by Rhys Everly
“With you,” he added and clinked glasses.
Yeah, a future with Hudson didn’t sound so bad.
In fact, it didn’t sound bad at all.
Thirty-Five
Hudson
“That’s great, Hudson,” Nathan said, poring over my Science mock exam.
“Really? I thought I really sucked on Question Five about Newton’s Law,” I said and lifted the funky cup of coffee next to me and relished in its deliciousness.
I really couldn’t believe I’d never ever been to Espresso Tops before and had been missing out on their great coffee. It was miles better than the beans we used at Espresso Blues, and their milk was organic, which was even better.
“Well, screw Newton’s Law. You got twenty-five out of thirty questions right. That’s a great improvement. We can study Newton a bit more, but give it a few more weeks, and you’ll be ready to take your Science exam. Which reminds”—he looked up with a semi-stern face—“did you book your Reasoning Through Language Arts exam?”
I hid my face behind my cup and gave him some pretty serious eye-fluttering.
“Baby!” he exclaimed, and immediately his eyes widened, and he looked around to make sure no one had heard us.
I loved the word coming out of his lips. And the more time we spent together, the more I didn’t care about anyone finding out.
With one exception, of course.
“Sorry,” Nathan apologized, but I just smiled at him and ran my foot over his. “Hey, these are new sneakers. Don’t ruin ‘em.” He laughed.
He gave me an evil, hot glare as he tried to take a sip of his coffee, only he spilled some on the front of his shirt.
“You know, for a genius, you’re real clumsy,” I teased him and handed him some tissues to dry the stain.
“Well, what can I say? We geniuses only have so much capacity for smart shit before we lose mundane functions,” he said with an eye roll.
“Like control of your lips? I would think that’s not a mundane function,” I said.
“No?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.
“I would hope not. Otherwise, whose lips am I going to kiss every night?”
Nathan grinned, and I felt a strong urge to lean over the table and kiss him, or even brush his cheek. Or even just kiss his cheek. But I restrained myself.
Frankly, it still felt like a dream. What had happened two weeks ago in front of the high school gates. Since we started dating. I was very much aware that I’d wake up one day and find myself back on the farm, stuck with Dad and no way out.
Romeo stirred underneath the table, and we both looked at him. He raised his head and watched the door, his tail pinging left and right in excitement.
“Uh-oh,” I said as soon as I looked at the other dog that had just come in. It was a puppy spaniel, and it got so excited when it saw Romeo, it started yapping at him.
Nathan reached down and grabbed his lead before Romeo could bounce off toward the puppy and managed to make him stop with a treat.
It had only been two weeks, but Nathan’s constant training was making Romeo more and more tame than I’d ever seen him before.
The puppy approached with its owner, and Romeo bent his head to sniff at its butt while Nathan was trying to soothe Romeo so he didn’t snap.
The spaniel kept bouncing in the same spot until Romeo laid down in front of it, and the spaniel decided to flop itself next to him.
“I’m so sorry,” the owner said, and I looked up at him.
His face looked familiar. He had short blond hair and a patchy stubble, but his eyes were covered by sunglasses.
His head stayed trained on me, which was really uncomfortable considering I didn’t know what was going on.
He was probably a resident who still thought I’d set the gym on fire. Yeah, that was probably it.
“That’s okay,” Nathan said, filling in the silence between us and the stranger. “Your pup is really cute. Is it a he or a she?”
The man shook his head and looked down at his dog.
“She. Layla,” he said, and his voice awoke something inside me, but I couldn’t understand why.
It was like I’d met him before but I didn’t know where, and the fact that he still had his glasses on inside didn’t help me pin down his face.
“I... I should leave you two alone,” he said and pulled at Layla, who resisted at first, but then got up and hesitantly walked away from Romeo.
The man went up to the counter to order a coffee, and I tried to turn my attention to Nathan.
“That was weird,” I said.
Nathan nodded and then grinned.
“But good job, Romeo! You’re learning fast,” he said and patted Romeo’s head affectionately.
The little bastard even dared to go and sit next to Nathan and beg for more cuddles. He’d been doing that since we started hanging out around town to study, or talk, or make out.
“Where do you want to eat later? Are you ready to swing by my dad’s?” Nathan asked.
That made me look up from my dog to my boyfriend.
“Are you?” I asked him.
It had only been a week since the Halloween party, and the whole town had heard what happened there, even if they weren’t there themselves.
“Straight and widowed man picks up his new employee as a boy toy and declares his love for him in front of the whole town.”
Or, at least, that was how Mrs. Vaughn’s version went. The real version was much kinder, but the news was still doing the rounds. So much so that the bar business had picked up just from curious residents alone.
“I told you. I’m fine. It will take getting used to, but I know they love each other.”
I raised an eyebrow and pursed my lips.
“What?” he asked. “Does it give me the creeps? Yeah. But Kyle’s still my friend, and Dad is still... well, my dad. I’m happy for them. I can’t keep them away just because it gives me the heebie jeebies.”
“I believe you, baby,” I said and put my hand on his before I thought about it.
