LINDS

I need to make sure to come at Peter and Brian from a position of power. Mel told me it’s about making sure people see you as the authority figure. I went back to the house and wanted to change into an outfit that showed I was someone who people should listen to. It took almost an hour to find an outfit that worked. I want to look perfect for this meeting. I wouldn’t be ready in time so I called Cynthia.

“Cynthia, I am supposed to be meeting with Justin’s agent Peter in an hour, could you let him know that it would be better to meet tomorrow. If he tells you he can’t, remind him his job is on the line.” I tell her.

“You want to meet him tomorrow?” Cynthia says. She needs to pay attention.

“Yes, I’ll be at Kinnetik at 9 am, tell him to be prompt. Also, could you contact Justin and tell him I’d like to see him tonight.” I tell her.

“I was informed that Justin isn’t going to be able to meet with anyone tonight. I’ll leave him your message.” Cynthia tells me.

“When you leave the message tell him it’s important we talk. You know what, I’ll just handle it. Cynthia, a little advice, learn to assert your authority, or you won’t get ahead in the world.” I tell her.

I tried to call Justin’s phone, it keeps going to voicemail. Brian is probably trying to convince Justin to stay. Brian better stay out of my way, I won’t let anyone stop me. Brian can have Pittsburgh and the losers he hangs out with. The only thing Brian ever did right was finding Justin. Michael is a whiny brat and Ted wouldn’t be anything if it wasn’t for Brian helping him. Emmett, although sweet, should have hung onto Drew. None of them will ever be more than nobodies from the Pitts.

BRIAN

We have been discussing how to deal with Linds when she gets here. Cynthia tells us Linds called and wants to meet in the morning. Max said that would give us time to talk and convince Justin this isn’t an overreaction. Justin kept telling Max if we looked at it from his perspective everyone is a stalker. Every few minutes Justin’s phone is ringing, it’s Linds.

“Justin it’s not just trying to form a relationship that makes someone a stalker, it’s when you are forcing yourself into someone's life. When told the person doesn’t want the stalker around, they keep showing up anyway and trying to make themselves useful.” Max tells him.

“If we go with that theory, I could be a deranged stalker. I did everything I could to be with Brian. I followed him, tried to interfere with his life, and even blackmailed someone to leave Brian alone.” Justin tells us. I look at him confused with the blackmailed part.

“Justin, who did you blackmail?” I ask him. Justin suddenly seems to realize he said something I didn’t know. “Justin answer me.”

“Fuck. Look it was Kip, okay. I couldn’t let his lie hurt you.” I tell Brian.

“You blackmailed Kip? What did you do?” I can’t believe I’m hearing this.

“Look, don’t get all shitty about this, it happened ten years ago. I hit on Kip and let him blow me, then I told him if he didn’t back out of the lawsuit, that my father would have him arrested because I was underage.” Justin and I need to talk about the way he doesn’t tell me things.

“Justin, when you blackmailed Kip, why didn’t you run to Brian and tell him?” Max asks Justin.

“Because, it wasn’t about credit, it was to protect Brian,” Justin tells him.

“THAT is the difference. You wanted to protect Brian. Linds would have made sure to get the credit for doing the deed,” Max tells Justin.

“Well, that would be Brian’s friend Michael too. I mean, he spends all his time trying to interfere with our life. We even had to get a restraining order against him. He trespassed into our loft and was staying there when no one was there. He is always reminding Brian that they're best friends. Michael would be someone to worry about if he was smart enough. He would kill me and hide my body.” Justin tells Max.

“Justin, Linds is an intelligent woman, it makes her more dangerous to you. She is past the stage where any reality but hers doesn't matter to her. Gus isn’t even a passing thought in her ‘Justin fantasies’. I want to say we’re the ones weaving a tale to make her crazy, but think about the conversation she had with Ted. She wants our daughters out of your life but is willing to have a kid for you. This isn’t even close to normal.” I tell him.

“I’ve been arguing with her for years and she hasn’t done anything. Why suddenly today have we gone to Defcon 1?” Justin is desperately trying to convince himself.

“It’s because she isn’t talking about a future you would even consider. You don’t want to leave Brian, fire Peter, or have children with her. Will she get violent? Who knows for sure. Will she listen to you when you tell her she needs to stop? I don’t think she will. I’ve been lucky with my client’s stalkers, most just wanted to believe the fantasy, but were able to deal with the fact it wasn’t real. Linds isn’t showing signs of stopping. She canceled this meeting, talking to Cynthia as if she was her boss.” Max tells him. “How many times has she called in the last hour?”

Justin slides the phone over to Max. Max tells Justin to retrieve the messages. He had fifteen. All in under an hour.

“Justin, sweety can you call me. It’s Linds.” Number one.

“Justin, I think we should talk. It’s Linds” Number two.

“Justin, I know you're busy but it’s important that you call me.” Number three.

“Justin, if Brian is trying to convince you to stay, tell him to call me.” Number four.

