I Think I Just Legalized Love

Chapter 2

2

I get home around eight, as if my parents would ever know, actually. They always get home around ten o’ clock at night. I don’t know what they do that makes them get home so late, but I guess it’s important if it means making your son take care of himself twenty-four seven.

            I drop my back pack on a chair in the kitchen table. I walk into the den, and see my mom crying and my dad comforting her. Mom springs from her chair and hugs me tightly, and I hug back a little bit, but I’m confused.

            “What’s going on?” I ask.

            “Where the hell were you?” Dad spits at me.

            “A classmate’s house. We were working on a project. The family gave me some dinner to be nice. That’s it.” That’s so wrong. I was doing just regular homework with a nice girl who I think I’m friends with now.

            “Did you forget we were coming home early today?” Dad spits again.

            “I didn’t forget, I didn’t know.” I stare at them both. I hate feeling sensitive because it makes me want to cry a lot. I hold the tears in, and decide to tell them something. Not that I’m gay, hell no. I say, “I never see you guys, and I take care of myself. What do you even do? This is the first time in probably over a whole damn month –.”

            “Don’t swear,” dad interrupts but I don’t stop.

            “– that I’ve seen you guys! Do you even know what my favorite color is? What do you know about me?”

            They don’t say anything. “When’s my birthday?” It was last week.

            “It’s in two days,” Dad says. Why isn’t Mom saying anything?

            “It was last week.” I wait for a reaction, but there is none. Dad keeps his sour face, and Mom keeps a sorrow face. I don’t say anything as I walk to my room. I slam the door behind me and sit at my desk. I look at my eye and my cheek and they just have bruises, but it still hurts a lot. I take off my shirt and touch my stomach. It doesn’t hurt. That pain didn’t hurt for too long, and I kind of doubt it did anything too bad.

            The door bell rings, and I get up and get it before Dad, in case it is Abby. I open the door and there she is. “Hey,” she says. I turn around and then back at Abby. I walk outside and close the door.

            “Hey,” I say. “Is this quick? My parents might question me.”

            “Yeah. You left your phone.” Abby hands me my phone and I put it in my pocket. “Also – um – My family is going to DC this summer. We’re gonna be there for a month. They wanted to know if you wanted to come.”

            “Washington DC? I don’t know. My parents are idiots.”

            “Okay. Tell me if you can come soon. We’re planning it out now. “

            Abby leaves and I walk back inside. Mom is at the kitchen table a couple feet away, and I just start walking back to my room. “Jason,” Mom says, so I stop. “Sit for a minute.”

            “Why?” I ask, but I don’t turn to her.

            “I want to talk.” I sigh, and sit. I avoid eye contact as much as I can, and pick at the skin around my finger nails. “I’m sorry about what happened. We’ve been really busy.”