Aquata Cove Ch. 78

"I... I kind of told him he should... Tone it down a bit with the gay."

"Luther!" Donna gives him a wide-berth, "You can't say that to him!"

"Well, this whole thing started when he first came out! I just thought that maybe if he were to-"

"Luther, you can't just go back into the closet once you're out in a local place like school. It doesn't make sense!"

"I just- I don't know what else to do, Donna." Luther said, "We don't have a lot of options here..." He said, looking at the mass of paperwork on the table. Too many unpaid bills and warnings, records, rejection letters for food stamps and financial assistance... "I'm just... I'm sick of seeing our son come home with bruises, darling..."

"Luther..." Donna whimpered, "What are we going to do..."

Adam watches them from a crack of his door, before the door silently closes.

~~~

Donna rubs in the last dab of hand cream on her hands as she circles the bed, getting in carefully beside her husband. Luther reads intently into a rather thin book as they settle she settles in. She looks thusly, finding it unusual that Luther is reading anything other than the Funnies from the newspaper, seeing as he never gets the time to read them.

"What's that you're reading?" She asked.

"Nothing." Luther said, "Just something..." Donna looks to him, then at the pages, before rolling her eyes, and snatching it away. "Hey! Honey!"

Donna closes it, and looks at the cover, "... 'Leaving Homosexuality'." She turns with a look of anger and shock, "Luther!"

"It's not what you think," Luther stammered, "I just-"

"Luther, how many times do I have to explain this??" She shook it about, "It's not reversible, it's not something he chose to be! Its-"

"I know! I know! I just..." Luther sits up and takes the book back, "I'm worried, alright?? Adam's in a lot of trouble, Honey. And I thought..." He took a deep breath, "And I thought I could try and find some tips here..."

"I've already read that book, and it's not helpful at all." She stated, "It's just a story of the author in Christian denial."

"Wait, YOU'VE read it?"

"When I was in college, and when I was trying to become a therapist, I chose a random topic. I couldn't really get that far, as you know..."

"Darling..." Luther snuggles up to her, "Donna, why don't you try to go back to school? I still think you're a good shot, you were only a degree away..."

"We can't afford it, Luther." Donna chuckled, "We can't even afford Financial Aid..." She is just about to reach for the lamp switch when Luther's phone rings out.

"Who the heck could that be at THIS time??" He grumbled as he rolled over and picked it up, and held it to his ear. "Hello? ... Oh hey, Bob, what's up? ..." After a few seconds of listening, he sits up, "Wait, what? ... No he's not, he's in his room... What, wait, hang on," He grunts as he gets out of bed, and walks out of the room, striding, as a matter of fact.

Donna sits there, waiting for a few moments, before Luther rushes back in, "Ok, could you please just... Don't let him know you're there, but could you keep an eye on him until we get there?? Thank you so much, goodbye." He hangs up, and rustles around.

"What's going on?" Donna asked as she gets up.

"Adam's run away."

"What?!" She bolts to him as he gets a few items of clothing pulled on, "Where is he?! Does Bob know?!"

"Bob saw him at the bus station with his backpack, apparently, he's probably going to be waiting over there all night until the offices open."

"Oh my God, Luther!" She quickly gets dressed.

"Bob's going to keep close, and stop him if anything happens, but we have to hurry."

~~~

Adam sits alone on the bench, his staring at the concrete as he idles there, rocking gently as he just sits there, for nothing. It's going to be a long night, knowing this as he shivers from the breeze.

He hears light footsteps, and looks up to spot a couple of figures. He gasps lightly as he instantly recognizes them as his parents. His stomach sinks in fear and guilt as they came closer to them.

"There you are!" Donna shuffles over to him.

"M-Mom, I-" Adam whimpers as they come to him, "I'm sorry, I-I-"

"Adam," Luther started, "What in the world were you thinking?!"

"D-Dad, I-"

"Luther we can talk about this later-"

"No, we need to set a few things straight right now." He stands before them, "You have any idea how you scared us, running off like this??? Adam, it's not like you were in trouble from today, you know that?! You got suspended for fighting back, that I can understand! But you're running out on us?!"

"I-I'm sorry, Dad!" Adam whimpered.

"Help me understand this, son, where were you planning to go?! What were you-"

"Luther!" Donna said, "Let's just..." She gestured gently to him, "Calm it down, just turn things lower..."

Luther huffed, and puffed, but consented, "Fine... Try it your way..." He mumbled before he too sits down on the bench, next to his son, "Alright... So where were you planning to go?"

