Cane23

The moment she put those posters up at the school, I knew something bad was going to happen. Bravery deserves respect, but this was reckless - she practically painted a target on the school. If the cartels already knew who Hunter’s father was, it was only a matter of time before the boy became a target as well. Hunter’s behavior, though - his calm under pressure, sharp observation, and instinct to run toward danger to help - left a strong impression on me. Wanted or not, he truly is his father’s son. Amazing chapter...with lot of turmoil at the end...or is it just the beginning?!

I’ll know Davin is okay when he finally picks up a baseball bat and smashes every artifact in that awful house he’s forced to call home.

I think this applies to both of them. Joel did get drunk, and I’m sure he’ll regret it tomorrow morning. However, Devin seems to have more serious issues with alcohol. I wouldn’t go so far as to call him an addict, but at every party or hangout it’s beer after beer. He might need to slow down a bit too.

Yea, he's a saint!

Joel doesn’t hate him in this chapter either - he’s just trying to help!

So many firsts for Joel - his first time getting drunk, his first real friendships, his first fight(s), and… his first love. He’s been hiding in his shell for so long, terrified that his secret might come out, that he hasn’t really been living - just surviving. I’ve never been a fighter myself, and I’m not a fan of violence, but… I get it. Bullies often only understand one language - the language of fists. Davin means well; he wants Joel to stay under the radar. But as similar as they are, all the pressure and pain Joel carries has to burst out somewhere. Maybe baseball training will help him channel that anger, and once he starts winning, acceptance might follow. Still, the best part of the chapter was this line: “I could help,” I offered and watched his mouth fall open. Joel must be feeling a bit more comfortable in his own skin if he’s joking with Colt like that. One of the rare moments he left Colt completely speechless! 😂

That’s direct proportionality! Well done, my young Padawan.

Great to hear from you, my dear friend. I’m eagerly looking forward to your new work. In the meantime, I’ve been rereading A Bad Education - what a book… a true masterpiece!

Look at it this way: the number of comments is inversely proportional to the number of new chapters. The comments on the previous chapter will drop because everyone will move on to the new one - so… more frequent chapters, please!

You're the author - fulfill our wishes and bring our fantasies to life.

Hopefully Percy is at least verse… It’d be a shame for such a weapon to go unused! 😜

More than mirrors, this situation is reminiscent of a Dorian Gray portrait… the beautiful, idealized soul Lyn once saw in Brad no longer exists. It has been replaced by an unapologetic, amoral, and opportunistic person. Brad knows that portrait, which is why he needed Lyn - because Lyn "looked at him as nobody else did."

