Saturday morning, I woke up around 7:15 and decided to turn my TV on to catch the local news. Around 7:30, Clayton popped into my room and came running over to the bed. 

 

"Morning buddy," I said as he jumped onto my bed.

 

"Whatcha doing?"

 

"Just watching some news, you wanna watch?"

 

"Yes!"

 

"Alright," I said, and Clayton cuddled up next to me.

 

"How'd I get up here?" 

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"Like upstairs, I thought I fell asleep in the basement." 

 

"Oh, umm I don't know. I think you floated up here or something."

 

"No I didn't," giggled Clayton.

"How do you know... you were sleeping," I responded and lightly poked him in the sides.

 

"Did I float through the walls then?"

"How should I know, I didn't see it!"

 

"Garret, stop being silly."

 

"Who's silly?"

 

"Garret!" 

 

"Alright alright, I think you...... you teleported!" I quickly said and started tickling him.

 

Clayton's laugh was so joyful and infectious to hear that he could brighten anyone's day. 

 

"Teleportation isn't real," Clayton spoke through his laughs.

 

"You're too smart," I replied and stopped my torture attack.

 

Clayton was panting trying to catch his breath, "Okay okay, seriously. How'd I get upstairs?"

 

"Christian carried you, and then I put you to bed."

 

"Oh, cool." 

 

"So what do you want to do today?" I asked as I slipped my right arm behind his head and placed my hand on his right thigh to pull him closer.

 

"Umm, go in the hot tub!" 

 

"Okay, what else?"

 

"Umm play with Christian," Clayton said and turned on his side to face me, and my hand was now on his butt.

 

"Sounds reasonable," I replied. "Anything else?"

 

"Umm decorate my room."

 

"Hmm... that's actually an excellent idea," I said and patted him on his bum. "You guys should be able to customize your room to your liking!" 

 

"Really?"

 

"Yeah!"

 

"I wanna do a Columbus Blue Jackets room!"

 

"I like the way you're thinking kiddo," I laughed.

 

"You're the bestest," spoke Clayton as he kissed my cheek.

 

"I'm so lucky to have you and your brothers," I responded. "Thanks for being so amazing!"

 

"What can I say," giggled Clayton. " I know I'm great!"

 

"Oh do you?" 

 

"Yup!"

 

"You crack me up kiddo," I said. We talked and watched the news for 10 minutes, but I was starting to get hungry and so was Clayton. Without Rita, I was tasked with making breakfast for seven hungry boys. I wasn't surprised that none of the boys minus Clayton were awake, as I remember when I had sleepovers, we didn't fall asleep until 2 or 3 in the morning.

 

We went down to the kitchen, and my little chef and I started prepping. We were making French toast with fresh bananas sliced on top. I seated Clayton on the barstool by the island and tasked him with cracking eggs into the bowl, while I cut up four bananas into thin slices. I got the cinnamon, vanilla, and milk out while Clayton beat the eggs, or at least attempted to. I took over full-time duties and started mixing the ingredients in one bowl. I dipped eight slices of bread into the mixture and threw them on the skillet. About midway through making the first batch, Christian walked upstairs from the basement wearing a t-shirt and underwear. Since it was Lincoln's underwear, it was so tight against his skin, I mean it was as if he was naked. 

 

"Morning bud," I said.

 

"Morning," Christian responded as he walked behind Clayton and rested his arms on Clayton's shoulders. 

 

"Thanks for carrying me upstairs," Clayton spoke.

 

"Your welcome!" Christian said and kissed the top of Clayton's head.

 

"You wanna go play?" Asked Christian.

 

"Breakfast won't take much longer, so wait until after," I said. "But you can go wake up the others."

 

"Let's go Christian!" Clayton said as he jumped down from the barstool and took hold of Christian's hand.

 

"Christian," I said before they went downstairs.

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Come back with shorts on,"I laughed. 

 

"But I never get to walk around in boxers," Christian pleaded his case, "my sisters always make fun of me for doing it."

 

"You can walk around in your boxers as much as you want, but we have two new guests staying with us. So please put on shorts."

 

"Fine, but I'm holding you to that statement," Christian remarked. Clayton and Christian went downstairs first. The two weren't down there for long, as they both came sprinting up the steps and proceeded to the 2nd floor. I had finished the first batch and was putting on the next eight slices of French toast when Lincoln and Max came running upstairs, with Lincoln in his boxer briefs and Max in his shirt and briefs.

 

"Did I miss the memo or something, I mean come on," I laughed. "Not one of you three have walked up with shorts on."

 

Lincoln found no humor in my terrible dad jokes, and angrily spoke, "Where's Clay? I'm gonna kill him."

 

"Whoa whoa whoa. We don't use that kind of language, what happened?" I asked as Lincoln was bent over in pain.

 

"He jumped on me while I was sleeping and kneed me in the balls," Lincoln screamed.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

"No they really hurt, where is Clay I'm gonna punch him."

 

"No you aren't going to punch anyone, it was an accident. Come on let's go sit down."

 

"I thought it was kind of funny," chuckled Max.

 

I found his comment to be hilarious, but I couldn't laugh to risk making Lincoln madder.

 

"I'm gonna punch you in the balls if it's that funny," Lincoln said grimacing. 

 

"I'll pass," giggled Max,

 

"I would have to find them first," Lincoln said in pain 

 

"Touché," commented Max 

 

"Okay, let's have a seat at the table," I said. "Max go put shorts on and can you bring Lincoln's shorts up as well please."

 

"Okay," Max replied and went back down to the basement.

 

"Garret, they really hurt."

 

"I know buddy; it's no fun. If the pain doesn't go away after breakfast, tell me." 

 

"Okay," Lincoln said as he grabbed his balls. Christian and Clayton came back down with guilty expressions on their faces. "I feel like I'm going to puke Garret, I don't think I can eat anything." 

 

"Alright umm.... Go upstairs and lay in your bed. See if that helps," I said as the two boys took seats around the table. 

 

"Okay," Lincoln replied and stood up. On his way to his room, he passed Clayton and slapped in on the side of the head. It wasn't a hard slap, but by no means was it light.

 

"Hey!" Clayton said as he grabbed his head and started crying.

 

"LINCOLN, UPSTAIRS NOW," I yelled. 

 

"I know, I'm going," he fired back. 

 

"Clay, come to me," I said.

 

"No," Clayton responded as he took off running for the family room. I think he was more embarrassed about being hit than the actual pain.

 

As Lincoln was heading upstairs Ryker, Jacob, Dylan, and Max came to the kitchen.

 

I had to finish making the second batch of French toast, which was about a minute away from being complete before I could address any issue. I turned off the skillet, then threw the French toast on a plate, next I dropped the sliced bananas onto the French toast, and delivered it to the table. Syrup, butter, milk, and juice were already out, and I said Christian was in charge. The  5 of them began digging in as I went to the nearest boy who was Clayton.

 

He was in the family room, laying down on the couch with his face buried in the cushion. I went over to sit down beside him, and I slipped my hand underneath his shirt to rub his back for comfort.

 

"Hey buddy, let me see your face," I said.

 

"No," he cried. 

 

"Come on buddy, let me take a look. I can help."

 

I didn't get an answer, so I was going to try and tickle him but decided against that because I felt Clayton was more embarrased and mad than in pain.

 

"Clay," I said as I still rubbed his back. "Talk to me."

 

"I didn't mean to land on his pee-pee," Clayton said as his voice was muffled.

 

"No? So it was an accident, but did you apologize?"

"No, I was too scared to apologize. Lincoln looked really mad, but-but he shouldn't hit me in the face. That's what daddy use to do to me."

 

What? This was my first time hearing that Clayton was ever physically abused. It didn't surprise me because the father was an asshole, but I thought Clayton was able to stay clear of that.

 

"Did daddy hit you often?"

 

"No, only a few times.... when I didn't listen or when I did something wrong." Clayton cried as he picked up his head. "And when Lincoln hit me... he, he, he made me think of dad."

 

"Come here buddy," I replied, and Clayton flung into my arms.

 

"I just don't want to be hit."

 

"Aww Clayton, you don't ever have to worry about that. You won't ever be hit by me. I love you too much," I said as I gave him a tight squeeze. "Lincoln was in pain, and that's not an excuse for him to hit you, but I will talk to him." 

 

"O, oh okay," Clayton replied as his crying was slowing. 

"Now let me see your face," I said.

 

"Is it bad?" Clayton asked as he turned his head for me to look.

 

"Ohhh!" I dramatically gasped.

 

"What is it?" Clayton said with a worried look on his face.

 

"Nothing, just a cutie with a cute face," I said and kissed him on the cheek.

 

"Garret! You scared me," Clayton laughed.

 

"It stopped your crying, didn't it? But your face is fine, just a little red mark. Let's get you back to the table," I said and picked him up.

 

"Love you," Clayton said and gave me another hug as I carried him.

 

"Love you too kiddo," I responded as I dropped him into his seat. "How's the food?" I asked the boys.

 

"Really good, thank you," spoke Max.

 

"Yeah it's delicious," agreed Dylan.

 

"Rita's taste better," Jacob spoke.

"What?" I playfully said.

 

"I agree," Ryker commented.

 

"Same," agreed Christian.

 

"Wow, tough critics. Max and Dylan, you guys want to replace those three haters over there," I joked.

 

"I mean it's good but not as good as Rita's," Jacob said.

 

"Yeah nice recovery!" I spoke, "Christian, can you help Clayton get his food? Also, eat up boys there is plenty." 

 

I don't think they needed me to repeat myself as they each took another piece of French toast. I started making my way upstairs and heard either Dylan or Max ask one of the boys who Rita was. I wish I could have been down there to listen to the responses, but I was out of listening range and was on my way to Lincoln's room.

