“Wasmy stepdad. He and my mum are welcome to each other.”
“He’s not with your mum anymore.”
“Don’t give a fuck who he’s with.”
“He’s not with anyone.”
“Shame! Do you know what he did? He gaslighted me by saying he was bi so I’d come out, and then he told my mum. Who the fuck does that, Milo?”
“I don’t know what to say, Kieran, other than that he is definitely bisexual, so he didn’t lie about that.”
“That makes it even worse. Knowing what it’s like to come out and then taking that choice away from someone. And he can’t have told my mum he was bi, given what she said to me about being gay. There’s no way she would have knowingly married a guy who performedinhuman acts of depravity.”
It had been ten years, but he could still remember all the words she’d said to him, as well as the look of utter disgust on her face. It was something he’d never forget. If he ever had kids, he would never stop loving them, no matter what they did.
“I just can’t connect the guy you described with the Derek I know,” said Milo.
“So I must be lying? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Of course not, Kieran. I just don’t think he’s the same guy anymore. People can change a lot in ten years.”
“I don’t give a fuck who he is now. It doesn’t change what he did.”
“I agree, but it might be good for you to get some answers.”
“Have you been talking to Hassan?”
“No, well, other than when he let me in this morning.”
“I bet you two had a lot to say.”
“Kieran! Not everything has to be a fight, you know. Nobody’s saying you have to speak to Derek after what he did to you. All I am saying is that before you dismiss it, just think about it. I can give you his number?”
“Like fuck I want his number, and don’t be giving mine to him. Make sure that boyfriend of yours doesn’t interfere either.”
“Edward wouldn’t do that.”
“Hmmm.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I have doubts about him, given his taste in friends.”
Milo chuckled.
“It’s not funny. What other unsavoury people has he got in his inner circle, besides other politicians, which is bad enough, and now Derek?”
Milo was smiling. “If it weren’t for Derek, I would never have met Edward, so I’m biased.”
“I thought you met Edward online.”
“I did, but we used to get together at The Back Room.”
“And?”
“Derek owns it.”
“What the fuck!”
