Alexander had both recognized and accepted his fate. He was born into the low-income housing projects just outside of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. His father, an abusive alcoholic and drug user, made no effort to care for the young boy while his mother, strung-out and exhausted, paid little attention to what was happening within her own home. However, he was hardly alone. His friend Matthew lived in the apartment closest to their own and the two made the best of a bad situation, bonding over the bruises left from the hands of their caretakers while day-dreaming of a better, brighter tomorrow. But the worst was yet to come.
Alexander's father was desperate for money and, at the request of a close friend, began to use his son as a child prostitute, numbing his pain through drugs and alcohol. It wasn't long until Matthew's father wanted a piece of the action, forcing his own young son, Matthew, into a world of horrific sexual abuse. Together, the two boys plotted, looking for a way out of the hell that they lived in and after three failed attempts and a dozen or so half-baked plans, only one of them would make it out alive. And he would never look back.
Searching for a new home, Alexander finds himself in the good graces of a bartender coping with a heavy loss of his own. The tired old man sees a good worker in the boy he knows as Xander - as a plus, he doesn't ask too many questions. Over time, the two forge a strong tie through their addictions and, with the help of a beautiful, caring police officer, navigate the ups and downs of substance abuse. They build a family on love, trust and struggle; the mis-matched souls finally have peace. Relapse | Recovery centers on the alcohol and drug abuse fueled by sadness, pain and addiction and how much life there is left to live after recovery. No one knew the story wasn't over just yet....
With Xander settled into his new, sober life, he's finally able to begin navigating the real challenges: like high school. Thrust into his junior year, Xander struggles in his expected role as the perfect son in his newly developed family unit but even moreso when he gains the affections of someone unexpected: a boy named Michael with a story of his own.
Michael is artistic, sweet and clueless to Xander's struggles, a monumental barrier that Xander struggles with as he tries to come to terms with his own sexuality and how that relates to his past abuse. But Michael isn't the only one vying for Xander's affection. When Matt, a ghost from his long forgotten past, confronts Xander at school about leaving him behind; Xander is speechless to see that his old friend survived. Matt demands the two pick up their old friendship, maybe something even more but with Xander's still sorting out his own feelings, he's not sure it's something he can accept. The two inseperable boys are now different in many ways, and the clash of emotion is sure to boil over.
Matt stews in his hatred and bitterness until it consumes him, exacting his revenge on Xander in the most brutal way possible while ultimately, landing behind bars himself. Xander dares to come to his friend's rescue with an ultimatium but Matt has a condition before he accepts: there's something that Xander has to do for him first.
Part two of Relapse | Recovery looks to answer the lingering questions left behind and takes a look at lifelong friendships and the pure, innocent kind of love that can only be experienced by two highschool sweethearts. It builds on the family structure of the first chapter and brings in some characters who, beneath their exterior, are fighting their own demons.
The road to recovery is winding and jagged, something that Matt knows all too well. As he finishes up the final paperwork on his son's adoption and settles himself into his new life, his focus shifts away from renewed friendship with Xander and onto his and Victor's well-being. For years, the two scrape by on Matt's meager income and Matt's music remains his one true passion that keeps him sane (and somewhat sober) through the everyday trials of life.
Following a late night punk rock concert (and a few too many beers), Matt stumbles into someone and grumbles a half-assed apology...but that's not good enough for the woman. She whips around and lets the obscenties fly before storming off into the crowd while Matt returns home and sleeps off his hangover. Weeks later, he would see the girl again, this time, in a tattoo shop not too far from the center of town. Immature and pety as ever, Matt goes in to give the girl hell but, with some not-so-indirect flirting, ends up walking out with her phone number and the promise of a date instead.
When the two finally sit down to meet, she introduces herself as Genesis, a tattoo artist and former pageant queen who's looking to leave her old life behind. Matt can relate but is curious about what she's hiding: as it turns out, a lot, some that even Matt might not want to know about. Despite this, the two start a relationship built around their fuck-ups but love might not be enough to keep them together. As Genesis struggles with her gender identity and self-worth, Matt is caught up in his battle for sobriety and facing down those age-old feelings about Xander that seem to keep resurfacing.
The third part of Relapse | Recovery follows Matt's happy, or perhaps, not-so-happy, ever after and all the ways in which love is worth fighting for. It build upon the plot's name through scenes of withdrawls, addiction and, of course, relapses. But, as Matt and Genesis soon find out, relapse is not failure. Relapse is part of recovery.
Life has settled down and for Matt, it was better late than never. He had found happiness in his life and wanted nothing more than to see his son flourish, positive, healthy and with great ambitions of his own. And he does; Victor reaches his teenage years with little fanfare and Matt find himself in his 30s with little to show for it more than a dead-end manager job at a retail store for teenyboppers. He still catches himself going back to his guitar and picks up a few shows on weekends with any rent-a-musician he can find. After his backup singer and bassist walks out on him mid-show, Matt realizes what he's been missing all these years: a band. Save for a few angsty singles he recorded in his younger years and a the couple of well-known covers he did on Youtube, Matt had never taken his music career seriously; but that was about to change.
His first taker is Seth, a talented singer and guitarist from Virgina, who chased his dreams to California only to see them fail right before his eyes. Like Matt, he's not seeking fame and success but chasing the love of music wherever that leads but he's not without his own drama. Seth's boyfriend, Anderson, is a tough one to reign in. The young man seems more interested in lazing around on the couch and cheating on Seth than actually finding a job - a lifestyle that'll come back to haunt them both in a way they weren't expecting and that Seth might not be able to handle.
Soon follows Gage, an EMT and drummer from Oklahoma, who is brought into the band under a very strained pretense: his girlfriend, Mariah, and the main object of Anderson's infidelity. He struggles with a type of abuse related to his high-stress job while Mariah just wants to move past the mistakes she's made (all of them). Regardless; Gage has natural talent and a very laid back, devout personality that makes it easy to work alongside him.
And the final addition to the band stuns everyone, including Matt himself. As the band struggles to find a bassist who isn't strung-out, Seth thinks back on a past relationship he'd had with a beautiful social worker named Valentino. He had mentioned a boy with such talents at the 'Rainbow House' (a non-profit organization that helped foster LGBT+ youth) that would benefit from the kind of structure that comes from working on a team. After speaking with Valentino, the band is introduced to Tyler.
A troublemaker, a hellion and a punk reminiscent of someone else Matt used to know, Tyler has faced unimaginable trauma and, as a result, lashes out at all those that try to help him...except Valentino. With his encouragement, the boy lands himself a position within the band and earns a reputation as a hard worker and dedicated musician, so similar to Matt that he begins to feel kinship with young punk and his struggles. At least, until that kinship starts warming up to Matt's now-teenage son, Victor. Matt can see the bad influence written all over Tyler's face and knows that Victor won't be able to resist his wily charms for much longer - but, as the old stories go, love will always find a way and this punk is determined to find a way into the shy boy's heart.
With Relapse | Recovery coming to a close, we're able to wrap up the lives of some of our most beloved characters and focus for at long last the recovery. Lives entertwined with the lives of others through sheer happenstance reinforces an idea that's clear in the heart of all parts of Relapse | Recovery: a family is not the people you are born to, it's the dysfunctional bunch of people you spend your the best years of your life with.