Subject: Misunderstood, Chapter 22 (Gay Adult/Youth) MISUNDERSTOOD By Wes Leigh This is a work of fiction intended solely for the entertainment of my readers; any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story is the property of the author and is protected by copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author’s consent. If you enjoy this story, please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation by visiting fty/. Chapter Twenty-Two In the week that followed, Gray and Blue eagerly checked every local newspaper and television news broadcast for updates on the Dessert Shoppe fiasco. First, there was a press conference held by the Finnigan Law Firm out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Their lawyers announced they were representing Anne and Ray Wilson, owners of Anne’s Dessert Shoppe. They claimed the Wilson’s had been the targets of a false discrimination accusation by Cameron Schaeffer. Furthermore, they claimed Mr. Schaeffer and his organization, the Gay Action Alliance, had posted videos of the incident that were highly edited and completely misrepresentative of the actual events of that fateful morning. In addition, the Wilsons’ lawyers claimed that they had an unedited, undoctored video which they would be using to prove Mr. Schaeffer had lied. Finally, they would be suing Mr. Schaeffer, the Gay Action Alliance, the Tribune newspaper, the township, and the city council for slander and libel. The next day, the Tribune ran a very short retraction of its earlier article on discrimination at Anne’s Dessert Shoppe. The retraction was buried on page 8. No surprise there. The same day, the City Council, through its chairperson Trudy Clements, issued a statement clearing Anne’s Dessert Shoppe of all wrongdoing, while insisting that the City Council was simply being diligent to ensure that there was never a case of discrimination by a local business. The Gay Action Alliance website went off-line and never came back. The protesters disappeared from the sidewalk in front of the bakery. The business unlocked its doors and opened up. Cakes and pastries and doughnuts sold out every day for a week. Cameron Schaeffer seemed to have disappeared completely, although Gray did get an odd text message from a number he didn’t recognize. It read, simply, “You will fucking pay for this.” *** The doorbell rang while Gray was reading an essay Blue had written for school. Gray set the pages down as he stood to answer the door. “Blue, this is excellent writing. Grammar and punctuation are excellent, but more importantly, your writing flows smoothly so that the reader is able to follow your points easily. Good job, champ!” Blue beamed. He didn’t care for some of the schoolwork he had to do, and to be honest, he sometimes fought Gray too hard over it. But writing was something he enjoyed. Gray left Blue in his bedroom reading his next assignment and walked down the hall through the living room to the front door, the dogs barking around his legs until he ordered them to sit. Peeking through the peep hole, Gray sucked in his breath before opening the door an inch and asking, “Can I help you?” “Child welfare check,” a police officer said. It was Daniels, the same officer who had questioned them during the argument with the McClary’s. Gray’s mouth suddenly went dry and his heart pounded. What the hell was going on? *** With Blue’s help, Gray managed to lock all the dogs up in Blue’s room. Then Blue kept the dogs mostly quiet while Gray went back to the door and opened it fully. Officer Daniels pointed behind him. “This is Ms. Garcia from Child Protective Services. She’s here to conduct a child welfare check. You need to stand aside and allow us to come in.” Gray hesitated. He knew better and almost insisted on his rights, but he knew that wouldn’t help matters and might even make the situation much worse, so he stepped back and waved them both inside. Ms. Garcia checked a piece of paper and asked, “You have a minor child, Andrew Gabriel Wright, living with you?” “That’s correct.” “And you are Grayson Alexander Langston?” Gray nodded. “Yes.” “Mr. Langston, I see that you have registered Andrew with the State homeschool board, naming yourself as his instructor?” “Also correct, yes.” “May I see your homeschool registration paperwork?” Gray walked down the hall to Blue’s bedroom, where he found Blue standing behind the door. “What’s going on?” Blue whispered. Gray explained quickly, then added, “Just stay cool.” Gray pulled a folder out of the desk drawer and took it back to the living room where Officer Daniels and Ms. Garcia waited. Gray began pulling papers from the folder one at a time and laying them on the coffee table in the living room. “Homeschool registration form. Homeschool approval. Birth certificate. Legal guardianship papers. And homeschool curriculum plan for the next month, which will close out the school year when summer break begins.” Ms. Garcia picked up each document and studied it before setting it back down again. She seemed satisfied. “I’ll also need to check that you have food and utilities.” “The kitchen is this way,” Gray said, pointing the way. Ms. Garcia opened the refrigerator and glanced inside, closing it back again with no comment. Then