Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:08:23 -0400
From: Ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: Down the Darkened Path  Chapter 13

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.



Down the Darkened Path           Chapter 13



Claire grabbed Allison's hand and pulled her towards the door. "We'll try
to catch him."

She couldn't understand Troy's outburst when he heard Jayden's voice. They
seemed to have been getting along so well the day before. Earlier in the
day Jayden had even walked blindfolded around the mall just so he could
experience what Troy was feeling.

Now he was gone. She pulled Allison frantically down the hallways and to
the elevator. "What just happened back there?" Allison asked as they waited
for the elevator to open.

"I don't know," she said worriedly. I've never seen Troy so upset. He's
been moody recently, but that's the first time he's shown outrage. And poor
Jayden. I don't even know what he did to deserve it." The elevator door
opened and they entered. Claire pushed the down button a dozen times in an
attempt to close the door so they could resume their search for Jayden.

Back in Troy's room his parents and Penny were extremely upset with Troy's
behavior. When they tried to question him why he had shouted at Jayden, he
remained quiet in his bed with the sheet pulled over his head.

Penny paced back and forth in the room, occasionally looking down at Troy's
body hidden under the sheets. Suddenly, she stopped before her
parents. "Would you mind going down to the cafeteria for a little while?"

Mr. Neal rose and stood before her. "Why?"

Penny looked down angrily at her brother. "I have some things I want to say
to Troy and I don't want to say them with you here."

"Penny, don't," said her mother as she stood and took her arm. "Troy's been
through enough."

"Please, Mother?" She pleaded. Mr. Neal grabbed his wife's arm and led her
to the door.

"Let's go, Sheila," he said calmly. Troy's mother looked worriedly at Penny
as they left the room.

She continued to pace around the room, occasionally stopping and looking
out the window. She knew if she started talking while she was upset, she
may say some things she'd regret. She had stood by for days and watched as
Troy had experienced mood changes, and she could understand them. But she
would not tolerate him attacking Jayden. Jayden had lost everything as a
result of helping her brother and she didn't want to see him hurt.

She walked over and yanked the sheet off Troy`s face. He attempted to pull
it back, but she held it firmly. "Sit up," she ordered.

"Leave me alone, Penny," he mumbled as he rolled over away from her.

"What is wrong with you?" She walked around to the other side of the
bed. "Why are you acting like a complete jackass?"

"Fuck you!" Troy sat up and shouted at his sister. "Fuck all of you!"

"Why?" Penny grabbed his shoulders and gently shook him. "Why are you
acting like this?"

"Like anybody cares," he responded sadly.

She reached out and attempted to hug him. "We love you, Troy." He pushed
her away and laid his head back down on the pillow.

"Yeah, right," he remarked sarcastically. "Poor Troy. Poor blind Troy."

She grabbed his shoulders and shook him more forcefully. "Stop it, Troy!"
He rolled over and turned his back to her. She walked over and stood
staring out the window. When she felt she could talk without getting upset,
she walked back over to the side of the bed.

"What did Jayden do to you?" She became confused when he started laughing
into his pillow.

"Keep poor Troy in the dark." He sat up and looked in Penny's
direction. "In the dark, get it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"When did you plan to tell me?"

"About what?"

"Jayden."

"What about Jayden?"

Troy reached up and yanked the wrapping from his eyes. "About this!" He
screamed. "That it was his cousins who did this to me!" Penny turned away
and walked over to the window. She realized that they had been wrong by not
telling Troy sooner about Jayden's cousins. She walked back over to the
side of the bed.

"Who told you?"


"It doesn't matter," he said angrily. "I want to know why you didn't."

She attempted to hold his hand, but he yanked it away. "We were trying to
protect you."

"Protect me?" Troy sat up and started laughing. "Protect me from what? The
truth?"

Penny reached for his hand and held it firmly. She refused to let him pull
it away. "You've had enough to deal with. It's only been the last couple of
days that you've started talking. We weren't hiding it from you." She
squeezed his hand tighter. "We were just waiting for a good time to tell
you."

