TRIGGER WARNING: ASSAULT ON A MINOR
Friday came faster than Ashley ever thought it could. After a long day of classes in which no one paid any attention to the teachers, Ashley was anxious for the game to start. It was the first home game and it was Ashley’s first time cheering in front of the entire town. Strangers had wished him luck throughout the day and teachers who had previously ignored him offered him a smile or a pat on the back.
He was anxious about what people would think of his uniform. He was incredibly anxious about Aiden’s opinion. It was a little short and a whole lot tight and he was slightly uncomfortable but Brittany had given him two thumbs up and in the past week he had come to trust her opinion. They ran out onto the field as a team and everyone started cheering. He was blinded momentarily by the bright lights but bounced around along with his teammates as he blinked the black dots from his vision. The football team came out and the game started and even as he was being thrown through the air he managed to keep his eye on Aiden’s number six jersey.
It was a cool night but it was warm under the stadium lights and they were winning and the crowd was cheering and by the halftime show Ashley had completely forgotten his anxiety. He was having fun and while he didn’t quite enjoy the crowd he had to admit, at least to himself, that there was no better thrill than being a flyer.
Even though Aiden was supposed to be paying attention to his coach and determining the best plan of action for the second half of the game, he couldn’t take his eyes off of Ashley. He had to admit that he looked great in that uniform and he was natural but it was dangerous and Aiden had a hard time accepting that there was nothing he could do to make it any safer.
When halftime ended and the game continued Aiden had a hard time focusing on the game, but he managed and in the end they won. The final touchdown was made by Aiden and as soon as the officials called it the cheerleaders joined the football team on the field.
Aiden went straight to Ashley, hugging him around the waist and swinging him around. Brittany watched in silence, unable to rationalize this time. He’d never done that with her. As things settled down Aiden realized what he’d been doing and set Ashley down, distancing himself.
“Hey dude,” one of his teammates called, “you coming to Jimmy’s tonight to celebrate?” Aiden hesitated, glancing at Ashley. He didn’t want to leave Ashley home alone, but neither did he want Ashley to go.
“That’s great!” Brittany exclaimed. “Ash can come get ready at my place with the rest of the girls!” She wrapped a hand around Ashley’s wrist and pulled him off towards her car before either of them could protest.
“Brittany, I really don’t think-”
“Oh nonsense,” she cut him off. “You’ll have so much fun.” She climbed into her little sedan. Ashley had no choice but to slide into the passenger seat and allow her to drive them off to her house. Thankfully, or maybe not so thankfully depending on whose opinion you were asking, Ashley and Brittany were about the same size. She dressed him, commenting offhandedly about his absolute lack of any visible body fat. She was jealous and he could tell but there was nothing he could do to change it.
He was forced to change three times before Brittany was satisfied. In the end he wore a pair of dark wash jeans that resembled more of a second skin than a pair of pants, and a V-necked shirt that was equally as tight. When the rest of the girls arrived they started to do each other's hair and makeup and Ashley sat back and watched, happy that they weren’t forcing that on him as well. When it came time to leave for the party they all piled into the cars and made their way across town to Jimmy’s house. When they arrived the yard was full of cars and music could be heard nearly a block away. They found a space to park and as they walked up the drive Brittany wound an arm around Ashley’s waist. They entered the house and were greeted by a chorus of slurred hellos. Many people were already well on their way to being drunk and the few who weren’t were busy passing a joint around in the kitchen.
Brittany seemed to know her way around the house so Ashley settled with following her. It wasn’t long before they made their way down to the basement where a large group of boys, presumably the football team, had crashed on the couch. They took turns at some first person shooter game on whichever console and sipped beers, seemingly oblivious to the raging party upstairs. Aiden had a controller in hand and was yelling at one of his friends. He seemed to be losing spectacularly. A moment later he died and threw down the controller, switching spots with another one of his buddies. Brittany went to sit in his lap and Ashley remained standing in the doorway, feeling awkward and wishing he hadn’t come.
“Come sit by us Ash!” Brittany called, patting the open seat beside her. Aiden glanced up from the game. Ashley could feel his eyes rake up and down his body and a blush bloomed over his skin as he went to sit beside them.
“You look very nice,” Aiden leaned over to whisper in his ear. Ashley’s blush deepened. He could smell the alcohol on Aiden’s breath and it made him question the sincerity of his compliment. A moment later and his thoughts were dragged away when a glass of amber liquid was pressed into his hands. He tried to protest but was ignored.
