by JIrwin
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With Adam's help, Joshua had taken a shower and now sat at the kitchen table barefooted and bare chested with just his pajama bottoms on so that his mother could inspect all of his wounds, and inspect she did. Martha Grace inspected her oldest child as if she had just had him and was checking to see if he had all ten of his fingers and all ten of his toes. Adam watched her. It was sweet since she felt that’s all that she could do since Joshua refused to go to the police station or the hospital. However, it didn't stop her from clicking her tongue and begging to take him to the hospital when she'd find another bruise that was starting to turn.
“Oh Edom, can’t we just take him to the hospital, what if he has….” She was on her knees before him and looked up into Joshua’s eyes. “What if you have broken ribs?” She turned back to her husband. “What if he has broken ribs?”
“Martha….” Her husband of 20 plus years touched her shoulder. “He doesn’t have broken ribs, bruised maybe, but not broken. Look at him, there are no broken bones, besides if they were broken the only thing the doctors would do is wrap them and send him home to rest. The boy doesn’t want to go to the hospital, now let him speak. You’re a nurse, nurse him.”
“Eeeesh…..” Joshua grimaced as his mother bandaged his wounds.
“Oh honey. I'm so sorry I don't want to hurt you.” She touched his face gently, tears filling her blue eyes.
He covered her hand with his battered one. “I know mom, it's okay, go ahead.” He looked back up to his father with his good eye.
“...but his back....it’s all cut up and scraped....and his eye…look at his eye.” She was relentless.
“Martha.” Edom Grace touched her on the shoulder to still her. She touched his hand before turning back toward their son. “Go on son, tell us, what happened?”
Joshua looked down at his mother with a heart full of love and kissed her palm as she reached to touch his face. “It's okay Mom thank you, but really, I’m alright.” He leaned forward and hugged her as tight as he could before turning back to talk to his father and answer his questions.
“Well I’m sorry to say, Dad, but I believe the truck is gone.” His good eye was nearly swelled shut now.
Edom shook his gray head. “I told you it didn’t matter about that truck. The insurance will take care of that. I’m more concerned about you.”
Joshua held up his hand. “I know Dad, I just wanted to let you to know that I think they may have already started cutting it up or sold it. So call the insurance company, and we'll go down to the police station and let them know where the shop is. I mean if it's still there.”
His dad shook his head in agreement. “I already called the insurance company and told them, but yes, we will go down to the police station first thing.”
“Joshua, what did they do to you? Was it Lucian that actually did this?” Adam questioned. Joshua turned toward Adam. Watching him just move caused Adam a great deal of guilt.
“Well, that'd be a yes and no. He was responsible for what they did, but he never laid one hand on me.” He sighed. “It was his boys, the Blackhearts. They wore ski masks so that I couldn't identify any one of them specifically, but Lucian....” he paused, “…he never touched me, never laid a hand on me, he watched. So we have nothing on him.”
Tears spilled onto Adam’s cheeks. “I am so sorry, Joshua.” Adam hung his head for a moment then jerked it upright. “Hey, what about getting him for being an accessory to the crime. Can we get him for that?” Adam questioned.
“Come here bro…..” He grabbed Adam by the back of the neck and pulled him into his shoulder, resting his own head on Adam’s. “Just let it go, it's over, okay? We won, we have the keys back.”
Adam mumbled into his brother's shoulder. “Yeah, but they could have.......” His voice faltered and caught in his throat.
“Hey, don't you know that I would do anything for you?” Joshua grabbed his brother on either side of the face and pushed him up so that he could look him in the eyes. “You’re my brother, my blood…. I love you more than life itself.”
Adam squeezed his eyes tight. “…but….it's just that I've been so.....” Adam's voice broke. He paused before reopening his eyes. “Joshua......How can I ever repay you for what you did?”
Joshua shrugged his broad shoulders. “We don’t keep score like that….it’s just what big brothers do man, it’s just what big brothers do.......” Adam embraced his brother again, harder this time causing Joshua to grimace. Adam jumped back immediately completely mortified that he had hurt him, but Joshua laughed. “It's okay, it's okay! I'm fine! Come here…..” He grabbed Adam again hugging him tight despite the pain in his body.
The rest of the evening Joshua explained how he had been set up by the so called friend of a friend. The acquaintance, Judas Iscara, had taken him to where the chop shop's warehouse was, and Joshua had walked right into the trap that had been set. They were there ahead of him hiding, a couple of thugs blindsided him out of nowhere, knocking him to the ground before dragging him into the warehouse where Lucian was waiting, gloating and spinning Edom Grace's key ring on his forefinger. He knew what Joshua had come for, and he was extremely proud of himself in all of his endeavors to get them. However, it didn't take but a second for Joshua to seize the moment that he had been given when, in Lucian's self indulgent prideful gloat, the hold on him by the two Blackhearted goons, slackened. Suddenly, Joshua gained enough strength and lunged at Lucian giving him good right hook directly in the face causing blood to spew from his nose and took him to his knees. Unbeknownst to Lucian's crew though, Joshua had taken the opportunity to grab the keys that had fallen out of Lucian's hand to the ground.
