Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Todd jumped out of the car and strode to where Charlie sat on Jamie’s front porch like he owned the fucking place.
“You need to leave right now.” Charlie’s eyes were wide as saucers.
He looked like he was on something and seemed stoned out of his mind.
Todd recoiled as he got closer. The sweet, stomach-roiling scent of illness or infection pushing him back.
“Go,” Todd said. “I’m calling the police. ” He waved his phone.
“Not without my son,” Charlie said. “Not without my Kenny. You can’t take him away from me.
” He sounded pathetic, almost pleading. Fear spiked in Todd’s belly, because at that moment, he knew Charlie had lost touch with reality.
He had always used parental references regarding Kenny, but they had been vague, like he was trying to exert some sort of influence, but this was so different.
“Kenny is my son. Not yours, and whatever delusion you’re under is meaningless,” he snapped, and then started shaking a little as Charlie finally got up and slowly descended the two steps to the walk.
Head down, he shuffled along the front walk as Kenny came around the car.
Charlie looked broken and sad, and maybe that was what delayed Todd’s reaction.
Suddenly, Charlie ran, grabbed Kenny, and took off down the sidewalk. Where he got the energy or the ability to move so quickly, Todd didn’t know, and it took his mind a few precious seconds to process what was happening.
“Daddy!’ Kenny screamed as Charlie ran toward the corner.
Todd took off after him, closing the distance between them as Charlie turned at the intersection.
Kenny cried out over and over, his terror building, struggling to get away as Todd poured every ounce of energy he had into reaching Kenny.
Todd wondered what he was going to do when he caught him.
He couldn’t just tackle Charlie because Kenny might get hurt.
Sirens grew closer fast, louder and louder until cars drew closer, speeding toward Charlie and Kenny. They stopped, and officers raced from the other direction, getting in front of Charlie.
“Let him go!” one of the officers yelled. “Stop and let the boy go!”
Charlie stopped and looked around, probably searching for a way out, but the police fanned out and had him surrounded. “He’s my son.”
“Let him go,” the police said again.
Charlie held Kenny against him as the police drew nearer.
Kenny stood still, and Todd willed him to be okay.
Suddenly, Kenny kicked back as hard as he could, catching Charlie in the leg.
He howled, and Kenny stomped on his foot, kicking more, until Charlie fell to the ground.
Then Kenny stepped away, and Todd put out his arms as his son raced to him.
Todd held Kenny tightly, rocking him in his arms as Kenny cried against him. “It’s okay. You’re safe.” He held him as the officers took Charlie into custody.
“I thought guys took him away a few days ago,” Jamie said as he caught up to them.
“There was no real reason to hold him on a simple trespassing charge,” one of the officers said. “But we’ll have plenty of hold him on this time.”
“You better,” Jamie said, hands on his hips, eyes glaring and flashing as though they were on fire. “If we see him again….” He let his meaning hang in the air. The officer puffed out his chest, but Jamie was having none of it. “I will protect my home and my family. It’s my right.”
They put Charlie in the back of one of the cars. “We’re going to need both of you to make a statement.”
“Yes. I understand that. I’ll contact Carter and arrange to do that.” Jamie agreed, his tone still clipped. “Come on. Let’s go back to the house and get Kenny inside.”
Todd lifted Kenny into his arms, carrying him back toward the house. Jamie walked next to him, holding his arm. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“What if he comes back?” Kenny mumbled.
“He’s done. We have plenty of witnesses, and he’s going to be put in jail for a long time.
The bad man is finally gone,” Todd said, more determined than ever to get his life back on track and to make sure that Kenny was always safe.
Kenny rested his head on Todd’s shoulder as Jamie unlocked the door, and they went inside.
Cindy greeted all of them as soon as they closed the door, jumping around their legs. Todd put Kenny down, and he sat on the floor, holding Cindy, who sat in his lap, licking his face. That dog always seemed to know when someone needed comfort.
“He’s probably going to have nightmares for a week,” Todd told Jamie as Cindy did her best to calm Kenny, even making him laugh a little.
“Yeah, I know. But he’s okay. Charlie isn’t going to be anywhere near him again.”
“But what do we do?” Todd asked.
“We make him feel safe. He needs to know that he’s secure and that we’re not going to let anything happen to him.
Kenny needs to know that his daddy will always be there for him and do everything he can for him.
That will take some time after this, but it will happen.
Kids are resilient, and you ran after him like the hounds of hell were at your feet.
Kenny saw that, and he knows you love him. ”
Todd wondered if that was true.
“Daddy, is the bad man going to get me again?” Kenny asked as he hurried to where Todd stood. Cindy raced after him.
“No, he’s not. He’s going to go to jail for what he did, and that is going to help keep you safe.”
“But he said I was his son,” Kenny countered.
“You are my son.” Todd hugged him tightly.
“Charlie is crazy. He doesn’t believe things that are real.
” What he hoped was that the court would see that Charlie was sick and would get him the help that he needed.
But he really wasn’t going to spend too much of his time or thoughts on him.
Kenny and Jamie were who were important, and he was going to put all his efforts in that direction.
Long after dinner, and a number of stories, Todd and Cindy both with him, Kenny finally dropped off to sleep. Todd was afraid that for the next few days, Kenny was going to have trouble sleeping. But at the moment, he was curled up with his stuffie and settled.
“Kenny is safe now,” Jamie said in a whisper from the doorway.
Todd sighed. “I know. I just don’t want to leave him.” Still, he got up and left the room, closing the door partway before following Jamie to the living room.
