JUSTIN

I was sitting outside trying to decided if it was time to maybe bring my hero back. I left him jumping into a vortex when he was told his soul mate was the man he’d been running from. I just could never give the villain a face, because he wasn’t really the villain, but the person who the character knew would give him a reason to stop running. I just liked the idea that someone who was wrong for you in so many ways could actually be the right person. I just didn’t want it to end until I could give a face to the character.

The sliding door next door opened and a guy I’ve never seen came out and ran down the stairs towards me. I hadn’t started breakfast, but I was waiting until the sun rose. He came over and introduced himself.

“Hi, I’m Murph,” He said.

“Justin. I’m about to start breakfast if you're hungry,” I answered.

“Before you invite me in, can I tell you I’m a huge fan of Time Bender. I just didn’t want you to have to put up with me geeking out on you,” He told me, smiling.

“It’s cool. I’m glad that people liked my work. Come in and we can talk. Everyone sleeps late around here and I like company,” I told him, leading him in.

“So, you don’t cook naked all the time?” He joked.

“I forget to pull down the shade. And that Ginger rented Gran’s house. I really never understood why Gran bought it anyway, when she just stays here,” I told him.

“I think Ginger was hoping Riley would show up if she had the meetings where Riley apparently lives,” He told me.

“Riley just hates being alone. I get it. I’m waiting for him to tell me that he’s selling his house, so I can tell him no. I don’t need the surfboards all over the house,” I told him, as I move the one Riley left leaning on the refrigerator.

I grabbed eggs, sausage, and a few vegetables out, handing them to Murph. I was going to have to go shopping if everyone expected to keep eating. The crusts were ready to go, so I mixed everything with cream and poured them into the crusts. I had seven crusts and was debating before just asking.

“How many people are over there?” I asked him absently.

“There are four of us right now, not including Ginger. Brian is picking up his son and the mothers in an hour, so it will be seven in a little while,” He answered.

I pulled out all of them and filled them. I grabbed some pancake batter I kept all the time, in case kids came over in the morning. Which is why Riley learned to get dressed before running into the kitchen in the morning.

“You don’t have to answer, but, why did you stop?” Murph asked.

“I got tired of working all the time. I would spend days on the computer working the graphics and then the panels. I was sitting in a dark room one day and realized I hadn’t been outside my house in two weeks. I started out working so I didn’t have to depend on my Gran, but then never stopped to enjoy what I worked so hard for. Time Bender was getting to the point where I either ended it or looked for a way to be able to continue it again. I left it in a place that if I ever figured out how it could continue, I had the option to do that. I liked leaving it where people could keep it alive how they thought it should be,” I told him, making him a cappuccino and starting another one.

“You know people are waiting to see if you’ll return,” He told me.

“It’s a thought, but I’m still enjoying my life right now. Sandcove keeps me busy,” I told him, looking out the window to see Brian going to his car. I handed the other cappuccino to Murph and told him to give to Brian.

I laughed when Brian looked puzzled at the coffee. Then he scowled when Murph ran back into my house. He pulled out and left, when Murph came back in.

“He said thanks,” Murph lied.

I was pulling out the first quiche when my back door opened and Tobey came in. I picked up my phone and called his mother, to see if she knew he escaped.

“Tobey just appeared,” I told her.

“He seems to think he lives with you. I’ll be over to get him,” Denise told me.

“I’ll make him breakfast, or you’ll be chasing him all day,” I tell her, smiling at my favorite five-year-old.

“Where’s Gran?” Tobey asked.

“Upstairs, go get her,” I told him.

“Do people just come into your house?” Murph asked, as I grabbed a banana for Tobey’s pancakes.

“It’s a small town during the winter, so we all hang out together most of the time. Tobey lost his father, so Riley and I try to do what we can. The whole town does, it’s why I never left when I stopped here to vacation,” I told him.

“Justin, that’s the straight one,” Gran commented when she brought Tobey in with her.

“I know that, he just came to talk,” I told her.

“Talk is overrated. I thought by now you’d be doing more than shaking this in the kitchen,” She told me, slapping my ass.

