Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2016 14:19:48 +0300
From: Benjamin Conner <bjconner@mail.ru>
Subject: Not as it seems (Chapter 3; Gay, YF)

This story is about a young boy who has accidently been thrown into the
middle of chaos and has to fight his way out of it with the help of a
social worker and his son. It will contain graphical scenes of consensual
sexual activities between the boys. If you don't like these kind of stories
or they are prohibited by regional law, don't read it!

Feedback is very welcome to: bjconner@mail.ru or benjamin.conner@hotmail.com

Enjoy the next chapter!

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Chapter 3

Peter woke up in the middle of the night and heard some noise. It took a
couple of seconds before he was able to understand what his senses were
picking up on. There was a constant rustling sound from the other room and
sometimes a weak groaning was also noticeable.

It sounded as if the boy in Ethan's bed was having a hard time getting any
sleep; no wonder after what he had experienced. So Peter decided to check
in on him; the clock showed 2:33am.

The man sat up on the edge of the bed, rubbed his eyes and walked over to
Ethan's realm where his ward was trying to valiantly fight off the
smothering dark night.

The floor lamp in the hallway produced a dim light inside the musky and
warm room. It was the usual dirty scent of a boy's room - a mix of sweet
and sour. Something a loving parent would never describe as a good smell,
but would always miss it when it wasn't there - the odor of their own cub.

Peter squatted down next to the bed where the young lad was tossing and
turning around. His head moved frantically from side to side as he was
caught in the grip of a nightmare. A little light made its way through the
door and on the boy's forehead which was covered with beads of sweat.

He softly stroked Michael's cheeks and tried to calm him down with a gentle
voice when he noticed something on his pajama shirt. It was a dark spot
right in the middle of his chest. He couldn't identify it and shoved down
the bedspread a bit. The spot got bigger and bigger - it was all over the
boy's belly.

"What is this?" He whispered to himself as his fingers made contact with
the spot. It felt wet and warm - a little bit viscous. Still not having any
idea what it was, he turned on the small lamp on Ethan's nightstand and
jumped up in shock.

"OH MY GOD!"

It was blood - all over the boy and the bed. Almost as fast as he had
stepped back he returned to wake him up so that he could see where the boy
was hurt.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Michael screamed in a loud, high
pitched voice as he sat straight up with eyes wide open. It was like seeing
a character in a horror movie.

Peter was so shocked that he also began to scream....and woke up. His eyes
snapped open to see only the darkness in his room. He looked at the clock
which read 2:33am; what a coincident.

"Gosh, what a nightmare." Peter realized as his breathing slowly returned
to normal. He immediately thought to check on Michael and was about to
jumping up from his bed when he felt something warm and soft on his chest;
but Ethan wasn't home.

After turning on the small lamp on the nightstand he saw the little one he
had wanted to check on lying next to him. The youngster's head was buried
in the pillow with one arm around Peter's chest. He stroked along the boy's
left cheek, closed his eyes and exhaled with relief as he heard the
rhythmic breathing next to him.

That was a sign of trust and a small step towards getting the boy to open
up. Although he knew that he couldn't let him get too close - he needed
some professional distance or the therapy was in danger. But this was still
a good sign and for tonight it was ok. Making himself comfortable again, he
turned off the light and put one hand on Michael's arm. It was difficult
enough to get some rest after this, but he finally found sleep once more.


					***


It was 7:20 in the morning when the two boys in the neighbor's house
finished their breakfast and were ready to go. Ethan remembered that he had
to get his backpack from home. He agreed with Vivian to just jump in
quickly and get it as fast as possible without disturbing
anyone. Afterwards he would join her and Matt in the car, so she could
drive them to school.

Opening the kitchen door he listened for a moment to see if anyone was
awake but didn't hear anything. "Dad's probably still sleeping." Ethan
thought and carefully walked upstairs to grab the needed backpack. He
wondered why his bed looked used and whose clothes were hanging over his
desk chair. The connection to the case his dad was working on and the boy
in it, who was probably sleeping here, was not on his mind at the moment.

