Chapter 5
Blood Ties
Dad brought me back to the living room and told me to take a seat next to Mom as everyone stared at me. Everyone had their robes on well except my baby brother. Something you just cannot change, and it. It made me smile. Because I loved every inch of him because he was my brother. Dad opened the yellow envelope and handed me a copy for me to read as he read it aloud to everyone. Several documents looked like contracts of some sort and had been signed and notarized with Mom and Dad's signature and my sisters and my brothers, including Shane's.
It was only lacking mine and my mother's name below, stating that Rothwells were adopting me into their family. Dad looked at my face as tears ran down my cheeks, seeing what they wanted me to do and what was expected of me as their son. It hurt seeing that I would never get the chance to be a Downing, but a Rothwell instead.
Mom hugged my shoulders as Dad read it as I followed along, watching the tears smear the page. The realism of it was more than I could bear, but if I had a choice, I could not ask for a better gift knowing I would never be a Shepherd ever again or use that name as long as I lived with the Rothwells or when I was old and dead. I could finally bury my past forever.
By signing my name, I would be given a new name. I would be known to them as Eric T Rothwell. T stands for tiger, an odd name, but better than James, by removing my father's name from me entirely. I was not sure how my mother would react to this, but Dad made it clear that my mother had given her permission after some compromise. My mind was going into overdrive. Realizing after all these years she finally agreed to have someone adopt me, why couldn't she have done so with the Downings?
I soon realized why as Dad read the compromises. She was given full access to me anytime she wanted. I would never be placed in a group home, another foster home, or a home for boys. I would live with the Rothwells until I was able to maintain a life of my own. The major stipulation was if she or my father harmed me in any way. She would be given the Rothwells total custody to them no questions asked, no family court, nothing. She would never be able to see me again. Yet the same went for the Rothwells if Mom and Dad hurt me other than punishing me for bad behavior. I would be returned to my mother and keep my father's name. Her compromise was I would keep the name Eric. Not EJ, but Eric. I could live with that.
The other pages were documents stating what we do as a family, and close friends remain within the family never to be discussed by anyone else outside our circle. We will do so until we are either forced (meaning raped) or giving us the choice when asked to give our permission or not, that No means No. We are not to discuss what takes place inside our homes without permission from all parties. That if we are caught, we will be removed from the family and blacked-balled. As well as be brought up on charges of sexual assault. If we are caught raping another person against their will.
Dad told us that Mom and Dad were only doing this because of Shawn and what they had done. Never again will he enforce the Shaming. Never again will they tolerate these crimes that Shawn and they have committed. He just wants everyone to live the life they have been teaching us, yet keep the outside world outside, knowing how they look down on nudism and our culture. State that the world does not or will not understand and will judge us for being who we are. He did not state that they would consider us immoral freaks of nature going against God's laws or the state laws or the LDS Church.
He continued reading, "We are different." We are set apart from them because we love and respect each other. Until we say no more, we will be allowed to make the choice to stay within the circle or leave of our own accord. There will be no more hiding. When people ask us into their homes or come into ours, we tell them up front who we are. To state we are nudists, living in their community, following the laws of the state by telling them who we are?
"If they do not want us in their homes or around their children, their family. We leave them to live their lives and never force them to live our carefree lifestyle. If they want to become part of our circle of trust, they must sign this contract. We will not tolerate rape among us if we say no, we mean no. It will not be consensual if we force ourselves on other people. The law will be on our side, not the rapist's side."
Down below were several signatures. My heart sank seeing Bishop Earls and Bishop Sakes' names and Officer Kenly and my caseworker and many others. Like my three closest friends at home and their families. Plus, many others I did not know personally because I have only seen them in church. I knew right then I would never get the chance to ask if this was right or if this was wrong. I would have to make those choices alone and pray to God that they were the right ones. Not that I had any success with prayer because I felt he was punishing me ever since the day I was born. I could pray day and night and never get a straightforward answer.
My mother's and my grandmother's signatures were not among them. Dad knew I noticed it telling me my mother wanted to think about it first and make her decision when we meet up with her in the coming days. To me, this document represented a get-out-of-jail card. Making everything Mom and Dad had taught us legal and binding according to the laws signed and notarized by a state judge.
