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Joey marched up to Beverly's door and banged on it as hard as he could. He waited impatiently, his breath steaming in the early morning air. Eric stood behind him. Finally the door opened and Beverly appeared in her night robe. "Joey?" she squinted. "What do you want?" A small black dog yapped between her feet. "It's five 'o clock. Do you know where your son is?" Beverly's squint turned into a glare. "No, nor do I care. Goodbye Joseph." Joey stopped the door from setting into the frame. "He's in the hospital Bev. ICU. Still don't care?" Beverly shoved the dog away from the door. "What happened?" she asked. "He was attacked. Because he was gay. Do you know the feeling of loneliness he has now? Do you know how much you've hurt him?" "I have a feeling," Bev replied. Joey's eyes bulged. "And?" "I can't help it. He chose to disobey the Lord, even after all His kindness. That is something that can not be forgiven, nor allowed in the house." Joey rubbed his temple in exasperation. "I can't believe you. I- this is…" Joey growled and threw his hands in the air. "Goodbye," he said, turning around. Then he whipped back around, once again stopping her from shutting the door. "I can't believe that you would chose to value what COULD be a fictional being more that your own son. He is your FLESH and BLOOD, Beverly. Chris is here, now, for you to touch and talk to and love. You don't have to pray to him, only for him. If you love him at all, you have to see that!" Beverly looked offended. "The Lord is not a fictional character Joseph. The Lord is what kept Chris alive years ago! We were fighting for our survival years before you were even a spark in your parent's eyes. Don't talk to me like that again young man. Goodbye." Joey looked heartbroken as he retreated, walking backwards away from the house. "You don't deserve such a wonderful son," he spat, then turned and headed back to the hospital, bodyguard in tow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joey marched right back to the hospital. He headed straight for Chris's room, but J.C. stopped him in the hall. "Look," J.C. started. "I don't think I want to know what you just did, so I won't ask. All I need you to do is talk to Justin and Lance, but no together." v Joey stopped. "Why?" he asked. As far as he knew, everything was fine. Sure Lance still had a little negativity for Chris, but he had greatly improved. And last he paid attention to Justin; the kid was just as bouncy as normal. "Justin is about ready to strangle Lance," J.C. said. "I think in some twisted way, he blames Lance or something. I don't know. That's why you're going to talk to them." Joey sighed, suddenly feeling very old. "Okay. Where are they?" "Justin's waiting in the waiting room. Lance is wandering, I think he went to get something to eat." J.C. placed a hand on Joey's shoulder. "Thanks man." Joey smiled. "Thank me later. Like with a Playstation game or something." J.C. rolled his eyes as he watched Joey walk towards Justin. Then he slipped into Chris's room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joey plopped down beside the slumping Justin. "Hey," he said softly, not sure if Justin was aware of his surroundings. Justin looked up, turning blue eyes to Joey. "Where'd you go?" he asked, almost accusingly. "Does it matter?" Joey retorted. "I came to talk about you, not about me." "Why are you talking about me? J.C. sent you, didn't he?" "That's not the point," Joey said. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?" "Nothing." "Justin, you gotta talk sometime." "So? Not here, not now." "Don't make me sit on you." Justin looked up, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. "You wouldn't." "Watch me," Joey smiled, standing up. Justin laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Don't embarrass me in public." "I'm waiting," Joey smiled. Justin took a breath. "I'm not trying to be mean to him. It just comes out. Because of his stance on this, you know?" "I think so," Joey replied. "I mean, J.C.'s not totally right…it's just…I don't know. I mean, this could have been Lance's doing, had you not caught it. I know the chances are really low, but it COULD have. And Lance walks around here, not saying a word. He does care, right Joey?" "Yeah," Joey replied, running a hand through his hair. "He does care Justin. I'm not trying to put words in his mouth, but maybe he already feels guilty? Lance is the businessperson, and in Mississippi who knows what he was exposed to. He could just be confused. But don't worry about him caring about Chris, I can see that in his eyes." Justin smiled. "I believe it Joey, I just wish I could see it." "That's one of the problems today, Just. People know it's wrong but nobody takes a stand. It's a shame, but what can you do?" "Yeah," Justin sighed. "It sucks." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ J.C. sat down next to Chris. Unsure of whether or not he was safe to touch, J.C. simply looked. He studied the peaceful, sleeping face, littered with scratches and a huge bruise over his left eye. There was a cut on his lower lip, which looked somewhat aggravated. "Chris, I'm sorry this happened," J.C. said quietly. "I can't even understand it. Once I opened my eyes and put our differences aside, you were no different. You like guys, I like girls. Where is the threat in that? How does that one factor cause so much hate?" J.C. sighed, picking a tiny pebble out of Chris's hair. "I don't understand it, but I'm gonna try bringing you back. Our sun is gone, Chris. We miss you. Listen to me, I sound like you're dead. I think your spirit might be, at least for a little while. You're our brother though Chris, and we won't let you slip away. So you just concentrate on getting better, okay? You'll be annoying the hell out of us soon enough." J.C. grew uncomfortable talking to his beaten friend and got up, walking back to the door. As the door closed, a single tear tore a path down Chris's face and soundlessly dropped to the pillow. |
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