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Bonds of Trust -- Part XVIII Bo, John, Rex and Nathan are sitting in the commissioner’s office. The tension is thick in the room and no one speaks. Rex clears his throat, looking expectantly at Bo. Bo frowns at him, shaking his head. Finally John breaks the silence. “What’s it going to be, Taylor? I think our offer is more than fair, given your circumstances.”   “This isn’t easy for me. I’ve got a family.”   Rex jumps in. “You should have thought of that before…”   Bo frowns at him. “Knock it off, Balsom. We don’t need your input right now.”   “Hey, I’m the one who broke this case.”   Bo nods. “And you did a fine job. Why don’t you let me take it from here?”   Rex crosses his arms. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, partner.”   John frowns at both of them. “This is a police matter now. I can handle it from here.”   Bo is about to argue the point when his cell phone buzzes. He checks the ID, prepared to ignore it, when he sees it’s Nora. He flips open his phone. “Hey, honey. I really can’t talk right now. I’ll be home in a couple hours.”   “I don’t want you to come home, Bo. I need you to meet us at the Taylor’s house.”   Bo looks at Nathan. “Stevie’s house? What’s going on?” Nathan shrugs. “Is everything all right?”   “I’ll explain when you get there, but it’s important. Matthew and I are headed over there right now. I know you’re working a case, but this is urgent.”   “All right. I’ll be right there.” He flips the phone shut, turning to Nathan. “I have to meet Nora at your house. She says it’s urgent.”   Nathan motions to the door. “Let’s go then.”   John gets up. “If this is urgent, I’ll come with you.”   “You’re not leaving me behind,” Rex adds as he follows the others out of the room.   Nora pulls into the Taylor’s driveway, cutting the engine and turning to her son. “Are you ready?”   He shakes his head. “Stevie is gonna hate me after tonight.”   “I’m sure it will feel that way at first, but Stevie will see that you’re being a good friend to him.”   “I doubt it.”   Nora puts her hand over Matthew’s, giving it a small squeeze. “Just remember, you’re doing the right thing. And I’m very proud of you tonight.”   He gives her a small smile. “Thanks, Mom. Let’s get this over with.”   Nora and Matthew exit the Jeep and go to the front door. Nora rings the bell and waits. They see a light come on inside the house and Brenda opens the door, pulling her robe tight around her. “Nora, Matthew. What are you doing here this time of night?”   Nora steps forward. “I’m sorry to come by so late but there is something Matthew and I would like to discuss with you. May we come in?”   Brenda steps back. “Of course, come in. Matthew, are you okay?”   He nods as he walks through the door. “I’m fine, Mrs. Taylor.”   Brenda moves a blanket off the sofa. “Please, have a seat.” Nora and Matt sit as Brenda takes a seat in a chair opposite them. “What is this about?”   Nora is about to answer when Stevie emerges from his room. “What are you doing here, Buchanan?”   Matt glares at him. “You know why I’m here.”   Brenda sees the looks flying between the two boys. “What’s this about, Stevie?”   He looks at his mother with a shrug. “I have no idea. I haven’t done anything wrong.”   “How can you say that?” Matthew yells.   Nora puts her hand on his arm. “Calm down, Matt. Getting upset isn’t going to resolve this.” She turns to Brenda. “Is Nathan here? He should hear this too.”   She shakes her head. “He’s not home. I’m not sure where he is.”   “Can you call him?”   “I will,” Stevie volunteers and sprints out of the room. Brenda turns to Nora. “Would you like some coffee or tea?”   “No, thanks. I’m sorry to come by so late, but I didn’t think this could wait.”   “Can you tell me what's going on?”   Nora looks at her son. “Go ahead, Matt.”   Matt squirms, looking down. “Something happened at school yesterday with Stevie – and Danielle.”   “He didn’t mention anything. If it’s serious enough to bring you over here at this time of night, I want to hear this from him. Stevie, get back in here!” He doesn’t return. “Excuse me.” She heads toward the kitchen. “Steven Robert Taylor, get out here right now!”   