Full Circle (Second Chances #2)

By T.A. Webb

The funny thing about circles is that, to draw one, the curve must go down before it can go up again.

Robbie Jennings knows all about ups and downs. Used and abused as a teen by those he should have been able to trust, he almost gave up on life. Then someone stepped in to offer him a second chance. Robbie took the lifeline and ended up with a new family who wanted him...and a boyfriend who loved him.

Nevertheless, Robbie knows the downs can make a man crash. Faced with the perfect storm of woe—a painful voice from the past, a loved one’s grave illness, and a heartrending betrayal—Robbie’s not sure he can close the circle one more time.

His new family must join forces to show him that, together, they can always come Full Circle.

• Language: English
• Publisher: T.A. Webb
• Release date: Apr 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9781941841488

T.A. Webb

T.A. Webb is the writing name for the Mean Old Bear That Could. By day, he's the director of finance for a non-profit agency. He's worked with people living with HIV/AIDS and with children in the foster care system for over twenty years, and takes the smaller pay for the chance to make a difference for those who can't help themselves. After hours, he's the proud single papa of four rescue dogs, was born and raised in Atlanta, where he still lives, and is a pretty darned good country cook. His sister taught him to read when he was four, and he tore his way through the local library over the next few years. Always wanting more, he snuck a copy of The Exorcist under his parents' house to read when he was eleven and scared the bejesus out of himself. Thus began a love affair with books that skirt the edge, and when he discovered gay literature, he was hooked for life. T.A. can be found at Facebook under AuthorTAWebb, tweeted at #TomBearAtl, or if you really want to, you can email him at [e-mail].

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Full Circle

(Second Chances #2)

By T.A. Webb

Copyright

Full Circle (Second Chances #2) is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 by T.A. Webb

Cover photograph from iStock.com

Cover Art by Author.Services

Edited by Jae Ashley

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-941841-48-8

Warning: All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any many without written permission, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this book.

Contact the publisher for further information: [e-mail].

Author’s Note

This book has been a long time coming. I originally had the concept in my head when I finished writing Second Chances in 2012. But then life happened, I had so many health issues, and I didn’t write a word for almost two years. When I started again, I knew this had to be the first thing I wrote. So, please enjoy seeing Robbie. Jason, Mark, Antonio and the whole Jennings family. Forgive me if this is a little darker than Second Chances, but life is like that sometimes.

Dedication

For my real life Robbie. Wherever you are, kid, you are never far from my thoughts.

Trademark Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following trademarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Allman Brothers: The ABB Merchandising Co., Inc.

America's Next Top Model: Pottle Productions, Inc.

Apollo Theater: The Apollo Theatre Foundation, Inc.

Atlanta Botanical Garden: Atlanta Botanical Garden, Inc.

Braves: Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc.

Burger King: Burger King Corporation

Destiny’s Child: Mathew Knowles

Disney World: The Walt Disney Company

Chuck E. Cheese: CEC Entertainment Concepts, L.P.

Coke: The Coca-Cola Company

Cowboys: Dallas Cowboys Football Club, Ltd.

Dairy Queen: American Dairy Queen Corporation

Facebook: Facebook, Inc.

Falcons: Atlanta Falcons Football Club, LLC

Four Seasons: Four Seasons Hotels Limited

Frisbee: Wham-O Holding, Ltd.

Frito-Lay: Frito-Lay North America, Inc.

Georgia Tech: Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

Google: Google, Inc.

Home Depot: Homer TLC, Inc.

Hot Wheels: Mattel, Inc.

Hyatt Regency: Hyatt Corporation

IHOP: IHOP IP, LLC

Jell-O: Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC

KFC: KFC Corporation

Kraft Mac & Cheese: Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC

Krispy Kreme: HDN Development Corporation

Lady GaGa: Ate My Heart Inc.

Lego: Lego Juris A/S Corporation

MARTA: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority

Mary Mac's: Ferrell Enterprises, Inc.

McDonald’s: McDonald’s Corporation

Oscars: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Patrón: Patrón Spirits International AG

Porsche: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG Corporation

Sears: Sears Brands, LLC

Sherlock Holmes: Conan Doyle Estate Limited

Six Flags: Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc.