 

I reached his door and walked in. He was still in his underwear, lying face up with a pillow over his head. It had been about 10 minutes since he had been up here, and he still seemed in pain so I figured I would address the pain before talking with him.

"Lincoln," I said.

 

"Garret, my balls still really hurt," he replied and moved the pillow.

 

"Yeah, it's never fun to get hit there."

 

"Can you look at them?"

 

"If you want me to take a look."

 

"Yes please," he replied in agony. 

 

"Alright," I said and walked over to him. I slipped my hand into his underwear and pulled them down to his mid-thigh. His balls were unquestionably swollen and red. 

 

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

 

"Let's take these completely off," I responded and removed the underwear down his legs and off his feet. "Lincoln spread your legs please," 

 

"Ow," he screeched as he slowly shifted his legs apart.

"Alright, I'm going to touch them, okay?" I said.

 

"Just make the pain stop please," Lincoln replied. To get a better understanding of what hurt and what didn't, I took hold of his flaccid penis and placed it against his pubic area to get it out of the way. I then put one finger on each of his testicles, and slowly moved his scrotum up to lift everything.

 

"Ow stop, that hurts!" 

 

"Alright buddy, umm don't move. I'll be back," I said. First I hollered down for Christian to bring up a bag of ice and then I went to Lincoln's bathroom and grabbed two towels and a hand towel. I learned this from my hockey days when you would sometimes be hit in the groin if you forgot your cup. One towel was going to be rolled up and placed underneath his scrotum to support the testicles. This was done so the testicles wouldn't be dangling, and this allowed blood to flow better. 

 

"Okay Lincoln, this is going to hurt at first. Just bear through it okay?" 

 

"Okay!"

 

I slowly cupped his balls in my hand and picked them up. I hurriedly slid the towel underneath them and gently rested his balls on the towel.

 

"Did that hurt?"

 

"Kind of, but what is that?"

 

"It's a towel," I said. "Your testicles aren't hanging anymore, and we will see if that helps reduce the pain."

 

"Okay," he said. I grabbed the other towel and placed it over his exposed boyhood to give him some privacy. The hand towel was going to be used as a layer for the ice.

 

"Hello?" I heard Christian say as he peaked his head into the room.

 

"Come in," I said, and Christian began walking in.

 

"He.. he.. here you go," Christian stuttered as he handed me the bag of ice. 

 

"Why don't you have shorts on yet?" I asked.

 

"Who me?" Both Lincoln and Christian said at the same time.

 

"I know why you don't have shorts on Lincoln," I laughed. "Why don't you Christian? I thought I asked you to put some on."

 

I think Christian just realized that Lincoln was naked, and the only thing preventing Christian from seeing Lincoln's cock was a towel. Christian quickly started developing an erection, and with his underwear being so tight, his penis didn't stick out like a tent but instead formed a round hump in the front of his underwear. 

 

"Umm... uh, I... I forgot to put shorts. Are, are you alright Lincoln?"

 

"I don't know; my balls still hurt really bad, you wanna see the? Supposedly, they are like really swollen?" Asked Lincoln, as he was still looking up at the ceiling.

 

"NO," Christian quickly responded. "I mean, umm I... I don't know."

 

"I don't care, you're my cousin," Lincoln responded as he grabbed for the towel.

 

"Uhh Lincoln," I said stopping him. "Probably not a good time considering you are in pain, ya know?."

 

"Yeah," agreed Christian who was now sporting a noticeable wet mark on the front of his underwear. 

 

"Okay, but Christian can you get me a bottle of water from the fridge?" Asked Lincoln.

 

"Yeah Christian make that two waters," I said making eye contact. I shifted my eyes down to his groin to inform him of his precum stain on his underwear. He quickly noticed and looked at the ceiling in embarrassment. 

 

"Okay," Christian replied as he sounded like he was about to cry. 

 

"Lincoln I'm gonna go to my room and see if I have any medicine to help. Just stay put."

 

"Not going anywhere," Lincoln moaned as Christian and I walked out.

 

"Christian follow me," I said.

 

"I'm sorry, so sorry. I tried to think of other things, but-but," he cried. 

 

"Hey hey hey, it's okay," I said as he collapsed into my arms.

 

"No... no it's not,"

 

"Yes, it is," I said as I released the hug.

 

"No, it's not, I got hard just thinking about seeing my cousin's penis, and I didn't even see it. It was just the stupid thought of it. And now this wet thing, I don't even know what this is," he said pointing to his underwear.

 

"It's called precum," I responded. "It's not a big deal; precum is just a fluid that lubricates the penis during sexual activity."

 

"I'm sorry, I just... I don't know," Christian cried. "I don't umm...  I'm sorry,"

 

"Stop saying sorry, you're a 13-year-old boy that is discovering himself. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

 

"But he is my cousin."

 

"And he is a good looking boy, no one denies that Christian. It's normal to look, especially at your age when your body is filled with raging hormones you can't control."

 

"He... he is really hot," Christian said. "AHHH Listen to me, I am a loser. My cousin, my YOUNGER cousin, and I think he is hot." 

 

"Yes you think he is hot, but you don't want to do anything with him do you?"

 

"No, he is my cousin. That'd be like, so gross."

 

"Bingo buddy! It's okay to look and all. You got excited when you realized he didn't have anything on. It's okay, it happens," I responded.

 

"But I didn't even see anything,"

 

I chuckled at his statement, "no you didn't, but you were excited about the thought."

 

"I hate puberty and erections, they suck."

 

"It'll get better as you learn more about yourself, I promise."

 

"It looks like I peed myself a little. I can't walk back downstairs like this," Christian said as he tossed his underwear down and he let his hard 4.5-inch cock free. 

 

"Well you can walk down like that," I laughed trying to lighten the moment.

 

"Not funny," Christian said.

 

"Give me a second," I replied and went to my closet. I dug out an old pair of shorts that I haven't worn in years. It was going to be big for him, but it would do the job for right now. "Here, try these on. You'll have to tighten the string, but it should be good until you can get your shorts from the basement." 

 

"Okay thanks," he said as he caught the shorts and began slipping them on. 

 

"I've seen your penis way too much in the last month," I joked.

 

"Sorry."

 

"I was kidding. It's honestly not a big deal," I replied.

"You don't care?"

 

"No not really, but with that being said, don't try and make it a point to expose yourself."

 

"Like this?" He asked as he pulled down the front of his shorts.

 

"Really?"

 

"I know," he giggled and pulled his shorts back up. 

 

"Go get us waters," I commanded as I picked up his underwear from the ground and threw them in the dirty laundry.

 

"You're the best," Christian said and hugged me before leaving for the kitchen, I went to my medicine cabinet and grabbed two Advil pills to give to Lincoln. I walked back into his room and lifted the towel off his lap. 

 

"Alright kiddo, we are going to try some ice and see if that helps the swelling."

 

"What if the swelling doesn't go away?" 

 

"We will worry about that later," I said because I didn't want to scare him. If the swelling and pain didn't go away in another 45 minutes, we would be making our way to the ER. I placed the hand towel on his balls and put the bag of ice on top. I then took the big towel and covered him up again, just in time as Christian walked back.

 

"Thanks Christian," Lincoln said when Christian handed him the water bottle.

 

"Alright Lincoln take these two pills, and see if they help with the pain," I said. 

 

"Thanks."

 

"Christian, can you go keep the others entertained?" I asked him.

 

"Yeah," he replied and left the room. 

 

"Is Clayton okay?" Asked Lincoln.

 

"Yes, but after you are done being in pain. We are going to have a discussion." 

 

"I know, I'm sorry."

 

"Don't have to apologize to me, but look, let's handle one problem at a time."

 

"Okay," agreed Lincoln.  

 

"Is the pain going away at all?"

 

"Not really," he responded which caused me to worry. I was up there talking to him for another 10 minutes trying to distract him from the pain.

 

"Alright buddy, I'm going to head back downstairs to check on everyone."

 

"Can you send Christian up?"

 

"Umm, he has to keep Max entertained," I spoke.

 

"But what if I need something?"

 

"Holler for me, I'll be able to hear you," I said. I walked out of his room and was heading back downstairs. "Damn it's only 8:45 in the morning and it's already been an exhausting day, I'm ready for bed," I thought. I reached the kitchen to find the table cleaned off and all the condiments put away. The only thing left were a few pieces of French toast and the skillet. Christian must have taken all the boys downstairs, as I heard giggling coming from the basement. 

 

I received a text from Todd, and it said he was picking the boys up at 9:30 if that's okay with me. I responded with a yes and went back upstairs to change out of my sleeping clothes. 

 

It was about 15 minutes since I last checked on Lincoln so once I was changed into decent clothes, I went back to his room and asked,

 

"How they feeling?"

 

"umm it doesn't hurt as bad, but my stomach still doesn't feel good."

 

"Alright, I'm gonna take another look," I said and removed the ice and towels.

 

"So?" 

 

"Umm does this hurt?" I asked as I cupped his scrotum and lifted up again.

 

"Sort of, but not as bad," Lincoln replied. The swelling seemed to decrease slightly, but some more time with ice wouldn't hurt.

 

"Let's see what another 5-10 minutes of ice do, but I think you should be good," I said. 

 

"Why do I feel like I'm going to be sick though?"

 

"Well, you haven't eaten anything today." 

 

"No," he replied sarcastically.

 

"What's with the attitude?"

 

"I should be hanging out with Max. But I'm up here with ice on my balls. It's not much fun," replied Lincoln. 

 

I mean, he did have a point, I sure as hell didn't want to be in his position. 

 

"Okay okay, I can understand. Look I'll head downstairs and bring up the remaining pieces of French toast to see if that helps your stomach." 

