Part Seven

The last month of school was pretty much par for the course except for the constant state of distraction that Jimmy found himself in. He found he had to continually force himself to focus on the class material instead of wanting to get home to Blair. He was worried that his father would come home early one day and find him. Of course the day his father came home early was the day William Parker was ready for a nursing home. Still there was a seriously irrational need to see his younger friend.

When finally they were released for the day, Jimmy found himself racing for his motorcycle and heading for home. He made it in record time. Sally was just preparing a tray to take up to her patient.

"I'll take it, Sally. Thank you for taking care of him. How is he today?"

"A little better this morning. Though he looks like he's been through a nightmare." Sally gave a tiny smile of understanding. She had been with the Parker's long enough to recognize the signs of abuse easily enough. She'd nursed Jimmy through similar episodes.

"Yeah, he has. He call?"

"Not yet." Sally replied knowing who Jimmy was referring to without the need for names."

"Okay." Jimmy hefted his shoulder bag higher to take the tray from the diminutive Oriental woman and with a quick kiss to her cheek he made his way up the winding front stairs to his bedroom.

A little juggling and the door to his room opened easily. Blair lay with his eyes closed facing towards the window. Soft sunlight eased through the partially opened blinds, casting the room in a warm and inviting glow.

Jimmy put the tray on the bedside table and settled on the edge of the bed. His reached out and shook the younger boy gently. "Hey Blair, you hungry?"

A soft moan met his ears but he was rewarded with the sapphire blue eyes opening and focusing easily on his face. A smile made its way onto the bruise and slowly healing split lips but it was genuine.

"Hey. Yeah, I could eat." He sat up and leaned back on the headboard. There was a glimmer of the old Blair that Jim remembered in the tone and Jimmy found he was immensely pleased that it had returned.

When Blair was settled, Jimmy placed the trap on his lap. It was awkward at first but Blair had soon gotten the hang of eating with his left hand and was by now, after only a week, an expert. The right hand was still too sore to hold the spoon. When the hearty soup was finished, Blair was exhausted again. Jimmy made him lie down but instead of leaving he sat in the chair by the window which he pulled closer to the bed.

"Blair, what happened, can you tell me?" As Jimmy watched the light faded from Blair's face. His head fell forward, hair coming around to hide his face. Jimmy hadn't pushed this topic, wanting Blair to be stronger before having to face it but now, it was time.

"Mike killed Naomi. Told me he did. Gave her bad drugs or something. Said he was going to sell me for money."

"How the hell does someone get sold for money these days." Jimmy fumed. He stood angrily, missing the flinch that swept through Blair's body.

"He said he knew people who would want me. But he wanted to test me first." Blair continued his voice little more than a whisper now. Jimmy wasn't sure how but he still heard every word, like a sword thrust to his heart. "He said I had to prove I could put out before anyone would pay though. I didn't know what he meant."

Jimmy felt his blood freeze in his veins. He knew where this was going. His own sheltered life had not prepared him for where this conversation was going.

"Aww, Blair." Jimmy sat on the edge of the bed and let his friend find solace in his embrace. Blair eagerly accepted, wrapping too thin arms around his neck. Great wracking sobs shook the wasted frame. Jimmy just held on until all the tears were gone and a knock on the door signaled Sally.

"Jimmy, your father called, he is on his way home and bringing people for dinner. He demands you attend. You go get ready, I will wait here until you are done." Sally's kind face held sympathy and suddenly Jimmy realized she had heard at least some of Blair's tale.

"Thanks, Sally." Blair was sound asleep and didn't respond as Jimmy lay him back down on the bed. Ten minutes later Jimmy returned and let Sally head back downstairs to prepare for his father's arrival and dinner guests.

Once Jimmy was dressed in his suit and tie, he turned back to the bed. Hair had fallen over Blair's face as the smaller boy had turned in his sleep. Jimmy leaned over and pushed the hair back.

