Father (manxman)

Road Trip - Levi

Road Trip - Levi (20 yrs old)
I wasn't too focused on the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere or somewhere that I didn't recognize. I was focused on the fact of how did we get lost. Maybe because I wasn't paying attention to the turns Ricardo was making. My phone was dead and we didn't have a car charger in our possession. Every time I was with Ricardo, I ended up doomed.
"Ricky, where's your phone?" I looked at him through my sunglasses as he pulled over to the side of the road. He gave me a goofy look and pulled his bottom lip into his mouth. The kid didn't even have his permit and yet I was allowing him to drive. That was the first mistake I made. "You left it at home?" He nodded and remained quiet. Could this day get any better?
"That's why I haven't been texting and driving, Levi. Gosh, you're so slow sometimes." I scoffed at him, pinching the bridge of my nose. I was letting Ricky stay with me during summer break. We were on our way to West Palm Beach from San Diego. The trip would take approximately a day and a half and maybe a few hours. We would probably stretch it to two days because of the stops we would most likely make.
He had a rough year and being the wonderful friend I am, I had to steal him from the madness. I made it my responsibility to make life for Ricky as enjoyable as it can be. "Levi, it'll be fine," he whined. I scoffed and got out of the passenger seat.
"Did you bring your GPS?" He shook his head. It was funny that he had a GPS without a license, permit or car. Why was Ricardo so useless sometimes? I didn't feel angry but I felt quite baffled from the situation.
"I told you to make Jazmin tag along but noooo...you didn't listen to me," he said and climbed into the passenger. Jazmin was my girlfriend of 2 years. Honestly, I think I'm in love with her. Ricky and Jaz are well acquainted but they didn't get along all the time. I gave kudos to Ricardo for being cordial to her for my sake.
"And you didn't listen to me when I asked did you have everything!" I flicked him on his forehead and his hand made its way across my face. I didn't have time to be fighting with this dimwit, not when we were lost. The sting of his hit reminded me that he fought like a girl. I chuckled but it left as soon as it came. He still had a killer smack. Then I realized the little twat just smacked me. I pinched the inner side of his thigh and he left me alone.
"I didn't need my phone Levi and I was trying to get away from your in-laws as soon as possible." I glared at him.
"I hate being your friend and you referring to your parents as my in-laws." I watched the traffic cautiously, making my way back on the long winding road. I predicted it was about five more miles left until we would reach a rest stop. I was glad it was light outside because being lost in the dark is dangerous.
"We should've got on a plane but you're too afraid." He sucked his thumb like a baby, mocking me. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Shut up, Ricky damn. I don't need this right now." I watched as he reached into the backseat, his ass in the air. "Ricky, if you fart, I'm throwing you out the fucking window."
"Ssshhh! I'm trying to find my apple juice. If it calls me, then I won't hear it because you're yelling." I chuckled lightly at my crazy best friend.
"I don't like ass in my face while I'm driving." He sighed and climbed to the backseat. I pouted through the rearview mirror. "Now I'm lonely."
"Why is your nose so long?" I moved over to the right lane, searching intently for a rest stop. I prayed to God that he would make one appear. Minutes later a sign to the right read: rest stop 1 mile.
Ricardo came to the conclusion that I was ignoring him. He pulled and tugged at my ear just to get a reaction out of me. I ignored him more but unfortunately, he knew how to push all of my buttons. "I stare at your ass when you walk." I held back a laugh, blocking out his voice as he continued to make vulgar comments. "I want to have sex with a midget." Ricky always had the tendency to make sexual comments. It was in his nature to do it and I didn't mind. Sometimes I worried if he was serious or not. "I watched you masturbate once." This was the moment.
"Are you serious??" He chuckled evilly, falling back into the seat. Since I've given him a reaction, he wants to be quiet. "Ricky stop fucking with me. Are you serious?"
"You know you've been cursing me out for exactly ten years, two days and five hours?" I pulled over into the rest stop. Once I was parked, I turned around to the brown-haired, baby blue-eyed young man.
"Tell me you're joking Ricardo." I was dead serious now, not that I really cared about him watching me cater to myself. It was just the fact that he was just telling me. In the pit of my stomach, a weird feeling lurked.