Before he left for school, he wanted to say good bye to his father, even
though he was still asleep. It was more a matter of checking to see if he
was there and ok - just a little bit of normal kid's separation anxiety.

When Peter's son opened the door to his dad's sleeping room, he found him
lying there with another boy who seemed to be snuggled up to him; just the
way Ethan was doing most of the nights. Peter's son didn't know what to
think about what he saw. Was it jealousy, was it fear, or was it sadness -
a confusing moment for the little fellow, because something inside his body
told him, that what he saw wasn't right.

Now he had a little problem - how could he leave for school and be able to
focus on anything the teacher wanted to instruct with these feelings
inside. It was impossible. He wanted to wake up his dad and talk to him
about it. But instead Ethan slowly walked downstairs and without a word
silently closed the front door and got into the car with Vivian and
Matthew.


					***


An hour later Peter and Michael woke up, got washed and dressed and had a
hearty breakfast together - the only one talking was still the grown
up. But the boy seemed a bit happier this morning and moved around a lot
more than yesterday. He somehow appeared to be relieved - more open
hearted. There was even a reserved smile visible in his face as Peter
burned one of his fingers on a hot pan and swore like a trooper about that
damn thing.

But the best of this morning was a call from Carol who had gotten up early
and found a family for Michael to live with for as long as it took to find
out where he belonged. That was the easy part - the difficulty would come
with trying to explain it to the boy.

Peter could see the disappointment in his face when he told Michael about
the plan to drive him over to the Milligan family. They had already taken
another kid for the Promises Childcare Services last year and had taken
good care of the child.

No sooner said than done!

Of course it wasn't easy for Peter to leave him there just like that, but
if he had let the boy stay with him, he wouldn't have been able to keep the
emotional distance required to work on this case with impartiality. So he
tried his best to cope with the situation and to show Michael that there
was no reason to be afraid of anything. Peter promised that they would
still see each other every day before he jumped into his car and drove off
waving to Michael.

On the way back home an emptiness began to settle in and Peter knew that it
hadn't been a good idea to leave Michael just like that. He had become so
close to him in only two days. But as a professional social worker, he
convinced himself to get on with his work so that he could concentrate on
taking care of his own boy again.

Once back in his living room, Peter watched the recorded video of the
interrogation yet again and stopped it several seconds before Michael got
sidetracked. Nothing was visible on the screen, so he turned up the volume
and played it again. Then he heard it, something in the background that he
couldn't identify; probably from the hallway in the childcare services
center. Michael must have heard something that caught his attention.

Peter grabbed his mobile phone and speed dialed Frank's number.

"Hi Frank, it's Peter."

"Hey Peter, how's it going?"

"Well, Michael's now with a good family. He has slept here last night and I
guess he enjoyed it."

"What about you?"

"Me too, a little bit too much I guess. He really is a sweet kid and so
much like Ethan without the big mouth."

"(Laughing) I can imagine that. What can I do for you? I don't have any
news, but wanted to call you anyway to ask for the report?"

"Yes Frank I got it, but that's not why I called. I recorded the
interrogation with Michael yesterday and at some point he got conspicuously
sidetracked. I guess there was something in the background that got his
attention - a noise or a call or something like that. I can't hear it
clearly and I wondered if you know some guy with audio skills who could
help me with this problem?"

"Of course I know somebody, but he doesn't work for free Peter."

"Oh come on, doesn't he owe you a favor?"

"I'll see what I can do. We can meet in my office in...let's say an hour?!"

"An hour is great - thanks Frank, see you then."

"Bye."

After meeting at the police station and handing over the tape, Peter
continued on to his own office in order to complete several hours of
paperwork he needed to catch up on. There were a number of forms and
documents he had to fill out so that he would be able to continue with his
work on this case and not neglect one of the other ones which also were a
part of his duties. Granted they weren't as serious as this one, but it was
still his job and he always tried to give his best for the kids he took
care of.

There was only one problem; no matter how much he tried to focus on his
work, he couldn't get Michael out of his head. There was something about
him, something that he couldn't explain.


