Tossed Away Kid - Chapter 2

A special thanks to the Late Ed Wooten for his editorial help.

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  I wandered to a park not far from my house to try to think things out.  Why am I so stupid?  Now I have no place to go.  I could try to get to Lombard, near Chicago, and find Danny, but how do I get there?  There are John Wayne Gacys and Jeffery Dahmers out there that would love to get their hands on me.  I have no money for a bus or train.  Who do I trust?  I can't even trust my own parents!  What will happen if the police pick me up?  My head hurts.  I can't stay here – it will be getting dark soon.  I'm glad my parents don't want me, but I'm scared too.

  I got up and walked to a main road not that far away and sat at a bus stop bench.  I sat there thinking the same questions I thought at the park over and over again, when a GEO-Metro pulled up and this great big man got out.  I think it's funny that such a big man is in such a small car.  He is at least 6'3" and 300 pounds, mostly fat.  What does this guy want from me?  He has a big smile and looks friendly. Can I trust him?

  "Hi, there, my name is Fred Kelly but you can call me Mr. Kelly," he says to me.  "You don't look so good.  That's quite a black eye you have.  Are you waiting for a bus to go home?  Do you need help?"

  "Do you have a daughter, Cindy Kelly?  I know her from school.  She's in my grade."

  "Yes, that's my daughter.  I was on my way home from work when I saw you sitting here and noticed that you look like you might need some help.  It's getting late, don't you need to get home?"

  I decided to take a chance.  At least he doesn’t sound like a serial killer.  "I don't have a home anymore," I said in a soft voice with my head down.

  He pulled out a cell phone and small address book, then called a cab.

  "What is your name, son?"

  "Tommy Tucker."

  "I have called a cab and I'm going to have them take you to the emergency room to look at your eye.  I'll pay for the cab.  I can write it off as a business expense.  I'm also going to have the police meet us there.  You know you should never accept a ride from a stranger.  That is why I'm calling you a cab.  I want the police to be at the hospital so that we have a record of the damage done to your face.  Also we need to find some place for you to stay tonight.  You can stay at my house tonight but not without the police telling you it's okay.  We’re not going to embarrass you with a bunch of questions.  That's not important right now.  You'll tell me when you’re ready.  Tomorrow we can decide together where you can stay.  You’re too young to be homeless.  Does that sound like a plan, Tommy?"

  "Don't you need my parents’ consent to treat me at a hospital?  What about insurance - how are you gong to pay for the hospital visit?"

  "Just leave that to me, Tommy.  They know me there and we'll get you fixed right up."

  He seems to have all the right answers.  I feel I can trust Mr. Kelly.  I'm hungry and tired and my head hurts.

  The cab showed up and I got in.  Mr. Kelly told the cab driver to take me to the emergency room and handed him a bill.  Then he got in his car and followed us to the hospital.  When we got to the hospital, Mr. Kelly got his change and a receipt from the cab driver and we went through the doors.  We walked up to the receptionist desk and the nurse on duty had a big smile on her face.

  "Hi, Fred, and you must be Tommy.  The judge called and has given you temporary custody of Tommy so if you just sign the release we can get him treated."

  "I'll come by tomorrow, Mary, and fill out all the other paperwork."

  Mr. Kelly signed a form and I was taken into an examining room.  A nurse came in and handed me a hospital gown and told me to strip and put the gown on.  A tall man dressed in a plain suit came into my room.

  "Hi, I'm Detective Samuels from the state police and I'll be working on your case."  He showed me his badge and shook my hand.  "I'm not going to ask you any questions at this time but I wanted to introduce myself to you and let you know that it's okay for you to go home with Mr. Kelly tonight.  My report is mainly based on what the Doctor finds out and then we'll talk about what caused the damage later."

  He shook my hand again and left.  Then a young doctor came in who introduced himself as a staff resident and asked me a bunch of question about my medical history.  Then this old doctor came in and looked at the chart with the answers to all the questions I just answered and he checked me out.  It was the most intense examination I've ever had.  I still had some welts on my backside from a minor infraction a week ago.  He had someone else take pictures.  It's embarrassing having someone taking a picture of your butt.  He asked be about some other scars I had but I didn't tell him how I got them.  He then ordered x-rays and a CAT scan of my head.

  After all that was done he came back in and told me that I had a minor concussion and that I might have a headache for a few days and told me he'd give me something for that.  I was released to Mr. Kelly and we left for his house.

