Untitled

Chapter Twelve

  The second Alek was alone with his parents, their perfect facades wore off. His mother's expression was blank and his father looked furious and disgusted.
  "Why did we leave? What happened?" Alek asked, making sure his tone was calm.
  "What happened is you are ruining your life, Aleksander!" Michael huffed loudly.
  "What do you mean? What did I do?" Alek was extremely confused.
  "You have a wonderful, beautiful girlfriend and you're jeopardizing it by...associating with..the lower class." Michael seemed to choose his words carefully.
  Alek chuckled. "The lower class is my boyfriend and I don't have feelings for Chloe. I never have."
  "You've been dating for years, that means you feel something!" Michael said.
  "Yeah! I feel fucking scared! Of you! I have been fucking terrified my entire life, thinking that you were going to hate me and kick me out because of something I can't control and look, I was fucking right! That's why I've been with her! Not because I feel anything for her! I never did and I never will because I don't like girls! I'm fucking gay, dad!" Alek huffed.
  "No you're not!" Michael snapped. Alek flinched. "You make things way more complicated than they need to be. It's really not that difficult, Aleksander."
  "What? Faking it? Maybe not for you. But for me it's the hardest fucking thing I've ever had to do and I'm sick of it! I want to be happy!" Alek yelled. His hands were shaking, but he couldn't be quiet anymore.
  "You have a lovely companion in Chloe. You can be happy with her. You can lead a normal life." Michael said.
  Alek laughed humorlessly. "There you go again with that fucking word. Everything is normal, you just don't fucking like it! That doesn't make it abnormal, it makes you a homophobic dick!"
  "Do not fucking talk to me that way!" Michael yelled, harshly grabbing the front of Alek's shirt. "You have a home and a loving family. You have a wonderful girlfriend. And we have a lot of employees at this club. Losing one wouldn't harm our business in any way. But it would reassure us that two thousand dollars a month would not being going into the wrong hands. You understand what I'm saying?"
  "Are you threatening to fire Sebastien if I don't break up with him?" Alek laughed, his voice now shaking along with his hands.
  There was a long, silent pause. Michael let go of Alek, making him stumble backwards.
  "I heard you got into UCLA. It would look good on your social media accounts and would promote our family in a positive way. I think you should go." Michael said, crossing his arms.
  Alek stared at his parents blankly. "Are you fucking serious?"
  "I think college would be a good experience for you. And it is more fun when you're not tied down." Michael shrugged.
  "So I don't have to fake date Chloe?" Alek raised his eyebrows.
  "There are plenty of girls at UCLA that I'm sure would jump at the chance to be with you. College is a normal reason to break up. I think she, and everyone else, would better understand that." Michael said.
  Alek nodded and laughed humorlessly. "So, you're serious? You're really going to fire Sebastien if we stay together?"
  "You don't want to give up your basketball scholarship at UCLA just to end up homeless and jobless, do you?" Michael quirked a brow. His dark eyes made Alek's stomach churn uncomfortably.
  Alek wanted to scream and punch him in the face. He always fucking does this. Avoids fully admitting the shit he's doing so he can deny it later and get away with it. He always twists his words in ways that make it so hard for Alek to say no.
  "I don't understand why you're doing this. Why do you care who I love? It has nothing to do with you." Alek sighed.
  "It has everything to do with me, Aleksander! You are a reflection of me and our family! Our company and our investments! Everything you do matters! You can't be selfish in this life, Aleksander! It's not a fairytale, where you can live out all of your weird fantasies! This is real life! You have to think logically and about your future!" Michel yelled.
  "I'm not being selfish! I'm just living! You're the one being selfish! Always telling me what to do and never letting me be happy! That's fucking selfish! I do so fucking much just because you tell me to! That is not selfish!"
  "Right, it's obedience! Which you should have because I am your father and I still support you financially. You want an example of you being selfish!? You're so irresponsible with my money. You spend $200 every week at the exact same place, what the hell is that about!?"
  "Therapy! I've been going to fucking therapy every week for two fucking years! If you cared enough to pay attention, maybe you'd realize that!" Alek yelled, uncrossing his arms.
  "Obviously it's not working, given your current...situation." Michael eyed him up and down. "I assume you talk about me? You best not be saying things you shouldn't."
  Alek scoffed. "Are you fucking serious!? You're the one who needs fucking therapy! It has been a wonderful, learning experience for me and you don't even care! You're just adding onto the shit that I'm going for! At least I know I'll keep her employed for the rest of my life, right!?"
  "Oh, you're going to a woman? There's your problem, Aleksander. A woman can't give you all of the help that you need."
  Alek wasn't even trying to hide his facial expressions. "Okay. I am going to walk away. because this is just...I can't do this."
  "Are you going to pack your shit or are you going to make a phone call?" Michael asked, crossing his arms. "I won't have any problem with twenty-eight hundred dollars staying in my bank account every month."
  Alek stared blankly at him for a second. He hated the circumstances. He would move out and get a working class job in a heartbeat if it meant he could be with Sebastien. But he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he knew that he was the reason Sebastien was jobless and possibly homeless. He was just starting to become financially stable. He could pay rent and still afford groceries every week. Alek couldn't take that security away from him. Who knows of he could find another job that pays well enough for him to comfortably get by. But Sebastien could definitely find another Alek. And he could definitely find someone who wasn't as complicated and difficult as him.
  The different possibly scenarios ran around Alek's mind. He couldn't help the feeling of fear that entered his body at the thought of an unknown situation. All he's known is stability and sameness. As much as he hates his life, he couldn't fathom the thought of it changing. And he wouldn't dare to put Sebastien in his position or anything close to it. He couldn't.
  Alek swallowed hard. "You're the dumbest fucking piece of shit if you think I'm doing it over the phone."
  His words had physical repercussions, but he didn't care anymore. He would rather feel the stinging and the bruising than continue to feel the way he does right now.
  "Stop being so fucking disrespectful!" Michael slapped Alek across the face, then grabbed the front of his shirt roughly. "You are going to do it, aren't you?"
  "You've given me the worst fucking ultimatum. I'm not putting my boyfriend on the fucking street! I couldn't live with myself if I fucked up his life just because I love him! How selfish of me, huh!?" Alek laughed humorlessly. Michael didn't like that. Alek felt a bruise slowly forming on his ribcage. Michael let go of Alek's shirt and pushed him towards the stairs. Alek choked, "After I do this, I'm not fucking talking to either of you! I'll do your fucking press shit and post whatever the managers tell me to, but outside of the media and business, I'm fucking done with you."
  "Don't be ridiculous, Aleksander. You will speak to us when we speak to you. We are doing this for your own good. Your life will be better after this." Michael said.
  "I don't.." Alek cleared his throat. "I'm- I don't know if I can do it."
  He looked between his parents, trying to sense any hint of guilt or sadness. His father's expression was stone cold and his mother wouldn't even look at him.
  "You will do it or you can say goodbye to UCLA and our money. You'll be homeless and he will no longer have a job nor will he be wanted by any business in the states. You know I can make things so much harder for you than they are now. Just try me." Michael said harshly with his arms crossed. "The press has just calmed down after the shit your brother said at Thanksgiving, and we cleared up the ugly rumor about you. Let's not go stirring shit up again."
  Alek swallowed and laughed humorlessly. He knows that it's going to hurt him, but before he knew it, he spat out "Fuck you."
  And although the aftermath was far from pleasant, it felt good to say.