CHAPTER 25: Brandon’s New Home

Brandon was in a daze as he got in the car. He did not notice Tom sending out a text, or the drive to Tom’s house. With how crazy their day had been, it felt like a long time ago, yet it had only been the previous night that he had stayed there. The house was large and in an expensive gated neighborhood, with six bedrooms and three full bathrooms. It was a far cry from what he was used to.

As he numbly got out of the car and walked to the entrance, Tom’s mother Mary was there waiting for them. She looked at how filthy and ripped their clothes were, frowned at Tom, and then still put her arm around Brandon.

“I’m sorry, dear. Let’s get some food in you and then we can talk with Mr. Rhodes.”

She led him and Tom to the kitchen where bowls of soup and some warmed bread was waiting. Tom’s sisters, Rosy and Amy, took his mom’s orders and ran upstairs, returning with a large t-shirt and some gym shorts. Brandon didn’t even bother leaving the room, simply stopped eating and changed, sitting back down to continue the food. Three bowls went into him before he felt satisfied and looked up.

When it seemed like he was finished, Tom’s mother had herded the girls out and then grabbed Tom a bit rougher and pulled him from the room. Brandon could hear whispered shouting a few rooms away. Tom’s father, Mr. Rhodes, was now sitting at the end of the long dining room with a file folder and a large notepad.

“Hello, Brandon. We met briefly last night, though it seemed you were in distress at the time. Tom has given us some information about you, but considering Tom we don’t know what it really means. I know it’s been a hard night for you, if we can believe what Tom said, but I’d like to confirm things with you if that is ok.”

“Um, sure, Mr. Rhodes,” Brandon said nervously.

“Tom told us he has bullied you for years. Is that true?”

“Y-yes,” Brandon hesitated to answer. Mr. Rhodes sighed.

“Is he still doing it?”

“No,” Brandon felt more comfortable with that question. “He and his friends are done with that.”

“What makes you think they are done?” Mr. Rhodes looked at him with a mix of curiosity and compassion as he looked up from his notepad.

“Er…” Brandon was not sure how to answer that. In the end he did not have to as Tom burst into the room while slipping a clean shirt onto his still dirty body.

“Because he’ll keep me alive,” Tom answered proudly.

“Keep you alive?” His dad turned to him with confusion.

“Yeah, he is a support,” Tom pointed to above Brandon’s head, “and I am I warrior.” He pointed above his own head.

“Tom, what does the 14 mean?” asked his dad looked between their tags.

“It means we’re strong, dad,” Tom answered while flexing an unimpressive bicep.

“Tom, please take this seriously, for Brandon’s sake.”

“I’m being serious, dad. The boss said…”

“The boss?” Mr. Rhodes cut Tom off. “Like a gang boss?”

“Yes! Wait, no! Well, maybe?” Tom seemed unsure of how to answer. “Anyway, we are part of his crew. He’s a great guy and showed me the error of my ways.”

“A gang boss showed you the error of your ways? How did he do that?” Tom’s dad asked with exasperation.

“The boss pounded my face in when we were going to bully Brandon.”

“That horrible broken nose that we took you to the hospital for? That was you learning the error of your ways?”

“Yuppers,” Tom smiled proudly.

Mr. Rhodes turned to Brandon with a wry smile on his face. “This is what I have to work with, Brandon. Can you give me a bit more information on this?” Tom sagged, crestfallen.

“Um, yes sir. The boss is named Adam. He is a classmate of mine. When he saw them bullying me, he tried to help me and they attacked him. It turned out he was able to fight them all and while defending himself he broke Tom’s nose.”

“This Adam tried defending you and beat up Tom and some other bullies?”

“Yes. I only saw a recording that Adam set up before it happened. He sent me out before the bullies attacked him.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Is he some kind of trained fighter or gangster?”

“No sir. He said he had never been in a fight in his life,” answered Brandon. “He’s never stood out in class either.”

“Is he some kind of delinquent?” asked Mr. Rhodes, his confusion growing.

“Delinquent, dad? Hell no! The boss is our savior! He is going to lead up to victory!” Tom gushed as he posed with one arm in the air and a foot on his chair. Mr. Rhodes turned back to Brandon.

“Um, Tom. Now you do sound like his thrall,” whispered Brandon to Tom.

“Supports my vampire theory,” said Tom conspiratorially as he returned to his seat.

“What do vampires have to do with this?”

“Nothing, dad. Why bring up vampires?” asked Tom with confusion on his face.

Mr. Rhodes took a huge sigh and turned back to Brandon, clearly frustrated. “How many people did he beat up along with Tom?”

“Four others,” answered Brandon. “Though I don’t think Elias actually fought.”

“Then this Adam, who has never been in a fight before, had the good intentions of helping you, and beat up five bullies?”

