DISCLAIMER
The following story is completely fictitious and any resemblances to persons living or dead are entirely coincidental. Just as in life, this story contains graphic scenes of love and hate, life and death, joy and sorrow, as well as material that may be offensive to some audiences. If such material makes you feel uncomfortable, then please read no further than this warning.
Send questions and comments to thatguywhowritesniftysmut@gmail.com
SAMMY - CHAPTER TWO
The only time Sammy had seen Domino Diablo get angry was when Sammy had smoked pot. He had been hanging out with a few of the guys that worked for Domino and they had thought it would be funny to get Sammy high. He was thirteen at the time and thought it would be alright, but in the middle of another rather large hit from a bong Domino had burst into the room. Every stoner went deathly silent and Sammy instantly felt a fear unlike anything he had ever felt before or since.
Sammy openly wet himself.
"Whose idea was it to give Sammy pot?" he had asked the room simply.
No one moved. No one even dared to breathe.
"Allow me to ask again." He said, this time moving further into the room with slow silent strides. "Whose idea was it to get the thirteen year old boy who is under my protection high?"
No one spoke.
"Answer me." Domino had said in a voice that resonated throughout the entire room.
Sammy could see the vibrations from it and instantly regretted smoking. It was very trippy and not in a good way.
"I did." One of the men had answered. Indeed it had been his idea to get Sammy high in the first place and he had provided the pot, but Sammy never would have thought he'd admit it. Especially not to Domino.
"You will leave the city and never set foot in its boundaries again." Domino commanded the man with the same resonance that scared Sammy.
The man Domino had commanded made his way out the door, leaving behind any personal possessions he did not have with him. Domino immediately looked at the young boy. Instantly the powerful man felt heartache that he would let Sammy be so frightened of him, of the way he was acting. Sammy had never seen Domino in such turmoil.
"As for the rest of you," Domino said, regaining his composure, "you are to never give any drug or illegal substance to Sammy ever again, otherwise I will kill you."
There was a promise in his tone.
"Sammy, let's go."
Sammy found himself following Domino out of the room, unable to focus on anything but the task of walking behind the towering dark figure. He began losing his balance, but reached out and met Domino's hand. The black man's touch was gentle, gentler than he thought it would be. For some strange reason, Sammy began crying. He blamed the drug.
"I'm sorry." Sammy wept. "I'm sorry I made you mad."
"I'm not mad at you, Sammy." he said looking straight ahead as he continued to help the teen walk through the building to the elevator. Domino held Sammy's hand as if he were a small child that could easily be lost to the world of darkness that surrounded them both if he let go for but a single moment."I'm mad at those idiots for getting you high, and I'm mad at myself for exposing you to this lifestyle and expecting you to get through untouched."
Sammy allowed Domino's words to quietly sink in as they finally reached the elevator. Getting inside, Domino turned to Sammy and knelt down to his level. He had the most intense black eyes Sammy had ever seen, like jet black orbs of void.
"Sammy, I need you to promise me something. I need you to promise me you will never willingly use any kind of drug ever again." Domino hesitated a few moments. "I know it is selfish of me, but the idea of you getting involved in drugs pains me more than you know. Can you promise me?"
"I promise, Domino. No drugs. Never." Sammy sniffled.
"Alright." The man replied a reassuring smile returning to his face. "Now let's get you all cleaned up. You'll spend the night in one of the rooms until this stuff wears off. I'll call your folks and let them know you are helping me out with inventory and are going to crash here, okay?"
After the pot incident, Domino made sure to keep Sammy away from the pushers in his employ, and tried to get him involved with something more productive. Giving Sammy the choice to pick any hobby he wanted to pursue, Sammy had decided he wanted to learn how to play guitar, specifically the bass guitar.
Sammy woke up on the couch of Domino Diablo's entryway, just outside his office, the vivid memory of the "pot incident" from his dream still fresh in his head. . He was still wearing his clothes from the night before and felt his body ache a bit from the long walk he had been forced to take. He had decided after seeing Kendal safely home that he should just crash at Domino's since he needed to get Josh's shit anyway. He also knew it was worse to get home late than to not show up for a night.
