Jon kissed Adriana along her neck and kissed her chin. With every kiss that he planted, chills ran up and down Adriana's spine.

"Jon..." Adriana moaned.

Adriana ran her hands through Jon's hair and tugged it a little. Jon was deep inside of her. He was about to cum inside of her when they both of them heard the door open.

"Can I-"

Michael stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Jon on top of Adriana. Jon and Adriana looked at Michael. The two of them were too shocked to move at the moment. Luckily they were naked under the covers so Michael didn't really see them naked.

"Sorry!" Michael said and quickly shut the door. He ran to the living room and sat on the couch without thinking.

"Fuck me," Jon muttered to himself.

"I told you to lock the door!" Adriana said.

"I thought I did dammit. And you were the last one walking around so you could've locked the damn door!" Jon said.

Jon slid out of Adriana.

"I'll go talk to him," Adriana said.

Michael had turned on the light in the living room and sat back down when he saw Adriana come in.

"I'm sorry for walking in on you!" Michael said. "Please, don't hurt me."

"Why would I hurt you?" Adriana asked. She sat down next to Michael.

"Well...um...I walked in on my parents...doing what you just did...and my dad got mad at me and hit me," Michael said.

"It's fine. We forgot to lock the door. It's our fault. I'm sorry you had to see that," Adriana said.

"It's fine," Michael said. "Does J.J., Aiden, Maddy, and Jasmine walk in on your and Mr. Good sometimes?"

"Sometimes they do," Adriana said. "Madaline will repeat everything sometimes. I swear she should become a news reporter."

Michael giggled.

"Was there something that you wanted to tell us?" Adriana said.

"Oh. I was just hungry is all. I want some more of the grilled chicken and brown rice you made. It was very good," Michael said.

"I know! You ate two big plates full of food!" Adriana said.

"I never really ate much when I was with my real parents. They didn't care about me like you and Mr. Good care about me," Michael said. "No one cared about me. I felt alone."

"You're not alone anymore sweetie," Adriana said.

She took Michael's hand and led him into the kitchen. They went to the fridge and took out the food.

"You're in good hands now," Adriana said. "But you do remind me of my husband a lot."

"I do?" Michael asked. He was watching Adriana make his plate on the counter.

"Yes," Adriana said.

"Mr. Good told me that he ran away from home too. Why did he run away?" Michael asked. "He never told me."

"His didn't get along with his father," Adriana said.

Jon was silently listening to their conversation from the hallway.

"Just like me," Michael said.

"Yes. And since he knew where I lived and since I liked him a lot, he moved in with me," Adriana said. "We've been together for over twenty years."

"TWENTY!?" Michael repeated.

"Yup," Adriana said.

"I want to be with Aiden for a long time too!" Michael said.

"You will," Adriana said.

She placed the food in the microwave and started heating it up. Jon was about to come into the kitchen when he heard a knock on the door. It was past one in the morning. Who could it be!?

Jon answered it. It was Damien. And standing right next to him was Max.

Bad ass Max.

"Sorry to disturb you," Damien said. "But I was at Walmart and I saw Max outside with some weirdos. I knew he looked familiar."

"You don't know me," Max muttered under his breath.

"True but I did meet you yesterday. And I wasn't going to let you wander around the city late at night," Damien said.

"Whatever," Max said. "How come you didn't take me to my mom's house like I asked you!?"

"Because right here with me is perfect," Jon said. "Thanks for dropping him off. Beer on me tomorrow at the bar."

"You got it. I'll catch you later," Damien said.

Damien turned and walked down the porch and back to his car. Max looked down at his feet. He had his hands deep in his jean pockets.

"Jon, who is that at the door?" Adriana asked.

"Get in here," Jon said.

Max walked into the house. Adriana walked out of the kitchen and saw her little brother.

"Max? What're you doing out so late? You need to be back at Mom's house!" she said.

"Better question is who were you with at this time of hour?" Jon said.

"You guys don't need to know! I am not a damn kid! I can make my own choice!" Max yelled.

