Take It SLOW

by AKM Miles

  He opened his door and said to Benny, “Stay close.”

  “Close to what? I don’t even see Franklin anymore. Where’d he go? He must have seen something, but I don’t…”

  “Shh, listen.” Daniel put his finger to his lips and turned his head to the left. Benny stood, very close to him and they both tried to figure out what it was they were hearing. There! Scuffling noises and grunts, curses, coming from the alley a little further down.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t—” Benny started to say.

  “What are we going to do, just leave Franklin to get beat up again? Come on,” Daniel said and headed for the alley, steps steady and not showing how he was shaking inside already. He was not a fighter, but he couldn’t stand by. He was afraid to see what was happening around the corner as they got nearer to the sounds that indicated a serious fight going on ahead.

  Benny pulled him close to the corner and they peered around into the darker alley. There weren’t a lot of streetlights that were working so it was hard to see clearly, but Daniel counted six men in the alley.

  It took a few seconds to figure out which were the bad guys and who they were there to help. There was a big man and two smaller ones who seemed to be fighting with Franklin and two other young men. The big one was yelling curses at Franklin as he stood beside the other two. Punches were thrown from both sides.

  Daniel, trying to hide his fear, waded right in, Benny right beside him. They headed for the two men who were helping the big one, coming up behind them.

  Daniel watched Benny, his Benny, tap one on the shoulder. When the man turned, Benny threw a strong punch, knocking the guy back a few steps. Daniel was impressed. He tried the same thing. He tapped the man who was beating on one of the young men beside Franklin. Something went wrong. The scenario wasn’t quite the same this time. The man turned, fist already heading for Daniel’s face. Ouch! God, that hurt! He shook his head. Pain exploded from his right cheekbone up to his eye and seemingly through the back of his head. He took a second to get his bearings.

  This was serious. These guys weren’t just hassling the others, they were ready to do real damage.

  “What the fuck’s wrong with you, man?” Daniel asked the guy, hoping to distract him from throwing another painful punch. “Hey, Franklin, I hope you don’t mind, but I called the cops before we joined you in here. They’ll be here in a few minutes.” Daniel managed to say before he saw that fist heading his way again, the face behind it furious. This guy needed a bath and a haircut in a big way. He smelled, and his stringy hair whipped around his face as he swung again. Daniel ducked this time and came up from it with his fist aiming for the man’s stomach. He connected and felt the air whoosh out of the guy’s mouth. Ugh! Add some oral hygiene to the man’s needs.

  Daniel took advantage of the man’s bending over to get his breath. He laced his fingers together and hit the back of the guy’s neck. The guy went down, hitting his head on the concrete. He was still. Daniel was so afraid he’d killed him he didn’t hear the other one coming for him.

  “Daniel, look out!” Daniel turned just in time to stop the other smaller man’s fist with his chin. Jesus! This shit hurt like hell. He tried to shake it off, but suddenly his knees were shaky. He firmed them up and twisted to get away.

  He snuck a glance and saw that Benny was trying to pull the big man off one of the other boys. One of them was on the ground, and his friend was trying to check on him, but the big man wasn’t giving up on either of them. Benny was on his back, trying to get hold of his head to pull it up and back in an attempt to get him off the prone figure. Daniel didn’t even see Franklin anymore. He ducked again and ignored the filth spewing from his assailant’s mouth. Daniel didn’t have any misconceptions about his own fighting ability; he knew the first success had been pure luck. He resigned himself to a night of pain as he realized that no help was coming from Benny.

  Suddenly the guy exhibited a look of surprise and pain, and down he went. Behind him was Franklin, with a piece of wood he must have found in the alley. Now that Daniel looked, he saw more boards that looked like slats from some kind of packing box. He checked to make sure the man Franklin had hit wouldn’t get up, and then he stepped over and picked up his own weapon, nodding his thanks to Franklin.

  “You really call the police?” Franklin asked Daniel as they both headed for the others. Benny was still on the big man’s back, hanging on like a monkey, legs wrapped around his waist. Now the man was ignoring Benny, who was trying to get his arm around the guy’s neck. The guy was moving so much that Benny had a hard time holding on. It would have been comic if it wasn’t so serious.

