A Little Lesson

by Pandora Pine

  “Who are all of you?” The cop’s eyes narrowed again as he looked over the group of people.

  Nash stepped forward. “I’m Nash Spencer. Tucker is my student and Bronson is my boyfriend. These are Bronson’s parents, Mitch and Peg McKinnon.”

  “Officer, can we please see my grandson?” There was a pleading tone in Peg’s voice.

  “No one is seeing the minor-” The cop sighed. “No one is seeing Tucker until I get statements from all of you.”

  “Tucker!” Alicia’s scream startled them all. She ran toward Bronson with fury in her eyes. “What have you done to my son?”

  Bronson took a step back. “I didn’t do anything to him. He was with you all weekend.”

  “Bullshit!” Alicia screamed. “He wasn’t bruised and tortured when I sent him back to you last night!”

  “Let’s move this somewhere more private.” The cop pointed to an empty family waiting room and ushered them all inside.

  Bronson walked into the room and sank into a chair. His mother sat on one side of him and Nash sat on the other. Alicia sat across from Bronson while Rainier paced at the back of the room.

  “Mr. McKinnon, tell me where your son spent the weekend.”

  “His mother picked him up around 6:30pm on Friday night and he was dropped off to me around 5pm on Sunday.”

  “Mrs. McKinnon, is that correct?”

  “I took my son from those two flamers.” Alicia’s eyes were blazing with anger.

  “Mrs. McKinnon, did you pick your son up at the times your ex-husband listed?”

  She nodded curtly, not making eye contact with the police officer.

  “Mr. McKinnon, how did you and Tucker spend last night?”

  “Wait a minute! Why aren’t you asking what Alicia and Ashton did with my son over the weekend?”

  “I’m asking the questions, sir. What happened after Tucker was dropped back off with you?”

  Bronson looked over at Rainier with pleading eyes.

  “Just answer the question, Bronson. It’s going to be okay.”

  As far as Bronson was concerned nothing was going to be okay.

  “He was quiet and withdrawn. Tucker didn’t even hug me. He went to bed and didn’t want to eat.”

  “You didn’t feed him dinner?” Alicia screeched.

  “He didn’t want to eat. I offered him all of his favorites and he didn’t want to come out of his room.”

  “What happened after he wouldn’t eat?”

  “He went to bed.”

  The cop narrowed his eyes at Bronson. “So, what you’re telling me, Mr. McKinnon is that you had Tucker in your custody for fourteen hours and never noticed the bruises on him?”

  “What bruises?” Bronson looked back and forth between Nash and the police officer. “There were no bruises.

  “You never saw these bruises?” The cop fiddled with his phone before turning the screen to face Bronson.

  What Bronson saw took his breath away. Lying face down on a hospital bed was his son. His lower back and upper thighs were covered in purplish-black bruises. “Oh my, God!” Bronson charged out of his seat toward Alicia. The cop caught him and managed to hold on as Bronson struggled. “You did this to our son! You hurt my baby!” Bronson shouted until his voice cracked.

  Nash and Rainier rushed to Bronson’s side, pulling him away from the cop. Rainier took the cop’s phone and started thumbing through the pictures of the boy. “How do we know those are pictures of Tucker?”

  “The birthmark on his bottom,” Bronson croaked.

  Peg got up and took the phone from Rainier. She gasped and started crying. Mitch wrapped her in his arms and held her tight.

  “Getting back to my earlier question, Mr. McKinnon, are you saying you never saw those bruises?”

  Bronson shook his head.

  “Not even when you gave the boy a bath?”

  “I didn’t give him a bath last night. He just wanted to go to bed.”

  “You didn’t give Tucker a bath?” Alicia shouted. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you ever bathe him?”

  “He was sad and upset when he came home from your house. I didn’t want to push him after the stunt you pulled on Friday night, screaming that I’d never see my son again and yelling your homophobic bullshit.”

