This wasn’t how he wanted to spend his senior year of high school. He wanted to hang out with Daphne and maybe check out colleges together. But no, his parents had decided the summer before his senior year that they wanted to move out of the city. Now he was in a crappy little town that had more cows than people. Tennessee wouldn’t be his first choice, but his great aunt had left his mother her farm. His family wasn’t farming people, so it was good that it wasn’t a working farm. He gave it three months before his dad moved them back to the city.

“How do you like your room sweetheart?” his mom asked.

Looking around the room he tried not to scowl too much. He didn’t know which was worse, the peeling yellow and orange flower wallpaper or the tree right outside his window that looked like it would topple over at any moment.

“I think it was a girl’s room,” he griped.

“Well, Aunt Mona only had the two girls,” his mom said with a sad smile.

His great aunt had a wonderful life out in the country. Raising her two girls with her farmer husband. That was until 1971 when her husband took the girls to the Mule Day celebration in Columbia. His aunt, a nurse, was to meet them after her shift. Their pickup was hit and the man who hit them never even slowed down or checked on them. The story was one he heard a lot growing up. Any time he had asked his mom or grandmother why Aunt Mona was always so sad. The worst was that if the man or woman would have stopped and helped, they could have saved his aunt’s youngest daughter. Diana, twelve, didn’t die from the wreck, she died from shock. At least that’s what his grandmother said. His grandmother said Mona was more like a daughter to her than a little sister, because they had a large age difference.

“I know this is hard sweetheart, but I think it’s for the best. You were so unhappy in Pittsburgh. All the kids bullying you. Ever since you told us you were gay, all we wanted to do was protect you.”

“I was fine at home. I was so close to graduating.”

“You only just turned sixteen, you should be going into your junior year, not senior.”

“Except you let me skip the third grade, can’t go back now.” He smiled at her.

She shook her head. “Only because we didn’t think it was smart to separate you and Daphne. You two were too smart for your own good.”

When the school went to skip Daphne, their teacher told them just to save them some grief and skip him too. He made the grades and passed the exams they wanted.

“Just give this a chance. You’ll make tons of friends. This is a new start of life for all of us.”

He didn’t say anything just gave her a weak smile. He knew why they moved away, and it wasn’t really because of the farm. It was because of Chris Hobbs beating him up and the school looking the other way. His parents were trying to protect him, and he loved them for that, but he just wished he could stay with the friends he already had. Why wasn’t it Chris Hobbs that paid for what he did?

Once his mom left him alone, he went to the window and sat in the window seat. The only good thing about the room was the huge bay window. He could sit on the window seat and sketch for hours.

He could hear his parents getting the rest of the house unpacked. All he had to do was get his room in order. First, he moved his bed to where he wanted it. The movers just set it up in the corner, he didn’t want it there, he wanted it on the far wall looking towards the window. If he stripped the walls and put fresh paint on it, maybe it would feel like his room. Not a room that one day was the room of a fifteen-year-old girl and then the next it was her shrine.

Shaking his head of sad thoughts, he started to unpack. The sooner he made this room his own, the sooner he felt a little better. Maybe his mom was right, and this move was good. Not having to worry about Hobbs and his goons around every corner were a plus all on its own.




“It’s time to get up,” his mom said, knocking on his door.

They had only had two weeks to get moved in before the start of school. Now he was nervous. He hadn’t been a new student since he was in kindergarten. Last night he talked to Daphne, she was telling him it wouldn’t be so bad. But she had all their friends to help her, he was completely alone.

“I’m up,” he called out to her.

This was also the first time he would ever be going to public school. There was a private school, but it was too far, and his parents didn’t want to take him to it everyday or get him a car. Not that he wanted to go to private school again. In fact, he was excited to be able to wear what he wanted to school. No more ties and no more blazers for him.

He grabbed some jeans that were a little small, he wanted to look nice. The t-shirt he grabbed was of his favorite band. He didn’t want to stand out, but he didn’t want to be invisible either. He thought this was a perfect medium.

When he got downstairs his mom was putting breakfast on the table.

“Since when do you make breakfast during the week?” he questioned her.

“Since it’s the first day for my two favorite people. Can you go check on your sister? You know how hard it is for her to get up. Daddy said he was going to take both of you to school today but after that it’s the bus.”

“Sure, I’ll go get the brat. But dad doesn’t need to drive me.” He would look like a baby with his dad dropping him off.

“He wants to do it, let him,” she said like she read his mind. Shaking his head, he went back upstairs to make sure the brat was awake and getting ready for school.

Knocking on her door first, he opened it. She was awake and dressed but sitting on her bed looking worried.

“Mom made breakfast. You better come downstairs, or you won’t have anything until lunch,” he told her.

She brought her knees up to her chin and hugged them. “I don’t wanna go,” she said quietly.

Going over to her bed, he sat down beside her. “Why not?”

“I don’t know anyone.”

“Neither do I. But we won’t make friends until we try.”

“What if they make fun of my hair like Davis Hobbs did?”

He had forgotten Hobbs’ little brother had been in Molly’s class. “Davis Hobbs was a moron. You have pretty hair.” She had red hair and freckles. He called her names and teased her, but it was his job, she knew he loved her.

“But what if they don’t like me?”

“They’ll love you. You are smart, pretty and best of all, you tell the best stories.”

“I do?” she asked with awe in her voice.

“Yep, and you have to believe me because I’m always right.”

She laughed. “No, you’re not.”

“I’m hurt. Come on, Mol. After school I’ll see if mom will let me take her car and we’ll go out for milkshakes.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I think I saw a diner on Main Street when I went shopping with mom yesterday.”

“Yay!” she said jumping up.

He just hoped he felt like taking her out tonight and the day wasn’t a complete disaster.




“Try and have a good day today.”

“I’ll try,” he said, getting out, hoping no one saw him.

The school was much smaller than St. James but that was to be expected. Throwing his bookbag over his shoulder he headed into the building. Since he got signed into school just before the start of school, they didn’t have time to mail him his schedule, so he was supposed to pick it up at the office.

In the office was a frazzled looking woman with greying brown hair. She looked like she was a few years older than his mom.

“Excuse me, I was told to pick my schedule up here,” he said politely.

She groaned and grabbed a thick yellow folder. Opening it, she looked up at him. “Name?”

“Justin Taylor.”

She flipped through a few sheets until she found the right one. Pulling it out she handed it to him, snatching her hand away as soon has his hand touched the paper.

“Thank you,” he only said because his mother would kill him if he didn’t.

Stepping away from the desk he started looking over his schedule. Seven classes plus his homeroom. Homeroom was with Mr. Vann, room 505 in the Science Pod. What the hell was a Science Pod? Other kids were coming and going from the office, but he paid them no mind.

“Excuse me. Where is the Science Pod?” he asked the woman.

She glared at him but then turned her head and smiled. She was looking at a boy a bit taller than him that was holding a folder labeled Clubs.

“Ted, would you show Mr. Taylor here the Science Pod?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Ted said awkwardly before looking at Justin. He looked like someone that Hobbs would have pantsed in a New York minute. “Come with me, my homeroom is in the English Pod, so I’ll have to rush to get there in time.”

Justin smiled at him and didn’t miss the blush from the other boy. Ted walked fast, his bookbag on like a complete nerd. But it was nice of him to show him to his homeroom. Hopefully he’ll find someone to help him to get to his first period class after that.

“I’m Ted Schmidt,” the boy said.

“Justin Taylor.”

“Are you a freshman? Freshman orientation was Friday.”

“No, I’m a senior,” Justin said.

The other boy stopped and looked at Justin with wide eyes. “Really? How old are you?”

Clinching his jaw, he answered, “Sixteen. You?”

“Just turned eighteen. Sorry, you just don’t look sixteen.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s alright. Thank you for showing me the way.” They were walking in a hallway with lockers on both sides. He noticed they were headed for a set of double doors. He could see sunlight. Why were they going back outside?

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Science Pod,” Ted said as they went out the double doors. Looking around he noticed he was on one walkway and to the left of him there was another walkway. But in the middle was a huge pit in the ground. He saw some kids hanging out on the side of it.

Justin kind of liked the idea of being able to get fresh air during the day. A short walk later they were entering a smaller hexagon shaped building. There were more lockers here, but it was a complete circle inside. Ted turned left and they walked to the second room.

“This is Mr. Vann’s room.”

“Thanks, Ted,” he said trying to be polite. A bell rung, causing Justin to jump a bit.

“That’s the two-minute warning. Take care,” Ted said before leaving in a fast pace. He hoped Ted wouldn’t be late for class because of him. As he entered the room it was half-filled. Kids were talking and laughing, no one noticed him. Not wanting to have any teacher pick him out, he sat in the back. Most of his teachers at St. James had been pretty homophobic and never defended him. He didn’t think it would be any different in the South.

He looked out the window, hoping that the day would get better. So far, he just seemed to annoy people even though he hadn’t meant to do it. All he wanted to do was know the way, maybe they should add a map to the schedules.

The last few stragglers came in and so did a tall man with a greying beard and potbelly. Another bell rang.

The man went to shut the door, but a slim blond girl came through.

“Ms. Peterson, that was the late bell,” the teacher said.

“I know, I’m sorry, my locker was broken, and I had to get assigned a new one from Mrs. Krantz.”

“That could have waited until your lunch period. Don’t let it happen again or I will count you absent.”

“Yes sir,” she said before taking a seat.

“I’m going to take roll; don’t forget I’ve known most of you since you were in diapers so don’t try and BS me.”

Justin’s eyes widened. That was almost like swearing, that wouldn’t fly at St. James.

“Yes, sir,” several kids said.

He went down the roll, everyone seemed to be there except a Brian Kinney.

“Does anyone know where Kinney is?” the teacher asked.

“He had to talk to Coach Sandson before school,” the blond girl who was late said.

“Again, that could have waited. If he’s not here in the next two minutes before I sent attendance up to the office, he will be marked absent.”

A minute later a tall boy with a leather jacket came opened the door and came in.

“And what do you have to say for yourself?” the teacher asked the boy.

“Traffic was a bitch?”

“Try again.”

“I had to meet with Coach Sandson, it won’t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t.” He made a mark in his book. “Who wants to take the attendance up?”

Several hands shot up. The teacher looked around before landing on an angry looking boy.

“Why don’t you take this to the office, and I hope your attitude is better when you get back,” he said to the angry boy. The boy hadn’t even raised his hand.

“Pass,” the boy said.

“Alright, now I’m not asking. Take the attendance up and you better be less of this when you get back Mr. Bell,” the teacher said.

The angry boy got up and snatched the piece of paper out of his hand and left, slamming the door on his way out.

“Alright, everyone Channel One is coming on and when it’s over the announcements, you know the drill.”

The teacher turned on the television that was hanging from the top part of the wall. He then went to his desk and picked up a car magazine. This definitely isn’t St. James.

He had zoned out when the people were talking about something. Soon the bell rang, ending homeroom. Shit, he hadn’t even found anyone to help him find his next class. Pulling out his schedule again, he rechecked it. His first period class was U.S. Government with Coach Haggerty in the English Pod.

“Do you know where you’re going?” a cool voice said from over his shoulder. Turning around he saw the boy with the leather jacket and the blond girl.

“Not really,” he said honestly.

“Follow me, my next class is on the way. I do have to stop by my locker first but it’s on the way too. Where is yours?”

Justin had totally forgotten about his locker. Looking back at his schedule he searched for the information. There at the bottom. “1015.”

“That’s way over by the Gym, we don’t got time, but I’ll show you afterwards.”

“Thanks,” Justin said but the boy and girl were already walking away. He grabbed his bag and rushed after them. They again went back outside and crossed the pit area again. “What is that?” he asked.

“What is what?” the boy asked, looking around.

“That?” Justin said pointing at the hole in the ground.

“It’s the Pit. Come on or we’ll be late,” the boy said. He didn’t look like the type to care about being late. But his mom would say not to judge a book by their cover. Entering the main building again, he followed the pair down two hallways up to another pod like area. Five rooms all in a hexagon. The boy pointed to one room. “That’s Coach Haggerty’s room. Don’t expect to learn anything,” he said. Before Justin could ask him why he would say that, the boy and girl rushed off.

Fifteen minutes later, Justin knew why the boy said that. Coach Haggerty had handed out a worksheet and fucked off to who knows where. Only coming back a minute or two before the bell rang to collect the papers. They had completed the papers in the first few minutes of class, meaning a few worked them out and everyone else copied off of them. All he really learned from the U.S. Government class was that The Price is Right was on during the class. If he hoped to learn anything so far was a bust.

His next class was English 4 but once he left the class he was in, he didn’t know where to go. This was the English pod so it should be here. Looking around he couldn’t find the room. It didn’t have a Pod name on it, it just said English 4 with Mr. Murray room 103. He thought the boy from earlier was going to come back to help him because he mentioned helping him find his locker. But after a minute he didn’t show up, Justin needed to start headed that way so he wouldn’t be late.