Troy remained silent. He kept his face turned from Penny, but he let her
continue to hold his hand. There were a lot of unanswered questions and he
was waiting for her to tell him.

"You want the truth?" She grabbed his shoulders and turned him toward
her. "Then I'll give you the truth." Troy pulled away and laid his bed back
on the bed.

"You're right," she said. "It was Jayden's cousins who hurt you." She
squeezed his hand tightly. "But you have to believe me, Jayden wasn't
involved. He was standing at his bedroom window and saw you fall down on
the street. He's the one who called 911. He then went outside and held you
in his lap until the ambulance arrived."

Troy remembered back to that night. He remembered stumbling blindly down
the street begging for help. He could recall someone grab him and put his
head in their lap and talk reassuringly to him, gently stroking the side of
his face. It was the last he remembered before darkness overcame him that
night. He now knew that someone was Jayden. He understood why his parents
and sister took such an interest in him.

His sister squeezed his hand gently. "He's lost a lot since that night,
Troy. He testified to the grand jury about his cousins. His aunt kicked him
out of her home. He was homeless, so Mom and Dad have let him stay in the
downstairs bedroom until he graduates from school. You're not the only
person whose life changed that night." She kissed Troy's forehead, then she
walked over to the window and stared out onto the parking lot below. She
wiped away the tears that had fallen unnoticed from her cheek.

"Penny?" Troy sat up and whispered softly.

"Yes, Troy?"

"Thanks." He sighed, then laid his head back and appeared to fall asleep.

*********

"Where'd he go?" Claire was standing out front of the hospital scanning the
sidewalk. She didn't see Jayden anywhere.

"Maybe he went to the cafeteria," suggested Allison. Claire turned back
towards the hospital door and hurried through the corridors. She scanned
the cafeteria, but she didn't see him anywhere.

"Let's go get my car," said Allison. "We'll drive around and see if we can
find him."

They drove south for several blocks but didn't see him. Allison circled the
block, hoping he had walked in the opposite direction.

"Where the hell is he!" Claire shouted as they drove several blocks. "He
couldn't have walked this far."

"Let's head over to the Neal home," suggested Allison. "He may have gone
back there." She reached over and held Claire's hand as they turned around
and headed toward Troy's house.

Jayden stepped out from the alley and watched Allison's car disappear in
the distance. He felt guilty because he could see the anxious look on
Claire's face when they circled around the street. However, he was too
upset to talk to anyone.

It's my life, he thought. There's never a clear direction. All I do is
wander down one dark path and then another. My life is a maze of
uncertainty. Nothing ever changes.

He had been feeling hopeful the past few days at the Neal home. They had
taken him in unconditionally. The only request they made was that he
graduate. He had become comfortable in his new surroundings, feeling that
he finally had found someplace he could call home. But as he had become
accustomed to the past two years, things could change suddenly.

He didn't understand Troy's outburst. "Get him out of my room!" The words
echoed in his ears. And they hurt. He was becoming emotionally drawn to
Troy. He couldn't explain it, and he didn't try. He only knew that when he
was with him things seemed to fit. Even his family and close friends had
accepted him as someone they had known for a long time. Things sometimes
happen, he would tell himself. Maybe it was time for my life to change for
the better. But now another dark path leading to nowhere.

"Get him out of my room!" Why? What had happened between yesterday and
today to make him scream at me? Jayden thought. The day before we had
connected in the hallway. It appeared that he had accepted me, almost found
comfort in my presence. What had happened?


Jayden walked aimlessly around the street as he tried to figure out what he
had done wrong. Before he knew where he was going, he found himself at the
entrance of the hospital. He stood staring at the automatic doors as they
opened and several people walked out. One man rudely bumped his
shoulder. "Watch it, Buddy," he shouted. "Are you blind?" Jayden turned and
looked blankly at him without responding.

