“I slept in your shed… after kind of getting chased out of where I had been staying.”
“Where’s that?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Brandon tried, but Tyler wasn’t buying it or letting it go.
“Where were you staying?” Tyler pushed gently but firmly.
Brandon hadn’t planned on telling him the details, but he figured why not, so he went ahead and shared with Tyler what he’d been up to while Tyler was gone.
“I used some cardboard to soften it a little, and I slept there. It was okay until a whopper of a storm hit us. I’ve never seen so much rain.”
“Oh, shit, no.”
“Yeah, the river started to rise. It came up a little bit, and then it came up a bit more so that I started to hear it. Then it rose even higher and started to move faster. It just kept coming up, and I kept moving higher, but it didn’t matter because I couldn’t get away from it.” Brandon wrapped his arms around himself and shivered at the memory.
“I thought I was going to die,” he whispered. “I tried to get onto the screened-in back porch, but the door was locked. The garage door was locked too, but the shed was unlocked, so I curled up in there and waited out the storm.
“I was convinced I was going to find the whole damned bridge just gone this morning when I walked to work.”
Tyler hugged him hard. “I’m so sorry. Come on inside. I don’t know what we’ve got for food, but you need to eat, man. And take a shower, and wash your clothes.”
“No, Tyler, I can’t. Your parents don’t want me here anymore. I overstayed my welcome. I’m not going back inside.”
“Please, Brandon.” Tyler was nearly in tears.
“Tyler, I want to so badly, more than you could possibly ever understand, but I can’t. They don’t want me.”
“I don’t care,” Tyler practically shouted.
“I’m sorry, but I do,” Brandon said.
“Will you… will you… I don’t know… will you climb in through my bedroom window, take a shower, change clothes, get some sleep in a real bed? I’ll bring a box of cereal upstairs.”
“I can’t climb up to your window.”
“My dad’s out unloading the car. Just walk in there with me now. You look miserable. You’re filthy. You need a shower and a couple dozen meals at least. And all your clean clothes are there. Come on, please, for me.”
Brandon wanted to so desperately. He was weak and said, “All right, but just this one time.”
That night Brandon slept on the floor beside Tyler’s bed, out of sight should anyone walk in unexpectedly. It was a warm night, but the blanket and the pillow he had gave him comfort unlike any he’d had in weeks.
After he turned out the lights, Tyler slipped down onto the floor beside Brandon and rolled up behind him, spooning as tightly as possible together.
“Why didn’t you call Joel?” Tyler asked suddenly.
“Joel and his family went away; they left immediately after the graduation ceremony. They were going to be gone for six weeks. And I didn’t have my phone to contact him or anybody else. It was here in your room.”
“We’ve got to get you back up to weight. It is so weird hugging you and finding so much less to hold on to.”
“I’m sorry,” Brandon whispered, feeling embarrassed and ashamed of how his body was revealing secrets. “I didn’t want you to see that.”
“It’s not your fault. I blame myself for this. I can’t believe how stupid I was to forget to give you the key. I’ve been beating myself up almost nonstop since you told me that. I feel horrible that I’m the one that put you in such a terrible position. I’m responsible for everything that’s happened to you. All the weight you’ve lost. It’s all my fault.”
“The main thing is that I’m not there now. I’m here in your arms now, and that’s exactly where I want to be.”
The next morning they had to get up and sneak Brandon out quite early, but Tyler was able to drive them both to work and was able to handle most of the workload that day so Brandon could take it easy for a change. He even managed to go out back behind the store and lie down under a huge old tree for a nap during the afternoon.
At the end of the day, though, they were stuck. Brandon couldn’t go back to Tyler’s house, but Tyler could not bring himself to send his boyfriend to live under a bridge. Tyler had an idea.
“Way back in the woods behind our house, my dad built a tree house for me when I was a little kid. I haven’t used it for anything in years. It used to be where I went to jerk off when I first learned how to do that. How about I take you there and bring out some blankets and a pillow from the house? I can also sneak some food out to you.”
“Only if you won’t get you into trouble. If there’s any chance you’ll get caught, please don’t do it. I’ve been living under the bridge for a couple of weeks and can keep on doing it.”
The tree house worked great. While the years of neglect had worn down the roof of the structure, the floor was solid and stable. It was the third night when the lack of a solid roof became an issue. Brandon got utterly soaked in the storm that night and persuaded Tyler to drop him off at the bridge right after work because it was still misting rain and he didn’t want to spend another wet night.
“All right, but I’m coming back with some supplies for you and to stay with you.”
“Supplies yes, but to stay, no. I’m sorry, but no. You’ve got a bed, and I want you in it. We both don’t need to be miserable. And regarding the food and stuff, please, only if you won’t get into trouble doing it.”
“Let me worry about that.”
And so, for the next week and a half, Brandon was once again living camped out where he’d sworn he never would again—under the bridge. Twice he was rousted by the cops and had to retreat to the tree house. A couple of times he was startled awake by some animals rustling around. And a few other times he woke when someone came to use the space under the bridge for a sexual rendezvous. He tried to remain very still both times that happened so he didn’t startle the otherwise occupied people. In both cases it sounded like a male and female. He couldn’t see them in the dark but he heard every sound they made. The first two were quite vocal as they pursued their passion. He was surprised by how much traffic his little sanctuary saw over the course of twenty-four hours.
