Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 21:26:02 -0600
From: J Daly Matthews <shakes003@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Taking of Jakob (Revisited) Part 2

This story is a work of fiction. Any comments or suggestions can be sent to
shakes003@hotmail.com.
Take care & be well.

This work is copyrighted by the author and may not be reproduced in any
form without the specific written permission of the author. It is assigned
to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but it
may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written
permission of the author.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to those living
or dead is not intentional, and is completely coincidental.

XxXxXxX

	"Hey buddy," I whispered quietly as Jakob opened his eyes and
looked at me in confusion.

	My sister called, frantically telling me how Jakob and his parents
were in a car accident.  They were driving home from vacation on the
highway when a truck that was driving way too fast crossed into their lane
and hit them head-on. Jakob looked like hell. His face marred with bruises;
his arm bound to his torso by thick bandages. There were IVs in both his
arms and tubes coming out of his chest.

      	"What are you doing here?" He asked weakly. His eyes looked heavy,
but he managed to keep them open.

      	"Jordan called me. She heard from a friend that you got pretty
banged up." My hand found its way to his hair, and gently pushed it back.

      	"I gotta tell ya kid, you've looked better." I grinned.

      	Jakob smiled and started to laugh lightly before tears welled up in
his eyes and fell past his cheeks onto the pillow beneath him. He looked
away from me as he tried to get his bearings.

      	"You okay?" I asked.

      	"My dad and mom..." he stopped and took a deep breath.

      	"I know, sweet pea."

      	My fingers gently tangled themselves in his curls. He looked at me
and nodded. His parents were dead.

      	"Can I do anything?" I tried, but Jakob shook his head.

      	"Can I get anything? Jakob..."

      	"I'm okay."

      	The overhead announcement letting everyone know that visiting hours
were over was loud.  Jakob sniffed and looked at me.

      	"Just stay until I fall asleep."

     	 I gently took his hand and nodded. He smiled weakly before his
eyes closed and his breathing became light and regular. I left an hour
later.


      XXXXXX

      "Matthews! Snap out of it!"

       I looked up out of my daze to find the angry face of the shop
foreman--my boss, glaring at me. My mind was in a complete fog, and he
could have been yelling at me for hours for all I knew.  I was out of it. I
slowly nodded and turned back to my lathe, and heard the sound of his
pounding work boots fade as he headed back towards the front office of the
shop. In the back of my mind I was surprised that he let in that easily,
especially since the day started out so rotten. In the past, I've come to
work with my share of hangovers and colds and flues, and you name it, and
he'd be riding my ass and barking obscenities at me the whole day. I
wondered vaguely if he knew what was wrong with me. Maybe he could read my
mind and knew to just leave me alone today. Maybe he had better things to
do and really didn't give a shit about my problems. I figured it was the
latter.

      I liked my work, but today this machine shop was the last place on
earth where I wanted to be. I was running on empty before I even left for
work.  It might have been shock or something, most of the night I laid
there with Jakob pressed up against me. His arms were wrapped around me,
and it was as though the whole evening's events hit me like a ton of
bricks. I knew in my head what had taken place, but I was shaken with
disbelief when I finally found the words for it. Jakob had been
violated. That I knew for sure, but I didn't know how it happened, or who
was responsible.

      I was a walking zombie as I tried to focus on what I was doing, but
my mind kept drifting to the night before. I couldn't get the picture of
Jakob lying there in the alley naked and torn out of my head; the fear in
his eyes when I approached him. People don't just get over that kind of
hurt, not without some serious therapy. I was angry. I was livid at whoever
could be so sick and demented to do something like this, especially to
somebody as sweet as Jakob. Jakob wouldn't hurt a fly. He was gentle, and
in all honesty the kindest person I knew in my life.

      I also thought about how it felt when I woke up with him beside me in
my bed. Part of me could still feel him pressed against me. I could barely
sleep after that; it felt too good and my mind was racing through every
detail of the evening. I tried to focus on the sound of his breathing in
hopes that I would drift off eventually, but that turned out to be
feeble. My mind kept racing back and forth between the images of him lying
there, and the guilt that I may have done the wrong thing.

