2073 Chapter twenty seven – Book II

There was no further messing around that morning, much to the surprise and extreme disappointment of both men. Although somewhat saddened by it, they both accepted the situation, each knowing in their own way, there would definitely be plenty of other opportunities. Having said that though, they were both a little saddened when nothing happened in the shower, which they often shared and not just to save time, but because usually, they both thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The shower, which was made to an older style, was rather large, with several side heads and a rainmaker above, would have seemed the perfect place for that messing around too, as it certainly had been in the past. Somewhat subconsciously however, after their talk earlier, they both had decided that there just wasn’t the right time to investigate the matter further. They did come pretty close on a few occasions though, especially while lovingly washing each other, but the gentle scrubbing caresses was as far as it went. Other than that, there was the rest of a man’s normal morning routine to consider, which left precious little attention for anything else. Their bedroom also proved fruitless for further play, other than a few longing looks and an occasional sideways glance. As much as they loved each other and constantly yearned to express that love in a physical way, it seemed as though they were completely focused on getting the day started and in the spirit of doing just that, not long after they had completed their very boringly mundane and chaste cleansing mission and having dressed appropriately for the day, Cam and Danny made their way into the kitchen to begin meticulously preparing a breakfast fit for a king, or in their case, four very hungry teenaged boys.

This was no small task either, they soon discovered, pulling more and more supplies out of the pantry and freezer, leaving quite a sizable void in their wake. A void so big, Cam was forced into the conclusion that he would no longer be able to put off that week’s trip to the grocery store. Once again, he had to thank the fates for the life he had been given and those he had in it, not to mention providing such a large and well equipped kitchen, and the bank balance to properly supply it. Although having said that, since both men had left the Navy and pooled their collective resources together, buying the campground and it’s previously unforeseen startup costs, their bank balance had taken quite a pounding and probably wouldn’t completely bounce back until, at the very least, the end of the summer. They were prepared for that though, what with the deposit money starting to show up and for the moment, could relatively easily afford to wait until all the cheques were finally in.

As worried as he was, about their finances, Cam did know they had enough ready cash to go on with, but this particular train of thought, just like their very important current morning mission and the second of their everyday routine, was fast becoming a relatively common occurrence. That knowledge didn’t stop him from fretting about it, every now and again however, but he was mostly able to keep those thoughts at bay, mostly. To keep his mind off of it this time, he focused it back onto the task at hand, in doing so he suddenly thought of Tyler and realized they now had four teenaged boys to feed, instead of just the normal three. Of course, there was also two adult men to consider as well, not to mention Reggie, if she bothered to use the open invite she’d always had, not that they ever really expected her to. So facing the facts, as he knew them and anyone who had ever tried to feed more than one teenage boy at a time will understand, he had to assume Tyler’s appetite was just as voracious as the other boys, after all, what teenage boy’s wasn’t? For Cam and Danny, this was where a strongly instilled and well-rehearsed routine, really pays off. In fact, all Cam had to do, was just add a little here and there to the ingredients, an extra egg or three and some more flour to the pancake batter, another pound of bacon, that sort of thing. He also had to smile, when he saw that Danny had already gone ahead and cut up an extra banana, that morning was teamwork at it’s finest.

Routines are a key component in anyone’s life, whether they realize it or not and once a routine is formed, it becomes commonplace. When and where you exercise, how you shave in the morning, or even just where you put your car keys every night, these kinds of routines are the basis of how we live our lives and keep some semblance of order within them. A strict routine is exactly how both men had lived for a very long time, structure and order forming the backbone of their very existence, making routine the guard which had always kept the various wolves from the door. This particular version, however, was becoming so common, it pushed Cam into thinking about how it was with his own parents when he was growing up. The image these thoughts conjured hit him so suddenly and so fast, he let slip an involuntary chuckle, which caught Danny off guard for the briefest of moments, but the ensuing smile did succeed in creating a sly grin on the younger man’s face. Of course the older of the two caught it and chuckled again at being able to so easily make his man smile, but even that still didn’t overshadow his previous pondering, of which of the two men represented the individual personalities of either of his parents. To be fair, he was never entirely sure either way, but when thinking about it, he found that, this far into their relationship, he just didn’t care anymore. He was also equally sure, in that very moment, where Danny’s face looked so cute all smudged with the flour from mixing the pancake batter, just like his father’s used to, that he didn’t really want to know anyway.