His parents had pretty much accepted the fact Sammy worked at Domino's hotel, mostly as a gofer, bellhop, and aid to the older man. To them it was a dream come true, a way for their failure of a son to begin learning some work ethic. They didn't know Domino was probably one of the most powerful individuals in the city, right up there with the mayor and chief of police. They never questioned Sammy spending so much time with the man either, mostly because they didn't care. So long as Sammy wasn't their problem, they didn't care.
Sammy made his way back down towards Kendal's house. He had a keen sense of direction, so it wasn't too hard to remember the way, especially with a lovely angel waiting for him as incentive. It was probably an hour walk, and Sammy was very glad the weather had been brisk, preventing him from working up a sweat. He was equally thankful he kept a supply of clothing at Domino's and he had taken great pains to select a nice outfit. Black t-shirt, black cargo pants, and a black and silver barbed-wire print belt, he wanted to look good for Kendal.
Walking up the final block, Sammy could see Kendal outside his house on the front porch waiting for him. As he got closer, he felt something might be up. He was just walking down the short path to his front steps when he realized the younger boy had a very forlorn look on his face and was in nothing but boxer shorts and a white undershirt. Seeing a small pile of discarded mail sitting next to his love, Sammy put two and two together.
"Hey, beautiful," Sammy acknowledged Kendal as the boy's head shot to attention from its resting position buried in his arms, "need a hand?"
"Sammy!" the boy practically shouted as he leaped in one fluid motion from the porch into a tackle hug, clinging to Sammy as if he were a life preserver in a stormy sea. Sammy could see the brisk weather of spring that had worked in his favor had the opposite effect on Kendal, as his rosy red checks and slight sniffling were signs he had indeed been waiting for a while.
"Hey, calm down, calm down," he said rubbing Kendal's back. "I'm here. You lock yourself out getting the mail?"
He felt Kendal move his head up and down in acknowledgement while in his embrace. God he loved that embrace. He continued to rub Kendals back a moment more as he brought his other hand up to brush the boy's unkempt hair back behind his ear. Leaning down a bit to place a comforting kiss on the top of his head, Sammy was glad to feel some warmth returning to Kendal's body.
"Well, don't worry. Lucky for you I know shady people in low places."
A bit confused, Kendal looked up as Sammy gave him a little wink and reached into his back pocket. While he didn't really like showing off and he had promised Domino he would only use his skills in case of an emergency, he figured it would be okay if he did it this one time. Retrieving a small leather wallet, Sammy pulled out two thin metal pins, each as long as a finger. Making his way up to the door of Kendal's house with the younger boy still clinging to him, Sammy tested the door knob. Seeing it was locked, he bent down a little and began inserting the picks into the lock.
Kendal watched silently and hopeful, placing his trust in his savior.
"So how did you manage to lock yourself out of the house in your underwear?" Sammy asked as he continued to pick the lock.
"I wasn't used to the new door yet. I opened it too quickly, and when I went outside quick to get the mail it bounced back and slammed shut. I forgot to undo the lock..." Kendal explained a little embarrassed.
"Well, it could have happened to anybody." Sammy comforted as the entire scene played out inside his head, causing him to chuckle a little to himself as he worked the lock.
Sammy felt a sudden pinch in his side from the younger boy.
"That's for laughing," Kendal pouted in mock anger, "meanie."
"Oh, I'm the meanie?" Sammy retorted as he felt the last pin of the mechanism lock into place and he turned the knob of the door, "I'm not the one pinching people who are breaking into a house."
The look on Kendal's face when the door opened was enough reward to live like a king for a hundred lifetimes. Sammy bowed and extended his arms, clearly motioning for Kendal to step through the doorway. The younger boy happily accepted and once inside the entryway, he turned on his heels quickly and beamed a smile so light Sammy felt like he was floating.
"My hero," Kendal grinned, "how, ever, will I repay you?"
Taking a step into the house and shutting the door behind him, Sammy looked down a bit at the younger boy. In his bare feet, Kendal was still only a few inches shorter than Sammy, and Sammy could see the light colors of the boy's unusual eyes drawing him in. Rather than act on his desires, however, he decided to play along with Kendal's little game.