“Just drink up and have fun!” one of the boys laughed. He sipped tentatively and found that the taste was not to his liking. He said as much and they all laughed. One boy muttered something about him probably preferring some frilly drink.
“Come with me Ash, we’ll find something you’ll like,” Brittany said, pulling Ashley up and heading up the stairs. There was a cooler in the living room filled with cans of beer and bottles of hard lemonade. Brittany pulled out one of the bottles and uncapped it before handing it over. Ashley sipped it and found it much more to his liking. He continued to drink as Brittany pulled him towards the makeshift dance floor. The alcohol helped him to relax and he allowed Brittany to do as she pleased. They danced together for a few songs before she drifted off to dance with other people and Ashley was left to dance alone. The alcohol helped to release his inhibitions and he danced with a stranger for a few songs until his bottle was empty.
“Let me get you another drink,” his dance partner said and before Ashley could protest he was gone. He returned a few moments later with a red solo cup. “Kool-Aid and tequila, just try it.”
Now that they were face to face the boy seemed familiar but Ashley was unable to place where they’d met before. He shrugged it off and took the drink against his better judgment. A few sips and a couple songs later and he was starting to feel woozy. He made his way over to the couch and sat down to ease the spinning in his head and the boy he’d been dancing with followed.
“Are you okay?” he asked, having to yell over the music.
“I’m not sure,” Ashley slurred. His head was spinning and he wasn’t sure what was going on.
“Let’s go upstairs where it’s not so loud,” he offered.
Ashley nodded and allowed the stranger to help him up the stairs and into an empty bedroom. He sat heavily on the bed and found he was barely able to fight when the stranger pushed him back against it. His fingers were tingling and it was hard to concentrate on anything else. His attention was brought back to the stranger when he started to pull at his jeans. His mind reeled in protest but he found there was nothing he could do to stop the other boy and when he tried to struggle he was backhanded across the face. Soon his jeans were down around his ankles and the boy was staring down at his panty-clad groin.
“God you couldn’t be any more of a fairy could you?” And that was when Ashley realised where he’d seen this boy before. It was Brian, the boy that Aiden had fought with. Again he tried to struggle but couldn’t find the strength to. He tried to scream but couldn’t open his mouth. His head felt fuzzy and his limbs felt heavy and his stomach was starting to roil. All he could do was lay there and let the tears fall and watch in silent horror as Brian removed his own jeans and boxers in one. Then suddenly the door burst open and there was a moment of tense silence in which the pumping music from downstairs was all that could be heard.
“What the hell is going on in here?” Aiden asked, a cruel edge to his voice.
“Told you he was a little faggot,” Brian spat, not even bothering to pull up his pants as Brittany came in behind Aiden.
“Brittany, go downstairs, break up the party and call the cops. Then call my mom,” Aiden whispered furiously.
Understanding dawned on Brian’s face and he tried to run but Aiden wasn’t having any of that. He punched him once in the gut and once in the face and he was out cold on the floor. Brittany rushed to do as Aiden told her and he went to help Ashley. Once his jeans were pulled back up Aiden pulled him into his lap and rocked him back and forth as he cried.
“Everything is going to be fine, Ashley,” he soothed, running his fingers through Ashley’s dark hair. The boy was trembling and Aiden worried about what he’d been given.
“Is he gonna be alright?” Brittany asked from the doorway. The music had stopped and Aiden realized that she must have gotten everyone to go home. “I called the cops, and your mom’s going to meet you at the hospital.” She continued to talk about meaningless things in a futile attempt to take his mind off of what had happened. After a few long minutes sirens could be heard coming down the street. They pulled into the driveway and the lights could be seen through the window. Jimmy could be heard letting them in and after the sound of boots on the stairs they appeared behind Brittany. She stepped aside and let them pass.
“He drugged Ashley,” Aiden told them. “I think he was going to rape him.” Ashley whimpered in his arms and he went back to whispering soothing words into the boy’s ear. There was an EMT among the cops and after making sure Brian was just unconscious and not dead he allowed the police to drag him away.
“What are the symptoms?” the EMT asked, coming to kneel in front of them.
“He’s still conscious but he isn’t really responsive,” Aiden explained. “I’ve been trying to keep him awake, I wasn’t sure.” He bit his lip and fought back tears.
“You did good. It’s probably GHB. We’ll have to take him to the ER and flush his system but GHB is metabolized pretty quickly so we might just have to sit it out. He’s lucky you came when you did,” the EMT said. “Do you think you can carry him down to the ambulance or do you need me to get a stretcher up here?”
“I can carry him.” With that they made their way down to the ambulance waiting in the driveway.
