Boy Window Chapter 18: A Whole Lot Of Ew

Last time in Boy Window... there was a battle of “wits” between Jessica and Amber, and we met the step-brother Johnny as played by Gerard Way.

Chapter 18

It's the next day, and Amber's mom is all “why you so happy.”

“I grinned and suppressed a giggle; I couldn't very well tell her that my hottie of a boyfriend had just given me an extremely good reason to be smiling before he climbed back out of my window.”

Jake and Amber talk about Jake's feelings for Kate. It is about as interesting as box mashed potatoes. Liam walks in and he is smiling like an idiot too. Liam says he missed her and this happens

“I heard my mom 'aww' quietly and I tried not to laugh. 'Oh you did, huh?' I said, slapping his hand as he moved it down between my legs under the counter.”

Liam can you not paw at your girlfriend in polite company. You seriously just got laid and her mom is 2 feet away.

More talk of Jake and Kate happens and we get fast-forwarded to school. The crowd of females is not at their car this morning, instead they are at Johnny's.

“'Wow, we really have some sluts at this school!' I whispered to Liam.”

I know, right? It sure is slutty of those girls to be attracted to Gerard – I mean Johnny – like that. What kind of self-respecting woman has feels for a man, let alone a hot man. I just wish they were all like Amber and Liam. They don't spend all of their time trying to have sex with someone.

Amber asks Liam to save Johnny. Liam says

“'Why must you be so damn nice all the time?'”

When has she ever been nice? Johnny is the only person she has been nice to in this entire book. Even her supposed best-friend Kate gets the slut shaming treatment.

Speaking of which, Kate shows up, says she isn't interested in Jake and Amber thinks this

“Jake loved the chase I could tell, he'd never wanted anyone he couldn't have before, and I honestly think he wanted Kate now just because she wasn't interested.”

So we are just reinforcing that Jake is shit. Good, I was scared there for a second that he might make sense.

Liam returns with Johnny. Johnny makes polite conversation while

“...Liam's hand pushed down the back of my jeans, squeezing my behind.”

See? This is what I'm talking about. All those gross whores trying to “talk” to Johnny were just uber sluts, they need to take a lesson in decorum from Liam. I mean, Amber only has to

“...elbow him in the ribs to stop him from feeling me up in the middle of the school hallway.”

They all decide to go to the hockey game on Friday with Kate making her intentions to Johnny known. It makes me want to reread Changeless by Gail Carriger because the BFF romantic subplot in that was more interesting. I mean, the phrase “the caboose of my love has derailed” was seriously used. It was delightful.

Anyway, that's enough about good books. Jessica walks up and chucks the envelope full of money at Amber.

“Holy crap! Did she just give me over four thousand dollars?”

Which makes me realize, if they are somewhere in the UK, why does she keep saying 'dollars'? My understanding, and correct me if I am wrong, is that dollars are not an accepted form of currency in the UK. Is this done just to confuse me?

Jessica says “don't lose it” all ominously, so Amber gets the brilliant idea to do this.

“I stepped up close to [Liam] as I shoved the money down the front of his jeans, pushing my whole hand down there too.”

“'Look after that for me, boyfriend. I'll get it out later,' I purred suggestively as I pulled him down to kiss me. I heard people cheer and clap, guys calling things like 'oh yeah' and 'nice'.”

“I lingered behind with Liam, not wanting to break the kiss. I can't believe I won four thousand dollars! What can I blow that on?”

If you have the faculties to think about the money while kissing your boyfriend you are probably not that into him. I tried to warn you Liam.

They share a laugh at Jessica's expense. I know I've mentioned this before, but I don't get why they hate Jessica. Yeah, she has called Amber “emo girl” and “bitch” but she didn't start with the bitches until after the bet was concluded. Until that point, Jessica really thought that Liam had a thing for her. Yeah, he wasn't making a move, but they did have sex a couple of times and Jessica is young enough to equate that to love. I kinda glossed over it, but in the last chapter, Jessica had a whole speech about how she thought that Liam and she belonged together. It was framed in a “villain's speech” way but to me it sounded more tragic and desperate than anything insidious. Jessica cared for Liam, and he used her for sex and now he is mocking her with the girl that Jessica sees as “the other woman”. More importantly, why do I have more sympathy for a bitchy side character than I do for my main duo?

