semi-automatic ; j.d

ninety one ; coming out

on the day of thanksgiving, mia feels like she's gonna vomit.

she did take josh's advice and she did call her mom to sort things out. but even though mia promised to give her father a chance, there's still traces of hesitancy and swells of regret floating in her subconscious.

the ringing of the doorbell as she presses it results in the rising sound of chatter from inside the house. once the door is pulled back, mia is facing her oldest brother, rafael.

"hey," he beams, pulling her in for a tight hug. it's the kind that makes her feel flashbacks of christmas mornings and birthday celebrations.

the eldest sibling gazes down at his sister with a smile. "was wondering when you'd show up," muses rafael while stepping around mia to close the door. "donde es tu novio?"

"josh is on tour," explains mia. after pulling off her jacket and setting it on one of the hooks, she follows her brother further into the house. "won't be back till the end of march."

rafael gives her a sympathetic tsk and sad eyes. "que pena, that sucks."

it does suck - but mia doesn't want to think about how much she misses josh right now. she also isn't sure how to reply to being told something she already knows, so she just nods.

mia's other older brother - eddie - is the first person in the living room to notice her presence. he lets out a heavy, dramatic sigh and rolls his eyes. "dude, mom told you to take out the trash, not bring it in."

"vete pal carajo," mia rolls her eyes and walks over to the couch her brother is sitting at. she plops down beside him and grins. "you love me and you know it."

eddie cringes and pretends to wearily be okay with his sister's presence. "eh. you're okay, i guess. not as bad as anthony."

the aforementioned, youngest child of the four, walks in from the dining room with an upset frown. "hey. i heard that."

eddie tilts his beer bottle at anthony and nods, "yeah, buddy, you were meant to. glad to know your ears work."

"cut it out," tsks mia, who proceeds to smack eddie upside the head. "you're such an ass."

"the kid's too sensitive!" eddie defends himself with a roll of his eyes. "no wonder he's still single."

anthony frowns, "actually, i'm seeing someone now."

this new information makes mia grin with excitement. "ooh, do you have any pictures? what's her name?"

"um..." the eighteen year old glances at his shoes. he looks slightly uncomfortable, like the words in his mouth are ticking time bombs. "his name is matt."

oh.

that's new.

rafael looks at eddie. mia looks at rafael. eddie looks at mia. none of them want to be the first to say something, but none of them want to be the one to not say anything, either.

eddie coughs. "so, uh...are you gay?"

"no," the boy snaps with sudden defense, surprising his siblings and himself. he swallows as his facial expression softens. "i-i don't know."