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The three boys gathered at the edge of Lake Tahoe to do a little fishing and talk like they did every Saturday.
Little Joe watched as Seth and Mitch approached, he hoped that he was right, but he could be wrong. Just because they were nervous around him didn’t make him right in his guess.
Seth dismounted from his pony, Sparky, and turned to Little Joe asking “what did you want to talk to us about, Little Joe?”
“Yeah,” inquired Mitch, “you said it was important, and that we shouldn’t bring anyone with us.”
“I wanted to speak with you about Mr. Tompkins.” answered Little Joe.
“I don’t like that man,” Mitch and Seth replied at the same time.
“Neither do I.” Little Joe responded “and I have good reason. I hate having to stay after school on Tuesdays to help that man, but because he requested my help from Pa, so I have to. What about you guys?”
“Well, the teacher requested my help on Mondays and Pa says that I have to help him starting this Monday.” replied Seth.
“My help was also requested, I start this Friday. I wonder who’s helping him on Wednesdays and Thursdays.” Mitch announced.
“We’ll just put up with him do what ever he needs done after school and go home.” Little Joe responded. “Come on get some fishing done, I promised my family I’d bring some fish home for supper.”
“So did I,” said Mitch.
“I didn’t, so I split my catch between you two.” Seth replied.
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As Little Joe headed downstairs for breakfast he wondered how things would go at school today, and what he would have to for Mr. Tompkins after school. He planned to leave early for school because he was going to meet with Mitch and Seth. Seth was going to tell them what he had done for the teacher so that they would have an idea of what they had to do each day after school. When Little Joe got to the school he soon found Mitch and together they located Seth, sitting on the steps of the school. “Well, Seth what did he have you do?” asked Little Joe.
Seth looked up and answered “He had me put up some shelves and then we put books on them, then I went home.” Seth then got up and walked into the school.
“Something is bothering him,” replied Mitch.
“Seth mentioned something was going on at home last week, maybe that’s it.” Little Joe said.
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When school let out, Little Joe started to get up and leave with his friends, having forgotten that he had to stay after today.
“Mr. Cartwright,” Mr. Tompkins said.
This stopped Little Joe and had him looking around for his Pa, because no one called him Mr. Cartwright. Little Joe then looked at the teacher and asked “Are you talking to me?”
“Yes, I was. Your supposed to stay after and help me remember?” inquired the teacher.
“That’s right, I forgot.” Little Joe replied as he headed back into the school.
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As Little Joe headed home he didn’t know what to think, but he thought he knew what had been bothering Seth. How do you talk about something like this with your friends, is it even possible to tell your family? When Little Joe arrived at the ranch it was suppertime, he took care of Cochise and then headed to the house.
When Little Joe came in the house, Ben said “Wash up, supper’s almost ready.”
Little Joe didn’t even argue he just headed upstairs to his room to clean-up for supper. He didn’t feel like facing his Pa or his brothers right now, he felt like he didn’t belong anymore.
“Little Joe, come eat.” his Pa shouted from the bottom of the stairs.
“Comin’ Pa,” Little Joe answered quickly.
Supper passed quickly for the family, conversation being mainly about what was going on around the ranch. Surprisingly there were no interruptions from Little Joe, which caused Ben to look over at his youngest. Little Joe’s plate looked like it hadn’t been touched, and when Ben looked at Little Joe’s face it had a faraway look on it almost as if he wasn’t there. Ben touched Little Joe’s shoulder causing Little Joe to jump; he started looking around as if he’d done something wrong. Little Joe then jumped up and ran upstairs slamming his bedroom door.
Adam looked at his Pa, “What is bothering that boy?”
“I don’t know, son but I have feeling were going to find out.” Ben said already worried.
“Pa,” Hoss interrupted, “Shortshanks was acting like he’d done something wrong, the way he was looking around and then jumped up and ran from us.”
“I know, Hoss, I know,” Ben answered “but what did he do.”
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As weeks turned into months, Little Joe became more jumpy and withdrawn. Ben had thought that by now Little Joe would have come and talked to them, but he hadn’t and this had him very worried.
That night as Ben went to bed he went to check on Little Joe like usual, as he looked in he noticed how tightly Little Joe was griping his covers and that he was restless, maybe he had a rough day at school today thought Ben.
Little Joe had indeed had a rough day at school today and was reliving it for the first time, he had always been able to forget about what happened before, but tonight it wasn’t possible. Little Joe tossed and turned but couldn’t sleep, he kept trying not too remember but everything was so vivid in his mind.