“I like it when he dances in the kitchen, I get to eat the good stuff,” Tobey told her.

Gran patted Murph's back when he started choking. “Honey, get used to it. None of us have any sense of decorum around here,” She told Murph.

“But we do remember that we have little ears,” I reminded her.

“Tobey needs an education, so he doesn’t end up with a stick up…” She stopped when I stuffed a banana in her mouth. “Is this your way of teaching me what to do with Denny tonight?” She smirked.

“Like Justin needs to teach you anything,” Denise told her, kissing her cheek.

“Or you dear, if what I saw last night when I pulled in is any indication. Did you manage to find the sheriff’s nightstick?” Gran giggled when Denise laid her head on my shoulder.

“Someday I’ll learn not to try to outsmart her,” Denise told me. “Find out anything new about yummy next door?” She whispered.

“Justin’s just working on his mating dance before checking out the goods,” Riley told Denise. “Gran eat it, don’t practice with it, we are trying to keep Tobey’s education at his age level,” Riley told Gran, taking the molested banana from her and biting over half of it off.

“That explains why men run from you,” Gran told him.

“I kind of like this house,” Murph commented.

“If Justin ever lets me put the slide on the roof, you’ll love it,” Riley answered.

“Riley, a giant waterslide to see if you can launch yourself into the surf just sounds like a way to break bones you haven’t broken,” I told him.

“Yeah, that would suck,” He told me, but I can see we’ll be arguing about this again.

BRIAN

Gus came running to me, jumping into my arms. It’s the only thing I hate about being away. Gus is the only reason I haven’t left Pittsburgh. Lindsay hugged me and started walking us to the baggage area.

“We were going to just leave once you got Gus, but Mel said she needed to talk to you. Something about a problem with a contract you sent her,” Lindsay told me.

“Brian, it’s important for us to take care of this right now,” Mel told me, catching up to us.

Mel gave me the look she does when she needed me to play along. I nodded, but couldn’t think of anything that we’d kept from Lindsay.

“I’m hungry Daddy,” Gus announced to me.

“I was told that breakfast would be waiting when we got to my house. My neighbor seems to think it’s his job to feed the world,” I told them.

We picked up everyone’s bags and got in the car to head to the house.

“How long are you staying?” I asked.

“Mel and I are catching a flight out tomorrow night. We're going to come back for the festival that you told us about. We rented a room at the bed and breakfast so we could take Gus if you were busy.” Lindsay told me.

“Ted is going to stay at the same place, he said Emmett wanted to come too. Ted will be here tomorrow, he said he was coming early and so is Emmett. Ted’s worried about the contract,” Mel told me.

“The festival is a big thing here. There’s going to be a lot of events,” I told them, not understanding why Ted is involved in this.

We got to my house and Gus ran out to the back to see the beach. Lindsay chased him, but he found a kid out in the sand and started talking to him. Lindsay sat next to the mother who was out there.

“This might be easier than I thought. We need to talk because there is something Ted wanted to tell you. I asked to be the one to tell you, since I'm your lawyer,” Mel told me.

I was distracted when Justin came out with a platter and came up to me, smiling at Mel.

“Do you have someone to come out and help? I have two more to give you,” He told me, turning and going back in. “Never mind, Murph said he’d bring them,” Justin yelled to me as he headed into his house.

“What was that?” Lindsay asked, looking at the food.

“That was the guy next door, and this is breakfast,” I told her, handing Mel the platter.

“Oh, I heard you have something against carbs, so I made you an egg white omelette with a curry sauce,” Justin told me, handing me a plate. “Hey, more kids, I need to go make more pancakes,” Justin commented as Gus ran toward us with a kid.

I watched as Gus ran into Justin’s house, and Lindsay went with him, not seeing anything wrong with going over there. Justin took off after them. I stood with a plate in my hand trying to figure out how this happened. Mel tried to get my plate, but I got it out of range. Mel grabbed some food and followed me in the office. She took a bite of the quiche and moaned. I would have said something, but the damn omelette singed my tongue, which meant I was in love.