 

I went back down to the kitchen and heated up the food. I took it upstairs and saw Lincoln walking from the bathroom. 

 

"Everything good?" 

 

"Yeah I just had to pee," Lincoln said.

 

"Did it hurt to pee or did you see any blood in your urine."

 

"No and no," Lincoln replied.

 

"Alright let me look at them one last time," I said and walked over to Lincoln. His boys still seemed a little swollen, but nothing compared to what it was 30 minutes ago. "Alright buddy, get dressed and take it easy, no roughhousing. If any pain or discomfort returns, let me know immediately. Here eat this, and then you have to apologize to someone before you can go play." 

 

"I know," Lincoln said.

 

"No attitude either, and we are still going to talk."

 

"I know," he sarcastically remarked. 

 

"Lincoln..... knock the attitude off," I said in a firm tone. 

 

"Okay, I'm sorry," he replied as he slipped on his shorts and t-shirt. As soon as he finished the French toast, we walked down to the kitchen, and I hollered for Clayton to come upstairs. He came running up, and we sat at the kitchen table. Lincoln went first and apologized for hitting him, as he stated that he was mad and in pain. Clayton responded with an apology and said he didn't mean to land where he did. I made the two of them hug it out, and everything seemed back to normal for the time being. Both boys went back downstairs to spend the remaining time playing Xbox, or whatever they were playing.

 

Just like Todd texted, he arrived at our house at 9:30 and I went over to let him in.

 

"My god, you look awful," laughed Todd. "Boys keep you up late?"

 

"Well let's say it's just its been a drama-filled morning that's all," I responded.

 

"With my boys?"

 

"Oh no, your kids were angels. Just my oldest and youngest got into it this morning."

 

"Oh I'm sorry, that's never fun," replied Todd.

 

"Nope," I laughed as the boys came running upstairs.

 

"Dad! Dad! I had so much fun, can we stay over again?" Asked Dylan.

 

"Yeah dad can we?" Asked Max.

 

"Not tonight boys, but I'm sure we can figure something out," Todd responded. "Go get your stuff."

 

"That reminds me, I have to grab your guys swimsuits from the drier," I said as I went to the laundry room. `

 

I heard Todd ask one of the boys a question, but I didn't listen to it. I returned and heard Christian speaking,

 

"I'm his godson, and I'm their cousins."

 

"Here you go," I said as I handed the swimsuits to Todd. His boys both returned to the hallway and said their goodbyes.

 

"Bye everyone," Max said, "hope your balls feel better Lincoln."

 

Todd looked at me and laughed, "Drama?"

 

"Uh huh," I chuckled. 

 

"Bye, thanks for having us," Dylan said, and I shut the door.

 

"Alright boys, go play. Lincoln I want to see you in my office," I said. 

 

"But can't I finish my game in the basement?"

 

"No, in my office." 

 

The rest of the boys went downstairs while Lincoln and I went to my office. 

 

I shut the glass doors, while Lincoln took a seat on the other side of the desk.

 

"Everything good down there?" I asked to start the conversation. 

 

"Umm, I think."

 

"Well does anything hurt?"

 

"Umm," Lincoln responded as he stuck his hand into his pants. "They hurt when I lift them up, but that's it." 

 

"Alright well still no roughhousing, you may have bruised something, and we don't want to make it worse."

 

"Okay, so can I go?"

 

"Oh no, not yet. I just want you to listen. You can't hit your brothers or anyone for a matter of fact. The only time I want you to ever hit someone is if you are protecting yourself or your brothers from danger. You may not realize it, but all your siblings look up to you, and that means you need to lead by example," I said. "They rely on you, and will follow your actions, so when you hit Clayton for revenge, your brothers are more likely to solve their emotions with violence. You didn't mean to convey that message to them, but you did. I know it sounds like a far-fetched idea, but I know I looked up to my older brothers when I was growing up. I wanted to be just like them when I was a kid. You know, hang out with them and their friends or dress the same or play the same sports. I followed there every move because Calvin and Lucas were people I could look up to. I guess what I'm saying is, your the oldest and they will look up to you Lincoln. You need to set a good example."

 

Lincoln thought for a moment before speaking, "I never really thought of it like that."

 

"Its okay, as long as you start to realize that you are their role model. You're a great brother and an excellent kid, but mistakes happen. What can we learn from this?" I asked.

 

"Umm, I guess that.... umm that there are other ways to handle situations when you're mad?"

 

"That's clearly something we can learn. What else?"

 

"That umm, hitting people only causes more issues?"

 

"You're nailing them all so far. Got any others?" 

 

"Umm," Lincoln said and I let him think. "Actions have consequences?"

 

"I wasn't thinking that, but it's a good one. How about you treat others with respect, especially your family, because family cares most about you."

 

"Oh I see, but how could I have handled the situation better?"

 

"A lot of ways," I chuckled. "Care to answer your own question?"

 

"Uhh... talk it out?"

 

"I think that would have been an excellent approach instead of hitting."

 

"What about forgetting about it?"

 

"That's a strategy, but I wouldn't recommend it. When people let emotions build up, there tends to be more tension that could lead to worse actions being taken. However, if you can totally forget about whatever happened and move on without holding any hatred or hostility to that person, then it's a strategy that could work." 

 

"I think talking would have been the best idea," Lincoln replied.

 

"I agree with you."

 

"So, umm am I going to have a punishment?"

 

"You think you deserve one?" 

 

"Umm, uhh... probably? I mean yeah I guess. Yes," Lincoln stuttered.

 

"I agree, any ideas?"

 

"What about no Xbox until Wednesday?"

 

"Starting after Christian leaves? Sounds fair to me," I said.

 

"Okay, umm can I go?" Asked Lincoln.

 

"Yes you may," I responded. Lincoln stood up and walked around to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

 

"I'm sorry for hitting Clay."

 

"It's okay, just don't do it again," I said as I rubbed his back. "Love you kiddo."

 

"Love you," Lincoln replied and released our hug. He went back downstairs to hang out with everything.

It was around 12ish when I finally saw the boys again. I believe they were hungry and a bit bored of playing video games. I came up with the idea of going out for lunch then go to the movie theaters to watch the new Star Wars Force Awaken. Just like the Harry Potter series, The Star Wars series was one of my all-time favorites. The boys agreed and went upstairs to get ready. 

 

About 15 minutes later, we were in the car and ready to go. We first ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant called La Casa de Los Sabores, which was right across from the movie theater. I got steak fajitas that I shared with Clayton, while Lincoln and Ryker shared chicken fajitas. Jacob ordered a burrito, and Christian got enchiladas. I also placed an order of tacos for everyone as I knew it wouldn't go to waste. 

 

The meals were phenomenal, and we paid the check. Since the movie theater was close, we walked over and bought our tickets. Of course, you can't go to the movies, without purchasing popcorn and slushies, so each of the boys grabbed a medium slushie, and we had three bags of popcorn to share. We entered the theater and got to pick our seats. We went up about eight rows and then went directly towards the middle. I was in between the boys with Clayton sitting beside me to my left and Ryker to my right. Jacob was beside Clayton, while Lincoln and Christian were down by Ryker.

 

The movie started, and before long the boys were engrossed in the film except for Ryker. He must have been tired or didn't find interest in the movie because he shifted to lay his head on my arm and fall asleep. I don't know how he stayed sleeping because so many loud noises were occurring but he slept right through them.

 

After the movie, we returned home, and the boys wanted to go in the hot tub. That allowed me to get dinner ready, as they soaked and enjoyed the tub. Since this was one of the first nicer nights in a while, as the temperature was 45 degrees at 6:30, I decided to cook some burgers on the grill. Plus it gave me the opportunity to watch over the boys in case of emergency. As a side dish, we were having corn and potato salad that Rita prepared on Friday. 

 

I hollered for the boys to come in and get changed. Ryker, Jacob, and Clayton all went to the laundry room and stripped as Lincoln went to his room and Christian went to the bathroom. I saw three cute little-naked butts fly by me, as they went upstairs to put on clothes. Christian came out of the bathroom wearing only underwear, as I guess he was holding me to my promise earlier. To no surprise, Lincoln came down in just his underwear as did Ryker. I was starting to think this was planned while they were in the hot tub, but I didn't make a big deal out of it. Jacob and Clayton joined the underwear movement, and everyone sat down at the table as I brought over the food. One by one, plates were passed around, and we began to stuff our bellies. Christian was the first to start a conversation.

 

"Uncle G, when you getting the boat out?"

 

"We have a boat?" Gasped Ryker.

 

"No way!" Cheered Lincoln.

 

"Yes we have a boat," I laughed. "It's in storage right now, but I won't get it out for another month maybe a month in half. Why?"

 

"Because I want to go wakeboarding again!" Said, Christian 

 

"I wanna wakeboard," spoke Ryker.

 

"Same," agreed Lincoln and Jacob.

 

"Well when we get the boat out we can try, but we are going to need to buy you boys wetsuits for the beginning months. The water and air are frigid, and the wetsuit will keep you warm." 

 

"Yes!" Said Lincoln.

 

"Plus, we can try wakesurfing, waterskiing, tubing, kneeboarding, and all kinds of stuff. You guys will love it," I said.

 

"Can't we get the boat out, like umm like next week?" Asked Jacob 

 

"No, it's still too cold," I said. "But don't worry, it will be here before you know it." 

 

"I can't wait, this is gonna be so fun," spoke Ryker.

 

"Oh, boys I forgot to tell you. Clayton came up with a good idea, he wants to customize his room. This will take a little while to accomplish, but I think you can be able to decorate your room the way you want to, or at least with my approval. So for example, Clayton wants a Columbus Blue Jackets room. You don't have to give me any ideas now, but I want you to think about them." 

