Shadow086

Joey doesn't have it nearly as bad as Dustin for sure, but in both cases the boys ended up feeling empty and worthless. And in some cases I'd argue that emotional abuse is more destructive than physical abuse.

I still don't see it. He didn't seem to do anything to stop the pastor from almost calling out Billy in his sermons, nor did he do anything to stop the rumours about Billy's mom having an affair with David. In fact, he could've made the whole thing up to drive a wedge between them and isolate Billy. The only thing I can give Jack credit for is getting Joey to leave Billy alone. So let's agree to disagree, because I don't see anything in the chapters that would indicate Jack defending Billy from other people. Of course, we only know what Billy knows, so you could be right, but from what we've seen of Jack's character, it doesn't sound like something he'd do. What Miss Winston said when Billy visited her makes me think that the pastor knows too and will use that to push Jack out of the way very soon.

Jack threatened to sue Billy and his family into bankruptcy if he didn't keep his mouth shut. He also threatened to out Billy to the entire town. That's not what I call 'being a supporter'. I also think that Joey saying Billy was a loser not good enough for Brett was a line fed to him by Jack. I guess we'll have to disagree, because I don't think Jack is supporting Billy at all. He's very manipulative, and he'll do whatever it takes to keep his secret safe, even if it means pretending to be nice to Billy.

Fair enough, but so is this part of what Jack said: "I’ve never rejected you, Billy. I’ve been your biggest supporter!" That's not the truth, it's not even an opinion, it's an outright lie. But the rest of what you quoted is the truth, though.

She never really had a good reason for the way she handles Brett anyway. The kids are also at that age where they want to become their own person and make their own decisions instead of following the path their parents laid out for them. And with the parents these kids have, I can't say I blame them.

I seem to recall Joey bragging about it during one of his arguments with Billy. Billy indirectly admitted to knowing in the previous chapter, and I still think Brett picked up on that and remembers it. Sometimes I wonder if one of the reasons Billy hesitated and took the bribe was because Joey was there and Billy didn't want to break up his family in front of him. He doesn't know about Joey's home life at that point, so he probably thinks he's doing what's best for Joey. I love all the nuance in this story and its characters.

I'm not surprised that Dr. Reilly hasn't taken Jack to task, since she's doing pretty much the same thing with her own son. She's not exactly Mother of the Year material.

You forget this: "Anyone could see that he was reacting as a father, not like an ambulance chasing lawyer. Have you seen Brett and Joey side-by-side lately? They look more alike now than they did before. You can’t keep this charade up for much longer." and this: "Your power is a joke. You’re just a smalltime lawyer in a smalltime little town."

Then they bring out the "Jesus is all about forgiveness" line that they deny to people they disagree with. It amazes me how quickly these hate-spewing preachers can do a complete 180 when they get caught doing something bad.

Or they think their power and status lets them get away with it, but it'll come crashing down eventually.

I'm starting to think this is "Billy Roberts is gay" levels of worst-kept secret in town, but everyone ignores it because Jack McKenzie is "part of the right crowd" (and keeps threatening to sue everyone). I wonder if maybe Carl Stevens will be the one to throw him under the bus once he has no more use for him.

You forget where Brett gets his charisma from. Jack's a smooth talker, and I can't really blame Billy for not wanting to cause a scene, especially with Joey there. Billy was holding his own until Jack showed up, then he let Jack manipulate him just like before. Besides, he basically told Brett what he needed to tell him the night before, since I'm very certain that Brett knew what he was saying when he mentioned his dad. Just wait until they're alone, though. Joey's years of sexual assault, misconduct, and harassment are swept under the rug with a "Daddy doesn't love me, so I started doing drugs and treating you like shit so I don't feel so worthless." That still doesn't excuse what he did, though. I don't think what Joey did was right, and I don't think he deserves a free pass on it either. But I don't think we should completely dismiss his explanations and circumstances either. Joey's still an insufferable asshole, but at least now we know why he's an insufferable asshole.

This story reminds me why I hate living in a small town. All the petty bullshit, and hypocrisy, and "my reputation", it's so annoying. If you care so much what people will think if they find out you had an affair, just don't have an affair? And can we talk about how stupid Jack is to have his two sons hang out with each other when they just keep looking more and more alike? That's probably how both boys figured it out. I'm surprised no one else in town remarked on it yet.

The people who care the most about their good reputation and standing in the community are usually the people who least deserve to have them.

