Thicker Than Water - 20. Chapter 20

Though Kenny was suspended, he went with Diego to drop the boys off at school. When they got to the junior high, Diego waited with bated breath for someone to challenge Kenny's appearance, but that opportunity never came. Bryan begged his dad to let him stay home and help take care of his boyfriend, however, Diego wasn't having it. Not only had Bryan missed too much school already, he didn't want Child Protective Services on him for his son's delinquency.

“Besides,” Kenny said, “You need to tell me what the rumors are now that I'm a known bad ass.”

“Fine,” Bryan relented. “But I'm still the main character of this trashy teen novel.”

“Fat chance,” Diego said.

“Kenny! Kenny! Kenny!” A crowd of students chanted from in front of the building.

“Looks like your fan club has finally arrived,” Diego said, with a chuckle.

Kenny blushed and tried hiding his face. It was lifted against his will, so Bryan could give him a kiss before exiting the vehicle. “Behave yourself,” Bryan said.

“You're one to talk,” Kenny said, returning the kiss.

Bryan moved swiftly towards the crowd as Diego and Kenny drove off.

Diego took Kenny to the restaurant for breakfast. While they were there, Diego had a meeting with his business partner. Kenny sat in a booth the entire time sending messages to his mother, who took the day off from work to meet with their welfare caseworker about the suspension, hoping to get ahead of the situation. Unfortunately, a report had been filed the day before, immediately after Dan's mom contacted Mrs. Rouche. The report was filed anonymously, as well.

"When can I come home?" Kenny typed.

"I don't know, Baby. I've asked Bryan's dad to keep you at their place until Jessica from the welfare office can figure things out. I explained what had happened, but she's not in Child Protective Services."

"I hate CPS!"

"Me too, Baby. Me too."

"Am I going to see you again?"

"Of course! When I'm done here, I'm going to bring more of your things over to Bryan's, and we can see each other then, okay?"

"I'm scared."

"I'm scared too, but we're going to beat this! I love you."

"I love you, too."

“Ready to go?” Diego asked.

“Yeah. Where are we going now?”

“I think it's time I talked to that lawyer, again.”

Diego was nervous as they pulled into the parking lot. The name of the law firm--Holden, Wilson and Burns--was written in gold leaf on the door. He took a deep breath before he and Kenny walked into the building. A different receptionist was at the desk, which eased Diego's nerves a bit.

“May I help you?” The woman asked, only giving a small glance at Kenny.

“My name is Diego Padilla, and I was hoping to speak to Mr. Walker about a case,” Diego replied.

The receptionist did some typing on her computer and asked, “Do you have an appointment with Mr. Walker?”

“No, I don't. This is an important issue that just came up, and I was hoping to see him without having to make an appointment.”

“If you'd, please, take a seat, I'll see if Mr. Walker has an opening and can squeeze you in.” Diego was glad the woman had better manners than the previous receptionist. Kenny took a seat and flipped through a magazine. Diego tried his best to not show his anxiety and impatience. He knew better than to show up without making an appointment, especially after what happened the last time he was in that building, but desperate times called for desperate measures, he told himself.

They sat in the lobby for over an hour without a word from the receptionist or the attorney. It was getting close to noon, which meant everyone would be going to lunch and another, potentially wasted hour. Diego was closing the restaurant that night, luckily, but he didn't have all day to sit on his ass, either.

“Excuse me,” Diego said, mustering the resolve to approach the desk. “When might I be able to speak with Mr. Walker?”

“I'm sorry,” the receptionist said, “I'm still waiting to hear from his office. Are you able to wait a little longer? I'm sure it won't be long now.”

“Sure,” Diego said and took his seat once more, while the receptionist turned back to her computer.

As predicted, once the lunch hour came, the receptionist asked for Diego and Kenny to leave but to return at 1pm. Kenny didn't say it, but he certainly was wondering why Diego didn't go to another lawyer. They had lunch at a nearby burger place. Kenny loved it, but Diego thought it was among the worst he'd ever had, which only added to his irritable mood.

They returned to the firm and sat in the parking lot. Kenny's face was starting to hurt, but he didn't want Diego to waste more time by taking him home to get his pain medication. Kenny realized that it was the first time that he and Diego had ever spent a day alone together. Usually Bryan and Caleb were around, so Kenny didn't know how to act or what to say.

