SilentandBroken

It saddens me but I am convinced now that Rory is officially off the board. Yeah reading the prior comments the passing out is more likely than anything simply the body’s physical reaction to mental stresses. No it doesn’t happen for everyone. It’s quite possible the fall he had exacerbated things. It IS possible there’s a small bleed that wasn’t picked up but I highly highly highly doubt that. A CT scan could show it, even with the technology back then. Anyway, the other possible boy out there, was the kid who slipped Robbie his number. Whatever became of that or him? How long ago in the story timeline was that little exchange? i must say Robbie did manage to do a little better with maintaining his temper after the conversation with Sue. God some people never change. Speaking of never changing, Don is a as transparent as a politician’s lie. Home Bible study? Ha. That whole charade is going to explode again yet and this time it’ll be right in front of Sue’s face. She won’t be able to deny it any more. It’ll cause Robbie to pass out again and then she’ll be pissed at Don and maybe just maybe she’ll get a fucking clue. They are incredibly pathetic. Good chapter

Ok there was a LOT to unpack yet again in this chapter. Kudos @Dodger for your craft in this. This is going to be a long as there’s a lot to address so apologies in advance. Robbie is still hoping for Rory and I don’t know if Rory is 💯 straight, bi, super closeted gay, or quite simply cannot decide and is too terrified to decide. I’m at a loss there other than thinking possibly he LIKES Robbie enough to where he’d consider going further but his paranoia is keeping any option from partially going there. To me Rory seems smarter than he lets on and knows that IF he and Robbie go further and try to keep it plutonic at school and in public, it won’t stay that way for long and rumor mill has already proven that. I think he also knows playing straight in public would Be pointless as it wouldn’t last long either. In short, the only person who is learning from Robbie’s repeated lessons is Rory. Don IS manipulating everyone not just Robbie. Let’s get that clear now. He controls Sue and his kids too. The second smartest kid to learn from Robbie’s mistakes is Daniel. Not dating, arguing or anything. He speaks when spoken to and does his best to remain invisible. Don absolutely will flex again with Symmons who while he may be a fully trained counselor, is one is name only. The man is muscle. All of this is nothing more than more abuse. Robbie’s passing out I highly doubt is caused specifically by his TBI or traumatic brain injury as that isn’t how the body works. But, it could be possible that something physically has developed in his brain due to his increased stress level as of late. However, typically, what you’re seeing is the physical results of even MORE failed attempts of the psychological mind trying to be defensive and protect Robbie physically. What’s happening is that because Robbie’s heart isn’t getting adequate oxygen exchange to the brain, caused by the anxiety and panic attack, he passes out. NOW, that said, it IS also entirely possible that his TBI has weakened his physical ability to cope with the physical stress caused by the anxiety. Remember, he hasn’t had this level of stress since his injury BUT, he also hasn’t been physically so active in a bit too. I know I know, get out of the weeds. No steamy hot boy sex or swimming and well, with no physical outlet for that tension and this is what you see. Been there done that. The shit Don is forcing on Robbie is only exacerbating everything. Finally, the meeting with Andrews and Walter was interesting and foreshadowed a lot. It seemed at first Walter had tried to get a bead on what happened with Symmons and how much they tried to pressure Robbie. Once that was established, their demeanor changed and I kind of got almost the same vibe from them as I did with Symmons. They have a script to follow and damn the consequences. This concerns me greatly and has given me less reasons trust them blindly now. It was pointed out above that Robbie’s grieving still hasn’t completely come full circle & that everyone has essentially ignored he still is even after he’s discussed his mother as of late. This is another stress. Robbie would benefit greatly perhaps most, speaking with a grief counselor. It would help him get a handle on a lot of the issues he’s facing. The anger, coming out, his depression, his overall poor emotional control, which as we see left uncontrolled, only creates MORE stress. But, being so stubborn as he is, I think he’s got to hit bottom before he recognizes how bad off he is. No, he’s not hit bottom yet, but he’s screaming towards it quickly. Robbie fairs much better when he has full loving support and affirmation and affection from non judgmental people who accept him for who he is. He isn’t really getting that. Rory seems to be the only one at least consistently. I said that in the beginning. Nicola is slowly coming around to being one of those but Robbie continues to poke her to get the rise out of her and frankly, that’s just undoing all the progress Nicola starts to make. Unfortunately Robbie is 💯 blind to it. Because of the bullshit deceptive behavior that Nathan and Alex have done to him as well as Don’s, Robbie is quickly learning to trust less first and this is where things are getting dangerous. The Andrews/Walker conversation might just push him to shut down completely on everyone. Robbie will completely get spun up in his own head and trying to get him out of that will be much harder than what is happening now. I don’t see him getting the support he needs soon much less in time before he retracts himself mentally. The bottom is coming up quickly. good chapter.