Skee-Ball: Skee Ball Inc.

Skype: Skype Corporation

Snapchat: Snapchat, Inc.

South Park: Comedy Partners (Viacom International Inc. and Viacom Hearty Ha!Ha! LLC)

Starbucks: Starbucks Corporation

Stetson: John B. Stetson Company

The Men’s Wearhouse: The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc.

Twilight Zone: CBS Broadcasting Inc.

Twizzler: Hershey Chocolate & Confectionery Corporation

Tylenol: Johnson & Johnson Corporation

University of Georgia: The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

Walmart: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Word: Microsoft Corporation

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Author's Note

Dedication

Trademark Acknowledgements

Table of Contents

Prologue

Part I

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Part II

Mark

Patty

Sam

Antonio

Brenda

Jason

William

Part III

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Epilogue

About the Author

Also by T. A. Webb

Prologue

March 2010

The cool night air was coming, I could tell. March in north Georgia always took me by surprise. The days felt deceptively warm, but the minute you stepped in the shade or the sun set, short-sleeved shirts just didn’t cut it. I hadn’t planned to be out so long, and my arms got a little cold, but I didn’t want to go back to the farmhouse quite yet.

I loved the quiet here. The creek that ran behind the house and fed the small pond just a little walk from the main house was one of my favorite spots to come and think. I could sit and throw rocks into the water and watch the ripples slowly even out and disappear. Whatever worries or bad thoughts I had would do the same.

Right now, I was sitting on the little bench Dad helped me build and thinking about family.

When Antonio Roberto bought the old Jennings farmhouse—we all called it the homestead—for my brother Mark, he let me and his son, Jason, know it was for us too. We were all family now. Sometimes I could almost believe it. I could remember the slate was supposed to be wiped clean and the Jennings and Roberto families were mine too. Hell, I was a Jennings now that Dad had adopted me.

I could forget where I came from and what I’d done. After all the years I’d spent not being wanted…these people wanted me. And they didn’t want anything from me. Well, that wasn’t really true. Dad wanted me to tell the truth and do the best I could and be a good man—like him. Mark wanted me to be happy. Jason, he wanted…

I figured I’d find you out here. Jason draped a blanket across my shoulders, and warm arms wrapped around me from behind. I leaned back, closing my eyes and letting Jason hold me and warm me up. Aren’t you ready to come back in and have some dinner? Mark made lasagna. Again. We both laughed.

Mark snarled and growled and tried to make everyone think he was some kind of big hard-ass, but he fretted over all of us and made way too much food. Especially when he was upset or thought one of us was.

Wouldn’t wanna be Antonio tonight. Your dad’s gonna be sore tomorrow and walking funny.

Jason laid his chin on my shoulder and moaned. You didn’t have to go there, did you? I mean…gross. I don’t want to think about my dad and Mark having sex. Jesus, Robbie, way to kill a mood.

I wonder if he’ll tie him down tonight. Or maybe they’ll play that game where he gives him a time limit.

He pushed me and stood, dusting off the ass of his jeans, his hands searching for something to do like they did whenever his dad’s sex life came up.

"Now that’s just wrong, man. God it’s bad enough I have to wear the damned earplugs to bed most nights when I’m here, but now you had to bring up that? I thought you loved me." He groaned and walked back toward the house.

Oh, I do love you. More than you know.

I stood and ran to catch up to him, opening up the blanket and pulling him in next to me. You know I’m just playing with you. Maybe we should try that game sometime, I teased. I have really good hands.

As long as you don’t want to tie me down. The cool country air didn’t cause the shiver I felt run through Jason. I’m not sure I’m ready for that. The huskiness in his voice didn’t quite match the words, but I let it go this time. I’d done what I wanted to and distracted him from asking too many questions.

We walked back up the path, the dark of the spring evening closing in around us. I reached back and made sure the letter was shoved deep in my back pocket before I leaned over and gave Jason a quick kiss. Sometimes, ignorance was bliss, and what he didn’t know really couldn’t hurt him. This was my problem to deal with, and I knew what I had to do.