In the classroom Little Joe watched as the teacher once again locked the doors, like he did every time he stayed after school. Little Joe backed away from Mr. Tompkins as he had before but it never did him any good, besides that Little Joe was afraid of what he might do. He had already threatened to hurt Little Joe last week when Little Joe tried to get away from him. “You know what to do,” the teacher sneered as he watched Little Joe quiver. Little Joe went crazy and lost his temper, “I won’t do it any more; I’m not your little toy. I’m leaving right now!” Little Joe exclaimed heading for the door. “I don’t think so,” responded the teacher as he hit Little Joe from behind knocking him out. When Little Joe came to he discovered that he had been stripped and his hands tied behind his back. He looked for Mr. Tompkins and found him undressed sitting at his desk. “I told you not to mess with me boy.” he stated as he looked Little Joe over. “Why can’t you just leave me alone? I haven’t said anything?” Little Joe said frightened. “What I’m about to do should make sure that you keep your mouth shut permanently.” the teacher responded as he advanced towards Little Joe. “What about the other boys?” Little Joe asked Mr. Tompkins looked at Little Joe and started laughing. “Boy, didn’t you know, I stopped messing around with them over a month ago.” “Then why won’t you leave me alone?” Little Joe whimpered “Cause I can’t seem to break you, besides that you intrigue me.” he answered. As the teacher bent over Little Joe and started to touch him Little Joe screamed “Don’t touch me!” The teacher thought for a moment and went back to the desk and retrieved a piece of clothe and forced it into Little Joe’s mouth gagging him. Mr. Tompkins had enjoyed watching Little Joe silently cry while he played with him and then raped the boy. There he thought I’ve finally broken his spirit. However if not I’d better move on. Little Joe had passed out. When came to he was untied, dressed and the teacher was gone.
‘I can’t keep quiet about this any longer’ thought Little Joe ‘not after what he did to me, but who can I tell, not Hoss, definitely not Pa, has to be Adam, he’d know what to do and he can keep Pa calm.’
Little Joe got up and headed for Adam’s room, as he open the door he hoped that Adam was still awake. He looked in and soon had his big brother’s attention; he had been reading and heard the door open. “What’s wrong Little Buddy?” he asked.
Adam knew something must really be wrong, because Little Joe normally wouldn’t come to his room unless he needed to talk, was scared, or both.
“Adam, can I talk to you about something, it’s really important?” Little Joe asked hesitating.
“Of course you can, come sit down,” Adam said patting the side of his bed. “What’s the problem Little Buddy?”
“Adam, do you remember last year when I found Missy Winters,” Little Joe asked “and you had to explain to me what had happened to her so that I would understand?”
“Yes, Little Joe, I remember telling you that she had been raped, but why are asking me this Little Joe?” Adam inquired puzzled.
“I need to know something, Adam, and I need the truth. Can a man rape another man?” Little Joe asked looking at his brother seriously.
Adam was stunned. The question his brother was asking was not expected, but he would answer it. “Yes, Little Joe, it is possible. Why do you want to know?”
“He hurt me, Adam; he hurt me and other boys too.” Little Joe whimpered as he finally gave into everything he had been feeling the last two months and started sobbing.
As soon as Adam realized what Little Joe was saying he took his baby brother in his arms and held him, now understanding why he had been nervous and withdrawn the last couple months, but who was the he that Little Joe was talking about. He held Little Joe until he fell asleep, then carried him to his room and tucked him in.
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Downstairs Adam realized he was gonna have to tell his Pa what Little Joe had told him but how to tell him and keep him calm at the same time. It would be best to get it over with before Little Joe woke though. Adam started to headed up to talk with his Pa when he heard Ben’s door open and close and decided to wait for him there.
When Ben got downstairs he saw Adam at the table with a cup of coffee already. “Up kinda early son?” stated Ben.
“I guess you could say that Pa,” Adam replied. “I never went to sleep, had an interesting conversation with Little Joe though, and I think you should hear what’s been bothering your baby, but I need you to stay calm, understand?”
“Alright, Adam, talk to me.” his Pa replied.
“Pa, do you remember what happened to Missy Winters last year?” Adam asked.
“Vaguely, I know that she was raped and that you had to explain it to your little brother so that he would understand because he had found her, but has this got to do with Little Joe?” Ben asked.
