Boy Window Chapter 16: I Can't Even

Last time in Boy Window...we changed point of view characters for no apparent reason, and we find out that Liam's dick can magically cure PTSD in just 6 days!

Chapter 16

For as much I was harping on Moseley for changing point-of-view characters, the sad thing is it didn't trip me up. What I mean is, Liam and Amber have the same narrative voice. This is not a good thing. It shows a lack of characterization. Different people talk differently. Even if two people are talking about the same thing and are speaking the same language, they will use different words and explain things in different ways. That why teachers can read 100 essays with the same prompt and each still be different.

Anyway...

“~Amber~”

Hades' shadowy helm, I just reconciled myself to the story being from Liam's perspective.

“...I literally couldn't keep the moronic grin from my face.”

You called it moronic, not me, but I also don't disagree.

“And I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would too.”

Which is to say, at all?

“I glanced at the clock, wincing because we now didn't have time for a shower as we'd been fooling around for too long.”

You had sweaty acrobatic sex multiple times in the last 8 hours and you don't want to take a shower before you go to dance practice? Gross. Just gross.

“'OK. But please try not to shake that fine ass in my face too much, or I might have to rip those sexy sweats off you and take you right in front of your crew.'”

I regret eating so close to reading this, cause that line made me sick to my stomach.

“I giggled at his comment.”

Don't encourage him, Amber.

“He'd never said anything like that to me before, and I blushed like crazy as I slapped his shoulder in reprimand.”

That isn't a “oh Mr James, how you do go on” this is a “Liam, you shouldn't threaten me with sex because I'm dancing in front of you.”

Liam leaves so they can both get dressed.

“I shook my head at myself as I realised that he'd turned me into some kind of pervert too.”

Because your watching his retreating backside? That does not a pervert make.

Fast-forward through dance practice.

“By the time we finished, I was tired and sweating.”

And you still have sex-funk all over you, super gross!

“[Liam] seemed to be smiling more than normal. I guess it was hard for him, waiting a whole week for sex...”

“...I bet he'd never done that in his life.”

I'm sure baby Liam was having all the sex.

“Wait, have we only been dating a week?”

I would say this is about quality over quantity, but there is a shortage of both so...play me out Salem!

“It seemed like we'd been together forever because everything was just so easy...”

When I say that I don't mean that as a compliment.

“Once we'd finished practicing...”

I thought you were already done. Did you finish twice? Do you need a cigarette?

They get sandwiches and eat while snuggling under a tree. Amber thinks about her life.

“I never thought I would ever have anything like this with a boy […] After what my father did with all the touching, I guess I was a little scarred.”

“A little scarred.” So, what did she only have a touch of PTSD? Is that why she got over it so fast, because she was only a smidgen damaged? Her and the Black Knight must be related.

“All the time I'd thought I didn't ever want a boyfriend, I never realised I already had the perfect boy, who was sweet and kind and kept me safe every night.”

Unless you are one of the “skanks” he was using to fill the time before his dream girl gave him a chance, then he was less perfect, sweet and kind.

They joke about breaking up, don't ask, and Liam says.

“'Everywhere you go, I'll be following behind you, begging for another shot. I'll be just like an obsessive stalker'”

“'Maybe I should just keep you then.'”

You know this would be terrifying if they were being serious.

A page break later, we are back at Amber's house.

“As usual the place was a mess. Thankfully, Jake had already started. We had to do a really good job this time because my mom was due back tomorrow. She had no idea there was a raging party in her house every week.”

I don't get how that would work. Liam's parents are shown to be active in their life. Even if they kept the noise level down every Friday, they would notice the streets lined with cars, or the inordinate number of people going in and out of Amber's house, and then they would tell the mom. They wouldn't even have to be nosy neighbors either, this is just a general sense of awareness.

Kate comes over and we are told she asked Amber questions about sexy times but we never experience them. That would require Amber to reflect on the experience, consider how this changed her and their relationship, and what this means in a larger sense. But we already had her say it was awesome and different, that counts as character development right?

