Written by: J.P.G.

{"Beneath the Mask" is pure fiction. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is a love story. Seeing, as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it is in realistic balance in the characters' lives.

Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are underage, (according to your state laws, a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.

This story cannot be distributed in any way, shape or form without author's express written consent.}

Story Written by: J.P.G.

Editor: "Daddy" Rick

I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/

Chapter 59

{Small recap of what has been happening: We left off at in the last chapter with Alex and his mother talking. She is about to let him into that we all already know and that is that she and Principal Michaels are wanting to go out with each other. Alex had returned home that Saturday before and hasn't yet returned to school. Matt's younger brother and sister have gone to live with their grandparents after Franseca went and talked with them about what happened. Stefano wasn't caught in his lie, so he is still out there. There is Jeremy who has gotten very close to Alex. And so many other plots, so let's get going :}

"Son, you know the man I like and want to see if he likes me. You see him almost every day and I think you like him. At least I know you respect him." Alex looked at his mom with a confused look on face. He tried to think who she was talking about, but no man came to mind. "The guy I want to go out with is your principal, Principal Michaels."

Franseca looked at her son and what she prepared herself for didn't come. Alex didn't get upset or show anger in his face but just the opposite. It took a few seconds, but he actually cracked a smile that eventually went to a full smile from ear to ear. When Franseca saw that, she let out the breath she was holding in and relaxed for the first time since she walked in.

"Mom, I don't know why you thought I might be upset or not like the idea that you want to date my principal. Maybe because he is my principal, but other than that I don't see why you thought that I was going to be anything except happy for you." Alex leaned as far forward as he could to hug his mother. When Franseca saw he couldn't lean any further, she went the rest of the way.

"Son I'm so relieved that you are okay with me dating Principal Michaels. I don't know where it is going to go, but I made it clear to him that I wasn't going to go out on a date until you were home and okay. So tell me Alex, are you okay?" Alex looked at his mother as if she was out of her mind. "I know you are not okay, okay, but are you fine with me going out on a date?"

Alex looked straight into his mother's eyes and smiled. "Mom, I may not be able to walk on my own two feet right now, but I swear I'm fine. Go out and have a life beyond this place, me and my brothers." Alex started to laugh. "You are not getting any younger you know and if Principal Michaels is willing to go out with you knowing what he knows about me and the history of this family, well I say snag him now before he goes running for the hills!"

Franseca started to crack a smile which became a chuckle and in no time at all, she started to laugh. The two of them sat there in Alex's room laughing at what Alex said. Both of them were thinking almost the same thing, which made them, laugh even more. They were imagining Principal Michaels running for the Franklin Mountains and not turning back once!

Meanwhile downstairs Alex's head of security, Earl didn't like Stefano's look when he stopped by and visited with Alex. He also saw how both Alex and Franseca looked at him. They didn't trust the kid as far as they could throw him. There was no doubt in Earl's mind that Alex could throw Stefano several feet. He knows his boss and the look on his face throughout the conversation was a look of distrust.

So when Stefano had left the room, Earl went in and picked up the empty can of soda that he was drinking from. He placed it in a bag and sent it off to a friend of his in EPPD who worked in forensics department. It took a couple of days, but he got the news and as expected it was bad.

Going over the report several times, he debated with himself what to do with it. Finally after an hour of going back and forth, he decided it was best to go and tell Alex what he had found out. However, when he got up to Alex's room, he heard him and his mother laughing. He hasn't heard either of them laugh since he started working for Alex.

Not wanting to destroy the mood, he decided to hold onto the information he had gotten and tell Alex another day. Just as he started to walk down the hall, he heard Alex call out for him. Stopping dead in his tracks, Earl turned and walked back towards Alex's room. There was no more laughter coming from it, which made him angry.

"Earl I know you are lurking out there..." came Alex's voice from within the room. "So why don't you come on in and tell me what you came up here to say." Earl opened the door just enough to stick his head in. He looked around the room and saw Alex sitting on his bed, his mother at his side and both of them were looking straight at him.

"Alex I'm really sorry for disturbing you and Mrs. Garcia here." Earl said in his commanding voice as he opened the door the rest of the way and walked in. "It's just I got a disturbing report back and I feel that you should be informed right away. You might get mad at me for requesting this, but before you do, I'd like to explain why I did it."

