Page 18 of A New Chapter
Once he’d headed to the bathroom and closed the door behind him, Aunt Roberta stood. “I’m going to head home.”
“How’d he do?” Colton asked.
She smiled, but it looked tight, worried. “He’s going to need a lot of support,” she whispered. “It wasn’t just them throwing him out. He’s been under their thumb in a really bad way for his whole life. Apparently, they doubled down on their dumassery and were really strict on him in bad ways. He’s spent especially the last several years feeling horrible. They pulled him from public school when he asked about a gay pride event he saw advertisements for while riding on the school bus.”
Ina looked grim as she nodded. “Definitely psychological abuse,” she whispered. “Apparently they are off the deep end. They blamed anything he did wrong as being ‘bad’ and tried to justify their beliefs with the Bible.”
“Ugh,” Rom said.
“Be consistent with him,” Ina suggested. “Gently firm and consistent. Once he has processed that you’re not going to be like them, I think he’ll really start the healing process. It’s going to take a while. Don’t go overboard and spoil him, though.”
“What’d he say?” Colton asked.
She shook her head. “We’ll talk tomorrow once he’s in school. I don’t want to talk about it where he can hear, and it’s a conversation that shouldn’t be rushed. You have all the papers, right?”
Rom nodded. “We can start the adoption process. They signed over full parental rights to us, not just guardianship.”
“Good. He needs you guys.”
“Desperately,” Aunt Roberta added.
Aunt Roberta and Ina left. When Clayton emerged from the bathroom, he walked over to the men and hugged them again. “Thank you,” he quietly said. “I’ll work to pay you back.”
“Uh, for what?” Rom asked.
“For the attorney.”
“No, you won’t.” Rom grabbed the envelope with their copies of the paperwork and showed him. “We have to get the court stuff done still, to make it official, but you’reourson now. I mean, yeah, you’re his little brother, but still, no one’s taking you away from us.”
Clayton stared at the papers and started crying again. “Really?”
“Really.” He reached out and tousled the boy’s hair. “I know this is a lot to take in, but it’ll be okay. Try to go to sleep. We need to get you back in a routine for school.”
“Thank you.” He hugged both men again. Colton wondered if Clayton was as starved for basic human affection as he’d been as a kid. “I love you.”
Colton and Rom hugged him. “We love you, too,” Colton said.
Once Clayton went to bed, Rom and Colton retired to their bedroom to take a shower. Colton felt…
Exhausted, drained, lost.
Much like he had that first night he was with Grammy.
Rom held him, stroking his head. “It’s okay,” he said. “We’ll all get through this.”
“This feels like a bad dream,” Colton said. “When I first moved in with Grammy, I’d have nightmares. I’d dream I was still with them, and they threw me out, but I didn’t have anyone to stay with. No one wanted me. That they called everyone I knew and told them not to take me in because I was bad.”
* * * *
Rom wasn’t sure who his heart was breaking more for—Colton or Clayton. Obviously, old wounds Colton thought had healed were ripped open once more.
“I wish I knew what to say or do to make this better for you, baby,” Rom said. “I hate that you’re reliving all that old pain.” He wanted to curl his body around his big snuggle puppy and protect him from everything, including what those evil people had done to his beautiful man when he was a boy.
Colton sighed. “Youdomake it better, Master,” he whispered. “By beingyou. You make me remember what’s good about the world and other people.” He snuggled his head against Rom’s chest.
Rom knew he needed to lighten the mood a little so Colton might go to sleep a little more easily. “Hey, just think, we can still have nakey time and play while he’s in school tomorrow.”
Colton’s lips feathered across Rom’s chest. “I hope so, Master.”
