Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:44:20 -0700
From: h.schreiber@hushmail.com
Subject: Chapter 16 of Just Like Scott by Hans Schreiber

Warning! This story is a work of fiction written by a legal age adult. Any
similarity between the fictional characters and any live persons is purely
coincidental. This story contains fictional descriptions of sexual activity
between consenting youth and young adults. If you are under the age of 18,
and/or if you are offended by this content, and/or if it is illegal in your
jurisdiction to posses or read such material, please leave now and do not
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responsible for your actions.

This work is copyrighted © by Hans Schreiber. You may not reproduce this
story in whole or in part without the express written consent of Hans
Schreiber at h.schreiber@hushmail.com


Chapter 16

No! It Can't Be! It Just Can't Be!

Saturday morning was a flurry of activity in the Johnson household.
Mr. Johnson had to work again and left early. Sammy woke up to the sound of
trumpet music just like the day before. This time, though, it was much more
polished and professional sounding. Scott had perfected the concerto with
the help of Mr. Thomas at the school.  He practiced it over and over again
in sections and then would put the entire piece together. In between, he
pulled out and played some of his jazz favorites for a break. Sammy got up
and poured himself some cereal for breakfast. He was in his boxers when his
mom came in and started listing off the day's chores.

"Ahh mom. How come I have so many?"

"Because you are going to be home alone and Scott is going to Boise with me
today for his audition. You'll have to ride your bike over to the park for
your baseball game at 11:00 so try and get all your chores done before
that."

"Man, that sucks. How come I have to do Scott's chores just because he's
trying out for that orchestra? That's not fair."

"Whoever told you life's fair was lying, son. Stop whining and go get
busy."

Sammy grumbled as he rinsed his cereal bowl and put it in the dishwasher.
He trudged to his room and stuck his tongue out at Scott's door. He put on
old jean shorts and a ragged t-shirt and headed outside. He pulled the door
to the shed closed and sat on the rotor-tiller. He slipped his penis out of
his fly and started pulling on it. The thrill of doing it outside, where he
could possibly get caught, added to his excitement. There was a fly buzzing
in the shed and he worried it was going to land on his dick. He tried to
see it, but it was nearly impossible in the dim light filtering in from the
crack in the door. He was just getting to the good part when he heard his
name being called again. "Damn."

Sammy quickly and nervously stuffed his little tool back in its place and
gathered the garden tools he needed. He emerged and answered to his mom's
third call, "What?"

"Why haven't you started on the garden?" his mom asked.

"I was just grabbing hold of my tool."

"Stop lally-gagging and get busy."

"Yes mom." He blew out a breath and stuck his tongue out at her when she
turned her back. He went to the garden and started weeding it.

	It was getting warm by ten o'clock and Sammy stripped off his
shirt. He was sweaty and he was horny. He hadn't had a chance to jack off
all day and he really wanted to badly. He sucked in his gut and reached
down in his pants and adjusted his third boner of the morning just as his
mom walked up on him. "Sammy, get your hand out of your pants."

	Sammy startled and jumped and jerked his hand free. "I was just
adjusting it."

	"You need to come in and get ready for baseball. Scott and I are
leaving for Boise now. After your game, come straight home and finish up
your chores. Then you can do whatever you like until your father comes
home. You can't go anywhere else unless Tommy happens to call and invite
you over to his house. I don't want you calling and inviting yourself, but
if he happens to call and you go over there, leave me a note. And no
friends in the house while I'm gone. Got it?"

	"K. I got it." Sammy followed her into the house and whistled at
Scott who was all dressed up in a suit and tie.

	"Wish me luck, squirt."

	"K. Good luck." Scott looked nervous and mom looked excited.

	"Thanks. Hey, if you can? Talk to the kid about getting some more
music CD's with the same kind of mixes. Tell him I'll pay him for them,"
Scott said as he grabbed his trumpet case.

	"K. I'll see, but I don't think I can. I mean, he can."

	"All right. Just do your best, I guess. I'd really love getting
some more of them, though." Then he leaned in close and whispered, "I might
even do something special for you if you manage it." Scott winked. Sammy
smiled.

	"Scott, let's go. We don't want to be late," their mom scolded.

	"Bye."

	"C'ya."

	Sammy hurried into the bathroom and jumped in the shower. He got
his fourth boner in there when he was soaping himself up but there was no
time to pull on it and it frustrated Sammy. He dried off quickly, pulled on
his boxers and his protective cup over them. He pulled on his baseball
pants and jersey and stuck his Giants cap on his head. He hated being
called the Giants since he was really a Dodgers fan. He got his bag and
made sure his bat, mitt and cleats were in the bag. He went out the front
door and around the side of the house for his bike. In his rush, he forgot
to take the key from around his neck and lock the door behind him. He
pushed through the wooden gate with his bike and latched the gate so the
dogs and goat wouldn't get out. As he turned onto the street, another
bicyclist waved him down. "Oh, hi Devon. What are you doing here?"

