by:

Cassidy's life has been lonely and full of heartache. Abandoned as an infant, bounced from foster home to foster home. He's never found a place where he's belonged. Then one summer as his life starts to turn around, something happens that changes everything...

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Author's Note: Here we are, its chapter time. I was going to post this on tomorrow but I figured this was close enough. Was talking to another author about this chapter and I told her that "at the end, I might be tarred and feathered", so please, I'm allergic to both :D. My editor also told me, "Wow", so I'm glad to see that the end of this chapter had an impact. I'm curious to see how everyone else reacts to it as well. Once again I'd like to thank Nyssa for her editing :).

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4.

When I opened my eyes, I was a bit confused. I was laying on my back, covered with a fluffy blanket, on a soft bed. How had I gotten here? I blinked, trying to remember last night. Everything was fuzzy. I remember going to the bonfire on the beach, I remember Brit ditching me for manlier men and I remember, Dave, maybe? I groaned, sitting up. As soon as I did though, my head started to throb. If I didn’t know any better I could have sworn I was hungover. Not that I knew what that felt like. I’d seen movies though. I imagined this is what it felt like. The problem was, I knew I didn’t drink last night.

The light in the room suddenly came on.

I groaned.

“Well, someone had fun last night.”

Mrs. Spencer stood near the door, smiling at me.

“I didn’t drink,” I said, hoping she believed me.

She laughed. “I know. Honey, if you’d been drinking, you’d of smelled like it.”

Well, that was a relief.

She walked into the room as I sat up fully. If I wasn’t drunk, then why was my head pounding so much? Through squinted eyes, I watched as she walked over to the window and drew the shades. More light poured into the room. I flinched again but not as bad. After opening the shades, she walked over and opened the doors leading out onto my little deck. Our bungalow had two bedrooms, a small living/dining area, and a large wrap around porch that both bedrooms had access to. All fit into a tiny little house built on stilts. If it wasn’t so close to the water, I might have thought it was all pretty cool. Just thinking about the ocean made me shudder. The strange thing was though, it wasn’t one of disgust?

“You’re lucky I found you last night, passed out like that,” she said, turning from the deck and the morning sun. “If it had been your uncle, I’m not sure how he would have reacted...”

Did I pass out?

I rubbed my temples, trying to remember. It was still a little hazy but slowly coming back now. I was on the beach talking to Dave and got lightheaded. I was certain it was smoke inhalation from the fire, but it knocked me for a loop. I vaguely remembered stumbling my way up the beach toward this place. I must have passed out as soon as I opened the door?

“I think I got too much smoke.”

She gave me a long look but said nothing.

When she spoke it was in a neutral tone. “Well, breakfast is waiting in the other room. I’ll leave you to shower and dress.”

She left me alone after that.

It took me a few seconds to get the rest of my bearings and leave the bed.

I wasn’t familiar with the room at all, having gone straight from arriving to the beach yesterday. Wow, had it been yesterday? I took a few minutes looking around the room, checking doors. The first one was the exit. The second led to a closet where my single suitcase was sitting. The third was what I wanted. An en suite complete with toilet, a small sink and mirror, and a shower. I relieved myself first then went to the sink to splash some water on my face as I washed my hands. While doing so, I grunted at myself in the mirror. Not only because I looked like hell this morning.

The dye was starting to fade. I grimaced. Cheap crap, it was supposed to last for months. I guess that was the last time I bought hair dye at the gas station. I grunted as I looked at all the blonde that was starting to show. Well, I did want to get rid of the black, but I was hoping it would still last longer than this? I wasn’t ready to give up my armor yet. Running my hands through it, I couldn’t help but notice that it was thicker. Did it feel softer too? Sure, I shampooed and conditioned every night, but my hair had never felt like this before. I wondered if the humidity here was affecting it? It was a lot hotter here than in New York.

Sighing heavily, I stepped away from the mirror and started to strip.

When I got down to my boxers, I tried not to look at myself.

