The Fraternity Files Part Four: The Summons
Chapter 11: Danny’s Penance
“Come on, Bro,” Matt encouraged at last.
“We’ve just got to do this and get it over with. This kind of melt down isn’t helping anybody,
especially not you.”
“I know!” Steve sobbed. “But I don’t think I can do it, Matt!” he
pressed his face into his big brother’s chest, and Matt tightened his arms,
kissing the top of his younger partner’s head.
“Yes you can,” he soothed.
“No I can’t! Did you see the way Ryan looked at me?”
“I know, Bud, I know,” Matt acknowledged
softly. “I know this is hard on
you. You should never have to be in the
position of punishing your little brother . . . . Well,” he gave Steve’s bottom an affectionate
squeeze, “if you don’t include us, that is.”
Steve smirked a little despite himself and pressed his face closer as
Matt pushed his hot, sweaty hair away from his face and forehead. “We get through, though, don’t we?” Matt planted another little kiss.
“It’s not the same!” Steve
grumped, but regardless of his surliness, he was growing calmer and Matt knew
he had his little brother’s full attention now.
“Well, I should hope not!” he
chuckled. “Please do tell me if there is
something I need to know.” Steve laughed for real this time through his
tears. It was a little laugh, but a
laugh all the same. The image Matt
created was so funny, the notion so ridiculous, and his affected air of
indignation so convincing that Steve couldn’t help himself. “I know it’s not
the same,” Matt went on softly as Steve pressed closer and hid his face once
more. “But the bond you and Ryan have is
special in its way, and it will hold. We
knew this was going to be hard, right?” Steve nodded into his partner’s chest
as Matt squeezed his shoulder. “That’s
why I’m here. I’ll help you. The hardest part is over. You said what you
needed to say. Now we just have to get
this over with for everyone’s sake, Baby, especially yours, ok?” Steve didn’t
answer and after a minute Matt went on. “I’ll help you with Ryan, all right?
Just get through this ordeal with Danny and I will help you with Ryan. All you need to do now is be there for
him. Just be his big brother the way you
always have been, ok?” Steve nodded again and swallowed hard, and Matt brought
his fingers up to gently wipe away the remaining tears. “You ready?” Steve looked up at him and the
look was so innocent, so unusually vulnerable that Matt couldn’t help
himself. “It will be all right, My
Love,” he whispered and he pressed his lips gently to those of the man he loved
most in this world.
When Matt and Steve finally
opened the door leading back into Steve’s bedroom, they found their younger
brothers still huddled together on Steve’s bed.
They too had grown calmer by now and Steve sighed as he looked at them.
“Dan,” he called huskily, “come on, bud, let’s go.” Matt was standing behind
him and he placed a hand on his shoulder as all three of their little brothers
looked over at them. “Ryan,” Steve
continued hoarsely, “let’s go, bud.”
Steve’s red eyes along with
his gravelly tone gave his prior distress away, but outwardly he was the same
calm, reassuring Steve they were used to seeing and Ryan and Danny responded
automatically to his quiet authority.
They too just wanted to get this over with, now. Even Kevin sensed that arguing could do no
good, and though he covered his face with his hands, he made no verbal protest
as Danny and Ryan rose from the bed; he just let them go.
Ryan and Danny stopped in
front of their big brothers and Danny looked pleadingly at Steve one more time,
to no avail. Matt just glared
reprovingly at him, and Steve swung the door to the Correction Room (as it was
formally known) wider and stepped back, giving Danny and Ryan room to pass in
before him. “Go on,” he whispered firmly.
Danny bit his lip and hung his head.
Ryan brought his hand to his shoulder, and with one final anxious glance
in the direction of the bed where his little brother was still hunched with his
face in his hands, Danny preceded his big brother into the room. Steve followed them and closed the door
softly behind him.
The Correction Room was stark
and white (all white). It was, in
itself, a forbidding place. Upon
entering, one just knew nothing good could happen here. The only piece of furniture in the room was
the long table that stretched from one end of the small room to the other. It was lined on either side with hard,
wooden, straight-backed chairs that (if they belonged in any room) belonged in
this one. Here, the president would occasionally
meet with his counsel when making particularly difficult decisions. The members
of that counsel were bound to secrecy; nobody even knew who they were. The
president’s younger brothers were, of course, not eligible to be his advisors
and freshmen were also barred. Other
than that no particular stipulations determined who the president chose, and
rumor ran rampant.