I didn’t even read the comments last chapter after reading it I was so pissed off. The comment that Don behaves much more like a Mafia Don vs a caring devoted parent (to any of his kids much less his dead sister’s). Mr. Symmons came off to me as hired muscle NOT a counselor of any type and this church? Don’t get me started. It sounds almost like a cult with muscle as the worker bees. Something tells me Sue has her head in the sand here too about that. Also, the pontificated idea that Don is Robbie’s father is off the mark. I don’t think it’s Mr. Andrews but I DO think he may have courted Robbie’s mother. I DO suspect that possibly it was the pastor or someone in this fundamentalist cult/church that Don was a part of and when Robbie’s mom got pregnant because they used that to keep her as part of their little hoard, that’s when she fled and met Mr. Andrews. I think she fled to the UK for safe keeping and to keep Ronnie away from that group. Unfortunately she got cancer and well here we are with no legal wiggle room. I think she tried to get Robbie under Andrew’s care but I don’t know Canadian law but my guess is that since Don being his uncle, so long as he was a suitable provider (which he meets in the eye of the court) there was no more choice. This whole church thuggery just pisses me off. I hope so wakes up but I’m quite certain she’s in the dark here

I just finished the chapter. I haven’t read the rest of the comments yet but I’ll scroll up to do so after this. . yeah safe mode is real fucking familiar. So is the cold sweats. Decent job articulating that . I’m glad you didn’t go into more detail there. Sue’s honey do list is well timed. It keeps Robbie from furrowing deeper inside his own head and becoming toxic to himself. Because, you see, that’s what really does it. I’m sure others have seen some of my comments on other stories in stories. But for those who haven’t, here’s the footnotes. I was coerced and under an older student who turned out to be a narcissist while we were in high school. A hot sexy af soccer player. (Side note, why are they ALWAYS soccer studs?) the relationship developed quickly over a year and deeply . I was hooked much like Robbie was to Nathan. Only my Nathan was much more like Alex minus the charade of being straight. I mean, yeah he dated girls too but it he wasn’t “out” with me. So I guess maybe. Fuck idk. I was 13. He was sweet at first. Then his grip tightened the more I tried to establish my own freedom. He got mean. He raped me a few times. Well in truth, every time but I was complicit a first bc I was into him badly but I say it wasn’t consensual because he used vodka and weed to lull me. Once he had me, he didn’t need it anymore. He was my Visarys in Game of Thrones. I didn’t want to “wake the dragon did I?” Hell i was terrified. I only tried to resist later. Anyway, at the end, once I found my Backbone he thought I was gonna go to the cops. So he got me to show up one morning at his place before school after the rest of the house had already left. I watched him put a 22 snub nosed revolver to his temple and pull the trigger while I stood 15 feet away and pulled the trigger. He died instantly. I shut down. Literally instantly blocked all the abuse out and blacked that out in my memory for decades later. For yrs I blamed myself. I was suicidal after that for a long time. A walking soulless kid who hated himself. It took more losses yrs ..decades later to get my into therapy that lasted 5 yrs. I’m ok now. Then however? Hmph every waking moment I wasn’t. Good chapter