“Can you call his parents?” the EMT asked as Ashley was strapped onto the stretcher.
“I did, our mom’s on her way to the hospital now,” he replied.
“You’re related?”
“My parents just adopted him,” Aiden nodded.
“Okay, well, you can sit up front and once we get there you’ll have to go out to the waiting room.” With that Aiden slid into the front seat beside the driver and they set off for the hospital. The drive wasn’t very long, maybe fifteen minutes, and the driver turned on the radio to try and ease the tension. It didn’t really help but Aiden appreciated the effort. When they got there Ashley had lost consciousness and Aiden was forced to go to the waiting room to meet his mother. She arrived a few minutes later, still dressed in her nightgown and completely distraught.
“How could you let this happen!” she screeched, drawing curious looks from just about every other person in the waiting room.
“I know, I’m sorry,” Aiden sighed, “I shouldn’t have let him go.” Her shoulders sagged and and she let her son hug her before going to speak to the woman at the reception desk. She was told to have a seat and that the doctor would be out to speak with her shortly. She sighed and returned to her son’s side. It was thirty long minutes before the doctor came out to get them.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Earland, are you Ashley’s mother?” he asked.
“Mrs. Mallory, foster parent,” she corrected, “the adoption is still pending.” She shook the doctor’s hand and they all sat down in a more secluded corner of the waiting room.
“Well, we did a tox screen and found large amounts of GHB and some alcohol in his system. There was nothing we could do about the GHB as it had already been metabolized but we pumped his stomach just to be safe. Right now he’s on a drip to help keep him hydrated and we have a nurse monitoring him. He’ll have to stay at least over night until the GHB has left his system. The police will want to take a statement but that will have to wait until he wakes up,” the doctor explained.
“He’ll be alright though won’t he?” Aiden wondered anxiously.
“He should be fine. I expect he’ll make a full recovery and be able to return home by tomorrow evening at the very latest,” Dr. Earland said. “Now, if you want you can come see him but remember, he needs his rest.”
“I’ll go Mom, you go home and rest,” Aiden said.
“Are you sure?” she wondered.
“Yeah, I want to be there when he wakes up. I’ll call if I need anything.” With that he gave his mother a hug and followed the doctor back to Ashley’s room. He grimaced as he sat down, pulling his chair closer to the side of the bed and taking in the sight of his foster brother. Ashley was pale and there was a dark bruise on his cheek, the stark white of the hospital gown only made it look worse, and though he was only covered by a thin sheet, his hair was plastered to his sweaty forehead. Aiden leaned forward and pushed his bangs back out of his face, running his fingers through the damp hair before settling back in his chair to wait.
It wasn’t long before the night caught up with him and he was drifting off in his chair. Every few seconds his eyes would slip shut and his head would lull to bob on his chest before he startled awake again. The nurse who had been keeping tabs on Ashley’s recovery produced a blanket from the cabinet and laid it over Aiden’s sleeping form. When he woke again it was late morning and the sun was peeking in around the curtains. He sat up straighter in his chair and stretched his sore muscles. Remembering where he was and why he was there he glanced over at Ashley’s still sleeping form and sighed.
“He should be up soon,” Aiden was startled by the nurse. “He’s going to be confused though. He might not remember what happened at first,” she explained. Aiden nodded, knowing that meant he’d have to be the one to explain. He wasn’t looking forward to it. He still blamed himself for what happened. He shouldn’t have let Ashley go to the party in the first place. He took Ashley’s small hand in both of his and held it as he waited. It wasn’t a long wait. Ten minutes or so later Ashley shifted in bed, his fingers tightening around Aiden’s.
“Where ‘m I?” he sighed groggily.
“You’re in the hospital Ashley,” Aiden supplied. “Do you remember what happened?”
“No,” he sighed again and there was a long moment of tense silence before he groaned. “Yes.”
“It’s okay,” Aiden said, trying to sooth him as the tears began to fall. “You’re okay. Can you tell me what you remember?” He shook his head and tried to pull his hand away but Aiden wouldn’t let him. “It’s okay Ashley. I won’t let him hurt you,” He soothed, “I’ll never let anyone hurt you.”
“We were dancing,” Ashley said, his voice shaking. “I went to get another drink and he offered to get me one. When he came back he had this cup and he said it was Kool-Aid and tequila and I agreed to try it. I was fine for a while but then I started to feel sick and I went to sit down and he offered to bring me upstairs. All I really remember after that is my head feeling foggy and him pushing me back on the bed.” It took a long time and a few false starts for him to get it all out but he did.
