Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 20:53:09 -0400
From: Ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: Down the Darkened Path   Chapter 17

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
ronyx@themustardjar.com with your comments. Ronyx is a prolific Nifty
author. Visit www.themustardjar.com for more stories by Ronyx.



Down the Darkened Path        Chapter 17


Jayden hadn't given much thought to where he would go once he left
school. He stopped at a nearby Starbucks and sat on the patio and watched
people walk by. An elderly couple sat down next to him and tried to engage
him in conversation, but he wasn't in the mood to be friendly. He picked up
his coffee and left without saying goodbye.

Things were happening too quickly in his life. He had just recently
adjusted to his mother's death and moving in with his aunt and cousins. Now
once again he had been displaced. He liked living with the Neals- who
wouldn't? The only probably was- it didn't feel like home. He was a
stranger living in a strange home. He knew it wouldn't last. He had told
the Neals he would only stay with them until he graduated. That was only
about three month away. Then what would he do? How would he support
himself?

There was also another problem-Troy. It had been several years since he
felt anything for anyone. He had carefully protected himself and his
emotions. But somehow he had let his guard down and let Troy enter. He
wondered if perhaps he felt sorry for him, but he knew it went deeper than
that. When he saw Troy, he didn't see a young, blind boy with scars on his
body. He saw someone who touched him like no one else had ever, not even
Vince. Vince had been two boys experimenting with their sexuality. He
didn't feel that way with Troy.

He wanted Troy to need him in the same way he needed Troy. Somehow it had
happened. Somehow he had fallen in love.

"May I help you?" He looked down at the receptionist. Without thinking, he
had aimlessly ended up at the hospital. When he arrived, he scanned the
names on the board beside the elevators. Dr. Imogene Turner.

"Is Dr. Turner in?"

"And who are you?"

"Jayden Henderson." She looked down at her appointment book, searching for
Jayden's name.

"You don't seem to have an appointment," she said as she looked up and
smiled. "Are you a patient? I don't recall seeing you before."

"No, Ma'am," he replied. "I wanted to speak to her about Troy Neal."

"Troy Neal?" He nodded, and then she got up from her seat and disappeared
down a hallway. Jayden looked around and then sat down in a seat. A few
minutes later Dr. Turner walked in. He remembered seeing her the day Troy
left the hospital. She was the doctor who had been counseling Troy and his
family on how to deal with Troy's blindness.

"Jayden." She walked over and extended her hand to him. "It's good to see
you. I understand you want to talk to me about Troy. Is he alright?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied politely. He became embarrassed and then turned to
leave. "I'm sorry, Dr. Turner, I don't know why I'm here." She grabbed his
arm and stopped him.

"Well, you are," she said warmly. "Now let's go talk about whatever is on
your mind." She had worked with teen boys enough to know that it was
sometimes hard to get them to open up and talk about their
problems. Experience told her that Jayden was feeling very distraught.

"Sit down." She pointed to a chair as they walked into her office. It
wasn't as he had expected. He thought it might looked like a typical
hospital room, but it wasn't. The walls had been painted a warm, green
color and plants accented the room. The furniture was colorful and
comfortable. He immediately felt relaxed as he sat down.

"Would you like a soda?" He nodded his head as Dr. Turner picked up the
phone and asked her receptionist to bring her two sodas and a bag of potato
chips. She then pulled up a chair and sat facing Jayden.

"So, Jayden," she spoke in a motherly voice, not like a doctor. "What
brings you here today?" Just then the receptionist walked in with two
glasses and a bowl containing potato chips. She set them down on a table
and then left without saying anything.

He reached for a handful of chips and then looked out the window. "I don't
know," he answered shyly as he bit on a chip.

"So you're going to make this hard on me?" Dr. Turner smiled and took a sip
from her glass. "Alright, let's play twenty questions." Jason looked up and
smiled and then looked down at the floor.

"Question one," she said. "How long have you been in love with Troy?"

Jayden's head shot up and looked into the intent eyes of Dr. Turner. Her
gaze softened and she let a smile form on her lips. "Do I need a second
question?"

Tears appeared in his eyes as he dropped his head. "Well," she asked
softly. He shook his head.

"Jayden," she said. "Look at me." He raised his head and looked at her
through misty eyes. "There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"How did you know?" He tried to look away, but turned and met her eyes.

"Troy spent a lot of time talking about you in our therapy sessions," she
stated. "Of course I can't tell you what he said, but let's just say I
picked up on a few things." She waited for Jayden to speak, but he sat
quietly and looked out the window.

