She watched Justin get into his dad's car after calling him. She had just told Justin the pregnancy test results. There were many things Daphne had regretted in her life. The biggest was not being able to prevent her best friend from pain. Justin in pain from anything hurt her, but pain was a part of life. What wasn't ever supposed to be a part of life was what happened to him when he visited his brother.

She also regretted that it had taken her this long to be able to seek justice for him. Her plan started out as an immature thirteen year old's petty excuse of justice. She wasn't just taking on this man because of Justin. But because of something she was too scared to ever mention to Justin. But she knew, she knew if this man had attacked one twelve year old, he had or would again. This wasn't something that a person tried out just once and stopped, this man was a predator.

Four years ago she had finally found out the man's name. She asked Justin if he would ever want to know the man's name. Justin completely freaked out and stopped talking to her for a month. She never brought up anything of her plan again. She had one person working on her side; that person just didn't know it.

Justin's sister-in-law, Cathy, had been a great source of information. It turned out right after Justin came back from Hawaii, Truman Bach AKA Caveman, was dishonorably discharged. Cathy didn't know any of the details but knew that C.J. and Caveman had a huge blowout just before his discharge. That was just days after Justin had boarded his plane home.

She also found out that C.J. had always kept tabs on the man, but he was never allowed back at his house. At first Daphne hoped that C.J. would come and apologize to Justin. But that day never came. Every time his family visited, Justin would come over her house. The man knew where she lived but he never turned up on her doorstep.

Now at nineteen she knew what she had to do. Years ago, she made first contact with Truman in a chatroom. She had cyberstalked the man for a few months before contact. She debated pretending to be a boy, since that was apparently was his type. But she wanted to be able to see his face when she brought him down.

Everything started to fall in to place right before their spring break. It was only after they had gotten back that things got tricky. Unlike what she told Justin, it had nothing to do with falling in love with him. She did love him, as her best friend. He was not her type… at all. She had gotten the call she had been waiting for the day before she moved. Truman had called to invite her to visit him. The thought turned her stomach but all she had to do was remember the plan. Knowing that Justin could see through most of her lies, she knew she needed to get out.

Justin and the guy that who turned out to be the infamous Brian, screwing in the living room turned into a blessing. She hated telling Justin all the lies she had to, but it was a necessity. The only thing she hadn't planned on was for the bout of morning sickness to hit. She had lied to Justin many times in the last three years. For a moment she felt like telling him about the baby. But after she told him she just might be pregnant he looked sick. She couldn't do that to him again. So she took the test and told him it was negative, knowing it was a lie.

She spent four years planning this, she wasn't about to let it slip though her fingers now. She wasn't going to stop until she held Truman Bach's head in her hand – figuratively…maybe.

The reason she moved out until the end of term was because she didn't want Justin to figure her out. Justin was a tenderhearted soul, he would never let her continue on her plan if he found out. He would see the danger in the chase. He would tell her that it wasn't her job to seek vengeance for him. But that was where he was wrong. A month after her thirteenth birthday she said goodbye to her best friend before he went to visit his brother; there was a part of him that never came home. She wanted to hurt the man who killed that part of Justin; she wanted to see him bleed.

The guilt she felt about yelling and screaming at Justin was getting to her. She hadn't known at the time that it was Brian that he was with. It wouldn't have stopped her though, she needed this to work. But she had to make him want to stay away from her, she hadn't expected the pregnancy though. It had been a complete shock. It could be either the cheating liar or Justin's. She was rooting for the cheating liar herself. It was her mistake but one she was willing to accept on her own. Justin didn't need anything more on his plate.

Her classes were up two weeks before Justin's. She was now free to catch her plane to Denver. Hopefully, everything she planned would go according to plan. She grabbed her already packed bags from her closet and looked around her room, not knowing when the next time she'd be back in Pittsburgh.

Justin quickly got into his dad's car. He didn't like to admit it but at the moment he really needed to be away from Daphne.

"Justin," his dad said gently.

"Can we talk about it at home?" he asked.

His dad nodded his head and pulled out of the drive. Once they were at home he took his usual spot on the couch. His dad instead of sitting in his recliner, sat beside him. It was a very odd feeling.

"Did Molly or Debbie tell you anything?" He needed to know how much his dad knew.

"No, they both said it wasn't their story to tell."

Justin nodded his head, he expected it from Molly but was surprised with Debbie. He should have trusted her but his trust was hard to come by. He only trusted one person without exception. Daphne was the only one on that list. She would never lie to him about something big. She might about something little like about if she didn't like one of his paintings but never something big.

"Okay, I'm going to tell you what happened. I would prefer if you didn't talk until I finished." He looked down at his hands, he couldn't look at his dad as he told his story. "When you sent me to Hawaii, remember I told you about all the cool stuff I did?" His dad nodded. "Well that wasn't entirely the truth. In fact, it wasn't the truth at all. As soon as I got there C.J. started to ignore me, if he wasn't then he was putting me down, and letting his friends call me names.

