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Subject: Under Siege, Chapters 21 any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story is the property of the author and is protected by copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. If you enjoy this story, please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation. Chapter 21 First Blood Josh was unusually moody the next day after school. I couldn't recall ever seeing him like this. Frowning. Deep in thought. And he wasn't joking or chattering like he normally did. Marie and I looked at each other, and I knew what she was thinking because I was thinking the same thing. Something happened at school today. Something big that hit him so hard he's still not ready to talk about it. I thought I'd try to start a conversation. "This is probably the best fried chicken I've ever tasted, Marie." "Thanks, Jake. It's my mom's recipe." "Well, tell her I love it." "I will," Marie replied, with a nervous smile, glancing over at Josh who was picking at his chicken, not really eating much. "The only problem is now I need a long walk with the dogs to work off some of the calories," I said with a chuckle. "You want to go with us, Josh?" He didn't answer. He pushed his potatoes around with his fork. "Josh," Marie said, "Jake asked you a question." Josh looked up. "Huh? Sorry. I was thinkin' about stuff." "I can see that," I said. "I asked if you wanted to help me walk the dogs tonight." He shrugged. "Sure. I guess so. If you want." This definitely wasn't the Josh I had come to know and love. Although I was often surprised by how mature he could be, he was still only 13, and mood swings might be something I'd have to get accustomed to. I picked up my plate to take it to the sink, but Marie took it from me. "I'll clean up, Jake. You and Josh go enjoy your walk." I stood up and squeezed Josh's shoulder. "Come on, sport. Let's do this." He sighed. "Fine." *** The first 20 minutes of the walk were silent. We walked side by side, Josh staring at his feet and me gently steering him around mesquite bushes each time he almost walked into one because he was so distracted. Even Milo had given up trying to get Josh's attention. For a while the bulldog had run along beside Josh, nipping at his fingers, until he realized Josh just wasn't in the mood to play. Now Milo was chasing Mitch and Amber, and Josh was in his own little world. Finally, I broke the silence, "Rough day at school today, huh?" He snorted. "Rough day? Hah! I wish it had been a rough day. It was a fucking disaster." He glanced at me sideways. "Sorry about cussing." "Wow," I replied, throwing an arm across his shoulders, "it must have been pretty bad. Wanna tell me about it?" "Not really," Josh answered with a frown, "but I'd rather tell you than mom." "Then I'm guessing this is something you want me to keep just between us?" Josh glanced up at me and said, "You can't tell anyone or do anything about it. Promise me, okay?" Oh, man, I thought, this must be pretty serious stuff. I hugged Josh tight to my side and said, "I promise I won't tell anyone, but I can't promise I won't do anything about it. Not until I hear what happened. What if it's so bad I HAVE to do something?" "It's not like that," Josh explained. "It's just that I wanna take care of it myself, not have you or mom jumping in on it." "Fair enough, sport. Why don't you just tell me what happened then?" Josh kicked a stick on the ground. "Like I said, today was a fucking disaster. Just before school started, I was getting my books from my locker, and I noticed a few other kids huddled together, whispering and giggling and looking at me. When I walked past them, I heard one of the boys laugh and say what sounded like, `Faggot ass.' "I stopped and faced the other kids and asked them what was so funny. A kid named Zeke got in my face and said, `You heard me the first time. Or does getting your dick sucked by an old dude make you deaf too?' "I couldn't believe it. I got mad and said, `What the fuck? What are you talking about?' "Zeke just smirked and told me, `Everyone knows about you and your neighbor. My Uncle Randy told me all about you and him, about how you're boyfriends and you sleep together every night. Do you like having him stick it in your butt? Or does he let you stick it in him?' "All the kids started giggling. "I was so shocked and confused I didn't know what to say. I just stood there staring at Zeke. "Then Zeke sniggered at me and asked, `Which one of you is the girl? If it's you, you're a faggot ass. If it's him, you're a shitty dick. So which are you?' "I was so stunned, I just turned and walked away without saying a word. But they wouldn't leave me alone," Josh said, miserably. "They followed me down