Copyright 2020-2021: No part of this story may be reproduced in any way without the express written consent of the author. The author grants www.nifty.org permission to post the story on their website.
DISCLAIMER: This story is a work of fiction and fantasy. No part of it is based on true events, and any similarity to any person, living or dead, is coincidental. It contains descriptions of homosexual activities between consenting adults. If you are not over 18 years of age, or if you find this type of story offensive, or viewing this material is illegal where you are, then please DO NOT READ IT! If you choose to read it, then - I hope you enjoy it!
Nifty needs donations to continue doing what we all enjoy. If you can, please consider donating.
When You Least Expect By Josh Blake
Chapter 23
"Mr. P! Watch out He's got a gun! No!!!!" Trey screamed. I never saw what was coming, but I felt a lot of pressure on my shoulder and my back, and then the world went black.
"He's coding!" the nurse yelled.
"Epinephrine, stat!" The doctor ordered.
"Clear!"
The nurse shocked me to try to get my heart restarted.
"He's back," the doctor said. "But he's lost a lot of blood. Who came in with him?"
"His husband," the nurse said. "He's outside."
"Better get him in here," the doctor said. "This guy's not going to last long. If we can stabilize him, it's off to surgery. Give him a minute with him before we take him back."
Everyone told me later that there was no way I could remember all of that. But I did. I heard it all. Don't ask me how or why, but I was aware of what was transpiring. I was very much aware when Braden was led into the room, essentially to say goodbye. He took my hand and kissed my lips.
"I love you, Josh. I'll never stop loving you," Braden said, sobbing. I wanted to respond, but I couldn't. I couldn't get anything to work.
"Let's roll," the doctor said. "Sir, we will let you know when we have some news," the nurse said. "Is there anyone with you?"
"Just a friend," Braden said. "The rest of the family is on their way."
---- "Straight ahead on the news at ten, a local high school principal remains in critical condition following a shooting at the home of one of his students. We'll bring you the latest. It's going to be another cold night. Our weather team is standing by with your forecast for the rest of the weekend!" the newscaster read.
David and Robert sat in their den watching the news, waiting to hear more either from the news anchor or from my family. Robert held Jackson in his arms. They had volunteered to babysit so the rest of the family could stand guard at the hospital.
"He's going to be okay, dear," Robert said to David. "I just know he is."
"If he's not, I'm going to kill that man, Robert. I swear to God I will murder him," David said.
"Hush. You're upset, and so am I. He'll get what he deserves," Robert said.
"I'm deathly serious," David said, turning to look at Robert. "I'm an old man. I have nothing to lose. I will kill him myself."
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the family wasn't allowed inside the hospital, but they wanted to be close, just in case.
Bonnie held Braden in her arms as he cried, just as she had when he was a baby.
"What if he dies, Mom? What am I supposed to do then?" Braden cried. My mom sat in the back of the SUV on the other side of Braden. She had her hand on his shoulder. She was crying herself. They all were.
"He's not going to die," Bonnie said. "We have to have faith. The doctors are doing all they can."
Braden's cell phone rang. He answered.
"Is this Braden Patterson?" the nurse asked.
"Yes. Is Josh alive?"
"Yes, he's alive and out of surgery for the moment. The bullet collapsed his lung and severed a major artery. He lost a lot of blood, and he is still not out of the woods. He is going to need more blood, but he is O negative, and we are low on that type. Is anyone in his family that blood type and willing to donate?"
"I'm not," Braden said. "Josh needs O negative blood," Braden said to everyone. Is anyone O negative?"
No one in the car was, but Mom spoke up. "I know someone who is," Mom said. She picked up her cell phone and placed a call.
"It's me. Our son is in bad shape. He was shot. He may die. He needs blood, and yours is a match. I know you don't acknowledge him as your son, but if you love me at all, do it for me," mom pleaded. "I can't lose him."
Dad agreed to give me his blood. Mom gave him the details, and he drove over. As soon as he arrived, he was whisked into the hospital and started giving blood. From what the doctor told me later, Dad arrived just as I was in need of more blood. Had he not shown up when he did, I may have died.
Several days later, I learned exactly what had happened. Trey, having not heard from Lucas in a while, drove to Lucas's house to see what was going on. He was unaware that Mr. Albright had found out about their relationship.
Lucas knocked on the door, and Mr. Albright answered.
"Hello, Mr. Albright. Lucas wasn't answering his phone, so I came over to check on him. Is he okay?"
"Trey! It's so good to see you," Mr. Albright said. "Lucas is fine. He's just back in his bedroom. Why don't you go back there and see him?"
Trey had no reason to suspect anything was out of the ordinary. He walked in the door and headed back toward Lucas's bedroom. He didn't come to Lucas's house often, but he had been there enough to know where his bedroom was located. He stepped into the open door of Lucas's bedroom, and was confused by the chaotic state of the room. He turned around to ask Mr. Albright what happened. As he turned around, Trey was hit hard by the man's fist. The unexpected impact knocked him to the ground.
"You fucking little faggot!" Mr. Albright spat. "You thought you were going to come over here and fuck your little boyfriend, didn't you? Or was he going to fuck you? You were going to suck on each other's dicks and do all the stuff little faggot queer boys do, weren't' you?"
Trey could smell alcohol on the man. He tried to get up and defend himself, but Mr. Albright struck him again, knocking him down.
"What's wrong, faggot? Can't stand up?"
Trey tried to stand up again, but this time Mr. Albright kicked him hard, shattering one of his kneecaps.