  The ride to Mr. Kelly's house was quiet.  It was getting dark so it was after 8:00 PM.  We pulled into his driveway and it’s only a mile from my house.  We walked into his house and a small good-looking women, whom he introduced to me as his wife, greeted him.  She looked to be about half his size.

  "I have dinner ready for you guys.  I hope you’re hungry, Tommy."

  I had not thought about my stomach in some time and I realized that I was in fact very hungry.  She had meatloaf with mashed potatoes and I ate it up very quickly.  Mr. Kelly's daughter Cindy came into the room and instantly recognized me.

  "Tommy, what are you doing here?  What happened to you?"

  "Tommy's had a hard day, sweetheart.  Let’s hold off on the questions for right now.  Okay?"

  "Okay.  It's just you're the last person I thought my dad would bring home with him.  Usually it's kids without family and/or friends.  I know you and Danny are tight.  If you have a problem I would think you would go to his house."

  "Danny moved to Lombard, near Chicago, a few weeks ago."

  "Oh, my God – I bet you feel just terrible.  He's been your best friend forever."

  "That's enough, Cindy.  Why don't you take Tommy to the guestroom and show him where he's sleeping tonight.  Then perhaps you two can watch some TV in the family room if he wants.  AND NO MORE QUESTIONS."

  "Okay, Dad."

  Cindy showed me the guestroom and I told her instead of watching TV I'd just like to take a shower and some pain pills and go to sleep.  The shower was relaxing and all my problems seemed to run down the drain.  I went into the guestroom with just a towel wrapped around me.  Mrs. Kelly came in and told me that there was some clean underwear about my size in the dresser and I could help myself.  She also handed me an ice pack for my eye, and a glass of water to wash down a pill she gave me that the doctor gave Mr. Kelly.  I took the pill.  I found some shorts to wear that fit me, and laid down in the twin size bed.  I placed the ice pack on my eye that had swollen shut and it felt good.  Very quickly the pill took effect and I fell asleep.

I woke up and the sun was shining through the window.  I needed to pee like a racehorse and made my way to the bathroom.  As I made my way into the hall I heard some giggling and saw Cindy looking at my midsection.  I looked down and saw that I was indeed sporting wood.  I hurried into the bathroom and as soon as I calmed down some I emptied my bladder. 

  I went back to the guestroom and got dressed.  I smelled food.  I went downstairs to investigate.

  "Good morning, Tommy, ready for some breakfast?"

  "Sure, and thanks, Mrs. Kelly."

  "My  pleasure.  Fred has gone to the office to do some work.  He said that he'd be back about lunchtime.  He said that this afternoon he will have time to sort things out for you.  In the meantime why don't you hang out with Cindy."

  "Okay, Mrs. Kelly."

  I had a good time hanging out with Cindy.  She didn't make any rude comments about my morning wood or ask any embarrassing question that I was not ready to answer.  We talked for the longest time about school and kids we knew and stuff like that.  I'm really starting to like her.  She's pretty cool for a girl.

  Mr. Kelly came home for lunch and we had a great meal together.  After lunch Mr. Kelly had me to go for a ride with him.  We went to the park I was at yesterday.  We sat down on the bench near a pond.  He had a big cup of coffee and he sat quietly and drank it.

  Why is he being so quiet?  He's not even asking me any questions.  It seems like we had been sitting here for an hour when it's only been five minutes.  I feel so uncomfortable.

  "Mr. Kelly, aren't you going to ask me any questions?"

  "No, Tommy, if you would like you can ask me whenever you want.  Also, you can tell me whenever you want.  I'm not going to pressure you into telling me anything you don't want to."

  "Why are you being so nice to me, Mr. Kelly?"

  "That's my job, Tommy."

  "What is your job, Mr. Kelly?"

  "I'm a social worker, Tommy, I help out boys and girls with problems."

  "What's a social worker, Mr. Kelly?"

  "A social worker is like a psychiatrist except I don't have a medical degree.  But I am trained to help with emotional problems.  Just like a psychiatrist."

  "Is that why you didn't have any problems at the hospital yesterday getting me treated?"

  "That is correct, you're not the first person I've had to help, Tommy.  They know me fairly well down there.  I work for the state, helping young people with problems.  However, I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong."

  "I feel I can trust you, Mr. Kelly, but I'm not sure how much more rejection I can take at this time."