"Helping an angel in distress is reward enough." Sammy replied with chivalry, "Especially an angel as lovely as you."
"Well, I must show my thanks... some way..." Kendal said as the red returned to his cheeks, this time from embarrassment rather than from the cold. Without a word and with absolute sweetness, Kendal went up on his toes and gave Sammy a light peck on the cheek.
It was Sammy's turn to blush. He had kissed a few people, he had even kissed Kendal the night before, but this kiss simply felt... special. It was the most special treasure he had ever received from anyone. He carefully wrapped that memory in the love he felt at that very moment and locked it safely away in his heart. God he felt so sappy, but he didn't care.
"Well, as much as I would love to hang out with you in your underwear... you might want to go get ready for the day." Sammy encouraged with a grin.
"Oh, yeah." Kendal replied, finally remembering the day they had planned. "I'm going to go take a quick shower, okay? You can wait in my room if you want. It's this way."
With that, Kendal grabbed Sammy's hand as he led the older boy through the rather simple looking house. As he followed Kendal, hand in hand, Sammy saw an impressive looking drum set in the living room area. It looked like a full kit. As the boys rounded the corner and went up the stairs, Kendal led Sammy down a short hallway into a rather nice looking room. The first thing Sammy noticed however was...
"You have a lot of books."
"Yeah," Kendal smiled, "they are my heroes."
"You're heroes?" Sammy asked.
"Yeah," Kendal replied as he led Sammy further into his room, "when I was little, I used to have really bad nightmares. Like really bad. So, my dad would read me stories with heroes that would keep the nightmares away. I've read every single book on these shelves."
The last bit was said with a measure of pride. Sammy felt special that Kendal would share something like that with him. The way Kendal had said it had immediately invoked imagery into Sammy's mind, a father lovingly comforting his young son, granting him protection against a dark and frightening world. It almost reminded him of Domino and the way he had sheltered Sammy, maybe not with storybook heroes, but with more love and understanding than his real parents. Real parents were highly overrated.
"I'm impressed. There has to be like, a few hundred books here." Sammy said as he scanned the room, allowing his thoughts to return to the present.
"Three-hundred and twelve." Kendal confirmed as he absentmindedly swung Sammy's hand back and forth in his own, having yet to let go of it.
There was a slight pause, a moment of silence and hesitation between the two boys. They were both stalling, but neither one knew why.
"I'm going to go grab my shower." Kendal said after a moment more, finally releasing Sammy from his grasp.
"Okay, yeah. I'll wait here." Sammy quickly responded.
Kendal left the room and went down the hall. Sammy could hear a door shutting and a few moments later the sound of water running.
Sammy began looking idly around Kendal's room. He knew Kendal had recently moved into the city, but he was surprised at how ordered and moved in the house appeared. As he walked around the small room, he made note of the lack of the standard array of music posters, action figures, and childish toys that were typical of a boy's room. No television, no videogames; only books, some furniture, and upon closer inspection some sheet music and CDs.
As he passed Kendal's dresser, he came upon some photographs. They were held in simple sturdy frames, and the pictures contained within told a story. One had to be from more than a few years ago, as the boy in the picture, clearly Kendal, had even more of the childish innocence Sammy had come to love. It had been taken outside on some sunny afternoon on the side of some lake or pond. Against a background of trees and water, the boy held up a comparatively giant fish, his first catch Sammy assumed, as the line from the fishing pole clearly still connected the fish to the rod. Helping Kendal hold up the fish was a powerful looking hand that was connected to a large and powerful looking arm cut off by the frame.
Another photograph, sometime earlier, appeared around Christmas time. Kendal was probably around seven and sitting behind the same drum kit Sammy had seen downstairs in the living room, holding up a pair of drumsticks in victory over his new present. On either side of him were people gathered for a group photograph. On Kendal's left were a strong-looking black man with long dreadlocks and a kind-looking white man with short black hair and glasses, his hand resting on the black man's shoulder as they smiled at the camera. On Kendal's right, messing up the young boy's mop of hair, was a lithe-looking man with long black hair and beautiful blue eyes, his other arm holding closely to his side his wife. The woman, like the man, appeared nimble, even in the still photograph, and her clearly Asian features were focused on her small son, who she was holding, who was struggling to reach out towards the drumsticks being held high in the air.
