My Name Is...

My Name Is...

Chapter Zero: My Name Is...

 "You're what?!" I scream in disbelief. My mother stares at me with her big doe eyes that scream innocence, but are truly as dark as the promises Satan gave Adam and Eve. My father sits next to her on the couch across from me with his arm draped lazily over her shoulders. They make a good couple, I have to admit. My mother was always sunshine and rainbows, and my father always so stiff and poker-faced. I always assumed that was because opposites attract, but now I'm starting to reconsider that. Maybe they never matched, and they were just acting all those years. 

My parents had what you would call a shotgun marriage. In their case it was no exaggeration. My grandfather was in the front row of their backyard wedding with his shotgun laid across his lap. He died a few months ago, and I can firmly say my father was overjoyed at the sight. I had always thought before his death that my parents were happy with each other. They'd lead a perfect life minus the hitch in the road that was my older brother. Somehow they both managed to complete college in spite of having a baby in their Senior year of High School, and they both became fairly well-known in the psychology field on top of that. 

I came along in their Senior year of college, and we all lived happily together until just a few seconds ago. Now my head is spinning trying to process what they just told me. You would think that they just told me of a new sibling on the way judging from the bright smile my mother is flashing me, but in truth it is the complete and utter opposite.

"You're getting divorced? Are you kidding me?! You two have never fought once, and you're telling me that you want to end the marriage you have had for roughly twenty years?!" I sputter. Across from me my mother's eyebrows start to knit together, and her bottom lip starts to tremble. I sigh and dig my fingers into my scalp. She's going to start it again. I swear to God the woman still uses the tricks she learned back in preschool. My father brings her to his chest as her tears start to spill over. Again, how can these people be getting divorced?!

"Randy, shut it. Seriously! People can just get divorced, you know? It happens all the time!" Gale mutters from beside me. I spin around in my seat to face the scum that is my elder brother. How can people just get divorced?! It DOES NOT work that way. Divorce involves fighting and anger, not comfort and support! I look at my parents from the corner of my eye. They are at it again. My mother is pressed to his chest and they are talking like they are the best friends in the world. To think that I thought this is what love looked like for the longest time. How could I be so wrong?!

"Can you at least tell me why?!" I argue. I watch in horror as my mother lips peel up to show a toothy smile. 

"We never loved each other. Obviously." she answers in that stupidly happy tone. My jaw drops as she replies to my question. How could they have never loved each other?! If there was never any love then how did Gale and I come to be? My head spins as I try to process all of this information. Why is this happening to me? I am supposed to have a good year this year. It's my sixteenth year of life on this forsaken planet. This year is supposed to be a new start for me. Why is this happening now?! 

"Why?" I breath out. My voice is hoarse and my mother gives me a worried look, but why should she care? Gale looks at me with the same icy blue eyes I have. He looks puzzled, but I can't imagine why. 

"You do know dad is gay, right?" he questions. I choke as if I were to take a spit take, yet with no water added to the mix. My