The Village

Seth’s Perspective

“I read about the robbery in the paper” Principal Ferris said to Zach and me when he greeted us in the parking lot of Freddy’s school on Monday morning. The back window of the car was down and he looked in and said hello to Izzy then asked “Is that bump on her head from the chase? I heard she was in the car.” Zach nodded and we filled him in on what we knew while we watched Freddy walk up the steps to the school. “So, are the kids staying with you for a while?” The Principal asked.

"Probably” Zach said, “all we know is what we’ve seen online and in the paper. I’m going to investigate it more today.”

“Honestly, I’m glad they’re back with you. Freddy was much happier and well rested when he was staying with you. He made a lot of progress” Principal Ferris was on our side. After we dropped Freddy off, it was off to Mrs. Mavis’s. Gina pulled up about the same time as we did and we walked the girls in together. Mrs. Mavis greeted Izzy like a long lost friend and Izzy seemed genuinely happy to be back there.

With the kids settled in at school again, I dropped Zach off at his office and promised to pick him up after I got the kids from school that evening. I had texted BA that the kids were back and I’d be in late (of course she already knew. She knew everything). On the way to The Village, I stopped at the dry cleaners to drop off my suit to get the Izzy-snot removed from the shoulder along with a couple of Zach’s suits and some button down shirts; RayRay was working.

“Hey Seth (Say-eth), how y’all doin’?” The cute redhead said greeting me with a big smile.

“I’m great, RayRay” I responded before asking, “how’s the new job working out?”

He couldn’t contain his smile, “I love it here and I love our apartment.”

“Maverick gave me the tour the other day, it’s nice.” I said just glad that things were working out for him.

“Thank y’all for helpin’ me get this job. Seriously Seth, I’m so much happier here than I ever was in Kentucky.” RayRay wasn’t a full-on villager, he was a friend of Maverick’s that just needed a little help finding a job. I was glad things worked out for him and Maverick, Maverick needed a friend. After talking for a bit, I headed to the office.

I walked in the door and BA was all over me “Gina told me the babies are back. Are they okay? Do you and Zach need help? I saw the story on the news… what in THEE HAIL is wrong with those people doin’ that with our baby in the car?!” BA was riled up.

“It’s all good, BA” I assured her. “The kids seem to be doing good, and it looks like they may be with us for a long time. Zach’s looking into it all today, hopefully we’ll know more soon.” That’s really all I had to offer up until we knew more about the charges against Karen, etc.

“Well, I’m just glad they’re back with y’all where they’re safe.” BA said with sincere relief in her voice. “I didn’t get y’all a cup of coffee this mornin’ because I wasn’t sure when ya’ were getting’ in. Sorry, hon.”

“I’m gonna take a walk over to Marilee’s, anybody want anything?” I usually got in around 7AM, it was past 9AM and everyone was ready for round two. I dropped my bag in my office then headed out the back door and down the Alley to Marilee’s to get us all coffee. There were a couple of buildings between us, they both had storefronts on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors. One of the storefronts was vacant and I noticed what looked like a pile of blankets piled at the back entrance. As I got closer, I saw the pile of blankets slowly moving up and down and a shoe sticking out one end… someone was sleeping under there. I kept walking toward the coffee shop and entered from the alley like I always did.

Ella was working the register, “hey, Seth!” she said. “I hear Izzy and Freddy are back.”

“Yup” I said then gave her the details, Marilee joined us as we were talking. Ella went off to make our drinks. When I had Marilee alone, I asked, “Hey did you see someone is sleeping in the alley entrance to the old ice cream place?”

“Yeah” she responded, “I was going to tell you about him; he slept there Saturday night too. He came in here yesterday, ordered a small black coffee and hung out for several hours, it was obvious he didn’t have anywhere to go. I asked if he needed help and he just shook his head no, so I kept refilling his cup for free and let him stay. He seemed skittish so I left him alone.” She said. “When he left, I asked him again if he needed any help. He shook his head ‘no’ again then almost ran out the door. Somethings up.” I asked a few questions but she didn’t know any more than what she told me.

