Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
Title: Hated
Keywords: mF, MF, abuse, violence, love, romance.
Summary: Two abused, and broken teens find out their broken pieces fit
together perfectly.
Author's Note: As a new author, it means the world to me, to see that my
words are able to touch others.  To those who say they look forward to my
new work, I beg your patience.  I proofread, and edit my own work, so
periodically, I am forced to stop, and read through each story, correcting,
adding, subtracting, and expanding upon ideas.  So please, be patient with
me, as each work needs that effort, to take on the life I hope to breathe
into it.  For those who wish to give feedback to me, please, feel free to
contact me via e-mail: master (dot) twitch1 AT gmail (dot) com

Author's Update: For those who are asking, after much struggle, and the
scrapping of several stories that sort of petered out half way through, a
new story is finally on it's way.  Many thanks to Renpet (look him up if
you haven't already) for his advice.  Look for my newest story "Unbroken"
coming soon!





                       Part One - Longing and Loss

   Pete was born in August, a hot, sweaty, humid, month.  During one of the
worst heat waves in his area's history.  The summer of 1992 had been
brutal, being pregnant during that summer had made his mother Janice, who
was already short tempered, and waspish, by nature, nearly unapproachable.
Pete's father Mike, who had been bursting at the seams with joy over
becoming a dad, had been forced out of their lives, by Janice's
increasingly hostile behavior.  Finally being told to leave, and to never
come back, after Janice had laid open a four inch gash on the side of his
head with a well thrown glass ash tray.

   Mike had been crushed by this.  More so because he would never get to
watch his son grow up, than because he would no longer be with Janice.  In
truth, he could no longer even say he loved her.  Her behavior, and
increasing hostility toward him having cooled his feelings toward her to
complete indifference.  But after one last phone call, where he had been
rebuffed after begging to at least be a part of his child's life, Mike had
at last given Janice exactly what she had wanted.  He left.

   Pete's earliest childhood memories were never what you could call happy.
He was always walking a precarious line, between striving to earn his
mother's love, and avoiding her ever increasing wrath.  Janice, after
finally giving birth to "her little bastard" had turned to alcohol as an
emotional crutch, to replace the men she could never manage to keep around.
Janice would never admit that it was her attitude, and complete lack of
respect for anyone other than herself, that drove men away after only brief
spurts of initial happiness.  Instead, she blamed Pete.  She resented the
fact that he so closely resembled his father, with his soft, wavy, brown
hair, and curious, inquisitive, light brown eyes.  Even his light olive
complexion was a bitter reminder of the man she had pushed away because she
felt he didn't deserve her.

   By the time Pete was four, his mother had become both his brightest
hope, and his darkest fears, all rolled into one.  She forever withheld her
unconditional love for him, telling him he had done one small thing or
another, to deserve to be left just outside the warmth, and love of his
mother's heart.  But he was always striving to earn that place, thinking if
he just became a better little boy, he might finally be good enough for
her. The cycle repeated itself endlessly, hope, and desperation, reaching
towards his own personal Olympus, only to be dashed away, by some slight,
perceived, imperfection, banishing him to the depths and darkness of his
own personal Tartarus.

   By the time Pete was ready to begin school, he had already developed a
more than healthy respect for Janice's temper.  Always ready to duck and
cover, if her hand so much as twitched towards a belt, or a wooden spoon,
or in some cases of his worst mistakes, the radio antenna kept next to the
couch.  Of course the beatings, and casual violence his mother was so
capable of dishing out to him, only served to adhere him to her even more
securely, in the off chance he might be graced with her fleeting affection.
A smile, or a kind word from Janice, was to Pete, like oxygen to a drowning
man.  And sadly for Pete, his mother knew this, and used it to every
advantage she could get.

   Pete's teachers could see what kind of toll Janice was putting on him,
the small marks, and violent flinching, from so much as a raised voice gave
testament to the morbidly unhappy home life the poor boy was being forced
to endure.  And yet they were never enough to take direct action.  That he
was phenomenally intelligent, and actually strove to prove he was worthy of
any sort of praise, was not lost on them either.  Sadly, it seemed, nothing
was ever good enough for Janice.  If Pete came home with a silver star on
an assignment, then he had failed because it was not a gold star.  If it
was a gold star, then he had failed because there weren't more of them. 
His first grade teacher Mrs.  Raynerd was heart broken for the small,
innocent little boy.  So much so that by the end of school year, she had
broken down into tears over the kind of life he was being forced to live,
as her husband, held, and rocked her gently, trying to soothe her distress.


   When he was only six, his Uncle Billy, seeing the emotional wreckage his
sister was piling onto the poor boy, gave Pete the first real gift he had
ever received.  A beautiful, dark fawn, pit bull puppy that he instantly
named Goliath, after his favorite Saturday morning cartoon character.  Pete
was over the moon about his new dog!  He honestly couldn't believe someone
thought he was worthy of a gift of this magnitude.  Unfortunately, Janice
was of much the same mind.

   "What the fuck were you thinking?" she had screamed at her brother, her
eyes flashing with undisguised fury, as she slammed her fist down onto the
table.  "That little fucker doesn't need a dog!  He's already enough
trouble as it is!"

   Billy was shocked at the venom in his sister's voice as she railed at
him over giving her son a puppy.  "Janice" he stated as calmly as he could
"Every boy needs a dog.  We had one growing up, and I know you loved her as
much as I did." Billy explained, hoping the memory of their beagle Ruby
would calm her down "And just look at them out there.  They're having the
time of their lives!" he pointed out the window of the small trailer Janice
and Pete called home.  In the yard Pete, and Goliath were rolling in the
grass, the puppy jumping and pawing the small boy as Pete laughed.  Sadly,
Billy thought, it was one of the few times he could remember hearing Pete
laugh.

   "Yeah, it's fine for you to say asshole!" Janice hissed.  "You're not
the one who's gonna be cleaning piles of shit off the carpet for the next
six months!  That little barking shit machine is going to destroy my house,
and make more work for me, than I already have, trying to keep up with that
little bastard out there."

   Billy had finally had enough of his sister's shit.  And he stood up
quickly in front of her, reaching his full height of nearly six foot four,
completely dwarfing Janice's five foot one and glared down at her.  "That
is the last time you will ever call your son a bastard in front of me!" he
growled.  His eyes darkening as he clenched his fists.  "Do you hear me you
self absorbed little cunt?  If I ever so much as think you've done it
again, I will break you over my knee, like you're trying to break that
little boy out there!" His emotions were plainly written across his face as
he slowly backed his sister into the corner of the kitchen.  "Do you
understand me Janice?  You made your life the mess it is now, and Petey had
nothing to do with it.  If I ever catch you trying to hurt that little boy
again, I will make your life a misery the likes of which a horror movie
couldn't compare to!" And with that last warning to Janice, Billy turned
and stalked out of her home.

   Over the next two years life became a steady pattern for Pete.  His
drunken, abusive, mother kept him still on the balance between hope, and
despair, extending her hand in acceptance, and withdrawing it, only to lash
out at him both verbally, and physically, in equal enough measures to keep
Pete under control.  But life was different for Pete now.  He had Goliath,
and the beautiful, loyal dog was Pete's anchor.  A shining beacon of
unconditional love, and joy, in the otherwise vast emotional wasteland
Janice kept him in.  The dog did not seem to be your typical pit bull
however.  He was not the broad, muscle bound beast, most people thought of
when they pictured the breed.  Goliath was tall, coming up to Pete's
bellybutton at the shoulder, and long and lean, his coat gleaming over well
defined, muscle.  His body, from nose to hip was almost as long as Pete's
outstretched arms.  And his light chocolate eyes always lit up when Pete
bounded in the door from school.

   Janice despised that dog, with every fiber of her being.  She recognized
what the dog meant to her son, and the very thought of something making
Pete, the thing that had ruined her entire life, happy, burned in her gut
like acid.  She took every opportunity she could to kick, or otherwise
abuse the poor animal.  Often locking him the closet with her water heater
for hours at time, where Pete would sit next to the door, whispering to
him, telling him it was alright, and that he was a good dog, while Goliath
whimpered, and scratched at the door, trying to get back to his boy.  No
matter how she tried, though, she could not break Goliath, the dog always
remained loyal and loving, no matter how hard she pushed him.

   Four days before Pete's eighth birthday, in late August, things finally
came to a head for Janice.  She had spent the entire night before at The
Station House, a local dive bar, flashing her low cut dress, to anyone who
showed any interest, looking for anything, even just a quick hard cock in
the parking lot, to justify to herself that she was still sexy enough to
matter.  She had gotten what she wanted, some blurry, unrecognizable
anonymous man, drunk enough not to care, as he shoved his half hard cock
deep into Janice's sloppy cunt.  This had simply left Janice feeling
hollow, and empty, knowing that this was the absolute best she could get.
And so she threw herself back into the bottle, ending the night, not even
knowing how she had gotten home, waking up on the couch, her hangover so
severe that the sound of the small TV in Pete's room sounded like a hammer
striking an anvil inside her skull.

   This just wouldn't do.  She had to make this stop.  Hauling herself to
her feet, Janice stumbled to Pete's room, and only giving him time to slip
on a shirt and flip flops, pushed the small boy, and his lousy mutt, out
into the back yard, and stumbled to her bed to try and sleep off the worst
of her condition.  Unfortunately it was only a few hours later, that the
laughter, and happy barking of Pete and Goliath roused her again.  She woke
up in a puddle of her own piss, reeking of stale booze, cigarette smoke,
and urine.  Her condition infuriated her beyond her ability to cope.  'Why
hadn't Pete made sure she had gone to the bathroom before he let her lie
back down!' She thought darkly, her bleary eyes seeing him in the yard,
wrestling with that fucking dog!  She had had enough.  Of both of them! 
She was going to make sure that fucking mutt never bothered her again, and
that that little bastard finally learned to respect her properly!  Stalking
to the kitchen she grabbed the largest knife she could find, the eight inch
carving knife, and she turned towards the back door of the trailer.  Just
before she opened the door, she saw something else that would help her
teach them both a lesson, and picked up the two foot of scrap pipe left
over from when she had had to have some plumbing work done a month before,
and violently kicked the door open.

   Janice didn't bother with words, as three quick steps brought her up to
her now terrified son.  The look of outrage on her face said everything he
needed to hear, as she quickly swung the pipe at him.  Pete had just enough
time to cover the side of his head with his hands when the pipe connected.
The hollow ring of the metal striking him was punctuated by the snapping
sound of the fragile bones in his left wrist fracturing.  Pete screamed in
pain, as he fell to the grass, cradling his broken wrist to his body, as
the pipe swung again, this time hitting the unprotected right cheek of the
poor boy.  An explosion of pain, and color erupted behind his eyes as he
felt the bones in his cheek and jaw break.

   As he laid there, moaning and screaming Goliath tried to protect him
from the woman who had tormented them both their whole lives.  Jumping over
the nearly unconscious boy the loyal dog tried to cover Pete from his
mother's fury, caring only that his boy, the boy who gave his entire life
purpose, was in trouble.  Janice swung the pipe again, the heavy club
bouncing off of the beautiful fawn coat of the beast she hated so much,
again and again she swung, the yelps of pain were somehow satisfying to the
horrible woman.  Blood from Goliath's nose, and the wounds the pipe was
inflicting sprayed at Janice, and this only spurred her on.  Finally, after
several minutes of abuse Goliath simply could not hold on any longer. 
Crumpling to the ground, still covering his boy, the magnificent, loyal
animal, tried one last time to protect Pete, the boy he loved.

   Seeing that he could not even protect himself, Janice screamed, and
brought the knife down into Goliath's side, causing the dog to yelp in pain
one last time.  Pete, beyond horror at what his mother had done to his best
friend, lunged over the dying dog, trying to protect him from his mother's
rage.  Janice simply didn't care.  The knife fell again, driving through
Pete's forearm, and down again, into Goliath's body.  Thinking to protect
his dog, Pete curled up around the knife, wrenching it from Janice's grasp.
Howling in outrage, the woman began to kick, and flail at Pete with the
pipe.  The feeling of hot pain as the metal and feet continued to rain down
on the poor boy soon became numb as the world slowly folded into blackness,
and Pete finally passed into the void of unconsciousness.

            Part Two - Fleeting Dreams and Waking Nightmares

   Billy's phone blared at his bedside, rousing him from sleep after only a
few hours.  Having worked nearly forty-eight hours straight, before finally
being allowed to sleep, this was not the way he had planned his weekend to
start.  Cursing to himself, he picked up the phone and growled "What!?"

   The voice on the other end of the line was hesitant, slightly raspy, and
female.  "Mr.  Perkins?  Am I speaking to William Perkins?" She asked,
almost as if she were hoping she wasn't.  And after the way Billy had
answered the phone, he could understand why she might wish that.

   "Yeah.  Sorry for the attitude, you woke me up out of a deep sleep." He
explained lamely, hoping whoever this was could understand "Who's speaking
please?"

   "Mr.  Perkins, my name is Amelia Warren, I'm a social worker with Child
Protective Services," The lady explained carefully, "I'm calling from Our
Lady of Mercy Hospital.  It's about your nephew Peter Daniels."

   Whatever the lady on the phone said next was lost on Billy, as the
bottom dropped out of his stomach.  Had that lousy cunt finally stepped
over the line with Petey?  Why was she calling from a hospital?  What the
fuck was going on?  All these questions, and a sense of dread like he had
never experienced before, caved in on top of him, the instant she had said
Petey's name.  "What happened?" he demanded quickly, as he fumbled around
in the dark for his clothes.  "What did my sister do to Petey?"

   "Mr.  Perkins, it would be best if we could have a face to face talk
about your nephew.  How quickly can you be at the hospital?" She asked,
sounding as if time might not be on Billy's side.

   "Miss Warren was it?" Billy asked shortly, and she answered in the
affirmative, "I'm a commercial welder, I'm on a contract on the pipeline up
here in Alaska!  I don't know how quickly I can get back there, but you can
be damn sure I'm on the next available flight!" he said as he jammed his
feet into his work boots.  "Now tell me what the hell happened to Petey!"

   "Mr.  Perkins, I'm sorry, I don't know how to say this sir...  But Peter
is in a coma in the pediatric care wing.  It seems his mother tried to beat
him to death in their yard early this morning...  Mr.  Perkins?  Are you
still there?" She asked into the silence on the other end of the line.

   "What?  Yeah.  Yeah I'm still here," Billy mumbled, as tears began to
slide down his cheeks, his nephew was in a coma, and here he sat, on the
other side of the continent, unable to be there for him.  His heart
dropped, as he realized he might never get to see the loving, innocent
smile on Petey's face again.  He had to get there.  And he had to get there
fast!  "Look, Miss Warren, I'm gonna be there as fast as I can.  Just have
someone take care of Petey until I get there ok?  Make sure if he wakes up,
that he knows Uncle Billy is coming!" And with that he hung up and dashed
out of his camper in the yard of the crew camp running toward the foreman's
trailer as fast as his legs could carry him.

   It actually took surprisingly little effort to be given home leave after
explaining the situation.  A jeep took him from camp into town, some little
village with no real name, that didn't even appear on maps.  But Billy had
to wait almost a full day for a bush pilot to pick him up.  Every minute
was an agony for him, knowing his nephew needed him, and that he was
powerless to do anything for him.  Finally after nearly two days of waiting
and cramped travel, Billy's plane was taking off from Anchorage, taking him
home for the first time in nearly a year.

   It took Billy nearly thirteen hours, and three transfers to make it
home. And when he did, his body was so exhausted he could barely stand.  He
had called the social worker Miss Warren from Denver to let her know when
he was due to land, and to inquire about Petey.  Only to be told his
condition was unchanged.  By the time he arrived at Our Lady of Mercy,
visiting hours were nearly over, but Billy demanded to see his nephew
before he left.

   Miss Warren escorted him to Pete's room, quietly bracing him for what he
was about to see, she wouldn't go into detail about the extent of his
injuries, but she did warn him they were severe.  Finally they stopped by a
large picture window, and Billy couldn't believe what he was seeing.  The
handsome face of his nephew, which had always managed to smile whenever
Billy was around, was mangled, nearly beyond recognition.  The right eye
was swollen shut so badly, Billy couldn't even tell if he still had it, the
broken cheek bone and jaw were so puffy that they distorted the entire
contour of his face.  Petey's head was bandaged above his left ear with the
hair shaved down, showing mute testimony of having needed many stitches at
the very least.

   Petey's left arm was in a cast from his hand to his elbow, the brutally
discolored fingers poking out feebly from the plaster.  A bandage covered
his left cheek where it had had to be stitched closed.  Billy could see the
edges of a soft cast which wrapped around Petey's left side, through the
opening in his hospital gown, obviously to support and protect broken ribs.
And Petey's right arm was wrapped in gauze covering some other, unknown
wound.

   Taking in the picture of his sweet, innocent nephew, lying there,
unmoving, on his eighth birthday of all days, was more than Billy could
handle.  With a wrenching sob, a damn broke inside of him as he sank to his
knees in tears.  Billy was beyond words, beyond grief, all he could think
was that he had somehow let this happen.  He knew his sister had never
really loved her son.  And he felt he should have been there to protect him
from her.  And now Petey was here, unable to move, unable to see, that
somebody, even just one person in this world, loved him.  The tears would
not stop, and Billy was powerless to try, but finally, after nearly fifteen
minutes of heart wrenching sobbing he simply had no more tears left in him.

   The next three weeks were such an emotional grind for Billy that he
barely registered anything other than sadness, as he sat, day in and day
out at Petey's bedside.  Tears streaming down his cheeks as he whispered to
the boy, begging him to wake up, letting him know that Uncle Billy was
there, and that he would always have his back from now on.  Telling him how
he was going to take him home, make things right for the boy.

   Billy was sitting in the chair looking out the window at the cloudy
September morning, thinking that this would have been the perfect kind of
morning for Petey and Goliath to be in their yard, playing like they always
did.  When a new sound snapped him out of his grim thoughts.

   "Uncle Billy?" a dry voice rasped behind him.  Jerking him back to
reality in a flash, as he spun around to the bed behind him.  "Where are we
Uncle Billy?  And where's Goliath?" Petey was awake!  For the first time in
weeks, the sun seemed to shine on Billy's world, Petey was finally awake.
Tears poured down Billy's cheeks as nurses and doctors rushed into the room
to poke and prod the small, scared boy.  Weeks later, after poor Pete was
finally released from the hospital, a fresh hope of going to live with
Uncle Billy, bringing that smile back to his face, both of their worlds
came crashing down.

   In a surprising turn of events, the social worker Miss Warren had,
citing Billy's on again, off again, employment, and the need for him to
travel extensively for such employment, recommended that Pete be placed
into foster care.  Thinking that a stable home would be best for the boy.
Sadly for Pete, and Billy, the judge agreed.  Pete was taken, screaming and
crying for his Uncle Billy into the system, where his life would be
irreparably changed.  Over the next eight years Pete's life heaved from one
unstable home to the next.  Pete being forcibly removed from three of them
due to severe physical, and sexual abuse.

                              ***

   As the years of pain and isolation continued, several changes happened
to poor Pete.  He finally realized that love was a sham.  Anyone who ever
told you they loved you either left when things got hard like his Uncle
Billy, or used that emotion as a weapon, like his mom, or any number of his
foster parents, like his first foster father, who would come into Pete's
room at night, and leave the poor boy a crying mess for days afterward.

   Pete also finally grew into the promise his father had shown.  By the
time he was sixteen years old Pete had reached six foot two inches tall,
closer to six foot four if he bothered not slouching, and weighed almost
two hundred pounds.  He was lean and muscular, his brown hair had filled
out and now he kept it scraggly, covering his face, in the hopes to hide
the scars left by his mother.  Sadly for Pete, it was the soft good looks,
inherited from his father, that led him to the last bit of hell the foster
system could throw at him.  His foster mother Sarah, a single, rather plain
woman in her forties had gotten drunk one night, and knowing how Pete
reacted to harsh words, began berating him for being such a failure that
his mother didn't even want him.  Pete had been near tears wondering why he
was being treated this way, until with a sultry smile she had told him how
he could make up for his failings.

