Blue Ch. 04

"Fucker! Don't think your little 'tutorial' would go undiscovered if something happens to me!"

Blue sat down on the couch and fought to get his breathing under control. The stress was getting to him and it made his breathing worse than it ever had been. He now had his pneumonia to interfere with his breathing as well. When he was sure he could manage a phone call without passing out from lack of air or coughing too much, Blue dialled the detectives.

He didn't bother to explain what he was talking about, just burst out with the information. "His name is Thomas Gardner! He works as a counsellor at the high school. The high school is regional and students come from all the towns where the previous victims were from. That's how he found them. My sister Rose started dating him not long ago. You have to warn her and my parents!"

"We'll do that, Mr. Evans. In the meantime, we'll contact the police department where you're living now and have someone keep a watch on your home. If anything happens, get a call through there to Detective Hammersmith, if you can."

Blue clicked off and immediately called Harley at the clinic to tell him what was happening. He'd barely finished talking and was waiting for Harley to answer when the door crashed open. Thinking quickly, Blue put down the phone without turning it off so Harley could hear what was happening.

It was Thomas. Blue felt his mouth dry up and his breath cut again. "I've told them who you are. You should have stayed away from my sister."

"You queer little fucker. You're the one who is an abomination against God and polite society, while I and other good folk get arrested!" Blue had never seen the expression Thomas had in his eyes, but if he had to put a name to it, it was madness. "If you're so right in this situation, then maybe I ought to give it a try."

Blue grabbed the only thing he could reach, which was a picture frame, and threw it towards his attacker as he tried to run for the kitchen and the back door. He almost made it through the archway when fingers grasped at the back of his shirt and grabbed hold. The sudden stop caused his feet to fly out from under him and he fell to the ground. By either luck or design, Thomas let go of his shirt and Blue felt his head strike the hardwood floor hard. While he didn't pass out, Blue still wasn't too aware of his surroundings for a few minutes.

When his surroundings became clear again, Blue found himself tossed onto the bed in the guest bedroom. At least it isn't in Harley's bed, he thought to himself. Harley's bed was for them, not for a rape. It didn't seem fair that of all the times he had escaped this very fate before, it would happen now in the home of the man he loved. The man who had saved him twice. Well, three times counting the time in the basement, but that wasn't from a rape.

Shit, he must still be dazed if he was thinking about that rather than thinking of how he could save himself. This time, he was on his own. This time, he needed to figure out a way to get rid of the threat instead of acting like a victim.

During all this, Thomas was going on about how he might as well turn gay since gays were never punished for their sins. If he fucked Blue, he mused, the police would probably drop the charges against him. Blue twisted and kicked, doing everything he could to get off his stomach and away. Thomas easily, too easily, grabbed both of Blue's wrists in one hand and pinned down his legs with his body. His free hand pulled down the shorts and underwear Blue was wearing just far enough to make access possible.

It wasn't until Thomas shoved two dry fingers into his ass that Blue understood that he was about to be raped. He'd known before, but now he felt the truth of it deep inside. No matter what he tried, it didn't change the reality of his situation. Blue didn't stop trying to fight, no matter the pain he was in, but he knew that nothing could make this better or change the outcome.

Blue felt the fingers rip out of his hole and just pressed his face into the pillow, eyes screwed shut against the agony that would surely follow in the next moments. It never came and the pressure of Thomas' body on his own disappeared. Had he changed his mind? Was he not able to get hard enough to follow through? After several deep breaths for courage, Blue looked around and saw several police officers in the room. Two were taking care of Thomas, while a third came to see how he was doing.

Without a word, Blue got up and locked himself in Harley's room. He leaned against the door for a few minutes, where he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Everything inside him was numb. He might as well be a wooden doll.

Harley's heart was pounding as he pulled his car to a screeching halt outside his house. There were police cars and an ambulance parked out front, which made his heart hammer in fear against his chest. He prayed for Blue to be all right as he raced across the lawn and into his home. He nearly growled in frustration when the police stopped him when he was only a couple of steps inside.

"Excuse me, Sir, but you can't come in here."

"I live here! My name is Harley Barlow and this is my home. Where's Blue, is he all right?" He contemplated his chances of barrelling past but the officer nodded and gestured him down towards his bedroom. "Blue!"

"Mr. Barlow? I'm Detective Hammersmith. We have Mr. Gardner in custody. The officers first on the scene say that they stopped the rape in progress." Harley felt his eyes widen and his guts freeze. Rape? That wasn't what he expected to hear at all. "They don't believe Mr. Gardner actually had time to do anything, but Mr. Evans has locked himself in the bedroom over there and won't talk to us or let us in."

Harley hurried to his bedroom and gently knocked on the door, using only enough force for the man inside to hear him but not to scare. "Blue, Lovely, it me, Harley. Please open the door and let me see you."

Nothing happened for what seemed like an eternity. Finally the lock clicked, but the door remained closed. Blue was settling back into the old armchair near the window when Harley eased into the room. The first thing Harley noticed was the bag, packed and sitting at the foot of the bed. The next thing he noticed was that Blue was too pale, even for Blue, and his eyes and face were blank and staring. Not too surprising, but worrisome all the same.

Harley carefully knelt on the floor beside the chair and laid a hand on Blue's knee. When Blue jerked it out of reach, Harley understood and didn't try again. He waited, willing Blue to talk to him and hoping the police wouldn't come intruding right away.

"When the cops are gone, I'll leave and go live with my parents again." The way Blue whispered was hoarse and monotonous. "Tell them Thomas didn't rape me. Well, he used his fingers, and I guess I should be thankful for that much, at least."

"You, you don't want to stay here with me?"

"No."

Of course he wouldn't want to stay, Harley thought to himself, disgusted that he could be so dense. "We can go stay at a hotel and, if necessary, we'll look for a new place when you're ready. Maybe a house somewhere, or...."

Blue buried his face in his hands and curled up even more in the chair. "No! I'm going to my parents' and I won't come back. Thomas came here, by himself, and I couldn't do anything to stop him. I'm so fucking pathetic!"

"You're not pathetic! Stop that right now! Blue, you're still weak from being sick, and even if that weren't the case, there are always going to be people out there stronger than you, and stronger than me. We can work on that. We can go work out at the gym, take martial arts classes, anything to make you feel more confident. I love you, Blue, too much to just give up."

Blue looked Harley in the eye, and the blankness wasn't as complete as it had been. "You still love me? What if...what if Thomas had raped me? Just another minute and it would have happened."

"Lovely, I love you no matter what. It isn't the strength, or lack thereof, of your body that I love, but the strength of your heart. Nothing in the world could change that."

The tears that didn't come following the attack began to fall and Blue fell sobbing into Harley's arms. When those strong arms wrapped around him, Blue knew that he was safe and he grabbed on tightly. Harley loved him, really loved him, and didn't turn away after his attack. There were no words of disgust or that he deserved what nearly happened to him.

Things might not be easy, but Blue felt that he could maybe face them. As long as he had Harley there with him.