SANDSTORM
At the intensive care unit at the trauma center in Toronto, Brian stared at Lindsay's form on the bed attached to the machines that were helping her to breath, , "Have her family been contacted?"
The doctor beside him with the record chart shook her head, "Yes, thank you for the contacts you gave us"
"Better you contact them than me, I haven't spoken to her family in a decade...Will she be...", Brian swallowed down, "...okay?"
The doctor was honest, "she has made no response to our tests since the crash...we will try again in the morning"
Brian shook his head in understanding, then asked about the other thing on his mind, "has Melanie's family been informed of her death"
The doctor replaced the record chart onto it's clip, "yes...from her cell we contacted her former employer and they have been very helpful"
Brian glanced up to Lindsay again in the bed, he sadly smiled, "Can I sit with her?", he then looked at the doctor thinking she might think he meant sit with Melanie,
"Lindsay, not..."
The doctor opened the door and nodded, "I know...and of course you can...they say sometimes, talking can help bring them around"
Brian shrugged, "So I hear...", he then approached Lindsay and placed his hand into hers and smiled down at her, the tubes were down her throat and up her nose, it was always an unpleasant sight, "Hey, Wendy...it's Peter...jeez, I hope you are gonna be okay..."
Xxxx
In the morning, Brian called Justin to keep him up to date of what was going on. Justin climbed down the stairs from the loft apartment to the ground floor, "What? So they are doing more tests this morning? Okay...I'll call you later...oh, how's Gus? the attitude? I bet. Look, I'll call you later...you too, bye"
Justin pocketed his cell and pushed the door and was outside. He rounded to the parking bays at the rear of the building, and his eyes fell onto the horrifying sight ahead of him.
"What the fuck...no"
Justin hurried up to the VW beetle and examined the smashed rear lights and then gawped at the great big hole in the windshield. The culprit was all to see on the drivers seat. A building brick.
Justin put his hands to his face, "No no no no!"
Xxxx
Brian sat in the relatives room at the trauma center in Toronto. Gus looked out of the window and turned to his father,
"Is Mom gonna be okay?"
Brian looked up to his 13 year old son and sighed, "I don't know"
Gus came forward, "It was Mel's fault. She caused the crash"
Brian frowned at him, "how?"
Gus was keen to get get things out in the open, "she took the wheel because they were arguing"
Brian patted the seat beside him, "look, sit down"
"why?"
"just do it", Gus huffed and sat beside his father, Brian looked at him, "look, I know things have been strained between your Mom and Mel, she told me when I spoke to her last"
Gus knew where this was going, "yeah right! I bet they blamed me"
Brian nodded, "she did say you were excluded from school"
"School's a bunch of crap"
Brian laughed that off, "you have to attend if you are gonna get somewhere in life"
Gus looked at him, "and be like you?"
"if you like", Brian smiled.
Gus shook his head and pulled a face, "no ways"
There was a pause. Brian placed his hand on his son's knee, "I know you are worried...but I am sure she will pull through, your Moms tougher than she looks"
Gus didn't like to be given the white wash. He glared at his father, "shall we get on our knees and prayer like grandma?"
Brian knew this was about his mother Joan, "cut the attitude, I've told you before"
Gus stood up and swung around, "I'm hungry"
Brian glanced at his watch and raised up to his feet as well, "come on...lets go grab a bite...it'll pass the time if nothing else...when we get back we might have some news"
Xxxx
At the diner, Debbie shuddered at Justin's news as she served him a coffee, "Smashed up you say?"
Justin nodded, "Yeah, there's a brick on the drivers seat and everything"
Debbie pulled a face, "Crikey, who could have done such a thing?"
Justin sugared his coffee, "this is Pittsburgh, remember"
Just then, Michael came in and announced, "hi...I've just dropped JR at school"
Both Justin and Debbie looked at him. Michael and Ben knew the out come of the Mel and Lindsay's accident, "how is she? Did you tell her...?, asked Debbie.
Michael shook his head, "Tell her what? That her mother's dead? No. Me and Ben don't think it's the right time to tell her"
Justin didn't think that was right, "She's ten...I'm sure she will understand the..."