He walked into the hospital waiting room and sat down in a chair. He looked
at the clock. It was almost eight. Visiting hours would be over soon. He
waited until he saw Troy's parents and Penny walk past the door. He held up
a magazine to his face so they wouldn't see him. A few minutes later he got
up and walked to the elevator and headed to the fourth floor.

The room was dark when he entered. Only a small light from the bathroom
illuminated the room. Troy was lying on his side with his back turned away
from the door. When he didn't stir, he walked over and sat down in a
chair. He stared at the motionless body for about fifteen minutes when Troy
suddenly began to thrash around in bed.

"Don't!" He screamed. "Don't hurt me!" He threw his hands up to his face as
if he was trying to prevent someone from hitting him. "No! Don't!" He
screamed louder. Jayden was getting up from his seat when Troy sat up in
bed. He had a panicked look on his face.

Jayden sat down on the side of the bed and took Troy in his arms. "Shhh,"
he said soothingly. "It's alright," he assured him. "You're safe. I've got
you." He remembered a Saturday night a week earlier in which he took a
beaten boy into his arms and tried to comfort him.

He rocked Troy gently as he tried to pull away in panic. "It's okay, Troy,"
he said softly as he continued to rock him. "No one's going to hurt you."

Troy threw his arms around Jayden's waist and held him tightly. "I'm
scared," he cried.

"I know," Jayden responded as he ran his hand over Troy's face and wiped
the tears away. "You're safe now, though." He rocked Troy for several
minutes until he could feel his body start to relax. He tried to have him
lie back, but Troy refused to let go of him.

"Hold me, please." He begged. "I don't want you to go." He buried his head
into Jayden's shoulders and trembled. Jayden tightened his arms around him
and rocked him.

"Do you want me to call your parents?" He asked after Troy seemed to settle
down. He could feel Troy shake his head against his neck. A minute later
Troy pushed away and laid his head back against the pillow. He reached out
with his hand, attempting to find Jayden's. When he felt it, he took it in
his and held it tightly.

"Are you alright?" Jayden ran his hand against the side of Troy's face.

"I hate these nightmares," he said. "This one was really bad."

"I'm sorry," Jayden said softly. He knew his cousins were the cause of all
Troy's problems. He knew there was nothing he could do to change things,
but he felt it was something he had to say.

Troy lay quietly for several minutes. He appeared to be asleep, but his
hand kept squeezing Jayden's occasionally. Jayden took his other hand and
cupped it around Troy's. Without thinking, he leaned in and kissed Troy's
forehead.

"Thanks," Troy whispered softly.

"For what?"

"Coming back."

Jayden became filled with emotion. He thought that maybe, just maybe, the
dark path was going to lead somewhere this time. He leaned down and once
again kissed Troy's forehead. He listened as Troy sighed. A minute later
his body relaxed as he began to sleep. Jayden rose from the bed and sat
back in the chair. He watched Troy in the darkened room as he slept.

********

"Where have you been?" Claire jumped up from the school step when she saw
Jayden walking toward the school. She ran up and embraced him
tightly. "We've been worried sick about you. Mr. Neal drove the streets all
night looking for you."

Jayden began to feel guilty. He had thought since he spent the night with
Troy that no one would be looking for him. He hadn't thought to use Troy's
room phone and let them know he was alright.

"I spent the night with Troy." He laughed when Claire stepped back and gave
him an astonished look.

"What? Where? When?" He started to laugh louder.

"Slow down," he laughed as he took her hand and led her up the
steps. "We're going to be late if we don't move it."

"Wait!" She grabbed his arm and turned him toward her. "You can't just say
you spent the night with Troy and leave it like that. After the way he
shouted at you, we thought you might have run away."

"It crossed my mind," he admitted. "I walked around for a long
time. Somehow I ended up back at the hospital." He grabbed her hand and
started walking.

"Wait!" She stopped again. "And?"