  “You were a shit husband and you’re a shit father. Oh well, at least this little incident guarantees that I’ll get full custody of Tucker now.”

  “Full custody!” Bronson charged out of his chair again. The cop grabbed Bronson and tried to push him back to his seat. “Our son is lying in a hospital bed bruised and battered and all you care about is your damn custody hearing? You did this, Alicia! You or that boyfriend of yours! You beat my son just to get revenge on me. I’ll kill you for hurting him. You fucking bitch!”

  “That’s it!” The cop drove Bronson to the floor. “You’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent.”

  Bronson heard the jingle of the handcuffs a second before the cold metal slapped around his wrists. “Tucker!” Bronson screamed. “I need to see my son.”

  “Don’t say another word, Bronson. I’ll be right behind you on the way to the police station.”

  The cop yanked Bronson roughly up to his feet.

  “Nash! Tell them! Tell them I would never hurt Tucker.”

  Nash made eye contact with Bronson but didn’t say a word.

  “Nash!” Bronson shouted as he was hauled out of the hospital waiting room. As the cop frog-marched him down the hall of the hospital and out into the chilly October night, the cold hard reality of what was going on slapped him in the face like a brick.

  Tucker was hurt and he hadn’t noticed. Tucker was in the hospital and he couldn’t be there to comfort his son because he was on his way to jail.

  XX

  Nash stood next to Rainier, crying softly as Bronson was taken out of the waiting room. He watched with a heavy heart as his lover was escorted out of the hospital by the armed police officer.

  Rainier's hand on Nash's shoulder brought him back to the present. He looked up at the lawyer who was wearing a serious look on his face. "Don't leave Bronson alone with that fucker."

  "I'm on my way, but I need to ask you a question first." Rainier set his briefcase on a nearby chair and pulled out a manila folder.

  "Anything." Whatever it was Rainier needed to know, Nash hoped he could answer. One this was crystal clear in his mind, there was no way in hell Bronson did this to Tucker.

  "Tucker is going to need a Guardian ad Litem. Are you available to do that for him?" Rainier shook the folder in his hand.

  Nash nodded. In a day full of surprises, it shouldn't shock Nash there would be one more. "Absolutely." He would do anything to protect Tucker.

  "What's a Guardian ad Litem? And why can't it be me or Mitch?" Peg McKinnon was dabbing her eyes with a wrinkled Kleenex.

  Rainier turned to Bronson’s parents. "It's a person who represents the legal interests of a child. It can be a family member, but the court prefers it be a neutral third party so that the best interests of the child are followed, rather than the best interests of that family member. I know Nash will do what is right for Tucker."

  "We do too." Mitch clapped a hand on Nash's shoulder.

  It meant the world to him to hear the faith Bronson's parents had in him. "Can we see Tucker? He was crying for me not to leave him and I don't plan to leave his side again."

  "Now hold on just one god-damned minute!” Alicia shouted from her seat. “Tucker is my son. I'll be his guardian whatever, not this butt bandit."

  Nash gasped, still unable to believe that all Alicia cared about was insulting him when her son was lying beaten in a hospital bed.

  "I'd knock off the homophobic rhetoric, Alicia, you're not afraid of gay people, you're an asshole. Your repeated attacks on your ex-husband and Mr. Spencer, who is a respected member of the teaching community, constitutes a hate crime. If you like, I can go grab Robocop and let him or one of his buddies
take you to jail along with Bronson, who we both know didn't do this to Tucker."

  Alicia's mouth dropped open, but no sound came out.

  Rainier’s lips quirked up into a brief smile. "Here's a little free legal advice for you. If you did this, hire a good criminal defense attorney."

  "I didn't hurt my son.” Alicia stomped her foot, sounding like a petulant five year old.

  "If you didn't, then your fiancé did. If that's the case, the same free advice goes for him. Neither Bronson nor I will rest until whoever hurt Tucker is behind bars." Rainier handed Nash the manila folder and snapped his briefcase closed.