   Taking Pete by the hand she had led him to her bedroom.  Pushing him
against the wall, the drunken woman dragged Pete's face down to hers, and
for the first time in his life, he was kissed.  She kissed him
aggressively, her tongue forcing its way into Pete's mouth.  Up until that
moment in his life, Pete had never been kissed by a woman.  He didn't even
have a memory of his mother ever touching him in a loving manner.  But,
even though he knew Sarah had felt nothing for him, being a teenager, he
couldn't stop himself from having a visceral, physical reaction to her.

   Moaning deep in her throat, Sarah had reached down and began rubbing the
obvious bulge in Pete's jeans.  "Mmmmm" she had growled, her voice low and
gravelly "I've been watching you boy.  I've seen what you hide in these
pants you big fucker." She said as she began tugging his pants open,
roughly forcing her hand deep into his fly, searching for the end of his
cock as it snaked down the right leg of his pants.  "Jesus boy, I knew you
were big!  But damn!"

   Sarah had then pulled Pete by the waist of his pants across the room to
her bed, feverishly trying to force his carpenter jeans down without
bothering with his belt.  Reaching up with her hand she roughly pulled Pete
down into another sloppy, and unwanted kiss, moaning and breathing cheap
wine into his mouth.  "Time to earn your keep you little fucker," she
whispered, when she finally managed to free his cock from the confines of
his pants.  Looking down she gasped at what she saw.  Fully erect Pete had
to be over nine inches long, and at least as thick around as a can of that
axe cologne he was always using.  She couldn't believe what she was seeing,
this boy was bigger than any man she'd ever been with!  "You make Miss
Sarah feel good Petey, and I'll make sure the social worker doesn't send
you back to the group home again." Sarah breathed, as she desperately
worked her jeans and panties down her over wide hips displaying her hairy,
sopping wet cunt to the poor boy "That's right Petey...  You make sure Miss
Sarah feels good, and Miss Sarah's gonna make sure she takes real good care
of you."

   Pete had heard this whole line before.  A foster father who told him
he'd see his Uncle Billy again if he just shut up and let it happen.  A
seventeen year old foster brother who told him he would make sure he got
the shit end of life, taking the blame for all the petty shit the older boy
took joy in pulling, unless an eleven year old Pete would suck the pathetic
four inch excuse for a cock he had without complaint.  The director of the
group home who had promised to find Pete a good home, so long as he let him
touch the boy how he wanted.  And now this, an overweight, middle aged,
woman promising Pete a better life so long as he gave her what she wanted.

   Pete was forced back into reality as Sarah took hold of his enormous
cock, and slowly slotted it into the entrance of her hairy, overused,
vagina.  "C'mon Petey, push it in me now!  Time to prove you're worth the
effort boy!" She urged, as she wrapped her chubby thighs around his waist,
and slowly pulled him inside of her.  All of Pete's sexual experiences up
to this point in his life, had been disgusting, painful, and extremely
degrading.  This was the first time in his life that he could remember,
where even though he was being forced or coerced into performing, that it
actually felt good.  This isn't to say that Pete was happy, being forced
into sex yet again, but at least this time there would be no pain, this
time Pete thought, he may actually get some pleasure out of the act too.

   Pete went with what he felt Sarah doing, and slowly pushed his cock into
her.  Sarah wasn't exactly tight, but she was warm, and wet, and for Pete,
it felt better than anything he had ever been forced to do before.  Once he
was half way into her pussy, Sarah's eyes were as wide as saucers, her
breath coming in sharp pants as she felt him continue to push more and more
of his thick fuck rod into her.  "Oh God Pete!" She moaned as he finally
bottomed out, the head of his huge cock nudging her cervix, and his heavy
balls resting on her flabby ass cheeks, "Stroke it baby.  Pump that giant
fucker into me." She hissed, as her hands pushed against Pete's waist,
causing him to partially withdraw from her cunt.

   "Oh my God!  Miss Sarah..." Pete whispered, as he finally felt, for the
first time in his life, the kind of physical pleasures sex could give.  Up
until this moment in his life, Pete had had a completely understandable
aversion to intimate contact.  Of course, being a teenaged boy he had
masturbated, though it had never been out of any desire for sexual
gratification, only to ease the pressure and pain that invariably built up
after weeks of denying his urges.  This was totally different, this was
actually something Pete never knew he could, or ever be worthy of,
experiencing.  And following Sarah's command, he pushed his cock back into
her pussy, again nudging her cervix.  Slowly, with her verbal, and physical
queues, Pete began to build a rhythm of his thrusts, withdrawing half way
out, and then sliding back in, hearing Sarah gasp and moan as his pace
built.

   To Sarah's surprise and delight, Pete seemed built to fuck, outlasting
her expectations of an all too quick first time.  As the first few minutes
rolled by, and she realized that Pete was not even close to cumming, she
began to thrust her sloppy hole back at that beautiful rod that was
pounding into her.  His hard, lean waist pummeling her hips, as her clit
scraped along his enormous cock.  "Ooohhhhh GOD!  Yes!  Keep pumping baby!
Oh..." She shouted, her back arching off the bed as a huge orgasm overtook
her, "Fuck!  Yes Petey!  Fuck me baby...  Make me feel good baby!" Sarah
shrieked, as she convulsed underneath Pete's body.  It was more than Pete
could stand, and, after nearly fifteen minutes of thrusting into Sarah's
sopping cunt, he couldn't hold back, and began cumming deep inside her. 
His orgasm hit him like a truck, his mind going blank as white hot pleasure
burned into the core of his being.  He knew what cumming was, but never
before had he experienced actual pleasure from the act.  To Pete it had
always simply been a way to relieve the pressure.  Now, it was something
altogether different.

   "Miss Sarah!" he shouted hoarsely, as he made his last few stabs into
her cunt, the spasms of orgasm shaking through him, "Oh God Miss Sarah! 
I'm Cumming!" he cried, and dropped his body down onto hers, her flabby
stomach and tits supporting him as he shook slightly in the afterglow of
his first time.

   "That's right baby," Sarah had whispered, as she ran her fingers through
his hair, "You made Miss Sarah feel really good baby, so Miss Sarah is
gonna take good care of you." Sadly, even as Pete heard her say the words,
he knew she was lying.  He knew she didn't feel anything real for him, she
had already explained to him that he was nothing more than a stipend check
to her.  And now, after this episode, Pete knew, he was just a means for
her to get her own pleasure.

   "Yes ma'am," He whispered softly, as he slowly pulled himself up and off
of Sarah, and pulled his pants back up as he hesitantly backed himself out
of her door.  Just before the door closed again, he said to her, as she
watched him with that same sick hunger he was all too familiar with, "I
know you will."

   And so, over the next few months, the cycle continued.  Sarah would
treat him as if he were either invisible, or like he somehow disgusted her,
most of the time.  But maybe two or three nights of the week, Pete would
see her look at him with that hunger, the look he already knew, meant that
night he would be forced to fuck her again.  And worse, Pete knew he
couldn't tell her no.  The one, and only time he tried, she had used his
traumatized psyche, and physical abuse to force him to perform, screaming
and ranting, throwing silverware, and pot lids at him until he was
flinching so violently that he couldn't even defend himself when she
finally began to whale on the poor boy with a thick leather belt.  Pete had
finally been forced to beg, with tears in his eyes, and a pleading look on
his face, to fuck Sarah as a sign that he really was sorry.

                               ***

   It wasn't until months later, after Pete had finally resigned himself to
being Miss Sarah's plaything until she either got tired of him, or he aged
out of the system when he turned eighteen, that the final change in the boy
became apparent.  Pete had become, by habit, and through the ministrations
of his various foster families, an extreme introvert.  Barely speaking to
people, sometimes for weeks at a time, unless forcefully confronted on the
issue.  Refusing to participate in any group activity, knowing that people
could never know his secrets and still want him around, electing instead to
go his own way.  He never went out of his way to draw any attention to
himself.  Sadly though, his height, his soft good looks, and the lean
sculpted body he had inherited from his father got him more attention than
he ever wanted.

   People stared at him, the shy ratty kid, wearing the second hand clothes
that barely fit him.  The scars on his face, and that crisscrossed his arms
and hands, drew their eyes to him no matter how hard he tried to blend into
the background.  It made him angry whenever those eyes stayed on him for
too long.  'What's wrong with him?' they seemed to say, or 'What a freak!'
they seemed to sneer.  All except for Ashley Waters.  To Pete, it seemed
her eyes were mirrors of his own world, those glorious gray orbs showed
compassion, fear, pain, and most importantly of all to Pete, understanding.
He could look at Ashley, and see in her eyes that she knew exactly what
kind of pain and torment he lived in.  To him, they were the most beautiful
things in the world.

   Which is how Pete discovered the final change his life had wrought in
him.  Pete wasn't the only person in school who had noticed Ashley, she
was, after all, a very beautiful young lady.  Barely five foot two, and one
hundred twenty pounds, she had pale luminous skin with a heart stopping,
hourglass figure.  Her hair was rust red, and reached past her shoulders,
and framed a gorgeous face, her lips were soft, and full, offsetting her
high cheekbones, and her nose had a slightly upturned point that Pete
thought absolutely beautiful.  One day, as Pete was at his locker,
gathering his books to take home with him, he noticed Ashley down the hall
with her back against the lockers, clutching her books to her chest, as the
star running back for the high school football team, Tony Bradford, leaned
over her preventing her from going anywhere.

   Pete paused, as he watched Tony talking softly to Ashley, who, he
thought looked almost too scared to move.  All she would do is shake her
head violently whenever Tony said something to her, and Pete could tell,
that Tony was not happy with her reactions.  If he was asked later why he
did it, Pete would never be able to explain, but on an impulse, borne from
intuition, Pete started walking down the hall toward them.  As he got
closer he could hear Tony's voice get louder, and angrier as Ashley again
shook her head no at whatever it was he had said.

   "Damn bitch!  You know who you're saying no to?" he demanded hotly, as
he grabbed Ashley by the arm and tried to pull her down the hallway.  She
turned her head to Pete, fear, and hopelessness in her eyes, in a silent,
desperate plea for help.  Those eyes...  The sunlight in Pete's world of
misery...  There were tears in Ashley Waters' eyes.  And something inside
of Pete snapped.  A wall he had built around himself for more than eight
years came crashing down, and all of the pain, and anguish he had built up
over those years came pouring out of him, in one primal, animalistic,
scream.

   Pete didn't know how he covered the space between himself, and Tony as
fast as he did.  All he knew was that before he realized what was
happening, he had collided with Tony with bone jarring force.  The running
back was suddenly airborne, slamming violently into the wall as Pete hit
him as hard as he could manage.  Before Tony could clear his head, Pete
doubled up his fist, and drove it into his stomach hard enough to lift the
boy's feet several inches off of the floor.  Ashley was crying, Pete hit
Tony again, this time, in the mouth that had dared to call her a bitch. 
There were tears in Ashley's eyes, Pete hit Tony again, his fist colliding
with the cheek of the running back, snapping his head back hard enough to
hit the wall behind him.  Tony slid to the floor, trying feebly to cover
himself as Pete fell on him like an avalanche.  The fists kept falling,
smashing this man, who, with one action toward Ashley, had suddenly become
his mortal enemy.  It was over quickly, too quickly for Pete's liking, as
Tony went limp on the floor, blood running from his nose and mouth.  Pete
wanted to keep hitting him, tried to in fact, when a large hand grabbed him
by the collar of his shirt and roughly yanked him off of the unconscious
Tony, and slammed him into the lockers behind him.

   "Daniels!" Mr.  Roberston, the assistant principal of the school yelled.
"What the hell are you doing?!"

   "Let.  Me.  Go." Pete growled, his voice low, and guttural, as he stared
directly into the eyes of the man who had pulled him off of Tony.  It
almost shocked Pete when the older man nearly flinched at the intensity in
his voice.  "He wanted to hurt her." Pete grated through clenched teeth,
his eyes going straight to the silent Ashley, who stood, staring back and
forth between Pete, and the battered Tony, her mouth hanging open in shock.


   Pete sat in the assistant principal's office for almost two hours,
sitting across the desk from Mr.  Robertson, his blank stare, and apparent
lack of any emotions, after a sudden outburst of violence like he just
unleashed, and the idea, quite frankly, scared the shit out of the older
man.  The boy simply sat there, not saying a word, just staring into the
space between them like nothing else existed.  "Peter," Mr.  Robertson
began gently, for what must have been the tenth time.  "Peter please, could
you explain to me how you knew Mr.  Bradford was trying to harm Miss
Waters?" Mr.  Robertson asked.  He had already listened to Ashley tearfully
explain how Tony had been trying to get her to go with him to the band
room, a room notoriously used by students for clandestine encounters.  She
had gone on to explain that after she had told Tony no, that he had tried
to drag her there by force.  And he would have too, if Pete hadn't been
there to stop him.  "Peter, please I need to understand this, before things
get completely out of hand here, I need to understand."

   Mr.  Robertson nearly jumped out of his skin, as Pete turned his eyes on
him, and started talking.  For the next half hour, Mr.  Robertson sat, and
listened, a growing sense of horror descending on him, as he heard Pete
tell someone, for the first time, the full story of his life.  He heard it
all, everything from the pain his mother inflicted on him, and the joy that
Goliath had brought him, to the unmitigated nightmare his life had become
bouncing from foster home to group home and back.  The beatings, the rape,
the abuse.  Pete held nothing back, nothing of course except his current
nightmare, Pete knew he couldn't talk about that, he couldn't risk going
back to the group home, not this close to finally being free.  "So Mr. 
Robertson," Pete finally said softly "Like I told you in the hallway.  I
knew he was going to hurt her, because I know what it looks like when
someone is going to hurt you." The light brown eyes, which at sixteen,
should have been smiling, and full of life, looked hollowly at the
assistant principal, and the complete lack of life behind them caused a
chill to creep up the man's spine.  "You wanted to understand.  You know,
but you will never understand." Pete's voice was nearly a whisper as he sat
stationary, not even blinking, in his chair.

   It was eventually decided that, mitigating circumstances allowed for
Pete to serve a two week suspension, and the school's threat to press
charges for attempted assault on school property against Tony, kept the
boy's parents from pressing charges against Pete.  It was almost a winning
situation for Pete.  Almost, except for the fact that now Sarah had him to
herself for two weeks.  During those two weeks, Pete rode a roller coaster
of emotions that was by now all too painfully familiar with.  He went from
being Sarah's sweet boy, who did such a wonderful job of making her feel
desirable, with his magnificent cock, to being shunned, ridiculed, and even
occasionally physically abused by the woman, for being such a terrible
child, and getting suspended for fighting.  But through it all, Pete had
one thing that kept him firmly anchored, and helped him cope.  He had
Ashley Waters' eyes, as they gazed at him in the principals office, showing
him just how much what he had done for her had meant.

              Part Three - Awakenings and Possibilities

   By the time the two week suspension was over, the legend of what Pete
had done, had grown.  It was all over school that the boy had demolished
Tony Bradford single handed.  But the rumors now said he had backed down
half of the football team while doing it.  The stories varied widely, some
claiming that Pete had used some kind of weapon, which many believed had to
be true, since Tony was now slated to miss the final four games of the
season.  Another story claimed that Pete was secretly a third degree black
belt, and had used some sort of ancient martial arts secret.  Everyone
claimed to be on a first name basis with him, and every story was
supposedly direct from the source.  Whatever the case, Pete wanted nothing
to do with it.

   Walking into the school on his first day back, Pete noticed the looks
right away.  While he was used to people looking at him, the accusations in
their eyes were something Pete had come to accept a long time ago.  What he
was not used to, and what he had no experience with were the appraising
glances, and the stares of astonishment his fellow students were sending
his way.  He had no idea what had happened while he had been away, all he
knew was he did not like the attention he was getting all of a sudden. 
Attention led to terrible things in his experience, and he already had one
nightmare to live through at home, he didn't want another one here at
school.

   He didn't know how he did it, but Pete survived the unwanted looks, and
glances, all of the whispered conversations that took place as he walked
past, and silences that seemed to spring up whenever he came within ear
shot.  But at lunch things became much worse.  As he sat, in his usual
place, alone in the far corner of the cafeteria, he noticed the looks that
the members of the football team were shooting his way.  They were not the
looks that the other students had been giving him all day.  These were the
looks of someone planning on hurting him.  They were looks he had seen all
of his life, but for the first time in his life, Pete was absolutely
unafraid of them.  Putting down his fork, and ignoring the lump that passed
for meatloaf in school, Pete looked back at the athletes, staring them down
in an unspoken challenge.  The look of icy calm on his face had several of
them averting their eyes in uncertainty as their attempt at intimidation
failed miserably.

   The lunch period was just about over, and Pete was bringing his empty
lunch tray to the collection window, when a small touch on his arm brought
him back to reality.  He looked down at the pale, tiny hand, gently
touching him on the wrist, and his heart nearly stopped.  Ashley Waters
stood next him, looking up at his scarred, battered face, those glorious
eyes not seeing the road map of pain and misery etched deeply in his skin.
Pete swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked down into that gorgeous
face, for the first time, close enough to see the darker halo of deep gray
around her iris.  "A..  Ash...  Ashley?" he stammered, his deep voice
sounding breathless as he nearly got lost in her eyes.

   "Pete..." Ashley began hesitantly, as she quickly drew her hand away
from his wrist, "I, uh...  I wanted to uh," she said softly, as she tore
her eyes away from Pete's, crossing her arms in front of her chest, in a
defensive posture.  "I just...  Thank you Pete!" she blurted out quickly,
then turned and raced out of the cafeteria, leaving a stunned Pete staring
after her in confusion.

   His uncertain revery was broken suddenly by a rough shove at his back.
Pete stumbled, but kept his feet, as he turned, and instinctively put his
back to a wall.  One of the football players, Pete couldn't remember his
name or which position he played, stood in front of him trying to look
menacing as he stared at Pete.  "Boy, you fucked us all!" he grated as he
balled up his fists, "You put Tony in the hospital, you little faggot!  You
just cost us the rest of our season!"

   Pete had suddenly had enough.  For the first time in his life, he felt
he had been pushed too far.  He had wanted nothing but to be left alone,
and no one, in all his life had ever done that.  To them, he had been
nothing but a target, a vessel through which they could slake their own
needs.  And now, all of that pain, all of that rage, that had been stomped
down, smothered all of his life came boiling to the surface.  Rearing to
his full height, of nearly six foot four inches, he looked down on this
new, would be tormentor, a fire nobody had ever seen blazed behind his
eyes, as he let the feelings that had been bottled up inside him for so
long finally come pouring out.  "Yeah, that's right asshole!  I did fuck up
your little friend.  He had it fucking coming in a way you wouldn't even
understand," Pete shouted, his voice roaring over the noise of the other
students, as he took a step forward threateningly, "And if you wanna make
something of it, I will fuck you up too!" And with that, he pushed the boy
standing in front of him.

   Everything that he had ever wanted to do to the men, and women, his
foster parents, the social workers, the group home directors, even his own
mother, was behind that push, he held nothing back from it.  The impact on
the boy's chest sounded like a hollow boom, as he was driven all the way
back to tables five feet behind him.  A stunned silence filled the
cafeteria, as the kids all stopped to stare, as their newest topic of
gossip, again did something nobody would have believed possible.  Stomping
over to the boy, who was sitting on the floor, dazed, and shocked at what
had just happened to him, and reached down with his huge, scar covered
hand, and hauled the boy to his feet.

   "Don't you ever touch me again," he whispered viciously in the stunned
boy's ear, "If you, or your friends ever come at me again, I promise, I
will hurt you so bad you will be afraid of your own shadows for the rest of
your lives." Without waiting for a reply, and without a backward glance at
the boy's friends, Pete stalked out of the cafeteria, leaving half of the
school in stunned silence behind him.

   Pete didn't know where he was going, as he wandered the halls of the
school.  All he knew was he had to find somewhere he could go to avoid the
stares for the rest of the day.  He knew, after his show in the cafeteria,
that he was going to get even more attention than ever.  He didn't want it.
He had never wanted it.  All he had ever wanted was Goliath, and the joy
that his dog had brought him, but even that had been taken from him.  Now
all he wanted was solitude.  A place where he could go unnoticed again.  He
didn't know how he came to it, but he suddenly found himself standing in
front of the old equipment room.  An old oversized storage closet, that had
been used to house the school's athletic supplies before the gym had been
renovated.  It was now used as a catch all for anything the school never
used, but refused to throw away.