I was always pale and scrawny. It was something I accepted a long time ago, but it was also something that fueled the bullies a few years ago. I tried my best to avoid them, but there were a few that refused to stay away. I think the whole emo thing pushed them even more. That and how scrawny I was. Most of the tormenting didn’t last long. Maturity and time got the better of them. It also helped that I busted the head bully’s nose. Logan Greene. He was bigger than me and thought for sure he could get the better of me. Growing up in foster care most of my life, in and out of the group homes, I learned to defend myself at an early age. Logan never scared me as much as he thought he did. I proved it to him one rainy day when he and his buddies jumped me on my way home from school.

Of course, no one ever knew I was the one who did it. Logan’s pride got the better of him. He made up some story about getting jumped by one of the neighborhood gangs.

The bullying stopped there.

Logan wouldn’t even look at me after that.

I laughed as I dropped my boxers to the floor. I hadn’t thought about Logan in years. Smirking I stepped out of my underwear and into the shower. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and turned on the water. I could deal with showers and baths, as long as I was in and out as fast as possible. Usually about five minutes, enough to wash and not linger. Any longer and I started to get nervous. Standing in the water now, I let it wash over me for a few minutes before opening my eyes. As I stood there, I couldn’t help but feel at peace. It was a very different feeling.

I sighed, losing myself as the water cascaded over me.

Something was wrong.

Something different.

My skin started to tingle.

It was almost euphoric.

I grabbed a bar of soap and started to vigorously scrub my body. I caressed every crevice, each one feeling more amazing than the last. I was a slave to the water and I let it take me. This feeling, it was overwhelming. I felt like it could last forever, but just as quickly as it came, it was gone. I opened my eyes, panting heavily. I slowly dropped the soap, barely able to stand. What the hell was that? I took a step back from the water stream, trying to collect my thoughts. Water had NEVER done that to me before. Take deep, calming breaths, I reached out slowly and allowed it to wash gently over my hand.

There was no tingling.

Frowning, I pulled my hand back then stepped back into the stream. Maybe it was a fluke? Maybe I was still coming down from whatever high I’d been on from the night before. Trying not to think too much about it, I finished washing. As I was shutting off the water and reaching for a towel, I stopped when I noticed something on my wrist. It was a bracelet of some kind? Had it been there this whole time? I fingered it gently, running my fingertips along the little red beads. There was something vaguely familiar about it. I wrapped the towel around my mid-section and stepped out of the shower.

I paused, wondering what I was doing.

Readjusting the towel around my waist instead, I walked into my room. As I did, I remembered where I’d seen such a bracelet. Brit and her friends had been wearing them. Theirs weren’t red though. Now that I thought about it, I think Dave was wearing one too. Had they given it to me and I blanked? A small portion of last night was still pretty fuzzy to me. It was possible the girls slipped it on my wrist without me even noticing it. I smiled at that as I started to get dressed.

Deciding to forego the whole “Dark Prince of Despair” look, I found a pair of normal jean shorts and a tee. Slipping on the shorts, I couldn’t help but feel they were a bit snug. I strained a bit buttoning them up. I chuckled, wondering when I wore them last. The thing was, the t-shirt was a bit on the tight side too. Mainly across my chest. The fabric felt a bit rough too. I grabbed the hem, giving it a sniff. When was the last time I washed it?

I shrugged.

It smelled ok.

Walking from the room, I found the Spencers sitting at the dining table. Room service had brought a nice spread of bacon, sausage, and eggs. I sighed at the heavenly smell. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d ever had anything that smelled so good. Finding an empty seat, I didn’t wait to be served. The two adults gave me a look then chuckled. I was almost done with my first helping when my bracelet took center stage:

“That’s a lovely bracelet, honey. Did one of your new friends give it to you?”

Lovely?

I looked at my wrist and lied. “Brit gave it to me, it’s something that a lot of the kids around here wear.”

She smiled. “That was nice of her.”

