OK, let me get one thing straight. This story is based on real facts, but it is NOT an accurate narration. Drama levels have to go up for the purposes of the story and that's all. Thanks for reading/reviewing
A few days later, Justin wasn't able to recall much of what happened in his cousin's room. What he did recall was waking up to a hospital bed. His mother was there and so was Debbie and Michael. They were talking in hushed voices and didn't notice him coming about.
"Mom?" Justin was shocked to hear this alien croaked voice leave his mouth.
"Justin? Oh my god, honey, you're awake! How are you feeling?" His mother's face was a white mask of worry.
"Um, I'm OK. What happened."
"There was an accident in Brian's room Sunshine, the iron fell on your face. Lindsay told us she asked you to take the iron up to Brian." Debbie was calmer than his mom. Thank god at least someone kept their heads straight.
Justin reached with his hand to touch his face. Instead of the smooth skin he was used to, he felt a rough material, probably gauge. Under that he could feel his skin responding with pain to his touch.
He was exhausted. He drifted back to sleep almost immediately. The realization of his accident was simply too much for his mind to bear.
Two weeks later.
"Mom, I told you I'm fine!" Justin was growing less and less patient with his mom's overprotective attitude.
"Honey, are you sure you want to go back to work? You know you don't have to. You can take the rest of the summer off to rest and study. School is more important." Justin's mom was apparently worried sick. And Justin was getting sick of that situation.
"I want to DO something. I can't sit in here all summer staring at the walls. I need to be productive." Now fuck off. Justin made sure that last bit stayed inside the confines of his head. No need to upset his mom even more.
It was true, though. He needed, desperately needed, to be doing something. Sitting home, catching up with his homework wasn't going to cut it.
But most of all, he needed to see Brian. He couldn't stop thinking about him. Even though Brian never called and came to visit only once, Justin knew that he cared. He has to.
As he was approaching the reception desk on his first day back at work, he was surprised not to find Lindsay in her usual spot. Instead, Brian was there talking with a customer.
Justin went next to him and waited till the customer went the fuck away. Fuck, he smelled better than he rememberd.
"Good morning Brian."
"'Morning"
"So, how are you doing?"
"Fine, thanks. Here's the key to the super market. The fridge needs to be stocked and the register is probably empty, you'll need change." Brian was as cool as ice. The tone of his voice and the formality that he dressed his words with were as good as a punch to Justin's face. Worse. They were as good as the iron that…
"Thanks. Later." Fuck Brian. He OBVIOUSLY didn't give a shit for Justin. That's why he never called or visited more than once. No guilt, no worry, nothing. He didn't even look at Justin while he was talking.
'I must look more hideous that I thought.' Justin couldn't help his own thoughts. If before he was the annoying, queer, outcast yet handsome cousin, now he was all that minus handsome.
After he finished with his work, he run to the restroom, to have a look at his face. The right side of his neck was covered with gauge, but his face was OK. Luckily, the iron's surface didn't make much contact with his face so he got off with minor burns that were barely visible.
His neck and shoulder weren't that lucky, however. He got third degree burns all over his right shoulder and a vein or whatever got churned that lead to extensive bleeding. That together with the severe concussion from the fall resulted in a good four days of blackness.
'Fuck, Justin, will you shut the fuck up already' he told himself. 'No need think about all that right now, just make sure no red flesh is showing and remember to apply the ointment after lunch.'
He would have to apply an ointment on his sore skin three times a day. That wasn't a particularly pleasant experience, what with the procedure hurting like a mother fucker son of a bitch asshole.
When he went back in the mini market and took his seat, sudden exhaustion washed over him. He hadn't even noticed the extra strain he had to put in his movements in order not to move the sore parts and avoid unnecessary pain.
He sat there in his seat for a few minutes, relaxing and enjoying the quiet that usually preceded lunch. But not for long.
"OH MY GOD SUNSHINE!" When Justin turned his head (painfully) to see where this familiar shriek came from, he saw his aunt Debbie running towards him, arms over head, a huge smile plastered on her face. He couldn't help himself and he shot her one of his trademark sunshine smiles himself.
Debbie reached him, hugged him, kissed him, hugged him again, kissed him again and finally let go of him.
"I'm so glad to see you honey!" Debbie's smile extended beyond eye's reach.
"Yeah, good to see you too, aunt. Although we DID see each other yesterday. And the day before. And the one before that."