Anyway...

Liam and Amber ponder how to spend the money. Liam denies any claim to it because

“'I already have everything I could ever want right here'”

They go to class and we learn that a tardy gets you detention but leaving campus without parental consent gets you nothing. Makes sense!

And now for a page break.

“The next month passed really quickly.”

Well, hell it must have if it happened during a page break.

We get an update on the Jake-Johnny-Kate love angle that no one cares about. Kate and Johnny have gone out a couple of times, and Jake does not have feelings for her, he just doesn't like not being the center of attention.

“So, to rectify the problem, he slept with a few extra girls and made himself feel a lot better.”

Remember when Amber was praising Jake's merits? Yeah, I don't know why either.

Johnny has reached BFF status with Amber. Amber goes to one of Johnny's skateboarding competitions, but wait, what's this? He could only get one pass which means that Liam can't go and Amber will be unattended for more than a minute? You know what that means. Sexual assault time!

“I gulped, feeling a little sick...”

Oh, is it because of the crowd? You said once that you didn't like crowds and that they made you anxious.

“...as I looked at the ramp. It was huge...”

Are you being serious Amber? You do know this is a skateboarding competition, right? And that may require him to use a large ramp, right? He is not playing with a techdeck on the stairs.

“The tricks that they were doing blew my mind – somersaults, handstands, everything that you would think of.”

Shoot, child. Johnny better have one hell of a routine if someone is doing a somersault with a skateboard on a 15 foot ramp with a steep incline. My knowledge of skateboarding only goes as far as the old Tony Hawk games, An Extremely Goofy movie, and Rocket Power, but even I know that.

Johnny goes up to take his turn, the whistle blows and

“Panic overcame me, so I squeezed my eyes shut, listening to the people clap and cheer, but I didn't want to see. I knew that the minute I opened my eyes, he'd fall and break his neck.”

...we don't get to see anything? At all? She sets it up for Johnny to blow our mind with his mad skills and we don't get to see it? What, could she not think of a way to top somersaults? Why does everything interesting happen when narration isn't? Is that our punishment for reading this book, cause it sure feels like it.

“Next time I'd have to tell him I couldn't come. I'd just wasted his spare ticket by not even watching it.”

So instead of supporting him and possibly being there for him if he does get injured, your going to stay at home and boink your boyfriend.

Amber tries to lie and say she saw but some how Johnny was able to do fantastical stunts and watch Amber at the same time so he doesn't believe her.

“He'd brought me here to watch and give him support and I couldn't even do that. Clearly I was a useless stepsister.”

Johnny wins third place and Amber hugs him cause she hates human contact. But don't worry, she will remember she has PTSD in a moment when Johnny asks to go home and change before the go out.

“Nausea rolled over me in waves. I couldn't go.”

See? I told you. It's okay though cause all she has to do is think of Liam and PTSD magicks itself away. Makes it easy!

Amber tells Johnny that she can't she her dad. He asks why but all she says is

“'I just don't, please.'”

This is another moment when she could have said anything and it would have worked. Johnny has to know that you guys don't have the best of relationships because in the 2 years that the dad has been in Johnny's life, he never met you until you started going to the same school. You could just say that he left on bad terms and that you aren't comfortable talking about it. It's not like the only explanation is “Sorry, I can't go to your house. You're step dad used rape me once a week and I just can't handle seeing him now.”

Johnny says that the parents and baby went out of town for the weekend and they aren't expected home until late.

“I studied him to make sure he wasn't lying or trying to trick me or something.”

What kind of shitty friends do you have that that is the first place you go?

Amber agrees to go and naturally Johnny asks if he will ever know why Jake and Amber hate their dad so much, but Amber says she doesn't want to talk about it. This bothers me because that is putting Johnny, his mom and baby Matt at risk by not talking about the abuse. Sure, they may not believe that the dad could get away with beating and abusing 3 people for 8 years, but it could also be a much needed warning sign. Amber is not obligated to say anything, but I don't know why she wouldn't want to protect someone she calls a best-friend.

They pull up to Johnny's house. It's ritzy. We find out that the dad is an investment broker of some kind. Amber distracts us with chat about Kate and Johnny smooching. Johnny goes to get changed and showered, and the second he leaves the dad walks in.

