Double Dysfunctions

Chapter Three

          At first it felt very strange indeed for James as he meandered through the city that had once been his family's home. But in what seemed like no time at all, James forgot to associate the terms "family" and "Detroit". It was just too anticlimactic.

          After the disastrous night that took his father from him, James had absolutely refused to face it or recognize its presence.

          Instead, James focused on the things that, in his mind's eye, seemed to be of greater priority.

          On his eleventh birthday, September 1st, 2004, the innocent part of James Aaron Comer disappeared. And all that was left was the cruel, manipulative, and intelligent street kid who would do anything to survive.

          Following his father's memorial service, James had been told that he would be going to stay at a foster home, because there was no record of any nearby family. The closest relative that the city's Social Services Bureau could locate was an older lesbian aunt who lived in Boston, Massachusetts, with her equally older wife.

          Confirming the kinship and then transferring James over to Boston's local bureau would take some time, as the social worker explained to James. "So, James, for just a few short months, you'll have to make do in a local foster home."

          James had just crossed his arms over his chest and stubbornly repeated over and over that his best friend's mother would be thrilled to take James permanently. "Mrs. D'Auria is like the mom I never had. And one of her sons is my best friend."

          But that got James nowhere closer to where he wanted to be. The biggest response that he could get out of the social worker was a 'that's nice, sweetie' before she turned back to her computer.

          So, instead of continuing to waste his breath and time pitching a case that had been doomed from the get-go, James sat back, observed his surroundings, and carefully made plans to escape and ultimately disappear.

          Being the son of the best law enforcement officer that Detroit had seen in many decades, James had learned quite a few nifty tricks that he would have to put to good use.

          On December 1st, 2004, James ran away from the foster home he had been placed in. No one had the slightest idea where James had gone; in fact, James had been missing for at least a day before the foster parents finally realized that he was missing.

          After James was reported missing, the city set out to find James in what turned out to be a futile three-month long search-and-rescue mission. Having turned up no new leads and no evidence as to where the boy may be, the police department had been forced to close the case, and move on to more important issues within the city.

          And, for that reason, James had literally been on the street for almost five years.

          At first, life on the streets had been bleak and depressing, but soon after he seemingly vanished, James met Christopher "C.J." Jackson, a fifteen-year old street thug that had been living on the streets his whole life. After getting to know James a bit better, C.J. decided to befriend James and look after him.

          From then on, life had gone much more smoothly for James. James no longer needed to worry about when his next meal would be, or where he would sleep the following night. C.J. earned James' unyielding trust and respect.

          There were, however, some things that weren't all that great about C.J. Like at night on the weekends, he would strip off every bit of his own clothing and command James to do the same. Then he'd ask James to watch gay porn with him. James had always been taught that any form of sexual act between an older person and a kid was illegal and morally wrong, no matter what the circumstances were between the two.

          But instead of acting on his impulses, James simply learned to enjoy the male-on-male attention.

          James and C.J. had this type of relationship for six months. Then C.J. took it to the next level by asking James to sleep with him. Already addicted to this type of attention from his mentor, James eagerly agreed.

          So, at the tender age of twelve years old, James lost his virginity to a sixteen-year old. Afterwards, James rolled over, put his arm across C.J.'s bare chest, and declared that he would love C.J. forever.

          Even though his father had taught him to obey society's laws to the letter, James honestly believed that some exceptions were acceptable, especially if love was involved. In reality, James knew fully well that he was being sexually and emotionally molested, but he pushed reality away from the front of his mind. He didn't like to think of his loving mentor as anything but that: a loving, caring, and compassionate mentor and friend.

          So for five years after escaping his first set of disasters, James continued to put himself in the position to be let down, over and over again.