					***


At 2pm Peter left the office to pick up his son at school. Matthew had a
computer class in the afternoon and therefore had to stay longer than
Ethan.

The boy opened the door of the car, threw his backpack on the floor in
front of his seat and jumped in.

"Hey buddy, how was school?"

"Good."

A moment of silence.

"Okay, and why was it good?"

"No reason."

"Did anything happen today?"

"No."

"Are you hungry?"

"No."

"What's wrong with you? You got something on your mind?"

"No, it's nothing!"

It was an awkward situation. His son was very silent, the complete opposite
from the norm - something was in the air, but Peter didn't know what.

While they drove home, Ethan stared out of the side window and didn't say a
word, neither did his father. He again was thinking of Michael.

Once back home Ethan dropped his backpack in the corner next to the stairs
and walked upstairs. He seemed to be sad or angry or a mix of both. Peter
felt the need to do something about it - it was an unacceptable situation
for him since they only had each other for part of the day and he couldn't
stand any conflict between the two of them.

"ETHAN? Can you please come down?!"

"Why?"

"I wanna talk to you, please!"

"Okay."

Both sat down on the couch in the living room which was lit by the sun. It
was warm in the house - not too warm, just alright. Ethan wore only a pair
of shorts and no shirt; an adorable look. He sat there with arms crossed
and looked a bit bored.

"So what do you wanna talk about?"

"Ethan, I'm here for you always and you know that. Something happened
today, I can read it in your eyes. What's wrong? Did somebody bully you at
school?"

"NO, of course not."

"So what is it? Please Ethan, talk to me!"

Peter gave his boy some time to think about it and to find the right words
while he came closer and gently stroked the boy's bare knees and his
muscular calves.

"Who was the boy in your bed?" He finally asked.

"What? When did you see us?"

"I needed to get my backpack before we drove to school and I wanted to say
good bye to you, and....."

"You found me in bed with a strange boy."

"Yeah. Dad, who is he and what was he doing in your bed?"

"Okay, now I understand. Ethan, he's the boy I told you about - the case
I'm working on."

"But what was he doing in your bed? I'm supposed to be there with you, not
him."

"I know and I'm sorry you found us like that. He got scared during the
night and climbed into bed with me while I was asleep."

"And you let him sleep there with you? I mean, he had his arms around you."

"He's a frightened boy who has had some really horrible experience recently
and I didn't notice him crawling into my bed, I swear. Besides, it means
nothing. You are my son Ethan, and I love you more than anything in the
world."

"It didn't look like that to me."

No matter how much Peter wanted, he couldn't find the right words to
explain what he felt.

"Come here son, please!"

At that moment Peter's cell phone rang. He so much wanted to show Ethan how
much he loved him, but needed to answer it in case something important had
happened. So he made a gesture towards his boy to hold on for a second.

"Hello?"

"Peter, it's Frank. I just got the tape back from the guy I told you
about. He isolated and enhanced a voice from the background, the one
Michael reacted to. It's a woman's voice and she's obviously called for
someone."

"And? Who did she call?"

"She called a name of a boy."

"God Frank, what name?"

"Darryl or something."

"She called out the name Darryl?"

"I'm not sure. We'll have to watch the video. What do you think?"

"I don't know until we.....listen Frank, it's an inconvenient time now, can
you come by later on?"

"Sure, What time?"

"Whenever it suits you."

"Ok, will be there at about 7 or 8pm."

"Thanks Frank, I owe you."

"Yes you do! Bye."

Peter hit the red button on his cell phone and put it on the table, turning
back to his son.

"Was that about the boy?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah, I got something that just might help us find out the truth."

"What truth?"

"Where he came from and to whom he belongs. Ethan, this is all very
complicated, but please believe me, nobody will ever come between us, no
woman and definitely no boy. I love you so much and...."

The cell phone went off again. Peter got angry about the constant
interruption from that little electronic helper.

"Damn it, can you all please leave me alone for just a few minutes!" He
yelled to himself before he picked up. "BENNET?!"