He saw a tall boy with orange pants on and a white top with orange stripes. “Excuse me, do you know where room 103 is?”

“Sure do. Come on, I’m working in the office next period, they won’t care if I’m late. I’ll show you.”

“Thank you so much. I just moved here and have no clue where I’m going.”

“I moved here last year from Mississippi, so I know. I’m Emmett by the way.”

“Justin.”

He followed Emmett and they walked through the cafeteria and into a large hallway with stairs going down. Emmett started taking the stairs three at a time. Justin could only do two at a time, Emmett’s legs were much longer than his.

They passed double doors with the word Gymnasium on top of it. At least he knew where the Gym was now.

“Down here is where most of the outdoor classes are.”

“Outdoor?”

“Ones that need to go outside on the reg. Like Band, Auto Body, Metalworking, things like that. But they put Mr. Murray down here, I don’t know why.”

Justin listened and followed behind the taller boy. Almost at the end of the long hallway he stopped and pointed toward a room. “There you go,” he said with a smile. “What class do you have next?”

“P.E,” he said with a groan.

“Really? I have P.E. too. You know where the Gym is, so I guess I’ll see you in a little bit,” the boy said.

“Yeah, thank you.” The other boy waved him off and left. He had seemed nice enough, maybe they could be friends.

English passed pretty uneventful. They were reading Beowulf. He read this his freshman year, so he didn’t have to really work hard on it. At St. James they had to memorize the complete first chapter.

When the bell rang ending his second class of the day, he made his way for the Gym. He didn’t have gym clothes with him and hoped that wouldn’t cause problems on the first day. He met Emmett in front of the Gym.

“Hiya, doll face,” the taller boy said.

“Hi. Do we have to dress for the first day?” he asked nervously.

“No, not usually. Who’s your teacher?”

“Coach Barr.”

“He’s a tough one but not usually unreasonable.”

“You don’t have the same teacher?” he asked him.

“No, the gym class is split between three teachers, it’s how they can fill the gym up. I’ve got Coach T, she’s a beast. Was in the 1980 Olympics on the field hockey team.”

Justin didn’t keep up with sports, but he was pretty good at history. “The US boycotted the 1980 Olympics.”

“I didn’t say she played for the US,” Emmett said, his eyes dancing.

“Wow.”

“I know, can you believe it?”

“Emmylou what are you giggling about?”

Justin saw Emmett roll his eyes. “Don’t tell me you have P.E. this period? I thought the soccer team was exempt?”

“Didn’t you hear? They got rid of the exemptions at the end of last year. Can’t wait to see all the band geeks coming in thinking they got away without gym only to be huffing and puffing through class.”

Justin looked at who was being an asshole. It was the boy from his homeroom class. Brian or something like that.

“Ignore him,” Emmett said pulling him away from the other boy.

Gym didn’t involve dressing out today, instead it was just an introduction to the teachers and the regime they would have. He noticed the boy and girl from his homeroom seemed to hang around each other a lot. He wondered if they were dating. Looking around he saw the boy from this morning in the office too, Ted. He looked uncomfortable in the class. There was another boy with Brian and the blond girl. This one shorter than both the girl and boy and he had a bit of acne on his jawline.

Once class was over it was his Lunch period, he was thankful that it was Emmett’s too. They ate together but it wasn’t unbothered. Some jocks were throwing food at them slyly and calling them faggots. That was until Brian, Lindsay, and the boy he learned name was Michael sat with them. Brian glared at the jocks, and they started to mind their own business after that.

“Thanks for that,” Justin said, Brian just shrugged. The cafeteria was loud, but they could hear each other. Soon they were joined by Ted and a short girl that looked like she was ready to bite someone’s head off.

“Hi Justin,” Ted said quietly.

“Hi Ted. I wanted to thank you again for showing me the way to homeroom. Everyone has been so nice to me. First you, then Brian and Lindsay and then Emmett.”

“Of course, Theodore would be nice to you. You’re too new to know what a loser he is,” Brian said.

Justin was about to speak up for the boy when Ted looked over to Brian and threw a plastic fork at him. “Shut up Brian. At least I’ve never had an STD.”

“You would have had to had sex to get one,” Brian shot back. That was when Justin realized they were friends. Weird friends but friends none the less.

“Where are you from?” Emmett asked Justin.

“Pittsburgh.”

“That’s a long way from here. Why the move?” Ted asked.

“My parents thought it would be a good change of pace. They didn’t want to raise my sister in the city.”

“How old is your sister?” the girl he didn’t know asked.

“She’s seven. I promised to take her for a milkshake today after school because she was nervous about going to a new school.”

“You should take her to Slaters,” Emmett said.

“What’s Slaters?”

“It’s a diner off of the main drag. Michael’s mom and uncle own it,” Lindsay said. “The Dairy Shake is more popular but it’s not really our type of place.”

“What does that mean?”

“We’re not friends because we have tons in common, mostly only the one thing. We hang out together to watch each other’s backs,” Ted said.

“I’m not following,” Justin said.

“You didn’t know you just sat down at the queer table?” Brian asked, raising his eyebrow.

Justin looked around and saw people taking short glances at them. “I didn’t know,” he said.

“But you belong here, right?” Emmett asked.

Justin thought about denying it, but this would be the first time he would have friends like him. He loved Daphne but she didn’t understand. “Yeah, I belong here.”

Brian left school in a rush, he needed to get to Slaters for his evening shift. Being late meant less money and he needed every dime. He had plans and working at the local dog food factory for the rest of his life wasn’t in them. That was why even though he hated almost everyone at his school he tried never to be late and finished assignments on time. In fact, if it wasn’t for the Donaldson twins, he would probably be looking at valedictorian or salutatorian. He had also been working at the diner since he was fourteen.

Mikey’s mom and uncle bought Slaters from Old Man Slater right before he drove his pickup into the post office. He always did say that he was going to get even with the postmaster for always stealing his Readers’ Digest. The postmaster, Mr. Clayton was fine but Old Man Slater went to that waiting room in the sky, all the Readers’ Digests he could read. Funny fact after he died Mrs. Slater actually admitted to cancelling his subscription years ago. Talk about guilt, she lives with her daughter over in Jackson now.

Brian’s car sputtered at him but started, after the fifth time. Mr. Davis had been selling his old Roadrunner and sold it to Brian for a song. That was good because that’s all the piece of shit was worth. But it did its job…most days. But it looked good and that was all that mattered.

As he drove his mind went to the new boy at school. Justin was a rich boy, and he knew it. There was no hiding the proper way he spoke. He sounded like Mrs. Kerry, the school librarian. Everyone knew she was from money. But the new boy, there was just something about him that Brian liked. Not that he would tell him that, he didn’t do dates or boyfriends. Ever since he got caught with Danny Peters last year, he had no choice about coming out. His parents kicked him out but that was no loss. Mrs. Kingsley let him move into the apartment over her garage. Her husband had built it for their daughter when she was in school, but she moved long ago.

His best friend Michael’s mom asked him to move in with them but that was his idea of hell. After being a punching bag for his dad his whole life and instead of his mom helping, she would just say they should pray on it. Them kicking him out was the best thing that could ever happen to him. After that he couldn’t imagine having to live with Debbie, she smothers Michael so much that he’ll probably always be holding that apron string. Mrs. Kingsley only charges him a hundred dollars a month and leaves him the fuck alone. She said she wasn’t using the apartment anyway. All he had to do was promise not to get a hot plate to cook with. He ate at the diner or Michael’s so that wasn’t a problem. All he needed was a room and a bathroom and he had both.

Pulling into the tiny parking lot at Slaters, he cursed. Usually, he liked to park out back by the dumpster, but Kenny’s Cutlass was there. That only left up against the outer wall. He hated it because sometimes customers would try and park in the back, blocking him in.

“You’re late,” Vic growled as he walked in the door.

“Car was being a piece of shit.”

“I don’t understand why you don’t just ride with Michael.”

“Michael drives a Civic, I’d rather die in a fiery crash.”

Vic shook his head and handed Brian an apron. “You care too much about your appearance.”

Brian looked Vic up and down, he had known the older man since he was five-years old. Michael and he had been put in the same group in kindergarten. They’ve been best friends ever since. Then when Lindsay moved to the town at seven with her grandmother after her parents died in a car crash, they were the Three Musketeers. Lindsay and her sister grew up with her Granny Faye and her “friend” Judy. Years ago, Lindsay told him that Judy has a room in the house, but it’s only used for storage. It had been an open secret for years in town until a few years ago when they just stopped pretending. No one in the town blinked because everyone had known.

“I think I’ll skip the life advice from the man flipping burgers with his sister at fifty,” Brian said, putting on the apron.

Most people would have been offended but not Vic, he just shook his head and told him to bus table four, after making it clear he was only thirty-six. Michael’s mom had Michael when she was seventeen, her older brother didn’t move away like he planned. He got stuck in the same place she did. This place was like quicksand. Brian would be damned if he got stuck here.  

A few hours later his friends showed up.

“Go on and take your break, honey,” Debbie told him.

He smiled and nodded, taking off his apron. He sat down in the booth seat next to Michael. Slaters was a 50’s diner with red seating and white tables. There were vinyl records all over the walls. Where they sat right now was the Chuck Berry section, which meant it had a picture of Chuck Berry over it.

“What did you think of the new boy?” Emmett asked, shoveling a fry into his face.

“Snob,” Brian said.

“Come on, Lindsay’s family is from money. You don’t call her a snob,” Ted said.

“She was raised by the gay black sheep of the family. The rest of her family wouldn’t piss on Lindsay or Granny Faye to save their lives. Money breeds contempt for the masses,” Brian said, looking around the diner hoping that he didn’t have to clean the animals at table three.

“Says the man that plans to be rich and successful,” Melanie said.

Brian glared at her. They had met Melanie in middle school, and he never did take to her. Lindsay had a pathetic little crush on her though, had since they were twelve. Not that she’s done anything about it. Just like Mikey’s sad crush on the weird kid on the school newspaper.

“Looky who just walked in the door,” Emmett said, a huge grin on his face. He waved to whoever it was, Brian turned and looked at the door. It was the new boy, Justin, with a little girl with her red hair in pigtails. Justin saw them and smiled back, waving at Emmett.

Just as Justin looked like he was going to walk towards them, the door opened again, and Cody walked in.

“God, what’s he doing here?” Lindsay said. Her face was hidden behind the menu, even though she hadn’t ordered off menu since she was ten.

Cody Bell was the reason Ted got ran off the road junior year. Cody Bell was the reason Emmett’s Aunt Lula had to threaten the school board with violence. Cody Bell was a psychopath, plain and simple. Cody moved with his parents to their little piece of hell his freshman year. They all had seen his dad; it wasn’t a big surprise he was crazy. Papa Bell pulled a gun on Lindsay’s Granny Faye last year when she let the boy stay at her place. That was before everyone knew that Cody was just as nuts as his dad. It was a big thing and best left in the past but none of their group was left unscathed by it.

“Oh god, he’s coming over here,” Emmett groaned. Brian watched as Justin looked at Cody and took his little sister to the other side of the diner. It was the smart choice.

“It’s the traitors, just who I was looking for,” Cody said, pulling a chair up to the end of their booth.

“Get lost,” Brian told him. He only had a few minutes left of his break and didn’t want to deal with him.

“Charming. You weren’t telling me that last year.”

“That was before you almost got Ted killed,” Melanie said. She was ready to tear his head off last year when it happened. The only reason she didn’t was Ted asked her to let it go.

“I didn’t know he would do that,” Cody defended himself, holding his hands up.

“You didn’t know your crazy, homophobic dad wouldn’t try and hurt the boy that you said you had sex with? How did that work out in your head? If it were true that would be one thing, but it wasn’t. Ted was in that gully for four hours before Mrs. Jenkins came by. No one drives on that road hardly. He could have been dead if Mrs. Jenkins wasn’t doing Meals on Wheels and was taking a shortcut,” Mel roared, causing the whole diner to watch with interest. He saw Debbie come rushing over. Not to tell them to quiet down he was sure, maybe to ask them to speak louder.

“I thought I told you, you weren’t welcome here anymore,” Debbie said, hands on her hips. She didn’t like any of Michael’s friends calling her Mrs. Novotny, said it made her feel old.

“I’m out of here, just passing on a message anyway.”

“What?” Brian asked.

“Turn eighteen tomorrow, no one can tell me where to go or what to do anymore. I’m off to New York.”

That was the stupidest thing Brian ever heard. Most likely if Cody does end up in New York he’ll be turning tricks and addicted to drugs before the year was out. But he wasn’t about to talk the little psycho out of it.

“Alright, bye,” Mel said, before sitting back down.