As early as they were, they still had plenty of time, it was a Saturday and true to form, the boys were far from being up and around. With all of the prep work out of the way, along with most of the cooking, they both took a moment to relax and share some brief time together, savoring a freshly brewed cup of tea, while watching the small waves wash up on the beach from the kitchen window. Cam loved this time of the day and loved even more, spending it with his family, as irregular as it was. He didn’t care though, he had his boys and a man who loved him, what more could he ever need? Sure, it wasn’t what most people would see as normal, but what the hell was normal anyway? With all he had to look forward to, what really made those early morning experiences all the more fulfilling for him, was catching the odd glimpse, or smile from the man he loved, as they worked together and he felt extreme pity for anyone who couldn’t have that. Moments such as those weren’t made to last though, Cam knew the boy’s very finely tuned noses would eventually smell all of the delicious aromas now wafting through the house and make their way down to the kitchen, they always did, so they both went back to work.

Cam and Danny made a good team, which was just further evidence of the strong bond they had built for each other. By now, even though they had only been officially together for about six months, they had known each other for several years and were so in tune with the other, there wasn’t a need for mere words anymore, they just knew what the other needed and when, passing items back and forth. As a consequence, in no time at all, the table was full to overflowing. Bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, toast, juice, lightly sautéed bananas and of course, maple syrup. All the good things a growing boy needs. Before they moved there was only ever big breakfast Sunday, because usually, what with how busy and often times rushed they all were, the other days were just cereals or toast, with the occasional pancake thrown into the mix. But, now that they both had some extra time on their hands in the morning, Cam was more than content to make a proper cooked breakfast every day and Danny, seemed to be in complete agreement with him. Although on reflection, he decided later, maybe not to the extent they’d already gone to so far, but he certainly didn’t mind the idea of cooking every morning for his family. If he was honest with himself, he actually quite enjoyed it, especially at breakfast time, because and even with the small sad smiles aside, it always reminded him of home.

Being the sentimental guy that he was, those kinds of thoughts would open up so many memories of his childhood, especially those times when he would follow his own nose, just like the boys would soon surely do, from his bed down the stairs to the kitchen in the morning. Images of his mom as she was back then, floated passed his mind’s eye and as they did, he caught glimpses of the apron she wore and the smile she always seemed to save just for him. His dad at the table reading the newspaper, that he would drop just long enough, to show the loving grin he always had for his only son. Memories of all those delicious smells, which never failed, even now, to make his tummy rumble, were like an echo of all the good times passed. They were happy memories, ones he cherished, but at the same time, he sometimes found himself swiping at a stray tear. Cam wanted the boys to have those same memories, the same feelings when they were grown and doing the same things for their children. That’s why he tried so hard to make everything just like it was back then, a loving home where they could always feel safe to be themselves, safe from harm and well loved. To grow up with fond memories, that would give them the start in life, they so richly deserved.

Although mostly good, memories like these are sometimes painful, forged as they were, like the hard sharp steel of a double edged sword. This is especially true, when you have lost someone close to you and he was starting to feel a little of that pain again, so in an effort to compose himself, Cam went back over to the large bay windows at the far end of the room. He wasn’t ashamed in any way of how he was feeling, nor was he afraid to cry, but he was still somewhat of a private person and didn’t want to concern Danny with something he felt was so trivial. Being still quite new to the subtle nuances of an intimate relationship, he hadn’t quite grasped the concept that, Danny wouldn’t have felt that way and would have been there for him anyway. The sun had his back though, sending it’s warmth to him through subtle rays of light streaming in through the glass, embracing him like a long lost lover, in the most gentle and intimate of ways, while warming his skin and melting away his sadness. He could feel the love in that warmth and when he closed his eyes briefly, he could almost see the peaceful happy proud and accepting smiles of those long gone.