 

"Oh oh, could I do like an outer space theme?" Asked Jacob which caught me off guard. I Didn't know he liked that kind of stuff.

 

"Yeah, if you want that!"

 

"Could I do a sports room? Like not just hockey, but all sports?" Asked Ryker.

 

"Hey, just tell me what you guys want to do, and we will see if it can happen. But let's talk about that later," I said. 

 

We finished dinner, and I went to go workout in the gym. Ryker wanted to join like he always did, and went upstairs to put shorts on. The others went to play Xbox. Ryker and I ran for 30 minutes and lifted a few weights, but nothing major. We finished our workout, and we needed showers. Actually, all the boys needed showers, so I turned the Xbox off and took them upstairs. Lincoln showered in his room, while Christian showered in Ryker's bathroom. I allowed Ryker Jacob and Clayton to shower with me, and quickly got them washed and dried. 

 

Once again, the boys returned to the underwear lifestyle as they went downstairs to play. There was a blue jackets game on tonight that started at 9 since they were playing on the west coast. Clayton wanted to watch, so he cuddled with me on the couch. About midway through the game, Ryker decided to come up and join us as he sat on my lap and Clayton used my leg as a pillow. Ryker had the smoothest skin I ever felt, and I loved rubbing my hands over him, so whenever I had the chance, I was always scratching his back or rubbing his chest, which he enjoyed. I basically rubbed his chest the whole game as he sat on the right side of my lap and leaned against my stomach, so I was able to place my hand around him and make circular motions from his chest to his stomach. 

 

The game ended rather late, but somehow Clayton and Ryker managed to stay up for the whole thing. I called Jacob up from the basement for bed, and the 4 of us headed upstairs. 

 

I tucked Ryker in first, who stripped down to nothing. I kissed him goodnight and moved onto Jacob's room where he was just slipping his big shirt on. I did the same routine with Jacob as I did with Ryker. My last stop upstairs was Clayton's room.

 

"Goodnight buddy," I said. 

 

"Can you read me more of the bedtime story you started telling me?"

 

"Oh, I almost forgot about that," I chuckled as I sat down, "Alright, so there once was this boy, he was around the age of 5, and he was the most athletic kid in all of the land. He could do backflips, front flips, or any flip you could think of. This boy was faster, stronger, and the best at every sport, that's how athletic he was. At his young age, he was already making headline news around the world, and people began thinking he would be the next big thing. This boy, who we will call ummmm... CJ was starting to get used to the attention of being known. Wherever he was, he always walked the walk and talked the talk of being recognized. Honestly no one his age or even a few years older could beat him in any sports. As the years went by, he got better and better, only being number 1. Around the age of 13, something happened."

 

"What happened?" Clayton said cutting me off.

 

"Well, there was an accident. A terrible terrible accident that was so bad that CJ couldn't participate in sports anymore. Or that's at least what the doctors told him. So CJ was done and had given up hope. He didn't care about anything, as he felt he was useless if he couldn't play sports anymore. Even his teammates stopped talking to him, and CJ became very sad. So sad, that his grades were being affected. So sad, that he didn't want to leave his house anymore. However, that all changed a year after his accident. CJ was tired of living a sad life, so he set goals for himself. He knew the doctor said he couldn't play sports anymore, but CJ didn't listen," I said as I noticed Clayton dozing off. "We will finish the story another night," I spoke and kissed him on his forehead.

 

"Okay," Clayton softly spoke, "love you."

 

"Love you," I respond. After I left Clayton's room, I went downstairs to the basement to make sure those boys didn't stay up to long.

 

"Hey boys," I said as they were watching some movie.

 

"Geez, you scared me," Lincoln said.

 

"Sorry didn't mean to, but not too late tonight okay? What are you watching?"

 

"Kung fu panda," Christian responded. 

 

"I saw that with LJ when it came out, it was a funny movie," I said.

 

"You want to watch it with us?" 

 

"Umm," I said as I checked my phone for the time, "I can hang out for a few minutes."

 

"Yes! Can you scratch my head?" Asked Lincoln as he sat up from his laying position.

 

"Oh now I see why you wanted me to stay," I joked.

 

"No, I want to be around you," Lincoln quickly shot back.

 

"I was just kidding," I replied as I took a seat where Lincoln's head was. I put a pillow on my lap, and Lincoln laid back down. 

 

"Love you," Lincoln said as he looked up at me.

 

"Love you too," I replied and kissed his forehead. I started scratching his head with my left hand and then place my right arm under the blanket on his bare chest. I was cradling his upper body. I loved having the closeness feeling with my boys, they weren't afraid to be loved and babied sometimes.

 

"I wish my dad still did that with me," Christian said, which caught Lincoln and me off guard.

 

"What do you mean?" I asked.

 

"Well, my dad gives me hugs and everything, but never lays down with me."

 

"Have you ever asked?" I said.

 

"No."

 

"Well that might be the issue," I chuckled. "Your dad is a nice guy and loves you so much. Maybe if you ask him to scratch your head, he will do it," I replied.

 

"Maybe," Christian responded. I was down with the boys for probably 15 minutes and decided it was time to get up to bed.

 

"Alright boys, goodnight," I said and kissed Lincoln's forehead again before sitting up.

 

"I was so comfortable," Lincoln remarked.

 

"So was I," I chuckled as Lincoln sat up and I was able to stand. I walked over to Christian and kissed his forehead goodnight as well.

 

"Goodnight," Christian spoke.

 

"Boys, remember not too late tonight," 

 

"Yeah we got it," replied Lincoln. "Umm could I sleep naked down here?"

 

"I don't see an issue with that as long as Christian doesn't mind," I said.

 

"Christian, you don't care. Do you? I mean we are cousins anyway. You can sleep naked if you want to," Lincoln pleaded his case.

 

Christian looked at me, then quickly back at Lincoln and spoke, "umm uh, I don't care. I've never umm.... well I've never slept naked though."

 

"You haven't?" Lincoln asked as he stood up from his covers and dropped his underwear. This was Christian's first time seeing Lincoln completely naked, and I thought Christian was going to blow his load right there. His eyes grew so big, and I knew he wasn't ready for that,

 

"Uhh... no, uhh no I haven't," Christian stuttered as he was mesmerized by Lincoln's gorgeous body. 

 

"You gonna try it?" Lincoln asked as he laid back down on the couch and pulled the covers over him.

 

"Umm."

 

"Come on you have to try it, it's the best," said Lincoln.

 

"O, oh, okay," Christian said. He slowly threw his covers off and started to stand up. At one point I thought he was going to collapse due to nervousness. However, he put his fingers inside the waistband of his underwear, and pulled them down, revealing his hard cock.

 

"Whoa, yours is so much bigger than mine," remarked Lincoln.

 

"Uhh Ummm.... thanks," Christian said.

 

"Don't worry, my penis gets hard like that to," said Lincoln.

 

"Thanks," chuckled Christian as that statement seemed to put him at ease. "It's the worst when you can't control it."

 

"I know! And always happens at the worst times too," giggled Lincoln.

 

"I know!" Laughed Christian who now was laying back down and covered himself. I don't know what I just witnessed but I needed to go to bed, so I kissed each boy on the forehead and told them I love them again. I received a love you back from both, and I was on my way upstairs. As I was walking up, I heard their conversation switch from their cocks to the movie they were watching, which I thought was a good thing. 

 

It was around 12:30 and I went upstairs to my bed and stripped down to my underwear. I hopped under the covers and was just about to fall asleep when I heard my door open.

 

"Hello?" I said.

 

"Garret?" Asked Ryker. "Can I umm sleep with you, I can't fall asleep."

 

"Yeah come on in," I replied as I patted beside me.

 

"Thanks," Ryker said with a smile and came running over.

 

I forgot he was naked until I saw him crawl over, but didn't make a big deal. I turned on my right side and extended my arm across the bed. Ryker came over and laid on his stomach, with his head resting on my arm and turned towards me. 

 

"Here, pick up your head," I said as I removed my arm and put a pillow there instead. 

 

"Thanks, can you scratch again?" Ryker asked as he scooted his body up more.

 

"Your back or your head?" 

 

"Umm all over," giggled Ryker.

 

"That nap at the movie theaters must have given you some extra energy today," I said as I started on his mid-back. 

 

"Yeah, I was tired at the movie though."

 

"Probably from staying up so late with Dylan," I suggested.

 

"Umm, maybe. We were up until 2," giggled Ryker. "Umm, can you scratch my butt?"

 

"Eww, your butt?" I joked. "That things dirty."

 

"But it feels so good," giggled Ryker. "And no it's not!"

 

"When have I ever scratched your butt?"

 

"Umm, I don't know. I was just guessing it felt good."

 

"Ohh I see," I said as I started to shift down. I slowly scratched his butt and stopped midway down the back of his thigh as I couldn't reach any further and went back up his butt cheek to the middle of his back. 

 

"I was right, it does feel good," giggled Ryker.

 

"Whatever you say," I said. His rear end wasn't my focus point, my focus point was to get him to sleep, but I scratched all the way from his upper back to his mid thighs, and continued you make the same path. I will say, his cute butt was as smooth as the rest of him. 

 

"Thanks Garret, this is like that massage thingy."

 

"You're a goofball."

 

"I know!"

 

"So did you have fun with Dylan?"  I asked as I was on the upper part of his back now.

 

"Yeah," he yawned.

 

"That's good, those boys were nice. They are welcome back anytime," I said. 

 

"Maybe I can have a sleepover next week?" 

 

"We will see,"I spoke as I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

 

Ryker asked, "what was that for?"

 

"Because I love you and your an amazing boy!"

 

"Thanks," Ryker replied as he scooted over and gave me a hug. "Love you too."

