Fifteen and Alone
This is the story of Zac, who at age fifteen is alone, after having been thrown out of his home by his stepfather for no other reason than having been caught jacking off with his close friend. After attempting reconciliation with his stepfather he heads north from his home town. Where to? Only fate will decide that, and some very special people.
Chapter 1 – Alone with Almost Nothing
He'd been thrown out of his home with what belongings he had packed in a small, tattered case. What was the reason for this? His stepfather had caught him and his close friend Jamie jacking off together on his bed. His stepfather had said nothing, just grabbed Jamie by the collar and literally thrown him out of the front door, then returned and wordlessly packed Zac's meagre belongings into a tattered case, handing it to him before giving him similar treatment. It had been four o'clock in the afternoon, where was he to go?
Zac's father had tragically died four years previously from a violent attack of asthma, the doctors had fought to save him but there was nothing they could do. Eighteen months after this tragedy, Zac's mother, who he loved dearly, had met Ben. He had been so cool at first, doing everything with Zac, almost like his father had done, but things changed when Zac's mother had accepted his proposal of marriage. He became moody and wasn't above giving Zac a beating when his mother wasn't around. Zac tolerated this abuse for his mother's sake; after all, she must have seen something good in the man to have married him.
Twelve months later, Zac's mother was diagnosed with cancer. Every treatment known was given to her but the disease was too virulent and eight months later, she succumbed. Zac thought his life was over, he was forced to stay with a man who obviously disliked him and who, after his mother's death, had taken strongly to the drink. The beatings became almost a daily event, usually being given in places that would not show so Zac could still go to school without suspicion.
Finally, the afternoon with Jamie. Zac was truly alone now, he didn't have a clue where to go, there were no relatives he knew anything about and he was an only child. What was he to do?
For the first three nights, he slept in the local mall, the park and the steps of the post office respectively before making up his mind to head north. Where was he headed? Only fate would decide that, he didn't have a clue. As a last resort, he phoned Ben.
"Hi Ben, It's Zac. Can we tal...?"
"There's nothing to talk about, you little poof. If you think I'm gonna tolerate that sort of thing in my house, you've got another think coming. Go and stay with yer poofy mate, I'm sure he'd be pleased to have you. As far as I'm concerned, I never wanna see you again. Now don't ring me again, ever, you're on yer own from now on." Ben's gruff voice did nothing for Zac's confidence.
Tearfully, Zac hung up the phone. "Oh shit Mum, Dad, what am I gonna do?" he asked, almost to himself. "You've left me with nothing, not even a home now." Through his own determination, he steeled himself for the adventure ahead and turned in the street, heading north.
The seventh day saw him many kilometres north of his home town. He had spent his nights huddled under bushes at the side of the roadway and during the day, hitched what rides he was able to get. He'd only had four rides so far; most of the people who stopped had left him where he was after he told them he didn't know where he was going. His last lift had been with a semi driver who had picked him up in the middle of nowhere and taken him over two hundred and fifty kilometres north. Zac had thanked him when he dropped him off, he'd been a real cool guy, not asking any questions and just joking with Zac until he had to turn off west.
Zac now found himself in the centre of a small town. He didn't have any money left and didn't really know what to do. Should he go to the local police? Nah, they'd only hand him over to the authorities and that would be the end of that. He certainly didn't want to be returned forcibly to the care of Ben, at any price. He decided to keep going.
After many hours of walking, Zac knew he'd had enough. He'd had a thought in his mind for the last couple of days, and knew in himself the time had come to put that thought into action. He had no one, he had nothing, he didn't even know where he was going, so what was the point in continuing, knowing there was only the highway ahead of him. He heard a car approaching behind him, going fast, and as he heard it get closer and closer, he judged his move and stepped into its path, knowing at least it would be quick.
He heard the shriek of locked wheels on the road and braced himself for the impact, but it didn't come. As he stood dazed in the middle of the traffic lane, he saw a flash of red as the driver of the vehicle swerved around him, stopping about fifty metres up the road. The door of the vehicle was flung open, and an angry driver emerged, walking back to Zac.
"What he hell do you think you're doing man?" the driver shouted, "I could have killed you."
Zac stood his ground, unable to move.
"Come on man," the driver said, "what's the story?"
Zac turned his head to see a very good looking young guy approaching. "I... I..." he stuttered.
Immediately the driver could tell something was amiss. The kid was filthy, his hair was tousled and his clothing was tattered. There was certainly something not right. He calmed himself down. "Jeez man, I was doing 130km/h when you did your thing. I could have killed you,"
Zac turned to the handsome guy. "That's what I wanted," he said, tears welling in his eyes.
