Justin Redmond: A Sweet Gay Romance (James Brothers Book 4) Page 8

  Justin nodded. He knew Hunter was right and would know where to place him for the reasons he had. It was a good match, he thought. Hunter went ahead of them since Justin didn’t go to the boys’ rooms because he had no reason too. Hunter knocked on the door, and Steve said, “Come in, Hunter.”

  Hunter laughed and opened the door. “How did you know it was me?”

  “I can tell by your knock. I was going to help Justin, but he said he had it. I’m sorry.”

  “This has nothing to do with that. We took in another boy tonight, and I wanted to put him in here with you. He’s close to your age, and I figured you would help him get used to things around here. He’s only ten and has been beaten bloody. We are going to bathe him then put some antibiotic ointment on him and then bandages. If you don’t want to see us do that, then you can go to Carson’s room or something.”

  “No, I’ll stay and see if I can keep him calm while you’re bandaging him.”

  Hunter smiled as Jordan came into the room on Justin’s back. Steve said, “Hey Justin, not fair. You never gave me a ride like that.”

  “When Hunter gets Jordan down, then you can climb on, and I’ll give you a ride too.”

  Steve laughed. “No, that’s ok I was just joking. Jordan welcome to your new room. I sometimes have nightmares, and Hunter has to come and sleep with me, but I’ll try not to wake you up. If I do, I’m sorry.”

  “That’s ok if you do, Steve. I have them too. I cry, though. I know it’s me being a wimp, but I can’t help it.”

  “You're not a wimp, Jordan. You went through a bunch of crap the same as I did. It happens by the people that are supposed to love and protect us, and that makes the pain much worse. Hunter and Justin are good guys. They have never hit us and never will. I have been here for two years now, and they don’t give anything but love to us.”

  “I’m not sure I know what that’s like. I never had anything but beatings from the time I can remember. My stepmom and dad are both in jail, and I hope they don’t know where I am because they’ll come and take me.”

  Hunter started to say something, but Steve held his hand up to Hunter. Steve said, “Once you get here, they are no longer your mom and dad. Judge Stone will cut their rights away from them, and you will belong to Hunter. That’s what this house is for Jordan. Hunter is now the same as your mom and dad, and we still haven’t figured out what Justin is.” Steve laughed when he saw the look on Justin’s face. “No, I’m joking. Justin is here to get our heads fixed, but he is also Hunter’s boyfriend.”

  Justin rolled his eyes. “Guilty as charged. We are one big happy family here. You’ll get used to us, Jordan.”

  Hunter laid his little suitcase down on the bed he would be sleeping in. He opened the case to get him some pajamas out, but he didn’t have anything. “Jordan, is this all the clothes you have?”

  Jordan looked down at the floor. “Yes, it’s all I have.”

  “Ok, tonight you sleep in underwear and tomorrow we go shopping to get you the things you need. Let’s get that bath and get you cleaned up, then you can get bandaged up.”

  Steve had a bathroom off his bedroom, so Hunter took Jordan in the bathroom. Hunter took off his shirt and looked at his back. Hunter gasped. He had never seen a back so raw. There was nowhere on Jordan’s back that didn’t have a red mark on it, and several of them were seeping blood. He helped Jordan take his shorts and underwear off, and Jordan stepped into the water, and Hunter got a glimpse of his bottom. It was worse than his back.

  Hunter rinsed off his back and got all the blood of it. He had Jordan stand so he could wash the blood from his bottom and then had him sit back in the water. Hunter left the bathroom but left the door open in case Jordan needed him. He said to Justin, “Get the antibiotic ointment and plenty of gauze bandages. You’re going to throw up when you see his back. I hate that so much. He’s a sweet boy, and how can someone do such a thing?”

  Justin went to get the ointment and the gauze and some tape. Steve came up to Hunter and put his arms around Hunter. “Don’t worry Hunter, I’ll take care of him.”

  “I know you will, sweetie. I’m glad for you to be here. Not what put you here, but that you’re here to help me out when things like this happen.”

