Falling Down the Primrose Path

Part 4

3 Years Later

Brian was sitting at his desk, frustrated at another dead end report from his private investigator. They had managed to trace Justin as far as Colorado but there they had lost him. Brian couldn't figure out how Justin had done it. Every time they thought they had a lead, it never panned out. He had even hired detectives in Europe in case Justin had gone there, but nothing. Three years and nothing. Brian had kept in touch with Jennifer hoping that Justin would contact her but even she hadn't heard anything.

Everyone's lives had moved on and things had happened within the family. Lindsey and Mel had had another child with Michael as the father. Michael and Ben had adopted a street kid named Hunter. Ted was back with Blake, Vic had found a partner named Rodney, and Deb and Jennifer had both gotten married.

Everyone was living happy lives except it seemed for Brian and Steve. Brian had kept to his word and never talked about Justin at home and even watched what he said to make sure that he never called Steve, Justin again. This however had caused problems of its own. Because of this, the open relationship that had been building had become stilted and was slowly closing down.

Brian sighed and stood to leave. He was picking up Steve and they were going to an art show in the village. He had heard that a couple of artists who were making names for themselves were to be presented along with some new upcoming ones at the show. He hadn't had time to go over the program but then again, with Justin disappearing like he did, who was to say that he was even using his real name.

Entering the duplex, he walked up to Steve and placed a light kiss on the top of his head. "Evening, you all ready to go?"

Steve looked up from where he was sitting and nodded. "All set."

Brian nodded. "Let me go grab a quick shower and change. I'll be down in a minute."

Steve nodded and sighed as he watched Brian walk away from him. Steve knew they were falling apart and he wasn't sure what to do about it. Steve knew that Brian had remained faithful to him for the most part but he also knew that Brian was playing the dutiful partner at the same time. Going to shows, charity functions, and such. But the one thing that Brian had become engrossed in was supporting the arts and going to as many shows as he could. Steve wanted to believe it was because he himself enjoyed art shows and that this was something that they had in common but he knew that it was because of Justin. He knew that Brian hoped that one day, Justin's work would show up and he would be able to trace him from there.

Justin, the ex-boyfriend, the man he had stolen Brian from, the one who without even being around was a wedge that was slowly tearing them apart. Steve had once tried to get involved in the search for Justin when Brian had been particularly frustrated. He had gotten his head bitten off for the effort. Brian had reminded him that it was his fault that Justin was missing in the first place. Steve had told him that he was being unfair and he had just glared at him, then Brian had told him he was right. It wasn't Steve's fault but his, his for not taking better care of Justin, for being too wrapped up in his own happiness to notice or even care that he managed to disappear in the first place.

Steve had tried to make Brian see that it wasn't his fault either. That really the fault was Justin's for not letting go, for trying to hang on, for not being a man and moving on with his life. This had done nothing more but anger Brian even more. Brian had continued to yell at Steve, telling him he had no idea what kind of man Justin was. That in his few years, he had lived through more pain and disappointment than Steve had ever had. Brian had stormed out of the duplex then. It was after that that Brian had started working longer hours.

When Brian walked back into the room, Steve couldn't help but smile. "You look fantastic."

Steve walked over and hugged Brian to him. He would have loved to suggest they do something else tonight but there again, a mistake once made not to be repeated. "What say after the gallery, we go to that little Bistro that we like so much for dinner? We haven't been there in awhile."

Brian knew that Steve was trying to act as if everything was fine between them. "That sounds good. We can call and make reservations on the way to the gallery."

Steve smiled happily and Brian felt a stab of guilt at the lack of attention he had been paying Steve lately. Putting his arm around him, they walked out the door and down to the car that was waiting for them.

