Peaked in High School

Parental Reinforcement

Waking up is antagonizing the next morning. Everett's alarm blares at 6:00 AM and he groggily reaches out to hit the snooze button on his phone. He lays there with his eyes closed for another couple of minutes.

Breaking up with Beau was not an easy decision to make, but he believes it was the right thing to do given the circumstances. He worries at his bottom lip as he thinks about their living situation. Not only is he ending things with the man, he will also have to kick him out of the house at some point as well.

Everett's stomach churns anxiously as he tries to process the guilt he feels for forcing Beau to find somewhere else to live. His former partner has been adjusting well to Sinting and really enjoys his job. Now, he'll likely have to leave it all behind if he can't find a place to stay in town.

Eventually, Everett forces himself out of bed to get dressed for work. He puts on his nice pants and button up before taking a breath and making his way out of the guest room and into the hallway. Immediately, he notices that the door to his bedroom is wide open as he walks to the stairs.

Upon entering the kitchen, he sees a note on the counter.

Everett -

I packed up my stuff and left behind the things that you bought me. You probably can't return all of that to the store at this point but maybe you can sell it online or some shit.

Hope we can talk again soon.

<3 B

Everett knows that he should feel relieved that Beau saw himself out, but his stomach twists uncomfortably in a confusing way despite this. He supposes that part of him wanted to see Beau one last time before he left.

He crumbles up the note and throws it into the trash.

Rubbing his eyes, he waits for his coffee to brew with his elbows on the counter and his face pressed into his hands. His migraine is still incredibly prevalent. It seems that no amount of ibuprofen can numb the pain he's been experiencing for the last week or so.

When his coffee is ready, he transfers it to a travel mug and drives to work. He feels like a ghost drifting through his building and haunting his cubicle. The day crawls by until he can finally leave around 3:30 PM.

Back at his house, he parks in the garage and enters into the basement where he hears noise coming from upstairs. His heart races and, for a second, he hopes that Beau stopped by to pick something up or to talk to him again. These hopes fade and are instead replaced by surprise when he walks into the kitchen.

"Mom? Dad?" He asks when he sees them milling around the area, seemingly trying to whip together a meal of some sort.

"Everett!" His mom exclaims with a wide smile on her face at the same time his dad shouts out, "Our favorite son!"

Laughing lightly, he walks over to give both of them a hug. "I'm your only son," he mutters into his dad's shoulder.

"That's not true!" He pats his son's back as he teases him.

Groaning, Everett backs away and takes a seat at the counter. "The dog doesn't count as another kid." He rolls his eyes jokingly.

"You take that back—he is our son and your brother. You owe Mr. Sailor an apology," his mom states with laughter in her voice. He didn't realize how much he missed his parents until now. The last couple of months have been an emotional rollercoaster, but they are making everything feel immediately better again. He wants to clutch onto his mom and bury his face in her shoulder like he used to do when he was little. Maybe then he can escape his current reality.