Sammy didn't see any sign of the large hand he had seen before, but assumed that person could have been taking the picture.
Another photograph showed Kendal at the beach, someplace obviously not in the Midwest. Kendal was a little older, his exposed body dancing on the sand in the dying sunlight, and Sammy could feel the happiness conveyed in the photograph. Looking closer, Sammy could see on the boy's bare chest what looked like a mark, but he wasn't sure. In the lighting of the photograph it was difficult to tell, but it looked like a scar.
The final photograph Sammy came upon was that of a powerful looking man. He was, for lack of a better word, a giant. In the background of some sort of police station, the man smiled at the camera as he held in his arms a very young Kendal, who was sound asleep. Sammy thought Kendal couldn't have been more than three or four when the photograph was taken, and from the badge and the atmosphere, Sammy assumed this was Kendal's father, the law enforcement officer. Clearly the hand and arm from the picture before belonged to this man, who easily looked as if he could rip Sammy in half with his bare hands.
Still, Sammy thought to himself, there was a kindness in those eyes.
"That's my dad."
Kendal's voice caught Sammy by surprise, clearly catching Sammy looking at the photographs on his dresser. The sudden surprised look on the older boy's face was priceless as Kendal giggled a bit to himself. Sammy thought that had to be the sweetest music in the world. As Kendal moved over towards the dresser where Sammy was standing, wrapped only in a towel, Sammy could see the wicked looking scar on Kendal's chest. It almost appeared as if someone had tried to remove his heart. Kendal noticed Sammy's stare and got a little embarrassed and moved his hand to his shoulder so his arm would cover the blemish to his otherwise perfect young body.
"Sorry," Sammy said as he suddenly felt like an ass, "I... I didn't mean to stare."
"It's okay." Kendal said, "You probably would have seen it eventually. I'm just kind of sensitive about it. I've had it since as long as I can remember. Dad says it was from an accident when I was really little, the same accident that killed my real mom and dad, so I guess I don't like it because it reminds me of that... of never having known them, I guess."
"Well," Sammy quietly said as he slowly reached a hand out towards Kendal's bare arm, "I think it is beautiful, because it is a part of your story, and I really want to know that story. All of it."
Sammy slowly lowered Kendal's arm, exposing the scar, as both boys stared into one another's eyes. He could see Kendal's uncertainty, the vulnerability, and the fear; and with a single gentle touch on that scarred skin, Sammy watched as all that doubt and worry washed away.
"I love you, Kendal Erikson; all of you. Every last bit." Sammy smiled as he brought his hand upwards, gently tracing from Kendal's scar up his exposed chest and slender neck to the side of his angelic face, once again brushing the boy's freshly cleaned hair back behind his ear. "I could kiss you, I love you so."
"So," Kendal replied finding it difficult to focus on anything but Sammy's touch, "love me so."
Sammy did.
Both boys were walking on cloud nine as they ventured forth together. As they walked, they talked about anything, everything, and nothing all at once. It didn't matter if they talked about bands they liked, or the classes they had started, or even how much the weather changed, they both felt like they could talk forever or never again and still be content just to be next to one another.
Sammy had somewhat planned out the entire day. Given they were a little late to start due to breaking and entering and spending another half-hour messing around the house like a couple little kids, Sammy's first thought was grabbing some lunch. Since Kendal was relatively new to the area, and completely sheltered, Sammy decided he would take it upon himself to show him around. First stop was Bill's Tavern.
Bill's had been around for over thirty years, and while it was a bar, it had some of the best burgers in the area. The owner, Billy Murphy, was loud, friendly to everyone, and dedicated to his place. During the daytime, especially on Saturdays, the bar would serve customers a quick and cheap lunch that couldn't be beat. As the boys made their way into the dim establishment, the smell of food filled the air, sending both boys into immediate pangs of hunger.
"SAMMY!" a loud call came from the end of the bar.