Billy Roberts caved under the slightest bit of pressure? I did not see that one coming! Jack and Jen played him for a fool, and Billy knows it. He didn't just say these things about Brett out of the blue, Jen probably told him that the only way to keep Billy quiet is to make him think that Brett would hate him if he didn't. On the other hand, he did already tell him when he thought Brett was out of it (I think he wasn't). And I don't think Brett bought that story about an internship either. Wow, Joey's even more fucked up than I thought. He's probably second only to Dustin in the messed-up life department. I also thinks he knows his father's secret and wouldn't mind seeing him out of the picture. This chapter puts a lot of Joey's actions in perspective. The way I see it, Joey hated the fact that Brett is obviously Jack's favourite son. He might have come to resent Billy because of how he and Brett are happy together, yet another thing Joey doesn't have. As well, of course, as the way he thinks Billy has everything handed to him while he tried his best for years and never got any recognition. Joey feels unwanted and lashes out at the people who have their parents' love the way he never had, and in his circle of friends that's Billy. Joey has me feeling the same way I did about Dustin in Rehabilitation. I can't forgive or excuse the things he did, but I now that I understand why he acts that way, I have some sympathy for him. Joey and Dustin are similar in that way. Maybe Joey's dad didn't physically beat him (I think he did hit him at one point, though), the emotional damage he did is just as bad. Joey just turned to drugs instead of prostitution as his escape. The Kids Aren't Alright: such an appropriate title for a chapter at this point. I think this is where all the lies start blowing up in people's faces, though we'll mostly see about Billy's lies. Brett's got a lot of time on his hands to think and confront Billy about things. Sure, he'll be mad at Billy for a while, but I think they love each other too much to let this come between them for long. PS: I'm really starting to hate Jen and how spineless she is. Everything she did since Billy told her he knew proved to me that she's selfish and chose her friend over her own son at every opportunity. Now I understand why Brett treats her the way he does, and I think Billy's also starting to see her for the selfish, lying snake that she is.

When isn't something wrong when it comes to these two?

Great story, @Comicality, I loved how Jason didn't take advantage of the situation and gave Blake a chance to experience things with the right guy.

But really, Billy? The guy spent years being obsessed with finding his dad, and one day, out of the blue, he just drops it and moves on, and you think that's normal? Come on. How can a guy be so smart and so stupid at the same time?

What we have to remember is that Jack McKenzie is a bully and like most bullies, he's almost all talk. He's always managed to do what he wants by threatening to sue everyone that gets in his way. The problem with that is that one day he'll run into someone who's going to call his bluff. Brett (and I believe Joey as well) knows about their biological connection, and he could retaliate in a nasty way if Jack goes after Billy, he wouldn't risk it.

Does anyone here think Jack won't try to use this to get Billy out of the running for valedictorian?

There's always a fight coming in this story, it's just a matter of seeing if it's going to be Billy or Brett that does the fighting. And you're right. I think Dave acts the most Christian out of all the known members of that church, including Paula.

I've always thought that Brett knew Jack was his father, ever since he stopped talking about his dad. I don't think he knew that Billy knows, though, and he's going to be really pissed that Billy lied to him about it all this time. Brett said so himself, he doesn't care who his dad is, he's just tired of everyone lying to him about it, and now he finds out the person he trusts the most was lying to him as well.

Well, a lot happened. Jack might want to ease up on the Father Hen act, unless he wants to reveal certain secrets. Paula's absolutely right, as a "friend of the family", he doesn't get to decide who can and can't see Brett. In any case, I won't feel bad if he ends up giving away the fact that he's Brett's father. Jen: I get where she's coming from, and that she's angry at Billy for getting Brett on that dirtbike. But I wonder if she also isn't upset in a small part because she had to get Jack involved. Now we know where Billy got his obliviousness from, huh? It was good to see Dave finally have a nice talk with Billy to clear the air about some things. And having him defend Billy in the argument with Paula was great to see as well. It's interesting that Dave seems to have lost at least some respect for Carl after the incident with Nate, I like the vanilla douche more and more. And I was right about him deciding his hands-off approach wasn't working To Paula's credit, she now accepts at least part of B&B's relationship. But as usual with the Christian moral police, she's obsessed with the sex part. I'm sure it would be the same if Billy had a girlfriend, despite what he said. Brett mentioning his dad spells trouble for Billy. Billy still hasn't learned that Brett is more observant than he lets on. I think Brett's known about his father for a while and stopped bringing it up because he knows Jack is a dick. I don't think Brett really cared much about his dad, and his main problem with the situation was that he knew Jen was lying to him about it. And since Billy basically admitted that he knew because he's so sure that Brett won't remember that conversation, I think there's a very good chance that Brett will remember it, and that Billy kept it secret from him. Liars' Club: I think that's the club for people who lied to Brett about his father. Brett's going to be angry at Billy over this, at least for a little while. I also think we're going to hear about what went on at church, that should be interesting. I'm half expecting Carl to start spreading rumours about the dirt bike incident that Paula knows aren't true, maybe that will open her eyes to the kind of lying hypocrites she's trying to fit in with.

Having a very good reason for doing what he did doesn't make it less disappointing. But the urgency in Theo's actions make me think it's too late to avoid the alternative anyway, so he may have broken Torsten's trust for nothing. Considering he can do something very similar to teleportation, he could be watching distractedly. But when I think about it, he did a lot of watching Theo, so he could very well be running interference on Darren's plans instead.