“My family isn’t that important. I’ll stay and see if I can move in with your neighbor. Lindsay has never been able to make quiche,” Mel joked.

“What’s going on?” I asked her.

“I don’t even know how to tell you this. It’s not good. Ted thinks, although he can’t prove, that Michael might have put GHB in your drink. I checked to see what we could do, but it’s limited. The bartender said you were drinking heavily and he didn’t see anything. No one was willing to tell me who would have sold GHB in the club, they know it would shut them down. If Michael admits it than we have legal recourse, but you waited too long for us to be able to prove when it happened. Brian, if he did this, he could have killed you,” She told me.

I stopped eating because I was about to be sick. I trusted that fucker and protected him all his life, and he puts that shit in my drink.

“Brian, we could try, but it’s his word against Ted’s, and there's no real way to prove anything. Unless you can get someone to admit they sold it to him. Babylon didn’t put in cameras because of what goes on in the club, it was to protect the privacy of the people who go there,” She told me.

“I want him wiped from my life. He is never to get near Gus. NEVER.” I told her.

“I have to tell Lindsay, so she knows why,” She told me.

“Do it after you leave, I don’t need her trying to stay to take care of me,” I answered.

“I also need to tell her what we decided,” She told me.

“She knew we weren’t going do it. I told you after Gus, that I don’t see having another child,” I told her.

“You know her, she has to pester us to death. I’ll leave you alone now, let me know what you want me to do,” She told me, leaving.

I couldn’t stay in the house. I changed and started running, trying not to think about what Mel told me. It’s just there were so many things, like the condoms, that bothered me. I almost threw up at the thought of how he managed that. I ended up sitting in the sand next to surfboards, staring at the water, hating Michael for what he did.

“So, like you look like you’re ready to blow something up. Promise not to kick my ass if I sit next to you?” Riley asked.

“I’m not interested,” I sneered, not caring if I lost the account.

“Dude, even if you were, I wouldn’t risk my losing my best friend,” He told me, sitting at his own risk.

“Justin’s not interested,” I told him, putting my head on my knees.

“Not in the kind of relationships you have, but he’s not blind to you. Justin seems to have horrible taste in men. Nothing against you, but he brings home assholes then can’t figure out why they’re assholes. Which only makes me question his intelligence. I mean he’s a freaking genius and can’t seem to read people. I mean, put him in front of a computer and there’s no questioning his intelligence, but put him in a club, and he finds the biggest asshole in the room and dates him,” He told me.

“Do you always talk this much?” I asked.

“I figured you wanted out of your head. I mean, you seemed like you needed to hear the mindlessness I provide Sandcove with. I surf for that,” He told me, patting the boards stuck in the sand.

“Naked no less,” I commented.

“Justin and I do that when he is keeping me from doing something stupid. We have a group that do it with us, for no real reason. Which is why I kind of hope you won’t call the cops tomorrow night, because the four of us do it before too many people show up,” He told me.

“How did you meet Justin?” I asked. Because Riley really was keeping me from thinking.

“I came to see what the waves looked like and saw him. I hadn’t fucked him, so I was interested. We talked and I could see my bachelor life ending, so we became friends. It’s hard not to fall a little in love with him. I think for me, it was that he didn’t take life too seriously. He did that for too long,” He told me.

“He can afford to not care,” I told him.

“Dude, no one cares about his money. We like that he fits in here. He brought us Gran, that alone made us love him,” He smiled.

“She’s definitely a character,” I told him quietly.

“Ever been surfing?” He asked.

“I never went to a beach to surf,” I smirked.

“Let me teach you, it keeps all the bullshit at bay,” He told me, pulling the boards out of the sand. “Maybe you could help me convince Ginger and Justin the slide would be awesome, with your mad selling skills,” He told me, heading to the water.

I sucked at surfing, but sitting there in the water, my mind was clear. Riley didn’t make a big deal out of it when I didn’t manage to surf but sat next to me, giggling.

“What?” I asked.

“Mermen,” He said, before paddling off.

“Blonds,” I thought, catching the next wave.