 

"Alright kiddo," I said, "let's try to get some sleep."

 

"Okay," he replied but didn't scoot over. Instead, he rotated to his right side and backed his body toward me. I let my left arm rest on his side near his abdomen, and he used my right arm as a pillow.

 

"Can you still scratch?"

 

"Yeah," I said and kissed the back of his head. I definitely thought I wasn't going below the waistline, as I just made circular motions from his stomach to his upper chests. However, occasionally I did go down his left hip to his mid-thigh but never came close to his cock.

 

Luckily, he fell asleep after 5 minutes of me scratching, and I wasn't far behind him. I closed my eyes, and I was out.

Sunday morning I woke to find Ryker sprawled out on his back with each of his limbs in a different position and the blanket just covering his chest, He must have been the type of sleeper that shifted around a lot. I got up and covered the exposed portion of Ryker with the blanket and went downstairs to make my morning coffee. 

 

It was around 7:30 and I received a text from Kelly stating she would be here at 11ish, and we needed to talk. I didn't like the sound of that because when Kelly wants to talk, it's not a good thing. Anyway, I responded with a simple okay, and before long I was joined by Christian.

 

"Morning."

 

"Morning," I answered. "Glad to see you put underwear on."

 

Christian just gave me a sly look and giggled

 

"So how did sleeping naked go?" I asked.

 

"That was like... the best sleep I have gotten." 

 

"Well, that's good."

 

"Yeah, and Lincoln didn't even make a big deal! He was so cool about it."

"So I'm guessing it went better than expected?"

 

"I was hard in the beginning, and it was difficult to concentrate on the movie at first. But then we talked like we normally did, and it was so, umm well let's just say that I didn't even realize I was naked anymore, and I wasn't hard!"

 

"You're too funny," I chuckled.

 

"Its true though, Lincoln didn't even care that I was naked and I didn't care that he was naked either."

 

"Well that's good, but if you do it at home, make sure you have spare underwear close by, you know, just in case of emergencies."

 

"I probably won't do it at home. If my sisters found out, I wouldn't hear the end of it." 

 

"Oh come on, give them some credit," I said.

 

"You don't understand, they're savages."

 

"Savages? Uh huh," I laughed. "So have you told anyone you're gay yet?"

 

That might have been the wrong question because his demeanor changed from happy to serious.

"Well umm, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Christian said.

 

"Okay?"

 

"I'm still really scared to tell them. I mean it's, its, its, I don't know. It's hard to say it to my parents."

 

"I understand, that is definitely a tough thing to approach. From my perspective, I don't know if you are ready to tell them."

 

"But I have to if I want to continue to date Austin."

 

"Wait, what why?"

 

"Because Austin said so," Christian replied. 

 

"Wait wait wait, WHAT?  You don't have to because Austin is going to make you. Don't listen to that shit he is saying, if he cares about you and wants what is best, then he will understand this is difficult."

 

"But he said he told his parents already."

 

"He is also older than you, but look buddy. Do not rush into this, take your time. This is you're coming out, not Austin's. It would be best to take time to think about it, and tell them when YOU know you are ready." 

"But what if he leaves me?"

"You just turned 13 Christian. I promise there will be other people out there for you. Personally, I don't think you should have a boyfriend right now. You are just discovering yourself and learning about being gay. Take some time to figure it out by yourself. You don't need a relationship right now, but it is your decision. I'm just offering my advice."

 

Christian paused for a moment before speaking, "but I like to talk to him."

 

"Well, all I'm saying is don't let him force you into a situation you don't want to do. That means in all aspects," I replied with a wink.

 

"Uncle G," Christian blushed. "That was only once so far, and we haven't done anything like that since."

 

"Well, if you continue to date him. Take things at your own pace and do not let him control it. You are the younger one, and he should realize that. I'm telling you Christian, it would be best to wait until you fully understand yourself. However, whatever you do, I will support you. Just remember that." 

 

"Thanks," Christian said as he stood up and gave me a hug. "Love you."

 

"Love you too," I said and released his hug, "but please go put shorts on. Plus your mom will be picking at 11."

"So that means I got umm... 3 hours to walk around in my underwear."

 

"I need to watch what I say," I laughed, and I heard a scream coming from the basement.

 

"What is that?" Concerned Christian.

 

"It's Lincoln," I said and ran to the basement with Christian following me. He was having another PTSD attack, and as usual, it was terrible. It lasted about 5 minutes, as he kept screaming over and over again, repeating the same thing. He fell silent, and I went over to comfort him, as I covered him with a blanket and pulled him into my arms.

 

Christian was silent, as he was trying to process what he just witnessed but couldn't.

 

"What was that?" Asked Christian.

 

"How much do you know from his background?"

 

"Well he told me that his parents were killed, and that's why he is living with you," said Christian.

 

"Buddy there is a lot you don't know, and it's not my story to tell you." I said "What I will say is that Lincoln relives the night his parents were killed. He has these PTSD flashbacks that take him back to that night, and they are so bad that he feels he is actually there again."

"Wh, what?" Christian responded in a panic, "why was he screaming Stop, it hurts. Over and over again?"

 

"It's not my story to tell you kiddo, I'm sure when Lincoln is ready and feels comfortable enough, he will tell you what happened," I replied. 

 

"Is he okay though?" Christian said worriedly

 

I didn't answer because Lincoln was starting to come back. I picked him back up and placed him on the couch since he rolled off during the attack. 

 

"Garret?" Lincoln said.

 

"It's okay buddy, I'm here. It was just another PTSD attack." 

 

"Is Christian here?" 

 

"Yeah," spoke Christian. 

 

Lincoln began crying as I didn't think he wanted Christian to see him during one of those. 

 

"Christian go upstairs and see if any the other boys are awake please." 

 

"O, okay. Umm..... Lincoln, I won't tell anyone about this, I promise," Christian responded as he headed for the stairs.

 

"He probably thinks I'm a loser," cried Lincoln.

 

"I don't think so, I know he was concerned for you more than anything," I replied.

 

"Really?"

 

"Yeah, he kept asking if you were okay and stuff," I said as I rubbed my hand through his hair to calm him down. The crying was starting to slow.

 

Lincoln sighed, "I'm sorry." 

 

"For?"

 

"For being like this."

 

"What are you sorry for?  I think you're perfect."

 

"I know you don't mean that. I know you wish I were normal."

 

"I do wish you were normal, but normal in the regards to not having these attacks because they hurt you. Of course, I wish you didn't have PTSD, but not for the reason you think. I wish you didn't have them because I wouldn't have to see you suffer and I wouldn't need to see you in pain. But if need be, I will deal with every single PTSD attack you have, because you are perfect and worth it."  

 

"Thanks," he said softly still feeling down. 

 

"Alright buddy, let's head upstairs," I replied. I helped Lincoln to his feet and then grabbed his underwear. "Let's put these on though," I said as I opened up the top of the underwear and slipped them onto Lincoln's feet and up to his waist.

 

"Thanks," Lincoln said. I did note that this was the quickest he recovered from an attack, as he is usually recovering anywhere from 30-45 mins. It had only been 10 minutes, and Lincoln was basically back to himself. 

 

We went upstairs and were greeted by Christian setting the table with bowls for everyone.

 

"I went upstairs and woke everyone up," Christian stated. 

 

"Thanks buddy," I said as I went to the refrigerator to grab milk and Lincoln took a seat at the table. I saw Christian start to walk over to Lincoln.

 

"Umm, I'm... I'm sorry for uhh, you having to go through those things. They don't look fun," Christian said as he hugged Lincoln.

 

"They aren't, but thanks," Lincoln said and wrapped his arms around Christian.

 

"I won't tell anyone like my sisters or no one. I promise." 

 

"Thanks," Lincoln said and let go of the hug. It was a sweet moment between the two, and I saw a similar connection forming that I had with my brother Lucas. 

 

"Frosted Flakes, Cap'n Crunch, ummm... Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Froot Loops, or Cookie Crisp. Which one you guys want?" I asked as I was now in the pantry.

 

"Cookie Crisp," Clayton said as he came running into the kitchen.

 

Lincoln and Christian laughed at Clayton, but both said, "Cap'n Crunch." 

 

"You know what, screw it,  I'm just bringing 4 over," I stated and picked the 4 nearest to me. "Here we go."

 

"Thanks," Clayton said, and I kissed the top of his head good morning. 

 

The two others joined us, and breakfast was filled with chatter about Little George's birthday party as this was the next time they would all see each other. I didn't tell them that grandma and grandpa were coming up as that was going to be a surprise for them. Anyhow, breakfast was finished, and the boys took off for the basement. 30 minutes before Kelly came, I told them to get dressed, and I heard 5 moans disapproving of my request. 

 

It was 11 and Kelly arrived on the dot. The doorbell rang, and I went over to let her in. 

 

"Mornin sis."

 

"Morning," she replied and gave me a hug, "how was the weekend."

 

"Ha," I laughed, "stressful, thought I was going to need to take Lincoln to the ER because Clayton jumped on him and kneed him in the balls. He was in so much pain that I thought he might have had testicular torsion, but we put ice on them, and the swelling and pain seemed to go down. Then this morning, Christian watched Lincoln go through a PTSD attack, so if he asks you about Lincoln's past. Please tell him it's Lincoln's story to tell because well, it is his story."

 

"Was not expecting that as an answer. Umm, are you sure Lincoln's umm... parts are okay?" 

 

"Yeah he hasn't complained about them, and he's been taking it easy," I replied.

 

"Mom!" Christian said as he turned the corner.

 

"Hey honey, did you have fun." 

 

"So much!"

 

"Well, that's good. You can go play a little while longer. I need to speak to uncle Garret," Kelly said.

