Jeremy
I’d watched him sleep.
Eventually, I’d nodded off somewhere in the middle of the night, because I’d woken up wrapped around him when the first nightmare struck. After that, sleep wasn’t an option. It was the same terrifying cycle all over again.
He’d be calm for an hour or so, but then he’d start to move and shift. After a few minutes, the dreams would turn crazy and stressful, and he started to talk about the kidnapping again or me in prison. Somehow it all got mixed up in his head, but I probably should have expected that.
I had, but I’d hoped I would be wrong.
I hated being right.
He’d woken up groggy and out of sorts and couldn’t understand why. I’d just made us some breakfast and then put us both back to bed. I wasn’t going to get any work done until everything was settled, and his class wasn’t until later, so it was the best thing I could think of.
By the time he needed to go, we were both feeling more human. I told him I would call Dr. Sheppard while he was in class. I was hoping he’d be able to concentrate, but I think his goal was just to be a body in the seat, so his absence wouldn’t be noticed. Either way, it gave him something to do other than worry and pace around the apartment.
“You’re sure he said we should call from his office?” Kevin’s voice was quiet, but I could hear the stress he was trying to hide.
“Yes. He was really clear about that. He said we should come in after your class.” I thought he was worried because it wasn’t like we had any parents we could call and ask for help. He knew the situation better than anyone and had immediately connected the dots.
I knew there wasn’t anything he would be able to do if the conversation with the police started going bad, but at least he’d be able to give Kevin good advice and maybe even help him find a lawyer. It was more than a therapist should do, but I knew there was no way he’d leave us to fight through things alone.
“Are you sure you should have brought me?” Maddox piped up from the back seat, almost teasingly. We’d been sitting in the car for the last five minutes and hadn’t gotten out yet. Kevin knew putting it off wasn’t going to change the outcome of the call, but I was hoping it would make him more ready.
Hell, I wasn’t ready to go in either.
“Yes, Bryan’s already at work and I told him you guys knew. There’s no way he’s expecting you to stay home and let Bryan worry about this on his own.” Maddox and Bryan had called throughout the day, checking to see if we were okay. When Bryan had gone into work, I’d known right away we couldn’t make Maddox stay behind. They were kind of a package deal—especially when things got stressful.
His hands reached out and grabbed our shoulders. “I’m here for you guys too. Don’t forget that.”
Maddox’s phone signaled again, so he sat back in the seat. I had to smile. “What’s Bryan saying now?”
“That if we don’t get our asses out of the car he’s going to tell Michelle on us.” Maddox’s face tightened and he looked a little like he’d eaten a lemon. “She’s going to lose it. Not only is she not here to help, because that’s going to make her nuts, but we didn’t even text her.”
Michelle was still on her cruise for a few more days and even though they could text her, they’d decided not to. Well, not unless we all needed bail money. Or a lawyer. Or both. Yup, we were going to end up calling her. I just hoped she wasn’t too mad that Kevin turned Bryan to the dark side and had gotten him to evade the police.
She might not think that part was funny.
Kevin squeezed my hand and let it go, reaching for the door handle. “Might as well go in before he comes out here screaming at us. It wouldn’t look professional.”
Yeah, that was the biggest problem we had at this point.
He glanced back at me. “You have the paper, right?”
“Yes.” I had the paper, but I’d also taken a photo of it and backed it up to the cloud. I was slightly paranoid, but I’d seen too many Law and Order shows to not take evidence seriously.
Taking Kevin’s cue, we climbed out of the car and headed inside. Just as I’d pictured, Bryan was pacing around the waiting room pretending to straighten papers and clean up. The way the receptionist was watching him, he wasn’t fooling anyone. She had an indulgent smile on her face but her usual cheer was missing, so it was clear he was making her worry.
“I’m sorry we’re late.” Kevin took Bryan’s hand, then dropped his voice lower. “I just had a hard time getting out of the car.”
Bryan nodded. “It feels like time is standing still there.”
The receptionist must have sent a message to Dr. Sheppard or maybe we were just that loud, because he came out in seconds. “Hello, gentlemen. Maddox, it’s good to see you.”
Maddox had moved to stand right behind Bryan as soon as we’d walked in, so shaking hands was awkward, but they made it work. Dr. Sheppard looked around at the four of us before addressing Kevin and me. “Do you want to have Bryan and Maddox in the room, or are they waiting out here while you make the call?”
Considering we’d already made them accomplices, having them wait outside was probably silly. Kevin gave the first smile I’d seen him crack all day and looked over at the guys, so he must have thought it was ridiculous too. “Come on, you’re already accessories after the fact or something. Might as well see what happens firsthand.”
