AUSTIN:
I didn't understand why Dez, who was an adult, had found it in himself to have sex with my sister, who was a minor and even got her pregnant. I wanted to find out more about this. I went over to his apartment and knocked on the door, having Carrie answer it. Dez and Carrie, even though they broke up six years ago, were still close friends, and they lived together as roommates and were friends with benefits.
She smiled at me with her usual upbeat attitude.
"Hey, Austin. I was just on my way to work. What's up?"
I said,
"Hey, Carrie. Is Dez here? I need to talk to him."
"Oh, yeah. Dezzy!"
"Here I am, Carrie. Oh, hey, Austin!"
Carrie said to him,
"He says he needs to talk to you. I'll see you tonight."
Dez smiled at her,
"Kay, I'll see you then."
They hugged and Carrie was out the door. I sat down with Dez in him and Carrie's room.
"OK, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
I asked,
"Dez, are you a pedophile?"
Dez seemed outraged.
"No! Austin Moon, my own best friend, why the hell would you consider me a pedophile?"
I said,
"Leah told me she ran away from home because she had sex with you and she discovered she was pregnant with your baby."
"What?"
"Yeah. You knocked my sister up, and now she's just conceived your baby. Tell me the truth, Dez. Are you attracted to my little sister?"
There was a terrible silence that collapsed over Dez.
"Are you attracted to Leah, yes or no?"
Dez said to me,
"I don't know. I still really like Carrie…."
"But you, in a way, cheated on her with a minor. Why?"
Dez said to me,
"I had given her her dose of medical weed and one of the symptoms of being under the influence of marijuana is being horny."
"Yes, I'm well aware of that. But Leah has barely finished high school, and you are old enough to know that sex with a minor is against the law."
"Austin, I thought you were my friend, now you're accusing me of being a child molester?!
"Don't put words in my mouth."
"You know what- leave my house! You and I are done! I can't believe you'd accuse me of being a pedophile?!"
I said,
"Works for me!"
I left the Wade-Lainfield residence in frustration. All that was passing through my mind were anger and confusion. I couldn't believe Dez was a pedophile and trying to deny it, even worse. I thought he was my best friend. I hadn't been in a fight with him this bad since we were about fifteen and he somehow managed to get marijuana and I was in his room with him, and his parents came in and smelled the weed.
He told his parents that I was the one smoking it so he wouldn't get in trouble. His parents told my parents and they searched my bedroom high and low for marijuana and even installed hidden cameras in my room. Him and I didn't talk to each other for three days. I didn't even know what was worse- him being an adult and lusting over my fourteen-year-old baby sister, who had been through enough in the past like six months and getting her pregnant, or getting me in trouble with my parents and his parents all because he did something he knew he shouldn't be and not wanting to get caught red-handed. I had no work today so I just lounged on the couch, grabbed some eggo toaster pancakes (Pancakes had been my favorite food since I was a kid) and two bottles of Jack Daniels and plopped down on my couch.
I knew that I would become intoxicated eventually from drinking two whole bottles of whiskey, but I was too upset with my ex-best friend to even give a rat's ass. When I was done with my pancakes, I could hear some trotting followed by some jingling. It was Gabby. She looked at me, sympathetically. I said to her,
"Come here, Gabby."
I picked her up and I plopped her next to me. I looked her in her big brown puppy dog eyes and I said to her,
"Come here, sweetie pie. Daddy's going through a tough time and needs a cuddle."
Gabby licked my face. Cuddling with my black and tan cavapoo canine was kind of making me feel better. She was the closest thing that my wife and I had to a baby and I loved her to death. She licked my face and I scratched her back.
"At least you'll never betray me. I know you probably can't understand what I'm saying to you, but you and I love each other all the same."
I suddenly felt something warm and wet on my lap. I didn't know what it was, but it was coming from Gabby. She was peeing on my lap. I said in a baby voice,
"Gabby! You little monster!"
I changed into some new pants and put my ones with dog piss into the wash. When she came back, she was giving me her puppy dog eyes. I guess that was her way of saying,
"I'm sorry I peed in your lap, Daddy. Do you still love me?"
I smiled at her.
"It's OK, babycakes. Daddy will love you no matter what."
I picked her up and started to give her kisses and she gave me kisses, too.