she turned on the stove, checking that it heated, and turned on the kitchen faucet, watching water flow out for a second before turning it back off. She turned to Gray and asked, “Where is Andrew?” “He’s in his room, keeping the dogs quiet and hopefully beginning his next assignment.” “May I speak to him please?” “Certainly. I’ll go get him.” Gray walked down the hall and opened the door a crack. “They want to talk to you, Blue,” he explained, quietly. Blue nodded, understanding where this was all going. He slipped past the dogs out into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind him. Together, they walked back to the kitchen where Ms. Garcia and Officer Daniels were quietly talking to one another. They stopped when the boys walked in, and Ms. Garcia motioned for Blue to follow her. “Let’s go outside, Andrew. I have a few questions to ask you.” Gray shook his head. “You can ask your questions right here, Ms. Garcia.” She paused, unclear what to do next. “You don’t understand, Mr. Langston. I need to speak to Andrew in private.” She began to walk out, beckoning Blue to follow. Blue started to follow, but Gray stopped him. “I can’t allow that, Ms. Garcia.” Daniels glared and snapped, “Stand aside, Langston. You can’t stop us from talking to the boy.” Gray stared back, his batman escort silver eyes flashing with anger. “I can and I will. I’m the boy’s legal guardian, and you are not going to talk to him without me being present.” Daniels put his hand on his hip, where his belt held both a gun and a taser. “If you interfere, I can and will arrest you.” “Take down this phone number, Officer Daniels,” Gray replied. “918-333-7000. That’s the phone number for the Finnigan Law Office in Tulsa. They’re the ones who will hang your hide on the police station door.” Gray turned to Ms. Garcia. “I’ve cooperated fully with you, ma’am. I’ve answered every question. I’ve shown you all the homeschool paperwork. I’ve demonstrated that Andrew is well cared for in regard to both food and housing. I’m certain you know the law in cases like this, so I don’t need to remind you that no minor child can be interviewed by you or any police officer without having a parent, legal guardian, or attorney present during questioning.” Gray turned to face Daniels and said, “I’m following the law, and if you try to question this boy without me being present, nothing will protect you from losing your job.” Looking back at Garcia, Gray continued, “Now, if there’s nothing else you need, please leave my home.” Ms. Garcia stuttered, “Oh … uh … well, I would like to talk to the boy first.” Gray pointed to the kitchen table. “Why don’t you both sit here and talk?” Gray pulled out a chair for Ms. Garcia. She sat down, thanking him. Blue grinned and sat down across from her. For ten minutes, she asked Blue a series of questions about school, his parents back in Amarillo, and how he liked living here in Oklahoma. Blue said he enjoyed school for the most part, although he didn’t care for social studies and history all that much. His parents were fine, and he planned to see them later in the summer. He liked Oklahoma better than Amarillo, and he enjoyed living with Gray and the dogs. Oh, and by the way, Gray took really good care of him. Gray was a great teacher and not too bad as a cook either. She seemed satisfied with the answers. She never asked how Blue ended up living with Gray, and Blue didn’t volunteer that information. Officer Daniels simply glared at Gray the entire time. Eventually they finished, and as they went out the front door, Gray handed them business cards for Finnegan Law Office. “The phone number is on the card,” Gray said. “If they don’t hear from you by tomorrow with an explanation for why you came here tonight, they will be calling your supervisors to ask a few questions of their own.” Then Gray closed the door without saying goodbye, locked it, and motioned for Blue to follow him to the bedroom. Gray took Blue into his arms and hugged him. “You did good, champ.” Blue sighed, “Thanks, Gray.” Then Blue laughed. “You tore `em a new asshole, my dude! I thought I was goin’ to shit my pants a coupla times.” Gray grinned as he pulled Blue into a tight hug. “That might not be the smartest thing I’ve ever done. But I have to admit, it felt great doing it.” *** “Just to sum it all up, Mr. Langston, I recommend you do nothing at this point,” the lawyer said. “Let me know if you hear from Child Protective Services or the police again. Otherwise, keep doing what you’re doing. Take care of the young man. Keep up with his schoolwork. And let us know if there’s anything else you need.” “Thanks. I appreciate you looking into it,” Gray replied, disconnecting the call. Blue wandered into the room, biting into an apple while he read his science book. “What did they say?” Gray blew out his breath, exasperated. “Nothing much. CPS claims it was an anonymous tip they received, but they wouldn’t provide any details. The police were just along for the ride, escorting Garcia on the child welfare check.” “What about that text message you got on your phone?” “Well, that’s the interesting part. It belongs to Terrell Montgomery. Turns out he and Cameron Schaeffer are boyfriends. And Montgomery wants to talk to