"There's just no escaping him in this house." Kitty commented.
Kevin and Cassie looked over to her. The three of them were helping Kitty move back in.
"There never was." Cassie replied quietly.
Ever since William had passes, Cassie seemed to be withdrawn. She and Nora seemed to be taking it the hardest. Kevin wrapped his arm around his younger sister and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
"I shouldn't be missing him this much." Kitty said.
"Of course you should, it's only been three weeks." Kevin replied.
"You have a lot of stuff." Cassie told her sister.
"I know, I'm starting to wonder what Jonathon got in the breakup." Kevin added.
"We are not broken up. He wants be to be here and he wants me t do the show" Kitty argued.
"Sure he does. When does the show start?" Kevin asked.
Cassie really wasn't in the mood to here them talk about the show or Jonathon so she just walked right out of the room and up to her bedroom.
"I guess she doesn't care." Kitty commented.
"She's still trying to cope." Kevin told her.
Cassie went straight to her laptop and opened her paper for school she had been trying to write. She was willing to occupy herself with anything if it would get her mind off her father. A while later there was a knock on her door.
"I'm doing homework." Cassie told whoever it was, not wanting to be bothered.
"I don't believe you. Open up." Justin's voice entered her room.
A small smile appeared on Cassie's face and she went to open her door. She liked getting to hang out with Justin lately because he was the only one that wouldn't talk about their dad.
"Hey J." Cassie greeted her brother.
"What you doing, Cass?" Justin asked.
Cassie was the closest to Justin because he was the closest in age to her. The two of them had their own special relationship.
"Avoiding everybody." Cassie answered.
Cassie went over and sat on her bed and Justin followed her.
"Normally if you want to avoid the family, you should leave the house." Justin teased her.
"Shut up loser." Cassie smacked her brother, but in a playful way.
"I have an idea. We should go surfing." Justin suggested.
Cassie jumped off her bed, went over to her closet and pulled out her wet suit.
"I'll take that as a yes." Justin laughed.
The two of them headed off towards the beach for some fun that would hopefully keep their mind off of things for a few hours.
After surfing, the whole family was gathered at the table for the reading of their William's will. Saul and Tommy kept their positions at Ojai and Sarah was made president of the company. All personal assets were left to Nora and each child was given a trust.
"…with one notable exception. I apologize for having to be the one to say this to you." Kevin looked at Justin.
"What?" Justin asked.
"Dad set it up so after mom's gone, your share of the inheritance will be kept in a conservatorship." Kevin told his younger brother.
"Which is what?" Justin asked, annoyed.
"You'll get an allowance and Kitty will be in charge of it." Kevin answered.
Justin started ranting about it and Tommy took the opportunity to point out the fact that he was high which annoyed him some more. Kitty jumped in and tried to calm Justin down but he got up from the table and left the house. Cassie watched her brother leave, feeling bad for him. She really wished that her brother would get himself clean.
Cassie walked in the house and heard something clatter in the kitchen. She headed into the kitchen to make sure that everything was okay. She saw her mom standing on a chair with a broom in her hand and the smoke detector was broken on the floor. Her mother look terribly upset.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Cassie asked.
Nora turned her attention towards her youngest daughter and got down off the chair.
"Justin hasn't shown up for work all week so Manny has to let him go." Nora told her.
"Ugh Justin." Cassie sighed in frustration.
"I'm going over there." Cassie decided and headed for the door.
"I'm coming with you." Nora said.
The two of them got to Justin's apartment and were disappointed to find that he wasn't there. The two of them headed over to the TV station to find Kitty to get her to help.
"What's going on?" Kitty asked upon seeing her mom and sister.
"Justin hasn't shown up for work the past three days and he's not home. I can't find him Kitty." Nora answered, her voice breaking at the end.
"We'll find him." Kitty tried to reassure her mom.
The three of them headed back to Justin's to wait and see if he showed.
"We should have put one of those things on him so we could track him, like dogs." Kitty said as a joke.
