Hello All,
Sorry, that it took me so long to post this, but I've been insanely busy. College finals, work, helping out for a wedding. Plus on top of all that I think that I had wrote and rewritten the argument at the end of this chapter ten times. This is the version that I finally liked the best to put into the story. I hope that you all enjoy this next installment of Rekindle.
Thanks,
Sailordraco82520
The drive from Cody's daycare to the hospital took twenty minutes. But with the knowledge that Zach was hurt and unconscious, for Shaun made it seem that they trip took twice as long. Shaun was trying to figure out what kind of an asshole did this to a nice person. Shaun glanced into his rearview mirror again to check on Cody, he seemed to be even more upset then he was before. Shaun couldn't blame the kid, he was scared himself.
Shaun turned into the Emergency Room Parking of Saint Bernardine Medical Center, and found an open space and put his Outback there. Shaun grabbed his cell phone out of the passenger seat for the second time and shut the vehicle off. He climbed out and he got Cody out of the back. Shaun locked the Outback and he looked down at Cody. "Alright, Cody while we are here, I want you to stay close so I can keep an eye on you. Plus we will see Zach as soon as the doctors say that we can, so we might have to wait a while before that happens. Can you be brave for me?" Shaun asked the little kid who seemed on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
"Are you scared Shaun?" Cody asked in a shaking voice that told Shaun that he was unsure of how he should handle the situation.
Shaun knelt down onto one knee and pulled Cody into a tight hug. "Cody, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm scared as hell. I don't know how bad Zach is hurt, but if I could change anything I would rather it be me hurt than him. But you and I are going to hang in there for him."
Cody took his little arms from around Shaun, and nodded his head. Cody then squared his shoulders in a very Zach look. "I don't wish for you to be hurt any more than Zach."
Shaun smiled. "Cody, we will just have to believe that he is going to be okay. Come on; hold my hand as we go over to the entrance."
Shaun stood up and Cody placed his little hand in Shaun's as they crossed the parking lot. After going through the opening Shaun saw several people in the waiting area. Shaun noticed two girls that were sitting close by, actually one was pacing talking on a phone looking quite harassed, the other was sitting and she looked worried.
Shaun led Cody up to the Emergency Room help desk. Sitting at the desk was a brunette lady, and according to her name tag she was Emily. "Hi Emily, I was just called and was told that my boyfriend was brought in on an ambulance because he was hurt. His name is Zach Brooks. I can help you finish any paperwork that needs to be done, for he is on my insurance."
Emily looked at Shaun for a moment before she responded. "Alright, let me go see if I can track down his paperwork."
She left, Shaun took another look around the room and noticed that the girl that was pacing was really arguing with whom ever was on the other side of the phone. Her friend seemed to be getting annoyed now, and was managing to keep her worried look. Shaun glanced down at Cody who seemed to be looking around. When Shaun looked back up Emily had returned with a folder. "Here we go; I'll just need you to fill this out."
Shaun let go of Cody's hand and grabbed a pen and started filling in the missing information. After a few minutes, Shaun paused and pulled out his wallet and pulled out his insurance card to write down that information. Shaun smiled slightly to himself as he remembered adding Zach to his medical insurance shortly after moving to Los Angeles for slightly different reasons. Cody would be on it as well, but Jeanne was dragging her heels on giving her permission for that one.
After about five minutes of filling out the paper work, Shaun handed it back to Emily. "May I ask how he is?"
Emily looked over the paperwork before answering with a "I'm so sorry" look. "They just took him off for emergency surgery about five minutes ago. There was some internal bleeding, and they have to reset some broken bones. He's going to be in surgery for a while."
Shaun swallowed hard. "Thanks; would you please keep me advised of his progress please?"
"I sure will," Emily glanced at the paperwork for Shaun's signature at the bottom, "Mr. Andrews."
"Thank you again. But please call me Shaun." Shaun said as he grabbed Cody's hand again.
"Ok, Shaun it is." Emily said. Shaun moved with Cody over to the waiting area, Shaun noticed that the pacing girl was off of her phone and she seemed intent on Shaun. Shaun walked over to where there were some toys on a table for Cody to play. But as he sat down the two girls that Shaun noticed when he came in, were now moving towards him.
