7:00” Harris said. “Why don’t we get you two guys settled upstairs, then you can come back down and hang out with us or watch TV with us or something.”

“7:00?! SHIT!” I Said loudly. “Do you guys have a phone charger I can borrow?” Harris plugged my phone in on the kitchen counter. “Can you text Zach and tell him I’m here with a client and my phone is dead? I should’ve been home two hours ago; he’s probably freaking out.” He did as I askes and Zach responded immediately with ‘thank fucking god!’ Yeah, he was freaking out.  Harris brought me a coke and we stood in the kitchen and talked as I waited for my phone to charge. Their house was amazing… very pristine, completely different from BroMax or what we were creating across the road. Terrance took the boys upstairs and I updated Harris on everything that had happened that day, then we talked about the progress on our house and Brody’s idea about doing all three houses up as painted ladies. Harris said they loved the idea, but theirs would probably be “more subtle.” That made me smile… the two of them were definitely more refined than the rest of us.

The guys came down just as my phone got enough charge for the text alert to bing about a billion times. Almost all Zach trying to find me, but one from Kayleigh. I read it out loud. “We’ll be in Wilmington on Wednesday. Keep my boys safe and let me know if you need ANYTHING.”

Benji breathed another sigh of relief. Okay guys, “I said. You’re in good hands. I’ll be back in the morning with some clothes and we’ll figure out a plan.”

“Don’t go, Seth” Benji asked with the most pathetic look on his cute face.

“Buddy, I got a husband and relatives in town. I need to go, but you are in the best hands!

 I’m just up the road if you need me; these guys have my number.” Benji smiled sadly at me. He was scared.

Harris reinforced my words “You guys are safe here, I promise.” That worked. Benji and Joel both seemed to be getting comfortable, but I hated to leave them.

I said goodnight and started to head out the door when Benji stopped me “Seth!” he yelled as he came up behind me and put out his hand for me to shake, “Thank you for helping to save my brother.”

I shook his hand, then pulled him in for a hug “You’re an awesome brother.”

“So is he” he responded quietly.

I walked out to The Green Dragon, got inside and just sat there a moment. This was all too damn familiar; it was like I was having PTSD from a time that I thought I had left far behind. I guess that trauma never really goes away. I took a deep breath and called Zach. He answered with “Where the fuck have you been? You scared the hell out of me, I went down to your office looking for you.”

“I’ve been dealing with two brothers from the church” is all I said.

“You shoulda’ fucking called, Seth. I’ve been worried and trying to….” He was yelling at me. I know he didn’t mean to, he was just worried, but it was all too much.

I yelled back, “Cut me some fucking slack! I’ve been dealing with a kid trying to save his brother from the church. THAT FUCKING CHURCH!” I was loud and Zach paused.

“um… I’m sorry Seth, that must’ve been rough.” He said empathetically now.

“It was hard as hell” I barked back.

“We’re all at The Tavern for dinner, why don’t you join us” Zach said in a now calm voice.

“No. I’m just going to go over to our place and see what everyone got done today, and just think” I said. “I need a little Seth time. Okay?”

“Absolutely okay. I’ll bring you a burger and onion rings” Zach said. I thanked him then headed to the local gas station a couple miles away for a six pack of cheap beer and a pack of Marlboro lights. I hadn’t smoked in years, but I needed it. On the drive over I called Ricky and told him that the church might be around looking for a couple of guys and to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious “Don’t talk to them, and call the cops if they show up” I said before hanging up the phone. After I hit the gas station, I drove back to our place and parked right in front of the door. I turned the key, then walked through the house and checked out the progress. DAMN! Our family came through. The floors on the second floor were completely done except for the hallway, they looked gorgeous. I went into the kitchen and saw that the cabinets were completely stripped and one area had a test-stain on it, Eli had also hung one of the galvanized pendant lights… it really looked good and I smiled for the first time all afternoon. I went into the barn to see all the cabinet and drawer fronts from the kitchen with their first coat of stain. It was all coming alive for me now.

I locked up the old barn and went around to the back of the house and sat on one of the patio chairs the Halls had given us. I lit up a cigarette, and opened a beer. I just sat there in the vast darkness of the North Carolina country night and tried to sort out all the thoughts in my head. The events of the day had conjured up the ghosts of my past. As I sat there in silence, I heard the distinctive sound of Zach’s GTI whirring up the drive. The door opened and shut, Zach had come looking for me.

“I’M BACK HERE!” I yelled to Zach then heard his footsteps coming towards me.

A head popped around the corner of the house “Hi, dipshit” Eli said quietly.

I was very surprised, but very happy to see my brother. “I thought you were Zach” I said with a smile.

“Zach told me you were dealing with two brothers from the church from hell, I thought maybe you could use someone to talk to…” Eli said as he held out a greasy brown paper bag holding a burger and onion rings. “Someone who gets it” He smiled. Then he added “I thought you quit smoking.”

“I did, but I figured a smoke and a beer are better than a nervous breakdown” I joked. “Join me?” I asked nodding to the six pack and pack of cigarettes sitting on the small table next to me, He grabbed one of each. “Eli, they were us!” I said to my brother as I blew smoke from my lungs. In an uncharacteristic move he leaned in and hugged me.

“I figured that’s what was in your head” He said as he held me. “Tell me what happened” he said as he took the chair next to me. And I did, I told him all about Joel and Benjamin. He listened intently with empathy in his eyes as we both relived that horrid time. After I finished with my story he asked, “Are they safe now?”

“Yeah, they’re across the road with Harris and Terrance. Their aunt and uncle are coming from New York on Wednesday to get them.” I said as I took a drag of my Marlboro Light and absentmindedly exhaled. I ignored the greasy bag of food on the table… I just couldn’t eat.

“Like Brad and Scotty helped us?” Eli asked. I nodded. “Do you remember what you told me when you and Max first started to map out your plan for The Village?”

I nodded and said, “I wanted to make sure that every young gay kid had a Brad and Scotty.”

“And today you gave Joel and Benji a Brad and Scotty” Eli said. “I’m so fucking proud of you little brother.”

 “And I’m so fucking glad you’re here big brother” I responded.

“Good. Because it’s official. Riley and I are moving to North Carolina.” My face exploded with a smile I couldn’t control. It was amazing news especially after my day from hell. Damn, my life was a roller coaster.

To be continued…

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Author's note: Hey Y'all, trying to take a break over the upcoming holiday weekend so I thought I'd throw you this chapter a little early.