To Michael, that was comments he could do without, "Stay out of this!"
Justin raised his hands at him and went to sit in one of the booths, "I'm only saying"
Debbie sighed and watched Justin sit down, then she glared at her son, "there was no need to take out your frustrations on him"
Michael knew he let his frustrations boil over at times, "I know"
Debbie of course knew what the root cause of his frustrations were, "feeling bad, huh? Whose fault is it that you and Melanie haven't spoken for months - it's certainly not sunshine's"
Michael perched his butt onto the stool at the counter, "Since JR wanted to live with me and Ben...she hated me...she accused me of turning JR against her...but...I thought we'd sort it all out..."
Debbie wiped the counter top down and glanced up at him, "Well, honey...it's too late for that now"
Xxxx
In Toronto, Brian drove his hire car in the drive-thru and stopped in line, "No wonder JR fucked off and went to live with her Dad...she got out", Gus told him.
Brian turned to him, "Did you think about leaving?"
Gus shrugged his shoulders in the passenger seat, "No...Mom's not like Mel...Mel was horrible...she pushed me down the stairs and everything"
This was news to Brian, and unwelcome news at that, "What?"
Gus shook his head as he watched the car in front of them get served their food, "Yeah...all because I told her to fuck off after she told me to do my school work"
Brian's hands were tight on the steer wheel. "Are you saying she lashed out at you?"
Gus nodded again and looked at him, "Yeah...the drinking made her do it..."
Brian's brow farrowed, "Drinking?"
Gus couldn't wait to tell him, "Yeah..since she was fired from her job she hit the bottle"
Brian didn't know this was the truth or not, he hated to think of his son lying or making up stories, "When I spoke to your Mom last, she never mentioned any of this to me"
Gus watched the car in front pull off and Brian drove to the servers hatch, "She was leaving her Dad...I was in the back of the car...and Mom was driving...she, Mel I mean, she jumped in...but Mom had her foot on the gas already..."
Brian bit his lip and saw the server looking at him, Oh...erm...two burger specials...extra chilli source, two cokes and a milkshake"
The server nodded and made ready the order, Brian turned back to his son, "Did you tell this to the cops?"
Gus's belly was rumbling because he could smell the food, "no...they assumed it was just the storm...that she just lost control of the car"
"Okay...", Brian took the order and gave the server his credit card.
"Mel...she's dead, isn't she?", Gus announced.
Brian looked at him, and Gus knew the answer just by the expression on his fathers face.
Xxxx
Justin squinted in the bright sunshine at the garage across the street. Maloney's auto repairs. This was the place.
He crossed the road and almost straightaway spotted the young guy in overalls was Nathan. Nathan looked up from the inside of the hood of the car and clocked Justin.
"Hey...", breathed Justin in greeting.
Nathan frowned as he wiped his hands down his overalls, "What are you doing here?"
Justin laughed, "Car trouble would you believe...I thought you might be able to help me out...seeing you know about cars"
Nathan came forward, "Your car? What's wrong with it?"
"Somebody's smashed in the windshield...I'm hoping that auto repairs covers glass as well?"
Nathan nodded, "It does...is the car driveable?"
Justin hadn't thought about that, but with all the broken shards of glass on the drivers seat, "I guess...I wasn't sure whether I could drive it here..."
Nathan walked back to the car he was working on, "If you tell me where it is, I'll drive it here for you"
"Great...it's at home in the parking lot"
"Oh right...do you know who's done it", but there was some tall stories going off in Nathan's head who might of DONE it.
Justin shrugged his shoulders at him, "Vandals, I guess...they did a good job on the tail gate as well"
Nathan took some mental notes, "okay...I'll stop by later to pick it up"
"Thanks"
Nathan looked up, "So...is Brian okay? Couldn't he help you?"
"He's away on business", Justin lied, he didn't want Nathan to know their private affairs.
Nathan nodded and went back to working on his engine, Justin backed away, "So...I'll catch you later, say 4 Oclock...outside my building"
"Yeah...see you then", Nathan watched Justin stroll off across the street, and at the same time, saw Uncle Brad pull up in his pick up truck. Brad jumped out and glanced after Justin, then looked at Nathan and fast approached.