  "That goes double for me." Nash found the courage to say. He was done letting Alicia push him around and hurt his feelings.

  "Us too," Peg and Mitch said together.

  "I want to see my son!" Alicia demanded.

  "That's not going to happen. Another police officer will be here soon to take your statement and then you all will need to decide who's keeping Tucker until we figure out who hurt him. He won't be able to live with you or Bronson." Rainier looked exhausted.

  "We'll keep him. He has his own room at our house. We have a spare bedroom too, Nash, if you'd like to stay with us." Peg reached out to take Nash’s hand.

  "I'd like that a lot. Thank you both." He turned back to Rainier. "Can we see Tucker now?"

  I'll go talk to the intake nurse and then I'm off to get Bronson out of jail. Be strong, okay?"

  Nash pulled Rainier to the side. "Bronson didn't do this, you know."

  Rainier leveled his gaze at Nash. "I know he didn't, but not noticing the bruise last night doesn't help his case. I'll be in touch."

  As much as he didn't want to admit it, Nash had been thinking the same thing. How on earth did Bronson not notice how much pain Tucker was in? If he looked at the situation more closely, he never thought to check Tucker for an injury either until he saw the mark with his own eyes. All of them had failed Tucker.

  "Don't be so hard on yourself, son." Mitch pulled Nash in for a hug. "What matters now is that Tucker is safe and no one is ever going to hurt him again."

  Nash nodded, fighting back tears. The little boy never should have been put in a situation where he could have been hurt in the first place.

  "I'm looking for Nash Spencer and Peg and Mitch McKinnon," a tired-looking nurse said from the open waiting room door.

  Nash stepped forward pointing to his chest. "I'm Nash Spencer and these are the McKinnons."

  The nurse nodded. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to Tucker. He's been asking for you."

  "What about me?" Alicia practically shouted.

  "Who are you, ma'am?" The nurse flipped a page on her clipboard and looked up at Alicia.

  "Alicia McKinnon. Tucker is my little boy." She added an obviously fake wail to the end of her statement.

  The nurse flipped the back on her clipboard back down."I can't allow you to see your son until you've been cleared by the police and social services."

  "I'm his mother!" Alicia thundered.

  The nurse ignored Alicia completely. "Mr. Spencer, if you'll all come with me."

  "You can't do this, I'm his mother! I'll sue. I swear to fucking God! I'll sue all of you!" Rage burned deep in Alicia’s eyes. Her arms flailed wildly as she continued to threaten to sue everyone in the room.

  "Knock it off, Alicia.” Mitch rolled his eyes and took his wife’s elbow. “For once in your selfish life put your son first." Mitch turned away from her to follow the nurse out of the room.

  Nash couldn't have said it better himself. He didn't have time to deal with her petty bullshit. What mattered now was making sure Tucker knew he was safe and knew he was loved.

  22

  Bronson had been numb while he'd been frog-marched out of the hospital and placed in the backseat of the cop's squad car. He was in his right mind enough to know that he'd crossed the line by shouting and threatening Alicia. His first priority should have been his son and instead it had been himself.

  When they'd gotten to the police station, the cop had left Bronson in a hard plastic seat near the entrance to the building, with his hands still cuffed behind his back. The officer had gone behind the main desk and was talking quietly with another cop who was wearing more insignia on his uniform. Bronson assumed this man was the cop's boss.

  "Bronson, thank Christ." Rainier swept into the police station, with his briefcase clutched in his left hand, looking like a man on a mission."Did they formally charge you? Book you or fingerprint you?"

  "No, not yet. The officer told me to sit here and he'd be with me in a minute." This was definitely the lowest point of Bronson’s life, cuffed in front of his family, unable to be there for his son.

  Rainier nodded before carding his hand through his hair.

  "How is Tucker?" All Bronson could think about now was his son. After seeing the pictures the cop showed him of the marks on Tucker’s back and bum, all he could think was how much pain Tucker must have been in last night. How in the hell had he missed his son's verbal and non-verbal cues about his injury?