“Just one more thing. Brian, you ever wonder who told your dad to look for you that night? Linds, ever cross your mind why all the cheerleaders somehow knew you liked pussy? Mel, ever wonder about how that picture of you and Samantha Dawson got around? Mikey boy, ever wonder who told everyone about your less than straight obsession with Captain Astro? Never had to tell anyone about Emmett and Ted was a…accident. But tomorrow, they’ll be no more accidents.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Brian asked.

“You six maybe out and proud now, but there are some deep closet cases at school, and tomorrow the doors will be blown off their safe little hidey holes.”

“You’re going to out kids who have done nothing to you?” Ted asked, his voice hard. He hadn’t spoken at all since Cody came in the diner.

“Some of the biggest bullies there are secret queers. I’ve got the proof and tomorrow everyone will know. Just telling you now because your traitor table, is going to get a lot more crowded.”

Wiping the steam off the mirror, he looked disgustedly at himself. This time last year, he was finally happy. He was dating a sophomore; it was in secret though. Blake was everything he always wanted. Sweet, caring and genuinely liked talking to him. They didn’t have tons in common, but they were both eager to give each other’s interests a shot.

It was just after winter holiday that everything went to hell. Cody was staying with Lindsay and her grandmother because his father had kicked him out. Besides not picking up after himself Lindsay said it wasn’t that bad. But then he couldn’t leave well enough alone. Unbeknownst to Ted, Cody had seen him and Blake together. So, when he was trying to shove his queerness into his father’s face, he used him. He didn’t know any of this until after a Ford F-350 ran his mom’s minivan off the road. If he would have been in his own car, he didn’t think he would have come out of it with just an ugly scar.

Cody’s father ran him off the road into a gully that had long ago dried up. He had noticed the truck following him before and somehow knew it was bad news. That was the only reason he got on Cameron Road. It didn’t get much traffic since the Camerons sold their farm years ago. Now there was only two houses on the road, and neither were occupied. It was only by a miracle that Mrs. Jenkins’ thought that the dead-end road was a thru road.

Now he had an ugly jagged scar from the broken window glass. He had been knocked unconscious from the van flipping, even wearing his seatbelt. The scar went from right under his left nipple to his bellybutton. It was disgusting, he was disgusting.

Someone started to pound on the door. “Mom said you have to take us to school,” his little sister said smugly.

“I don’t have time.” The middle school was fifteen minutes in the other direction from the high school. It was a small town but had a lot of land for only one high school, one middle school and four elementary schools.”

“Do it or I’ll tell Dad.”

Ted wrenched the door open, letting the steam from his shower escape. “You will do no such thing. Dad worked all night.”

She grinned wickedly at him while eying his scar. “Then take me and Joe to school.”

Joe and Anna were his little brother and sister. They weren’t twins but they might as well be. They were born eleven months apart. Anna had a very dominant personality and ran all over his meek parents. Joe was her little follower too.

“Fine, but if you’re not in the car when I get out there, I’m leaving you,” he growled, shutting the door in her face, it was a little louder than he wanted. His dad worked nights at the dog food factory, everyone almost worked at that factory.

“Don’t forget to take an extra shirt for gym, you don’t want them to pick you for skins,” she called through the door.




After he dropped Anna and Joe off at school, he knew he wouldn’t be there on time. Before his injury he was really focused on never missing even one day. But going to school with Cody Bell after what he did was torture. No one believed him that it was Mr. Bell who ran him off the road. Only when he confronted Cody did he tell him the reason. Now every Thursday at work Ted would have to see the man who tried to kill him. Mr. Bell would come into Eckerd’s Drug Store where Ted stocked shelves. He would grab the local newspaper and sit in one of the chairs that people sat to wait for their prescriptions to be filled. He knew it was all an imitation game. Mr. Bell wanted him to know that at any moment he could kill him, and Ted got that loud and clear. Because of that and the scar, he had broken up with Blake last year. He hated his life.  

He pulled into the school parking lot about ten minutes after the homeroom bell rang. That meant by the time he got inside it would be time for first period. Groaning, he locked his car and headed to the office. Signing in late wasn’t that big of a deal before first period.

As he entered the building, he knew something was way off. Instead of empty halls, there were kids all around. He could hear teachers trying to get them inside their rooms.

Looking around, he looked for someone he could question. His eyes landed on Melanie. Melanie was a short girl with a mouth of a sixty-five-year-old sailor. Going up to her, he had to speak loudly to be heard. “What’s going on?”

“Shit Teddy, where have you been? You’ve missed the show,” she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back outside.

“What show? What happened?”

“You just missed the cops leading Coach Sandson out of here in handcuffs.”

“What? Why?”

“My cousin who works in the Sherrif’s office was here, he said they got a video tape of Coach Sandson and one of the boys from the Boys’ Ranch early this morning.” The Boys’ Ranch was where kids that were too much of a handful for a foster home lived. There were several houses and they had state guardians who lived there with them.

“Who?”

She shrugged. “Don’t know. Do you think this is because of Cody?”

“I can’t see how it’s not. Things like this just don’t happen.”

Suddenly cars started to pull up in front of the school. This didn’t look good, so he and Melanie walked back inside. He saw Brian and Lindsay hurrying down the hall. Him and Melanie ran after them.

“What’s going on?” he asked Brian.

“Getting the fuck out of here before the whole school burns down. That little shit wasn’t lying. He fucking dropped a bomb on the school this morning. Emmett and Michael seemed to come out of nowhere to join them. Ted saw the new boy Justin looking confused and lost.

“Should we invite the new kid?” Ted asked.

“I don’t fucking care, we’ll all meet at Lindsay’s, her grandmother and Judy are in Branson this week,” Brian said, not even breaking stride as he went out the double doors. It didn’t escape Ted’s notice they went out the doors by the Pit, it was the closest to student parking. What the hell was going on?

Melanie stopped where she was and dug something out of her bookbag. Justin came over and joined them.

“I’m not sure what’s going on,” he said.

“I’m not either. We’re meeting at Lindsay’s right now. Do you want to come?” Ted said.

“And skip class?”

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want,” Melanie said. They started to hear shouting done the hall near the entrance, it echoed in the hallway.

“I think I would feel better away from here,” he said, looking around nervously.

Ted had no idea what that psycho did but knew this wasn’t going to end as fast as he hoped.




Melanie wasn’t allowed to drive her motorcycle to school, so she rode with Ted. Lindsay’s grandmother lived over by the Dam. It was where people with money lived, not that they would let the old woman join them. Lindsay’s sister was at UT Knoxville, she barely came home to visit, Lindsay had told them.

He saw Brian’s car in the drive, he pulled up beside him. Brian was standing on the porch smoking a cigarette and pacing, Michael and Lindsay were just watching him. Emmett wasn’t there, he wondered where he was.

“Tread carefully with Brian,” Ted said to Justin and Melanie. Mostly this was to Melanie because they were always fighting.

They got out of the car about the time Emmett was coming back outside with a pitcher of iced tea.

“Alright, we’re all here. What’s going on? Is this something Cody did?” Ted asked.

Brian kicked a decorative metal pig in overalls off the porch. It broke into two pieces in the driveway.

“I think we should compare notes on what we know,” Lindsay said, looking at the carcass of the metal pig.

“We all saw the video,” Brian roared, kicking the pig’s partner that was in a dress with daisies on it.

“What video?” Ted asked, looking at Melanie, she just shrugged again. She knew more than she admitted earlier.

“Cody was running the announcements last year, remember?” Lindsay asked.

“Yeah.” It was just stupid announcements. Tara Jones would stand in front of a wall and read.

“That little freak has been following us around, all of us,” Brian said. Another kick, this one to a flowerpot.

“Brian, please stop,” Lindsay begged.

“Just tell me what was on the video,” Ted told them. No one spoke.

“It was a lot of different things,” Justin said after a moment.

Ted turned around and looked at the new boy. “Like what?”

“There was a male teacher and a male student having sex.”

“Not you?” Ted asked Brian.

“No, that kid Hunter, he was a freshman last year. He’s only what fourteen? I can’t believe Sandson did this. What if I made him want that kid?” Brian asked, sounding very un-Brian-like.

“You didn’t. There is no telling if he acted out his fantasy before you, but you didn’t cause this,” Melanie said. “Good people don’t just up and become pedophiles. If he weren’t one, he would have pushed you away and probably made a report about it.”

Ted looked at her shocked, surprised she would be the one defending him.

“Was that all that was on the video?” Ted asked. He knew why Brian was so upset. They had all known about his shower scene with the coach freshman year.

Lindsay shook her head. “No, Cody did what he promised. There was video of All-American, boy next motherfucking door, Drew Boyd. Guess his football season is on the line now. He also outed Mr. Murray who apparently has been fucking the janitor. That kid on the newspaper, video showed him kissing some dude that looked to be in college. The band geek, Blaine, or Blake, he was on there jacking off the curly haired boy that plays the violin. Brandon from the baseball team with the foreign exchange student from Spain last year. David Cameron getting a blowjob from Todd on the debate team. Dusty, the captain of the softball team, her kissing some girl I didn’t recognize. One of the Donaldson twins.”

“Which one?” Ted asked. He didn’t know why he asked.

“I don’t know, their identical,” Lindsay said. “It was only a two second clip.”

“Leda,” Mel said.

“Really?” Emmett asked.

“Trust me. There was also Kip Thomas and some others that I didn’t know,” Melanie said.

Ted watched as Brian stubbed out his cigarette and lit another one.

“What are we going to do?” Ted asked.

“What do you mean?” Brian shot back, raising an eyebrow.

“We all know what hell it is when people find out about us,” Ted said, sitting down on one of the porch steps. Emmett handed him a glass of tea.

“And that’s our problem how?” Brian sneered.

“They’re like us…they are us,” Melanie said.

Ted could almost see the steam coming out of Brian’s ears. He threw his cigarette down and stomped on it. “It’s not our responsibility to help them out.”

“We have to help them, we’ve been through this,” Lindsay said, running her hand over Brian’s shoulders.

Pulling away, Brian spun, facing them all. “No, we don’t. Where were they when I got kicked out of my house and had to live in a barn for weeks? Where were they when you got kicked off the cheerleading squad because you made the other girls uncomfortable? Where were they when faggot was written in paint on Michael’s car? Where were they when Melanie was asked to step down as Debate Club president because that wasn’t the image they wanted for the school? Where were they when Ted was in the fucking hospital?” He could tell that Brian was working himself up into a right state.

“Hiding,” Ted said sadly. “But I will tell you where I was when you got kicked out. I was asking around for someone to rent a room to a sixteen-year-old, I found it too. I can tell you were we all were when Michael’s car got defaced, with the help of Mr. Sutton in auto body, we repainted it. When Melanie had to step down from the debate club, we helped her start her own club, that club is now the debate club people want to join. And I know where you were when I was in the hospital because I was never lonely. It was either Michael coming to talk about comic books, Lindsay to cheer me up, Emmett to make me laugh, Mel bringing me my homework, or you quietly sitting in that uncomfortable chair keeping me silent company while giving my mom time to go home and shower in those early days. If we don’t help them, they won’t know that acceptance can be found, love can be found, friends stick with you through the good and bad.”

He had thought he was winning Brian over but that end bit was too much. “Friends? They are not our friends. They wouldn’t even look at us yesterday but now you expect us to be best buds. Fuck that,” Brian said moving around Ted and going down the steps.

Brian opened his car door. “Want to get the fuck out of here?” Brian asked the new kid.

The blond nodded and got into Brian’s car. And just like that, Ted didn’t have a chance in the world with the new kid because Brian fucking Kinney. He rubbed his scar over his clothes and knew that he didn’t have a chance anyway, not with the scar.

As he rode in uncomfortable silence, he wondered why he went with Brian. Slyly looking over at the older boy, he remembered. Brian was gorgeous. There was something about him that made Justin want to be near him. Maybe it was Brian’s complete disinterest in him, he didn’t know.

“Where are we going?” Justin asked, forcing himself not to mess with the radio to stop the awkward silence.

“My place.”

“Won’t your parents care?” Justin asked before he bit his lip. He had forgotten that during Brian’s rage he had said he got kicked out. “Sorry.”

Brian nodded but didn’t say anything. A few minutes later they were pulling into a long, gravel driveway. There was a big two-story house, but Brian didn’t drive up to it. He parked on the opposite side of the garage from the house.

Following Brian up the stairs, he watched as the older boy unlocked a door. Inside was a large open space room. He saw a door to the left that he supposed was the bathroom. There was a bed in the corner, a few mismatched armchairs and a large desk and chair. Brian hung his bookbag up, Justin had left his in Brian’s car.

“So wha-“ Justin was cut off from saying anything else by the tongue that was now down his throat.

This was all happening so fast, but he wasn’t about to stop it. If Brian wanted him, he could have him.

Once Brian pulled away, letting them both breathe, reason started to return to him.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this,” Justin said.

Brian’s hand went down to Justin’s crotch. “This says something else.”

“I’ve never done anything like this.”