      `Goddammit I should have took him to the hospital! No. No he didn't
want that.  He was begging me not to. I did the right thing. Maybe I should
have called the cops then. No he'd get sent to the hospital and be run
through a battery of tests. He said he didn't want that. What if there's
damage--internally?  Is that possible?  He was bleeding everywhere. I don't
know.  No, he would have said something. He was so afraid. Oh, my God! What
the hell happened?'  I absentmindedly played with one of his hands
throughout the night while my mind continued to race.

      Eventually I must have fallen asleep, although I don't recall what
time it was.  The alarm clock shrieked its battle cry at 6 am, and I
seriously considered throwing it against the wall in hopes that it would
break into thousands of pieces.  Instead, I just turned it off and turned
the lamp on, slowly rolling over to look at Jakob.  He was asleep and
oblivious to the previous blaring of the alarm, still looking surprisingly
peaceful underneath the fresh bruises I noticed that must have surfaced
during his sleep, most notably the ones on his wrists and arms, and ones
that were all around his neck.

      "Fuck!"  I sighed in a quiet rage, under my breath while my finger
gently followed the pattern of bruises on his throat.

       Jakob didn't move or make a sound.  I was half in denial when I
managed enough energy to drag myself out of bed.  I quickly showered and
changed, ditched my usual morning ritual of reading the newspaper and
chugging coffee, and decided to call in sick to work. I couldn't bring
myself to leave Jakob alone while he was in the shape he was in. I made the
call, but got yelled at and told to come in anyway. It wasn't as though the
work was piled up. My boss just liked to be a prick; I think he even got
off on it. Not a day went by that he wasn't trying to make somebody's life
miserable. I guess my name was on the shit list this day.

      I didn't make a production about it. I left early to get the day over
with and decided then that I hated my job and my boss, and tried as hard as
I could to concentrate on my work. I figured I could keep my mind off of
Jakob. I didn't feel that I could deal with thinking about it. I didn't
want to think about it. Of course, it ended up being all I could think
about.

      At 4 o'clock, I walked out of the shop and towards my Monte Carlo
still in a daze, but was relieved that the day was through.  It was a
Friday afternoon, and the guys were going out to the bars for a night of
heavy consumption of alcohol and most likely women.  They laughed and
snickered when I refused my invitation. Some rude comments were handed my
way; if they only knew but I made no reply. I numbly slumped into my car
and headed for home.

	When I walked in the front door it was so quiet, and the air was
still. I took off my work boots, hung my jacket at the landing, and
proceeded upstairs to my bedroom where I'd left Jakob that morning.  When I
stuck my head through the door, I was almost startled when I didn't find
him in my bed.

	"Jakob?"  I called into the room, but gathered no response.

      "Jakob?"

       I turned and called down the hallway, but didn't hear a reply.  The
house remained deathly quiet.  I walked room to room throughout the house
calling for him, but the house was empty.  An uneasy feeling was inching
its way through me. I started my way back upstairs after searching the
basement, and spotted him through the glass door, sitting outside on the
deck off of the kitchen.  I felt overcome with a sense of relief.  I sighed
and headed towards the deck.

	I studied him through the window of the door before I opened it to
see how he was doing.  He was still wearing his T-shirt and my pajama
bottoms--appearing as though they were 2 or 3 sizes too big for his
body. His hair was wildly disheveled, looking curlier than it usually
was. He was sitting on the edge of the steps that lead into the hot tub I
bought last fall, with one hand resting on his lap and the other hand
resting on a glass that was filled with dark amber liquid.  I noticed the
half-empty bottle of whiskey at his feet.

	"Hey kiddo," I said gently as I opened the door leading on to the
deck.

      Jakob jumped a little, and looked at me with a startled expression
when I spoke to him.  He then began to stare at me blankly as I approached
him, not saying a word.

	"Whatcha doin' out here, Jakey?"  I softly asked as I gently placed
my hand on his shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.

       Jakob, not making a sound brought the glass to his lips and
swallowed its contents.  He winced and clenched his jaw tightly as he
slowly bent down to place the now empty glass beside the bottle that was at
his feet.  He let out a deep breath when he returned to his original
position.

	"That was a brand new bottle."  I commented as I nodded towards his
feet.

      "You polish that off yourself today?"  I searched the emptiness in
Jakob's eyes for an answer, but found nothing.  He remained quiet and
emotionless, staring out into the back yard.