Alex held out his hand for Earl to hand him the report. "You will see it is a report from the EPPD that I requested on your visitor the other day, Stefano. There was something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. So I had his prints lifted from the soda that he was drinking as soon as he left the room. Then after work I got in touch with a person I know in the EPPD to lift the prints and run them. You won't believe what came back."

Alex looked over at his mother, and at the same time they looked over to Earl. Neither had a concerned look on their faces, which surprised Earl because of the looks they both had and the concerns they seemed to have the day he was visiting. Now it seems to him that these two don't care what he had found when the prints were ran.

"Earl, my mother and I both had a bad feeling about Stefano, and still do. We have talked about him a couple times since then. There isn't a doubt in our mind that he isn't family, at least by blood that is. We believe the guy was up to no good, but we can't figure out how bad he actually is. But we know he isn't one that we can trust or be left alone with."

With a sigh of relief, Earl relaxed just a little. "Alex this guy just got released from prison. He was sentenced to shock probation, which he served up in the prison that your grandfather is serving his time. The more investigating my guy did, the more information he uncovered like what cell block he was assigned to and most importantly, who he hung around with."

Earl handed Alex the paperwork he was holding. He and his mother looked it over, and once again, just like after hearing the news that Stefano was just released from jail, they were not surprised. The bad feelings they were getting are now justified with the news Earl had just brought them. This guy is trouble, which neither of them wants at this time or anytime for that matter.

After reading through everything that Earl had given them, they went to hand the paperwork back, but Earl told them to keep it, it was their copy. "Earl I really believe if this guy wanted to hurt me, or worse, kill me, he would have done it when he visited. He had to know that were going to check up on him. He might not have known about all the security around me until he walked right into to it. Once he did though, he had to know he was going to be checked out."

"Alex this guy is what you were before you got out of the gang life." For the first time Franseca showed concern in her face and it was heard in her voice. "All of us know that your grandfather on your father's side wanted you killed because one, you got out, and two you informed on the workings of the gang. What makes you think that this isn't another attempt to carry out his wishes to kill you? You already know I can't..."

"I know mom, I know what you are about to say, there isn't any need to say it." Alex interrupted his mother with concern in his voice. "I truly believe this guy Stefano wasn't at the hospital to see how he could kill me in a later day. I think the guy had another motive and never got to it when he was here. So I believe he is going to come back. When he does, the security around me will be even tighter and I will confront him with the information I have at hand right now."

That didn't really sit well with Franseca, but she knew better than to argue with her son when he had his mind made up. However, she wasn't going to leave it at that either. Before the day was over, she plans to pull Earl off to side and make it as clear as possible to him that no harm better come to her son in that meeting or any other meeting.

The three of them talked a little how things were going to happen the next time Stefano came by, but they were no fools. They knew that nothing goes according to plan, so they planned for the worst as well, and then multiplied it by tenfold. By the time Earl had left the room, everything they could think of that could happen, good or bad, was discussed and planed out.

Franseca stayed talking with Alex until Matt walked into the room. She tried to talk him out of seeing Stefano again but she was unsuccessful. He respected her wishes, but he also needed to know why Stefano took such a big chance coming to see him the other day and staying after his mother walked in. There wasn't a doubt in Alex's mind that Stefano has to be worried that he was found out, but yet he stayed. Alex wanted to know why.

When Franseca finally left, neither she nor Alex could believe that they had talked the afternoon away. They love to talk with each other, but neither of them could remember the last time they had talked that long. One thing was certain, they both knew where each stood as far as Stefano, and wasn't about to try and change the other's mind.

Matt knew something was up the minute he walked into the door. Both Alex and Franseca both stopped talking when they saw him, which told him that whatever they were talking about wasn't good. In fact, he knew it had to do with something of Alex's past since that's the only time they stop talking when he enters into the room.

No matter how hard he tried to get Alex to open up and tell him what was going on, Alex didn't say a word. Against his better judgment, Matt had to let it go since he was already running late for work. However, as he was leaving the room, he promised Alex that when he returned from work that they were going to pick this conversation back up and he'd better let him in.

Alex wanted to protect Matt from his old life, so when Matt returned from work and picked up as he promised with the same conversation, he refused to tell him. It led them into an all-out yelling war, but Alex wouldn't budge. By the time it was time for them to go to bed, Matt had enough. He was too angry at Alex to even argue with him anymore.

