The Hooligan

by austin

Part 11

Nate sat shivering and dripping in the back seat of the car.

“What were you doing out there?” Brandon asked.

Nate wondered why he cared. “Dunno,” Nate responded.

The car continued to wind its way along the river road. Rain flashed in front of the brights and the windshield wipers flapped back and forth, keeping a mesmerizing tempo.

“Well, where were you headed?”

“Dunno,” Nate mumbled.

The girl in the front seat flipped on the radio. Some lighthearted reggae station, rather ironic music for the situation, Nate felt.

“Want us to take you home then?”

“Dunno.”

“Christ,” Brandon said in frustration. The girl turned around and smiled at Nate. “I’m Sarah, by the way.”

Nate stared back.

“You’re soaking my backseat,” she said, then patted Nate on his knee and turned her attention back to the road. “Guess we’ll just take you to my house then. You can hang out with us.”

Brandon groaned audibly from the front seat, looking at Sarah in frustration.

With the heat blasting out of the vents and turning the car into a steamy sauna, Nate had started to warm up by the time the car pulled up beside a foreign house Nate did not recognize. The house was on the edge of the state park and, for the back yard, enjoyed a forest that, for the moment, was deep, dark, and ominous.

The three made it quickly inside, trying to avoid getting soaked by the pouring rain. Nate stood just inside the front door, still wet, the occasional drip bouncing onto the hardwood floor. Sarah and Brandon removed their coats and hung them up on a hook that was nailed to the wall. Brandon shot a glare at Nate, then stomped into the living room, flipping on the television and leaving Sarah and Nate alone. Nate looked up at Sarah. She was quite a bit taller than Nate, most definitely a junior or senior, especially if she was driving. Sarah had struck an inquisitive pose, her hand on her chin rubbing softly, as she assessed Nate’s situation.

“I think you need a shower,” she finally said.

Nate shrugged.

“Yes, come with me.” Sarah held out her hand. Nate stared at it, not sure what she wanted him to do. Hold it? Was he three? “Come on now,” she coaxed.

Deciding it was best not to refuse a stranger’s kindness in a stranger’s house, Nate grudgingly took the hand and allowed himself to be led through the kitchen, a thickly carpeted dining room, a twisted mass of dimly lit hallways, and finally to a bathroom: grandiose and clean.

“Nice house,” Nate commented quietly.

“Oh, you talk?”

“Occasionally.”

Sarah smiled down at Nate and lightly tousled his hair. “I think you are so cute!”

Nate rolled his eyes and wanted to die, or at least disappear. The bathroom was cold and he started to shiver.

Sarah let a sly smile creep onto her face. Even though it was just her and Nate in the bathroom, she leaned down, lowered her voice and whispered in Nate’s ear, “My parents are gone, so Bran and I were going to have a bit of fun, but I think we can have some fun with you here too.”

Nate wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. “Thanks?” he whispered back.

“But first, you need to warm up and get all cleaned up. And…” Sarah appraised Nate with her eyes, looking him slowly up and down, “get out of those, um, disgusting clothes. You don’t normally dress like this, do you?”

Nate felt his face warm up despite his cold exterior. “No,” he responded softly.

“Good,” Sarah said with a wink. “The towels are right there,” she gestured toward the far wall of the bathroom. “Don’t take too long.”

Sarah left, leaving Nate alone in the bathroom. Feeling colder now that Sarah was gone, Nate wasted no time turning on the water. It took him a while to decipher the handles, trying to figure out just how to turn on the hot water. Why is it that shower controls are all so different? After playing about with the knobs for a bit, the water finally started to warm and was soon filling the bathroom with steam. Nate quickly stripped off the too-small pants and worn shirt and immediately felt better. Stepping into the tub, Nate quickly jumped back from the scalding streams, hopping about while he fumbled with the knobs, trying desperately to calm the boiling water. Nate twisted the knobs about and let out a relieved sigh when he felt the water cool. But it continued to cool and cool and soon it was freezing. Nate groaned loudly. He backed up against the chilly tile wall trying to evade the frigid pellets of water that reminded him of the rain he had just escaped. After contemplating the three knobs that controlled the rebellious temperature of the water for a moment, Nate finally understood their mysterious code. He adjusted them properly and the water cooperated, becoming comfortable at last. Nate breathed a deep sigh of relief, feeling much better as the soothing water poured over his tired body.

Thinking over the last two days, Nate could barely comprehend all that had happened. His life had entered a state of limbo. Onto a narrow precipice Nate had been climbing the last few months and he had the sinking feeling that his fragile standing was about to crumble. Nate felt homeless and lost and here he was in a strange girl’s house taking a shower. Even in his wildest dreams Nate doubted he could have predicted a situation like this from the sanctuary of his old neighborhood. Yet here he was and it was very much a reality. He definitely was taking a shower in a strange house.

