Lucky

by Nico Grey

VI

Alex had avoided calling Fionn or Abby Monday night. He was curious about whether Fionn had found the nerve to talk to his parents. He wanted to commiserate with Abby. But he resisted temptation.

He was preparing for bed when his phone rang.

"Why did I ever let you talk me into telling me mum and da?" Fionn demanded without preamble. "It was dreadful!"

It took Alex a moment to gather his bearings. How could he have been so wrong? Mrs. O'Connor seemed like a kind and supportive mother. His mother had agreed. Was it the Catholic thing?

Something about Fionn's tone definitely felt off. Alex was desperate to comfort and support him. He just didn't know what was required.

"What happened?" he finally managed.

"Me da lost his mind!" Fionn choked. "He threatened to take me willy away from me if he ever found me with another bloke!"

It was enough to make Alex cry with rage. He couldn't believe that the O'Connors would treat Fionn so cruelly.

"Didn't your mother say anything?" That just didn't seem like Mrs. O'Connor to Alex.

"Called me the spawn of Satan, she did!"

Alex couldn't quite interpret Fionn's tone, but it definitely felt off. He took a few deep breaths to collect his thoughts.

Fionn's story really didn't quite add up. He didn't know the O'Connors very well, but this just didn't sound like them. Something was wrong. Alex wasn't sure it was a good idea, but he decided to take a risk.

"Would it help if I got naked and came over and explained it to them?" Alex prayed that wouldn't precipitate an explosion.

He could hear Fionn choking and gasping for air at the other end of the connection. But it sounded like he was alone. The choking sobs turned into peals of laughter.

"How did you know?" Fionn demanded.

"Well, I'm not sure I do," Alex said. "I know that your parents wouldn't treat you that way. But did you tell them?"

"Yeah," Fionn's relief was palpable. "My mom already knew, or at least she was pretty sure.

"I think she knows about you, too," he added shyly. "She told me that she thinks I have good taste in boys."

"And the rest of your family?" Alex asked.

"My dad is my dad," Fionn shrugged. "I don't think he loves the idea. But he told me that it was my life and that he'd support me and my choices."

"So you told them you're gay?" Alex was starting to catch up with the conversation. "Did you tell them about last Halloween?"

"Yeah," Fionn sighed. "They're raging about that. I didn't even tell them everything!" he admitted.

"What are they going to do?" Alex worried. It was just possible the situation was about to get out of hand.

"I told them about Abby's dad," Fionn said. "My mom suggested that we hire him, so dad called. I think they'll be meeting soon."

"Holy. . ." Alex concluded. "What about tomorrow night?"

"Mom and dad both agree that I need to learn self-defense. I'm going to jiu-jitsu whether I want to or not! They may even sign me up for other martial arts.

"Liam and Aidan are going to class, too. As soon as it can be arranged. I heard mom and dad talking about bringing all of us to classes."

That sounded quite encouraging to Alex. The O'Connors were taking Fionn's conflict with Thumper seriously. As he ended their call, he had his fingers crossed that Abby's father could come up with a plan to bring the Fryes' cruelty to a permanent end.

Alex was surprised to learn that he had been invited to have dinner with the O'Connors before he and Fionn left for their jiu-jitsu class Tuesday night. He hoped that it wouldn't prove awkward.

"Leave your clothes at home," Fionn suggested. Then he snorted several ounces of milk onto his lunch tray.

Dinner was actually quite pleasant. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor were very welcoming. Alex had the sense that his status was a bit more than 'Fionn's friend' in their mind, but nothing was spoken directly.

The younger O'Connors were excited to see Alex again. Liam and Aidan were aware that they would soon be joining their older brother's jiu-jitsu class and were high on their excitement. Even little Roisin joined in as the younger O'Connor boys practiced their martial arts 'moves'.

The only disappointment Alex noticed in the O'Connor household lay with Aoife. She observed the excitement of her siblings with a melancholy expression, much of it focused on him.

Fiona O'Connor pulled Alex aside when she noticed that he was sensitive to Aoife's mood.