He could see the emotions playing out on Brian’s face. He hoped that he wasn’t about to tell him that they weren’t going to do anything. He thought he wanted to slow down until it looked like Brian would do just that.

“What do you want to do?” Brian said, eyeing him with lust.

“This,” Justin said, grabbing Brian’s face and pulling it down to kiss him.




“Where have you been?” his mom screeched as he walked in the door.

He guessed she didn’t want to know that he had the best day of his life.

“What do you mean? I was at school,” he lied.

“No, I went up to that school to get you after I heard what happened. Now where were you?” she demanded.

“Some of the kids didn’t want to be there while everything was happening. I went to on of their houses and we just talked.”

His mom had her hands on her hips and was looking at him with those eyes that bore into him when he did wrong. After a moment the glare on her face dropped. “You’ve made friends?”

“Gee Mom, I’m not that pathetic where I need a parade for making a friend.”

“Oh honey, I didn’t mean that. It’s just you only had a few at St. James but it sounds like more here.”

He nodded. “There was seven of us, including me.”

“That’s wonderful sweetheart. I can’t condone this skipping school though. But I understand today was scary. Which leads me to have to ask this. Did this teacher ever do anything to you?” There was real pain and fear in her eyes.

“I’ve only been to school one day. I’ve never even seen this coach. So, don’t worry, alright?”

“Daddy said I was being foolish. Just the thought of someone who is supposed to care for kids abusing them. It makes me so angry, angry and sad.”

Justin reached out and hugged his mom on spur of the moment. Maybe having sex with Brian made him a bit emotional. After a moment his mom didn’t let go.

“Mom,” he said trying to pull away.

She reluctantly let go of him. “Sorry darling, the hugs from you are few and far between.” He felt bad but not bad enough to hug her regularly. “This better be the first and last time you skip school. You get one and you just used it.”

“Of course.”




Later that night he was sketching Brian from memory. He also flipped through his sketch book looking at the ones he started today. For the first time he was actually glad they moved. He had called Daphne earlier and told her about Brian. She squealed and said that he had to send a picture of him and then threatened him that he better not get a new best friend.




Brian sat in his room, regretting fucking the new kid. It wasn’t like they were friends, but he could practically see cartoon hearts in the boy’s eyes. Yeah, he fucked up good.

He had to do something though because Coach Sandson and his face on that video was burned into his brain. They can say it’s not his fault but what if he gave him the courage to start propositioning underage boys.

Then there was the complete shitshow he knew tomorrow would be. He had known most of the people on the video were gay or bi. In fact, Mr. Murray had dated Vic. They had broken up because Vic didn’t want to live in the closet with Mr. Murray.

Someone knocked on his door. He had heard a car pull up a moment ago but thought it was someone for Mrs. Kingsley. Picking up a few stray articles of clothes and tossing them in the hamper, he opened the door.

“Mom,” he said, trying to sound indifferent. She was holding some Tupperware containers. “What are you doing here?”

“I made too much dinner tonight and was wondering if you wanted some.” Likely story except for the fact he knew she and the old man drank their dinners.

Unable to turn her away when she was being kind to him, he opened the door wider. She came in and looked around for a place to put the food. “On the desk is fine,” he told her. Setting the containers on the table she turned to look at him.

“Want to tell me why you’re really here?”

“I’m leaving your father.”

“Why now?” He thought she would stay in that marriage until one of them died to get out of it.

“Because I’m tired. I can’t do this anymore. What he did to you, Claire, and me. I just can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel anymore. I can’t say I understand the whole gay thing, but I just hope you have better taste in men than I did.” She pulled an envelope out of her purse. “Here.” She handed it to him.

“What is this?” he asked turning it over in his hands.

“The money I’ve been saving up to leave.”

“You need it then,” he told her.

“Aunt Rita is letting me stay with her, you know she always hated your father. You need this more than I do. It’s not much but hopefully enough to support you for a few months.”

Brian didn’t know what to say, he had spent his whole childhood wishing his mom would leave his dad. Wishing she would pack them up and take them away. Now she was but it was only to save herself; him and Claire had to do it alone. Claire moved out at sixteen with her boyfriend and he got kicked out at sixteen. Ward and June Cleaver his parents were not.

“I don’t know what to say,” he said honestly.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just take care of yourself.” She looked up at him. “You were the best thing that ever happened to me. I just wish I had been stronger before.”

“Don’t think about it, I won’t,” he said. He didn’t mean it as cruelly as it came out, but she flinched and nodded. He guessed he had more of Jack in him than he thought.

“Aunt Rita’s in Kentucky, right? Do you think that’s far enough?”

She laughed bitterly before patting his arm. “He won’t come looking for me. But he might you, so you protect yourself. You’ve gotten good at that.”

After a few minutes more she kissed him on the cheek and left. He wondered if she was really going, or she would go back. This wasn’t the first time she talked about leaving, but it was the first time she made it out the door.

Going over to the Tupperware, he opened the containers. Fried chicken, potatoes, green beans, and chocolate cake. She must really be leaving, he thought because she never made any of this stuff unless she was happy.

“You’re a bit crazy, you know that right?” Emmett asked her.

Mel had borrowed her mom’s car for the day and was taking him after school to Nashville to hang out downtown. He knew the bartender at Jade’s on Church Street. Church Street was the unofficial gay street in Nashville.

She was blasting R.E.M. from her mom’s Honda’s speakers with her singing along.

“Six o’clock. TV hour

Don’t get caught in foreign tower

Slash and burn, return

Listen to yourself churn

Lock him in uniform and born burning, bloodletting

Every motive escalate. Automotive incinerate”

He watched her as she continued to dance in her seat as she drove, singing that song. It was how she soothed herself.

They didn’t know what kind of place they would be going into today. While the kids who got outed are probably going to have a worse day, that didn’t leave them without worries. There will be fingers pointed, accusations thrown, and they will just have to take it, like they always have. They knew it was Cody who outed the other kids but did those kids know that? Would they be mad that they knew there was a chance they could have stopped him?

Emmett’s biggest worry was Drew, he knew yesterday not to talk to him. Knowing Drew’s dad yesterday must have been hell for him. Drew’s dad had plans for him since he was born that he would be some NFL superstar. While being gay shouldn’t stop him from that dream, life just didn’t work that way.

When Mel pulled into the school, his stomach turned. He didn’t want to be here today, nothing good can come from it. He knows the ugliness that lurks in people.

The school felt different today and he wasn’t even through the double doors yet. Never one to hide himself, he didn’t know what the kids from yesterday were going through. When he was six, he got caught with his big sister’s high heels that she got for a dance. His sister caught him and told him never to wear them again. When he told his Aunt Lula, she got him his own pair just for her house.

Sophomore year was when everything went wrong. Everyone knew he was gay but knowing and seeing were two different things. When he was caught with Billy Hopwood under the bleachers, hell was raised. Billy Hopwood was a Baptist preacher’s son. So, he yelled that Emmett had forced the kiss on him and his Aunt Lula was lucky to get him out of Hazlehurst alive.

She sold her house, but it didn’t bring in much, so all they could afford was a small two-bedroom trailer in the trailer park on the edge of town.

So, he started here his junior year and promised himself he wouldn’t let anyone hurt him like Billy did again. And what did he do almost instantly? Fall for King of the School Drew Boyd. Being someone’s dirty little secret made you feel just like that…dirty.

He parted ways with Mel and headed to his locker, it was in the English Pod near his homeroom. It had taken him a while to get used to the school, not only the people but the layout. The people weren’t as bad as the others thought, he knew bad. Here he didn’t get knocked around just for walking down the hallway. Yes, there were cruel words and sometimes people’s cars got spray-painted. But at the end of the day, they did get to go home. Ted’s case was a one off, it shouldn’t have happened. It was the fucking sheriff that was almost a bigger homophobe than Cody’s dad. Sherriff Stockwell was a Grade A Asshole, as Debbie liked to say. So was that creepy deputy of his, Reichert.

Drew told him once that Reichert volunteered to chaperone an overnight football trip. He said Coach Barr, the head football coach turned him down, had to get his wife to go on the trip with him to help chaperone. When Drew had asked him why he turned him down, the coach told him some people give you a bad feeling in your gut, always trust your gut.

Putting his bag in his locker, he then checked himself out in his mirror on his door. He still needed to get a picture to liven’ the locker up. Last year it was covered with Liza, but this year he was thinking either the Spice Girls or maybe Johnny Depp. Brian asked him last year why he covered the inside of his locker with color and pictures when there’s a chance for people to tear it down. He told him about a life without color and beauty was one he just didn’t want to live.




Lunch was coming up and while they didn’t share a lunch period with all the kids from the video, they did some. Emmett wondered what would happen. Ben, the editor of the school newspaper, had been in his biology class second period. He sat there head held up high and answered most of the questions in class like usual. Maybe they had overreacted yesterday. Maybe Cody wasn’t as powerful with his video as he thought he’d be.

Emmett was first to sit down at their table because he always brought his lunch. Brian never bought lunch or brought it, he usually just picked off everyone else’s plate. No one minded because Brian was the only one of them having to take care of himself, lunch was a luxury.

Brian joined him, then the rest of the gang. No new members yet. Emmett laughed as Brian grabbed the banana from Ted’s tray.

“You’re supposed to peel it,” Ted said as Brian mimicked fellatio on the banana. Justin’s face reddened a little. Emmett wondered if he was a virgin.

“Can I sit here?” a timid voice asked.

They looked up and saw the boy from the band, Blake.

“The band kicked you off their table?” Brian asked with a confused smirk.

“No, they’re still cool. It’s just not a secret anymore and I would like to sit with my boyfriend. If he’ll have me again.”

Everyone looked at each other but it was Ted who smiled. “I’m still broken.”

“I’m good with superglue,” Blake said, sitting down beside Ted.

They all started chatting before they were interrupted again. “Can I sit here?”

Emmett recognized the boy from the video but didn’t know him. He was about Emmett’s height with short dreadlocks.

“You’re Mrs. Llewellyn’s son, Antonio, right?” Blake asked.

Mrs. Llewellyn was the guidance counselor; she was alright but besides giving you college pamphlets that was about all she did.

“I go by my middle name with friends. Please, call me Dijon.”

“Like the mustard?” Justin asked.

The other boy smiled. “Yeah, like the mustard.”

Before lunch was over, they were joined by four others outed by the video. Ethan Gold, the boy who was in every talent show playing the violin. Todd from the debate club, Mel said she forgave him for not defending her last year. Dusty from the softball team. The last was a quiet girl that hadn’t been on the video. When they asked her if she was gay, she asked if that was a requirement. That’s how they got their token straight kid, Cynthia.




Justin ran to Brian’s car as soon as school let out. The older boy had been avoiding him all day. Even at lunch he wouldn’t even look at him. He was going to confront the boy even if it was being told to fuck off.

Brian was just opening his car door when Justin saw him.

“STOP!” Justin yelled. Brian looked up at him but didn’t stop getting in his car. Justin picked up his speed, just as he got to Brian’s car, it started to back up. Justin stood behind it, but Brian had enough room now to pull forward and around. “FUCK!” Justin cursed.

He started the long hike back up the hill to the school where the buses were being loaded. Just as he topped the hill, he watched his bus pull away. Could his day get any worse? Looking around, he looked for Ted, Michael, or Lindsay, he knew they drove in. He didn’t see them.

A car pulled up beside him. “Hey, cutie, going somewhere?” Emmett asked.

“I just missed my bus,” he said, shouldering his bookbag.

“Well, we can take you home or you can ride into Nashville with us,” Melanie said from the driver’s seat.

“I don’t know, my mom wasn’t happy about me skipping yesterday. I don’t think she’ll let me.”

“Then ask for forgiveness instead of permission,” Emmett said.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Brian,” Mel told him.

“No, he wouldn’t ask for forgiveness or permission. Come on, you know you want to.”

“It does sound like fun.”




“Should we be here? I’m not twenty-one,” Justin said, looking at the big “NO UNDERAGE PATRONS”.

“It’s alright, we know some people,” Emmett said, saying hello to the bouncer. The man looked like a giant, he smiled at them and let them in. There was a small dance floor, wrap-around bar, the room was bathed in blue and orange light.

“See that hot dish behind the bar? Isn’t he yummy?” Emmett asked.

Justin looked at the guy with a critical eye. “He’s not wearing a shirt. That has to be against the health code.”

Mel and Emmett giggled. After ordering their drinks a tall, blonde woman came to talk to Melanie. Soon they disappeared somewhere. Then Emmett went off with someone he knew, leaving Justin at the bar all alone. If he knew he would have been abandoned he would have gone home. Sipping his drink, he was there for about an hour. A few men tried to hit on him but once they saw he wasn’t interested they left.

“Buy you a drink?”

Justin looked up to an overweight, middle-aged man, shorn dark hair that was receding.

“I’ve got one, thanks anyway.” He looked around for Emmett or Melanie. They weren’t in the club anymore he didn’t think, he had checked the restroom and walked around a bit before.