Nate borrowed some of the various soaps and shampoos that lined the ledge of the tub. They were all very girly. Strange fragrances like cucumber melon and dandelion breeze. Nate sniffed the cucumber melon body wash and couldn’t for the life of him decipher one bit of cucumber or melon in the complex aroma. It seems they had created a new smell for cucumber. Everyone thought it smelled like cucumber because the label told them it smelled like cucumber, but if you were to smell a real cucumber then smell that body wash, there would not be any similarity, Nate was sure of it. He squirted some of it on his hand anyways and took his time sudsing up his tired body. After was thoroughly cucumbered and meloned, he gave his hair a good dose of dandelion breeze shampoo. The only relation to real dandelions was the picture on the front of the bottle. Oh well, it did smell nice. Girls and their weird fragrances.

After rinsing off all the cleansing foam that covered his body, Nate wrestled with the knobs again and turned the shower off with relatively little resistance. He stepped out of the shower and grabbed one of the towels, which were thick and comfy. Looking through the steam that had filled the bathroom, Nate saw that his clothes had mysteriously disappeared. He looked behind the toilet, in the cabinets, but his clothes were most definitely gone. Seeing no other way out, Nate wrapped himself in the towel. Making sure that his privates were adequately and safely covered, Nate slowly opened the door and peered out into the dark hallway. He listened carefully, but only heard the TV sputtering nonsense from the living room.

“Sarah?” he said.

Nothing.

“Sarah?” Nate said a little bit louder.

Nothing.

“Sarah?” Nate yelled.

Nothing.

Groaning in frustration, Nate left the safety of the bathroom and stepped into the significantly colder hallway. He navigated the maze of hallway and soon found himself in the kitchen. There was still no sign of either Sarah or Brandon.

“Sarah? Brandon?” He tried again. Still nothing.

Nate peaked his head into the living room and saw Sarah sitting on the couch, relaxed, the colorful flashes of the television screen illuminating her in odd intervals.

“Hey,” Nate said.

Sarah looked up at him and smiled.

“Do you know what happened to my clothes?”

“Yes.”

Nate wrapped the towel closer around his body. “What?”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll need those anymore. Here,” Sarah patted the couch next to her. “Come sit down.”

Acutely aware of his lack of clothing, Nate was hesitant to comply, but decided he had little choice. Where else was he to go? He walked over and gingerly sat down, readjusting the towel as he settled.

Sarah patted his leg. “So, I heard you had an accident at school today?”

Nate felt his stomach sink and he momentarily felt sick.

“Is that true?”

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Nate nodded.

“It just so happens,” Sarah looked at Nate and smiled, “my brother has the same little problem as you. He’s a little younger than you, though.”

Nate started shivering, wondering where this was going to go. He felt very vulnerable, just wrapped in a towel. “How old?” Nate croaked, his voice not working properly in his nervous fright.

“Hmm?” Sarah had turned her attention back to the TV.

“How old is your brother?”

“Oh, he’s eight.”

Nate nodded. “I’ve got two younger brothers. Ten and six.”

“They wet their pants too?”

Nate cleared his throat again, feeling more uncomfortable about the situation every moment.

“Paul does, sometimes. He’s six.”

“And how old are you?”

“Fourteen,” Nate whispered. The fact the she was obviously comparing him to her eight-year-old brother and his youngest brother caused him to shrink in embarrassment.

Sarah again patted his thigh comfortingly. “It’s okay, Nate.”

Suddenly, Nate felt choked up and his vision started to blur as tears flooded his eyes. Consequently, his nose started to run, and Nate sniffled in loudly.

“Oh, are you crying?” Sarah asked softly.

Nate looked away in embarrassment. He felt Sarah’s arm around his shoulders and allowed himself to be pulled in securely to her bosom. It felt so nice and he cried and cried. All the stress of the last two days, of the last two months seemed to want to pour out. At some point, Sarah adjusted the towel so that Nate was crying into the towel and not her shirt, which had started to get a little wet. She rubbed his back softly and mumbled comforting words into his ear and Nate felt more loved than he had felt in a long time. It had been a long while since his mother had held him this way, a long while since he’d let her.

Eventually, his tears ran dry and he just leaned against Sarah, snugly in her embrace.

“Sorry,” he said.

Sarah just smiled and winked at him.

“Where’s Brandon?” Nate suddenly asked, realizing that he hadn’t heard or seen his hooligan friend since the shower.

“Oh, he stomped out a while ago. He didn’t like the fact that you were here. Brandon can be such a baby sometimes.”

That was both good and bad news. It was nice that he was gone. However, it also meant that Brandon was mad at Nate and Nate knew if one valued his wellbeing, having Brandon on your bad side was a serious risk to one’s health.

Sarah must have sensed his discomfort. “Don’t worry about him. He won’t bother you.”

There was a bit of silence as Nate and Sarah stared blankly at the television. Finally Nate, realizing again his lack of clothing, asked if there was something he could wear.

“Well, not really, to be honest,” Sarah responded. “All my stuff would be too big, and I doubt you’d want to wear girly stuff anyways, although you do smell really nice.” Nate blushed as Sarah took a big sniff of his hair. “And, I think my brother’s clothes might be a bit small for you. You just might have to stay naked.”