"It's not your fault," she assured Alex. "She likes you. But she's been aware of the connection between you and Fionn even longer than I have. She just needs time to accept it."

Alex didn't know how to react to that news. He felt empathy for Aoife's sadness. When the opportunity presented itself, he took her aside. He pulled her into a firm embrace and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized.

Aoife's trembling and the dampness he felt on his shoulder affected Alex deeply. He was ashamed that he had such an effect on this girl but could do nothing about it.

He resolved to make sure Aoife understood how special he thought she was, even if he couldn't be who she wanted him to be. And he vowed to keep his eyes open for someone who was worthy of Fionn's sister.

Alex was surprised when his parents confronted him at dinner Thursday evening.

"What can you tell me about what Pete Frye's kid has been doing to your friend Fionn?" Brian Fortin demanded.

Alex had no idea where his father had come by his information. He offered a sanitized version of Fionn's woes with Thumper, emphasizing some sort of abuse at a Halloween party and on the several occasions he had witnessed in the locker room.

His father honed in on the sexual element.

"Frye's kid has been sexually abusing your friend?"

Alex allowed that he thought that was the case. The bullying he witnessed had gone well beyond towels snapping in the shower. And the rumors he had heard about the Halloween party sounded far worse. Then he waited.

From the little that his father let slip, Alex gathered that Jonathan West had been conducting a rather thorough investigation of Thumper and other things Frye. It sounded like he had reached out to a number of influential people in their community, including his father.

Alex didn't understand what might happen next. But he took some encouragement from the evidence that important people were taking notice of the Fryes, and not in a supportive way.

As they gathered at Abby's house on Saturday, Tyler and Caleb were bemoaning the decline of the snow cover. At the rate that snow was disappearing, Tyler wondered if they'd be able to find enough trails to ski to connect their homes and Abby's by the following weekend.

"What do we do if there isn't any snow?" Alex found the idea deeply depressing.

"I expect everyone at your therapy session," Abby interrupted. "You'll still be active. Your muscles need attention. And we have to keep up the talk therapy, too."

Caleb smirked at her. Alex had figured out enough to appreciate Caleb's perspective.

"We signed up for track," Fionn pointed out. "We'll need your massages."

Abby gave him an approving nod.

"You two will be on your mountain bikes whenever you have free time," she reminded Caleb and Tyler. "And it wouldn't hurt you guys to join the track team. You might discover a little school spirit."

Caleb and Tyler caught each other's eye. Both shrugged.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," Tyler allowed. "But I'm not sure what the team will think about two gay guys in the locker room."

"I haven't heard about any trouble with that long-haired freshman and his friend," Abby said. "The red-haired kid is a really good runner. The team is probably just happy to have them."

Caleb and Tyler looked at each other again. They shrugged again. Alex had the sense that Abby had won another battle.

"Now you two get in the bath," she directed Caleb and Tyler.

"You two should already be on my bed," Abby reminded Alex and Fionn. "And there's absolutely no excuse at all for you still to be wearing clothes!"

It actually wasn't a necessary reminder.

Two hours later, four naked butts levitated off Abby's bed and four phalluses deflated faster than balloons in a blast freezer when the front door to the West house slammed open.

"Abby!"

They recognized Jonathan West's voice.

"You'd be on your way to a nunnery if I didn't already know that the four boys up there with you are gay!"

Four sets of wide eyes exchanged horrified expressions.

"I need all five of you down here ten minutes ago!" Jonathan demanded.

Alex was already halfway out the door before Abby grabbed his arm.

"Your clothes," she reminded him.

Fionn looked like he couldn't decide whether to burst out into frightened laughter or pee on Abby's carpet.

Four terrified boys and his irritated daughter presented themselves to Jonathan a few minutes later.

"Good," he inspected them. "We have guests arriving in the next thirty minutes. I need you guys to help me get ready for them."

It was an incongruous assortment of guests that trickled in over the next half hour. Fionn almost wet himself again when his parents appeared at the door. Alex had his own moment when his father appeared.

Both Fionn and Alex were certain that they were in for the worst ass-reaming of their young lives until Ross Donnelly and a friend knocked on the door. A few minutes later a rather geeky-looking guy in his late twenties was invited in. These arrivals convinced Jonathan that their meeting had achieved a quorum.