“Justin, you need to call me back as soon as you get this.” Number five.

“Justin you can’t ignore me. If you don’t call me back, I’ll come to you.” Number six.

“Justin, what the hell is the matter with you? I am working hard on our future and you’re ignoring me. If Brian is telling you to ignore me, don’t listen to him.” Number seven.

“Justin, I’m not playing around, fucking call me.” Number eight.

“Justin, I’m sorry for the last message, I’m just frustrated that I can’t get a hold of you. Call me so we can talk.” Number nine.

“Justin, why don’t you bring the kids to my house and we can do something together. I can make dinner, or call in an order. We could leave the kids with Brian and Mel and I could meet you at the loft. I just need to see you.” Number ten

“Justin, so help me if you don’t call, I’ll be at your front door. I am trying to help you and you're not even talking to me. CALL ME.” Number eleven.

“Justin, I didn’t mean that. I just need to talk to you. Will you please call me.” Number twelve.

“Justin, I need a friend, Mel wants me to leave. I don’t have anybody to talk to. Please call me.” Number thirteen.

“Justin, I hope you are working and not ignoring my calls. I thought you cared about me. As soon as you get this call me.” Number fourteen

“Justin you tell Brian if he doesn’t let you call, I’ll take Gus and we’ll disappear.” Number fifteen.

Justin hung up as another call was coming in. He didn’t want to hear any more. Max told him not to delete the messages.

“How much more is it going to take for you to listen to Max?” I ask Justin.

“I don’t need anymore. She used Gus.” Justin puts his head down on the desk and I can see the exhaustion sinking in.

“Do we need to stay here any longer? Justin and I need to get our kids.” I tell Max.

“We only stayed this long because Justin wasn’t willing to believe Linds was a problem. Where are you two going to stay tonight?” Max asks us.

“I want to go home and put my children in their beds. I want to be able to sleep without worrying that Linds will try to hurt my family. I want my life back to normal. Like it was before EVERYONE CONVINCED ME LINDS IS CRAZY.” Justin gets louder with each sentence.

I grab my husband and hold him, telling him it’s going to be okay. I tell him, “I’ll move us to an island, to keep us away from harm.”

Max tells us he is going to have a couple of men stay at the house tonight and make sure Linds isn’t allowed in.

“You know, five or six years ago, telling Brian and I you're sending a couple of men over would have made us unbelievably happy.” There’s the man I married.

MEL

I went over to Emmett’s house to hang out with the kids. Brian and Justin arrived with a guy named Max. Brian tells me what my wife has been up to.

“Linds thinks you're going to leave not just Brian, but the children, and play happy life with her?” I need them to confirm this.

“It hard to believe, I mean, depending on how you look at a situation, makes it seem worse. I tried to convince Brian and Max she is just trying to tell me what to do, but the messages go from friendly to pissed then back to friendly. One is trying to get me to call because you left her. Another is her mad because Brian isn’t letting me answer. The last one I listened to was her threatening to run away with Gus.” Justin tells me.

“Should you guys have a psychiatrist in the room? I would want someone who could, like talk her down or something.” Emmett tells Brian.

“Unfortunately in Pennsylvania, we have to prove she is a clear and present danger for her to be treated involuntarily,” Max tells us. “Brian and Justin are getting a restraining order in the morning. Once she violates it, we can work with the DA on treatment options.”

Emmett asks if that is true. I tell him, yes, she would have to be of diminished capacity in order for treatment to be forced on her. Brian rolls his eyes.

“Justin and I are going to the house. Mel, if you want to come with us you can.” Brian tells me.

“She can stay with me and Calvin tonight. Linds is trying to steal your man.” Emmett tells Brian.

“Brian, we are going to have to take custody of Gus from her,” I tell him.

“She’ll give it to me. She wants you and me to take care of the kids in her fantasy.” Brian tells me. “I’ll call Nick and see if he can have custody papers ready, in the morning. She’ll see it as me giving in to her.”

I tell Brian, JR and Gus have school in the morning. Brian tells me that Linds threatened to use Gus. Max tells us he can have someone stay at the school until I pick them up. With a plan, I take the kids to the house. The lights are on. I didn’t expect Linds to be here. I pulled back out before she saw us and took them to Deb’s house. I sit in the kitchen with Carl and ask Deb to keep the kids away from the room. Carl listened and told me to leave the kids here and he could have an officer meet me at the house. Deb tells me the kids can stay with her tonight. She and Carl will take them to school in the morning. I tell Deb to call Brian and let him know what is going on and leave to meet the officer at my house.

The officer arrived before I did. She told me to let her go in first. She unlocks my door and opens it. No one seems to be here. I wait on the porch until the officer comes back from searching the house. She tells me no one is here but one of the bedrooms was trashed. I walk in the house and up the stairs, to the room Linds was storing her stuff in. Linds must have tried on every outfit she owns.

I decided to stay at Deb’s house tonight. After tomorrow, I probably won’t have to worry about Linds anymore.