Grabbing his clothes that he was going to wear the next day for school, he stomped out of the room. Alex tried to go after him, but ended up falling to the floor on his chest. In pain, he managed to turn over onto his butt and scooted up against the bed. Using the bed, he slowly got up and laid back down, grabbing at his legs that felt like they were on fire.

He sat there on his bed rubbing his legs, trying to get the pain to go away. It took over an hour before the pain dulled down enough that Alex was able to slide down and try to get some sleep, but he didn't. He was awake more through the night than he was asleep. Not just because of the pain he was in, but as well he wondered if Matt would come back but he didn't.

By the time he rolled out of bed and got himself downstairs. Matt and the guys had left. Even though he was told that they had left, Alex went looking for Matt. It took him looking in almost every room in the lobby to get it through his head that Matt had left without saying goodbye for the first time since they had gotten together.

While Alex was kicking himself at the hotel, Matt's grandparents were getting ready to go down and visit with their son and daughter-in-law. The more time that passed and the more they talked to their grandkids about what was going on in their household, the angrier they got. By the time Maxwell was ready and heading to the car, he was steaming mad.

It took Eleanor several minutes of talking to calm him down, and even then, she didn't let him turn on the car and pull out of the drive. It wasn't until twenty minutes later that she felt comfortable enough that he was able to drive without getting them into an accident. Only then she handed him the keys and put on her seatbelt.

While Matt's grandparents were heading to his parents' house, Gloria and Mrs. Walker were walking out of El Paso High School heading to the parking lot. They hadn't spoken a word since they had given permission to Davey and Johnny Jr. to sleep together. Both of them didn't like that they caved and were trying to figure out a way to get out of the promise they made.

When they got to their cars, Mrs. Walker turned to Gloria and patted her on the shoulder. "Look I know what we just did is bothering you as much as it is bothering me, right?" Gloria nodded her head. "I would like to say it was the right decision, but my gut is telling me it wasn't and one thing I have learned from my husband is when your gut is telling you something, you'd better listen to it because normally it is right."

Gloria opened her car door. "We caved, plain and simple, we caved. We can make excuses about why we caved like they would probably want to do it even more since we are against it. Or its better they do it under our roof so where they are safe. Things like that, but we know those are just excuses for us to rationalize so we don't look like bad parents."

After thinking about what Gloria said, Mrs. Walker agreed with every word. "Look, I don't have the final word on what happens in the house. That falls to my husband, he has the final word. I'm sure once he finds out what we have done he won't like it at all. In fact, he will probably sit Jr. down the next time he is in town and tell him that he can't sleep with Davey."

"I really hope so." Gloria started to laugh. "I'm not saying we need a man to fix something for us, but when it comes to the boys, I think a man's hand in it is what it will take to get them to see they are wrong asking what they asked for." Mrs. Walker quickly agreed. "They are too young to be sleeping together. Maybe in a couple of years, but not now."

Gloria asked that when Mrs. Walker's husband does sit down and speak with Davey about the whole thing, he would include Andy Sr. in the conversation. That way he could bring Davey along and both boys would hear the same thing. Mrs. Walker had no problem agreeing with the request. She promised Gloria that will happen as they got into their cars.

As Gloria and Mrs. Walker drove out of the school parking lot, Matt's grandparents had just driven up to their son's home. When they first drove up, they thought their son and daughter in law had ditched them, but just as they were about to drive away, they heard a horn blaring. It was their son, and right behind him was their daughter in law.

Pulling back to the curb, Maxwell put his car back into park and got out with his wife right behind him. They waited for their son and daughter in law to get out of their vehicles before walking towards the door. When they did finally get down, their son walked over to them and a good morning as he pulled them into a hug. Not wanting to cause a scene in front of the neighbors, Maxwell held his tongue and switched pleasantries, but that changed the minute they walked into the house and door was closed.

"Son as you know, your mother and I have never gotten into your business as far as bringing up your kids, or anything else in your household for that matter." Randall, Matt's father nodded his head as he took his father's jacket. "That was until the last time you and Shannon came down for family dinner when we informed you both that we were going to reach out to Matt."

"Yes dad we remember." Randall said with notable disgust in his voice. "Shannon and I really didn't appreciate how you blindsided us on that topic in front of the rest of the family. If you felt that you needed to get that off your chest that evening, you should have done it in private, not with the rest of the family there as an audience."