"... I was thinking Seattle..." Adam muttered.

"And where were you going to stay?"

"... I have a friend up there... Was hoping he could maybe..."

"Adam, what did you think we would say??" Luther rose up, "Didn't you think we'd be concerned??"

"I-I honestly don't know anymore." Adam answered, shaking his head. "I just know I can't be here anymore."

"You don't have to run away, honey," Donna says, "We can figure this out, you just need to be patient with-"

"I can't, Mom! I can't!" Adam says as he gets up, holding onto his head as he paces a little.

"Adam, calm down." Luther said as he gets up too, "I know things are tough right now, but running away isn't going to solve anything. What about Paul? What was he going to say when he found out you took off?"

"Paul and I are done!" Adam rose his voice again. He sniffed as his eyes began to water, "Paul said he was going to come out with me, but I'm the only one making the effort..." He wipes his eyes, "He kept telling me he wasn't ready, he hasn't told his mom yet. A-And I tried to talk to him before I left, and he just..." Adam huffed as he felt into his hair, before letting his arm fall, "I just broke it off with him... Mom, Dad..." Adam holds his arms up and out, "I'm all alone in this."

"Ohh..." Donna cooed as she stands up, saddened by this moment.

"I'm like the only gay boy in school, and it's like everyone suddenly wants me dead."

"That's not true, Adam." Donna said as she comes up to him, "I know for a fact that you are NOT the only gay kid in school. What about an LGBT Alliance Club?"

"We don't have one, I looked... I tried asking if I can start one, but none of the teachers will back me up. Even-" Adam paused as he tried not to crying, "I don't even have any friends anymore. Even Nicole, Michael, a couple others, their parents told them not to hang with me anymore, but they..." Adam sniffed as he whined, shaking his head, "I don't belong here, guys. It's not going to stop, it's never going to stop. They're still going to keep coming at me, and I'm the one who gets in trouble! And no one even believes me!"

"WE believe you, honey." Donna said before hugging her son. She looks to Luther, really at a loss for words. Luther sighed as he comes, and pats his shoulder.

"Mom, what do I do, I don't know how... I'm sorry..." He sniffed, "It's so hard, I don't know what to do anymore."

"We'll think of something, Adam." Luther says calmly, "I know it's hard... I know we're running out of options here. But we need you to..." He hesitated, trying to find the right way to put this... Yet, at the same time, trying to think of another cliché advice that he hasn't told Adam yet, "I promise..." He puts his hands on Adam's shoulders, "It's going to be ok..." Adam just shook his head as he remained quiet. Luther sighed; he can just tell Adam is so sick of hearing these same old comforts. "Lets just get in the car, ok?" He rubs him firmly, "You haven't had dinner, we'll get you something to eat. Ok?"