“Pa, last night Little Joe reminded me of Missy and then asked me if a man could rape a man. It was a question completely unexpected. He wanted the truth from me and I told him that it was possible. I asked him why he wanted to know this and he looked at me and whimpered ‘He hurt me, Adam, he hurt me,’ then he broke down and started sobbing. He fell asleep while I was holding him and I put him to bed in his room. I have no idea who ‘he’ is and I don’t think Little Joe is going to willingly tell us, I think he is scared of the man.” Adam finished hesitantly not sure how his Pa would respond.
“I think we should keep Little Joe home today, and from what you’ve just told me, I want you to ride into town and get Paul. I want him to take a look at Little Joe. Little Joe may not agree but we need to make sure he’s alright.” Ben said worried. “I’ll inform Hoss.”
Hoss was coming down to breakfast as Adam headed out the door for town. “Morning, Adam, where you headed?” Hoss asked.
“Morning, Hoss, got go to town and get Doc Martin.” Adam replied. “See ya later.”
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As Ben sat down and got ready to tell Hoss what Adam had told him, Little Joe’s scream pierced the silence. Ben jumped up and ran up the stairs to Little Joe’s room, as he entered he heard Little Joe scream out ‘Don’t Touch Me!’ Ben rushed over to the bed and gently tried to wake Little Joe up, “Little Joe, Pa’s here wake up son, no one’s going to hurt you ever again.”
Little Joe was sweating heavily in fear of what he was reliving, as he slowly woke up and saw his Pa, he started sobbing. “Help me, Papa,” Little Joe whimpered. “What did I do wrong, why do I feel so dirty? I feel like I don’t belong anymore, like I’m different not clean, no longer innocent. What happened to me, Papa?”
As Ben listened to his baby asking for his help all he could do was pray silently for guidance and hope that he would be able to help guide his son through the trauma that had been inflicted upon him. “I don’t know what you did baby, what I do know is that you do belong here with your family where you are loved, nothing about that has changed and we will help you get through this, alright Little Joe?”
“Alright, Papa,” Little Joe whispered as he fell back asleep.
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Downstairs Ben rejoined Hoss for breakfast and as they waited for Adam and Doc Martin, Ben told Hoss what Adam had told him this morning. Ben watched as a mixture of emotions ran across the face of his gentle son, and asked “Hoss, are you alright?”
“I don’t know, Pa.” Hoss replied. “Do ya know who done it?”
“No we don’t Little Joe didn’t tell that to Adam when he talked to him, and your big brother believes that Little Joe may be scared of him.” Ben answered.
Adam came in the door with Paul shortly after Ben answered Hoss’ question. “I got back as quick as I could, Pa,” Adam said.
“Morning, Paul and thank you for coming so quickly. Did Adam tell you anything?” Ben inquired of the doctor.
“Not much, Ben, only that you wanted me to examine Little Joe and would fill me in when I got here.” Paul answered.
“Maybe we should talk before you see Little Joe,” Ben responded.
“It might help if I knew what was going on Ben,” Paul replied as he looked curiously at his friend and his sons. ‘What has happened?’ he wondered.
“Sit down and I’ll try to explain to you what I learned just this morning, alright? Then we will go see Little Joe.” Ben said.
Adam watched his Pa’s face as tried to decide how to tell Paul what he had just learned this morning through Adam’s talk with Little Joe. “Pa,” Adam questioned, “Would it be easier if I explained things to Paul being that Little Joe talked to me, not you?”
“Maybe you’re right Adam, you tell him.” Ben responded.
“Paul, last night Little Joe came and talked to me, we’d been worried about him for the last two months because he’d been nervous and withdrawn. While we were talking he asked me if it was possible for a man to rape another man, catching me totally of guard. I told him that it was possible and ask him why he wanted to know. Then next thing I knew he said ‘He hurt me, Adam, he hurt me,’ and broke down sobbing shortly later he fell asleep while I was holding him.” Adam told the doctor.
“Paul, this is why I want you to examine Little Joe, I figured as a doctor you could tell me if someone has been sexually abusing or has raped my baby. Can you do this for me?” Ben asked.
“You know I will, Ben.” Paul replied. “however if what you suspect has happened we may have a problem when I go to examine Little Joe, he may not let me touch him. Ben, I may need to have you in the room to help keep him calm while I do my examination, alright?”
“Alright, Paul lets go see Little Joe. Boys stay down here.” Ben said as he headed upstairs with Paul.
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As Paul and Ben entered Little Joe’s room Little Joe looked over and saw Paul and immediately asked “What is he doing here, Pa?”