"Come on now son, you know full well why I did what I did." Randall interrupted his father by telling him that he has no idea why he did what he did. "You and I have had that conversation in private for several months now. You kept promising me that you were going to reach out to your son Matt, but you never did. In fact, I found out days before our Sunday dinner that not only you haven't even tried to reach out to Matt, but you had completely disowned him. You left me with no other choice but to do it in the manner I did."

Randall had no come back to what his father had just said. They moved into the living room, settled in before they started to talk again. Shannon and Eleanor went into the kitchen to prepare coffee and get some kind of sweet bread to go with it. When they returned, they found their guys just sitting there in silence looking at each other.

Maxwell took his cup from his wife, thanked her, and immediately turned his attention back to his son. "Son, can you tell me where you other son and daughter are?" Just as Maxwell asked the question, Randall was taking a drink of his coffee and started to choke on it. He wasn't expecting the conversation to quickly turn to his other kids quickly as it did.

Once he caught his breath, he turned and looked his father in eyes. "Um, well, it is almost eleven in the morning which means they are in school right now. If you need to see them for any reason, you will have to come back at three when they get home."

Maxwell couldn't believe what he was hearing. He never thought that his son would lie to him as blatantly as he was. He had to know that they knew what they had done. If he didn't, he wasn't the son he brought up. The son he brought up wouldn't lie to him like Randall did. The son he brought up with never have kicked out his kids for the reasons he did.

"Son, are you going to sit there with a straight face and lie to me?" Randall looked at his wife, then over to his mother before looking back at his father. When their eyes met again, Maxwell saw a look that only meant one thing. His son was going to hold his ground. "Randall Robinson, you better think twice before you tell me another lie if you ever want things to be the same between us. Do you understand what I'm saying son?"

"Dad I swear to you, I'm not lying to you. I swear to the Lord that..." Maxwell interrupted his son before he was able to complete his sentence. He didn't want to be anywhere near his son when the Lord struck him down with lighting for swearing to a lie like he was about to do. He wasn't a religious man. But one thing he did go by was to never swear on the Lord's name whenever he knows that he is telling a lie.

"Don't you dare complete that sentence if you know what's good for you!" Maxwell yelled as he jumped out of his seat. "Don't you dare take the Lord's name in that manner when you know full well that you are lying to your mother and me. Your kids are at school, that much is correct, but neither of you were the ones that saw them off to school this morning. Your mother and I were the ones that saw them off to school this morning and yesterday morning as well."

This time when Randall looked over at his wife and mother, he had a stunned look on his face. He knew he was caught in a lie, and of all people that caught him, it was his father. One of things that stuck with him from childhood was to never lie to his father because his father always could tell when he was lying. Even when he didn't have proof, he knew he was being lied to.

"You kicked your youngest son and daughter out because they wanted to see their brother. What in the world is wrong with you Randall? Your mother and I didn't bring you up to kick your kids out whenever things don't go your way. Where in the hell did you get that from?" Maxwell not meaning to looked over at Shannon, but quickly looked back to his son.

"Crystal and Reginald simply wanted to spend time with their older brother, nothing more than that. That isn't deserving of you two to kick them out." Maxwell sat back down in his seat, scratching his head. "To come to think about it son, there is really nothing your kids can do that is deserving to get kicked out for. They are your kids, no matter what they do, good or bad, they are your kids. You have to take the good with the bad and hope that with your teachings, the good will overcome the bad and they will be better adults than you."

"Dad you don't have both sides of the story. You have just talked to Crystal and Reginald. Now give Shannon and me a chance to tell you our side of the story. Then and only then can you make up your mind on who is wrong in this situation."

"There isn't one thing you or Shannon can tell me and you mother that would make us think any differently of what you guys did. Even if they were completely in the wrong, you don't kick your kids out like you did. You did that with Matt, and your mother and I kept our mouths shut, but we are not going to keep our mouths shut this time. You two were wrong with Matt, and you two are wrong here with your two youngest."

Randall jumped up from his seat, not liking being talked down to, more so being told that he and his wife were doing wrong as far as bringing up their kids. In his mind he and his wife have done a lot better job to date with the up bringing up their kids than his father and mother did when he and his brothers were the ages of his kids right now.