Ok. I just read up to “maybe I do need some kind of help” and I have been waiting for the author to address the issue of his mom’s passing and the sheer lack of guidance offered to Robbie in the way of grief counseling. Forget EVERYTHING else. Forget all the gay teen drama, the sex, etc. it has been a a glaring gap in the story so far. That is obviously intentional and I’m not criticizing the author’s decision to do so. But why has it not been offered? Why wasn’t it pressed to him? This story is based in the early or at least mid 2000’s and we had to have known more about teen suicide and grief counseling by then. If it weren’t for Robbie having been relocated and adopted and distracted by all that and of course Nathan, I’d have expected Robbie to quit life after losing his mother his only close relative. I have been waiting for this to come up and haven’t said anything because frankly because learning how to grieve by yourself is something I unfortunately have a LOT of experience in. I expect the rest of this chapter to be very difficult for me and that’s ok. I know how to cope now. Back to the chapter.

You’re not wrong there. Ignorance would certainly be better even if it is far from innocent

Great chapter l loved the picking on Daniel conversation. Big points to Nicola and Alex for ganging up on Don. Double points for Nicola for voicing her thoughts on Nathan’s sexual history prior to Robbie. One big point I haven’t see mentioned but the results of opinions essentially say is that Nathan has already cheated and he’s trying to cover it up with the guy he did it with by saying he wanted to do a 3 way. I think Robbie’s refusal er at least his conditions foiled that plan and when Robbie put him in his place as well. I’m sure Nathan’s version of the breakup is making Robbie look like a complete ass when really the he’s the one looking slimey. Typical fucking narc.

Great chapter l loved the picking on Daniel conversation. Big points to Nicola and Alex for ganging up on Don. Double points for Nicola for voicing her thoughts on Nathan’s sexual history prior to Robbie. One big point I haven’t see mentioned but the results of opinions essentially say is that Nathan has already cheated and he’s trying to cover it up with the guy he did it with by saying he wanted to do a 3 way. I think Robbie’s refusal er at least his conditions foiled that plan and when Robbie put him in his place as well. I’m sure Nathan’s version of the breakup is making Robbie look like a complete ass when really the he’s the one looking slimey. Typical fucking narc.

Bravo to Robbie for stepping up and finally putting Nathan in line. There were so many comments and analysis I agreed with. I do not think Robbie should go rebound to Alex though it’ll probably happen and end just as quickly. The cabbie is right. Dating Rosie won’t hurt Robbie at all for a while. Most of what I felt was already said above. Onward!

First off, good chapter to keep us engaged. Initial thoughts are that yes, Robbie needs to gain control of his gob as he calls it. His knee jerk reactions to the smallest inconveniences like Sue exercising her right as his now legal guardian, are a prime example vs how they choose to essentially ignore his orientation. Granted, that said, he’s barely functioning as a teen and hasn’t quite matured to the point of being able to pick his battles. Alas this isn’t going end well with Nathan. Speaking of Nathan, I think he flat out lied to Robbie about what happened with Alex. This is going to come back on him as soon as Robbie confronts Alex. Robbie is gonna not react well as while yes he lied too, he and Alex didn’t mess around when Nathan and Robbie became an item.

Ok the last week was a lot to unpack while Tom visited . Frankly, most of it seemed to revolve around Nathan vs anyone else. I have to agree with a lot of what was said above. I still held onto my reservations about Nathan from the beginning but was willing to give him the chance to prove me wrong. From the beginning he’s be nothing BUT a flirt. It’s clear Nathan knows more and is way more experienced in the realm of being sneaky for some freaky deaky. His inquiry about a 3 way confirmed that. Same with that no tell motel. Robbie was Nathan’s biggest trophy in his little world since his arrival especially since he was the new kid last yr in school and all. I wouldn’t be shocked at all if Alex was last yr’s big fish for Nathan being the star pitcher and stud. Nathan is very manipulative. Robbie is in denial about that. Tom was right as his tenured bestie to warn him. As for what he heard/saw, one thing has stood out to me especially this last week. Daniel and Nicola. They BOTH know something and im betting I has to do with Nathan and Alex. Daniel kept himself very distant. We don’t know what conversations he and Tom had in the bedroom behind closed doors and Tom seems to be the one who would ask questions to him regarding Nathan to Daniel and probably get some answers. I’m willing to bet that Nathan has made moves on Daniel (possibly Tom too) and when they got rejected that’s when he stopped coming around. Nicola I think knows that too. I think she’s onto Alex too. I wouldn’t be shocked if she’s putting 2 & 2 together with him and Nathan. I think they wanted to give Nathan a chance to be good for Robbie but unfortunately Nathan is too big a personality and his ego for it to be a long term thing. I think their relationship is going to crash and burn quickly. Alex is still recovering and I think now that Tom has gone back to the UK, I think Nathan is too much of a randy boy for sex that he’s gonna get caught by Robbie giving Alex (who is just as randy and can’t even date Rosie Palms) head or more. It’ll crush Robbie but I think it’ll be the only way for him to lose his rose colored glasses with Nathan. The only person who will be able to comfort him is going to be Rory. Rory is a bit of an empath. (I think he’s coming around to the rainbow team very very slowly. Perhaps not.) Robbie will be too pissed at the family for not saying anything and he will return to being his rebellious distancing self in regards to them. Amy will be the only one who won’t get the cold shoulder. I think Tom will get some too bc he didn’t warn him more. The next couple of chapters are going to be hard to stop reading. Bravo on this one