I’d only known these people for a few days and I was already keeping things from them. I sighed. This was not a good way to start. I wanted to say something else but instead, I finished my food. Then for some strange reason, I got a second helping. I couldn’t remember the last time that I ate two helpings of anything. While I was eating, Mr. Spencer stared at me. I tried to pretend not to notice but it was hard not to when he was making it very apparent.

The meal fell into silence.

“So, what do you have planned for today?” he finally asked.

I shrugged. “Not sure. Brit and her friends were talking about the boardwalk yesterday. I didn’t get a chance to see it, so I thought maybe I’d take a look.”

Mrs. Spencer smiled. “Do you want some money?”

I didn’t say “No”. She got up to retrieve her purse. A moment later, she came back with a little change wallet. She pulled out a couple of hundred dollar bills and held them out for me.

It was too much.

“I can’t,” I said, shaking my head.

“Nonsense, it’s your birthday. Get yourself something nice.”

My Birthday.

I’d completely forgotten. Well, not forgotten but I had other things on my mind when I woke up. Mainly the pounding headache. A headache that I realized was long gone now. Whatever it had been, the shower seemed to sort it out. I was thankful for that at least. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt like that. I was one of those rare people who didn’t get sick. I don’t mean got sick often either. I mean I have never been sick. There was a small chickenpox outbreak when I was in kindergarten, I was the only one who didn’t get it. During cold and flu season, I was virus-free. The thing is, I had the same shots and vaccinations as everyone else. I was like a freaky superhero with the power of immunity.

So feeling like that last night and this morning, it was a very new thing to me.

My mind drifted back to the bills she was offering.

With some reluctance, I finally took them.

“Thanks,” I said and meant it.

The thing was, I had no idea what to buy. Not a lot of people willingly gave me money and when they did, it was not this much. Like I said before, I rarely received gifts either. Except for the Mitchells of course. Mrs. Spencer giving me this money was a gesture of kindness I wouldn’t forget.

“You’re sure?”

“Of course we are, kiddo,” said Mr. Spencer with an award-winning smile.

“Besides,” said his wife with that same smile. “It’s not every day that someone turns sixteen, after all.”

I forced a smile.

They looked at each other, still smiling.

It was very creepy.

I’d never been to a boardwalk before. I wasn’t sure what to expect. After I left the resort, it was only a short ten-minute walk up the beach. I was surprised by the number of people here this early in the morning. Then again, this was a vacation spot and there were probably always people around. I did my best to blend into the crowd and hope I didn’t stand out too much. I got a few looks because of my black and blonde hair but for the most part, no one seemed to care. It was just as well. I was just like them, a tourist to see the sights.

And what sights they were.

On my right, behind the metal railing was the beach and the ocean beyond. To my left, towering way over my head were luxury hotels. Each tried to outdo the one next to it in size and grandeur. Scattered among those towering buildings were street vendors, food trucks and the sidewalk stalls. Lots of people crowded there, trying to grab a souvenir or two. I browsed with the best of them. I wandered up and down for a couple of hours, buying tiny things but not making a dent into the two hundred dollars my aunt gave me. At around noon or so, I stopped at a little cart selling hot dogs. I bought two and wandered over to a spot I thought might be cool to sit at.

There was a tiny little shaded eatery spot. It had some benches and a couple of tables. There was no one there, so it was the perfect spot. That was only part of the reason I chose it though. The other part was what was across from it. I’d been seeing the statue all morning. A giant depiction of King Neptune, holding a trident in one hand, his other resting on the back of a sea turtle. A quick google on my phone told me it was a pretty famous statue around here. Built-in the early 2000s, it was placed as a marker for the entrance of Neptune Park. That was only part of the reason I wanted to see it.

The other part was something else.

I felt drawn to it.

I couldn’t describe the feeling.

“It’s mesmerizing, isn’t it?” said a voice.

