All You Need Is Love | MxM

3. Metaphorical Bombs

Dawson's POV:

"You're moving to LA??" Mum almost choked on her coffee. Slamming her mug on the kitchen counter, she glared at me.

"It's because of work, I've been assigned to be the manager at a branch of our restaurant there. It's not like I want to leave you here." I lied, trying to ignore her glares.

I was lying because I had requested the HR for the transfer. I had literally begged them to let me move as far away as possible. I couldn't tell mum that I wanted to move so far away because of her. It wasn't because I hated my mum, no, it was the entire opposite. 

"What will you do all alone in an unknown city? You don't even have any friends there! If only you had someone to rely on—"

That was exactly why I wanted to move far away from her. Whenever we talked, it always came around to me being single at the age of twenty-seven, and according to mum, that was a threat to my sanity. And ever since she had reached the conclusion that I was attracted to guys, it was even worse than before.

"Let him leave if he wants to go so bad." A voice sounded behind me. I looked over my shoulder as my brother walked in the kitchen, smiling ear to ear. His flashy clothes and the pair of sunglasses perched on top of his head made him look like a stereotypical rich boy.

"Didn't know you'll be here too, Hans." I gave him a smile, bumping my knuckles with his outstretched fist. "Elle didn't come with you?"

"Mum said you were visiting today, so I decided to drop by. Elle was right behind me, I'll go check on her." As Hanson went out to go look for his twin, Mum cleared her throat, making me snap my attention towards her.

"So you're moving to LA, huh?"

"Uh, yeah…"

"Where in LA?"

"Los Feliz."

"Wait, really??" Her eyes widened and a smile bloomed on her face.

"Yeah, why are you asking?" I had a weird feeling about this, and it became hard to keep up my smile.

Before mum could respond, Hanson came back with Giselle in tow. "What's going on? You look rather happy now."

"Dawson is moving to Los Feliz!" Mum squealed, clasping her hands together.

"Los Feliz??" Hanson echoed.

"Yep."

"That's good. He can stay at your friend Heather's place until he settles there." Giselle dropped a bomb, smirking at me.

"That's exactly what I had in mind. I was so worried at first but when he told me, I remembered that I have a friend in Los Feliz."

"There's no way I'm staying at her place, she's so overly sweet. You know me, mum. I don't easily adjust to strangers. This is just impossible." I glared at Giselle which made her smile sheepishly.

"Mum was planning on introducing you to Heather's daughter and you don't even wanna go there." Hans thought that it was the best time to drop another bomb.

"What's the meaning of this Mum? Didn't I tell you that—"

"That was before I knew you like guys, sweetie. Hans is just trying to make me look bad." She smacked at his arm, earning a wince from him.

"I'm not just trying." He chuckled, moving farther away from Mum.

"Cut it, Hans." I wasn't in the mood for his playfulness. I was sure he sensed my feelings as he stilled at his spot, head cocked to the side, almost looking like a puppy.

"Listen to me, Dawson. Heather lives with her son Bram, he's around your age. Her daughter Lisa lives nearby but she visits a lot. They are nice people, dear."

"I don't want to impose on them."

"You won't be imposing. They usually put up the second floor of their house for rent, I'll talk to her and arrange it for you. I'm sure she'll be delighted to have you as a tenant."

I kept quiet for a few heartbeats, weighing the pros and cons. If I disagreed to stay at Heather's place Mum would find another way to make sure I wasn't in any fatal danger. But if I agreed, I would have to tolerate the fake-ass woman mum called her friend.

In the end, I decided to go with being the tenant of Heather McCarthy.