"Hey, Billy, how's it going?" Sammy asked as he led a slightly surprised Kendal into the traditional Irish pub.
"Ah, can't complain." The older man said, shifting his bulk slightly on the bar stool as he turned to face the two patrons. "And who's this?"
"This is Kendal," Sammy introduced as he wrapped a friendly arm around his young friend, "He just moved here and I am showing him around the city today. Kendal, this is Billy Murphy, owner and operator of the best burger joint around."
After the clear vote of praise from his young patron, Billy smiled warmly and shook Kendal's hand with an energetic and meaty grip. The younger boy's entire arm felt like jelly after the exchange with the older man who immediately got to his feet to show the boys to a booth where they could order some food. While dimly lit with dozens of neon beer signs on the walls and shamrocks with names on them plastered everywhere, the bar had a charm to it Kendal immediately enjoyed. He even thought he saw dollar bills sticking out of the ceiling.
"Those are for charity." Sammy explained. "Customers can come in and either use little darts to stick dollar bills into the ceiling, or they can buy shamrocks and have them placed around the bar. Every month the dollars on the ceiling and the money collected from the shamrocks goes to the homeless shelter down on 4th and Main. Billy also does a chili cook off every summer to raise money too. I think last year he was able to raise $5,000 dollars himself, just from little things like that."
"Wow." Kendal said in awe. "He seems really nice."
"Yeah, just be careful and don't let him shake your hand too often, otherwise your arm might fall off." Sammy joked.
After picking out some toppings for their burgers, and getting a couple Cokes, Sammy began explaining to Kendal his idea for the rest of the day. It seemed like only a few minutes had pasted before the waitress brought out both boy's burgers and fries along with some onion-rings for them to share, complements of Billy. The two boys demolished the food in good order and, with stomachs full, bid Billy and crew a thankful farewell and continued with their day.
"Don't be such a stranger, Sammy." Billy had called out after the boys to which Sammy replied he wouldn't be.
The downtown area was full of little mom and pop shops, as well as a few recognizable businesses. They stopped down at a local music store where they spent the better part of an hour looking over equipment and sheet music. As they talked more and more, Sammy fell more and more in love, and it seemed like every time he looked at the boy of his dreams, Kendal was smiling.
From the music store, they went to a local used book store called Avatar Books. Sammy often came here to wander the racks and occasionally read a book quietly in the corner. Since he didn't have many friends to hang out with, it was a simple distraction he allowed himself every so often. The shop owner, a much older man in his late 70's named Jim, was a lot like the worn books on his shelves; weathered and unremarkable on the surface, but filled with endless stories and wondrous tales.
Kendal was in love. It seemed like everywhere he went in the store he found a book he had lost.
"You see, my dad and I moved around a lot. Sometimes we had to leave at the last minute, so we could only take what we could pack up quickly. I have a lot of books, so sometimes a box or two would get lost and I would lose some books. Dad always tried to replace what he could, but some books aren't printed anymore." Kendal happily held up five weathered tomes. "I haven't read these in years! Just knowing they are here and I can come back and read them is comforting, you know?"
"Well, when you put it like that," Jim said from across the dusty counter with a toothless grin, his cat Smokey quietly watching the two boys, "I'd hate to see long-lost friend parted once more."
As the bell to Avatar Books rang out, both boys left the shop as the sun began to ease its way in the sky towards the horizon, Kendal with a single book in tow. An "advance" Jim had called it, on helping him out around the shop from time to time. So long as Kendal returned to help the older man clean up around the store, minded Smokey, and occasionally story-swapped with him, He would put Kendal's books on hold so the boy could eventually be reunited with all his heroes.
"Wow," Kendal exclaimed as he seemed to dance while he walked, "I never thought I would find a place like this? People are so friendly."
"Yeah," Sammy said matter-of-factly, "there are some really good people around here. I've been lucky to know a few of them, but just remember, not everyone in the cities is as nice as old Jim or Billy. But, hey, why don't we catch the bus across the way and go see a movie, maybe grab a little dinner, and then I can get you home?"
Kendal smiled and secretly wished his first date would never end.