The counsel did not meet over every
decision. They met only when the
infraction was serious and (or) the president’s sole judgment was likely to be
called into question. On this particular matter, Steve had sought the general
advice of the counsel early on, more as a formality than anything else. Because of its delicate nature, however, it
had been necessary to exclude certain counsel members even from the earliest
proceedings. Then, once the consequences
had been decidedly determined, the details had been left up to the president,
and he had turned to his two best friends and his big brother as those he
trusted most in the world.
On the wall, in the direct
center of the room, was a blown up copy of The Code in an austere wooden
frame. It was flanked on either side by
the ominous fraternity paddle and a leather strap that had, on occasion, been
used to make a particularly potent point.
Below it, hung the newest addition to the family of implements, a
headmaster’s senior cane that Matt had purchased not two weeks ago. Danny and Ryan both went a deathly shade of
pale as their eyes fell upon it.
Steve followed their gaze,
and the bile rose in his throat. ‘Don’t
think about it,’ he cautioned himself.
‘Just don’t think about it.’ He reached up to take the paddle from the
wall and then turned back to face his brothers, steeling himself as best he
could for what he had to do. Danny was fighting back tears again as he stood in
front of Ryan, and his big brother’s reassuring hands were on his
shoulders. Ryan looked positively sick,
but Steve was determined now as he slipped almost automatically into his
presidential role. It was tradition and
ritual that would get him through this. He could not stop for a moment to think
about what he was doing or he would surely fall a part.
“Daniel Jordan Lockheart,” he began in his most authoritative tone. “You have committed a serious infraction
against The Code,” he indicated the document on the wall, “by attacking a
senior member of this fraternity. As you
are well aware, fighting at any time is unacceptable, and, as an underclassman,
your actions are all the more reprehensible.
You are required, at all times, to give older members of this fraternity
your allegiance and your respect. Regardless of the circumstances,” he added as
he saw the look of protest on both his little brothers’ faces. “In addition,
your status on the team and in the house as a member of the president’s line
makes it incumbent on you to conduct yourself in such a manner becoming to that
status; people will follow the example you set.
All of these circumstances have been duly taken into consideration, and
it is the consequent determination of the counsel that you shall receive fifteen
licks of the fraternity paddle, to be delivered on the bare, as punishment for
your rash behavior.”
“So many?” Ryan protested as the sentence was pronounced, and
his little brother shrank against him.
Steve, however, pressed
on. For his own sake emotionally, he
could not afford to stop. “Take your
pants down, Danny,” he directed gently, “and your shorts.”
Danny covered his face with
his hand, and Ryan pulled him against him, squeezing his shoulders as Steve
busied himself pulling the chair away from the head of the table in an effort
to alleviate some of his little brother’s embarrassment. “It’s ok, Bud,” Ryan
whispered. “We’re going to get through
this. Take your pants down,” the words stuck in his throat as he did his best
to hold himself together for Danny’s sake.
It took Danny another couple
of moments to gather his courage, but his older brothers waited patiently and
finally he took a deep breath and did what he had been asked to do. With trembling fingers he undid the button on
his jeans, unzipped them, and shakily lowered them along with his boxers to his
ankles. Steve silently indicated the end of the table, and, with Ryan’s help,
Danny positioned himself. Grasping the edges hard, he pressed his cheek against
the cool, flat surface, and closed his eyes.
Ryan wordlessly adjusted his t-shirt, raising it higher, and Danny bit
his lip as he felt his big brother’s arm encircle his waist.
“Count the strokes, please,
Dan,” Steve commanded as he drew his arm back. Danny’s nod was nearly imperceptible
as his grip on the sides of the table tightened.
“Breathe, Bro,” Ryan advised
anxiously as he saw his little brother’s bottom clench and his knuckles turn
white, but it was no use.
WHACK! The paddle smacked
down hard for the first time, and Danny grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut tight
as he fought to hold back the tears.