"We will be speaking with some other community members once we decide how to proceed," Jonathan began. "For today, we're just going to establish facts about a series of behaviors involving Peter Frye and his family toward young people in our community. Specifically, each of these young men. They're all friends of my daughter Abby."

Jonathan turned to Fionn next.

"I promised you that I wouldn't talk to anyone else about what happened in your case. I'll keep that promise if you ask me to do so. But everyone in this room has the ability to help us bring the Fryes to justice. I'd like your permission to share what you've told me."

Fionn was embarrassed. Alex reflected that it wasn't necessary to know him well to see that. But he was also determined.

"Can you stop them?" he demanded.

"I believe so, Fionn," Jonathan's tone was sincere. "I can't promise what will happen. But I'm pretty sure we can stop the Fryes from hurting anyone else."

"Thumper said they were going to get Alex for helping me," Fionn said. "I want you to stop them. Go ahead and say what you have to say."

Jonathan offered a brief explanation of what had happened between Pete Frye's older son Benjamin, and Tyler and Caleb. He explained that, in the course of resolving that situation, he had recorded Pete admitting that he had raped Jonathan's younger brother while they were all still in high school. And now, he explained, he had more evidence of the Fryes committing sex crimes against minors.

Jonathan asked Alex to recount what he had witnessed between Fionn and Thumper in school recently. Then he asked Fionn to flesh out those events further to include events that Alex hadn't witnessed directly. It was evident that the youngest Frye was involved in his own sexual predation.

Finally, Jonathan gave a brief recounting of the Fryes' Halloween party. He explained how Fionn had been lured there, then been recorded while Thumper and his guests committed sexual violence against Fionn.

When he was through, he asked Abby to take her friends back up to her room. The stern warning look he gave her as she left had little effect on Abby, but drove any thoughts of inappropriate behavior out of her friends' minds.

Once the younger people were upstairs, Jonathan turned back to the gathering.

"There's one more event I want to share today. It involves Fionn. I don't believe he's aware that it happened, so I didn't want him to hear about it now. How he is informed of these facts should be up to his parents." He gestured toward Eamonn and Fiona.

Jonathan introduced his geeky-looking guest as a digital forensics expert he relied on for some of his cases.

"In a moment, I'm going to ask Josh to break down what he learned after examining some recorded evidence."

First, Jonathan noted that a video recording had been made of parts of the Halloween party, but that there was little identifying information in the video, aside from clear images of Fionn.

"They were very careful," he observed. "That suggests a level of sophistication not often found in a thirteen-year-old boy like Theodore."

Jonathan explained that Fionn had little recollection of the events at the party, although he had seen some portions of the video recording. He did recall that Theodore had insisted Fionn drink some alcohol; what Fionn had described as 'beer'.

Fionn's next recollection was of waking up in a worn sleeping bag in a wooded area fairly close to his home. He had felt terrible, describing a headache and a pain in his backside. The headache disappeared within a few days. There were no further symptoms regarding his backside, although Fionn reported that the area felt greasy to him.

Jonathan was apologetic as he summed up his conclusions. He believed that Theodore Frye had lured Fionn to his Halloween party, already planning to abuse him. How much of the sexual abuse that took place had been planned, and how much was the result of a situation that got out of hand, he couldn't assess. But there was video evidence of Fionn being forced to perform fellatio repeatedly, then stripped and subjected to extensive verbal abuse. It was the sort of evidence that would guarantee criminal convictions if they could prove who had been involved.

That's when Jonathan introduced his expert.

Joshua provided a brief summary of his process and his findings. Voices had been isolated from the recording. Some of those voices had made comments that were likely incriminating, if they could be matched to an actual defendant. The problem was the absence of any other evidence on the video that could identify participants.

What Joshua had uncovered was proof that the event had taken place at Pete Frye's residence. Whoever had created the video and posted it online hadn't been highly sophisticated. He had used software— programs he identified as "ffmpeg" and "ExifTool"— to extract metadata, including GPS coordinates, from the video file. That identified the location where all of the video had been shot, beyond any doubt. The party took place at the Frye residence.