In fact, Lucian had been so caught off guard by the punch that neither him nor his crew even noticed that Joshua had grabbed them and slid them into his own pocket. Lucian was so angry about the one punch that he didn't even think twice about the keys. He swiftly instructed the Blackhearts to take care of him. From there on they took turns beating him until he fell into unconsciousness. When he had awoke he found himself somewhere outside of town, alone. They had just dumped him in the woods without his shoes, jacket, truck or his phone.
Whatever their desired end result for him was Joshua didn't play into it. He wasn't dead if that had been what they wanted. He was stronger than that. He had walked barefooted through a thicket of briars, thorns and brambles to get back to town. He had walked a good five miles back home, but he held onto the fact that he knew the keys to his father's house, truck and business were in his pocket and he had taken them back from Lucian Black. Edom Grace wasn't a man that usually showed any kind of strong emotion, but tonight was different. He had his oldest son back home and safe. Edom Grace reached across the distance between himself and his two sons and grabbed them both in a bear hug.
“I love you boys, you know that right?”
“Yes sir," they answered in unison.
Martha Grace couldn't resist. She threw her arms around her boys and hugged them tightly just as blue lights flickered through the windows on the front side of the house followed by a knock on the door.
Officer Darius Daniels of the Edensville police once again stood on the front porch when Edom Grace opened it. “Hey Edom, just wanted to let you know that we got a report of someone that looked to be barefoot and badly bleeding in the area. Everything, okay?” Darius asked of Adam and Joshua's dad.
“Yeah. It's all good here Darius.”
“You're sure?”
“Positive Darius, we're just wrapping up some loose ends here. We'll see you in the morning.”
EPILOGUE
The morning after Joshua retrieved his father's keys, three of the four Graces went downtown to fill out a report at the police station while Adam went to school. Darius encouraged them to press formal charges against Lucian Black, but to his dismay his extended family declined to do so.
Joshua’s bruises began to heal nicely over t
he next week. Even the swelling in his eyes had all gone leaving a nice greenish/yellow tint around them by Thanksgiving Day. Although sore, he still participated in the family's game of touch football. Their mom decided to watch from the sidelines and cheered her boys on.
Adam was extremely thankful for his brother's speedy recovery. The two spent some real brotherly time together during that week playing video games and just talking, something they hadn't really ever done before. It changed how Adam felt about his brother. Adam came to realize that his brother wasn't trying to be perfect. He was just secure in who he was, and in being secure he was just being himself. On Tuesday night he had even given Adam some brotherly advice.
“Bro, just be yourself. It's just too difficult to try and be someone else's measure of you.”
Simple as that, his brother’s advice was…..be yourself. No wonder people were just drawn to Joshua and enjoyed being around him. His no nonsense and casual demeanor made you feel comfortable. He didn't try to change anyone. He accepted people for just being themselves. He believed in God and had a relationship with him through His son Jesus, but Joshua didn't try to shove his beliefs or version of beliefs on anyone. He just lived how he believed and treated people with kindness, fairness and respect on their level and where they were. Something Adam had always taken for granted and acted out against because of his own insecurities and jealousy.
Adam realized that he had been so blinded by his own feelings that he was actually angry with himself for trying to be what he thought other people expected him to be. Another Joshua, but he couldn't be, he was Adam. He was a good person and tried to always do the right thing, but when he wasn't other people's version of what he thought they wanted him to be he felt deep rejection, which led to bitterness then resentment. It was a vicious and ugly cycle.
Adam had let his feelings rule him for so long that it had hindered his relationship with his parents and his brother. It wouldn't be easy to set aside the bitterness, insecurity and jealousy that he had lived with for so long, but he'd be able to if he worked on it daily and chose not to accept those things in his life. He would have to learn that saying NO didn't make him a loser and going along with the crowd isn't always the best thing to do.
Today marked just one week since it all began with Adam taking his father's truck. He chose to spend the entire day with Joshua again, it wasn't a difficult decision. The two ordered a pizza from Shekinah's Pizza Shack while their parents were out black Friday shopping, something they had done every year. However, this year Adam had a choice in his attitude in the matter. He chose to set old attitudes aside and get to know more about the one that had laid down his life for him without any regard for his own....his brother, his mentor, his friend....his Savior in the end, Joshua Grace.
THE END......for now
