The Driving Force to Love (MXM) ✔

Chapter 50

Dean Axle Lance

I had been thinking of him all day. I knew Tonio and Liz were going to meet with their parents to tell them they were getting a divorce. I didn't expect things to change much between me and Tonio. Unlike Liz, he didn't plan to come out yet. Maybe he never would. I hoped that Liz's parents would accept her and all of the parents would understand why they were getting divorced.

I was in my garage working on some metal art. It was getting later and later and Antonio still hadn't called me. I wasn't sure that was a good thing. If everything had gone well, I assumed he would have called me right away.

I finished with what I was working on and went into the bathroom to wash up for the night. When that was done, I went into the living room and sat on my couch. I turned on the t.v. to do something mindless.

My phone finally rang. "Hello," I answered immediately.

"Hi," Antonio said.

"How'd it go?" I asked. He didn't sound very happy so I was expecting it to have not gone well.

"Well," he said, "they thought we were joking at first when we told them we are getting a divorce. When Liz told them she was lesbian, it didn't go well." There was a long pause before he said, "I told them I am gay."

A cold shock ran through my system. "You told your parents you are gay?" I clarified because I had to be sure I was understanding the situation correctly.

"Yes," he said. Another long pause before he said, "That didn't go well either. Liz's parents tried to hit her so I tried to shield her, but then my padre started hitting me too. I just took her out of there without trying to calm the situation."

Images of my own parents hitting me flashed in my mind. I pushed them away. I had gotten good at that over the years.

"Have they hit you before?" I asked.

"Not like that," he said. "Maybe a little slap to the hands or butt when I was little as a disciplinary action, but nothing with such anger."

His voice didn't waver, but I wondered how he really was doing. It was probably a shock if his parents had never done anything like that before.

"After we talked to our parents, we went to my brother's house," he said. "I called Silvia on the way and told her I was gay. She is fine with it. My brother raised good kids."

"And how did your brother take it?"

He sighed. "I don't know. He tried to tell me we could pretend I never came out to my parents, but I don't want to do that. I don't want him to pretend I didn't come out. I don't want him to pretend with Olivia either. And I told him so. Then we left him and went to Liz's brother." For the first time that night, I heard a smile in his voice when he said, "Her brother hugged her and told her he loves her always."

At least there was someone who stood by them. "How's Liz doing?" I asked.

"She called Sarah as soon as we got home. Liz wasn't crying, but I thought she was having a hard time, so I sat with her until Sarah got here. As soon as Sarah walked through the door, Liz burst into tears. Sarah has just been holding her ever since. I left them on the couch downstairs to come up to my room and call you."

"How are you doing?" I asked.

He didn't reply for several moments and that told me he was lying when he said, "Okay."

"I'm coming over," I said.

"No," he said. "It's late."

"Sarah came over."