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MEL

 

I keep thinking Michael wouldn’t have not shown up this morning because he thinks he has us by the balls. Why haven’t we heard from him?

 

“Lindsay, where the hell is Michael?” I ask her as I drive.

 

Lindsay checks to see if JR has her earphones on. 

 

“I made sure he wouldn’t bother us today.” She tells me.

 

“How did you do that?” I ask her.

 

“I followed him to the bar he went to last night and had someone slip him some of your sleeping pills. I wanted time to figure out how to keep him from showing up and having this blowing up in our face.” She tells me.

 

“You might not believe me but I do love you.” I tell her.

 

“I don’t know if I can believe anything you say anymore. Mel, what you did on the Russo thing is something I can’t condone. Justin didn’t deserve that from you.” I tell her.

 

“Russo was threatening to go to Brian with how we did the adoption.” I tell her.

 

“Brian would have done it. He promised us.” She tells me.

 

“Like he promised to give Gus up at birth. Don’t try to sell to me that he wouldn’t have found a way to try and keep Gus.” I tell her.

 

“What you did affected Justin’s life too. Mel you shouldn’t have done what you did.” She tells me.

 

“I can’t change it, so just let it go.” I tell her.

 

“I will for now, but if I find out there was more to it, I’ll tell them.” She tells me.

 

I can’t get a fucking break, I did what I had to do to keep my family together. Why can’t she understand everything I did was for us? I still hate myself for letting them force me to tell them about Brian and Justin’s relationship. Everything I said turned it into Brian being a child molester and Justin taunting Chris to do what he did. I remember sitting in the room with Chris and his family and thinking the fucker doesn’t even care that he almost killed someone. Sooner or later Chris would get caught doing again and I could at least not feel guilty, because he wouldn’t get away with it twice. I keep telling myself that maybe one day I can look at Justin and not feel like I betrayed him.

 

MICHAEL

 

I get up and feel like I slept for ages. I need to go see whether the girls did what I told them. I shower and almost fall back to sleep again in the shower. What the hell, I only had a beer. I looked outside and it was still early, because the sunlight was dim. Walking over to the bed to gather some things so I can leave right away, I see it’s five, but normally it’s darker out at this time. I grab my phone and it’s five pm not am. How did I sleep the day away?

 

I hurried to my rental because the girls weren’t going to think that I didn’t show up. I’ll tell them I was giving them time to say goodbye to Gus. When I got to the house Mel’s car was gone but she’s probably hiding out at work and left Lindsay to deal with me. Not that I can’t handle Lindsay, but I wanted both of them to be there when I tell Gus the truth about his moms and how Brian always wanted to be there for him. Well, Lindsay is as good as Mel being there. Knocking and ringing the bell didn’t get an answer, so I call the house phone and then the cell numbers. I called Mel’s office to be told she called in today. I stood in the driveway fuming that they were avoiding me, when one of the neighbors came over.

 

“You looking for the girls?” He asked me.

 

“They were supposed to be waiting for me here.” I tell him.

 

“I don’t know but they took off around three, and they had bags packed.” He tells me.

 

“A lot of bags or just like a day trip kind of bags?” I ask him.

 

“It looked like they were going to visit for a while.” He tells me.

 

“Thanks, if you see them could you call this number.” I tell him, writing my number on the back of an envelope from their mailbox.

 

“Sure, good day.” He tells me and walks off.

 

If they think they can run away, they have another thing coming to them. I drive off, but decide to go back home. It’s time for me to tell Brian I was trying to help him.

 

BRIAN

 

When Brad and I arrived at Jen’s, it was to hear Daphne yelling at Justin.

 

“Justin, you can’t let him into your life.” She tell him.

 

“Daph, he’s Jacob’s father.” Justin tells her.

 

“Like he cares about that.” She tells him.

 

“He cares Aunt Daph, he told me he does.” Jacob tells her.

 

I walk to the entrance of the living room to see Jacob on one side scowling at Daphne and Gus on the other with the identical expression.

 

“Jacob, it’s what Brian does, he sucks you in and gives you the idea he loves you but never tells you.” Daphne tell them.

 

“You don’t know my father. He always told me he loved me. He told Jacob too.” Gus defends me and it felt really good that he did.

 

“Daphne, if you say one more negative word about their father, you can leave.” Justin warns her.

 

“He got to you. I told you not to fall for it again.” She tells him.

 

“Fall for what Daphne? Because I’m standing right here and I think you need to tell Justin how you wouldn’t tell me shit when I came to your house.” I tell her.

 

“You didn’t deserve to know after what you did.” She tells me.

 

“Daphne we aren’t going to talk about this in front of my children.” I warn her.

 

“Fine then you can explain it to me outside.” She tells me.

 

“The only person Brian needs to explain anything to is me Daphne, not you. Which he did and I understand now that we saw only half of what happened. So leave it alone.” Justin tells her.

 

“If you're sure, then fine.” She shrugs. It can’t be that easy.

 

She smiles as she walks up to me and grabs me by the balls. “You cause one more worry in Justin’s head, you won’t need these.” She tells me smiling at the kids.

 

“You’d better be glad my kids are here Daphne, because this is the second time you crossed a line.” Justin tells her.

 

“Justin, he hurt you.” She whispers to him.