Now that he had cried out all of his frustration and embarrassment, Nate started to feel a little bit excited about the situation.

“Actually,” Sarah said, suddenly sitting up strait. “I have an idea.” Sarah stood up and smiled down at Nate with a wink. “Don’t move, okay?”

Nate, confused, just nodded. “Ok.”

Sarah bounded out of the room, through the dining room and kitchen, and down the hallway. Nate heard her rummaging about in the back of the house. After a moment, he heard her returning. She reappeared in the living room and stuck out her hand at Nate.

“Come with me.”

Nate slowly stood up, careful to make sure the towel was staying securely wrapped around his body. He let Sarah take his hand. Through the dining room and kitchen she led him, down the dark hallway, past the bathroom still smelling of cucumber, melon, and dandelion breeze. She stopped outside of a door at the end of the hallway and flipped on the light inside the room. Sarah pulled Nate inside and he could tell immediately that it was her little brother’s room. It was decorated with a baseball décor. The St. Louis cardinal was frozen at bat on several places around the room, baseball mitts, bases, cards. The comforter that covered the bed was a quilt patched together with the logos of all the major league teams. It was a pretty cool room, Nate had to admit.

“You sit on the bed,” Sarah directed. Nate gingerly took a seat, recognizing immediately the crackle of a plastic sheet protecting the mattress.

“What are we doing in here?” Nate asked softly.

Sarah knelt down in front of Nate. “Well Nate,” she began, speaking in a soothing, quiet voice. Her hand patted his leg again. “I’m thinking that it’s a little too late for you to go home tonight, and so, if you are going to stay here, I can’t have you getting everything all wet, if you know what I mean.”

Nate did and he blushed heavily. Outside, thunder cracked loudly, reminding them that the storm was still raging outside. Nate jumped slightly at the loud crash.

“Kind of scary out there, huh?” Sarah asked.

Nate could tell she was treating him like a little boy, but found that he didn’t mind. He nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed.

“So what I’m thinking,” Sarah continued, pushing Nate gently but firmly back until he was laying on the bed his legs hanging off the side, “is that my brother’s pretty big for his age and, well, the diapers he wears to bed would probably fit you.”

There it was, out in the open. Nate felt his heart speed up. He lay on the bed just staring up at Sarah in the soft light, his hands by his side. Nate was completely out of familiar territory, just living, pure living. A nervous excitement washed over him as he had the feeling that something exceptional was about to happen.

“That way, you can sleep comfortably, not worrying about wetting the bed anymore, okay? ‘Cause I know you’re tired, Nate. I’ve no idea what you were doing out there in the storm tonight, but I can tell you’re going through a lot. In fact, I think you can tell me all about it after I get you ready for bed, okay?”

Nate nodded slightly. He felt feeble and childish under the mesmerizing tonality of Sarah’s soft voice.

“So I’m just going to need that towel now, okay?”

Nate nodded again, watching Sarah’s every move with wide, excited eyes.

She reached down and gently began to pull back the towel. With a little less than a yank, she left Nate lying naked as the day he was born. He didn’t dare move in case he break the spell, the energy, that had filled the room. He watched as Sarah glanced over his body briefly, then turned and opened the top drawer of an armoire, various kinds of baseball decals covering its finished surface, and pulled out what were obviously two cloth diapers and a bottle of oil.

Sarah turned and with a smile sat down next Nate. Nate shivered as he felt Sarah place her hand on his stomach.

“Not cold, am I?” She asked softly.

Nate shook his head, afraid to speak.

Sarah smiled again and ran her hand up to Nate’s chest and back down again. “Yes, you are just a boy, aren’t you?”

Nate blushed as the combination of her touch and the adventure in the air caused his boyhood to respond in excitement. He watched Sarah, curious to know what her response would be as he felt it quickly harden. She seemed to smile even wider.

“You like this, Nathan Argrow?” she whispered, using his full name.

Nate just blushed even more; knowing any attempt to speak would not succeed in producing any sound. He was in a dream, a fairytale.

“Lift up for me, will you?” Sarah asked, sliding her hand under Nate’s bottom and giving him a slight squeeze. Nate cooperated and Sarah slid both diapers under the boy. She patted his leg letting him know he could relax. As he lowered down, he felt the soft fabric of the diapers against his skin.

Sarah opened the oil bottle and, after squeezing some of the liquid out on her hand, proceeded to massage it into Nate’s groin. He shivered involuntarily in pleasure as her soft caress explored his most sensitive skin.

“Do you know what I learned in school?” Sarah asked as she massaged in the oil.

Nate could barely concentrate on what she was saying, but managed to squeak out a “what?”

“That boys can’t…how much do you weigh?”

“Uh, one hundred something? One ten, I think,” Nate got out in gasps as Sarah began to play absentmindedly with Nate’s boyhood.

“Hmm. Well, let’s find out.”

