Part 3: Paint A Picture Of The Days Gone By
"This is perfect." Justin said as he and Brian basked in the afterglow of their passionate lovemaking. Brian pulled him closer and held him close. He knew that he could tell Justin what he needed to know without having to risk himself by saying the words.

     As they drifted off to sleep, Justin thought back to the events that brought him to this exact moment. He still couldn't believe that after everything that had happened he was back here in Brian's arms again, back where he was supposed to be. He thought of all the moments that he had believed he would never be here again.





... 9 Months Earlier...

     "Dammit, Justin!" Brian exploded. "If you don't want to be here, then just leave!" They were arguing yet again about the way Brian had been acting lately. It had become a common occurrence that Justin would return from work and he and Brian would argue about Brian's increasing amount of tricking. They would go to bed angry and have incredible make up sex at some point in the night. Justin was certain that wouldn't be happening tonight.

     "Why can't you just be the Brian that I used to know?" Justin said as he began throwing his belongings into the luggage that Brian had bought him for their trip to Jamaica that Brian promised he would schedule as soon as he could take some time off work.

     "I am!" Brian exclaimed with frustration. This fight was exactly the same as all the others. The same accusations, the same denials. "I told you when you moved in here that I wasn't going to change my life for you."

    "I'm not asking you to stop!" Justin turned and looked at Brian. He was angry but he was also on the verge of bursting into tears. "I'm just asking why you went back to having a different trick every night! I'm sick of you coming home and making love to me after you fucked some nameless guy in the backroom."

    "You knew that this was how it was going to be." Brian said more calmly than Justin was comfortable with. "You knew who and what I was when we started this."

    "This, what you are now, isn't who and what you were when I fell in love with you." Justin zipped the suitcases and dragged them to the front door.

    "Then leave, Justin." Brian said sitting down on the couch facing away from Justin. "Just go." Justin gasped. Brian really wanted him to go, he didn't want to make up this time and he had no intention of apologizing.

    "Well, I guess that's it then." Justin walked out of the loft with his two suitcases and didn't look back. He called a cab from his cell phone as he stood outside Brian's building with tears burning his eyes.

    The next two months went by quickly for Justin who was still working waiting tables at a small French restaurant, living in the dorms, and working hard to get high marks in all his classes at the IFA. He never went out to Liberty Ave or made contact with any of the people who he had considered his family when he lived out there. He saw his mom and Molly every Sunday night for dinner, but kept to himself mostly.

    "Excuse me." A male voice said causing Justin to look up from the sketch he had been working at furiously. Justin looked up and was amazed by what he saw. A truly beautiful guy stood in front of him. He was maybe a couple of years older than Justin, with thick black hair that curled over the collar of his shirt, piercing green eyes, and pale porcelain skin. He was taller than Justin, not by much though, and he had defined muscles in his arms that showed through his tight black shirt.

    "Yeah?" was all Justin could get out as he looked at the vision of perfection that stood in front of him.

    "Can I sit?" The guy asked. Justin gestured with his arm for him to sit. The guy sat and looked at Justin's sketch. It was a sketch from memory of Emmett, who Justin missed terribly. "Is that your boyfriend?"

    "No." Justin laughed a little at the thought. "That's my from Emmett."

    "I'm Galen." The guy said. "When I saw you I just had to come over and introduce myself." He put his hand out.

     "Justin Taylor." Justin introduced himself and took Galen's hand. Instead of shaking it, as Justin had expected, Galen lifted Justin's hand to his lips and brushed his lips over the knuckles.

     "I'm glad I met you, Justin Taylor." He said with a smile.

     And that was where it began. Justin began spending all of his free time with Galen, and was soon spending nights in his bed. Galen was the perfect boyfriend at first. He took Justin to fancy restaurants and brought him flowers. He told Justin he was beautiful all the time. He had no trouble with expressing his feelings. Justin was doomed to get caught up in the fairy tale that Galen was spinning for him.

     "Sweetheart, do you want to come over for dinner tonight?" Galen asked one afternoon when he saw Justin between classes.

     "Sure." Justin said absently. He was thinking about an assignment that he had to finish. He would need to get together with his inspiration group at some point and ask them what they thought.

     "Awesome. I'll see you at 7 then?" Galen asked pressing a kiss on Justin's temple. Justin nodded and kept walking. He was starting to worry about his honors standing. It was getting close to the end of the year and he had to make sure he kept his grades up.

     He called everyone in his group and they met at a coffee shop just off campus to talk about assignments that each of them had and offer any assistance they could for other people. Justin got a lot of great ideas from his group and when he left three hours later he was happy that the group had met.

     "Galen!" Justin called when he let himself in to Galen's apartment at about 8:30 that night. He had forgotten completely about Galen's dinner invitation.

     "Where the fuck were you?" Galen's voice sounded different that Justin had ever heard it. He couldn't even see Galen sitting on the couch in the complete darkness of the apartment.