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Arriving at the gallery, Brian and Steve were greeted by people they knew and for the first fifteen minutes or so, talked with them. Finally Brian left Steve to roam among the statues, painting, drawings, and photographs from the artists of the show. Suddenly he stopped. Hanging on the wall was a large painting that reminded him of some of Justin's work from when he was first drawing again after the bashing. He walked up to it to get a closer look and was positive that it was done by Justin. Looking for the artist signature, he saw it signed by a JTaylor. That confirmed it. He had finally found a lead on Justin.

Steve watching Brian saw the change in his stance and the sudden smile on his face. Walking over, he saw the darkish painting. "It's kind of dark, isn't it? What do you like about it?"

Brian turned with a smile to Steve. "Justin did it."

Steve didn't know how to feel. Glad that maybe the ghost of Justin would be laid to rest or upset because Justin would be back even more now. "Are you sure? I haven't seen him anywhere here."

Brian nodded, "I'd know his work anywhere. The fact that it's sighed JTaylor just clinches it. We've got to find him. Maybe Michelle can find him for us."

The men looked around for the gallery owner and quickly spotted her. Walking over to her, Brian asked. "Michelle, there is a painting over there by a JTaylor, that we'd like more information on. Can we speak to the artist?"

Michelle smiled and began looking around until she saw the person she was looking for. "Certainly, why don't you go back to the painting and we'll meet you there. I'll be right back."

Brian and Steve went back to the painting. Brian kept looking around for Justin and looking at the painting. Soon he saw Michelle coming with a blond but it wasn't Justin but a woman. He was confused, where was Justin? He knew this was his work.

Michelle stopped and smiled. "Brian, Steve, this is Jules, she'll be happy to answer your questions."

Michelle walked off, leaving the three people together. "So what did you want to know?"

Brian looked at the woman. She appeared to be in her early thirties and was impeccably dressed. When he looked up, he caught her green eyes staring intently at him.

"Not what you were expecting?" She asked.

Brian nodded his head. How could he have been so wrong? "I though the artist was someone else. Someone I knew but haven't seen in a long time."

"Oh? And who did you think the artist was?" Jules asked.

Brian shrugged. "I though it was a man named Justin Taylor."

Jules looked at both men. "Oh, well. Sorry. Do you still want information on the painting?"

Brian shook his head no. "No thanks, sorry to waste your time."

Jules nodded her head. "That's okay. Maybe you'll find something you like here."

Jules walked off and Brian turned to look at the painting again. Steve came and put his hand on Brian's shoulder. "I'm sorry it wasn't him."

Brian continued to look at the painting. "She's lying. Justin did paint this but for some reason doesn't want to see me. Surely after three years he's moved on."

Steve didn't say anything but thought, 'You mean like you did?'

"So what do you want to do?" Steve asked.

Brian kept looking at the painting. "The first thing I'm going to do is buy this painting and any others that are by JTaylor that are here that haven't been bought yet. The next thing I'm going to do is after the show is over I'm going to have Michelle give me the information on Jules. After that, I'm contacting my investigator and giving him the information. I know she's lying and he's going to prove it for me."

Steve watched as Brian walked around and located the rest of JTaylor's work and then went to find Michelle to start the ball of his plan rolling. He sighed and wished there was something that he could do but he knew there was no talking Brian out of it. Where Justin was concerned, Brian had become obsessed with finding him and Steve was beginning to realize that maybe he wasn't the right choice for Brian after all. Maybe he had been wrong all those years ago to go after Brian, and he had gone after Brian, regardless of what he had told people.

Steve went and sat down while Brian continued to talk to Michelle. He'd come and find him when he was ready to go home, maybe. Steve thought back to when he had first decided to go after Brian. He had known that Brian had a partner but had wanted him anyway, even for a one time deal. It wasn't until he saw that Brian's partner was a teenager that he decided that he was going to have him. He had figured that a teenager would get over the breakup quickly and that Brian would see that he was better off with someone more mature.

