We're Still Human

Chapter 29: Letters and Lines

Helping Kendall unpack Kaitlyn's almost empty room has never been so painstakingly miserable. Kennie and I thought that it would be easy to move her stuff around, but every five seconds, my girlfriend either finds out some big sister lore or she cries over the smallest thing.

By the way, she's on her period before we judge her.

I try to pull the box out the wardrobe, failing to as it's full of books and envelopes. I look back to see how my girlfriend's doing, and she's over there stuffing her face with chocolate while crying to a skims commercial.

"Their bodies are artificial, and yours aren't. Stop comparing yourself, Ken," I tell her, trying to pull out the box.

"But they're so pretty," she whines.

"And you're gorgeous, now come on, this box is hard to move," I urge her.

"You're strong. You got this." She says. "Plus, you're like the stud between us, right?" She jokes.

"No labels in this relationship, and there's no way you said that when you hit a volleyball like you're punching Mike Tyson," I quip as she comes to join me. "Now that's more like it, King Kennie."

She chuckles, her hand brushing against mine as she grips one corner of the box. "You called me that just to prove a point, didn't you?"

"It worked, didn't it?" I wink at her. "Okay, on 3, we pull. 1-"

"3."

Kennie and I pull the box together, the grunts sound a bit suspicious to the outside world. The box budged a bit, and we pulled again, the box budging even more. I dig my nails into the cardboard, looking at my girlfriend and nodding at her. Her eyes land on my hands, and she follows suit, locking the cardboard with her nails. We pull one more time, and the box flies out, causing Kendall and I to fall with the box.

We laugh it off, smiling at each other. She then sits up and wipes her pants, helping me up in the process.

"You're right, no labels because we both suck at this," Kendall laughs, grabbing the kitchen knife. "Ready to pop this bad boy open?"

I raise my hands up. "Whenever you are."

She sighs, and then the next minute, her knife is gliding across the duct tape. She rips the box open, a gasp escaping her lips as she picks up clothes and a letter. I look inside, noticing an envelope, and pulling it out as Kendall goes into a corner to read the letter. I can hear Kendall begin to sob quietly as I pat down the envelope with mine and Kendall's name on it, accidentally opening it, my eyes widening.

"Kendall..." I whisper, trying to put the money back into one place. "Kendall, you need to see this."

She comes over to me, hugging me. "Yasmina..."

I stand up and stare at the 100 dollar notes, shaking my head. "Why did she leave this?"

"She left it for you and I," Kennie explains. "She... she wrote it in the letter."

I look at the paper in her hand, and I cock my head to the side. "Is it okay if I read the letter?"

Kendall blushes, shaking her head. "Maybe... maybe not yet. Just put the money back in the envelope and come with me, I want to show you something-"

My phone begins to ring, and I immediately look at it, Sanele's name on my screen. I show Kendall, and she nods, to which I answer the call, putting it on loud.

"Sanele," I greet. "How's home?"

"We can get to that in a minute. I just...are you alone or are you with Kendall?"

I gulp. "Are you alone?"

Sanele groans. "Thando."

I roll my eyes. "Yes, I'm with my girlfriend."

Sanele briefly stays silent. "Give Kendall the phone, I want to talke to her."

Kendall looks at me as I mute. "Why the fuck does he want to talk to me?"

"Only one way to find out." I toss the phone to her. "If you don't want to, just give it back to me. I promise you Sanele doesn't bite."

Kendall scoffs. "Your mom bites, though." She takes the phone off mute. "Sanele, it's me... Kendall."

"I couldn't tell." His voice oozing with sarcasm.

"Don't get smart with me, I'll hang up and flee the country with your sister," Kendall states. "What do you want?"

"Okay, I want you to bring Yasmina over to the same location Yasmina met my mom at."

I grab the phone. "Sorru babe," I apologize to Kendall before returning to the phone. "If this is some ambush-"

"Mom wants to talk to you. She wants both of you."

"Sanele," I think carefully about what I'm about to say next. "Kait isn't here anymore. If something happens, what are we going to do? I want to keep Kennie safe, okay?"

"Sthandwa sami (my love), Kait wasn't the only adult that can protect you and your girlfriend. I'm here too," Sanele says. "I just need you to trust me."

"Sanele-"

"I told dad, alright?"

I gasp, looking at Kennie. "You told him what?"

There's a pause at the end of the line. "I told him I'm gay."

Kendall's cheeks tint pink, and she steps closer to me, her hand intertwining with mine. "How... how did he react?"

A longer pause. "He has always known."

Right then and there, my faith and hope in my parents accepting me started coming back. If dad can accept Sanele, a rising doctor, perfectionist brother... then there's some hope for me, right?

There has to be.

"And mom...?"

"This is why I need you two here today. I'll drive you home if need be, just come, okay?"

I stare at Kendall, who places the phone on mute. "Look, Yasmina, can you handle another confrontation?"

"Can you?" I ask in concern.

She shrugs. "If this is what you want, then I'll do it. I just need to make sure you're fine with this."

"I can handle it," I reassure her, squeezing her hand. "Only if you're with me."

Kendall gazes at me before nodding. "Always."

I take the phone off mute, kissing my girlfriend real quick. "We'll be there."

"6 PM, sharp. Don't be late, you know how mom is." Sanele hangs up, and I let out a sigh.

"I guess we'll really see how she is tonight," Kendall quips, putting the letter in her pocket.

"How about what Kait sa-"

"That can wait, babe. We have bigger fish to fry," Kendall says. "Well, shall we?"

I keep my eyes on the corner of the paper sticking out her jacket, and then nod. "Let's go."