Wouldn’t have any effect. He’s too dense to get why you did.

Well said!!

I’d have to add Randy as a very pursuable boyfriend from New Kid In Town. While Ryan is very cute and sexy … what attracts me most is Randy’s heart. Just like Zack. Just like Taryn or even Justin too. For me it’s always been the heart that mattered most. That’s how I always saw Comsie. That’s what hurts so much for me when I learned he passed. His heart was so caring. I’ll never understand why ppl who have such an amazing heart pass away so soon. It just doesn’t seem fair

Ok yes Zack is definitely a bit of a cheat and yeah he was mine too for many of the same reasons. But I often thought as I read MOE that I wish I had a Brody. Or at least, someone like him who pursued me and kept the positive reinforcement up and loved me despite my self loathing. Taryn is another

Whoa shit…and so it begins…if Alex takes Robbie’s room while recovering Daniel better watch out. Alex does not take no for an answer and yes he IS that bold and stupid to try something

My bad

Trouble is brewing between Nathan and Robbie. They’re both keeping secrets from each other on their past. I don’t know if Alex and Nathan played around but I’m not gonna be shocked if they did. Alex isn’t telling Robbie what happened between him and Nathan either so this is a definite possibility. This isn’t gonna be good. Also, I don’t like the Daniel/Ginny match. Sunscreen drama aside (which was very funny), she’s yet to show her batshit crazy side as has been reported. Given the exchange between that Matt douchebag and Robbie, I’m liking him for the guy who shoved Robbie. The kid who called after and apologized might know something about that…hmmmmm Robbie might need to make another friend there bc that kid had a guilty conscience after that chest puffing incident and I’m wondering if there’s more to it. Unexpected company of the negative type hinted at could be anything I’m not gonna speculate there. Good chapter

Yes the natives are getting restless

No rush..but I’m ready for chapter 10 j/s 😂

That would be Sun Tzu

So are these two:

Oh and it’s no surprise that Amy and Luke hit it off at 10yo. An ode of things to one? Hmmmm

Great chapter and yet again Don is fairly absent. Yet not. Clearly he has control over Sue and by proxy, Robbie. The Alex selfie issue will cause some drama bc I don’t think Robbie will be able to talk to Nathan before hand. He will fold and ultimately regret it. I think Nicola will be the one to vouch for Robbie here and save his and Nathan’s relationship bc this will break Nathan’s heart at first before he learns the truth. Something tells me Don isn’t done trying to force a split too. I don’t him any more than I do Alex

Well now Robbie has learned what damage control feels like…. but seriously, Sue needs to stop trying to bring in strays. 🤣 nikola …eh….not sure her angle here. I think maybe she’s trying to protect Robbie. There’s something she’s not saying or knows and I think it has to do with Alex. Robbie hasn’t known him all that long and Robbie also is still not a “local”. There’s more to the Alex story that anyone knows but I suspect we will find out soon. However, Nicola is right. Robbie needs to get in front of that pic before Nathan gets it and then things REALLY go south.