"And what?" He teased. He was enjoying the confused look on Claire's face.

"Would you stop it!" She hit him gently on the arm. "Be serious,
Jayden. What happened when you went back?"

"I don't know," he replied. "We just kind of made up, I suppose."

"He wasn't upset?"

"When I got there he was asleep," he explained. "I just sat down and closed
my eyes. Then he had a nightmare."

"Nightmare?"

"Yeah, a bad one."

"And?"

"And I held him."

"Held him?"

"Yeah, he asked me to hold him, so I did."

"That's it?"

"Yes," he said as he took her hand and led her to her first period. "I held
him. I guess we kind of made up." She looked up at Jayden and stopped. She
then stood on her tip toes and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?"

"I don't know," she said. "I just felt like doing it."

"I know what you mean," he grinned. He remembered kissing Troy on his
forehead the night before because he `felt like doing it.'

********

"Anthony!"

Jarvis ran across the lobby of the police station when Anthony and Tyrone
came strolling from behind the barred door.

"Hey Little Man," said Anthony as he knelt down and hugged his younger
brother. He stepped back and gave him an angry look when he noticed that he
was crying.

"Hey, Boy," he said angrily. "Wipe your eyes clean. You got to toughen up."
He grabbed him playfully around the waist. "Real men don't cry." He then
noticed his aunt standing off to the side with Tyrone.

"Auntie!" He walked over and gave her a hug. "I told you not to worry
none. My boys got us out."

Just an hour earlier three of his neighborhood friends had come in and made
bail for them. It had taken a few days to gather enough money, but now
Anthony and Tyrone were free until they had to appear at trial, if there
was one.

He threw his arm around his aunt and headed for the door. "Man, I can't
wait for a real home cooked meal."

She looked up at him and smiled. "How does barbequed chicken, potato salad
and coleslaw sound?"

"Mmm, mmm," he replied. "Let's hit the road. I'm starving."

They found his blue van parked in a parking area behind the station. While
he was behind bars, his friends had gone to the police impound and gotten
it out. Since it had been searched for evidence, the police had signed it
back over to his aunt. His friends had earlier in the day brought it down
for him to use when he and his brother were released.

Jarvis was riding in the back seat with his aunt. He caught Anthony's
attention in the rear view mirror and grinned. "Did you bend over and pick
up the soap?" He stopped laughing when Tyrone turned and scowled at him.

"None of that gay shit, Little Bro," he warned. "Got it?" Jarvis hung his
head and nodded.

"Speaking of gay," he turned and looked at his aunt. "Where's that faggot
cousin of ours? We got some unfinished business to take care of."

"In hell!" Jarvis shouted. His aunt smacked him lightly on his arm.

"I don't know," she replied. "I haven't seen him since I kicked him out of
the house."

"That mother fucker is mine," he hissed. "My boys told me he snitched on us
to the cops."

Anthony spoke for the first time. "We've got some guys looking for
him. Some guy who goes to his school heard he could be staying with that
fag we roughed up."

"What are you going to do?" Jarvis asked excitedly. He still hated Jayden
for what he had done to his brothers.

Tyron turned and gave him a concerned look. "Sometimes it's best that you
don't know certain things, Little Bro." He looked over at Anthony. "Just
let us take care of it."

"I hope you fuck him up," spat Jarvis. He jumped when his aunt slapped him
on his arm.

"Watch your language," she warned.

"Anthony and Ty say fuck all the time." They laughed when he shouted again
as his aunt slapped his arm.

*******

Claire pulled up to the hospital entrance and let Jayden off. "I'll be back
in about an hour. I have to go pick up Allison."

"That's going to take an hour?" Jayden wiggled his eyebrows. He started
laughing when Claire's face started to redden.

"Shut up," she giggled. "It's been a week since we've spent some quality
time together."

"Quality time, huh?" Jayden smiled. "So that's what they call it now?"
Claire's face reddened deeper as she flipped him the finger and drove away.