   Pete knew most of the school's hiding places, having spent the majority
of his time there avoiding people as much as possible.  He knew the door
was not locked, and silently let himself in.  The room was stale, and
smelled of old gym mats, and chalk dust, but it was dim, lit only through
three small windows near the roof, and it was quiet.  It was because Pete
knew how quiet the room was supposed to be, that he knew he was not alone
almost immediately.  The quiet sound of sobbing, and the occasional
sniffle, coming from the back of the room, behind a row of old roller chalk
boards.  Coming to a stop by the edge of the chalk boards, Pete peeked
around the corner cautiously, and nearly swallowed his tongue in shock.

   Sitting on a stack of wrestling mats, her back against the wall, with
her knees drawn up to her chest, was Ashley.  Her face was buried in her
hands, as she cried softly, murmuring to herself as her shoulders shook, in
time with her sobbing.  "I'm so sorry Pete" she whispered, and she repeated
those words over and over to herself.  Pete stood, stunned, not believing
someone could actually care about him, not even understanding that he was
worth the effort.  But here she was, and Pete had no idea what to do about
it.  Suddenly Ashley leaned her head back against the wall, looking up at
the ceiling, misery, and self loathing written all over her beautiful face.
Pete was stricken when he realized that the tears running down her cheeks,
were because of him.

   He knew he had to do something, Ashley was crying, those glorious eyes,
the sunshine in his little world of misery, were now dim, and clouded.  In
an instant Pete was kneeling on the floor in front of Ashley, looking into
her shocked, tear stained face, with a deep, hurting, question in his eyes.
"Ashley," he whispered hoarsely, "Why?  Why are you crying?  For me of all
people?" Pete looked into her anguished eyes, searching for an answer to a
question, he never thought he would have to ask "Why are you sorry Ashley?
You didn't do anything wrong."

   The look of anguish slowly slid off of Ashley's, quickly replaced by a
look of shock, as she fully grasped the depths of Pete's pain.  The boy
didn't even know why someone would bother to feel upset for him.  She
glanced down at Pete's arms, the exposed skin sticking out from the ratty
sleeves of his t-shirt was crisscrossed with scars.  One in particular, on
his right arm, was long, and narrow, but sunk deeply into the skin, and it
drew her eyes to it.  Ashley was not unfamiliar with pain, she knew that
people could be absolutely horrible when you had something they wanted, but
she could not fathom how deeply this quiet, shy, gentle boy had been hurt.

   Without speaking, and looking Pete directly in the eyes, Ashley slowly
pulled the long sleeves of her sweater up to her elbows, revealing pale,
angry scars, that wrapped entirely around her forearms.  Pete knew
instantly what had caused them, they were scars from where rope had bitten
deeply into her skin, someone had hurt Ashley, had hurt her badly, and the
knowledge caused Pete's brain to go blank.  A rage began to build within
him, threatening to consume him in a white hot conflagration so powerful he
could barely contain it.

   Ashley's hand slowly made it's way to Pete's face, her small, fragile
fingers made their way down his cheek, as she gently caressed his face.  It
was the first time in his life, that he had been touched in a gentle
manner, not a cruel, or sickening touch, or a painful, menacing touch.  It
was a touch he had always dreamed of experiencing, and for the first time
in his life, he closed his eyes, and allowed himself to enjoy being
touched. "I'm sorry Pete, because I never wanted you to become a target for
them.  Not because of me," she whispered softly, he heart breaking with
every word.  "I can see it in you Pete, I know someone has hurt you before.
And I never wanted you to get hurt because of me."

   Pete opened his eyes, the soft brown, now wreathed in long unshed tears,
and stared into Ashley's glorious gray orbs.  She understands, he thought
slowly, at least some of it.  And to his shock, she wasn't revolted, she
didn't hate him, she accepted him in spite of it.  Pete suddenly couldn't
stop himself, wrapping his arms around Ashley's slender waist, Pete buried
his face in her lap and wept.  All of his years of isolation, and pain, all
of his rage, and suffering, came pouring out of him, as tears he had kept
repressed for his entire life, were finally given release,

   Ashley was stunned, to say the least.  She had been watching Pete for
nearly a year now, had seen how he reacted to the world, flinching at
raised voices, avoiding all contact with other people, refusing to speak
unless forced.  She knew what it all meant, she had lived with much the
same conditions for almost five years before her aunt had rescued her from
her stepfather, she still experienced some of those debilitating reactions,
and had an instinctive distrust of men in general, but she knew Pete was
different.  He was just like she used to be.  And now, he knelt there, his
arms wrapped around her in a gesture of complete surrender, and cried his
heart out.  She gently wrapped her arms around his head, slowly running her
delicate fingers through his tangled hair, and whispered soothing sounds to
him as he wept.  This boy had saved her from a fate she had dreaded for
more than six years, and here he was, in so much pain that he was beyond
words.  Now, she thought angrily, now it was her turn to save him.

                              ***

   It took Pete almost an hour to finally cry himself dry, the whole time,
Ashley sat holding him close to her, until the wracking sobs had finally
died down.  Gently she pulled Pete's head back and looked down into his
eyes.  "You good now Pete?" she whispered as she smiled into his battered,
world weary face.

   "Peter,"he answered hoarsely, his voice dry and brittle from his
extended crying, "Nobody ever uses my real name, but I want you to." His
puffy eyes were shining for the first time Ashley could ever remember,
"Please, call me Peter, It..."

   Whatever else Pete was going to say, was suddenly cut off, as Ashley,
the one person who had ever looked at him as a human being in his entire
life, ignored every physical instinct in her body, and gently pressed her
lips to his own.  Warning flares went off inside of Pete's head with
concussive force, his muscles screamed at him to pull away, and without
even realizing what had happened, Pete had wrenched himself away from
Ashley's grasp, panic and unreasoning fear written deeply in his eyes.  He
scuttled backward on his hands and feet, colliding with, but hardly
noticing, the chalk boards, hitting them hard enough to topple them with a
crash.  The clatter of the falling boards bombarded Pete's already panicked
mind, as it sought to isolate him from all perceived threats.

   Suddenly Pete found himself in the far corner of the supply room,
huddled behind a line of dilapidated file cabinets, trying in vain to make
his six foot four inch frame as tiny as possible, shaking uncontrollably.
And just as suddenly Ashley was there, kneeling beside him, fear, and
confusion, and concern shining in her eyes.  But even as she tried to touch
him, to comfort, and reassure him, he kept flinching away from the contact
violently.  Not knowing what else to do, but refusing to leave this poor
boy alone with his demons, she sat as close to him as he would allow, and
tried to whisper support to him.

   "It's O.K.  Peter," she said softly, "You're ok.  Nothing's gonna hurt
you.  I won't let it.  Just come back to me Peter." Her hoarse, begging
whispers showed how close to tears she was again, and the realization that
she was going to cry because of him, snapped Pete back to reality.

   "Why?" he asked quietly, as he turned his pale face toward hers.  He
could tell the question had caught her off guard slightly, as her beautiful
face screwed up quizzically.  "Why are you crying for me?  You barely know
me, but you care.  Why?"

   Ashley could tell that the question had cost him dearly to ask, and she
also knew that if she couldn't explain her emotions properly to him, it
would cost them both even more.  She sat in silence for a moment, gathering
her thoughts, and slowly began to speak.  She spoke for nearly an hour,
softly, and emotionless, telling him about how her stepfather had begun
coming into her room when she was six, she told him about the beatings, and
sexual torture that she had to endure, being tied to her bed, whipped, and
beaten for his sick pleasure.  She explained how this had endured for five
years, and how her life became infinitely better.  "My Aunt Em saved me
Peter.  I know I wouldn't be here if she hadn't.  That's why I care. 
Because someone has to save you too."

   Pete was both stunned, and shocked, but overlaying both of those
emotions was a sense of awe.  She cared about him, she had shared something
nobody else knew, because she knew he would understand.  The very idea of
it was like the sun, at last, breaking through the gray sky he had lived
under all of his life.  For the first time in his life, Pete understood how
much it meant to have someone willing to shoulder part of his burden.  The
final bell of the day tore them both out of each others eyes with a start.
"Peter," Ashley whispered as she slowly got to her feet.  "Are you doing
anything tomorrow?"

   Pete thought quickly, and realized that tomorrow was Saturday, and that
meant Miss Sarah would usually work until six pm and then go drink up
enough courage to force him into bed with her, Pete thought, as he and
Ashley slowly made there way down the hall to the school's front doors. 
She wouldn't be home until after nine pm.  He had the entire day to
himself, a short reprieve to his waking nightmare.  "No.  I usually spend
Saturdays out by the bluffs.  It's...  Quiet I guess." he answered
hesitantly.

   "Peter, I'd like it if you would come to my house tomorrow..." Ashley
left the request hanging there, as Pete looked down into her eyes.  He
could see that it had taken an incredible amount of courage for her to ask,
and seeing the fear of rejection in her eyes, made Pete's answer almost
automatic.  "I...  I think I'd like that too Ashley.  I've..." he was
suddenly interrupted by a fist that came crashing into the side of his
head.

   The blow was heavy, and gave Pete a jarring impact that would have put
other people to sleep.  But Pete was all too used to being hit, and hit
much harder than that, if truth were known.  Taking a few stuttering steps
to the left, as he found his balance again, Pete turned and saw Kyle, Greg,
and the football player that had come at him in the lunch room.  They stood
there, trying to intimidate him, trying to be menacing, and it almost
worked.  Pete's gut instinct was to cover up and try to go unnoticed, to
become as unobtrusive as possible, and hope that they overlooked him.  That
all became meaningless of course, as Ashley stepped between them, and tried
to stop what was obviously inevitable.

   "Get lost Greg!" she said, as loudly as Pete had ever heard her, "He's
not go..." she was cut off, as the large boy, a senior defensive end, who
was being heavily recruited by division one schools to play football,
shoved her out of the way.  Ashley stumbled, back peddling, until she
collided with the wall with enough force for her head to bounce off the
cinder blocks.  And she slowly sank down the wall, a look of pain and shock
on her face, as tears welled up in her eyes.

   A white fire exploded inside of Pete's head.  This motherfucker had just
hurt Ashley!  He had been so casual about it, just tossing her aside, like
the trash both he and she had been treated like all of their lives. 
Suddenly Pete was invincible.  A red haze descended on Pete's mind, and
suddenly his world was narrowed down to his three mortal enemies, and the
insignificant space separating him and them.  With a quick two steps, Pete
closed the gap between himself and Greg, and calling on everything he had
ever learned on inflicting pain, he began to unload hell.  Pete was
intimately familiar with which body parts could be injured quickly, and
efficiently, and using that knowledge, Pete stomped his heel into Greg's
left knee.

   The snapping sound coming from the joint told Pete more than the howl of
agony that was torn from Greg's throat.  Pete had just hyper-extended the
joint, the delicate tendons and ligaments being wrenched far beyond their
limits, as Greg tumbled to the floor.  An arm wrapped around Pete's neck,
trying to squeeze the air out of him, but he knew how to avoid that. 
Dropping a massive hand to his new attacker's groin, Pete latched onto the
boy's balls, and closed his fingers into a vice-like fist, squeezing and
twisting until he heard the scream of pain he had been waiting for. 
Turning to his left, Pete saw the boy from the lunch room, his red face
locked in a grimace of pain, it was not enough for Pete.  These boys had
hurt Ashley, the only person who had ever looked at him like he meant
something, just plain pain was enough.  Wrapping his arms around the boy's
waist, Pete wrenched with every ounce of strength he had.  Pete hoisted the
boy off the floor, and drove him back down, his chest and face colliding
with the floor like a train hitting a barrier.

   The scream that echoed off of the walls was strangled, and muted, as a
gout of blood spouted out of the boy's mouth, splashing across the floor. A
kick to the ribs sent Pete rolling off of the boy now bleeding below him,
as Kyle rushed to his friend's aid.  The kick should have been
debilitating, and Pete knew he was going to have a bruise from his armpit
to his hip soon.  It should have kept him from breathing, but Pete was
beyond pain.  Nothing these boys could do to him, had not been done,
hundreds of times already.  Coming out of his roll, Pete shot to his feet,
and rushed Kyle, colliding with him shoulder to chest, bringing them both
to the floor.  Pete knelt over the other boy, a huge fist locked onto his
jaw and forced the struggling football player to look him in the eyes.

   "Where do you think I got my fucking scars?" he growled as he watched
true fear creep across Kyle's face.  "Did you think you could hurt me any
worse than I've already been hurt?" The punch collided with Kyle's ribs,
drawing a squeal of pain from deep within his throat.  "You could have
killed me, and it would have made no difference to me!" again Pete drove
his point home with a punch, this time to Kyle's face, with enough force to
knock his head off the floor.  "But you decided to hurt her!" his voice
getting louder as the rage continued to build inside of him.  To emphasize
the point Pete twisted Kyle's face to the right, so that he could see
Ashley sitting on the floor, her hands around her head, crying in pain. 
"You're defending a boy who wanted to hurt her!  Who wanted to RAPE HER!"
Pete stood up slowly, dragging the struggling Kyle to his feet with him,
"NOT while I'm alive.  No one will EVER hurt her again!  Never.  Fucking.
Again!" Pete slammed the back of Kyle's head into the wall and his eyes
glazed over, as he slid to the floor.

   Pete had very little time to gloat over his victory.  As soon as he had
released Kyle, he was tackled to the floor, and wrapped into a bear hug, as
school security, and vice principal Robertson came running up the hallway.
Pete didn't even bother fighting this time, it simply took a look at
Ashley, and her silent plea for him to calm down, and Pete went limp, and
waited for whatever was going to happen next.

                       Part Four - Full Circle

   Pete's wait in the office was much longer this time around.  Given the
severity of the beatings he had handed down, and the accusations of
assault, and defense, Mr.  Robertson had been forced to call the police,
and now Pete sat, alone, waiting for them to conclude their interviews. 
Miss Sarah had not even bothered to show up, telling Pete that she would
deal with him when he got home, and Ashley's aunt had come to collect her
while Pete had been giving his statement.  In the end, a combination of
video evidence, provided by a student who had recorded the beginning of the
fight on her phone, and corroborating statements from both Pete and Ashley
had convinced them that he had, in fact, been acting in self defense.

   By the end of the day, the score stood; one torn ACL, a fractured
patella with torn lower patella tendon, combining to equal one lost
scholarship offer.  One hemorrhaged testicle, a broken collar bone
supporting a dislocated shoulder, a fractured cheek bone complete with
three missing teeth, and a second degree concussion.  Two cracked ribs, a
severely wrenched neck with a bulging disk, along with yet another severe
concussion on the parts of Greg and his friends.  Versus four bruised ribs,
and and a bruise creeping down the left side of his face, on the part of
Pete.  As the police detective watched Pete walk down the road away from
the school, he turned to Mr.  Robertson and said quietly, "I don't know how
that boy has made it this far.  And I have no clue whats keeping him
together." The vice principal looked at him seriously and replied, "Ashley
Waters is."

   By the time Pete got home, Miss Sarah was waiting for him, she had been
furious when she found out that Pete had not even managed a single day
without getting into another fight.  She had begun drinking as soon as she
got home, and had, by now, completely wound herself up waiting for the
worthless little fucker to get home.  And as soon as Pete walked through
the door he could see that tonight was going to be a bad one.  But for the
first time in his entire life, Pete felt no fear, for the first time in his
life, he knew someone out there actually cared, someone out there actually
thought he was worth the effort to care.  And for the first time in his
life, that made Pete untouchable.

   Sarah started as soon as the door closed, her voice shrill and slurred,
as she came at Pete in a rage.  The wooden cooking spoon in her hand
brandished like the deadliest of weapons, swinging at Pete like she
intended to decapitate him.  Pete honestly couldn't care, what he had
learned that day, had taught him that pain was inconsequential, absolutely
meaningless, when someone was willing to help shoulder the burden.  The
spoon cracked down onto Pete's shoulders and face, in stinging slaps, as
Sarah continued to berate him.  "You stupid little fuck!  You couldn't go
one day without showing how worthless you really are?" she shrieked, her
voice going up an octave, as she saw how little Pete was reacting, "You
think you can just spit on all the effort I'm putting into you?"

   Something inside of Pete snapped, he had finally had enough of it all.
For the first time, he knew he was worth something to someone, and that
everything Miss Sarah was spewing at him was bullshit.  It had always been
bullshit, after everything Ashley had told him today, he finally
understood, that none of what happened to him, had been his fault.  Pete's
eyes hardened, and he pulled himself up to his full height, towering almost
a full foot over Sarah, who suddenly saw something in Pete that she had
never known was there, burning behind those eyes, that had always been
empty and hollow, was anger, and outrage.  His eyes were burning with an
anger so all consuming that it stopped Sarah cold, as fear settled into the
pit of her stomach.

   Snatching the spoon out of her hand, Pete snapped it in half in front of
Sarah's eyes.  "You will never touch me again, you worthless bitch." Pete's
voice was calm, the type of calm that spoke volumes about the anger that
was boiling just beneath the surface, and it turned her insides to jello,
"I'm nothing more than a stipend check to you, remember?  I'm here because
I have no choice, but I will not be a victim ever again." he grated through
tightly clenched teeth, "I'm here until I age out of the system, you keep
getting your money.  But that is as far as it will ever go again.  You will
never hit me, or raise your voice to me again!  And you will never, ever,
feel my dick inside of that sloppy hole you call a cunt again.  Do.  You.
Understand?" All Sarah could do was stand there, mute, and nod, knowing
that if she pushed this boy, whom she had so callously disregarded, had
used and discarded simply because she felt she could, if she pushed him one
more time, she suddenly knew, he might break her, just like her spoon.

   That night, was the first night, since Pete had been forcibly removed
from Uncle Billy's home, that Pete slept, deeply, soundly, safe in the
knowledge that no matter what was to happen to him next in life, he had
someone who was willing to have his back.  In the small hours of the night,
deep in his first untroubled sleep in years, Pete dreamed.  He saw Ashley,
her beautiful eyes, glorious and smiling, and felt, again, the touch of her
hand on his cheek, and her warm, soft lips as they touched his.  The dream
morphed then, into the long litany of faces, and voices, that had brought
him nothing but pain and horror throughout his life.  He saw his mother,
her cold, merciless eyes, glaring at him, Victor, his first foster father,
leering at him with that sick, degrading hunger that had inspired fear in a
young, vulnerable Pete.  On and on the line continued, taunting, and
tormenting Pete with the memories of the pain, opening all of the old
wounds, but this time, the words carried no weight.  There was finally
nothing more for them to use to hurt him, because at the end of the line,
after the storm of pain and sorrow, was Ashley.  Those glorious eyes,
smiling at him like a lighthouse beacon, shining through a hurricane,
calming both wind and sea, letting Pete know that he was ok.

   Pete woke up with the sun streaming through the window of his bedroom
(barely more than an expanded closet in truth) and it was to Pete, like the
sun rising on the first day of time.  After the best night's sleep of his
life, this was the most beautiful morning he had ever experienced, and in a
few short hours, he knew, it would only get better.  Today he was going to
spend his entire day with Ashley Waters, and Pete finally felt like being
around another person, was going to be a good thing.  Looking at the small
clock next to his bed, Pete realized that it was already after nine in the
morning!  He was stunned, he had never slept this late, always awake long
before the other people he had lived with, always finding a reason to leave
early, and come home late, avoiding contact as much as possible.  Today,
all he heard was silence, the house was still, calm, just like Pete felt.
Right up until he realized he only had an hour before he had promised to
meet Ashley at the gas station uptown!

   Pete rushed out of the house, his hair still wet from his shower, still
pulling his shirt down his lean, bruised, scar laced body.  He had never
bothered to really look at himself, so he barely understood why the
neighbor, Mrs.  Bradley, a kind, matronly, septuagenarian, who was out
getting her morning paper gave him such a stare as he passed her, while
straightening out his clothes.  Pete ran as fast as his long legs could
carry him, knowing he was already running late, hoping Ashley would wait
for him.  By the time Pete had covered the twelve blocks to the Dairy Mart
& Gas'er'Up, he was panting for breath, his right side was wailing at him
in pain, and every intake of breath shot white hot needles from his waist
to his armpit.  He skidded to a halt at the air pump in the gas station
parking lot, pressing in on his ribs, and gasping for breath, and looked
around, not seeing Ashley.

