Krista

Also, I cannot remember the last time I had a donut myself...

I wish I knew the context of this... if I were a cat, I'd be on my 10th life.

Maybe I'll write a happy, happy, happy story... from start to finish. Y'all better read it though. I say that knowing how Ellis starts out... and will end.. lol. --- And, @Lee Wilson I don't know how I feel about all this... I'm supposed to be the scary one. How the turns have tabled... I have one whole story with a character killing off another. It is a short story that people were angry with me over, because I didn't give them a part two. It was on my 'to-do' list, but got lost in the shuffle of things.

Yikes.. 😮 I don't think she's that unhinged. lol.

Yeah... unconditional caring and neighborly niceties seems to have fallen to the wayside.

It may also resonate with those of you who had people in your lives that you knew you absolutely couldn't come out to? Not that Celia was that sort of person, but the 'fear' and reasoning that Joel used was very similar to that? I wouldn't know. I had my secrets from people, but they weren't so... fear based/life altering. But yeah, the release of that after a good outcome, or at least now living in the knowledge of where you stand with people.. has to lift a weight or shift it. He's no longer tiptoeing along a cliff's edge though, at least with her.

Oh... I also forgot to mention that Trace did ball up Celia's shirt into his fist. Gives you a hint that maybe... just maybe... Celia has a bit of a feisty streak in her and if Lisa overstepped she would have found out... lol. I wonder how close you were to getting your dust scattering wrestling match out on the front lawn...

I think if Lisa found out she "raised" 2 out of 3 she'd have to be heavily medicated or sauced up, or both.

Not our unintentional hero! 😮

Yeah, poor Joel went from only Trace knowing to: Celia, Cody, Colt, and Davin. His walls encroached all around him rather quickly. Of course, Cody knowing was a nice surprise for him that he didn't see coming. Seeing Cody fighting for him probably felt just as good as that hug (boob smooshing as it was) from Celia, if he sits back and thinks about Cody's strength in that moment anyway. Celia knowing is like the release of a held breath, I'm thinking. A nice satisfying sigh that lifts some weight off. It took so long and Joel was always teetering on between fear and sadness... Hopefully he'll see that maybe he doesn't have to live in that between anymore.

Celia is a star. Trace is as well. We need more of both in this world. Cody too for that matter. I think the only way 'Weasley' could sell drugs is if he somehow managed to install a drive-thru out his bedroom window. 😮 And it would. Get rid of the kid that shows promise just to see your other one fall well below expectations and end up more of a wreck for you than the one you discarded. And, Cody is a complete wildcard for them. One they've probably barely considered during all this, unfortunately. I'm also so glad that the coming out scene with Joel was as well received as it has been. I was scared that it wouldn't be, since it took so long to happen. I've done so many of these similar stories... but I do think Joel is the one character that outright came out, I'm thinking? Christian all those years ago might have as well... I know Jackson never did, he didn't label himself. And I think my go-to move is for the parent to approach the subject first.

Hmmm. Do I have another curveball I can throw whenever the next secret author contest comes around? Write a complete rage-stabbing sort of massacre. No one would see that coming from sweet innocent little me.

Lacey and Cody are similar in age. I think Joel makes that realization off-hand in an earlier chapter. Although, it might have just been a comparison sort of thing that hasn't ever been confirmed really. But there's not a big age gap between them, less than a year. And Lisa will never be an empty-nester. lol... I don't see one of her children ever leaving. She may have a fuller house if Westley makes her a grandmother. 😮 I think he could get motivated enough to accomplish that... accidentally.

I don't know that Westley is even motivated enough to do anything that would warrant a police response.

Well the guy was told by Trace, Davin, Gavin, Lacey, hell probably even the dogs, and Colt of all people that Celia would have accepted him. It was complete fear and not wanting to relive the loss of a 'mother' even one that's mostly a stranger to him, for him to risk it. Lisa did a number on him. Trace also said that Celia is rather perceptive, so who knows. I think she keeps a lot of her realizations inward, waiting for the person to come forward and open that door instead of her barging in.

Yeah, I don't know how Cody came to know. Westley is likely the heavy betting favorite on that. I doubt either of his parents would outright give him the reason. I could see Cody bugging Westley until he exploded, just to get Cody to drop it and not pester him with it. I do wonder after school stars for him if Cody would be so willing to keep the biggest secret the Benton household still holds... I wonder if their mother covered that base with him yet or not. I think Joel has heard enough from both of his parents to realize that 'Home' for him has changed. But hopefully it doesn't put too much distance between him and his brother.