Donna guides Adam away, while Luther goes to pick up his backpack.

~~~

While Luther walks to the bed, still clad with his jacket, Donna slowly closes the door and faces him, crossing her arms as she walks, before putting them to her hips, before gesturing them up, really unsure how she should be looking right now.

"So... Now what?" Donna asked, "Luther... Our son just ran away. Like, AWAY. This is getting serious."

"I know... R-Really, he was going to Seattle, with just the clothes on his back and backpack full of sandwiches. I just..." Luther huffed as he sits down on the bed, "Bad as things are getting... I just, I didn't see this one coming..."

A pause goes by, and neither of them knows just how to deal with this. Donna can't help but feel like she needs to check up on Adam, just to see if he's still there, while Luther can't remember or think of a single, genuine piece of advice to hand out... All the while also noting; the whole time they were at the bus station with him, Adam would not look at Luther in the face.

"He's not wrong." Donna finally said. Luther simply looks up at her with a knowing look, "He's not wrong about school. Luther, he's always had trouble with the other kids, even before he came out." Her husband nods as he gets up, "And anyone can tell you that school kids are the worst in any education system when it comes to harassment. And it's very clear that the teachers are biased, including the principal - at least he's had the decency to appear diplomatic. The only ones whose stood up for Adam is his art teacher and the librarian."

"And we thought the Zero-Tolerance Policy was bad..." Luther mumbled.

"And he's right, things ARE only going to get worse." Donna went on, "He's tried ignoring them, standing up, fighting back, and it just seems he's the only one really getting punished. It's not going to stop, not without taking it to court and making it a big spectacle on him."

"So... I guess... What is there left?" Luther says holding his hands open, "Principal told me today that expulsion is their only other alternative. At this point in time, I don't think Adam should stay in that school anyhow."

"What is there then??"

"... Well... When this happened on the George Lopez show, they went for Private School."

Donna gives him a look of ridiculous disbelief. "Are you serious? Can we even afford that to begin with??"

"Ghhh, no." Luther scoffed, "We shouldn't have even afforded getting Adam KFC tonight."

"Hohh..." Donna's eyes immediately moistened as she covers her mouth. She sniffs and sobs as she covers her eyes, "Luther, what noooww..." She whines, "How did we get to where we can't even afford to feed out son???"

"Baby, baby it's ok," Luther comes to her forth-with, and holds her close.

"And Adam's not stupid, that's probably why he left!" She cries, "He knows we can't, he knows we're... And he didn't want us to..."

"Shhh, shh shh shh, I'm sorry, Donna, I shouldn't... Gah..." With his wife almost getting hysterical by the mere notion of their growing poverty, he huffs as he racks his brain for the kind of gamble move that he's been avoiding...

"Alright... I think I have something..." He mumbled. Donna sniffed as she wiped her eyes and they sit on the bed, "What if... He goes to live with your parents. It's been several years since they've even seen him, and your mother misses Adam a lot."

"Luther... You mean... In Hawaii??"

"Yes..." He nods, "Adam's always loved the beach and the ocean, that's probably why he wanted to go to Seattle, it's closer to there."

"But Luuutheerr!" Donna gasped and cried, "That's so far awaaayy! What if something happens to him?? What if he gets hurt, and we can't help him??"

"Honey... Things are already happening to him... Whether we like it or not." Luther wipes a tear from her eyes, "I'm starting to see now that... Adam can't stay here anymore; he's a smart kid, he can sense that, honey. He ran away tonight, and eventually, he's going to think about doing it again. At least this way, we'll know he'll in safe hands."

"But Luther...!" Donna shook her head, "He's going to think we're rejecting him! I promised him we'd never send him away...! We'd never send him away..."

"Honey, we're not sending him away." Luther walks his emotional wife to the bed, and sat them down, calm as ever, "Donna... Adam is 17 years old. He's going to be 18 next year. Pretty soon, he's going to want to start a new life."

"How are we going to even afford a ticket?? Sending this things, everything, Luther...!"

"I've thought about that..." Luther says, "And rather than starting any loans... I'm going to dip into my pension."

"L-Luther, no!" Donna cried, "You're no where near for it to be any-"

"Hear me out, honey, hear me out," Luther pressed, "There's a lot of money saved in there already, plus some of the emergency account we're already pulling from. We can afford to move Adam to Hawaii, and it should be just enough to get us back on our feet... And Donna..." Luther turns her chin to have her look at him, "I think you should go back to college."

"Luther, they're not going to accept me, I'm a drop-out," She shook her head, "We can't, we just can't."

"Baby... We have to try." Luther says, his voice cracking. "Adam aside, we can't go on like this. Being a full-time mechanic and you trying to hold down a part-time job isn't enough anymore, especially when Adam can't find a job himself around here. If you become a psychologist, that will open so many doors. And God willing, if things go well, we can replenish our savings and pension money again... Honey, like it or not, this is the best we need to do."

Donna huffs with emotion as she tries to calm down, nodding, "And... I think, it would be best for him... If we brought him to somewhere he can actually start with a clean slate... He can finish his schooling there, maybe consider college if he wants. And I have an old college friend who lives near your parents' area who can give him a job on the docks. I've known the guy for years, he'll watch after Adam."

"Luther... I'm scared... What if... He's gonna..."

"It's going to be ok, Donna..." Luther says as he lets his wife rest on him, "Tomorrow, we'll sit him down, let him know we'll always love him... That we're doing this for him, and we'll call him everyday..."

"M-Mhm..." Donna sniffs and wipes her eyes again.

"Hey, come one... You know how different MY life would be if my parents sent me to Hawaii every time I got in trouble??"

"Pehahah..." Donna cries, "... I'm supposed to be the smart one, Luther..."

"You are... I'm just a crazy Dad who hardly knows what to do..."

--12 Years Later--

"I know, I just, I keep thinking, maybe there was something we could've done, I..." Luther shakes his head, "This... Probably never would've happened if he was straight..."

"That's not how it works, Luther." Donna whimpered defensively, "He is our son, what and whoever he is. And there's no changing that. So please, whatever you do or say, just..." She trained with a hint of anger, "STOP. Saying those things, o-ok???" She sniffed, "It makes me feel like you're trying to change him, or-"

"Ok, ok, I'll stop..." Luther says, sighing as he looks at his comatose son. Something inside him is scolding him for thinking and saying what could have been... How can he still be having these thoughts, even now? He thought he accepted him by now...

"I... I need to be away for a minute." Donna said, huffing with hurt as she gets up, and walks out the door.

"Ok..." Luther said as he remained, still starring at Adam.

He doesn't know how long he stood there, just looking at his son, wrestling with a few inklings. Each beep from the machines is almost beginning to sound like accusations, before Luther decides he needs to step out.