	I'd never seen Jakob's eyes when they weren't dancing with light,
and to see him so flat with no expression upon his face was ripping me
apart.  It was as though I was looking at a stranger, and I fought wildly
not to get emotional.  I slowly knelt down and gently placed a hand on his
knee.  Jakob's body immediately stiffened, and he drew in a sharp breath
before closing his eyes.  I realized that I was making him uncomfortable.
I quickly took my hand off of his knee and placed it on the step beside his
legs.

	"Talk to me, kid."  I pleaded.

      I couldn't stand to see him like this.  I wanted my Jakob back; my
gorgeous, sexy, innocent, and beautiful friend, whose eyes laughed and
danced and were always full of life.  Jakob looked so much older than 18 to
me now.  His battle scars showing on his face and in his eyes even without
the help of the bruises and cuts. I felt helpless.

	Jakob kept his eyes closed, and quietly cleared his throat.

      "Please don't tell anyone."

      It was barely a whisper. He then opened his eyes and looked straight
at me. Emotionless.  Expressionless.

	"I would never do that, Jakob."  I stated firmly, and after a
moment's hesitation he nodded his agreement, and then stared out into the
backyard again.

      We sat like this for probably half an hour, with the inevitable
question hanging over our heads like a cloud of rain.  He offered no
information on his own, and I didn't want to push him too far or alienate
him, but at the same time I wanted to know.  I needed to know.

	"Jakob, what happened last night?  Who did this to you?"  My hand
went back to rest on his knee, and this time his body didn't push me away.

      His eyes became shifty, almost as though he was fighting back the
urge to cry.  He looked up to the sky while he shook his head, and tears
eventually flowed down his cheeks.  I feared what he was going to say.

	"It's my fault, Bryan.  I'm so fuckin' stupid."

      His hands came up to hit his head before he grabbed fistfuls of his
hair and broke down sobbing. I got to my feet, and gently urged his face to
lean against my body, wanting him to shed his tears onto me as if somehow
it would absorb his pain.

	"Shhh, don't you dare talk like that.  It wasn't your fault and you
are not stupid. I don't wanna hear that from you, do you understand me?"  I
whispered while my hands were stroking his thick black locks.  Jakob was
clinging to me while he wept onto my shirt.

      "I couldn't get him off of me, Bry."  He choked the words out.

       I felt as though I had a chunk of ice in my stomach, and I almost
debated whether to pass out or to throw up. I fought hard to keep the
pictures from creeping into my mind. I tried not to think about Jakob being
attacked and brutalized. I forced my mind to concentrate on the present or
I was going to lose it.

       I eased myself on the step beside Jakob, and looked at him intently
while I was fussing with his messy hair.  He stared at me, as though
waiting for an answer when I had none.  I nodded, and Jakob buried his face
in my neck and finished crying.  We sat on the step of the hot tub in
silence, my arm around his shoulders, and his face buried in my neck.  We
sat there for a long time before Jakob finally sat up.

	"Pour me another?" He pointed at the bottle by his feet.  I looked
at the bottle, and then at him and gave him a half-grin.

	"You don't think half a bottle is enough?"

       I tried not to make light of the situation, but Jakob wasn't known
for drinking. Sure, we'd sit down and have a beer from time to time, but
that was it. A beer. He was only 18, and just starting to explore what life
had to offer before this happened. By the time I was 18, I had been drunk
plenty of times and had my share of hangovers to show for it. Jakob just
wasn't like that. He never seemed to be appealed to that sort of action. He
was so different from me.

	"I hurt everywhere. I just wanna stop hurting."  Jakob commented
and flinched slightly when I tightened my arm around him.

       I gave a quick sigh and then poured the glass half-full of whiskey.
I handed him the glass and then went back inside the house with the bottle
to return it to its proper home.  When I returned, his glass was empty, and
Jakob was breathing deeply with his eyes closed.

	"I can't get up." He looked at me helplessly, signaling me for
help.  I walked over to him, wrapped one of his arms around my neck while I
wrapped one of my arms around his waist, and slowly eased him into a
standing position.

"God, you're short." I joked lightly at the situation.

He was on his toes as his arm stretched over my shoulder and I held him
up. Jakob gave a small chuckle before he winced in pain. He was as unsteady
as he had been when I brought him home last evening. At first, I thought he
couldn't get up because of the whiskey. I figured it had really helped
knock him on his ass. I then noticed the blood on my pajama bottoms, and
knew he was still hurting badly. Who knows how long it'd take for him to
heal? I helped Jakob to his bedroom and to his own bed, and helped him get
settled.