"OK, first things first." Debbie smacked him on the head.
"Ow! What was that all about!"
"That's for calling me aunt. DEBBIE. The name is Debbie. OK now that we are done with that, tell me, how are you feeling."
"I'm OK, I finished the work here and was about to go get some lunch.
"Well let's go then. I hear the chef made a pan of moussaka, I can't wait!"
During lunch, she asked him everything that she already knew, and she was constantly trying to make conversation and fill in the empty spaces. Justin knew perfectly well that Debbie was feeling extremely guilty for what happened to her nephew in her hotel, in her own son's room.
Which reminded Justin.
"I saw Brian at the reception this morning. That was a first." Casual. Appear casual.
"Yeah, he will have to leave early today so he decided to take an early shift. Listen, Justin, I hope you don't mind, but I asked him to take you home when he leaves. It's you first day back, I want you to take it easy, OK?"
Justin's first reaction to that was one of anger, but he talked some sense in him eventually. If Brian was going away, what was the point of staying here anyway.
Damn. He hated himself. One minute he hated Brian for being so fucking indifferent and inconsiderate, and the next he was secretly obsessing over him.
"OK Debbie, I have to go. It's time to apply the ointment. I'll use your office as we discussed, are the bandages there?"
"Yes honey, I put them there yesterday. Will you need any help with that?"
"No, I'm good. I've already done it four hundred and sixty two times already." Justin smiled at his aunt and left the kitchen.
After getting the ointment from his backpack, he went straight to the reception desk, greeted Lindsay, and went in his aunt's office.
When he entered the small room, his jaw fell on the floor. Brian was there, kissing a guest. Justin didn't recognize her; she must have arrived while he was away. While he was in the hospital and Brian Kinney never showed any interest or concern. While he was recovering from the damage caused by the iron that left Brian's hand. While Brian, obviously, kept himself busy choosing the next casual fuck for a few weeks.
"Justin! What the hell are you doing in here!" Brian eyed the ointment in Justin's hand and comprehension appeared on his face.
"Oh, sorry, come on in, we'll just go."
"Fuck you, Brian." Justin finally managed to close his mouth and use it to express his feelings to his cousin. He run out of the office and on his way out, he asked Lindsay to give him the keys to Debbie's room.
If almost anyone else had asked for the keys to Debbie's room, Lindsay would have required a reason. But not for Justin. She knew better and that's one of the reasons Justin liked her. Plus, she must have realized his distress from his expression and tone so she wisely decided to simply comply.
In Debbie's room Justin made himself calm down first. He was being ridiculous. He knew Brian and his business, and he had even witnessed worse than that in the past.
He took the bandages off and started applying the ointment. His touch, more shaky than usual, was painful and he couldn't be more thankful when he finally finished.
"Oh, FUCK." He had forgotten the fresh bandages. They were in Debbie's office, where she put them for him. There was NO way he would go downstairs, shirtless, his skin red as a baboon's bottom and covered in white shit. He called Lindsay and asked her to bring some bandages up for him.
After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. He answered it, and there he was. Brian. With the bandages. Looking, no, make that staring, at him. Great.
"What the hell is wrong with Lindsay, why does she always have to send the wrong people do her work." Justin's anger was back in no time.
"Theirs is nothing wrong with her, I was on my way here anyway."
"What for."
"I don't know. To check on you? Make sure you are OK? Ask why the hell you told me to go fuck myself?"
"Wow, you have some balls." Justin grabbed the bandage off Brian's hands and made to close the door.
He wasn't successful; Brian used his foot to keep the door open.
"Whatever." Justin turned around and went back in. He settled on the bed and started covering his wounds. As soon as the bandage touched his skin, he winced in spite of his effort to keep a straight face.
Almost immediately, the bandage was snatched from his hands and Justin saw Brian sitting next to him.
"You're doing it wrong. I'll do it. Stay still."
"The fuck you know."
"I know better than you. Seriously, after all this time and you still don't know how to use a bandage?"
"Fuck off Brian. If you are so smart and better at this, why didn't you come and teach me how to do it. You never came."
"That's not true, I came."
"Once."
"Enough to see that you were fine and would be fine as well."
"Ouch. Watch it, will you?" It didn't hurt that bad. Brian was better than Justin at this.
"Will you shut up and stop being a princess, thanks."
"I'm not being a princess. I'm just stating the obvious. You don't give a fuck and that's why you didn't visit. Why the interest now."