It had been a while since the last time he had thought of his parents, or his sister for that matter and for a brief moment he felt a little guilty about it. But, at the same time, he knew they still loved him, knew they were still watching out for him in some way, wherever they were. Normally he would have scoffed at such sappy sentiment, but at moments like these, he just couldn’t deny it, he could feel it in the warmth from the sun and the happy smiles on his nephew’s faces. Right then, Cam felt he was a man truly blessed, his parents had been two of the most loving people he had ever known, so were Mark and his sister, so he was sure they would have forgiven him. Knowing something and believing it, however, are two completely different things. Maybe he’d work on the boat a bit later, he thought. He just had to hope the day stayed as good as it looked. The day itself, was proving to be quite a warm one so far, clear blue skies, the faintest wisps of cloud cover over the ranges and only a hint of that early morning breeze still rustling softly through the trees beyond the yard. Ever the pragmatic one, Cam found himself hoping that, this was just the first of many more of these good summer days to come. After all, they were kind of dependent on good weather now and not for the first time, he looked out through the large bay windows in the kitchen, silently praying to whoever would listen, for the good weather to stick around for a while.

“What are you thinking about?” Danny whispered softly into Cam’s ear, as he slid his arms lovingly around the man’s torso and giving him a gentle squeeze.

“Just thinking…” Cam replied, taking hold of a hand and bringing it to his lips for a moment.

It was during this moment, Cam decided to open up the French doors so they could eat breakfast out on the veranda. It was certainly nice enough and this also meant they could enjoy a stunning view while they ate. Given that they were not far from the lake shore, even tucked away deep in the woods as they were, there was a beautiful view from out there. Their new house had a big back yard and better still, it was quiet and secluded. The other side of the lake, which could also be seen from the back veranda, was pure wilderness and too far away to see clearly, except with a good pair of binoculars, so privacy certainly wasn’t an issue. As far as he was concerned, this life of luxury Cam was now living, was becoming very comfortable and he had to wonder just how long that comfort would last. The sounds of sizzling bacon were forcing him back into the here and now though and he quickly realized there were more pressing matters demanding his attention, so turning in the embrace, kissing Danny softly on the lips, then while still holding on, he started to walk forward, back to doing what they were doing before.

Breakfast was now about done, so while Cam put out the finishing touches and set the table outside, he sent Danny upstairs to get the boys. He wasn’t gone long and when he got back, like his lover, Danny took a place at the table, just as Cam was pouring a cup from the freshly brewed pot of tea for the both of them. Not ones to stand on ceremony and also throwing some past experience into the mix, they made a start, filling their plates before it was all gone. Not too much later, they heard the unmistakable sound of four sets of heavy feet from the boys, as they came running down the stairs. Bursting through the door, Corey, as always, was first, his stomach leading the charge like the rough riders up San Juan hill, the other boys were a little more sedate, but you could tell they were all hungry. The thought and the immediate imagery that followed, of those hardy men charged the enemy while wearing only a pair of brightly colored boxer shorts, made Cam chuckle and then Danny followed suit, as he was let in on the joke. Their little joke and their ensuing chuckles went, thankfully, unnoticed, because neither of the men thought they could give any justice to an explanation right then.

At first glance, they seemed so happy, even Tyler, much to Cam’s relief, after the talk they’d had earlier. This was most especially true, when they saw, then started to dig into, the delicious looking spread. While they did so, Cam couldn’t help but chuckle at the banter being thrown back and forth, they were all so animated that morning and like always, he mused over how much the boys had grown, especially over the last year. A year which had seen some great sadness, some good friends found and lost, six hearts joined and two hearts torn apart. They had all come through it though, with much more maturity than he could have ever asked for and as much as he hated the idea, when all is said and done, he had to admit just how grown up they were. No longer were they those scared little boys he’d cherished and held close for so many years, now they were more like the fine young men, he had always known they would someday become. But, he also realized in that moment and of course, had to smile at the thought, that regardless of how big they got, in his mind, they would forever still, be his little boys. They were good boys too, always had been.