“One,” he croaked finally.
WHACK! “AHHH! God!” His fingers curled and his face contorted. “Two,” he uttered through gritted teeth.
WHACK! Steve drove the paddle
once more into Danny’s already reddening bottom and this time there was a long
pause before, “Three,” Danny finally managed in a small voice. Ryan stole a glance at his little brother’s
tortured face and his stomach lurched as he realized Danny was trying not to
cry.
“You’re ok, Dan,” he
comforted softly as tears welled in his own eyes, “breathe bud. It will be better if you breathe.” Danny took
a breath in his best effort to follow his brother’s advice, but when he let it
go, it came out more as a mewling sob and he hid his face in shame. Ryan bit his lip and tears started to streak
his face as he gently placed his hand on the back of his little brother’s head. “Hang in there Bro,” he whispered.
Steve also, intuitively
sensed Danny’s struggle. He swallowed
hard and tears glistened in his eyes too as he waited for Danny to collect
himself. Their little brother was always
trying to prove himself to them.
Academically, he had been on the straight and narrow ever since the
meeting the previous fall. He lived to
impress Ryan, and Steve knew deep down, though he didn’t always acknowledge it,
that the kid was constantly seeking his approval as well. He tried to force down the lump in his
throat. To be summoned and punished in
the presence of one of your big brothers was, no doubt, just as mortifying in
some ways as it was comforting in others.
To have both your big brothers present was devastating, Steve was sure. “You ready, Bud?” he asked quietly at last
and his voice, thankfully, remained steady.
Danny nodded into his arm,
shifting slightly in an effort to brace himself as Steve drew back his arm, and
Ryan again gripped his waist. WHACK! The paddle smacked down once more. “Four!” came the
choked and muffled response. WHACK! “OWW!” Danny yelped, finally forgetting his dignity,
as the fire in his bottom became too much for him. “Five,” he sobbed. WHACK! “AHHH!”
Danny threw his head back as the next stroke landed. “Six!” he hissed through clenched teeth. “It hurts, Ryan! It hurts so bad!”
“I know, Bro,” Ryan’s voice cracked. “I know it does. Just hang in there!”
WHACK! Danny’s face contorted
once more and it was a moment before he could get the breath to whimper,
“Seven.”
“It’s ok, Bud . . .,” Ryan
reassured.
“It hurts!” Danny
sobbed. “It hurts so God Damn much!! I
don’t think I can take it!”
“Yes you can!” his big
brother choked. “You don’t have to be brave, Bro. Just stop trying to be so
brave!”
WHACK! The eighth smack
caught Danny just below his bottom. “OWWW!” he shrieked. “God! Eight! Please,
Steve! Please!”
“You’re doing fine, Dan,”
Steve soothed.
“Easy for
you to say!” Danny sobbed.
“Let Ryan help you, Bud,”
Steve’s voice too betrayed some emotion now.
This was so hard. He had been
trying to pretend to himself that this was like any other punishment, and for a
while it had been working, more or less, but now, the more agitated both Danny
and Ryan became, the harder it was to pretend. ‘It’s not going to get easier,’
he thought. ‘I just have to get it over
with.’ He took a deep breath as he drew the paddle back and WHACK! He drove it
hard once more into his little brother’s bottom.
“OWWW!” Danny keened. “Jesus Christ, Oww!
That’s nine! Please, Steve Please!”
He tried to reach back, but
Ryan intercepted his hand. “Not yet, Bro,” he choked. “Not yet.”
“Oh God, it hurts! It fucking
hurts!” Danny wept as his big brother pinned his hand to his side.
WHACK! “AHHH!” Danny tried
to jump up, but Ryan held him firmly down.
“Ten!” Danny wailed. “I’m not
going to make it, Ry! I’m not going to make it!”
“Yes you are, Bud! Yes you
are!” Ryan lost it completely as he looked at his little brother’s red,
inflamed bottom. It looked so painful,
and they still had five more strokes to go. “Just hang in there!” he
sobbed. Steve bit his lip, but he knew
the best thing he could do was get on with it, so he once again drew back his
arm as Ryan held Danny as still as he possibly could and both his little
brothers sobbed out all their pain and misery.