Jon grabbed Max by the collar of his shirt.

"Boy if you raise your goddamn voice in this house again I will beat you until you turn black and blue. Don't you raise your voice at me and you better not raise your voice at your sister. Now I've been patient with you. I have. But you are pushing it. Act like you have some sense. Do I make myself clear?" Jon said.

"Yessir," Max said quietly.

Jon let go of Max.

"You're staying here tonight," Jon said. "Do you want something to eat?"

"I'm fine," Max said.

"Max, whatever you are doing, please stop. You're too smart for this," Adriana said.

Michael had called for Adriana from the kitchen. She went back and told him he could eat in the room. Giving him something to drink, she sent him off to bed.

Max sat down on the couch.

"I've heard that before," Max said.

"And you're going to keep hearing it again too," Jon said.

Max turned and faced Jon.

"Would you get off of my back!?" Max yelled.

"I'll get off your damn back when you learn how to act like you have some sense!" Jon said.

Max got back up and stood in front of Jon.

"Fuck you," Max growled.

Jon punched Max in his mouth and sent him to the ground. Now infuriated, Max got up and whipped out a pocket knife. Adriana had came back in time to see Max wielding the weapon.

"Max, what are you doing?" she asked.

"About to stab him," Max said.

"Go ahead and stab me," Jon said. "That is if you have the balls to do it."

Max squeezed the knife in his hand and clenched his other fist. Part of him wanted to stab Jon. The other part of him was wondering why the hell was he doing this in the first place. Max gave up and threw down the knife.

"Forget it," Max said. He plopped back on the couch and put a pillow over his head.

Jon grabbed the pocket knife and turned off the lamp light. Jon took Adriana's hand and led her back to their room. Jon quickly went into the bathroom and went to his medicine cabinet. He quickly took an Advil for the headache he quickly developed from dealing with Max.


Gus found his cousin downing multiple shots of vokda at the bar.

"Whoa there!" Gus said. "Take it easy Jon Jon."

Jon downed his sixth shot and placed the shot glass back on the counter.

"I wish I could. Max has me stressing," Jon said. He ran his hand through his hair. "Me and Adriana have five children we have to take care of. We have bills to pay. We have to keep food in their mouths and clothes and their backs. Max just wants to be an asshole."

"I don't think Max likes you," Gus said. "Not trying to be mean but he did tell me."

"I know he doesn't like me. He hates me. He hates the fact that I stay on his ass," Jon said.

"I had to threaten him as well," Gus said. "I just wish he would see we're trying to help him is all."

"I used to be the same way with your Aunt Gwen but when I saw her crying one day because of me I stopped giving her a hard time."

"You weren't a bad kid though and you were a good teen."

"True but I had my moments. Even Adriana would get on my ass. I had a family who cared about me and loved me. Made sure I had a place to lay my head and food to eat. Max doesn't know how good he has it."

"We need to stay on him."

"You bet I will."

Damien had came back from the bathroom and found that Jon had quite a few shots.

"Are you drinking for two people?" Damien asked.

"Probably. Max has me stressing. Fuck. What type of people was he with when you saw him anyway?" Jon asked.

"Looked like some drug dealers," Damien said.

"Should've known," Jon said. "I'm close to taking him in. But if I do that, Adriana is going to have the ultimate fit. Her alter ego Mother Goose will come out. Hell, it took me a while to convince her that I'm not hurting the kids if I whoop them!"

"She didn't let you whoop the kids!?" Damien said.

"Not at all. I told her that I wasn't hurting the kids. She doesn't like to see the kids get hurt. But I told her that when they stepped out of line, we would have to put them in check. I whooped Aiden the other night for acting up. I let the kids get away with some things but not everything. All I have to do is threaten to whoop them and they straighten up," Jon said. "Should've whooped Max's ass."

"I have a feeling you will one day," Gus said. "Where's Max now?"