Amber tries to escape but is thwarted by a locked door. I think it is the one to the garage which is weird because the lock should be on the outside then and she still can't open it, but whatever, they meet. The dad gives her the pervy once over but the semi adequate description of

“He looked at me, his eyes raking over every part of my body while I just stood there unable to move, unable to breathe. I felt like I was a kid again. I was terrified, and this time I had no Jake to protect me. The man that ruined both our childhoods was standing less than fifteen feet from me.”

is not enough for me to get my hopes up anymore. Having one decent passage every 5 chapters won't cut it. I'm just glad that the chapter is over, and even more glad that there is only 6 more chapters and an epilogue left.

Boy Window Chapter 17: The Car Is The Best Part

Last time in Boy Window...We are back in Amber's POV and her mom comes home makes some awkward comments about her and Liam's sexual tension and tells them that their dad moved back to town. Instead of calling the cops, or getting a restraining order, Jake beats up furniture and Amber cries because she lost her happily ever after. The chapter changes back to Liam's POV for the last 5 pages where Liam suggests kidnapping Amber as a solution to their problems.

Chapter 17

“~Amber~”

I'm numb to the pain of this stupidity. Let's hope it holds.

“Silently, I tried to convince myself that this boy Johnny probably wouldn't even want to talk to me”

Amber, you are Amber, so he will probably try to fondle you in the middle of geometry or something.

Fast-forward to school Kate is in love with the new guy (gee, I wonder who that is).

“It had to be him, my new stepbrother.”

That was surprisingly smart of you Amber. I half expect you to guess Pope Francis.

“'I don't know his name yet. Hottie McTottie suits him though.'”

Are you 5?

“Jake threw his arm around her shoulder. 'You know, I'm not used to you not wanting me, Kate. I'm not sure I like this new behaviour'”

I hate you all.

Amber tells Kate that Johnny is her step-brother. Kate takes this as an advantage over the other girls. Amber says she can't/won't help her.

“'Seriously, the hottest guy is your boyfriend, the second hottest guy is your brother and a very close third is your damn stepbrother?'”

Well, when you put it like that it sounds contrived.

Jessica walks up. Amber says “pay up”. Jessica says “as if. You didn't have sex.” (I'm abbreviating. You're welcome.) Jake walks away cause he “don't wanna know”. And Liam says “I don't kiss and tell” but after Amber insists, he confirms “yes, we did bone.” Jessica and Liam argue because Jessica is entitled to his dick because of stereotypes and it all amounts to

I just saved you two pages on boring as shit “conflict” but I will share this gem

“'You're not supposed to be with some brown haired, grey eyed, little freak!'”

Jessica is shit at insults. First she just calls Amber "emo" and now she is just listing her physical traits. Is it because Jessica is none too bright, or is it because Moseley doesn't want anyone insulting Amber?

They go to class. Naturally, Johnny is in Amber's class. I would have been more surprised if he wasn't. The way he is described, he reminds me of Gerard Way circa 2004 but with less eye make-up and charisma.

...I may or may not still love MCR

The teacher assigns Jessica to show Johnny around. Part of me thought it would be Amber, but it's not like it matters. Johnny says hi to Amber by name.

“How did he know my name?”

He's your step-brother, I'm sure your creeper dad has a photo of you. Or, hell, social media. Technology is not really talked about, which is odd in and of itself, but if this is at a time when the Wii exists, then social media is a thing. He probably Facebook stalked you.

“...everyone was asking if Liam and I were an item, and how long we'd been together. Blah, blah, blah – it was the same thing over and over and I was already bored of it.”

Welcome to my life.

Amber tells Liam about Johnny. They shit talk Jessica. At lunch, Johnny asks to sit with them but retracts the question when he started hearing crickets. Kate feels cock-blocked. Amber calls him back. They chat.

“'Stephen showed me a photo of you. I haven't seen one of your brother though, so I have no idea who he is'”

See? Creepy, but not because of Johnny and it makes sense. Was that so hard Moseley?

Amber introduces Jake and Johnny. Jake is his usual charming self.

“'Hey, how's it going?' Jake growled. His face was hard and not at all friendly.”

Amber did you expect any less from him?