  “Benny, jump down!” Daniel yelled as he and Franklin came at the man from opposite sides. Benny turned, saw them, and swung down in a hurry. Just as he stepped back, the man drew back to try and land a huge punch to the boy on his knees. The other one was still out, his head bleeding.

  Franklin looked at Daniel and pointed low. Daniel nodded and pulled his hands back, the board held like a bat. He momentarily wished for Benny’s little bat. He hit the man with all his might in the ribs while Franklin hit him on the back of the head. The man simply staggered and turned on them, rage on his face. Shit.

  Daniel drew back again, as did Franklin.

  “Look around. It’s three against one now. You’re bigger, but I think we can put some real hurt on you, so think about it.” Benny had found his own broken piece of wood and was ready to get his licks in.

  The man looked at the three of them, saw his cronies on the ground, and sneered as he stepped to the side and then started backing out of the alley.

  “This ain’t over. I got you once, Frankie boy. I should’ve killed you then. I will get you. You’ll never be safe.” Before they could respond, he was out of the alley and gone. The three boys, with one look between them, followed to make sure he was really gone and not waiting for one of them to come out of the alley. Benny peeked out first and motioned them on. They all stepped out and saw the guy running, far ahead now, blocks away.

  “I’m going to get the car and bring it closer. You all see if you can get the other two and get them into it.”

  Daniel moved the car and opened all the doors, to make things easier for the others. He headed back down the alley to see if he could help. He could hear Franklin talking as he walked up.

  The man who’d been on the ground was sitting up now, resting his head on the wall behind him. His friend was trying to use his shirt to wipe blood from the man’s face as he gave his answer to what must have been Franklin’s offer of help. “I don’t know, Franklin. I don’t know those people. Why would they help us? Everybody wants something, you know? We’ll be all right, but thanks.” The man, ignoring his own wounds, went back to tending his friend.

  “Excuse me, but you’re wrong. These guys came from the streets, just like you and me. We have reason to know that those people don’t want anything from you, just to help. I promise. Right now, I think you need more help than you can handle on your own.”

  Daniel watched, admittedly somewhat impatiently, as the two looked at each other and came to a decision without any words spoken. They both turned to face Daniel and Benny and reluctantly nodded their agreement.

  “Good. We need to get going before that guy comes back with more friends. I’m Daniel Webster, and this is Benny Adams.” Benny joined him and they helped them up from the ground. There was groaning involved and a couple of gasps of pain. When they were standing, they paused, letting the more hurt one rest a bit.

  “I’m Jeffrey, and this is Robbie. I don’t know about staying, but right now, we need help. That asshole knows where we’ve been staying. We appreciate your help.” Jeffrey turned to Robbie and asked if he was able to move. Robbie nodded and stepped away from the wall.

  Benny and Jeffrey flanked Robbie and they followed Daniel out of the alley. He paused at the opening again to make sure it was safe to get to the car. As quickly as possible, Franklin was in the back seat with the t
wo new men. Benny took his place beside Daniel.

  “Let’s get home. I want both Mamas to look at Robbie.” Benny was voicing Daniel’s own thoughts, so he pulled away. As he did, he noticed the man Jeffrey had dubbed as “that asshole” standing on the street, watching them.

  “Shit!” Daniel swore.

  “What?” Benny asked, looking around. Daniel pointed, and Benny echoed his expletive.

  “Do you know that guy’s name?” Daniel asked.

  Franklin spoke up. “We just know him as Butch. Some on the street call him BB. I’m not sure what it stands for, but I dubbed it Bastard Butch.” There were a couple of chuckles from the other two back there.

  Daniel looked around, saw it was clear and made an illegal U-turn, heading away at a rapid clip. Glancing into the back, he saw that Jeffrey had his head tilted down and was whispering to Robbie. With both their faces covered in blood, it was a strangely poignant scene. Love in the middle of pain and chaos. He was anxious to get them cleaned up and have their injuries checked out. Maybe then he’d get to see just how gorgeous they were. It was hard to tell right now, with all the swelling, bruising, and blood.