The girl that was a little taller with a well tanned skin and dark brown hair stepped closer to Shaun. "Are you Shaun?"
"That's me." Shaun said as he stood up to greet her.
The girl extended her hand. "I'm Tova; I wish that we were meeting under different circumstances. This is Annie; this was whom Zach was defending."
The shorter girl had dark blonde hair and had the hint of a tan on her face; she waved, as she spoke. "Shaun, I'm sorry that Zach got dragged into my mess."
"Well, I will say this for him; he still does his best to put everyone before himself." Shaun said. "I'm sorry to say though that he doesn't really say who he hangs out with at school, so I am at kind of a loss on his new friends."
"Well, don't feel bad, we practically cornered him earlier about why he wasn't dating one of us." Annie said as she moved to sit next to Shaun.
"Yeah, we did. He practically told us your whole story from the beginning." Tova said as she dragged a single chair over to sit in front of Shaun.
"So you both know how this summer went then." Shaun said, as he looked between the two girls with a bog smile on his face. "I still can't believe that I'm this lucky."
"Actually he went farther back than that." Annie said.
"Excuse me? How far back did he go?" Shaun said his face full of surprise.
Tova smiled. "Well he said that he's had feelings for you since he was eight but he didn't know what they were. You were 16 at the time so naturally, he wouldn't know. Zach also told us that he started realize that he liked guys when he was 19, and then pretty much the events of summer until class anyway."
"I'm surprised that he's liked me longer than I thought he did. We both agreed that 13 was about that time that we both really started to pay attention to each other." Shaun said as their story sank in. "So how did this whole thing tonight start up?"
Tova glanced at Annie. Annie took a deep breath and sighed before she told Shaun about Garret and their history. Annie then told Shaun about what led up to the confrontation, and then the confrontation itself. Cody had stopped playing with the toys and came over and sat in between Shaun's legs on the floor as he listened to the story. As Annie finished the story she was in tears again, and Tova handed her a tissue.
Shaun was quiet for a moment, before he spoke. "I don't fault you at all Annie. If I was there, I would have done the same thing myself. I agree with Zach that women deserve to be treated better than they are in today's world. I know that some straight guys are just down right asses from junior high to the day that they die. I find it really sad."
Tova wiped a tear away. "It's always the same."
"What?" Cody asked.
Tova smiled and looked at Cody. "That all the good men are like parking spots. All the good ones are taken or gay."
Cody looked up into Shaun's face for an answer. Shaun smiled. "I'll explain it to you later, Cody."
"Ok."
Shaun looked back up at Tova. "I noticed that you were on the phone when I came in, what was going on there?"
Tova turned a shade of red. Either from embarrassment or anger Shaun wasn't sure. "Well, Zach had left his backpack by me when he went to help out. So as the EMT's were trying to figure out how they were going to put Zach on the gurney, I heard some buzzing coming from Zach's bag. I figured that it was his cell phone, but I couldn't really grab because we were talking to the police. Once we were able to follow the ambulance, we loaded into Annie's car and came here.
"I started going through Zach's bag and I finally found his cell phone, and I saw the missed call. So I flipped it open and saw a voicemail, I eventually found out that it was you that had called and I decided to give you a call. After I got off Zach's phone with you and told the receptionist here what we knew and told her that you were on your way, I got another call on Zach's phone." Tova paused and Shaun noticed that she was wringing her hands together.
"The person that called was surprised to her me and said that she was happy that Zach finally came to his senses and was with a girl now and not you." Tova continued, but stopped when Shaun raised his hand.
"Was this Jeanne?" Shaun asked.
"Yes, yes it was." Tova stammered a moment.
"I think that I get the picture without the rest." Shaun said as he shook his head in disappointment.
"Well, I told her that I wasn't with Zach and that he was still with you but he was injured really badly in a fight and she freaked out on me." Tova added hesitantly.
"It's okay." Shaun said. "Jeanne is someone that I'm not really worried about."
Annie raised an eyebrow. "So what is her problem with you and Zach?"