Nathan smiled and seemed to revel in my public touch before his face turned serious again.
“So. Lunch at my dad’s or not? I promised Kyle we’d drop by sooner rather than later,” he said.
“Okay,” I said. “Sure.”
If Nathan was ready, then why would I have any qualms about it?
We stayed at the café for another half hour, and as we left, I noticed the man and the spaniel were still there, watching Nathan and I leave.
Romeo tried to pull toward Layla to say goodbye to his new friend, but Nathan led him away.
“What a weird dude,” I said.
Nathan looked over and agreed with me, absent-mindedly, and we made our way to Andy’s Bar that had a line outside waiting for a table.
“Looks like we’re out of luck,” I said.
“Yeah, that doesn’t look promising,” Nathan said.
“We could go back to mine,” I told him. “Dad should be busy with the farm all day, and I can cook you my famous veggie casserole.”
“Famous?” Nathan asked.
“All around the farm,” I said. “Dad loves it. Romeo loves it. The cows love it.”
Nathan punched my arm playfully, and I grabbed it to pull him closer to me.
I pinned him against me and he looked up at me, need written across his face. This would be the last step in our relationship. To gaining his trust fully.
Nathan was out. It wasn’t a secret who he was. I had to find the guts eventually and face up to my dad, whatever the consequences, in order to be with him. It wasn’t fair on Nathan to ask him to be a secret.
It still surprised me how the kiss at the reunion hadn’t made it through the rumor mill. So maybe it wasn’t going to be that bad if I kissed him. Or maybe the youth of Cedarwood Beach weren’t interested in gossip. So perhaps kissing wouldn’t hurt either.
Just a little bit. Just a quick peck. I wanted to.
So I did.
; Nathan closed his eyes, and when my lips brushed with his, he smiled.
He opened his eyes and looked around us.
“What are you looking for?” I asked.
“The end of the world starting,” he smirked.
“No,” I said. “No end of the world. Just a new beginning.”
He gave me another kiss, then turned his head toward the direction we’d come from and froze.
I didn’t need to ask him what he’d seen. I turned to find the stranger with the spaniel staring at us.
“Staring’s rude, you know,” Nathan shouted at them, and the guy jolted and turned back around. “Weird dude, indeed,” he said when he turned back to me.
“Do you recognize him?”
“No, I don’t think so. Anyway. Forget about the weirdo. Are you sure your dad won’t mind me coming over? I don’t want to cause you two problems,” he said.
“We have problems with or without you, babe,” I told him. “So I don’t care. Just promise me you’ll tell him to fuck off if he says anything about your dad.”
Nathan smirked.
“I’d love to, but that will only set things on fire,” he said.
We walked to his car and drove back, taking a detour for a make-out, but even though I’d have loved to take it further, my tummy rumbled and we decided we had to eat something before we withered away.
“I mean, I’ve got deposits, but you will literally crumble if you don’t eat,” Nathan chuckled, nudging me with his elbow.
We approached the farm and when we got closer, I spotted Dad outside the house walking around in circles.
Nathan and I looked at each other before we stepped out of the car, and as we got closer and I opened my mouth to ask him what was going on, Dad stormed right at me.
“You, ungrateful child,” he shouted and fisted his hand into my shirt.
Romeo started barking next to Nathan, but all I could focus on was Dad’s angry face.
“I give you a roof, food, a job, and that’s how you repay me?” he said raising his hand, but just as he was about to strike me, Nathan yelled.
“What the hell are you doing?” he said. “Stop it.”
His hands wrapped around Dad’s and tried to keep it from hurting me.
I wanted to tell him to stop. To run away. To get away from that asshole that could hurt him just for the fun of it. But I was too stunned to do anything.
“You, shut up, you sissy. I’ll deal with you later,” Dad said and pushed Nathan away.
That brought me to my senses real quick.
“Don’t touch him,” I yelled at him.
“I will do whatever the fuck I want. Don’t you have any decency? Do you have to parade your faggot friend around town? Kiss him in front of everyone?” he hissed.
Kiss? How the hell...
I should have known this was going to happen. Why hadn’t I been thinking clearly? If I had, none of this would be happening.
Nathan wouldn’t be involved in this shit, and he wouldn’t walk away from me when he realized what a coward I was. That a six-foot-six guy was scared of his own dad.
I wanted to reason with Dad. I wanted to explain or to tell him to fuck off, to leave me in peace. But I couldn’t find the courage to do any of those things.
Dad raised his hand again to strike me when a car pulled up behind us, and he stopped.
Dad looked behind me, and I turned to see who had just arrived. It was the stranger with the spaniel.
What the hell was he doing here? Was he stalking Nathan and I?
“Is that how you look after our son, Jake?” the guy said, and I winced.
What the fuck was he talking about? What son?
“Julia?” Dad mumbled.
“It’s Julian now. Not that I’d expect you to respect that,” the guy said and took his glasses off as he came closer.
The grey eyes, the shape of his face... I could tell he was my mom without a doubt. I’d never forgotten what she looked like. I’d always kept her picture by my bedside—the only one I’d managed to save before my dad threw all of them in the garbage.