Diego was too focused on getting to talk to Mr. Walker. Too much drama was piling up on his plate, between Calvin showing up and the homophobia going on at the school. He didn't want to chance something else happening and not being prepared for the worst; plus, he had already given them a retainer, having paid for his “free” consultation.

“Come on,” Diego said, as they watched the receptionist unlock the front doors. As they approached the door, a skeletal woman, wearing a skin-tight, leopard print Unitard and smelling heavily of cigarette smoke tried shoving passed him; however, Diego managed to get through the door first, ignoring the tacky woman's protests and insults, and walked right up to the receptionist. “Has Mr. Walker said when he'll be able to see me?”

“Oh, I'm sorry, but Mr. Walker is out for the day.”

“What? When did he leave?”

“He never came into the office. Apparently, he had other matters to tend to.”

“What?! Are you fucking kidding me right now?!”

“Sir, I understand you're upset, I only found out during the lunch break, myself, but you don't need to take that tone with me,” she said firmly.

“I've been sitting here since ten this morning. At any point before now, you could've told me he wasn't here.”

“And you could've made an appointment, but you didn't. If you had made an appointment, someone else would've seen you instead; however, you chose to come here, expecting Mr. Walker to drop everything to see you. Your lack of planning isn't our emergency, Mr. Padilla. Perhaps next time, if there is a next time, you'll follow proper etiquette and make an appointment ahead of time.”

Defeated and not wanting to be a Karen, Diego and Kenny left. Diego was furious, but he couldn't deny the woman's logic. He should've known better. Hell, he did know better. Ever since Donna's funeral, he felt like he had been making one mistake after another. Calvin's return had thrown him off his game, and he didn't know how to get back on track.

Once they got into the truck, Diego called Steve. “Hey, Babe. Has Kenny's mom been by yet?”

“Not yet. How'd things go with the lawyer?”

Diego relayed what little information there was. “I feel like an idiot.”

“You're not an idiot,” Steve said sternly. “You're having issues and need legal help. That doesn't make you stupid. It makes you human. Are you sure you don't want to try my friend?”

“I want someone more experienced. I'm sure he's a good lawyer, but I want someone who has more than a few years under his belt.”

“He's the same age as I am! It's not like he's fresh out of law school, either. I'm sure he'd be happy to meet with you if you want. I know he wouldn't charge you.”

“I'll think about it,” Diego said, hoping to drop the topic. “Kenny and I are on our way to the house. If his mom shows up, try to keep her there, please.”

“Sure thing. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The drive seemed to take forever. Kenny was in a lot of pain that was growing worse by the minute, while Diego was fixated on his dilemmas. They pulled into the driveway and Kenny could barely move. Diego got Steve to carry Kenny into Bryan's room, while Diego got the pain medicine. Diego helped Kenny with the pills and water, while Steve removed the boy's shoes and socks, before covering him up with a spare blanket.

“I swear I didn't know he was in pain,” Diego said, preempting Steve's comments.

“I didn't think you did,” Steve replied, as he pulled his boyfriend into his arms. “I've seen how attentive you are with your kids, and I can't imagine you'd be any different with someone else's.”

“I feel like shit.” Diego laid his head against Steve's chest. “I should've left Kenny here with you.”

Steve kissed Diego on the head and replied, “Kenny should've also said something. And not to beat a dead horse, you should've also taken me up on my friend's office. Hell, he's your business partner's brother, so you can get another reference if you really need one.”

“I get that, and it isn't about my pride or anything--”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I'm sure,” Diego said, pointedly. “I can't really explain it, but something inside of me is scared that something is coming, and I don't know what to do or how to stop it.”

“You can't stop a storm, Babe. You can only ride it out and try to weather it the best you can. You've got two fronts right now: Calvin and the school district. If you don't start accepting help now, they're going to out flank you, and then, you're fucked.”

“I know.”

“Don't placate. If you know that's the right course of action, then just do it. Saying, 'I know,” doesn't mean shit without the correct action following it.”

“How did you get to be so smart for being a dumb jock?”

“Dungeons and Dragons.”

“Ugh, you're such a nerd!” They both laughed before kissing. Diego broke away and asked, “What's your friend's number?”