DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the rights to Summerland. I DO own the rights to Teresa Coleman.

Yo ma' peeps!! Wuz up??? (Um... ignore me I'm feelin' a little "gansta-ish..." Or "urban" or whateve'...)

Special thanks to all my faithful reviewers and all my new raeders too! (froggy2045, beautifuldisaster3903, Krissy, Sweet-Romantic and ChrissyD.)

Now, here is the "long awaited" explanation as to what is going on with Bradin. Hope y'all like it!!

Chapter XIII

The Gruesome Truth

"Yeah, you do..." Teresa tried to sound like it would be no big deal, but she sensed that whatever he was about to tell her would not be pretty.

Sighing and looking uncomfortable, Bradin began, "My dad had a friend, Jerry, and they, he and dad, were really close... well one night Jerry came over and said my dad had told him to meet him there at 5:00pm. It was about 4:45pm when he got there so I didn't think anything was up, though it was strange Dad would tell him to come at five when he didn't get off till 6:30pm, but I just figured that he was getting off early that day..."

"Um... sure come in, he's not here, but I guess he'll be here if he told you to come over so uh... just whatever, you know, make yourself at home I guess." Bradin said to Jerry who had just stepped into the hall, "I've got homework but if you need anything just holler."

"Oh, no one else is here?" Jerry asked innocently.

"Nope, I'm flying solo at the moment." Bradin laughed, "Anyway, I've gotta finish that homework or well, you know my dad!"

"Yep, I sure do, so I won't hold you up, I'll just watch some TV while I wait, okay?" Jerry asked with a smile.

"Sure, whatever," Bradin shrugged as he climbed the stairs and went into his room closing the door behind him.

After a few minutes of annoying math Jerry came into Bradin's room without even knocking. Bradin thought it was strange that he hadn't so much as knocked before he entered, and as soon as he looked up and met Jerry's gaze he knew something really was amiss. "Uh... What do you, um, you need something?" Bradin tried to sound casual but the strange smile on Jerry's face and the fact that he'd shut the door behind him bothered him immensely.

"Yeah..." Jerry cackled, "I wanted something only you can give me right now... you see... I, how shall I put this, I like boys" Jerry smiled mischievously.

Bradin stiffened and stared at Jerry from where he was sitting casually on his bed, "What do you mean?" Bradin remained as casual as he could manage but his eyes followed every move the man in his thirties made, he knew perfectly well what he had meant, he was only trying to think of a way to get out of his room. Jerry had always looked so innocent before, but now his deeply tanned skin, from working outdoors, strong muscles, small stubble beard, dark brown eyes and black hair made him look like a "villain" right out of a movie. Still, Bradin really couldn't believe that Jerry would rape him.

"Are you that naive? Haven't you ever done one of your girlfriends? Are you that much of a loser?" Jerry laughed boastfully, "God, when I was 16 I'd done plenty!"

"No, I'm not that naive, and I just turned 15 that's far from 16 don't you think?" Bradin crossed his arms, Jerry was beginning to get on his nerves in more ways than one.

"Well, yeah, I suppose it is, but anyway, since you know what I want from you we might as well get started," Jerry smiled wickedly, "don't you think?"

Bradin felt sick and his body tensed as Jerry came closer to him, "Actually," Bradin prepared to jump away at any second, "I don't think so." He frowned, "Why would I let you do that?"

"Because I'm telling you to, now shut up and be still," Jerry reached out to grab Bradin's arm but Bradin leapt away with lightning speed and landed on the other side of the bed.

"And why does that matter?" Bradin braced to run to his door.

"It matters because if you don't let me, than I'll make you let me!" Jerry scowled, "Now come here!"

Bradin tried to get out through his door but being as it was closed it took him just a second too long to open it and the next thing he knew he was laying on the floor, Jerry standing above him with a look of sheer evil on his face. Bradin's head hurt badly and stars danced before his eyes. "Ohh.." Bradin groaned as Jerry reached down and grabbed him by the collar, shut the door again, dragged him to his bed, picked him up and threw him on it. Bradin cringed knowing what Jerry was trying to do to him. Jerry moved away from Bradin and took off his shirt, Bradin felt sick again. Bradin pulled strength into his body as Jerry started to touch him and hit him in the face making him sprawl out on the floor. Bradin jumped up and again tried to get out of his door, but Jerry grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him to the floor beside him.

"Look here, you stupid boy, you ARE going to let me do this with you!" Jerry said and slammed his fist into Bradin's side.

"Uh!" Bradin curled up in pain.

"There, now be still this time and I won't do that again," Jerry grinned evilly and took Bradin's shirt off.