Ethan got the message and as sensitive as he was at the moment, jumped up
from the couch and ran upstairs with a hurt expression on his face.

"Ethan, ETHAN come back...can you hold the line please....ETHAN.....damn
it....yeah what is it?"

"It's Mrs. Milligan. Mr Bennet, we have a little problem here with Michael,
can you please come by?!"

"What kind of problem?"

"Michael is sitting in the corner of his room and is making grumbling
noises. He doesn't respond to any of us and starts to scream when we touch
him. We don't know what to do. Please?!"

"Yeah, I....I'll be there as fast as I can."

"Excellent, thanks."

"Bye."

He hung up and nearly threw the cell on the table.

"Great day, fucking great day!.....ETHAN?"

He didn't respond, so the man walked upstairs and knocked on his
door. Ethan lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. Peter sat down on the
bed next to him and put his hand on the boy's left arm.

"Hey buddy!"

"Hey."

"Listen, I know you're angry with me and you have every right to be. I
shouldn't have let the boy sleep in my bed. But I assure you, it meant
nothing - you are not being replaced or something."

"You promise?!"

"Cross my heart and hope to die!"

"He will never sleep here again?"

"No he won't. He's with another family now and...well they have problems
and I need to get there. Please, I need you to be a strong man now and help
me. The boy needs my help. He is feeling very alone right now and he has
latched on to me as sort of a lifeline. Please, we need to support him. But
that doesn't change anything between us."

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know, probably an hour or two. If you need anything ask Vivian,
she'll help you and I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Okay dad."

"Thanks buddy, I love you."

"Love you too."

Ethan has never been a boy who remained angry with someone for very long -
he was very forgiving, just like his mother.

They hugged each other both satisfied that they had overcome this little
quarrel. Peter kissed his son on the forehead and left in a hurry to help
the Milligans with Michael.


					***


"Michael?! Hey buddy it's me, Peter Bennet."

Peter tried to be as careful as possible and sat down next to the boy who
at the moment was facing the wall not saying a word. The social worker had
been told that Michael had started sitting there right after he had left
and didn't talk or move. He seemed to be in a trance or something. The
Milligans weren't able to communicate with him and couldn't get him to sit
down at the table. They felt inadequate to the situation. Now it was
Peter's job to try to get through to the young lad.

"Hey Michael! I'm sorry that I had to leave you here. I told you about my
son Ethan, right? He's about the same age as you and is also frightened at
the moment that he might loose me. Just as you are. I know you are scared,
but believe me, you're not losing me. I'll be here for you, whenever you
need me."

The man gave the boy some time to respond before he continued.

"But I have to take care of my own life too. As much as I work on your
case, I have to protect my son and he wouldn't understand it, if you came
to live with us, just like that. Therefore I need you to be strong and to
bear with the situation - only for as long as it takes us to find out where
you came from.....if you could only tell us...."

Michael raised his head and with his piercing hazelnut colored eyes looked
towards Peter. They were so full of hope, full of anxiety and full of
longing for warmth and affection. He didn't want to stay here and without
saying a word begged for Peter to take him home to stay with them.

After he sent this message through his eyes, he jumped up and threw himself
into Peter's arms grabbing him as tight as possible, as if he never wanted
to let him go again.

"Oh Michael.....guess we have a problem here."

Peter tenderly stroked through the boy's hair while his thoughts raced all
around for other possibilities; about the promise he had given his son that
he won't be staying with them, and about his duty to keep his distance from
the kids he takes custody of and finally about what was best for Michael
and his own son.

He felt hopeless about making the right decision - but was warmly touched
by the boy's affection. This was Peter's weak spot. Since his wife's death
he was unable to let kids suffer from anything - they all suffered enough
from what they experienced. Perhaps he wasn't cut out for this job, but
perhaps he was perfectly made for it - again not an answer to the current
problem.

"Michael? Would you please let me go for a minute?"

No reaction - the boy still clung to him and wouldn't let him go.

"Oh man, I'm going to regret this" He thought to himself and continued
aloud. "I promise to not leave you here alone, but you have to let go off
me, so I can stand up!"