“Oh yeah, dad! We even started it by sucker punching him from behind. The only reason Lucas got a punch in was because the boss was looking at something else. Then the boss saved our lives.”

Mr. Rhodes lifted his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “How did you become such a degenerate, Tom? Doesn’t Lucas box competitively?”

“Yup. Lucas didn’t stand a chance!” Tom crowed.

“And a boy who has never fought was able to beat a training boxer?”

“Yup!”

“It sounds like this Adam is a bad element, people just don’t realize it yet.”

“Hell no, dad. The boss is the best. He'll soon be known worldwide. He even helped Brandon in other ways.”

“What other ways,” asked Mr. Rhodes.

“He toughened him up,” Tom exclaimed proudly.

“That’s what abusive parents claim. What does that mean?” Mr. Rhodes turned to Brandon, clearly exasperated.

“He helped me with some memories and realizing the truth about my father.”

“That was after the boss saved him from dying because he was stabbed by goblins,” Tom added unhelpfully.

“Goblins? So you play video games with him?”

Tom snickered at that but for once didn’t say anything, and this time Brandon was the one to sigh.

“Anyway, your father is why I wanted to talk with you, Brandon. I apologize for the difficulties my son has caused you. Just let me know if it happens again. However, your father is a more concerning issue at the moment. According to what Tom told us, your father could be seen as abusive and negligent.”

“Yes sir. The boss helped me see and accept that,” responded Brandon.

“Good. That will help this conversation. It’s usually difficult for people to accept.” Mr. Rhodes nodded and then continued. “It seems like your life has been a struggle up until now with your home life leading the way. It is usually hard for children to see that, and I am going to offer you something now. It is entirely your choice whether you except it or not. Even if you do not, I would be willing to try and provide you support in other ways. Not to make up for the things Tom has done but because my wife and I believe no child should have to go through what you have.

“I am a lawyer of corporate law, but I have friends in other legal disciplines. In fact, I have a friend who deals in family law and child custody. I have already contacted him and gotten the forms needed to become your legal guardian. If you would like we can accept you into our house and provide for you. I know you are already 17, but as long as you don’t harm our family we would be willing to take care of you until you are an adult and able to take care of yourself. It should not be too difficult to legally pressure your parents into agreeing to it.”

“W-why would you do that for me?” stammered Brandon.

“When I was a kid, one of my cousins had an alcoholic stepfather. It seemed all the adults knew there was something wrong, but no one did anything. As a child I was powerless to help him and had no way to fully understand what was happening. While in high school he ran away, lived who knows where, and last I heard he was a drug addict. No one stepped up to help him and I don’t want to cause that again through inaction. I am a lawyer and my wife is a nurse. We have plenty of financial security and a loving family to share…even with Tom around.”

“Ouch, dad,” Tom complained halfheartedly.

“Anyway, helping you is easily within our powers. Tom has said that you are a good kid in need of help and asked us to. That is not something I would expect of Tom. After you spent last night, my daughters and wife were sure that you need better support than you’ve received so far. You don’t need to leave your real family behind, but we are willing to give you a warm and nurturing place to live.”

Brandon’s eyes became blurry with tears. First Adam helped him and now the Rhodes family were there for him. He had never had anyone but Brittney before. Both happiness and sadness flooded him as the emotional exhaustion from the last two days overwhelmed him.

Sniffling, Brandon said, “Thank you, sir. It would be nice to have a more supportive place to live.”

“Yeah, dad. His other house was terrible!” Tom exclaimed.

“Tom!” snapped his dad.

“But it was.”

“That’s enough, Tom. How about you go ask your sisters to make Jeremy’s bed and Brandon can sleep there. We will need to buy him some new clothes since I don’t think you or your brothers’ clothes will fit him. However, before that, you guys need to shower. You are both filthy and, quite frankly, smell terribly. How did you guys even get that dirty?”

“Paintball with the boss,” Tom snickered, using the excuse he had heard from Adam.

“Ah, that must be what the blue is. Well, it really stinks, so please get Brandon some towels and soap, and see if there are any clothes that can fit him until your mother can go shopping with him.”

“You got it, dad.”

Brandon could not believe all that was happening. He took a relaxing shower in what felt like a luxurious bathroom. He slept in a comfortable mattress, not one that had been worn down to the springs. There was more food than he would have gotten at home and was able to rest without hearing banging or shouting through the walls. It felt unreal.

He and Tom were late to school as they swung by his house to stuff as many of his clothes as he could into a large gym bag. Brandon was still hesitant and unsure, not knowing if things would get better for him, but he was at least willing to try. A big smile was on his face as they pulled into the parking lot of school. Friends, no more bullies, and a home that could be comfortable. Things were looking up.

Then they drove into the school courtyard where four police cars were pulling out, the second to last one containing a scowling Adam, arms cuffed behind his back in the back seat.

“Oh, shit,” Tom exclaimed as he pulled out his phone and started texting.