Take Me From This Pain, Kevin's story

“Kevin, thank GOD!” Jason cried as he slammed the door on his way into the house. “Joey and Randy told me what happened.” He noted Kevin’s bruised face with a scowl. “Are you okay?”

Kevin lifted his head off the arm of the couch and looked up at his boyfriend sadly. His jaw was throbbing with pain, and he knew the large red area on his stomach was now turning an angry brownish blue. Ryan sat on the chair nearby quietly watching over him.

“I think so,” Kevin finally answered in a small voice. “But I can’t seem to move to much right now.”

“That’s the shock wearing off,” Ryan spoke up. “I read about it in one of Matt’s mother’s books once. You’ll be a little better after you’ve had some sleep.”

“Are you SURE we shouldn’t take you to a hospital?” Jason asked as he gathered his small lover into his arms and gently held him. “Maybe there’s a hairline fracture, or something.”

“Already ahead of you,” Ryan sighed. “We just got back from the urgent medical place. The x-rays came back clear.” He pointed to a small tube of ointment on the coffee table. “He has to put that on the cut on his jaw twice a day.”

“He does?” Jason took the ointment to read the label. “He will then.”

“I know you want to spend some time with him now,” Ryan said rising from the chair. “The doctor said he shouldn’t go to school for the rest of the week, but then tomorrow’s Thursday anyway.”

“Yeah, well, even when Monday comes, he’ll be protected.”

Kevin dully listened to the two discuss him like he wasn’t in the room. Normally it would have pissed him off but at the moment he couldn’t have possibly cared less about it.

“Yeah, I know,” Ryan replied. “He and I already discussed that.”

“Excuse me?” Jason asked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Ryan regarded him quietly for a while, knowing Jason probably wasn’t going to like what he and Kevin had agreed upon.

“He means he’s my bodyguard,” Kevin said weakly.

“No, that’s not necessary,” said Jason. “I’ll quit the team and everything will be fine.”

“It is necessary,” Kevin responded.

Ryan watched one and then the other, knowing Kevin was too weak to explain himself right now. Sighing again, he knew he’d have to help.

“It is,” he agreed with the small blonde boy. “If you quit the team you’ve given them what they want.”

“John and Tommy can handle it.”

“John and Tommy are good,” Ryan said. “But you were the selling point. The coach’ll want you. If you back down now, do you think Mark’ll see it any other way than he and his friends beat you? Trust me, he won’t.”

“And you know this how?”

“It takes one to know one,” Ryan grimaced. “Unfortunately, I know them pretty well.”

“But Kevin comes first!” He looked down and saw that the boy in questions had dozed off while they spoke.

“I agree,” Ryan replied. “But what will eventually happen to Kevin would be worse if you back down now. See, this is just a start for them. First they make you quit the team to protect him. Then they keep picking at him to get to you. Eventually, they succeed in convincing you that the only way to survive is to withdraw from all outside activities and stay home, not even seeing your friends too often. Next thing you know, it’s graduation and you’ve missed out on all the activities because of them and now you and Kevin are the exiled pariahs. Do you think that’s the kind of year you and Kevin should have?”

Jason ran one hand through his ebony locks and silently fumed. While Ryan had a point, he hated thinking of Kevin turning to anyone but himself for protection.

“If it makes you feel any better, he demanded we spend all of our time watching you practice basketball with the team.”

“Well, see?” Jason pointed out. “I can protect him and be on the team.”

“Until you have to shower, or hold a team meeting in the locker room. You know Coach won’t let him back there with you all the time.”

“I just . . .”

“Don’t trust his safety to anyone but yourself?” Ryan finished for him. “I understand that. But you know he’ll blame himself if you quit. And I can watch him.”

“Against FIVE guys?”

“I never mentioned my black belt, did I?” Ryan smirked. “Against five guys, it wouldn’t matter. And you know Joey and Randy aren’t just going to let what happened go. They’ll be there, along with a few of your other friends who aren’t on either team. Really, Jase. Let’s try this first.”

Jason watched him from narrowed eyes. All he wanted to do was find Dan and Eric and their friends and make them hurt like never before

“If anything happens to him . . .”