It wasn't hard really. He knew that Brian had been feeling guilty about that weekend at the cabin. So he pulled back. He had seen how happy Brian was with Justin and decided to do the right thing. He moved to London but he wasn't happy and couldn't forget about Brian. He truly thought that he could make Brian happier. So he began his gentle maneuverings. Calls that could have been handled by anyone else, he began making himself, just so he could talk to Brian, to make Brian not forget about him. Then he began to start up conversations during these calls so that they would last longer.

Then came the night that he couldn't help himself, he called Brian drunk and poured out his heart to him. Telling him how much he missed him and cared about him. He hadn't really been that drunk but it was the excuse that he used. He knew after that phone call that he had managed to put a wedge even an unknown one between Brian and Justin's relationship. All he had to do now was to show up and claim him and that was what he had done. He really hadn't planned on Justin finding them the way he had. He had wanted Brian to break it to him as gently as he could; after all he wasn't really a cruel man. Just a man who knew what he wanted. And now after everything, he was still losing him to a man who couldn't be found. The same man he had taken him from.

Steve watched Brian shake Michelle's hand and walked toward him smiling. "I did it. I got about four of Justin's paintings and the information on Jules. I don't have to wait for the show to end after all."

Steve smiled weakly at Brian. "That's good. You ready to go now?"

Brian looked around the gallery once again. "I'm ready."

*****************************************

A Week Later

Brian sat at his desk having just gotten off the phone with the private investigator. He looked over the papers he had gotten from him this morning. He had been right about Jules. She wasn't an artist but what she was worried him.

Jules Blackmore was a licensed and registered physical therapist currently employed as a live in companion to a J. Taylor. There were several photos of a gated house and Jules doing various things but not one single photo of J. Taylor. Brian knew that the artist was Justin but why did he need Jules and why didn't he ever leave the house?

Brian continued to look at the pictures and set them down with a sigh. He probably should have just confronted Jules but he didn't have anything to back him up at the time. He needed to think over his next step very carefully. He was so close to the end he could taste it and didn't want to screw it up and scare him off.

That night as he sat eating dinner with Steve, he knew he had to tell Steve of his decision. "I know that I said I'd never talk about it with you so that you wouldn't feel that he was still in our lives but I need to tell you a few things and what I'm going to be doing."

Steve looked up and set down his fork. Brian had been true to his word but it hadn't stopped the ghost of Justin from being there anyway. "What are you going to do?"

Brian set down his fork as well. "Well the investigator that I had looking into Jules located the house. She is the private companion of the artist JTaylor. She is also a licensed and registered physical therapist. The investigator couldn't locate anything on JTaylor back any farther than two and a half years ago. I need to know why Justin needs a live-in therapist and never goes out."

Steve looked down and sighed. He knew where Brian was going with it. "When do we leave?"

Brian cleared his throat. "We don't. I leave tomorrow on the one o'clock flight."

Steve started to say something but Brian stopped him. "I know you want to go with me but I need to go alone. I think I have a better chance of seeing him than if we both go. Steve, understand I need to do this."

Steve sighed again and got up from the table. "Okay, Brian but when you get back I want us to take a long trip. I don't mean a weekend trip or even a week off. I mean I want us to take about a month and go off somewhere, just you and me."

Brian looked at Steve and knew he was serious, he knew that Steve wasn't happy with things the way they had been and if he was honest, neither was he. Maybe Steve was right. If they could get away without the baggage then maybe they could reconnect, get back to how they were in the beginning of their relationship. "Alright, when I get back and Justin has contacted the family, we'll go away."

Steve looked at Brian and nodded. "Good. Do you have any place you'd like to go or will you leave it to me to plan?"

Brian smiled slightly. "Why don't you plan it. Surprise me."

Steve smiled back. "Alright, I will but that means no complaining."

Brian nodded. "I won't unless you put us up in some dump."

Steve laughed and it felt good. "Oh no, I know better than to take you away from your luxuries."