When Ella came back with my order, I asked her if she knew who he was, she said she saw him in the coffee shop on Sunday, and that she’d seen him sleeping out back earlier when she came to work.  “I’ve seen him in here before, he usually comes in with this older, mean looking, big bald dude” she said.

“Oh yeah” Marilee remembered, “I’ve seen them in here together too, that guys a prick” then she realized Ella was standing there and only sixteen years old so she corrected herself, “I mean… um he’s rude.”

“No. You were right the first time. He’s a prick.” Ella giggled, “He kept yelling at the other guy the last time they were in here together” Ella was young, but she called things like she saw them. We talked a little bit more about the guy then I asked her to add a large black coffee to my order. Ella came back with the to go cup and added it to my drink tray, I handed her a ten for the extra coffee and told her to keep the change, but Marilee refused to take my money… so Ella ended up with a good tip. I said goodbye and headed out the backdoor and walked toward where I’d seen the guy sleeping.

When I reached the alcove, he was awake and sitting up wrapped in an old, dirty blanket. I walked towards him and he started to cower. I took the black coffee out of the tray and held it out as an olive branch still standing several feet away. “Hi, I saw you sleeping out here and thought you could use something to warm you up” I said. He checked me out as if I were a baited trap and he was a mouse deciding whether to take the cheese or not. He slowly took the few steps forward to grab the coffee from my hand. “I’m Seth” I said hoping to get his name in return. No such luck. I flashed back to when I was a kid and there was this stray kitten in our backyard. I wanted so bad to help her, comfort her, just pet her I guess… and she wouldn’t let me anywhere near her. She was ready to bolt at the first sign of danger. I was having total Deja vu with this guy, I didn’t want to spook him like I did the stray kitty (I never did get to help or even pet her by the way). “So, how long have you been sleeping out here?” I asked. He didn’t answer, instead he just wrapped his hands around the hot cup and sipped the coffee. “Listen, I work for The Village, my office is right there” I said pointing to Harrington House. “We help people find housing, food, jobs, and anything else they need to get on their feet.” I wasn’t sure if he was gay or straight so I stayed away from the LGBTQIA talk for the time being. As much as that was our focus, we had the network and resources to help anybody. “Why don’t you come back with me, we can find you a place to stay for the night, and something more permanent if you want.” He just shook his head ‘no’. I made one last pitch before I left and handed him my card. “Listen, if you change your mind and want some help, or just a warm meal you know where my office is. I just want to help.” He nodded and feigned a smile as I turned my back and walked toward my office. One thing I knew is that you can’t force someone to take help.

“Seth?” He called out in a weak voice accentuating my name with a cough. “Thanks.” When I turned Back to look at him, he held up the cup of coffee.

“Promise you’ll come see me if you change your mind. OK?” I said. He just nodded then I went back to the office, and he went back to crouching in the alcove of the old ice cream shop. When I got to the office, I told Rodney and BA about the kid in the alley just in case he came by, then I went into my office and got to work. I had a couple of virtual sessions in the morning, then locked myself in my office and worked on a grant application. It was around noon when Marilee called me. “Hey what’s up?” I asked.

“Seth!” She said in a panicked voice. “There’s a fight in the alley, I think it’s that homeless kid, and a couple other guys. I already called the cops.” I jumped up from my desk and ran out the backdoor, with BA and Rodney chasing me, asking me what was going on. I didn’t respond, because honestly, I wasn’t sure. I bounded out the backdoor and ran towards the alcove where I’d seen the young guy sleeping earlier, he was standing in the alley near Harrington House with his back to us, wrapped in the dirty blanket and watching two other guys fight.

There was a big bald guy who was cussing, yelling, and just mean as hell... I assumed he was the man Ella had described earlier. His back was up against the wall and there was a younger guy with a hand around his throat and his knee against his gut trying to keep him pinned against the wall. The younger guy was screaming, “Don’t you EVER hit him or anyone else again, do you FUCKING HEAR ME?!” I recognized that voice.