Part I

Chapter 1

April 2010

I’d been in love with Jason Roberto since the first time we’d met. I was fourteen years old and living at Hope House, the group home the Department of Family and Children’s Services put me in after they took me away from my parents and sister. A lot of us were at Piedmont Park having a picnic, and Mark and his partner, Brian, were there. It was the first time I’d met Brian, and I didn’t like him so much. I was a little jealous. Since Mark took so much time to make sure I was doing okay, it was petty of me, but I didn’t want to share him. But he was there, and Brian and their two little puppies, and then Mark’s friend Antonio and his son Jason showed up.

At the time, I didn’t have a lot of friends. I’d never been around many other kids my age without it being weird, and the adults I knew always wanted something from me, so it was hard to trust anyone. Mark was just beginning to crack through my shell, and I was opening up a little to him, so I figured any friends of his might, just might, be okay. Plus, it was the park and there were Frisbees and food and dogs, and it was one of the best days of my life. We ate and played with Lucy and Ricky, Mark’s miniature pinschers, and Jason was so much fun and I felt so…normal.

That was the day I finally told someone besides my therapist I was gay.

Mark must laugh now, knowing how silly and young I was and what a little drama queen. But I’d wanted someone to know, someone to tell me it was okay and that I wasn’t dirty or bad or wrong. No one had ever taken the time to listen to me without either using it against me, trying to get me to do something or be something, or get something from me. The day had been so perfect, and the sun had felt so good on my face, and to this day, I could still smell the grass and the dogs and Mark’s cologne…and I’d taken a chance.

Thank God I did. Mark, that man was my hero. He told me I was a good boy.

Nobody had ever told me I was a good boy, unless they were doing not-so-good things to me and wanted to make me feel dirty and small.

Now I could say it and be okay with it—I was a drug addict and I was a whore. Not right then, but I’d been one or the other, if not both, since I was, well, young. But Mark told me I was good, and that any family would be lucky to have me as their son. Some lies you want to believe so badly you can taste them. Even if it was only you that knew it was a lie. Mark meant it, but I knew better.

But that day, that beautiful, clean and sunny day…anything was possible. A whore could be a good son. A drug addict could be part of a real family. So I opened my bruised heart a little that day and let Mark and Brian and Jason in. And finally began to know what having a real friend felt like.

I still didn’t know why things happened the way that they did. I wasn’t really worth knowing then and, honestly, wasn’t sure I was worth knowing now.

All these doubts and memories swirled around my head, and I tried to push them back so Jason wouldn’t see them. I wouldn’t ruin the day with all the darkness of the past and let him see through to the worthless boy I was inside. It was that fucking letter than brought all the bad thoughts back up and made me doubt the good things in my life.

Like today. Jason and Amy, his on-and-off-again girlfriend/girl friend and I had decided to go to Six Flags. It was another of those days that seemed to burn themselves into your soul—sunny and warm, comfortable and so damned clear I thought I could see all the way to Alabama. We’d gotten up early and packed a lunch, and I met the two of them outside at the gate before we got our tickets. When they walked up, they were holding hands, so I figured it was one of their on-again times. With those two, I never knew, and I wasn’t going to rock the boat. Jason wasn’t gay; he wasn’t straight, but somewhere in between. And Amy was clear on the straight side of his life, and I was all the way on the gay side.

Damn if Jason didn’t like to ride the fence. I loved him and would do anything for him, but even I knew he wasn’t going to be pushed somewhere he didn’t want to go. He loved me, and I loved him. We slept together, and I mean only slept. Jason promised me he was a virgin—he didn’t want to go all the way until he decided where he wanted to land. Which I thought was silly; although, yeah, I was secretly really glad, since if he slept with Amy, I might…well, I really didn’t want to go there. But I wasn’t sure I could take it.

*

Hands.

That was the first thing I saw when I got close enough. They were folded and lying on top of a book, but I would recognize them anywhere. Long thick fingers, the index finger on his right hand burned and stained from smoking. Cruel hands, strong and… I shook myself to stop the memories from taking over.

I walked across the room, following the guard, and saw those fingers grip the book as he stood. In my memories, he was so much taller, but now I actually had a couple of inches on him. The guard stopped me before we got to the table and went over his warnings again.

No touching. No exchanging of any kind of material. Keep seated the entire time you are here. If you need help for any reason, signal me. I’ll be standing by the wall. Understand?