“I’ve never seen you here before. New?”

His mother always taught him to be respectful of his elders. He wondered if she meant middle-aged men trying to fuck him. Something started to rub his thigh causing him to jump a little.

“Umm…no, I’m mean yes. I just moved to Tennessee but about an hour away from here.”

He decided just to pretend the man wasn’t rubbing his thigh. His stomach rolled when the hand brushed his cock.

“How much?” the man asked.

“What?” Justin asked.

“Come on, you show up like you just came from school. That innocent schoolboy look isn’t fooling anyone.”

Justin had enough of this, fuck his mom’s rules about being polite. He grabbed the wrist of the wandering hand and turned it hard. “I don’t appreciate the assumption and I never gave you permission to touch me.”

“Justin, I think it’s time for you to leave,” a new voice said. It wasn’t Emmett’s voice or Mel’s. Justin looked up and saw his English teacher coming towards him.

“Rodney,” the creep greeted Mr. Murray. “Does the school know you’re taking schoolboys to a gay club?”

Not wanting his teacher to get into trouble for trying to get the creep away, he defended him. “He didn’t bring me; I came on my own.” Also not wanting to get his friends into trouble.

The creep looked at him one last time, the look sent chills down his spine. Then the guy walked away.

“Did you really come here by yourself or friends? I’m not here to bust anyone,” Mr. Murray said.

“Friends but they went off and left me alone. I haven’t seen them in about an hour.”

“I’ll help you look for them,” Mr. Murray said.

“I’d rather just go home. Can you take me?”

Mr. Murray looked torn before he stopped a short, stout woman with a nose ring. “Kat, would you mind riding with me to take Justin here home. I’ll take you home afterwards.”

The woman looked confused before something passed between them, and she nodded. Justin told them he would meet them at the door. After they walked away, he told the bartender to tell Emmett he went home. It wasn’t until they were almost home when he realized why the woman was riding with them. Mr. Murray was protecting himself in case someone saw them, the creep told people or if Justin himself lied about something happening. He had to admit he felt better with her there for the ride.

She stared into her mirror as she put her lipstick on. Her hair was just right, one hundred brushes exactly and with a faux diamond clip holding the right-side hair back. Granny Faye and Judy were in Branson this week, but they called last night. They were having a blast and promised to bring her back a hat. Sometimes her grandmother was a bit…off.

When her parents died, she had been so sad. Her parents weren’t really there before they died, it was always nannies looking after them. When her and her sister moved in with Granny Faye, it was the first time she felt like she belonged. She wasn’t forced to dress like the little princess anymore or always act prim and proper. Even though she still did enough where Judy calls her Princess Di on occasion.

Her eyes drifted to the picture she had taped to her mirror. It was of her and Mel freshman year. That was the year that Lindsay knew she was in love with Melanie. It was also the year she found out Melanie liked older girls. She was seeing some senior at the time. Lindsay never learned her name, but she was insanely jealous of her.

Shaking her head, clearing it of stupid thoughts, she stood brushing her hands down her tight-fitting blouse. Today was the day, she was going to get Melanie’s attention. She wasn’t going to college a virgin.

Grabbing her keys, she went out and got into her car. It had been a gift from her grandmother. She had told her she didn’t want her to spend her money on her, but her grandmother was insistent. She told her that she shouldn’t ever have to depend on someone else for things like rides and food. As much as she loved her friends, they weren’t the most reliable.

All she wanted was to study art, fall in love and have a family. She also wanted to work in a museum, she had such plans. This year was going to be a turning point in her life. She would get a girlfriend, if not Melanie, someone else she wanted. She was going to stop being so proper and maybe a little wild. No more turning down Brian’s party invitations when Mrs. Kingsley is visiting her daughter in Minnesota. She was going to try the pot that was offered to her on most weekends by her friends. She was going to live her life and not be scared of what people will think. It was all leftovers from her parents’ attitude, they were so worried that anyone would see any faults in their family. This was supposed to be the best years of her life, she was going to make the most of it now.




As she entered the library before school started, she saw Justin sitting alone at a table. Going over to him she sat down across from him and looked at the book he was reading.

“Bertram Cope’s Year,” she read.

Justin looked up, blinking at her like he just realized she was there. “Have you read it?” he asked.

“No, I’ve never even heard of it. What’s it about?”

Justin closed his book and clasped his hands over it. “It’s been referred to by some to be the first American homosexual novel.”

“And they have that here?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound as scandalized as she felt.

“No.”

“Where did you get it?” she asked curiously.

“Ethan let me borrow it. Don’t know where he got it.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You and Ethan, huh?”

“Not like that, he’s nice and all but not my type.” Justin protectively slid a piece of paper into the book.

“Oh. Why aren’t you hanging out with everyone at the pit?” They usually hung out at the pit waiting for the bell to ring. The real reason was Brian could hide there for a smoke.

“Don’t really feel like seeing them. They aren’t my friends, I’m nothing to them.”

She was shocked at the venom in his tone. “Hey, where is this coming from?”

“Well, first Brian fucked me and now he’s avoiding me like the plague. Then Mel and Emmett invited me to go into the city with them. We walked all around Music Row, I thought it would be just one street but it’s so much more. I really liked it. But then they took me to a club they like, soon after we got there, both left me. I was alone, first time there in the city and all alone. Then this creep starts feeling me up, he was older than my dad. An hour I waited there for them to come back but they didn’t. I was lucky that Mr. Murray was there, he made the creep leave and took me home. If that’s what they think friendship is, I don’t need it.”

She was so mad; she couldn’t believe they took him into downtown and left him there alone. It’s not safe in the best of times but recently there have been a string of murders of young teen boys in the city.

“I understand. I will talk to them; I promise you that. I’m so sorry they left you there.”

Justin just shrugged and put his book back in his backpack and left. She wondered who she should confront first, Brian for not keeping it in his pants or Mel and Emmett.




Brian couldn’t believe what he was hearing. First Lindsay gets on him for leading Justin on but then she told him about what Emmett and Mel did. They took Justin into the city and left him. He had been with Lindsay when she confronted Mel and Emmett. The two shamefully admitted that they did take Justin with them but had forgotten he was with them. They had left and didn’t remember Justin until they were getting off of I-24. They turned around and drove back but by the time they got there, the bartender had told them Justin left with some old guy.

The two had been worried but were too scared to call Justin’s house to check on him. That was all Brian could stand, he yelled at them for being so irresponsible. They knew just as well as he did there was four murdered teenage boys in the last year from that area. All raped and all strangled. How could they be so careless.

Justin didn’t join them for lunch. He wasn’t even in the cafeteria. They had seen him in gym just before lunch, but he refused to speak to any of them. Brian didn’t make it any better telling him to stop acting like a drama queen.

As Brian was getting in his car to go to work, he saw Justin getting in a car. It wasn’t just any car; it was a brand-new red Mustang. It was a very familiar car too. He had seen the car for the past three weeks driving up and down Main Street. What was he doing with David Cameron? David Cameron graduated four years ago. The car was given to him by his parents when he got accepted to Vanderbilt for med school. What was he doing here? And what was he doing with Justin? He was much too old…wasn’t he?




“I feel like a child,” Justin bitched, glaring at David before looking back out the car window.

“I have better things to do than pick you up too.”

“At least it’s only for today,” Justin said, not looking back over at the older boy.

“You still whine like you did when you were five,” David said.

Justin rolled his eyes. The Camerons had been close friends of his great aunt. When they moved here David’s grandmother came and helped them learn about the town. Now they think he needs a babysitter.

Yesterday while he was walking around Nashville, his parents got a distressing call. His grandmother had fallen down in her home. His dad was taking his mom up there but was coming back. Molly was staying with a friend. When Justin got home last night no one was home, there was just a note on the table to call Mrs. Cameron. He did and she told him because he wasn’t home when they came around earlier, they would take him to school and pick him up. No matter what he said, they wouldn’t listen. That’s why Mr. Cameron dropped him off this morning and David picked him up. He hoped to go another eleven years without seeing him. He had only met him once when he was young and they visited his great aunt.

“I’m going to slow down, just jump out,” David said, thinking he was funny…he wasn’t.

“Do you always have to be a dick?”

“Don’t like playing chaperone, sorry.”

“Next time I’ll blow some guy to get a ride,” Justin snapped, pissed off.

David looked at him and Justin wished to bring back what he said. He hoped he wasn’t about to get gay bashed…again.

It had been a month since school started and Justin had found new friends to hang out with. He stopped eating lunch at the “queer” table after he was abandoned in Nashville. Now he was sitting with the creative kids. This table was where the theatre kids, the arts, the musicians sat. At first, he wondered why Ethan didn’t sit there, but it became clear. Ethan and Collier used to “date” which meant Ethan told Collier he was his everything, then the video was shown. Ethan getting a hand job from Blake last year was a dealbreaker. Collier said he and Ethan had been together since sophomore year and they were both seniors now.

The cafeteria was made up of ten long tables with bench seating. The table he was at now was as far away from the other one as possible. He didn’t make it that way, but it was a lucky accident.

“Hey, Justin, you should try out for the play. Auditions are today after school.”

Justin realized he hadn’t been paying attention to what was being said around him. “Um…I’m not really that kind of creative,” he said with a smile.

The girl who asked him blushed. He had forgotten her name, it was something like Emma, she didn’t always eat with them.

“It’s just Twelve Angry Men. But there’s not just going to be men. Ms. Lula says that’s not how the world works anymore.”

“That’s funny because that’s Emmett’s aunt’s name.”

“Oh, you didn’t know. She’s the theatre teacher. Mr. Davis, the vice principal hates her. So of course, everyone loves her.”

“Well, like I said, I’m not that kind of creative and acting just never interested me.” She nodded and went about pestering someone else to audition.

His mind went to his weird conversation with David. David apparently like Michael and wanted Justin to set up a date for them. How in the world was he supposed to do that? David fell for Michael during the summer. Michael was trying to earn extra money and cleaned out the Camerons garage. Michael worked at the Piggly Wiggly but during summer he could make more.

Because he wasn’t hanging out with Michael and that group anymore, he hadn’t been able to corner the older boy. David said that he liked how normal Michael was. Justin didn’t know much about Michael, but he did know his nose was always in a comic book when he could. But who was he to stand in the way of true love?

Just before lunch was over, he headed to their table. Whatever was being said and laughed about stopped when he stopped.

“Can we help you?” Brian said, with a little sneer. Justin knew he pissed everyone off when he just stopped talking to them. He knew he overreacted but after it was done, it just felt like too late.

“I wanted to speak to Michael, is that alright with you?” Justin snapped.

Brian rolled his eyes and went about ignoring Justin’s existence, which was what he had done after they slept together. In fact, he didn’t know why Brian was mad because he hadn’t even tried to speak to him until now.

“Yeah?” Michael said, looking up at him from his homemade lunch. Justin bought his, his mother was a great mom but at twelve said if he wanted his lunch packed, he would have to do it himself. It was easier to buy it.

“Are you dating anyone?”

The whole table got quiet and the one next to it. Justin noticed out of his peripheral vision that Brian froze. Michael shifted, looking uncomfortable.

“It’s not that I’m not flattered. But you’re just not my type,” Michael told him, looking at him with those baby deer eyes.

Justin couldn’t stop himself, he laughed. Probably a bit too much because now Michael was looking offended. “Sorry, you’re not my type either. I just have a friend that likes you.” Friend his ass, David was a jerk. But he had made a promise so he would try. He just hoped Michael said no, it would be weird.

“A friend. Who?” Michael asked, he eyed Justin’s table across the cafeteria.

“None of them. He’s in college.” Justin thought saying med school would be too much of a giveaway in this small town.

“Really?” Now Michael looked interested. Brian snorted.

“Yes.”

“Well tell me, who is it?”

“He didn’t want me to tell you. He wants you to go out on a date with him, sight unseen.”

“A blind date? What is this 1988?” Brian said with derision in his voice.

Michael didn’t look too enthused now. “I don’t know. Meeting a stranger on a date between two men. That seems like I’m asking to be attacked.”

“I promise you; this isn’t a set up like that. He really does like you. Why don’t you have another couple go with you. A double date.”

Brian snorted again, causing Justin to lose his cool. “Why don’t me and Brian join you.”

That stopped Brian’s smug face.

“Hell, no.” He cocked his head to the side. “Anyway, I have to work that night.”

“You don’t know what night,” Justin countered.

“I work every night,” Brian gritted out.

“You don’t work this Saturday night,” Michael said. “Ma’s got to close early because she and Uncle Vic are going to Marleen Gentry’s viewing.”

Brian glared at Michael. “I forgot that old battleax kicked the bucket. Mr. Gentry must be doing cartwheels, I mean, if he could get out of the wheelchair. Fine, Saturday night. Where will this charming evening take place?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll let you know tomorrow. Don’t worry, I’ll buy your dinner,” Justin said, feeling bad that this one dinner would cost Brian more than he could afford.