“Do you want something to drink?” Jamie asked. Todd shrugged, and Jamie got them each a beer, putting them on the table. Without thinking too much, Todd sipped from the bottle.
“I guess I keep wondering what could have happened.”
Jamie sat back. “I know. But it didn’t. First thing, Charlie is out of his mind and very sick.
I checked with Carter while you were putting Kenny to bed.
They transferred him to the hospital. He’s in a psych ward, but his legs had open sores that have been infected for so long that…
.” Jamie shook his head. “I think he’s too far gone.
The infections have spread not just to his body, but his mind as well.
” He drank from the bottle and set it back on the table.
“I guess I’m saying that if he lives, he isn’t going to be in any shape to do much of anything. ”
Todd closed his eyes and did his very best not to wish someone the ultimate ill, but he was finding it very hard.
He lolled his head back as he completely failed.
All he wanted was to know that Charlie was out of the picture and their lives permanently.
“Does it make me a bad person if I just want him gone?”
“He is gone. Whether he lives or not, he’s gone, and you and Kenny aren’t going to have to worry about him again.”
Kenny came into the living room in his pajamas, holding his penguin. Todd opened his arms, and Kenny climbed onto his lap. Cindy jumped up on the sofa next to Jamie. “I had a bad dream.”
Todd held his son. “I know. It’s okay. Remember that dreams aren’t real, and no one is going to hurt you.
I promise.” If he could, he’d wrap him in bubble wrap and keep him safe forever.
“Charlie is gone, and we’re never going to see him again.
” He rocked Kenny for a while before carrying him back to bed and tucking him in once more.
When he returned to the living room this time, Todd collapsed onto the sofa next to Jamie, who took his hand.
“Everything is going to be fine now. I’ve been thinking. I’m not teaching this summer, so when you’re at work, I can take care of Kenny, and in the fall, we can get him enrolled in kindergarten.” He rested his head on Todd’s shoulders.
It was hard to think too far ahead at the moment. “I got the job offer. It’s a little more money, but not much,” he said softly. “I think I really want to work at the chocolate place. I got a better feeling there.”
Jamie shifted. “Then that’s what you do.
Sometimes it isn’t about the money, but about where you think you’ll fit in best. So, send in the acceptance and find out when you can start.
We’ll figure out a way to get you to and from work for a while.
” There were so many things that he needed to do, and just like always, when one thing on his list got ticked off, another showed up. Like the need for a car.
“I know. One step at a time,” Todd said as Jamie chuckled softly.
“Exactly.” He lifted his head. “You and Kenny have a home here. Cindy and I are happy that you’re both here. You can stop worrying about what you’re going to do.”
Todd’s breath caught in his throat. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Is it what you want?” Jamie countered. They turned to look at each other, and Todd saw his doubt and uncertainty reflected back at him.
“I’m not going to force you to stay here with me.
” And then something new flashed in Jamie’s eyes.
Todd could only describe it as hope, and he felt it bloom in his own heart.
“Maybe it’s time we both just say what we want.
” He stroked Jamie’s cheek. “I don’t want to go anywhere.
Not just because Kenny is happy here and that he feels safe here…
I like it here.” He drew closer. “I want to stay here with you… as my friend and as my lover. That’s what I want.
You saved us, yes. But you did so much more than that.
You gave me love. You gave that to both of us without reservation.
You took us in and looked after both of us at a time when I wasn’t able to do it myself. ”
“That’s because I do love you,” Jamie whispered, swallowing hard. Todd knew how hard it was to say those words.
“And I love you.” He tugged Jamie a little closer. “But you did more than that. You gave me a place to find myself again.”
“Yes. But what person did you find?” Jamie asked softly. “Sometimes I think there are many people inside all of us. Some of them we keep deeply hidden, and others, well… those are the ones we show the world.”
Todd grinned. “The person I found wants the person you are to be in his life forever. That’s what I figured out. We work well together, I think.”
“I think so too,” Jamie said softly.
Todd nodded. “I guess the real thing is, what do you want? I mean, this is your house and your furniture and dog. Everything here belongs to you. I don’t have anything to bring to the table.”
“Yeah, I get all that, but a home is more than a house or a place. It’s the people in it, and I want this to be your home. Yours and Kenny’s. I’ve spent a lot of my life alone because it was easier that going through the failures that my love life always seemed to generate.”
“Maybe you were just waiting for the right person,” Todd offered.
“Yeah, maybe.” He smirked, and Todd groaned. “But who would have thought that I would have found him in high school?”
“Good things come to those who wait?” Todd said.
“Anticipation makes pleasure more intense,” Jamie added with a wry smile.
Todd rolled his eyes. “Two in the hand are worth four in the bush,” Todd quipped.
Jamie gaped a second. “What does that have to do with anything? And I don’t do bushes.”
Todd groaned. “I thought we were having some sort of cliché-off.”
“You’re such a goof,” Jamie told him gently. “But you’re my goof.” He kissed him, pressing Todd back against the cushions. Cindy huffed as she jumped down. Todd might have heard her heading to a sleeping Kenny, but he really didn’t pay attention, since all his senses seemed to be filled with Jamie.
“I think I like that.”
“Then you’re going to love this.” Jamie got up off the sofa and tugged Todd to his feet. Then he turned out the lights and led him to his bedroom.
“What exactly do you have in mind?” Todd whispered as they passed Kenny’s room and went into Jamie’s, closing the door. Jamie whirled on him, kissing him hard as he pushed him back toward the bed.
“Plenty. And it’s going to take all night.” Jamie wrapped his arms around him, drawing them close enough that Jamie’s sweet scent surrounded him.
“Perfect. I’ve got all the time in the world.”