"Would you now like to tell me why you're here?" She started to laugh. "Or
do we have to play twenty questions again?" When he didn't respond, she
cleared her throat.

"Okay," she said. "Let me see." She studied the sad expression on Jayden's
face.

"Question two. Are you afraid that Troy doesn't feel for you what you feel
for him?" Jayden looked up with an astonished look on his face. "And
question three. Are you afraid that you may get hurt emotionally?"

Tears once again welled up in Jayden's eyes. He rose and walked over to the
window and looked out. "What do I do?" He mumbled almost
inaudibly. Dr. Turner got up and walked over and stood beside him, placing
her hand gently on his back.

"Troy's been through a life changing experience," she said. "His whole
world changed in a matter of seconds. He's trying to adjust. He may not be
ready to love someone right now."

Jayden laughed nervously. "Yeah, he told me that."

"Jayden." She turned and faced him. "Give him a little time. You're someone
new who has just come into his life."

"What if he never does love me?" Tears started to gently flow down his
cheeks. She took his hands and squeezed them.

"I don't think you need to be worried," she assured him. "I met with him
yesterday afternoon and he spent half the time talking about you."

Jayden looked at her through his tears. "Really?"

"Really," she smiled as she gently squeezed his hands. "Just give him some
time and don't push him."

"So you think I have a chance?"

"I know you have a chance," she assured him as she reached out and gave him
a hug.

********

"There he is!" Tyrone pointed down a side road Anthony had just passed. He
hit the brakes and quickly backed up.

Jayden heard the squealing of tires, but he thought nothing of it. It
wasn't unusual to hear horns honking or cars braking on the streets. He was
walking back to the Neal's home after meeting with Dr. Turner. She had
given him a sense of hope that things might improve with Troy.

One thing he knew for sure, he wasn't going to turn his back on Troy. He
had made a few negative statements recently which he now deeply
regretted. He decided to follow Dr. Turner's advice and give Troy time to
sort out his feelings. Perhaps they would never be lovers, but he knew they
would always remain friends.

He quickly turned when he heard a car's brakes behind him. His eyes widened
when he saw Anthony's blue van. Tyrone was pointing a gun at him.

"Don't Ty!"

*******

"I want every available car to head toward Broadway!" Wallace shouted into
his microphone. "This is a Code Red! Be on the lookout for a blue van last
seen heading south in the 1900 block of Broadway. Subjects in the van are
believed to be armed and very dangerous. Proceed with caution"

Wallace sped his car in the direction of Broadway. An officer had radioed
him that he had spotted the van but he had lost visual contact with it. He
was extremely worried because he knew that was direction Jayden would take
if he was on foot to the Neal home.

"Damn it," he shouted as he pounded on the steering wheel. He looked at his
speedometer. He was traveling almost sixty miles an hour on a narrow city
street. He had to get to Jayden before his cousins found him.

"Subjects in the blue van have been spotted near King Street and Broadway,"
announced the dispatcher. "A patrol car is following behind them."

"All units to King and Broadway! No sirens!" Wallace screamed into the
microphone. He was only three blocks away. He hoped that he could overtake
the van without incident. If they heard sirens approaching, they would have
a better chance of eluding them before he could arrive.

He looked in his rearview mirror and saw a patrol car closely behind
him. Another patrol car pulled up to an intersection, but let him pass
before they fell in behind him.

When he turned onto Broadway, he saw the blue van stopped in the street. He
also noticed a figure on the sidewalk fall to the ground.

"We've got a person down!" He shouted into the microphone. He hit the
accelerator just as the person in the van saw him approaching. They were
attempting to drive away when he pulled his car in front of them, blocking
their path.

"Drop the gun!" He shouted as he jumped from his car and ducked behind the
door. Another officer ran up and knelt down beside him. He saw two more
cruisers pull up behind the van and officers get out with their weapons
drawn.

"Give it up, Anthony!" He screamed. He glanced to the side and saw Jayden
lying motionless on the ground. "It's all over!"

Tyrone threw his arms in the air. Wallace watched as Anthony opened the
door and stepped out with his gun pointed at him. He felt his finger pull
the trigger, and then Anthony's eyes widened as he fell to the
ground. Officers approached the van and yanked Tyrone from it. After he was
handcuffed, Wallace walked over and looked down at Anthony as an officer
tried to find a pulse. He looked up at him and shook his head.

"Detective!" He looked over at some officers who were kneeling beside the
figure lying on the sidewalk. When he approached he noticed a small pool of
blood on the ground beside him.

"Get me an ambulance here!" He screamed into his microphone. "Now!" He sat
down on the ground and placed Jayden's head in his lap. "It's going to be
alright," he said soothingly.