The driver gently placed a hand on Zac's shoulder and guided him off the highway. "OK, I don't believe what I'm hearing, but if you'd like to come back to my car, maybe you could explain it to me. My name's Drew, what's yours?"
"Zac," he said, accompanying Drew back to the car.
Drew got in the driver's side, and leaned over to open the door for Zac, who got in, very meekly sitting in the passengers seat, his hands clasped in his lap, his eyes staring at his tattered shoes. Drew looked across at Zac, studying his sad face. Shit', he thought, this is one good looking kid, one real good looking kid. If he cleaned himself up a bit, he'd be almost beautiful.' He reached out and placed a hand on Zac's shoulder.
"OK Zac, you wanna tell me what's going on here?"
Zac relayed the story, it took him a good half hour but by the time he finished, Drew virtually knew his every detail.
"So your step dad threw you out just for jacking with your mate?" Drew asked.
"Yeah, that's all we were doing," Zac replied.
"How long since you had anything proper to eat Zac?" Drew asked.
"Oh, about six days," Zac replied, "haven't been real hungry."
"OK Zac, you gotta trust me here man. I gotta find out if that prick you called a step dad has reported you as missing, I'll find out from the local coppers. You OK with that man?"
Zac nodded slowly, hoping against hope there had been no reports. Drew drove back to the township, stopping outside the local police station.
"Now Zac, I want your address, your surname and your age and date of birth."
Zac supplied the details and Drew went into the station, returning five minutes later.
"There've been no reports about you but I'll tell you what I've done. I've told the coppers that you're with me and where we're headed. I've given them my mobile number so if there are any reports about you, they'll know where you are. They know where we're headed, the Gold Coast, and where you'll be staying when we get there. There were no worries as far as that's concerned, my father is fairly well known in this area."
There was a questioning look in Zac's eyes.
Drew smiled. "Dad owns a string of a dozen bakeries, stretching from the Coast to Newcastle. I'm the one who has to make sure the accounts are up to date, check on the cleanliness of all the premises and make sure everything's as it should be. It takes me a full month to do all that before I turn round and start again. It's tiring work `cause I'm always on the road but the old man pays me well, real well and supplies me with this car. There're also perks along the way so it's not a real bad job. Like I said Zac, Dad's pretty well known round here."
Zac smiled, he was starting to get to like Drew.
"Righto Zac," Drew said, "seeing as you've had no food for six days, I'm gonna treat you. Anything you want, you have, no need to ask, OK?"
Drew was still not happy with the way Zac looked and felt so sorry for him. Jeez, he hadn't done anything any other teenager hadn't done. This Ben must be a complete asshole.
"I don't have any money at all Drew," Zac explained.
"Don't worry about that Zac, my treat, it's the least I can do," Drew said.
They stopped at a roadside servo café, Drew telling Zac to order anything he felt like. He could almost see Zac drooling as he perused the foods displayed in the warmer. Zac ordered two roast meat rolls and a bowl of hot chips before they made their way to a table, Drew marvelling at the speed the food disappeared into Zac. Poor little guy must've been near starving.
"Better?" Drew asked when the last chip had vanished.
"Yeah Drew, thanks so much man," Zac was obviously deeply appreciative, "you're real cool."
"You're welcome buddy. Now, what do you reckon we get you some decent clothes?" Drew asked.
Zac's eyes widened. "You mean that?" he asked. He suddenly looked down. "I've got no way to repay you Drew."
Drew felt a constriction in the back of his throat. Jeez, how could any one leave a cute kid like this in the position he was in, he had nothing. He could feel the hate for Ben building inside him like a fire and had to take control of his voice.
"Of course I mean it Zac," he said. "Shit man, we can't have you looking like that in my car," he grinned, "it's just not on. Hang on a sec."
He went over to the counter and enquired if they had any showers, usually these road side servo's had at least one. He was told they did, it was in the toilet section round the back and it'd cost him a dollar for the towel. He paid the money and returned to Zac.
"OK mate, time for a scrub. I'll see if I can find you some clothes while you're in there, you'll have to let me have your jeans to get the right size. OK?"
He accompanied Zac to the shower, watching as he took off his tattered sneakers and holey socks. Zac dropped his jeans without any sign of embarrassment and passed them to Drew before getting into the shower bay. Drew had time to notice all of his clothing was holey, including his jocks.
Drew didn't have far to go before finding what he was looking for, a youth clothing store. The lady inside was friendly and helpful and soon Drew had a new pair of jeans, altered there and then to fit, several pairs of jocks and socks, two cool t-shirts, two casual shirts and two jumpers. He'd also taken the size of Zac's sneakers, size 7 and he purchased a pair of good quality ones to match the new clothing. He paid the bill, over two hundred and eighty dollars, hoping Zac would like the new gear, then, thanking the store lady, took the new clothes back to the servo. The shower was still running when Drew arrived; Zac was obviously giving himself a real good scrub.