More chatting and a little flirting from Kate. Johnny answers the “where did you go before” question with

“'I actually went to an all-boys school in Mersey'”

Okay, I have no idea where that is. Google powers go!

...Mersey is a river in the western part of the UK and apparently there is a Boston in the eastern part. I know a lot of this was assumptions on my part, because I am an American and I naturally assumed that the Boston she was referring to was the one in Massachusetts, but I still should not be just figuring out the setting on page 193.

Also, this changes the felony kidnapping charge and other assumptions I made about legal action DBD could take. If anyone knows enough about British law to comment, please do, because I would like to know how this changes things.

Anyway...

Kate flirts some more with Johnny and Jake is grumpy.

“Jake was totally crushing on Kate!”

I sure somebody somewhere cares, but I don't.

Johnny hands his class schedule to Amber.

“...he had every single afternoon class with me.”

Amber is unnerved which makes sense.

“...what if he went home and my father asked about me?”

This is a valid concern but you could just say “hey, could you not talk to my dad about me” you don't have to say it is because he raped your for 8 years, you could just say that you don't have a good relationship.

Jessica walks up.

Amber: “I saw that shirt worn exactly like that on the hooker on the corner last night.”

Jessica: “You hang out on street corners?”

Amber: “When I'm meeting with your mom I do”

Guys, I think Amber just cam out to us. I know this is supposed to be a “your mom” joke but what Amber is really saying is that she pays for female hookers. Or is Amber saying she is a hooker? Cause Johns and Janes don't hang out on the street corners to meet hookers, they usually drive up. Or is Amber saying that she is Jessica's mother's pimp? Cause that is totally what we need in our leading lady. The ability to frighten and abuse sex workers. Why is this more complicated than it needs to be?

Jessica walks off (defeated, I guess) and more chatting ensues. Johnny is trying to be nice and get to know them since he is stuck there. There is even more chatting, so much so actually, that we go from lunch to after school in one sentence.

Johnny shows a family picture he has in his wallet. Amber wonders if DBD beats them.

“The physical abuse was severe – Jake had gotten the brunt of it – but it was the sexual abuse that left mental scars that I knew I still wasn't over.”

Physical abuse also leaves mental scars, just so you know. And I would like to see evidence of the scars from your sexual abuse beyond the subsequent line

“Memories of those Sundays flashed through my mind...”

Because, as I said in the last chapter, we really don't know what happened. Don't just say “bad things happened” show me what bad things or at least bits of the bad things and how they effect you. You know, basic story telling.

Liam and Jake finish practice. Both Amber and Liam are missing each other because it has been nearly 8 hours since they were alone together. Cause that's healthy.

They all check out Johnny's car, a BMW Z4. That is a 40k car if DBD bought it new, and he gave it to a teenager.

Liam talks about owning one when he becomes a pro hockey player. How big is hockey in the UK? You hear about football all the time but not really hockey.

Anyway...

The chapter ends with Amber happy at the prospect of cuddling. Woo. Going forward, I really hope that Johnny doesn't become a romantic rival for Liam, cause he seems overly attached to Amber already.

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.

Boy Window Chapter 15: Quick! Liam time.

Last time in Boy Window...even more pointless flirting, ice skating, I love yous and maybe some plot in there.

Chapter 15

“~Liam~”

...Please tell me that does not mean what I think it means.

“I had been with Amber for a week now...”

No. I refuse to believe that this is happening.

“I'd wanted her for so long that I was a little worried that if I ever did get her that she would never be able to live up to what I had imagined […] But being with her was better than I'd even imagined it could be.”

Do you just want to see me cry? Is that it? Why are we suddenly changing perspectives? Will Liam be the point-of-view character from now on? Why can't this chapter be from Amber's perspective? Or why couldn't you have written this in third person?

There is nothing saying that an author can't do whatever they want but there are reasons why you wouldn't want to do this. For the past 14 chapters we have had one voice. It has been slow and tensionless but that hegemony has set a pace. A consistent pace is important because it allows the reader to slip into the narrative. Switching the point-of-view character would change the pace and make it harder for the reader to get lost in the story. The author can do this without breaking narrative flow in one of two ways. The first is using a third person narrator, that way when the point-of-view character changes the way the narrator talks doesn't (an example is the Song of Ice and Fire Series). The second way is by setting up a pattern early on with a set number of chapters per point-of-view (this would be like Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles). Since neither of these things happen, it will make the shift jarring.