 

“And I hurt him and Jacob, I’m lucky Brian is still talking to me.” He tells her.

 

“Daphne, let me go. And Justin, she doesn’t know.” I tell him.

 

“She doesn’t get to fight for me.” He tells me.

 

“But she is doing it because she loves you, the way a friend should.” I tell him.

 

“Well I kind of hope you could use your balls sometime soon.” He whispers to me.

 

“Probably not tonight, but tomorrow’s possible.” I smirk at him.

 

“Oh God, why do I even bother with you two? It’s like you guys forget to be mad at each other. Well boys, want me to make some cookies?” She turns to Gus and Jacob.

 

“She makes them with pecans and lots of chocolate.” Jacob raves to Gus.

 

“We need to go to my house boys, but if Daphne wants to make cookies there, than she can.” I tell them.

 

“Brian, you never have food at the loft.” Daphne tells me.

 

“Then you and Justin buy the ingredients and dinner and we’ll meet at my home, not the loft.” I tell her.

 

“You have a house?” Daphne asks me.

 

“Yes, Brian Kinney is a homeowner.” I tell her.

 

“This I have to see.” She tells Justin.

 

I give them the address and instructions on how to get there and say goodbye to Brad and Jen. The boys decided to ride with me. I hope they want to talk, it’s time to get to both the boys. It took about ten minutes before Jacob started talking and Gus seemed to just join in.

 

“Why are we driving so far away?” Jacob asked me.

 

“I live outside of Pittsburgh, it was just easier than having people show up at my loft all the time.” I tell him.

 

“Is it the house you told me about?” Gus asks me.

 

“Yes, and trust me you two have plenty of room to run around.” I tell them.

 

“Did you buy a house because you wanted Gus to visit?” Jacob asks me.

 

“Yes, and if I had known about you, it would have been for you too.” I tell him.

 

“You just wanted Michael to go away didn’t you?” Gus asks me.

 

“I wanted you to have a home to visit me at, one where you could have your own room. That Michael couldn’t come was a bonus.” I tell him.

 

“You don’t want to meet Michael.” Gus tells Jacob.

 

“What’s wrong with him?” Jacob asks Gus.

 

“He wants Dad.” Gus tells him.

 

“My Dad or our Dad?” Jacob asks him.

 

“Our Dad.” Gus tells him.

 

“But you don’t want Michael because you love my Dad right?” Jacob asks me.

 

“Right?” Gus asks me too.

 

“Right.” Did I say I wanted them to talk?

 

“That’s good because I really like the idea of Dad and my Dad together.” Jacob tells Gus.

 

“You know that might get confusing calling both me and Justin Dad.” I tell them.

 

“You could be Daddy.” Jacob tells me.

 

“I could call Justin, Justin.” Gus tells me.

 

“But if my Dad marries Daddy, then Dad would be your Dad too.” Jacob tells him. 

 

“Boys let’s let Justin and Gus decide what they want to call each other.” I tell them, just to stop the conversation.

 

“But Daddy this is important.” Jacob tells me.

 

“I know it is, but Gus needs to feel comfortable with what he calls your Dad.” I tell them. Did I just get sucked into this?

 

“I think since we're brothers, he should just call him Dad.” Jacob says under his breath.

 

“So tell me about the cookies.” I pray they will let it go for now. And it works all the way to the house, thank you Daphne.

 

JUSTIN

 

After I tell Daphne the whole story, she still wasn’t too charitable about Brian, but agreed to respect my decisions. I figure I’d at least help Thomas in his crusade to date Daphne.

 

“You know Thomas is dying to date you.” I tell her.

 

“If he ever bothers to ask, he can.” She shrugs.

 

“Can I tell him that?” I ask her.

 

“No, because I won’t date a guy who has to be told he should ask.” She tells me.

 

“The man has serious blue balls for you.” I tell her.

 

“Speaking of blue balls, what’s with the whole wanting to uses Brian’s?” She asks me.

 

“Daphne, I never stopped loving him. I just had to let him go so I could raise Jacob.” I tell her.

 

“Okay, so we are being sucked back into the Brian vortex. Next question, what is going on with Gus?” She asks me.

 

I was glad we had a thirty minute drive to Brian’s house because by the time we were just down the road I finished giving her the play by play of what we learned. 

 

“Wait, first let me just say the bitches need to burn. But Justin, there is no way the shit with Russo is just a coincidence.” She tells me.

 

“Daphne, I was in a coma, so I don’t really know what happened at the trial.” I tell her.

 

“Justin they crucified you and Brian. The information they had was really detailed, like someone gave them the information.” She tells me.

 

“Like what?” I ask her.

 

“You were made to sound like you taunted Chris until he reacted, and Brian was made to sound like he was into little boys.” She tells me.

 

“Mel better hope we don’t find out she is the one who gave up information on us.” I tell her.

 

“Yeah and not just because you and Brian would make her regret it either.” She tells me.

 

“Daphne, I know you have my back.” I tell her.

 

“Yes I do, but I would also tell Deb, she’d probably kill Mel and make us hide the bodies.” She tells me.

 

“I think this is the house.” I tell her.

 

“Holy fuck, Brian should have said Manor, not house.” Daphne tells me.

 

I look at the house I would have bought if I’d seen it first.

 

 

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