"He cancelled all the things we planned. I wasn't even allowed to go to the beach with the one nice friend he had. I sat at his house and watched T.V. until the last night. That night Cathy took Tabby's to a friend's. C.J. invited over his friends and they drank most of the night. Everyone left except one of C.J.'s friends. C.J. was passed out in the living room. I didn't feel comfortable so I went to bed. The only thing is… the room I was in didn't have a lock on it.

"The man came into the room. I couldn't get away, I tried. I swear, I did try. I told him I wouldn't do what he wanted but then he said that he would hurt Tabby. He said C.J. wouldn't believe me, and after how he had acted… I knew he was right. I couldn't take the chance that the guy would hurt her. He made me use my hand on him, then my mouth but I got sick. He hit me, knocking me into the dresser then he made me clean up the mess.

"But then he started pull his pants off. That's when C.J. came in. I was so happy to see him, but then he started calling me names. He said I was trying to make his friend a faggot like me. I wasn't Dad, I promise. I didn't want any of it." Justin was now sobbing hard.

Suddenly he was engulfed in his father's arms. For the first time ever he could hear his father crying. Justin wrapped his arms around his father and held on tight.

"I'm so sorry, I knew I should have never let you go," his father said, voice gruff.

"You believe me?" Justin asked, hopefully.

"Yes, of course I do," his father choked out.

Justin stayed in his father's arms until his breathing calmed down. It was then that Molly came home. He started to feel overwhelmed then. It felt like the room was closing in one him, he was outnumbered.

"I need to get home," he told his dad.

"Stay for dinner," his dad said quietly. There was something in his father's eyes that scared him. He knew the lethal hatred he saw in his father's blue eyes wasn't for him but it was still frightening to see.

"No, I got to get home."

"Take my car, I'll have Jeff drop me off to get it tomorrow. I don't want you taking public transportation today."

"I can take care of myself, Dad. I'll be fine, I promise." He gave his dad a last hug then Molly before leaving.

He didn't head home though, he caught the bus to Brian's loft. He didn't know if the man would want to see him but Justin really wanted to see him. He couldn't explain it but he seemed to calm the war inside of Justin, just by being near him.

It then occurred to Justin that Brian was at work. It was still early in the day on a Friday. The man did have a very demanding job. Justin realized he should have thought things through better.

"What are you doing here?" a shocked voice asked.

Justin looked over to see the guy that had been referred to as Michael. He was wearing some superhero shirt and jeans.

"I uh-

"Brian's at work."

Justin didn't know much about the man. He knew Michael was Debbie's son. He hoped the man was like his mother. There needed to be more people in the world like Debbie Novotny. But with his previous experience with him, he wasn't hopeful.

"I got here before I realized that," he said, embarrassed.

"I'm headed up to put some stuff in his fridge, come on," the man said, holding up some bags before going towards the building.

Justin followed Michael up to Brian's loft. The man looked comfortable there. It was clear he was there quite a lot. Justin watched as Michael set the two bags down on the counter. He pulled out a casserole dish and put it in the fridge. The other bag contained a big salad in a covered bowl. It too went into the fridge.

"So what are you doing here?" Michael asked. Unlike before he didn't sound angry, just tired.

"I'm not really sure. I just needed someone to talk to about everything. I can't with my dad, I don't want to hurt him anymore than I have."

"Why do you think you've hurt your dad? I don't know what happened, I'm not trying to be nosy either. But from what I heard it was not your fault. No twelve year old should have to fight a grown man off."

Justin expected to see pity or disgust in Michael's eyes. He didn't though, all he saw was genuine concern.

"What did your mom tell you?" Justin couldn't help but cringe when his voice broke.

"Nothing, and I didn't ask. It it's my place, but just know you can talk to me any time you need."

"Why are you being so nice? Before you couldn't get rid of me fast enough."

Michael sighed. "That's when I thought you were just a trick. Like it or not our parents are dating. I don't like fighting with Ma, she's been there for me from day one. Ben says I need to grow up, I think maybe he's right. I'll tell you this though, get rid of the stars in your eyes. Brian will never settle down, he will always fuck around and be a complete dick about it."

Justin heard what the man said, he just wished it was that simple. Just to not think about Brian at all. He knew he sounded like a love-struck kid but he just wanted Brian. Any way he could get the man. If it was just a night or every day.

"Oh, how is your friend? Is she okay?" He felt awful for going on about his problems when someone had been hurt so much.

"She's getting better, they even said out of the hospital soon. Brian is supposed to head over there after work. So it might take a while for him to get back."

The settled into silence as he watched Michael make sure everything was as they had come in. He followed Michael out and was surprised when the man invited him out to lunch with him. Justin was even more surprised when he accepted.