“Justin are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” JC asked as they were pulling out of Britney’s driveway.
“No.” Justin said leaned his head up against the cold glass.
“Please.” Justin didn’t answer he just kept starring out the window. He didn’t want to talk about it and he didn’t want to start crying again. “Fine just ignore me.”
“I’m not ignoring you.”
“Yeah you are.”
“I’m not ignoring you, I’m just not telling you.”
“Why won’t you tell me? I’m the one that stayed up with you while you were throwing up and then cleaned you up because you threw up on yourself and then you throw up on me. I stayed in the bed with you because you didn’t want to be alone and I was sleeping almost sitting up, my neck hurts, and you tell Britney and not me. Britney wouldn’t do all that for you.”
“I know.” Justin sniffled.
“And don’t cry.”
“I can’t tell you ok.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t.”
“Fine.” JC grunted and reached over and turned the radio on. They didn’t say a word to each other the next 3 minutes it took to get to Justin’s house. JC pulled up in front of Justin’s house. “Bye.” JC looked over at Justin and he opened the door and got out.
“Josh, don’t be mad at me.”
“Too late for that.” Justin slammed the car door closed and JC drove off. Justin stared as the car drove away. The tears that had been threatening to come since he got into the car came, he walked slowly into the house and heard his brother’s fighting. Something that didn’t surprise him. Then he heard their babysitters voice. Justin rolled his eyes and ran up the stairs and into his parent’s room and then closed the door and grabbed the phone.
“Yeah I know he’s so cute. He’s gonna ask you to the Christmas dance.” Aimee said to whomever she was talking to on the phone.
“Get off the phone.” Justin said.
“I just called her.”
“My house, get the hell off.”
“Give me ten minutes.”
“Get. The. Fuck. Off. MY. Phone.”
“And I said ten minutes!” She yelled back. Justin screamed he didn’t have patience for this right now. He hung up the phone and ran down the stairs. He walked into the family room. It was a mess.
“Get off the phone now.”
“No.” Aimee said back to him. Justin grabbed the phone from her hold, and hung up. “Hey! That was important.”
“Get out.” Justin pointed to the door.
“No, your parents aren’t getting home until 9.”
“I’m capable of watching my own brothers.” She rolled her eyes. “And my mother is not gonna be to happy when I tell her about this.”
“Well I didn’t get paid yet.”
“You don’t deserve to get paid, now get out.”
“I’ve been here for an hour already with those brats, which they do not listen for shit.”
“I’m in a pissed off mood as it is get out!”
“Fine, I’ll just call Lynn tomorrow and tell her what you did.” Aimee huffed and grabbed whatever she brought with her and walked to the door. Justin slammed it behind her and locked the door. Stephen ran up to Justin and threw his hands around his waist. Justin lifted him up.
“What was that for?” Justin asked.
“She’s mean...I don’t like her.” Stephen said in his baby voice.
“Yeah all she does is talk on the phone and yells at us.” Jonathon said. Justin shook his head and put Stephen down.
“Well maybe I’ll stay home more with you guys.” Stephen smiled at him and hugged him again. Justin laughed.
“Can you watch a movie with us?”
“Yeah. Why don’t you guys go up to my room and pick out a movie? I’ll meet you up there.”
“We can watch it in your room?”
“Yeah.”
“YAY!” Stephen ran to the stairs and Jonathon followed. Justin went into the kitchen and got 3 cans of soda, Stephen’s cup and some chips and walked into his room.
*****
“Justin, why are you sad?” Stephen asked looking up at his big brother about half way into Godzilla.
“Me and my best friend got into a fight.” Justin said.
“Me and Nicholas from my class were fighting and we had to sit in time out chairs during play time.” Justin smiled at him. “Did you have to sit in time out with your friend?” Justin laughed and Stephen looked at him innocently.
“No, we didn’t have to sit in time out chairs.”
“Oh. You’re lucky. They’re no fun.”
“I’ll be right back guys, ok. I need to go call someone.”
“Ok.” They both said and Justin stood up and walked out of his room and down the hall to his parent’s room.
He picked up the phone again and dialed Britney’s number but it was busy. Justin sighed. She needed call waiting and she needed it badly. Justin knew she was probably talking to Christina and Christina had call waiting so he called her.
“Hello?”
“Hey Christina. Are you talking to Britney?” Justin asked.
“Why yes I am.” Christina laughed.
“Well tell her to get off the phone with you and to call me and tell her that it’s important.”
“Is it important?”
“Yes!”
“Fine give me a few minutes she’s explaining something really important to me.”
“Like?”
“Like none of your business.”
“Fine just tell her.”
“I will.” And Justin hung up and walked back into his room with the cordless phone. He sat back down next to Stephen on the floor and watched the movie. He hated this movie, he had seen it so many times. But the only time they got to watch it was when their mom wasn’t around. She hated them watching movies like that. She didn’t think they should be exposed to violence like that she always said there was too much of it anyway. So Justin suffered through it and waited for Britney to call him back.
