It had been three days since Justin had seen Brian at the diner. It was his night off and he was sitting on the couch in Daphne's apartment. Daphne walked in, home from her job at McKenzie's Bookstore.
"What are you doing here?"
Justin looked at her. "Why? You have a hot date planned?"
"No. I mean, I figured you'd be out. It is a Friday night." She looked at her watch. "It's ten at night. A couple of months ago, you would've been just heading to Babylon."
Justin sighed and shrugged. "I'm not in the mood to watch Brian pick up a bunch of tricks. In fact, I'm not in the mood to see him at all."
Daphne sat down next to him, on the couch, and said, "You might not even run into him. But, it's been almost two weeks. Maybe you should talk to him."
"No. Brian's the love of my life, always will be. But I've come to the conclusion that he doesn't love me. Not enough anyway. He hasn't even made any attempt to talk to me about what happened on my Birthday."
"He loves you, Justin. I know he does. I saw the look in his eyes when he danced with you at the prom--"
That was as far as Daphne got, before Justin jumped up off the couch. "I can't remember that night! Its a big fucking blank! All I remember is Brian calling my name and my head meeting a baseball bat."
Daphne stood up. "I'm sorry, Justin. I just want you to be happy... both of you. I know that what Brian did was... inexcusable... but I believe that you two are made for each other."
Justin shrugged. "I thought so at one time, too. But he has to make the first move this time. And, so far, he hasn't."
Daphne hugged him. "Alight, well how about I fix us two bowls of Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream and you pick out a movie to watch?" With a slight smile, Justin agreed. Fifteen minutes later; Justin and Daphne were sitting on the couch, ice cream bowls in hand, and the Blade:Trinity DVD was starting. Justin and Daphne, both, thought that Wesley Snipes and Ryan Reynolds were HOT!
Justin was jolted awake by the ringing of the telephne. Groggily opening his eyes, he glanced at the clock. Seven. "Who's calling this early?" he mumbled to himself.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Justin."
"Mom? What's the matter?" Justin asked with concern.
"Your Aunt Sarah died last night."
Justin could tell that his mother was crying. Hell, tears were starting to well in his eyes. Aunt Sarah lived in Colorado and was his mother's younger sister. She was also his favorite aunt. She had never once treated him like an abomination when he had come out gay. She even listened when he needed someone to talk to about Brian, his father, everything.
"What... happened?" he managed to get out.
"She was driving home from work and a drunk driver hit her. They're saying that she died immediately." After a moment, she added, "I can't believe it. She was only thirty..."
"When's the funeral?" asked Justin as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"In two days. Molly and I are leaving on a flight in two hours. Do you want me to get you a seat for then?"
After thinking for a minute, Justin answered. "No. I need to explain to Debbie and Daphne about what's going on. I'll get a later flight."
"Okay, sweetie. Use the credit card that I gave you. Call me when you've booked your flight."
"Alright. Love you, Mom."
"I love you, too."
Within an hour, Justin had explained to Daohne what had happened, booked a flight, and had let his mother know what time it would be leaving. She would be arriving in Colorado two hours before him. Daphne had wanted to go with him but she knew that she wouldn't be able to get the time off. She had offered to go anyway, but Justin had told her no. He had told her that she needed her job and that he would be fine. He'd call her as soon as he got to Colorado.
Thirty minutes later, he walked into the diner, a duffal bag slung over his shoulder. He saw Debbie but none of the gang. Walking upto the redhead, he said, "Debbie."
"Sunshine! You're early."
"I can't work today, Deb." Wiping at the falling tears, he continued, "My Aunt Sarah was killed in a car wreck last night. I have a flight to Colorado in an hour and a half. I'm sorry."
Debbie grabbed him in a bone-crushing hug and said, "You have nothing to be sorry about! I'm sorry about your aunt, Sunshine. You call me as soon as you arrive, so I'll know you got there safely."
After promising that he would, he walked back outside to his waiting cab.
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Brian saw Justin walkig out o the diner as he parked his jeep. He thought about stopping him to talk to him... he could tell that Justin looked upset. Looking at his watch, he saw that he had only twenty minutes, before his meeting with an important client, to grab some lunch. 'I'll catch him later,' he thought to himself as Justin got into a cab.