"Dad I don't like how you are looking at my wife or the way you are talking to us. She didn't influence me in anyway as far as how we have laid down the law in this house. So stop looking at her as if it is her fault. Our kids are rotten and have been for several years now. But that isn't your problem, it's ours. So when Crystal and Reginald get out of school today, send them back home. We are their parents and we should be the ones taking care of them."

"You should have thought about that before you kicked them out the other night to fend for themselves." Maxwell got up so his son wasn't looking down at him. "There is no way in hell your grandmother and I are going to bring your kids back to this house. Not the way you think of that that is. They are not rotten. In fact, they are very well rounded kids, which surprises me with the kind of parents you guys are."

"Dad you either bring my kids back to us when they get out of school this afternoon, or we will have no other choice than to call the police. Don't think for a minute I won't do that to my own parents. I don't want to, but if you leave me with no other choice, I will do it."

Not stunned hearing that coming from his son. Maxwell asked his wife to get up and grab their coats. "Do what you think you need to do son, but there is no way I'm going to bring Crystal and Reginald back here to you two. They deserve better parents than you two. In fact, Matt deserved better than what you guys gave him. There is no way I am going to let lighting strike twice."

Randall yelled out as his father made his way to the front door. "Don't think I won't call the police on you old man, because I will. Before the sun goes down tonight, I will have my kids back under my roof and your old ass in jail. If you don't want that to happen, all you have to do is bring my kids home as soon as they get out of school."

"Once again do whatever you think you have to do, and your mother and I will do the same thing. But rest assured that when the dust settles, I won't be the one that is going to see the inside of a jail cell. You and Shannon, after all, are the ones that kicked out your kids, not us. That alone will assure you two will see the inside of a jail cell."

Maxwell wasn't certain of what he was saying was true, but there was no way he was going to let his son have the last word. He also wasn't going to let his son and daughter in law get their hands on Crystal and Reginald after what he had just heard come out of his son's mouth. The way Maxwell saw it, those two and Matt were not rotten kids, their parents were.

"Dad don't you walk away from me like this. You bring my kids back, you hear!" Randall yelled as he chased his parents out the door to their car. "I know you can hear me dad, bring me back my kids and we won't have to ever see each other again. I will make sure Crystal and Reginald won't darken your door step again as well!"

Randall's parents didn't answer him. They got into their car and tried to drive off, but couldn't because their son jumped in front of their car, pounding on the hood. Maxwell honked his horn to try and get his son to move out of the way, but it just made him hit the car even more. By the time they did get him to move and were able to drive off, the neighbors that weren't at work had walked out to see what was going on. The very thing Maxwell was trying to not do, cause a scene that would embarrass his son with his neighbors, his son did all by himself.

The day wasn't going very well for Alex either. Just like Matt's grandparents, he was having issues with the one he dearly loves. If he could, he would walk the walls over what had happened the night before between him and Matt, but he could barely stand up. So he was left lying there all day in his own mind thinking the worst that might happen when Matt returned from school.

When Matt and the guys did walk through the doors, Alex was fully prepared for a yelling match with the love of his life. However, Matt didn't want to fight with Alex anymore. The night by himself in the room down the hall drove him bananas. He barely got a couple of hours of sleep, and throughout the day, all he could think about is getting back to Alex and fixing things.

When Matt walked into the room, he surprised Alex. Alex was prepared to try and defend why he was unwilling to tell Matt why he wasn't telling him what was going on, but never got a chance to say a word of the rehearsed speech. Matt walked straight over to the bed, and pull Alex up into a hug as gently as he could so he wouldn't hurt him.

At first Alex didn't know what to do, he just sat there with his arms out, but that didn't last long. Within seconds, he wrapped his arms around Matt and held him tight. As they were wrapped in each other arms, at the same time they were apologizing to each other. Neither let the other have the last word, so all that was heard coming from the room if you were walking by is `I'm sorry' over and over again in one phrase or another in each of their voices.

After going back and forth with apologizes, Alex gave in and let Matt have the last word as he broke the hug. "I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I have to say it anyways. Every bone in my body wants me to tell you what you want to know as far as what my mother and I were discussing yesterday. But..." Matt smiled and said he knew there was a `but' there.

"My heart and brain is telling me to keep you and all those I really care for far away from what was being discussed yesterday. Anyone that gets near it will get hurt. There is no doubt in my mind on that. So I'm asking you to trust me on this and let me deal with it. Once it is done, I will be more than willing to tell you everything. When I do, you will understand why I am doing what I am doing. I'm not trying to be an ass, but to keep you and all those I care about safe."