“Find out what?” Nate asked, confused.

“Well, in my biology class, we learned that…”

Sarah gave Nate’s hard boyhood a squeeze and he let out a squeak in response.

“That boys can’t cum until they reach one hundred and twenty pounds.”

Sarah intensified her treatment and Nate was overcome with sensations intense and delightful.

“And so, I say we do a science experiment.”

Nate felt a pressure building in his groin. If this was science, he was just fine with doing homework on a Friday night. Nate closed his eyes tightly shut. Something yearning to be released, almost like an intense urge to urinate and Nate felt his whole body tense. Tighter and stronger his body tensed and pleasure washed over him as he involuntarily convulsed amidst the relentless assault of Sarah’s hand grasping and manipulating his boyhood. His body shook several times and then he was spent, tired, breathing heavily. He settled back down on the soft fabric of the waiting cloth diapers.

“Science wins,” Sarah concluded. “No mess. You’re much cleaner to play with than Brandon.”

Nate felt a bit of shame creep into the satisfaction that had flooded his senses. Sarah had just confirmed his immaturity. His smallness, his boyness. Nate turned his head away from Sarah, feeling shame, lying on a strange bed, just a naked boy.

“Oh, come on,” Sarah said as she pulled the diaper up and snugly against Nate’s body. “It ain’t a bad thing. You’re much nicer and cooler than Brandon will ever be, believe me.”

Nate still kept looking away as Sarah pinned the diapers tight. He felt Sarah get up off the bed, returning a short moment later with something in her hand. Nate felt her pull something over his feet and up his legs.

“Up,” she commanded softly.

Again he lifted his middle and felt what must have been plastic pants safely encase the cloth diapers.

“There,” Sarah said in finality, “all finished.”

Nate turned and looked at her. He felt confused. It had been such a glorious experience, and yet here he was, feeling so shamed. He didn’t know what to make of it.

“You can sit up now.”

Nate did.

“Now you look so sad. That was supposed to cheer you up,” Sarah said softly as she sat down next to Nate, the bed crinkling.

“It was nice,” Nate whispered back. “Thank you.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“I just wish…I don’t know. I just wish so many things were different.”

“Like what?”

“I wish I was bigger. I’m still so…small. Too small for fourteen. I wish…I wish my mom weren’t so sad and stressed. I wish I hadn’t hurt David. I wish I had never run away. I wish I was just normal. I wish my family was normal. I want… my… dad… alive.”

Nate broke down into tears again. He sat there on the baseball bed, in just cloth diapers and plastic pants, and cried into Sarah’s embrace for the second time that night. She soothed him once again.

“You know what, Nate?”

“Huh?” Nate sniffled loudly.

“I can’t fix a thing, you know that. But I know what might help. I say we just go chill in the den and watch a good movie. I’ve got a good one that will make you laugh. That sound good?”

Nate nodded. “Yeah.”

Sarah stood up, again holding out her hand for Nate’s. Nate stood up, the diapers making their presence felt tightly around his middle. He let Sarah grip his hand and they made their way through the hallway, past the bathroom, the dining room and kitchen, and back into the living room where the TV was still flashing.

Nate sat on the couch and watched as Sarah put the movie in the player. She grabbed a blanket then sat down next to the diapered boy. Wrapping the blanket around both of them, Sarah pulled Nate in close. He pulled up his knees and snuggled against Sarah, feeling warmer and more contented in her embrace than at any other time he could remember.

“Comfortable?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Nate responded softly.

“Those diapers fit?”

“Yeah. A bit tight, maybe, but they are fine.”

“Well, I put two on you, and those are pretty thick,” Sarah reached her hand down and patted his diapered bottom.

Nate nodded in agreement.

“So you shouldn’t leak tonight.”

As opening credits started to roll on the movie, Nate and Sarah quieted down.

“I think you’re going to like this,” Sarah said with a smile.

Just then, a terribly loud crash shook the house. Sarah and Nate sat up strait.

“That wasn’t thunder,” Sarah whispered.

Gripped with sudden fright, the feeling that something wasn’t right, Nate felt a prick of fear travel down his spine.

Nate shook his head. “Sounded like glass,” he whispered back hoarsely.

The theme music from the movie rose to a crescendo, a bizarre circus music, avant-garde and dissonant. A monkey appeared on screen, a small red fez on his head, and proceeded to do a funny little dance.

Footsteps could be heard from the dining area. Slow, steady, and ominous.

“Oh god,” Sarah breathed. “Someone’s in the house.” They sat in frozen silence. Listening. Neither seemed to know what to do. The odd music and the footsteps. Nate wanted to move, wanted to run, but hadn’t the slightest idea where to go. Finally, Sarah seemed to snap out of her trance.

“Come on.” She grabbed Nate’s hand. She pulled him off the couch and they moved quickly and quietly out the other side of the den which led to another hallway, pitch black. Nate could barely make out the outline of steps obviously leading to the downstairs of the house. The two of them huddled in the shadow of the hallway and watched the living room.