“Little Joe,” his Pa responded “I’ve talked with Adam, Paul is here to give you an exam and make sure that your alright. If you want me to I will stay with you while he does the exam, however it is going to be done.”
“Don’t let him touch me, keep him away from me. Pa, don’t leave me alone, I’m scared.” Little Joe screamed.
Paul looked at Ben and said “ I think we might need to give him a sedative to calm him down so that I can do the exam.”
Ben quickly moved to his son’s side to see if he could help calm him down. He lead Little Joe to his bed and had him sit down so that he could help him relax. “Maybe your right Paul.” Ben replied.
Paul mixed a sleeping powder with a glass of water and gave it to Ben saying “Have him drink this, it will let him sleep through the exam, but also relax him as well.”
Ben took the sedative and gave it to Little Joe saying “Son, I want you to drink this for me.”
Little Joe just nodded and drank the sedative that his pa handed to him, a few seconds later Little Joe was asleep.
As Paul did his exam of Little Joe, Ben sat beside his son holding his hand waiting for Paul to finish.
When Paul finished he looked at Ben and said “Let’s go downstairs and talk, he’ll sleep for a while now.”
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Once they were downstairs with Adam and Hoss, they sat in the main room so that Paul could explain to them what he had discovered.
“Paul, will you please tell us what you learned.” Ben asked.
Paul looked at Ben and his sons and tried to decide how to explain what he had discovered. “Ben,” Paul replied “Little Joe has bruising around his genital area, his wrist and his arms. I would say that you are correct in your thinking that someone has been abusing your son, but we need to find out whom.”
“How do we get Little Joe to tell us who did this to him?” Ben asked Paul.
“I’m not sure,” Paul replied, “but somehow we have got to get him to tell us.”
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When Little Joe woke up he looked around the room and realized that he was alone, this caused him to start screaming for his Pa. Little Joe was afraid to be left alone any more because of what had happened and wanted his Pa to stay with him. Little Joe figured that his Pa was probably downstairs, so he got out of bed and ran out the door towards the stairs. As Little Joe started down the stairs he meet his Pa coming up them, Ben had heard Little Joe screaming for him downstairs and headed up to see what was wrong.
Ben looked at Little Joe’s face and said “What’s wrong Little Joe?”
Little Joe looked up at his Pa and cried “I’m scared, don’t leave me alone.” Then he wrapped his arms around Ben’s waist and wouldn’t let go.
Adam watched what was going on and wished he knew who the man was that had hurt his little brother. The anger that he was feeling was nothing he knew compared to that which his Pa was feeling, Little Joe was Pa’s baby. Adam remembered something else that Little Joe said to him that night he said that there were other boys involved, but who are the other boys? “Little Joe,” Adam asked, “When you told me about this you said some other boys were being hurt too can you tell us who they are?”
Little Joe looked at Adam and replied “I only know two of the other four that are involved, will I get in trouble for telling you?”
“No, Little Joe, you will not be in any trouble for telling us, their parents need to know.” answered Little Joe’s Pa.
“The two others that I know are Seth and Mitch.” responded Little Joe. “I did learn that for the past month it has been just me though. He said I intrigued him.”
“Little Joe, can you tell us who did this to you and your friends?” inquired Ben
“I want to Pa, but I’m scared.” answered Little Joe.
“No one will hurt you Little Joe, I promise.” said Ben
Little Joe looked around the room at his Pa, his brothers and at Doc Martin and realized that the people in the room wouldn’t hurt him. Then he looked back at his Pa and replied “It was the teacher, Mr. Tompkins, he did it on the days when he had us stay after school to help him.”
As everyone took in what Little Joe had just told them about the school teacher, Ben realized that they had a problem. “Mr. Tompkins told us that he had to leave unexpectedly after school let out yesterday, problem back east with his family. He got on the stage early this morning and left.” Ben announced. “We’d better inform Roy, that way he can be caught.”
A month later
“How are you feeling son?” asked Ben
“I’m doing just fine Pa.” replied Little Joe. “How about we go for a ride to the lake and do some fishing?”
“That sounds like a good idea, Little Joe, why don’t we find Adam and Hoss and make it a family affair?” Ben responded.
“Alright, Pa,” Little Joe said running off to find his brothers.
As Ben watched Little Joe head off to find Adam and Hoss there was still concern in his eyes for his baby, the last month had been rough for him but he was recovering. Little Joe still had the occasional nightmare about what had happened to him but they were going away too. ‘At least he is forgetting about what happened. It is also nice to have my happy little boy around again.’ thought Ben.
*The End*