the hall, laughing and calling me names. One of the teachers heard and made them stop, but they just made sure none of the teachers were around when they were talking shit." I felt so bad for him. He was right. It had been one heck of a bad day. "Damn, Josh, I don't know what to say." "There's nothing you can say, Jake. They're assholes." We walked along in silence for a minute as I thought about what he'd told me. "Hold on," I said, suddenly concerned, "that boy said his Uncle Randy told him about you and me?" "Yeah." "Randy, your mom's old boyfriend?" "Yes. Randy isn't really Zeke's uncle. He used to be married to Zeke's aunt or something like that. But Randy still hangs out with Zeke's family. They're all a bunch of jerks. Zeke's big brother got kicked out of school for bullying younger kids." "And now Randy is using him to cause trouble for you. Shit! Josh, I hate this. I never wanted anything like this to happen to you." I was beginning to have second thoughts about everything. If I had controlled myself from the start and just been there as an older friend instead of a lover, maybe none of escort ankara (http://www.bayanmap.com/k/ankara-escort/escort-ankara) this would be happening. I loved Josh, but I didn't want him going through life suffering the hatred and rejection I had. "Damnit, Josh," I said, my anger at myself beginning to build, "I can't believe I got you into this mess." Josh stopped me with a hand on my arm. "Look, Jake, don't even start. Don't tell me you wish we'd never had sex. `Cause I wanted it as much as you, and I'm not stopping now just because some dickheads at school wanna be assholes and call me names. They don't know about us. They don't know what it's really like. They don't know how much we love each other. Look at us right now. Just going on a walk and talking and stuff. You always listen to me, and you care about me, and I'm not giving that up just because those guys are total fuckwads!" His common sense penetrated my emotions and calmed me down. God, how I loved this boy! I raised my eyebrows. "Fuckwads, huh? Is that even a word?" Josh laughed. "Maybe it isn't, but I can't think of a name bad enough for those jerks." Josh was right. Our relationship was about so much more than sex. It was the fuckwads in this world who wanted to make it only about sex so that they could condemn us. I placed my hands on Josh's shoulders and looked him in the eye. "I love being out here, walking with the dogs, breathing the fresh air, enjoying life ... but Josh, the BEST part is having you out here WITH me. It just wouldn't be the same if we weren't together, so I'm never going to ask you to stop what we're doing. I would be WILLING to stop if you asked me to, for YOUR sake, but I gotta tell you the truth: it would kill me! I love having you around. I love watching movies with you and eating popcorn and wrestling. I love what we do in the bedroom, but I love what we do outside of it just as much. Because--" I stared hard into his eyes-- "I love you, Josh Canton." He stepped up and hugged me, pressing his face into my chest. "I love you, too, Jake. And I'm not going to stop loving you, no matter what anyone else says or does. Today was just a really hard day, you know?" I nodded. "I understand, Josh, I really do. And I wish I could snap my fingers and make all this go away, but I can't. The fuckwads in this world are always going to be hanging around, poking at us, trying to make us angry. We can't let them get to us, sport, we just can't." "I won't, Jake, but that's not all that happened today." Josh continued, "This afternoon, Mrs. Haskin pulled me out of class and took me to the counselor's office with her. The counselor said that some of the other kids were talking about me, saying that I was staying with a neighbor instead of my mom. I told her they had it all wrong, that my mom was back. Then she started asking all these questions. Where did my mom go? Why did she go there? How long was she gone? Where did I stay while she was gone? What happened at your house? Did you do anything that made me feel scared or uncomfortable?" He paused and sighed. "I finally stopped her and said, `I know what you're getting at. You want to know if Jake abused me. Well, he didn't!' Then she started telling me how I might be scared to tell them if something happened, but I could trust them and tell them anything. That's when I kinda got mad and started yelling at her and Mrs. Haskin. I asked them why they believed those other kids but not me. And then I stood up and said, `I don't think you guys can do this. You're not supposed to be talking to me about this stuff without havin' my mom here, and if I told the principal about it, I bet you'd both get fired. Especially after that crap