jkwsquirrel

Thanks Lisa! Yep, this was a busy little chapter! Billy's at that point in his life where he's losing his awe about his parents and they're becoming "people" to him. They have a past that he's learning about. There's a reason they're together, and it's not him. At the same time, Billy is beginning to assert himself more as he starts to become more comfortable with himself. Younger Billy couldn't have had the kind of conversation he had with his dad in this chapter.

Hey bud, thanks so much for this review! This part of the story takes place Christmas 2000. Billy's birthday would be December 19, 1987. At that point, schools were just beginning to catch on that kids with dyslexia weren't dumb, they just saw the world differently. As I write, I keep in mind that there are folks who might relate to a particular aspect of a character, and I always want to be respectful of that. Brett's frustration with the way he's treated because of his condition will come to the fore in the upcoming chapters, especially the way his mom and Billy treat him. One of the things I wanted to develop is that Dustin isn't the only neglected character in the story. Even though Brett's mom isn't hitting him, she is neglecting him. It isn't physical abuse, but the way she treats him is still horrible. Brett doesn't really have a mom, he has a roommate.

“Billy, I’ve asked you three times to vacuum this carpet!” mom scolded me from the living room. If she’d asked me to vacuum, I didn’t remember. All weekend, mom had been a nervous wreck as she tried to do a thousand different things to prepare for the Christmas Eve party. I was so sick of Christmas and it hadn’t even come yet. Now it was the day of the party and she was on a rampage trying to make everything perfect for the big night. I began vacuuming the living room for her when she

It was even more difficult walking home than it had been walking to Brett’s house. I regretted not taking Dr. Reilly up on her offer to take us home, but if we had, we’d have never met Dustin on the hill and we’d have never found ourselves on that park bench. We definitely didn’t want to be in Palmer Park after dark. Though it probably would have been safe considering the weather, there were rumors about the place and about boys our age that were kind of scary. Rumors that all small towns ha

Thanks Lisa! Ah, young love can be so cruel! We're going to dive a lot deeper into Dustin's life in the next part of the story.

We rested on top of the hill for a few minutes. The snow had stopped for the most part, but it was still very cold and we didn’t want to hang out for too long. The wind had died down as well and it looked like if we hurried we might be able to have some fun in the snow when we got back to my house. As we began to start toward my house, we noticed that someone was walking toward us on the trail. “Oh no,” Brett muttered. I squinted my eyes to try to see what he was upset about. I couldn

Thanks Lisa! I really enjoys your reviews. It'll be interesting to see how things progress with Brett and his father. We haven't heard the last of this situation!

It was about one o’clock when we finally made it out of the house. The snow hadn’t stopped and it was going to be a struggle to walk up the hill and through the woods between our houses. I hoped the rest of winter wasn’t going to be as rough as the first day was turning out to be. Once my house was securely locked up, we began the slow trudge to Brett’s place. We were both bundled up and warm enough for the journey. Brett had traded in his usual Yankees baseball cap for the warmer Yankees w

Thanks as always Lisa! I really appreciate your comments! I'm sure Dustin will have a very mature and reasonable reaction to the developments in this chapter. I mean, 13 year olds are always reasonable, aren't they?

When I woke up the next morning, I felt weird. I knew that there was something different about the day. Something… strange. From my bed, I could see the snow was still falling outside. I rolled over and collided with Brett. “Ow!” I yelped. Brett stirred, but didn’t wake up from me smashing into him. I rolled the other direction and slid out of bed. I stood there for a while and watched him sleep. It was the closest I’d been to him in a long while and I wanted to enjoy just being able to

Thanks again, Lisa! George has his moments, but he's human and messes up. Billy got his temper from his dad, after all.

Aw, you're too sweet, Lisa! Thanks!

