Coming Out

Chapter 29

Justin woke up the next morning and glanced at the clock. Realizing that it read after nine, he jumped up from bed in a panic. He’d overslept. He knew he had set the alarm the night before, but when he checked to see if it had gone off, he found a note from Molly.

Justin,

When I got up to go to the bathroom at three I heard you downstairs and knew you still couldn't sleep. I shut off your alarm at six and called the school to let them know you wouldn't be in. You need some rest. I know that you’re upset about Brian, but getting sick won't help things. I told the school that you were sick and asked them to send your work home with Jason. I hope that's okay. I figured you wouldn't want to fall behind. Please take it easy today. I'll be home right after school and will cook dinner tonight. I love you, Big Brother.

Molly

Justin couldn't help but smile at the way Molly was trying to take care of him. Then his mind registered what she had written. Jason was going to be bringing home his work. He felt a panic begin to rise in him. Jason was the last person he wanted to see. He had somehow managed to avoid talking to him the day before in school, but that wasn't going to be an option when he was at the front door. Well, hopefully he wouldn't get there until after Molly got home so he could hide out in his room. He made his way downstairs and threw himself on the couch, allowing his mind to flash back to the conversation he had with Brian the night before. It gave him hope that things would work out. It was obvious that Brian had missed him enough to call. Maybe that was a good sign.

When Brian got to his jeep, he wasn't sure what to do next. Usually he had to head to work, or if he was lucky race home to wait for Justin. He felt out of sorts with all the free time on his hands and just started driving to clear his head. He wasn't too surprised to find himself standing outside Jennifer's door a short time later. He knocked and waited until he heard her voice before entering.

"Hey, Jennifer. How’re you feeling?" He asked with genuine concern. He had come to love the Taylor's and felt horrible about what had happened to their family.

"Brian! What a surprise. How come you're not at work?" Jen asked.

"Marty gave me the rest of the week off. He knows that Justin and I are running the house until you get home and figured I could use the rest," Brian explained, avoiding her eyes. He didn't want her to see the pain he was feeling. Unfortunately, she was too good at reading people.

"Brian? What's wrong? Did something happen that I should know about? Is it Craig?" Jennifer asked, seeing something in Brian's eyes.

"No. Everything's fine. I called the hospital and they said there was no change in Craig's condition. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you," Brian said, walking over to the window and staring out at the sky.

"Brian, come here," Jennifer said softly. She held out her hand and waited until he took it before speaking again. "Tell me what's wrong."

"It's nothing to worry about, Jennifer. I didn't come here to dump my problems on you. You have enough of your own. I'll be alright," Brian assured her, hoping she didn't push further.

Jennifer could see how much Brian was hurting and wanted to be able to take away the pain. She had grown to love him as if he was her own and when he hurt, she did, too. "You wouldn't be dumping your problems on me. Actually you will be giving me something else to think about instead of being stuck in here while Craig is lying in the hospital without me. Now let's go. Out with it."

"I can't. It's about Justin. I don't want you to get in the middle of it. It's not fair to you or to Justin. You're his mother, not mine," Brian explained, wishing that she really was his mother.

"What did my son do now?" Jennifer sighed.

Brian was taken back by her question. "What makes you think Justin did something?"

"I know my son very well, Brian. Whenever he gets too stressed, he tends to do stupid things without thinking about the consequences. I can only imagine how hard all this is on him. Now why don't you just tell me what happened?

Brian thought about that for a minute. Wasn't that basically what Justin had admitted to? Trying to relax and forget about his troubles, only to do something stupid? "I found him with Jason. They were," Brian stopped, trying to find the right words without telling Jennifer about her son's sex life. "Kissing."

"Oh…um…well," Jennifer said, wanting to offer words of comfort to make Brian feel better. "I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you Brian. What did he say when you talked to him about it?"

"Well, we didn’t really talk about it much. He claimed that it was a mistake, but I kind of moved out...temporarily," Brian admitted, looking at the floor. He suddenly felt ashamed of the way he ran away from Justin at the first sign of trouble without talking to him first.

"You moved out? Where are you staying?" Jennifer exclaimed.

"I'm staying at Marty's house for a few days. I just needed to get away and think about things," Brian replied.

"Brian, listen to me. Do you remember when you broke up with Justin back when your mother got sick? Why did you do that?"

Brian looked at her with confusion. "Because I thought Justin would be better off without me."

"And what caused you to think that?" She continued.

"I was upset. My mother had chosen my father over me. I wasn't thinking..."

"Exactly! Brian, I don’t know exactly what's going on with Justin these days, but I do know that he loves you. I think you need to sit down and talk to him. Ever since I found out that you and Justin were together, I’ve had my doubts as to whether you two were too young to know what you want. I still wonder sometimes, but I've seen you together. I know how much you mean to each other. Are you willing to give that up because of a mistake that was made under extreme circumstances?" Jennifer asked, seeing that Brian was lost in thought.

"Thank you Jennifer," Brian said, as he kissed her cheek. "I have to go to Marty's house and pack my things. I'm going home."

"I'm happy to hear that, Brian. I'll be here doing nothing as always if you need me," Jennifer chuckled, watching Brian make his way towards the door. She hated being stuck in bed while her children were left on their own, but at least Brian had come to her with his problems. Now she just hoped that they’d be able to work things out.