 

"Really? YES!" Christian said as he ran back down yelling, "guys I can stay a little longer." 

 

"So," Kelly started

 

"So.... I'm assuming this isn't good news?" I asked as we moved to my office.

 

"I don't know. To you, yes this is not good news because you won't like it."

 

"Oh boy."

 

"Well," Kelly began. "We made contact with the grandparents, they live about an hour south of Columbus." 

 

"Okay, what did they say?" I asked 

 

"Well, they were shocked at first and said they 'basically forgot about the child because they wanted to move on with their life. However, they expressed interest in Jacob, and they would like to meet Jacob since they haven't seen him his whole life,' and umm."

 

"And?"

 

"And on Tuesday, we are going to dinner with them. I will be in attendance, so will you. We are meeting in Columbus as that's the middle point for everyone."

 

"Wait... what? What if Tuesday doesn't work?"

 

"Well it needs to work," Kelly insisted. 

 

"This is completely unfair," I replied as I slammed my hands on the desk.

 

"I know Garret, but we need to meet. They have more custody rights than you."

 

"What are we meeting for? To see if Jacob is a worthy candidate to live with? I mean come on, you either want custody, or you don't want custody."

 

"Look, I have no idea the intentions of the grandparents, and I'm not sure what will happen. Maybe they just want to see and have a chance to meet their grandchild. We have been in contact with them since Friday, and this is what they have given us. I do know that he won't be out of your custody yet, so it is safe to bring him, and you don't have to worry about him being taken away yet."

 

"I knew this wasn't going to be good," I angrily responded.

 

"Don't be so negative. It's going to work out." 

 

"Oh, I'm sorry I don't see the positive side to this."

 

"Look, things have worked out before. Everything is going to be okay."

 

"You know? I want to believe that, but I'm having a hard time picturing it." 

 

"You need to believe," Kelly said. 

 

"Any other news you want to inform me on?" 

 

"Oh well this doesn't really pertain to you, but I need to ask the boys if they are happy here and so forth. Just a checkup."

 

"Alright," I said. 

 

"So I am going to need you to leave the office, and give us some privacy."

 

"Alright, I'll call for Lincoln."

 

I called Lincoln up first, and he entered. He was in there for probably 5 minutes, and then went back downstairs. This was recreated 3 other times, and Kelly came back out from the office. 

 

"Well, they love you, Garret. They didn't say one bad thing," Kelly laughed.

 

"Yeah, include that in your report of Jacob," I said.

 

"What report?"

 

"If I lose custody, I'm taking CPS and the state to court. I already have my lawyers picked out. This is absolutely insane to separate him from his brothers, especially with how much they have been through. Oh also just thought of another person on my side. It would be a good idea to get Dr. Ainsworth, their therapist, to state how that will affect him mentally and emotionally."

 

"Okay okay, cool down bro. You're madder than a wet hornet."

 

"You better fucking believe I am. This is ludicrous that this is even happening." 

 

"You're thinking too far ahead, just wait and see how it all plays out." 

 

"Mom," Christian stopped speaking as he saw how mad I was. "Umm.... I umm, well are we leaving soon because I want to play another game of FIFA?"

 

"Yes honey grab your things," she replied.

 

"Look, just letting you know I plan to sue," I said.

 

"Okay, I believe you." 

 

Christian came back upstairs and put his shoes on. I grabbed his suit from the dryer, and spoke, 

 

"Thanks for coming and hanging out with us bud!"

 

"Thanks for having me, love you Uncle G!" 

 

"Love you kiddo," I replied and patted him on the butt to get going.

 

"Love you, little bro," Kelly said and gave me a hug.

 

"Love you too, drive safe." 

 

I went back to my office to think things over and to check my email. I was pondering whether or not I was going to tell Jacob but then realized I sort of had to. Plus he has the right to know. I was going to talk with him after dinner and possibly play some video games with him to see if I could open a conversation between us. 

 

Since Christian left, Lincoln wasn't allowed to play any Xbox which meant he was in the family room watching TV. Most of Sunday flew by as it was already 6:30 and we just started eating dinner. The conversation between everyone was light and filled with laughter. They all agreed they had a fun weekend and we mostly chatted about the room designs. After dinner, the boys cleared off the table, and they were free to do what they wanted, minus Lincoln. I mentioned the idea of working in our Minecraft world to Jacob, and it put a smile on his face before running upstairs to set the game up.

 

I entered his room, to find him laying on his bed with the game and our "world" set up. I grabbed the other controller, and we started playing. Around 15 minutes in, I started to make conversation,

 

"So did you have fun this weekend?" I asked.

 

"Yeah, Dylan is cool. You think I could have a sleepover with Adam sometime?" 

 

"Yeah, I don't see why not." 

 

"Cool," Jacob replied.

 

"So I wanna talk to you about something."

 

"Okay?" Jacob said as he paused the game to look at me.

 

"You and I are going to dinner on Tuesday with aunt Kelly to umm," this was more difficult than I thought it was going to be, "to meet your birth mother's parents."

 

Jacob pondered it for a second and just replied, "okay," and started playing the game again.

 

"Wait wait," I said as I paused the game this time. "I want to know your thoughts on this Jacob."

 

"What do you mean?" 

 

"Well, I wanna know what you're thinking." 

 

"I don't care really because I get to stay here with you anyway," Jacob said.

 

Oh shit, he didn't understand what this could mean, and I didn't know whether or not to tell him. 

 

"Umm, well... umm," fuck me, I had to tell him. "Umm, that may not be true Jacob."

 

"Wh... what do you mean?"

 

"Look I want to be honest with you. Your grandparents might have the legal right to take you away and live with them."

 

"Why, what?" Jacob replied looking like he was about to burst.

 

"I will do everything in my power to make sure you stay with me, but I just wanted to let you know."

 

"Garret you can't let them take me away. I like it here and-and-and I don't want to leave!"

 

"Nothing is happening yet," I replied trying to calm him down.

 

"What if they aren't nice or what if they hate me," Jacob said as he started to cry.

 

"It's okay buddy."

 

"No, it's not! I want to stay with you."

 

"I know and like I said, I will try to make sure you do stay with me," I responded.

 

"What... what if it's like my old house?" Jacob asked as fear rolled over his face. "I... I don't wanna go." 

 

"Oh buddy," I said as I hugged him tighter. 

 

"What if they made me do the things my dad did?"

 

"You don't have to answer this but besides touching you. did your father ever do anything else to you?"

 

Jacob was on edge, he was either going to crack or revert to suppressing his thoughts and emotions. He thought for a second as he looked into my eyes, and I wondered if I just made a breakthrough with him.

 

"Yes," was all he said and the floodgates opened. 

 

"It's okay, I'm here Jacob. You're safe," I said trying to comfort him.

 

"He... he made me touch his pee-pee, and he umm, stuck things up my butt," Jacob cried. "He even put his fingers in me."

 

"Anything else?" I asked fighting back my own tears as I gazed upon Jacob who always tried to act tough and put on a strong front.

 

"Yes," he bawled.

 

"If you want to tell me, I'm here to listen to you son."

 

"When he called me special, it'd normally meant he wanted to do things with me and one time. He... he... umm," Jacob stuttered. "He forced his pee-pee into my mouth, and-and I couldn't breathe, and he slapped me and-and, then peed in my mouth. It.. it.. it was so scary and tasted so bad. I tried to tell my mom, but she didn't care." 

 

"I'm so sorry buddy," I said as I cradled him. I wasn't sure, but I was guessing the pee was cum. 

 

"The worst was the things up my butt," bawled Jacob. "They hurt so bad." 

 

"It's okay buddy."

 

"I can't do those things again Garret... I don't wanna to do those things again.. I'm scared."

 

"You won't ever have to do those things under my watch. You mean too much to me," I replied.

 

"It always hurt," Jacob cried. 

 

"I know, I bet it did," I said and kissed the top of his head. We sat in silence for a few minutes as he slowly got a grip on his emotions, before Jacob spoke,

 

"I've... I've never told anyone that."

 

"And it only stays between you and me if you want it to be that way," I said as we released our hugs and Jacob sat next to me. "I want to let you know you can express how you are feeling around me, or if you are having trouble dealing with emotions. I don't want you to hide your feelings."

 

"I don't know how I feel," Jacob said cutting me off. "I hated being with my dad. I always tried to be better at things, because I thought he would stop doing things to me, but it made it worse. I.... I don't know how to feel or what I should be feeling."

 

"That's okay," I quickly responded. "It's important that you express yourself and don't hold these emotions in. You know, just the fact that you are opening up to me is huge! That's a major step!"

 

"It is?"

 

"Absolutely!"

 

"But how?"

 

"Well for one, I know what is running through your head. I know more about your past, which means I can help you going forward in life with other situations!" 

 

"Yeah, but no one ever listened to me. I always tried to stay away from dad and not be around him, because when I was around, he would try things."

 

"Oh, I see," I said trying to interpret what he meant. "At the time, you thought you were doing what's best, and that was to try and stay out of the picture. The less you communicated and the less he saw you, was better because your father didn't have the ability to touch you as much?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Well that was smart kiddo, you tried your best to make it through your situation at the time. But you are no longer living a life where you need to hide." I replied, "I will never ever harm you or do anything remotely close to what your father did. You can trust me because I love you and I want what's best for you."

 

"I know I can trust you, and that you love me.... but I umm just, I don't know."

 

"You are just so used to living a life of fear and pain that you are not used to having an adult to trust?" I asked.

 

"Yeah!" 

 

"Well, you can trust me."

 

"I know," Jacob said as he flung himself into my arms for a hug. 

 

"Just remember, If you ever want to talk or ask me a question, don't be afraid to. I will always listen to you." 

 

"Thanks Garret,"

 

"Love you buddy," I said as I rubbed his back.