   He started to panic, thinking he had kept her waiting so long, that she
had decided to leave.  Pete looked around the uptown area, a juncture of
two secondary state highways surrounded by local businesses and the town
bank.  Pete stopped and stared, at the front of the bank stood the 'Old
Towne Clock', the story was it went up when the town was incorporated over
a century ago.  That wasn't what was important to Pete though, what was
important was that, according to the clock, it was only five minutes to
ten! He had covered twelve blocks in under fifteen minutes!  In fact he was
so stunned that he completely missed Ashley walking up next to him.  "Hey
Peter!"

   The sudden sound of a voice next to him made Pete jump.  Right up until
he looked down, and saw Ashley smiling up at him.  Pete stood, his mouth
hanging open, Ashley looked amazing, her rust red hair was pulled back into
a pony tail, fully exposing her heart stopping face.  Her pale skin glowed
in the morning light, and her broad smile lit up her eyes like Pete had
never seen before.  She wore a pair of tight jeans that accentuated her
narrow waist, and perfectly flared hips.  Her green sweater was light, and
hugged her curves gracefully, showing off her amazing chest (Pete had no
way of judging them, but they were in fact a very generous C cup) while not
making her look trashy.  In a word, Ashley was stunning.  Right up until
the smile slid from her face, to be replaced by a look of outrage.

   "Peter?!  What happened?" she demanded, as a tiny hand came up to cup
his chin, pushing and pulling his face from side to side.  She could see
the confusion in his face, and suddenly she realized something about Pete
that she could never have prepared herself for.  She realized that Pete,
this poor, shy, quiet, wonderful boy, who had saved her from her worst fear
coming back to life, was so accustomed to pain, that he didn't even notice
the bruises that now covered his cheeks and jaw.  Her heart broke, and she
had to fight off tears, knowing they would only confuse Pete even more. 
"Peter, your face is covered in bruises!  I know it wasn't the fight, so...
What.  Happened!?" She demanded, wanting to know who's eyes she was going
to have to claw out for hurting this poor boy again.

   "Oh.  That?" Pete said, trying to brush it off like it was nothing "I
had a disagreement with Miss Sarah.  It's all settled now though, don't
worry." Even as he said it, he could tell, Ashley was not about to not
worry.  Her gray eyes hardened like flint, and her mouth thinned to a
single line, as she tried to sublimate her anger.

   "I don't think I can do that Peter," she whispered hotly, her voice
carrying an edge of anger to it Pete had never heard from her before.  She
grabbed his hand quickly, her tiny, delicate fingers lacing into his own,
and squeezed tightly, "I don't think want to either.  Someone's gotta care
about you Peter, and I think I'd like to take that job." Her smile
completely floored Pete.  A feeling he had no familiarity with flooded
through his gut.  If Pete had been given a chance to grow up like a normal
boy, he would have known immediately, he was falling in love.  "C'mon
Peter, I'd like you meet a few of my best friends!" Ashley said, changing
the subject before Pete had an emotional breakdown, and quickly tugged him
down the sidewalk.

   It was only a four block walk to Ashley's home, but after a twelve block
sprint, and the quick pace Ashley set for him, he was again gasping, and
pressing on his ribs by the time they made it there.  Ashley looked at him,
concern in her eyes, as he leaned against the porch railing, trying to
catch his breath.  "That kick." Pete said hoarsely between breaths, "Ribs
are a...  Little bit tender..." he explained, waving away her concern.  By
this point in his life, pain was just something that was, there was nothing
all that unusual about it.

   Brushing aside Pete's explanations, and protests, Ashley pushed up the
side of his shirt and stopped dead in her tracks.  Her eyes widened in
shock, but it wasn't the bruise that spread from Pete's armpit to his hip
that shocked her.  Yes, the bruise was gruesome, and she could tell it was
painful, but it was the scars that laced his body that put a lump in her
throat.  She was intimately familiar with kinds of marks physical abuse can
leave on the body, but she had never, in her life, seen the sheer volume of
them that she was seeing now.  His chest and back resembled a rail yard,
scars from an inch to a foot long covered his torso like a road map of
misery.  Ashley had always known Pete had been abused, but she had always
assumed that the scars she saw on his hands and arms were from being a
cutter.  She could not even begin to process the amount of torment this
gentle boy had been forced to endure.

   "Good God Peter!" she whispered, "I am so sorry!"

   Pete grunted in reply "Yeah, but I can tell the ribs aren't broken." Not
even realizing why Ashley was so upset, "Been there twice.  Not really
something you forget." He said as he pulled his shirt back down.  As he
straightened up, he looked into Ashley's eyes, and saw tears welling up. 
He cocked his head questioningly at her, and tried to smile.  "It's ok
Ashley, like I said, they're not broken.  Nothing for you to be sorry
about." he said gently, as he placed his massive hand against her face, his
thumb wiping away the tear that was sliding down her cheek.

   Pete could feel Ashley restrain her impulse to flinch at his touch, and
suddenly she melted into the feeling of his hand.  Her soft, warm cheek
nuzzled into his palm, as a contented smile slowly spread across her face.
The feeling of joy, at seeing someone smile, simply because he was touching
them, erupted through Pete's body like a geyser.  He had never experienced
something like that before, someone was actually happy just to be near him,
there was no hunger, or lust, or sick desire in her smile.  It was simple,
pure, undiluted, happiness, and Pete's heart swelled at seeing it.

   The hand was rough, and calloused, Ashley could feel that the pointer,
and ring fingers were twisted in a manner that spoke of improperly healed
breaks.  The thumb, that so carefully, and gently wiped away her tears, was
still strong, and hard.  It was, in Ashley's opinion, the most beautiful
touch she had ever felt.  Hands that had turned to fists, dealing out
punishment to people who had tried to hurt her, were now gently trying to
erase the guilt she was feeling, for so badly misjudging this lonely,
gentle, beautiful boy in front of her.  It felt so natural, to allow
herself to revel in a touch so innocent, and full of care.  Deep inside of
her, where she had walled off so much of herself, protecting her from ever
being hurt again, she felt a tectonic click.  Ashley's eyes snapped open,
and bore into Pete's with a questing intensity, looking for something all
of her instincts told her should be there.  Looking for that perverse
desire all the men in her experience had shown, and praying it was not
there.  All she saw was care, deep, sincere, and unconditional.  Her smile
widened, somehow, she knew, she would always be safe with Peter.

   "Peter," she whispered softly, as she looked him in the eyes, those soft
brown orbs captivating her completely, "Come inside with me, I want you
meet my two best friends in the world." and taking his giant hand in hers
once again, led him through her front door.  The house was small, and had
that cluttered, yet orderly look of some place that could only be described
as 'home'.  The sea foam green wallpaper had that faded look of a place
that had absorbed countless memories, most happy, but some sad as well, and
quite simply spoke of comfort.  The furniture was worn, yet not shabby, the
sky blue carpet showed the signs of countless steps, without being
threadbare.  It was the sort of home Pete had always dreamed he could have
grown up in, and, even though he knew Ashley had not always lived here, it
was still the kind of place that said she belonged here.

   Pete was looking around, taking in the details, letting them burn into
his mind, knowing, one day, he wanted a place just like this.  He was so
caught up in the place, that he completely missed seeing the giant dog
lumbering down the hall, until his legs were nearly taken out from under
him.  The massive, barrel bodied, gray brindled, pit bull put his shoulder
into Pete, rubbing along his leg, trying to get this large stranger's
attention, since, a new person was in the house, and they still hadn't
petted him.  He felt this had to be corrected, and this was obviously the
best way to go about it.  Pete looked down, after regaining his balance,
just as the wide head, and open, honest, face of the dog looked up at him.
Those light chocolate eyes boring square into his own, caused a lump the
size of the dog's head to form in Pete's throat, all of his memories of
Goliath crashing down on him.  Pete dropped to his knees next to the
beautiful dog, his hands cupping the enormous jaws, and began to scratch
gently, up along the jawline, and behind the ears, tears standing in his
eyes, as he remembered how Goliath had loved this exact same thing.

   "Peter, this is Broadway," Ashley explained, as she knelt next to the
pair, and began scratching along Broadway's flank.  The giant dog's eyes
rolled up in ecstasy as he now had two people petting on him, his tail
wagged like a battering ram, slapping into Ashley's shoulder with loud pops
of joy.  Pete looked at Ashley in shock, at hearing the name, but his
question was erased from his mind as Broadway began happily licking his
cheek and jaw.  All he could do was laugh, it was just like Goliath used to
do, and as he laughed at the sensation, all of the sadness he felt at
Goliath being gone, was replaced by all the memories of love, and joy he
had of his lost puppy.  It was the first time Ashley had ever heard Peter
laugh, and it was, in her opinion, one of the most beautiful sounds she had
ever heard.

   Pete's laughter was abruptly cut short, as he felt a tugging at his left
elbow.  The tugging came from low on the floor, and was accompanied by the
needle sharp insistence of claws.  Thinking Ashley also had a cat, Pete
looked down into the inquisitive, curious, face of a striped skunk.  Pete
froze, and lightly cleared his throat.  "Uh...  Ashley..." he said softly,
trying to get her attention without startling her, not wanting any of them
to get sprayed, "There's um...  There's a skunk in the house..."

   Ashley giggled at Peter, looking into his concerned face with a bright
smile.  "I know Peter.  He wants you to pet him too," She said gently, as
she scooped the skunk off the floor, and cradled it in her left arm. 
"Peter, this is Hudson, and yes, he's a skunk." her smile was broad and
infectious, as she presented Hudson for Pete to pet too.  And he couldn't
help but smile at her too, it was strained, and forced, since Pete had had
very little reason to smile through most of his life, but it was still
genuine.  "C'mon Peter, lets sit on the couch, so these two attention hogs
can have their way," she said brightly, as she bounced down into the soft
cushions of the sofa.

   The next hour was one of the happiest times Pete could remember having
since before Goliath had died.  The pair spent it petting, and cuddling,
Broadway, as he wiggled back and forth between the two, deciding who was
going to get the pleasure of scratching his belly next, seemingly at
random. Hudson meanwhile had climbed up on the back of the couch, and
scampered back and forth, taking time to nuzzle, and sniff, and
occasionally nibble on both Pete and Ashley in equal measures.  Through it
all they talked, avoiding the obvious topic, of their similar past, instead
just honestly getting to know one another.  Ashley found out that Pete had
tested in the ninety-eighth percentile in math, science, history, and
language every year since he was in fourth grade, but only ever barely
passed because he never spoke, and rarely ever did the homework
assignments. He wouldn't give specifics as to why, only "Home isn't a good
place for me to work".

   Pete found out that Ashley was very nearly a savant in the areas of art,
and music, she could play seven different instruments fluently, and loved
to paint, sketch, and sculpt.  Her passion was the violin, and she dug out
her phone, and played played a video her aunt had taken of her playing
Vivaldi's Summer Movement of The Four Seasons.  Pete was spell bound when
he saw the emotion in her face, as she played.  He could tell just from
that short video, that Ashley was being modest about her talent.

   After an hour of unadulterated joy at having two people to give them
attention, both Broadway and Hudson had finally had enough.  Broadway
lumbered off into the den, and plopped down on a giant pillow, while Hudson
waddled off toward the back of the house.  Ashley used their reprieve to go
to the kitchen and get both of them a glass of iced tea.  Pete sat on the
couch, and for the first time in he didn't know how long, actually relaxed,
just soaking in the peace that seemed to envelope the entire house.

   Ashley returned with the tea, and sat on the couch, facing him with a
serious expression on her face.  "Peter, I have to say something to you,
and before you interrupt, please, let me finish it all the way through,"
Pete could tell right away, that what Ashley was about to say was
important, so he clamped his mouth shut, and nodded gently, "Peter," Ashley
continued softly, "I want to apologize, because I misjudged you very, very,
badly.  I knew from the second I saw you, that you had been abused,
horribly abused, just by how you reacted to other people.  But..." She
paused, and looked at Pete, wiping away tears that threatened to come
pouring down her face, "But I made the mistake of thinking that all of
those scars on your arms were because you were a cutter.  I thought you
were hurting yourself.  But then, when I pulled up your shirt...  Oh my God
Peter, I had no idea," her voice caught in her throat, as the vivid image
of the scars covering his body flashed through her mind again, "Peter, I
have scars on my arms, and legs, they're all that's left of the marks Frank
left on me.  I have never seen the kind of scars you have Peter.  I can't
imagine what you had to go through, and I am so sorry for misjudging you so
badly."

   Pete was stunned, he honestly had no idea what to say.  Reaching out
with his left hand, he took Ashley's small, fragile hand in his own, and
squeezed it gently.  "How could you know Ashley?" he asked quietly, as he
slowly ran his thumb up and down the back of her hand, "You have nothing to
be sorry for.  You're the first person who's ever bothered to care about
me, since my Uncle Billy killed himself..." his voice froze, as Ashley's
eyes widened in shock.  He had sworn to himself, years ago, that he would
never bring Uncle Billy up, to anyone.  But sitting here, holding this
wonderful girl's hand, in this warm, caring, house, it finally dawned on
Pete.  Uncle Billy didn't do it because he didn't love him anymore.  His
uncle had killed himself, because he thought that everything that Pete was
being forced to endure, was his fault.  The realization shook one of the
most sturdy foundations of Pete's world, maybe love wasn't a sham after
all.

   "I swore, Peter, I swore, I would never ask you this, but I have to
know. Where did they all come from?" She asked, as her finger gently traced
along the scars on his arms.  Pete was suddenly terrified.  The only person
who knew his entire story was Mr.  Robertson, and knowing, had changed the
way the man looked at Pete.  He couldn't risk that change in Ashley, he
didn't know why, but the idea of seeing revulsion in her eyes scared the
shit out of him.

   "Honestly Ashley, I can't say where all of them came from.  I wasn't
conscious for over half of them." he explained tentatively, trying not to
let the worst of the details slip out.  "But how about this?  You point one
out, and if I can remember, I'll explain them." Pete said, still unable to
meet her eyes.  Still praying that she didn't ask questions he was too
afraid to answer.

   "Peter" Ashley said sternly, a slight anger flaring up in her.  By this
point, she knew Pete well enough to know that the boy was almost incapable
of lying.  So she also knew that he was not being honest with her "Do not
dare lie to me Peter.  In that storage room, I told you things, that no one
outside of my direct family knows about.  I think I deserve that same
respect!"

   Pete actually flinched from the heat in Ashley's voice.  The last thing
he wanted was her to be angry with him, but he was still petrified that
what he had to tell would still color how she saw him.  The look of fear in
his eyes was something that Ashley had never seen coming from a man.  And
the fact that she saw it in Peter, this giant, strong, and ferocious boy
who had easily protected her, was shocking to say the least.  "Peter," she
whispered, suddenly feeling very ashamed about how she had just spoken to
him, "Please, let me in Peter.  I don't really know why, but I just feel
like I need to know.  I told you earlier, I want to be the one that cares
about you, but to do that, I need to understand."

   Just like had used to happen with Goliath, it seemed that Broadway knew
that someone in the house needed to be comforted.  The massive dog walked
slowly up to Pete, and placed the gigantic head into his lap, and sighed as
Pete began scratching behind his ears again.  "Ashley," he began slowly,
his voice just slightly more than a whisper, "I'm afraid that if I tell you
everything..." he fought hard to swallow the lump forming in his throat,
"If I tell it all, if I put this...  Shit...  on you, it might change
things.  You're honestly the only person who's looked at me, and saw ME, I
don't want to lose that."

   His heart was in his eyes, and Ashley understood, finally, why he was
trying to hold back.  She had felt the same way, when Aunt Em had made her
confront what Frank had done to her.  She had never wanted her aunt to see
her 'that way', but after she finally broke down, and actually spoke about
it, she had been surprised to see that her aunt actually loved even more.
She had cared enough to shoulder part of that burden, allowing Ashley to
finally get out from under it, and to begin to heal.  Now Ashley wanted to
give that gift to Peter.  Nobody had ever been there for him, and now she
was determined to be just that.  "Peter," she began, trying not to sound
too pushy, "I can only tell you this, my aunt pushed me until I finally
told her all of my story, and the only thing that changed was that for the
first time in years, I was able to breathe again.  Nothing you tell me
Peter, nothing at all is going to change how I feel about you."

   And so, looking down at the coffee table next to them Pete began to
talk. It wasn't easy for him, it was like trying to push himself through a
wall of solid granite.  He spoke slowly, dispassionately, forcing himself
to relive everything he had been through in his life.  He told Ashley about
his mother, and her constant abuse, and neglect.  He told her about
Goliath, and how that brave, wonderful, dog had actually given his life to
try and protect him from her.  He told her about Uncle Billy trying to
protect him, and being taken away, and about his eventual suicide, after
his third petition for custody was denied.  He forced himself to tear open
wounds he had thought sealed forever.  He explained to Ashley about the
group home director forcing him to give him a blowjob, in order to be
allowed to attend Billy's funeral, and all the nights in that home he had
cried himself to sleep after being dragged to that office.  In the end,
Pete even confessed to her about Miss Sarah, and the eventual, final
confrontation of the night before.  It took him almost three hours to give
Ashley a complete picture of his life to this point.  And when he finally
finished, when he had finally cleaned all of the ghosts out of his past, he
looked, fearfully at her.  He expected to see horror, revulsion, and even
rejection in her eyes.  What he saw instead were tears, and pain, and...

   Pete could not believe it, as he looked into the beautiful, glorious,
tear filled eyes, he saw acceptance, and understanding.  Ashley had finally
seen everything through Pete's eyes, and, miraculously, to him anyway, she
wasn't repulsed by him.  For all of his scars, for all of his shame, she
still only saw him.  Not the freak, who never spoke, not the ugliness, and
despair, he had been forced to live through.  She only saw him, Peter, and
he could tell, just from the grief he saw in her eyes, she was not about to
let him go.

   Ashley sniffed loudly, her heart aching, tears streaming down her face,
as she looked into his light brown eyes with understanding and compassion.
"My God...  Peter, I..." she faltered, what was she going to say, she was
sorry?  She had wanted, needed, to know.  But she had never imagined, could
never have imagined, that this poor boy, this brave, fearless, sweet, boy
in front of her, had been forced to carry all of that with him.  In his
entire life, only one other person had ever cared about him, and the system
had failed them both so badly, that even that had been taken away from him.
Impulsively, Ashley threw her arms around Pete's neck, and burying her face
in his neck, began to cry.  She cried hard, bitter tears for Pete, for the
lost boy inside of him, that no one had ever bothered to care about before.


   Pete sat there, stone still, unsure how to process everything that was
happening.  He looked down at Broadway, who's head was still sitting in his
lap.  The giant dog's light chocolate brown eyes looked from him to Ashley,
and back, and gave a heavy sigh, almost like he was saying 'Well?  You
gonna hug her or not?' Pete smiled at the infinite wisdom of dogs, and
wrapped his arms around Ashley, holding her tight, and just absorbing the
warmth of the emotions she was expressing for him.

                                ***

   It was nearly seven in the evening, and the storm of weeping, and sorrow
had given way to two teenagers, finally giving in to the idea that they
both cared very deeply for each other.  They had sat in the living room for
several hours, simply talking, finding out about little quirks, and similar
likes and dislikes.  They both discovered, that as kids, their favorite
cartoon had been Gargoyles, for example, which was where they had gotten
the names for their respective pets.  Ashley had gotten Pete to demonstrate
his fluency in five different languages, having him put names to different
items in the house in Russian, French, Japanese, and Greek.  Pete had
amazed her as he recited whole verses of The Iliad from memory.  Ashley had
played Fur Elise for him on the piano, to which she had been given a
standing ovation, as tears flowed down Pete's cheeks.  The day had been
full of enormous emotional ups and downs, but it was, beyond a doubt, one
of the happiest days Pete could ever remember.  Ashley had called, and
gotten permission from, her aunt for Pete to stay for dinner, so they
weren't surprised, when they heard a woman's voice from the back door. 
"Ashley?  I brought pizza!"

   "Aunt Em!" Ashley said in an excited voice, as she bounced up to go help
her aunt in with the food.  "I want you to meet Peter!" she said, putting
the boxes down on the kitchen counter, and grabbing her aunt's wrist,
practically dragging her aunt through the house.  Her aunt was intrigued,
knowing her niece's history, that she was so excited about a boy.  He must
be someone pretty special indeed, she thought to herself.