  "You're obviously a very bright young man, Tommy.  You should know that I am not paid to reject people I'm paid to help them.  You are also obviously in a lot of trouble right now.  I can't help you until I know what's wrong.  The longer you wait to tell me what's wrong, the worse the problem becomes."

  I decided to trust Mr. Kelly.  So far he'd been very friendly and fair with me.  He asked if he could record the conversation so that I would not have to repeat it over and over again.  I spent the next two hours telling him my story.  I told him about the relationship with my parents, the relationship with the Smiths, and my relationship with Danny.  He remained quiet throughout the entire conversation.  A few times tears came to my eyes and Mr. Kelly put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.  When I finished he turned off the recorder.  Then once again he was quiet for about five minutes.  It seemed like an hour to me.

  "This is what I want you to do, Tommy.  I want you to make a list of everything that belongs to you in your parents’ possession.  I'm going to take you home now and want you to get some rest.  I have to get back up to work and verify as much as I can of your story."

  "I can assure you, Mr. Kelly, everything I've told you is true."

  "If everything you've told me is true, Tommy, your parents are guilty of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment.  Also your father is guilty of felony assault.  Unfortunately, I'm sure your parents aren't stupid.  It's going to be basically your word against theirs.  It's against the law in the state of Illinois to kick a 14-year-old out of his house for any reason.  These are very serious charges.  However, I've dealt with these kinds of cases before.  If your parents have talked to a lawyer in the last 24 hours I'm sure they're going to change their tune.  So I don't want to get your hopes up.  If your parents want you back, based on the evidence you've given me, there's not much I can do.  More than likely their story will make this situation entirely your fault.  I'm going to contact Detective Samuels and have him investigate the case.  In the meantime, I need to get that list done of everything at your parents’ that also belongs to you.  You need to include your clothes, TV, stereo, computer, books, CDs, bicycle, and anything else your parents have ever given you."

  "Okay, Mr. Kelly, I'll do that this afternoon."

  "Okay, Tommy, I’m going to take you back to the house now and I'll be back later on tonight."

  On the ride back to Mr. Kelly's house I asked him how he felt about the fact that I was gay.  He said that he's dealt with lots of gay kids and he doesn't have a problem with who somebody likes.  He also said that it would make no difference on how he would handle my case.

  As soon as I got back to the Kelly house I went into the guestroom and started to work on my list.  It took me almost an hour to put it all together.  By the time I finished I was totally exhausted.  The last 48 hours had been very trying and emotional for me.  I went downstairs and Mr. Kelly came in the door just as I got there.

  "Did you get your list done, Tommy?"

  "I sure did."

  "Very good, I would like you to go to the office with me tomorrow morning."

  Just then Mrs. Kelly announced that dinner was ready.  Cindy came bouncing down the stairs with a big happy grin on her face.  We went into the dining room and enjoyed a great meal.  Then we went into the family room and watched TV together.  After about 15 minutes I fell asleep on the couch.  Mr. Kelly waked me up and said I should probably go up to bed.  I stretched and yawned and went up the guestroom.  I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

  Mr. Kelly waked me up early the next morning.  I got up, took a shower, and got dressed.  I realized I've been wearing the same clothes for three days in a row.  I sure hope I can get my stuff today.  After a light breakfast Mr. Kelly and I left for the office.

  We parked beside this huge office building downtown.  We took the elevator up to the 14th floor and got out.  On the door leading to Mr. Kelly's office was a big sign saying ‘Department of Social Services’.  When we got to Mr. Kelly's office the sign on his door said ‘Director, Department of Social Services’.  Now I was starting to understand why Mr. Kelly has had so much influence with the hospital and the police.  There were two men waiting outside his office as we arrived.  One I recognized as Detective Samuels, the other man I did not know.  Mr. Kelly eagerly shook both men’s hands.  Then he introduced me to Capt. Wright of the Chicago police force.  Then we stepped into Mr. Kelly's office and he closed the door.

  "Tommy, what I'm about to tell you must stay in this room," said Detective Samuels.  "We went to visit your parents last night.  Yesterday afternoon they reported you as a runaway.  I asked your father what possible reason you can have to run away.  He said you were upset about your friend Danny leaving and he felt you are trying to go to Chicago to be with him.  I asked him if he had any idea how you got a black eye.  He said he had no idea.  I asked him if he wanted you to come home.  He said he wants nothing to do with a no-good runaway kid.  I explained to him that constitutes abandonment, that he has no right to not support you.  He said he doesn't care.  If you do not want to be there that's your problem, not his.  I explained to him that he's going to have to pay child support until you’re 18 and that child abandonment will be on his police record.  He did not seem real concerned about that."

