Chapter 1: The Accident

“This was the moment that I knew that my life was never going to be the same.    He had been cruising me all night and I loved every moment of it.   He knew I was shy, so he took his time coming over, but once he came over and I saw that look in his eye, I knew he was ready to go all the way.    I was nervous, but I knew that this was it, this was the moment I was going to become a man.”

“What the fuck did I just read?” Evangeline asked as she threw the book on top of the box her father had been holding.

“That young lady is something that your young eyes shouldn’t be reading?” her father told her as he packed another box into their car.

“Eww, is this like gay smut.    If this is how you spend your nights dad I don’t know if I should be appalled or just sad.    I do hope now that we’ve moved to a new town you decide to be a better version of yourself.”

“This is not a new town, I told you this is where your mother and I grew up, and what do you mean a better version of myself, are you saying I’m not a good version?” he asked confused.

“Dad, have you looked in the mirror?     You are an attractive piece of eye candy, I mean you’re still young in your prime actually, guys are going to line up for a pretty little piece like you.” She smirked.

“You have been listening to your mother too much, I’m fine being single.   It gives me more time to work on my art, and I’m about to be starting a new job.   I don’t have time to worry about things like relationships.   Maybe in the summer, besides I’m not over Ethan yet.

Evangeline took that time to really look at her father.   He really was quite beautiful if you’re in to guys like that, which her research told her the gay men of Pittsburgh was.    She had to get him in a relationship with someone if it was the last thing she did.    She just couldn’t let him sit around pinning over Ethan Gold.

She would admit she herself had liked Ethan in the beginning.    The guy could play a fiddle like no one’s business.   Okay, he said it was a violin, but she knew a fiddle when she saw one.    He was going big places, and although they loved the fact that he was a father figure to her, they would’ve liked it better if her father was a woman.    So they liked to use her and the times that she and Ethan spent together, but then they wanted her father to stay in the closet, something that he would never do.    At least that is what she thought, but he was willing to be his well-kept secret if it meant that he was going to have a good career, but in the end the bastard couldn’t keep it in his pants.     He had cheated on her dad, she swore if she knew where he was right now she would kick him in the nads.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked as he continued to load the car.

“I’m thinking about how you and I have movers, so why in the hell are we packing these cars from storage.    I mean didn’t we pay someone for this?”   

“You and I really need to talk about your language young lady.”

*PR*

“Why couldn’t I drive?” Gus asked as they exited the car.

“You know why, now let’s just get the papers, and I promise you will still have time to make it to class.” Brian stated.

“NO, you promised if I stayed here with you last night that I didn’t have to go to school today.    That’s the whole point of me telling the moms I wanted to help you out.   You know I could care less.”

The moment Gus said this he realized his mistake.   It’s not that he didn’t like hanging out with his dad, he loved it.    It was just when it came to this part of his dad’s life, he would like it if he kept it to himself.   It was sort of embarrassing.    If his friends at school knew, he didn’t know how he would deal with himself.

“I didn’t mean it like that dad you know that I love hanging out with you.” Gus explained.

“Just go and get the last displays out of storage, and if you do it quick enough, I’ll let you drive us back to the loft.”

Brian watched as his son ran off to get the last few displays.   He understood that he wasn’t a part of his life, not many of his friends were, but he did want his son to realize how important this was to him.    He loved spending the weekend with his son.    At times it was difficult, but they had made it work.    When he had found out he was going to be a father, because of his life he had never wanted that responsibility, but now he couldn’t imagine his life without him.

Evangeline was getting tire quick.   She knew that her father enjoyed doing things for himself, but the whole point of moving was movers, right?    She also knew that she was repeating herself which was obvious sign of a heat stroke of some kind.

“So, since you got me out here, on my last free day before I have to go to school.   Can I drive?” she smiled.

Justin looked at his daughter, and he couldn’t help but smile.   Sometimes the way she looked at him was so much her mother that he just couldn’t cope.    Then he saw that little bit of mischief and he knew it was so him, and she wasn’t going to use his own superpower against him.

“Not today princess.” He smiled getting behind the wheel.

“What’s the point of having a learner’s permit, if you never get to you know LEARN.” She explained.

“I know for a fact that your mother takes you out every weekend.    You just want to get behind the wheel of my convertible, but no this is too much of a car for you my dear.   Now come on, I saw a diner not too far from here we can go and have some lunch.” He told her cranking up.

Brian looks around at the displays and cringes.   They are the cheesiest things that he has ever seen, but if it wasn’t for this career he wouldn’t have had the money to run his ad agency.    Sure, now he had more than enough money to stop doing this now, but he couldn’t.    Sure, they were cheesy, but it was his last link to Michael.     He knew there would always be Debbie, she loved him like a mother, and he knew that she never blamed him for anything, but the novels were something that the two of them had always done together, he wasn’t ready to let that go yet.     The world wasn’t ready for him to let it go either.

Brian had noticed that although Gus was bringing out the displays like he had asked, most of them he was setting up, and they didn’t need to be set up until they got to their destination.    Against better judgement he decided to stand up from where he had been sitting and tried to put them back into position.   Before he had even gotten the first one back in a flat position, he could feel himself being propelled into the air.

Justin knew on impact that he had hit someone.   He knew before he heard the first profanity, although he was glad that hearing the profanities let him know that the person was at least conscious and coherent.    Now all he had to do was get out of his car, check to see if the person was badly hurt, and try his best not to have a panic attack.    Sure, he could do this.

Gus had only walked away for about twenty minutes and he had done it because his father had told him too, but he knew that was not going to be the way that they saw it.   It was going to be his fault that Brian had gotten hurt.   Now he could hear him before he saw him, so he knew that he was okay.   Now all he had to do was make sure that the guy who had done it didn’t get offended by the things coming out of his mouth.

“What the fuck happened?” he asked when he approached.

“He came out of nowhere I never saw him.” Justin explained.

“I came out of nowhere.    That’s going to be your defense.” Brian asked in disbelief.

Gus had to look away, his father’s leg was bent back the wrong way, and he thought he might see some bone.

“Dad can you not feel that?” Gus finally answered.

“What?” Brian asked looking down.

Gus knew the exact moment his father noticed his injury.   His face immediately took on a green look.   He had been on a tirade for the past couple of minutes but he had gone silent.

“Dad?” he questioned.

Brian went to answer, but instead his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out.