They were still teenagers though and although most of the time they were low maintenance, like with all teenagers, there were times he felt like he, or even Danny and Reggie, had to fight the odd battle for supremacy. This of course, was the negotiation phase of teenage-hood, where he truly it was better to try and reason with the occasional bout of immaturity spawned from their teenage minds, rather than fight against it. As far as Cam was concerned, in that respect, the twins though not confrontational or wild by nature, could at times be quite a handful, being more like, he hated to admit, he was while he was growing up. This was especially true, when they felt strongly about something, or someone. Carl, on the other hand, tended to be more circumspect and because of it, they were all glad that more often than not, he seemed to have a little more common sense and appeared to perform a sort of anchoring role for the other two. Cam looked at each at each of his boys in turn, he was very proud of how they were turning out and realized just how much he had come to rely on them being there, not just for each other, but also for him. Trust didn’t come easily for him, but he trusted them, all of them, because he knew them completely in heart and mind, and he also knew that trust doesn’t require you to be completely perfect. This was a very important thing for Cam to be considering right then, because in the coming days or even weeks, he knew he was going to have to rely on that trust a great deal. The only real unknown element at that moment, was Tyler, but he also trusted Danny and the plan they would soon put into motion.

For his part, Tyler too was musing and he was frankly envious of the boy’s relationships with their father figures. He could easily detect the respect and love the boys had for both men, and the boundaries they observed with them. Cam and Danny, though definitely the adults, were mostly more like older brothers for boys. But, he could also tell that, although boundaries were sometimes pushed, they were never ever broken, on either side. He tried to imagine what a relationship like that, would be like with his own father and it almost brought him to tears. For the first time, even though he hated the man, he realized just how much he missed him and how much he wished he was still there. Even when his mom was alive and the home he grew up in wasn’t that bad, Tyler had never seen such a scene, except maybe on TV. In fact, if it wasn’t happening right in front of him, he never would have believed it. In his world, relationships like the ones he was seeing around that breakfast table, just simply didn’t exist and he could barely comprehend it. For one thing, they all asked each other questions, about what they were thinking, what their week was like, how they were feeling about things. Then to add insult to injury, they all actually listened to the answers, like they cared. The sheer confusion, he was suffering from, was almost enough to completely blow his mind. The other thing he couldn’t get over, was how much food they all ate, he figured that these guys must work out all the time to look like they did and still eat that way.

For a moment, the familial spirit at the table overwhelmed him and he almost burst into tears again, but he managed to keep them in check, he was starting to get pretty good at that. He had to admit to himself however, that he couldn’t wait to see what the rest of the weekend held, if breakfast was anything to go by, which was getting better with each piece of food he shoveled into his ever watering mouth. At the home, he’d be lucky if he’d gotten one piece of each thing on offer, let alone the full plate he was trying his hardest to devour. That’s not to say there wasn’t plenty to go around at the home, it’s just that Tyler wasn’t the biggest of boys, so he was fairly low on the pecking order, but over time, he had gotten to be very good at guarding what he had. He was enjoying himself though, right up until Corey reached over, trying to snag a piece of his bacon. He quickly learned the enormity of his mistake, when poor Tyler’s reaction was instant and pure instinct. In fact, when the fork the boy had been holding, so fluidly switched from being a scooping implement, to a stabbing weapon, Corey was lucky to get his hand away intact.

“Holy shit dude!” Corey yelped in panic. “What the fuck…?!”

Embarrassment warred instantly with fear on the boy’s face and in his mind, Tyler screamed with frustration, believing he had just lost anything he had managed to build with these people. Again he felt the tears well up and this time, fearing the worst, he couldn’t stop them. While preparing to make his escape, he couldn’t believe what he’d just done and couldn’t even slightly stop the screaming in his mind from hurling obscenity after obscenity at itself. The fact that he could swear he’d heard his dad’s laughter through the background noise, really didn’t help matters either, while he looked on in horror, at each of the shocked faces around the table. To be fair, although shock was very much evident, there was no malice in any of those faces, but Tyler saw different. Adding to that, was that all he could now hear, over and over, was his dad telling him how much of  ‘Fuck up’ he was and how he could ruin anything. By this point, his mind was so overwhelmed, at his perceived failure as a normal human being, it began to shut down in order to protect itself from further hurt and his more instinctual, survival side, started to kick in. That is, right up until he felt the gentle, yet firm caress, of a larger hand slide slowly on top of his own and his focus was pulled towards a stunning set of deep brown eyes and a very gentle and soothing voice.