"I like it when you say my name. It sounds so..." He tapped his chin, gazing thoughtfully. "Sexy when it comes out of your mouth. You actually role the 'R'." Now he was really angering me. I opened the car door and quickly locked the doors, trapping him inside. I watched him beat on the window, hoping he wouldn't break my window. I'd just got it repaired. He screamed my name, his face scrunching up in disgust.
I sighed, a small smile on my face. I liked to torture him but hated when other people did. I felt passionately about Ricardo and his well-being. Most of my thoughts were contained of him. Ricardo had a hard life, shabby home and a ghetto neighborhood. He takes it day by day and I admired him for it. The verbal abuse from his mother, father and brother weren't easy things to deal with. Sometimes he didn't believe that they loved him but I convinced him that they did. No matter what they said, I knew they loved him. No matter how much it angered me of what they said, I gave them the benefit of a doubt that they loved my Ricardo.
"Excuse me sir," I asked for the attention of a man passing by me as I walked out of the restroom. He turned around to me. The first thing I noticed were his stunning, bright eyes. They were surprisingly the same color and shape as Ricardo's and they were beautiful. "Me and a friend got turned around and I was wondering if you knew where we were."
He chuckled lightly. Obviously I'd tickled his funny bone. "Where are you tryna get to son?" I noticed his thick Southern accent. His hair contained strands of gray but he still had a full head of brown, thick hair. A beard also graced his face.
"Well we're heading to West Palm Beach, Florida. My phone died and I didn't have a GPS. So I don't know if we're going in the right direction or not." I sounded like a teenager.
"What a coincidence. I happen to be going too but I have a car charger for you if yah gotta iPhone 5S." My mind screamed and thanked the heavens above. I nodded and he continued, "And you're heading in the right direction son. Just keep on I-10 East and when you get the GPS, you'll be fine. I'm positive when yah get the charger you'll be better off and not worried so much. I can see the worry lines growin' in for yah son."
That made me smile. "Thanks, sir. You're very kind."
He continued to walk and I followed. We stopped in front of a black Cadillac SUV. "Ain't nothin' wrong with a little southern hospitality. It was my pleasure." He pulled the charger from the cigarette lighter and handed it over to me. "Now you get back on the road and I hope you make it to your destination safely."
I nodded and responded, "Thank you for your help, Mister..." I waited for his name.
"Avery Braden at your service." He tipped his large black cowboy hat. I extended my hand to him and he shook it with manliness. He looked so familiar in a way; I examined his face as he smiled.
"Levi Madison, sir. I'll be seeing you around." I unlocked the car doors and slid into the driver's seat. I glanced over at Ricardo who was now in the passenger seat. He didn't look at me, nor did he reply when I said, "Hey love." He liked when I called him love because he was my love. He was like a brother, best friend and a companion all wrapped in one.
I ran my hand over his thigh, making him turn toward the door more. "Put your seatbelt on Ricardo. We can't have you riding out here unsafely." He did as told but still avoided me. I ruffled his hair, smoothing my hand through his thick strands. "Are you mad at me?" He sighed, pulling his right hand up to his chin and resting the left in his lap.
Yeah, he was mad. I couldn't help but to smile. Sometimes Ricardo acted like the kid he was. He was seventeen and he wasn't well developed to the maturity he should be at. He still acted like a kid in candy land and I was glad I had him around me. He kept me alive and feeling young because I wasn't getting any younger. Although twenty had nothing on thirty, it felt like I had more than two decades on me.
   "Stop acting like a kid Ricky," I said finally after a couple of hours of silence. This was plain torture not talking to the only person in the car. I was surprised he hadn't been to sleep yet.
"You're the one that started this and now you want to tell me stop acting like a kid?" I scoffed. I didn't need to argue with Ricardo. I ignored it and pulled his hand into mine. Once in a while, I glanced to see if he would look at me but he never met my gaze.
"I'm not going to sit here for another day and some hours and not talk to you. So either we stop acting like petty, angry kids or I turn around and take you home." I triggered his emotions.
"I don't want to go back home." He looked at me through hooded eyes. I could tell the emotions that were in them weren't happy but I wished I knew exactly what they were.
"Alright then. Talk to me, catch me up. I haven't seen you in so long." It hurt to even look at him. I haven't seen that slightly tanned face in person in about a good year and a half. I missed being physically present with him. It just made me feel better to know he was really okay and happy. It brightened my day to see him smile and I felt excitement around him.