*************************************
The door closed behind his
big brothers, and Kevin buried his face in the comforter on Steve’s bed,
pulling the pillows hard down over his ears.
Matt looked over with just a trace of affectionate amusement and sighed
as he made his way over to the bed. This
was a whole lot of drama as far as he was concerned over what was a perfectly
well deserved punishment. “Come on,
Bro,” he soothed as he sat down next to his youngest brother, “it’s all
right. They’ll be all right.”
“It’s not fair!” came the mostly smothered reply.
“How do you figure?” Matt
asked patiently, trying to bite back the tiny smirk that pushed its way
forward. The kid reminded him so much
of Danny.
“Because!” Kevin huffed.
“Mcarthy’s an A-hole!”
“Watch your language,” Matt
admonished softly.
“Sorry!” came
the muted sob. “But he is! And all he ever does is run around and cause trouble
for other people! I still don’t even
know what they did!” he wailed. Matt was
silent. This was tricky territory they
were about to enter. Danny and Ryan had
obviously not wanted their little brother to know about the fight at all, let
alone the circumstances behind it. He didn’t really feel it was his place to
tell now.
“They got in a fight with Mcarthy,” Matt hedged, finally.
“I know!” Kevin sobbed in
frustration. “But why?” he finally took
his head out from under the pillows and hugging them to him, he looked
pleadingly at Matt. “Why did they do
it?” he asked. Matt regarded him quietly for a moment, and brought his thumb up
to wipe away the tears that were streaming down his little brother’s cheeks. There was no amusement in his expression
now. “Please tell me, Matt,” Kevin entreated softly. “I already know it was about me.”
“Kev,
this wasn’t your fault,” Matt replied quietly.
“This war between Mcarthy and our brothers has
been going on for four years now, ever since Gregg and Steve came in together
as freshmen. You inherited it, Little
Bro. It’s got nothing to do with you or
anything you did. You were just the
catalyst this time.”
“I know!” Kevin protested
fretfully once more. “But I still want
to know what happened.”
Matt looked at him for another moment and then
held out his arm. “Come here, Bud,” he encouraged softly. Kevin brushed at his tears and then sat up,
sliding into his oldest brother’s comforting embrace as Matt closed his arm
around him. “Do you have any idea how
proud our brothers are of you?” he whispered as Kevin buried his face in his
shoulder. Kevin shook his head. Matt gave a little half laugh. “Well, Bud, Danny doesn’t often utter more
than a few sentences at a time that don’t contain your name.” He squeezed
Kevin’s shoulder as his little brother’s agitation increased. “From the very beginning of the semester,
it’s been, ‘Kevin this and Kevin that. Did you see this? Did you know that? My
little brother this, my little brother that.
He’s so gutsy, he’s so fast, he’s so smart . . .,’ by the way, I hear you got an A from
Kevin began to sob harder, and a tender smile
flitted briefly across Matt’s face. Fingering the sleeve of the garment that
Kevin was at this moment wearing, he pulled his distraught little brother
closer, and let his chin drop to the top of his head. The shirt was just over a week old, but it
had already seen more than its fair share of wear. Steve had told him he’d gone rounds with
Kevin, just trying to get him to wash it.
“The closer the day came, the more anxious
Danny was about it,” Matt went on finally, “and by the time the day arrived, he
was a wreck. Steve and Ryan tried to
distract him with a pool game, but you know how that turned out,” he squeezed
Kevin’s shoulder once more. “Danny was
devastated to learn that you thought the meeting was a party. Ryan, Sean, and Jesse were trying to reassure
him, but they weren’t very smart about where they did their talking,” a twinge
of irritation entered his tone. A little
foresight on Ryan’s part, as the older of the two brothers and the one who was
thinking more clearly at the time, could have prevented the whole
disaster. “They were in the common room
and Mcarthy overheard them. He heard you thought the meeting was going to
be a party and that was it. He jumped on
the opportunity to bait Danny and Ryan, and after stringing them along, finally
announced your predicament to the whole room.
Danny and Ryan were, of course, both emotionally on edge by that point
and the rest is history,” he concluded softly.