********

"You know Jayden calls this our quality time?" Claire laughed as she lay
beside Allison on her bed.

Allison laid back and pulled Claire onto her body. "This feels good." She
leaned in and kissed Claire. She then rested her head on Allison's shoulder
and enjoyed the closeness they shared.

It was several minutes before she pulled away and sat back up. "We've got
to figure out a way to get Troy and Jayden together."

"Oh, no you don't," laughed Allison as she sat up. "Don't go trying to play
matchmaker again. Remember it was you who hooked up Troy with
Will. Besides, we don't even know yet what will happen with them."

"Will's a bastard," exclaimed Claire angrily. "He didn't even show up
Saturday when Troy came home. I called him all day and he never answered
his cell phone."


"Maybe he had a good reason," suggested Allison.

"I don't care if he was in Rome meeting with the Pope," she replied. "He
still should have been there."

She looked over and grinned. "Besides," she said. "I think Jayden really
likes Troy."

"Duh," laughed Allison. "Do you think so?"

"So I'm not imagining it then?" She looked expectantly at Allison.

"No," she replied. She began to remember her conversation with
Troy. "But.."

"But, what?"

"I just don't think we should force it," she suggested.

"Okay," Claire said as she laid back on the bed.

Allison laughed as she laid back and rolled on her side. "You're going to
do it, aren't you?"

"Do what?" Claire asked innocently.

"Never mind," she sighed as she pulled Claire towards her. She knew her
well enough to know that once she set her mind on something, it was useless
to try and convince her otherwise. She knew Claire was determined to see
Troy and Jayden together.

They were snuggled together asleep when Claire's cell phone rang. She
yawned, picked up the phone and saw that it was a call from Sarah, a friend
from school.

"Hello?" She asked lazily.

"Are you watching the news!" The voice on the other end shouted. Allison
sat up and looked worriedly at Claire.

"No, why?" She asked.

"My God, Claire!" Sarah shouted. "Jayden's been shot!"

Claire closed her phone and collapsed into Allison's arms.

********

Detective Wallace was sitting in the hospital waiting room. He was filling
out a report of the shooting incident. Immediately after he shot Anthony,
he had surrendered his gun to a sergeant on the scene. He knew the next few
days would involve long, exhaustive questioning from internal affairs.

Anthony had given him no choice. Wallace saw the determined look on his
face when he emerged from the van with his gun pointed toward him. He knew
Anthony wouldn't give up without a fight. He knew it was his life, or
Anthony's. As he pulled the trigger he thought of his wife and two young
boys. He wanted to return home at the end of the day to see them.

As he continued the endless report, he looked up when he heard the waiting
room doors open. Mr. and Mrs. Neal were hurriedly approaching him. Troy had
his arm wrapped tightly around his father's.

"How is he?" Mr. Neal asked excitedly. His wife walked up beside him and
held his other arm tightly.

Wallace shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "No one has come out and
said anything yet."

"Was he badly hurt?" Mrs. Neal asked. Troy turned his head slightly to hear
his answer.

"I don't think so," he replied. All three of the figures before him let out
a sigh of relief. "I was at the scene and rode in the ambulance with
him. He was responsive and alert. He was shot in the shoulder. The bullet
didn't exit his body, so they have to run X rays to determine where it's
lodged."

"So he'll be alright?" Troy asked anxiously.

"I hope so," Wallace replied. "Sometimes a bullet's path can be tricky. If
it ricocheted off a bone, it could have ended up anywhere."

"Oh, Dear," cried Mrs. Neal. She took hold of Troy's arm and led him over
to a sofa. She took out a tissue and wiped the tears from her eyes as Troy
tried to console her.

"He's going to be alright, Mother," he said reassuringly. "He has to," he
added.

"What happened?" Mr. Neal asked the detective as he sat down beside him.

"It appears Jayden was walking back to your home when his cousins spotted
him on the street," he said. "We had a tip that they were looking for him,
so I went to his school to get him this afternoon. It seems he checked out
before I got there." Troy and his mother leaned forward so they could hear
him.

"An officer spotted the van, but before we could get to them, they had
already shot Jayden. One of his cousins surrendered, but the other came out
of the van with his gun drawn." He looked sadly at Mr. Neal. "I had to
shoot and kill him."

"Oh, Dear," cried Mrs. Neal.

"Good," mumbled Troy. He couldn't see the disapproving look his father gave
him.

He held up the report he was working on before they arrived. "Now I've got
a ton of reports I have to fill out. I'll also be assigned to a desk job
until internal affairs finishes investigating the matter."

"But you said you had to shoot him," said Mrs. Neal.