That was when he saw it. A look in Brian’s eyes told him whatever he was about to say he should just allow it and shut up.

“No one pays for me. I take care of myself. I’ll pay for your food too. In fact, I’ll pay for all four of us.” He wanted to argue but he knew it would be a losing battle. Brian had that chin jutted out ready for it.

Just then the bell rang, ending their lunch. Justin was glad for it because all that face Brian was making had him wanting to do was drop to his knees in front of him. He was asking for trouble with this date, he knew it.



“Would you calm down; you look like you’re going to piss yourself.”

Michael glared at Brian. If he couldn’t help, why was he there? Oh, yeah, he was coming on the date to make sure he didn’t get murdered. His mom would not be happy if he got murdered trying to hook up.

Brian looked gorgeous as always. He wore clothes that he could afford, which wasn’t a lot. But somehow, he made them look like they belonged in a magazine. He would talk about when he was rich, he would get whatever he wanted. The newest everything. Michael’s mom got his clothes from the thrift store over on Main.

“I want to look good.”

“I already told you that you look great,” Brian said, throwing a baseball up in the air and catching it while lying down on the bed. Michael still didn’t know why his mom bought it for him.

“Who do you think the mystery date is?” he asked, checking his ass out in the jeans he just put on.

“Let’s see, they know you, they went to our school and is in college now. I know. Amanda Owens.”

He pushed Brian who dramatically rolled off of the bed and onto his feet. “Be serious.”

“I have no idea who it is. I can’t believe the little asshole has me going on this travesty.”

“Hey. I could be meeting Mr. Right tonight.”

Dropping the ball on the ground, Brian walked over to him. Standing in front of him and grabbed his shoulders. “Listen to me. Are you listening?” Michael nodded. “The only people who stay with the person they were with at seventeen, are miserable bastards. And the only reason was because they didn’t know how a fucking condom worked and got some girl pregnant. That’s not ever going to be us. Our lives are going to be amazing. We won’t be tied down to the same dick year after year.”

Michael nodded because really…who did have a happily ever after with their high school partner?

Justin told them to wait for them at the diner. Brian could see how nervous Michael was. It didn’t matter how much he told him this guy was lucky that he said yes. There wasn’t much choice that Brian had because he knew Michael wanted this. He thought all this was stupid, who wanted a boyfriend? It was stupid to tie yourself down.

What could only be described as a boat on wheels pulled up beside them. The front doors to the car opened and out stepped Justin and David Cameron. Brian couldn’t believe what he was seeing, David Cameron down here with the peasants.

“David,” Michael said with a sigh and silly smile. Brian caught Justin’s eyeroll. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one that thought this was nauseating.

“Hope I’m not a disappointment,” David said, crossing over to stand in front of Michael.

“What is this monstrosity?” Brian asked, pointing to the barge parked in front of the diner.

“This is a classic,” Justin said with an offended look. “And she’s all mine.”

“Who gave you this…this thing?” Brian asked him.

“It was my great aunt’s. I found it just sitting in one of the barns. My dad had it tuned up and they said I could have it.”

“It’s a convertible, which makes where we are going better,” David said.

“It’s a land barge is what it is,” Brian said shaking his head.

David and Michael got into the backseat which left him in the front with Justin. After they were all in, Brian decided to see why all the secrecy.

“What’s with the cloak and dagger stuff?” he asked.

“I just didn’t want Michael saying yes or no because of who I am.”

This struck Brian wrong and ruffled his feathers a bit. “You think Michael is shallow?” he growled.

“I didn’t say that. I think Michael is the most genuine person I’ve ever met. But there have been rumors about me that I was worried that would color his opinion.”

Brian snorted. “You mean that you’re just like your old man,” Brian sneered. David’s father had owned GS Dale with a partner, it had been the livelihood of the town for decades. The partner died and David’s father sold the factory to the highest bidder. The company that bought it did, because it was competition, they closed the factory and put almost everyone in the town out of a job. That included his own dad. His dad was a supervisor at GS but had to start all over. He got a job at the dog food plant at the edge of town, technically in Hanson and not Call City. But now his dad was just a janitor, making him angrier when he drank. It was another reason he was glad he got kicked out, the beatings were getting more violent by the day.

“I don’t think we should be comparing ourselves to our fathers,” David said, getting Brian’s attention. “I ran into yours at the drug store the other day, he was yelling at Mr. Parker about him not giving him his full prescription.”

“Yes, let’s not talk about fathers. I mean I don’t even have one,” Michael said. He knew his best friend well enough to know he was trying to break the tension with his glib response. “Where are we going?”

“So glad you asked. First, we are going to Tommy’s. Then we’re going to the drive-in. It’s the last week Independence Day will be showing,” David said.

“We’ve already seen it,” Brian told him.

“We all have but you don’t go to drive-ins to watch movies. Haven’t you ever seen Grease?” David asked.

“Not that kind of gay,” Brian said, looking out the window.

He could hear chatting go on around him but blocked them out. Soon they were pulling into Tommy’s, a 60’s leftover from another time. A carhop skated out to them and took their order. Justin put the top down and even he had to admit, it was pretty nice. It was the start of Fall so soon the weather would turn too cold for this. This was probably the last weekend it would be nice.

David and Michael got out of the car and when to a picnic table to eat their food and talk. Justin and he stayed in the land beast.

“Are you sure you can control this thing?” Brian asked after he swallowed a bite of his hamburger.

“I didn’t stall out once, thank you very much.”

“I saw you with David the other day. I didn’t know you knew each other,” Brian said. He had decided to get to know more about the blond.

“My great aunt and his family were friends. After her family was killed, they made sure she ate and took care of herself.”

“Killed?”

“They were killed in a hit and run in ’71. She didn’t want to keep going but her friends here helped her. “My great aunt died not knowing who took her family away from her.”

“A hit and run? Probably a drunk,” he said. He had seen his father drink and drive countless times. His mom on the other hand drank but she never drove. He knew she had a license, but she didn’t drive. His dad would mock her saying things like her being a terrible driver. For a split second he thought maybe his father or mother could hit someone and keep going. But then he remembered in ’71, his dad was fifteen and his mom was fourteen, neither old enough to drive let alone have their own car.

“Probably. Let’s talk about something else. What are your plans after graduation?”

“College, much like anyone else’s. I have scouts coming to watch me play. That means hopefully a full ride. Then I’ll get a degree in business or something and be rich. You?”

“Art school but that’s all on a hope and a prayer. They are really hard to get into, the good ones. I want to go to Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Arts. But I haven’t put all my eggs in that basket. I want to be a famous artist, I always have.”

“Well, I want to make money, but some people can’t live off mommy and daddy when the world won’t buy my drawings.”

It had its desired effect, Justin’s face closed off and he shut up until Michael and David were back in the car. The silent treatment lasted until they were at the drive-in. Justin parked where David told him to park. It was in the corner and Brian noticed they weren’t in view of many cars. They were pretty closed off but could see the screen well. It didn’t take long before David and Michael were huffing and puffing in the backseat. Justin got out of the car and Brian followed, he didn’t want to hear Mikey get it on with the rich boy.

Up near the concession stand there were several picnic tables so people could eat outside of their cars, a small speaker hung on the end, it was turned on, Brian turned it off. Justin sat down and Brian sat opposite of him.

“Do you want anything?” Brian asked. Justin just shook his head. “Why don’t you sit with us anymore? Emmett and Mel already feel like shit about what they did.”

Justin shook his head, pulling a sketch pad and pencil seemingly out of nowhere. “I forgave them a while ago.”

“So why not sit with us?”

“Pride, I guess. I know I overreacted but it’s hard to admit that.”

“Then don’t. Just Monday sit back at the table and let the pieces fall where they do.”

“Is that what you would do?”

“Fuck yes.”

They sat in silence for a while, Justin sketching and Brian watching him. It was surprising how good he was. Lindsay was an artist, but she didn’t hold a candle to Justin. In the span of ten minutes Justin had an outline of Brian with the drive-in screen and cars behind him.

“What time do you have to be back home?” Brian asked him.

“My parents and sister are in Pittsburgh this weekend because my dad had some business. So…I don’t.”

“Want to come back to my place?” Brian asked.

“Or you could come to mine,” Justin proposed.



Justin was so nervous, they had dropped Michael and David back off at the diner, which was closed. The other two wanted to go somewhere and ‘get to know’ each other. Justin just hoped they were safe because he didn’t know where David’s dick has been.

When they got to Justin’s house, Brian smirked at him.

“What?” he asked the older boy.

“Just pictured you somewhere more fancy instead of here.”

“We needed a fresh start,” Justin gave the reasoning his mother gave him.

“I’ve been in this house before,” Brian said as they entered.

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, when I was little. My grandfather brought me.”

“Was he friends with my aunt?”

“Don’t know, I just remember there was crying.” Brian looked like he knew more but wasn’t saying anything.

“She wasn’t a happy person,” Justin said, shrugging. He never saw his great aunt happy.

“Want to show me your bedroom?” Brian asked suggestively.

Justin didn’t have to be able to read minds to know what was on Brian’s. “That depends. Are you going to treat me like you don’t know me on Monday? Avoid me like before?”

“I suspect you won’t let me.”

“I’ll only have sex with a boyfriend.”

“Since when?”

“Since I decided that I don’t like strange men touching me.”

Brian looked angry but didn’t seem angry at him. “Who?”

“Some old guy at the club they took me too. If Mr. Murray wasn’t there, I don’t know what more would have happened, he didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer.”

“Next time that happens, break his fucking wrist.”

Justin laughed. “I did threaten him that I would break his hand if he didn’t remove it.”

“Good. I don’t do boyfriends so that’s not going to happen. I fuck who I want to fuck, being tied down in an imitation of a hetero relationship isn’t something I’m willing to do.”

Justin was afraid of that, but he wasn’t willing to let himself go in favor of Brian. “I guess that’s that. I’ll take you home,” Justin said, grabbing his keys from where he put them.

There was a sigh from the older boy. “Wait…”

Justin paused, looking over at the older boy. The light from the living room lamps were making a halo over Brian’s head. That was something that Jusitn wanted to draw.

“I guess it wouldn’t kill me to have a boyfriend but I’m going to fuck who I want.”

The look in Brian’s eyes told Justin he wasn’t budging on that. So, either Justin had a boyfriend that slept around, or he had a friend that he fucked.

“What about me?”

“I don’t care if you fuck other guys, girls or trees, that’s not my business.”

“Alright.” Justin grabbed Brian’s hand and led him upstairs to his room. It was just for the school year, both of them were going their separate ways after graduation anyway.



The slamming of the screen door woke Brian up with a start. Looking around he saw Justin’s eyes were open too. They could hear loud talking and a child’s laughter.

“Fuck, my parents are home already,” Justin whispered.

“How cool do you think they would be?” Brian asked.

“Not cool at all. Quick, out the window.”

Hell no, that wasn’t happening. Brian got up and quickly got dressed. “I’m not going out the window,” he said, looking out the bay window. It was a far drop, he could climb down the tree, but it looked like it was going to fall over any day now.

“Please, Brian. I will do anything if you just go out the window.”

“How the hell and I supposed to get home? I live miles away and don’t feel like walking.”

“Go to the barn by the road, I’ll pick you up there in about twenty minutes. Don’t go in, my mom says it’s dangerous and will fall any minute. Please, Brian, you are my boyfriend now, you should at least want me not to be grounded for the rest of my life.”

He knew agreeing to the boyfriend thing was going to be the end of him. “Fine but if I fall to my death, it will be your fault.”

“Yes, yes, all my fault, I’ll mourn you until the end of time. Now get out,” Justin said, pushing him to the window.

Brian opened the side of the bay window and slowly climbed out. Stretching so he could grab the limb to the pull his body to the tree. Just then someone started to knock on the door. “Wait,” he said, as Justin shut the window and closed the curtains. “So much for loving boyfriend,” he griped. Justin was a quick learner about everything else though, so he could be forgiven. Slowly, he made his way down the tree and breathed a sigh of relief as his feet hit the ground.

He made sure he wasn’t in view of the house as he walked to the end of the long driveway and found the barn close to it. There was a heavy looking lock on the double doors, but as Brian walked around the barn, he found a smaller door, it had a lock on it, but the lock was broken open. Opening the door, he went inside and stopped in his tracks.

“What the fuck?” he said, looking around.

There were old newspaper clippings, all about the death of Justin’s aunt’s family. Then there were several polaroid pictures with names on them. There was a picture of his grandfather, on the tab of the polaroid had his grandfather’s name. Under it had pinned up paper, it had two categories, yes and no. Under yes there were things like ‘drunk, no eye contact.’ Under no there were things like ‘In Louisville at the time.’ His grandfather wasn’t the only one like this. There was about ten people only a few Brian didn’t recognize.

