Broken Memories
Chapter 1
Justin rubbed his eyes as Brian cursed and reached for the ringing phone.
Looking at the clock, Justin was irritated that someone would call at three in the morning. “Another trick?” he asked angrily.
Brian looked at the screen and was shocked to find Emmett’s number. Thinking to himself that he should just reject it, he toyed with the idea, but curiosity won in the end.
“What in the fuck is so important that you need to call me at this ungodly hour and interrupt my beauty sleep?” Brian asked in a husky, sleep filled voice.
“Brian, come to Debbie’s,” Emmett answered.
“It’s three o’clock in the fucking morning in the middle of a fucking blizzard, I am NOT coming to Debbie’s.”
“Brian, just wake Justin and get dressed and get your ass over here.”
“What the fuck is going on, Em?”
“Just please hurry.”
“Not until you tell me what this is about. Now spill it, you silly queen, so I can get back to that beach I was sipping margaritas on.”
“Debbie’s gone.”
“Well thanks, CNN, for the news flash, but I don’t need to know her every move. Did you check the diner?”
“No, Brian, she’s gone. As in dead.”
Brian could hear the sadness in Emmett’s voice and was instantly awake. “We’ll be right there.”
Jumping out of bed and pulling on his jeans, he tossed Justin a pair. “Get up, get dressed. I’m leaving in one minute.”
“What’s going on? Why are we going to Debbie’s? Is it Carl? Did he have another heart attack?”
“No, Sunshine, it’s Debbie.”
Justin noted the worry on Brian’s face and knew that this wasn’t good. He could see it in Brian’s eyes that something awful had happened.
“What’s wrong with Deb?”
“She’s dead, apparently. And before you go asking me a million fucking questions, I don’t know. Emmett was too shaken up to tell me anything. Come on, we’ve got to go.”
Justin headed out the door with shoes in hand and stepped into the elevator in shock.
Six minutes later, they pulled up to Debbie’s and both men walked in silence to the door. Emmett opened it and ushered them in, taking coats and making small talk. Brian could see the devastation in his eyes, but tried to ignore it as he looked around.
Horvath sat in the recliner by the tv, while Ben tried to comfort both Michael and Hunter. Melanie and Lindsay were flying in on the first available flight with Gus and JR. Ted and Blake were sitting at the kitchen table, both with untouched mugs of cold coffee.
Justin was the first to speak. “What happened?”
Michael looked up as if noticing his friends for the first time. A sob caught in his throat as Brian sat down next to him.
“We don’t know all the details yet,” Emmett answered. “All we know is that she left the diner some time after midnight and when she wasn’t home by one, Carl called the station. They found her two blocks away in the park.”
“In the park? What the fuck was she doing in the park at that time of night?” Brian asked.
“Apparently someone grabbed her before she got to her car.” Emmett answered quietly. “So far that’s all we know.”
“I told her to have someone walk her out. She was always so damn stubborn,” Carl said as if to no one. “She always said that no one would want an old lady with a big mouth.”
“She should’ve quit that job years ago,” Michael cried.
Ben held him close and Brian stood and paced. Stopping in front of Justin, he pulled his lover close and held him tight. It had been months since they’d held each other and now it took a tragedy to get them close enough to touch.
Looking down into blue eyes swimming with tears, Brian’s heart broke. How had they gotten here? When did he forget that this man was his whole life? And how was he supposed to get it all back?
Justin pulled away and sat down at the table with Blake and Ted, not looking back at Brian. He just couldn’t deal with their fucked up relationship and Debbie’s death at the same time.
It was several hours later that they would learn the truth about what happened that night in the park and it would change their lives forever.
To be continued….