jkwsquirrel

I think she always knew, but denial is a hell of a drug.

Brett is a very desperate boy who sees his world collapsing all around him. He's got everything he's ever wanted and yet he's terribly lonely and afraid of losing what he holds most dear. You're right about him being resistant to therapy. He's resistant to the whole idea!

Brett's about as subtle as a hammer, isn't he? "Yeah, if you didn't throw away my pot I'd love to have it back..." Brett sees therapy as beneath him. Look at the way he talks about his mom's patients and the work she does. He thinks of people who go to therapy as weak. They've pulled his mom away from him. Now she wants him to become one of them. It's hurt him very deeply. You might be on to something concerning the coin collection. George seems very insistent that Billy keep hold of it. You should be worried about Paula - But that's a tale for another time.

Brett thinks his life is crashing down all around him and he's scared of what the future will look like. The only way he knows how to cope is by lashing out at everybody. Ever since Dustin called him on his crap he's been desperately trying to tighten his grip on everything he holds dear.

Thanks as always! Brett's mom is quite the character. All of Brett's accusations were from his heart. He desperately wants to have a real relationship with her. He sees her sending him to someone else to get help as the ultimate betrayal. That Billy would take her side in this has wounded him very deeply. Are there more drugs in Brett's box? Nah. It's just an expensive box. I think Brett was hoping Billy had just forgotten to get rid of the pot.

I walked down the hallway at school and went into the empty bathroom. I stood at the urinal and waited, but nothing was happening. Then Brett walked up next to me and stood at the next urinal. He whipped out his cute limp dick and balls over the top of his boxers. He had no problem peeing. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to leave a gap in the urinals when another guy is here?” I asked. “Really?” Brett asked. “Is that some kind of law?” “Yeah. You only stand right next to

I can't tell you how much I value your perspective as a mom as I share this story. I can get into the heads of the male characters much more easily than the female characters, so it's awesome to have a take from a mom's side of things. I think "speechless" was kind of the vibe I was going for here. Like, "I can't believe I gave birth to this monster." I think Brett's vicious little song will be a turning point for their relationship. Jen knows how important music is to Brett. Knowing that he's using it as weapon against her has to tell her something.

Thanks, my friend! I'm glad you're enjoying the story! We're definitely learning more about Dr. Reilly in this portion of the story. This chapter was a nice little slice-of-life story until things went so far off the rails at the end! I like exploring their lives a little bit from time to time.

Denial is a hell of a drug. Brett's doing everything a 15 year-old kid can do to say "I'm not okay." He knows he needs help. He's already asked Billy to help him. His meltdown was just another way of saying "Help me!" Will she listen? Interesting to see the parallels between when Billy got slapped and when Brett got very gently tapped on the cheek. Billy ended up hurting himself. What will Brett do?

Dr. Reilly is an interesting character. I don't think she realizes what she's doing to Brett with her indulgence. Brett can't test his boundaries because there are no boundaries to press. I think she liked the idea of being a mom, but not actually being a mom. Brett seems to think she loves her career more than him. Maybe he's right? I can't say too much about your questions. I can say that we will deal with those mysteries more in the future. And yes, Billy is becoming a young man through all the crap that's taken place in his life. It's kind of refreshing!

For all of Brett's issues, and there's lots of issues, he's not a liar. At times he can be too honest. Now, he will skirt the line by withholding information, but he justifies that with "you didn't ask" kind of technicalities. That said, there's nothing that will irritate him more than being lied to. We're heading somewhere soon with his struggles. There are definitely ADHD and other issues going on in his brain. He has some processing issues, which is what makes him so volatile. Think of it as a bottleneck in his brain. There's too much going in and not enough room to process it all out. I thought this was one of my more clever titles. (My favorite chapter title so far was "Going Down Swinging".) It really could have gone either way. Brett's behavior at the end of the chapter was kind of strange. He got what he wanted, but it goes back to that processing issue. Sex is very complicated. Processing all of the complex emotions is overloading his processor. It'll take some time to sort it all out. Freak out coming in 3... 2... 1...