  Daniel took a circuitous route to get back to Mama Sasy’s and put the car in the back instead of out front where it could be seen from the road. As soon as the car doors slammed, Boddy was standing at the door to the dorm, waving them inside. Daniel knew that both Mamas would be waiting to meet the new members of the motley group here. He hoped they didn’t freak when they saw all the blood. There was a lot of it. He didn’t know how badly Robbie was hurt, but they both looked like an advertisement for a chainsaw horror movie.

  Benny and Franklin were walking on either side of the two, ready to help, as they headed in. Daniel went ahead, hoping to prepare the two ladies he knew were waiting inside. He saw them hovering as he got in the door, and they motioned for him to follow them.

  “Come in here, boys. Let’s see what we’re dealing with,” Mama Sasy said, voice gentle, but firm. “Daniel, your face! Hon, are you okay?”

  “I’ll be fine. The others are hurt worse. How’d you know we were here?” Daniel was surprised that all three had seemed to be waiting.

  “Boddy was watching for you. Okay, so we were a little worried about you all after the way Franklin got so badly beaten that night. Same guy?” Mama asked, as she got a good look at the two boys who were now inside and being helped over to a bunk. She tried to hide her gasp, but Daniel heard it and looked to make sure she was going to be able to handle this. Stupid. Of course she could. She was used to this. His respect for her upped a definite notch.

  Franklin spoke up now, saying, “Same guy, with two other punks helping. We came up just after they’d gotten started. This is Jeffrey.” Franklin pointed and then to the other one, who was looking dazed as well as bloody. “And this is Robbie.”

  “Okay, Rosa has some warm water in a pan in the bathroom. Daniel, would you bring it in? And there’s another one in there. Will you fill it and bring it, too? I think we’ll work on both boys and make sure we’re not dealing with any serious problems. It looks bad, but let’s get them cleaned up and judge the damage. Benny, grab that bag of rags over there.”

  Jeffrey and Robbie were sitting on the same bunk, Jeffrey’s arm around Robbie as they watched the happenings around them. They seemed wary but sat still as five people moved around them.

  “We’re not going to separate you boys, okay? But, we need to get to each of you to see what we’re dealing with here,” Mama Sasy said, sitting down beside Jeffrey.

  “I’m not leavin’ him.” There was no hesitancy in his voice. It was becoming clear that Jeffrey was the boss, leader, alpha…whatever, the stronger of the two. He seemed to be the one taking care of Robbie instead of the other way around.

  “I know that, hon. Just let him go for a few minutes and let Rosa clean him up. She’ll be gentle with him, and she knows what she’s doing. We both do. Come on, now, let’s get you cleaned up. Can you both manage to get your shirts off?” Mama Sasy asked, trying to hide her smile when they both looked at her like she’d asked them to strip naked and dance on the bed.

  “Oh, relax. I just want to make sure you don’t have any bruises or anything broken. Anyway, I’m too old for either of you. Don’t waste time. If we can make sure you’re not badly hurt, you all can shower and get some sleep. Don’t even ask,” she said. Then she pointed her finger at Jeffrey and said, “Yes, you can share the same bed. We’ll have to figure out something for you two, long term, but for right now, it’ll be fine. Feel better now?” She smiled at the relaxing expressions on both boys’ faces.

  For a while there were soft sounds, the boys gasping as new wounds were discovered and cleaned, the women sighing and tut-tutting over how many bruises were popping up.

  § § § §

  Boddy had gone back to the kitchen, but came back once to make sure everyone was okay. Daniel thanked him as he turned to go back.

  “No problem, Daniel. It’s what we do.”

  That pretty much said it all for Daniel. That’s what they did here. It was also crystal clear to him that this was what he wanted to do. Simple as that. He wanted to work hard at finding and helping young men just like these two — three, including Franklin. He looked at Benny, who was wringing out another rag and handing it to Mama Sasy.

  Daniel had just naturally moved to help Mama Rosa with Robbie. “My goodness, once you get cleaned up, you’re a very pretty man, aren’t you? You’ve got some really bad bruising on your left side here. Can you take a deep breath? Try it for me,” she instructed. Robbie sucked in a breath, but gasped and tried to hunch over to protect that area.