Jonathan thanked his expert.

"I'll need to bring in medical experts to help determine what happened to Fionn at that party. It's too late for a toxicological analysis to prove anything, but from Fionn's description of how he felt and from observing his behavior on the video, I'd say he was dosed with rohypnol. It's a common enough drug to be fairly easily obtained. But I doubt that it's something many thirteen-year-olds are buying on the street. It's use suggests the involvement of older people."

Jonathan pointed out that Fionn wasn't capable of travelling on foot from the Frye's home to where he woke up the following afternoon. The evidence suggested that someone had transported him there. And, Jonathan added ominously, neither of the Frye children were old enough to have a driver's license.

That brought Jonathan to his final point. He presented a photograph of his younger brother, David, at the time he had entered high school. He reminded the gathering that Pete Frye had admitted raping David. And he pointed out how closely the young David resembled Fionn O'Connor. He left his audience to draw their own conclusions.

"Can we prove this monster did that to my son?" Eamonn demanded.

Jonathan shook his head sadly.

"Not with the evidence we have," he conceded. "It's the most reasonable explanation that fits the facts that we can prove. But Fionn's recollection of waking up with a greasy feeling in his backside, but nothing else there, tells me that a condom was used if he was raped. There probably wouldn't have been any DNA evidence, even if the crime had been investigated immediately.

"We can prove that the party took place at the Frye residence. Fionn's claim that he was served alcohol would probably be believed by a jury. The evidence of sexual assault was recorded, but there's not enough there to prove who was actively involved. Police would have to investigate and get someone present to testify against those involved. Making a clear case wouldn't be easy."

"But you have another plan?" Fiona suggested. She smiled tightly. It was a predator's anticipatory rictus.

Jonathan smiled grimly.

"I do. It might not be what they deserve, but at least they'll pay a price for what they did."

"Are we going to have another therapy session on Saturday?" Alex asked as soon as he boarded the bus Monday morning.

He had wanted desperately to call Abby all weekend to find out what the repercussions had been after her father found her home alone with four boys on Saturday. But every time Alex looked at his phone, he was terrified that Jonathan might pick up if he called.

It never entered his head that Abby's father wouldn't be monitoring her cell phone. Saturday had put the fear of god into every cell of his body— from the frontal lobe of his brain to his tightly clenched sphincter. Every waking moment on Sunday, he had been morbidly aware that it was the Ides of March.

Abby was confused.

"Why wouldn't we?"

Her expression became suspicious, then stern.

"You'd better not be planning to chicken out on me!"

It was all a bit puzzling to Alex. But apparently Jonathan wasn't concerned about anything happening between his daughter and gay boys. And apparently he didn't think four gay boys would get up to anything too outrageous if Abby was there to chaperone.

'Uncle Jonathan really doesn't know Abby!' Alex concluded.

It took him a while to digest the news. Then another thought occurred to him.

"Why was Mr. Donnelly there on Saturday?"

And another thought!

"Why was my father there? Thumper hasn't actually done anything to me yet."

Abby seemed amused by the way Alex's panic was jumping around from concern to new concern.

"They're part of my father's plan," she explained. "I heard him talking to Mom. He doesn't think it's likely that any of the Fryes would face real consequences, even if Fionn, or Caleb, or Uncle David were willing to file a criminal complaint against them.

"Civil proceedings offer more possibility of some consequences. But that would only be money."

Abby wrinkled her nose like the whole idea was a bit repulsive.

"Dad thinks he can get the Fryes to leave town. He's pretty sure there's enough evidence to tar Mr. Frye's name throughout the area. That's going to be terrible for his business. And since he does about a third of his work for PPO, and Fionn's father runs that company, he'll lose a lot of his customer base if the story starts to circulate."

Alex could see that point. It wasn't the same as sending the Fryes to jail, but it would serve some justice.

"But what does that have to do with Mr. Donnelly?" he tried again.

" He's part of the solution," Abby said. "Dad plans to form a partnership that will offer Mr. Frye a fraction of the value of his business— or what it's worth before people start talking about what he did— if he sells up, puts his house on the market, and moves away from here now.