you pulled last week, Mrs. Haskin.'" I began to laugh. "Man, you're one brave dude, Josh. I wish I could've been there and seen old Hag Haskin when you said that." Josh chuckled. "She looked like she was going to pee herself, that's for sure." We were both laughing hard now, shoving each other playfully as we walked. I stopped and turned to face Josh. "I see why you didn't want to tell your mother. She would have gone down to the school and ripped Haskin apart." He nodded. "I know. My mom does so much for me. I don't want her to worry about this. I can handle it, Jake. I can. Please don't tell her." I slowly nodded my agreement. "Fine, Josh. But I want you to promise me something." "What's that?" "If it doesn't get better, if it becomes too much for you to handle, tell me and let's work together on a way to fix it." Josh smiled that bashful little grin I had come to adore and said, "You got it." Then he turned and began running for the house. "Race you!" he shouted. "CHEATER!" I yelled, taking off after him with the dogs running pell-mell beside us. *** We stood in my room, holding each other and enjoying the feeling of our bodies pressed together. I felt Josh's cock stirring as he pressed against me, pushing out against my own stiffening cock, so I knelt down in front of him and slowly unbuckled his belt, unsnapped his pants and slid the zipper down. Tugging slightly, I pulled his jeans and briefs down to his knees. I still found it amazing that a kid his age had such a long, beautiful cock. I took the base of the shaft in one hand and lightly massaged his drooping balls with the other. I slid my mouth over the tip, sliding my tongue around beneath the foreskin as I pulled it down and slid it off the cap. I sucked ever so gently, enjoying the velvet softness of the now bare tip. Both my hands massaged his hard shaft while my mouth tickled the top few inches. His balls were hanging low, still hairless and smooth, but getting bigger overnight it seemed. I carefully lifted each one and rolled it slowly between my fingers and thumb, squeezing ever so softly to stimulate my young lover. He sucked in a breath of air and began breathing quickly. I could tell he was enjoying it when he took my head esenyurt escort (http://www.bayanmap.com/k/istanbul-escort/avrupa-yakasi-escort/esenyurt-escort) into his hands and began humping slowly into my mouth. I wanted him to take over, so I released his shaft and balls and placed my hands on his hips, encouraging him to thrust as fast as he wanted. Soon he was pushing deep into my mouth, touching the back of my throat with his tip. Faster and faster he pushed, striking the back of my throat with each thrust. His cock stretched my mouth and the head filled my throat completely, making me suck in short breaths of air whenever he pulled out. Soon he was thrusting so fast that I simply held my breath and pushed forward so his cock was deep in my throat. He shuddered and shoved himself as far in as he could, stopping and standing on tip toes, with his pubic patch pressed against my nose and upper lip. With a moan, he held me against his crotch, ejecting his cum, and breathing rapidly. I held my breath as long as I could before pulling off and allowing his still-leaking cock to slide out of my mouth. I looked up into his deep brown eyes and smiled. He grinned and said, "Thanks, Jake, that was terrific. Now I'll do you." I took his softening cock in my hand and lightly stroked it, squeezing out a few more drops. "No, Josh. This was for you. From me. To let you know that I love you and that I will always love you." He seemed to understand what I was saying. He smiled, pulled me to my feet, and threw his arms around me. With his face pressed against my chest, he whispered, "Those jerks can go to you-know-where. Nothing matters as long as I have you, Jake." Chapter 22 Collateral Damage "They've taken Josh!" I stared at Marie, unable to process what she had just said. "What? Who?" "The sheriffs and CPS," Marie gasped, trying to catch her breath after having run from her house to mine. "They just took him. Oh my God, Jake! What am I going to do?" I pulled Marie into the house and led her to the couch. "Sit down, Marie. Tell me what's going on." She covered her face with her hands and began weeping. "They took Josh. They said I was an unfit mother and that he wasn't safe with me. Then they took him." She dropped her hands and stared at me in desperation. "What am I going to do?" I sat beside her and held her hand. "Tell me everything, everything you can remember. What they said. What they did. Everything." Marie nodded. "Josh and I were eating supper. I heard a knock on the door. I went to answer it, and there was a sheriff's deputy standing there with a woman holding