Shaun looked down at Cody. "Cody would be part of it. The other is that she doesn't want to accept the fact that Zach wants to be with me and not with someone more traditional. Jeanne feels that I gave Zach the dreaded incurable gay disease, which is not the case; because I'm sure that if I hadn't been there this summer it was only a matter of time before Zach would have been with another guy. In Cody's case, she feels that I will corrupt him in some way the same way I did Zach."
"Puh-lease, she sound's like she's got some serious problems to work out." Annie said.
"Well, I'm inclined to agree, but Jeanne does care in some small weird way of hers I know that. Because when she left Zach and I with Cody, I know that she knew that was a right decision even if she won't agree to it." Shaun said, his cell phone started playing Nickelback's "Burn it Down to the Ground," Shaun stood up and fished it out of his pocket. "Excuse me for a moment; could you watch Cody for a minute?"
Shaun flipped open his phone. "Hello, Gabe."
"How's it going for my princess big brother? How is the new boyfriend, who happens to be my best friend?" Gabe asked on the other side.
"Well to be perfectly honest Gabe it's not so good. You see Zach is in the hospital for emergency surgery for some internal bleeding, and they have to reset some broken bones. For Zach was in a fight earlier this evening, I'm here at the hospital now with Cody, and the two girls that were with Zach." Shaun said to Gabe in a worried voice.
"What? Are fucking kidding me, Shaun?" Gabe asked now getting concerned.
"No, Gabe I'm not, as much as I wish I was." Shaun then told Gabe the whole story that he learned from Annie and Tova.
As Shaun told Gabe the news of Zach, he had to sit down. He couldn't believe what he was hearing about his best friend from his brother. It just made no sense to him. Gabe continued to listen as Shaun finished.
"So, Zach is in emergency surgery now?" Gabe asked.
"Yes, he went in about twenty minutes ago." Shaun said. "The nurse said that she would keep me updated."
"Shaun, I'm coming over there; what hospital are you at?" Gabe asked as he stood up off of his bed. Gabe went over and grabbed his book bag off the floor and brought it to his bed and unzipped it and unloaded it.
"We're at Saint Bernardine Medical Center, Gabe you really don't need to come." Shaun said with concern. "You got classes…"
Gabe cut Shaun off. "Shaun, Zach is my best friend and he always will be. You may be his lover and significant other, but I am his best friend. I'll be on the road in about 15 minutes. Besides I know that you are going to need some company, and an extra eye on Cody."
Shaun sighed. "I guess you're right. I guess I'll see you when you get here."
"Hang in there Shaun; I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye." Gabe said.
"Bye." Shaun said as he hung up the phone. Gabe turned to his dresser/closet and pulled open some drawers and threw in some boxers, shorts and shirts into his back pack. Gabe then moved and grabbed his wallet off his desk and keys.
Gabe exited his dorm room just as three people came walking up; a girl stepped forward and smiled at Gabe. "Gabe, we're ready to study with you."
Gabe gave a small smile. "I'm sorry Vikki, Jason, and Tasha, but I can't. I just talked to my brother and I found out that my best friend is in the hospital with serious injuries."
Tasha gave a small gasp. Jason's eyebrows moved up and Vikki looked shocked. "God, I seriously hope everything is okay."
"I hope so too, but I gotta drive to Valencia. I'm sorry to ditch out on you guys." Gabe said as he shouldered his back pack.
"It's okay. We'll let the teacher know where you are, you can borrow my notes when you get back." Jason said.
"Thanks, again I am so sorry about this." Gabe said and he hurried down the hall to the elevator. Once Gabe was in the elevator he flipped his phone open and scrolled down and he called Tori, but there was no answer. "Hey Tori, this is Gabe. When you get this message call me back immediately, it's about Zach. I just talked to Shaun and Zach was in a fight trying to protect a friend and got the shit beat out of him and is in the hospital. I'm on my way there now. But please give me a call back as soon as you get this."
The elevator opened and Gabe exited them, and went out the lobby doors to the parking lot and went over to his 2010 Mustang and opened it and started it and hit the road.
