The Village

Seth’s Perspective

I couldn’t believe what Eli had just told me, and I couldn’t contain my excitement. “No. Fucking. Way! She got the job?!” I almost screamed into the deafening silence of the North Carolina countryside. Eli grinned and nodded. “Are you guys definitely moving?!”

“90% definite. We have a few more ducks to line up, but she plans on accepting tomorrow… It’s a damn good offer for a first job and great opportunities for growth” Eli said.

“What about your job?” I asked.

“Shit, I’m an electrician, I can find work anywhere” Eli said with an overconfident swagger… yup, that was the Eli I knew. “Riley is probably telling Mom and Zach as we speak. We were going to tell the three of you at dinner then call Dad, but then the shit hit the fan” he said with a grin. “And I’m glad it did because I got to tell you in private.”

“I… I… I’m just so fucking excited” I stammered. “Zach and I talked about it. Y’all can stay with us as long as you need to.”

“Y’all?” Eli laughed. “shitfire” he said donning his best redneck accent “Y’all reckon I’m gonna be talkin’ like a redneck now too? Bless my heart” I just laughed. Sheer joy had taken me over… sheer. Fucking. Joy! Eli and Riley moving to North Carolina. My family. Zach’s family. OUR family. YES! We finished our beers and headed back to BroMax with Eli following me in the GTI.

When we got there, Riley and Mom were waiting for Eli so they could head back to the hotel, and Zach was waiting for me. I congratulated Riley, and Mom was so excited, but Zach, Zach was worried about me. He hugged me tight and said, “you scared the shit out of me, so badly that I’m not even going to ask why you wreak of cigarettes.” Then he pulled back from our hug, looked me in the eye and asked, “are you okay?”

“Yup. Thanks to Eli” I said quietly.  “It was rough seeing those guys.”

Zach nodded empathetically, “I kind of figured as much. I’m glad Eli was here tonight.” It was clear that Zach had sent Eli over to the house to comfort me. He knew what I needed.

“It’s late, we should get back to the hotel” Kelly said trying to wrap up the evening. We said goodbye to the family and it was just me and Zach in the living room.

“Where is everyone else?” I asked.

“Brody and Max already went to bed and both dogs followed them up” Zach said as he looked into my eyes and stroked my hair gently. “You really okay?”

I shook my head ‘no’ and let out a weighty sigh, “Zach. I think we bit off too much” I said then looked at him with a defeated smile. “I don’t know if I can do this all day every day.” Zach didn’t speak he just kissed me gently on the lips and let me vent. “Our world is constantly spinning a million miles an hour. The house, the office, all these kids in constant need, there’s no fucking way I can help them all… someone’s going to fall through the cracks. Fuck, Zach. It’s a lot.”

“Yeah” Zach said. “It is.” He wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face in his chest. “So, which one do you want to drop off your plate?”

I looked up at him, “What?”

“Pick one” he said in an unbiased tone waiting for an answer. “Which one do you want to give up?” What the actual fuck was he asking me? “Do you want to quit your job? Do you want to sell the house? What will make you happiest?”

I just stood there stunned, but I really thought about what he was asking. Hell, NO I didn’t want to quit my job… I LOVED my job. And fuck NO I didn’t want to sell the house… it was our home and it was going to be amazing. I wanted it all and I just needed to figure out how to juggle It all. “You. All of it. It all makes me happiest” I whimpered into his chest. He kissed the top of my head in response.

“It’s a lot of shit, baby. But you can do it. WE can do it” Zach said with a reassuring positivity in his voice. “Don’t worry about the rehab, the rest of us got that. You focus on work.”

“That’s not fair, you’ve got a demanding job too” I said.

“I also have a lot of back-up at work. You’re pretty much doing this all yourself, let me handle the other shit. Besides, my mom is the one making it all happen” Zach said lovingly. “How is the Case Worker search going? You need a colleague” Zach said perceptively. “And I thought you were going to get volunteers to help with the phones and office work. How can I help you set that up?” Zach was doing his best to help me solve my issues. Goddammit, I didn’t deserve this guy.

“You can just take me away from this shit” I whispered.

“Where do you want to go?” He asked playfully.

“I mean give me an escape…” I whispered into his chest before adding, “fuck me.”

“Seriously?” He asked and I just nodded my head against his chest. “Ok, let’s go up to our room.”

“No. Fuck me here” I demanded. I don’t know what came over me, but I wanted him right then and there. I needed him right then and there. I just didn’t want to fucking think about anything else for a while.