	"I was just out riding and thought I'd see if you were around."

	"Oh, well I gotta go to my ball game now, so I'll see you later."
Sammy started to pedal quickly away from him without looking back.

	"I'd love to come watch you play. Can I tag along?"

	"It's a free country." Sammy called over his shoulder pedaling hard
as he turned and headed toward the park. Devon soon caught up to him on his
fancy bike with all the gears on it. He was wearing the bright yellow and
orange, stretchy outfit again and you could see the outline of his strong
muscles.

	At the park, Sammy locked up his bike in the rack and so did
Devon. Sammy ignored Devon and ran to the dugout, laced on his cleats,
pulled out his mitt and jogged to the field to start warming up. Devon
found a spot on the bleachers and watched the cute young boys intently. He
loved the bulges from their protective cups and fantasized over what lay
beneath. He loved the cute, round, boy butts that protruded from the rear
of the uniform as well. Slowly, the stands filled with parents and other
supporters and the game got underway.

Sammy had a good game and played all but two innings. He went two for three
with a single down the right field line and a double that was also an
RBI. His team won 6 to 3. Devon cheered him on along the way. Sammy was
actually glad someone was there to cheer for him, even if it was Devon, and
he actually waved to Devon a couple of times from the dugout. Sammy did
wish it was Scott or his dad there watching him, though, instead of
Devon. When other boys asked who he was, Sammy just said, "A family
friend."

At 1:30, the last out was called and after a pep talk by the coach, they
filed out. Sammy thanked Devon for staying and headed to the snack bar line
where he was supposed to get his lunch. Devon joined him in line and
praised his performance on the field. It made Sammy feel good. It was kind
of weird how you could see the bumps revealing his balls and dick inside
his tight riding pants. He saw some of the teammates looking at them
too. It made him kind of nervous somehow, being next to him. He got to the
front of the line and ordered a double cheeseburger with fries and a root
beer to drink. He fished in his bag and realized he'd forgotten the money
on the counter at home. Disappointed he told the server never mind and
turned sadly to leave.

"Dude, what's wrong? Why aren't you eating?" asked Devon.

"I forgot my money," explained Sammy, frowning.

"I can lend it to you and then follow you home and you can pay me back."

"Really?"

"Sure."

"Hey, excuse me. Can I put my order back in please?" Sammy called.

Devon ordered for himself also and paid with bills he pulled out of a pouch
sewn into the front of his riding jersey. They sat on the bleachers and ate
their meal together. Several parents complimented Sammy on his good game
and asked where his folks were.

"Dad's at work and mom took my brother, Scott, to Boise to try-out for some
orchestra thing." Sammy explained several times.

"So, are you home alone right now?" Devon asked.

"Yeah. I gotta get going and finish my chores." Sammy slurped the last of
his root beer and chucked his trash. Devon tossed his trash away and
followed Sammy to the bike rack. They rode home slower than they had
pedaled to the park. Sammy stashed his bike on the side of the house and
Devon followed him through the gate. He leaned his fancy bike against the
wall of the house and they entered in the back door.

"I'll get the money." Sammy said.

"Okay." Devon pulled his helmet off and followed Sammy into the
kitchen. Sammy opened the envelope and counted out the cost of his
meal. Devon stuffed the bills in his pouch and asked, "What chores do you
have left to do?"

"I have to pick strawberries and apricots. Then I'm done."

"Want some help?"

"Sure."

Devon followed Sammy into his room and told him how cool it was. He oohed
and ahhed at the baseball trophies from years past and Sammy beamed. He sat
in the desk chair while Sammy stripped off his uniform. Devon was
disappointed that Sammy left his boxers on and wore his cup over the
boxers.

"Wow, are those Spongebob boxers?" asked Devon. "I'm surprised he didn't
suffocate with that cup over his mouth and nose." That made Sammy
laugh. "Come here a minute," Devon said.

Sammy walked over to the chair and Devon reached down and fished Sammy's
penis out of the fly. "Look, it's like your dick is Spongebob's nose."
Sammy looked down and they both laughed over that. Sammy was starting to
feel better about Devon being there and relaxed a bit. He was relieved
Devon didn't' try any real sex stuff with him. He worried that was what he
planned on when he pulled his dick out. Sammy tucked himself back in,
pulled on his old shorts and cruddy t-shirt he'd worn during morning
chores, and the two went outside and picked berries and apricots. Sammy was
glad for how fast it went with Devon's help.

"Thanks." Sammy said.

"Welcome. What you gonna do now?" Devon asked. "Sure is hot."