Time passed slowly for Shaun. It felt as is he'd been sitting in the waiting room longer than he had been. Cody had fallen asleep in the chair next to Shaun and was leaning against him. Shaun had put his arm around the little kid just for comfort and reassurance. Annie and Tova had left a while ago, because they need to take care of a few things but they both said that they would be back. The loneliness that Shaun was feeling was feeling at the moment was very palpable. Shaun laid his head back against the wall and he stared up at the ceiling panels. A tear slid down his cheek, he just couldn't believe that his luck was really crappy when it came to him and Zach and their rocky little world.
The fear of losing Zach this time was just too much for Shaun at the moment. If Zach dies this would be the third time that he has lost him. The first time was back when Shaun left for Los Angeles, when he realized, well at the time, that there was no hope for him and Zach being together because he was straight. Then after all the shit with Coulter in L.A. and moving back, Shaun thought that it was an absolute miracle and too good to be true that he and Zach would be together. After a little alcohol to break the tension, and that hauntingly good first kiss Zach was there to be with him, even though it was going to be a rough beginning with Zach accepting himself for who he was and what he wanted to do in life. But then Jeanne had to butt in and make a fragile situation worse. Shaun remembered how upset Zach was in his Jimmy that night after that argument with her. But now there is this to deal with.
Shaun noticed a person come into the waiting room, but he was too zoned out to notice who. Shaun closed his eyes, and took a deep breath in and let it out in a long sigh. Shaun didn't realize that he was hungry, until his stomach rumbled. Shaun thought that Cody was probably hungry too but he didn't want to wake the little guy.
"So have you heard anything about Zach at all?" A familiar voice asked.
Shaun opened his eyes and saw Gabe just sitting down next to him. "No we haven't yet. But I don't know how long it's going to be though before their done."
Gabe nodded, "I still can't believe that this happened to him. He's such a nice person."
"Yeah, but you know Zach. He's got to put everyone before himself. It is one thing that I love about him." Shaun said as he looked at his brother, as he repositioned Cody to be sleeping more on the chair and turned back.
"That's nice. So how is it to be dating your little brother's best friend who is family to begin with?" Gabe said as he lightly punched Shaun in the shoulder.
"It's absolutely wonderful, Gabe." Shaun said as he looked at him. "When I'm with Zach I feel like my whole life is finally complete. I no longer feel like I have to try with Zach, it's like…riding the perfect wave. It's all too good to be true for me."
"Shaun, that's the gayest thing I've ever heard." Gabe said, with a smirk on his face. "I mean literally the gayest thing I ever heard. And Shaun I do mean all three definitions."
Shaun let out a small laugh. "Gabe, don't be jealous of what you don't have."
Gabe smiled. "What do I need to be jealous of, Shaun? Being a fairy princess like you? Or do I need to be jealous of the fact that you say gay shit? Or that you happen to have stolen my best friend for your own personal gain?"
Shaun shook his head with a small laugh. "Gabe, never mind. I'm glad that you came though. I've been here by myself for about three hours now. Annie and Tova said that they would be back later though."
Shaun looked down at the floor, and he wiped away the tears that were flowing from them as he leaned forward. Gabe moved over and hugged his brother. Gabe laid a hand on Shaun's shoulder and started rubbing it in small circles. "Come on Shaun, if you lose it now, then I'm going to. Remember Zach is a fighter. He will pull through this."
Shaun sniffed and he dabbed at his eyes with the back of his hand again. "You're right, he'll pull through this."
"He will." Gabe said. "Besides he wouldn't leave Cody, besides that kid is his world."
Shaun smiled as he looked up and saw Annie and Tova walking in again. Shaun stood up and quickly gave the introductions, when the doctor came up to them.
"Hello, which one of you is Shaun Andrews?" The doctor asked. His name tag read Dr. Howard Conneur.
"That would be me." Shaun said. "How is Zach?"
