WHAT MAKES A FAMILY BY: Julien
This story is 100% fictional and is by no means depictive of the life of any person, place or thing. It contains sexual activities between males and should only be read if it is legal to do so in your area. Read at your own risk and enjoy. Comments are welcomed at juniorj009@gmail.com and would be very much appreciated. ENJOY! This will be a short mini series of sort. Comments are always appreciated. Thanks. J. All this and my other stories can be found on my new site: https://sites.google.com/site/jjsstorycafe/
James
I felt for a moment my heart drop. And it was as if every plausible and implausible scenario ran through my head a mile a minute. What if a drunk driver hit him. What if gang members kidnapped him. What if he was robbed, shot and left for dead. Jesus! I had to jar myself back to reality and force those thoughts to the back of my mind as I waited for the Sergeant to finish his words.
"...Mr Wilson, your son was arrested an hour ago for destruction of property and disturbing the peace."
"What?!? Are you serious?" And it was as if I felt that break from reality feeling coming on again. There was no way in hell that David would do any of that shit, no fucking way, and I let the sergeant know that too.
"David, my son, he wouldn't as much as hurt a fly much less vandalize property. No, you've got it wrong."
And by his tone and response, I know that this cop had probably heard this song and dance from many parents, too many damn times.
"Listen Mr Wilson, I'm just calling to inform you that we have your son down at the precinct and since he's under-aged, we had to call his guardian. Whether or not you think he did any of the things that he's being accused of, well, that's for a judge to decide. We're going to formally book him and when the courthouse opens on Monday, he'll be brought in front of a judge and they'll arrange bail and whatnot."
It took me a minute or two to process all the information. And while my first response was to blast the cop for his coldness and insensitivity towards the situation with David, I knew that when all was said and done, it wasn't his fault that David had fucked up.
"Ok, well can I come down to the precinct and speak to him?"
"Not a problem. Just bring ID with you."
"Thanks, I'll be there as soon as I can." And with that, I ended the call.
Thoughts of Neil invaded my thoughts and I knew that the responsible thing to do would have been to call him and let him know what was happening, but then again, I wasn't feeling that responsible at the moment. I didn't want to think of him and his boyfriend finishing up a fuck as he answered my call, all out of breath and shit. That would have been too much to handle under the circumstances so I made the decision right then and there that I would go down to the precinct, deal with David's situation and then give Neil a call when all was said and done. It was the best that I could do under the circumstances.
The train ride to the precinct was quick and twenty minutes after the sergeant had called, I found myself walking up to the female officer at the front desk.
"Excuse me," I started, causing her to look up from the piles of paper that she had been previously been busy thumbing through.
"Yes, how can I help you?" From her curt tone of voice and the tired expression that she gave me, I figured that I should probably tread lightly or I was liable to have one pissed off female on my hands.
"I received a call from seargent McDowell about my sons' arrest. His name is David Stewart and I'd like to see him if at all possible." I gave her the most endearing smile that I could muster up at 5:30 a.m.
It must have worked though for she put down her papers and picked up the telephone that sat atop her desk and punched in few numbers. While she spoke to someone on the other end of the line, I took the opportunity to look around. This precinct was in much better condition than many that I had seen but considering it's location, that wasn't a big surprise. The walls were a semi off white color with one side adorned with photographs of fallen police officers and one or two paintings of the city and the other side plastered with community posters, wanted bulletins and a large directory listing each department.
"Excuse me sir. Your name?" the voice drew my attention away from my surroundings and I found myself once again facing the officer at the desk.
"James Wilson" I stated, walking up to her desk and reaching into my back pocket to retrieve my id, handing it to her. She looked at it then back at me before her gaze returned to the plastic in her hand. She then opened a large notebook, writing down my name and I assumed, the information from my drivers' license, before handing it back to me.
"Take a seat and someone will come and get you." She stated, briefly looking at me before refocusing her attention to the paperwork in front of her. I mumbled a barely audible `thanks' before walking over to the wooden benches and taking a seat.