The four of us laughed awkwardly—too much stress—but Dr. Sheppard just started leading us back to his office. Normally, he thought we were funny even if he didn’t admit it. He had a dry sense of humor that didn’t come out very often and most of the time, we could only get him to crack the barest hint of a smile. Our best guess was that he thought it wasn’t professional to laugh at his clients. Imagine that. Walking into the office with a serious expression, it was clear he was just as worried as we were.
The setup of the room was a little bit different. The chairs were circled tightly around a small coffee table and Dr. Sheppard had stretched his desk phone over, so it was in the middle of the group. We were all quiet as we filed in and took our seats.
Digging the paper out of my pocket, I set it on the table and reached for Kevin’s hand. It was clammy and shaking, but he was taking deep breaths and fighting off the panic. He looked over at Dr. Sheppard and then glanced back down at the phone. “You want me to use this one?”
It was a ridiculous question we already knew the answer to, but it was just his way of trying to put it off for a few more minutes. Dr. Sheppard didn’t even blink; he took the question in stride and answered it like it was perfectly reasonable.
“Yes, the landline would be best.”
Dr. Sheppard didn’t elaborate, but Maddox jumped in. “So it would be easier to prove you were listening if another witness was needed? And I’m assuming so you can start recording it if that becomes necessary? Virginia is only a one-party notification state.”
Dr. Sheppard nodded, but the rest of us looked at Maddox like he was an alien or something. Kevin laughed. “Changing majors or something? Going for a law degree?”
Maddox blushed. It was the only time I’d ever seen him react that way. “I didn’t sleep very well last night, and planning seemed like the best idea. I also have the names of several top lawyers and some interesting printouts of laws regarding consensual sexual activity.”
We all laughed, but Dr. Sheppard nodded and gave an understanding smile. “Having information in a stressful situation can be helpful. But sleep would have been a good idea as well instead of staying up all night looking things up online.”
Some of the tension had evaporated, so when Kevin reached for the phone, the fear running rampant inside me wasn’t as bad as it had been a minute ago. Dr. Sheppard hit several buttons on the phone and a dial tone came out of the speaker. “There you go. Just dial the number now.”
Once he started pushing the buttons, I was finally calm. I think it was the realization that we’d made the decision, and that we were going to handle it. Whatever it was. I’d had the same feelings when I’d finally accepted that we would have to move out and leave the house. There had still been the issues about how I felt for Kevin, but just having made that one decision put everything into focus.
The phone rang several times before a deep voice answered. “Detective Davison.”
Dr. Sheppard straightened up in his seat and looked at the phone. But there wasn’t time to focus on him because Kevin charged right in. “This is Kevin Abrams. I’m returning your call.”
We’d decided to completely ignore the fact that Kevin had sent the guy on a wild goose chase, hoping that the cop wasn’t mad enough to bring it up. I could hear the phone moving on the other end, and it took a second for the cop to respond. “Thank you for returning my call. I want to apologize again for upsetting you. It wasn’t until I did some additional research that I understood your previous situation and realized my showing up might have come across more stressful than I’d intended.”
Weirdest conversation with a cop ever.
Kevin looked at me, confused, and I shrugged. I had no idea what to say to the guy. Kevin looked back at the phone and cleared his throat before responding. “Um, yeah, it’s just that…well…sorry.” Trying to clear his head or maybe get rid of some of the stress, he took a deep breath and reached for my hand. “What can I do for you, Detective?”
“We recently received a phone call from an anonymous individual that alleged some very specific activities. While there is some question about the validity of the information, the department is still required to speak to you and see if any of the allegations are correct and require legal action. Let me be very clear, though. The department has no desire to become unnecessarily involved in private matters. Think of this primarily as a welfare check.” The detective paused, and I wasn’t sure what to think of the way he’d worded his statement.
“Um, I’m fine. I’m not sure what anyone told you, but there’s nothing wrong.” Kevin looked at me and squeezed my hand, understandably confused and probably relieved.
What the hell had the anonymous caller said?
“Is there a time where you would be able to speak with me in person?” The detective spoke evenly, and I could tell he was trying to make Kevin more comfortable, but the idea of Kevin meeting with him had my stomach churning.
“Um…” Kevin’s voice trailed off, and he stared at the phone.
Dr. Sheppard reached over and hit the mute button. “Kevin, is it all right if I speak with the detective? I think I can help.”
Kevin nodded, clearly relieved to have the problem taken out of his hands. I was too because I wasn’t sure what the fuck was going on, and I was starting to move from panicked to angry. Pressing the button again, Dr. Sheppard took control of the conversation.