I turned and saw the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She was leaning against a potted plant next to my bench, stretching one of her long legs. She was wearing a skin-tight green shirt with long sleeves and a tiny green bikini bottom that matched. From her tan and toned legs, it was clear was a surfer. I followed her legs up to her face, trying not to stare but it was hard not to. She had the most vibrant blonde hair and that smile, it was amazing. My heart skipped a beat.

“Yes, it is,” I said dumbly.

She laughed. “You a tourist?”

I nodded. “Well, just here for a few days.”

She laughed again. She had a great one. “Yeah, that’s me too. I’m here for the waves. I’ve been up and down the coast for them.”

“That’s so cool,” I said and meant it.

I always wanted to learn how to surf. Sadly because of my hydrophobia, that was never going to happen. Unless, of course, I finally learned to control it.

“It’s a way to make a living,” she said, brushing some hair from her face.

When she did, I noticed a red beaded necklace around her neck. It was stuck under her tight shirt, so I only saw part of it. I looked at my bracelet. I hadn’t realized they were that common. Sure, Brit and her friends were all wearing them, but I figured it was a group thing. Seeing her with that necklace though, it didn’t make me feel so awkward to have this thing on my wrist.

She saw me looking and smiled. “Red is my favorite color.” She gently touched the necklace. “This thing is attached to me. What about yours?”

I shrugged. “My friend just gave it to me. It’s my Birthday today.”

She smiled. “Happy Birthday then!”

We talked for a few more minutes when I noticed someone trying to stay out of sight. It was strange really because out of all the people around, he seemed most interested in us. Or rather her. Maybe I was just being paranoid because he was dressed like a creeper with those dark sunglasses. The girl seemed to notice where I was looking and looked too.

“Well look at that, you have an admirer,” she said with a laugh.

“Me?” I asked, surprised. “I think he’s looking at you!”

It was hard not to notice her.

She laughed. “That’s sweet of you.”

She reached to touch my cheek but stopped halfway as if second-guessing her action. I wouldn’t have minded though. She could touch any part of me that she wanted. Shit. I lowered my head at the thought and she smirked. Now everything was awkward. Here I was thinking dirty things about this girl who I just met only minutes before. A girl that didn’t even go out of her way to meet me. She just stopped to stretch.

She started fingering her necklace. “That guy likes you,” She sighed. “I hate manky bastards like him.”

I tried not to show I was looking, but I took a glance. The guy was still there. He wasn’t even disguising the fact that he was looking our way either. It was very creepy. He stuck out like a sore thumb too, not just with those dark glasses. He was wearing a light blue polo shirt, tan khaki shorts and knee-high socks with sandals. Who was this guy trying to fool?

She sighed. “Well I think I’m gonna have to deal with this,” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Just when we were getting all buddy-buddy too. I’ll catch up with you later, ok?”

I nodded like an idiot.

I’m sure she said that to everyone.

After that, the Surfer Goddess made a big spectacle. She walked across the street, shouting a name, “Jerry, is that you!” She went right up to the guy across the street and grabbed him in a big hug. It took me a second to realize what she was doing. She was distracting him so I could bolt. While she was hugging him, she turned them around so she was looking at me. She gave me a gesture with her eyes. I knew the look well. It was the “get the hell out of here” one. She didn’t have to tell me twice.

I finished off the last bit of my second hot dog and quickly left the area.

I moved with the crowd toward the park, hopefully putting enough distance between me and the creep. It was just as well, I wanted to see this park too. After googling that statue, I started reading more information about the boardwalk. Neptune’s Park was known to have a lot of live music. There was a band playing now. They were a cover band, playing some trendy pop tunes I didn’t much care for. There were a lot of people crowding around the stage though, mostly girls trying to get a look at the young lead singer as he belted out some sappy love song. I tried to pretend like I was enjoying the music, but I was disappointed.

Moving through the crowd, I meandered my way over to a juice bar.

I ordered a fruit punch mocktail and tried to look like I belonged here.