"Yeah, I'm all sweaty," Sammy said. "I'll probably go shower and then just
play some video games until dad gets home in a couple hours."

"Okay. That's cool. Well, I sure enjoyed seeing you play today. You were
really good."

"Thanks. Thank you for helping me with the fruit too."

"You're welcome." Devon said. Then he added, "Oh, man all that climbing
around in this tight, stretchy suit and being so hot and sweaty gave me a
boner. Look."

Sammy looked and sure enough, you could see the outline of his boner
pressing out against his bright, lycra, riding shorts. "Yeah, it did."

"Hey, since I loaned you that money and helped you out with the chores,
maybe you could help me out. I can't go riding around with this thing
sticking out, you know? How about you help it go down by rubbing it for
me?" Devon suggested.

"No, I can't. I'm not supposed to have friends in the house when I'm here
alone."

"Well, I already was in and I'm not like one of your little friends. I
think that's who they meant. I'm more like an adult friend. It won't take
long and besides, wouldn't you like doing stuff too? I promise I'll do
something extra nice for you also. You do kind of owe me, after all my
help."

Sammy didn't know what to do. He had already done things with Devon before
in the steam room, so he didn't see what harm it could do. Devon had been
pretty nice today, so maybe he wasn't all that bad. Plus, he really was
kind of horny, and so even though it didn't feel right, he agreed. "If I
rub it for you, will you do something else for me that's not sex stuff?"
asked Sammy.

"Maybe, depends on what you want?"

"I want another music CD for my brother, Scott. He really likes them and I
told him a big brother of one of my teammates made the other one."

"Well, for that you might have to do something extra special, but I could
work it out. Sure."

"Like what extra special?"

"I'll show you inside. Let's go." Devon smiled and steered Sammy toward the
back door.

They kicked their shoes off just outside the back door and Devon followed
Sammy inside and into his bedroom. Sammy jumped onto the edge of his bed,
rolled his eyes dramatically and said, "Ooookaaaay, what do I hafta
do-eww?"

"Aww, don't say it like that! It's not another chore. It's gonna be a lot
of fun."

"If you say so."

"First, we both need to shower, so we aren't so sweaty."

"K. Follow me." Sammy hopped down and led out. He adjusted the water
temperature to lukewarm. He peeled off his dirty shorts, shirt and yellow
boxers and climbed in. He opened the back panel of the tub enclosure for
Devon. Devon's heart was racing. This was going even better than he
imagined it would. He peeled himself out of his lycra cycling suit and gave
his boner a couple strokes before stepping into the shower. Sammy was
already rinsing off and was about to step out but Devon took his arm and
said, let me wash you a little better. Sammy sighed, then dutifully turned
and faced Devon with a knowing smirk. He put his arms up and locked his
fingers behind his head and said, "Go ahead then."

Devon knelt and spread body wash all over Sammy's body. He rubbed his belly
and chest and his back and legs. Then he rubbed his small sac and ran his
finger up and down his youthful boy crack. He wiggled a finger against
Sammy's little pink pucker. Devon put another glob of body wash on his
finger and massaged up the crack a little more and then slowly pushed his
finger into Sammy's little hole just past the first knuckle.

"Hey! What are you doing?" objected Sammy. He squirmed and popped the
finger back out. "Don't. That's gross."

"Just relax. It feels really good if you just relax and enjoy it. Trust
me," coaxed Devon.

"No. I don't like it. Stop it." Sammy pushed Devon's hand out and away from
between his legs.

"Okay. I'll just wash your little dick and then we'll get out." Devon
peeled back Sammy's foreskin and slipped his soapy fingers all over and
around Sammy's penis. It stood at full attention and Devon rinsed it clean
then leaned in and sucked it into his mouth. He worked on it until he felt
Sammy's breathing change and his knees weaken. Sammy dropped his hands down
onto Devon's shoulders and whimpered slightly as the power of an emerging,
and overdue, orgasm began taking over control.

When Devon judged that Sammy was under his spell, he pulled off and said,
"Okay, let's get out now and go to your bedroom. He watched as Sammy
regained conscious control and a wave of empty despair swept over the small
boy. Just the effect Devon wanted. Now his little Padawan was desperately
wanting relief and much more susceptible to Devon's ultimate, selfish
designs. After drying off, Devon started looking through the medicine
cabinet and then the cupboards.

"What are you looking for?" asked Sammy.

"Something I can use for lube, like Vaseline or baby oil maybe."

"You mean slippery sex stuff in a bottle?"

"You have some of that?" asked Devon incredulous.

"I don't, but my brother does."

"Can you get it?" Devon's excitement was palpable and made Sammy giggle a
little. Sammy had gone soft again but Devon was still hard as stone.