Matt cringes. “Can we just go, Mom?”   She shakes her head. “No, we can’t. You’ll feel better when this all comes out, trust me.”   Brenda walks back into the room, throwing her hands in the air. “He’s gone. His bike is missing from the garage. What’s going on that he would disappear like this?” She turns to Matthew. “Please tell me.”   The front door opens and Nathan strides into the room. “What’s going on, Brenda?”   She goes to him and gives him a hug as Bo, John and Rex follow him into the room. Brenda pulls back. “Have you heard from Stevie?”   Nathan shakes his head. “Isn’t he still at the dance?”   Nora walks into Bo’s arms, addressing Nathan. “I brought the boys home early.”   Nathan turns to Nora. “What’s so urgent? Is Stevie missing?”   She shakes her head. “He was here when Matthew and I arrived. He said he was going to call you and he left.” Brenda nods. “His bike is gone.”   Nathan checks his cell phone. “He didn’t call me.”   Bo looks at Nora. “What’s this all about, honey?”   “I talked to Matthew when we came home from the dance…”   Nathan turns to Matt. “Where is my son?”   Matt shrugs. “I don’t know, Mr. Taylor.”   Rex gets in front of Nathan. “Back off the squirt.”   John holds up his hands. “Everyone settle down and we’ll get to the bottom of this. Matthew, you're his friend, so let’s start with you.”   Matt takes a deep breath, looking to Nora. She nods encouragingly and he turns to Nathan and Brenda. “Yesterday after school Stevie and Danielle had a fight…” He stops and Nora nods again. “I don’t know what the fight was about but Stevie pushed Danielle and she fell down, hitting her shoulder on the desk.”   Brenda gets a sinking feeling in her stomach. “Was it an accident?” she asks quietly.   Matt shakes his head. “I saw it happen. He pushed her on purpose.”   “Why?” Nathan demands.   “Let him tell us,” Bo says quietly. “Go ahead, son.”   “I don’t know why he pushed her but he was angry about something. At first they were just arguing so I stayed out of it but when he pushed her, I went in to help her. Danielle ran out of the room and Stevie told me to mind my own business. He took a swing at me but we didn’t get into a real fight. I told him his behavior was wrong and I offered to talk to my parents about what was happening.”   Brenda turns to Nora. “You knew about this?”   She shakes her head. “No. Matthew just told me tonight before we came here.”   “I wanted to wait until after the dance. I thought Danielle would break up with Stevie for acting that way but she came to the dance with him anyway and my mom saw that she has a big bruise on her shoulder.”   Nathan moves in front of Matthew. “So he pushed her once and you think what? He’s abusing her?”   Rex grabs him by the arm. “I told you to back off.”   “Take it easy, Balsom.” Bo turns to his son. “Is that all, Matthew?”   He takes a deep breath, shaking his head. “Danielle had a big bruise once before.”   Brenda sucks in her breath, putting her hand to her mouth. “Oh, no.”   Nora jumps in to help Matt. “I saw the bruise on her arm when I drove the kids home after practice one afternoon. Danielle swore it was a gym class accident and I didn’t think too much of it.”   Brenda looks at Matthew. “Did you know Stevie had done it?”   He shakes his head. “But I suspected.”   Bo looks at his son closely. “Why would you think Stevie hit Danielle?”   Matt shakes his head slowly, tears coming to his eyes. “Please, Dad. Don’t…”   Nora goes and sits beside him, putting her arm around him. “Go ahead, Matthew. I’m right here.”   He looks up at Nathan. “I thought Stevie may have hit Danielle because I heard you hit Mrs. Taylor when I was over here the night my parents were at the concert.”   Tears are rolling down Brenda’s face as she slowly shakes her head. “I can’t believe this.”   “That’s a lie!” Nathan says angrily, making a move toward Matt again. He shrinks back against Nora as both Bo and Rex grab Nathan’s arms.   Bo pulls him back. “Don’t touch my son.”   Brenda goes and stands in front of him. “Don’t make this worse, Nathan.”   