   Ashley dragged her aunt around the corner into the living room, seeing
Peter standing, trying to look unimposing, even though he stood nearly a
foot taller than either of them.  He was holding his half full glass of
iced tea in his left hand, and trying to smile, though not really knowing
if he was pulling it off.  "Peter, I'd like you meet my aunt, Amelia
Warren. Aunt Em..." her voice was cut off by the sound of glass breaking
behind her.  Turning to see what had happened, she gasped, her face going
white.  Pete stood frozen, his hand balled into a fist, shards of glass
being drilled into his flesh by how tightly he was clenching his hand,
blood running down his arm, and dripping onto the floor, and a look of
undisguised, all consuming hatred on his face.

   Amelia ran to the bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit, while Ashley ran
to get a towel.  A loud whining cry from Broadway, followed by the sound of
the screen door crashing shut, told both of them that Pete was already
gone. As they came back toward the front door, they saw Broadway standing
by the door, crying plaintively, and scratching desperately, as if the
world depended on him getting out of the house.  On an impulse, Ashley
flung the door open, and found Pete, pacing back and forth, clenching and
opening his bloody hand, grinding and cutting his skin more violently.  Her
aunt joined her on the porch, and looked at this tall, scraggly young man
questioningly.  Pete could see the accusations in her eyes already, could
see that she thought he wasn't good enough to even be near Ashley, and that
same something that had snapped when Miss Sarah had been hitting him,
shattered.

   "You don't even remember me do you?" he said, his voice harsh, and the
venom in it completely unmasked.  "You don't remember having me taken away
from my Uncle Billy do you?!" The question struck Ashley like a physical
blow, and she sucked in a deep breath as her eyes shot from Peter, and then
back to her aunt.  "I can see it in your eyes, you just think I'm some kind
of freak don't you?" he clenched his fist again, his knuckles cracking, and
blood flowing more quickly onto the porch.  "Take a good look Miss Warren,
you're the one who made this freak!  You made me this way!  I had an uncle
who loved me!  I had a home where I would finally be safe!  You took that
away from me!" His voice, was, by this time a roar, a terrible accusation,
that Amelia was unable to answer, because, in truth, she didn't remember
him, and to acknowledge that would damn her, not only in his eyes, but
Ashley's as well.

   "I'm Peter Daniels!  It was your recommendation that sent me to live
with a fucking pedophile!  That took me away from the only member of my
family who ever fucking loved me!" his voice was already hoarse, from
choking back the rage that would have had his hands around this woman's
throat, but the words had hit Amelia like a runaway truck.  She finally
remembered, the small, frail, broken boy in the hospital.  He had been an
emergency case, her recommendation had been a temporary placement, until
his uncle had steady work in the area.  And then the file had been passed
off to youth placement services.  She had never known what had happened to
him, always assuming that his uncle had met the conditions for custody. 
"You left me in hell, and you just forgot about me!" Pete yanked his shirt
off, fully displaying the horror that had been done to his body and,
slapping himself in the chest with his bloody hand, splattering himself
with the crimson spray, he shouted "You stole my fucking life, and this is
all you left me with!"

   Ashley was, by now, on her knees sobbing, holding her head in her hands
as tears streamed down her face.  She couldn't believe what she was
hearing, her aunt, the woman who had stormed in, and saved her from being
raped, again, again, by her stepfather, had left Peter to walk alone
through hell.  She had forgotten him, abandoned him, taken everything that
could have ever been good, or happy, from him, and had left him with
nothing but pain, and hatred.  And now that toll had finally come due. 
Seeing Ashley in tears caused Amelia's pain to double, she didn't know who
to try and comfort first.  She knew Ashley needed her, but she also knew
that Peter deserved an explanation, and a very sincere apology.

   Pete took the choice away from her, as he turned and stomped off the
porch, "Take care of Ashley, she needs you more than I do." his voice was
bitter, and the recrimination in it caused Amelia's heart to whither, as he
stalked off.

   "Peter, come back!" Ashley's voice cut into him like broken glass, the
plea was full of tears, and anguish, and it nearly broke Pete's resolve,
but he steeled himself, and continued walking, not looking back, knowing if
he did, he would crumble.

   He had no idea where he was going, only that he had to keep going, he
had to get away.  His feet led him, and he followed not really caring
where. It was nearly an hour later, that he finally found out where he
unconsciously knew he had to be.  He found himself standing in front of his
Uncle Billy's grave.  It was nearly seven years since he had been there,
and it was the first time he had ever seen the grave marker, slowly his
eyes scanned the small stone, reading the inscription with tears running
down his cheeks.  'William Arthur Perkins, 1973 - 2002 Who loved his nephew
so much, he could no longer live without him.' Pete sank to his knees, his
heart breaking into tiny pieces, "I'm sorry Uncle Billy!" he wailed, and
began crying, weeping for everything that had been taken away from them
both.  It took hours for the tears to stop, and when they finally did, Pete
curled up, his head next to the grave marker, and slept.

   Back at Ashley's, Amelia sat, with her arms around her shoulders, while
she cried for Peter, wishing he had come back to her.  Amelia sat there,
after the tears had dried, and Ashley had calmed down, came the
recriminations, the demands to know how she could have just abandoned Peter
to everything that had come after.  She had sat and listened to Ashley tell
her Peter's story, with a growing sense of grief, and sorrow, as she
listened.  She sat and explained everything that had happened.  How she had
had no idea the case worker who had taken over Peter's file, had denied his
uncle's custody petitions.  Amelia was a crisis worker, and once placement
had been arranged, her job was usually done.  The files were then passed
down to case workers who were supposed to ensure the placements were taken
proper care of.  Peter had only been the second case of her career, and she
had had absolute trust in the system, by the time that illusion had been
shattered, she had had so many cases past her desk, that she honestly
couldn't remember all of them.  She had explained all of this to Ashley,
and hoped to God, that she would understand, and forgive her for allowing
Peter to slip through the cracks.

   "We have to find him," Ashley said suddenly, her head coming away from
Amelia's shoulder, as she looked her aunt in the eye, "You have to help me
make this right.  I told him someone had to care about him, I told him I
wasn't going to let him go!" her voice nearly broke, "You have to help me
Aunt Em.  He needs me..." her voice dropped to a whisper, as a realization
dawned on her "Almost as much as I need him..." the declaration rocked
Amelia, never imagining she would hear something like that from her niece,
and with less than a thought, Amelia grabbed her keys, and was heading to
the door, Ashley hot on her heels.

   The pair spent the entire night driving around town, looking for Pete.
They tried everywhere they could think of, local parks, the school
playground, the pavilion at the local swimming hole.  He was nowhere.  On
an impulse, and recalling their talk, Ashley had her aunt try The Bluffs.
The Bluffs were really a misnomer, it was actually a couple of small
cliffs, cut down by the river that ran through the middle of town.  There
was a small park, rarely used, at the top of The Bluffs, that afforded a
sort of peace, and tranquility, that a boy like Peter would have savored.
But again, he wasn't there, by the time they had walked back to the car,
Ashley was frantic, worrying that Peter was out there, hurt and bleeding,
and no one was there for him.

   In the end, it took a trip back to the house, where Amelia had used her
computer, to look up Peter's file.  It took her less than a minute, to
finally know where they would find him.  She gathered Ashley up, and
screwed her courage down, and drove to Saint Micheal's Cemetery.  The sun
was just cresting above the trees at the back edge of the cemetery, as
Amelia's car rounded the bend in the drive, overlooking Billy's grave. 
Ashley flung herself out of the car before her aunt had even come to a
complete stop.  Pete was kneeling on the ground, his left hand wrapped in a
scrap of cloth torn from his shirt, staring at the grave of his uncle, it
looked like he was talking, but Ashley was was far too relieved to hear
what he was saying.

   Ashley dropped to her knees, and flung her arms around Peter's neck,
crying in joy at seeing him unhurt, "Oh God Peter!  I was so worried about
you!" she whispered, her arms tightening around him.

   Pete surprised her, when his right arm went around her waist, pulling
her to his body tightly.  "Look Ashley," he said, pointing at the grave
marker, "I want you to meet my Uncle Billy, I never knew, but he never
stopped loving me." His voice, for the first time since Ashley had heard
it, was honestly happy, there was no pain in it, there was no sorrow, only
a peace that had obviously come from knowing, even when his uncle's life
had lost it's value to him, he had never given up loving his nephew.  They
knelt there, for a long time, as Ashley tried to explain what had happened,
how Peter had not been abandoned, how her aunt had honestly thought his
uncle would have had custody of him in a few short months, until Amelia
finally walked up to the pair, gently clearing her throat.  Pete looked up
at her, his eyes, finally undarkened by hate, showed an understanding, if
not complete acceptance.  "So I suppose you'll be sending me back to the
group home until I age out?" he asked, his voice clear, with no bitterness.

   Amelia smiled at Peter, a genuinely warm, and comforting smile, "No
Peter.  We're taking you back to our home, your new home." she said softly,
as she held her hand out to both Peter, and her niece.

   

              Part Five - Revelations, and New Beginnings



   The next six months were perhaps the most peaceful, and enjoyable time
in Pete's life.  It had taken a simple statement from Pete to have him
removed from Miss Sarah's care, and a quick guardianship hearing the week
after for Amelia to have the boy officially move in with she and Ashley. 
For the first time in his life, Pete was able to relax within his own skin.
He finally began to excel in school, not living inside a nightmare allowed
him to put his full effort into his work.  It quickly became apparent to
all of his teachers that they had very little to teach the boy.  His grades
went from barely scraping by in the first marking period, to a 3.92 GPA by
the time his sophomore year ended.  The only person happier for Pete was
Ashley.

   Physically, his change in living was having an even greater effect on
Pete.  A steady, and healthy diet allowed him to finally pack on enough
weight to fill out his enormous six foot four inch frame.  His body mass
increased from one hundred ninety, to almost two hundred thirty pounds, and
the fact that Amelia enrolled him in the gym she used, meant that the extra
weight was a lot more muscle than fat.  In the school halls, the word was
out about Pete as well, after the story of his second fight had made its
rounds, it became his last fight.  Absolutely nobody wanted a piece of him.
The fact that he had fought to protect Ashley, a girl that by this time was
a constant fixture at Pete's side, even added a romantic twist to it all,
making him sort of a legend in his own rite.  And as he continued to fill
out, a lot of the girls began to take notice of him, sadly for them, they
all knew, he only had eyes for Ashley.  By the time the school year had
ended, everyone already considered them a couple, though, much to Ashley's
dismay, Pete continued to avoid most physical contact.  Though he did
concede on the point of holding her hand, or giving her a hug when she
needed it, he still shied away from most else.

   It was August.  Ashley and Peter sat in their living room, she loved
thinking of it that way, their living room, talking about nothing in
particular, simply going over their plans for the next school year, Ashley
ribbing Peter about when he was finally going to get his license, and just
generally having fun before they both went to bed.  Ashley got up to grab a
glass of ice water, and coming back to the living room, she froze.  Peter
was staring at her, not like Frank had, with that perverse sense of desire
in his eyes, but with awe, as if she were the first female he had ever
seen. "What?" she asked self consciously, looking down at herself.  She had
on a baggy t-shirt, and terry cloth shorts that came down to mid thigh, an
outfit she had worn a hundred times.  "Is something wrong?"

   "Ash...  Ashley..." Peter stammered, his eyes locked on her, "When
the... When the light from the kitchen...  Behind you..." His face was
pale, he could barely find the words, "I um...  I'm sorry...  I uh, I can
see through your shirt" he blurted out finally

   "Peter..." Ashley said lightly, her smile was warm, and affectionate,
"I've um...  Kinda been trying to get you to look at me like that for
months now..." She blushed, this was the first time in her life that she
had actively been trying to get a man's attention, and she had begun to
despair of ever catching Peter's eye in more than a protective way.

   Pete slowly got to his feet, and walked over to the blushing girl, and
put his hands gently on her shoulders.  He had by now noticed the fact that
Ashley no longer even had to restrain the impulse to flinch with him, it
was simply no longer there.  "Ashley, " he began, looking directly in her
eyes, wanting her to know exactly how he felt as he spoke, "I have thought
the sun rose and set on you from the first time you took the time to look
at me not the shell that used to surround me." his voice was steady, and
calm, he had been trying to find a way to say these things to her for a
long, long time now.  But he had no experience in this area, so he never
knew if it was right, until now.  "I thought you were the single most
beautiful person I had ever seen.  And now that I know you the way I do, I
know that what I thought then, pales in comparison, to what I now see every
time I look at you." he took one last deep breath, and plunged on with what
he now had to get out before it blew up within him.  "Ashley, I never tried
anything, because I wanted you to know that what I am about to say I mean
with everything I have.  I love you Ashley Waters." Then, with no preamble,
or hesitation, he bent down, and kissed Ashley gently on her full, moist
lips.  The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and when he stood back up, he
saw a dreamy smile spread across Ashley's face, her eyes still closed, in
that moment, frozen in time in Pete's mind, she was the absolute most
beautiful he had ever seen her.  "Goodnight Ashley." he whispered, and
walked down the hall to his bedroom.

   Ashley opened her eyes when she heard Peter's bedroom door close, and
her smile broadened, as she remembered the five words, Peter loved her! 
The very thought of it made her want to scream in joy, that beautiful,
intelligent, wonderful boy loved her!  It was more than she could process,
and suddenly she felt very insecure.  Ashley spun quickly, and raced up the
stairs to her aunt's bedroom door.  Normally she would have knocked, and
waited, but this was far too important to wait, and so she pushed the door
open, and ran to Aunt Em's bed.  "Aunt Em, wake up!  We need to talk, now!"

   Amelia sat up groggily, looking at her niece in concern, thinking there
was some sort of emergency.  She almost panicked until she saw the smile
engraved across Ashley's face.  "Ashley..." she said, sleep still deep in
her voice, "It's almost midnight honey, what's the matter?"

   "It's...  It's Peter..." Ashley stammered, not really knowing where to
begin, "He uh...  He told me something tonight..."

   Amelia sat bolt upright, concern written all over her face, "What
happened?" she demanded, "What did he say?" she had always harbored a fear
that, one day, Peter would decide he could not live in her house any more.
That his resentment would return, and he would leave, and the idea of
failing him again was almost more than she could bear.

   "Aunt Em...  He told me he loves me!" her smile could have lit up a
small city, it was so bright, "He told me he's loved me since the first
time he caught me looking at him.  Aunt Em..." tears filled her eyes as she
spoke, "What do I do now?"

   "He said what?" Amelia asked, not believing that Peter, that shy boy,
would ever find it in himself to admit that he felt how, Amelia knew, he
felt towards Ashley.  "Tell me what happened." she said again, more
intently this time.  And so Ashley settled in, more comfortably, and began
explaining the entire incident, she was not shy about how she had tried to
seduce the boy, and when she got to where Peter had finally told her
exactly how he felt about her, her smile was so radiant it was nearly
blinding.  Amelia was overjoyed for her niece, they had spoken many times
in the past months, Ashley coming to terms with the fact that Peter was the
part of her that Frank had taken from her.  She had listened to her niece,
as she began to realize herself, that the broken pieces of her own life,
fit perfectly together, with his.  Amelia hugged her happily crying niece,
and whispered, "It certainly took him long enough, didn't it honey?"

   The next two weeks were very confusing for Pete.  While Ashley seemed
ecstatic that he had finally admitted that he loved her, she also seemed
both nervous, and flirtatious at the same time.  He would catch her, when
she though he wasn't looking, casting appraising looks his way, but he
never felt that sick hunger he had felt all of his life.  This was
different somehow, with the looks came gentle hugs, and brief kisses, which
he was all too happy to reciprocate, but as soon as they began, she
retreated again, leaving him in questioning silence.  But, he thought, as
long as she was willing to kiss him before she ran off, it was a deal he
could live with.  Ashley also seemed to be spending a lot of time, closeted
away with her aunt, the two of them spending hours at a time in Ashley's
room.  And the only explanation Pete ever got when asking what was up, was
a knowing smile from both of them.

   Pete's birthday finally arrived.  If Pete had to be honest with himself,
he didn't even know what date his birthday fell on, it had been so long
since he had been allowed to celebrate it.  So Amelia again went to her
case files, and found out that Pete had been born on August twenty third,
and Ashley had insisted that they have a party for him.  He really didn't
know how to react to it all, he'd never really had a birthday worth
celebrating before.  But there he sat, in the kitchen, eating his favorite
dinner of grilled hamburgers, and curly fries, with Ashley and Amelia, for
the first time, understanding what it was like to have a family.

   Dinner was done, and the cake had been eaten, they had discovered early
on, that Pete had a fondness for red velvet with cream cheese icing, and
tonight Ashley had decided to make a double decker cake for Pete, all on
her own.  After they had finished putting the dishes away, and wrapping up
the leftovers, Ashley grabbed Pete by the wrist, and smiling, began
dragging him toward the door to the back porch.  "C'mon Peter!" she said,
her excitement bubbling out in every word, "It's time for your present!"

   The screen door to the back porch banged shut, and Ashley plopped him
down in an Adirondack chair, "Close your eyes Peter," she whispered, as she
she hugged him around his neck, kissing his cheek tenderly, "And happy
birthday sweetie." A squirming, squeaking, bundle was deposited in Pete's
lap, "Open your eyes Peter!"

   Pete opened his eyes, and looked down into the honey colored eyes of an
adorable, dark brindled, pit bull puppy.  The little dog began wagging its
tail as it climbed up his chest, curiously examining its new owner.  Pete
stared down in disbelief, as the inquisitive face of the puppy finally made
it to his, and began sniffing its new owner.  Tears began to slip down
Pete's face, as his large, scarred hands, gently began to stroke the soft
fur along the puppy's back.  "Thank you so much!" he whispered hoarsely as
his tear rimmed eyes looked up at Ashley and Amelia, "I don't deserve this,
but thank you, both of you!" he said, as his puppy began to lick the salty
tears off of his cheek.

   "No Peter," Amelia said softly, tears standing in her eyes, "You deserve
this more than I can say.  Ashley decided to call this little guy Brooklyn
for the last three days," she said as she too began stroking the puppy's
back, "He's been pretty hard to keep a secret."

   Pete, and Ashley were, by now, sitting next to one another, crying
openly as Brooklyn tried to lick both of their faces at the same time. 
"Happy birthday Peter." Ashley murmured, and reaching up, took his
battered, tear streaked, face in her hands and kissed him.  This kiss was
different than any other they had ever shared, and Pete could feel it
instantly, it was not gentle or hesitant, it was deep, and searching. 
There were no warning flares, there was no screaming inside his own head,
there was only a profound sense of right.  Ashley pulled away slowly, her
eyes shining as they looked into Peter's "I want you to know something
Peter..." she said gently, never taking her eyes off of his, "I love you
too Peter Daniels."

   It was later that night, Pete had spent hours playing with his new dog,
and looking up at Ashley, both of their faces glowing, as they caught each
others eyes.  The night had finally worn down, and Pete had brought
Brooklyn to his room, bedding him down in a small basket with one of his
old t-shirts.  Pete woke up in the dead of the night, knowing instantly
that he was not alone, his years of abuse, warning him when someone was
close to him.  "Peter..." the whispered voice came from just beside his
bed, "You awake?" Pete rolled over slowly, his wary eyes softening
instantly, as he saw Ashley standing before him.  Ashley bit her lip,
insecurity, and fear written all over her face, "Peter..." she whispered
softly, as she crawled onto the mattress beside him, "Peter, I need..."
tears were in her eyes, as she reached up to touch his face, her fingertips
gently caressing his cheek, "I need you Peter.  I need you to show me that
Frank didn't steal this from me too," her heart was breaking in her voice,
and the fear of rejection was written all over her face, "Please Peter,
please..."

   Pete silenced her pleading with a finger placed gently against her lips,
"Ashley..." he whispered, and leaned up and kissed her, his hand gently
sliding around her head, to hold her to the kiss.  Ashley moaned into his
embrace, as her lips gently parted, and accepted Peter's tongue into her
mouth.  There was no warning cry in Ashley's mind, there was no sick hunger
in Peter's touch, there was only that same, warm, safe touch she felt the
first time he ever touched her.  Peter slid his other hand up Ashley's
thigh, and hesitated at the hem of her night shirt, his strong fingers
squeezing her flesh softly.  Ashley's moan intensified as she felt Peter's
hand so close to where she wanted him to be.