The look on Matt's face was a mixture of seriousness and concern. "To this day Alex you haven't led me astray. Everything you do is for a reason and I need to let you do what you feel you need to do. Just make sure that you are being safe and taking every precaution you can." Matt got up from the bed and started to walk to the bathroom when he stopped and turned around. "Oh one last thing, you better tell me what is going on when you've deal with it."

With a smile that would lighten any dark alley, Alex promised once again he will tell Matt everything on what was going on. That is all that Matt needed, his boyfriend's word. He turned back around and started to walk to the bathroom when he heard a knock on the bedroom door. He turned, looked at Alex, at the door, Alex again and back at the door. Neither of them was expecting anyone, so they were surprised to hear knocking on the door.

After a few seconds of dead silence there was another knock on the door. This time Matt didn't look back at Alex. Instead he walked over to the door to see who it was that was there. He got the biggest surprise when he opened the door and found his grandparents standing there with his younger brother and sister in front of them.

Before Matt could say a word, Crystal and Reginald came running at Matt and wrapped their arms around their bigger brother. After greeting their brother, they let go of Matt and went running over to the bed and jumped on it to hug Alex. Even though it caused Alex a lot of pain with them jumping on the bed and then hugging him, he didn't say a word. Even when Maxwell told the two young ones to be careful, Alex didn't tell anyone he was in pain. In fact he told them he was okay and pulled the two young ones even in tighter.

While Alex kept Crystal and Reginald busy, Matt and his grandparents walked out into the hallway to have some privacy. The minute Matt saw his grandparents' faces he knew what they were out there to talk about was serious. First he thought that it was something about him seeing his younger sister and brother, but the first couple words out of his grandfather's mouth put him at ease on that, but got him up in arms on the subject they were there to talk about.

"We spoke with your parents today about them kicking your brother and sister out. In the conversation we made it clear to them we didn't agree with what they did. But the more and more we spoke to them, the more we realized that they were not going to budge on what they did. They did fold on taking your brother and sister back, but we are not about to let that happen." Matt looked at his grandparents with a confused look on his face.

"Come on Matt, you know your parents better than we do, so why are you confused on why we are unwilling to let that happen?" Matt shrugged his shoulders. "They will take your brother and sister back, but they will do what they did to you when you lived there before you were sent off to the awful place. I know you don't want that for them."

"No grandpa, I don't want that for them or even my worst enemy, but how can we stop them? I mean after all they are our parents and they can pretty much do whatever they want to do with them. So again, what can we do to keep them from getting their hands on them, falling short from moving out of the state of Texas?"

Matt slumped against the wall while his grandparents stood off to the side thinking. None of them could think of what they could do to stop Matt's parents from simply stopping at his grandparents' house and demanding Crystal and Reginald. Just as they started to get used to the fact Matt's parents had them, Alex yelled out for Matt. Matt walked in, but didn't go any further than the door to see what Alex wanted. However, Alex wasn't going to yell out his idea. He kept waving Matt over, and shortly, Matt gave in and walked over to the bed.

Alex didn't start to talk until Matt leaned forward to the point where his ear was at the same level of Alex's mouth. "There is one thing you can do, go down and see Sally. If anyone can figure out a way for you guys to keep your brother and sister legally, Sally can. So take your grandparents down there and talk with her. Don't worry about these guys." Alex pointed to Crystal and Reginald. "I will keep them busy while you're gone."

Matt couldn't think of the words to thank Alex for coming up with a great plan. All he was able to come up with was a long patient kiss before rejoining his grandparents in the hallway. He didn't tell them anything that he and Alex discussed, he just asked them to follow him to the elevator. But once they were on the elevator, out of ear shot of his brother and sister, he let his grandparents in on where they were going and who they were talking to. By the time the elevator door opened, Matt told them all that he knew about Sally.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WRITER'S CORNER:

Welcome one and all to another filled chapter of `Beneath the Mask'. I know some of you might be dropping me an email about the little boring parts of the chapter, so before you do, let me explain why there is a few boring parts in the chapter. It is setting up for future chapters that will be action packed and real page-turners.

