Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2012 01:00:20 -0400 (EDT)
From: ErastesTouch@aol.com
Subject: A Throw Away Kid, chapter 12

Throw Away Kid - by Erastes
Copyright 2012 by Erastes
Chapter 12 -- The Downside of Independence.

Now that the three boys had discovered a place where they could stay,
things started to go fairly well for them.  They'd also found places
where they could entice prospective customers, such as at a nearby mall,
a public toilet at a city park and an old, run-down theater where they
showed older movies for a dollar.  The boys generally didn't have to do
much to perk a guy's interest and usually it was as simple as casually
exposing themselves while urinating, sliding down in a theater seat near
a prospective 'John' and rubbing their own crotch or seductively eyeing a
guy, until he followed them to a more secluded location.

The men usually spoke first and asked the boys such questions as 'are
you up for a little fun,' or 'that's a nice looking piece of meat, but do
you know how to get pleasure from it.'  The boys would then respond
with something like 'it depended on what is in it for me,' or 'I know
what feels good, but it's better when someone else helps you with it.'
After that, they would discuss money and location, but most of the time
they would end up doing things in the stall of a toilet, a quiet, obscure
place, such as a darkened corner, or in the balcony of the theater.  The
boys had promised each other that they would never go anywhere with
any of their customers and they would absolutely never get in a car with
them, because by doing so they'd put themselves in much greater risk of
harm.  The other thing they did was to have a supply of lubricated
condoms available, in case their 'Johns' wanted to have anal sex with
them.  They were afraid some of these guys might have diseases and the
boys wanted to remain as safe and healthy as possible.

The only problem with this plan was that they couldn't buy the quantity
of condoms they needed on their own, not without risking questions or
problems from the clerks at the stores, so they had to start stealing them
instead.  While the other two distracted the help, the third boy would
move in and pocket as many of the desired items as they could.  It was
not something they were comfortable with doing and they felt bad about
not paying for these items, but they didn't see how else they could get
them without raising an alarm.  This was not only because of WHAT
they were buying, but even more so because of their age and the number
of these items they required.  Most of the clerks would wonder why
someone their age would need these items in the first place, let alone so
many.  This was one time they had to go against their better judgment,
in order to get what they needed to protect themselves for the long haul.

After a few days in business, the boys were making quite a bit of money
and they began to buy things they needed, like clothes, personal hygiene
products and other supplies, plus they were also able to eat at fast food
restaurants and small diners.  Once a week, they would put all their
clothes in one of the duffel bags and take them to the Laundromat to be
cleaned.  In addition to that, they also worked it into their routine to go
to the local YMCA every afternoon, where they'd swim, workout or
play basketball, before they showered.  They had purchased each of
themselves a membership, so they would be able to do this legally and
without fear of raising suspicions.  When they finished doing whatever
they chose that day and cleaned up, they'd go back to the factory and
change into something that 'screamed sex' and then they'd make their
way to wherever it was they were planning to hang around for the
evening.  It usually didn't take very long before the got their first
'offer,' since they were all young, in shape and quite good-looking.

On average, they would spend about fifteen minutes to an hour with
each guy, unless they picked them up at the theater, and then they
might stay with the same guy throughout the entire movie.  They would
usually charge more if the customer wanted to do this, but most of those
guys didn't seem to mind the extra expense, seeing most of them were
usually able to get off more than once.  They would merely play with the
boy's genitals as they watched the movie, which they could do for as
long as they liked, and if they wanted to do something more, then they'd
move to the upper rows of the balcony where the boy could sit on their
cock or suck them off, or they meet in the toilet for a blowjob or a
'quickie.'

The boys were even beginning to have regular customers, who would
even make appointments with them to have a good time and they would
tell the boy, in advance, where and when to meet them.  This wasn't all
that much different from what they used to do at the 'farm,' but this
time they got to keep all of the money from their efforts and they could
choose whom they wanted to be with.  They didn't do it often, but
sometimes they would reject certain customers for one reason or
another.