"I don't know."
They were silent for a few minutes after that, while Brian was finishing his work.
"There. Good as knew."
"Barely. The doctor said if the iron stayed on my shoulder for one more second, it would have burned the vein completely and I would be dead."
Brian was speechless and that made Justin happy. That asshole would pay for his indifference one way or the other.
"I think I'm gonna head down now. I won't be leaving early after all, but I will leave around 10pm. I can drop you home then if you want."
The day went on as usual. Same things to do, same boring hours in the mini market. Justin did spend a couple of hours with Michael though, talking and playing cards. He loved Michael. Why couldn't Brian be more like him? No, no that wouldn't do. Justin knew that if Brian was anything like his brother, he would never have fallen for him.
When he closed the minimarket at 9:30, he still had another thirty minutes before leaving. He decided to go down to the pool. There was this quiet place with a recliner that was out of sight and Justin used to go there and sit by himself sometimes.
He would take the ointment and the bandages (don't forget the bandages this time, prick) and apply it there.
As soon as he sat down and stripped his shirt off, however, he heard footsteps. And laughter.
Two seconds later, Brian showed up with the same slut hanging from his side.
He didin't notice Justin at first, but he eventually spotted him and exclaimed "Fuck".
Justin was calm this time, and he managed to keep his head cool.
"I'm not running away this time." He informed Brian.
"We're really sorry, um Justin, is it?, we will just go someplace else." How did the slut even DARE talk to him? Has he given her permission to address him? Has he given her permission to be in his presence? To fuck with Brian? Has he given her permission to exist?
Justin shot a cold glance to Brian, who was surprisingly dumbfounded. He obviously didn't know what to do, but he took a decision fast enough.
"Listen, Tina" Hmph. Tina. My cat has a cooler name than that. "why don't you get back to the bar and I'll meet you there in a while." Brian was looking at Justin while he was talking to Tina.
"But Briiiii, I want to… see you!" Bitch.
Brian turned and faced her "Just go, please."
With that, she left. Justin didn't move and neither did Brian.
"So. I didn't know you were having your casual fucks under a schedule. One that apparently fits my ointment schedule." Justin could taste the bitterness of his words. What was wrong with him. What happened to the Sunshine, always smiling, always calm.
"Need any help?" Brian chose to ignore his words.
"No, thanks. I'm a big boy."
"Maybe, but I doubt that you gained any experience since this afternoon."
"Really, Brian? You want to help me again? Why."
"I don't know, I just want to help you. Do I need a reason to be nice?"
"OK, who the fuck are you and what did you do with my Br… cousin."
Brian's eyebrows went up, showing Justin that he didn't miss what he almost said: my Brian.
"Can we just do this and get going? I told you, I have to be somewhere tonight."
Justin didn't reply, he just turned around and waited.
Brian sat himself next to his cousin and started taking the bandages slowly off. His breath was caught midway when he spotted the damaged skin. Earlier that day, the already applied ointment hid all the sore spots and Brian didn't really see the damage. Justin noticed his lost breath.
"You don't have to look at my hideous shoulder if you don't want to, you know."
Brian didn't say anything. Instead, he caressed the red skin with his fingers, sending small electroshocks through Justin's body.
It was now Justin's turn to miss a breath, and Brian immediately removed his fingers.
"Sorry, did that hurt?"
"Not in a bad way."
Justin had no idea what his cousin was thinking, he couldn't even see his face.
Suddenly, he felt Brian leaning down and softly, very softly, placing his lips on Justin's shoulder, feeling the roughness of the skin.
Justin almost lost consciousness. Brian had just kissed his shoulder. His mind was at a loss interpreting Brian's gesture. His heart and breath rhythms, however, were very confident that this was something exciting and they showed it.
He turned around to face Brian. Even in the dim light, he could see that Brian was distressed. He was staring at Justin's face, the few marks left from the less severe burns. Brian leaned in and kissed Justin's cheek, right on top of the most obvious mark. He started whispering while his lips were still pressed against Justin's cheek.
"Justin. I'm really, really sorry for what happened. It was all my fault. I will never forgive myself. I'm sorry."
Justin was speechless. He wouldn't be able to talk if he wanted to; the shock of Brian's kiss left him practically paralyzed.
Brian sat back up and cleared his throat. His voice returned to normal.
"OK, so where is the fucking ointment; I don't have all night."