Once each week, usually on Sunday mornings when Tyler’s parents were out of the house for church, Brandon got to take a shower and wash his clothes. He came to cherish Sunday mornings as the only time during the week when he felt clean and halfway human. But Sundays were also torture because those few minutes each week when he got to take a shower, wash his clothes, watch some television, eat some real food, and lie down on a real mattress only served as reminders to him for the next seven days of everything he did not have.
Chapter 17—A Visitor
AFTER AN absolutely exhausting day that had been hot and miserable, Brandon was lying on his back on the concrete incline under the bridge. He’d spent a lot of nights there over the last couple of weeks. He was surprised that the cops hadn’t chased him out for more than a week. He had half expected the police to return again long before. They always showed up at night when he was sleeping or about to go to sleep. He’d told them that he wasn’t hurting anybody, but his arguments never carried any weight with the cops.
He was just settling in for the night when he heard a sound that made him sit up and pay attention. At first he couldn’t tell what exactly he was hearing. He could tell the direction from which it came, but it was unclear what had made the sound. And then he heard it again. It sounded like large pebbles being disturbed and rolling down the incline. Crap, someone was coming. He knew his good luck had run too long to continue.
Sure enough, Brandon heard the sound of footsteps. When a lone flashlight was directed his way, he started to get up, prepared for his string of nights under the bridge to come to an end. But something wasn’t right. It took him a minute to figure it out. Then he got it. The polic
e had incredibly bright flashlights when they came to chase him away. The flashlight coming toward him now wasn’t anywhere near as bright as the one’s the cops used. This was something new, something different.
“Who’s there?” he called out, since they could see him with their light, but he couldn’t see anything about them. Instinctively he reached behind him for a solid tree branch that he always kept nearby when he slept under the bridge. He’d had to use it a couple of times to chase away animals that had wandered near him during the night. He was never entirely sure what they were, but one whack with his stick and they moved on, not bothering him further. He’d learned, the hard way, that he couldn’t leave out a chicken carcass from his dinner because it attracted too many animals that must have been drawn to the odor.
“I said, who’s there? Identify yourself,” he repeated, trying his best to sound fierce and intimidating.
“Brandon, it’s me.” “Me” turned out to be Tyler’s father, about the last person in the world he would have expected to see here under his bridge.
Brandon stared at his visitor when he finally got within a foot from the shocked Brandon.
“Sir, um, hi,” he stammered finally. “What… what are you doing here?”
“I didn’t want to believe it when I heard it,” he said by way of greeting, shaking his head. He gave Brandon a second surprise by grabbing him and hugging him tight for a moment.
“Believe what?” Brandon asked, already feeling embarrassed. “Heard what?” Brandon quickly dropped the tree branch.
“I heard someone talking today about the boy who was sleeping under the town bridge at night. I didn’t believe it, but they were so sure of it that I had to come check it out for myself. What in the world are you doing here under this bridge? This isn’t safe, Brandon. Why are you here?”
“What alternative do I have?” Brandon asked him. “When you folks left, everything I had was back at your house. I couldn’t rent a motel room with no money, and I didn’t know anybody else around here. You also can’t do much of anything else with no money. My cell phone was back at your house too, so I couldn’t call anyone.”
“Why in the world didn’t you say something?” he asked Brandon. “I had no idea that things were this bad. I really wish you had come and talked to me and told me what was going on. You could have been staying with us all this time. My God, it’s not safe out here. You could be robbed or beaten or even killed. The police could find you here.”
It was official—Brandon was embarrassed. He couldn’t look up to meet the man’s gaze at first. He said softly, “They have. The police come here on a regular basis. They’ve chased me out of here a couple of times.”
“They have? Where do you go then?”
“I’ve got a couple of backup places,” Brandon cryptically answered. “They’re not as nice as this, but a guy’s got to do what a guy’s got to do, you know? I’m out of options, sir. This was about all I could figure to do.”
“And you could be robbed. Who knows what kind of people are out wandering around at night around here.”
“Actually it’s not the people that scare me. Not too many people other than the cops come here after dark. Well, them and people that come here to have sex as it turns out. It’s the animals that scare the crap out of me. I think I nearly peed myself when I heard some noises one night, turned on the flashlight I’d bought earlier so I could read, and saw a mountain lion.”
“A lion? There aren’t any wild lions around here anymore. They’ve been gone for decades.”
“Trust me, she’s a real live mountain lion. Definitely. No question. And she’s a big one too.”
“Really? We used to have lots of lions throughout the mountains all over this area. But I haven’t heard anyone mention lions around here in forever.”
“Well, I know of at least one, and she comes through here on a regular part of her rounds. We try to keep one another at a healthy distance. Before long, though she’ll probably be changing her patterns.”
“Why is that?”
“She’s clearly pregnant and I think her cubs will be along soon. She’ll probably make a nest somewhere safe and stick pretty close to that while the little ones are defenseless.”
