Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

'Shut up, Rick. Can't you see something's wrong? What the hell's going on, Brian?'
    'Nothing. Nothing at all.' Brian couldn't control the rush of adrenaline, the buildup of aggressive energy. He was looking for a target, pacing back and forth, his fists doubled up.
    Joley had a bad taste in her mouth. She knew. It had to be Nikitin. Brian wouldn't look at her, wouldn't meet her eyes. He'd gone to see him again, and this time something had happened. He knew the truth about the man he'd grown to love. She felt sick for him.
    Denny leaned against the door, watching his friend with worry in his eyes. 'Dude. Don't blow us off. We've been your family. You've never been upset like this. I've never seen you angry. Not once in all the years we've been hanging together.' He spread his hands out in front of him. 'Whatever it takes, man, it's yours. Whatever you need. You've always been there for us, we're not walking away from you now.'
    'Really? Really, Denny?' Brian's eyes glittered with anger. His face was flushed red, his hands balled into two tight fists. 'I'm your friend? Your family? What the hell are you going to say when I tell you I'm fucking gay? Yeah, man, that's right, I'm a fucking fag.'
    'You say it like that again, Brian,' Joley snapped, 'and I'll slap your face.'
    Brian stood in the center of the room, his chest heaving as he fought for air. He looked defiant, ready to fight. His challenging gaze fell on Rick.
    Rick glared right back. 'Shit, man, that's what this is about? If coming out of the closet was going to make you play like an asshole, why the fuck didn't you wait until after the tour was over.'
    'I…' Brian's mouth opened and then closed; he stared at them in shock. 'You… knew about me… about… How long?'
    'Hell, Bri, of course we knew.' Logan shook his head. 'We've known each other since grammar school. Did you really think you were that good at keeping a secret?'
    'You never said anything,' Brian said. He was still breathing hard, trying to assimilate what they were saying. He was stunned, staring around the room in astonishment at his friends.
    'What was there to say? You never brought anyone around, not that it would have mattered, and then we figured you were careful because of the paparazzi. If you didn't want it splashed all over the tabloids, neither did we.'
    Brian looked at each one of the band members. 'I can't believe this. All this time you knew and never said anything?'
    Denny shrugged. 'It wasn't our business. What's the big deal, man?'
    Brian shoved both hands through his hair several times. 'I thought it would change everything between us if you knew.'
    'Why the hell should we care what you do, Brian?' Denny asked.
    'I don't believe this. Weren't you afraid the tabloids would make up a bunch of stories about us traveling together?'
    'They make up shit all the time,' Leo said. 'What the hell, Brian? You've known us since we were five. Did you really think it would make a difference to us?'
    Brian shook his head. T told my old man after my mother died and he told me he never wanted to see me again.
    Hasn't anyone ever wondered why I never go home?'
    'Your old man's a drunk, Brian,' Rick pointed out. 'Screw him. You never liked your family anyway. You slept on my couch half the time and on Denny's the other half.'
    'Well, shit,' Brian said and sank down onto the couch. He stared around him in a kind of dazed confusion. 'I really don't believe this.' He flashed the beginnings of a faint grin. 'I ruined my fucking guitar for no damned reason.'
    Rick toed the wreckage. 'Waste of a damned fine Gibson Les Paul.' He sat down beside Brian. 'Next time you decide to come out of the closet, Bri, smash a cheap guitar instead. This just makes me wanna cry.'
    Brian managed a faint smile. 'You all knew?' He repeated. 'You all discussed it? Talked about me?'
    Denny snorted. 'Hell yeah, we talked about you. We talk about everyone, why should you be any different? But, no, if you think we sat around talking shit, it was never like that. I'd beat the crap out of someone who talked shit about you. Any of us would.'
    Brain rubbed his hands over his face again and shook his head, obviously dazed by their reaction. 'I don't know what to say.'
    'You can say you need a new guitar before tomorrow night,' Joley said with a quick grin. She'd never loved her band members more than at that moment. But she could see the raw pain still swirling around Brian. In spite of what he'd revealed, in spite of everyone's