   Taking the initiative, Ashley grabbed Peter's wrist, and pulled it up
under her shirt letting his hand come to rest on her soaking wet slit. 
"Please Peter..." she whispered, looking deeply into the eyes of the boy
she loved so deeply, "I need this so badly..." she moaned, as her hand slid
down Peter's stomach, and under the band of his boxers.  Her eyes widened
in surprise as she came into contact with his firmly erect cock for the
first time.  "Please Peter, I need to know this is how it's supposed to be.
I need you to make love to me." the fear of rejection was still written all
over her face, as she began pushing his boxers down urgently.

   Peter dragged his finger slowly through Ashley's slit, as she moaned
more loudly into his mouth.  She was soaking wet, and her hips bucked into
his touch, when he finally found her clit.  Knowing how to pleasure a woman
was something he had learned at the brutal hands of Miss Sarah, but for the
first time, he felt like this was something different.  This time he was
deriving pleasure from giving this beautiful, scared, fragile, girl kissing
him, pleasure.  He circled his finger lightly around the erect bud of her
clit, increasing the pressure as he felt her responding to his touch.  "Oh
God Peter!  Just like that!" Ashley gasped as a wave of orgasm crashed over
her, her arms pulled Peter into her, as spasms rocked her body.  Pete could
feel her erect nipples drilling into his chest through her nightshirt, and
her hand lock into a strangle hold around his cock.  "Oooohhhhh Peter!"
Ashley moaned loudly, her head thrown back, her eyes squeezed shut in
pleasure.

   Ashley collapsed next to Pete, her body drenched in sweat, and shaking
from the most intense orgasm of her life (in truth it was the first one she
had not given herself).  Impulsively she threw her arm over Pete's chest,
and pulled him to her, kissing him hungrily, for the first time in her
life, she felt an actual desire for a man to be inside of her body, and she
desperately wanted it to be him!  "Peter, I need you right now," she said,
in a husky voice, as she nibbled on his lower lip, "I need you inside of me
Peter!  I need to give this to you!" her voice was intense, as her need
spiked when she felt Peter begin to pull her shirt up over her body.  She
wanted Peter to see her, she needed him to see her.  She needed to see in
his eyes if he wanted her or if he was only seeing sex.  She wanted to see
desire, but she needed to see love, and compassion.  When the shirt passed
over her head, and landed somewhere in the darkness, she looked up at
Peter, and waited, biting her lip, hoping that he could be everything she
needed him to be.

   Pete looked down, and gasped, Ashley's breasts were firm, and full, her
pale pink nipples topped off the perfectly proportioned C cups, which were
heaving up and down as Ashley gulped in breath.  He quickly scanned her
body, her full breasts sloped down to a flat stomach, Ashley was trim,
without that hard muscularity that seemed to be so desirable these days,
instead she was soft, and supple, with her curves more of an accentuation
of her beauty, instead of a definition of it.  Her hips flared out gently,
tapering into a pair of the most gorgeous legs Pete had ever seen.  And at
the juncture of those legs, was her swollen, and dripping sex, shaved
smooth except for a single small tuft about half an inch above her exposed
clit, her pubic hair the same rust red as the glorious locks that Pete now
ran his hands through.

   Pete looked up into Ashley's expectant, fearful eyes, and her heart
soared, he was looking at her, and seeing Ashley, the woman he had
fearlessly, and fearsomely defended, the Ashley he had cried against, and
who'd cried against him.  He was seeing Ashley, the girl he loved beyond
anything else in the world, yes there was desire in his eyes, but it wasn't
just that hunger that she had seen all those years with Frank, this was
tender, and amazed, and it made Ashley feel like a real person for the
first time since Frank had come to her room all those years ago.  "You are
absolutely amazing Ashley," Peter whispered as he gazed into her eyes, "And
I love you so..." his words were cut off as Ashley pulled his face into
hers, her mouth searching out his, and forcing her tongue into his mouth,
as her hands continued to push his boxers down and off.

   It was now Ashley's turn to examine Peter, and her eyes roamed hungrily
over his muscular frame, she no longer saw the scars that laced his body,
she had long since looked beyond the mere surface, now she only saw his
body, flushed with excitement and need, his broad chest heaving with deep
breaths, and his hard muscled stomach tensing as her eyes followed their
lines down to his tapered waist, and lower to his erect cock, throbbing in
desire of her.  Ashley smiled wantonly at Peter, as she pushed him onto his
back, and threw her left leg over his hips.  "I've wanted this since the
first day you came to visit me here Peter," she hissed, as she pressed her
vagina onto the rigid underside of his cock, "I needed to know I could do
this for you, and it feels so right!" she reached down between them, and,
grasping his hard rod, she rose up, and slotted his head into the entrance
of her dripping wet hole.  "Peter, I need you so badly,
pleeeeaaasssseeeeee!" Her last word was a long drawn out moan, as she
slowly pushed herself down his cock.

   Pete was amazed, Ashley was the polar opposite of Sarah.  Where Sarah
had been hot, and wet, just like Ashley, she had also felt open, and
sloppy. Ashley was tight, and firm, and her pussy walls gripped Pete's cock
like a fist made out of velvet.  "Oh God Ashley!" he moaned, his hands
sliding around the soft curve of her hips, as his eyes bored deeply into
hers.  "You...  Ugh!  You're sooooo..." the words were strangled out of him
as Ashley settled down on the base of his dick.  He couldn't speak, he
could barely think, it was as if her pussy had been custom made for his
dick, and it gripped him in ways he had never imagined possible.  He slid
his right hand up her body, and gently cupped her breast, her nipple
drilling into his palm, as her breathing increased.  He felt Ashley reverse
direction, and slowly drag her pussy up his cock, and he gasped in ecstasy,
"Ughhh!"

   "Oh yes!  Peter, just there!" she panted, as she slid back down along
his hard meat, raking her clit against it, until it slapped into his pelvic
bone.  In a flash of inspiration, she began to grind their hips together in
a soft circular motion, causing both of them to groan.  Her tempo slowly
increased, she would bounce her slit on Peter's cock for a couple of
strokes, and then grind on him for a few rotations, and repeat.  But as she
got more accustomed to Peter's size, and girth, her speed began increasing,
her pattern became more erratic, and finally, she was simply pumping up and
down, her pussy sliding over that glorious, hard cock, as she looked down
into the glowing, groaning face of her Peter, her Peter, forever hers.  The
thought of him being with her forever, combined with the erotic thrill of
making love to this amazing man below her, was too much, her back arched,
her eyes screwed shut, and her teeth clenched, as an orgasm unlike any she
had ever experienced slammed into her like an avalanche.  "Ooohhhhhh
Fuuuuuuccccckkkkkkkk!" she moaned loudly, as she shook in spasms of
pleasure, finally collapsing onto Peter's heaving chest.

   She was glowing in the aftershocks of her most incredible orgasm ever,
when she was suddenly shocked, as Peter grasped her leg, and rolled her
over so he was on top of her, his cock never leaving her pussy.  He smiled
down at her, as he leaned in for another, hungry, passionate kiss, his
motion causing his cock to slide inside of her again fully."Oh God Ashley,"
he whispered as he slowly began sliding out of her, "I love you so much."
and so saying, he slid back inside of her.  His tempo was slightly faster
than when she had began riding him, his thrusts were more powerful, but she
could feel he was intentionally holding back.

   Ashley's hand came up and cupped Peter's face, forcing him to look her
directly in the eye, "Peter...  I want...  This to be...  Yours too!" she
grunted, her words stuttering with the timing of his thrusts, "Let it... 
Go Peter...  I'm yours...  And You're...  Miiiinnnnnneeeeee!" her last word
became a squeal as Peter finally understood.  She was okay with this act of
love, it was finally clear that they belonged together, and she wanted to
experience it fully, not just on her terms, but on their terms.

   Peter's thrusts picked up, his tempo increasing until his hips were
pounding into hers, her hips flying up to smack into his, as she thrust up
to match his own.  They created a tempo all their own, as passion, and
pleasure, and love, all mingled into one beautiful act.  Ashley wrapped her
arms around Peter's back, her short nails trying to claw at his flesh, as
she lost herself to the pleasure he was giving her, her legs locked around
his hips, pulling herself up to meet his thrusts, causing her clit to
scrape along his cock in the most amazing way.  Finally, she couldn't hold
back anymore, her body began to shake, and she pulled herself up and buried
her face into Peter's neck, and screamed, as seizure like tremors shot
through her body.  Peter felt her pussy clamp around his cock, her orgasm
triggering his own.  With one final thrust into her body, he unloaded his
cum, firing rope after rope of fiery hot semen deep inside of her.  When
Ashley felt him unloading inside of her, it caused her orgasm to peak
again, the shaking and wailing intensifying until, at last, both of them
collapsed, Peter rolling to his side, his arm laying across her heaving,
gasping chest, and they laid there, together in the afterglow of their
first time together.

   They laid together, for how long, neither of them knew, but Pete finally
got his breath back, as he looked at the luminous smile spread across
Ashley's beautiful face.  "Ashley, " he whispered, as his hand slid up
gently cup her face, "It was never like that before.  It was never
beautiful..." he wished he'd had a better way to explain it to her, despite
his extreme intelligence, he felt like the words were so inadequate, that
they did no justice to what he was trying to express.

   Ashley's smile only broadened as she saw him struggling to put it into
words, "Peter," she whispered, placing a tiny finger gently to his lips,
"When I was a little girl, I thought Frank had stolen my life from me.  It
wasn't until the first time I kissed you, that I felt like it was being
given back to me." she explained slowly, "Aunt Em says that there are no
perfect people in the world, only people who's pieces fit together
perfectly.  Peter, we were both broken when we found each other, but those
jagged edges..." she leaned over, and kissed him softly, her lips lingering
on his for several seconds, "They fit together perfectly Peter.  I love you
Peter Daniels, and I'm not ever going to let you go!" she whispered
fiercely, as her arms tightened around his torso.

   "I love you too Ashley Wat..." his words were cut short as a curious,
furry face suddenly launched itself onto both of them.  Brooklyn, having
been woken up by their love making, had crawled up onto the bed, and was
investigating the strange sounds being made by his new owners.  His wet
nose burrowing in between them, as he tried to make sure they were both
alright.  The tense mood was shattered by light giggles, as the little
puppy wormed his way comfortably between them, and nuzzled them both into
submission.

   At the top of the stairs, sitting in the subdued darkness of the early
morning, Amelia Warren sat, and listened, as her niece, and the boy she had
come to think of as her own family, had finally given in to the feelings
they both shared.  She smiled, as she came to terms with what had happened
between them.  They had both been so fragile, and damaged, by the trauma of
their past, but they fit so well together, she could tell, that the two of
them were going to be so much stronger, now that they had finally admitted
how they felt about each other.

                                 ***

   The next two weeks were a blur for both Peter, and Ashley, while they
had acknowledged their love for one another, and had made love on several
occasions, it was all still new to them.  They had never been intimate with
the people they had been forced to have sex with, so this was a completely
new experience for both of them.  By the time school began, Ashley was
sleeping in Peter's bed with him, almost as often as she slept in her own.
They didn't always have sex, most of the time, it was simply the intimate
contact of holding each other in their sleep, that they either needed or
wanted.  What had changed most dramatically, was how open Peter was in his
affection for Ashley, he would spontaneously hug, or kiss her, just to show
her he was thinking of her.  Some days he would scoop her tiny frame up in
his arms, and plop down on the couch, with her leaning into him, as
Broadway, Hudson, and Brooklyn, all clamored for spots on the couch with
them.  Amelia had never been happier for them, as she was when she saw just
how deeply they loved one another.

   The first week of school was an eye opener for the rest of the students.
They had seen the relationship between Pete and Ashley, in its infancy, but
when they all returned from summer break, they were seeing it in its full
bloom.  The couple walked hand in hand down the halls, their fingers
intertwined, and stole kisses between classes.  They suddenly found
themselves to be the most talked about couple in the school.  Every boy who
saw them couldn't help but wonder how a girl as hot as Ashley Waters could
stand to be seen with a scarred up, hulking freak like Pete Daniels.  Every
girl that looked at them, was jealous that their boyfriends weren't as
attentive, or affectionate as Ashley's.  And the fact that Pete had put
several boys in the hospital defending her, made Ashley the most envied
girl in school.

   Neither of them paid it any attention, they didn't care what other
people had to say about them, it didn't matter one lick.  By the end of the
first week, the looks had turned from curiosity, to envy, several of the
school's social elite, the most popular girls, had tried to find out what
made Pete so special, some of them being very bold in their approach.  Pete
either ignored them entirely, which drove the girls, who were so used to
getting their own way, completely mad, or he rebuffed them, very firmly. 
One girl in particular, Stacy Granger, who the year before, had been very
vocal in her dislike of Pete, calling him things like"Whipping Boy" because
of the scars he could not hide, had tried to get him to take her to the
Band room.

   "Hey Pete..." she had begun, gently running her fingers along his
forearm, "A bunch of the girls were wondering, ya know, how Ashley got so
lucky," her eyes were full of lust, as she felt the hard muscles in Pete's
arm, "I was wondering...  If maybe you wanted to share?" When Pete realized
that ignoring her was not working, he looked down into the vapid, blue
eyes, and he saw it.  The one thing he could never, ever, stand seeing
again, that same, sick desire, that he had seen so often in the people that
had hurt him, before he could respond, Stacy continued, "C'mon Pete, the
Band room is unlocked, and Ashley doesn't have to know..."

   Pete knew his answer before she even finished speaking.  "I don't think
so Stacy," he said loudly enough for the entire hallway to hear, "I don't
think I'd ever go to the Band room with you, or any of your friends.  I
don't think I could stomach it." and he turned and began walking away.

   "What's wrong Whipping Boy?!" Stacy shrieked, outraged that this stupid
freak had had the nerve to say no to her!  "Don't think you could handle
it?"

   Pete simply turned, and with pity in his eye, replied "It's not that
Stacy.  It's just that Ashley is so much better than you are." and he
walked away, leaving a stunned, silent Stacy in his wake.  By the time he
sat down next to Ashley at lunch, the story, and several truly embarrassing
videos of Pete's rejection of Stacy had been circulated.  Ashley's million
watt smile preceded a kiss that had the entire cafeteria hollering
encouragement to the couple.

   At the same time, several of the guys who fancied themselves God's gift
to the school, had tried to find out what made Pete so loyal, figuring
Ashley had to have some sort of trick that would blow them away.  It was
much easier for Ashley to push them away, since all she had to do was
remind them that it would only take her word that they had tried something,
and Peter just might put them in traction.  After last year, with some of
the biggest 'Alpha Males' in the school demolished, absolutely no one
wanted to risk becoming Pete Daniels' next target.

   By the end of that first week, things had settled down socially.  Peter
didn't care that he didn't fit into a social group, and Ashley, who had
never tried, was simply happy to have the man she loved.  Academically
however, things became much different for both of them.  Peter had been a
year behind Ashley, but it was obvious that he did not belong in his
classes.  With his GPA from the year before, he had been placed in all
advanced courses this year, but even then, his teachers were stumped as to
how to keep up with him.  His guidance councilor Mrs.  Jacobs decided to
have the boy's I.Q.  Tested, to find out just how far he might possibly go.
So one day, after lunch he sat down with a state auditor, and took his
first I.Q.  Test since sixth grade.

   A week later, he was sitting in Ashley's room, helping her with her
physics homework, when they heard Amelia scream in shock from the kitchen.
They raced downstairs, concerned she might have hurt herself.  They both
loved the woman dearly, but she should never be left alone in the kitchen,
the results were usually devastatingly bad.  They found Amelia sitting at
the kitchen table, her jaw hanging open in shock, holding a tri-folded form
letter.  As soon as they entered, her eyes jumped from the form, to Peter,
and back.  She swallowed slowly, "Ummm...  Peter..." she began, shock still
evident in her voice "Your I.Q.  Test results were in the mail today..."
She slowly slid the form across the table, where Ashley scooped it up.

   She quickly scanned the letter, it had the usual preface, with a bunch
of nonsense about the test having no baring in any scholastic outcome.  But
was quickly followed by a table showing the designations of functionality
based on test score, starting at 0; or profoundly retarded , all the way to
145+; being 'genius level, and beyond'.  Ashley's eyes scanned further down
the page, and she stopped, unable to believe what she was seeing.  In a
single highlighted line 'Subject's completed form percentage: 100%
Subject's form results: 179.  Recommended Placement: Gifted or "Above"' "Oh
my God Peter!" she whispered, as she showed him the highlighted entry.

   Pete had no idea how to react.  He had been told so often that he was
worthless, that he had actually believed it.  And now, holding Ashley in
his arms staring down at the letter was proof of what Ashley had told him
all along.  She had always told him that he was special, and now she had
the proof she needed to really hammer that statement home.  But something
in Pete was unsettled, One the foundations of his life, 'Love is a sham'
had been utterly destroyed, vaporized under the realization that people
actually cared about him, for no other reason than they wanted him to be
happy.  Now the second pillar that had supported everything he believed
about his life, was about to crumble.  Not knowing what else to do, Pete
bolted for the back door.

   A half hour later, Amelia, and Ashley, found Peter sitting in the back
corner of the yard, behind a century old rhododendron, with Brooklyn curled
up in his lap.  He was sitting in the mulch, stroking the puppy's back, as
tears gently fell down his cheeks, as he whispered to the dog.  "Why did it
have to say that buddy?" he asked, as the dog looked up at him, "Why did it
have to say I was different again?  Ya know?  I thought I finally found
somewhere I could just...  Be me," he sniffed, his voice cracking slightly,
"And now that paper says I'm some kinda genius or something..." his voice
choked out as he sobbed again, "How can I ever just be me now?  Now
everyone is gonna want me to be special, they're gonna expect me do
something.  I'm not sure if I can buddy..." Brooklyn had, by this point,
crawled his way up Pete's chest, and with a whimpering whine, began to lick
Pete's face.  It was almost as though the beautiful puppy was trying to say
'But you are special!  You're my daddy!'

   It had taken Ashley and Amelia almost three hours to talk Peter down,
both of them knowing exactly how he felt.  They had both seen in Peter,
something extraordinary, but the boy was so self effacing, that he could
never see it in himself.  Just as he now accepted that Ashley loved him
unconditionally, he was still not sure what he had done to deserve it. 
Ashley had promised him, that neither her nor Aunt Em would ever expect
more from him than he expected from himself.  It was bittersweet, to see
this wonderful boy, who had been so beaten down, so ground under heel, that
even when absolute proof of his worth was being handed to him, he was
unable to fathom it of himself.

   The news of Peter's I.Q.  Test results hit the school like a bombshell.
Suddenly, the quiet, introverted boy, who had so ferociously come out of
his shell last year, became the first accredited genius to ever grace the
halls of Walker Centralized High School.  His teachers were floored by the
news, they had known by the end of his first week that they had very little
they could teach him, but he had just catapulted past them in astronomical
fashion.  Attention was still something Pete was immensely uncomfortable
with, and his new found celebrity made it nearly impossible for him to
function.

   Somehow, he survived until lunch period, and as he walked toward the
cafeteria, Ashley caught up to him.  Lacing her fingers into his, she
whispered, "Come with me Peter," and dragged him down the hall.  Ashley was
insistent, and tugged Peter along, like Broadway, and Brooklyn, on their
way to the dog park.  They finally came to a stop at the storage room,
where their improbable relationship had begun, and Ashley turned to Peter,
and gave him a coy, yet wicked smile.  After she led Peter into the storage
room, she pushed him roughly up against the door, and dragged his face down
to kiss her.  "Peter," she breathed heavily, "When we have sex, you give me
so much, and you always make sure it's all about me," her fingers had
already slipped open his belt, and zipper, and she was roughly pushing his
pants down his legs, "I know you need this Peter, and I want this to be all
for you," her hand wrapped around his thickening cock, as she fell to her
knees, and slowly took him into her mouth.