The theme music continued to blare from the television, the flashes from the screen illuminating the room in bursts of white, blue, and red. A shadow first appeared in the opposite entrance to the room, then Brandon slowly entered. Dripping wet, his jet black hair slicked back, mud and wet leaves were caked on his dark clothing.

“Oh god,” Sarah gasped. “That crazy bastard.”

The music was loud enough that Brandon didn’t hear. He looked around the room slowly, dripping rain water on the carpet, then started to walk slowly right towards Nate and Sarah.

“Right behind us is the garage, okay,” Sarah whispered softly into Nate’s ear, her voice shaking with fear. “We’ve got to get out of here. Just follow me, okay?”

Brandon had reached the edge of the room. He was now just a silhouette, the erratic flashing of the television in the background. Nate was shaking with fear. Without the blanket or Sarah’s warmth, he felt cold in just a diaper. Nate could sense Sarah’s hand moving behind him, reaching for the door handle that led to the garage. Brandon was staring into the blackness, right at Sarah and Nate.

Suddenly, Sarah screamed, “NOW!” and flung the garage door open. Nate, in a split second, watched Brandon lunge forward, then turned and leapt out of the hallway and into the garage where Sarah was fiddling with the backdoor. She twisted the lock and flung the door open, the storm pouring in. A porch light was on next to the door and the wind could be seen mercilessly blowing the rain in through the narrow doorway. Nate followed on her heels as she dashed out into the elements. He turned back to see Brandon standing in the doorway.

“I’ll be waiting when you come back,” He yelled.

“Here, give me your hand,” Sarah shouted through the wind. She was looking back and running forward at the same time, reaching out her hand for Nate to take. He let her grab his hand and off the sprinted through the backyard and into the state park.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Nate yelled as they blindly, madly, made their way down a nearly pitch black trail.

“Away from him,” She yelled back.

The rain was lashing Nate’s mostly naked body. Neither he nor Sarah had shoes on and he could feel the unforgiving surface of the trail, covered with small, sharp rocks, pinecones, and mud, punishing the soles of his feat. Despite their breakneck speed, Nate could feel a menacing coldness seep into his skin with each hit of rain.

Up the short steep inclines, then down, up and down Sarah led Nate until finally they reached a circle of picnic tables in a clearing of trees. They slowed to a halt. Sarah fell to her knees in the mud, gasping for breath. Nate, in a similar state, walked around in small circles, his face upturned into the storm, trying desperately to fill his lungs. Pain shot up from his feet with every step, even in the soft mud of the clearing. After a few minutes, he slowed to a stop and looked at Sarah.

His eyes had adjusted to the dark and he could clearly see the older girl, still on her knees. Sarah’s hair was plastered against her face, her clothing soaked and clinging, clearly outlining her feminine body. And she was staring at Nate, rain water cascading over his body, naked except for the diapers and plastic pants (which, so far, had done an excellent job of keeping out the rain). They stared at each other for a long moment, deep in the dark state park, deep in the storm.

“That crazy bastard,” Sarah finally said.

“I can’t believe he broke into your house.” Nate’s voice, his body shivering heavily now, was a string of staccato bursts.

“Jesus, you’re going to die out here,” Sarah said.

“So are you,” Nate shivered. “Do you know your way out of here?”

Sarah looked around slowly. “No, not really.”

Nate just nodded. “Guess we should just keep moving.”

Sarah managed to stand up. She took a step and grimaced. It was obvious she was in as much pain as Nate was. Nate walked over to her and held out his hand. Her face, plastered with wet hair and caked with mud, broke out in a smile. She took his hand, and the two of them walked out of the clearing and on down the trail.

“This reminds me of a song,” Sarah said after a while of walking with just the pounding rain and occasional thunder for company.

“Oh?” Nate replied.

“Yeah, it’s one that my mom used to sing occasionally.”

“How’d it go?”

Sarah, after laughing slightly in embarrassment, said, “Ok, it went something like this,” and began to sing. Her voice was beautiful, haunting in the dark woods. Even in his utter discomfort, Nate began to feel a little better. Love of mine, have no fear. Even in the darkest storm, I will be near. And if I am gone, I won’t be for long. For it is you I love. Oh love of mine, do not cry. Even in the strongest winds, we can still fly. Forever by your side, forever until I die. For it is you I love.

Sarah trailed off and Nate swore he could hear her voice echoing throughout the woods.

“That was beautiful,” he said.

Sarah didn’t respond, just kept walking. “There,” she pointed ahead. “Lights.”

Sure enough, a dim string of lights had appeared ahead. A street. It did not take long to reach the edge of the trail and before they stepped onto the street, Nate paused. While this really wasn’t a time to be self-conscious, Nate couldn’t help but think about the sight they presented. A nearly naked, mud caked boy, clothed in a diaper, of all things, hand in hand with a soaking, pajama clad girl.