Enough ranting, onward with the story!

“I couldn't wait for tonight. As usual, there was a party at Jake's.”

Liam gets dressed and it's about as interesting as Amber getting dressed.

“I was so excited to see her that I could burst into song any moment.”

"No! No singing!"

“I still couldn't believe that someone like me would be lucky enough to have someone like her fall in love with them. She could have any guy she wanted; she was beautiful, smart, funny, and kind.”

I have seen no evidence of this female paragon.

“Practically every guy in school lusted after her”

Does Moseley think that sexual assault is a compliment? Cause that would explain a lot.

“I struggled to watch her at her dance practice every Saturday, it was such a freaking turn-on seeing her jumping around, shaking her behind.”

The more he talks the more I think he needs to learn how to masturbate.

He talks about how amazingly wonderful Amber is some more.

“If I thought she would say yes, I would ask her to marry me right now, but I just didn't want to rush her or pressure her into anything.”

“Jake had been great so far too. He actually seemed to like the fact that Amber was happy...”

Let's take a moment to recognize that Liam is surprised that Jake is ok with Amber being happy.

“We did have a few words the day after he found out about us, but I'd never tell Amber about that.”

Cause secrecy is key to any relationship.

“It was primarily just threats of decapitation and castration – which I knew he meant.”

Why are they friends again? Cause he seems to just like people that abuse him.

The party starts and Liam complains about the girls and the bet.

“I didn't even want to think about what Jessica had offered me in case I got any mental images of it. My subconscious mind wandered to the couple of times we'd been out and had sex; I shuddered a little at the thought.”

Shuddered in disgust? In fear? In horror? Cause each would have a different connotation.

“'...the only one I'll be with is my girlfriend. I'm not interested in any of these skanks.'”

Yeah all those women you had sex with sure are skanks, but your not because you've found true love.

“My breath caught in my throat, Amber was standing there in a little black dress that clung to her shapely body and came to her mid-thigh.”

Liam berates himself for not talking.

“'Um...Hi, Angel,'” I mumbled, my voice sounding tight. Wow, that was real smooth Liam! God, I'm such a dick.”

Not for that you aren't. For other reasons, sure, but not for that.

“'Hi,' she greeted in her sexy voice.”

Why was it sexy? How was it sexy? Is it sexy because you want to have sex or is it the timbre? These things are important.

Flirting happens.

“'Don't tease me tonight, Angel. Seriously, you look too hot, I can't take it'”

Will you expire from lack of blood flow to your brain?

Casey (random idiot) says he is going to try to tap dat ass. Liam says she is taken and naturally, Casey guesses that they are together. Casey says Jake will kick Liam's ass when he finds out. Liam says he knows.

“'No way! Did he beat the crap out of you?'”

Casey, you see Liam every day, have you noticed an ass kicking?

“I didn't bother telling him not to say anything; I wanted this out in the open.”

I don't agree with Amber's reasons for not telling everyone but to out her like that without her knowledge when you could easily just ask him to stay silent, is mean.

And what's with all the “;” there are 288, and I know it is a perfectly legitimate form of punctuation but I'm with my first love (Kurt Vonnegut) on this.

Not that there is anything wrong with transvestites or hermaphrodites.

“I couldn't care less about the money. In a couple of years, when I was playing hockey professionally, that would seem like peanuts and I could give her anything she wanted.”

Cause we all know that every good high school player goes professional. That was the point of that movie Coach Carter right? I'm sure that was.

Liam tells Amber that Casey knows. And true to form, she says

“'Well then, Liam, if people are going to find out, we might as well give them a show'”

Both me and Liam want to know what that will mean.

“She giggled and pulled my face down to hers, kissing me, hard.”

And dance floor make outs happen. She says “I love you”

“The gasping started again from the watching crowd.”

How sad is it that all I can think about is what happened to Kate? She was dancing with Amber before Liam cut in and now she gets to watch her favorite fantasy play out. Knowing her, she is...busy.

“I knew people were talking about us, and literally the whole room was staring”

Well you were getting a little porny there, so I don't blame them for watching.