“You’ll help Brian take me out?” Ryan grinned. “Yeah, I know.”

--------------------------------------

“I think I’d like to talk to Brian,” Kevin said later when he woke to Jason softly touching his long blonde hair.

“Okay,” Jason pulled the cordless phone from behind him and dialed. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No!” Kevin shrieked then blushed. “No. Just hold me.”

“Always,” his lover replied as he gave the boy the phone.

“Hello?” Brian asked when he answered the phone.

“Bri?” Kevin choked out.

“Kev, what’s wrong?”

“Why do you think something’s wrong?”

“I know you, little brother. What happened?”

Kevin sighed and held the phone a little tighter. “Look, promise me you’ll keep calm.”

“Calm?” Brian fidgeted a little and Kevin heard an assortment of sounds before he spoke again. “Kevin, if you don’t tell me what happened I’ll go out of my mind, now TALK.”

Kevin sighed again as he burrowed deeper into his boyfriend’s warmth. God, he felt so lucky to have Jason and he loved the boy more than he could ever express. And now he understood a little more about Brian’s unwillingness to leave Matt. But it was a sick and horrible lesson to learn.

“I had a little problem today at school,” he started shakily. “With some guys who weren’t . . . too happy with me and Jay.”

“What do you mean?” his brother demanded forcefully, his protective instincts apparently flaring up. “What guys?”

Kevin began to haltingly tell the horrific story and Jason knew that Joey hadn’t heard all of what went on, or none of the guys would have walked away on their own two feet. They had threatened to make Kevin do WHAT?! Jason’s mind flew back to the days when his father’s friends had made him do the very same things to them. And though he and Kevin had done these things many times together, the thought of his small, delicate lover being forced to do them with another guy revolted Jason and made him want to throw up.

“How bad did you get hurt?” Brian finally asked when Kevin took a breath.

“Nothing’s broken,” Kevin replied. “Ryan took me to the doctor while Jason was at practice. And before you ask, he didn’t know what happened.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” Brian said. “I knew that or he would have been home with you.”

“So sure, huh?” Kevin teased weakly.

“Positive. He and Matt are a lot alike.”

Kevin heard some low whispering and knew Matt was there, too. He wasn’t even annoyed at that fact as he once might have been, knowing Brian needed to draw on his boyfriend’s strength when he felt powerless.

“How’s Matt doing anyway?”

“You really want to know?” Brian seemed surprised.

“Yeah.”

“He’s good,” the other small blonde said. “He’s really loving college.”

“Trent seems to, too,” Kevin replied. “He called us last night to tell us all about his new roommate.”

“Oh, Niko,” Brian chuckled. “Yeah. Well, he needed a place to stay and Trent was nice enough to let him stay with him.”

“Mmm,” Kevin murmured. “I got the feeling Trent liked him a little more than that.”

“Well, even if he does, he won’t do anything about it. Niko just got away from a very abusive relationship. I think all he’s trying to do now is go home to see his family in Greece.”

“Geez, we’re all a mess, aren’t we?”

“I guess,” Brian sighed. “Kev, do you want me to come stay with you for a while?”

Kevin realized what a big deal that offer was for Brian to make. It would mean that he wouldn’t be with Matt for those few days that he came to see Kevin. And, as attractive as having his brother with him right now would be, Kevin knew he had to refuse, for the simple fact that Brian still needed Matt to hold him at night to feel safe enough to sleep. And Kevin didn’t want to be the one to steal that comfort from him, even if for only a few days.

“No, thanks, Bri. I really appreciate the offer, but I have my own knight in shining armor to turn to now.”

“Okay,” Brian sounded relieved but a little hurt.

“Hey, big brother,” Kevin smiled into the phone. “I know you’ll always be there for me. But I want you to stay with Matt.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. You need him more than I need you right now,” Kevin replied. “And I have Jay to comfort me.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” Kevin sighed contentedly as he rearranged himself on Jason’s lap. He looked up to see his boyfriend watching him with love in his eyes. And that was all he really needed to feel better.