JUSTIN

I sat on the couch in Brian's office, texting because I really didn’t know how to take what was going on in the office. Cameron texted back that he would have Carl come by and pick up the problem. I forwarded that to Brian, who was sitting behind his desk looking as confused as I was by the person or alien sitting in front of his desk. Brian read the text, and ignoring the person still talking, texted back to give him ten before calling in the troops. 

“Brian, I’ve always been there for you, and right now I need you to help me with Michael. He’s not handling what Ted said well, and if you hadn’t told everyone, I wouldn’t be in this mess. Remember that I was the one who offered you a place to stay when you were having issues at home. I mothered you when your own mother couldn’t do what she needed to and protect you. Michael stood by you when you couldn’t give him what he wanted, and regardless of what anyone thinks, I know you love Michael. I think that you should at least help when the family that stood by you, needs you,” Deb was really working the ‘mom guilt’, which never worked with me, but then I never needed a haven from abuse. I love how every sentence seems to put Brian or Ted down in some way. My mother could do so much better in the guilt stakes.

“So if I'm understanding your little rant correctly, I owe Michael and you to help you straighten out your mess because somewhere in your mind, I love Michael?” Now most people would hear the sarcasm, but I think it's lost on the Novotny’s gene pool.

“I know you, and I'm sorry Justin,” She turns to me, giving me a pitying look, to which I try to look suitably sad for her, since I think that’s the angle she wanted, “but Brian loves my son in a way he’s never going to love you. I think that since Michael no longer wants Brian, that Brian is turning to you for the things that Michael used to give him,” The unending stalker craziness is something I sure as hell don't miss. “Brian you can’t punish Michael for not loving you the way he used to. He moved on, and if you had given him and Justin a chance, then at least Michael could have been happy,” Did she really just work my relationship with Brian as him being jealous of my non-relationship with Michael? Seriously, this woman needs a psych ward.

“As I’ve said before, I prayed for the day Michael would buy a clue. You know the one where I fucked anyone but him. I wasn’t saving your son from me but trying to point out that he could never be the one to grace my bed. I really can’t help how you and your son seemed to take that, but the simple truth, which I’m sure I’m wasting my breath on you by saying this, is that I never loved your son. And while we are on the simple truth, which I know is not something you have been acquainted with, Justin wasn’t and isn’t interested in your son either.” Brian tells her. Then, you know the look someone gets when they know they just wasted their time trying to tell you the truth, well I’m seeing it on Brian’s face as Deb missed the whole truth.

“I didn’t want to bring this up in front of Justin, he doesn’t need the stress with his condition,” If she really didn’t then she wouldn’t, but then I think she really did. “You encouraged Michael’s affections by kissing him, and let’s not forget when I caught you two in the bedroom when you were young. That wasn’t anything but you showing Michael that you wanted him,” Um, did I miss something? Why is it the one time when I want to hear Deb talk, she stops like she’s trying to protect my condition.

“Deb, I didn’t think leaving it up to you to teach Michael about hand jobs would really be something any gay teen could survive intact,” Yeah, that would not be a way to mother son bond, but did he just say he touched Michael’s willy? In my head I apologized to our child for it's father, but kind of explained that as teens we all do stupid things. 

“Justin, can’t you see that Brian should help me calm Michael down? If your mother had been a better mother to you she would have seen that letting you run wild caused her problems with you. I wanted to show you how a mother should really be, and if Brian hadn’t knocked you up, you’d be helping me explain to Michael about how, as a mother only wanting what was best for him, I didn’t tell him about his real father, but gave him one he could be proud of. But Brian did, and I really saw us helping you to raise your child and showing you what a real family is, which Brian won’t be able to do, with the family he comes from. I know Brian isn’t going to help, since he’s the one who caused all this by not keeping it to himself. I want to show you what kind of mother I could be to you, but in order to do that, I need you to help me explain to Michael that what I did was out of love,” How did it turn into me being involved? I have the restraining order to prove how little I want Michael around me or my child.

“Justin, it’s time,” Brian tells me, and I text Cameron to bring in Deb’s escort.

“Justin, you should point out to Michael how being angry about what he heard doesn’t outweigh that I’ve been a good mother. I think he should hear about how little your mother took care of you and then he would see how much I did. He could see that one little thing I did to protect him wasn’t a big deal.” If my mother had lied to me about someone other than Craig being my father, yeah I’d be A OK with that, but then nope, score negative one for mom for being truthful about my sperm donor. 