  "When I heard your name over the radio, saying you were being taken to the hospital, Tommy, I rushed to get there.  You see, we have an ongoing investigation of your father.  We've already gathered quite a bit of evidence against him.  There has been some violence at your father's high school the last several years and we've been able to determine your father has had some knowledge of this.  However, all of our evidence at this point is circumstantial.  Based on the information you gave us yesterday, we've been able to put some of the evidence together.  I have a question for you, Tommy.  Does anyone besides the people in this room, your parents, or Danny and his parents know you're gay?"

  "Not to my knowledge.  The Smiths said they would not tell anybody but I do not know who my dad or mom might have told."

  "We do have a plan, Tommy, to get enough evidence to stop your father from hurting others.  Last year a boy was killed in your father’s school.  You know anything about that?"

  "All my dad said was that guy deserved it for being a queer little faggot."

  "We have some evidence that suggests your father not only encouraged this guy getting beaten to death but actually helped plan it.  This brings us to our plan, Tommy.  Capt. Wright of the Chicago police force is working on a program to stop violence in the schools in Chicago.  This summer he's having a training program to train students to be acting Chicago police officers among their peers.  There are two boys, 16 and 17, who are assisting us in the training and preparation of the students.  I'm going to let Capt. Wright explain the rest to you."

  "In Michigan last year a young man got beaten up.  He was told that if he returned to school he would get beaten up every day.  Sheriff Brown along with Greg Stevens, the father of the boy that got beat up, developed a plan to get the boy back in school.  They hired Sheriff Brown's nephew, Mark Adams, to protect Greg's son.  Mark had already worked for his uncle as a deputy sheriff.  The program proved to be very successful.  It also came to the attention of Mayor Daley.  Mayor Daley decided to try this program in our schools.  It consists of two-person teams of students who are acting police officers.  This summer we are having a training session for the students to become acting police officers in the Chicago public schools.  Mike Stevens and Mark Adams are assisting us in the training of the students.  I will let Detective Samuels explain the rest to you, Tommy."

  "This is our game plan, Tommy.  We've set Mike and Mark up in an apartment in Chicago.  We want to place you in Mark's protective custody.  We have reason to believe at this time that your father might be out to get you.  We want you to go through the training program along with the other students.  At the end of the training program you will come back down here to Springfield.  Mark and Michael will also come along with you.  Next year you are a freshman in high school and we plan on putting you in your father's high school.  We feel confident that your father is going to try something, but have no concern for your safety. You will be protected.  After we have the necessary evidence to put your father away for a long time then Mr. Kelly's plan comes into play.  I'll let him explain that to you."

  "I've talked to the Smiths, Tommy, and they'd be more than happy to have you as a permanent foster child in their home.  We have some paperwork and other things that need to be done before that can happen.  In the meantime by you going to Chicago this summer you will have time to spend with Danny.  And you will be able to visit with the Smiths.  When you come back down here we don't feel it's going to take very long for your father to make a move.  At that point we will be able to place you in a permanent foster home with the Smiths.  I know you've been through a lot, Tommy, and we've giving you a lot more to think about today.  But we have more to do.  We need to go to your house and pick up your things.  We have a court order allowing us access to your parents’ house.  Before we go to your house your parents will be picked up for questioning.  They will not be there when we are collecting your belongings.  After we have all your things I have a bus ticket that will take you to Chicago.  What we need to know is, are you willing to help us with our plan?"

  "I very much love my parents despite what I've endured for the last 14 years.  However, if my father is involved with other kids being beaten and even killed we have to put a stop to it.  I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help you.  Of course being able to spend time with Danny this summer definitely helps my decision."

  "I hope you understand, Tommy, the commitment you're making," said Detective Samuels.  "This is very serious.  It's extremely important that you don't talk about what we discussed here today except with Mike and Mark.  Capt. Wright explained the situation to them last night.  However, he did not tell them the reason why you got kicked out of the house.  We will leave that up to you."

  "I appreciate your concern, Detective Samuels.  I promise too I will not talk with anybody about what we discussed today and I'm totally committed to helping you in any way I can."

  "Very well, Tommy, let's go get your things," said Mr. Kelly.

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To be continued...