It was not a residential street they were on, but one of the roads that snaked through the park. Nate’s nervousness about their attire proved to be unfounded as no one seemed to be out driving through the park. Not sure which way led out of the park, they chose a direction and started walking. The pavement was easier on the bare feet than the trail, but still by no means comfortable. Nate’s body began to ache from a combination of the physical exertion and the cold. The storm was ruthless in its battering.

“I’m so cold,” Nate said after they had been walking for a quite some time down the empty road.

Sarah looked over at Nate, but didn’t respond.

Nate’s body began to ache even more and he found himself shivering more consistently and violently than before. Sarah seemed to notice and gave Nate’s hand a squeeze.

“You alright?”

“Fine, just cold,”

“You’re kind of pale,” Sarah observed. Even in the dim glow of the street lights, it was obvious that Nate had lost color. His lips had turned a deep purple.

“You’re not so colorful yourself,” Nate feebly shot back.

“Not as bad as you. This is not good. I’d give you my clothes, but I don’t think these would do you a bit of good.” Sarah squeezed her thin nightshirt and watched despondently as water dripped off. “That CRAZY bastard!” Sarah suddenly screamed, the frustration and fear of the night finally causing her to snap out of her calm behavior. “I can’t believe he broke into my house!”

Nate watched her, frightened, and took a couple of steps back.

Sarah reached down and took a handful of gravel from the shoulder of the road and flung it into the dark forest. The little rocks could be heard hitting the trees. Again, she screamed. Nate felt short of breath, but found he couldn’t breathe in deeply. They had stopped walking. Nate stood still, shaking, and watched as Sarah picked up handful after handful of gravel and threw it into the black abyss that lay beyond the glow of the streetlights. It seemed so pointless, but Nate didn’t have the energy to tell her this. Instead, he felt his legs decide to not hold him up anymore and he sat heavily on the wet, unforgiving pavement. Sarah noticed Nate’s collapse and stopped throwing gravel. She hurried over to the shaking, pale boy.

“Get up,” She commanded, holding out her hand.

Nate just stared at her hand. “No,” he said, “I can’t.” His whole body was shivering so violently that his voice came in short bursts, broken by the involuntary shaking.

“Well, you can’t stay here.”

Nate looked blankly up at her.

“Will someone PLEASE HELP US?!” Sarah screamed up into the darkness.

Almost as if on cue, a pair of headlights crested a hill in the distance.

“There,” Nate said, pointing feebly towards the pair of bobbing lights, dancing in between the trees.

The pair watched silently as the headlights wove their way closer. As the vehicle came nearer, Nate could see that it was in the jeep-like shape of the park patrol.

***********************

I sat with Mia in the kitchen. Our usual spot, both sipping coffee. It was way too late for caffeine, but Mia was determined to stay up until her boy was found. I wasn’t about to abandon her so we both drank the black liquid, mostly silent, watching the occasional flash of lightning light up the backyard.

Peter and Paul were soundly asleep in the living room. We’d let them stay up watching a movie and now they were stretched out on sleeping bags. Neither had been too interested in staying in a dark room by themselves so I’d suggested they camp out one room over.

I was just about to take a sip of Mrs. Taylor’s fantastic coffee when the phone rang shrilly, making both of us jump and causing me to spill some of the coffee on my shirt. Mia jumped up and grabbed the phone.

“Hello?” she said quickly into the phone. I watched as she listened intently, the phone pressed firmly to her ear. I saw Mia perk up as relief visibly flooder her face. “Oh, thank God. We’ll be right there.” She sat down and hung up the phone. She smiled tiredly at me. “They found him.”

I roused Peter and Paul and for the second time that night we left the house and headed to my car. The storm was letting up and the rain had significantly slowed down. We didn’t have to rush madly to the car which was nice because Paul was only half awake and not moving very quickly. He fell right back asleep as soon as I had him strapped into his car seat.

“Where are we going?” Peter asked groggily from the back seat.

“To pick up your brother,” Mia answered, unable to hide the relief she felt.

“Where is he?”

“The police station.”

“Why?”

“Peter,” I cut in. “How about you try to go back to sleep, okay? We’ll tell you the whole story when we know it ourselves.”

Mia shot me a look of gratitude. Peter grumbled something and directed his attention out the window. Deciding that some music might help Peter relax, I turned on the radio.

The police station wasn’t far and it wasn’t long before we pulled into the parking lot. I’d never had any reason to be at the station before and was surprised at how unaggressive it looked. Far from frightening, it actually looked humble.

“Guess we should take the boys in with us,” Mia said.

“Definitely. Don’t want to lose any more of them.” We got out of the car. Peter hadn’t fallen back asleep and climbed out by himself, but Paul was out cold. I unhooked him from the car seat and settled him on my hip. He laid his head on my shoulder and I doubt he even woke up. The rain had completely let up and as we walked to the front door, I saw the moon peak out from a break in the clouds. I realized both boys were in their sleepers. They looked kind of goofy with their rain boots on over their one-piece pajamas.

