“Wow, guys really are thick, regardless of their sexuality.”
I blink at her, the words smacking me across the face like a sheet of ice.“What?Wait.He’s never said he wants to be more than we actually are…whatever this is…”
“He talks about you all the time, stalks your results like an internet troll, mopes around the house when you’re not here.Yeah, I think he wants more.”
I grin from ear to ear.
“And don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you look either or howobsessedyou are with hissmile.”She drops me a wink.“You really shouldn’t leave your phone unlocked while on social media, it’s a cute handle, I’ll give you that.”
“Does he know I’m ‘Kylessmile?’”I ask, suddenly this being the most important question in the world.
“I sincerely doubt it, but maybe you should tell him.I know he appreciates the positivity from that account.”
I scrape the leftover food from the plates into the bin, run the sink with hot water and bubbles, and look in the cupboards for some rubber gloves.I manage to find a vibrant pink pair, and the look I get from Trish is priceless.“What?I don’t want the gross food to be soggy and wet in my hands and get under my fingernails.That’s an ick.”
“He says the exact same thing, that’s why he has around two dozen packs under the sink,” she says with a smile.“Finish this up and we’ll chill on the sofa with a movie until he comes home.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say as I continue to wash the dishes and then wipe the counters down.My thoughts are fully back on Kyle and how he is holding up.
Chapter 34
Kyle
I am not holding up well.At all.I try to keep my body as straight as I can, but my limbs feel like jelly sliding down a wall.Sitting across from Mum, a huge smile on her face, is actually making this worse, like she’sexpectingme to say something.Dad is in his usual spot, watching the football highlights.A cup of tea is in front of me—still untouched—and I’m sure Mum hasn’t blinked since I got here almost fifteen minutes ago.The clock on the far wall ticks away, and the tap from the sink drips out of sync with it.
“Mum, Dad…I have something to tell you,” I say, suddenly not wanting to tell them anything at all.Suddenly wanting the urge to run through the wall and never come back.And suddenly, my mum reaches a hand across the table and says, “What is it, son?’Erb, come in here a minute.Kyle wants to tell us something.”She looks at me,reallylooks at me, and gives me a warm smile.My dad makes his way into the kitchen and scrapes a chair across the linoleum floor.
“For heaven's sake, ’Erb.How many times have I told yer, lift t’ chairs,” she tuts at him and focuses back on me.
I take a deep breath.I can do this.It’s two words—maximum—and then I can run out here and head back home to AJ.
“I’m…well, you see, the thing is…” I shuffle in my seat and think of AJ, my anchor.“The photo with AJ and I from a few months back, the one in the alley?”They both nod.Mum still has her hands wrapped around mine.“That wasn’t a picture of him trying to hit me.”
“We know, you told us.’Aven’t ’ad too many hits on the ’ed, ’ave ’ye?”my dad, as unhelpful as ever, chimes in, which elicits a glare from Mum.
“AJwasgoingtokissme,” I say in one go, in the hopes it will lessen the blow.
“Why?”I don’t detect a tone in Dad’s voice.Mum is still holding my hands.
“I’m…I’m gay.And AJ he’s my, well, I want to call him my boyfriend.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Mum says.
“Get out,” Dad says, cutting over the top of her.The warmth of her hands leaves mine.“I saidget out.”
My heart races as I stand up from the kitchen table.
“‘Erb!That is no way to talk to our son.He needs us right now.”
“He’s no son of mine.Not while he’s a queer.A bleedin’ puff.”
“He’s stillour son,”my mum says to him.
I’m rooted to the spot.Tears are in my eyes.
“Dad.I’m sorry.I’m sorry I have disappointed you.I’m still your son, though.”I wipe a tear from my eyes and make my way to the front door.“And even though you don’t love me.I will always love you.That’s the kind of person you raised.To love someone, despite their differences and their background.”
I leave the house and hear Mum calling after me; she’s outside when I turn to see her shutting the front door behind her.“Give him time, son.Please.”She wipes my tear-stained cheeks.