~~~

He has no idea how much time has passed, or what he's been doing. Merrick just seems his arms and legs going into some clothing. His whole body is quivering as anxiety climbs and rises in his mind. He blacked out... Really, he just blacked out, and probably broke a huge shelf. He's restacked the movies he's thrown, but he can't be in the house right now.

Grabbing a few things, his keys, jacket, an umbrella, Merrick walks out of the house. Locking the door, he embarks on another journey to nowhere. The umbrella opens wide, and is held above his head as he goes, letting his feet take him wherever he may end up.

~~~

"Bryant?" Comes an old, scraggily voice. Luther looks up to see a handful of men, along with an old, fat, grizzled man.

"Oh, Grugger..." Luther greeted to them.

"It's fuckin Captain, Bryant." He growled.

"I'm not your fishboy, Grugger." Luther smirked. "Are you here, for..."

"Yeeaahh, yeah. Your boy's been skipping work. Now I'm told it's because he got himself butchered." They come to him, and turn to the window Luther is gesturing. "Holy shit..." He said, taking in the sad, sad scene in the small life support room, "They... Fuckin shit, they really broke'im... Damn... Who the hell did he piss off...?"

"Think you know, right..."

"Shit... They really did a fuckin number on'im..." Captain said. "I just came by to see how he's doin... Some of the fishboys want to come soon too..."

"That'd... That be ok..." Luther nodded. The older friends walks beside Luther, letting a pause roll by... What are they waiting for?

"How you holdin up, Bryant?" Captain asked, "Still think he ain't gay?"

"Tha- I never said that." Luther said, "I just keep... Wondering... I'm not against gay people, I never had anything against them..."

"But yeah. You still gonna see shit for it, with all them idiots in the churches an' that."

"Yeah... I just... I keep thinking, what if I... MADE myself, and made Adam go to a Straight Camp, or do therapy... Anything to just... CEMENT the whole thing, you know?"

"No." Captain said, "You ain't makin a lick of goddamn sense, Bryant."

"I just mean..." Luther stammered, "H-He was a good kid, isn't he, Oliver??" He asked, "Adam's always been a good guy, wasn't he??"

"Yep... He's a good kid, Luther... That I can fuckin tell ya."

--Several Months Ago--

Adam walks along the hall of the Fish House. He just passes the office door, when he notices it's wide open. He peers in, and walks to the threshold, "Captain?"

Captain looks up from his desk, with a quarter-full bottle of Jack Daniels on his desk, and a pink and white teacup with an elegant teapot set. "Ah, hey, fishboy." He grumbled, before lifting a cup up to his lips, and drinking it whole. "Care for some tea?" He scowled.

"Uh... Maybe... Are you ok, Captain?"

"Fuck no." He shot back, "Just celebrating a birthday. Guess I forgot to lock the fuckin door. Would you shut it??"

"I-W- Ok..." Adam stepped out, and slowly closes the door.

"Wait, I want ya to come in here, dumbass." Captain said from within. Adam winced a little, feeling a bit nervous. He comes in, and closes the door behind him. "Have a seat." He gestured for the chair. Adam nods, and walks to the chair before sitting in it. "Here..." He takes one of the teacups, and pours some of the alcohol into it.

"O-Oh, no, I don't actually drink that stuff-"

"Yeah yeah. Try a man's drink for once." He grumbled as he puts the cup on a saucer and puts it to Adam.

"Alright... Thanks, sir..." Adam picks up the cup, and reluctant takes a sip. He keeps from wincing and gagging at the very strange and bitter beverage, trying not to choke. He swallows, and lowers it.

"So um... Happy Birthday, Captain."

"It ain't my fuckin birthday, kiss-ass." He leers at Adam, "You see any happy bullshit cards anywhere?"

"No sir... Sorry..." Adam sits awkwardly as he takes another sip of the drink. "First time I uh... Drank from a teacup before..." He said grasping at some sort of small talk.