I settled Paul down in one of the waiting chairs after we walked in the front swinging doors of the police station. The nightshift officer looked at us from his desk. He had a steaming styrofoam cup of coffee and was digging through a mound of paperwork. Mia went right up to him and explained who she was. The officer nodded and yelled for someone named Mueller. “The boy’s mom is here.”

The officer named Mueller appeared. He looked disheveled, like he had been trying to take a nap. After looking Mia over for a moment, he said, “I suppose you can come on back. He’s trying to warm up in one of the interrogation rooms.”

“Interrogation?” Mia asked.

“Oh, he ain’t in no trouble, ma’am, its jus the only place we had to put ‘em.”

“Them?”

“He had a girl withim.”

Mia raised her eyebrows. “A girl?”

“Jus come on back, ma’am. I’m sure he’s anxious to see you.”

After they had been gone for a couple of minutes, the front desk officer half stood up and motioned me over to his desk.

“Stay here,” I told Peter, who groaned in protest as I went over to the desk.

“You the father?”

I shook my head and told him I was just a friend. I introduced myself quickly with the intention of asking for a cup of his coffee, but he cut me off after I said my name.

“Oh, never mind then, was going to have you sign some of the papers. You say your name was David?”

I nodded.

“The one that got his truck blown up?”

I nodded again. “Yeah, that was me.”

“Hmm, well, not sure if I’m allowed to tell you this,” the officer lowered his voice and leaned forward. “The witness woke up.”

“Mr. Taylor?” I asked in surprise.

“Shhh! You trying to get me in trouble?” The officer hissed.

“Sorry,” I whispered back.

“Yeah. Mr. Taylor. He said there was just a single boy who did it.”

I felt my heart sink, hoping he wasn’t just about to say it was Nate.

“Bigger boy. Jet black hair. Says he saw the whole thing, and remembers it, which is unusual considering the knock he took to his head.”

I nodded, relieved. Either Nate really wasn’t involved, which I doubted, or Mr. Taylor was lying, covering for his young neighbor.

“Thing is…” the officer paused, “and I’m really not supposed to tell you this, but who cares, you’re harmless, I can tell.”

Smiling, I added, “of course.”

“Thing is, these kids we got gave the same description of a boy who supposedly chased them out of this girl’s house. I think we’ve got a real hooligan on our hands.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. Anyways, he won’t be hassling no one no more. They’s going to pick ‘im up now. In fact, jus before y’all walked in, we heard over the radio they got him. Still at that girl’s house, dumb kid.”

“So the case of the blowing up truck is solved?” I said, knowing it sounded stupid, but feeling giddy, rather relieved and happy Nate was in the clear.

“If that’s what you wanna call it, yeah, guess so. Suppose we gotta get the kid to confess, but that shouldn’t be too hard. Hey, you want some coffee?”

“Sure, why not,” I replied.

Just then, I heard a door clank open and looking over, I saw Nate walk out, Mia behind, and a girl I’d never seen before close in tow. Nate was wrapped nearly head to toe in a huge gray blanket. Only his head stuck out. His hair pointed in all different directions and his face was dirty. Twin streaks traced down his muddy face from each eye, glistening tears still running down. I rushed over to him and embraced the boy in a strong hug.

“Hi David,” he said softly. “You ain’t mad at me, are ya?”

I just shook my head and hugged him tighter. After a long embrace, I took a step back and looked at Nate. “I missed you,” I said softly. “Good to have you back.”

The girl, who I found out was named Sarah, took a hot shower first. Her parents didn’t want her going back home, and they weren’t due back until Sunday. Mia, of course, had offered her a place to sleep. There were probably several bureaucratic obstacles that would have forced Sarah to spend the night at the station until her parents returned, but I was glad to see natural human decency and common sense take the place of red tape and she was allowed to come back with us.

No one questioned Nate about the mysterious diaper he was wearing under the gray blanket and he didn’t offer any explanation. The way Sarah had looked at Nate when it had been revealed upon our return home made me think she had something to do with it. I knew it was none of my business. She seemed like a nice enough girl.

We got Peter and Paul settled back into their sleeping bags and soon both younger boys were asleep.

As much as Mia wanted to spend the rest of the night with her rescued son, she knew he needed his sleep. The poor boy could barely keep his eyes open. The officers had warned us that he had the beginning symptoms of hypothermia when he was picked up. They advised that we should let him have plenty of rest over the next few days to make sure he didn’t get sick. Nate had a long, steaming shower then headed to bed.

Mia was about to help Nate get ready for bed, pulling out a diaper from the drawer, when her cell phone unexpectedly ran from downstairs.

“I wonder who that is?” She asked to no one in particular. “David, will you help Nate?” Mia asked as she walked out of the room. “I’m going to go answer that.”

“Sure,” I said. Nate was sitting on the edge of his bed, his eyes half closed.

“Tired?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Good to be home?”

Nate nodded again. I could tell he was struggling to stay awake. “Well, let’s get you diapered, then you can get some sleep.”