"You want some dick, faggot? Here, suck my dick!" Mr. Albright pulled out his penis and grabbed Trey's head, attempting to force him to suck it. Trey refused to open his mouth. This infuriated Albright, causing him to slap and punch Trey repeatedly.
My knocking and yelling interrupted the assault. Trey tried to yell out but was silenced by Albright's hand over his mouth. Trey bit him, causing Albright to curse.
"God damn it, faggot."
"Help, Mr. P!" Trey screamed.
"Oh, it's your faggot principal. I'm going to take care of him, then I'll take care of you."
Mr. Albright had gone to another room to retrieve his gun. That is when I kicked in the door. Trey had managed to crawl to the front of the house. I was about to try to help him, when Albright shot me in the back. He was about to shoot Trey, when he was taken out by a blow to the back of the head. Braden and Lucas had not followed my orders to stay in the truck. When they saw me kick in the door, they ran toward the house. Upon hearing the gunshot, Lucas grabbed a brick from the yard, bounded into the house, and hit his dad in the back of the head with it. Mr. Albright collapsed, firing his gun as he did so. Luckily, this bullet struck the wall, missing Trey. Braden ran in and tried to attend to me, but there was too much blood for him to be able to do anything. Luckily, the police arrived moments later and called for an ambulance. The officers administered first aid to the best of their ability until the paramedics arrived.
Trey was injured, but most of his injuries were superficial. He had a shattered kneecap, a fractured jaw, and lots of facial lacerations. He spent a couple days in the hospital after having surgery to repair his knee but was released soon after.
My injuries were much more severe. The bullet collapsed my lung and severed an artery. Thanks to the doctors and the nurses, I made it through the surgery, but I was not out of the woods yet. I was kept in a medically induced coma for several days in order to allow my body to heal. Braden was allowed to be with me in my hospital room, but no other visitors were allowed. Braden did frequent FaceTime calls to keep everyone informed of my recovery.
Braden had the TV on in my room one afternoon when I started to wake up.
"Welcome in to the news at 6:00. I'm Rob DeAgosto. We go live now to Reporter Todd Shackleford who is outside Bruno Valley High School, where superintendent Dr. David Turner is updating us on the condition of the school's beloved principal. Todd, what can you tell us?" the news anchor asked.
"There is quite a crowd gathered here, mostly students and parents, but some staff as well. The superintendent is about to address the crowd and the media. Let's listen in."
"I am happy to bring you thanks on behalf of the family of Mr. Joshua Patterson, for all of the well wishes and the prayers. As you all know, Josh, as he is known to friends and family, or Mr. P to his students, was the victim of a heinous attack. I won't give any further details on that incident, other than to say that one of our students was also involved and was injured, and Josh was attempting to come to his defense. Josh remains in critical but stable condition. The family requests that you continue to pray for his recovery."
"There you have it, Rob," the reporter said. "Wait, Rob, it looks like the sheriff is taking the microphone now. Let's listen in."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you all for your continued support for the school and the community. I am happy to announce that the district attorney has filed formal charges against Mr. Harold Lee Albright in the crimes leading up to and including the attack on Mr. Patterson. Mr. Albright is being charged with one count of neglect and abuse of a child under the age of 18. He is charged with one count of assault against a minor under the age of 18. He is also charged with attempted murder in the first degree. He is being held in the county jail with no bail allowed. The investigation is ongoing, and further details will be released at the appropriate time."
I groaned, getting Braden's attention.
"Josh? Josh, did you say something?" Braden said, rushing to my bedside. He took my hand.
"Br.......ad.....en," I croaked out, slowly
"Josh, I'm here. Don't try to talk. Just rest. I'm here."
I tried to form words, but I was too weak. Braden quickly pulled out his phone and FaceTime called his mom.
"Mom, he's waking up. Get Patti and everyone else," Braden said. Pretty soon, the whole family was crowded around Bonnie's phone. I managed to open my eyes for a moment to see everyone and hear them talking, but then my eyes closed again. I was still on high doses of morphine.
The doctor came in and was pleased with the fact that I had started waking up.
"We'll start weaning him off the medication over the next few hours to allow him to start waking up," the doctor said. "We just don't want to wean him off too quickly. His body is still very weak, and we need to take it slowly. His path to recovery is going to take some time."
"But he is going to recover, right?" Braden asked.
"At this point, I believe he will," the doctor said. "When he came in that afternoon, I didn't think he'd make it, but he's turned a corner. It's going to take time to get back to normal, but he'll get there."
Braden first called my mom and filled her in on what the doctor had said, then he called David and Robert.
"Hey Braden," David answered. "What's the latest?"
"We think he's going to be okay," Braden said. "The doctor said it's going to take time, but he should recover. I think he heard David talking on TV. That's when he started trying to wake up. He knew I was there. He tried to say my name."
"That's fantastic!" Robert said. "I know someone else who is going to be happy to hear that news! Did you hear that, Jack? Your daddy is going to be okay!"
Braden could hear Jackson's baby talk in the background.
"I can't thank you guys enough for keeping Jackson these last few days. Mom has been so busy trying to keep Patti's spirits up that they just couldn't handle him," Braden said.
"We have enjoyed every minute of it," Robert said. "He's been such a good baby! He hardly ever cries!"
"That's my boy!" Braden said. "I'll call you guys when I know something new."
"We love you, Braden!" David yelled into the phone.
"I love you guys, too," Braden said, hanging up.
Braden moved over beside my bed and took my hand. "I love you, too, Josh. I love you more than anything, and I'll never stop loving you."
The next chapter in this series will be published soon!
Your feedback is always appreciated! Send it to whenyouleastexpect2020@gmail.com. Let me know if you want to be added to my mailing list to be informed when new chapters are published.