“Is that it?” Aiden prodded.
“He hit me,” Ashley whimpered, bringing his other hand up to finger the bruise on his cheek. Aiden nodded for him to continue. “He took my pants off.” He came to a stuttering stop and a horrified look crossed his face. “And his own.” He began to sob in earnest, unable to remember anything past that and thinking the worst.
“He didn’t do anything, Ashley, I stopped him,” Aiden said, giving his hand a squeeze. “I’m so sorry.”
“S’not your fault,” Ashley hiccuped.
“I shouldn’t have let you go.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“I should have kicked his ass when I had the chance.”
“No,” Ashley protested. “Please stop blaming yourself. I shouldn’t have taken that drink. It was stupid.” He sat up a little more and held onto Aiden’s hand a little tighter when his head swam.
“I just don’t understand how anyone could hit such a pretty face,” Aiden sighed, running his thumb over the bruise on Ashley’s cheek. A blush quickly fanned up his neck to dust his cheeks. “So beautiful.”
Ashley’s blush deepened and he looked down only to look back up in shock when Aiden’s lips met his. It was brief and light and sent his heart stuttering. He stared, wide-eyed, as Aiden leaned back in for another kiss. Before long his eyes were slipping shut and he was leaning into it, letting Aiden guide him through the motions. His heart raced in his chest and even though the kiss remained completely innocent he found it difficult to breath.
“Ahem,” a not so subtle cough brought them back to the present and Aiden turned to see Dr. Earland standing in the doorway. Ashley’s cheeks were candy apple red at this point and he didn’t have the nerve to look up. “I suggest you call your mother Mr. Mallory,” the doctor said. “Mr. Davis seems to be feeling just fine and is ready to be sent home.” He left with a smile on his face and a bit of a skip in his step, certain that Ashley Davis would be fine. Aiden dialed his mother and was relieved when she picked up on the first ring.
“How is he?” came her voice through the receiver.
“He’s fine. He’s awake now and the doctor says he’s good to go home,” Aiden replied.
“Okay, I’ll be right over. Just hold tight.” Without another word she hung up and was on her way. Aiden slipped his phone back into his pocket and contemplated what he could say to fix what he’d done.
“I’m not gay,” was his brilliant answer. Feeling completely humiliated Ashley turned away and tried to keep the tears from coming. He’d never considered himself gay, not really. He’d never considered himself anything.
“That was my first kiss,” he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else. Not knowing what to do about the crestfallen expression on Ashley’s face he leaned over to kiss him again. Ashley gasped, his lips parting, and grabbed onto the front of Aiden’s shirt. Aiden’s tongue swept over his bottom lip and they parted more, allowing the wet muscle to plunder his mouth.
Aiden was amazed at how right it felt to kiss Ashley. The boy’s lips were soft under his and even though he was so much smaller he didn’t come off as fragile, not like Brittany. Brittany was all fragile curves and while she was pretty, she was nothing compared to Ashley. Ashley, even broken as he was now, was so strong and that strength was beautiful. When he pulled away they were both panting.
“Mom’s going to be here soon,” Aiden whispered, running a thumb over Ashley’s flushed cheek. Ashley nodded and fiddled with his blanket. They sat quietly together until a nurse came in with the clothes Ashley had been wearing.
“As soon as your mother get’s here you’re good to go,” she said as she removed the IV from the back of his hand and placed a bandage over it before leaving.
“Do you need help?” Aiden asked.
Ashley nodded, eyeing the pile of clothes hesitantly. Aiden helped him out of bed and, when Ashley found his legs to be bit unsteady, helped to keep him upright. Ashley slipped on his borrowed jeans under the hospital gown and let Aiden untie the fastenings before quickly exchanging it for his shirt. Mrs. Mallory walked in just as he was slipping his feet into his shoes.
“Oh dear,” she cried, wrapping him in a hug, “how are you feeling?”
“O-okay,” he stuttered, blushing furiously and hesitantly hugging her back.
“Let’s get you home. I’ll make you both some breakfast and then we’ll see about having some fun, okay?” She let him go and turned to lead the way back to the car. Aiden wrapped his arm around Ashley’s shoulder and pressed a kiss to his temple before following his mother.
Hi! Well here's a pretty long chapter to make up for the two short ones yesterday. I did put a trigger warning at the top of this one because it's a little more extreme than just Aiden getting a slap from his over-baring father. Thank you to everyone who commented. If there are any questions or concerns feel free to comment. Thank you also to those of you who wished me luck with my new boyfriend!
~Dantae