	"Get some rest, kiddo."  I softly commanded, and messed up the mop
on top of his head.

	"Thanks, Bryan."  He mumbled drowsily, and I left him to sleep.

	It was a boring evening, and not having much of an appetite, I had
decided on a bag of Doritos and a few beers as my main course for supper.
I went down into the basement that was finally renovated last year, and sat
down to the big screen to flip absently through the channels.  After a
couple of hours and my mind being elsewhere, I swallowed the last of my
beer, turned off the TV and decided to head for bed.  On the way to my
room, I popped my head through the doorway to Jakob's bedroom and found him
fast asleep. I grinned wholeheartedly as he let out a couple of soft
snores, and shut his door and headed for my own room.

	I turned on the light as I closed the bedroom door behind me, and
immediately began to shed myself of my clothing. Naked, I turned to face
the full-length mirror on my closet door, and realized how little sleep I
had gotten the night previous.  My eyes had definite circles around them,
and it dawned on me that I had forgotten to shave in the morning.  I sighed
and frowned in spite of myself, and turned the light off.  In the darkness
I crawled under the cool blankets of my bed, and quickly fell asleep as I
rolled to my side and let my head greet the pillow...

      I was running down a dark, endless hallway, searching aimlessly for
Jakob who was screaming for my help at the top of his lungs. His voice was
desperate and frantic, and I was running, trying to follow the sound of his
voice. The closer I seemed to get to his voice, the farther away he
actually was.  I could hear him weeping and begging for my help, but I
couldn't reach him no matter how fast I ran or how hard I tried.  He
screamed my name over and over again; a voice screaming in agony.  I still
could not reach him.  My body was sweating profusely; my heart racing.  It
was black and damp. I was surrounded by darkness and I was getting
nowhere...

	...I jolted up in my bed into a sitting position, and tried to
catch my breath.

       `It was just a bad dream,' I told myself over and over, until it hit
me that it wasn't a dream.  Life at the moment was a fucking nightmare that
I couldn't wake up from. I felt hot tears sliding down my face and I
inhaled as deeply as I could, finally forcing the tears to stop.  I covered
my face with my hands for a few minutes, and vigorously rubbed my eyes and
my hair before I decided to try and sleep again.

	As I flopped back down onto my bed I heard a groan and almost
jumped back up.  I turned my head and could see Jakob curled up beside me
in the moonlight, this time making his own way underneath the covers.  My
heart leaped and I had to control the stirrings that were happening in the
pit of my stomach and the center of my groin. I wanted to wrap him in my
arms, and feel him there all night. The night before had felt so natural
when he was in bed beside me. I lay down on my back and consciously had to
pace my breathing and to try and slow down my heart.

      After I let some time pass, I closed my eyes, focused on the rate and
depth of my breathing, and found myself relaxing.  I was almost asleep when
I felt Jakob shifting in bed.  I felt him position himself next to me, with
his head resting on my shoulder, and I opened my eyes to watch him.  I
quietly watched as he slightly shuffled to get more comfortable, and then
he tilted his head back to look at me, almost as if to ask me for my
permission.

	I smiled down at Jakob and moved my arm so that it was encircling
him closer to my body.  For the slightest moment, I thought I saw that
sparkle back in his eyes.  It was only for the briefest of moments, caught
only by the dapple of moonlight through the window, but it was there and I
saw it. When he finally settled, he was in my arms where I wanted him.  My
heart started pounding again, and I became nervous as a familiar tingling
started to increase in my groin. Jakob, still wearing the same T-shirt and
pajama bottoms as the night previous seemed oblivious to my nakedness next
to him.

       `Oh, God,' I internally scolded myself.  `Why didn't you put some
fuckin' pajamas on, you idiot? He's gonna freak out.'  But he didn't seem
to notice at all. After a few moments, I somehow regained control over my
body, and things began to calm down.

	"Night, Bryan." Jakob said softly as he curled slightly closer to
me and found a more comfortable position for his head.

      I had to clear my throat before being able to respond.

      "Good night, Jakob."

       I felt his arm slide across my stomach and hold me there before I
let myself drift off from exhaustion.