The Bald man yelled back, “he’s just a fucking faggot whore?! Mind your own goddamn business.”

“He’s a fucking HUMAN BEING not a goddamn punching bag!” Ricky yelled back as he held him against the wall. Yes Ricky. OUR RICKY! Apparently, the bald man came after my new homeless friend and Ricky had come to his rescue. Just then two squad cars entered the alley, one from either direction and both with their sirens blaring and lights blazing. Two officers jumped out of each vehicle, one pair grabbed Ricky, wrestled him to the ground, and cuffed him. The other pair went after the angry bald man and did the same. I walked up to the officers talking to Ricky to see if I could help, they just told me to step back. My eyes met Ricky’s and he quietly said, “it’s okay, Seth.”

I walked over to the homeless kid and asked, “What happened?” There were tears in his eyes, his face was red, and there was a big welt under his eye; this time he talked to me.

His voice was weak and raspy as if he hadn’t used it in a while. “Um… that guy is um… a fri… well, I know that guy and he came looking for me…” I cut him off.

“Why was he looking for you?” I asked. He shook his head ‘no’ again, he wasn’t going to tell me so I dropped the issue. “So, what happened, did he hurt you?”

“I was curled up sleeping in the alcove when he pulled me up by my hair and woke me up. He punched me in the gut and told me I better give him his money and get ba…” he stopped mid-sentence obviously deciding that he was sharing too much. “Um, he just started swearing at me and hitting me when that guy pulled up in his truck, ran over to us, pulled Tony off me, and the two guys got into a fight” the still unnamed young man said. “I don’t even know the guy that helped me.”

“I do.” I said as I looked at the young, ragged man, “his name is Ricky. So, what’s yours?” I asked trying to break down the wall of fear and distrust he had so obviously built up around himself.

He looked at me and held out his hand, “Grayson” was all he said. Before he could say anything one of the police officers came up to Grayson and started questioning him. After about fifteen minutes, they took the cuffs off Ricky and put Tony in the back of one of the squad cars. Tony looked over at Grayson and scowled at him with daggers in his eyes. There was obviously a lot more to this story… it wasn’t a random beating.

Ricky walked over to me and Grayson, rubbing his wrists from the handcuffs. He looked at Grayson and asked, “Are you okay?” Grayson nodded. “Ricky” he said putting his hand out. Again, he just nodded.

Before Grayson could answer, one of the officers came over and said, “Grayson Joseph Perkins?” he asked. Grayson nodded. “You know you were reported missing three months ago by your parents?” He nodded in response.

“Are you going to make me go back?” Grayson asked the officer.

“Are you being held against your will?” The officer asked and Grayson shook his head ‘no’. “I need you to say it” the officer said to the boy.

“No, I’m not being held against my will” Grayson responded.

“Do you want to go back?” The officer asked.

Again, Grayson shook his head ‘no’, but this time he said the word out loud as well “No. I don’t want to go back.”

“Well, you’re over 18, so the choice is yours, I can’t force you but I will need to report that we found you and you declined to come with us… are you safe?” The officer responded.

“Are you locking him up?” Grayson said referring to Tony who was safely detained in the police cruiser.

“Yup. There are a couple of a warrants out for him so we’re booking him whether you press assault charges or not” the officer replied.

“NO!” Grayson almost yelled before regaining composure. “No charges.” He was obviously afraid of the guy.

The officer shook his head then turned to Ricky, “What about you. Do you want to press charges?”

“Can I think about it?” Ricky asked. The officer nodded and handed him his card with a case number and told him to call him either way.

The officer looked at Grayson and said, “Even if you don’t want to go home, you should call your parents to let them know you’re safe. They’re obviously worried about you.” Grayson nodded, then the officer went back to his squad.