"At Nonno and Nonna's house," Jon said. "I forced him to help his grandparents. He has been helping out but he's addicted to the damn streets. Got a girl pregnant back in Ohio. His friend's girlfriend. The girl left Ohio and moved to Seattle. His ex best friend is still looking for him. And the drug dealers he was fucking with are looking for him too. Damn mess. I made him talk today. He didn't hesitate to tell me anything."

"How did you make him talk?" Gus asked.

"I told him I was going to take him to jail," Jon said.

"Are you going to take him in? Even though Adriana doesn't want you to, Max needs to learn a lesson," Damien said.

"I have a feeling I'll be locking him behind bars soon," Jon said. "Sooner than later."


Jon, Damien, and Gus had went to Nonno and Nonna's house to make sure everything was fine. Nonna had baked apple pies for everyone to eat.

"Remember when I was in Ohio that one time and I had stayed at the motel?" Nonna asked Jon.

"I didn't know who you were until 1993," Jon said.

"You had went to Ohio to visit Aunt Gwen and Adriana but you decided to stay at a motel because they were offering free pancakes," Gus said.

Nonna was a little delirious at times. She would sometimes go to Ohio to visit Mrs. Germanotta and Adriana but would end up going somewhere else.

"I think Mrs. Germanotta had went to check on you at a motel or something when I first moved in with her and Adriana. Uh...Adriana had told me or Mom had mentioned something about you staying in a motel," Jon said.

"Oh," Nonna said. "What in the world was I smoking that day?"

Jon, Gus, Damien, and Nonno all looked at Nonna.

"What?" Nonna said.

"Are you still smoking?" Jon asked.

"Nope," Nonna said. "Where's Max?"

"Yeah. Where is that little weasel?" Jon said.

Jon got up and searched around the house for Max. He found him in the guest room playing on his phone. Max looked up.

"It's you," Max said.

"In the flesh," Jon said.

"What do you want?"

"I came to visit nonna and nonno. And to see if you were helping."

"I did help them. Now I'm waiting for Mom to get here."

"I know you hate me. But I'm doing what I do because I love you. Remember that."

Jon left the room before Max could say another word.


Mrs. Germanotta was cooking dinner when Bob came in.

"Honey, have you seen my wallet?" Bob asked. "I'm sure I left it on the coffee table but I don't see it now."

Mrs. Germanotta slammed down the whisk and marched to Max's room. Sure enough when she walked through the door she saw Max counting money from Bob's wallet. She slapped Max upside his head and took the money and wallet away from him. Mrs. Germanotta stuffed the money back in the wallet and took it back to Bob.

"Where did you find my wallet?" he asked.

"Just drop it Bob," Mrs. Germanotta said.

Every single time something went missing, Max had his paws on it. Mrs. Germanotta was so close to calling Jon and telling him to take Max in. So close. She was getting tired of Max doing devious stuff around the house. Even though he was helpful, he was still being an asshole.

Max charged into the kitchen and started yelling at his mother.

"Why did you take the money for!?" Max yelled.

His mother ignored him and continued making food.

"Don't yell at your mother," Bob said.

"You shut up! You're not my real father!" Max said to Bob.

Mrs. Germanotta stopped what she was doing and turned to face Max.

"You better calm down right now," she warned.

"Or else what bitch!?" Max said.

"Hey! Don't talk to your mother that way!" Bob said.

"I'll say what I want. And I'll do what I want," Max said.

"Shut your mouth," Mrs. Germanotta said.

Max walked up to his mother and slapped her across the face.

In a split second, Mrs. Germanotta had wrapped her hands around Max's neck and started to choke him. Bob pulled Mrs. Germanotta off of Max before she could kill her own son. He called Jon soon afterwards.


Jon was in the garage fixing Jasmine's bike when his phone went off. Jasmine reached her father's back pocket and pulled out the phone.

"It's Grandpa Bob!" she said. She answered the phone. "Hhhiiii!"

"Jasmine, sweetie, let me speak to your father," Bob said.

Jasmine handed the phone to Jon. Jon took the phone.

"What's up?" Jon said.

"Max hit his mom. She's about to kill him. Come quick," Bob said.

"I'm on my way," Jon said.

This was the last damn straw.