"Is that who I think the fuck it was?"
Nathan ignored him, "Just mind your own"
Brad grabbed his nephews cuff, "I told you I don't want any trouble!"
Nathan glared at him, "I said mind your own!"
"Or what? We both know you won't tell your Dad"
Nathan called his bluff, "and what if I did, huh?"
"We both know what would happen...HE needs ME...this place only runs because of ME...without ME, this place is finished...and so is HE"
Brad smirked and walked off to untie the car attached to the pick up truck, Nathan shook his head in frustration and set back to work on the engine."
Xxxx
At the trauma center in Toronto, Gus looked in through the glass finishing his milkshake, as his father Brian was holding his mother's hand again, and talking to her, "...oh, I know what I was going to tell you, I bumped into Brad Maloney a few weeks ago...remember him? The great big I am football jock who played himself good with the chicks...then I caught him spying on us during that last summer of our senior year...and then...HE wanted his dick sucked...he couldn't get enough", he chuckled as he thought back, "...he also thought he could threaten me not to tell...boy, he was sorry he tried"
INTERLUDE: THE LAKE, SUMMER 1988
Eighteen year old Brian broke through the long grass and grabbed Brad, as the teenager was about to run away, "Was you spying on me Brad? Did you like how I fucked my girlfriend? I've seen you watching me at soccer practice...in the locker room...", Brian licked his lips and leaned in to Brad, "...do you want some of what she is getting, is that it?"
Brad swallowed and his eyes averted to Brian's shorts, Brian grabbed his hard on, "Mmmmm...I'm still hard...it really needs checking out..."
He closed his eyes.
Brad swallowed down again and dropped to his knees in the long reeds near the lake. Brad lowered the waistband of Brian's shorts and took the dick into his mouth. Brad worked on him real hard...making himself hard...Brian grunted in pleasure as he forced the cock deep down Brad's throat nearly choking him.
Brian then pulled out and cum erupted all over Brad's face. Brad was instantly on his feet and trying to wipe the cum off himself. He glared at Brian, "You made me do that you sick FUCK!"
Brian blew out a chuckle, "Oh don't give me all that shit Brad...you WANTED it and you certainly got what was cumming"
Brad saw red and jumped on Brian and they went falling to the ground, Brad got Brian by the neck, "You are gonna keep your dirty FAG mouth shut...are you listening to me cocksucker?"
Brian laughed, even with Brad's weight on top of him, he was defiant, "I think it was YOU who sucked the dick"
Brad's face was all red. Brian had had enough and managed to shove Brad to one side and then with all his strength pushed Brad near the water's edge and then forced his face under.
There was bubbles in the water and a whole lot of struggling. Brian forced Brad's head deeper under and looked about him just in case he was caught.
Then by the hair, he lifted Brad's face out the water. Brad gasped and spat water out of his mouth, "What was that Brad? I didn't get that?"
"Fuck off...you fucking..."
Brian rolled his eyes and forced Brad's face beneath the water again. He timed it longer this time. Brad was starting to struggle and his struggling got desperate, finally, Brian released his grip and Brad lifted him face again choking on the water by the mouthful. He rolled onto his back, panting for breath.
Brian looked down at him, "I heard you can't swim Brad? Everybody would just think you drowned..."
Brad crawled away, "Get away from me!"
Brian yanked him by the hair and spoke into his ear, "You ever try to threaten me again...then I will do something to make you sorry...I'll show you not to mess with me..."
He slammed Brad's head in the wet mud, "Good to do business with you"
Lindsay was then pushing her way through the reeds, "Hey? What's going on?"
Brian sighed, "You'll never guess...but Brad needed rescuing...he maybe good at his soccer...but in the water...he's weak as piss..."
Brian took Lindsay's hand and they headed off leaving Brad on all fours reeling in the mud.
BACK TO 2013
Brian came out of his thoughts as the doctor came in with the medical chart. Brian stood up and rubbed his gray beard growth, "So...you've...got the results...?"
The doctor shook his head, "Yes, Mr Kinney...we have..."
Xxxxx