Brian laughed as well and realized that they hadn't done much of it in awhile. "You're damn right."

*****************************************

The next morning saw Steve saying goodbye to Brian at the airport before returning home to plan their getaway. The sooner it happened, the better as far as he was concerned.

Meanwhile, Brian sat on the plane thinking over his life and the choices he had made. He had found himself thinking more and more about Justin. He felt the excitement and eagerness building the closer he got to Colorado and not for the first time did he wonder if maybe he had made the wrong choice three years ago.

Upon landing, he grabbed his luggage and picked up his rental car, than headed for his hotel. He was meeting his investigator for dinner and getting a more detailed report from him before he went to see for himself.

*****************************************

Dinner with the investigator had revealed little new information about JTaylor but he did find out more about Jules. She had until two and a half years ago, worked at a local hospital. That was when she moved in with JTaylor and quit working at the hospital but continued to keep herself licensed and registered. This worried him. If JTaylor was Justin, and he knew it was, why did he have her living with him?

Brian got in his car and following the directions the investigator gave him found the house with very little problem. Parking outside the gate he stared through it trying to detect if anyone was home. Now that he was here, he began to feel nervous and suddenly didn't know what to say. Finally he decided it would be better for him to come back in the morning.

Once back to his hotel room, he fixed himself a drink and sat staring out at the city lights. He had to admit that Colorado was pretty, a good place for an artist, if the artist was into landscapes. That wasn't Justin. The more he thought about the whole thing, the more agitated he became and all kinds of images flowed through his brain. Finally he got up and crawled into bed. Calling Steve, forgotten, crowded out by the worry and fear about Justin.

*****************************************

Brian was up and waiting at the gate by 8 o'clock. He knew it was too early but wanted to make sure that no one left and if they did, he would be there to follow them. At nine, a delivery truck pulled up and he knew that he could then approach the house. Pulling up to the gate, he pushed the announce button and waited.

"Yes?" A female voice said.

Brian gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Yes, my name is Brian Kinney and I need to speak with Justin please."

There was a pause before the voice came on again. "I'm sorry. You have the wrong address."

Brian sighed. "Jules, we met in New York. I bought four of the paintings by JTaylor and I know that he is Justin, a man that I…I had a relationship with. I'm not here because he's a famous artist. I'm here because we have some unfinished business that really needs to be taken care of."

Again there was a long pause before she responded. "I'm sorry but Mr. Taylor is not taking any visitors at this time. Good day."

Brian knew that he had been dismissed and wasn't sure what he could do. Pulling back out of the drive, he sat and watched the house some more. Before long he saw the delivery truck come back down the drive and the gate opened. Brian watched as the gate slowly opened and the truck drove through. He also saw that the gate took awhile to close as well. That was when the idea hit him.

Brian continued to sit there throughout the day, watching and waiting for the next possible delivery or for someone to visit or leave. After waiting for two hours, he saw another delivery truck arrive and waited for the gates to start to open. Getting out of his car, Brian ran up and slipped in before the gates could close all the way. He was determined to see Justin and he always got what he wanted.

Brian watched and waited until the delivery truck left and walked up to the back door where he had seen Jules last. Reaching out he turned the knob and found, as he hoped that it was unlocked. Pushing open the door, Brian walked in and found himself in a large, roomy kitchen. Standing at the counter going over a list was Jules.

"Hello Jules, may I see Justin now please." Brian said as he watched the young woman jump.

Jules whirled around in astonishment. "How did you…?"

Brian smiled. "If you know anything about me, you'd know that I don't take no for an answer."

Brian moved until he was standing in front of her with his back to the rest of the room.

"Now, Justin please."

Jules gathered herself quickly. "No, you may not. You need to leave right now or I'll have to call the police and have them remove you for trespassing."

Brian shook his head and smiled. "I don't think so. Justin might not be too happy if you did that."

Just then a voice spoke behind him. "Get the hell out of my house."

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