Now I understood why the guy looked familiar and why I hadn’t been able to recognize him with his glasses on.
But what the hell was happening? Why was he back? After all these years?
“Mom?” I managed to utter, and he looked at me with a pained face. His eyes were red, and I could tell he wanted to come over but was holding back.
“What the hell do you want here? Huh? You remembered you had a child?” Dad shouted, and I felt a very strong urge to shut his mouth. Or knock him out so the adults could have a conversation.
“You promised you’d take care of him. Look after him. Be a decent father. Is that how you’ve been treating him?” Julian said.
“That stopped being your business when you walked away,” Dad said.
“I-I walked away?” Julian scoffed. “You’ve got quite the balls to say that to my face.”
“Well, someone’s got to have the balls in this family since it looks like your son took after you,” Dad said.
“I thought you said I was influencing him. You need to make up your mind about the whole brainwashing thing, Mr. Bell—” Nathan said, and I looked at him.
“You can shut right up. You and your family are a bad influence for this town. All those faggots prancing around like it’s normal,” Dad screamed, and this time I did turn around and pushed him away from me.
“Don’t talk to him like that,” I shouted.
“I should have known you were never going to change,” Julian said. “I should have known you’d be the same cunt you always were.”
I exchanged a look with Nathan, who grimaced and chuckled very discreetly. It was good to see he hadn’t lost his sense of humor despite this bullshit I’d dragged him into. I hoped he never lost that.
In fact, I’d make sure he never lost it.
“Well, if you cared, you wouldn’t have run away and pretend you’re a guy,” Dad said. “At least I stayed. I tried. I cared for him.”
It was my turn to laugh.
“Cared? Jesus, we should get you the ’World’s Best Dad’ award, Dad. You never cared about me. You never tried. You’ve always been a boss. Not a dad, Jack!”
I’d never called him by his first name, but now that I did, I couldn’t find it in me to call him my father again.
Jack Bell should have never been a father.
“If you don’t like it, you can leave,” Jack shouted at me.
I didn’t care what I was going to do or where I was going to go at that moment. I could worry about that when I finally turned my back on the asshole.
Instead, I walked past him and into the house.
“Fine,” I said.
“I’ll help you,” Nathan said and came with me, leaving my two shitty parents at a standoff outside.
Thirty-Six
Nathan
“Okay, that, I did not see coming,” I said as we walked inside and Hudson barreled up the stairs.
Romeo tried to run up past him, but his lead was too short, so instead, he ran side by side with him as I climbed the stairs behind them both.
When we got to the attic, Hudson stood in the middle and did circles around himself.
The more he did, the heavier he breathed until he had to shield his eyes with his hands and sit down.
“Baby, it’s okay. It’s all going to be okay,” I said and helped him to the bed.
“It’s not… though. What… am I going… to do?” he said between heavy breathing. “Where… am I going… to go?”
“You’ll come with me. You can stay at my home,” I told him, and he glanced at me with exasperation.
“I can’t intrude on your family home,” he said.
“You’re not. Do you know how happy Yaya will be to feed another mouth,” I told him.
He took my hand in his and gave it a good squeeze.
“Nathan, babe, let’s be realistic. I can’t stay with your family while y
ou’re off in college. That’s weird,” he said.
I laughed.
“You really are silly, aren’t you? It’s just temporary. At least until we find an apartment in New Harlow,” I said, brushing some of his hair behind his ear.
“Isn’t it a little early for that?” he asked.
I raised an eyebrow and looked from him to Romeo, who was staring at both of us, his nose settled somewhere between our knees.
“First of all, I’ve known you my whole life, so no, it’s not a little early. Second of all, we’re kind of in a pickle here, so you know, we have to make the best of whatever situation we’ve been thrown into. We can get separate bedrooms if you want. If you feel that’s moving too fast,” I said. “Then we’ll be more like roommates. Who are dating. And occasionally sucking each other’s dicks.”
Hudson laughed, and I took a moment to appreciate his smile amidst all the crap.
“I’d like that,” he said. “But no separate bedrooms. Or Romeo will completely betray me.”
We both looked at Romeo, who sniffled, and we both bent down to pet his fur.
“How are you feeling?” I asked him, afraid to bring the mood down again, but we were supposed to be up here packing.
“I-I don’t know. My mom is back and is a dude. My dad is an asshole as usual. I’m just beyond confused. I don’t know what’s going on, and I’ve got a far more pressing issue of how the hell I’m gonna pack everything.”
I looked around his room and shrugged.
“Well, you don’t have much to start with. Just take the important stuff, and everything else we can replace,” I said.
“I guess,” he said and got up.
He found a gym bag stuffed in his closet and took it out, throwing some clothes in.
I walked over to the attic window and looked over at his two parents who seemed to be having a go at each other.
Did Hudson’s mom leave because he was trans, or was he made to leave? It was no secret Jack was a grade-A douche. It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
But what had made Julian come back after all these years?
“Why is he back?” I asked Hudson while still staring out the window. “I mean, why do you think?”