"I'll leave the gear out here for you Zac," he said, placing the bags on the small bench seat outside the shower.
"Thanks man," Zac replied, "won't be long."
Drew waited by the car, to be joined by Zac ten minutes later, dressed in his new gear and looking slightly self-conscious. Zac approached Drew and held out his right hand which was shaken by Drew.
"Thanks so much Drew," he said, "that's the coolest thing any one's done for me in a long time. I only hope I can repay you somehow."
Drew looked at him. Now he'd cleaned himself up, he was truly beautiful with a shock of dark hair, a truly classic face and a build typical of youths his age, slim and apparently fit. Drew was getting to like him more and more.
"You're welcome Zac, now come on, it's well into the afternoon and we've got a hell of a long way to go yet. I reckon we'll have to sleep at a motel tonight, there's no way I'm going to make the Coast today. It's still five hundred kilometres away. Now, before anything else happens, give me that old shit of yours."
Zac handed him the bundle of rags and watched as Drew dropped them purposefully into the trash bin. "There," he said, "just where they belong."
They piled into the Calais, Drew started the powerful V8 and they started off towards the Coast. Within minutes, Zac was soundly asleep, the comfort of the seat just too much for him. Drew looked sideways at his sleeping charge, jeez he was cute and that was a real understatement.
Zac slept peacefully for two and a half hours, finally waking as they pulled into Grafton. Drew found his usual motel and pulled into the driveway, telling Zac he was his cousin from Wollongong, there wouldn't be any questions asked that way. Zac smiled his agreement; he certainly didn't want anyone asking questions. They were given a comfortable room and spent a little time chatting before Drew invited Zac to the restaurant.
"After all buddy," he said, "the way I saw your lunch disappear, you've obviously got pythons, not worms. I want you to have anything you want Zac, shit man, you haven't eaten for days, apart from lunch today."
Zac smiled at Drew. The look in his eyes was enough to tell Drew he was more than appreciative. He ordered a large t-bone and vegetables followed by a banana split, Drew a mixed grill and banana split before they were shown to a comfortable corner of the restaurant. The meal was presented and Zac attacked his with relish. Drew was impressed, Zac had obviously been well raised, his table manners were impeccable. The food disappeared into Zac in almost record time and he sat back in his chair, his hands crossed across his stomach.
"Jeez, that was nice," he said. "Banana split to come yet though. Thanks so much Drew, you've been so kind to me."
Drew felt the constriction in his throat again. This young guy was so well mannered and so appreciative, how could anybody...? He felt the fire of hate in the pit of his stomach again. They returned to their room, Drew collapsed into a chair and flicked on the TV while Zac sat on his bed, saying nothing.
Minutes passed before Zac said, "How come you're so nice to me Drew when you know what I've done, with Jamie I mean. Doesn't it worry you I'm like that?"
Drew didn't believe his ears. He turned to Zac. "Do you think you were doing something wrong with Jamie, is that it Zac?"
"Yeah," Zac replied, "don't you think it's wrong?"
Drew smiled to himself, remembering his soul mate from the Coast. "No Zac, I don't think it's wrong, you were only jacking after all."
"But if we hadn't been caught, it'd have gone further," Zac admitted. "It always used to go further with Jamie and me."
Drew thought for a while. "How much further Zac?"
"All the way, us both naked and Jamie inside me." Zac didn't feel the need to keep anything from Drew.
Drew watched the TV. He felt a distinct thickening sensation in the area of his groin at the thought of this cute guy being impaled by his mate Jamie. "Did you two do it often?" he asked.
"Whenever we could," Zac replied, "Ben was usually so pissed he wouldn't have cared."
Drew said nothing; he'd heard all he wanted to hear. Anything more would have him thinking things he didn't really want to think about.
"You've gone quiet Drew. Doesn't it worry you that I'm like that," Zac asked again.
Drew turned to face Zac again. "No Zac, it doesn't worry me at all, not in the least because I'm the same way. I have a male soul mate on the Coast, we love each other dearly and we're lovers, just like you and Jamie."
Zac couldn't believe his ears. Here was this guy he was beginning to think the world of, telling him he liked guys best, just like him. It was obvious nothing would, or should happen between them, after all, Drew had a soul mate on the Coast, but Drew's admission certainly had him thinking. After chatting until well after eleven o'clock, they both slipped into their respective beds and fell into an exhausted sleep.