MONDAY

Brian looked at Michael suspiciously. Michael had come back to the cabin late last night and had been unusually quiet. He had been moving slowly. Brian was waiting for Michael’s childlike wonder to start but as the day wore on it hadn’t. After their boating excursion with a tall, thin female counselor named Cindy, he asked Michael if he wanted to swim.

“Um…not today. I think I’ll just read.”

“You can read anytime; the whole point of this trip is to do whatever the hell campers do.”

“Just leave it, Brian,” Michael snapped before stomping off.

Brian watched him go into their cabin, after a minute he decided to leave him be. Instead of worrying about Michael, he went off to find Lindsay to see if she wanted to swim. If they wanted to make him feel like a child, they succeeded. The pool had a rule about having a “buddy” when you swam. He was a fucking adult and swam better than any of the twats playing lifeguard.

He couldn’t find Lindsay, but he saw Ted walking towards him, he was already in his swim trunks.

“Hey, Bri, I was just going to the pool. What to come? Emmett’s drooling over one of the counselors.”

“Sure, why not,” he said, thankful that he hadn’t had to ask.

“Which counselor has Emmett all hot and bothered?”

“Our driver…Ben. He’s counselor of Cypress. He also teaches meditation.”

“God, meditation, we are in hell, you know that, right?”

Ted just laughed.

It was an hour until dinner, and he was going to get sun while he could. He swam a while but then laid out on one of the beach chairs, hoping to tan. It was annoying that he had to keep his suit on, he would have preferred an all over tan.

As he was sunbathing, he noticed his counselor, Justin coming into the gate. He watched at Justin let the current lifeguard get down taking her place. The boy was covered in sunblock, he must burn with his pale skin.

Brian let his eyes roam over the young man’s body. He wasn’t muscular or built. But he was young and tight looking, Brian wanted to taste him.

He was jerked out of his fantasy by the twink’s change in expression. One minute he was smiling and laughing at the antics of some of the campers, then his expression turned sour. Brian followed his line of sight and saw his original cabin counselor. He was just outside the pool fence talking to the camper that gave Brian a blowjob the first night. The camper looked uncomfortable with whatever they were talking about.

Luckily, the trick from last night seemed to come out of nowhere, whisking the camper off, leaving a scowling counselor. Brian looked back to Justin, he looked better, more relaxed. What was going on there?

Brian decided to shower before dinner, so he left, telling Ted as he went. He had to go to his cabin to get some clothes and his toiletry bag. As he entered the cabin, he heard a faint noise. It was crying. Muffled crying. Slowly he turned the corner that separated their bunk area and the front door. That was when he saw Michael, face buried in his pillow, crying. Brian had never seen Michael cry, just like Michael had never seen him cry. Michael wasn’t a butch, tough guy but didn’t like to show his emotions, he was scared he would look like his mom when she went off the handle.

“Michael, what the hell is wrong?” he asked, his voice brasher than he planned.

Michael jumped, turning around in the bottom bunk, his eyes red. He looked like he would speak but shook his head.

“Come on, Michael, talk to me.” Sensitive really wasn’t his wheelhouse but he would try for Michael.

“David broke up with me,” he said, his voice rough.

“And?” This was very unlike Michael to be losing it over a guy.

“There’s something else.”

“What?”

Michael got off the bed, he moved slowly like he was in pain. He hesitantly lifted his shirt up. That’s when Brian saw bruises on his stomach and his ribs.

“Christ, Michael, what the hell happened?”

“David didn’t want to come here. I knew that and I still pushed, it was my fault.”

“David did this? I’ll fucking kill him,” Brian said, turning to get out the door.

“He called a cab from Uncle Dan’s cabin earlier. He’s gone. Just let it go.”

“Are you going to call the cops?”

“I just want to forget all about this.”

“You need to be looked at.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You can either let me take you to the doctor or I call Deb.”

Michael shivered and relented. “Fine.”

“Stay here, I need to go see about getting a ride out of here. Then we can go home.”

“NO! I want to stay, please don’t let him ruin this too.”

God, Brian couldn’t say no to that, fuck David again.

Justin was talking to Uncle Dan in his cabin about the next day’s activities when someone started banging on the door. Dan opened it and was greeted with the angry face of one Brian Kinney.

“Can I help you, son?” Uncle Dan asked.

Brian scoffed. “The camper you let leave beat his boyfriend black and blue before he left. Michael doesn’t want cops involved but he needs to be seen by a doctor.”

“What? I don’t understand. Someone was hurt while at my camp?” Uncle Dan asked, getting himself worked up.

“Listen, no one’s blaming you for David being a tool. I just need to use a car and directions to the closest ER. I just need to get Michael looked at.”

“Closest hospital is an hour away,” Dan said before looking at Justin. “Call Gloria and have her come over and check the boy out.”

“He needs a doctor not some old woman,” Brian said.

Justin laughed. Gloria Fielding was many things but describing her as just an old woman was laughable.

“Gloria is a doctor. She has a small medical office a few miles away. If she thinks he needs an x-ray or something she’ll take him. She’s a very respected doctor.”

Uncle Dan was also sweet on her, but he didn’t think he deserved happiness. That made Justin said, he just wanted the old man happy.

Hours later Brian watched a sleeping Michael. The doctor said that she suspected Michael’s ribs were just bruised, a trip to the clinic confirmed that. Michael had some pain killers and something to help him sleep. Brian wasn’t having any luck falling asleep, so he decided to go for a walk. The camp was dark, the only light was the lit walkway to the restrooms.

He just walked, letting his mind go. There had been so many emotions when he found out David hurt Michael. It happened right under his nose and he didn’t see. Why didn’t he see it? He watched his father beat his mom and sister; he remembered his father’s fists laying into him. Why couldn’t he see that Michael was slipping away?

“God, you are so fucking hot,” a voice said.

Brian looked around, thinking someone was talking to him but no one was there.

“Very lame,” a female voice said.

“Cut it out, Daphne,” the male voice said, it was familiar.

“Hey, you told me to help you with your pickup lines. I’m just saying, that’s lame. No way will someone like Brian fall for it.”

“I told you, it’s not Brian,” the male voice said, he know knew who it belonged to, Justin…his counselor.

“Oh, come on, you’ve been gaga for him since he arrived.”

“Well, maybe but he’s not very discriminating on who he sleeps with. You know that I can’t do that.”

“Yeah, I know. I know who does want to have a happily ever after with you.”

“Who?”

“Blue. You have to see it; he’s is head over heels for you.”

“You’re crazy, Blue and I are just friends.”

Brian didn’t want to hear anymore. It was worse than kids in high school. But he had guessed the bald counselor was enthralled with the blond boy earlier. Sadly, it only made Brian want him more. He was sure it was because the blond wouldn’t easily fall into bed with him. Of course, he hadn’t truly been up against the Stud of Liberty Avenue before. That’s what he would do, Brian needed something to focus on. He would get the blond twink to sleep with him, he would be honest because he didn’t want the kid following him around after. This week just started to look up.