Chapter 11

We three meet up again in the cabin in time for dinner. As we're dressing, there's a knock at the door. Beth answers it casually, "Oh hey, come in."

I glance up in the mirror and smile to see Barb in a mini dress and stiletto heels. I turn around. "Hello Ms. Robinson."

Alex pops out of the bathroom, naked, then jumps back again. "Whoa! Jeez! Hey! Warn uh guy!"

"I don't mind." Barb winks at me.

He comes out again, wrapped in a towel and grabbed a shirt and pants then dashes back into the bathroom. Beth laughs and taps on the door, "Since when you shy?"

"Shut up, Beth!" came an irritated reply.

Barb sashays over to me and fixes my collar. "Do you mind if I invite myself to dinner?"

"Not even slightly." I catch her hands and kiss her fingertips.

"You are something else, you know that?"

"Mother has implied that," I turn around and put my arms around her, "But what does she know?"

"Will she know about me?"

"Likely. I tell her everything." Alex comes out of the bathroom and I amend my statement. "Practically everything."

"You're not one of those sad, pathetic momma's boys, are you?"

"Yes." Beth answered before I could.

"Don't you have something to do?" I really wished, for once, that Beth was my sub.

"Yes." She answered with a hair flip. "Barb, I have those shoes."

Barb cooed and released herself from my grip. I watched with some amazement as Barb and Beth proceeded to try on roughly a zillion pairs of shoes that Beth had hidden somewhere.

Alex watched with me. "Enough uh that, give uh guy uh fetish."

"Enough oxygen gives you uh fetish. Get uh grip, boy."

He smirked and finished dressing. I checked my watch. "Ladies, I do hate to break this up, but dinner awaits."

We got to our seating on time, but just. Most of the conversation was Beth and Barb and the fashion show. I didn't particularly notice Alex slip off to the bathroom so I was a little surprised when my phone rang.

"What up?"

"I don't know. I, uh, ok this is fucked up, but, I uh, I couldn't hold it." He sounded more than a little freaked out.

"Hold what?" I turn away from the table, knowing that Beth and Barb were both watching me now.

"I, uh," he lowers his voice, "My bowels."

"WHAT?" I shout then realize it and wish I could shrink away. "What?" I all but whisper.

"Remember I said it felt like something tore?"

"Yeah," I glance at Beth and Barb; they both look a touch concerned. "Yeah, ok, where are you."

"Left side men's room."

"Ok. Stay put. Do you, uh, need anything?"

"No. It was, uh, I could, it was y'know, flushable when I got here, ok?"

"Ok, cool. Give me uh minute." I hung up and looked at the girls. I tried to smile. "Alex. What can I say? Would you excuse me for just uh moment?"

I get up and walk damn fast to the men's room. Alex was hiding in the last stall. He looked just this side of frantic.

"Ok, slowly, from the top."

"Ok, see, I felt the urge ta take uh dump, right? So I got up and headed to the bathroom and got like halfway here and realized that I was already, y'know, in process and I couldn't stop it. So I get in here and it's like mostly solid but kinda ... well, it was gross, anyway but like my drawers took the hit so..."

"Where are they?"

He shows me a wad of paper towels. "I rinsed them best I could in the toilet first."

I nod. "Ok, ok, good. Come on." I don't let him argue. We go to the infirmary.

The Doctor on staff was a young guy named Steve. It takes about five minutes for Alex and I to explain what the problem is. Steve has Alex lie down with his pants off and examines his rectal area. "A little bruising, a little tearing. No permanent damage." He says taking off the rubber gloves. "Should heal just fine in a day or so. Either one of you want to tell me how this happened?"

Alex looked at me with mild panic. "We were," I hesitate, "experimenting. It was a bad idea."

"Was it." Doctor Steve says. "Alex, I want you to stay here for just a moment. Peter, may I speak to you in my office, please?" When we were alone he asks me, "How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Isn't he a bit young for you to experiment on?"

"He's..." I stop cold. Alex was subject to the same Statutory Rape laws that I keep throwing at Beth.

"Hadn't thought of that had you." Dr. Steve picks up the phone. "What's his room number; I want to speak to his parents."

"A151." I offer then stop him, "But they're not here. I'm his guardian. For the trip I mean." He looked at me like I'm, well, a rapist. "He's, look, ok, we were foolin' around. Alex has a thing fo', well, anal an' I found uh water bottle an' he always sayin' bigger better so..."

"So you thought it would be a good idea to shove it up his ass?"

"I thought it was a bad idea but I knew he'd, uh, get off on it."

"You did." He sounds like he doesn't believe me. "Did he?"

I have to smile at the memory even here, "Like uh firehose."

"Really." He seems to think about it for a moment. "Stay here." He goes back into the examination room. I call Beth and apologize for walking out on dinner. Steve comes back in the room and simply takes the phone from me. "Who is this?" He listens for a moment. "This is Dr. Steve Gorman. I am currently examining Alex McElroy. Are you related? I see. Are your parent's on board? I see." His eyes sweep over me and I silently groan. "And one last question, Miss. How old are you? Thank you." He listens again. "Oh he's fine. A small, common, complaint. Shouldn't take more than a day or two for it to clear itself up. Well, it may be best if he discusses that with you, but, as the expression goes - what you see on Jackass 8 should not be done at home." He hangs up and give me back the phone. "Your cousin and your sister. Both 16. Not only could you not find victims your own age, you couldn't leave the family reunion to do it?"

"Now wait just uh damn minute..." I start but he cuts me off.

"No, you wait. I have enough circumstantial evidence to ask the Captain to open an abuse case here. He's not seriously injured. Yet. But I can see the scars."

"You don't know him. Some uh that self-inflicted. Some uh that from like six years uh football."