Bradin could have killed the bastard right then but he was in too much pain, still, when Jerry moved to take off his pants he ignored the pain and "kicked" Jerry in between the legs with his right knee. Jerry cried out in pain and rolled away from Bradin. Bradin took his opportunity and kicked him in the gut, then hit him in the face and so on till Jerry was laying on the floor in far worse shape than Bradin was.

Bradin got up and stumbled to his door, but Jerry threw a shoe at him and hit him in the back of the head, Bradin's head throbbed, who knew you could make a shoe hurt that bad! Bradin didn't look back, he ran into the hall and down the stairs but echoing footsteps told him that Jerry was right behind him. Suddenly Jerry grabbed him by the arm and slung him, head first, into a wall. Bradin reeled back in pain and fell down the remainder of the stairs. Jerry came down too and kicked him in the gut and the side several times. Then in the head and legs, Bradin felt like he was a punching bag, blood fell from his nose and seeped into his mouth, he tasted the coppery taste and groaned in pain. "Stop!" he couldn't help but plead with Jerry to stop beating him, but it only made him more aggressive. Bradin felt something hit his head that felt like a brick, but in fact was Jerry's foot, and everything flickered from light to dark for a second then went blank.

Bradin woke up to find himself laying in his bed, naked, with Jerry next to him touching him. Bradin pushed him off the bed and heard him hit the floor with a thud, he looked at the clock, it was 6:00pm. He tried to get up but the pain was too much, he fell back and tears streamed down his face, he was too weak to cry but the pain forced the tears. Jerry got back up and hit Bradin in the side four times, Bradin screamed internally each time, but was too weak to utter any audible sound. Satisfied that Bradin couldn't move, Jerry resumed what he was doing, Bradin was sick, he couldn't bare to look at what Jerry was doing to him, but he couldn't help but feel it. He resisted him with the only strength left in his body. Jerry hit him in the head, once, twice, black.

Bradin woke up to find himself, still laying in his bed, still naked, but Jerry was not there. Bradin turned his head to look at his clock, his head throbbed terribly, it was 6:30pm. He heard voices downstairs and knew his parents had just gotten home. He heard the front door slam and heard his sister's excited voice talking to his mother. Then, laughter and Derrick yelling something, probably from where he usually sat on the couch to watch his favorite TV show every night. Bradin tried to sit up but his whole body screamed in pain and he fell back. He heard another voice, this one he recognized as Jerry's. Every fiber of his being filled with disgust for him. Bradin's father had trusted Jerry with his kids many times, Jerry had watched them when they were younger and they had all grown to love him. They trusted him.

"Bradin!" he heard his mother call him.

He wanted to answer her, but couldn't find the strength. Aching all over, he pulled the covers tight around his naked body and ran his hands through his hair to find that it was laced with blood. The sun was just setting outside and his room was dark, the only light was that of the last rays of sun coming in through his thin curtains.

"Bradin?" he heard again, this time his mother sounded worried, "Bradin, honey?"

He heard his father and mother come up the stairs and stop at his door, "Bob, don't just barge in!"

"Karen, I'm his father, and if he's in there, he better have a good reason for not answering you, I hope, for his sake, that he's not still holding that grudge against you for not letting him go to-"

"Bob, stop it, at least knock okay? Bradin?" his mother knocked on the door.

Bradin tried to answer her, but he hurt too bad to speak, "Ohh..." he groaned too quietly for them to hear him. For a minute he ignored the searing pain and got up, limped to the bathroom that joined his and Nikki's bedrooms together, shut the door and turned on the shower water. He heard his parents in his room, "Bradin, are you in the shower?" his mother called loud enough to be heard over the water.

"Yeah!" Bradin winced in pain and slid to the floor.

"Okay, I didn't know, I thought maybe something was wrong because you didn't answer me when I called you." Karen called through the door.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," he called back, trying desperately to keep his voice steady though he could have screamed from the pain. He heard his parents shut his bedroom door. Letting out a sigh he sat on the floor for several minutes trying to gain enough strength to get in the shower and let the warm water sooth him.

Several minutes later he got in and washed away all the physical dirt and blood but his heart was bleeding and he felt dirty despite being clean. He got out and entered his bedroom, got some clothes and went back to the bathroom. He put on a pair of boxers, tossing his other clothes aside, stood in front of the mirror and took in his reflection. His left eye was swollen pretty badly, he had a bad bruise on his cheekbone and a small gash above his right eye. That was the only evidence of Jerry having beaten him that couldn't be hidden. He pushed his hair into his eyes and that covered the gash, and the swollen left eye didn't stand out nearly as bad. But his cheek... hmm.. he'd just have to say a guy hit him at school that day, that was the only thing to do.