“Deb, it’s kind of hard for me to talk to your son, you see the little restraining order I have on him tends to make sitting in a room with him impossible. Maybe you could try calling what you did the ‘BIG NOVOTNY LIE’, instead of ‘some little thing’. It could go a long way in your therapy. Really, you lied and it caught up with you. Own it, because it doesn’t change because you won’t own up to it. I owe Brian a big apology, because I didn’t see what living around people who pretend they give a shit about you could do to someone’s way of thinking. I’ve never been one to beat a dead horse, but is there some reason you haven’t gotten the message that Brian and I don’t want you around us anymore? Wait, before you give us more ‘we really love your son’, we don’t, so that argument needs to go to the delete forever folder in your head,” I tell her. Then look at Brian, who really, I tend to be optimist but I do know better. “Yes Brian, I realize I’m talking to a solid brick and titanium wall, but I live in hope, because Deb could really have forgotten that with the restraining order on her, coming here could mean jail time.” I smile at Deb, because she seems to think she’s impervious to everything.

“Brian, you should tell Ted that doing that was wrong. I really think it’s Ted’s way of punishing me for Michael not loving him.” Wow, this woman has everyone loving that whining mess of a son of hers. I wonder how Emmett wasn’t included in all of that?

“What about Emmett?” I ask, because well, this conversation isn’t ridiculous enough.

“Bottoms, not tops,” Brian explains. Yeah, that could be a problem for them. But if I can be verse, so could they, but nope, I just can’t soil poor Emmett with that idea.

“Emmett is in love with Brian and that’s why he’s helping him. You should be careful Justin, Emmett will try to get Brian away from you. You're not going to be what Brian likes when you start showing.” Poor Emmett, apparently he’s just biding his time with Terry. Which shows how really underhanded Emmett is, you know, practically sexing Terry to death, while pining for Brian, who he barely looks at.

“Hey, where is Michael? I kind of expected him to violate the court order, but apparently he’s being smarter than you,” Brian asks her, and really, it’s a scary world where Michael is smarter than anyone.

“I don’t know, that’s why I came here to get you to help him,” She tells him.

Deb looks over at the door and sees Carl walking in, she ignores him like she’s ignored everything else in her life that didn’t agree with the way she saw things. Carl, being a cop, pulled out the handcuffs and started towards Deb.

“Ms Novotny do we need to do this the hard way? Right now Brian is willing to just have me escort you out of the building with a warning, but only if you leave right now,” He tells her.

“This is all Ted’s doing. Brian, tell him that you don’t want to do this to me. I’ve been a mother to you, and this isn’t how you treat someone who loves you,” She tells him.

“It’s how I’d treat my mother, but then like you said, I couldn’t understand the kind of mother you are, since mine neglected me, which seeing you like this makes what she did not so bad anymore,” He tells her.

Deb walks out with Carl behind her. I got up and she was acting like a Queen leading her subjects. 

BRIAN

When Ted called, I was debating where to take Justin to get rid of some pent up frustration. Justin and I not sleeping together last night, which usually leads to Justin and I fucking like rabbits, meant that I didn’t get my normal three rounds with him last night. So Ted telling me that Michael found out the truth was really low on my priority list. Then I knew it was just a matter of time before they showed. So kissing Justin would have to do for now.

In my head, I visualized Michael running in with Deb following behind him screaming that everything Michael ever did was somehow my fault, and that now everything Deb did is now my fault. I was a sort of disappointed when they didn't live up to my expectations, but possibly Michael understood jail time could come with barging in. 

I put up with all her mother of the year bullshit until it was aimed at getting Justin to help her. She’s right about one thing, Justin doesn’t need any more stress from all the unwanted attention he gets, and she wasn’t about to join the crowd of assholes who can’t see that Justin isn’t some prize they win.

Still, I have to wonder where in the world Michael is, because he's always lived down to my very low expectations of him.

MICHAEL 

I was headed to Kinnetik when I saw him, and it was like Brian and Justin no longer existed for me. I pulled out my camera and took a few rolls of film, because I needed to see if he could really be ‘the one’. When he looked up, I smiled until I saw that dickhead Cameron. He's mine, and Cameron doesn't get to take that from me. 

My phone went off and I got up and left the coffee shop. I didn’t need Cameron up my ass. I sent my egg donor to voicemail and began trying to rationalize why I never really saw Ben before.