I was twenty-five when I said no more and left the circle and regretted it. For when I did. I never saw the Rothwells or my friends again. And now I am completely alone. I wish I had not said those words and moved with them, leaving my life here. Just knowing I could have been happy if I had made that choice. But instead listened to the people around me telling me what they were doing was wrong and immoral.
To this very day, I regret that decision. I could have married one of my mermaids and had several happy children and been surrounded by love and family. Instead, I am an outcast among my own biological family. I am dirt under their fingernails. A worm waiting to be crushed under their feet, always letting me know I do not belong here or a part of their family. Yes, I made the wrong choice.
Dad passed around the original contracts and a pen, telling all of us to give careful thought before we signed on the dotted line. I felt the pressure on my shoulders. I told Mom and Dad I needed to think about it, and asked if I could talk to Bishop Earl, and Officer Kenly as well as my mother. Dad nodded that I could and said he would never force me to do it until I felt right about it. Asking me if I still had their permission until I said no or yes. I nodded that I could live with that. I was already in too deep to say no.
I signed my name on the adoption contract and handed it to him; it felt like the world just changed right before my eyes when I realized I would never be a Downing, yet it did not mean I would not search for them. Mom and Dad gave me permission to seek them out as long as I knew I could never go to them. My life was with them and not the Downings. A part of me died that day, and Jeff was still nowhere to be found. Mom and Dad hugged me and welcomed me into the family. Dad said my new name, asking me, "How do you feel now Eric T Rothwell?" I smiled and kissed him. That was the only part that felt right about today. Well, except for the part that came next.
Dad explained that we would celebrate tonight with a special dinner in my honor, known as a naming ceremony. That did not sound so bad until I realized soon after that we would be tied by blood in two ways.
Mr. Gill pricked my finger while I hugged Dad, while he kissed me. My hand jerked back, feeling the prick that I was not expecting. Dad laughed when I said. "Ow, that hurt." As Mr. Gill squeezed the blood from my finger into a small vile test tube as if I were in science class being examined under a microscope. I knew we were the same blood type. Because both Shane and Dad had given me blood when I cut my wrist and ankles. Nearly bleeding to death from an episode as they rushed me to the hospital.
Dad said he was just going to run it through a machine to check if I had any diseases and handed me a cup to pee in. Dad said he was a retired Doctor and only sees a few patients mostly the elderly around here. I looked at him strangely as he handed me a cup to pee in and I placed my finger in my mouth. He did the same for the rest of my family. My brothers said the same thing. Only my baby brother cried as he poked him while Mom held him tight against her. I noticed there were no vials with Shawn and Arthur's names on them, but again why would there be? They are not my brothers any longer.
Dad asked if it was all right if my sisters bathed me and got me ready for tonight's celebration. I said they could … watching them nearly jump for joy as they said they had been waiting an extraordinarily long time to have their way with me. I groaned inward knowing what they intended to do to me. They each kissed my cheek, whispering to me I was all theirs and all the things they were going to do to me. Now they can without hiding it behind closed doors.
Mom smiled and gave me a little push; I overheard her say. "Well, Robert dear, that should keep him occupied. You know how he hates the sight of needles?"
I stopped in mid-walk, having my sisters quickly pull me along. Jody telling me. "Everything will be fine. It's just a little poke, nothing more." Somehow that did not make me feel any better noticing my sister's arms where a Band-Aid was when they took off their robes. Jody helped me off with mine, and I smiled seeing them naked. I smiled even more, seeing a tub just like the one in our cabin, just a little bigger. Jody asked if I needed any help to pee in the cup as she lifted the toilet seat. She tickled my ribs as I tried the hold the cup straight.
Most boys or brothers would feel embarrassed having your sister watch them pee or sit on the toilet, or see them naked. I was at first when I first arrived at the Rothwell house. Now, after three years, it was no big deal. Having them and Mom and Dad walk in as if you were doing your business, not even Shane or my brothers were given the privacy to do it. It was just something we lived with. I did my thing, flushed the toilet, and gave Mr. Gill the cup with a tight lid on it. Kerry said that I would be ready for my exam in an hour or so, and closed the door.
Jody helped me into the tub, and I helped Kerry by noticing she had just started to show that she was pregnant, maybe three or four months along. I am not an expert when it comes to that, and it really was none of my business. I had already given my permission. Even though I had yet to sign it in writing and I had theirs. Because they had, and they were my sisters and were entitled like Mom, Dad, and my three brothers.