"K." Devon followed Sammy into Scott's room and watched as the naked little
nymph got down on all fours and dug through Scott's bottom drawer. He held
up a small plastic bottle with clear liquid inside and said, "This?"

"Yes. Perfect."

Sammy started to get up, but Devon placed his large hand on his back and
said, "Stay down there just like that for a minute."

Devon smeared some of the lube on his hand and knelt behind Sammy. He
rubbed the lube over Sammy's balls that dangled between his spread legs and
up into the boy's crack. With one hand, he began massaging Sammy's hairless
penis and balls. With the other, he started circling and probing against
the tight little pucker hole that was winking at him. Sammy began slipping
off into sexual oblivion again and the tingles started building inside his
groin. His need for an orgasm was strong and he ignored the bad vibes he'd
been feeling about Devon. Devon sensed the shift from objection to
acceptance and pulled two pillows off Scott's bed. "Put these under you."

Sammy complied and allowed Devon to stuff them underneath his chest and
position him down so that his forehead and forearms were resting on the
carpeted floor. His little ass protruded up into the air and his legs were
spread, exposing his young rosebud to Devon's full access. Devon smeared a
generous portion of lube over the target and reached a hand around Sammy's
hip and began working Sammy back into a sexual frenzy. When Sammy began
whimpering softly again, Devon slipped his index finger into Sammy's tight
sphincter. He got it up beyond the second knuckle and Sammy was jolted from
his mesmerized sexual state. He clamped down hard on the offending finger
with his anal ring.

"OW! That hurts," cried Sammy twisting and pulling away. "Pull it out!"

Devon released Sammy's penis and wrapped his strong arm all around Sammy's
middle and restricted his movement. "Just relax. It will feel nice if you
just relax."

Lying on the floor like that with his butt in the air and Devon poised
behind him suddenly reminded him of the sex tape he'd watched when his
parents were gone to visit grandma. He remembered what his father did and
he suddenly got afraid Devon was planning on doing that to him.

"No. Stop it. Stop it," cried Sammy.

"I said to relax. I'm not stopping until you relax," Devon responded with a
gruff tone that scared Sammy. Devon squeezed more tightly around Sammy's
middle and pushed his finger in as far as it could go. Sammy started
squirming and kicking. "Hey, you little shit! You owe me. I paid for your
lunch and I helped with your chores. If you want another CD you better just
relax and let me do this. I promise you'll like it if you just relax."

"No. I don't want to. I don't want another CD. Just forget it. Stop it. I'm
telling!" Devon snapped. He pulled his finger out of Sammy's butt and
grabbed him by the hair and jerked his head around.

Sammy was terrified when he saw Devon's contorted face and crazed look in
his eyes. "If you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you and your whole
family. Do you understand me?"

Sammy was sobbing and mustered out a weak "Uh-huh."

"I was just gonna finger you, but now you pissed me off, so I'm gonna fuck
your little, cherry ass and you're gonna take it, and you're not gonna tell
anyone. Are you?" Sammy didn't answer, but just sobbed louder.

Devon gave a painful jerk on Sammy's hair and Sammy cried out, "NO! I won't
tell! I won't tell!"

Devon pressed Sammy's face into the carpet and lubed up his own yearning
dick. It was small for an adult, but it was still much too large for young
Sammy. Devon guided the tip of his enraged dick to Sammy's clenched
entrance and positioned himself to make a forcible entry just as the
doorbell rang. Sammy jerked and Devon cursed. The bell rang again and then
again. "FUCK!" grunted Devon.

Sammy cried louder until Devon jerked him up onto his feet and pressed his
large hand over Sammy's mouth. The bell rang again and then came a loud
knock. "Shit. Keep quiet until they go away," ordered Devon. Devon sat on
Scott's bed and held Sammy pressed tightly against him with his hand
pressing hard against Sammy's mouth. Devon's disappointed dick throbbed
against the back of Sammy's leg.

They heard the front door open and a young man's voice that Sammy didn't
recognize call out, "Hello? Anybody home?"

"Aaaghh!" cried Devon in spite of trying his best to stifle it. He jerked
his hand from between Sammy's clenched teeth and examined the marks in his
palm.

"In here," Sammy called out. Devon started to panic.

"You're dead!" he seethed. Devon grabbed a handful of Sammy's thick hair
and jerked his head and whispered furiously in his protruding ear, "I swear
I'll kill you and your whole family. I'm hiding in that closet and you
better get rid of whoever that is. OR ELSE!"

"You better get out of here. I won't tell on you if you just leave. I
promise. Please just leave."

The faceless voice called again closer now to the bedroom. "Where are you?"

Devon darted quickly to the closet and stepped inside, glared at Sammy and
pulled the door closed. Sammy wiped at his tears, grabbed some tissues off
the nightstand and quickly wiped the gooey lube off his dick and butt, then
pulled on a pair of much too large gym shorts that were lying on Scott's
floor, and said, "I'm in here." He noticed the bottle of lube lying on the
floor and quickly pushed it under the pillows with his toe.