   Peter gasped loudly, as Ashley's tongue rolled over the head of his
cock, he had always purposefully avoided this act, knowing she had been
forced into it so often as a child.  Now, as he looked down into Ashley's
glorious gray eyes, he could see that she was doing this as much to cleanse
her old memories, as to build ones with the man she loved.  Ashley bobbed
her head back and forth, setting a slow easy tempo, that allowed her to
begin taking more and more of Peter's cock into her mouth.  He closed his
eyes tight, pleasure written all over his face, as he felt his balls gently
come to rest on her chin.  His gasp was strangled out of him, as he felt
Ashley begin to swallow around his cock.  Without even thinking, he placed
his hands on the sides of her head, and gently ran his fingers through the
soft rust red locks of her hair, and he felt her hum in response to the
sensation.  Ashley pulled back, dragging her tongue along the bulging vein
on the underside of his cock, the tip coming to rest on the extremely
sensitive patch of skin just behind the crown of his head, flicking along,
causing white hot sparks to flash through his entire body.

   "Jesus Ashley!" he groaned, his voice thick with lust, as he looked down
again into those shining eyes, "If you don't stop I'm gonna..." he trailed
off into a long moan of bliss, as Ashley forcefully thrust her head down on
his pipe, not stopping until he was firmly seated in her throat.  Looking
up at the grimace locked across his face, Ashley hummed deeply in her
throat, knowing that he needed this almost as much as she did. 
"Ash...UGH!" was all the warning she got from Peter, as his cock throbbed
deep in her throat, and blast of scalding hot cum rocketed down her gullet.
Fighting back a gag response, she whipped her head back until only his head
was in her mouth.  Her tiny hand caught the base of his cock, her fingers
not able to wrap all the way around it, as she jerked him off into her
mouth.  Pete's cum was salty, and thick, but had a sweet, silky feel as it
coated her tongue and pooled in her mouth.  Finally after six massive
bursts, Peter's orgasm ended, and as he looked down, at this amazing woman
he had somehow been lucky enough to wind up with in his life, he was amazed
one last time, as she slowly, and languidly, swallowed every last drop.

   Ashley shuddered slightly, and flushed a deep red, as she looked up at
Peter, as he gazed in amazement back down at her.  She couldn't believe
herself, as the tremors continued to course through her body.  The simple
act of swallowing Peter's seed, had actually caused her to orgasm! 
Something she had once reviled, as one of the most disgusting acts she had
been forced to do, had now made her cum!  Her smile up at Peter could have
dimmed the sun.  "I think I needed that even more than you did baby." she
whispered huskily, as she kissed his cock one last time.

                                  ***



   The remainder of the school year was a whirlwind of ups and downs, Pete
had been given, and scored off the charts on, an advanced placement exam,
his test scores showing that he was already working at a post graduate
level.  Amelia had helped Pete petition the school board for permission to
double his schedule, and allow him to graduate with Ashley.  The added
course work barely slowed him down, but it did cut into their alone time
together.  Pete and Ashley survived their first series of arguments over
his 'lack of attention', because Pete was unable to find any peace knowing
she was angry with him, and he refused to go to bed angry, some nights
sitting up, all night, in the hallway across from Ashley's bedroom door. 
The look of amazed contentment on Ashley's face when she saw Pete, leaning
against the wall like a statue, just gazing up at her in the morning, was
all the confirmation she needed that he still loved her.

   The couple took their SAT together, and were both happy with their
results, Ashley scored a 2038; Critical Reading 680, Writing 752, and Math
606.  They weren't the greatest scores ever, but they assured her, she
would at least attend a good college.  Pete, naturally dropped a bomb on
his councilor once again, his SAT scores came back with a perfect 2400.  He
even received a small amount of national recognition, as one of only four,
first time test takers to achieve a perfect score.  What made Pete stand
out in that small group was, he was the only student, that didn't attend
either a private, or prep school.  It had seemed to Pete, that the more
support he got from Ashley and Amelia, the harder her wanted to push
himself.  He felt that, since they obviously believed he was special, he
owed it to them to prove it to himself too.

   The college offers poured in for Pete.  It seemed like almost every
major university was drooling over the prospect of a genius level I.Q. 
being added to their rolls.  Pete however refused to accept or decline any
of them.  Confused by his delay, and needing to know what he thought,
Amelia knocked on his bedroom door one evening while he was doing his
homework.  "Peter?" she asked gently, as she pushed his door open, "Can I
talk to you for a minute?"

   Pete looked up from his calculus textbook, and smiled gently.  It was
one of the things Ashley had done for him over their time together, she had
given him his smile back, and Amelia's heart warmed, at seeing the
expression, it seemed to fit his face so well.  "Sure Aunt Em," he replied
lightly, he had taken to calling her Aunt Em, at first out of a desire to
feel like part of a family, but now it was because he knew he was part of
one.  "What's up?"

   She sat on the edge of his bed, and put her hands in her lap, as she
looked at him, "Peter, I need to ask you a few questions.  That okay?" she
asked gently.  She had always been uneasy about asking Peter anything,
always afraid that the wrong question would drive him away, but seeing him
gently nod, she continued, "Peter, I know you must have seen the stacks of
mail coming in for you right?" he nodded again, "Well honey, I was just
wondering, if you had given any thought to which, if any of those schools
you might want to attend?a"

   Peter shrugged, looking at Amelia uncertainly, "Honestly Aunt Em, I was
gonna wait and apply wherever Ashley decided to go," his complete inability
to lie to either of them, had forced him to avoid this question many times,
the last thing he wanted was to be apart from Ashley, but he knew she would
read him the riot act if she thought he was sacrificing his future just for
her.  "I never thought I'd ever go to college," he said honestly, "But now
that I can, I don't want to go anywhere, unless I can be with her."

   Amelia started to say something before Peter held up his hand, cutting
her off, "Please Aunt Em, let me finish saying this," he said earnestly,
"I'm not naive enough to think you don't know what Ashley and I do
together," he stopped and waited until he saw a slight smirk appear on
Amelia's face, "I still try not to be disrespectful about it though.  And
as much as I enjoy what she and I do, this decision has nothing to do with
that," his eyes were intense, as he tried to convey his reasoning to
Amelia, "If she told me that our last time was our last time, I would
still...  I dunno...  I guess need is a good word, I'd need to stay close
to her.  If, for no other reason than, someone would need to protect her,"
he could see he wasn't making much sense to her, so he stopped to gather
his thoughts.

   "Peter, I know you love each other, I don't think I've ever seen two
people who love each other more than you two actually," Aunt Em replied
rather ruefully.

   "That's just the thing though," Peter interrupted, "I do love Ashley, I
didn't think I'd ever know how it felt to be loved until I met her!" his
heart was in his eyes, as he thought of Ashley, "But that's also the
problem.  Ya see, when...  When I'm with her, there is nothing that can
touch me.  Just being close to her...  She makes me invincible!  That day,
last year, when Greg and his cronies came at me, if Ashley hadn't been
there, I know I wouldn't have fought back.  But she was, and she needed me
to protect her, and nothing they did could hurt me.  I don't think I could
be that way if she isn't there..." his voice was choked with the tears that
rimmed his eyes, "And even worse, I don't think I'd be able to survive it,
if someone hurt Ashley when I was supposed to be there to protect her, and
I wasn't."

   It clicked.  Peter wasn't afraid of making a choice in schools, and he
wasn't waiting because he just wanted to keep having sex with Ashley.  He
was terrified that, if he and Ashley wound up attending different schools,
something might happen to her.  He wasn't even afraid that she would fall
in love with someone else, he loved her so much he would just be happy that
she was happy.  Amelia suddenly remembered the conversation she had had
with Ashley the day of Peter's fight with Greg.  Her niece had told her
what Peter had said in that hallway, he had sworn that he would keep Ashley
safe, and that as long as he lived, no one would ever hurt her again. 
"I'll be right back Peter, there's a few things I need to show you." Aunt
Em said gently, and quickly left the room.

   Aunt Em returned maybe ten minutes later, with a few of the booklets
that had come from the colleges, and a small walnut box with silver
fittings.  "Peter," she began, as she took her seat on the edge of the bed
once again, "I know we don't talk about our pasts in this house, and for
the most part, that is a good thing, I'm trying let you and Ashley build a
future instead," she had a quiver in her voice, a kind of pain that Peter
had never heard there before, "But you need to know this, before I say
anything else.  Ashley never knew her real father, his name was Stephen,
and he joined the Marines before she was born, so that he could support his
new family." she blinked back tears as she spoke, "He was my brother, and
when he died, it not only broke my heart, but Ashley's mother's as well. 
Ashley's mother Paula eventually met, and married Frank, when she was only
two," there was a bitter twist to her face as she continued, "Frank seemed
like a great man for Paula, in the beginning.  It looked like he adored
her, and he positively doted on Ashley." the irony in her voice was
absolutely palpable, "And then Paula died in a car crash when Ashley was
only five.  Frank seemed like he was the perfect person to help her pick up
the pieces, but we both know how that turned out..." She gave a bitter sob
as she thought of the pain her niece was forced to endure, "I guess the
only good thing to come out of all that is that Frank never lived to see
his sentencing date.  One of the guards at the jail let it out as to why he
was there.  They found him in the showers stabbed to death with his dick
cut off."

   For the first time in his life, Peter felt a surge of appreciation for
the criminal element.  But he subdued his smile, and nodded for Aunt Em to
continue.  She said, "The reason I'm telling you this, is because of this,"
She slowly opened the walnut box, and pulled out a silver ring, it had a
large heart cut star sapphire as it's center piece, and was surrounded by
small diamonds, Peter really had no knowledge of jewelery, but he had to
admit, it did look nice.  "This was the ring my brother Stephen, proposed
to Paula with..." her voice caught in her throat as she explained, "I...  I
want you to give it to Ashley, when you ask her to marry you too..."

   Peter looked at her with that deer in the headlights look, as he
processed what she had just said.  His mouth went dry, as the realization
of how little his life would mean to him if he didn't have Ashley there
with him, dawned on him.  "Do...  Do you really think she'd say yes?" he
asked, his throat constricting as all of the possibilities unfolded in
front of him.

   Aunt Em smiled, and impulsively hugged Peter tightly around his neck. 
"Oh Peter..." she sighed, as she patted him gently on the shoulders, "You
magnificent, naive, boy.  If you asked Ashley to walk through fire with
you, she would." she explained softly, "She loves you that much Peter."

   The next half hour opened doors in Peter's mind that he had never
imagined.  Aunt Em had shown him several booklets that had been sent to
him, from colleges that Ashley had applied to as well.  They were all
offering him full academic scholarships, as were at least a dozen other
schools across the country, but these were especially significant.  Among
each of these particular offers, were dispensations for housing, providing
on campus housing for married couples, and any children they may have.  One
in particular had Peter so excited, he was literally bouncing in his seat,
not only was it Ashley's second choice school, but they had one of the best
chemistry and engineering departments in the country, fields he was very
interested in.  But most importantly, it also had one of the top schools of
music, and art in the country as well.

   The rest of the school year passed like nothing Pete had ever
experienced before.  His doubled schedule did not so much slow Pete down,
as it did add fuel to his motor.  He breezed through to his finals, taking
a full course load of "Advanced Placement" classes in math and science.  To
everyone but his family's surprise, he coasted into graduation as the class
valedictorian, his GPA a perfect 4.0, and his test scores so far ahead of
the curve, that it wasn't even a contest.  When Pete was given the news, he
was told he was supposed to give a speech to the entire class.  A year
before, this prospect would have crippled him, but, since he had finally
come into his own, he had found a measure of popularity, and as long as he
had Ashley with him, Pete was indestructible.

   And so graduation day finally arrived.  Aunt Em was in the seats,
smiling proudly at both of them.  And for the first time in his life, Pete
knew that what he was going to do, as he walked toward the podium, was
exactly what he was meant to do.  Pete adjusted the microphone, looked out
into the crowd, cleared his throat and began speaking, "My fellow students,
I know many of you didn't know me last year, and if you did, you certainly
didn't want to admit it," he smiled out at the assembled students, as a
light chuckle ran through them, "But last year began a journey, well maybe
more of a marathon," again, he paused, knowing most of the students
understood he managed to become class valedictorian while taking double
course work, "But that journey brought me here, to commencement, which I am
proud to be sharing with all of you.  The word commencement implies the
ending of something, but that is not the case.  Tomorrow morning is going
to dawn, as the first day of our lives, because after tomorrow, it will be
our lives, lived on terms we have chosen.  So today, I choose to think of
this, not as the finishing line, but as the starting line, and I am proud
to be standing at the starting line of life, with all of you." there was a
small smattering of applause as the idea slowly settled into the minds of
the students in front of him, "I never imagined myself, standing here, and
I never imagined giving a speech like this, mostly because I never thought
I'd make it this far.  Until last year, when I met the people I now
consider my family, I had none.  They are the ones who made me understand
what I could achieve, so long as I had people who cared, and loved me, to
help shoulder the burden.  So if nothing else, I leave you with this.  Keep
the friends you've made here, but as you walk down the paths your lives
will follow, remember to surround yourself with people who care as much for
you, as you do for them, they will be the ones that help you pick yourself
up when you think life has you beat.  And never let what is in your heart
go unsaid, because you may never get the chance to say it again."

   He looked at the principal Mrs.  Klinger, raised his eyebrow in a
question, and she smiled and nodded.  He had asked specific permission to
do this, and wanted to make sure it was still alright.  Pete plucked the
microphone out of it's stand, and looked out into the crowd again "With
that said however, I'd like to ask you all for your indulgence, while I
finally say what, in my heart, needs to be said." the students were
murmuring uncertainly, trying to figure out what was going on, as Pete
walked down off the stage, and down to the fourth row of seats, on the
left. Sitting on the corner seat, in her graduation gown in the school
color of emerald green, was Ashley.  Pete stopped, and looked down at this
amazing woman, that he was so lucky to have, and spoke again, "Ashley, a
year and a half ago, you changed my entire world, with a few simple words,
and a little bit of kindness.  For that I will always be grateful.  But
then you tipped it upside down last summer, with just three simple words."
There were tears in Ashley's eyes, as she stared up at him, her smile
bright enough to blind.

   "And now, Ashley Waters, I'm hoping you will change my life, with one
more, simple, word." his hand slipped beneath his gown as he slowly went
down to one knee.  Suddenly, half of the girls in the crowd were bouncing,
and squealing in excitement, as Pete pulled the ring Aunt Em had given him
out of his pocket.  "Ashley Waters...  Will you marry me?"

   The tears were running, unchecked, down Ashley's cheeks, as her hands
covered her mouth.  She was beyond speech, as she held her left hand out to
the man she wanted to be with forever.  As the ring slid down her finger,
her smile went brighter, and brighter.  And as the ring settled down, just
below her knuckle, she let loose a scream, "YES!" and wrapped her arms
around his neck, pulling him into a kiss.

   It took nearly a half hour to calm everyone down enough to proceed with
the ceremony.  And by the end of the day, everyone had their diploma. 
After they had all tossed their caps in the air, and filed out, Pete, and
Ashley found themselves mobbed by their fellow students.  The girls all
insisted on seeing the ring, and gushing over Ashley, being lucky enough to
have found such an unpolished gem as Pete.  The guys were all insistent on
slapping Pete on the back, and congratulating him on catching an obvious
keeper like Ashley.  After nearly an hour, they both finally got to make
their excuses, and made it home.  As soon as she walked through the door,
Ashley marched upstairs, and without preamble, or explanation, began moving
her things down, into Pete's room.

   The next morning, Ashley woke up with Peter's arms wrapped around her,
his warm hands caressing her skin, in their bed.  She smiled at the idea of
it, their bed, and then blushed, as she remembered the night before, as
Peter had held her, his belly against hers, pulling her onto his beautiful
cock, as they made love in a frenzy.  Ashley had bitten Peter's shoulder
while she came, bitten so hard, that when they had finally come to a
crashing halt, she looked at it, and saw an angry looking hickey.  And
Peter, this amazing man, who was now her fiance, had only smiled at it,
saying "A small price for having you in my life." The feel of Peter's arms
tightening around her, as he woke up, and hugged her to him, made her groan
in happiness, this was a feeling she would always cherish.  Waking up in
Peter's arms, was the last piece, the last thing she had though Frank had
taken from her forever, and now here it was, being given back, by a boy no
one but her had ever bothered trying to love, this was what felt right for
them both.

   They sat at the kitchen table, Ashley sipping coffee, Peter, orange
juice, while Aunt Em flipped through the daily newspaper.  She stopped, and
read a small article, accompanied by a smaller picture, and began laughing.
"You two have got to read this!" she said lightly, as she turned the page
towards them.  A small headline posted above a black and white picture of
Peter kneeling in front of Ashley, read 'Graduate Raises The Bar' The
article was cute, and was definitely written as a feel good piece, but it
did name them both, and the author wished them both all the luck, and
happiness in the world, before going on to wish future valedictorians luck,
in capping Pete's performance.

   The next few days were spent doing a lot of nothing, both Pete and
Ashley were already enrolled in school, Pete's scholarship being accepted,
along with Ashley having been offered a fellowship to it's school of the
arts offering her fifty percent tuition, they felt they were in a
comfortable zone, allowing them to relax for part of the two months before
they were to begin.  It was on a Wednesday evening, as Pete, and Ashley
played in the back yard with Broadway, Hudson, and Brooklyn, when the phone
began to ring.  Aunt Em, excused herself, and went to answer it.  It didn't
take long for them to figure out that the call was not a pleasant one,
perhaps a minute after she walked in the back door, they heard her
screaming, and though they couldn't make out what was being said, screaming
was enough to bring both of them running.

   As they barged in the door, the heard her from the living room, "I said
no!  I don't care who you are, or who you claim to be.  You stay away from
that poor boy, and this family, or I swear not even God will be able to
help you!" And violently hanging up the phone.

   They both peeked their head around the corner, and saw Aunt Em, sitting
on the sofa, crying.  "Uhhh...  Aunt Em?" Pete said gently, as he took a
seat next to her, placing his arm around her shoulders, "Why are you
crying, and who are Ashley, and I, gonna have to beat up because of it?"

   Aunt Em giggled at that, even through her tears, she knew that part of
him was deadly serious, and that he would, if need be, commit terrible
violence to defend his family.  But she also knew, that this giant of a
man, who could inflict pain like no one else she had ever seen, never
really wanted to.  It amazed her even more, knowing how he had been abused,
all of his life, that violence was never something he wanted to turn to
himself.  Peter was very special to her, because of that trait.  Her career
as a social worker had shown her, how a child raised with violence, was so
prone to it themselves, that Peter's kindness meant even more to her. 
Everything he had endured in his short life, should have broken him, it
should have turned him into the meanest of beings, practically incapable of
feelings, and uncaring of who or what he hurt.  But it hadn't, he had
refused to break, he had walked through hell, alone, and e had come out,
battered, scarred, and beaten, but not broken.  "No Peter, you don't have
to hurt anyone.  I just dislike it when people try to take advantage of
situations."

   Peter looked at her in confusion, "Take advantage of what?" he asked,
but his questions were cut short, as the phone rang again.

   "Oh for God's sake!" Aunt Em exclaimed, as she looked at the caller I.D.
Just before answering.  "Look!  I told you no, and I told you to stay away!
Got it?" she said heatedly into the phone, and as she waited for an answer
Peter, and Ashley watched her face go pale.  "Say that again, very slowly,
or I'm hanging up." she said finally, and began nodding, as she listened to
whatever the person on the other end was saying.  "Alright, I'm going to
look into that whole story, if even one bit of it is out of place, so help
me God, you will regret it!" and hung up abruptly.

   "What the hell was that?!" Ashley demanded, as she stared at her aunt in
disbelief.

   "That was someone claiming to be someone.  I'm not saying another word
until I look into everything he just told me." she explained cryptically,
as she erased the caller I.D.  History.

                                ***

   Over the next three days, Pete, and Ashley both watched, as Aunt Em went
absolutely wild on her work laptop.  They never quite got to see what she
was working on, but she had become very withdrawn, and when she thought
neither of them were looking, they caught her looking at them.  Their was a
kind of quiet pain in her eyes, that neither of them could understand.  It
bothered them both, and to make matters worse, whenever they asked her
about it, she purposefully avoided the question.

   Monday morning dawned, rainy, and miserable, the summer thunderstorms
finally rolling down out of the northern mountains.  Peter hugged Ashley
from behind, as he breathed in the scent of her hair, since she had 'moved
in' with him, it had become his morning ritual, just to soak in every
aspect of this spectacular woman he woke up next to.  "Good morning,
beautiful," he whispered softly, as he felt Ashley respond to his hug.