"Don't get snippy with me." Nora told Kitty, as Cassie tried to stifle a laugh.
"I know what Jonathon would do, he'd…" Kitty started to tell what he would do.
"No one cares what Jonathon would do!" Cassie snapped at her.
Nora and Kitty were taken aback by Cassie's outburst. Cassie was always very calm and collected. Nora had kind of been waiting for a breakdown from her ever since William died though. She had been holding it all in, but she never though that Cassie would yell at anyone.
"Jonathon's not here and he can't help! Our brother is missing, so let's focus on what we can do and not what someone else would do!" Cassie was now in tears.
Cassie turned away from her mom and sister, and took a deep breathe to calm herself.
"Kitty, I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated." Cassie apologized for her behavior.
"It's alright kid." Kitty accepted her apology, knowing she truly was sorry.
Just then Kitty's cell rang and she quickly answered it. It was Kevin calling to say that he found Justin.
"Where is he?" Nora asked, anxious to find him.
"He's in jail in Oceanside. He was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct." Kitty informed her.
"We gotta go to him." Nora started getting antsy.
"Kevin's gonna meet us at the house since we have to drop Cassie off." Kitty said.
"Hell no! I am going with." Cassie spoke up.
Nora turned to argue with her daughter but then saw her. She was standing there, arms folded, with a determined look on her face. It reminded Nora so much of William and she knew there would be no point in arguing; Cassie had made up her mind.
"He needs to go into a treatment program." Kevin said.
The four of them were currently on their way to Oceanside to pick up Justin.
"I agree, even if it's just outpatient." Kitty added.
"A partner of mine just came back from Minnesota." Kevin tossed out.
"I'm not sending my son to Minnesota." Nora shot down the idea.
"He needs some kind of professional help, mom." Cassie agreed with Kitty and Kevin.
"I'm not saying he doesn't need help, I'm just saying now's not the time to theorize about your poor brother as if he was some sort of case study. What needs to happen is we need to get down to this Oceanside place and get him out of jail and take him home. Why didn't you tell me your father was gonna insult him like that?" Nora responded.
"Oh, what would you have done if you'd known?" Kevin questioned.
"I don't know. I could have prepared him. Could have come up with a plan. As it is you dropped it on him like a bomb. No wonder he's gone off and done something to himself." Nora answered.
"Are you serious?" Kitty asked, incredulously.
"Yes, certainly I am." Nora answered.
"Do you ever stop and think that some of this could possibly be your fault?" Kitty asked.
"Don't even go there. Blaming each other is not going to help anything." Cassie spoke up before it turned into a fight.
"No, she blames everyone but herself. It's me, it's Kevin, it's dad. Where were you in the picture, did you ever think about that?" Kitty kept going.
Nora turned and faced the window.
"I don't see any ocean out there. This is a terrible place to come to" Nora commented.
It was obvious that the conversation was over.
The four of them finally arrived at the Oceanside police department after what seemed like forever.
"He's really wrecked. Usually we like to let his kind dry out for the night in lock up. It reinforces the point." The guard told Kevin.
"Right, but we have driven all the way from Los Angeles." Kevin replied.
"There's a motel near by… see you in the Am, bring coffee." The guard dismissed him.
"Alright, thanks." Kevin walked back over to them.
Nora had no intention of leaving her son in lock up though. She dragged Kitty with her and used Kitty's show to get Justin released.
"The girls came to get me, that's cool. Where's Sarah?" Justin babbled.
"He's sitting in the back with you two." Kevin told Cassie and Kitty.
"Seriously, thanks for bringing the whole family. My day wasn't bad enough?" Justin yelled at Kevin.
"We were worried about you." Cassie tried to make him feel guilty.
"Oh and he had to do the right thing? Cause Kevin always does the right thing, except sleep with women." Just sniped.
"Justin, could you shut up for ten seconds?" Kitty yelled at her youngest brother.
"If you didn't want my help, why'd you ask?" Kevin asked.