"I know you miss my beautiful ass," he said and smiled mischievously. He was beautiful indeed but I didn't need to tell him that for him to know. It was silence for a moment before he began talking again. I glanced over at him and his face looked quite troubled. I squeezed his hand to let him know I was here. I was here to take all troubles away and allow him to lose his mind with me. We would have fun on this road trip.
I felt something wet drop onto my hand. I looked over as silent tears ran down Ricardo's face. "Talk to me Ricky." Something was troubling him and most likely he hadn't attempted to tell me the numerous times we've FaceTimed or Skyped or talked on the phone.
"He touched me Levi. I wanted him to stop..." He trailed off, more tears running down his face.
"We'll stop at a hotel in a couple of more hours." I wanted to hold and cuddle him close. I've been wanting to do that for the past year and a half. I didn't want him to go through these things alone. He nodded and brought my hand up to his face, cuddling the side of his face into it. I looked over every couple of minutes just to see his face. He looked so broken and torn up. He was trembling in his seat and his Adam's apple bobbed against my hand. He sighed in exasperation and laid back in his seat. He continued to hold my hand but with both of his.
You could see the differences in him in person better than on a camera. I felt almost every emotion except for the ones I was blind to. Soon he was fast asleep, his mouth gapped open and soft breaths came from it. He looked like an angel every time I saw him. I grew this fondness of him every time we made contact. He was wise and experienced and I always learned something new from him. At the same time, he had a lot to learn like me but I knew I knew a bit more than him.
I thought back to what he had said. Who touched him? Where? How? When? It pained me to know these things. I was infuriated now, my hand squeezing his. Fuck, I wanted to beat someone's ass. He only had a year left but I didn't even want him to be in that household for one second more.
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Soon I pulled into a parking lot of a hotel. I parked and pulled the keys from the ignition. Sighing, I retrieved cash from my pocket and slightly shook Ricky awake. Sweat covered his forehead and his body trembled like before. I wouldn't pressure him into telling me anything but I would encourage him to just let it go for a few weeks. I wanted to enjoy vacation with him. Stressing over idiots wasn't the ideal enjoyable vacation.
I slid my hand between his, pulling him closer. I pressed my lips to his forehead, bringing my lips to his ear. "I promise it'll be okay, alright?" Hell, I didn't have a clue if it would be okay. I needed to convince him and also myself. He nodded and we exited the car. I paid for a room for the night and we trailed to the elevator. The elevator ride seemed long but I was anticipating peeling off my clothes and falling into a comfortable bed.
Silence covered the room as we pulled off our clothes. He pulled the belt from the buckle of his pants and slipped them off. I don't know why I watched him but it was like watching a movie. His skin would be warm my hold. I could see small dark scratches on his skin that made me sick. Who had done this to him? Regardless, they were still a part of Ricardo and I will cherish and love every aspect of him.
Coughing brought me out of the trance. He'd taken most of his clothes off, the items tossed carelessly on the floor, his shirt still covering the top part of his body and his boxers still around his waist. "Did you need help taking off your clothes?" He asked. The small light illuminated his legs and a small smirk appeared on his face. My throat ran dry.
I chuckled nervously, pulling my shirt over my head. I slipped off my dress shoes and pulled off my black socks. My white slacks hadn't required a belt, thankfully, so I pulled them off quickly. He slipped under the covers, me following right after. He glanced at me with those same hooded eyes. His mind was still on the horrifying events. Honestly, I didn't want him thinking about it anymore.
He turned over, his back pressing against my chest. He pulled my arm around him and snuggled deeper into the pillow. We used to cuddle like this when we were younger. I smiled softly. I remember those days so clearly. I felt slightly nervous holding him like this now but I didn't feed into it very much. Not tonight. I was too tired to think about this tonight.
"I just want you to protect me Levi." I heard him sniffle. I knew he was crying but there was no need.
"You know I will Ricky. Just tell me what I need to protect you from." He nodded and went silent. Shortly after, he was fast asleep and I followed after him.
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The picture is Levi: Ryan Barret. Sooooo...whatcha think? Comment and vote if you hadn't. But I would like to see your feedback on this. 😘 I'm really working on this. You'll be surprised at the ideas popping in my head 😂😂