Acrylic Bonds

Leap of Faith

 

It was going on the third day without Stephan, Brian had almost reached the point of charging the door and breaking it down. Rumors had grown into mountains since no one had ever heard of the master keeping anyone in his chambers for such a long time. Erick went from one kid to the next practically begging for them to touch him in an attempt to squelch the desire that had grown over the past few days from not having the relief of the master’s touch. Brian had gathered all the items he thought they would need for their escape and hid them inside the pantry of the kitchen. 

That night, while lying on his mat starring at the ceiling yet again, he felt a familiar hand crawling its way around his back. He opened his eyes, hoping against hope that Stephan had returned safely. Before he could bring himself to accept this blessing, he felt warm droplets falling across his chest. He sat up and found Stephan clinging to him, crying. His uncontrollable sobbing caused the other boys to stir and look around with question marks on their faces. Brian didn’t ask, he didn’t want to know. He picked Stephan up in a tiny bundle and carried him to the shower rooms where he stripped and bathed him with warm soapy water, trying to ignore the hickeys and bruises, the finger marks and bite marks. He washed away as much as he could while trying not to cry. He was determined to escape with him in the morning. He wouldn’t allow that man to put Stevie through another second of his sick games. 



A warm bath and a change of clothes later, Brian huddled Stephan in the corner of the pantry behind several boxes and crates to await the arrival of the delivery truck. He didn’t bother to explain what they were doing, Stephan probably wouldn’t understand anyway. As far as he was concerned it was another one of their games and he wasn’t supposed to talk or make noise, they were spies and it was their mission to get aboard the delivery truck at just the right moment so they could complete a rescue operation. Stephan’s lifeless eyes didn’t comprehend even a third of what Brian had said, Stephan had already become a ghost of his former self, but he would do anything to stay by Brian’s side, even if it meant pretending to rescue a princess that was really a loaf of bread. 



A night of silence was followed by the loud clanging of doors and dragging crates. Voices of kitchen staff, maids and delivery guys filtered through the room in succession. Waiting for the right moment, Brian pushed their stored items onto the back of the truck, squatting low so he wouldn’t be spotted, he moved back toward Stephan and urged him to follow in a low squat until they were both hidden behind boxes inside the truck. It was still very early in the morning, Brian knew the biggest risk was the fact that he didn’t know if the delivery guy would open the truck again at any point during the day, there was a possibility they would be trapped inside for days. He didn’t want his fear and uncertainty to scare Stephan, so he didn’t say anything out loud, but gave Stephan a reassuring squeeze instead. 



The gate on the truck slammed closed, with a giggle from the kitchen wench who was responding to the delivery guy’s playful flirting. Brian let out a small breath, relieved they hadn’t been spotted. The engine rumbled to life, followed by a head jarring lurch, the truck was moving slowly away from the confines of the orphanage. Brian’s grip on Stephan loosened a little, all the pent up emotions were beginning to run off his sweaty body, he leaned against one of the boxes to relax.

Just as he closed his eyes, a screeching blast of noise, shot through the complex! Even from within the truck, he could hear the blaring siren, the loud speaker was barking orders, commanding that every boy report to the mess hall for an emergency role call. Brian sucked in a breath of fear, praying silently that the truck wouldn’t stop, that it wouldn’t be held up at the gate for an emergency inspection. He moved from behind Stephan, and climbed on top of one of the boxes so he could peek out of the little slit at the top of the truck. It was hard to see through the tiny metal lines designed for ventilation, but he could see just enough to note that they had already passed through the gate and the guards were running around stopping the other vehicles and sealing off the exits. 

“Bry?” Stephan’s worried whisper fell on his ears like petals from a broken flower. He looked over at his distraught friend. He didn’t want to ask what had happened to transform his fun loving, childish companion into this fear filled quiet person who was terrified to sit by himself for more than a minute. 

“I’m right here Stevie.” Brian jumped off the boxes and returned to cuddle Stephan against him, pulling him securely into his chest. Stephan clung to him as if his life depended on it. 

“Bry. I’m sorry.” Stephan whispered again a few minutes later. Although confused, Brian decided to pretend he understood. 

“It’s okay Stevie, you’ll be okay I promise.” Stephan shook his head. 

“They’re looking for us, because I … I ran away from his office!” His voice was rising in panic, “I should have told you…. but I…” his words trailed off as tears started streaming down his face. Brian stared incredulously. How the hell did he get out of that demon’s chambers! Why didn’t the alarm go off until now if he had been gone since last night. Brian chewed on his lower lip becoming lost in thought. He knew it was safe to talk now, since they were in the back of a rig. The driver wouldn’t hear them, which of course may or may not be a good thing if they were stuck in there all night. 

Brian lifted Stephan onto his lap like Santa Claus, making sure he could see his face, giving him a chance to explain. 

“It’s okay to talk now Stevie, go ahead and tell me what happened; I promise I won’t be mad.” Stephan swallowed hard, before curling his finger into one of Brian’s long strands of hair. 

“Um, he wanted me to do it again. I didn’t want to. It hurt and I told him so, but he kept making me do it.” Stephan looked away while explaining, Brian couldn’t tell if it was from fear, embarrassment or maybe both but he waited patiently for Stephan to continue. 

“When I did it the last time, I told him I wanted to sit on his face… he agreed, so once he was on the table, I tied him up… I hit him in the head with his trophy and I ran out of the room before he could wake up.” Stephan had let go of the hair and was squeezing his fingers together. 

“Do you hate me because I’m a bad person, because I’ve been touched by him?” Stephan’s voice was starting to crack, “Because I let him touch me … and, and… I thought of you when he did it!?” He almost shrieked in his frustration. His body shook with the force of his sobs, his shoulders slumped and his entire being seemed to shrink into a tiny shriveling ball of despair. Brian pulled his friend so close, as if attempting to absorb everything within himself, to shield him and take away the pain and hurt from the last three days. Without meaning to, he held Stephan in a tight grip, buried his face in the top of those tight black curls and cried.