A/N: You'll learn what's going on with Justin's parents in time, but I should tell you, to prevent confusion, that even though they were selling the house before, after the bashing, they took it off the market.

Unfortunately, Brian'd had to go away on a business trip the day after their moonlight fuck; however, while he'd been gone, they'd been having a great deal of phone sex. And Justin had been busy making some life changes.

Brian was due to return the next day. Now Justin and Daphne were sitting in the park chatting.

Justin declared a little uneasily, "I got a letter from the Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Arts a few days ago. I had no idea I'd even applied, let alone that I'd been accepted. They want me to write back to say whether or not I'm going to attend."

Daphne pretended to be relaxed, asking nonchalantly, "Are you?"

Justin shook his head solemnly. "I don't think I can."

A little more sharply than she intended, Daphne retorted, "Why the hell not?"

Justin was taken aback for a moment, but, then, he chuckled. Daphne worried about him too much. He replied slowly, "Well…I don't know how well I could draw before, but, now, I have so much difficulty controlling my hand. I can't draw for very long before the shaking gets so bad that I can't even draw a straight line. On top of that, the pain is nearly intolerable sometimes. My dad wants me to go to business school. I haven't mentioned art school, but I don't think he'd approve. I doubt he'd pay for me to go."

As calmly as she could manage, Daphne inquired, "So…what does that mean?"

Justin laughed. "Apparently, I had this great, complete life. A boyfriend I loved who loved me. Talent. A dream. And a clue. But now…I have no idea what's going on with my parents. I have no idea why my mom and dad keep acting so strangely around me and around each other. Whatever talent I may have had, it's gone…or somewhat diminished…and I see no evidence of my former ability anywhere around me. No drawings I made before the accident. All the sketch pads and pencils I have now I've bought since. I have no right to go to art school, not the way I am now, and I have no way to fund it, anyway, so I guess it's moot. But of course, I have no desire to go to business school, either. I don't know my history with Brian, although he did say that he was in love with me and that I was in love with him. There's very little in my life that I can hang onto. Very little I can be sure of. I need to take some control back. I'm sick of living someone else's life."

Daphne exclaimed in horror, "Justin, what do you mean? Even though you've forgotten some things, you are still you. It's still your life."

Justin shook his head sadly. "No, Daph. I'm not the same. I may never be the way I was before. And this is most definitely not my life."

Nervously, Daphne asked, "So…what are you proposing?"

So nonchalantly that Daphne was a little scared of what he might do, Justin replied, "I'll just take what's really mine and leave."

Daphne's eyes shot open.

She cried out, "Leave to go where?"

Justin laughed. "Not far. Mostly just out of my parents' dismal house. I can't continue living with ghosts."

Daphne couldn't really blame him.

She looked at Justin uneasily. "So what is it that you consider yours?"

"You and Brian. My new sketch pads. You and I are the same as we ever were. (Daphne smiled at that and breathed a sigh of relief.) What Brian and I were to each other before, I'm not exactly sure. But we 'met' again as though we were strangers, and, even though I know we have a history, we are starting fresh. Brian wants us to become something new. (Justin smiled brightly.) And…I don't know what talent I had before, but I do know that it's gone…or different. I'll just have to begin again, albeit with a disadvantage this time. I'll come back to visit Molly, of course, but everything else…I don't want it."

Justin suddenly frowned.

"I'm not angry at my parents, and I'll still visit, once in a great while, but, in general, I can't stand their company. I don't know what happened to my mother, but she seems like a completely different person. My dad, too. Since when was my mother so quiet…so jaded? She used to love art, but now she acts as though she hates it. I never see her smile anymore. Not really. Just a grotesque imitation of one. When I'm around her, she barely talks to me, and when I ask questions, she pretends she didn't hear me. And my dad. Since when was he so angry? He's always annoyed or pissed off, and he doesn't even look at me when we talk. Instead, he looks at the floor or the wall behind me."

Daphne asked anxiously, "Where will you live? What will you do for money?"

Now Justin was smiling again. "A job, of course. But I have some bonds from my grandma. She gave me one for each of my birthdays for most of my life. They don't amount to much, but certainly enough for a security deposit and first month's rent on an apartment, with a little extra that I can use for food the first month."

"Have you already found an apartment?"

Justin smiled and nodded proudly.

"Where?"

"In a building on Liberty Avenue."

Daphne's eyes widened. "Have you already found a job?"

Justin nodded again.

Anxiously, she inquired, "Where?"

Enthusiastically, he answered, "A small clothing boutique called Torso. I haven't met any of the employees yet, just the owner, but tomorrow I'll be working with someone named Emmett. I know it probably sounds stupid, but I'm so excited. Tomorrow's my first day. The first day for so much. My first day at work. My first day at my new apartment. And…Brian's coming home on an evening flight, so it'll be the first day of our new relationship or whatever."