A hand fell on his back, causing him to jump. “I told you not to come in here.”

“What is this?” Brian asked.

“It took me a while to figure it out, but I think she was trying to solve her family’s death. These were her suspects.”

“That’s my grandfather. He’s long dead,” he said pointing at his grandad.

“She had crossed him off, look see the X,” Justin said, pointing to the end of his grandfather’s name.

“I thought that just meant he was dead.”

“No, because look here, there is an X here, but I know they are alive,” Justin said, pointing to Mr. Calloway from a few farms over.

Something occurred to Brian, the pictures were old and worn but the paper under them looked new.

“This paper is new. When did your aunt die?”

“Four years ago. The barn had a lock on it when I found it. Mom said the barn looked ready to fall but I was curious. After finding this, the ink on the yellowing paper was almost invisible, but I was able to copy it. Some were eating by bugs and mice, but I got most of it.”

“Half these people are dead. What good is it to bring all this up now?” Brian asked, looking at all the pictures.

“I think it will let my aunt rest in peace, it’s always there on my grandmother too.”

“Well, she’s marked off five. That only leaves five, one of them is dead but four are alive.”

Justin’s blue eyes widened. “You know these people; you can help me.”

“Do I fucking look like Dick Tracy to you?”

“Please Brian, if I can solve this, it might put my family back together again.”

“And tear up another one.”

“So, you won’t help?”

“When you’re stuck on something, I’ll help you out but I’m not putting my time and energy into this wild goose chase.”

“Thank you. Let’s go before they wonder why my car is still at the bottom of the drive.”

“Get your ass ready for school,” his mom yelled through his window.

Michael sighed, throwing his Captain Astro quilt off of him. He loved his quilt; his mom had made it for him on his twelfth birthday. It was the year she and Uncle Vic were buying the diner. That meant they were pretty strapped, and he knew he wouldn’t be getting any store-bought presents. His mom was amazing though and had spent her nights on that quilt. No one else had a Captain Astro quilt.

“I mean it, get up. You’re going to have to take the bus.”

Michael wrenched open his door and glared at his mother. “What are you talking about?”

“I have to take your car to work. Mine is on the fritz and I won’t have time to get it into the shop until tomorrow.”

“Can’t Uncle Vic take you?” He knew he was whining but he hated taking the bus.

“He’s got an appointment in Joelton. This won’t kill you, I did buy the thing and pay insurance on it,” she said darkly.

“You told me to save my money for school,” he defended himself. He would have bought the car himself and pay for insurance, but she wouldn’t hear of it.

“You’ll need it in college. One day isn’t going to be the end of the world. Maybe if you call Brian he can swing by and get you before school.”

She turned and headed down the stairs, she had to be at work at seven. His uncle usually opened the place at five. Michael shut his bedroom door and went about getting ready for school. He wore a simple red t-shirt and jeans. He tried to call Brian, but he must have already left for school because he wasn’t answering. He had a beeper, but Brian got annoyed if he used it too much, he only liked having it for extra hours at work.

The walk to the end of the driveway was bitter. Just the thought of getting on that bus was annoying. He had hoped those days were behind him, that was the whole point of his car…a little independence. It wasn’t like his mother gave him much, she was always in his business.

Just last week when she found out he was dating David Cameron she couldn’t help but put her two cents in. She said that David was a nice boy but not really someone she pictured for him.

When the bus slowed to a stop and he got on, he groaned. The only empty seat was beside “the freak.” Brian had given him that nickname the start of their freshman year. Carl Horvath was a weirdo; he always had been. Not only that, but his dad would also come to the diner and hit on his mom.

Freshman year Carl Horvath Jr. had gone from a geek in eighth grade to a goth. His once short light brown hair was now jet black and past his shoulders. He wore black lipstick and black eyeliner; his nails were painted black too. Then to finish off the ensemble, he wore black jeans and always a long black sleeve shirt, even in the summer.

“Can I sit here?” he asked begrudgingly.

Carl, who went by the name Wylder or Wyld, something like that now, just shrugged but he did move over. Michael sat down beside him and gave him a small smile. He never actually had anything against the other boy. The other boy was reading a book, one that he had never seen before.

“Is it good?” Michael asked, he was too much like his mom.

Wylder looked at him like he was insane for a minute. “It’s…interesting.”

“A Brave New World,” he said, reading the title. “What’s it about?”

Wylder shut the book and reached over, handing it to Michael. “Here, I’ve read it many times. It’s mine, not a library book, it’s been banned at our school.”

“I’m not really a book reader.”

“You can read comic books; you can read Huxley. Give it a try, it may surprise you.”

Wylder started to look out the window while Michael thumbed through the book. As he was glancing over some of the book, something hit him in the back of the head.

“Ignore it,” Wylder said under his breath. “They get tired if you don’t give them any notice.”

Michael remembered back in sophomore year when Wylder’s bullying was the worst. He couldn’t walk down the hallway without someone throwing something at him. He remembered more than once the boy had to wear his gym clothes because people threw food or water on his clothes, paint once.

“Isn’t your dad a cop? Can you have him stop it?”

“I don’t tell him. He already thinks I’m a freak. Come June I’m out of here and never looking back.”

Michael saw the intensity in the other boy’s eyes. “Where are you going?”

“Cleveland.”

“What the fucks in Cleveland?” Michael asked.

“Elois, my girlfriend.”

“That skinny girl with the Mohawk that transferred out last year?”

“Yeah.” Wylder smiled, an honest to God smile.

“I hope Cleveland is everything you want. I know you usually sit alone at lunch, but you’re welcome to sit with us.”

“Fuck no,” Wylder spit out.

“Because it’s the queer table?” Michael asked, ready to not like him again.

“I’m bi, that’s not the reason. That asshole Kinney. I’d rather die than sit near him.”

Michael knew Brian didn’t like Wylder, but he hadn’t said anything to him ever. He called him a freak but that was only to their friends.

“Why?”

Wylder looked at him and Michael saw the pain in his eyes. “Read the book, it’s good.” He went back looking out the window until they arrived at school. He wondered if Brian would tell him what the issue between them was.




Justin sat in his biology class and started working in his notebook. They had a sub today, so they only had a worksheet to finish. He had completed his worksheet, now he was working on his suspect list. It had taken him most of the week to find out that only four were real possibilities. Howard Barnes, the old man who lived down the road from his aunt at the time. Wanda Jean Purdy, a teacher at the time, long retired. Vincent Myers, he was a teen at the time. Then one that made him sweat, Ira Dane, a man that lived in an outbuilding on the neighboring farm’s property. Brian had told him to stay away from him, he was crazy. He just wished he could.

Brian has said he would help but Justin realized that wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t that Brian didn’t want to help him, but that was a part of it. The biggest thing was that Brian was always working or had soccer. Even the boyfriend thing wasn’t what he thought it would be. There were no dates, there wasn’t going to each other’s place to watch movies. All that boyfriend meant was when Brian climbed the scary tree outside Justin’s room, he would have to let him in. They had been dating for a week and the only thing that had happened was twice Brian made late night trips to Justin’s room, parking at the end of the drive. If his parents ever caught him with Brian in his room they would flip, but it was also exciting. The thrill of taking a risk. He was doomed, he knew it because he really was falling for Brian. How pathetic was that? Begging for any little piece of attention from the older boy.

“What’s that?”

Justin looked towards the source of the interruption of his thoughts. Wyld was pointing towards his notebook. He liked the other boy; they were in art together too. Wyld wasn’t as talented as Justin, but he wasn’t untalented. Everything he drew had a gothic theme to it. He had been trying to get a house drawn like it was in his head but didn’t have the skill. After seeing Justin’s work, he had asked him if he could help. Justin was able to get the house right after just an hour working together after school. They weren’t friends but not because of lack of effort on Justin’s part. Wyld finally said they couldn’t be friends it would never work; Justin was sunshine, and he was darkness.

“Just something I’m working on.”

“The Killer?”

Justin closed the notebook, looking at the front. Maybe he shouldn’t have labelled it that.

“Just something I’m working on.”

“A story?”

“I guess but I’m not telling it, I’m solving it.”

“Huh?”

Justin looked around making sure no one was paying attention. No one was even looking in their direction.

“My great aunt, her family was killed in a hit and run in ‘71. I found out that before she died, she had been looking for who did it. She even had a list of most likely suspects. I’m working on solving it.”

The dull look that was always in Wyle’s eyes except when he showed him the drawing, was gone. In its place was interest. “Can I help?”

Justin thought about Brian helping but he knew the older boy had more important things. He had to work to support himself and save for school. Justin didn’t have a friend that wasn’t one of a group and he hadn’t seen Wyld hang out with anyone. Plus, Wyld’s dad was a detective. That had to help them somewhere down the road.

“Sure, I’d like that.”

“I hate Homecoming,” Ted grumbled.

They were hanging out at one of the four playgrounds at the Dam. This one was furthest away from the dam and closest to the campground, so it was usually less popular in the fall, and it had the oldest play equipment.

“Oh, Teddy, you’re such a stick in the mud,” Emmett said loudly to the dark-haired boy. Emmett was on the slide ready to slide down. He loved it, not so much in summer though because of the burns from the sun hitting the metal that the slide was made of.

This slide was the only one that he had fun with, it was high. If he thought about it, it really wasn’t that safe for kids. Ted was swinging on the swing set, there was only one swing that was usable. Rumor was that Robin Fetterman had sat on the other one and broke it. The poor girl had a very unfortunate name for a girl of her size. Fatterman was a horrible thing to call her. She was a very nice girl, killer smart too. If it weren’t for her, he would have failed Algebra last year.

Brian was sitting on top of the jungle gym, like always, he liked to be high up when he got high. It’s a miracle he hadn’t broken a body part yet. Michael was also on the jungle gym just lower. He liked to hang upside down like a bat.

“I’m not a stick in the mud, none of us like Homecoming.” Ted looked around seeming to try and get backup. Homecoming in two weeks.

“Homecoming is for losers who can’t get laid,” Brian said, throwing rocks that he collected before climbing the jungle gym.

“You just hate the football team, especially Jon Thomas,” Mel pointed out. The glare Brian sent her was unmistakable.

No one usually bullied Brian, the black eyes, and bruises on him got him a reputation. One that said he was dangerous. People thought he was in fights every day when it was just his dad. The injuries had stopped now he left but not the gossip.

“I know Jon Thomas, he’s in my art class. He’s a really good artist, charcoal is his preferred. What did he do? I always thought he was nice.” Justin was biting his lip, looking like someone just kicked his puppy.

“Nothing. It was a long time ago,” Brian said defensively.

It had only been last year. Jon and his goonies thought it would be hilarious to dunk Brian’s head in the toilet. They had thought he wouldn’t do anything, they thought wrong. The boy had waited for the perfect time and slammed the locker on Jon’s hand. No more football for the year.

“I’ve never been to a Homecoming before,” Justin said. He was on the Witch’s Hat; he was barely moving it.

“Granny Faye said I had to go to at least one Homecoming and Prom in my school years. Since it’s our senior year, I think this is my last chance. I don’t have anyone to go with though.” Her eyes lingered on Mel who was on the merry-go-round with her.

Seeming to catch her meaning Mel snorted. “I’d rather sleep with Ted than go. No offence Ted.”

Ted glared. “Why would I take offence to that?”

“What about the parade?” Michael asked.

“No! Just because you have to ride on the float with your mom doesn’t mean the rest of us has to be doomed.”

Emmett rolled his eyes; Brian really was too much. Everyone knew the reason he didn’t want to go was because Homecoming means he would get the best tips. The parade, the game, and the dance, it was money personified.

“I like Homecoming,” the new kid said, Emmett had forgotten he was there.

“Who said you could talk?” Brian said, tossing the roach on the ground.

“Hey, don’t do that, kids play here,” Justin said, hoping off the witch’s hat. He picked up the roach and shoved it in his pocket.

“Sorry, mother,” Brian mocked.

“I’m really glad you guys invited me,” the new kid said. In fact, he was only invited by Justin who really didn’t know Brian didn’t like intruders in their group. While he accepted them at school and even in large group settings Brian was not the nicest or most social. The boy was charming and could probably get away with murder if he wanted, but he just didn’t like many people. The only reason Justin was accepted in the first place was Brian wanted to sleep with him, then Justin somehow got Brian to agree to dating.

"We didn’t invite you, that was all the good Samaritan,” Brian bitched.

“Drop it Brian,” Justin said before turning back to the new kid. “I’m really glad you could come.”

“It’s really cool.”

Justin had taken in a freshman, something that was already pissing off Brian. Emmett thought it was a mistake too, but Justin was only sixteen while the rest of them were seventeen and eighteen. It’s not odd for a sixteen-year-old to hang out with a fourteen-year-old. The reason he thought Brian didn’t like Eric was because the freshman had major cow eyes for Justin. The only one of them that couldn’t see it was Justin. Too bad the boy was never going to turn Justin’s eyes from Brian to him.