papers. They asked to come in. I said, `Okay, but what is this about?' The woman pushed passed me, looked at Josh, and gave me the papers. She said it was an order to remove Josh from my home. She said I was an unfit mother. No, she said she had reason to believe I was an unfit parent. Because I put Josh in danger. Then they took Josh and put him in a car and drove off." She was weeping uncontrollably so I handed her a box of tissues. She took a moment to wipe her eyes and calm down, then she continued. "I was screaming at them to stop, and the deputy kept threatening to arrest me. Josh grabbed me and hugged me and said it would be fine. He told me to come get you. He said you would know what to do." "Marie, I wish I did know what to do, but I'm just as confused as you. You said they gave you some papers. Where are they?" "Yes. I left them on the table." "Then let's go see what they say." I pulled her up and hugged her gently. "It's going to be alright. We're not letting them get away with this," I assured her. *** The CPS paperwork was painfully vague. Full of statements like `minor child exposed to dangerous environment' and `questionable decisions by parent/guardian' and `severity of circumstances warrants immediate contravention'. It was pretentious and pompous and condescending, leaving Marie no option to appeal the decision. The papers did give a phone number to call, which we did. But the call was less than helpful. The man we talked to refused to give any clarification over the phone, insisting that we drive to his office in the morning for a personal interview. He also demanded that we bring Josh's birth certificate and proof of school attendance and/or vaccinations. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to establish Marie's legal authority to discuss the case. Marie demanded to know where Josh was, but the man refused to tell her anything. He kept saying Josh was safe with them, but he wouldn't tell us where. He also insisted that he wouldn't discuss the case over the phone. Then he hung up on us. When we called back, the phone rang and rang but no one answered. I looked at Marie. "There's nothing else we can do tonight. I'll take off from work tomorrow and go with you to CPS. We'll get to the bottom of this." Marie began crying again. "I can't just leave Josh there. I can't." I hugged her and let her cry. "He'll be fine, Marie. He's a tough kid and this won't bother him. But we WILL get him out tomorrow. I promise." *** With Josh's birth certificate and school records in hand, we drove to the Child Protective Services office first thing the next day. Marie stopped at the receptionist's desk and asked, "Where's my son?" The woman at the desk blinked and asked, "Who are you?" "I'm Marie Canton. They took my son Josh last night. Where is he?" The woman pushed her chair back and stood up. "Wait here. I'll be right back." She walked down a hallway into the back of the building and returned shortly with a heavy-set man with tiny, black eyes. He constantly darted his gaze around us, never looking directly at us. I didn't trust him at all. "I'm Director Matthews. Did you bring the proof of parentage I requested?" he asked. Marie handed him the papers, which he studied carefully, reading every detail it seemed. "These appear to be legitimate." Then he glanced up, eskişehir escort (http://www.bayanmap.com/k/eskisehir-escort) staring at my chest, and asked, "And who are you?" "Jake Turnbull." "He's my neighbor. He drove me here." Piggy-eyes stared at my shoulder. "You'll have to leave," he grunted. "What? No!" Marie stated, raising her voice. "He's here to help me." "He can't stay," insisted Matthews. "He can leave now, or I can call the police and have him removed." Marie started to explode, but I took her arm and said, "It's okay, Marie. I'll wait for you in the truck. Do what you need to do for Josh." She nodded, and I saw the gratitude in her eyes. She followed Matthews down the hall, and I went outside and got back in my truck to wait. *** Marie came out of the building 30 minutes later. She looked confused and more angry than before. She climbed into the truck and slammed the door. "He said I put Josh at risk of being sexually molested by leaving him with you for a week. He said I could be charged with child neglect, abandonment, and truancy, because I kept Josh out of school without a doctor's excuse. And they're still refusing to tell me where Josh is." She covered her eyes with one hand. "I don't know what to do, Jake. They won't even let me talk to my baby." I cranked up the truck and backed out of the parking lot. "While you were talking to them, I called a friend in the Sheriff's Office. He had a few suggestions." She looked at me and asked, "What did he