"No matter what, Blair. I will always love you, my brother. You and Stephen are all I have in this world and I wouldn't trade that for anything. Expect maybe to have stopped this from happening."

"Jimmy." Stephen called as he raced up the stairs.

"Stephen don't yell or run in the house." His father's voice bellowed up from the downstairs foyer. Jimmy slipped out the door and met Stevie in the hall.

"Hey, Squirt. How was school?"

"Great. I missed you though. Daddy yelled all the way home and…"

"Hush, kiddo." Jimmy reprimanded the little boy gently as he heard his father coming up the stairs.

"Dad." Jimmy greeted as he put Stevie back on his own feet.

"I am glad to see you are ready. I have important clients coming for dinner. Stephen is to stay in his room and I need for you to make nice. They will be here in ten so make sure your brother is down for the night. I don't want to see or hear him. Understood." An undercurrent of anger laced his father's words and Jimmy knew that Stevie heard it also.

"Yes sir." Jimmy told him. He watched his father head for his own room on the other side of the house before taking Stevie into the boy's room to change.

"If you are really quiet you can stay with Blair okay. I will introduce you and maybe you can play a game or something. He's really smart too, I'll bet he might know a bedtime story or you could tell him one." He had tried to keep the two apart until Blair was more healed. The younger boy had problems with Sally sometimes so Jimmy wasn’t sure how he would take Stevie.

After he changed Stevie into pj's. Jimmy snuck him across the hall to his own room. Since their father never came to say good night it was safe enough.

One look at the miserable figure on the bed made Jimmy think that this might have been a bad idea but Stevie gripped his hand tighter.

"Is he sick, Jimmy?"

"Yes, so be nice okay." Stevie let go of Jimmy's hand and walked to the bed. A tiny hand reached out and gently stroked the bruised face.

Blair woke at the feather light touch to see the bright shining eyes of a little child. The same eyes of his friend.

"Hi." The little boy said with a smile.

"Hi." Blair said back, pulling himself once more into a sitting position.

"Blair, this is my brother Stevie. He's going to keep you company until after my father's business dinner." Jim smiled at the two.

"Hi, Stevie."

"Can you play fish?" The boy asked.

"I love fish." Blair tried to smile, his eyes twinkling. For a moment the painful events of the recent past had faded. Jimmy was pleased to see this and felt comfortable leaving the two boys alone.

"I better go. Try and be as quiet as you can okay, Squirt."

"Okay Jimmy. Will you tuck me in later?"

"Wouldn't miss it." Jimmy stood and ruffled the blond curls, smiled at Blair and took his leave for the dinner from hell.

All night long, Jimmy wondered what was happening upstairs. His imagination seemed to kick in and he swore he could hear what the two were whispering and giggling softly about. Impossible and he knew it but the dinner was boring as hell. His father's friends were too nice and Jimmy's mind kept returning to what Blair had said earlier about Mike and he tried to keep his distance, staying close to his father when he could and switching to a different guest when one got a little too friendly.

It was nearly midnight when he finally begged his father to allow him to get to bed. He had school the next morning and a test he reminded his father. William Parker was in fine fettle as the four business men had hashed out the agreement and needed only to fine tune the deal. He didn't need Jimmy there for that so he allowed the boy to leave.

Jimmy returned to his room which was now dark and silent. Two forms were huddled up under his comforter and he smiled at the sight. He liked this feeling of protectiveness that surged through him when he thought of these two boys. His tribe.

He started at that thought, unsure where it had come from. With a shrugged he gathered the smaller of the two bundles in his arms and carried it back to its own room. He could still hear his father downstairs, saying goodnight to his friends.

"Jimmy?" Stevie's sleep ridden voice whispered softly.

"Yeah, Squirt. Going to tuck you in now."

"'kay. Love you, jimmy."

"Love you too squirt. Go back to sleep." He placed a gentle kiss on Stevie's forehead as he pulled the blankets up over the now sleeping child. Then he returned to his own room to settle in and sleep.

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