“Wow. I had no idea. I heard my grandfather talk about going lion hunting back in the day, but I really did think they were all gone now.”
“Nope. And there’s a wolf—at least I think it’s a wolf. It’s too big to be a coyote. He’s pretty ferocious looking. He comes through here sometimes as well. I’m just glad the two of them haven’t come through here at the same time. He glares at me every time he’s here, and he growls and scares the crap out of me.”
“Okay,” he said decisively. “Come on.”
“Sir?”
“Come on. You’re coming home with me. I am not leaving you out here, and I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to figure out what was going on right before my eyes this whole time. I’m sorry I’ve missed the obvious and been blind to what was in front of me. If I had known what the circumstances were, I would never have sent you away from our house back when I did. And I’m very sorry for doing that, Brandon.”
“I’ve tried to keep it very quiet. I didn’t tell anyone. I had no idea that anyone else knew.”
“In small towns someone always sees things, and they just love to talk about what they’ve seen. They all want to be the first to break some news. You’re big news in this town.”
Brandon felt embarrassed all over again.
“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry to drag you into this, sir.”
“Come on, let’s get you home and get you cleaned up and get some food into you. You have lost weight, haven’t you?”
Unable to look the man in the face, Brandon nodded silently.
“Come on,” he said, patting Brandon on the back lightly. “What can I carry?”
All he had, if you didn’t count the ratty old jacket and blanket, was what fit inside his two rolling suitcases, and those were already at his boyfriend’s house. He picked up his flashlight and said, “Nothing. This is it. I’m ready.”
“You’re telling me that everything you’ve got… everything… is what you’ve got on you at the moment?”
Brandon nodded, bowing his head in fresh shame.
“Brandon, I’m so sorry. I really had no idea things were this bad. I dearly wish I’d known. It just kills me that you’ve been forced to live under a bridge. But that ends right now. Come on. I think I can handle carrying that much. Let’s go home.”
The pathway to get from the road to the underside of the bridge was not easy. It was rocky, the surface was uneven, and there was one fence that you had to squeeze past. It took them as long to walk out from under the bridge to the car as it did to drive the short distance to the house.
When they walked into the house together, Tyler and his mother were in the living room watching television. It was a question as to who was more shocked. Tyler probably got the prize.
“Dad, what’s going on?” he asked.
“Tyler, would you show Brandon where the guest room is located? He’s going to stay there. Brandon, why don’t you go take a long hot shower? Maybe Tyler has some clean clothes you can borrow until we can get yours washed. They’re filthy.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Brandon said, acutely aware of his physical condition.
“No need to be sorry. Just shower, change clothes, and bring your old clothes down with you so we can get them in the washer. And then we’re going to start feeding you. And Tyler?” he said as his son started up the stairs behind Brandon.
“Yes, sir?” Tyler said, stopping and turning back to face his father.
“Please, the next time, come talk to me. I can’t solve everything, but I’ll listen and do what I can. But you have to tell me first so I know what’s going on. No one that any of us knows should ever be forced to live under a bridge. Deal?”
“Yes, sir,” he said with a shy smile.
A HALF hour lat
er, Brandon was showered and dressed in a borrowed pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. The clothes hung loosely on his more spare frame. He looked substantially cleaner. He sat at the kitchen table with Tyler and his parents while they kept shoving food in front of him and insisting that he eat.
When Brandon clearly had maxed out on the food he could eat at the moment, Brandon turned to Tyler’s father and mother and said, “Thank you, both. I… thank you.”
“Not a problem,” Tyler’s dad told him. “But I’ve got other news. Brandon, your father called me.”
“He what?” Brandon practically shouted. “How—I’m so sorry, sir.”
“Yes, well, he is a rather opinionated man, isn’t he?”
Brandon chuckled with amusement. “You could say that. What did he have to say to you?”
“Well, at first I didn’t have a clue. He was talking so fast I couldn’t get a question in to even figure out who he was for a minute or two. He appears to be rather unhappy with me.”
“Why?”
“For having a son who corrupted you.”
“I’m so sorry, sir,” Brandon said.
“Not a problem,” Tyler’s dad said. “I found it all rather… entertaining in an odd kind of way. I just let him rant until he ran out of energy and then I told him how I saw everything, which is quite a bit different than how he sees things. He told me you were living under the bridge.”
“He… he what? How the hell did he know where I was or what I was doing?” Brandon practically yelled with anger and fear.
“I have no clue, but somehow he knew you were there. I don’t know if someone told him, if he was asking around, or even if he was sort of stalking you. He never told me. And I know that this probably scares you. It would me too. But you’re here with us now. You’re safe, or at least as safe as you can be.
“Earlier today I had a company come in and install a home security system that will monitor everything throughout the house. It will tell us anytime a door is opened, anytime a window is opened. And when the system is armed, should any of those things happen, it sets off a warning alert and automatically calls the police. There are also now video cameras outside and up high so that we can get good views of the house and the yard to see if anyone who shouldn’t be there is there. So, Brandon, you are now safe.”
Swimming to Freedom Page 15