  “Shh, okay. Breathe easy, shallow breaths. I know it’s traumatized, but I don’t know if it’s broken. Sally Ann, can you tell, or do we need to take him to the hospital for X-rays?” She looked to her friend.

  “Boddy will be able to tell. It won’t be pleasant for Robbie, but we have to know.” Franklin, at her direction, went to get Boddy again.

  When he had examined Robbie, with an anxious and hovering Jeffrey close by, Boddy said he thought it was probably just badly bruised, which would be damn near as painful. They’d make sure he took it easy, and if it didn’t improve as he thought it would, they’d take him to the hospital later. They all sighed in relief.

  Benny and Daniel had emptied the big containers of water several times. When Daniel was heading back in from the bathroom, he caught a glimpse of Jeffrey’s back.

  “Uh, Mama Sasy, could you look at Jeffrey’s back? There’s a pretty bad place on it.” The man had to be in pain; that bruise looked worse that any they’d seen yet, but Jeffrey hadn’t mentioned it, caring only about Robbie.

  Mama motioned for Jeffrey to stand again and turn, and this time Jeffrey complied without the look of indignation. When Mama saw his back, she asked Mama Rosa to look so she could give her opinion, too. Soon both women were tsking and tutting again. Gentle fingers prodded the area around the deep bruising. From the look on Jeffrey’s face, he was fighting to not show how badly he was hurting.

  “Baby, you’re gonna be peein’ blood for a couple of days, I have no doubt. Whoever did this knew just how much damage he was doing. If it doesn’t get better in a few days, you let me know, you hear? I don’t think it’s any worse than just bruising, but talk to me, young man? Don’t be shy about this, it’s too important.” Mama used her hands on his shoulders to urge him back around to face her. She looked him right in the eyes, and he caved, just like they all did.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She patted him and said, “Good boy. Now, Rosa and I are going to go and let you all get cleaned up. Daniel and Benny, you can figure out where these two are going to sleep tonight. Franklin told me you are a couple,” she said, looking back and forth between the two new men. “You two, take a nice, hot shower and get some sleep. You’re going to need rest. Wait—” she paused. “Are you all hungry? Boddy can fix you something.”

  Before they
could say anything, Robbie’s stomach growled. They all grinned as he blushed under the bruises on his face. He ducked his head, and Mama reached around Jeffrey to pat him on the shoulder.

  “Hey, don’t you worry, hon. I know all young men are hungry most of the time. You all clean up, Benny will get you some kits, some clothes, and then all of you come on in to the family booth and we’ll eat. Pancakes and bacon good all around?” she asked, turning to head toward the diner, moving behind Mama Rosa’s chair as she did.

  The look in both the new men’s eyes was the only answer she needed. She knew that the other three loved that meal.

  Robbie spoke for what seemed like the first time. “Is this really happening?”

  “Yeah, feels kind of like an out of body experience, doesn’t it, like it should be happening to someone else? But it’s real. These people are pretty, uh, special.” Franklin surprised Daniel with the words of approval.

  Daniel decided they needed to get busy. Benny had gone to the big locker and pulled out two of the kits that were filled with basic items, and Daniel went over to some shelves beside the locker and pulled down some sweats and T-shirts, thinking they’d probably feel good to the men.

  “Come on, I’ll show you how things work around here.”

  After placing the items in the bathroom and showing them the showers, Daniel, Benny, and Franklin went out to dorm area to wait. They knew the two were showering together, and he had no doubt that Jeffrey was taking care of Robbie.

  “So, what about letting them put two of the beds together in the back corner over there? We could drag these two chests over there and make them sort of a barrier. I don’t think they’re going to feel like getting too sexy for a couple of days, but they could cuddle and feel safe and kind of private back there,” Benny suggested.

  “Sounds like a plan. Let’s do it. The chests should face out so people can still get into them, but it will do the trick for right now.” They moved the furniture around until they’d made a nice little hidden corner for the two men. It wasn’t ideal, but it would work for now.