  Justin came back in with two tubes of antibiotic ointment and a bag full of gauze and stretch wrap to hold it on. He brought tape but figured they could use the stretch wrap for his back and if he had any broken ribs or whatever.

  Jordan called out from the bathroom. “Hunter, can you come to help me out. I can’t get out of the tub.”

  Hunter went into him and got a towel and put it around him and covered him up, then lifted him out of the tub and sat him on the floor. He got another towel and started to dry him off. He had him turn around to make sure he got his back and butt dry. He had to take a deep breath to look at his back and bottom. He noticed that even the back of his thighs was striped with welts and blood oozing out of the welts. He picked up Jordan and got him into the bedroom. He held the towel around Jordan’s waist and told him to lay down on his belly on the bed so they could fix his back. He laid down, and Hunter unwrapped his back and bottom.

  Justin looked at his back and looked away. He cleared the lump in his throat and then started applying the ointment to all the open wounds. After he did that, he laid a square of gauze on the open wound. Steve was there helping, handing him the squares. Hunter had to turn his back to them. He just stared straight ahead at the wall. His heart hurt, and he only wanted to hold that little boy and make everything better for him. After they had put squares on his wounds, they used paper tape to try and get them to stay put. On his back, they used the stretch wrap to hold it all in place. Hunter got his little briefs on, and they asked him if he wanted something to eat. He nodded but didn’t say anything.

  Hunter asked, “What would you like to have Jordan?”

  “Just a cold hotdog. That’s what I usually have for dinner.”

  Hunter turned his back. He couldn’t hold his tears anymore. Steve said, “You know what Jordan? I’m kind of hungry, and I sure don’t want a cold hotdog. I’ll go get you and me something real we can eat together here in the room. Is that ok? Do you trust me to get something delicious?”

  “I trust you, Steve, but are we allowed to eat up here?”

  “Well, not normally, but I think that Hunter and Justin will agree that this is a special occasion, and I don’t think they will be too mad about it.”

  Justin smiled. “No, Steve, you go down and get you and Jordan something that will make both of you sleep well. Do you need me to help you?”

  “No, thanks, Justin. I can handle the microwave.”

  Ten minutes later, Steve came back into the room with a tray. It held two glasses of milk and a big bowl of spaghetti and two plates and forks. He also had a plate of cookies for dessert. Hunter looked at the tray and grinned. “Looks like you got everything. Just make sure when you and Jordan are finished, you take the dishes to the kitchen, rinse them off. They go in the dishwasher. We will wash them tomorrow with the breakfast dishes.”

  Steve smiled at Hunter. “You got it, big man. You knew I was going to do it anyway, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, Steve, I know you’ll do that anyway. You’re a good kid. You make sure you take care of Jordan tonight. If you need me, you know where I’ll be. Just come and get me. Jordan might get scared being in a new place.”

  “We’ll be fine. If he gets scared, I’ll get in his bed with him.”

  Hunter got Justin’s hand, and they walked downstairs together.

  Chapter 13

  They went into the living room and sat on the couch. Hunter laid his head on Justin’s shoulder, and Justin wrapped his arm around Hunter. “Justin, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing these boys like that. I just don’t understand what’s wrong with people.”

  “I know, babe. I can’t figure it out either. I take it Jordan was sexually abused as well as physically?”

  “Y
es, by his stepmother. He said he learned good touch and bad touch in school. His stepmother was doing the bad touch, and if he told her no, she would beat him with the electric cord off her pan.”

  “I know you want to adopt Steve, and I have no problem with that. I was going to talk to you about adopting Simon, but we would only have him for two more years, but what about Jordan? He’s going to be here longer, and I think at his age, he will need us more than Simon will.”

  Hunter sat up and looked Justin in the eye. “I said when I got married, I wanted to adopt Steve. I don’t have any plans to get married. We just started to see each other a few days ago. I’m not ready to marry you or anyone else. I don’t know if I ever will.”

  “If you don’t want a future with me, then what’s the point in being together?”