say?" "We're going to see a judge." I pulled out into the street and headed downtown. Pointing at the CPS papers on my dash, I added, "My friend said that CPS used an administrative order to pull Josh out of the home. That means they wrote it up themselves, and it hasn't gone before a judge yet. They have to see a judge within 48 hours to prove that Josh should be kept away from you. We can go to a judge and demand a hearing today. That forces them to explain why they think you're unfit." "So they can't keep giving me the run-around?" "That's right, but Marie--" I glanced at her and frowned. "You're going to have to throw me under the bus on this one." "What do you mean, Jake?" "My friend gave me some very practical advice. Please hear me out. When you talk to the judge, there are several things you're going to tell him. First of all, you didn't know about my prison record until yesterday. I never told you I was a sex offender. In fact, I acted like a really wonderful neighbor. I helped you and Josh out, I bought meals for you, and I even hired Josh to work in my yard. You didn't think anything of it, except that I was a generous, kind neighbor who seemed to take a genuine interest in your son's well-being. And when your mom broke her ankle, I offered to keep Josh for you while you took care of your mom." Marie shook her head. "That's not true, Jake. I'm not lying about you." "Marie, it's not a lie. Well, most of it is isn't, but look ... this is what we have to do to get Josh back. That's the only thing that matters. Understand?" Marie's eyes began to water. "I just don't think I can say all that, Jake." "You can and you will, Marie." "But what if they try to arrest you or something." "For what, Marie? For being nice to my neighbors? Marie, even if they did arrest me, I wouldn't care. I told you before. I love Josh! Maybe not the way you do, but I still love him. If this is what it takes to get him out of there, I don't want you to hesitate. Tell them what you have to tell them to get him home. Please." She continued shaking her head, but I knew she would see the wisdom in what I had suggested. She was a practical woman, when it came down to it. I drove to the city courthouse and parked in front. Then we walked inside to get our boy home. *** It wasn't easy to see a judge. They were all busy, and it often took days just to have them set an appointment for later the next month, or so one of the secretaries told us. But when Marie couldn't stop crying, it broke the secretary's heart, and she agreed to help us out. She had us wait while she talked to the judge. Moments later she returned and said he would speak with us. I told Marie I would wait for her in the truck. She looked into my eyes, saw my determination, and nodded her head once. Then she followed the secretary into the judge's office. It couldn't have been fifteen minutes later when I saw Marie rushing out of the courthouse door and up to my pickup. She opened the door and jumped in, excitement on her face. "The judge ordered them to release Josh," she exclaimed. "They're bringing him right now!" "What!? Oh, Marie, thank God!" "The judge was furious. They should never have taken Josh out of the home without talking to a judge first, and when they explained why they did it, he lit into them. Of course, I had already told him everything you told me to say, so he was pissed before he even called them." She paused. "I hated saying it, Jake, but it worked. He ordered them to bring Josh here right away and return him to my custody. We have an emergency hearing in two days to go over everything. I don't know how it's going to work out, but at least Josh is coming home today." *** A blue sedan pulled up in front of the courthouse and a woman got out, staring at us over the top of the car. I recognized her. Sandra Moore, the same CPS worker who had come to my house and been such a bitch. She didn't appear at all pleased with this turn of events, but she simply watched and said nothing. The back door opened, and Josh jumped out. When Marie saw him, she leapt out of my truck and began running to Josh. He yelled, "Momma!" and ran to Marie, grabbing her around the waist and hugging her tight. I got out. When Josh saw me, he released his mom and ran and hugged me too. "I knew you'd know what to do," Josh said, looking up at me with confidence. "But you won't believe what they did--" I interrupted him. "Not now, Josh. We'll talk on the way home." He glanced at Sandra Moore and nodded his understanding. We all climbed into my truck, and I backed out into the street. Moore stared daggers at us as we drove past. In my rear-view mirror, I saw her take out a cell phone and begin making a call. Obviously, this wasn't over. End of UNDER SIEGE, Chapter 22