Kevin just continued to cry and Matt held him. He had, so far, been mostly successful in his
efforts to distract his little brother from the punishment taking place. Now, however, the sounds from the other room
were becoming hard to ignore and Kevin clung to him, pressing his hand to his
ear in an effort to drown out the horrible noise.
It was just a few minutes
later that the punishment finally came to an end, but to Kevin those minutes were
long and agonizing. At last, Ryan and
Steve’s comforting tones replaced the other dreadful sounds that had been
coming from inside the room. Their soft voices were warm and reassuring, and as
they floated through the closed door into the bedroom, they had a calming
affect on their youngest brother. Matt kept his arms around Kevin, gently prying
his hand from his ear, and holding him close until finally he felt him start to
relax. “It’s ok now, Little Bro,” he
whispered consolingly. “It’s over.”
“But what
about Ryan?” Kevin protested,
pressing his face into Matt’s chest.
Matt sighed. “One thing at a time, Bud,” he
encouraged. “Let’s just take one thing
at a time. Danny’s ok, and Ryan will be
ok too. All right?
It’s all right,” he held tighter as Kevin’s sobs were renewed in strength and
intensity. For a long while they just
sat there. Matt had nothing more
comforting to say, so he remained silent and finally, Kevin began to grow
calmer once more. As he did, he noticed that the room where his brothers were
had grown quiet too. Matt kept a comforting hand on his back as he brushed at
his tears and tried to get himself together.
A few minutes later, the door
opened and Danny emerged, white as a sheet, with his two big brothers behind
him. Kevin, still nestled against Matt,
looked tentatively in his direction, and Danny looked back, meeting his little
brother’s eyes just briefly, before he looked down at the floor, biting hard on
his lip. Sensing immediately, the
awkwardness that Danny and Kevin were both bound to be feeling, Matt kept his
arm around his youngest brother and called his other little brother to
him. “Come here, Bro,” he encouraged
softly, and tears filled Danny’s eyes.
He just wanted to get to the bed with as much of his dignity in tact as
possible and his little brother’s presence at the moment was mortifying to
him. Taking a deep breath, he started to
limp his way slowly towards his oldest brother.
Ryan too bit his lip. He was carrying Danny’s jeans in his hands
(Danny had insisted on putting his boxers back on) and as Danny made his way
towards Matt, he carefully folded them and placed them on Steve’s desk, trying
not to watch the movements that told how much pain his little brother was
in. Matt pursed his lips disapprovingly
as he regarded his two little brothers.
Their pallid faces testified to the amount of emotion they were trying
to contain and Matt was a firm believer in talking things through. Better out
than in was his motto, always.
He stood up, as Danny finally
reached the bed, and wrapped him in his arms, encouraging Kevin who looked
petrified now to stay where he was. “You
all right?” he whispered softly as Danny snuggled against him and hid his
face. Danny started to nod, but broke
down in the middle and Matt tightened his arms.
“Ok, Bud. It’s ok. Just let it go. It’s over now. Here, come here.” He settled with Danny on the bed as his little
brother really started to sob, and placing one hand on Kevin to keep him beside
him, he kept his other arm around his chastened little brother, rubbing his
back soothingly and murmuring the words of forgiveness he knew Danny so wanted
to hear.
Steve and Ryan watched from
the side, their hearts in their throats; they felt powerless. Steve placed his
hand on Ryan’s shoulder, but Ryan jerked away from him, balling his fists at
his sides. Steve’s stomach turned and he
looked away quickly, his eyes burning. As occupied as he seemed, the
interaction did not go unnoticed by Matt, and it certainly did nothing to help
Ryan gain his oldest brother’s empathy.
For several long minutes,
Danny just continued to cry, no longer holding anything back as Matt whispered
soothingly to him. Finally, as he began
to grow calmer, Matt, with Kevin’s help, pulled the blankets back from the bed
and gently coaxed Danny to lie down.
“No!” Danny protested as Matt determinedly slipped his fingers inside
the waistband of his little brother’s boxers.
“Come on, Bro,” Matt urged
softly. “Let me see.”
“No Matt, please!” Danny
wailed as he stubbornly held onto the elastic.