“Brody and Max will hear us” He said with a laugh before kissing the top of my head.

“I don’t give a fuck” I growled as I grabbed a handful of his girthy manhood through his linen shorts. “I want you to fuck me as hard as you fucking can.” My words were no longer coming through as a voice but some kind of animalistic grunt that was commanding him. I dropped to my knees slipping my fingertips into his waistband as I did.  I untied his drawstring with my teeth then pulled his shorts and cute little briefs down to his ankle. He was still soft, but the blood was flowing through him as my lips grabbed his cock and suckled it into my mouth. Zach protested for all about two seconds before his hands found the back of my head and he let out a grateful moan.

I could feel him pulsate and grow in my mouth as I slobbered, sucked, and twisted my tongue around his thick shaft. I smacked his ass, drunk on lust. “shhhhhh, Seth” Zach whispered with an amused laugh, “you’ll wake the guys up.”

Planting my hands on his cheeks and pulling him against my face to take him deeper, I mumbled, “I don’t fucking care.” I’m sure all Zach heard was “grmphffff” with his cock deep down my throat and drool seeping out of the corners of my mouth. Fuck it felt so good. His cock could have been ten feet long and it still wouldn’t have been enough to satiate me. I needed every fucking inch of him in me and then some!

“You’re a fucking animal” he laughed as I continued my attack. I looked up and my watering eyes locked with his as he started to face-fuck me. His hips thrusted in and out of me as my hands guided his ass, encouraging him to go harder and deeper. I was gagging on him and loving the sensation of it all. So raw. So rough. So dirty. So. Fucking. Perfect.  He was thrusting and fucking my face hard, his nuts slapping against my chin shamelessly as we both got lost in our lust.

Gagging, sputtering, drooling, and wanting for more, I pulled off his blustering weapon, looked up at him and demanded, “eat my hole, then fuck the life out of me!”

“Jesus Christ, Seth. What the fuck got into you?” Zach said with a look of shock, yearning, and pure fucking desire. Truth be told, I don’t think he gave a shit what had gotten into me, all he knew was that he wanted to be the one to surfeit my desire.  Frankly, he was the only one that could. I flipped over, shoved my face into the seat of the sofa with my feet plant on the ground and my wanting ass in the air and Zach dove in tongue first.

“Yes” I grunted, “eat me. Right there. Oh, fucking yes…” then a bunch of gibberish exited my lips in a whimpering groan. I was bedeviled by my craving for him. But it was working, while Zach ravaged my hole, nothing else existed; there was no money pit to rehab, No rejected teens to guide, no Case Workers to hire. NOTHING! It all disappeared and the world consisted only of my aching rosebud and Zach’s talented tongue. His lips sucked at my hole while his tongue penetrated me… he had his own little tug-of-war going on pushing and pulling me into euphoric oblivion. It was exactly what I needed and there wasn’t another human being on earth who could give it to me. After several minutes, Zach came up for air… his jaw had to be sore by then. “Fuck me” I commanded.

“C’mon, Seth. I think we should go upstairs to our room” He said being the voice of reason.

“I didn’t ask” I growled, my voice muffled by the couch cushion, “now fuck me already!”

I could hear Zach laugh as he muttered under his breath “what the actual fuck?” He had never seen me this demented by desire. I was truly crazed for his cock. To be honest, I had never been that sexually berserk before, it was a first for me. Zach spit on his cock, then lined it up with my hole and asked politely, “are you ready?”

I thrust my ass back impaling myself on his tumescent masculinity giving him my not-so-subtle answer. “Oh fuck!” I yelped as his fullness took me over. “Fuck yes. Fuck yes. Fuck me, give me every fucking inch” I said as I continued to fuck myself on him making his full balls slap against mine. I need it so fucking bad. We didn’t make love, we didn’t even have sex; we fucked, and we fucked hard! It was painful, it was pleasureful, it was gratifying, it was life-affirming. I know, I know, it was sex… but I felt so freaking alive instead of overwhelmed by life. I started to shoot handsfree onto the couch beneath me, ‘oh shit’ I thought, “Max is gonna fucking kill me if I shoot on his couch’ I caught what I could in my hand, but fuck it. I needed it so bad, I’d buy them a new damn couch if I had to.

“Fuck, I’m coming” Zach whispered quietly.

"FUCK! Breed me!” I yelled. I mean YELLED! There is absolutely no way in hell Max and Brody didn’t hear THAT! Zach was grunting, moaning in pleasure, shushing me, and laughing all at the same time as he shot his load in me. Oh my god, my ass was so sore from the pummeling it took, but I felt so amazing. I was panting as I basked in the afterglow… goddammit I needed that so bad!