When the alley had cleared, I said to Grayson, “C’mon, let’s go inside and warm you up” he shook his head ‘no’ again. “I’m not asking. Come on.” The three of us walked down towards the door to The Village with Rodney and BA following behind. Ricky and I took him into the therapy room, BA made coffee and brought Grayson a clean blanket while Rodney went into the donation closet in the basement to rummage up some clean clothes for him. When BA took the old blanket off of him, I could wee bruises up and down his arms.

“Thanks for helping me” Grayson said to Ricky with a defeated look in his eyes.

“No problem” Ricky said then he surprised me, “So, are you going to tell me why I just almost got my ass kicked by a bald giant calling you a faggot whore when I just came home to eat lunch?” He asked.

Grayson let out a scoffing laugh and he finally smiled a little. He thought for a while and then let out a heavy sigh. “He, um, thinks I owe him some money.”

“What does that mean?” I asked. I had learned in my short career not to accept vague answers.

“Um… well, um… nothing” he non-answered as he looked shyly at Ricky.

“Hey Ricky, can you give us a minute alone?” I asked, he took the hint and left the room.

“Listen, I can keep you safe and help you get on your feet, but you have to be honest with me. I’m here to help you, not judge you… okay?” I stated with my eyes locked to him. “So why does he think you owe him money?”

Grayson just sat quietly and looked down at his lap while he contemplated his next move and summoned his courage. He took a deep breath then confessed, “I had a decent home life but ran away because I just could deal with telling my parents I was gay (so we established that he’s gay). The five hundred bucks I had saved up got me from Virginia Beach to here and I stayed at some crappy motel for a while until I ran out of money, that’s when I met Tony” he paused for a moment. “He found guys to… um… for me… um to do stuff with, ya’ know for money.” I just listened; I knew what he was saying. “It was okay at first, I mean Tony let me stay at his place and I had some money in my pocket. But then he was finding more guys, like groups of them, and making me do stuff I didn’t wanna do.” he spoke softer and slower as he got more personal. “He was sending me out all the time, and I stopped seeing the money, he said he was keeping it for room and board. Then one night he took me to this party and told me to go to a bedroom with this one old guy. He must’ve slipped something in my drink because I passed out. When I woke up, I was in this shitty motel room somewhere, my ankles and wrists were Zip-tied to the bed, I was naked and my ass hurt. I was all alone.  I tried to scream but there was a ball gag in my mouth so I just laid there until Tony came and untied me then took me back to his house. I was bruised and sore… I’m pretty sure I was gang banged but I don’t remember it. He didn’t let me heal, he just sent me out on another job that night. I finished the guy off before Tony came to get me and decided to run away and I’ve been sleeping on the street ever since.”

“How long ago was that?” I asked.

He shook his head and shrugged, “I don’t even know. Maybe two months ago or something like that.”

The poor kid had been through hell. “I’m sorry you went through all of that” I said. Then I told him a little about what we did and offered him one of the empty apartments on the second floor for a couple of nights so could think about what he wanted to do. We typically tried to put the guys with sponsors, but I needed to get Grayson off the streets now. “You said you had a decent homelife. What about going back home?” I asked.

He just shook his head, “Look at me, I’m a dirty, bruised, piece of crap loser. I can’t go home like this.”

I rarely yelled at patients, but he needed it, “Bullshit! You are NOT a piece of crap loser. Someone took advantage of you, abused you. You did NOT deserve that.” He refused to go home and after I yelled at him, he stopped talking to me. “Listen, let’s get you settled in upstairs. You can take a shower and get into some clean clothes. You hungry?” I asked. He nodded. “I’m going to have Rodney take you to the clinic to get you checked out, he can get you something to eat on the way, is that okay?” He hesitantly nodded his approval. You can sleep here tonight then tomorrow at 8:30 come back down to this room and we can talk about your options and, you know, what you want from life and how to get it.”

“I… I um don’t know if I want to stay” Grayson replied.