Well that took care of his face; he then examined the rest of his body. There was a terrible black bruise on his left side and bruises ran all down his back and legs. He had a few bruises on his arms and numerous cuts and scrapes all over. Luckily, he could cover everything but his face until the bruises healed up enough to not be noticed.

Still in lancinating pain Bradin pulled on jeans and a shirt. They covered all the bruises, he let out a sigh, he really didn't want to explain how he'd gotten so beat up. Taking one last look in the mirror and making sure he'd gotten rid of all the evidence that he'd been bleeding badly, he unlocked Nikki's door into the bathroom and went into his room closing his bathroom door behind him.

He turned on his light to look at his room, Jerry sure had made a mess to not have wanted to be discovered. He cleaned up the floor enough that it all looked normal then changed his sheets, putting the old ones in the very back of his closet to get rid of one day when no one was home. If his mother saw all the blood, well, he'd surely have to tell her something and he didn't want to do that either. Finally sure everything looked normal enough, he lay down on the bed and crawled under the covers wincing in pain.

His mother never had called him to dinner, she must have gotten a late start cooking. As if she'd heard his thoughts, his mother's voice carried up to his room, "Bradin, dinner!" Bradin groaned, "Ohh... I cannot go down there..." he whispered his eyes filling with tears. It would be too hard to not show how much pain he was in, then to make everything worse, Bradin heard Jerry and his father laughing "Damn bastard!" Bradin cursed under his breath. He heard his mother call him again, then again. He didn't know what to say in reply... Okay? No, then she'd think he was coming down... He didn't have time to think anymore because he heard his father and Jerry's laughing coming up the stairs and stopping before his door, "I'll get him, Karen," his father said sternly and knocked on the door, "Bradin? Bradin Westerly, you had better be in here." He opened the door and as he noticed his son laying in bed, his stern, you-better-have-a-good-reason face took on a gentle, worried expression.

Bradin looked at his father from his bed and as their eyes met, Bradin looked down. The light coming in from the hall hurt Bradin's left eye, he looked behind his father and saw Jerry standing there, a smirk on his face. The teen seethed internally with disgust for the older man, his father's voice broke into his evil thoughts of Jerry, "You okay, son?"

Fear overtook Bradin as he noticed the look on Jerry's face that said, "Remember what I told you." Bradin remembered alright, he remembered every sick word. Jerry had burned a warning into Bradin's head the first time Bradin had woken up in the middle of Jerry's little "happy hour." He'd said, "If you tell anyone about this, well, let's just say that you'll get it oh, so much worse!" he grinned evilly, "And don't think that maybe I'll be in prison and won't be able to get you, ha! I'll have one of my friends do it! Better yet, I'll have a few of my friends do it, on separate occasions. And if all that isn't enough to make you keep quiet, remember this; I'll make absolute certain that your sister is raped." Bradin couldn't risk his sister getting raped, no, he'd have to keep quiet. "I- I'm fine, Dad, I, uh... I just don't really feel very good..." Bradin looked away from his father's concerned face for fear that he would see right through his lie..

"Okay... you want something to eat?" his father sounded worried, "are you sure you're okay- What happened to your face?"

"I uh... one of the guys he um... I made him mad I guess..." Bradin tried to laugh casually certain he had failed but to his surprise his father seemed to have bought it, "Oh, Bradin, aren't you always making somebody mad at you?" he laughed. "Just don't get in another fight like you did last month, got it?" his father said seriously.

"Yes, sir," Bradin nodded and winced as his head started throbbing again.

"I'll get your mother to "prescribe" something, hang on," his father smiled gently and left his room. Jerry gave Bradin a final, wordless, warning to keep his mouth shut, then he left as well.

Bradin's mother had been a bit harder to convince that he just wasn't feeling good but she finally left and after Bradin was sure Jerry had left the house, he fell into a fitful sleep.

Bradin moved on slowly and for 4 months none of his family ever found out about Jerry's "fun time." Then, one rainy day Bradin wound up being home alone after school, he really didn't care, but for some reason, thoughts of that day 4 months ago entered his mind, he tried to brush them off, but they remained. He finally settled down and watched a TV show. The door bell rang and he got up to answer it, he opened the door to find Jerry standing there, an evil look on his face. Bradin cringed but had no time for anything further as Jerry's hand came crashing into the side of Bradin's head, he hit the floor and Jerry kicked him out of the way, entered the hall and closed the door. He kicked Bradin again then picked him up and carried him to his room and the same thing that had happened 4 months before, reoccurred... beatings and all.

Well, there it is y'all! Lemme know what'cha think, K? Thanks!

Anna Christie AKA SecondStarToTheRight15