inkspresso

you ungrateful little bastard

The couple had completely moved into the new apartment by the end of July. Zach was on a little two week vacation before school started, and Jack was preparing their bags to Texas. He has carefully put the pearl earrings and necklace into the travel jewellery box they shared.

Zach was happily making them some dinner when his phone started ringing. He checks who's calling him: ry. He furrows his eyebrows. Ryan never calls him unless there's any kind of emergency.

"Hello, Ry? Is everything okay?" He asks worriedly.

"Fucking peachy." He scoffs.

"Woah, mind the language, what's wrong?'

"You're an absolute asshole, you know?" He chuckles humourlessly. "Of course you don't. You're always too busy riding Jack's dick, aren't you?"

Jack perks up when he hears his lover raise his voice. "Ryan Herron, what in the goddamn hell has gotten into you!?" He decides to go check out what's going on.

"What's gotten into me? What in the hell has gotten into you!?" He raises his voice. "You abandoned Reese and I in Texas, and now you're just pretending we don't exist and now you're adopting twins!?"

"I didn't abandon you." He grits out.

"Oh, you didn't!? It sure as hell seems like it. You completely ignored us ever since you got with Jack!"

"How dare you say that!?" He scoffs. "Do you even know what I've been through to make sure you two were alive and well? To make sure you two had food on your goddamn plates!?" He raises his voice as he slams the wooden spoon on the counter. "I had to give up on my life to raise you, you ungrateful little bastard!"

Jack's eyes widen. He has never seen him this angry.

"I had to give up a fully paid scholarship in London. I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, could barely take care of myself, so you guys could have everything!" His voice cracks. "I am not your father, Ryan! Yet I spent my whole life acting like your father because our parents are absolute shit." He breathes heavily. "So do not dare calling me an asshole for wanting to claim a life for myself!" His voice is raw with pain.

Silence settles on the other side of the line.

Zach continues. "And I'll tell you more."He sneers. "They wanted to drag you and Reese into a boarding school and then force you to get in the military, and I stopped them. I sacrificed my childhood, my teenage years, for you two. So do not even fucking dare calling me an asshole!" His voice quivers.

Still, silence.

Jack approaches him hesitantly. "Babe... are you okay?"

He lifts a finger, signing him to wait. "Answer me, Ryan." He demands. He starts hearing some sniffs on the other side. He looks down. "Ry... talk to me."

All Jack heard are some sobs where he can hardly understand what's being said. But Zach, the image of patience, hears him out.

"Can I speak now?" His voice is quiet. "Ry, I sent you guys there because I couldn't take care of you properly just by myself. It was a safety measure I took for yourselves because you deserve a proper household with grams and granps. Because they're more our parents than our own parents." He sighs. "I don't think that what I'm doing with Jack is rushed." He looks at his lover and smiles softly. "We're not experts, but we'll have help... I'd like to count of you guys to help as well."

"Let me talk to him." Jack mumbles.

Zach shakes his head. "Ry, it's different." He explains. "I'm choosing to do this. I'm not being forced to do it -"