Oh goodness... 😮 Twenty is rather rage-heavy. The police were headed somewhere, that's all I'm going to say.

I see you used my favorite word. Maybe. Another beautifully poetic comment, lovely. A few hairline cracks, they've probably been there since she saw the images on that laptop. She felt the parting words. We did see Phil push back a little and is already thinking about what his children may need past what his wife wishes and possibly what he's willing to understand at the moment. There's some hope there, but I do wonder if Joel will ever see it. And, forgiveness can set Joel free. It could be the very thing he needed to start fresh.

He may have waited to the very last mile to finally speak, but at least he did. It allowed him to be uplifted by her and put on firmer ground. I didn't feel the impact of the scene when I wrote it, but I did when I read it. I'm proud of Cody as well. Yeah, Phil Benton is caught out with wanting to possibly still be there for Joel. He doesn't understand him anymore, their vision of who Joel is changed for them... and they didn't like that change. It will take a lot for him to reach out fully, I'm thinking. That's likely not something that's going to happen within weeks, months... might not happen within a year or more... not with Lisa in his ear, so yes... a set needs to be grown. And no, I don't think they had dropped in on the Benton house. It would have been a ripe for gossip scandal... 😮 Poetic justice, maybe... but Joel aside, they have a pretty stable household. Westley needs a shit ton of work... and Lisa has shown her true colors, but stability is there.

Funny story, I've only had one mother figure that was universally liked from start of the story to the finish. That's Cora from, "Standing in Shadows," and there was a chapter or two where she got some heat from readers about how she handled something. Y'all didn't like Jackson's mother Grace much at all in the whole first half of that story. She grew on you guys though, but in the beginning she was just as unliked as the Cindzilla. It's easy to see that throwing away Joel has left a void... Westley isn't going to fill that void. Cody lost probably one of the most important people in his young life, he's not going to forget that. She's risking a lot, Celia told her as much. And yeah, he's scrappy.

She works at a Hospital. She likely works with and deals with people from all walks of life on a daily basis. She's kept her job all these years, so she can 'deal with it' it seems. Too bad that didn't extend to her own children... And yeah, I don't know if she'd be okay with Cody brought home a gay friend... but I don't see her pulling him out of school... well, maybe not 'before' Joel being outed anyway. She might be at her end with all this and I could see her doing that, homeschooling him and such. And yeah, rare moment where Trace gave good, 'but' the 'wrong' advice. lol. Hmm. I wonder what the police cruisers were up to.

I do feel for Cody, he's at the age where he's still well within the sphere of thinking that his parents can't do no wrong. Now he's at odds with that youthful and innocent way of thinking. I couldn't imagine having that much distrust all of a sudden, but he feels it. He hints at it when he defended Joel, it was more than just feeling slighted and on a border of a tantrum. He was fighting completely against the two people that he probably never thought would do him or his brothers any harm, or unfairness. Him leaving and running, is more or less him getting out of a situation where he feels scared and powerless... I'm thinking. And yeah, I think it is safe to also say that before Westley outed him, Joel was likely the kid they most depended on... and felt was the most grounded in reality with goals and ambition. If they haven't figured Wes out by now, they're blind. Cody is too young to put that much pressure on him yet. Mind you, we're only seeing all this fallout. Joel hints at a great childhood with reasonable and thoughtful, easy to love parents... that's the pain of it all. If they could 'get over' Joel's sexuality, then Joel's whole story wouldn't have played out like it has. Your comment choked me up a bit as well.

Yeah, all seems to be teetering on whether or not Phil Benton can overcome his own issues with Joel and helps make any interactions Cody and Joel has happen. If he folds in that, then Lisa wins. At least until Cody gets to the age where he can stretch his own legs, I'm thinking. They can't keep him cooped up forever. I 'think' the only people that doesn't know about Joel within that household is Gavin and Lacey, that are human anyway. The dogs don't know either, but they don't really care, they're just in it for the head scratches, sneak treats, and pat-pats. If only unconditional love came as easily for humans...

Yeah, he finally got that confirmed beyond any doubt. There's still a lot of up in the air stuff within that dynamic though, so yes baby steps. Gotta learn to walk before you can run.