Count Your Blessings, Count Your Curse

part 1

Rain and leaves fall to the cold ground, gray skies look over the ominous mood of the 1949 Ford Coupe.

Frank keeps his head down from shame in the back of the car, both his mother and father in the front seats.

"They're gonna help you Frankie, okay?" His mother asks with tearful eyes.

If he's being honest, he's not even sure what's going on. The last time that anything made sense was last Thursday.

He had just gotten home from school, it was a day much similar to today. Colorless, cloud full sky with shedding trees, except unlike today, it was something so comforting, today it made him dread the next step so much more. It was filled with so much laughter, teenage joy, something that he couldn't even comprehend having ever felt now.

He had a cheeky grin on his face as he and James walked in through the front door, he was so careful, asked if anyone was home yet, but the culprit must've not heard him.

The two walked up the steps to his bedroom as James left cautious kisses on the top of his hand, a common discreet yet romantic gesture that they partook in.

Maybe the next step was the mistake

When they got into the room and were too far ahead of themselves to make sure the lock was turned.

Or maybe it was when after that, James pushed him onto the bed and oh-so carefully unbuttoned the shirt to his uniform.

"You're so pretty, Dove," James said so fondly as he hovered above Frank on his elbows.

"I think you're quite the catch yourself, Reggie" Frank replies with a giggle and the playful grin laced over his lips.

James gently grabs his chin and places a kiss on his lips, and as much as Frank hates to admit it, amongst the bliss of the moment, he still felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He knew they weren't supposed to be doing this, he could get in so much trouble, James could get in so much trouble, but he still kissed him back with twice as much passion.

Or maybe that was the mistake.

That as James lays on top of him with a leg between both of his, his forehead pressed to Frank's, Frank's mother walks in.

And that's how it ended. James looks towards the door in shock as Frank's disgusted mother stares back at him as if he had just killed her boy. But in her eyes, I guess he did.

He stole him from God.

"Mom, no please," Frank struggles as he buttons up his shirt with trembling hands, "I swear, i-it's not what it looks like."

She wasn't there to hear it though. It makes sense, she knew exactly what was happening, it was so clear since they had always been so close.

"Frankie? Did you hear me?" She asks again and Frank is snapped out of his head.

"Oh, um, yeah. I'm sure they will." Frank replies, he doesn't entirely mean it. He wants to get fixed, but he doesn't even know what the steps to 'getting better' would be.

It feels like they have been driving for hours, and it's likely that that isn't that much of an exaggeration. But, as all good things, Frank's freedom comes to an end when his silent father uses the turn signal and begins to drive up a long driveway.

Frank's heart nearly stops as everything settles in. It's an off putting building, not so much a church look, more like a warehouse with a steeple and stained glass more intricate than anything  he has ever seen in Jersey, but maybe that's just how they do it in West Virginia.

The car begins to come to a stop as they pull in front of the 10 foot doors and there are two men standing at the front steps. One, a tall, slightly effeminate blonde man with round framed glasses, the other a tanned man, just a bit taller than Frank, with combed back black hair, both dressed in white.

The former approached the car as it parked, walking to where Frank's mother sat just in front of him. She rolled down the window and the two exchanged a few words which Frank didn't bother to eavesdrop. Right now, the only thing Frank was worried about was controlling his emotions. He felt like he was about to cry, and scream, and kick, and shout, but above all, he just wanted to go home. He just wanted to go home and see his lover, listen to how he tells him it will all be okay, as if it were a bad dream, which is truly what this was starting to feel like.

A complete, and total, nightmare.