Brett fell asleep on the way home. I don’t think it was because of the late hour but because he was exhausted. He had poured his heart out in that back seat. I’d never seen him so emotionally drained. It was like every ounce of his considerable energy had been spent. When we arrived at the house, dad had to shake him to wake him up. Brett was completely out of it and could hardly walk. The light rain had now turned into a gentle snow. It wasn’t enough to stick to anything yet. I fo

Well thanks for reading, my friend! Don't worry, it'll all be in sync soon. I started on nifty earlier and publish there every two weeks or so. I also publish there in a different format. When I started publishing here, I began playing catch-up. When the two sites are in sync, It'll be updated every two weeks on both sites. We'll have to see about Billy and Brett getting together!

Thanks rockycs! Brett is very much a neglected child, both at home and at school. Just because his mom buys him whatever he wants doesn't mean he's not starving for attention. (And here's a glimpse into the writer's mind - that's why he's always hungry and eats the way he does.) We'll just have to see how things go with George as we progress. The story is as much about Billy and his relationship with his parents as it is about his relationship with Brett. Thanks a lot for reading and for your review!

Thanks Arran! I'm slowly working to bring the story here on GA up to speed with nifty, so by the end of Cold Winter both sites will be on the same schedule. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story. Thanks for reading and thanks a lot for the review!

The car was completely quiet on the way home, except for the sound of the car’s engine and the highway. I sat in the front seat holding a rapidly melting ice bag on my mouth. Joey sat in the middle of Dustin and Brett. He must have felt quite awkward there between those two! Dustin was glaring at Brett with murderous wrath. If he didn’t like Brett before the last couple days, he hated him now! Brett was staring out the window. The last place he wanted to be was stuck in that car after the

Sometimes after writing Brett's dialogue I find myself inserting the f-word into my other conversations. Anyway, I agree, both boys were kind of testosterone-fueled little dirt bags in this chapter. Billy was already grumpy after how poorly he performed, then Brett poked the bear. Billy is not one to sit back when someone provokes him, and he fights dirty. Anything his dad said was going to irritate him. As for Brett, stay tuned! Things will begin to clear up in the next chapter!

I called Brett to ask if he wanted to stay overnight after bowling. I was happy when he said that he could, and that he would bring his stuff over before we went bowling that night. As soon as I hung up the phone, I felt a little bit guilty that I’d not asked Dustin if he wanted to sleep over too. But there were many days of Christmas break and there would be other nights. I was sure I could find the time to get Dustin to sleep over. At any rate, I asked Brett not to tell Dustin or Joey tha

Funny, many of Paula's arguments are ones I heard a lot growing up. Sometimes if you go to the right (wrong?) places you'll still hear them. But, from Billy's perspective, Paula and George can't do or say anything right, because he's 14 and knows everything. The story is as much about Billy's relationship with his parents as it is about his love life. Dustin is all about loyalty. That is his defining quality. (Brett's is honesty and Billy's is justice.) One of the most surprising and even devastating things about abused children is the lengths they will go to to defend the most vile actions of their abusive parents. Too often, they will turn it around and find a way to blame themselves for their parents' actions.

It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out! The next chapter is very important. Dustin is loyal to a fault, even to those who take advantage of him. Loyalty is his key characteristic. It's why Billy just assumes Dustin will always be there. It's why Dustin will defend even someone who abuses him.

I walked into my house and threw my book bag on the couch. I was happy that I would not have to study again until next year. I wondered if 2001 would be better than 2000 had been. Surely it couldn’t be any worse. I’d lost my grandmother. I’d been in huge fights with my mom and dad. I’d broken a bone in my face. My best friend’s life had turned into a train wreck. How could any year be worse than that? I turned on the television and sat on the couch. The news was more of the same.

Oh yes! We haven't seen the last of Brett's bratty side yet. Nor have we seen the last of Ms. Winston. Oh, there's a lot of good stuff on the way!

Oh yes, much more drama! But, we're going somewhere with it all. Stay tuned!

The world seems a little different when you open your eyes on your birthday. The sky is a little brighter. The birds are a little happier. The grass is a little greener. And you are a whole year older! All in one day! You go to bed thirteen, you wake up fourteen! And then there are the birthday perks. Everyone who knows you greets you with "Happy Birthday" instead of "Get the fuck out of my way, loser." Your relatives send you birthday cards which hopefully contain little green slips of