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Color Me Consequence

When AJ arrived home late the next night, he found Kevin’s car in the driveway and knew what was coming. Kevin knew where he’d gone and not the reason why. Kevin was there to check up on him and lecture him. They didn’t call him daddy Kevin for nothing.
Dreading the questions, AJ got out of the car, carrying his bag with him and opened the door.
“Good, you’re back.”
“Nice to see you too,” AJ snorted, dumping his bag and keys at the door, not in the mood to put anything away. Kevin’s voice was coming from the kitchen so he followed it. He was at the counter, making a pot of coffee and waiting for AJ to come in.
“I take it things went well?”
“Well? What’s the definition of ‘well’?” AJ asked, leaning back against the counter and looking at Kevin.
“Then they didn’t.”
“Hard to say, honestly.”
“Did you think it would be easy?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Then why did you go?”
“Satisfy my curiosity I guess?”
“You’re a nice guy AJ, why would you want to waste the time of day on her?”
“I’m not wasting time when I’m with her,” AJ retorted angrily.
“What do you call running off to see a woman who’s already got another boyfriend?”
“You’re marriage!” AJ spat.
“Not anymore,” Kevin said slowly.
“No?”
“I served her the divorce papers while you were out on your little jaunt with the whore of Hollywood and she signed them off right away. I’ll be single again on next Tuesday.” AJ’s jaw dropped as he heard Kevin relate this news as if he were talking about going and getting some of his clothes dry-cleaned.
“You went through with it?”
“No sense to keep it going. She just didn’t love me anymore.”
“Is that all?”
“Don’t question me when you’re the one going after a cheating woman.”
“You don’t know her.”
“Neither do you,” Kevin replied calmly. AJ clenched his jaw as Kevin took a slow sip off his coffee cup.
“Yeah, I do.” Kevin straightened up to his full height, and he was intimidating.
“Oh really, then what’s her reason for treating you like this? You’re a sensitive person AJ, a caring person, despite how much you want to ignore it. You feel things a lot deeper than you admit to. AJ, if you allow yourself to get involved with her, you’ll be broken and hurt again.”
“So what, isn’t that what I’m good at? Being tragic and heartbroken? Isn’t that what makes the best music? The Consequences of Falling in Love, or better yet, Color Me Consequence, that’ll be the first single. I’ll have the number one pop/rock hit because I fell for somebody who didn’t want me, again!” AJ shouted as he stormed out of the room. Kevin followed him.
“Don’t give me that crap Alex!”
“No? It’s the truth isn’t it? What the fuck am I supposed to do Kevin? My entire life revolves around Backstreet Boys, which is non-existent anymore, I spend all of my time working, and for what? There are days that I come home and have to lock the god damn door to keep myself from running out and finding something to drink. I’m tired of having to be alone with that.”
“You don’t have to be alone with that Alex, you have us, you’re family, your friends.”
“Oh cut the psycho babble bullshit, I had to deal enough with that crap when I was in rehab. Ever since 1999, that’s all my life’s been about. Drugs and booze, when could I get it, how much I could drink, how I could hide it, when I couldn’t do that anymore, it was how do I keep myself from trying to get it, from wanting it. Everyday of my life is a god damn chemical battle! My body wants it, but it can’t have, so it settles for a pack of cigarettes and later that night a nicotine fit when carton is empty! I’m sick of all of you, telling me that you understand, that you’re always there for me, that’s all well and good, but it don’t mean shit when you can’t stand to sit still and not want something to calm your nerves!” AJ raged through the kitchen, turning and pacing, then back again. Kevin watched with a stoic expression as he paced and finally fell back against the counter, banging a fist onto the cabinet.
“And Fran fits into all of this how?”
“When I’m with her, I don’t need it, I don’t want it. She doesn’t ridicule me about smoking, or drinking, or the drugs. She doesn’t care. She looks at me, and doesn’t say, ‘oh you’re so strong for getting through such a difficult time.’ No, just looks at me, calls me McLean, and says she loves me, for no other fucking reason except that I am McLean, and I’m there with her.” Kevin watched the younger man and sipped at the coffee.
“She makes me calm. She makes me laugh. She makes me want to be happy. I’ve never wanted to be happy before, cause I always know that it can be taken away.” AJ continued, Kevin waited knowing that he wasn’t finished.
“And so it’s been a week? I don’t care. So, she’s seeing someone else? I don’t care. The few hours that I get with her, they-are-fuck-ing-bliss. And I mean that, truly.” Kevin didn’t know how to respond so he didn’t and just sipped at his coffee again.
“And you can deal with the consequences of spending time with a woman who is not faithful to you, and tells you this right to your face?” Kevin asked after what seemed and eon.
“I said my first single would be Color Me Consequence, so what the hell do you think?”
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