us.” “What? Why?” “He didn’t say why. But when my lawyers talked to him, he said he wanted to speak to you and me, that it was important, and that he wouldn’t say anything more over the phone.” “That’s kinda mysterious.” Gray nodded agreement. “I guess the only way to find out what Montgomery has to say is to give him a call. Right?” *** Terrell Montgomery was a very handsome man, extremely fit, muscular, light brown skin, dark brown eyes, tightly curled black hair that was cut very short, but stylish. He had a deep voice with a slight southern accent from growing up in rural Alabama. He was soft spoken but confident, and he looked Gray and Blue directly in the eye when he talked. “I do appreciate you giving me this chance to chat with you about Cameron. It may not change anything, but at least you’ll understand him better and know where he’s coming from.” Gray nodded. “The floor’s all yours.” Terrell continued, “Cameron and I have been together three months now, so I can’t claim to know him that well. When the three of you had the argument at the bakery shop, Cameron told me all about it afterward. Now, I don’t agree with everything Cameron said to you, nor do I condone everything Cameron is doing. I help Cameron at the Gay Action Alliance, so I’m particularly sensitive to discrimination against the LGBQT community. I believe bias should be exposed and dealt with whenever it comes up, but Cameron has a different philosophy. He thinks we should be more aggressive. When he came up with this idea to confront the owners of Anne’s Dessert Shoppe, I refused to help him out. Then he came to you, and you turned him down also. That just infuriated him.” “I noticed that,” Gray said, frowning. “When Cameron gets angry, he does stupid things. One of the reasons I wanted to talk to you is to let you know that Cameron is the one who called CPS on you. He made an anonymous tip about a teenage boy who was skipping school, and he implied that the young man was being sexually molested.” Blue began fuming. “That motherfucker! We gotta make him pay for this, Gray!” Terrell held up his hand. “Hold on, please. There’s more I need to tell you.” “Fine,” Blue spat, “But I’m gonna get the son-of-a-bitch, if it’s the last thing I do.” Terrell sighed. “I don’t blame you for feeling that way, but I hope what I have to say will make a difference. When all these accusations against the bakers came out, the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission started digging into it. They were ready to shut down the bakery and bring the owners up on charges, bayburt escort but now they’re looking at the video Cameron posted and the one you took with your phone. The Governor is furious that state agencies are wasting resources investigating what appears to be a hoax. Cameron is in deep trouble. He messed up, and he may end up paying serious consequences for what he did. He’s depressed. Some days he refuses to get out of bed. Other days he’s throwing things and screaming.” Blue looked at Gray, stunned. Gray was upset as well. Terrell grimaced. “It certainly isn’t your fault. There’s nothing you can do. I’m spending a lot of time talking to Cameron, and he’s finally opening up to me. He shared a few things about growing up and being bullied for being gay. You probably don’t know this, but when Cameron was 15, he was invited to a party one Saturday night. The guys there got him drunk, then took him to the school, stripped him naked, and tied him to the school flagpole. He wasn’t discovered until the next morning. He was unconscious, almost dead from exposure to the cold. His body healed, but his soul has been scarred since that day. That’s why he’s so angry. And aggressive. And now, violent. I’m not trying to justify Cameron’s behavior. I’m simply saying I understand why he is the way he is. He was badly hurt, and so he wants to hurt everyone else, to somehow make everyone pay for what he suffered. I wish I could take away his hurt and pain. I do love him, and I’m trying my best to help him. I hope you understand and that you’ll find it in your heart to forgive him.” Terrell stood up and offered his hand. Gray stood up and said, “You’re a good man, Terrell. I appreciate you sharing all this with us.” They shook hands. “Yeah,” Blue added. “Thanks.” He shook Terrell’s hand too. Terrell walked to the front door, then turned and said, “I’ll do my best to get Cameron to see reason, but you should take extra care. Cameron is very unpredictable at the moment. I don’t know what he’ll do next.” *** Gray was putting away stock in the back room at work when his cell phone began buzzing. He glanced at it briefly. It was Blue calling. He wanted to answer, just in case there was a problem, but his boss didn’t like anyone using cell phones on the job, so Gray put the phone away and continued stocking merchandise. The phone buzzed again twenty seconds later. He pulled it out and saw a text message from Blue: . “Damn it,” Gray whispered, punching the call icon and holding the phone to his ear. Blue answered immediately, shouting, “Gray, the dogs are gone!” “What? What happened, Blue?” “I put `em all in the backyard like you said and I was workin’ on my history and when I went to check on `em, they was all gone! I’m out lookin’ for `em