Kate flirts with Jake.

“If he didn't want her to hit on him, then why set himself up for it?”

Yeah, Jake was totally asking for it. He said he wasn't interested, which is practically liking asking her for sex.

Liam goes home to keep up pretenses.

“I kissed him hungrily at the door, before skipping to my room, reading for an hour before deciding on a nice soak in the bath.”

Why does this need to be one sentence? And if she “forgets” her clothes again I may hit someone.

“I was a little sore from having sex, and on tip of that, dancing for hours this morning made my muscles a little tight.”

Not to mention that you have yet to bathe after any of that activity.

Sexy

“'Hey, you,' Liam said from the door way a little while later.”

Bathrooms are the one room that almost always have a lock on it, so why does she never use it? It's just a matter of time before Jake walks in on her.

And Liam joins her in the bath because why the fuck not. This is a thing that happens in a lot of books but I never understand it. Most bath tubs are not big enough to fit two people over the age of 5.

A page break interrupts bath time before it becomes sexy time and Amber talks about how she can't wait for her mom to come home that night.

“...I hadn't seen her for just over two weeks.”

So she left right before chapter two started? This makes me realize that her mom never calls to check in with them. She leaves for a few weeks and never bothers to call her kids to see if they are ok, need grocery money, or just to ask after them? Coyote's cunning smile, she is a shitty parent.

“I was sat on Liam's lap...”

“was sat” who says that?

The mom pulls into the drive way.

“Jake jumped up at the same time as me and wrapped his arm around my waist, laughing as he threw me onto the sofa.”

“My mom loved Liam, she always had done.”

“always had done”? Is this slang?

Amber tells her mom that she fell in love. Her mother is confused because the one thing that everyone can agree upon is how unrealistic it is for Amber to have anything resembling human emotions.

Maybe she is ferengi?

Her mom even goes so far as to say

“'Oh, Amber, I never thought you would be able to!'”

I know she meant that in a “because of your trauma” way but it is still hilarious.

Eventually they tell the mom that she is seeing Liam.

“'I should have known! All that teasing and stuff, I didn't realise it was sexual tension'”

I can't even...her mom is talking to her daughter and her boyfriend about their sexual tension...I don't know...I just...broken.

And it gets better. (Read as worse).

Mom: “Your father's moved to this town.”

Jake: “Motherfucker! I told him to stay away!”

You know what would have helped with keeping him away. I don't know THE FUCKING POLICE! Just telling him, “And don't back here ever again” isn't going to do shit. This is why things like restraining orders, prisons, and common fucking sense exist. Moseley can dedicate 7 pages to foreplay, but she can't take 2 sentences to explain why no one has had douche-bag-dad arrested for any number of crimes?

“'Jake, he wants to get to know you two again. He says he's sorry...'”

Yeah he says he is sorry for raping your sister from the age of 5 until she turned 13. And he is super sorry for beating us every night. And he is sorry for emotionally manipulating us. Because a disingenuous apology is all that is needed to erase a life time of violence. She really is the worst mother ever.

“'I hate that I'm the one to have to tell you this, but it's not my fault.'”

It's not her fault for what he did, but it is her fault for not doing anything now. He has no power over her now, and her in action is causing problems for her children. Worst mother ever.

Mom says that their step-brother (Johnny) is starting at their high school the next day and that they have a half brother. Conflict I guess? Jake beats up furniture instead of doing something productive. Liam stands protectively by Amber, once again acknowledging the fact that Jake is a threat to her safety. Jake calms down and makes an off-handed comment about if the new wife knows that the dad is a rapist.

“I flinched again, trying to block out the memories that were trying to drag me under.”

This is another example of how this could be a tense powerful moment but it isn't. Thoughts of her past intruding on her, making her panic, but this is the only description we get. Jake is all apologetic and Liam is angry at him, but I almost don't see why.