This is a chapter about misrecognition - what each man thinks the other is, and how violently their images clash with reality. Brad’s emotional sequence is very telling: shock (“You what?”) - guilt (looking away, the quiet “Fuck.”) - rapid denial and deflection - personal attack (“You wanted to be in Luke’s place, didn’t you?”). This is classic defensive shame behavior - when someone feels exposed, they lash out to regain control. Brad changes the subject from his wrongdoing to Lyn’s supposed crush, because that is the one thing he knows will destabilize Lyn. He weaponizes their past because he feels cornered and is terrified of being truly seen. This confrontation shows that Brad and Lyn have lived eight years with two different internal stories. Lyn’s story is “I ruined the friendship. Brad hated me. Brad never cared like I cared. I was foolish, naïve, in love alone.” while Brad’s story is "You abandoned me after I screwed up. I tried to apologize. You vanished. I was left humiliated and blamed at home. You never gave me a chance.”. The heartbreaking thing is that both stories are partially true, but neither man can see the other’s pain clearly. Thus, instead of finding reconciliation, they crash into each other’s assumptions revealing the fault line that caused their original breakup. Brad says “This is all about you. About your perfect little image of me.” This is unjust, but emotionally honest from his perspective. Brad is used to Lyn being the one who keeps moral order, stays calm, holds the line and believes in “right and wrong”. Brad, meanwhile, has lived his life freely, impulsively, sometimes recklessly, and he felt, probably for years, that Lyn saw him as the “golden boy” who never made mistakes. He calls it out not because he wants to hurt Lyn, but because he is drowning in guilt. Guilty people often lash out by attacking the expectations they failed to meet. When Brad brings up the night that ended everything, we see that he’s still carrying the hurt because: his parents scolding him, Lyn disappearing, the humiliation of being blamed, the frustration of being denied closure. So, we see that Lyn’s abandonment hit Brad much harder than Lyn ever realized. He felt left behind, maybe even disposable. This turns the chapter’s emotional axis... for Brad, Lyn wasn’t the abandoned one - Brad was, this reframes the entire last eight years. Brad’s bitterness cracks for a moment “I just wanted—ah, fuck, what I wanted doesn’t matter.” This is the emotional climax, the thing he “wanted” does matter... desperately. It's the one moment where Brad comes close to admitting the truth - he needed Lyn at the wedding, not as a guest - as an anchor to reassure himself that he is still a good man, that someone who once believed in him still sees him...that he isn’t ruining his life. But the shame of what Lyn witnessed destroys the possibility of honesty. Even when it was obvious you were drooling over me like a puppy with a bone.”. This line isn’t just Brad being rude. It’s a flash of the real Brad - the Brad who surfaces only under pressure, when the polished, easygoing exterior collapses. It’s like a momentary psychic slip that exposes how he has always processed Lyn, even if he never said it out loud. It tells us Brad’s darkest truth - he knows exactly where Lyn is vulnerable and part of him is willing to push there. This is a moment where Brad’s mask slips and we see the sharp edges beneath and it absolutely suggests that the end-of-college collapse was fueled by this same pattern... Brad’s inability to handle emotional pressure leading him to crush Lyn with words he can never truly take back. If anything, this is the clearest sign yet of how and why things fell apart between them back then. “If you tell her, I’ll never forgive you.” This is Brad’s lowest moment - a mix of fear, shame, panic, and emotional immaturity. It is also a confession disguised as a threat because the real meaning is “Please don’t leave me again.” Brad cannot face Bella; he cannot face himself and the thought of Lyn turning his back again terrifies him.

Haha, interesting idea. I wonder how Bradley imagines the perfect campaign: Lyn, the campaign manager, doing all the hard work; Bella, the picture-perfect wife for public appearances; Luke, the behind-the-scenes fun; and Alexander, financing the whole operation! 😜

I faced more than 30 notifications this morning, most of them from this story. I feel like I accidentally pressed a red button and launched nuclear missiles!

Yes, it did… though one small remark - they’re both actually right. Still, I’ll keep the explanation for my analysis. 😉

Yes...amazing what we can see and hear when the mask finally comes off!

Let’s not give him excuses… he’s just a slut. Or, using Alexander’s intellectual language - an opportunist!

After 26 chapters - a hell of a binge-read, and countless comments… here I am, waiting for the next chapter with everyone else. I’m thinking… should I stay off topic, or spoil the party and actually say something about the chapter? 😁 From what I can see, @Krista still has to find adequate matches for Lorianne and Roy. 😉 And by the way, it seems to me that Gavin knows… He’d suspected for some time, but I think now he really knows! Even back then, when Joel spent the night at the twins’ house, it was suspicious to me that Gavin left - not just to be with his girlfriend, but to give Joel and Davin some space to connect. Hehe, the Cupid twin!

Wow… what a way to make a statement! I don’t know if it was a dumbass thing to do, as twins suggested, or if it was revolutionary - Joel, the baseball Che Guevara! 😁

Especially for telling him ‘See you on the field’, not ‘You’re a traitor.’ The idea that he might be seen as a traitor has already been a heavy burden on Joel

He’s the arc before their triangle becomes fully operational. 😜