I still asked anyway because Jody had been raped and I did not want her to think I would rape her. She smiled and said. "Thanks for asking me first." Leaned my head on her breasts and cupped one to my mouth. She took her other hand stroked me, and said. "We are going to have such fun. I have been wanting to do this since the first time I saw you naked."
Kerry giggled as she turned my head so I could have hers as well. Placing my hand on her sweet spot. I jerked it back and said. "What about the baby and your husband?"
She laughed. "Just because I am pregnant does not mean we do not have sex, my little brother. Or the fact I cannot stimulate you or my husband orally. The baby will not be harmed. Mom and Dad have been doing it all our lives and have yet to harm any of us. Now be a good boy and let us have our way with you. You will get your chance with John soon enough."
Something said sooner than I would like, and it also stated Kerry and wanted something more. When I had fully climaxed, and they got what they wanted, they bathed me very sensually with a kiss that would leave any boy wanting more. I would have enjoyed it more until I heard my brothers scream down the hall. I knew why, and it had something to do with needles.
I only had an hour, so I did not get to play with them or stimulate them like they wanted me to. Yet they promised me that I would get my chance after dinner. Jody and Kerry informed me they could not wait to play Spider Love with me and Kerry's husband John.
My mind freaked out when they said that. First, it was with Mom and now my sisters. The fact that neither could get pregnant cleared the runway for them to have sex with me, and I doubted Mom and Dad would stop them or Kerry's husband. Something told me that Jody had sex with him multiple times, considering she lived with them. Mostly likely why she is letting me touch her in such a way and me. I had thought that most girls that had been raped hated men.
I heard about a woman that once they get pregnant, they can't get pregnant again until after they have their baby. Well, at least that is what Mom and Kerry said. Man, I needed that handbook to tell me if this was wrong. It bothered me that Bishop Earl and Officer Kenly signed that document. Yet I wondered if they still could set my mind at ease and give me the answers I was looking for.
Kerry helped me on with my robe and led me down the hall to where there was a small doctor's office. Mr. Gill had just finished the tests from my blood and my urine, telling Mom and Dad I was perfectly healthy and free from any diseases, but the exam would tell if I had anything for them to worry about.
I took a seat on the exam table as Mom, Dad, and Kerry took a seat to stare at me like a piece of meat. Mr. Gill or Doctor Gill told me to take off my robe. Mom helped me off with it and gave me a kiss on the head. Telling me everything will be just fine. Yeah right, seeing the bags of blood sitting in the glass fridge with everyone's name on it but mine, and that one was sitting on the counter waiting to be filled up, with a needle still in its package waiting for me. I hated needles. I could handle an exam, but when it came to needles, prepare to hear me roar.
I watched as he put on gloves and placed the stethoscope to listen to my heart and lungs, shivering, because it was cold when it touched my bare skin. I was not scared or embarrassed because I was naked and not because he was a member of the nudist community; it was because he was a doctor.
When he had taken my temperature and blood pressure, he told me my heart was racing like a jackrabbit and my blood pressure was just a little high. Mom and I knew why it was high and why my heart was beating fast. One I had just been stimulated by my sisters, two the needles waiting for me was enough to scare the crap out of me.
I always hated it when they told me to open my mouth and say awe, while they stuck a large stick inside, while you gag from choking. The other part I did not like was when they say turn your head and cough as they sexually assault you while they play with your ball sack. The worst part was when he had me bend over and stuck something up my butt as I jerked as something small was inserted where it did not belong.
That too went under a microscope having stated I was healthy in every way, checking my reflexes and all my parts right down to my toes. There was not a single thing he missed while he kept the needle sitting on the counter. Dad apologized that he could not tranquilize me because they needed my blood for the naming ceremony.
My first thought was vampires, but they like it hot and fresh right from my body, not out of a bag and cold. Yew gross. Yet trust me, I had more to worry about than vampires sucking my blood. Dad strapped me down, kissing me every so often telling me it was just a little poke nothing for me to worry about. I screamed and bucked, and they let me as Doctor Gill gave me the poke and told me it was all over, and told me to relax.
Yeah right, if that was going to happen as I started to feel dizzy watching the blood run down a clear tube into the bag that was no longer sitting on the counter. Instead of removing the needle, he capped it off telling me he was only going to do it once. I watched as he took my bag of blood and took it and placed it into the fridge with the others. I asked if he was done and opened the door and got the hell out of there.