  “I didn’t say I didn’t want a future with you. I’m just not ready today to plan our wedding and adoption of our sons.”

  “Well, you let me know when you’re ready. In the meantime, I’m going to see Judge Stone and see if he’ll let me adopt Jordan. I suggest you do the same with Steve. I don’t see a point to wait on that; we need to get them before someone else adopts them.”

  “No, none of the boys here are up for adoption. I’m sure the judge will let us adopt the boys we want, but the rest of them aren’t up for anyone to adopt. They have had too much trauma for anyone else to want to adopt. The judge sees them as unadoptable.”

  “That’s too bad. I bet these boys would all love to have a good family full of love. I think most of them only know the love you have shown them for as long as they have been here.”

  “You’re right. You can’t love your child and do that to them. It will take a while for Jordan to find out that he isn’t going to be hit here. It always takes time for them to adjust from beatings to love.”

  “How long have you been here doing this?”

  “I was eighteen when I started, and I’m twenty-three now so five years.”

  “It ever get better?”

  “Not when we have boys like Jordan come in. I guess I need to keep four of the boys home in the morning. John needs to check the older boys and Mark. Then we’ll know who needs tats and who needs surgery. I need to get the three older boys one or the other before they age out.”

  Steve came back downstairs with the empty tray. He stopped in front of Hunter and Justin. Hunter didn’t pull away from Justin, so he kept his arm around Hunter. Steve said, “Man Hunter, that kid could eat. He ate more than I did. He had more than half of the cookies and even drank all his milk. He said he had never had homemade cookies. He enjoyed all the food. Then he just laid over on his side and went sound asleep. I think he was tired too. He’s a good kid. Why would someone beat him like that? He doesn’t do anything to deserve that. He told me of some of the things he got beat for, and it was idiotic things. It’s not right, Hunter.”

  “It’s the same as you got beat for son. You know they don’t make sense, just some angry people. They are taking their failures out on their children. You’re right; it isn’t right to do that to your children.”

  “At least I know when you and Justin have kids that it won’t happen to them. You and Justin will have good kids just because you’ll love them.”

  Justin snickered. “You will know how we treat our kids, Steve. You’re going to be one of them.”

  Hunter looked at Justin and rolled his eyes. “I plan on adopting you very soon. Do you want to be my son?”

  Steve didn’t say anything; he just set the tray on the coffee table and got on the sofa beside Hunter. He turned and put his arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “Yes, I want to be your son. I want to be a son to both of you. Thank you, Hunter. Can we keep Jordan? I know he would want to be my brother and your son, as well.”

  Justin said, “I plan on seeing the Judge tomorrow and see if I can adopt him now. I want him as well as you.”

  Steve smiled; his eyes were shiny with unshed tears. He got up and kissed Justin on the cheek and picked up the tray and went to the kitchen with it. Justin pulled Hunter in and gave him a kiss.

  Justin said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you that I won’t be here tomorrow night and Wednesday, but I’ll try and be home that night. If not, I’ll be home Thursday for sure.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I have to go to Columbus for the state board exam to get my license. The judge told me when I had to go, it would be fine. I made an appointment, and it is for Wednesday. It’s a drive to get there, and I have to be there at eight a.m., so I don’t want to have to drive there all night and expect to take such an important test.”

  “Oh no, I wouldn’t want you to. It could cause you to have an accident.”

  “Will you be alright with the boys while I’m gone?”

  “I took care of them before you came here. I’m sure I can handle them myself for a couple of days. I’ll miss you, but I can take care of them all right.”

  “I’ll miss you too, babe. I have to do this to get my license, but it’s going to be an easy test, I think. At least I hope so.”

  “I’m sure as smart as you are that you’ll just breeze through it.”

  “Make sure you give Jordan some extra special loving for me. I’ll be here when John comes, then I’ll go talk to the judge and head for Columbus. I want to knock this out and get home and be able to stay here.”

  “I have some money saved. Do you need to borrow any for your trip or for the test or anything else? Like meals and such?”