Zach pulled out of me, leaned over my back, and put his arms around me. “Was that what you wanted?” Zach asked as he slipped back into his loving self.

“Oh my god” I laughed “Yes. Yes. Yes” I was elated. “God, I just needed to escape” I said. We both pulled our shorts back up and quietly worked our way upstairs to our room. I quietly turned the knob of our bedroom door and it creaked as it opened.

Just then, Brody yelled from the master bedroom, “Gotdammit you two… you scared the hail outta the damn dawgs!”

Then Max added, “And you better not have stained my fucking couch!” Then the two of them laughed.

Zach and I got into bed and he spooned me. I felt calm and safe again. My anxiety gone.

The next morning, I was up at 5AM, got in the shower, dressed and was out the door before 6:00. My mind was clear and I had so much to do. I went into the office and went right to work. I sent out an e-mail to my local volunteer list with a schedule asking for people to take shifts working at the reception desk at The Village offices. After that I did a deep dive into what duties I could assign to the new case worker, how much time it would free up, and most importantly where I would focus MY energy now.

At about 7:45 Zach called, “you were gone when I woke up.” where the hell are you?” he asked.

“Sorry. I was so motivated when I woke up that I had to get a jump on the day and went into the office. I’ve gotten so much fucking done already. I have a completely different perspective.” I answered.

“Sound likes I fucked some ambition into you” he laughed.

“More like fucked the anxiety out of me” I laughed. “Seriously! I needed that so badly. I just needed to be with you, no one else or nothing else around, no boundaries, just us. It was awesome!”

“Well, no one else on the first floor. But I’ve been taking shit from Max and Brody since I woke up” Zach laughed then changed the topic to business. “So… I’ve been thinking about Joel and Benji. They’re both adults, and Conversion Therapy isn’t illegal for adults. However, unlawful imprisonment and kidnapping are… I’m sure there are other charges too. I’ll call Pop Nichols to get his input since he’s the one who brought charges against your father and his church when Brad got abducted, I also have a staff meeting at 9 and will bring it up with the other lawyers at the firm. I’ll do what I can to protect them.”

“God, I love you. Thank you!” I said with an amazing feeling of hope. I didn’t know where to start to help them, but Zach did. After we hung up, I called Harris to check on the guys. They were both just getting up, Harris said they were wiped out. Who could blame them? They’d been through hell. “I’m going to come by around 10 to take them shopping for shoes and some clothes, can you make sure they’re up and ready?” I asked Harris.

“I’m leaving for school now, but Terrance will be here and make sure they’re ready” He replied. “Joel is doing a lot better. Terrance says the drugs have worked their way out of his system. Seth, we were up late talking to these guys… they’re father sounds like a nightmare. They can stay here as long as they need to.”

I couldn’t help but compare their father to mine… ‘nightmare’ was the right word. “Thank you. Thanks for everything. Their aunt should be here tomorrow, it sounds like they’ll be in good hands with her.” We talked a little more, then it was back to work. I went back into the basement and grabbed some more clothes that I thought would fit them, I also grabbed a couple of burner phones and prepaid Visa cards from my drawer. We kept them around for the guys who needed them… they often came to us with nothing and no way to buy food, or to reach out to family or friends that may be able to help them so we were prepared. The first security company came at 8:30AM and gave me a quote… it was doable, but I still had two more companies coming later and would compare. I was checking things off my to-do list and tying up a few more loose ends before I went to get the guys, when I heard a knock on the front door, I had locked it while I was down in the basement. I looked out and didn’t recognize the two gentlemen on the other side of the door, but I was leery. I walked over to the door, unlocked it, and asked if I could help them.

“We’re from the church up the street” The first gentleman said.

“A couple of the young men from our youth group were at the church playing basketball yesterday and took a little break, we haven’t seen them since” The second gentleman added. Both men had heavy southern accents and very stern looks on their faces. “These are my sons” The man said and held up his phone with a photo of Joel and Benji, “We know y’all work with youth and thought maybe some of your boys had seen them.” The man was big and cold. He reminded me of my own father.

“I’m sorry sir, but the members of our program don’t hang out on the premises, this is just our business office and I’m the only one who has been here over the last couple of days” I said answering honestly without telling them what I knew. His steely cold eyes looked into mine, then straight through me. I stared back without expression… something I had done with my own father many times. I would not bend.