DAVID
As I continued to sit on the cold, metal bench, I found that my thoughts kept returning to everything that had happened between last night and earlier this morning. And the more I thought about it, the more angrier and pissed off I got, which was exactly what landed my ass here in the first place. I wasn't a trouble maker, really! I did ok in school, in fact, I had taken three AP classes this year. I didn't suck in sports either. And to top it off, I wasn't a loser, I had friends and I had girls who wanted to date and fuck me. But despite all that shit, a big part of me felt like something was missing. The school counselor that they made me go see said that I was probably depressed and shit over the split between James and my dad, adding to that, the fact that school was stressing me out and well...lets say things weren't all gravy. I was a man though and I kept telling myself that I didn't give a fuck if my parents were quitting on each other, after all, it was their life. And so what if classes were getting harder, that's life, it's supposed to suck from time to time. But telling myself that didn't make things any easier and tonight, after having my perfect birthday party ruined by all the damn bickering, I had gone ahead and did something else that was fucking stupid! After leaving the party, I had just aimlessly walked down random side streets, kicking over garbage cans and occasionally setting off car alarms by jumping on the hoods. And when I found myself in front of a warehouse with broken windows, I just couldn't resist the urge to stone the fuck out of it. At first, I picked up a tiny pebble and just pelted it against the sheet metal that made up the door. When I got no satisfaction from doing that, I threw a bigger rock and before I knew it, I was hurling rocks at not just the door but at the windows as well, getting some pleasure from the sound of shattering glass. Long story short, someone must have gotten as annoyed as fuck because before I knew it, I heard the sirens and two cops were approaching me, flashlights drawn. I was arrested and told that I would be charged with disturbing the peace and destroying property. And even though I knew I should have been scared as shit, the fact of the matter was that the only emotions I could muster up was anger and frustration.
"David Stewart, you have a visitor."
The voice of a policeman pulled me out of my thoughts. I stood up and stretched as he unlocked the cell. Walking down the narrow corridor, my thoughts began to clear somewhat and for the first time since this shit had started, I started to feel uncertainty. I know that James was probably waiting for me on the other side of the corridor and that in itself wasn't what was tripping me out. James `got me' in a way that my dad never could. And in some ways, I was closer to him than to my dad. And the thought that my dad could be on the other end of the corridor scared the shit out of me. And as each step brought me closer to the bright lights, I felt my chest tighten and a knot form in my stomach, the urge to vomit all too real.
Seeing him sitting there, looking at me and not saying anything was the worst thing that he could have done. As a little kid, I remember him giving me the silent treatment whenever my behavior had crossed that line. Where as my dad would try to prod and reason with me, asking me `why', James would just cross his arms in front of him and stare at me, not speaking. As I kid it used to scare the shit out of me and right now, having him do the same thing, it was having the same effect. And as I tried to find the right word to explain why I was here, I just couldn't, choosing instead to hang my head, focusing on a smudge on the metal table.
His voice broke me out of my revere and If I thought i felt like shit before, there was nothing that could describe the feelings his words had on me
"Wow. You know David, for the first in a long time, I have nothing to say to you. When you do some soul searching and find the responsible kid that I helped raise, you let him know that I'm looking for him."
And it was as if the tears were instantaneous. At first, I felt the corner of my eyes tear up and then it was a trigger effect, with the water works turning on and tears streaming down my face. My face flushed, my shoulders shook and embarrassingly enough, snot made its way out of nose and down my face. I heard James mutter the word `Christ' before I heard the shuffle of the faux metal chairs against the linoleum floor. I could only imagine at that moment that he was about to walk out on me too and was all to surprised when I felt him lean down, pull my up by my arms and pull me into his embrace.
"I love you kid and I'm disappointed as shit in you right now for doing this shit. I know you've got a whole lot of shit going on in your head that you don't want me to know about but you can't use it as an excuse to do stupid shit."
His voice was calm and it was what I needed to hear at that moment.
"Jesus David, how the fuck are we gonna make this better?" And it was as if the invisible elephant in the room had made its presence known. I didn't have an answer to that question and neither did he. I didn't want to let him go but the officer who had escorted me here cleared his throat and gestured to the clock above his head.
"Time's up. They're gonna take him to his arraignment hearing at around 10:30 tomorrow morning. You can meet him there."
I lifted my head from off of James' shoulder and wiped my face with the sleeve of my shirt.
"I'll be ok James." I whispered, not looking up at him.
"I know kid. Don't worry, we'll get through this and deal with the rest later. I'll call your grandma and let her know what's going on. She'll call your dad."