I knew I didn’t though.

I continued to sip my drink, hoping that there might be something of interest.

When the songs changed and it was another pop tune, I knew this was not the place for me.

Defeated, I started to make my way out of this place. Pushing through the people, I was almost to the exit when someone grabbed my arm. At first, I thought it was an accident but they weren’t letting go. I tensed up as their grip tightened. Turning, I saw it was my stalker.

Damn it.

“Let’s not make this any more difficult than it has to be,” he said, something pressed into my side.

Wait, was that a gun?

He had a gun?

Why did he have a gun?

“What the hell is this?” I asked, scared.

I wanted to squirm. I wanted to scream. Instead, I let him hold onto my arm and move me back into the crowd, away from the large statue looming not too far away.

“Who are you?” I asked but either he didn’t hear me over the music or didn’t want to answer.

He continued to push/pull me.

He led me away from the group and toward the other end of the park. I looked ahead and saw a black van. What the hell was this? Was I being kidnapped? Was this some kind of perv who liked to abduct teenage boys? I needed to get out of here and fast. I looked around, trying to find a way. I was starting to panic, blood rushing to my head. I started to feel woozy again. No, not now. Whatever you are, please not now. The world started to swim around me. I stopped moving, feeling sick.

The guy seemed to take notice.

I think he cursed.

He touched his throat. “I think we might have a problem. Send some help...”

Help?

He was working with someone?

He started talking to whoever it was, but to do so, he took his hand off my arm. It was his mistake. Whatever dizziness I was feeling faded away quickly. I think “Jerry” realized his error too late. He grabbed me but I was already gone. I took off back toward the crowd, running as fast as I could. As soon as I hit the group of people, my momentum was cut way down. They didn’t stop me from moving though. I pushed my way through, not caring about all the cursing and yelling as I pushed people aside. He was right on my heels too. I heard people cursing and yelling at him as well. I didn’t stop though. If I could get through this crowd and onto the boardwalk proper, I could make a mad dash for it.

That was the plan anyway.

Not apart of the plan was the fact that he was a lot more creative than I was.

He got in front of me somehow.

I cursed as I ran right into him.

He grabbed my arms.

“That was stupid,” he snarled, tightening his grip.

I lashed out because he had no gun on me this time.

It was useless though.

He was a big guy. Bigger than me. He was stronger too. I couldn’t pull free from his grip.

“Stop making this harder,” he growled. “I’m not trying to hurt you...”

Bull.

I still struggled. The more I fought with him, the more his grip started to falter.

Just a little…

“Dude, what the hell!”

Shit.

At first, I thought I ran into someone in my attempt to fight off “Jerry”. I cursed. Then I smiled as I saw the one who had spoken. It was Brody from last night. He wasn’t alone either, Dave was with him. The two of them must have been at the concert, probably with the girls.

“What the hell are you doing with our friend, punk?” asked Dave, putting a hand on “Jerry’s” shoulder.

“Jerry” was an imposing guy in his own right. He was not, however, ripped like these two surfer boys were. They were a lot taller than him too. As soon as Dave laid a hand on the jerk’s shoulder, he instinctively let me go.

“This is my nephew, I’m taking him back to our suite.”

“No, I’m not,” I said, rubbing my wrists.

“You want to try that again, bro?”

Brody gave “Jerry” a shove.

They were starting to draw attention. Several people around us had stopped paying attention to the music. I couldn’t help but smile. It was going to be hard for “Jerry” to make off with me now. A few of them had their phones out, ready to record a fight. “Jerry” sighed, defeated. I smirked. Yes, thank you, Brody and Dave. I took a step away from “Jerry”, moving around so I was now standing behind my two rescuers. I could have kissed them if they weren’t boys. Just as well, I felt secure with the two of them here.

“You’re leaving now, bro,” said Dave, his hand still on “Jerry’s” shoulder.

He didn’t have to be told twice.

I watched him leave. I didn’t feel truly safe until I couldn’t see him anymore.