now, but I can’t find `em anywhere!” “Okay. Keep looking. I’ll be there as quick as I can.” Gray ended the call and rushed out onto the floor to tell the manager he had to leave. *** Gray’s phone rang again before he reached his truck in the parking lot. “I found Crash and Junior,” Blue shouted, panting for breath. “They was just down the street. I’m takin’ `em back to the house now.” “Good job, champ. I’m getting in my truck right now. I’ll be there in 5 minutes.” “I’m gonna lock these two inside the house, then I’ll go back out and look for Amber and Caleb.” “Okay. Let me know if you find them.” “Will do. I’m real sorry, Gray. Don’t know how they got out. I’m positive the gate was closed.” “Was it locked?” “I don’t know, Gray. I don’t know. But I know it was closed. I checked it when I left `em out there.” “That’s not important right now. Just get the dogs back inside. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” “Ah, shit, Gray!” “What?” “Cops. They’s pullin’ up on the street.” Gray heard voices shouting in the background, then Blue saying, “Our dogs got out. I found these two, and I’m takin’ `em home right now.” More voices. Blue again, answering, “I AM in school. I home school. I was working on it when the dogs got out.” More muffled voices, then the phone shut off. Shit! SHIT! Gray hammered the steering wheel and sped up. SHIT!!!! *** Gray pulled onto his street and found a police car and an animal control van in front of his house. Blue sat on the front steps, shoulders slumped disconsolately, talking to a police officer, holding Junior and Crash in his arms. The dogs weren’t in their harnesses, but each had a leash looped around their necks. Gray turned into his drive and got out of his truck. He was met by his all-time least-favorite police officer, Daniels. “Officer Daniels,” Gray acknowledged. “Mr. Langston.” Daniels nodded toward Blue and the dogs. “We have a serious problem here, sir.” “Really? How so?” “Dangerous animals running loose and a boy who should be in school but is running around the neighborhood, unsupervised. You want to explain all this, Mr. Langston.” A deep bark echoed off the house. Gray and Blue both looked up and searched for the source of the bark. “That sounds like Amber!” Blue exclaimed. “It is Amber,” Gray replied. Woof, woof. Two more bellowing barks echoed off the house again. Gray turned his head. It was coming from just down the street. Without thinking and ignoring the shouted commands of Officer Daniels, Gray ran across the neighbor’s yard and over to the next house, the McClary’s. Just in front of the gate leading to their backyard, Gray saw a large dog cage, and inside the cage he saw Caleb and Amber, crushed together, looking forlorn and miserable. Gray ran up and unlatched the door, letting the dogs out. The dogs rushed him, knocking him over in their joy at being freed, and began frantically licking his face and neck. Daniels screamed, “Hands behind your back, Langston! You’re under arrest!” *** Blue was freaking the fuck out! He’d seen the cops putting handcuffs on Gray, and that was when he lost it. He’d taken off running, not really thinking about where he was going, just knowing that running was the only safe option he had. When he finally ran out of breath, he stopped and hid in an alley behind a dumpster. His ragged, gasping breath slowed, and his head cleared. I gotta get my shit together, he told himself. Gray needs me. The dogs need me. Oh, fuck! He’d left Junior and Crash. Just left `em. What was he thinking? Blue, you got to get your head on straight, right the fuck now! No more screwing up. Blue sat on the ground and forced himself to calm down. Okay. What should he do first? Then Blue saw the cell phone in his hand and remembered the lawyers Gray had. bebek escort They would be able to help. But he didn’t know their number. Wait! Those business cards!! Gray had business cards for the lawyers, back at the house. Okay. Gotta get back to the house, but don’t let the cops find you. Blue started walking in the direction of Gray’s house, carefully peeking around corners before going on. No cops so far. He slipped into the alley behind Gray’s house. Still no cops. He tried to open the back gate, but it was locked with a padlock. He hoisted himself up and over the fence, dropped into the back yard and hurried to the house. Fortunately, the back door was still unlocked. Once inside, Blue rushed through the house to Gray’s bedroom, looking all over for one of the business cards. Nothing on the dresser. Nothing on the side table. He opened the drawer and found a pad of paper. He picked up the pad and saw handwritten notes. Yes! Finnigan Law and a phone number. Taking out his cell phone, Blue anxiously punched in the number. “Finnigan Law. How may I direct your call?” “We need help!” Blue shouted. *** Blue sat at the kitchen table, munching a sandwich and desperately trying to get his legs to stop shaking. The cops had knocked on the doors twice, but he’d locked all the doors and had hidden inside Gray’s bedroom until they went away. The lawyer lady said she would take care of everything, but Blue wasn’t sure he could trust her. He couldn’t trust anyone. Well, maybe he could trust Gray, but Gray was in jail and Blue couldn’t stop