“Well, if you see them, please give me a call. I’m worried about them. I love my boys.” He said handing me his card. The words were there, but there was zero emotion in his expression or love in his voice. He was a cold S.O.B. just like my father was. I just nodded; I did not answer. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway because it was clear they didn’t believe me. They left my office without so much as a goodbye. Once they were gone, I left to go pick up the boys. Their Aunt Kayleigh called me on the drive over.

“How are my guys?” Kayleigh Asked.

“Good” I answered positively. “I just spoke with their hosts and they said they’re doing well; I’m headed over there now to take them shopping for shoes and clothes since the church left them with pretty much nothing.”

“Thank you” she said sounding relieved that someone was looking out for her nephews. “Hey Seth, my husband David is a lawyer and is looking into filing charges against the church and my brother in-law to help ensure they stay away from Joel when he goes back to school. He’s looking for a local lawyer to partner with, do you have any contacts?” She asked.

“Actually” I started to answer. “My husband is a lawyer and is looking into taking action as well.”

“Excellent!” She said with excitement, then I heard her talking to someone, filling them in on what I had just said. ‘Give him my contact information’ I heard a man’s voice say. “I’ll text you David’s info, can you have your husband call him to compare notes?”

“Absolutely. His name his Zach Hall, I’ll update him after we hang up” I said to my new ally. Then I added, “I should probably tell you that your brother in-law and another member of his church came by my office asking if I had seen the boys.”  

“I figured that prick would be out looking for them” Kayleigh said. I told her about my discussion with the men, then we talked a little bit more about their itinerary before we hung up. I immediately called Zach to update him on the visit from the church and my discussion with Kayleigh. I promised to forward David’s contact info once I had it. I pulled into the drive and finished my call with Zach before going into the house.

When I walked into Harris and Terrance’s place, I found the guys up and ready to go. Joel was wide awake compared to the day before. “How are you feeling?” I asked.

“100%” he said with a winning smile. “Seth, forgive me, but I barely remember meeting you. I was really out of it.” He said as he shook my hand and thanked me for my help. He told me what he did remember and then asked a lot of questions about who I was, how we found him, and why I was helping him. Benji on the other hand greeted me like a long lost friend. I decided not to tell them that their father came looking for them yet. Terrance had made them a big breakfast and updated me on Joel’s condition while the guys finished eating. I told them I was taking them shopping to get them what they needed and gave each one a burner phone and Visa card.

“Thanks, I need to call my boss” Benji said. I didn’t even realize the guy had a job. Joel was going back to school, but Benji had just graduated high school and was working fulltime at a local Target. “I’ve missed three shifts” he explained as he dialed the number to the store and asked for his supervisor. He left the room to talk while I caught up with Joel in the kitchen. He told me his version of what happened… damn, it was Brad all over again. I told him we offered therapy sessions if he was interested… he was.

Joel came back into the room and said “Well, father came to the store looking for me. He told my boss that I ran away.” He went on to update us on what he knew. He said he could trust his boss and told him the real story. “I told him I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next and that I was going to stay with some friends out of state. He told me to keep him posted and he would hold my job for me.” Then, strong little Benji just broke down and cried.” Things are so fucked up.” Before I could respond, Joel embraced his little brother and held him tight.

“This is all my fault, Benji.” He sobbed a little as he held his brother tight.

“Bullshit!” Benji said. “You should be able to be who you are. This is HIS fault.” The two continued to embrace as the consoled each other. God, this was so painful to watch, it hit so close to home. I let them have a moment then broke the mood.

“C’mon guys, let’s go” I said and clapped my hands. We piled into The Green Dragon and went on a shopping trip. We just got them the essentials, a couple of T’s, a couple pair of jeans and shorts, some shoes, and some toiletries. The two were very shy about accepting help and Joel kept vowing over and over to pay us back. Everything he bought was from the clearance rack and he was so appreciative of everything. What a good human he was… ‘why the hell would anyone want to change him?’ I kept thinking to myself. It was an eye-opening trip.

I dropped the guys off at their temporary home where Joel and I had our first session. He confided a lot in me, and then we talked about his goals… I didn’t want this “setback” with his father to derail his education or future. After our session I went back to the office to meet the other two security companies, catch up on paperwork, and have my 6:00 session with Colton before heading home.

When I drove up to the house everyone was there still working. Kelly couldn’t wait to show me what they had accomplished, she rushed out and met me at the car. “Was today a better day, honey?” She asked as she hugged me. I nodded and thanked her for asking before she pulled me into the house, through the ripped up living and dining rooms, and into the kitchen.