“Tonight was the best party ever, just because I got to hold her hand and kiss her.”

Sweet, but those are some low standards.

“Even the girls didn't hit on me, which made a pleasant change.”

“'I'm tired, Liam. Want to take me to bed?' She asked, raising her eyebrows teasingly.”

No...

“'Sure, Angel'”

Don't do this to me Moseley.

“She locked the door and stepped up close to me”

You can't be serious.

“When she got to my jeans she immediately started unbuttoning them too.”

They have only been together a week. She can't have gotten over 8 years of violence and violation in 6 days.

“'You OK?' I asked curiously […] She nodded in response and took hold of the bottom of her dress, pulling it up over her head in one smooth movements.”

“She smiled making my heart beat faster. 'Make love to me,' she whispered”

Both Liam and I call shenanigans on her being over her PTSD and he says he is willing to wait.

“She laughed. 'Well I'm sorry, Liam, but I just can't wait for you any longer. I need you to be ready now.'”

Aside from being insane, that sounds a little rapey to me. If Liam does not feel right having sex you shouldn't pressure him Amber.

Amber gets handsy. Liam is somehow surprised by this brazen act because

“I gaped, my mouth popped open in shock. Was she not actually joking?”

Why would you think she is joking Liam? That would be the lamest joke ever. “Hey honey I got over those years of abuse in the 6 days we've been together. We can bone now if you want...j/k I'm so hilarious”?

“'Liam, stop talking' she instructed.”

Yeah, Liam, how dare you be concerned at this sudden and mind boggling emotional break through. Don't be considerate about the 8 years of sexual abuse your girlfriend suffered at the hands of her father. No, just have sex with her.

They get into fore-play and Liam is all

“Shit, she is serious!”

Gee, ya think.

“The desire to screw her was overwhelming”

Quoth the poet.

They talk about making it special because this is fiction so naturally everyone's first time is like watching Avatar in IMAX (ie sensory stimulating but narratively unfulfilling).

“My whole body was rejoicing at the thought of being with her...”

We are going on five pages of foreplay. Given his usual state of arousal, I'm surprised he has lasted this long without needing new pants.

“...I had to be sure she wasn't doing this for the wrong reasons; I'd never forgive myself if she regretted this in the morning. 'This isn't about the bet is it?'”

Of course she is going to deny it, but I wouldn't believe her Liam. The bet has always been on the forefront of her mind.

More foreplay, then they have sex during a page break. The chapter resumes with post-coital snuggling.

Liam: “I'm sorry I hurt you”

Amber: “Liam, that was so totally worth it”

If this were real life, she would say the same thing but it would be an awkward lie.

“I'd never had any complaints before, but I'd never actually cared if the girl enjoyed herself before.”

Ever the gentleman Liam is. I want a story from one of his cast offs. It's harder to like Liam as a person when you think about all the Jessicas he banged because he couldn't have sex with his best friend's traumatized sister. All those poor girls with hopes and feelings or who just wanted to satisfy an itch, and to him they were no better than a flesh light with a pulse.

They both say how amazing they are in bed. They should really lay off on the ego stroking for at least 20 minutes. Refractory period is a thing you know.

Of course, since this is fictional, Liam is already up and ready to go for round 2.

“She raised her eyebrows, and a slow smile spread across her face as she rolled me onto my back, straddling me, looking like a freaking sex goddess sitting on top of me.”

I'm sure Ishtar is offended by that remark.

Amber then says

“'This time I want to have a try. Tell me if I do something wrong.'”

...I get the second sentence, but the first confuses me. Have a try at what exactly? Where you not participating before? Did you just lay there like a pile of pillows he was humping? What is more confusing is that she supposedly enjoyed laying like a pile of pillows he was humping. I've heard of doggy style, but that sounds like they took it a little too far.

And they have more sex during another page break. The morning after is all rainbows and butterflies and possibly more sex as the chapter fades to black.

There is so much about this chapter that frustrates me. The fact that we change point-of-view characters, that our main character gets over her PTSD in 6 days, and the point that those two meet. The chapter were Amber finally is able to face her demons and have a sexual experience, we don't even get to be a part of it. This could have been powerful and there was no reason for this to be from Liam's perspective. The whole chapter just baffles me.