   "Mmmm..." she sighed in response.  "This is how I want to wake up every
morning," she whispered, as she pressed her ass back into the hard cock
that was poking her.  Ashley always loved the way Peter made love to her,
but for some reason this morning, she wanted to feel him inside of her with
urgency, she wanted him to desire her so badly, that he just took her.  Her
grinding became more intense, as she dragged his hands up to her breasts,
forcing his fingers into her flesh.  Peter finally got the message, and
began to knead her flesh with a rough grip, that sent sparks directly to
Ashley's pussy, and she groaned as she felt herself start to leak all over
the shaft sliding down between her thighs.

   Peter groaned loudly in her ear, as he pulled her closer to his body,
the exquisitely soft skin of her back felt amazing as it rubbed along the
hard muscles of his scarred chest.  His hand slowly started to trace its
way down her stomach, and he groaned in frustration, when she stopped his
progress.  He heard her giggle softly, as he humped his cock against her
wet twat.  He knew she was teasing him, but this was different, he could
tell she wanted something, but every time he tried to move, he felt her
move away, just enough to cause another frustrated groan.

   Her giggling increased, as she pulled away from his cock for the fourth
time, as he tried unsuccessfully, to once again slowly enter her.  His
groaning had now become a growl, and with an insistence he had never shown
while making love to her, Peter rolled over onto his stomach, pinning
Ashley beneath him.  Ashley's giggle became a moan of desire as she felt
her fiance drag his hands down her stomach, and force her hips into what
could only be described as a 'fuck me' pose.  The second she felt Peter's
cock nudge against her pussy, she groaned and thrust herself back against
him, shuddering as she felt the head of his cock invade her.

   Peter knew a signal when he saw it, and this was definitely a signal. 
He was always so worried about hurting, or dredging up those terrible
memories in Ashley's past, that he invariably took it slow with her, always
letting her dictate terms.  But today, she was clearly telling him, she
wanted him in control, and he was not about to let her down.  Grasping her
hips, Peter thrust himself into Ashley's soaking wet cunt, and was happy to
hear an ecstatic groan escape Ashley's lips.  Taking this as all the
permission he needed, Peter simply began to fuck.  There was no caressing,
or gentle kisses, there was no whispered proclamations of love.  There was
simply Peter, all six foot four inches, two hundred twenty five pounds of
him, slamming nine inches of rigid cock into a happily grunting, five foot
two inch, one hundred twenty pound Ashley, as she smiled, and thrust back
at him, both happily rutting like animals.

   Ashley was moaning incoherently now, feeling Peter's cock invading her
pussy like a battering ram, was more than she had expected, but was exactly
what she needed.  Her back arched downward, causing her ass to slap into
his abdomen, this motion caused him to penetrate her even deeper, and touch
her in places she had never felt before.  Before she was even aware of it,
her entire body was wracked in a spine shattering orgasm, her muscles
clenched, as she threw her head back and yelled "Ooooohhhhh Fuck! 
Peeetttteeeerrrrr!!!" her voice trailed off into a long drawn out squeal,
as she clenched her fists in the bed sheets, and her petite, tiny feet
kicked rapid staccato into the mattress.  The feeling of Ashley cumming
this hard, her vaginal walls clamping in a strangle hold around his cock,
was more than Peter could take, and with one, final, massive thrust, he
threw his head back in a muted howl, and came, firing rope, after scalding
rope of his cum deep into Ashley's already drenched pussy.

   Their simultaneous orgasms left them completely drained, as Peter
collapsed, and rolled to Ashley's left, wrapping his arms around her, and
pulling her into his body.  "Jesus Christ baby," he whispered softly
kissing her neck tenderly, "Where did that come from?"

   Ashley giggled again, her skin extra sensitive in her post orgasmic
glow, "I don't know honey," she sighed, as she snuggled closer to him "Some
days a girl just wants her man to take charge," she wrapped her arms around
his, as she basked in the contact between them, "And my lord...  Did you
ever take..." as had become his ritual, Brooklyn, again, suddenly leapt
between them, cutting Ashley's train of thought short, as with his cold,
wet, nose, and the enthusiasm only a dog less than a year old can manage,
he began licking and nuzzling their faces, welcoming them both into a new
day with him!

   An hour later, after Brooklyn, and Broadway had been let out into the
rainy morning to take care of nature, and then been happily, and playfully
dried off in the small sun room off the back porch, Peter, and Ashley were
surprised again this morning, as Aunt Em made her way down the stairs.  It
was a Monday, and nearly ten in the morning, so it was a complete surprise
to them both, that she wasn't already at work.  "Morning you guys," she
said, the drawn look on her face a clear indication that she had not sleep
well the night before, "There any of that coffee left?" she asked, pointing
at the steaming mugs in both of their hands.

   "We didn't know you were still home Aunt Em," Pete explained, as he
handed his mug to her.  He had never drank coffee before moving in with
them, so he had developed his taste for the drink based on their habits. 
Aunt Em smiled at him gratefully, as she sipped the strong black liquid,
just as she liked it, no cream, no sugar, and powerful enough to jump start
a diesel engine.

   "Oh jeez," she whispered, as the hot coffee started to seep into her
system, "You're an angel Peter, and this is sent right from God." and she
took another sip.  The entire scene was so surreal, that both Pete, and
Ashley, could not help but bust out laughing, as Aunt Em sat down at the
kitchen table and began laughing along with them.

   "So ummm," Ashley started, after finally calming down enough to speak,
"You're not at work today because..?" she left the question hanging, as she
looked at her aunt with a raised eyebrow.

   "Because I have someone coming over, and I wanted to make sure
everything was on the level." she replied flatly.  Her tone implied that,
even though she had invited this person over to their home, she was
reserving judgment until a later time.  "They've made a few claims, and if
they're lying, I'm stringing them up from the oak tree in the back yard."

   They sat in silence as the steel in Aunt Em's voice let them know not to
ask.  No one moved from their seats, they could tell, now was the waiting
game.  It was all down to how long they would have to wait, which as it
turned out, was exactly twenty eight minutes.  At 10:28 exactly, the
doorbell rang, Brooklyn being Brooklyn, an ever exuberant over grown lap
dog, was at the door in seconds, jumping and pawing at it in excitement. 
Broadway took the long view on things, outweighing Brooklyn by almost fifty
pounds, he decided to just stand at the kitchen door, and look down the
hallway.  If things looked like he might get some petting, he knew he could
always shoulder the smaller dog out of the way.  Hudson, as always, was
squatting under the small bench in the hall, waiting for the right moment
to get in on the action.  Aunt Em smiled at the scene in front of her, then
sighed, and walked to the door.

   When she opened the door, she was greeted by a sight that almost made
her heart stop.  The man standing on the porch was maybe six foot two
inches tall, and perhaps two hundred forty pounds.  He had the rigid frame
of someone who had seen too many years in the military, and his regulation
high and tight hair cut was a dark brown, sprinkled through with silver,
though the left side of his scalp was marred by a grizzly looking spiderweb
of scars.  He was wearing a pair of carpenter jeans, and a gray t-shirt,
and was leaning heavily on a cane in his left hand.  He appeared to be
either in his late thirties or early forties, and had all of the usual
signs of wear that that age brings to a person.  But what shocked her the
most was, the man in front of her could have used Peter as a shaving
mirror.

   "Miss Warren?" he asked politely, his voice was somewhat deeper than
Peter's but the timbre was unmistakable, "We spoke on the phone yesterday?
You told me to be here at 10:30?" he left the question hanging, as he
stared meaningfully at the door, that still blocked his entry into the
house.

   "Yes, sorry, please come in," Aunt Em said, suddenly jerked out of her
morbid observations, as she led the heavily limping man into the living
room.  "Wait out there you two, until I say so." she said to Pete and
Ashley.  Aunt Em sat on the couch, as the man sat in the large chair next
to the coffee table, his left leg stiffly jutting out, the knee barely
bending at all.

   "I'm assuming by your invitation, that everything I told you checked
out?" he said, with a slight grimace, as he pulled his left leg into a
proper seated angle.  Aunt Em only nodded, as she studied his face, "Here
is everything I have, to prove what I said." he said softly, as he dug a
thick envelope out of his back pocket, and placed it on the coffee table.

   Pete and Ashley sat at the kitchen table for nearly an hour, hearing the
muted conversation in the living room, when finally they heard Aunt Em call
them in.  When they came into the room, they were greeted by the strange
man, standing next to the chair, leaning on his cane, with a look of
apprehension on his face.  Aunt Em was standing next to the couch, looking
down at the coffee table, which was strewn with papers.  "Peter,
Ashley..."she began, taking a deep breath, "I'd like you to meet Major
Michael Daniels." her voice was almost choked by the tears ringing her
eyes, "Peter...  This is your father..."

   The words struck Pete like a physical blow, the air rushed out of him in
a sharp gasp.  Suddenly the room began spinning around him, he couldn't
breathe, his ears were ringing like he'd been standing next to an
explosion. "Get out!" he screamed, tears running down his cheeks, as he
turned and staggered back to his bedroom.

   The slamming of the door behind him, told everyone in the house that
Pete wanted to be alone.  But for some reason, neither Aunt Em, nor Ashley
could understand, Mike refused to take his son's reaction sitting down.  "I
don't care if he tells me to go die afterward," he said quietly, his voice
taking on the edge of someone who was all too used to being listened to. 
"But before I leave here, he is going to know, that I did not simply
abandon him.  He deserves at least that much." he said, then picked up a
small stack of papers off the coffee table, and, not waiting for
permission, he began limping down the hallway.

   When he knocked on the door, he got no response, and so knocked again.
"Peter." he said, not trying to be gentle with his tone, "Either open the
door, and hear me out, or I'll take it off the hinges right now!"

   "Try it fucker!" came the reply through the door, "And I'll bust up your
other leg, you lying fuck!"

   When the door opened in Pete's face, he was stunned, to see Ashley there
with Mike, holding the door key in her hand.  "Listen to him Peter," she
begged, her heart in her eyes, "Please, for me." she knew, that with that
single plea, she could have expected Pete to raise himself from the grave
if she had asked him to.

   He pointed to the small desk chair in the corner of the room, his eyes
never leaving Mike's face, "You have five minutes to convince me," he said,
his voice was so cold it made Ashley shudder before she turned and bolted
down the hallway, "If I don't like what I hear, you either leave, or I make
you leave.  Got it?" he growled as he watched Mike sit down slowly, his
left leg sticking out stiffly.

   As it happened, it took quite a while longer than five minutes for Mike
to tell Pete everything he had to say.  After showing him a picture of a
much younger Mike, smiling with his arms wrapped around a very pregnant
Janice, Pete had grudgingly agreed to let Mike say his piece.  It took
nearly two hours to explain everything.  He had explained how Janice had
filed restraining orders against Mike, claiming domestic abuse, and how,
even though there was no evidence to prove he had ever hit her, they were
granted 'better safe than sorry' the judge had said.  He also went on to
tell Pete how, after begging to be allowed in his life, Janice had even
refused to put Mike's name on his birth certificate, simply to be spiteful.

   Mike had even tried to send money to Janice, simply to try and help, she
had sent the checks back, torn in half.  After every attempt to be allowed
into Pete's life had failed, Mike had signed on with the U.S.  Marine
Corps. Staying with them for fourteen years, through four tours in Iraq,
and Afghanistan with Force Recon, until an I.E.D.  had derailed his career.
He explained how, by the time he had gotten back from Basic Training, he
had tried to find Janice again, but she had left the small house he had
inherited from his father, and he had no idea where she had gone.  It
wasn't until a year ago, that he even knew she was still alive, in fact. 
He had been living in Virginia, recovering from his injuries, when he had
gotten a call from the state prison board.  It seems that even though
Janice had claimed to hate him, she had left him as her medical proxy, and
they asked him to come home, because she was being given a compassionate
release, apparently the brain tumor had come in under the radar, and by the
time the doctor had detected it, she had only had a few weeks left.

   There were tears in his eyes, as Mike explained to Pete, how she had
laughed, as she told him what she had done to him.  He had had no idea that
Pete had been so mistreated, and he began to cry openly as he tried to make
him understand, that no one had ever even tried to contact him on Pete's
behalf.  There was, Pete knew, nothing for him to apologize for, he had
honestly tried everything he could.  And suddenly Pete felt very ashamed
for how he had acted toward this man.  Finally, Mike came to the single
point, he had wanted to make, before everything simply came spilling out.

   "Peter..." he began, his voice seemed oddly tentative, as he looked
across the room at his son.  "Even though your mother refused to accept my
help in raising you, and even though I had no idea how I was going to find
you," his eyes had a deep sadness, and regret in them as he said that, "I
want you to know, I never stopped thinking about you.  I never stopped
wondering what kind of man you were going to become.  I'm just sorry that I
didn't get to play any part in it, because, despite what I know happened,
and what I can only assume happened after, you turned out to be a much
better man than I ever was." his smile was full of pride, as he looked at
Pete, sad of course that he had been forced out of his life, but proud none
the less, for the type of person he had become despite it.

   "The only reason I wanted to meet you Peter, was to make sure Janice
hadn't ruined you, after I heard about all of that," his voice was heavy,
as he recalled her snide laughter, as she saw the look of shocked horror on
his face, after she callously admitted to trying to kill her own son, "And
I just wanted to give you this." he placed a small blue booklet down on his
bed, and slowly got to his feet.  "I'll leave you alone now Peter," there
were heavy tears in his eyes, as he looked at his son, for what he knew,
was going to be the last time, "But just remember son, your dad never
stopped loving you, even though I was never allowed to show you how much."
And he slowly, heavily, limped out of the house.

   Pete sat in silence, his heart heavy, and his mind a whirling mess, as
he slowly digested everything his father had told him.  Everything he had
said about Pete's mother, was absolutely accurate, she had been, an evil,
spiteful, bitch, and, even though there was a slight shame behind it,
simply knowing she had died, alone, and in pain, made Pete feel better,
almost as if karma actually worked.  He shook himself out of his morbid
revelry, as he saw Ashley and Aunt Em walk into the room.

   "Everything alright Peter?" Ashley asked cautiously, she was afraid he
would be angry at her for letting Mike into the room with him.

   "Everything is fine sweetie" he replied with a genuine smile, "He
honestly had no idea what had happened.  And...  I dunno...  I wanted to be
mad at him, I really did.  I wanted him to try and give me excuses, so I
could hate him.  But all he wanted me to know was that, even though he
wasn't allowed to show me, he never stopped loving me." Pete honestly
didn't know what to feel, this whole morning was just far too surreal for
him to really process it all.

   "Holy shit Peter!" Ashley exclaimed, as she flipped through the small
blue booklet Mike had left on their bed, "You need to look at this!" she
said, passing the book over to him.

   The book was a deposit record, that dated all the way back to Pete's day
of birth!  On the day he had been born, his father had deposited $500 into
a savings account for him.  And the deposits continued on, gaining in size,
every month, until a year ago.  They had figured the deposits had stopped,
right after Mike found out that there was almost no way he would ever find
his son.  But the total balance in the account, was over $240,000.  In the
back of the book, in a scrawling hand, was a message written to Pete from
his father.  'Hey there son; I opened this account for you today.  I hope,
when you're old enough to ask, your mother tells you about me.  Even if she
doesn't, the bank has orders that this book be mailed to you on your 18th
birthday, so at least you'll know, your dad might not have been allowed to
be there for you, but he never stopped thinking about, or loving you.  I
hope some day I can at least get to give you a hug son, but if I can't, I
hope you can forgive me for not being there like I wished I could have
been. I love you son, and I always will.  Love; Your Daddy, Mike.'

   "I know you know, Aunt Em," Peter said suddenly, as tears were
unashamedly tracing down his cheeks, "Where does he live?" his voice was
firm, and there was a tone of command in it that neither Amelia nor Ashley
had ever heard before.  "He deserves at least a chance to be a dad.  My
mother stole that from him, I want to give it back to him."

   An hour later, Ashley and Peter pulled up in front of an old, though
well maintained, house, on one of the avenues in the historical district of
the town.  It was one of those neighborhoods that had obviously been there
as long as the town had.  Most of the houses were colonial, with huge
yards, and incredibly old landscaping such as old growth oaks, and elms, or
hedges so dense they may as well have been brick walls.  The smaller homes
were the types of houses that the original owners had probably built to
house servants, and were now simply tiny plots of property that checkered
the edges of the larger properties.  It seemed that they were none too soon
in getting there either.  As they jumped out of the car, they watched as
Mike tossed a duffel bag into the trunk of his beat up old Toyota.

   "Hey old man!" Peter said, his voice firm, almost as if he intended to
start screaming at Mike, "You forgot something when you left!" A couple of
swift strides brought Peter right up in front of his father, who was
standing there, his face numb, almost accepting, of what he thought was
about to happen.  Peter could see it in his face, he was waiting for the
storm he felt his visit would bring.  Peter simply smiled, and wrapped his
huge arms around his father's shoulders and hugged him.  "You forgot to
give me the hug you said you hoped for." he whispered, as tears started
down his cheeks again.

   Mike was floored, for nearly eighteen years, he had wanted this, he had
simply wanted to hug his son, and now, as he finally wrapped his arms
around Peter, he began to cry.  He cried for all of the years they had
lost, and for the pain his only son had had to endure at Janice's hands, he
cried, because even though he had hoped his son might one day forgive him,
he never really thought he would.  The hug tightened fiercely, as Mike's
emotions ran roughshod through him, and the tears continued to stream down
his cheeks.  Finally, after a lifetime of regret and misery, he was hugging
his son!

   After a few minutes, the hug finally ended, as both men pulled away from
the embrace.  Peter turned to see Ashley, standing there with tears in her
eyes, and a huge smile on her lips, staring at both of them.  "Dad..." he
said hesitantly, trying to get a feel for the word, "I'd like you to meet
Ashley Waters.  My fiance." as he held his arm out for her, to include her
in this moment, he had never thought he'd have.  When Ashley extended her
hand to Mike, he shocked them both, by pulling them both back into a tear
filled hug.

                           Epilogue

   Pete and Ashley were married, in a small ceremony in front of a local
justice of the peace, two weeks before they were to leave for school. 
Surprising all of them, Mike had decided to sell the small house he had
been living in in Virginia, and move back home, and so, dressed in full
Marine Dress Blues, he got to watch his son, place a ring on the finger of
the girl, he loved more than anything in the world.

   Their time in college was, for the most part, a decent experience,
though Pete did almost get expelled in his junior year, after hoisting a
guy who was known for sexually harassing girls on campus, up by his throat,
and threatening to break his neck, after he had groped Ashley's breasts. 
In truth though, it was his own fault, he was stupid enough to do it right
in front of her husband.  Ashley graduated with honors from the school of
performing arts, and though she was being offered positions in several
prestigious orchestras across the country, the fact that she was four
months pregnant with their first child, made it easy for her to turn down
the offers graciously.

   Pete, graduated Summa Cum Laude, with a double degree in Organic
Chemistry, and Electrical Engineering, was already offered several high
paying jobs in both fields.  The offer he accepted however, was from a
smaller firm, specializing in creating new technologies in computers.  His
degree in engineering, and his almost instinctive ability to think far
beyond the norm, made the offer, though slightly lower in pay than the
larger firms, almost a no brainer.  This was the kind of work, he was born
to do.  The fact that the company was less than sixty miles from their home
town, only made things that much simpler.

   Using the money his father had saved for him, Pete and Ashley bought a
modest home, with three bedrooms, and a large back yard, where a happy
Brooklyn, and an older, fatter, but just as happy Broadway, could play. 
Hudson had passed away, quite peacefully, one night near Christmas, when
Pete and Ashley had been home visiting, and while it was sad for everyone,
they all knew he had died happy, having got to see Ashley one last time
before he did.

   Their first child was born, on October twelfth, a healthy, happy, baby
boy, that had his father's olive skin, but his mother's gray eyes.  There
was absolutely no question about what they were going to name him, and so,
with Aunt Em, and Mike, in the room after the birth, and with Ashley
contentedly nursing their son, Pete introduced them to William Arthur
Daniels.

   Life had dealt both Pete, and Ashley terrible hands.  They were forced
to walk through crucibles that would have destroyed most adults, when they
were only children.  But, like Aunt Em had told Ashley all those years
before, "There are no perfect people, only people who's pieces fit
perfectly together".  Pete and Ashley found out their broken pieces fit,
and because they found each other, their broken pieces became something
unbreakable.