When he entered Troy's room, the curtain was drawn back and the sun was
shining in. It was the first time Jayden could remember it being so bright.

"Who is it?" Troy sat up in bed and looked in the direction of the door.

"Jayden." He walked over and took Troy's hand and held it. "Where's your
mother?"

"She left to go run some errands." He squeezed Jayden's hand. "Are you
alone?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Why?"

He smiled when he saw Troy begin to blush. "You got to help me out," he
said nervously.

"Yeah, sure," Jayden replied. "What do you want me to do?" He waited for
Troy to tell him to help him to the bathroom or to get him a glass of
water. He wasn't prepared for what Troy asked him next.

"I got a problem," he stammered. "Promise not to laugh?"

"Yeah, sure." He gave Troy a puzzled look.

"Look." Troy lifted the sheet and showed an erection poking through his
pajamas. Jayden stepped back and started laughing.

"You promised me you wouldn't laugh."

"Okay," Jayden apologized. "What do you want me to do?"

"I've been hard all day," he explained. "I want to jack off, but I'm afraid
Mom or a nurse would walk in and catch me."

"Okay," Jayden grinned, but he didn't laugh. Since he was the same age as
Troy, he could empathize with his situation. He often felt the same way at
his aunt's house when he'd masturbate. He was always afraid someone would
come walking in and catch him.

"Can you stand by the door and let me know if anyone comes?"

Jayden started laughing. "Sounds like you're the one who's going to be
cumming."

"Come on, Jayden," he said anxiously. "Get serious. I got to do this now
before Mom comes back."

"Wait a minute." Jayden walked into the bathroom and got a wad of toilet
paper. He returned and put it in Troy's hand. "Cum in this." Troy nodded
his head. "I'll keep an eye out. I'll knock twice on the door if anyone
comes." He again started laughing. "I'll knock once when you do."

"Smart ass," laughed Troy. He pulled down his pajama bottoms, exposing a
nice six and a half inch cock. The head was bright red and swollen. Jayden
knew it wouldn't take him long to reach a climax. For a second, he felt
like reaching out and doing it for Troy.

Jayden hadn't reached the door before Troy took his cock and started to
feverishly stroke it. He opened the door and poked his head out. He scanned
the hall and then looked back and watched as Troy continued to
masturbate. He could feel his own cock hardening and wished that he could
join him.

After about three minutes, Troy moaned and arched his back. Jayden watched
as volleys of cum shot out onto his chest. He couldn't believe the amount
of cum that exploded from his reddened cock. Troy laid back and tried to
catch his breath. Jayden knocked on the door once and started laughing.

"Shit!" He shouted. "I forgot to cum in the toilet paper." He ran his hand
over his stomach. "I've got this shit everywhere."

Jayden scanned the hallway quickly, and then he walked over and took a
towel lying on the nearby sink. "I'm going to wipe this off you," he told
Troy as he began to wipe his cum soaked body. "Damn, dude," he laughed. "No
wonder you had to get off."

"I told you," Troy said. His face started to redden. "This is so
embarrassing."

"Don't worry," Jayden assured him. "I liked the show." He took Troy's hand
and ran it across his erection. "See."

"Damn," Troy moaned as he ran his hand up and down Jayden's erect
cock. Jayden continued to wipe the cum from Troy's body. When he ran the
towel over Troy's cock, he arched his back and came a second time.

"Damn," he moaned again. Jayden quickly cleaned his body and stepped
away. He was afraid that someone might enter and catch them. Troy pulled up
his pajamas and then covered himself with the sheet. He then reached out
and searched for Jayden's hand.

"Thanks," he said as he squeezed Jayden's hand tightly.

"Any time," Jayden laughed. Just then the door opened and Mrs. Neal walked
in. They released their hands, but not before she saw them.

"Are you boys enjoying yourselves?" She gave them a puzzled look when they
both started laughing.

* * * * * * * * * *

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