Amber makes her excuses and leaves with Liam following shortly after.

“I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for a happy ending. I'd never have happy ending.”

I am all for victim's rights. If you are a victim, you can choose to not press charges or seek medical help. However, I lose a lot of sympathy for you when complain about justice not being served when you do not report it. The only thing “keeping” Amber from her “happy ending” is her reporting her father. It has only been 3 years since his last attempted rape which is within the statute of limitations for most states, and she has two people witness the attempt, and 3 people who will corroborate a history of violence. I know I should be happy that this provides an obvious conflict but it is a stupid and easily resolved one. I would understand it if she had to convince people that the rape happened, but all the important people in her life know for a fact that it did. So bringing the dad back at this juncture is a sad attempt at creating conflict when there isn't any. It almost feels like two bad short stories smashed together into one bad long story.

SIDE NOTE: I thought that this was the end of the chapter, it sure feels like the end of a chapter. It isn't. There are 5 pages left and this happens.

“~Liam~”

The chapter rewinds a little but with Liam narrating. Amber says something like “well, nothing to be done about it” and this is Liam's narration.

“...she stated, as if it just didn't matter that the man who beat her, sexually abused her for years, and finally tried to rape her, was coming back and wanted to see her again.”

So it's not just me. No one believes she is actually effected by this. And what does he mean “finally tried to rape her”? So what happened? Did the dad just molest her from age 5 to 13? That is still awful, but this makes me realize that we are never told exactly what happened all those times. Even when Amber is having an episode, she just says stuff like “I feel dirty” or “the memories attacked”. You don't have to be gory with the details, and I get Liam not knowing, but we spent 14 and a half chapters in Amber's head and we never get a glimpse of the “uncontrollable memories” that haunt her every day.

Amber goes to bed, Liam says he is going to help Jake clean up the broken furniture from Jake's rampage. Instead, Liam tells Jake not to approach Douche-bag-dad on his own. Liam goes to cuddle Amber until she falls asleep, then sneaks back out.

“Apparently, Stephen had wanted to see them again to make amends, or so he said anyway.”

Yes, Liam, we know that. It has been aggressively asserted for a while now. Get on with it.

They talk about always being with Amber so DBD doesn't catch her unawares.

“'You know I'm off to college in a couple of months. Well, I was going to turn down my scholarship to Boston and go to college closer to here so I could still stay with her, but if the worst comes to the worst, I'll take her with me to Boston.'”

Here's what's wrong with this plan.

1. SHE IS A MINOR! Amber said they live 3 hours outside of Boston, depending on the direction, that could cross state lines, possibly even the Canadian border. Which would make this felony kidnapping. Why does this matter?
2. THE DAD STILL HAS PARENTAL RIGHTS! Remember how you guys will not file charges against douche-bag-dad? If DBD finds out that Liam has taken his victim, he can file felony kidnapping charges because as far as the government is concerned, he is only a concerned parent. Even if the mother consents, the father could fuck everything up.
3. WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO JAKE ABOUT THIS!? Why not the mother that has to give consent or, I don't know, AMBER. You know the person you are planning on running away with?

Liam tries to convince me with internal monologue why this is the only option. He fails. Jake is convinced though because nothing makes sense in this world. Further proof of that is when Liam asks the mom if he can spend the night in Amber's bed and she says “yeah, OK.” When he tells his parents, they don't bat a eye, they just ask for safe sex. Does nobody care that Amber is a minor? Again, if DBD found out he could file statutory rape charges against Liam because everyone in universe is too stupid to get his parental rights revoked.

Whatever. Liam talks to his mom about Amber's birth control, like all teenagers do with their parents. Moseley attempts to cover up the general illogic by saying

“under normal circumstances, Margaret would have kicked my ass just for asking”

Yeah, I don't believe it, but I also don't care anymore. I just want this chapter to end. And thankfully, it does. Liam and Amber cuddle. Jake brings them food. Sleep happens and the chapter ends for realsies.