Free Jonathan's Hope by Hans M Hirschi Page B

this coming to him...
    After ten days at the hospital, and having had the beer bottle surgically removed from his rectum, he survived. He survived the silent treatment from nurses and doctors and learned about the blond boy’s death. And that was the moment when all hope, all love in him, had died. That’s when the human being that had strived towards being a good, productive member of society, raised by his parents to love his neighbor, died. Nothing left behind but a shell, a monster, a man in so much pain, physically and emotionally. Pain from which he would never recover.
    He never once visited the grave of the freshman who had died attending his first college party. Rick was a victim of the unfortunate circumstance of meeting the wrong guy at the worst possible time. He managed to graduate, and left the city of his college, never to return. He moved clear across the country, as far away from the memories of college, the priest, his roommate and his friends as he could get.
    Instead, he focused on work. He worked harder than everyone else, longer than necessary, more than necessary, and quickly became very successful at work. He had no life apart from work, and was okay with that. It was only when one of the partners at his firm suggested that he settle down, start a family, that no associate would ever be made partner unless he was married, too much risk, the rumors, that he realized that the innuendo was about to reach him even there. He was in a faraway city, but would never escape it. It would always haunt him. He met his future wife exactly one week later when she started an internship as a paralegal at the firm.
    She had a kind face and looked lost. He descended upon her like a vulture on a piece of dead meat. She fell immediately for his strong features, the grey eyes, his pale skin. He looked so fragile, so lost. She made it her task to rescue the man, to take care of him, nurture him, shelter him.
    They dated briefly, him being the perfect gentleman, never once going too far, never once kissing her on the lips when they parted at night. No, just a peck on her cheek. Never once did he suggest going up to her apartment, never once invite her to his. After six months, he proposed. They got engaged and were married one year later.
    The first time he hit her was on their wedding night when she tried to kiss him, daring to allow her tongue to venture to his lips. He took her after that, from behind, brutally. He kept his eyes closed, not looking at her. The only thing he could see was the fateful night all those years ago. That fateful night at the frat house.
    Three months later, she lost her first baby in the bathtub of their new house.

Chapter 8

    DAN CRIED. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks. He couldn’t remember when it had started, but the pain of Jonathan’s story was too much, even for him. When Jonathan lifted the shirt and showed him the latest wounds, infected after two weeks without fresh dressing, and not healing due to the lack of sustenance, Dan jumped up. He moved over to the couch and hugged Jonathan.
    Then he fetched his first aid kit and forced Jonathan to take off the shirt so that he could clean the two cuts. He redressed the wounds using a special salve that he’d used ever since his own college days. He knew from experience it would heal the small cuts. For a while, he even considered bandaging Jonathan’s entire torso, but had given up on the notion. The cuts weren’t that large any more, after having healed nicely up to the day when Jonathan was abandoned in the forest.
    Jonathan was grateful, and allowed Dan to administer the treatment in silence, his heart beating slightly faster, feeling the beat all the way up in his throat, as he felt the touch from Dan’s hands on his body. Dan’s hands were slightly cool, yet the sensation pleasant. He’d never been touched like that by a man before, and although there was no sexual intention to Dan’s ministrations, Jonathan could feel his