"The good news is that we've managed to stabilize Zach, and his internal bleeding we stopped, which was not as bad as we had initially feared. Zach's got three cracked ribs, which should heal in three to four weeks. He's also got a compound fracture of his tibia. For that we're looking at about six to eight months for healing. Zach also has both his radius and ulna broke in his right arm, and that will heal in eight to ten weeks. Zach does have some head trauma but looking at his x-rays, there doesn't appear to be any swelling, which is good, but I want to keep him here for a few days to monitor him, just to be safe." Dr. Conneur said.
"That's good news then." Shaun said as he relaxed a little. "When would I be able to see him?"
"That's going to be a little while. We have Zach still under anesthesia and he's not going to be coming out of it probably until morning sometime. I would recommend probably going home and getting a little rest." Dr. Conneur paused for a moment. "He is in recovery right now, and then we will be putting him into a room. If you would like I can have Emily call you in the morning and give you his room number."
"Thanks Dr. Conneur, I just want to hear from you again that Zach is going to be alright." Shaun said as he felt the tension leave his shoulders for a moment.
Dr, Conneur smiled. "Yes, Zach should make a complete recovery, but like I said I'd like to keep him here for a few days, just to be safe."
"Again thank you Doctor." Shaun raised his hands to his head and gave a great sigh of relief.
As the doctor walked away Shaun felt like he could breathe just a bit easier tonight. He turned to Gabe and gave his brother a hug and then one each in turn to Annie and Tova. Finally Shaun turned around gently shook Cody awake. Once Cody's eye were open he looked at Shaun puzzled for a moment, but then Shaun picked him up and in a big hug, Shaun said softly to Cody: "Zach's going to be ok, buddy."
Cody started to cry silently, and held onto Shaun for a good five minutes before he wanted put down. Shaun set Cody back on the floor and then looked at Gabe again. "Gabe come and stay with me and Cody tonight. We could both use some company."
Gabe gave Shaun a funny look and smiled. "I may be your brother Shaun, but I think that I might be a little too old for a sleep over."
Cody looked up at Gabe. "But you're family, Gabe; you need to stay with us!"
Shaun couldn't help but smile. Gabe looked like he got what he wanted. "But Cody, I don't want to put you out of your bed. Besides don't you want Shaun all to yourself? I had to spend time with him for 14 years."
Cody apparently wasn't going to give up easily. "Gabe, please stay. Zach wouldn't make you stay some where else."
Gabe was taken aback by Cody's comment. "Codes, I…I didn't say no…I was just…well…"
Gabe fell silent as Cody crossed his arms and scowled just like Zach did when he was annoyed with something. Annie and Tova started having a fit of silent giggles along with Shaun as they watched Gabe go through his dilemma.
"Alright Cody you win, I'll stay." Gabe said, he then turned to Shaun. "So I call dibs on the couch then."
Chuckling Shaun nodded. "That's fine, come on its been a long night, lets go."
Shaun, Cody, Gabe, Annie, and Tova left the Emergency Room entrance to go to their vehicles. Once at his Outback, Shaun kneeled down to Cody. "Are you hungry?"
"Starving," that was all that Cody said.
"You're starving? Well what do you say we ask Uncle Gabe what he wants to eat, shall we?" Shaun asked him.
Gabe seemed a little distracted for a moment. "Sorry, what did you say?"
Cody looked at Gabe and asked. "Shaun wants to know where you want to go eat? I kind of want a sandwich."
Gabe looked at Shaun. I'm fine with whatever, dude. I'll even go back to your place and eat your low carb fag food."
Shaun smiled. "Ok, I think that there is a sub shop a couple of blocks over that is still open that we can go in and get something. Annie, Tova you're both welcome to join us, if you want that is."
Tova looked at Annie and they both nodded. "We'll meet you there, then."
Shaun opened up the back door and helped Cody with his car seat. Annie and Tova waved as they passed by, just as another car pulled into the hospital. The person in the new car pulled into Tova's parking spot and then got out. Gabe had been watching the car and he then muttered. "Oh, fuck."
Shaun looked at Gabe. "What?"
Gabe quickly glanced at Shaun. "The moose is loose on the field."
Shaun looked puzzled at Gabe. "Excuse me?"
Gabe looked at Shaun directly. "Jeanne."