"Mr. Donnelly's father works for the same company as Fionn's father. A while ago, he used to manage PPO. Now he's the northeastern manager for the main company. Mr. Donnelly will help by getting his father on board in case Mr. Frye complains to the parent company when Fionn's father stops doing business with Frye. He also knows somebody that could manage Frye's company for the new owners; somebody that was in high school with him."

"And my father?" Alex worried about that answer.

"He's going to be one of the investors buying Mr. Frye's company if he agrees to sell," Abby smiled. "You guys don't live like it, but I guess Uncle Brian's company has made him a lot of money. Between my dad, Fionn's dad, maybe Mr. Donnelly's father and their parent company, and your dad, they're planning to make Mr. Frye an offer that he can't refuse."

Abby's smile turned wolfish. It was an echo of her father's.

It was an unsettling week for Alex. He didn't hear anything else about plans for the Fryes. But at least Thumper Frye hadn't been in school since Monday.

Mr. Donnelly seemed even more solicitous than usual of Alex and Fionn in Social Studies class. He tried to be unobtrusive about it, but he had offered Fionn a couple of gentle pats on the back during the week when he strolled around among his working students. And he improvised a special lesson for Tuesday, about Irish culture, to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Alex assumed that he had done so, at least in part, for Fionn's sake.

There was also a sense of tension in the high school wing of the building. It was subtle, but still something that Alex noticed. On the bus, he was aware that Abby and Caleb seemed no more informed about what was happening than he was.

At home, his father said little. Alex tried to ask questions on a few occasions. But his father simply promised that he would hear the full story once the outcome was settled.

Worse, southeastern Vermont had enjoyed a week of warm weather. And while Alex figured it would be more enjoyable to run in warmer weather than cold weather, the snow cover was starting to disappear. Large patches of bare ground were appearing. He just hoped that enough snow would remain on the ski trails through the weekend.

Alex was surprised, then suspicious, when Abby invited him to her house for dinner Thursday evening. It was somewhat reassuring to learn that Caleb had also been invited, along with Fionn and Tyler.

Dinner at the West home was a surprisingly relaxed affair. Alex was waiting for the hammer to drop, but it never happened. Jonathan and Betsy West kept an animated conversation flowing, learning about the interests and goals of their guests.

Since they already knew Alex quite well, he was able to sit back and listen as Caleb, Tyler, and Fionn were encouraged to share stories about themselves and who they hoped to become. Alex was surprised at how open Caleb and Tyler were with the adults about their relationship.

When dinner was over, Betsy excused herself to clean up after the meal while Jonathan invited his guests to join him in the living room. Once everyone was comfortable, he got down to the business of the evening.

"After our meeting last weekend, I wanted to meet with you to explain what has happened since then. Mrs. West and I thought about inviting everyone involved back again this weekend. But what I have to share is mostly for you boys. And I'm pretty sure that I really don't want to be here on Saturday."

He shot Abby a wry look. She beamed innocence back at him.

"We discussed the situation after you left us last week. The unfortunate reality of this is that I'm not sure it would be possible to successfully prosecute the Fryes for what they've don't to each of you."

Alex exchanged a quick glance with Abby. Apparently that news hadn't changed.

"We talked about possibly filing a civil suit," Jonathan explained. "I think there's a reasonable chance we could win damages if we file a lawsuit. But the only thing we could gain by following that path is money."

He swept his audience with his eyes to make sure they were following him. . . and that there was no strong disagreement yet.

"A long time ago, Pete Frye. . . Mr. Frye," he seemed to have a hard time getting the title out without contempt, "and another one of my high school classmates. . ." he paused again to restore calm. "They did something to my younger brother. Something very similar to what happened to you, Fionn.

"As soon as he graduated high school, David, my brother, left town and he never came back. I think part of the reason is that he couldn't bring himself to live here, knowing that people who had done that to him were still part of this community."

Jonathan waited for his audience to absorb his explanation, for the full depth of the harm the Fryes had done to people to sink in. He waited patiently to see that recognition in Fionn's eyes.