I felt like crying. I’m not sure why. Ok, so maybe it had something to do with almost being kidnapped but it was more than that. I’d never felt this emotional before. What’s more, I wanted to hug both Brody and Dave. I was happy when Dave put his hand on my shoulder.

“You ok dude?”

I nodded. “Thanks to you.”

“Who was that asshole?”

I shrugged. “No clue. He was following me earlier. Some girl scared him off, or so I thought. I thought he was gone, then he grabbed me in the crowd. He tried to drag me to this van...”

I lost it at that point.

I started to cry. It was hard not to. Dave started rubbing my back. It was all a little awkward, truth be told. He and Brody were able to steer me out of the crowd. They took me to a little sitting area where Brit and the girls finally joined us. This time I did get a hug. Brit held me tight and refused to let go. It didn’t take long for one of them to suggest calling the police. I tried to talk them out of it, but they insisted. So there we sat. The police arrived about twenty minutes later. They made me describe everything that happened, took our statements, then offered to take me back to the resort.

“I’m good officers,” I said, hoping it was enough.

It wasn’t.

“You going to be ok, now?” asked Dave as they were leading me toward their car.

“I’m good, thanks to you.”

He smiled at that.

I smiled too.

In the car, the police officers tried to make small talk. Because I was a tourist they started talking about the area. A good portion of the real estate around here was owned by Charles Bishop. It was a name I’d heard before. He was some big billionaire tech guru. His name was in the news a lot. Besides being super-rich, he was also a philanthropist. He donated millions of dollars all over the world. The man was the closest thing to a living Saint there was. Very few people with that kind of power and money would be willing to do all the good that he did.

I think the tourist-speak was all a distraction.

They were all business as soon as we pulled up to the resort. We parked, and I escorted them to our bungalow. I was a bit nervous when they knocked on the door. I was even more nervous when the door opened and Mrs. Spencer was standing there. The look of shock on her face made me wish I wasn’t born. I inwardly sighed. This was it. This was the moment. I’d been here before. Well, maybe not here exactly but I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen next. It was going to end the same way. Back to the Home waiting out my time until I turned eighteen.

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

“Is there something wrong officer?” she asked, not even looking at me.

“Ma’am is this your nephew?”

She finally looked at me. “He is?” she said nervously.

The officer sighed. “He’s not in any trouble ma’am. Quite the opposite. Earlier today...”

He proceeded to tell her the series of events that led to all of us standing there. By this time, my uncle was standing beside her. They both listened until the officer was done. By that time, I had walked into the room to stand with them. My aunt put her arm around me. I felt safe and secure with her too. It was a strange shift. Almost getting kidnapped was enough to put my life into full perspective. These people were my family. They cared about me. I’d been foolish to think that they were just going to toss me aside after all of this. They were home. If anything else in the world happened to me I’d know that these two had my back.

“If it’s at all possible, I’d like to ask if you folks would be willing to spend an extra few days here,” he said politely. “Just in case.”

“Well actually, office, we just live in Richmond...”

“That will be fine then, sir,” said the officer.

He and my uncle shook hands.

Then the officer was gone.

As soon as the door was shut, my aunt pulled me into a hug. I lost it again and started to cry. She held me tight. It felt nice. I felt loved.
Nothing in the world was going to get between me or them ever again.

Then I felt a sharp pain. No, not a pain, a prick.

I pulled back quickly. She was stroking my hair with one hand, holding some kind of needle in the other.

“Now,” she said in a cold voice. “Look what you went and did now.”

The room started to grow foggy.

What the…?

I touched my neck. Did she just poke me with that?

“Kids these days,” said my uncle with a shake of his head.

I stumbled into the room, got a few feet and dropped.

No.

Darkness took me a second later.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Anything critical you have to say, PLEASE do so in a PM. Pointing out people's flaws or mistakes in a comment is hurtful and NOT appreciated.Thanks in advance...EOF