shaking because he didn’t know if he should stay where he was or take off running again. It was getting dark now. Maybe he should pack up some clothes and get the fuck out of there while he still could. He finished the sandwich and walked into his room. Pulling out a few shirts, another pair of pants, underwear, and socks, he quickly shoved everything into his backpack. Then he walked into Gray’s bedroom and sat on Gray’s bed, tears falling down his cheeks. FUCK! He had loved living here. But now it was over. “When you gonna learn, Blue? You ain’t gonna get to enjoy the good life. Just accept it and move on.” Blue’s eyes settled on the note pad where he’d dropped it on the bed. Underneath the lawyer’s phone number, he saw his mother’s name, Dayna Wright, and a number. Gasping, he picked up the note pad and read it again. Then he threw it down and took out his cell phone and began punching in the number. It rang several times, and he heard her voice. “Hello?” He began sobbing, “Momma, it’s Andrew.” *** When Blue finally ended the call, an hour had passed. He had run out of tears long ago as he filled his mother in on all that he had gone through, including the trauma of that day. She’d begged him over and over to come home, but Blue turned her down, explaining that he wasn’t ready to come home yet and that he owed Gray a lot for helping him out. Somewhere in all the talk, Blue had reached a decision to stop running. He ended the call with his mom, promising he would call her again the next day, and then Blue returned to his bedroom, where he took the clothes out of the backpack and put them away. He heard noise coming from the front of the house. He ran out of the bedroom and stood in the hallway, staring at the front door. He heard more noise: the sound of keys giggling in the door. He froze, unable to move, unable to speak, and watched as the front door opened … … and Gray walked in. Blue ran and jumped into Gray’s arms. They kissed. They held each other as if they’d never let go ever again. They cried. And they kissed more, drying each other’s tears with their cheeks and kissing away each other’s anxiety with loving tenderness. Then Gray lifted Blue off the floor and Blue wrapped his arms around Gray’s neck and his feet around Gray’s waist, and Gray carried Blue to the bedroom where he gently lowered Blue to the bed. Still locked together, they somehow managed to fall onto the bed wrapped in each other’s arms, lips pressed together in a passionate caress, breathing each other in, silently and tenderly loving each other. The tenderness lasted for only a few minutes, for then they felt each other’s erections pressing together, desperately needing one another. Hands slid down to unbutton shirts and frantically toss them aside. Shoes followed. Then pants and underwear. Naked and throbbing, they pulled together and pressed their bodies into one, joined at their souls. They gazed deeply into each other’s eyes, sea-blue and silver linked in passion. Time stood still, and they loved one another. Gently. Deeply. Hours later, in the quiet midnight hour, Blue and Gray lay facing each other, saying nothing but occasionally reaching up to stroke an eyebrow or caress a cheek. Blue closed his eyes and leaned in close, allowing his lips to caress Gray’s neck, and he fell asleep. Gray hugged the young man against his chest and closed his own eyes also. They slept that deep and comforting sleep that only lovers can enjoy when held in the arms of the one they adored. *** Morning came too soon. They sat at the kitchen table, sipping hot chocolate and talking. “They took me to the police station. Fingerprinted me. Put me in a holding cell. Daniels came out and said they were charging me with four counts of animals at large and trespassing because I went onto the McClary’s property without permission and opened their cage. Didn’t care that my dogs were in that cage. Said my animals shouldn’t have been out in the first place. I told him it was obvious they’d stolen my animals. He said I was lucky my dogs hadn’t attacked anyone while they were out.” Blue shook his head. “Fuckin’ prick!” Gray could only nod his head in agreement. “Also said I was being charged with truancy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.” Blue’s eyes flicked nervously around the room. “Sorry about all that, Gray.” “Not your fault, champ. You did nothing wrong. Neither did I.” “What’s gonna happen to the dogs?” “They’re at the city animal shelter. Daniels said they’re dangerous, so he’s going to recommend the dogs be put down.” Blue started crying. “No! They can’t do that!” Gray pulled Blue into a hug. “Shhh, little buddy. Not gonna happen. Might have to go to court, but we’ll get `em back.” Blue sniffed. “How’d you get out?” “My lawyer called the chief of police. Seems the good folks at Finnigan Law Office heard all about what was going on here.” Gray took Blue’s hand and squeezed it. “You did good, Blue.” Blue smiled tentatively. “Thanks.” “My lawyer threatened the police chief with ten levels of legal hell. He backed off in a hurry. Told Daniels to issue me citations and then let me go.” “What do we do now?” “First of all, we figure out what the hell happened yesterday.” The end of MISUNDERSTOOD, Chapter Twenty-Two