"It's procedure," he replied. "Anytime an officer shoots someone it has to
be investigated."

"I'm glad you shot the son of a bitch," spat Troy. "After what he did to
me, he deserved what he got."

"Troy," admonished his father. "No one deserves to die."

"He didn't care if I died that night," he responded angrily. His father
started to respond, but Wallace grabbed his arm and stopped him. He knew
that there was little use in trying to argue with Troy over the events of
that evening. It would be a long time, if ever, he could come to understand
what had happened.

They stood when Claire and Allison came rushing in. Claire immediately ran
over to Mrs. Neal and fell into her arms. "Is he alive?" She cried. She
pulled away and grabbed Troy. He wrapped his arms around her and held her
as she continued to cry.

"We don't know anything yet," he said softly. "But the detective thinks
he'll be alright." She looked at Wallace who nodded his head. Allison
walked over and wrapped her arms around Claire and Troy.

"Oh, Troy," Claire cried. "When is all this going to end?"

********

"You're a very lucky young man," exclaimed the doctor as he finished
applying the bandage to Jayden's shoulder. Jayden was sitting up in the
emergency cubicle with his legs dangling from the gurney.

"So it didn't do any permanent damage?" He asked as the doctor walked over
and filled out a prescription and handed it to him.

"This is for the pain," he said. "You may feel a little discomfort for a
few days." He patted Jayden's leg. "As to your question, no. You were shot
with a small caliber gun from a distance. It looked a lot worse than it
was. The bullet lodged in the muscle tissue and I was able to remove it
rather easily. As I said, you were very lucky."

A man in a business suit walked into the room. He approached Jayden and
asked how he was feeling. "I'm fine," Jayden responded. He looked at his
name plate. It said Dr. John Van Dyke, Hospital Administrator.

"Good," he said as he turned to the doctor who had been attending
Jayden. "We have a number of people from the media who want to speak to you
concerning this young man's injuries. Do you think you can have a brief
news conference?"

A puzzled look came over the doctor. "Why?" Dr. Van Dyke walked over and
placed his hand on Jayden's arm.

"It appears this young man is quite famous," he smiled.

"More like infamous," frowned Jayden.

"Yes, well," he stated as he turned back to the doctor. "Stop by my office
when you finish up here. I'll call for a press conference in a half
hour. You should be done by then?"

The doctor nodded his head as the administrator left the room. "Well,
Jayden," he said as he looked at the bandaged shoulder. "You're about
ready. While you get dressed, I'm going out into the waiting room and speak
to your family. They should be worried sick about you."

"I don't have a family," he replied sadly. "However, I'm sure the Neal
family is out there. You can tell them."

"Yes, of course," he said as he turned and left Jayden alone. He jumped off
the bed and removed the hospital gown and started putting on his
clothing. As he was carefully putting on his shirt, the green curtain was
drawn back and Wallace walked in.

"I heard the good news." He walked over and helped Jayden place the shirt
over his head. Jayden winced in pain. "You'd better wear button-down shirts
for a while."

"Yeah," he agreed. His shoulder was throbbing with pain. After putting on
his shoes, Wallace asked him to have a seat on the bed. He then sat down
beside him.

"Before you leave, I need to talk to you," he informed Jayden. "Because
this is a homicide investigation, you're going to be asked a lot of
questions."

"I understand," he answered sorrowfully. Even though he didn't like
Anthony, it bothered him to see him get shot. Much of what happened to him
after Tyrone had pointed the gun at him was a blur, but he was alert enough
to hear gunshots and then watch as his cousin dropped dead to the ground.

"Don't talk to anyone about this matter until you've been questioned
thoroughly. And please don't say anything to the media. As you know, the
doctor is going to have a press conference soon. He'll tell them everything
they need to know. My chief had a briefing earlier this evening, so they
have all the information they need at this time."

Jayden nodded his head. He had been through this earlier when Troy had been
injured. One reporter had even tried to stop him when he left school and
ask him questions.

"Will you be alright?" Detective Wallace asked with concern. He knew that
the past few weeks had been traumatic for Jayden.

"I guess I don't have much choice," he tried to smile. "Do I?"

Just then the green curtain was pulled back again. This time Mr. Neal
entered with Troy tightly grasping his arm.

"Jayden?" Troy called out. Jayden walked up and stood before him, placing
his hands on his shoulders.

"Jayden!" Troy cried as he clutched him tightly around the waist and
pressed his head against Jayden's.

Jayden winced in pain, but he didn't care. He looked over at Wallace.

"Yeah," he said tearfully. "I'm going to be alright."

********

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