"A fish hook through the scrotum? Was that during the play-offs?"

I shut up and sit down. Alex had begged for that. It was an accident in the end but he had begged for that for half a day. "You don't know Alex." I mutter.

"No, you're right. But a 16-year-old doesn't get to play S/M games even if they want to. They're too young. And they certainly don't get to play them with someone who can legally be charged as an adult. I hope you know a damn good lawyer." I nod - I hadn't meant to, but I do in fact have a damn good lawyer. "My God, you've planned for this?"

"No, no!" I can't believe this is happening, "My Grandfather's uh lawyer. Dad and Granddad both 'cept Granddad already on retainer 'cause uh Alex."

"This I have got to hear."

I look at him for a moment. Likely, he's merely stalling me til the police arrive anyway. "Alex tried to commit suicide a year ago. I pulled him out the rivah an' kept it secret but I had ta make sure he wouldn't try it again. He wan'd ta be punished." 8 minutes 15 seconds. For a moment, my chest hurts. I still could see his face - he was almost dead when I pulled him out. I try not to think about that. Ever. "He wan'd ta be punished for all the evil shit he'd done, so I punished him. It left uh bruise. His coach found out and wanted to put him on a medical suspension. Granddad talked him out of it."

"And your Grandfather thinks leaving bruises on children is a good thing?"

"No. He's right put out 'bout the whole thing. But he know Alex." I take a deep breath. "An' he trust me. I ain't all too sure why."

"Well, we agree about that." He looked at his watch then goes back into the examination room. "OK Alex, how are you feeling?"

"Bored. Can we go now?"

"Well, unfortunately, I need to do a couple more things. First of all, I want to give you a mild enema to clean you out thoroughly. I'm going to ask you to stick to liquid or soft foods for 24 hours to give you rectum a break and let those tissues actually heal." Steve looked at me. "Preferably, nothing should come out or go in."

"Nothing will, Sir." I answer even as Alex whines. "Alex. Drop it."

"Yes, Sir." He sounds meek which does nothing to help my case with Dr. Steve.

"Ok, you can go wait in the lobby." The doctor's voice was very tight.

I sit in the lobby for a few minutes then call Beth and tell her what's going on. Midway through the conversation, Beth and a confused Barb walk into the office.

"If he thinks you actually abusin' Alex, he on drugs. You sure-n hell ain't done nothin' ta me!" She nearly explodes.

"Beth, calm down. Barb, you don't need to be here for this. I'll see you later." It dawns on me just how much of the truth she probably knows now. "If you want to see me. It's all kinda ... twisted, I guess." I sit down again and put my head in my hands.

The exam room door opens and Dr. Steve actually looked angrier. He opens his mouth then does a double take on Beth. He swallows whatever he was going to say first. "Ladies, forgive me, I'm the only one on shift at the moment and I have a patient. I'll be with you in a moment. Are either of you in pain?"

"No." Barb answers.

"I'm Beth. I'm here about Alex."

"I see." Steve looked at Barb. "Are you also here about Alex?"

"I'm here about Peter." She says in a slightly amused tone. "I'm curious about Alex."

For a moment, Steve doesn't know what to do with that comment, but then, neither do I. Finally, he mentally files it. "Mr. McElroy, May I see you for a moment?"

In the exam room, he holds up the bullet vib. "Did you even notice it was missing?"

"Oh Christ." I had not noticed it was gone. I had forgotten it was there. I would never have used both - I pushed that bottle... "God damn it, Alex!" I round on him, "Why ain't you tell me they both rippin' you?"

"You'da stopped. I was hopin' you meant ta do it."

"I meant to do what? Kill you?"

"Kill..."

"Yes, Alex, or do you not realize that battery acid can leak and poison you? Shit, I'm lucky I ain't just electrocute you. You are so on suspension."

"Sir, please. Come on. After we done, the batteries musta died; I ain't feel it no more. Please don't suspend me."

"Why?" Dr. Steve pushes me out of the way. "What's he do to you on suspension, Alex? Listen, I want you to know that this nightmare is over; I'm going to have the Captain put Peter in the brig so you and Beth will be safe."

"What the fuck?" I hear it in stereo as both Beth and Alex say it.

All three of them start yelling. I sit down. He's right. I need to be locked up. Barb comes and sits next to me. "So you came on a cruise to screw your siblings."

"Pretty much." No point in arguing the specifics - Alex and I might as well be brothers.

"Beth says you really helped her over a rough patch." I barely react; one doesn't help one's sister by screwing her. "She also says that you take care of her."

"Oh my God," I lament, "my family gonna hava right royal fit."

"I certainly had a fit when I caught my kids."

It takes about a full minute for that comment to sink in. Then I look at her. "Come again?"

"My kids were very close in age and when their father and I decided to use the 'traditional' Chinese method of sex education - that is let them figure it out on their own - they did exactly that. I walked in on them 'playing' one afternoon when they didn't expect me home early."

"Oh Barb." I can't imagine that but I realize my Mother's been at risk of that at least twice. "I'm so sorry."

"Why? You didn't give them the idea. And they both turned out healthy. They are both married - to other people - and they are still close. Not too close, of course."

"Jesus." I just wish security would hurry up and get down here.

Then I realize that the yelling has stopped. I look up and everyone was looking at me.

"You ok, Sir?" Alex asks me.

"Am I ok?" I look at him blankly. "Let me think. I just assaulted you in a way that could have done permanent, debilitating damage. And I'm about to be arrested for screwing my sister. Ima have ta call my Dad an' see if he's willing ta bail me out. You know I may's well stay on this boat 'cause after this I ever step foot in Virginia, they gonna drop me so deep in the Bay, NOAA won't find me with sonar." I drop my head back into my hands."