Mark's POV.

After dropping Lea home to Maureen and Joanne, we drove towards our home. Once inside the loft, Josh hung his jacket wordlessly on the coat rack and tried to scurry into his room when I stopped him. "Yeshula, before you go into your room, I'd like to speak with you first. Can you sit on the couch please?"

Josh turned around slowly, his eyes cast downward, and took his own time getting to the couch and sitting on it. His legs were clasped tightly together and his arms were wrapped around them. I sat on the coffee table across from him and asked him, "Josh, I need you to tell me exactly what happened at that party."

Josh just sat there, breathing heavily, and not saying a word. I tried again. "Josh, I asked you something and I expect you to answer me. Can you please just look at me?"

He slowly lifted his head, his cheeks shining with tear stains, and fixed his greyish-green eyes on my husband who was standing behind me. He then focused his eyes on me, gulped deeply, and began:

"Well, when we got there, Lea went off with Heather and I sat and talked to Sean, who was also there. Then the captain of the football team…his...name's Kevin Graham…started making and fun of me and…..calling me rude names like 'fag boy' and 'queer junior'. So Sean and I left to go play darts….in the basement. Then after two hours, I went to go look for Lea so we could leave, and……I found Kevin making out with her in the kitchen. He was drunk, and….trying to stick his….hand….up her skirt." He sniffed and let out a small sob. "So I just lost it and hit him in the arm with a wooden spoon. Then he got really mad….and started calling me nasty names….again. That made me even angrier, so I threw the wooden spoon at his head without even thinking. And then he….threw his beer bottle at me…..and passed out, on the floor. That's why I smell of it." He frantically wiped his tears away and blinked. At least he had a genuine story.

I softened my tone a bit. "Look Josh, I'm proud of you for defending yourself and Lea, but did you have to get physical?"

Suddenly, Josh stood up and looked me square in the eye, his voice getting considerably louder. "What the hell else was I supposed to do, Aba? How do you expect me to frickin' react when that jerkass was deliberately trying to hurt the two people I love most, huh? I couldn't think of anything else to do! You want me to just shut up and take it like a wuss?" And with another sob, he stormed off to his bedroom.

"Yeshula, wait!" I called after him, but it was too late. He already slammed his door shut. I sighed and plopped myself on the couch. Roger slowly came near me and tried to wrap his arm around my shoulder when I snapped, "Don't touch me."

Roger blinked incredulously. "What? Why, Mark?"

I stood away from him and glared at him. "You're the one who made him go to this party! You know what kind of shit these kids get up to when there no Mommy or Daddy around, but you still made him go there! Did you hear the things our son just said? Why couldn't you just let him make his own decision?"

Roger glared right back at me. "Well, excuuuuuse me for trying to get him to talk to someone other than that journal of his."

I refused to believe him. I yelled at him: "Don't you give me that rigmarole, Davis! You want Josh to be a little rock star just like you, don't you? You want him to live that wild, carefree life that you did with all the sex, girls and booze just like you did, right? I can see it already! The punk t-shirts, the chains, the leather jacket, constantly taking him to the club with you to show off to your groupies! Do you really think I'm so blind, that I can't see it? Huh? Do you also know that that's what got you into heroin and made you HIV? Do you? And this is the kind of fucked-up life you're trying to expose out son to?"

Roger growled like a wild beast. "How dare you say that, Mark? You really think I'm trying to ruin our son's life? And how could you bring my past into this? I thought you forgave me for all those times of getting high with April. Why are you throwing it back at me again? You think you're the only one who loves Josh? Well guess what mister, so do I!" His olive-green eyes blazed with anger and his breathing became heavier. "I just want him to get out into the world and talk to some people instead of just sitting in his room stuck behind his journal the way you're stuck behind your goddamn camera!"

That was all I needed to shut him off for good. I had nothing more to say to an asshole like him who refuses to protect our only son from potential danger. I walked into our bedroom, picked up one pillow and a blanket, entered the living room and threw them at his face. After muttering, "I don't want to see your face. Sleep on the fuckin' couch tonight", I retreated into our bedroom and slammed the door behind me. What shit luck. If I couldn't even trust my own husband to make sure our son was safe, who else could I trust?