I found my brothers as they were relaxing poolside with the same needle in their arms, like me they had fresh tears in their eyes. I cursed under my breath because something dark was about to happen. That I thought was in horror movies dealing with zombies, werewolves, and vampires, and let us not forget satanic rituals where they kill women and children and drink their blood. I did not have to guess if Mom and Dad would go too far because now; they had just crossed that line.
It was extremely hard to enjoy myself during my celebration dinner as they welcomed me to the family. Even though Shawn and Arthur were present, they were not part of our celebration. The first thought was here we go; now we are going to sacrifice them and drink their blood.
Yet all that happened was they sat alone at a small table handcuffed to their chair, both wearing wigs, both wearing that ugly brown robe, while the rest of us were in nice comfortable robes. They were not even allowed proper dinnerware instead they were stuck with kiddy plates and glasses with Mickey Mouse and Goofy and rusty beat-up silverware that only a hobo would use.
Dad got up and made a big speech as he welcomed me into his family as his real son addressing me by my new full name Eric T. Rothwell taking a bottle of red wine and uncorked it, poured it into wine glasses, and passed it around the table raising his glass to me. The fact that Shawn growled foul names at me and them. It did not register with any of them; it was like they were not even here. The only ones who did not get a glass of wine were Shawn and Arthur.
Dad said as he raised his glass. "To my son Eric T. Rothwell, from this day forward you will forever be our son and our brother." I blushed, hating all the attention. The moment I took a drink I choked not because it was wine. I had wine before on special occasions and cooked with it. It was because it tasted metallic like blood mixed with wine. Everyone drank it all except Mr. Mrs. Gill as they drank white wine … that alone should have told me that something was off.
Mom and Dad were sitting next to me. Mom whispered that it was a gift from all of them. That it would be rude of me not to drink it all, stating I did not want to accept the gift. Telling me the trick is to drink it really fast and it would not hurt me or them because it is such a small amount. Yeah, right, that is why it tasted more like blood than wine. All eyes were on me.
I closed my eyes and did exactly as Mom told me to and gulped it down quickly grabbed a glass of water and chugged it down and a second glass down to get rid of the taste. Man, I wanted to vomit. When the glass was empty, she refilled it with lemonade instead of water and told me to take my vitamins and the pill that makes me horny. Whispering, I had a long night ahead of me, noticing Dad and my brothers and John taking the same pill.
While we were eating, Dad explained to me why I was drinking their blood and mine. Dad said. "Because according to some legends when a person, not a blood relative became part of their family or tribe. They combine their blood with yours and make it, so we are connected by blood ties." He also said. "The second way to finish the bonding of a person to another was through transfusion," fingering my needle in my arm. Telling me. "After dessert, we were all going to kneel in a prayer circle, pray to God, and ask him to see fit to bless us and you as a member of our family that only God himself can separate.
"Then we will tell stories of our history and our mistakes and bring forth all our secrets and share them among us. While our blood and your blood course through our veins." He also said before technology or science discovered a way to determine blood types. People died because of it or got extremely sick because they ingested it or had transfusions. Because their blood was not the same blood type or compatible. Which yours is the same type as mine and our families. Not only could we ingest it in tiny amounts by drinking it with wine. We can mix our blood together, creating a cohesive unit.
"The legends state by doing so, we gain great wisdom from each other. Some say powers, but that is an only a myth, like your three mermaids." Dad said. "If you find you think you can fly off rooftops and leap tall buildings or have super strength like Superman, you should see us first." I wanted to laugh, I wanted to cry, and I wanted to scream. You're all crazy. Yet there was nothing I could do. They would strap me down to a table and do it anyway, regardless. Man, I hoped I was not going to die a horrible death by blood poisoning.
I asked Dad if my mother knew about this. He slapped me hard on the back, making me choke as I spit water all over my plate, and said. "Tough it up, son. Of course, she doesn't know about it. She's not in our circle of trust yet. But you can tell her all about it. She might think you are crazy, but what do you have to lose? Shane and I have already given you blood before and look; you are still alive."
I said. "Ha, ha funny Dad." He grabbed my head and kissed me so deeply, taking every breath I had in my lungs. When my lips parted with his I felt dizzy.