Laying back on the bed, Nate took away the towel he had wrapped around his now clean body. I could see that his feet were all cut up and wanted to ask him about it, but knew he could tell me the story another day.

After quickly diapering the boy, I pulled the covers over his tired body and bent down, planting a kiss on his forehead. Nate’s eyes suddenly opened wide.

“David?” he said, his voice clear and awake.

“Yeah?” I replied.

“Your truck was my fault. I wanted to get back at you but I swear all I was going to do was steal some stuff. It was Brandon’s idea to blow it up.”

“Shhh, shh.” I put my hand out and stopped him. “I know, I know.” I took a seat on the side of Nate’s bed.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I really am. I should never have brought my friends over to your house.”

“I forgive you,” I said.

“‘Cause I like you, David. You’re nice. And I just wanted to say, whatever you and my mom do is none of my business. I just want her to be happy.”

“Well, it is your business, Nate. And I’m going to make sure I ask you before I kiss her next time. It might be my house that gets blown next,” I said with a wink.

Nate smiled softly. “Anyways, I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“Nate, we all make mistakes sometimes. Lord knows I’ve made too many to count, believe me. I’ve hurt people too. It’s part of life. What I’ve learned is that we’ve got to try to live each moment treating everyone with respect, like you usually do. Just respect everyone and you’ll find that they respect you in return. ‘Cause, you know, one act can change things, one mistake can have far reaching effects even twenty, thirty years down the line.”

Nate nodded. “So, I, ah…I want to pay for your truck.”

I laughed lightly. “That’s a lot of money. Actually,” I said, patting his leg, “My insurance will pay for it, so you don’t have to worry about the whole thing. But I do have to pay the five hundred dollar deductable.”

“What’s the deductable?” Nate asked.

“A way for insurance companies to earn more money. I can teach you about all that some other time. But I needed a new truck anyways, that one was a piece of junk. So, how about I pay half and you pay half.”

“You mean, I pay two fifty?”

“Yeah,” I confirmed.

“How am I going to do that?”

“Well, you can work it off. I got plenty of leaves that need raking.”

“Gonna take a while,” Nate said, sleep creeping back into his voice.

“Nah. Remember how well I paid when you helped out before?”

Nate smiled tiredly. “Yeah. Guess it won’t take too long.”

I stood up. “You need your sleep. We can work out the details in the morning, okay?”

Nate nodded, his eyes closed.

“It’s good to have you back here safe. I really did miss you,” I said

“It’s good to be back. Believe me.”

Mia walked back in. She smiled softly at me then knelt down by her son. I walked out of the room, pausing at the door to say ‘good night’ one last time.

Mia came back downstairs after a few minutes. I was sitting back at the kitchen table.

“What was the call?”

“John.”

“This late? What did he want?”

“They filed for bankruptcy.”

“Who?”

“The church. Our lawyer just found out. They’re going to file tomorrow.”

“What does that mean for the lawsuit?” I asked.

“They won’t have to pay a cent, even if we ended up winning. John said it’s as good as over.”

“Oh,” was all I could think to say. After a minute of thought, I added, “But the money was never the point anyways.”

Mia nodded. “We’re still going to have a trial. I want to bring out to the public what happened to Simon and what happened to my family. I don’t care if we don’t win any money.”

I looked at Mia and smiled slightly. I was proud to be this close to her. She was an incredible person. “Hopefully your lawyer will agree.”

“Oh, we’ll find a way to pay for him. We can have a fundraiser or something.” Mia smiled and took my hand in hers. “So, Sarah took the guest room. You tired?”

I nodded and stood up. “Guess I should go home.”

“Stay here tonight, David.”

“You just said Sarah took the guest room.”

“I know.”

I looked at her quizzically.

“No funny stuff, just sleep,” Mia said, then led me upstairs to her room.

Before long, we were curled up in her bed, her warm body next to mine.

“It feels right, David,” Mia said softly.

“Yeah, it does,” I replied. Tiredness had come quickly and I felt my eyes begging for respite from the long day.

“Good night,” Mia whispered.

“Good night,” I whispered back. I closed my eyes and within a moment was fast asleep next to a wonderful woman in a house with three wonderful children.

the End

Author’s Note:

This story is based off of truth. Because of that, I’ve had a hesitancy all throughout the writing process. A certain nagging feeling that I was dishonoring the real Argrows (name changed, of course), but filtering their story through the lens of our peculiar interest in diapers. I hope, in the end, I’ve honored their story with the themes in this one. For those of you who have read The Hooligan in its entirety, I hope that you have taken more from this story than just a certain realizing of fantasies and dreams. There are lessons in the Argrow story and hopefully my effort has not been in vain to bring these lessons out.

I express my sincere appreciation to all those who took the time to write their comments. It has been an incredible help to read your input. Thank you! Special thanks to Brad, Slang, Ben, BPU, & Deeker for his wonderful site!

Any further comments can be sent to Austin(dot)db(at)gmail(dot)com.

Best of love and luck to you all.

Until next time…