Page 18 of Caged
In reality, he was bringing a man into his home who was probably still thinking in a lot of ways like a child. He wasn't even sure if Danny could read. It wasn't going to be easy, but he had no one else to help him. If Marshall didn't offer, Danny would be on his own, letting other people guide him through the mess.
"I'd like to stay with you," Danny said softly.
"Good. I'd like to have you stay. If you get to my place and don't like it, we can figure something else out, but for now, I think you just need some time to get used to all the changes and all the things going on." Not to mention deal with the knowledge his mother was dead. Though there had been a few tears, he was sure that his mother's suicide still hadn't really hit him. "We'll see what the doctors have to say and go from there."
Danny blinked, his eyes wet with tears. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"You'd survive. It's what you do." He touched his arm. "I'm glad I can help, but I have no doubt you'd make it on your own if you needed to. You survived up until now and I'm sure you'll continue to."
Danny smiled, but the tension never eased in his body, and Marshall had to wonder what he was thinking. In time, he hoped he'd trust him enough to open up, but until then, he'd stand by his side and let him learn how to take control of his life and hopefully find happiness. It wasn't going to be easy, but he could do it. The key was letting him have something he'd never had before, control. He needed to learn that he was strong, and put the past behind him. It was going to take time, and Marshall would help him as long as he needed, giving him that time to figure it all out on his own.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Danny stared out the window as Marshall drove him home. He was amazed at how much things had changed. He didn't recognize the area, but just the structure of buildings, the cars, the way things looked were different than he remembered. There were so many cars and people around it made him nervous.
"Hungry?" Marshall asked. "We can grab some fast food to take home and eat."
"A bit."
"Want anything certain?"
Danny didn't know what was out there. "Um, McDonald's?" He hadn't had that for so long. His last memory was of him and his mom stopping for ice cream on a night after a soccer game.
"Sure, do you know what you want?"
"Nuggets and a Coke." He smiled. "I haven't had a Coke since I was taken."
"I bet there is a lot you haven't had. We'll take it slow so your stomach can adapt to the junk food and sugar, but we'll make sure you catch up on all the greasy, not good for you stuff." Marshall grinned. "I'm big on pizza. I eat it way too often."
"That sounds good too. Larry would give us oatmeal and canned soup, but never let us have anything really good. I had to cook for him, but he'd seldom give us any of that food. One thing I miss the most is spaghetti."
"You're in luck. I have everything at home to make that and I'm not too bad of a cook. We can do that for dinner later tonight." Marshall turned into McDonald's parking lot.
"Thanks, I'd like that." Danny hated that he was relying on Marshall for everything, but what else could he do? Go to a half-way house? That thought made him feel like he was trapped again. Marshall was good about not making him feel that way.
He was glad to be out of the hospital. He'd worried they wouldn't let him leave. All the tests came back okay, though they did show evidence of old broken bones that had healed. He wasn't shocked. More than once he'd been sure that his ribs had been broken after Larry had beat him. He was still scheduled to see a doctor later in the week, but at least he wasn't stuck in a hospital bed.
The police had also shown up. Two detectives had come in and sat down with him, going over everything he could remember from the moment he was taken to the moment he escaped. He'd told them what he could, but it didn't seem like much. He was taken, held, raped, and forced to care for Larry and his home. The only major change over the years had been when Larry had replaced him with the younger boys. He really couldn't tell the police anything to help them track Larry down. He just didn't know where Larry would run to.
One thing he was sure of was that Larry wouldn't go long without finding another boy to hurt. Larry never went more than a day without sex. It made Danny sick to think that there was a chance that someone else could have to go through what he did.
He sat silent, watching Marshall order food, then tried not to groan at the smell as he took the bags to hold while they headed home.
"Are you sure that you'll be okay living next door to Larry's house?" Marshall asked as he pulled out on the road again.
"You know, I kind of feel good about it. It's like I'll be close to know if he comes back. I can look and see that no one is there, that no one is being hurt. Besides, if he was looking for me, right next door is probably the last place he'd look."
"Are you worried about that? About him looking for you?"
Danny wrapped his arms around himself, a cold chill running through him at the thought. "Maybe. He has to be so mad at me. He'll want to punish me for escaping."
"You know you're safe at my place, right? I have a new alarm system that I had installed when I moved in, plus I do have guns locked in my room. You are safe now."
He wasn't sure he'd ever feel safe, but it was a relief to hear there was an alarm. He wasn't sure how to feel about the guns. He knew nothing about them, but he had to trust if Marshall had them, he knew how to use them. "Thanks. I know you'll do all you can to keep me safe. I just wish I could do all this myself."
"It won't be long until you can. You just need some time to get used to things and figure out what you want to do."
"Do you work on computers?"