“It’s okay kiddo… he didn’t mean it… he didn’t know… it’s okay, don’t be afraid, no one is going to take it away and we’re all here for you… I promise… okay?”

Since their conversation that morning, Danny had been watching the boy very closely and because he was very much familiar with them, had seen the signs from the very beginning, having been in a similar position himself. That alone, was probably the only reason why he was so quick to act. When you look at someone who has been in that position close enough, it does become fairly obvious, it’s just not something you would expect, so most people don’t notice. The way the arm folds around the plate, building a wall to the outside, the way the eyes never stay in one place, always looking for a threat, perceived or otherwise. If he was honest, Danny knew it had taken him a considerable amount of time to get over those feelings and to stop those actions himself, which was more than likely why, he was so attuned to them in others. This was also the reason why he was so calm right at that moment, showing no more emotion, than a friendly smile, as he kept a light but firmly reassuring hold on Tyler’s hand.

“I…. I’m…”

“Shhh…. There’s no need… I understand…. Trust me… and Corey’s sorry… aren’t you Corey…” Danny said, looking straight at Corey for a second, before pointing to Tyler with the minutest flick of his eyes.

Corey was more than sorry, he was mortified, outraged, but not at Tyler, at himself. After all, he was just playing. But the fear, the anger he’d just seen in his friend, he never even considered Tyler would react that way, after all, it’s not like there wasn’t more bacon on the serving plate. He had only ever seen that kind of thing in prison movies, it never occurred to him Tyler would have had to live like that too, would have to protect what he had so viciously. It made him think about just how privileged he was and it disgusted him, that his new and probably best friend wasn’t, which alone was what prompted his next move. Without a thought, or even a second’s hesitation, Corey, who had lost much of his appetite anyway, pushed his own half full plate, in front of Tyler and wrapping his arms around the smaller boy, he whispered into his ear…

“Everything I have to give, is yours… I won’t ever let you have to want for anything ever again… I promise…”

Tyler had held the bulk of them off for so long, but that was the last straw and the tears came all on their own, as he pulled himself deep into Corey’s neck and sobbed. For everyone else at the table, everything went deadly silent and each in turn, looked at one another in shock. None more so than Cameran Trevallian, who had never once seen his nephew give up food for any reason. What struck him the most though, was not that he had done it, but why and then it clicked.

*                      *                      *

Danny watched the boy more closely throughout the rest of breakfast, Tyler had definitely calmed down, especially during the time he spent in Corey’s arms. But, there was still something in the boy’s eyes, that was a little alarming to Danny and he felt pretty sure within himself, that their ‘talk’ would be better served coming sooner, rather than later. He wasn’t alone in that feeling either, it appeared, because when he looked over at Cam, he saw the worried, almost expectant expression on his face. The problem was, he wasn’t sure he had the right words and he even tried to communicate that fact to his lover. It’s a good thing the boys were preoccupied with Tyler, because the looks going back and forth between to the two men, would surely have piqued their interest, if not full out led to questions neither of them wanted to answer quite yet. Once again, Cam came to the rescue.

“How about you boys give me a hand with the dishes?” He said, then when Tyler started to stand, he smiled at him, “Not you little man, guests don’t have to do chores here, why don’t you and Danny go for a little walk down by the lake instead, while we get things sorted here?”

”Sounds good to me.” Danny piped in, with a smile of his own for the boy. “You up for that?”

“Sure… I guess…” Tyler replied, and as he did so, a small expression of finality slipped across his face.