A tall young man with auburn hair and freckles walked in and looked with
concern on the small boy sitting on the bed. "Are you all right?"

"No. I don't feel good. I'm sick and nobody's home to take care of me,"
whimpered Sammy.

The kind stranger knelt beside him and pulled some tissues from the box on
the nightstand. He gently wiped Sammy's tears away and took Sammy's hand in
his. He lifted his chin and looked him in the eye. "What exactly is wrong
with you, young man?"

Sammy saw the kindness and sympathy in the face of the stranger and he
broke into sobs of relief. He threw his arms around his neck and the
stranger hugged him until Sammy calmed down. "I just don't feel good. If I
call my friend, could you maybe give me a ride over to his house? His mom
will know how to help me," pleaded Sammy.

"Sure, little guy. Of course I can do that. I can tell by looking at you
that you're Scott's brother. You look just like Scott."

"Uh-huh. I know I do. Do you know Scott?"

"Yes, I'm sort of a friend. I brought him this. Can you make sure he gets
it?" The stranger handed Sammy an envelope and Sammy put it in Scott's top
nightstand drawer. "Tell him Tom brought it by and said thank you for
saving me. Can you remember that?" Sammy nodded yes.

"Are you the Tom from camp?" asked Sammy.

"Yes, I am."

"Scott talks about you all the time. He thinks you're the greatest." Sammy
was really relieved now he knew it was Tom that Scott talked about from
camp, and he started settling down and controlling his emotions.

"Really? He does? That's nice to know. I think he's pretty great too."

"Can we go now?"

"Sure, do you need to call?"

"No, just take me. I need to change clothes first. Come with me please. I
don't want to be alone."

"Okay, sure." Tom followed Sammy into his bedroom and sat in the desk
chair. Sammy closed his door and quickly turned away to pull off his
brother's shorts, exposing his bare, little boy butt to Tom. His
developing, pink sac hung between his legs when he bent over and Tom smiled
at the innocence of it. Tom caught a glimpse of Sammy's dangling foreskin
hanging from the end of his tender young penis when he bent completely over
to pull the tangled shorts free of his left foot. Tom thought how very much
alike Sammy and Scott really were. The resemblance for non-twin brothers
was stunning. Sammy quickly pulled on fresh boxers and shorts and a
t-shirt. He slipped into a pair of flip-flops and reached for Tom's big
hand. Tom took his hand and Sammy tugged.

"Let's go."

Tom stood and escorted Sammy out of the house. Sammy finally relaxed and
asked Tom some questions. Tom was easy to talk to and Sammy immediately
liked him. Tom asked about what Sammy liked to do and Sammy talked non-stop
about baseball, swimming and how he thought maybe someday he would get a
motorbike like Scott had. He told him about his best friend, Tommy and how
cool it was they had the same name and were both really cool people. Tom
smiled at that. Soon they arrived and Sammy almost started crying again,
only this time in relief that Tommy's mom's car was in the driveway.

Tom followed him to the door and waited while Sammy explained that he was
home alone and that he wasn't feeling good and got scared being home alone
and asked if he could stay over until his dad or mom got home. Naturally,
it was fine for him to stay.

"I wasn't supposed to ask to come over, unless Tommy invited me. I'm sorry
I just showed up, but I was scared," Sammy said.

"You're always welcome. You know that," said Tommy's mom. "And thank you
..."

"I'm Tom." Tom smiled and extended his large hand. "I'm a friend of Scott's
and I just happened to drop by and found poor Sammy here in tears. He was
pretty upset, so I'm glad I came along when I did."

"Me too! He saved me." Sammy said.

"Well, I gotta go. It was nice meeting you." Tom crouched down and asked,
"You okay now?"

Sammy wrapped his arms around Tom's neck and hugged him. "Thank you. I'm
safe here."

Tom returned the hug. "Be sure to tell Scott I said thanks, okay?"

"I will," promised Sammy.

After watching Tom drive off, Tommy tugged at Sammy's sleeve and said,
"Let's go to my room."

"Wait a minute, Tommy," said his mother. She led Sammy into the living room
and felt his forehead. "You're not feverish. Does your stomach hurt?"

"A little," mumbled Sammy, "but I feel a lot better now. Thanks for letting
me stay. I was scared at home by myself."

"Of course. Well if you're doing better then go ahead on with Tommy, but
don't play rough."

Tommy closed his door and hugged his buddy. "I'm so glad you came over. I
was thinking about calling you and then you just showed up. Crazy, huh?"

"Yeah."

Tommy locked his door and pulled his shirt off. "Let's do sexy stuff."