"Cause I was in jail. I figured I'd call the family lawyer, I mean that's what you are right?" Justin responded.
"If your father could see this behavior!" Nora screamed.
"He'd what? Judge me? Tell me to get a job?" Justin retorted.
"He'd be so disappointed!"
"Disappointed? Who the hell is he to be disappointed? He's the disappointment!"
"What does that mean?"
Kevin, Kitty, and Cassie were scared silent. They had never seen their mom this way before.
"Forget it." Justin tried to walk away.
"Your father loved you more than anything on earth, you little spoiled brat." Nora was now crying.
"You know what love means in this family? It means you suck! It means…"
"Get in the car!" Kevin yelled at Justin, trying to stop the fight but it failed.
"…nothing you do will be good enough!"
"Oh you ungrateful child! You don't care about anyone but yourself. How did you get that way? You know what losing your father has done to me! And yet you take your life and throw it around like it was worthless, why?"
"Because I wish I was dead! Don't you understand that? I wish I died over there, mom." Justin was close to tears now.
Nora was shocked by Justin's confession and her voice dropped really low with her next statement.
"Well you didn't die. And I'll be damned if I'll stand around and watch you kill yourself."
Nora started shaking and Kitty went over to her mom and put her arms around her mother.
"Enough, enough mom." Kitty stopped it.
Nora broke down into tears in her daughter's arms and bawled.
"God, you guys are so freaking serious." Justin said and then walked away to the car.
Kevin and Cassie came over to Kitty and Nora and tried to console their mom also. Cassie glared at her brother as he skulked off to the car. She couldn't believe how much pain he just put their mom through. Cassie looked at her heartbroken mother, crying in Kitty's arms and she was now on the verge of crying too.
Kevin, Kitty, and Cassie were laying on beds in their motel room, flipping through channels on the TV. Nora was off trying to talk to Justin.
"I hate it when you dominate the remote." Kitty told Kevin.
"I'm curious to see if gay porn has got to Oceanside yet. I stay in a lot of hotels, this is research for me." Kevin replied, still flipping channels.
"Oh geez Kev!" Cassie laughed.
"Here we go." Kevin said as he found a porn channel. "'Thirty-something Inches', only $10.95. Shall we?"
"Ew, come on." Kitty reached for the remote.
"Wait, is that Jonathon?" Kevin teased Kitty.
"You know what, I think it is." Cassie joined in the teasing.
Just then Nora walked into the room and the three of them silenced quickly and looked at her.
"He won't let me in. I just want to apologize." Nora told them.
Nora looked so defeated and tired. This was definitely taking an emotional toll on her.
"Why don't you stay here and I'll try and talk to him." Kitty suggested.
"Thanks." Nora replied.
Kitty got up off the bed and left the room while Nora went over to the bed. Nora looked at the television screen and finally saw what they had on the TV.
"What the hell are we watching?" Nora asked.
"Meerkats." Kevin answered nonchalantly.
"These Meerkats are wearing no clothes. Give me the clicker." Nora said.
Cassie burst out laughing and her mother turned and looked at her.
"Cassandra, honestly this is so inappropriate." Nora scolded her daughter, but secretly she found it funny too.
"It's Kevin's research, mom. It's important stuff." Cassie laughed.
Kevin picked up a pillow and threw it at her. Nora just sat there and shook her head at her two children.
Nora, Justin, and Kitty were standing by the car waiting to leave while Kevin and Cassie were getting drinks. Nora and Justin had finally talked and they seemed to be okay.
"No other ocean has so many colors." Nora commented on the ocean.
"You can see where the blues change." Kitty pointed.
Kevin and Cassie came back over with the drinks and passed them out.
"So which route should we take back, pretty or the fast?" Kevin asked.
"Fast." Nora, Cassie, and Kitty said at the same time.
Kevin nodded in agreement with them.
"The pretty." Justin said.
They all turned to look at him and smiled a little. The five of them got into the car and made their journey back to home.