“I’m glad you’re having fun,” Justin said getting back on the witch’s hat, joined by Eric.

The face Brian was making was priceless, but he knew better than to point it out. The friendship between Justin and Eric was doomed and going to end in tears but Justin wasn’t ready to hear that. It would just have to play out organically.

A crack of thunder came out of nowhere. Usually if it was supposed to rain his Aunt Lula usually told him if it was going to storm that day.

“Let’s head over to my house, it’s empty,” Michael suggested.

Most agreed except Brian who had to go to work soon and Eric whose mom said he could only go to the park and home. There was a light blush of embarrassment on his cheeks when he admitted it.

“I’m taking Eric back to his house and then I’ll be over,” Justin said.

Grabbing their jackets, the two youngest left. As they walked away Justin’s laugh followed by Eric’s rang out. Whatever had been said must have been really funny because they kept laughing until they were in Justin’s ugly car.

“You better watch out Bri, you got a problem there,” Ted said.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Brian grumbled.

“You’ve got a storm brewing, and I don’t mean weather. That little freshman is out for your before and while he’s all sweet and innocent on the outside, he’s got calculating eyes,” Emmett told him. He had seen it a few times earlier when Eric looked at Brian. There was real dislike that flashed in those eyes. Then he would turn to Justin like butter wouldn’t melt.

“If Justin wants the dweeb, he’s more welcome to him. I’m just with him for the sex.” Brian’s voice was getting darker, a sign they were pushing him too far. But one more push wouldn’t hurt.

“You do know Eric waits for Justin after French 2,” he told him.

“How do you know?” Brian’s eyes narrowed at this new information.

“Duh, we have it together. I will tell you Wyld doesn’t like the kid. He says something feels off about him. The one thing I know about Wyld he has great intuition about people.”

Brian stalked off for his car, not saying another word.

“You shouldn’t have egged him on like that,” Lindsay said, appearing out of nowhere.

“Where have you been?” He had noticed both her and Mel had disappeared at the same time. The bathroom was at the other side of the damn, probably a mile walk.

“Bathroom,” Lindsay said.

That was when Emmett noticed something, and he started to laugh.

“What’s your problem?” Mel asked like he was crazy.

“Next time you decide to have a little fun, make sure you put your shirt isn’t backwards.”

Lindsay looked down at her shirt and a small yip escaped her lips. “How could you let me walk around like this,” she hissed at Mel.

“I didn’t notice,” the smaller girl defender herself.

That was near to impossible because Lindsay had a shirt with Melissa Ethridge on the front, now the queen of lesbians was on her back.

Debbie had already gotten on to him about being rude to customers. It was something he couldn’t help, fucking Emmett and his fucking ideas.

The bell over the door chimed, looking up he saw Justin with what he guessed were his parents and his little sister. Kiki sat them at one of their bigger tables. Justin looked around the restaurant until he laid eyes on him.

Soon he blocked out Justin and his family until he heard his name being called. Looking around he saw it was Justin’s mother calling his name and motioning him over. For some reason he turned to look behind him like there was another Brian there. Rolling his eyes, he made his way over to Justin’s table.

“How can I help you? Extra silverware? Refill? Riffle and blindfold?”

Justin groaned and Brian had to work to not smile.

“Our son did say you had a different kind of sense of humor. We just thought it was time to meet our son’s boyfriend.”

Shooting Justin, a glare, the younger boy just shrugged, but he could tell he wanted to ground to swallow him up.

“I really can’t talk now, I have work.”

Justin’s mother looked around. It was a slow day besides their table there were only two more occupied.

“I’m sure you can spare a minute. Come and sit for a while, we’ll have a little chat,” she said, her tone changing from light to a little darker.

“Uh, sure.” Usually adults loved him, he didn’t know what to think about him. Even the teachers who he annoyed with his attitude liked him to a point. Against his better judgement he pulled out a chair and sat. All the while making sure he could escape easily.

“So, tell us Brian…how old are you?” Mr. Taylor asked.

“Seventeen.”

“What do your parents do?” Mrs. Taylor asked.

“Drink mostly.”

That made both Justin’s parents shift uncomfortably. He was kind of hoping the girl would get tired and start complaining, but know she was sitting quietly watching them talk. She had her brother’s eyes.

“I’m sorry to hear that. It must be hard when you’re trying to graduate,” Mrs. Taylor said, being the first of the two to recover.

“It’s fine, I live by myself. Rent a room above a garage.” He gave them a challenging look. This was about as many hoops he’ll just through for Justin. If they didn’t like him and wanted him to stop seeing their son than that’s on them. “Look, I really have to get back to work.” After he stood up a dishcloth was thrown at him. There was no need to look, he knew who it was.

“If you’re done maybe try working,” Deb snapped. It wasn’t her angry voice or even her annoyed one, this was her everyday one.

As he started to walk away Mrs. Taylor called to him.

“Next time, use the front door.”

Justin’s face reddened and on his pale skin it was very noticeable. It was hard not to laugh as Justin slid down in his chair.

“I will.”

T
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ing to fix format.


“Next time Dana Murphy shoves that camcorder in my face I’m going to break it,” Brian bitched as he sat down at their lunch table in the cafeteria.

“She’s just doing her job,” Mel defended the editor of the yearbook.

This year they were doing something different with the yearbook and Justin was excited about it. Of course he had found himself in awkward moments just to look up and see Dana with that damn camera. Like when his locker jammed, and he pulled it too hard and the whole door came off and him falling to the ground and hitting his head. Everyone got a good laugh including his asshole of a boyfriend. The office gave him a different locker rather than fixing his. Now he was near Home Ec.

“Well, her job is pissing me off. Every time I turn around she’s got that thing on me.”

“You are the soccer king of the school. The closest we have to another star athlete is Janna Kirk and her mastering of Tae Bo in gym class. Our football team sucks, no offence Ben,” Lindsay said with her cheeks turning a bit pink. He smiled and didn’t look offended. “Our baseball teams sucks. No one cares about most of the girls sports but lately they have sucked too. Only our soccer teams have been winning.”

Brian rolled his eyes and started to ignore everyone agreeing with her.

“I ordered a copy of the first semester yearbook; I can’t wait to show Daphne the Fall video.”

Brian looked at Justin with distain. “What? To make fun of the hicks?”

That wasn’t what Justin meant at all, but it seemed lately Brian found fault with everything he did. Justin was pretty sure Brian was going to break up with him. Apparently he just didn’t get used to having a boyfriend. It had only been a little while, but he wouldn’t make a fool of himself by begging Brian to stay with him. His mother said this was the best time of his life. He hadn’t agreed when he was being bullied at St. James back at home. He was bullied here but he had more than just Daphne backing him up. Just the other day Blake cussed out a football player twice his size because the idiot was teasing Justin.

After lunch Justin decided to skip out for the rest of the day, he wasn’t really feeling school. He couldn’t go to most places because if he went to the diner, Debbie would tell his mother. If he went to the Dam any number of people could see him and tell his parents.

Getting an idea he decided to go to the town’s library to see if they had old newspapers of the time of his aunt’s family’s deaths. The library was quite small, barely big enough to be considered one he was sure. It looked like it used to be someone’s house, their small house.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” the librarian asked as she saw him.

He didn’t know her from Adam, so he lied. “I was sent by my History teacher Coach Kent. To look into local news from the past for my project. I have to work after school, so this is the only time I have to do it.” Justin was shocked the lie came so easily. Brian hated lying so he would have to watch what he said around him.

“The microfilm machine is in the back in the room with the camera painted on it. I hope you find what you want.” As he started to walk away she called him back. “One more thing, I’m on the school board and there is no Coach Kent at the high school. I’ll give you today but don’t try this again or I’ll drive you back to school myself.”

The woman was about eighty if a day, but he had no doubt she could follow through. He just nodded and headed to the room. Maybe being a spy or criminal wasn’t for him, he’d get caught day one.

The machine was old as dirt but he was able to find the first issue that detailed the accident.

Three Dead in Hit and Run



Robert Coleman and his two daughters Brenda and Diana were killed in a hit and run on Old Oscar Road. Mona Coleman, Robert’s wife and mother to the children, said they were going to Mule Day in Columbia when they were hit. Mrs. Coleman wasn’t with them, she was working and said she was going to meet them later.

There were no witnesses in the hit and run so police are baffled. One Massie Simms was quoted as saying “Things like this just don’t happen here, we’re good folk.”

The last deaths that shocked our small community was the Logan Massacre in 1962 when Christopher Logan killed his family of ten in the very house that the Colemans lived before their unfortunate deaths. This reporter isn’t one for mystic things but if there ever was a curse on a house it would be that one.



Justin sat back barely being able to breathe. People were killed in the house he was living in. Did his mother know? Did his aunt Mona know? There was no way that none of his friends knew but they still didn’t tell him. He wasn’t going to sleep ever again. Maybe he could talk his mom into letting him stay with Brian. Who was he kidding, she would never allow it.

Even with a pit in his stomach he started the year 1962 on the machine. He found what he was looking for on the 12th of June.



Massacre on Logan Road



Justin read threw the dozens of articles on the murders. Mr. Logan was a farmer but after two seasons of all his crops dying because of what he suspected was someone poisoning his fields, he couldn’t take it anymore. On the morning of the 11th of June, he woke up and went about his daily chores. Grabbed his shotgun out of his barn and shot his wife first, then went through the house shooting each of his children. His boys shared a room that had a large tree out the window. That was Justin’s room now. The father went in and killed the boys on the only day he didn’t make them get up early to work on the farm. One boy tried to jump out of the window to the tree, he missed and fell to his death. He had only been eight.

It was a horrific death for each one of the family members. How had no one told him that his house was a murder scene? All the papers he found on the massacre said the same thing, Christopher Logan shot himself after the annihilation of his family but their bodies weren’t found for days. There were talks of tearing the house down, but Mr. Logan’s brother sold it. It was bought by a nice newlywed couple, Robert and Mona Coleman.

There was a tap on the door and a woman came in. It wasn’t the woman who let him in, this one looked a little younger but only a little. He had seen her around the diner, Mrs. Kirkland if he remembered right. She owned several little stores in and around the community before she sold them. Now she lives in a huge house on the hill. There was a white fence surrounding it and horse statues on the ground that can be seen from the highway.

“I’m sorry, hon, I was hoping to use the machine. This library is so small we only have the one.”

Justin jumped up. “Of course, it’s all yours,” he said but noticed she wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. Her eyes were locked on the screen.

“That was so horrible. I remember Helen, she was a good woman. My youngest was in the same class as one of her middle children. She may not have been the most overly warm woman, but she was a good worker and kept those kids hale and hearty. The baby wasn’t even one yet.”

“Did you know the husband?”

“Yeah, I knew him.” She looked at Justin with a piercing gaze. “Do you want to hear something?”

“Yes.” He was already so interested in what happened in his home, even if it did make him a little sick to his stomach.

“I never did think it was Christopher, he was a good man, but he hated using that gun. He only kept it for when foxes came for the chickens.”

“Who did you think it was?”

Her eyes darkened. She grabbed the chair Justin had jumped up from. “I always thought it was Joe Kinney.”

Kinney? Was she talking about someone that was in Brian’s family?

“Why did you think that?”

“One of the Logan girls accused him of being inappropriate with her. Next thing you know the whole family is dead and the blame laid fully on Christopher even though it was impossible for him to do it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Tell me how a 5’4 man can shoot himself in the temple with a long barrel shot gun in the left side of his head when he was right handed?”

Justin didn’t have anything to say to that because he really didn’t know. All he was doing was reviewing his great Aunt Mona’s family’s death.

“I really don’t know. You’ve lived here a while it sounds.”

She chuckled before coughing. “Excuse me, sorry. I’ve lived here all my life.”

“Did you know the Colemans?”

Her smile dimmed. “That man got away with murder again.”

“What do you mean?”

“Robert Coleman accused Joe of stealing. Robert even went to the sheriff to make a statement. Right before the trial was to start for him stealing about 10 thousand dollars that the Colemans hid up in that farmhouse, Robert and the girls died. Mona didn’t care anymore about much of anything after that, including prosecuting anyone that wasn’t the driver that hit her family. So, the case seemed just to fall apart. There was only one person that had a reason. Joe Kinney.”

“You sound so sure of yourself.”

“I am, that whole family is rotten to the core. Jack, Joe’s son has put his boy in the hospital more than once. It’s the worst secret kept in town. Then there is the boy himself, he’s a punk and a bad mouthed and bad tempered one at that. The whole family is just trash and they always will be.” Justin had started to like her but after her bad-mouthing Brian he decided he didn’t like her very much. After saying goodbye Justin started his way home. Did his boyfriend’s grandfather kill Justin’s aunt’s family?

Tomorrow night was Halloween and he planned to go out with his friends to a party then do whatever they wanted. Could he look Brian in the face without him knowing what he learned after this?