  "He's with Nash and your parents. I guess they’re waiting for some blood work to come back and then Tucker needs to see the doctor. The nurse told me he's going to be able to go home soon.”

  "With Alicia?" Bronson half-shouted before thinking better of it. All of the cops nearby turned to stare at him. Finally reaching his emotional limit, Bronson started crying.

  Rainier set a hand on Bronson’s shoulder. "No, Tucker is not going home with Alicia. Until we figure out who did this to Tucker, he's not going to be able to stay with either of you. He's going home with your parents and Nash tonight."

  "Nash?" Bronson hadn't really given his lover much of a thought since he'd been taken out of the hospital. While the cop had stood there accusing him of hurting Tucker, Nash had stood silently by without offering a single word of support.

  "I've named Nash Tucker's Guardian ad Litem. He'll be in charge of representing Tucker's legal interests. I gave him all the paperwork and after he signs it tonight, I’ll file it with the court in the morning.”

  "I don't want Nash anywhere near my son. He stood by and watched the cops accuse me of hurting my Tucker. He didn't say one word to defend me." Bronson had no fight left in him. He was pissed at Nash, but more than that, he was brokenhearted. The man who claimed to love him hadn’t stood up for him.

  Rainier shook his head. "He couldn't, Bronson. You were so far out of control that no one could have calmed you down. Nash shut his mouth because he didn't want to end up locked in the cell next to yours."

  "Bullshit." Bronson didn't believe that for a second. Nash could have told the cops what he knew about the kind of relationship he had with his son, but he didn’t say a fucking word.

  "Tucker was screaming for Nash when Remington James sent him back to class. The nurses at the hospital told me that he'd been crying for Nash since the ambulance picked him up."

  "He wanted Nash and not me?" Bronson’s heart was broken so badly, he didn’t think it was possible to ever put all the pieces back together again.

  "Tucker was very emotional. He's also refusing to say who hurt him. Not only did someone beat him, Bronson, they've scared him so badly he wouldn't tell you, Nash, or the hospital staff who hurt him." The lawyer shook his head.

  "Mr. McKinnon?" The cop who had brought him in was walking toward them.

  "Yes, sir." Bronson sucked in a deep breath and tried to pull himself together. Whatever happened next, he needed to be in control of himself and his emotions. He moved to wipe away his tears, forgetting his hands were still cuffed behind his back.

  "Stand up and turn around." The cop’s tone brooked no argument.

  Bronson did as he was asked and the cop uncuffed him. He rubbed the spot on both wrists where the cuffs had chafed his skin.

  "There's a men's room down the hall to your right. Clean yourself up and meet me in room five. I need to take your statement."

  Rainier leaned clos
er to the cop. "Are you arresting him, Officer Black?"

  "Not for what happened at the hospital. We need to get to the bottom of who hurt Tucker. Your client needs to cooperate with us." Officer Black rubbed a hand against the back of his neck.

  The cop’s gesture reminded him of his and Nash’s symbol for I love you. He didn’t think it was possible, but his heart broke a little more. He didn’t know how much more pain he could take before it killed him.

  XX

  Nash’s stomach was churning as he walked down the hall toward Tucker’s room. He didn’t know what to expect when he saw the little boy. He was never at ease in hospitals, but he would do whatever he needed to do to make sure Tucker knew he was loved.

  “He’s right in there.” The nurse pointed to the door. “Don’t try to get him to tell you who did this to him. Just cuddle and love him, if he’ll let you.”

  “Is he in any pain? Would he at least tell you about that?” Nash kept his voice low.

  The nurse nodded. “We gave him some children’s Tylenol. I would suggest having some of that on hand for him at home and at school. Tucker said it stings like the sunburn he got at Water Country last year.”

  “Damn Alicia,” Mitch muttered under his breath.

  That explained how a five year old knew what sunburn felt like. Who the hell doesn’t put sun block on their child? Alicia McKinnon, that’s who.