As it dawned on Shaun he turned around and found himself almost face to face with Jeanne, considering that she was still a few steps away from the car. From this distance, even with it dark and poorly lighted; he could tell that she was pissed.
She closed the gap between them and stood in front of Shaun and folded her arms across her chest. "Are you fucking happy now, you gay fucker?"
Shaun narrowed his eyes. "Good to see you too, Jeanne."
"Fuck off, Shaun." Jeanne said. "Are you happy for ruining our family, asshole?"
Shaun crossed his arms as well. "I didn't do anything, Jeanne."
Jeanne straightened up a little. "Bull shit, you know what I'm talking about, you faggot. You came back to San Pedro this summer to finally get him. I saw how you looked at him when he turned 16, you pedophile bastard."
Shaun's temper was finally starting to rise. "I didn't come to get anything this summer. I wasn't even looking for a relationship when I was back there. And I never once had any attraction to Zach until after her turned 18."
"Oh shove your homosexual drama up your ass Shaun. You corrupted Zach, and now he's hurt because of your sick ways." Jeanne spat at Shaun.
"Jeanne, you don't know what you're talking about." Shaun said back to her. "Zach didn't get hurt from a hate crime. He was hurt trying to protect one of his friends."
"That's the biggest cock and bull shit story that I've ever heard. Zach was such a good person until you came along and fucked him up, and I do mean literally." Jeanne said.
Gabe folded his arms also across his chest and glared at Jeanne. Shaun looked Jeanne in the eyes. "Jeanne, it's the truth; and Zach is still a good person."
"Oh spare me." Jeanne said. "I'm hoping that this little incident puts some sense into Zach and he realizes that you're using him, because you want to be a drag queen sugar daddy. I figured that you seduced Zach anyway to get what you wanted this summer, which was for Zach to be one of your summer fucks for you. So bravo Shaun! And thanks to you Zach is now going to be a fucked homo because you had to have your way with him. So, I'll ask you again, are you happy for fucking up our family?"
"Jeanne, shut the fuck up." Gabe said. Both Jeanne and Shaun looked at him. Jeanne had a small hint of surprise on her face. Shaun could tell that Jeanne had gone too far with Gabe, because Gabe was shaking from anger. Shaun quickly glanced at Cody in the car; he seemed to be intent on watching the argument. Cody didn't even look upset.
Shaun looked back at the two adults before him. Jeanne now had turned to Gabe to chew him out. "Don't tell me that you're actually condoning this Gabe?"
"Zach is actually happy for once. The fact that he settled down with my brother, I still find that a little weird, but I'm getting used to it." Gabe said. "He's happy for the first time since before your guy's mom died. I thought that you of all people would be more understanding."
Jeanne looked disgusted. "Gabe, you know Zach the best, why are going for this shit? I know that Shaun is your brother, but why the fuck are you doing this?"
"Jeanne, Zach told me shortly after he and Shaun got back together that he was already looking at guys. He said that he couldn't really go the extra mile to be with a guy, but he said that if he hadn't gotten together with Shaun it would have been a different guy all together sooner or later." Gabe said as he watched Jeanne's face fill up with surprise.
"Oh for fucks sake," Jeanne recomposed herself. "I can't believe this! Gabe you really are a hopeless cause. Wait, I can believe that a fag hag brother is protecting…."
SMACK!
Jeanne stood where she was with a look of absolute shock on her face. She spitted and sputtered, but she couldn't talk. Shaun was also in shock as he looked at Gabe. Gabe was still breathing heavy but he had his right hand raised to his right from where he just hit Jeanne across the face. Gabe was extremely pissed off at Jeanne.
"Jeanne, shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up you stupid bitch!" Gabe said with controlled rage. "You don't know Zach as much as you thought you did. You controlled him, manipulated him, and used everything in your power to keep him under you thumb. He wouldn't talk to you about some things because he knew how you'd react. He didn't talk to me at first because he thought that I wouldn't understand; but I finally got him to talk to me, so I think I know him a lot better than you ever will."
"Fuck off Gabe!" Jeanne spat as she straightened herself up. "Shaun, I'm taking Cody. I'm not going to have him raised by your corrupting and deviant behavior."