Brian raced back to Marty's house, threw his stuff into his backpack and wrote a quick note before heading back home. He figured he'd make it home right before Justin got in from school, and was surprised to find the blond curled up in a ball, asleep on the couch. He took a few moments to watch him sleep, before walking over and gently shaking his boyfriend awake.

"Brian?" Justin murmured, groggily.

"Hey, Sunshine," Brian whispered.

"What are you doing here?" Justin asked, coming fully awake.

"I live here, don't I?" Brian replied with a smile.

"You mean..."

"We still need to talk about what you did, and why you did it, but I'm not willing to lose you over a mistake. You mean too much to me for that," Brian admitted with a small smile.

Justin couldn't stop the few tears that rolled down his face. Ever since Brian walked in on him and Jason, he thought he was going to lose him. Knowing he was going to get a second chance was the best news he'd heard in weeks. "Oh Brian, I love you so much. Please don't ever leave me again!"

They came together in a passionate kiss, so lost in each other that neither one of them heard the front door open.

"Well, I guess this is what they mean by the statement kiss and make up?" Molly said from the doorway.

Justin pulled back quickly, blushing at being caught by his little sister. "You know Molly, it's not nice to sneak up on people," Justin said with embarrassment.

"Sneak up? I slammed the door for God's sake. If you want to play with your boyfriend's tonsils, rent a room, would you?" Molly teased Justin, before turning serious and looking at Brian. "Does this mean your coming back home now?"

"Yep. I'm back home," Brian replied with a smile.

"Good, and let me tell you something, Mister. You.re part of this family now, so no more running away. Do you understand?" Molly asked, her voice telling Brian how much he meant to her.

"Perfectly," he laughed, secretly enjoying the way she insisted he was part of the family. "I'm sorry, Molly. I didn't mean to upset you by leaving."

"That's okay. I know how hard it is to live with Justin," She teased.

"Alright, enough of that. Molly, I believe you promised to make dinner tonight?" Justin said, changing the subject.

"That was before I knew Brian would be home to make you feel all better," Molly replied.

"Okay, then I guess you better go start your homework," Justin said, with humor in his eyes.

"Dinner it is," Molly called over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchen.

Brian laughed at the interaction between brother and sister. He was happy to be home. His thoughts apparently mirrored Justin's.

"I'm so happy you're home."

"Me, too. But what are you doing home? Shouldn't you be just getting home from school?" Brian questioned.

"Molly knew that I didn't sleep well last night, so she called the school this morning and told them I was sick, then shut off my alarm," Justin explained, suddenly remembering that Jason was going to be coming by with his homework. "She...uh...asked them to send home my work with Jason. I never told her about what happened. He's probably going to be here any minute."

Before Brian had a chance to respond the doorbell rang, announcing Jason's arrival. "I'll get it," Brian said cheerfully, leaving no room for discussion.

When Brian opened the door, he came face to face with the person he felt was responsible for the last two days of misery.

"Brian, is Justin here? The school asked me to bring his work by. How's he doing?" Jason asked, feeling uncomfortable under Brian's glare.

"He's doing just fine, now. I'll take him his work," Brian replied, taking the books out of Jason's arms.

"Can I see him?"

"I think you've seen enough of him, don't you?" Brian asked, dryly.

"Uh, okay. I guess I'll just see him at school," Jason mumbled, turning to walk away.

"That better be the only place you see him. Otherwise, stay the fuck away from him, understand?" Brian warned.

"But..."

"I let you walk away once. I'm not going to let you do it again," Brian told him. He smiled to himself when all the color drained from Jason's face as his intent was made clear. Jason walked away without comment.

When Brian returned to Justin, it was obvious that the blond had heard his interaction with Jason by the smile on his face.

"What?" Brian asked, unsure of Justin's reaction.

"My hero," Justin replied, holding his arms out for his boyfriend.

Brian went into those arms willingly, happy to be getting things back to normal.

Hours later, with everyone fed and the house cleaned up, Brian and Justin lay in bed together, knowing they needed to talk but unsure of where to start.

"Brian, I really am sorry for everything. I never wanted to hurt you. I love you so much. You’re my life," Justin said softly.

"Justin, I love you, too, but you have to stop shutting me out. If you are upset, you need to share it with me. You can't push me away when things go wrong in your life. You didn't like it when I did it to you," Brian pointed out, watching Justin's startled reaction.

"Oh my God, Brian, you're right. I never realized that before. I just didn't want to push my problems onto you," Justin admitted.

"I know. I felt the same way, but if we’re going to be together, we need to lean on each other for support now and then."

"I promise, from now on I’ll come to you with every little problem I have. If fact, I have a little problem right now," Justin said, his voice filled with lust.

"Oh yeah? And what problem would that be?"

"This," Justin replied, taking Brian's hand and placing it on his hardened cock.

"That problem doesn't feel so little to me," Brian teased, stroking Justin's shaft through his shorts.

"It's getting bigger by the minute. So, do you think you could help me with it?"

"Definitely," Brian assured him, kissing him with all the love that he felt. Brian knew in that moment that he had forgiven Justin completely. He was right where he wanted to be.

End of part 29
1/27/04

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