“Listen, this really is no strings attached. How about if you just let us get you checked out, get a meal in you, and you stay here where you’re safe tonight.” I proposed. “We’ll meet in the morning and talk, then you’re free to leave if you decide you don’t want our help. Okay?” He reluctantly nodded in agreement; I don’t think he trusted us. I took him out to Rodney and told him what we had discussed, and Rodney took it from there… He was in good hands. By then it was time to get the kids.

I jumped into the car and headed to Freddy’s school first. Once I was in route, I called Zach to see if he knew anything else about Karen and the charges against her. “They set bail over six figures; she can’t post it so the kids aren’t going anywhere soon.” I guess I should’ve felt bad for her but she made her own bed, and frankly I was excited that the kids were staying with us for now… I was happy for us, and relieved for the kids. I was haunted by the thought of them being back with her in that moldy, smoked-filled house with assholes like Johnny Black coming in and out with drugs and firearms. For now, at least they were safe with us. “If they spend fifteen out of the next twenty two months with us, we can ask the state to petition the courts to terminate parental rights… honestly, I’d love them to have a mother, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen and if she gets sentenced for a couple of decades, I want to make damn sure Freddy and Izzy are safe.” Zach was steadfast in his commitment to them, so was I.

“So, you’re talking about adoption?” I asked just to make sure I understood.

“Yeah. If we decide we’re up for it.” Hell yes, I was up for it… but it was a couple of years away. And at that moment, I had kids to pick up from school. I hung up with Zach, picked up the kids, then picked him up from work and we all went home for dinner. We had a nice night at home, just us and the kids eating meatloaf, then playing until we wiped them out. Once the kids were tucked in and Petunia was at her post between their bedrooms, I got into bed naked, Zach got in behind me and spooned me.

He kissed my neck then whispered, “we have to make sure they stay with us as long as they need us.”

“Yup” I whispered back. “No shuffling around from foster home to foster home. They stay with us.” He kissed my neck again. He started moving his shaft up and down my smooth, naked crack. He got a little harder with each movement. Up and down he moved, the friction felt good as his soft, dry manhood rubbed against my soft skin. He snaked one arm under me and draped the other over me as he continued to kiss my neck with his supple lips and rub his shaft up and down my crack teasing my tight, yearning hole.

I let out a moan as I pushed back against him, god his blunt head felt so good as it threatened to penetrate my depths. “Yeah, keep doing that, god your body feels so perfect against mine” I begged him in a desperate whisper. He moved up and down for several minutes dry humping my ass with his ample magnificence. Eventually I felt his head pushing hard against my puckering starfish. I heard Zach spit in his hand and then felt him stroking his cock before her gently pushed a saliva slicked finger inside me, it was rough and still a bit dry. He added a second finger and moved them in a circular motion opening me up for the entry of “bigger things.” Eventually his big, fat cockhead pushed its way into my tight, clenching sphincter. I pushed out, opening up for him, it was a difficult entry… I mean his spit wasn’t much lube for that big thing but it slipped in. He pushed his way in slowly and steadily until he was all the way inside me. He moved his hips in a circular motion making sure I felt every inch of his length and girth… and damn. I. Did. I felt every inch of his perfection.

He pulled out slowly and pushed back in, kissing my neck, nibbling my lobe, then shoving his tongue in my ear. Holy fuck it was so erotic, so sensual. He made love to me picking up the pace at the perfect moment to bring me to the heights of ecstatic pleasure. Zach moaned loudly and with such passion, he was devouring my neck and ears as he lovingly thrusted in and out of me hitting every spot perfectly. Finally, he shot into me, spurt after spurt of essence of Zach filled my wanting hole. He was still hard and continued fucking my cum-lubed cavern until the bedroom door flew open.

“I want to sleep wif you” Said Izzy’s sleepy little voice. Zach immediately pulled out of my ass and we both stayed under the covers (naked) as Izzy crawled on top of the covers and nestled herself between us, oblivious to what we were doing. I flipped around and Zach fell asleep with Izzy on top of the covers, but wrapped in our embrace.  Yup. Things were changing.  

 

To be continued…