“There’s no reason to keep
them on, Bud,” Matt responded patiently. “They are causing you unnecessary
discomfort, and there’s no one here you need to impress,” he assured quietly,
and finally, letting go with a sob, Danny lifted his hips, so Matt could pull
his underwear off of him.
Kevin was so traumatized by
the sight of his big brother’s blistered and inflamed bottom, and Matt’s next
actions were so business-like and matter of fact that it never occurred to
Kevin to wonder about them. His eyes
were on Danny as Matt leaned across him and opened the drawer in the nightstand
from which he produced a huge bottle of aloe.
Never did Kevin wonder why Steve had such an item, nor did he see any of
the other items the drawer contained. He
had eyes and thoughts only for his brother at the moment, and anything that
could take away some of the intense pain and discomfort Danny was feeling was
the most welcome and natural thing in the world as far as he was concerned.
Danny had buried his face in
the pillows by now and Kevin shyly brought his hand up to brush the hair from
his big brother’s forehead. Danny
responded automatically to the soothing touch, so, feeling encouraged, Kevin
continued to let his fingers trail lightly through his hair as Matt squirted a
generous amount of the soothing green stuff into his hand and applied it
quickly and efficiently to Danny’s bruised and burning bottom.
The aloe didn’t do much,
frankly, to alleviate the powerful sting, but the act in itself was comforting
and it helped at least to take the edge off.
Danny was still sobbing softly into the pillows as Matt covered him
carefully with the sheet and set the aloe on the nightstand. He then looked
reassuringly once more at Kevin. “He’s
ok, Bud,” he whispered in response to the uncertainty that lingered in his
youngest brother’s eyes. “You can put
some more of that,” he indicated the aloe and Kevin followed his gaze, “on him
in a bit if you want to, but he’s going to be ok.”
Ryan had been hanging back
until now, still fighting with his emotions as he watched the scene around the
bed. He had been hesitant to approach
both because he did not want to embarrass Danny any further, and because he had
known all along that Matt was more upset with him than he was with Danny. Now that the hour of retribution had arrived,
he was feeling wary of his oldest brother.
As Matt was talking to Kevin, however, he approached the bed timidly on
the other side, and sitting down next to Danny, he placed his hand soothingly
on his little brother’s back. Feeling
his big brother’s touch, Danny began to sob harder and he turned to bury his
face in Ryan’s lap.
It was more than Steve could
take. He turned away quickly in an
effort to mask his own feelings, but he was not fast enough to evade his
partner’s observant eyes. Matt watched
as, a moment later, Steve disappeared into the Correction Room and he sighed to
himself. ‘It’s time,’ he thought as he
looked once more at Danny and Ryan. He
waited patiently for another moment or two, keeping his eyes steadily on Ryan
as he gave his two disgraced brothers a chance to get themselves together. Kevin,
seeing the expression on Matt’s face now, concentrated hard on the floor, not
daring to look anywhere else.
“Come on, Ryan, let’s go,” Matt prompted at
last, sensing that his little brother was stalling now. Ryan flushed, but finally he raised his eyes
and Matt looked sternly at him. “You and
I have a lot to talk about tonight, young man.
There’s no sense in putting it off any longer.” Ryan’s eyes filled again and Matt felt a pang
despite himself. “Let’s just get it over
with, Bro. ok?” Ryan nodded and brushed
at his cheeks. He tried to stand up, but
Danny clung to him.
“No!” his little brother
sobbed. “No, please!”
“Let go, Dan,” Matt directed
firmly. He was in no mood for further
dramatics at the moment and, sensing it, Danny did as he was told, turning his face back into the pillows and hugging them
close as he sobbed.
Kevin bit his lip and placed
his hand once more on the back of Danny’s head.
He avoided Ryan’s eyes as his older brother came around the bed to stand
in front of Matt, but Ryan called his name softly as Matt got to his feet.
“Take care of him, Kid, ok?” Ryan requested brokenly as Kevin tentatively
looked up at him. “Ok?” he repeated as
Matt took him by the arm, and finally Kevin nodded, pressing his fingers to his
eyes as Matt escorted his older brother towards the Correction Room.