InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "who is Todd Weinstock?"

Joseph Van der Berg (cup_of_joey) wrote in nevermore_logs,
@ 2020-06-22 16:51:00

Entry tags:

iestyn ceredig, joseph van der berg, mairead o'sullivan, saint patrick

Who: Joey van der Berg, Saint Patrick, Mairead, Iestyn Ceredig, maybe others
What: Just saw the ex
When: Monday, later afternoon
Where: Patricks
Warnings/Notes: Discussion of abuse

Just get to Patrick. Keep calm and get to Patrick.

On the outside, Joey was being as calm as possible because his 2-year-old daughter Olivia was with him. They had been at a playground, Joey watching Olivia tumble around, when he had caught sight of his ex-boyfriend. Everything that followed made Joey throw up in his mouth, but he had to act like everything was fine. He couldn't scare his daughter.

"Just going to see Uncle Patrick," he said, shaking Olivia's toy around while they rode in the back of an Uber. "You want Mr dragon? Rawr!" He was distracted at best, but he could still play with his little girl.

When they arrived, Joey bundled out of the car. He abandoned Olivia's stroller in the yard, carrying her bodily to the door so he could knock hard and he was so relieved when Patrick answered.

"Patrick," Joey breathed, catching sight of Iestyn behind his best friend. "Brett." He knew Patrick would understand without Joey acting terrified, that he in fact was. Invoking the name of his ex-boyfriend was powerful.

"Ah." Patrick glanced behind him, noting Iestyn. He knew he had to get Olivia out of the way so Joey could explain what was going on, but he didn't know how comfortable his nephew was around babies. And Mairead was Olivia's babysitter anyway. "Mairead! Can you come down here a moment!"

Joey offered Iestyn a tight smile and he bounced his daughter on his hip. "How exciting, Olivia! You get to see Mai!"

"MAI!" Olivia screeched, just as Mairead appeared at the bottom of the stairs, her expression questioning.

"Baby!" Mairead went to hug Joey and take Olivia into her arms, kissing her hair. "How's my sweetheart?" Mairead asked, grinning as Olivia grabbed her lips. "Grabby!" she mumbled, amused.

"Mairead, could you maybe take Olivia into the kitchen and get her a snack?" Patrick asked, trying to sound as calm as Joey was pretending to be.

"Righto. Come on, Livy. I have applesauce! And crackers! You want a cracker!?" Mairead carried Olivia off to the kitchen and the mask Joey had been maintaining since the playground dropped. He stumbled to a sofa and collapsed onto it, his face buried in his hands.

Patrick moved immediately, sitting beside Joey and pulling the other man into a hug. "His ex," he explained to Iestyn. "Brett is his awful ex-boyfriend."

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cup_of_joey
2020-06-23 03:41 am UTC (link)

Joey wrapped an arm around Iestyn, so pleased for the comfort. "He- He fuck. Olivia was there and Brett reached out and I backed up and he said I didn't want to cause a scene in front of my daughter, did I. So I stood there while he hugged me and planted a kiss on my lips. And then he-" Joey sighed, "he grabbed my ass. And I stood there and let him." He held out his hand, showing little half-moon cuts in the palm, "I clenched my fist and let him do whatever he wanted so he wouldn't scare my daughter."

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	piu_fermata 2020-06-23 09:38 am UTC (link)
	Iestyn frowned. "What an arsehole," he said vehemently. He wished he could have been there to do something for his friend in the moment, to protect him. "To use your child against you like that. It's not right." And he felt rather a personal empathy over that subject. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

cup_of_joey
2020-06-23 09:48 am UTC (link)

"I just- I didn't want her to be scared." Joey glanced down at his hands. "He groped my-"

"Stop!" Patrick stood up abruptly, pacing back and forth. "I mean...you don't have to stop, but, Joey- You should tell the police. You were sexually assaulted."

"I know," Joey breathed, leaning against Iestyn since Patrick was stomping around. "Fuck, I know. And I was too scared to do anything about it. Because if I thought he would kill me and he loved me, what would he be capable of doing to Olivia."

Patrick, for his part, looked murderous.

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	piu_fermata 2020-06-23 10:14 am UTC (link)
	Iestyn found himself nodded in agreement with Patrick. "But if he's in jail..." he began, not really knowing how jail worked that much. The thought occurred to him that he should take Mary up on her gun-toting lessons, in a passing way. It didn't hurt to know. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

cup_of_joey
2020-06-23 10:19 am UTC (link)

"If he's in jail, he can't hurt people like he did Joey," Patrick explained. "Joey, do you want us to go with you? I am sure Mai could say with Olivia, though I'll check."

"Yeah, Joey whispered quietly. "I don't want to do it alone. I've never done this before. Last time I just ran. I let him get away with it."

"We're here with you now," Patrick soothed, finally stopping his pacing. "I'll go check with Mai, give me a second."

As soon as Patrick left the room, Joey turned to Iestyn. "Sorry you had to hear all that. But thank you. For staying with me."

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	piu_fermata 2020-06-23 10:25 am UTC (link)
	Iestyn shook his head quickly. "I'm not sorry. I want to be here for you. Of course I will stay, I wouldn't do anything but." He pulled Joey in for a tighter hug, but not too tight, he didn't want to overdo it. "I'll come with you too, if you want." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	cup_of_joey 2020-06-23 10:35 am UTC (link)
	"I would like that," Joey admitted. Cops scared him. "I feel ridiculous. I've been through so much worse since, but he can still terrify me." Joey offered Iestyn a tiny smile. "I'll be alright. Just shaken up." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	piu_fermata 2020-06-23 10:57 am UTC (link)
	"I get it. I told you I had a school bully, right? If I saw him outside of school, even if there were family and stuff around, it absolutely froze me up, so I totally understand. I mean obviously there are differences, but... Anyway." Iestyn really just wanted to say that he cared, not meaning to start rambling. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	cup_of_joey 2020-06-23 11:12 am UTC (link)
	Joey turned on the sofa so he could face his friend and he smiled again, that time the expression coming more true. "Thank you," he said with feeling. "That's exactly it. It froze me up. I wish we didn't have that in common. But we do. You're a good friend, Iestyn." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	piu_fermata 2020-06-23 11:23 am UTC (link)
	Iestyn loved that his network of friends and acquaintances was slowly growing. He wanted to tell Joey about Alan, and everything that had happened since the drag show, but now didn't feel like the right moment. Instead he smiled back and patted Joey's hand. "It's alright. I'll be mama for you for a little bit." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	cup_of_joey 2020-06-23 11:41 am UTC (link)
	"You are wonderful," Joey said, laughing. It was such a relief to do so. "I'm going to have to find a new playground," Joey muttered. But at least he wasn't facing this alone. He would have Patrick and Iestyn with him while he made his statement, and that was really precious. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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