Shhh!! You're going to ruin the fun! lol! One of the things I have tried to do with this story is make all of the problems come about as a result of the character's own flaws. There's not an outside villain causing all the drama. It's all brought about by the characters' (usually Billy's) own actions. I think it's fun to see the various interactions. When Brett and Dustin blew up, there wasn't anything they said that wasn't true from their point of view. They believe the worst in each other, so of course their encounter was vicious and sadistic. Early in the story, I shared with someone that Brett is just as neglected as Dustin. It's taken a while to show what I mean by that. At first, it's cute that Brett is always hanging around Billy's house. But now it's becoming clear why that was the case. Brett's misbehavior and copious use of the f-word seemed silly and mischievous, until you realize the boy has absolutely no boundaries set before him. That he's as normal as he is is a testament to the Roberts family's influence. He's more their kid than Jen's.

Yeah, I could have called it a tank-top or a sleeveless t-shirt, but I thought "wife-beater" was more appropriate for the scene that followed. I just picture Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire" I'm glad you liked the church scene. I write so much drama that it's nice to just explore everyday living from time to time. There's a reason Billy loves these people in spite of the drama. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. It won't go on forever, but there's still much story to tell!

We'll get more answers as we go along. Billy seems to think something's wrong. Brett himself has a theory he'll give us in the next chapter. Jen's just got her head in the sand. Brett does have some anger issues, but he's more of a thrower of objects, not a violent kid. Lots of pent-up rage, that's for sure.

Could be any number of things. We'll just have to find out together! Thanks!

Billy lost something alright! Who does that? - A horny teenage boy! lol Seriously though, Billy isn't in control of his life at the moment. Even the losing of his virginity was Brett's initiative, not Billy's. Billy is being tossed about on the wind and waves because his port in the storm has been missing. He's lost without his family, especially his dad. What seemed like a grand adventure is turning out to be something less. I like Dustin too. He's fun to write. So wounded and vulnerable. He's had it pretty rough. There was nothing that came out of him during his meltdown that wasn't put into him by his abusive parents and sister. One day Brett will get what's coming to him for the way he treated Dustin.

Thanks again! I think if you go back to scenes with Dustin's parents and the words they use in their treatment of Dustin you'll find that much of that abuse found its way into Dustin's mind. When he flipped out, much of what came out of him was what was put into him. "You hear me?" This was Brett Reilly at his most sadistic and vicious. This was what I meant when I said that Brett uses his insight and intuition for evil. He knew just where to hit Dustin. But like any good bully, he couldn't take it when the one he was bullying hit him back. Once Dustin struck back he blew Brett out of the water and left him a sputtering mess at the end. Poor Billy. He feels like a tennis ball being batted around at the moment, but it'll get better for him!

I'm grateful, my friend! Glad you're enjoying the ride!

Thanks Lisa! I agree with your assessment of the previous reviews! I have some of the best readers and reviewers. I love the passion! Brett is the best psychologist in his family. He understands people intuitively at a very deep level. He's also very blunt with his comments so he sometimes hurts people without meaning to do it. If Brett would use his insight for good, he would be an amazing friend and confidant. Unfortunately he prefers to use his powers for evil. It has been strange writing this part of the story without George in the picture. He is kind of the conscience of the story. We've been seeing him through his son's eyes, so at times he can seem intimidating and gruff because that's how Billy relates to him. The next chapter is very rough. You're right to be afraid!

Was it all just a beautiful dream? Oh, I didn’t want to wake up. The bed was so perfectly comfortable and so warm and soft. Everything felt so perfectly right, so of course it couldn’t last. “Wake up. We’re going to be late,” Brett informed me. I stirred in my bed in the guest bedroom and woke up from the most beautiful dream. Brett and I were married and living on a beautiful island by ourselves where we could be naked and have all the sex we wanted all the time. It was l

Billy can be extremely stubborn, that's for sure! Billy is quite conservative in a lot of ways. With his parents, that's not surprising. We'll find out about Dustin soon enough!

I suspect you're right about Brett. There's bound to be more trouble ahead for him, but at least there is hope for him yet. Not sure he was ready for what happened. He's still got some growing up to do. On the whole, it was a very good day for team Brett!

That's right, DQ! If the boys thought sex was going to make their relationship easier they're in for a surprise. We haven't heard the last of Dustin, that's for sure!

Not going to lie, that's why I chose the title. I wanted the big moment to be a surprise for you just like it was for the boys. Hopefully it was enjoyable!

Thank you! An interesting turn of events, I'd say! The boys were bound to do it at some point. Make up sex is one of life's joys. A very intimate chapter.