Sammy chewed on the inside of his cheek and started shaking. "No. I don't
want to. Let's just play video games or something."

Tommy looked disappointed. "Why not? You always like sexy stuff. I'll suck
yours if you want."

"NO! I don't want to today. Please let's just go outside or something,"
snapped Sammy.

"Okay, okay. Chill dude. I know. My dad fixed our pool. You can borrow a
swimsuit and we'll go swimming."

"That sounds good, but I don't think your swimsuits will fit me."

"Yeah. That's a problem. Just wear my basketball shorts then." Sammy left
his boxers on underneath and pulled on a pair of Tommy's baggy shorts. They
fit snugly on Sammy even though they would be baggy on Tommy. They went
downstairs and asked permission which was granted. Soon they were
frolicking and splashing in Tommy's pool and Sammy actually forgot about
his scary adventure.

In Boise, Scott and his mom had enjoyed a nice chat on the long drive to
the big city. Scott was glad to make conversation to keep his mind off his
nervousness. His mom relished the opportunity to actually talk in some
depth with her oldest son. She expressed her pride in him and he actually
expressed his love for her and for his dad. They talked about how much his
dad had to work and how unfair it was for Scott to be without him
around. Scott told her it was okay and that he understood he had to and
that he actually respected him for it. That clearly pleased his mother.

When they arrived, they were early. Scott sat in the waiting area with his
music open and practicing the fingering on his chair. There were two other
trumpet players in the waiting area as well as a number of other
instrument's musicians. One nice looking boy was nervously drumming on his
shoe with a pair of drumsticks. Scott rubbed his lips across his
teeth. They were practically numb from the intense practice after having
lain off for so long. He regretted again letting Mike talk him into
quitting something he loved so dearly. Finally, his name was called and he
nervously gathered his music and trumpet case and nearly stumbled over a
cello case.

"Relax, Scott. You'll do fine and it doesn't matter either way. Make it or
not, I love you." She smiled.

"Wow. I hope you'd still love me. That would be some major pressure." He
laughed and it broke the tension.

In the audition room, a woman and two men sat in chairs and asked him some
questions first. He answered honestly, that he loved the trumpet but he had
quit for a while. He was glad to be back playing, but he warned that he was
a little rusty. They asked him to play his piece and he set the music on
the stand, stood up, flipped the valves to be sure they were loose, even
though he'd oiled them no less than three times to be sure. He started and
was a bit hesitant in the first few measures, then gained confidence and
did really well. The tone was a bit mushy since his embouchure was out of
shape and he'd worn it out with all the practice. He missed a high note and
that threw him off. He had to completely stop and gather himself. He got
back into the flow of the piece and finished strong.

"I'm sorry. Like I said, my lips are out of shape and I think I overdid the
practicing the last two days. I shouldn't have wasted your time. Forgive
me." Scott was trembling with embarrassment and shame at his
performance. He set his trumpet down and began gathering his music up. He
felt the hot flush of embarrassment in his face and wanted to just hurry
and get out of there.

"Young man." The woman's voice was firm and commanding.

Scott looked up from the jumble of music sheets. "Yes, ma'am."

"You did fine. I want you to do something else for us. Do you have a
favorite non-classical piece that you could play for us? Anything at all,
as long as it's a favorite of yours."

It was easy to decide on that. He smiled, relaxed a bit and launched into
"A Night in Tunisia" by Dizzy Gillespie. It highlighted Scott's superior
ability to double and triple tongue. He put feeling and emotion into the
music and even hit all the high notes. He opened his eyes and saw all three
reviewers bobbing to the beat and tapping their pencils on the desk. He
closed his eyes, took the trumpet down and launched into a little Dizzy
style bebopping, then finished up with the classic, half-time, dynamic
finale of the piece. He opened his eyes again and all three of his
reviewers were standing and clapping in ovation. Scott flushed with excited
embarrassment and happy tears trickled down his cheeks. He turned and wiped
at them with his sleeve.

"Welcome to the Philharmonic, Scott," the woman said.

"So you mean it. I'm really in?"

"Yes. Anyone who can play with that kind of passion has a spot with us,"
said one of the men. "Now just a little hard work and you can do anything
your heart desires in the world of music. I wager you have a bright future
ahead if you want it."

Scott thanked them and gathered his materials and left after shaking hands
with each of them. Scott floated out past the other two trumpeters
preparing for their turn, looking concerned over what they had just
heard. He rushed over to his mom, bursting with a huge smile and gave a
thumbs-up. His mom clapped her hands and they embraced. "This calls for a
celebration dinner. When we get home, we're all going out to your favorite
steak house."

"Awesome. Thanks. What a great day! They let me play jazz. Can you believe
it? I messed up on the classical concerto and thought I'd blown it, and
then they let me play some Dizzy Gillespie. Mom, you should have heard
me. I nailed it."