I sighed and nodded my head. I knew that my dad was gonna hit the fan when he found out that I had been arrested and with James not there to be a buffer, well...I didn't want to think about what his reaction was gonna be. And it was as if James were reading my thoughts,
"Don't worry about your dad's reaction David. Your grandma has a way with words when it comes to him." He lifted my face up to his and gave me a smile.
"Thanks dad." I said, once again grabbing on to him and holding on for dear life. He hugged me back and kissed the top of my head before pulling away from me, on the insistence of the officer standing by the door, watching us.
"I'll see you tomorrow, 10:30, ok. Try to get some sleep"
"Ok dad."
And with that simple exchange, he turned around and walked out, leaving me alone with the police officer and my own thoughts. And all I kept thinking was `what the fuck happens from here.'
Neil
Sitting in the courtroom waiting for David's case to be called could have possible been one of my worst nightmare come true. No parent wants to ever imagine their child hurt or in distress and here I was living through both things. And at that moment, I regretted not taking Tim up on his offer to come to court with me. At least then I wouldn't have to pretend not to notice James sitting two benches ahead of me.
When my mother had called at about 7:30 yesterday morning, I almost didn't answer the phone.
"David's been arrested"
"What! What are you talking about mom?"
"James just came from the police station. He said that David was arrested for destroying property and disturbing the peace. He's not gonna be arraigned till Monday Neil, they're going to keep him locked up with animals until Monday!"
"Mom, calm down, please. Which precinct are they holding him in?"
"I don't know, James didn't say."
"Well can you find out?"
"No, why don't you call him and find out yourself. This is a discussion you both should be having with each other. For the sake of my grandson at least."
"Mom....come on, I...."
"No, I won't do it. Just call him Neil and get David out of there, please! Do this for your son!"
And with that, she had forced my hand. I had to suck up my bitterness and call James. The asshole was very abrupt with me, rattling off the address and phone number of the precinct and the location of the courthouse, before hanging up. To say that upset me was an understatement but I refused to waste time dwelling on him, not when my son was in the predicament that he was in. I was able to visit him late Sunday afternoon and that helped to reassure my over active imagination that he was going to be all right. Still, I went home to my empty apartment and broke down when the events of the entire weekend hit me: the fight with James, the nasty exchange of words, seeing David locked up, having my mother chastise me Ð in essence making me feel like an irresponsible parent. It was all too much for me to handle. Tim though had been my saving grace. He had come over and spent the night, holding me and allowing me to let go of my emotions without apology. And now sitting here in the courtroom, I wish he were here sitting beside me.
The arraignment was quicker than I imagined and David was ordered released into my care pending his court date, 2 months away. The whole time he stood in front of the judge, he hung his head low and refused to look up. I could tell by the rouge that crept up his face that he was probably feeling embarrassed about the whole situation and was anxious about facing me. Not that I could ever chastise my son. I grew up with my parents doing that shit to me and I wasn't gonna have my son going through the same thing. And as I waited for them to finish with the paperwork so that he could leave, my thoughts returned to the never ending question of `what next'. I didn't know what I was going to do and if I was to truly be honest with myself, I would admit that I was terrified of having to see David through his last year of high school, as a single parent. Because despite all the shit that I hated about James, I had to concede that he played a big part in the man that David had become. But looking at our situation, I knew that things were fucked up beyond repair and despite being afraid of the future for my son and I, I still had to face it.
Thanks to all of you for your patience. I have been having an extremely rough month and things have just started to get back on track. Please keep the questions and comments coming Ð it definitely keeps me motivated! . My email address is juniorj009@gmail.com. All my stories can be found on my website: https://sites.google.com/site/jjsstorycafe/
Thanks for reading. Other stories of mine include:
BEGINNINGS
December 3rd 2002 YO B
Dec 27 2002
heart-and-soul/
INTERACIAL
Nov 5 2004
story-of-us/
Jan 2 2003
to-sir-with-love/
Dec 27 2002
heart-and-soul/
MILITARY
Dec 21 2002
the-recruiter/
RELATIONSHIPS
Nov 5 2004
story-of-us/
Jun 6 2005
redemption/
BI RELATIONSHIPS
Dec 20 2002
graduation-day/