"What they did to my brother has affected the rest of David's life." Jonathan observed sadly. "When we were thinking about what punishment best suited the Fryes' crimes, that was really important to me."

He turned to address Fionn directly.

"I don't ever want you to feel uncomfortable having to live with people in this community, knowing what they did to you. If you decide that you want to live in Antioch for the rest of your life," his eyes flickered to Alex sitting next to him, "I want you to be able to do that in peace."

Alex didn't miss the brief glance. He couldn't help himself. He reached over and took Fionn's hand in his own.

"So if all four of you approve," Jonathan met each pair of eyes before continuing, "We'd like to explore a third option for the Fryes. Exile."

He waited again to let his audience consider his words.

"Those of us here last weekend have a plan. We're going to offer to buy Pete Frye's business. We aren't going to offer everything it's worth today. He doesn't deserve that. But he knows it will be worth a lot less if what he's done ever becomes public knowledge.

"All he has to do is take the offer and leave town permanently. He loses his life's work for a small nest egg. He has to start over as a smaller fish in an unfamiliar pond. And none of you will ever have to deal with the Frye's again. Or we can sue him and hope for a settlement that damages his wallet and tries to compensate you for what he and his sons did."

"How small a nest egg?"

Alex wasn't sure where the question had come from. He didn't feel that it was his place to ask. But he was curious.

"We've already reached out to him," Jonathan explained. "We offered him half of what the business is worth today."

"Will he take that?" Alex's mouth kept thinking for him.

"He will," Jonathan assured them. "He laughed when he first heard the offer. But as soon as he figures out what that business will be worth, if what he did ever becomes public, he'll realize that fifty cents on the dollar isn't a bad offer at all. He'll leave better off financially than he will be if he tries to stay in Antioch."

"And we'll never see him again?"

"I can't promise that," Jonathan conceded. "But our offer stipulates that he has to leave the area. And payments are structured over time. There are penalties if he doesn't stay away.

"Besides, getting re-established in another community will take a lot of his time and energy. He won't have any incentive to come back here. Even for a visit."

By consensus, everyone turned to Fionn. His expression was conflicted.

"I know this isn't fair," Jonathan apologized. "You're young to have to learn this, but life often isn't fair. We live in the best country on earth. Our legal system is the best ever devised by man. But it isn't perfect.

"Sometimes people do evil things and the system can't punish them. Or it can't punish them to the full extent they deserve.

"Other times people are punished more harshly than they deserve. Sometimes even innocent people are punished.

"Our system isn't perfect," Jonathan repeated. "My job is to make it deliver the best possible outcomes for people I care about, even if those outcomes aren't perfect. But in the end, it's up to you to decide which outcome best serves your sense of justice.

"We can try for criminal charges. We can file a civil suit. Or we can give Pete Frye an offer to take himself and his miserable little family far, far away from here.

"All I need is for you guys to tell me what you'd like me to do."

Everyone's eyes turned to Fionn. After a while, he started to fidget.

"Why is everyone looking at me?" he demanded.

"This is about you," Caleb explained. "You're the one the Fryes hurt the most. You should decide what's justice.

"We want whatever you want," Caleb concluded.

Three heads nodded firm agreement.

Fionn looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders as he pondered the question. His eyes flickered around the room uncertainly. But eventually he straightened in his seat.

"If you guys really don't care about the money," he searched Caleb's eyes intently, then Tyler's and Alex's, "I think we should do what Mr. West suggested.

"The best thing for me is to just put what happened behind me. I don't want revenge. I don't even want justice.

"But it would be nice to live in a place where I don't have to worry about people like Thumper."

Fionn reached with his free hand to grasp the hands that he and Alex clasped between them.

"I don't want to leave here. I've realized that I'm the luckiest person in the world because I live in a place where I've found real friends. I don't want to lose that. Not for all the money in the world."

-The End-

Previous
Chapter

Iomfats.org

Lucky

by Nico Grey

VI

Voting

We support Ukraine — Мы поддерживаем Украину — Ми підтримуємо Україну

We support the Palestinian people in their struggle against oppression