This time, Corey caught what was going on and looked pointedly at his uncle for an explanation, acting exactly like any other Trevallian man would at a perceived threat, real or otherwise, to a loved one. A feeling of fear was growing inside him, of what he had no idea, but it was made worse when he watched Tyler stand in order to follow Danny, who had already started to walk away. Danny, seemingly oblivious, to how his nonchalant stride was making either boy feel and Tyler, kinda slumped over a little, with the look of that final long walk before his execution. Corey saw it all and given the fact that there wasn’t any evidence of an explanation coming from his uncle in the near future, his fear started to morph into a slow boil of anger. Just as he was about to make his feelings known by saying something about it, Cam just put up his hand in a placating gesture and he kept quiet. Corey trusted his uncle completely, so although he wasn’t happy about it at all, he did decide to keep his mouth shut, for the moment.

“Any idea why we’re down here?” Danny asked, as they sat down on the grassy berm, just above the small beach at the far edge of the well mown lawn and immediately regretted his choice of an opener, when he glanced over and saw the instant tenseness in the boys shoulders. “Hey relax… shit! Sorry little man, that was a really bad way to start… Cam just wanted me to talk to you about a few things… I’m really sorry kiddo, I didn’t mean to worry you…”

“It’s okay… you guys probably want me gone right? It’s okay, I know what that’s like, I won’t cause you any more trouble…” Tyler replied, as he started to stand and climb back over the berm.

“Shit Tyler… stop… that’s not it at all…please sit down?” Danny pleaded. Tyler looked down at Danny and Danny looked back, but it was only the sincerity in Danny’s face that convinced the boy to do so. “You know what… let’s start again… you’re a pretty brave kid, you know that?”

Tyler shook his head. “Wrong word.”

“What? What’s the wrong word?” Danny replied, the shock clearly evident in his voice.

“Bravery… when you’re on the streets, there is no bravery, there’s only survival… bravery doesn’t keep you alive, it gets you killed, especially when you’ve been beaten bloody and kicked in the nuts, because you’re on someone else’s turf… Bravery doesn’t keep you warm at night or put food in your belly, only a strong sense of survival and the skills that come with it can do that and you learn those pretty damn fast, or you die, simple as that.” Tyler stated very matter-of-factly, although Danny did see a stray tear slowly fall down the soft skin of the boy’s face. Tyler wasn’t finished though. “Bravery is voluntary, something you can choose to be… something for people like Corey, or Dale, or Carl, or even you and Cam, something for those people who have a home to go to at night, a warm bed to sleep in and food on the table… I’m not brave, never have been, but I am a survivor… trust me on that, the streets is about as far from voluntary as a kid can get.”

Tyler fell silent after his little speech and Danny wasn’t that much better. He had to admit, although he grew up in the ‘system’, he never did actually spend any of that time living rough as Tyler had obviously had to do. Looking at the boy, he was still very cute, but where there should be a hint of softness in the eyes, or the smile, there was something dark there, something hard and when you actually knew to look, it was kind of scary. Danny thought that his own childhood was bad enough, but he couldn’t even begin to imagine what this poor sweet boy in front of him has had to live with. Sure, he knew what Cam had told him earlier, but the more and more he observed the boy, the more he came to realize just how little of the story he had told. In his mind, Danny was pretty sure he didn’t want to know the rest, fearing that any further information would bring back to many of his own repressed memories, but he had promised Cam that he would try.

“Cam and I… we want to help you and all of what you just said and all of the wrongs done to you, is why we want to help you, do you understand?”

“I don’t need any sympathy.”

“Actually yes… I think that’s exactly what you need… Everybody does when they’re down and out for reasons far beyond their control… But this isn’t sympathy, this is about getting you out of a shitty situation and trust me, I know what that situation is like.”

“How… how you can possibly know what my situation is like… you with your big house and perfect life and perfect family… you’ve got it all and what have I got?… Nothing!”  Tyler near screamed, his anger building.

Here it is, Danny thought, the part he was both expecting and dreading with equal measure. The part where he knew he’d have to come clean about his own experiences, or risk losing any opportunity that Tyler would ever trust him, so over the next half hour or so, that’s exactly what he did. Laying it all out on the table, Danny told the boy exactly what had happened to him in the homes where he grew up. Told him about how he was never that big either and how that made him easy pickings for the bigger boys. He even told him about his worst moment, the time when he was only twelve and was held down over his desk, after he had accidentally outed himself and repeatedly raped by several of the boys who he was living with at the time, some of which he had prior to that moment, thought were his friends. Told him about the time he was about fourteen and finally living somewhere else, but was forced into offering himself as payment to someone who he thought would protect him, but just ended up pimping him out anyway.