“Holy Crap, mom” I said with awe in my voice. The floor was completely sanded and stained, she had the cabinet bases completely sanded and re-stained in the weathered gray, and Eli had hung the new fixtures, added GFI outlets above the counter, and updated the switches and other outlets. “I thought Bubba was going to sand the floors?!” I said in disbelief of the transformation.

“Your brother got ambitious” she said with a proud smile as we took it all in. “Come on, I want you to see the cabinet fronts!” She dragged me out to the barn to show me her hard work. Everything just needed a final coat and then they were ready for the new hardware. Then she took me to a corner of the barn where there were more sawhorses and some weird wooden frames on top of them.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Your custom cement countertops” she said. “Be careful he just poured them. He’ll be back in three days to check on them if they’re ready he can sand, stain, and install them.”

“Oh my god, mom. I can’t believe you got all this done while I was at work.” I cannot even begin to tell you how overwhelming it all was… in a great way! They had made so much progress. What’s left to do in the kitchen?” I asked.

“Another coat on the cabinets and they’ll be ready to rehang. The we add the new hardware, the backsplash, and a couple of glass inserts from Bubba and you’re have a brand new kitchen” Kelly said. “Once the counters are in you can polyurethane the floors.”

“Bubba’s coming to start his part tomorrow” Said Zach’s voice from behind me. “The vanities, tile, and bathroom fixtures were delivered today. He could be done by the end of next week.” It was all so exciting. We hadn’t even owned the place a week. Things were moving so damn fast. “We’re just shutting it down here, why don’t you go back to BroMax and we’ll be over for dinner.” Zach and the others were rallying to get it done and letting me deal with work. I was so damn lucky.

I went back to BroMax, by the time I changed my clothes and went down to the kitchen to help Max with dinner the others had arrived. We sat down to dinner as a family; Mom, Riley, Eli, Zach, Max, Brody, and me. “Hey, I called that David Onan… Joel and Benji’s uncle… he’s a BFD” Zach said before taking a bit or his pasta. He chewed, swallowed, then said. “He is like an extremely well known civil rights lawyer… the partners at my firm, and Pop Nichols are all impressed as hell that he’s getting involved. He can be a huge help, and I can learn so much from this guy.”

“Really?” I asked, surprised. I had no clue.

“I looked him up online. He spends his time between New York and DC and has been involved in every huge civil rights case on the books in recent history” Zach answered. “AND He wants to come down HARD on these guys” he said with a smirk. “I was thinking restraining orders and injunctions… he’s talking criminal and civil lawsuits for wrongful imprisonment and kidnapping. Even if he loses, the allegations alone could crush that church.”

Eli looked at me with a huge smile “God, that would be fun to watch.” I smiled back… this would be total vindication for us.

“I can’t wait to tell Brad” I said ending the conversation. My world seemed lighter that night and I slept like a baby.

The next day Kayleigh called me and said they would be later than expected. They wanted to meet at my office, but due to its close proximity to the church I rerouted them to BroMax. They were supposed to meet us at noon and finally rolled in after three O’clock. Two cars drove up the gravel drive. Kelly and David got out of the rented SUV, then to my shock, Zach stepped out of an old silver Honda Civic. I was standing on the porch with Joel and Benji.

“MY CAR!” Joel said as he ran over to where Zach stood, and Benji and I greeted David and Kayleigh. Benji held onto his aunt like she was a lifesaver that had been thrown to him while he was drowning. I guess that’s exactly what she was.

After quick introductions, David said, “We paid your dad a visit at the office this morning” Then paused and said with a smirk, “somehow, letting us pack up all your stuff was more appealing to him than making doing the perp walk in front of all his coworkers.” David was self-assured and cocky, but from what Zach had told me he had earned that right. “Here, take these” he said to the two boys as he handed them a bag with their wallets and phones in them.”

“Seth, I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done” Kayleigh said.

“So, what’s next?” I asked.

“Well, the college is waiting for Joel so it’s off to Atlanta to get him settled” Kayleigh said. “David’s going to file paperwork with the local law enforcement and the school to help ensure my brother in-law keeps his distance”

“Benji’s coming back to New York with us and we’ll figure out what’s next for him” David said putting his arm around his nephew.

A few days ago, Joel was locked in a church basement being forced to change against his will. Now, he was free to be himself and had a bright future ahead.

This. Is. Why. I. Joined. The. Village!

 

To be continued…

---

This is likely my last post until I get back from my long weekend road trip... but then again who knows what might happen if I get bored and ambitious.