It had been almost 20 minutes and she still hadn’t called back. Justin was getting pissed and the movie was almost over, he was glad for that. Then the phone rang.
“Took you long enough to call me back.” Justin complained.
“Sorry I had to tell Christina about Wade.” Britney said.
“Fine, and hold on a second.” Justin told her. “I’ll be back guys.”
“What are you doing?”
“I need to go and talk to Britney.”
“Oh ok.” Justin walked out of his room and back into his parent’s room.
“Aww! You’re spending time with your brothers.” Britney said.
“Shut up! I’m gonna scream in a minute.” Justin said aggravated.
“What? Are they annoying you?”
“No, they’re being perfect...which is scary. But no it’s Josh.”
“What about him?”
“We got into a fight in his car on the way to my house.”
“Why?”
“Cause he wanted to know why I was upset, and I wouldn’t tell him.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”
“Tell him.”
“I am not telling him! He doesn’t like me.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know.”
“He’s the one that started the whole joke thing. Maybe he really wanted you and thought that was the only way he’d every quote un quote get you.”
“No.”
“When did you start to you know like him?”
“Umm...like, do you remember the day I was really upset?”
“Uh, no.”
“When I came to your house...”
“Oh yeah yeah, and you wouldn’t tell me.”
“Well I told my mom I was gay and with JC and fucking him and all that...”
“You guys did...”
“No.”
“But...”
“No...I told her that because she wouldn’t believe me that I wasn’t and then I went your house and then I don’t know. I guess then.” Britney didn’t know what to say. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“If my mom kicks me out can I live with you?”
“What? Your mom is not gonna kick you out.”
“She might when she finds out I really am. She was so mad when she thought I was. That’s why I wanted you to be like my girlfriend.”
“I’ll still do that for you.”
“Maybe, I don’t know.”
“Do I get to kiss you like you and JC kissed.”
“NO!”
“No fair.”
“Why do I have to like him?”
“I don’t know. He is hott. Christina tells me that 24/7.” Justin laughed.
“I like when he holds me.”
“Yeah I know.” Britney laughed. “You were in his lap the whole night when your tongue wasn’t in his mouth. ” Justin sighed.
“He doesn’t want me kissing him anymore.”
“Sorry.” Britney said she didn’t know what else to say.
“I don’t know why I like him. Like I know he’s...”
“You don’t just like him cause he’s hott.”
“No I don’t.” Justin sighed and he noticed a tiny head poking through the door. “Hold on Brit.”
“Ok.” She said.
“What’s up Steve?”
“The movies over.”
“Ok I’ll be right there.”
“Ok.” Stephen said and ran back into Justin’s room.
“Brit, I’ll talk to you later, I don’t think I’m going to school tomorrow.”
“What?”
“I don’t think I’m going.”
“Why?”
“Cause I’m just not. I gotta go.”
“Whatever bye.” Britney said and Justin hung up. Justin walked back to his room. Both of his brothers were sitting on his bed watching ‘Hey Arnold’ on Nickelodeon.
“You guys want pizza?”
“Yeah!” They both said and Justin picked up the phone again and dialed the pizza place.
*****
Justin’s parents walked into the house at about twelve o’clock. Paul had a dinner that he needed to attend for his job.
“It’s quiet.” Paul said.
“Yeah.” Lynn agreed. “Justin had better be back or he’s gonna be in trouble.” They walked into the family room and noticed how clean it was. Lynn walked upstairs while Paul went into the kitchen. She walked into Justin’s room and noticed that all three of her sons were in their pajamas sleeping on the floor. A movie was still on so Lynn walked over and shut the TV off. She walked carefully over her sons and tapped Justin lightly causing his eyes to open. “We’re home.” Justin nodded and sat up.
“They’ve been sleeping since about 10.” Justin said rubbing his eyes.
“What time did Aimee leave?”
“I kicked her out at like six, did you know that all she does is talk on the phone and yell at them.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah I got home and she was yelling at me because I wanted to use our phone.”
“So you spent the night playing with your brothers.” Justin nodded. “You haven’t done that in a long time.”
“Yeah I know.”
“You should do it more often. You know they only bug you all the time cause they want your attention.”
“I know. And I am. I told them I would.”
“Good.” Lynn smiled. “You wanna help me carry them to their beds?”
“Yeah.” Justin stood up and stretched before picking up Jonathon and walking with him into his room. He put him in his bed and covered him up. He walked out of the room and shut the door slightly and the light. His mom was just walking out of Stephen’s room.
“Thanks sweetie.” Lynn said kissing his cheek. “Why don’t you get to bed, it’s late.”
“Ok ma.” Justin walked into his room and closed the door and lay down on his bed and cried himself to sleep.