 

"Love you!"

 

"So you have any questions?"

 

"Well umm, so what happens if I have to leave?" 

 

"We will address that issue if it comes to that because I don't know."

 

"How did my real mom die?" Asked Jacob.

 

"After she gave birth to you, she had some internal bleeding issues." 

 

"So I... I killed her?" 

 

That question caught me off guard, "oh no, absolutely not. She passed away because the doctors didn't do a good job of monitoring her," I said. I didn't know if that was an accurate statement, but it sounded good.

 

"But she wouldn't have died if I wasn't born right?" 

 

My god this kid was smart, "I don't have the answer to that kiddo."

 

"What if I don't like my grandparents?" My dad was right, Jacob is very inquisitive.

 

"Well," I said, "let's save judgment until after we meet them."

 

"Do Lincoln and them get to come?"

 

"Afraid not, this is a you and me journey."

 

"Okay," he responded.

 

"Any more questions?"

 

"Can we still play Minecraft?"

 

"You kidding, let's go hunt for food," I said referring to the game! Jacob didn't move from my lap for the whole game as he rested his body against mine. 

 

As I was playing, I couldn't help but think, "I got through to Jacob! He finally trusted me enough to open up about his past. I mean, I knew he went through some abuse, but he only told me his father touched his penis. There was obviously more to the story, and I found out the rest tonight, or at least I hoped that was the rest of the abuse."  We played around 45 minutes,  and we hunted enough food to last us for a while. Our next task was to build up our house and add defense measures, but that would have to wait for another time. With it being close to 8 pm, I went downstairs to spend the rest of the time with the boys. 

 

We were going to put on a movie, but since it was a school night, the film would have gone past their bedtime. We decided to look on Netflix for a tv show, and the boys wanted to watch planet earth. Since one episode of planet earth was a 1 hour and 15 minutes long, I told the boys to get ready for bed then come back down while I made popcorn. I should have known better because two boys, Lincoln and Ryker came down in the nude, Jacob came down bottomless, and Clayton was in pajamas. Before I brought over the bowl of popcorn, I stopped in the closet and grabbed our two blankets. 

 

I sat down towards the middle of the couch, and Ryker was first to occupy my lap. He sat on my lap in crouched in a semi-fetal position and rested his head on my chest. I supported his thigh just under his bottom to make sure he didn't fall. Lincoln took his usual spot to the right of me with his butt back up to my thigh, but his legs were placed behind Ryker as there was a gap just big enough. Clayton wanted his recline chair, and Jacob was only to the left of me with his head near my thigh. We turned on planet earth, and it was actually very fascinating. By the end of it, we wanted to watch another episode, but the boys needed to be put to bed. 

 

I followed the same nighttime routine I've been doing since the boys got here. Tuck them in, kiss them goodnight, and move on to the next one. The boys were in bed and asleep, and I returned to my room were I crashed shortly later.

Monday morning came, and I was up at 6:45, much to my surprise to see Rita there. 

 

"Here early?" I asked.

 

"Truthfully, wanted to come here last night... I missed the boys," giggled Rita. 

 

"You know you're welcome anytime," I said. 

 

"I'll hold you to that, so how was the weekend?"

 

"You missed a lot," I replied.

 

"Well I have some interesting news for you as well, but tell me about the weekend first."

 

"Umm, well," I began and listed everything that happened which included Lincoln vs. Clayton drama and the news about Jacob.

 

"You're kidding, you actually have to meet with them for dinner?" Rita asked.

 

"Tell me about it. Do you think you could watch the boys for me?"

 

"Absolutely! How is Jacob handling the news."

 

"Like I said, he finally opened up to me. Told me more about the abuse he went through, and I was able to understand him a bit more."

 

"That's awesome," Rita said while she brought me a cup of coffee.

 

"I know, I just hope it wasn't all for nothing."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"He finally opens up, and there is a possibility that he is taken away from me. I mean that would ruin everything we've built up."

 

"Well," Rita paused to think. "I don't know. I was going to say it wouldn't ruin the relationship between you two, but then again he wouldn't be in your custody anymore." 

 

"I know," I expressed. "Look, I don't want to think about this at the moment. What's your news."

 

"Well it isn't news, but it's interesting. So you know how I know Joanne Brumm's parents?"

 

"Yeah, you go to church with them, right?"

 

"Well, she is their daughter. Joanne Brumm is the daughter of Mark and Tilly."

 

"Okay?"

 

"Is that not strange?" 

 

"I'm sorry I'm confused."

 

"Oh, Garret! Listen carefully," Rita said. "Joanne Brumm is the daughter to Mark and Tilly, not the daughter-in-law. So Todd took Joanne's last name instead of his."

 

"Holy shit, I didn't even think of that." 

 

"It didn't cross my mind at the time either."

 

"I mean, that's interesting. Very interesting."

 

"Very uncommon too, I mean unless they are modernist and believe the last name doesn't mean much, but something to think about."

 

"Hmm," I said. "It's interesting, but none of my business. I'm sure the Brumm's have their reasons."

 

"Yeah I'm sure they do," Rita replied. "So what should I make for breakfast?"

 

"Well, I made French toast and cereal for Saturday and Sunday. Oh by the way, apparently my French toast isn't as good as yours. The boys made sure to tell me."

 

"That's my boys," chuckled Rita. "For that comment, we are whipping up something special." 

 

"You spoil these boys,"  I laughed.

 

"Oh, and you don't?" 

 

"... alright, you got me there."

 

"Uh huh, that's what I thought. Let me spoil these boys with delicious food." 

 

"So what are you making then?"

 

"Eggs Benedict, with a waffle on the bottom." 

 

"Okay spoil the boys and make me two please," I laughed.

 

"Oh no, you get none," responded Rita.

 

"Yeah yeah," I chuckled. 

 

Rita started the prep work, and before long she had the batter to the waffles made. Around 7:30 I went upstairs to wake the boys. Since we didn't have showers last night, I went to Lincoln's room and turned on his shower to warm the water. He was the one who needed it most, so I woke him up and told him to get a shower. I did the same for Ryker since he always liked to be looking fresh. Jacob and Clayton were able to go a day without a shower since they didn't do many activities yet.

 

Jacob and Clayton walked back downstairs with me, and around 15 minutes later we were joined by Ryker and Lincoln. It was good timing since Rita was putting the finishing touches on the food, and brought it to the table. 

 

"Well since I heard you boys preferred my French toast to Garret's, here is a special treat," laughed Rita.

 

"Rita," said Clayton as he tried a bite, "this is to die for, it's yummy in my tummy."

 

"Where do you learn these sayings?" I laughed. 

 

"No no, I'm with Clay," said Lincoln, "this is awesome or whatever Clay said."

 

"Yummy in my tummy?" Clay said again as he did a little dance in his chair.

 

"Yeah that," giggled Lincoln.

 

"Thank you Rita,  you're awesome," remarked Ryker.

 

"Thank you," said Jacob.

 

"Alright, we are doing a cook-off one of these nights," I joked.

 

"Oh you're on sugar," said Rita.

 

"Ohhhh you're gonna lose," said Clayton which caused the boys to laugh

 

"Clayton... eat your food," I replied.

 

"Can there be a cook-off?" Asked Lincoln.

 

"Yeah and we get to decide what you guys have to make," chimed Jacob.

 

"Yeah!" Said Ryker.

 

"Garret is too afraid to lose," Rita spoke.

 

"Alright, cook-off.... Wednesday night, Rita you're going down," I said.

 

"There's going to be so much food!" Cheered Clayton.

 

"Do you ever think of anything else?" Asked Lincoln.

 

"Nope!"

 

"Alright boys, we need your submissions by tonight, so we can run to the grocery store," I said. 

 

"Okay," they all agreed. 

 

"Finish your food and go get ready," I said. The boys ate every last bite of breakfast and took off for upstairs.

 

"Please take it easy on me," I laughed.

 

"Oh I won't," remarked Rita. "I'm surprised you accepted this challenge, considering how competitive you are." 

 

"Oh I know I'm going to lose, but it's something the boys will remember, and if it creates memories, then it's worth it. Plus we will be spending some family time together."

 

"You're a going to make a good father for these boys!"

 

"I hope so," I said. 

 

It was time to leave for school, and even Rita received hugs before everyone loaded into the SUV. I dropped them off and returned home to go look at some emails. 

 

My first email was from my financial advisor, it was my monthly earning report from investing my money into multiple businesses and the stock market. I was lucky, I was able to spend a lot of my money into companies like Google, Netflix, and one of my top earners was Amazon, which was the first company I invested in. I also have Heather who manages my money, and I haven't been hit with a single down period yet. My monthly earnings were around $745,000, which wasn't as high as I expected but I couldn't be that picky. The next email I saw was from Keith, it stated our offer of $2,299,999 was too low, and they countered with $2,612,000. I called Keith to discuss our next step.

 

"Hey man"" I said.

 

"Hey Garret, did you get my email?"

 

"Yeah that's why I'm calling, what do you think our next step should be?"

 

"A counter-offer obviously, but we are at a pretty steep difference."

 

"I know, they're insane. What did Amanda say?"

 

"She sees where we are coming from, but she considered it to be a low ball offer as well," said Keith.

 

"Yeah, it was. I was hoping they would counter with something in the 2.5 range."

 

"Umm, how do you feel about, let me see here...  umm offering $2,449,000?"

 

"I thought we may have to offer higher, but I like that number. See if we can get them down some more." 

 

"Alright, I'll have Amanda write up another offer."

 

"Sounds good man," I said. 

 

"We should probably meet sometime this week to catch up and discuss more plans." 

 

"Alright... Wednesday for brunch?"

 

"Sounds good, you're picking the place this time." 