As he continued, Danny came to realize, that in one respect, he was kind of lucky. None of the adults had ever touched him, well, not in that way, he had had plenty of beatings as a punishment for one thing or another, but none of the adults had ever molested him. Danny didn’t stop there though, once he had gotten all the evil out of the way, he began to tell Tyler, how much life could get better. Told him about the Navy and then eventually meeting the love of his life. Once he’d finished his story, a simple “Wow” was all Tyler could come up with, just before he launched into tales of his own and tell he did, all of it.

“Our stories seem pretty similar so far, other than the pics and movies… which is truly disturbing, by the way… but you have got something I never had…” Danny said.

“Oh yeah? What’s that…” Tyler replied, a hard look of extreme skepticism etched across his otherwise youthful face.

“Someone that loves you…”

“Don’t say it… don’t ever say that word out loud when you’re near me… that word is total bullshit and people only use it when they want something from you, like your dick for free… no one could love someone like me… not in my lifetime anyway…”

“Jesus Christ Tyler… I don’t want your dick and neither does Cam…” Danny said heatedly, then with a small smile, as the impact of that statement hit Tyler, he continued. “That’s right… Cam and I have no secrets, but I’m not mad at you so don’t worry, I know why you did it, probably better than he does… definitely better than he does… nope, all we want to do is just help you…besides, I like you kid, but I’m not the one that loves you…”

“Then… oh…” Like a cartoon light bulb had just flicked on, Tyler went quiet for a second. “But he’s not even gay…”

“Trust me kiddo, in a family of gay men, the jury is well and truly still out on that one, whether Corey realizes it or not, but even if he is straight, there are other kinds of love and he definitely loves you.”

Danny left Tyler to ponder that for a moment, as he looked over towards the kitchen. The boys and Cam had obviously finished cleaning, because although Dale and Carl were nowhere to be seen, Cam and Corey were back to sitting at the table on the veranda. Time was getting on, obviously and they still hadn’t talked about the Cam’s plan yet, so Danny decided to cut to the chase.

“Look, Kiddo… We’ve been out here much longer than I thought we would be and it looks like somebody’s getting restless, but there’s something I really need to talk to you about, before we head back.”

“What is it?” Tyler replied, while at the same time following the older man’s gaze and seeing Corey waiting, but not very patiently, at the table they’d left not too long before.

Danny had gone through basic training just like any one else in the military, but he was by no stretch of the imagination a spec-ops guy, so although Cam had gone through most of what he had planned with him in the shower, he had understood only the basics of it. This of course made the next thing he had to say very difficult. In the end, he decided, rather than going over the finer points, thinking Cam could do that much better, he would just go over the basics.

“I meant what I said before… Cam and I, we want to help you and the best way we can think of to do that, is to get you out of there.” He took a deep breath and looked at the boy, sadly he already knew what he would see, hope, but he also knew that hope would be very short lived, in the short term at least. “The problem is… we can’t just walk up to the front door, knock and take you away… there’s a whole bunch of legal shit we have to go through, but, we also don’t want you exposed to the lifestyle you’ve been forced into anymore either…”

“Ha! Doesn’t sound like there’s much you can do then…” Tyler replied, breathing out a long drawn out and pathetic sigh and the hope he just felt along with it. He just knew it was too good to be true.

“Don’t be too hasty there kiddo… there are other ways, but those ways require your help.” Looking off across the water, Danny let  that sink in and waited for the inevitable question.

“Like how? What can I do?”

“Cam can explain it better, but for now, we need you to know that we care and we’ll do everything we can, can you accept that?”

“It doesn’t sound much different that what I already got, so yeah… I guess.”

“Cool… Go and see Cam when you get a chance… he’ll be able to talk you through it better than I can.” Danny said, as he stood up and dusted himself off, before climbing up onto the lawn and reaching back down to help Tyler up. “Come on, let’s get you back to lover-boy over there…”