The drive home was even more pleasant and enjoyable than the drive to
Boise. When they arrived home, they were surprised to find the front door
unlocked. They were even more surprised to find Sammy missing. They found
his baseball uniform strewn on his bedroom floor and that was unlike
him. He was neater than that. They found two towels lying on the bathroom
floor amidst his dirty shorts and chores t-shirt. Scott was shocked and
horrified to find his pillows pulled off his bed and his bottle of lube
lying underneath them. He hurriedly snatched it up and hid it in his bottom
drawer again. He put the pillows on the bed and then saw his closet. Shoes
and other things had been kicked out and strewn around in front of
it. "What the hell?" he said.

"I heard that," his mother said as she walked in. "Sorry. But mom this is
weird. Sammy's been up to something."

"I know and I'm not happy about it. I'm calling Tommy's mom now to see if
he's over there."

About 4:00 pm, Tommy's mom came outside with cold drinks and the telephone.

"It's your mother. She didn't know where you were. She's worried," Tommy's
mom said holding the mouthpiece against her side. She handed the phone over
to Sammy.

"Mom? I'm sorry. I know; I just was scared and I forgot. I know, I
know. I'm sorry. Yeah, I'm fine now," Sammy said; then he burst into tears.

"I didn't mean to! I said I'm sorry. You don't even know what
happened. It's your fault for leaving me alone. NO!" Sammy was shouting in
the phone and shaking and crying. He punched the off button and shoved the
phone towards Tommy's mom.  "I have to go. Mom's coming." He grabbed a
towel and rubbed the excess water off Tommy's shorts and pulled them
off. He hung them on the towel rack and wrapped the towel around him and
ran inside still crying. Tommy and his mom looked at each other in stunned
silence and shrugged. Sammy pulled off his wet boxers and rung them out in
Tommy's bathtub and then pulled on his shorts without underwear and put his
shirt and flip flops on. He carried his wet boxers downstairs, and he went
outside and sat on the porch, sniffling and dabbing at his eyes.

Tommy came out and sat by him but didn't know what to say. He put a hand on
Sammy's shoulder and Sammy shrugged it off. Tommy frowned and put his hands
in his lap and just sat silently by his best friend, wanting to support him
but not knowing how. When Sammy's mom arrived, she was fuming. Tommy's mom
came out and the two of them walked off out of hearing range.

Finally, they came back over and Sammy's mom said curtly, "Get in the car."

Sammy didn't look at her. His face was stoic and he complied, pulling the
rear passenger door shut extra hard. It was as close to slamming the door
as he dared to come without being accused of actually slamming the door. He
stared out the window as they backed out of the driveway and he watched his
friend, Tommy, wave as they sped off. They drove home in silence. Once
there, Sammy marched into the house and straight to his bathroom. He tossed
the wet boxers into the tub and gathered up his dirty work clothes off the
floor, looking for his Spongebob boxers to put on. He was further annoyed
he couldn't find them and stomped into his room and shut his door. He
pulled off his shorts and fished in a drawer for another pair of
boxers. His mom opened the door and he wheeled around. "I'm naked. Get
out!"

His mother's anger flashed and she said, "Don't you dare talk to me in that
tone. You are on thin ice, young man."

Sammy covered his privates with his clean boxers and said in a more
controlled but still firm tone, "Leave, please, while I get dressed." He
emphasized the word, please.

"Come to the kitchen table as soon as you're dressed. Your father and I
want to talk with you." Sammy turned away without responding and began
pulling on his boxers. He trudged to the kitchen table and plopped down on
a chair and looked at his hands in his lap.

 Scott started fumbling in the cupboards under pretense of looking for
something to eat, but really to eavesdrop on the conversation. Scott
thought he was going through another growth spurt since his joints ached
and he was always hungry.

"Sammy, I know you had someone in the house while we were gone and you know
that's not allowed. I specifically told you before we left. Didn't I?"
Sammy nodded. "And you disobeyed. Didn't you?" He nodded again.

"How did she know," he wondered.

"Also, Tommy's mom told me that you just showed up there with some strange
boy that she didn't know and you hadn't been invited. You pretended you
were sick but you played in the pool all afternoon and appeared to be just
fine. Is that true?"

Sammy never understood why parents always asked you if something was true,
when they already knew it was. "Yes."

"Didn't I tell you that you could only go over if you were invited?"

"Yes."

Scott was slowly making a peanut butter sandwich and pretending not to
listen.

"Who was the stranger you let in the house and who gave you the ride to
Tommy's?"

"It wasn't a stranger really. I mean, kind of I guess, but not really."

"What do you mean, son. That doesn't make sense. Who was it?" his father
asked with complete calm in his voice. It was soothing compared to his
mother's edgy and choppy tone.

Sammy swallowed hard and said, "It was that Tom guy from Scott's camp."

There was a clatter and bang as the jar of strawberry jam fell from Scott's
hand and rolled toward the stove. Luckily, it didn't break. "WHAT?" Scott
rushed over to his brother. "Did you say Tom was here?"

"Yes. He brought you an envelope and I put it in your top drawer by your
bed. He came just in time to save me and he took me to Tommy's. I was
scared and I forgot to leave a note. I'm sorry." Sammy started crying again
as he relived his nightmarish afternoon.

Scott rushed to his room and returned, tearing open the envelope. He pulled
out a stack of bills and a note. He read it aloud:

In case I miss you, thanks for lending me this money. It saved my
life. Luckily, I wrote your address down off the check you gave me so I
could repay you. I managed to get a bus to Boise and stay with my aunt. I'm
still with her until I start college. I'm okay with my dad again, but I
can't really live back home. btw, I found Jeff and I'm going to go visit
him and try to make things better between us. Thought you'd like to
know. Thanks again, Tom.

"NOOOOOOO! It can't be!" wailed Scott. "I was in Boise and he was
here. NOOOOOOO!" He turned to Sammy and took him by the shoulders. "Did he
tell you where he lives? Did he give you a phone number?" Scott was
pleading desperately.

"Nuh-uh. He just said to be sure and say thanks." Scott started to shake
Sammy and said, "Why? Why didn't you call mom or me on our cell phones and
tell us?"

Sammy started to cry and his father told Scott to let go of his brother and
calm down.

"I didn't know. I was scared and he was just taking me to Tommy's. I didn't
know."

Scott threw the money on the counter and rushed out the back door and took
off running in no particular direction.

"Well, you certainly managed to turn a wonderful day into a horrible mess,"
said his mother. Sammy pushed himself away from the table sending his chair
flying backward onto the floor.

"You don't know. You don't even know. It's not my fault. YOU left me
alone. It wasn't a wonderful day for me. I had my chores and Scott's to
do. I had to go to my game all alone and nobody besides ... nobody came to
watch me. I did great but no one even asked me about it. Then I got attack
... of ... something and I got scared and Tom came just in time to save me
and take me to Tommy's. I wasn't trying to be bad. I wasn't. You don't even
know what you're talking about!"

"Son, sit down and calm down and let's talk this out."

"No. You can punish me if you want. I don't care. I'm done."

Sammy's father came around and hugged his boy until he calmed down. He
lifted the chair and sat Sammy on it. "There's something you haven't told
us, Sammy. What is it?" he calmly asked.

Sammy looked down at his hands in his lap and shook his head. Devon's
snarling face flashed in his mind's eye and his growling voice echoed in
his ears, "I'll kill you and your whole family, if you tell."

"There's nothing else. That's all. Can I go?"

"Sammy you kept saying that Tom came just in time to `save' you. What did
you mean by that? Save you from what?" his father inquired.

Sammy was on the verge of losing it again and refused to look at his
father. "Nothing. He just ... just saved me from being sick and alone. Can
I please go now?"

His father sighed deeply and stood up. "Go on." Sammy ran to his bedroom
and flung himself on his bed.

Scott ran until he was out of breath. He was nearly in front of Nick's
house. He went into the shed, unlocked his dirt bike and pushed it
outside. He put his helmet on and started the bike. He sped off into the
foothills and rode out his fury and anger. Luckily, he didn't fall over
since he didn't have any other gear on besides his helmet. After about an
hour, he stopped the bike above the Jenkins Farm.

	Scott dropped his helmet against his handlebars and cried. "How
could life be so unfair? How could I have missed Tom? How could Tom want to
go back to Jeff?" His alligator tears dropped onto his fuel tank and he
clasped his hands over the back of his helmet and his whole body shook in
tremors.

	Then a terrible thought struck him. A thought so terrible, he could
scarcely entertain it. The image of the pillows on his floor and the lube
beneath them flashed into his addled brain. "Oh, dear God, No. Did Tom have
sex with my little brother?"

	"No. It can't be." He said. "It just can't be."

	At home, Sammy picked up his clothes off the floor and began
putting them away. He picked up his cleats and was putting them in his gear
bag when something caught his eye. Stuffed in the toe of his left cleat was
a note. He pulled it out and read two words scrawled in blood. "Don't
tell."

	Sammy dropped the cleat, crumpled the note and stammered, "No. It
can't be. It just can't be."



That ends this intense chapter. In coming chapters, things evolve as summer
ends and a new school year begins, marking significant new beginnings in
the lives of the boys. I hope you will stay with it and find out how it all
ends up. Comments and cursings can be made at h.schreiber@hushmail.com