Impact

Prologue

The old man sat down on a bench and pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his pressed suit. He sniffled and brought it to his nose, rubbing it, before returning the cloth to his pocket. He took in a heaving breath and blew out with force. He then looked up at the clear blue sky and savored the sunlight gently falling on his face. He closed his eyes, smiling to himself before realizing another presence had moved next to him.

"Are you okay?" A young man asked him.

"Surprisingly, enough, yeah." He said weakly.

"Is there anything that I can get for you?"

"No, thank you. Just sit with me for a minute. Can you do that?" He patted the young man's leg looking over, his emerald green eyes turned up with a smile.

"Of course." The young man smiled back at him, placing a hand on the old man's shoulder.

"I'm sure he thinks this is perfect." The old man said.

"Yeah, no doubt."

There was silence for a long while as they looked over the fresh cut grass around them and the old man looked up at the willow tree that they sat under. He took in another deep breath and pulled the scent of lilac along his nostrils.

"How did you meet?" It was the young man who disrupted the quiet and the old man looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, now that's a long story." He smiled.

"I have time."

"It could take all afternoon." He said, his eyes glinting at the young man.

"I'm right where I want to be."

The old man smiled affectionately and placed a withered hand on the young man's face.

"There's a lot. Think you're ready for every detail? It's a tale that isn't always good, clean family fun. And some of it is just....hard to hear." The old man warned, a mischievous grin on his face.

"I'm old enough to drink....I think I can handle it."  Was the reply.

"Well, alright then." The Old Man took a breath. "It all started...."

**********

Nathan Lewis nearly skipped to the door, a small bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolate covered strawberries in his arm. It had been a long week and he was looking forward to this; a comfortable night at home with just the two of them. Tommy's father had left town for a week with his sleazy girlfriend; Vegas, he thought Tommy had said. He smiled to himself as he knocked.

There was no answer.

He backed up and looked at the house front, noticing that the windows were all dark. Maybe Tommy wasn't home yet. He decided to try again. He stepped forward and knocked a little harder.

"T?" He said loudly. "I'm here."

He waited for a moment longer. Furrowing his brow, he turned the knob and found the door unlocked. Slowly, he opened it and stepped into the darkness.

"Hello? T? It's me." He called out.

He moved into the entry way and closed the door. Carefully, he searched for the light switch and as he walked, he nearly tripped over something on the floor. His finger finding the switch, he flipped it on.

"What the hell?"

The place was a mess. The entryway table had been turned over; the vase on top in pieces, leaving water and flowers all over the floor. The mirror hanging near the closet had been smashed. He moved through the rural wasteland into the kitchen. The dining table was pushed against the far cabinets and the chairs had been destroyed. Nathan's pulse thumped in his ears as panic set in.

"Tommy? Mr. Shultz?"

He walked to the stairs and put the flowers and strawberries down before he ascended. As he came to the top, he could hear the shower running and walked to the cracked door. He called out.

"Tommy is that you?" There was no answer so he carefully opened the door

"T are you--Oh my God!"

His mind was hit with a wave of visuals that it simply couldn't process. Tommy lay on the floor, naked and still, surrounded by pictures that Nate noticed were of them. Tommy's left eye socket was purple and swollen to bursting. Blood flowed from his nose and from the holes in his mouth where his teeth were missing. His torso was multi-colored with blues, greens and violent purples; the same could be said for his groin and legs and his left ankle was turned the wrong direction. Blood was seeping from his backside.

"God, Tommy!" Nathan dropped to the floor next to him and gently placed his fingers below his jaw, feeling for a pulse. He thought he could feel one, but it was faint.

He reached into his jeans for his phone and quickly dialed 911. With the adrenaline pumping through his system, he was barely able to give the operator any of the details she was asking for and after what seemed like an eternity she said she had dispatched EMT's and they should be there shortly. He was to stay on the line.

"Hurry, please!" He nearly shouted to the other end, before bending down to Tommy's ear. "Stay with me, T. They're on their way. Stay with me."

A few moments later, he could hear the sirens approaching the house and rushed downstairs to meet the paramedics. He lead them upstairs to the bathroom.

"Jesus." The lead paramedic, a man in his late 30's, said "What happened?" He moved in and bent down to check a pulse and airway.

"I-I don't know. I found him this way. H-his dad, maybe?" Nathan gulped.

"His pulse is thready. Get him on a monitor." The EMT then put a stethoscope to his ears and listened to Tommy's chest. "No breath sounds on the left.."

"We're going to have to tube him." The second paramedic spoke up. She was a short blonde haired woman. "Get the gurney." She called down to the two EMT's at the bottom of the stairs.

"C-can we cover him up?" Nathan asked. "He's gonna be cold."

His mind wasn't all there. Trauma had seized his thoughts and he didn't know what else to focus on. Tommy's face, his teeth. The bruises on his thighs and all the blood. Nathan moved aside as the stretcher was brought up and they lifted Tommy to it. One of the paramedics draped a towel over the young man's waist.

"Thanks." Nathan mumbled.

The paramedics lifted the gurney down the stairs with Nathan in tow as he listened to the heart monitor beeping. All his mind could hear was "help me, help me" with every beat. They stepped on shattered glass and flowers as they moved through the entry way and into the front yard. When they got to the ambulance, they carefully lifted him up. Nathan started to follow.

"You can't ride with us, I'm sorry." The female paramedic said, putting up her hand. "Hospital policy."

"He's my....boyfriend." It was the first time he had used the word outside of private conversations between he and Tommy.

"I understand. We're taking him to County, you can meet him there, okay? We have to go."

Nathan was motionless as she all but pushed him off of the rig. What was happening? How could his father have done this? Nathan knew the man was a drunk....but....this? A low waning cry pulled him back to reality and he realized as male paramedic shut the doors and the ambulance lurched forward that the female paramedic was pushing on Tommy's chest.

Tommy's heart had stopped.