With that said, let's get to the summation of the chapter. There shouldn't have been any question of what Franseca was going to tell Alex and how Alex was going to handle it. After all Alex does like Principal Michaels and Principal Michaels looks like he likes Alex. This is going to be some good reading in the chapters to come.

We knew the talk between Matt's grandparents and his parents were going to happen. We know Maxwell was very angry when he left his house before we joined Gloria and Mrs. Walker at the high school. Neither of the two ladies really liked giving Davey and Johnny Jr. permission to sleep together. This plot was opened in `Rebirth' just in case you were lost. There is no doubt in my mind when Mr. Walker gets wind of what is going on, he is going to put a stop to it.

Back to Matt's grandparents and parents. The conversation started out civil, but it quickly went to a standoff. I can't believe that Matt's parents think they were in the right when it is obvious that they are so wrong. Then they went and made a scene in front of their neighbors when Maxwell was trying to keep that from happening. Something is going to come from this, but the question is, what. You need to come back and see what does come from it.

We all know what Alex and his mother were talking about when Matt walked in. Do you guys think it was fair of Alex on keeping Matt in the dark? I am sure you all understand why he did it, but should he have told him so he was prepared for the worst. Even though I'm the writer of this story, I still don't know how I feel about this. Although Matt and Alex made up, there is still a chance this could boil back up and cause problems for those two.

Now the ending of the chapter, the little cliffhanger! Matt's grandparents showing up at the hotel to talk with Matt about what happened earlier at his parent's house, good idea or bad? I understand why they did it, but now they got Matt worried. I hope the advice from Alex going to Sally will pan out because Matt's brother and sister need to be saved from their parents.

I know in my stories I have made several of the parents bad and you might be thinking that is how it is in my house or how I grew up. As in `Jacob Finding His Way' I have explained that my mother brought us up and it was a loving home. Over the years I have gotten a lot closer to my mother. I love her to death and I don't see how I would ever make it without her in my life. What I am trying to say is that I have a great mother and nothing I have written in my stories as far as a bad parent is anything close to my mother.

There are a lot of open plots still dangling out there that will come back and as well a whole lot of new ones. So please stick around as I have said and keep on reading. I hope that you all enjoyed what you have read and will keep coming back week after week to this saga and the other three I write.

I do not want to say too much more and spoil the future chapters to come. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER:

I was happy that Franseca told Alex about her interest in Principal Michaels and that Alex reacted as he did. I felt that if Alex didn't react positively at first he'd come around in a very short time. I think that the thread of a potential budding romance between the two will be fun. Both of them have been "off the market" for a very long time and I'm sure that things will be clumsy at best when they do go out the first few times.

Earl sure earned his keep and was on his toes when it came to Stefano. He took the initiative to check Stefano out to see if he was in the system. Alex and Franseca weren't fooled by Stefano, but they now have the exact information about him. The report Earl got confirmed their intuitions and filled in the blanks. It's going to be interesting to see how Alex will confront the situation. I expect that he will want to satisfy his curiosity and find out what Stefano's agenda is. He already senses that Stefano doesn't have killing him in mind, so I'm thinking Alex will play the cards to get to what Stefano has in mind.

Alex is being true to form keeping Matt sheltered from anything that has to do with his past life. I wasn't surprised by this. Alex is staying true to form, but with the way life and their circumstances have evolved, it's my opinion that he is doing so unnecessarily. Matt is a big boy; he can handle the information and situation. I hope that in the long run the two have that conversation and Matt can get Alex to see how things are different now. Matt has grown to be quite self sufficient. He's no longer a naïve teenager. He's proven to be a solid and mature budding adult. Alex needs to trust him more. Let's see if that happens.

Speaking of Matt's maturity, he's demonstrating it toward the end of the chapter as he takes on responsibility for working to protect his younger siblings. I think his grandparents are going to be very proud and impressed with his handling of the situation and his parents are going to be held accountable for their treatment of their two minor children. I expect that Sally is going to make their lives totally miserable at the very least.

JPG commented about the "bad parents" in his sagas. Folks, they are out there. I can't tell you how many times I've heard about parents kicking their minor children out to the streets just because they are gay. Here it is, 2012, and we are supposedly an enlightened society, yet there are still families that disown and disavow their offspring when they don't conform to the image they have in mind. I wish that I could sense that it's getting better, but I don't.

Until Next Time,

"Daddy" Rick