"You're not taking Cody any where, Jeanne." Gabe said.
"He's my son and I'm going to take care of him, in a proper home environment." Jeanne said as she moved for the car, Gabe moved and stood between her and the car, and once again folded his arms.
"You're not taking him." Gabe said.
"What makes you think that?" Jeanne said.
"You lost the right to take car of Cody, two months ago, Jeanne." Gabe said.
"What are you fucking talking about?" Jeanne asked heatedly.
"Let's jog your memory then, Zach sent you some forms to fill out about two months ago, that allowed him to be guardian of Cody. Along with medical benefits and preschool forms. One of the forms that you signed gave Zach full custody of him. By the look on your face, I'm going to assume that you just signed the papers and didn't even read them. So if you didn't want to be in this situation in the first place you should have looked at the papers more closely than you did. It's your loss Jeanne."
Both guys noticed Jeanne was turning a darker red for her anger if that was even possible. "Cody is my kid. He's my fucking kid for Christ's sake!"
"Yes you're his mother by birth," Gabe said. "But Zach and Shaun are Cody's parents."
"Shaun is not Cody's parent." Jeanne said as she seethed in her anger. "Shaun isn't even capable of being a parent."
Gabe glared at Jeanne. "What are you the mother of the fucking century now? Fuck off Jeanne, Shaun is more of a parent then you ever will be."
"You're full of fucking shit Gabe." Jeanne spat at him.
Gabe finally lost the last of his composure. "Fuck you, Jeanne, FUCK YOU! You want to fucking talk about corrupting and deviant behavior? Well how about this you two cent whore! You went the men faster than you could pop your fucking pills. Then you meet Alan, who doesn't even like kids, so what do you do? You fucking dumped Cody onto Zach. Zach wouldn't have been able to afford to take care of both Cody and himself. And what were you doing? HUH? You were blowing yours and Zach's money on alcohol, drugs, pills, and God only knows what else. Try getting that past Department of Family Services.
"So let's see here, we have child abandonment there. You would also leave and go to parties and get hooked up on what was there for drugs. I'm sure that you're fit to be a responsible parent Jeanne. If you want Cody back, then you better get yourself a really good lawyer. Because we have one of the best for our family and I promise that I will make this a fight that will be very difficult for you to win. And no one can insult my brother other than me. So if you want to talk to us again, then you shut your big fucking mouth and be fucking civilized. Because I am not going to tolerate your shit and neither is Shaun. Zach may put up with your disgusting behavior because you two are family. But we're not."
Shaun stared at Gabe, he had never seen his brother get this defensive before, let alone hit a girl. Gabe was breathing really hard again and Shaun was amazed to see that Jeanne was shell shocked and had dropped her arms and had taken a few steps away from Gabe. Gabe glanced at Shaun, "Shaun get going, I'll meet you there."
Shaun fished hi keys out of his pocket and moved to the driver's side and got in starting the car. He pulled out of the parking spot and saw that Gabe was still facing Jeanne and she now looked unsure of herself. Shaun continued out of the parking lot and drove down the street losing the sight of them in his rear view mirror. A few moments later when Shaun stopped at a light, Cody spoke: "Shaun, I don't want to go back with Jeanne. I want to stay with you and Zach. I don't want to think about losing the two of you. I don't like mom all that much anymore."
Shaun felt a tear slide down his cheek as he listened to Cody. "Cody, that means a lot to me, to hear you say that; because I don't want to lose you either."
Shaun reached over and turned the radio on. They caught the last few notes of a song before a new one started. Ironically it had started to rain heavily outside as the radio started with "What Hurts the Most" by Cascada. As Shaun listened to the song he pulled up in front of the sub shop where Annie and Tova were waiting for them. Shaun started to really cry as he listened and thought about everything that happened tonight. Cody unhooked himself from his car seat, since Shaun had parked the car, and climbed up to the front to hug Shaun. Shaun turned in the driver's seat to return Cody's hug better, and they sat in the car crying and holding each other until a few minutes later Gabe came and knocked on the window holding an umbrella.