John steps forward. “All right. Everybody take a breath.” He looks at Matthew. “That’s a pretty serious charge. Are you sure?” Matt nods.   “My son wouldn’t lie,” Bo asserts, taking a seat beside Matt. “If he says it happened, it did.”   Nathan shakes his head. “We can get my son in here and he’ll tell you it didn’t.”   Brenda looks at him. “Don’t do that to Stevie.” She turns to John. “What Matthew said is true. It’s not like domestic abuse or anything, but he did hit me the night Matthew was visiting. It was an isolated incident. It hasn't happened again.”   John frowns at her. “Somehow I doubt that.”   “The most important thing right now is to find my son. Can you put out an APB?”   “Not just yet. He hasn’t been missing long enough. Do you think he ran away?”   Brenda shakes her head. “I think he’s just scared.”   “Any idea where he’d go?”   “I think I know,” Matthew volunteers as he gets off the couch. “I’d like to go talk to him, if it’s okay?”   Brenda smiles at him. “Thank you, Matthew. You’re such a good friend to my son.”   Rex stands beside Matt. “I’ll take him.”   Bo nods slowly. “I think that’s a good idea. Thanks, Balsom.”   Nora hands Rex the keys to the Jeep and he leaves the house with Matt. John turns to Nathan. “Looks like you’ve been up to no good in more ways than one.”   Brenda looks at her husband. “What is he talking about? And why did you show up with Bo and the police commissioner?”   Nora turns to Bo when Nathan doesn’t respond. “Bo? Were you with Nathan and John when I called?”   Bo nods. “Why don’t we sit down and put all the cards on the table. Seems everyone has a story to tell tonight.”   Rex and Matt climb into the Jeep. “You okay, squirt?” He shrugs. “This is what was bothering you the other day, isn’t it?” Matt nods. “Why didn’t you say something?”   He stares straight ahead. “Because Stevie is my best friend. Would you rat out your best friend?”   Rex takes a deep breath. “I understand what you’re saying but in this case, Danielle’s safety was at stake and she’s your friend too.”   Matt nods letting the tears fall. “I know. It wasn’t until yesterday that I knew for sure what Stevie was doing. I was going to tell tomorrow, after the dance.”   Rex looks out the windshield, not wanting to embarrass Matt by acknowledging the tears. “What if something worse had happened to Danielle at the dance tonight?”   Matt wipes at his eyes. “I know, okay? I’ve been trying to figure out how to handle this for weeks. I know I’m a total loser who let my friends down. I was being selfish about the dance but Kallie will probably never speak to me again anyway and my parents will never trust me again. I'll probably be grounded until I'm old enough to vote.”   “I’m sorry, squirt. I know you were in a tight spot with your friends and your parents. That’s why I wish you had talked to me. I could have helped you and Stevie out. I’m kind of an expert on dysfunctional parents.”   “I get it. I should have told you. I screwed up. That's what losers do.”   “Hey, don’t beat yourself up. You’re not a loser, you're a teenager. You’re not supposed to know how to handle something like this. Now that it's out in the open, we'll figure it all out.”   Rex starts the Jeep and drives slowly down the street, letting Matt compose himself. Matt finally looks at him. “Do you think Stevie will go to juvie?” he asks quietly.   “No. I think he’ll probably have to go to counseling, but it doesn’t appear that what he did to Danielle would be considered criminal, especially if she refuses to press charges.”   “Are you sure?”   Rex shrugs. “Kinda. I’m not an expert on the legal system when it comes to this stuff. Your mom would know more about the finer points of the law. I don’t think Stevie will get to pretend nothing happened but I don’t see them taking him away from his mom, especially given what she was going through.”   Matt sighs. “That’s good. Thanks, Rex.”   “No problem.” He peers out the windshield. “So, do you really know where Stevie is or did you just want to get away from the inquisition?”   “I think I know where he is. Head over to the ballfield.”   TBC