     "Inspiration group. We got hung up and it went long." Justin said with a smile. He toed off his shoes and dropped his backpack on the floor. "I'm gunna have a shower."

     "Who was he, Justin? Was he hot?" Galen asked. Justin now recognized the inflection in Galen's voice as rage.

     "What are you talking about?" Justin asked with a chuckle of disbelief at what he had just heard his boyfriend say. Suddenly Galen grabbed his arm and shoved him against the wall roughly.

     "Who did you fuck?" Galen demanded. "Did you go back to Brian? Did he come find you? Or was it someone new?" Justin was becoming really scared of Galen's behavior.

     "I told you. I was at Inspiration group. I have an assignment due next week that I needed a little advice on. It's not a big deal." Justin tried to sound confident, though he was in truth terrified.

     "You are mine." Galen growled. "If anyone else touches you, I'll kill them. And then I'll kill you. Do you understand me, Justin?"

     "Galen--"

     "Do you understand?" Galen's grip on Justin's arm tightened. Justin nodded and bit back his tears. "I had dinner ready for us. You ruined our perfect evening, Justin."

     "I'm sorry." Justin said. He wasn't sure why he was apologizing, but he was sure that Galen wouldn't be so mad if he hadn't done anything wrong.

     After that, Justin got used to Galen's fits of anger and was sure that he was doing something wrong. He tried to do better but Galen seemed to get angry with him over things that Justin couldn't imagine getting angry over. Wanting to spend a night in his dorm study got Justin hurled across the room and into a glass topped table earning cuts and bruises all over his arms and torso. Calling to cancel a date when he wasn't feeling well got him a sprained wrist. And not inviting Galen to Sunday dinner at his mothers house when Galen suggested it got him a minor concussion. Justin realized that the injuries were getting worse and worse, but he was convinced that they were all his fault.

    He was also convinced that Galen didn't want to hit him, but he had to when Justin was being a bad boyfriend. Galen always had a nice gift and a heartfelt apology followed by "but you know you deserved it."

    When Lindsay called Justin and asked him to come to Gus's birthday, he used every excuse to try and get out of it. He didn't want to tell Galen he was going to a party that Brian was, no doubt, going to be attending.

    "Oh, but Gus misses his Jusjus." Lindsay said. "It would be his best birthday present if you would come."

    "Oh, Linds, I'm really busy with school, and with my new boyfriend." Justin said hoping that she would realize that having a new boyfriend and being at a party with your ex boyfriend, or whatever Brian had been to him, was too awkward.

     "Well, bring the new boyfriend with you. I'm sure everyone would love to meet him." Lindsay said ignoring the fact that she knew Brian would be less than thrilled to see Justin, much less his new boyfriend.

     "Oh, I don't think I can." Justin said regretfully. He really did want to see Gus, but he knew that Galen wouldn't approve.

    "You don't even have to speak to him." Lindsay said seriously.

    "Who?" Justin asked knowing full well who she was talking about.

    "Brian." Lindsay replied. She also knew that Justin knew she meant Brian and was trying to act like he didn't matter. "You're coming, you're bringing your boyfriend, and it will be a great time. Bye, Justin." With that, Lindsay hung up. She was content that she had won, and Justin would be attending Gus's party.

    "Who was that?" Galen demanded after Justin got off the phone. He could hear the affection in Justin's voice and was, again, convinced that Justin was playing around behind his back.

    "Lindsay. She wants me to come to Gus's birthday party." Galen was well aware of who Lindsay and Gus were, and more importantly, who Gus's father was.

    "You aren't going." Galen said.

    "She wants me to bring you with me." Justin said. "She said Gus really misses me and it would make his birthday even better to see me."

    "And I suppose all the freaks from Liberty Avenue that you used to call friends will be there?" Galen said, his voice dripping with disdain.

    "They aren't freaks. And yes, they'll all be there." Justin said.

    "I suppose they're why you wanted to go to Babylon yesterday. So you could see all your old friends? Go back to your old slutty ways? Go back to Brian?"

    "Galen, I just wanted to go out. It gets boring staying in all the time." Justin said. He remember what his request to spend an evening at Babylon had gotten him and still felt that he had to explain himself. He could still feel the sharp pain in his ribs every time he inhaled.

    "Is going to this party going to make you long for Liberty Avenue again?"

    "No. I don't want that life anymore. I want a life with you. But I really wanna go to the party. I miss Gus too." Justin admitted.

    "Fine. We'll go then. But we aren't going to stay long. And I don't want you anywhere near Brian, you hear me?" Galen said and without waiting for an answer left the room.






     Justin shivered as he thought about everything that he endured when he was with Galen. He felt Brian's hold on him tighten and he knew that he was finally exactly where he belonged and Galen couldn't hurt him anymore.

    "Go to sleep, baby." Brian said against Justin's ear. "It's late."

    "Goodnight, Brian." Justin said and snuggled against his lover. I know you'll protect me, he thought to himself as his eyes fluttered closed, I know you love me.

NEXT
1