When I nodded, he turned and walked me the rest of the way to the table.

You know the rules, Gordon. Don’t make me come over here before the kid’s ready, the guard said. Ben Gordon’s eyes never leaving me, he nodded, and the guard backed away and took his position against the wall. Not that I really noticed. All I could see were those hands. Now I could see it was a Bible he gripped so tightly, and that broke the hold those hands had on me.

Sit down, son, he said.

I stood there for a minute, finally moving my gaze up to meet his. He might fool other people, but I knew better when I saw his eyes…the cold, assessing look, like a snake waiting for a mouse to make its move. Yeah, he might have everyone else fooled with this act—the Bible, the shirt buttoned up to his neck, the slicked back hair—but I remembered what lay behind those damned eyes.

I’m not your son. I was proud my voice didn’t break, and I stared him down for a minute before I slid the chair out and sat. I kept my hands in my lap so this asshole couldn’t see them shaking.

He looked at me, those dark eyes moving up and down my body, making me feel naked and on display. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. Of course you are, son. You’re my Robbie. Same as always. And it’s good to see you again, boy. It’s been way too long since I saw you and your sister. That hint of a smile bloomed into something I was sure anyone else in the room would see as fatherly and kind. I knew better. It never reached those fucking eyes.

You can drop the crap. Say whatever it is you wanted to say, but leave Angela out of it. Now, what the hell do you want? My hands still shook, but this time, I wasn’t so sure it was with fear. I hated that man and what he’d done. The anger I hadn’t allowed myself to feel in so long blossomed right behind my eyes and teeth. God, it felt good to taste the fury again.

Ben Gordon laid the Bible down on the table, folded those hands on top of it, and leaned in to face me. I met his gaze, barely holding in the urge to hit him, pummel his face, tear that book out from under those fucking evil hands and…and…

I raised you better than that, little boy. Now shut your fuckin’ mouth and sit there like the good little punk you are and listen. The smile never left his face, and his voice was smooth and slick as oil. I might be stuck in here with this bunch of losers and have to do what the guards tell me to do, but you and me, we know I have a way of getting what I want, don’t we? And what I want, you got.

He leaned forward a little more, and I whimpered, the old memories stealing the air from my lungs. That voice, those words. God damn it, why did I let him get to me? I was an adult, and he didn’t have power over me anymore. I was no longer ten years old.

No, you aren’t ten years old anymore. He laughed, and I realized I must have said that out loud. But you’re still the punk ass little bitch that never could say no. I hear you got yourself hooked in with a rich family now. God only knows how, you little faggot loser. Must be whoring that ass out still. However you got it, I want my share. Of all of it. That grin of his turned into a leer.

I froze, not sure if I could breathe. The lights started to flicker and dim and I could only barely hear that little part of me that kept screaming no, he can’t hurt me. Don’t listen. The rest was lost in the first time he’d called me a faggot.

The pool was so much fun. Me and Angela swam and did cannonballs and splashed each other all day. It’d been so long since Momma and Daddy had taken us somewhere fun. They usually were working, or fighting…or doing that stuff that smelled so bad and made them both forget about us. Sometimes we had to make our own supper, if they remembered to get some bread and bologna or peanut butter. I could make us both sandwiches and then me and Angela would hide in the bedroom until they woke up or the other people left.

But this, this was fantastic! They brought us to the beach and let us both play in the gulf water and walk in the sand all day before we all ended up at the pool. Now it was time to go in, and we all went to the motel room and took a shower. Daddy went first, and then sent me in to get all the sand and stuff off me.

When I came out, Momma and Angela were gone, and some guy I hadn’t seen before was there with Daddy. They were stretched out on the bed with some kind of glass tube thing and it was burning and smelly. I felt funny, being there with just my towel, and I saw they didn’t have their clothes on either. That made me really nervous and I started to go back in the bathroom when Daddy called me.

"Robbie, get in here. I got somebody I want you to meet. Don’t make me come get you."

I knew better than to go in the bathroom now, ’cause when he said to come, you’d better come or it meant a slap or a spanking. Daddy didn’t like it when you were loud or didn’t do what he said. Or got in his way. So I went