 

"I'll shoot you a text Wednesday morning with the place.

 

"Alright talk later," Keith said and hung up the phone.

 

My next task was to sign Ryker up for soccer, I looked at the local leagues, and saw one for his age group. I also signed the other boys up just in case they wanted to participate. This was going to work well with our schedule since games were on Saturday and the practices were once a week on Tuesday's. The league started in 3 weeks, so I had time to go shop for the boys. 

 

Before long I went to pick Clayton up, and we came back to the house. Since it was a Monday, Jacob and Lincoln had therapy today, and it didn't leave Clayton and I much time to hang out, however, we did watch some more hockey videos and highlights from around the NHL. Playoffs were closing in, and Columbus needed 2 more wins to qualify which was really good considering they had twelve games left. Pittsburgh qualified and as did Washington, so we would be playing one of those two teams in the first round. 

 

It was time to for the boys to leave for therapy, I hopped into the truck and was at the school in no time. Like always, I had to walk into the building, and the boys were called down. We hopped in the truck and made our way to her office. 

 

Jacob was the first one to go in, and it left Lincoln and I time to start his homework. We went over his spelling words and started his math homework, but we were interrupted when it was his turn to go in.

 

"Want to start your homework?" I asked

 

"I guess," Jacob said. "Can we go over the presidents first?"

 

"Yeah, so we need to know presidents 12-22, which ones you think you know,"

 

"Umm none," giggled Jacob.

 

"Oh boy," I joked. "Who was our 16th president? Considered to be one of the best presidents ever. His last name is your brother's first name."

 

"Oh oh, Abraham Lincoln!"

 

"Good!"

 

"Wasn't Andrew Johnson after him?" 

 

"There you go, now who is after Johnson?"

 

"Umm Zachary Taylor?" 

 

"Nope, I believe Taylor was the 12th president." 

 

"Oh okay," Jacob said, we went on and made it through 12-22, but we needed some work as I was answering most of them or helping him with hints. Anyhow, Lincoln stepped out of the office, and it was my turn.

 

We chatted, and she told me that Jacob was more open with her, but he is also scared about meeting his grandparents. She said he didn't want to leave your house, and I asked her if it's the wrong idea to separate Jacob from the family for his emotional and mental well being, and she agreed. 

 

Ruth said Lincoln was a little more open but not where she wanted to be with him. She explained that she thought that the stimulated attack last week, would be the connection she needed, but Lincoln doesn't want to talk about it. She also felt that she didn't have Lincoln's trust, and he was failing to adequately communicate. I told her about the PTSD attack on Sunday morning and how quickly he recovered, but Ruth suggested it didn't mean much as he probably wanted to hang out with Christian. 

 

We said our goodbyes, and we were on our way home. We arrived and were greeted by the two other boys while Rita had dinner ready. The boys gave us their suggestions for the cook-off as Rita and I would both me making steak. I was surprised by the rules they were throwing around the table, but they decided that Rita and I could cook the steak way we wanted. Which meant I was going to use the grill while Rita, well I didn't know her plan yet. 

 

After dinner, the boys did their homework, and I went downstairs to work out. This time Lincoln joined Ryker and me, but Lincoln only focused on running, while Ryker lifted light weights. I was proud to see these two being active and trying to be healthy. At the end of it, we sat down on the bench to cool down.

 

"Oh my," I said. "Which one of you need a shower, like immediately?" 

 

"Umm I think me," giggled Lincoln.

 

I turned my nose in his direction, and it was definitely him. "We are going to need to get some deodorant for you." 

 

"What's that?" Asked Ryker 

 

"Well when you get to a certain age, you start to sweat more. Your sweat has a smell, and deodorant helps fight the smell and even reduces sweating. You put it on your armpits."

 

"Does that mean Lincoln is going through puberty?"

 

"Ryker, shut it," Lincoln said.

 

"Hey it's okay, nothing embarrassing about puberty," I said to Lincoln. "Everyone goes through it, but I would say Lincoln hasn't started it yet, he just got some smelly pits."

 

"Hey," Lincoln laughed. 

 

"Am.... am I in puberty?" Asked Ryker.

 

"Nope, not yet," I laughed "You still have a few years to go." 

 

"Are you sure because my wiener gets hard sometimes?"

 

I couldn't help but crack up as was Lincoln. 

 

"Happens to the best of us," I joked. "But it's normal, and you haven't entered puberty yet, I promise."

 

"Good, I don't want to stink like Lincoln." 

 

"It does mean you will have a smaller wiener for a while," remarked Lincoln.

 

"Mines bigger than yours, loser." 

 

"Not huh twerp." 

 

"Yes huh... see!" Ryker said and pulled down the front of his pants.

 

"That's nothing, mines bigger," Lincoln said as he whipped his out.

 

"PUT.... THE.... Penises..... away," I said. "You both have good sized penises for your age. Yes, Lincoln will have a bigger one since he enters puberty first, but you will catch up to him." 

 

"See, told you," laughed Lincoln.

 

"Just wait till I enter puberty, then I'll be bigger." Remarked Ryker.

 

"Oh my, what am I going to do with you two." 

 

"You love us," smartly commented Lincoln. 

 

"Not when you stink like that, you need a shower asap," I laughed, "but you're right, I do love you both."

 

"Love you too," both said. 

 

I guess family time wasn't over as they wanted to shower in my room with me, but I put a stop to that. Mainly because of the conversation downstairs. I didn't want a cock measuring contest while I was taking a shower, so they each went to their own rooms. After my shower, I got into comfortable clothes and saw Rita out the door. I told her about buying deodorant for Lincoln, and she said she would get some when she went shopping tomorrow. The rest of the night was laid back, as we watched two episodes of planet earth then it was off to bed. Since Ryker and Lincoln already had showers, I tucked them in first. I gave Jacob and Clayton a quick bath and put Clayton to bed before I entered to Jacobs room. 

 

"Ready for bed?" I asked.

 

"Yeah," he replied and crawled under his covers. "Can you lay down with me?"

 

"Absolutely, scoot over though, I'm cold," I said. Jacob moved over, and I laid down under the covers. He cuddled next to me, and I began running my fingers through his hair.

 

"I'm scared for tomorrow," Jacob said.

 

"It'll be okay kiddo," I replied as I kissed the top of his head. "We will do it together."

 

"But what if I have to leave?" 

 

"I can promise you this, you aren't leaving tomorrow." 

 

"Promise?"

 

"Yeah, I promise," I replied 

 

"Okay," He said as I heard him sniffle.

 

"So who's the 18th president?" I asked trying to get his mind off tomorrow.

 

"Ulysses S. Grant?"

 

"Good job," I said as I started to scratch his head. I don't know what it is, but for the boys and me, having someone scratch your back, or rub your chest, or scratch your head was so comforting and relaxing. Especially when someone is trying to fall asleep, it's just so nice to have it be done. Or at least in the eyes of the boys and me.

 

"Give me the 20th president."

 

"Umm," Jacob softly said which meant he was starting to fall asleep. "James Garfield."

 

"Correct," I said. We went over  2 more presidents, and Jacob was out cold. I kissed his head and slowly got out of the bed. 

 

I went to my room, completely dreading tomorrow, as I didn't want to meet the grandparents. I just didn't have a good feeling, not a good feeling at all.

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016. We had our typical morning, and the boys went to school. When they were at school, I was doing research and finding out more about the laws of custody, and not one search helped me in any way. The day went by rather quick, and all the boys were home doing their homework. 

 

It was time for Jacob and me to go, so we loaded into the Mercedes. Jacob was wearing khaki pants, and a cute long sleeve plaid button down. I dressed in business casual as we were dining in the city which meant we were going someplace decent. 

 

I was just about to back out of the garage when Jacob said,

 

"Wait!"

 

"What is it?"

 

"I forgot Riley."

 

"Riley," I thought, "Oh his stuffed animal."

 

"Can I bring her?" Jacob asked

 

"Absolutely kiddo, hurry up and go get here."

 

"Okay," Jacob said and sprinted up to his room.

 

 

The car ride to Columbus, Jacob and I avoided the topic of the grandparents, as we conversated about school and random things. The navigation said we were about 10 minutes out and I could sense the uneasiness Jacob was feeling. He went quiet and stared out the window as he clutched onto Riley, holding the stuffed animal as tight as possible.

 

We arrived at our location, and it was the fucking McDonalds. I thought that this was the wrong place, but it wasn't. I saw Kelly walk over to our car, and she was decently dressed up as well. I stepped out and left Jacob in the car.

 

"Who picked McDonald's to have the first meeting?"

 

"They did."

 

"And you agreed?"

 

"I didn't know it was a fucking McDonalds," Kelly whispered to me.

 

"This is honestly terrible already, I may leave. Who the fuck picks McDonald's to have a meeting like this."

 

"Obviously someone on a budget."

 

"Well fuck, maybe I should go and buy them the whole fucking menu if they are struggling. Oh wait.... They are considering the option to take a kid in.... Unbelievable."

 

"Be nice Garret. I think that's them," Kelly said as a big 2002 Ford F-350 rolled into the parking lot.

 

Kelly started to walk over to where they parked, and I opened the door for Jacob to step out. 

 

"Alright kiddo, you ready?" I asked.

 

"No, not really." He said, "but, can Riley come?"

 

"Of course Riley can come, I hope she is hungry."

 

Jacob giggled, and Jacob took hold of my hand as he exited the Benz

 

We walked over together to where they parked, and a big older gentleman probably in his early 70s stepped out of the driver's side. He wasn't country dressed like I thought he was going to be, but definitely was a blue collar worker when he was in the workforce. 

 

"Garret Hamel," I said and extended my hand.

To Be Continued....

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Author Notes: