Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2010 16:22:31 -0400
From: Ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: Down the Darkened Path  Chapter 12

The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities to anyone are purely
coincidental. The story is intended for a mature audience. It may contain
profanity and references to gay sex. If this offends you, please leave and
find something more suitable to read. The author maintains all rights to
the story. Do not copy or use without written permission. Write
ron@themustardjar.com with your comments. Ronyx is a prolific Nifty
author. Visit www.themustardjar.com for more stories by Ronyx.

**Help support Nifty in their efforts to bring you stories such as this
one. Go to their home page and make a generous donation.



Down the Darkened Path             Chapter 12



"It's so nice of you to help me, Jayden." Jayden picked up the chair and
moved it to the other side of the room. When done, he sat down and rested.

"I just can't wait until he comes home." Mrs. Neal sat down on the side of
the bed. "The doctor said last night that he could be home as early as this
weekend."

"That's great," replied Jayden. "I know you'll be happy to have him home
again."

"Yes," she responded sadly. "I wish it were under different circumstances,
but I guess we really don't have much control over what happens in our
lives."

"Nope," replied Jayden as he thought of his mother, "I guess we don't."

"Anyway," she continued as she got up and fluffed the pillow on Troy's bed,
"we have a lot to do before he comes home." She turned and looked at
Jayden. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I guess it would be proper of me to
at least ask you for your help."

Jayden got up and walked over and picked up a small table and placed it
beside a chair. "I'm more than happy to help. After what you and your
husband have done for me, how could I possibly refuse?"

She walked over and held Jayden's arm. "I don't want you to think like
that, Dear. You don't owe us anything. We're the ones who owe you so
much. Watching you with him in the hall yesterday was worth all the help my
husband and I can extend to you."

"I still want to pull my weight around here," he replied. Jayden stepped
back and observed the room. "Do you think the bed should be moved so that
when he gets out of it, he will have a straight walk to his bathroom?"

"That's a wonderful idea," she said. "When Robert and Penny come home
tonight, we'll turn it around." She put her finger to her chin. "We might
move the dresser over there," pointing to the wall beside the door to the
restroom. "That way he can find his clothing easier."

"I read the books the counselor at the hospital gave you," Jayden
remarked. "Before he comes home, I'll arrange his clothes in the closet and
the dresser." He walked over and opened the door to Troy's step-in
closet. The floor was littered with clothing and shoes.

Mrs. Neal stepped beside him. "Good luck," she laughed. "In nineteen years
I've never been able to get him to put his clothes away."

Jayden bent down and picked up a large pair of what appeared to be clown
shoes. Mrs. Neal took them from his hands and started laughing.

"My God," she exclaimed. "I'd forgotten about these. He wore them to a
Halloween costume party last year." She turned and headed out of the
room. "Wait here," she said as she left. She returned a minute later
carrying a photo album. She sat on the side of the bed. Jayden walked over
and sat down beside her.

She started thumbing through the album. "Here he is." She pointed to a
picture of Troy dressed up in a clown outfit. Claire was standing beside
him dressed like Goldilocks. Jayden let out a loud laugh. Mrs. Neal turned
the page and showed him a few more pictures of Troy and Claire. She then
sighed and closed the book. Jayden looked over and saw tears in her eyes.

"This is so hard," she said as she got up and walked out of the room
clutching the photo album. Jayden got up and started straightening items on
Troy's dresser. Mrs. Neal appeared about ten minutes later. She was
carrying two glasses of iced tea. Jayden looked into her face and it was
apparent she had been crying.

"I'm sorry," she said as she handed Jayden the drink. "Sometimes I just
become so overwhelmed with what has happened."

"I know how you feel," Jayden responded.

"Yes, Dear," she patted his hand, "I suppose you do." She stood up and
smiled. "We're not going to get anything done if we don't get started."

She walked over to Troy's dresser and looked at the clutter on top. "Oh,
Dear," she exclaimed. "What a mess." She turned to Jayden. "Go to the
garage and get me a large box. I think most of this stuff can just be
thrown away." Jayden saluted her. "Yes, Ma'am," he laughed as he left the
room.

*********

"You've got to try harder, Troy." Detective Wallace was sitting in the
chair beside Troy's hospital bed.

"I've told you everything I can remember!" He yelled. He was becoming
irritated with Wallace's questioning. Going back and remembering that
Saturday night was painful. He knew that the nightmares would come
again. They always did when he closed his eyes. They were much stronger
when he had to talk about what had happened.

"You said there were two men?"

"How many times are you going to ask me that?"

"Troy," Wallace spoke calmly as he rose and walked over to the side of the
bed. He placed his hand gently on Troy's arm. Troy pulled his arm away and
tucked it under the sheet. "We have to be sure we have the right men."

Troy sat up and turned his head toward Wallace's voice. "I told you what I
remember. There were two black guys. They were driving an old blue
van. They wanted my cell phone and wallet. I gave it to them and they still
beat the shit out of me." He laid his head back on his pillow, wishing
Wallace would leave.

"Do you think you could recognize their voices again if you hear them?"

He sat back up and turned to Wallace. "Yeah," he said angrily. "I can't go
to sleep at night because I keep hearing their fucking voices in my head."

He patted Troy's arm still hidden under the sheet. "I know this is hard on
you," he said comfortingly, "but we want to make sure we put these guys
behind bars for a long time. From what you and Jayden have said, I think we
can do that."

Troy sat back up in bed. "Jayden? What's he got to do with this?"

"He testified before the grand jury what he heard his cousins say."

"His cousins!" Troy reached out and grabbed Wallace's arm. "What are you
talking about?"

Wallace became concerned when he observed Troy's reaction. It was apparent
that no one had spoken to him about Jayden's testimony. He was sure since
Jayden was now living with the Neal's that he had been informed.

"No one's spoken to you about this?"

"About what!" He screamed. He touched his hand to his eyes. "Jayden's
cousins did this to me?" He gripped Wallace's arm tighter.

"Troy, you have to calm down." He gently put his hand on Troy's shoulder
and pushed him back down on the bed. "I assumed your parents talked to you
about this."

Troy turned his head away from the detective. "No one has said a fucking
word to me about anything. Just leave me alone."

Wallace placed his hand on Troy's arm. "Jayden took a big risk testifying
for you," he said. "Don't blame him for his cousin's behavior."

"Someone should have told me," responded Troy as he buried his head into
the sheet.

He didn't know if he was feeling angry or hurt. He had trusted
Jayden. Besides his parents, Penny and Claire, he was one of the people he
thought he could depend on. He felt a certain connection to the boy he had
never seen. Now he felt betrayed. It seemed that everyone knew that
Jayden's cousins had been responsible for his injuries, but no one had told
him.

"Troy?" Wallace squeezed Troy's arm tightly.

"Get out," Troy pleaded. "Please. I've told you everything I can
remember. Just go."

Wallace looked down at the boy lying in the bed. He couldn't understand why
no one had spoken to him about Jayden's involvement. He had assumed that
when the Neal's invited him into their home that they had discussed it
first with Troy. Surely, they had seen the news and knew that it was
Jayden's cousins who had harmed their son. They had to have known when they
took Jayden into their home that his aunt had kicked him out of hers
because he testified against his own cousins.

If they knew all this, then why didn't they tell Troy?

"If you remember anything else, tell your father to give me a call." He
waited for a response from Troy. When he got none, he sighed and left the
room.

When Troy heard the door close, he let out a loud wail and cried into his
pillow.

*********

"This is stupid," Jayden said as he tied the blindfold around Claire's
face. She had suggested that he go with her to the mall after school. She
had said she wanted him to help her pick out a shirt for Troy, but when
they arrived she had told him the real reason she had wanted him to go with
her.

"Look, Jayden." She turned and lifted the blindfold she had made from a
checkered handkerchief and looked at him. "How else will we know what Troy
is experiencing if we don't live it for ourselves?"

"People are going to think we are idiots," he said as he looked around the
crowded mall. "Couldn't we have done this somewhere more private?"

"Someday Troy is going to have to pick up the pieces and live his life
again." She looked sympathetically at Jayden. "He'll have to come out in
the public. He's going to depend on us to help him. I just want to know
what he's going to be feeling."


"Since when did this become `us?" He liked staying with the Neal's, but
once he graduated he planned to get a job and find his own apartment. He
was becoming increasingly concerned that Troy's parents, and now Claire,
were planning his future by helping Troy.

"He should be coming home soon," Claire insisted. "I know he's going to
want you to help him sometimes. Doing this will help us understand what
he's going through."


"There you go with that us again," he huffed. Claire placed the blindfold
over her eyes and reached for Jayden's arm. Playfully, he stepped away so
she couldn't touch him.

She swung her arms trying to find him. He circled around and giggled at her
wild antics. She stomped her foot and pulled the blindfold off.

"Forget it, Asshole," she shouted as she started to storm away. "I'll get
Allison to help me."

Realizing he had gone too far, he ran up beside her and grabbed her
arm. "Okay, Claire," he said apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize
this meant that much to you."

"I love Troy." She began to wipe away the tears that were falling down her
face. "I want to be a part of him," she cried. "I want to know what he's
feeling."

Jayden reached out and pulled her into a hug. She cried softly into his
chest. "Okay," he said softly. "Let's do this." She pulled away and smiled.

"Here," she said as she grinned and held out the handkerchief. "You go
first."

"Me!" He looked anxiously around the mall. "People will think I'm an
idiot."

"And how do you think Troy will feel when he comes out in public?" She
grabbed Jayden's waist and turned his back to her. She stood on her tiptoes
and tied the blindfold around her eyes. She then walked around and waved
her hand in front of his face.

"Can you see?" She asked. "No peeking. That's cheating if you can see."

"I can't see," Jayden assured her. He jumped when she grabbed his left arm
and pulled him away. He instinctively extended his right arm and felt the
air in front of him.

"Relax," Claire said. "I'm not going to run you into anything. Although, I
probably should after what you did to me."

"Please, don't," Jayden pleaded. "This if really freaky. If you let go, I'm
taking off the blindfold."

"You can't," insisted Claire. "You have to leave it on until I tell you to
take it off. Remember, Troy isn't going to be wearing a blindfold. So no
matter how scared you become, you have to leave it on." He nodded as she
took his arm and led him forward.

Without his sight, he realized that he depended on his hearing more. He
listened for voices and noises around him. He also realized how important
it was for Claire to keep her hand on his arm.

Troy jumped when a man came out of a store and ran into him. "Watch out,
Freak," he said angrily. "What the fuck are you kids doing? You need to get
a job and quit playing around in the mall."

"Fuck you," Jayden spat as he turned toward the direction he last heard the
man speaking.

"He's gone," Claire said as she once again led him forward.

As they walked, Jayden focused on the sounds around him. To his right he
heard a mother comforting a crying baby. Behind him he heard what sounded
like three boys talking about an upcoming basketball game. The sound of
shoes pounding on the pavement echoed in his ears.

"What's that?" He stopped and listened to a strange sound coming up from
his right. It sounded like an electric wheelchair but it was moving too
fast.

"That's a security guard on a Sedgeway," Claire explained. He listened as
it passed him and faded away.

"Come on." Claire pulled him to his right. He held out his hand and felt a
door. He knew they had entered into a shop. Claire led him to a counter and
told him to wait. He could hear you whispering to a clerk, but he couldn't
make out what they were saying. She returned and led him back outside. She
led him over to a bench and had him sit down.

"Here." She took his hand and gave him a small bag.

"What's this?"

"Take it out and you tell me," she giggled. He reached in and removed
something round and sticky. It had the shape of a cookie, but he knew it
wasn't. He held it to his nose and smelled it. It had the aroma of
chocolate.

"Well?" Claire asked. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure," Jayden said as he stuck out his tongue and licked it. "It's
chocolate," he said. "I'm not sure exactly what it is though."

"Eat it," Claire giggled.

"You're not giving me something gross to eat, are you?" He asked
skeptically. He thought he knew Claire well enough that she wouldn't try to
do anything to hurt him.

"Just bite into it," Again, he smelled it before taking a small nibble on
it.

"Mmm," he said. "This is good." He took a bigger bite. He could tell it
contained chocolate, nuts and what tasted like caramel.

"What is it?"

"I don't know," he answered as he took another bite. "But it's good." He
finished eating it and then licked the gooey remains from his fingers.

"It's a turtle," Claire giggled.

"Really?" Jayden started laughing. "I always heard that turtles taste like
chicken."

"Silly." Claire reached out and took his hand and pulled him to his
feet. "But didn't it taste better by not knowing exactly what you were
eating? Didn't your other senses kick in?"

"Yeah," Jayden thought. "It did. Even though I wasn't sure what I was
eating, I could better tell what was in it."

They continued their journey through the mall. Claire took him into Sears
and had him walk around the men's department feeling different items and
trying to guess what they were.

"What's this?" He reached out for the item and then tossed it to the
ground.

"That's just plain gross!" He could hear Claire laughing as she reached
down and took the brassiere from the floor and returned it to the shelf.

After what appeared to have been a half hour, they sat on another bench and
Claire had Jayden remove the blindfold. He squinted when he removed it
because of the intensity of the light flooding into his eyes. It saddened
him that Troy would never be able to feel that sensation.

"Well?" Claire looked expectantly at him. "What do you think?"

"It was really strange," he replied. "Without my sight, I could hear things
better. I had to pay more attention to what was going on around me. I heard
things I normally wouldn't have noticed- like that guard on the Sedgeway."
He looked over and smiled at Claire. "I also couldn't have done it without
you. About halfway through, I realized just how much I really depended on
you. I also had to place complete trust in you."

"I became your eyes?"

"Yeah," he said thoughtfully. "You became my eyes."

She took the handkerchief from his hands and covered her eyes with
it. "It's my turn now," she said. "Now I have to trust you, so don't do
what you did earlier."

"I won't," he assured her. She wrapped her arm around his as he led her
through the mall. Like Jayden, she concentrated on the sounds around her.

"What's that?" She asked as they passed one of kiosks that were set up
throughout the mall.

"What?" Jayden looked around but he didn't know what she was hearing.

"That chopping sound?"

Jayden looked at the man chopping raw fish at the sushi bar kiosk. He
laughed as he pulled Claire over to the counter. He put his finger to his
lips and motioned for the attendant to give him something from the bar. It
looked gross. The inside was pink and it was wrapped in what looked like
seaweed.

"What are you doing?" Claire asked worriedly.

"Trust me," he grinned at the attendant as he handed him a five. He took
the slice of sushi and placed it in Claire's hand.

"What's this?" She raised her hand to her face and smelled it.

"Just take a bite," Jayden snickered. "I ate what you gave me."

"Yeah," she replied, "but I gave you chocolate." She held it to her nose
again. "This smells like shit." She put her tongue to it and licked
it. "Eww," she said as she wrinkled her nose. "It tastes like shit."

"Eat it," he insisted. "It won't kill you."

"If it's so good, then you eat it."

"I'm not eating it," he laughed.

She held it to her nose again, and then licked it. "What is this?"

"Sushi."

"Oh, hell no," she said angrily. "I've seen this before and it grossed me
out." She handed it back to him. "Take this."

He took it and then led her to a trash container. After throwing it away,
they continued their walk. After strolling for several more minutes, she
asked Jayden to take her to a bench so she could sit down. Once there, she
removed the blindfold.

"That was really strange," she said. "I can't imagine what it's going to be
like for Troy." She held up the handkerchief. "We can always take the
blindfold off. But for Troy, darkness is something he'll have to deal with
the rest of his life."

Jayden looked into Claire's saddened face. She leaned over and rested her
head on his shoulder. "Life can be a bitch sometimes."

"Yep," he replied. "And a mother fucker every once in a while; especially
when your back is turned."

"You got that right," she sighed. "A mother fucking, back stabbing bitch."
They laughed as he put his arm around her and held her tightly.

*********

Troy's parents noticed a change in him as soon as they entered his
room. The curtain was pulled and the room was dark. He was lying on his
side with his back turned from the door. When they went over to kiss him,
he pulled the sheet over his face.

For the past few days he had seemed to be getting better. He was talking
more, and occasionally he'd even laugh. They'd been told by the doctors
that Troy would experience mood changes, but this seemed more than mild
depression.

"Are you alright, Son?" Mr. Neal put his hand on Troy's back and rubbed it
gently. Troy attempted to shake it off.

"Do you want me to go get a nurse?" His mother asked worriedly.

"I just want you to get the fuck out of my room," he muttered under the
sheets. "I don't want to see any of you." They became puzzled when he
started laughing. "Get it?" He asked. "I don't want to `see' any of you."
Mrs. Neal gave her husband a worried look.

"Son." Mr. Neal rubbed his son's back.

Troy sat up in bed. "I want you to get the fuck out of my room!"

"Troy!" His mother shouted. "What is wrong with you? Why are you talking to
us like that?"

"Like what, Mother?" He leaned in towards her voice. "Like someone who you
don't give a flying fuck about?"

"Troy!" This time it was his father who shouted. "Stop that right now!"

"Or what?" He said sarcastically. "What are you going to do? Take away my
driving privileges? Or..Or.. tell me I can't watch television?" He held up
his fingers and snapped them. "I got it. You'll just keep secrets from me
like I'm some kind of a child."

"What are you talking about, Troy?" His father gave his wife a puzzled
look. She was wiping tears from her eyes, trying hard not to let Troy know
she was crying.

"Does it matter, Dad?" He lay back down and turned away from them, pulling
the sheet once again over his head. "Does it really matter any more? Poor
Troy. He can't handle the truth, so let's keep him in the dark." His
shoulders started jiggling as he began to laugh nervously. "Get it, Dad? I
said keep me in the dark."

"Son." He attempted to raise Troy and hold him, but he was met with
resistance.

"Just leave, please?" He pulled the covers tighter over his head. "I'm
tired and I don't want company."

Just then the door opened and Claire, Allison and Jayden walked in. They
stopped when they saw the anguished looks on the Neal's faces.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked.

"Is Troy alright?" Allison said worriedly.

"Has something happened to Troy?" Jayden asked as he approached the bed and
looked down at the hidden body.

Suddenly, Troy sat up in bed and pointed in Jayden's direction.

"Get him out of my room!"

An astonished look appeared on Jayden's face. He looked anxiously around
the room as everyone stood staring at him. He turned and fled.

*********

Read more at Ronxy's website: www.themustardjar.com

Send comments to: ronyx@themustardjar.com