“Detective Davison? My name is Dr. Sheppard. I am the therapist for Kevin and Jeremy Abrams. Kevin asked me to be with him when he made the phone call because he wasn’t sure what the exact nature of the questions would be.” Dr. Sheppard said it calmly and with his usual understanding tone, but I wasn’t expecting it to work so well on the cop too.
“Oh, Dr. Sheppard.” There was a short, awkward pause before he continued, “Would it be possible for me to meet them both at your office? If they’re agreeable, I think that would be best for all involved.”
Dr. Sheppard looked at us and we both nodded. I felt safer doing it here, and something about the way the detective responded to the doctor made me think having a professional on our side was the way to go. “Yes, they’re fine with that. I can adjust my schedule to work around yours, Detective, what works best for you?”
“Doctor, is this a conversation we should have today, or is later in the week acceptable? I understand you can’t tell me anything specific, but if this is something that needs to happen immediately, I can rearrange my plans.” The cop paused, waiting to hear what Dr. Sheppard said.
Weird.
“Waiting until the end of the week is fine. The boys are in no danger.” Then he smiled at us. “Unless you count their stress levels.”
“I apologize about that. Please convey my apologies, and let them know that upsetting them was not the department’s intentions.” There was another quick pause and then he continued. “And off the record, please let them know that the department does not interfere unless laws have been broken or someone is in danger. Privacy and consent are important.”
Papers shuffled around in the background, and I pictured him sitting at a messy desk surrounded by files and reports. “How does Friday afternoon sound? This same time?”
All four of us nodded like little dolls, and Dr. Sheppard smiled. “That will work fine. Thank you, Avery. We will see you on Friday.”
“Perfect, I’ll see you then.” The phone disconnected, and Dr. Sheppard hit the button to end the call.
“That was weird. I mean, that’s not how things go on TV.” Bryan looked around at us. “Right? I can’t be the only one who thought that was strange.”
“Oh yeah, not how I expected things to go.” Kevin looked at me, clearly still uneasy.
Dr. Sheppard spoke up. “Detective Davison works in a special department that handles family and domestic issues. I think what he was trying to say was that the police didn’t think the person on the phone was credible for whatever reason, but they still needed to make sure Kevin wasn’t in danger. His behavior made the detective realize he handled it wrong, and he is trying to make sure you understand he’s not here to involve the police in a consensual adult relationship.”
We just looked at Dr. Sheppard, still confused. Bryan on the other hand, sat up straighter and looked around the room, one word popping out before he slammed his mouth shut. “Avery.”
Dr. Sheppard lifted one brow, but Bryan kept his lips glued shut and tried to look innocent. He still wasn’t very good at it. “Yes, I do my best to respect everyone’s privacy whether they are a patient of mine or not. However, because Detective Davison made it clear he didn’t need directions and the way he worded his statements, I feel confident that he will be fine with my acknowledging our mutual familiarity with one another. Once he understood I was working with Kevin and Jeremy, he understood more about what he was becoming involved in and realized that I would let him know if Kevin was in danger.”
Did that mean the cop was kinky or just that he knew about the lifestyle?
He was clearly familiar enough with Dr. Sheppard to grasp that we didn’t exactly have a traditional relationship. I just wished I knew more about what he would think of our situation. “Do we need to worry about the meeting on Friday?”
All four of us watched Dr. Sheppard closely, and he smiled again. I had a picture in my head of puppies following something on a TV screen and wondered what Dr. Sheppard thought of us. I would have loved to have known what was going through his mind. He shook his head. “No, I would have told you that right away if I’d known who you were speaking with.”
There was a collective sigh of relief. It felt like a brick house had just been lifted off my shoulders. Kevin’s hand relaxed and his hold felt more loving and less panicked. “Thank you for letting us call from here. I know you had to rework some appointments, but we appreciate it.”
“It’s not a problem, Jeremy. I’m glad you came to me. Detective Davison would have eventually understood, but this will make it easier on everyone. Depending on the nature of the allegations, no matter who called it in, making sure you were both safe would have been his primary goal. Your private life, as long as it was consensual, wouldn’t have mattered to him.”
“Not everyone would have understood.” Kevin leaned back in the chair, relieved but not completely relaxed. “If it were someone else, it might not have gone this well.”
Dr. Sheppard nodded. “You’re right. That is not an unreasonable fear. Just try not to focus on the constant stream of what-ifs.”
Kevin looked over at me. “We have to talk to her and see what she wants. That’s the only reason she would have called. She wants something.”
“Something big.”
Fuck.