Things had been going fairly well for them, but it all began to fall apart
when Steve got into trouble.  It happened after they'd been living at the
factory for several weeks.  One day, the boys all went to the park and
Steve saw a cute guy go into the men's room, so he followed him in and
stood at the urinal next to him.  Steve made sure to stand back a little
from the urinal though, so the guy could get a good look at what he had
to offer.  When he saw the guy looking over at him, he began to stroke
his cock and get it hard, hoping it would turn the guy on.  The man
looked at Steve and smiled, so Steve asked him if he was interested in
having a little fun, and the guy said 'sure, but what does it cost?"

Steve responded, 'that depends on what you what to do."

"Give me an idea," the mark replied.

"Well, that would depend on what types of things you were interested in
and whether you wanted to do things to me or me to do things to you."

"Give me some ideas of what I can do to you and how much it would
cost."

"Ok.  You could suck me off then stick your dick in me for $40," Steve
stated.  "If you only wanted to do one of those things, then that would be
$25."

"Why the difference in the price?" he asked.

"Cuz I don't charge you double and give a discount if you want to do
more than one thing," Steve informed him.

The guy nodded in understanding.

"Ok.  Do you have a place we can go?" the man wondered.

"Yes, to that stall in the back corner over there," Steve replied.

The man nodded in agreement and followed Steve back to the cubicle.
He let Steve go inside first and then he followed in after him, closed the
door and bolted it after they were both inside.

"So what would you like to do?" Steve asked next.

"I'll do the first choice we talked about, where I get to do you two
different ways," the man answered.

"You mean the one where you suck me off first, before you screw me?"
Steve asked, to be sure.

"That's the one," the man agreed.

"Ok, that will be $40," Steve told him, to let him know the money came
first.

The guy dug into his pocket, pulled out some bills, flipped through them
and then handed Steve two twenties.

"There, that should take care of it," he reasoned.

Steve put the money in his pocket and began to unsnap his pants, but
that was when the guy made his next comment.

"Sorry, kid, but I'm a cop and you're under arrest for solicitation," he
announced.

"Fuck," Steve blurted out, as he began to panic.

Steve immediately began to look for a way out of this situation and even
tried to drop down and slide under the gap between the stall's walls and
the floor, but the officer was able to grab him before he could do this.
The cop pulled Steve's arms behind his back and then slapped a pair of
handcuffs on Steve's wrists, before he dragged him out of the restroom
and led him to his unmarked squad car.

Cam and Bryce were waiting outside, so they saw what happened, but
they didn't know what they could do to help their friend.  Even the look
on Steve's face was terrifying to them and they realized how frightened
he must be.  They also instinctively knew that there was no way they
could stop what was going to happen next, since they'd need an adult to
help him.  They also knew that wherever he eventually was taken, be it a
jail or juvenile facility, it wouldn't be a nice place to stay.

Cam and Bryce got out of the park quickly after that and headed back
to the safety of the factory.  Once they were there and began to feel
somewhat safe, they started to discuss their options.

"Do you think we should leave here?" Bryce asked Cam.  "Do you think
the cops will be able to force Steve to tell him where he was staying or if
there were others with him?"

"Nah, Steve wouldn't do that, unless they tortured him, but you know
the cops can't do that," Cam reasoned.  "He won't turn us in, but I'm
wondering if the cops might start looking for more boys like us.  They
must have had some reason to send a cop to the park to look for things
like that."

"Well, I don't know the reason they were there, but that sure was
scary," Bryce admitted.  "How are we going to help Steve?"

Bryce was very concerned about their friend.

"Damn, I don't know," Cam stated.  "I can't think of anything we can
do or of any way we can even find out anything about what's going to
happen to him.  I guess we'll just have to wait here until he returns --
that's if he gets out of this mess, which I'm not sure he will.  If he does
though, I know he'll come back here looking for us."

"But won't the cops follow him?" Bryce reasoned.

"Steve won't come here directly," Cam offered.  "He'd wander around
for a while first and then he'd sneak back here after dark, when it
would be much harder for them to follow him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Bryce agreed.  "Ok, we'll stay here then."

The first few days without Steve were very traumatic for the pair.  They
stayed at the factory for most of each day and only left so they could get
something to eat.  They didn't even try to pick up any guys for quite a
while after that, since they felt the cops might be on the alert for such
activity.  Mostly, they just talked about their current situation and
questioned what they were going to do.  They also discussed how they
might be able to help Steve or even learn of his fate.  After many lengthy
chats on this topic, they finally concluded Steve was not only beyond
their help, but also beyond their ability to learn what had happened to
him since he had been picked up.  It was a very rough time for both
boys and it was almost as if they had lost a part of themselves.  No
matter how difficult it might have been, they accepted the fact that they
still had to survive, so they focused on making that their first priority.

They didn't turn any tricks for a couple of weeks and they didn't go
anywhere near the places they had spent much of their time looking to
turn tricks previously.  When it got to the point where they thought it
was safe to go back to 'work,' they chose the theater as the place to start
their comeback.  They both felt the park and the mall were much too
open and too conspicuous now, so under the circumstances they felt the
theater would be their best bet and went there looking to make a little
money.  They hadn't been there very long before one of Steve's usual
customers approached them.

"Damn, where have you boys been?" he demanded.  "I thought you
might have been picked up too."

"Too?  You mean you know about Steve?" Cam asked him.

"Yeah, I saw him when they brought him to court," the man answered.

"But how did you know he was going to be there?" Bryce wondered.

"I didn't.  It just happened that I was working there that day," he
explained.  "I was surprised when I saw him being brought into court."

"You work at the courthouse?"  Cam followed, in shock.  "What do you
do there?"

"I don't actually work at the courthouse, but I DO some of my work
there," he confessed.  "I'm a reporter for the newspaper and I went to
check the court log, to see what cases had been handled.  I write the
'Police Beat' column, so I was just going into the records area when I
saw two cops leading Steve into the courtroom.  Just for the hell of it, I
followed them in and sat in the back row to watch."

"Weren't you afraid of them finding out about you?" Bryce asked.

"Not really.  I was pretty sure Steve wouldn't say anything about me
and I go into the courtroom occasionally anyway, just to see what's
going on," he answered.  "The people that work there are used to seeing
me around and they probably just suspected that I was curious about
what the young boy had done."

"What happened to Steve?" Cam blurted out next.

"He was sent to the Youth Center, over in Columbus," the man replied.
"From what I learned, Steve must have told them his real name and
they found out he was a runaway foster kid.  Due to that, and the fact
that he was charged with solicitation, they felt it best to lock him up."

"What's solicitation and how long will he be gone?" Bryce wondered.

"Solicitation means you are willing to sell your body to perform sexual
acts, and the judge gave him a year there, provided suitable placement
can be found for him once he's released."

"Oh, damn.  A year?" Cam vocalized.

"Or maybe more, depending on whether they can find a home for him
when the year is up," the man explained.  "It would have to be one that
is acceptable to the court."

"How will that happen?" Cam screamed.  "Who's going to take in a kid
who was selling himself, unless it was like our last foster home?"

"You mean you two are runaways too?" he asked.

After he made that comment, both Cam and Bryce realized they had
said too much, so they needed to do some damage control here.  They
had to find a way to convince this guy that he shouldn't turn them in
too.

"Kind of," Cam stated, reluctantly.  "The three of us were together in
our last foster home and our foster father used to sell us to his friends,
so they could get off.  When the cops found out about his 'business,' he
took off before he was busted and all of us boys ran away."

"Then where have you boys been staying?" he wanted to know.

Both of them became very leery now.  They were afraid this guy might
turn them in too, to protect himself, so they decided not to give him any
details.

"We have a place where we are safe, so don't worry about that," Cam
answered.

"Are you sure?  Maybe I can help you out," the guy responded.

"No, we're doing fine, but we are worried about Steve." Cam followed.

"Well there's nothing you can do for him, not until he's released," the
guy advised them, "but you boys need to be careful or the same thing
could happen to you."

"We know, and thanks for the information, but we'll be fine," Bryce
added.

"Are either of you interested in doing something now?" the man
followed.

The boys felt he must have been very horny, but they were suddenly
unsure if they should take any more chances.  They suspected this might
be a trap to nab them too.

"Not now, because we're too upset and worried about our friend," Cam
replied.

"That's ok and I understand, but when you're ready, I could sure use
some help," the man nearly pleaded.

Both boys nodded and then left the theater.  They wandered around for
a while first, before they made their way back to the factory, just in case
someone was trying to follow them.  They needn't have worried though,
but they didn't know that and reasoned they'd rather be safe than
sorry, so they took this extra precaution.

After their brief meeting with the reporter, they didn't learn any other
news about Steve for quite some time.  Columbus was about thirty miles
away, so it wasn't even likely they would travel there to discover more.
Besides, neither of these boys wanted to get that close to the Youth
Center, because they were fearful they might end up inside too.

The pair became even closer now, seeing there was only the two of them,
and they often comforted each other about how things were going to
work out for them.  Eventually, their situation began to take on a fairly
normal feeling again, or at least as normal as it COULD be for them,
and they went back to taking care of their customers.  The only
difference was, they only did things with their old customers or
sometimes even with Steve's old customers.  When one of Steve's
'Johns' would ask where Steve was, the boys would just tell them that
'Steve had to go away for a while,' and then offer to fill in for him, for
the time being.

Things were going quite smoothly for the boys for the next few weeks.
They were able to pick up some money to replenish their slowly
depleting stash, plus they were able to spend more time together.  They
seldom had sex with each other, since they were getting enough of that
on the job, but they did cuddle and kiss a lot.  It was their way of
showing how much they really cared for each other.  They kept it cool
out in public though, like when they went out to eat, but they often
wished they could sit closer together or maybe even hold hands during
those times.  Unfortunately, it wasn't quite that simple.

The next bump in the road came one day when they were 'shopping' for
condoms.  They had decided in advance that Cam would get the items
they needed this time, while Bryce managed to distract the help.  He
would do this by asking for assistance with locating something or he
would try to get more information about a product.  When the duo went
into the drugstore, they could only see two employees, the cashier, who
was busy ringing out customers, and a stock boy, who was busy putting
merchandise on the shelves.  Bryce went over and started asking the
stock boy a couple of questions, while Cam got what they needed.  It was
all going quite smoothly and Cam was moving toward the door to
escape, when a guy suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed
him.

The man was obviously a plain-clothes security guard, pretending to be
a customer, and neither boy had realized that fact before.  Now, Cam
panicked and tried to break away and temporarily got loose from the
man's grip.  Bryce had moved closer to the action and left the stock boy
behind, and just as he neared where the other two were, the security
guard made a lunge to grab Cam.  Bryce reacted almost instinctively
and tried to protect Cam by making it look as if he was also trying to
stop him, but instead he interfered with the guard's ability to catch his
friend.  That move allowed Cam to bolt for the door, but unfortunately
the stock boy had also come to the front of the store when he noticed the
commotion and tackled Cam before he got away.  The guard stood up
and looked at Bryce, so Bryce was scared that the guard would arrest
him too.

"Well, son, I appreciate you trying to assist me," the man said, "but you
almost made us blow that one.  Next time you'll need to be a little more
careful about how you try to help out.  Ok?"

Bryce just nodded, grateful that he wasn't suspected of being involved,
and he left the store and waited opposite the front entrance, so he could
watch and see what was going to happen to his friend.

Inside the drugstore, the store manager, the guard and the stock boy led
Cam back to the security office.  They had planned to retrieve the goods
from him and then give Cam a warning to not try that again.  However,
when they got back to the office and discovered how many packages of
condoms the boy was trying to steal, their attitude quickly changed.
Instead of their initial plan, the security guard called the police and
asked them to send an officer over to pick the boy up, while they kept
him in custody in the security office.  During the wait, they also assessed
the dollar amount of his attempted theft.  It was about twenty minutes
later before the cop arrived and he was merely planning to write Cam
an appearance ticket for court and then release him into his parents'
custody.  That was until Cam wouldn't tell him his parents' names or
where they lived.

"Look, kid, I'm trying to cut you a break here," the cop told him.  "I
can only release you to your parents or I'll have to take you to jail.  I
don't think you'll want to go there, so just tell me your parents' names."

Cam still didn't offer to give him any information.  In reality, it just
wasn't possible.

"Kid, I hate to have to take you to jail, but you're not leaving me any
choice in the matter," the officer pleaded, trying to make Cam see
reason.  "Just tell me where your folks live or work, and then I'll take
you there and leave you with them."

Still Cam didn't say a word.

"Why the hell aren't you cooperating with me?" the cop asked, reaching
the end of his patience.  "The amount of the theft is too high to just let
you go and I don't think this store would do that anyway, so all I can do
is turn you over to your parents."

At this point, the officer began to think that the boy was going to tell
him the desired information, but when the kid still wouldn't cooperate,
he thought he understood what Cam's problem was.  That's when he
tried a different approach.

"Look, I'm sure your folks are going to be upset about what you've
done, and they might even punish you," he said, sympathetically, "but
don't you think they'll be madder and the punishment will be more
severe if we have to put you in jail?"

He eyed Cam, to see if he'd struck a nerve in the boy.

"We'll eventually find out who you are," he continued, "even if we have
to wait until your parents call the station to report you missing.  You
might as well just save us all the time and the trouble."

Still Cam didn't say a word.

"Ok, kid, I tried," he stated, in exasperation.  "Since you won't work
with me, I'll take you to the station and let my superiors decide what
they want to do with you."

He then took his handcuffs out and put them on Cam's wrists, before he
led Cam out to his patrol car and placed him in the back seat.  Bryce
watched this happen, while he remained hidden from view, and he kept
an eye on what was happening around the police car.  When he saw
them bringing Cam out in handcuffs, all he could think about was the
time he saw the same thing happen to Steve.  Now, Bryce began to
realize he would be all alone and on his own, but he didn't like what
that meant.  It wasn't that Bryce didn't think he could survive on his
own, it was just that he'd now lost his two best friends and he knew it
wouldn't be long before the same thing finally happened to him too.

That night Bryce went out looking for Steve's reporter friend.  He
checked all the usual places, but the man wasn't there.  The next night
Bryce went to look for him again and this time he found the guy.  Bryce
rushed up to him and immediately began to tell him about what
happened to Cam.

"The cops have Cam," Bryce stated, breathlessly.  "They caught him
stealing condoms at the drug store and took him to jail."

"Really?  When did this happen?" the man wanted to know.

"Night before last, I think," Bryce answered.  "Can you find out what
happened to him?"

"I can try," he agreed.  "I'll go to the courthouse tomorrow and see if
he's been arraigned yet."

"Thanks, and will you let me know what they're going to do with him?"
Bryce pressed.

"If I can, but I can't promise," the man replied.

"Ok, just do what you can, please," Bryce begged.  "I'm really worried
about him.  What if I meet you back here tomorrow, so you can tell me
what you found out?"

"I can do that," he agreed, "but stay out of trouble in the meantime.
Ok?  If you need anything, like condoms, just let me know and I'll buy
them for you."

"Really?  Thanks!" Bryce agreed.  "I can pay for them, but it's just that
we didn't think the store clerks would let us buy them."

"I understand, but be careful until I see you tomorrow," he reiterated.
"I hope I'll know something by then."

"Yeah, me too," Bryce confirmed.  "I'll see you back here tomorrow
night."

Bryce left and took the long way back to where he was staying again,
just in case he was being followed.  He still needn't have worried about
that, because no one was aware of his existence, at least the dark side of
that existence.  The only ones who knew about that were his 'Johns,"
and he felt they wouldn't saying anything, because they would be
risking getting into much more trouble than he would.

Once he was back in the safety of the factory, he broke down and cried,
not only because he was alone again, but it was also due to the fact that
he was genuinely concerned about his friends.  He actually cried himself
to sleep that night and he let his tears soak into Cam's blanket, which he
used as both a pillow and a security blanket.  He was still clutching it
when he awoke the next morning, because he was somehow hoping this
nightmare would miraculously end or wind up being just a bad dream.

That night, he went back to find the reporter, to see if he had learned
anything about Cam.  When Bryce saw the guy, he wasn't smiling, but
he did have some news.

"They've got an unnamed juvenile in the court records and it stated
that he was arraigned for petty larceny," the man explained.  "I take it
the entry was referring to your friend, so it means they still don't know
his true identity.  I imagine they'll continue to hold him at the local jail,
at least until they learn who he is."

"Is he in with the grown-ups?" Bryce blurted out, concerned.

"No, they can't do that," the reporter assured him.  "He's probably in
some isolated cell where they keep the problem prisoners or those that
need to be isolated from the general population."

"I'm glad to hear that, as long as you aren't telling me that he's in
solitary confinement," Bryce agreed.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," the reporter replied.  "He'd have the
guards to talk to and I'm sure they let him out for a while each day, so
he can get some exercise.

Bryce was relieved to hear this, so he stopped to think for a minute or
two.

"How long do you think they'll keep him there?" Bryce asked next.

"Probably only for a few days," the reporter answered.  "If they don't
find out who he is, then they'll probably transfer him to some sort of
youth facility."

"Like the youth center they sent Steve to?" Bryce wondered.

"Yes, that is a possibility," the reporter agreed.

"Well, if that happens, at least Steve and Cam will be back together,"
Bryce pointed out.

He was partially relieved by this revelation, yet he was sad that he
wouldn't be with them.

"True, but that's not a good place to be, even with friends," the reporter
confessed.  "They've got some pretty rough boys confined there, so I'm
not sure how your two friends will protect themselves."

This comment concerned Bryce and he now began to worry about
Steve's safety and how he's been making out there so far.  He was also
worried how Cam would handle it, if he were sent there too.

"Isn't there anything we can do?  Couldn't you pretend to be his father
or something?" Bryce pleaded.

"No way!  All of my friends and co-workers know I'm single and that
I've never fathered any children," he excitedly confessed.  "Besides, if
the cops discovered I was lying to get him out, then they'd put me in jail
and want to know why I was trying to rescue a boy who was stealing
packages of condoms.  I don't need that type of scrutiny in my life.  I'm
sorry, but I can't do that."

Bryce looked disappointed, but he realized the reporter was probably
correct in his assessment of the situation.  He also responded to what the
man had said.

"I understand, but I'm just trying to think of anything we can do to
help him," he admitted.  "I know now that it wasn't such a good idea,
but at least I was trying."

"That's ok, kid.  I know you're only trying to help your friend, and I'm
impressed by your loyalty to him," he replied.  "Not every kid would go
to all this trouble to help someone else.  I think most of them would try
to distance themselves after something like this happened, to make sure
they didn't get into trouble as well."

"I can't do that!  Cam's my friend and so is Steve," Bryce responded.
"I have to do what I can to help them."

"I know, but there is little, if anything, you can do, since you're just a
kid yourself," the man pointed out.  "I'll keep my ears and eyes open,
though, to see if I can learn anything more about either of them."

"Thank you.  When this is over, I'll give you a few freebies to pay you
back," Bryce offered, "and I'm sure Steve and Cam will too, if we get
back together."

"That's not why I'm doing this, kid, but it's nice to know that you
appreciate my efforts," he acknowledged.  "Other than that, you don't
owe me a thing."

"Maybe not, but I will make it up to you," Bryce confirmed.

The pair parted, but Bryce did go back to see this guy every night and
the reporter bought condoms for him, so he could still make money.
Eventually, the reporter was able to learn more about his friends, but
that didn't happen until three nights later.

"I was in court this afternoon and I saw Cam there," he said, excitedly.
"Someone at the police department, an officer who had worked on
Steve's case, finally drew a connection between Steve and the other
missing boys.  In running a check, he discovered who Cam was, so the
court ordered him sent to the Youth Center in Columbus too.  He's
being transferred tomorrow."

"No!  They can't do that," Bryce screamed.  "They can't take them both
away from me like that."

The man wrapped his arms around Bryce and tried to comfort him, and
Bryce just seemed to melt into his concerned embrace.  It had been a
while since someone had hugged him like this and he knew the guy was
doing it because he was concerned about how he was feeling, so that
made it more enjoyable.  Bryce stayed in this embrace for as long as he
could, while struggling with the reality that he might never see Cam and
Steve again.  He hoped his two friends could at least help take care of
each other, especially since he couldn't be there for them, but he had to
worry about himself now.  Once he had regained his composure, he gave
the reporter a 'freebie,' before he went back to his little sanctuary.

Over the next several days, Bryce hardly went anywhere or did
anything.  He stayed bundled up in the three sets of blankets, using
them to make himself feel safe and more secure, while also using them
as a crutch to still feel close to his two missing friends.  He would
generally go out once a day to eat somewhere, but some days he didn't
even feel like doing that, so he'd go without food altogether.  He did buy
some plastic bottles of water, which he kept at the factory so he
wouldn't dehydrate.  He also urinated in the empty bottles, so he
wouldn't have to go someplace to use the toilet and he wouldn't foul up
his living area.  He only changed clothes every few days now, but only
after they began to stink or irritate his skin.

Bryce was now beginning to retreat into his old shell again and conjured
up thoughts about the father he'd never known, the one who was going
to come to rescue him and take him away from all of this misery.  He
was also becoming a little weak from his lack of eating and he was doing
a great deal of sleeping, to allow his mind time to play out all of his
fantasies.  During this time, he conjured up a mental image of a fairly
young, good-looking guy, a man who put Bryce ahead of everyone or
everything else.  This led to him having some sweet dreams, but it also
made for a harsher reality when he awoke and realized it had only been
a wonderful dream.

Once in a while, Bryce would venture out to clean up and then find the
reporter again, to see if he had any more information about his friends.
Over time, the man learned that both boys had been sentenced to a year
at the Youth Center, but they would only get released if a suitable home
could be found for them afterward.  Otherwise, the boys would remain
confined there until their eighteenth birthday, possibly even their
twenty-first, and that was definitely too long to be confined at that
facility.  Bryce thanked his new friend for all of his help and he even let
the guy have sex with him a few of those times, without even charging
him for it.  He told the guy it was payment for finding out all of this
information for him and for supplying him with more condoms.

Bryce wasn't looking for any new customers during this time though, so
the condoms weren't getting used as quickly, because he was still afraid
of getting picked up by the police and being sent away too.  He decided
he had enough money to survive for quite some time, so he wasn't
worried about that.  Besides, he wasn't spending that much money, so
he didn't need a lot to live on.  This way, he stayed put, kept a low
profile and continued to survive, but the loneliness was starting to get to
him.  He was beginning to miss his friends more and more, and he hated
being alone, so he thought he'd have to find another alternative to
correct this situation soon.

That night he went to McDonald's to eat and filled his empty stomach
and then he used their restroom to clean up.  He washed his face, arms
and hands, and then used the blow-drier to get rid of the excess water.
After he finished up, he went back to his hideaway, but for some reason
he couldn't sleep that night.  His mind was consumed with thoughts
about Steve and Cam, as he wondered about how they were doing and if
they were safe.  His mind was also working at warp speed trying to
come up with a way he could improve his own situation and end the
loneliness he hated so much.  By now, he had been up for over twenty-
four hours and it was now noon of the second day, so Bryce finally gave
in to his exhaustion.  He curled up in the safety of the three sets of
blankets and that was how I discovered him, that first day we met.

Bryce quickly confirmed that he had been startled and somewhat
confused when he heard me sneeze and snapped awake the day I'd
found him.  He said that after challenging me about what I was doing
there, he studied my face, as he listened to my reassuring explanation
about why I was there.  As soon as I finished, he said he could tell that
could trust me and even began to think that I might be the savior he had
been praying for.  He said he tried not to get his hopes up too soon, but
admitted that he thought it was extremely nice of me to offer to help
him.  He confirmed that he'd previously concluded that if I wanted to
hurt him then I could have done it there and if I was there to arrest him
then I could have done that already too, so he decided to risk it and go
with me.

He confessed his heart was racing as I helped him gather up his things
and he followed me to my car, but after I threw his belongings into the
trunk, he said that's when he began to worry it was a trap.  Once I had
all of his possessions, he was basically screwed, but then when I told him
to get in the car, so I could take him home with me, he decided his first
hunch had been correct.

Bryce admitted he had been surprised when he saw my car, because he
knew there was no one that would be a cop vehicle.  He also stated that
it was the most magnificent car he'd ever seen, but he was almost afraid
to get in it.  Bryce confessed that was worried that he'd get the seats
dirty and then I'd get mad at him, so I told him I had guessed that part
and it was why I tried to convince him nothing like that would happen.
I did this by draping a small blanket on the seat for him to sit on, which
made him feel better about accepting my offer, but he confirmed that
wasn't his last surprise of the day.  He said he hadn't been sure what to
think after I told him that I owned my own business and it was the
reason I had been looking at the factory, but Bryce said his biggest
shock came when he saw my house.  Bryce said he felt it was a mansion,
nestled in a country-like setting, and he thought it was really awesome.

Bryce admitted he was kind of excited when I suggested we should wash
his clothes and have him take a shower, so he explained to me that was
the reason he undressed in front of me and made certain to let me see
EVERYTHING, because he'd hoped I might be interested in doing
something with him.  He said he wanted me to ask to have sex with him,
because he thought it would be one way we might get closer and I would
really begin to like him.  Bryce also said that he'd already felt an
attraction to me by then and was going to use his body to his advantage
and do everything in his power to stay with me.  Heck, he even started
calling me 'Uncle Kyle,' after I'd suggested we use the pretense he was
my nephew to keep everyone else from getting suspicious.  He told me
he loved calling me that, because it made him feel that somehow he
belonged to me and we were related.

Bryce even told me that he'd been tempted to give me a blowjob when
he found that I was still sleeping the next morning when he came into
my room.  He said he even considered riding me, rodeo style, once he
teased my cock into an erection and admitted that he wanted to do that
with me really badly.  The reason he hadn't attempted it was because he
was too afraid that I might not be into boys and would kick him out if
he did something like that to me.  He figured that since I hadn't made a
move on him, he still had his doubts.  He admitted that he had caught
me checking him out, but felt there was a chance that I was just looking
him over to make certain he didn't have any sores, injuries or other
visible problems.  Therefore, he resisted the urge to jump my bones.

Now, it was several days later and Bryce had just finished telling me
about his past.  It had been a long and very exhaustive tale, so when it
was over I felt I knew all about him.  He looked at me after he finished,
to see if he could gauge my reaction, and then he admitted that I'm the
only one he'd ever told his entire life's story to.  He said he could also
tell that I was hurting for him, after I'd learned about everything he'd
been through, but he also admitted that he was thrilled when I pulled
him to me, wrapped my arms around him and kissed the top of his
head.

Since he had done everything I had asked of him, and he'd told me the
complete story of his life, I felt I could now give the lawyers all the
information they would need to help us.  I was hoping that after I
relayed this information to them, then they would be able to advise us
about our chances of staying together and give us an idea as to whether
they thought Bryce would be able to live with me.

I knew I had all sorts of emotions welling up inside me now, after
hearing Bryce's heartbreaking tale, but I was also fairly certain that he
was having a similar emotional tidal wave, since he had kept all of this
bottled up inside him for so long.  I decided to just sit and hold him for a
while, so I got comfortable with him on my lap, caressed his slender
frame against my chest, kissed him on top of the head and then we
remained that way for the next half hour.  We didn't need to speak and
merely sat there absorbing the feelings we felt for each other, as we
silently prayed that we'd be able to attain the outcome we both so
desperately desired.