  “No babe, thanks. My dad paid for the test and put money in my bank account to go take the test before I did what I did. So, I have plenty plus have the checks from here in the bank. It doesn’t take a lot to live here.”

  “That’s so true. I guess we better make sure that everyone is asleep and go to bed ourselves. John usually gets here about six in the morning when he comes. That way, it doesn’t interfere with his office hours.”

  “I’m right behind you. I want to see what he says about Jordan. After he looks at him, then I’ll probably leave. You can handle the other boys, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s not a problem. I know you have a long way to go; if you’re going to see the judge too, then you’ll have to leave early.”

  They both stood, and Hunter turned to go to the stairs. Justin caught his arm and turned him toward him. He put his arms around Hunter and covered his lips with his own, both men had forgotten that Steve was in the kitchen. He chose that moment to come out of the kitchen. He shook his head and snickered. Hunter pulled back and stared at Steve. “Get your little butt upstairs and get in bed.”

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  Hunter rolled his eyes then chuckled. Steve ran up the stairs and went into his room. He had just got in bed when he heard Jordan start to cry. He got out of bed and went to Jordan’s bed and crawled in beside him and pulled him close to him. He didn’t touch his back because he knew it was sore. He just got close to his ear and said, “It’s ok Jordan. I’m here and will keep you safe.”

  Jordan was still sleeping, but he stopped crying. Steve put his hand on Jordan’s shoulder, and he settled right down, and he didn’t hear anything more from Jordan the rest of the night. When Hunter came in to wake up Jordan, he saw Steve in bed with him and smiled. He knew this was the best place to put Jordan. He knew that Steve would understand and help him through the rough parts.

  Hunter woke Jordan and eased him out of bed, trying not to wake Steve. He wondered how much sleep Steve had gotten and didn’t want to wake him if he didn’t get much sleep. He walked a half-asleep Jordan into Hunter’s room where John and Justin were waiting on them. He took Jordan and laid him down on his stomach on the bed. John started pulling off the bandages and checking each wound. Justin was there with him and started bandaging him back up as John checked each wound.

  “Well, so far, everything looks good. You did well to put the antibiotic ointment on each one and then a bandage. I’m going to give him a round of antibiotics just
to be on the safe side. Jordan, does anything else hurt you?”

  “It hurts when I pee.”

  “Let me check on that for you.” He looked, and his little private was swollen and had an infection. John shook his head. “How in the world did that happen?”

  “Mother and abuse.”

  John took a deep breath, trying to control himself. He shook his head and gave Hunter another prescription for that too. “Both are antibiotics, but one is for his injuries, and the other is for the infection. Give him all the pills in both prescriptions until they are all gone. He’s going to stay, here isn’t he? If not, I’m going to call the judge when I get to my office. I don’t want either one of them near this boy again.”

  Justin said, “I’m going to talk to the judge this morning and see if I can adopt him. I want him, so he never gets hit again.”

  “Tell Judge Stone to call me, and I’ll make sure you do. I have never seen so much damage on a ten-year-old before. I think Steve was the worst I saw, but at least it was just his back. This boy has not only the damage on his back and bottom; then, there is the infection. I feel like I want to shoot these parents.”

  Justin grunted. “Get in line Doc. They are mine first.”

  “Judge Stone better give them some prison time for this mess. I’ll write a report and send it to the court. I’m also going to call my Dad and have him bring some money over here for you to get him all new clothes and some toys. I don’t see anything here except for that little bag sitting here. Is that all he has?”

  Hunter said, “Yes, that’s all he brought. The judge said for us to use some of the house funds to get him some clothes and toys. Your dad left a card for us to use for the boys as well. We were going to wait until you checked him then go buy him new clothes and toys. Justin has to leave town for a couple of days so I guess we’ll wait until he gets back since he’s going to adopt Jordan he should be there.”

  “Ok, I’ll call my Mom, and she’ll go shopping to get him a few things until Justin gets home. At least some clean clothes.”