Michael backed up and sat down again facing the wall, while his savior
talked to the Milligans and told them about his decision to take the boy
with him again. It wasn't a big problem for them and they offered to be
available whenever he needed them, for which Peter was very grateful.

A few moments later they left the house hand in hand, walked towards the
good old dependable Chevy and sped off down the road.


				***


It was about 5pm when Peter unlocked the front door of their house and
began to search for his son.

"Michael, please sit down on the couch in the living room. I need to talk
to my son before anything else. He needs to be ok with this or I'm going to
have lots of trouble here. Don't move unless I come back and get you. I
won't leave the house, promise."

Michael did as he was told and Peter walked upstairs hoping to find his son
in his room. He was lucky - Ethan was sitting on the floor of his room
playing a game on his PlayStation.

"Hey buddy, I'm back."

"Hey dad, how did it go?"

"Fine....but I need to talk to you about something important."

"Sure, let me just save the game, ok?!"

"Take your time!"

Both sat down on Ethan's bed. Peter had a serious expression on his face
and didn't know where to start. So he grabbed his son and positioned him on
his lap wrapping both of his arms around the front of his little beautiful
boy's upper body.

"Well, the Milligans, that's the family who was going to take care of
Michael, the boy in my case, had problems with him; or rather he with
them. Anyway, I've become a person of trust for the boy and he communicates
with me. Actually, at the moment I'm the only one who he communicates
with."

"Isn't that good?"

"Yeah it is, but on the other hand it isn't. You know, I can't really
expect this from you, but I need to ask you nevertheless."

"What can't you expect dad?"

"You remember my promise from earlier?"

"Yeah, I do."

"What if I can't keep it and..." His son jumped up and shook his head in
anticipation of his next words. "Wait Ethan, please. I want to ask you, to
help me help this poor boy. It's really important. Do you think he can stay
here for a few days until we find out what happened to him, and where he
belongs?"

"No way dad....sorry, but noooo way!"

"I know it's asking a lot, but....please imagine if it was you. What would
you want? What if something happens to me? Would you want to be tossed in
some family or would you want to be with someone you know and trust?"

"Dad please, that's not fair. Don't talk like that." Ethan said in a shaky
tone of voice and close to tears.

"I know, but.....sorry son, you're right. That wasn't appropriate. Look,
I'm just trying to do the best for this kid - as I would do for
you. However, you're right. I'll drive him to the children's home."

"You mean, he's here?"

"Yeah, downstairs. I didn't know what else to do with him."

Several seconds passed while Peter stroked his son's hair affectionately,
then got up and slowly walked towards the door trying to find a solution
for his problem.

"Dad wait!"

"Yeah buddy?"

"He better NOT sleep in your bed!"

"You mean...?"

"Yes, he can stay, but he has to respect my stuff and privacy!"

"Ok, whatever you say!"

"AND, if he sleeps in my room, he uses the guest mattress no matter if I
sleep with you or not!"

"Sure!"

Peter's heart filled with pride at the generosity his son exhibited, and
how fast he had changed his mind effectively providing him with a good
solution to this problem. He really was proud of Ethan and showed it by
kissing his soft lips, forgetting that he shouldn't do that anymore.

"DAA-AAD!"

"Yeah?"

"No kissing anymore!"

"Ethan, you are wonderful; that's the right decision. I'm very proud of
you. I'll go downstairs and tell our guest. You wanna come and maybe get to
know him?!"

"I guess we don't have to rush it, right?"

"Right, thanks buddy, I love you...and sorry about the kissing."

"Ok, love you too - and dad?"

"Yes?"

"If I had asked for ten bucks, would you...?"

"Yeah, I would have given you a hundred!"

"Damn...I knew it." The boy said with a smile on his face and shook his
head in disbelief.

Both laughed to this statement. Peter walked downstairs and told Michael
about it.

Moments later, a thankful Michael was hugging him fiercely thought there
were still no words spoken. But in his way he was communicating and that
was getting better, day by day.

End of chapter 3
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