"You know… You've been coming in here a lot more often than you should be…"

Sandy continued to drink, not bothering to turn and look at the voice behind him. "What're you, spying on me?" he asked.

Jeffrey sat down next to Sandy at the bar. "No…" he said.

Sandy turned to look at Jeffrey. "Well good." He said. "Because the last time I checked my drinking habits were none of your concern."

"You are of my utmost concern, Sandy…" Jeffrey replied.

Sandy rolled his eyes. "Do we have to do this right now?" He asked.

"Tell me, Sandy. What is it that's bothering you so damn much? I thought you'd gotten over the ghosts of the past…"

"Yeah…Well… It was a helluva lot easier when I had a distraction…"

"Is that what I was to you?" Jeffrey asked. "A distraction?"

"Why the hell not?" Sandy said. "That's more than I ever was to you…"

"Sandy, you gotta stop doing this to yourself."

"This is a bar Jeffrey…" Sandy said. "Didn't you come here to drink? Or did you just come here to berate me?"

"I came here to drink…" Jeffrey said. "But not the way that you're drinking…"

"Yeah… Well… You know what, Jeffrey?" Sandy said. "How much I drink is none of your business because you are nothing to me. You're not my boyfriend, you're not my lover, and you're sure as hell not my Daddy, so why don't you just leave me the hell alone and let me get on with my life?"

"And this is what you call getting on with your life?" Jeffrey asked.

"I told you…" Sandy said. "You don't have the right to care…"

"But I do care…" Jeffrey said. "I can't just stop caring…"

"No…" Sandy said. "You lost that right the moment you stuck your dick into Dinah Marler…"

Jeffrey sighed and finally started in on his scotch.

"You have nothing to say to that?" Sandy said. "Do you?"

"You know what, Sandy…" Jeffrey said. "A man can only apologize so many times…"

"I would apologize a million times over if I thought that…"

"What?" Jeffrey said. "That you could bring him back? It's not gonna happen, Sandy."

"I know that…" Sandy said. "That's why I'm here…"

"You know Sandy… Eventually you are just going to have to forgive yourself… It was an accident…"

"Oh what do you know?" Sandy spat. "For all you know I could've been lying… I could've pushed him for all that you know…"

"Is that what happened, Sandy?" Jeffrey said. "I wouldn't've blamed you if you had… I know the things that he did to you… I saw those marks on your body…"

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"You wrecked the car, Sandy? You wrecked the car? How the hell're we supposed to get outta town now?" Jonathan said angrily.

"I'm sorry, I just… I… I didn't do it on purpose…" Sandy said.

Jonathan glared at him. "My God, Sandy! Can't you do anything right?" He growled. "You're just so stupid, Sandy! Why the hell do you have to be so goddamned stupid?"

"I'm sure she'll get another car soon and we can just steal that one…"

"We don't have time to wait around for that, Sandy! I told you that we had to leave soon! Did you not hear me when I said that to you?"

"We live on an island, Jonathan. How far could we have really gotten in a car anyways?"

"So now you're saying you did wreck it on purpose? We could've driven to the other side of the island and then sold it for parts and used the money to get away… See, Sandy. I had a plan. I'm not stupid like you! And what're you gonna do now? Huh? Go home? When your mother finds out that you wrecked her only car she is going to pummel you…"

"No… Sandy said. "She's not like that…"

Jonathan shoved Sandy up against the wall. "Yeah, well, maybe she should be. Maybe if she was you wouldn't've turned out so goddamned stupid!"

Sandy didn't like that look in Jonathan's eyes. He knew that Jonathan was adopted, but still, that look in his eyes was so reminiscent of his father.

"Maybe that's all you need is a good beating!"

Sandy shivered, Jonathan's words sending an unwelcome chill down his spine. "No, Jonathan… Please…"

Jonathan punched Sandy in the stomach and used his other hand to keep him up against the wall.

Sandy gasped for breath and tried to pull away from him, but he found himself unable to do so. "Jon… Please…" he pleaded.

"Somebody needs to teach you not to be so goddamned stupid!" Jonathan yelled as he continued to pummel him with his fists.

Sandy finally managed to pull away from Jonathan's grip, but he was in so much pain that he just ended up falling onto the ground. He looked up at Jonathan, his eyes pleading with him to stop, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Are you crying, Sandy?" Jonathan asked before punching him in the face and jumping on top of him. "You're so weak, Sandy! Such a weak, pathetic little faggot! You're not good for anything more than a punching bag! Stop crying, Sandy! Damn it! Stop crying!" Jonathan continued to hit him as he spoke. "I'm not going to stop until you stop crying!!!" He yelled.

Sandy tried to stop, but every time that he came close, Jonathan would just hit him again, making it hurt even more.

Jonathan continued to hit Sandy until his hands felt weak. He got up off of him and looked down at the sobbing mess in front of him. Sometimes he just didn't understand himself or these urges that he had. He had to momentarily fight back the tears coming to his own eyes at the thought that he could do such a thing to Sandy, and yet it had felt so good to do it. He kneeled down next to Sandy and pulled him into his arms. "It's OK, Sandy…" he murmured into his ear. "I'm not gonna hurt you anymore. It's over. It's OK." He stroked his hair softly as he held him in his arms.

Sandy buried his head in the crook of Jonathan's neck. He knew Jonathan didn't mean to get that way. Didn't mean to hurt him like that. Jonathan was just high, that was all. He wasn't bleeding or anything. He would heal.

Jonathan held Sandy close, feeling his shirt becoming soaked in Sandy's hot tears.

Sandy continued to cry on Jonathan's shoulder. He knew that it would all be better in the morning. It always was.

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Sandy laughed sardonically. "Tell me this Jeffrey… How is the way that Jonathan hit me any worse than the way that you did?"

Jeffrey quickly downed the rest of his scotch and slammed his glass onto the bar. "You know what, Sandy?" He growled, completely incensed that Sandy would even go there. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." He glared at Sandy a moment before getting up off of the barstool and storming out.

Sandy went back to drinking his vodka. He hadn't really meant what he'd said, but at least it had gotten rid of Jeffrey.