34B. |raylijah

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"Hello?" Elijah blinked. He was surprised to receive a call from his mother.

"Hey, son," She spoke calmly—he could practically see her faux expressions of happiness and cheerfulness. The thought made him grimace at the sound of her voice. "Haven't spoken to you in a while." She emphasized the word, probably pursing her lips together.

Rayan scooted closer to the man, setting a hand on his thigh. His attitude had been a little off lately and it was starting to bother Elijah—he didn't bother to bring it up in fear of engaging in their first argument. He'd noticed Rayan was getting meaner—meaner than usual. "Hang up." He whispered, causing Elijah to frown.

"Yeah, mom," He forced a chuckle. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, son," His mother started, sounding sullen. "The house is a bit lonely without you, I'll admit—but I understand you're an adult now."

"Yes, it's not anything personal; I just needed room to breathe." He lied, he pursed his lips together before stood up, leaving Rayan to watch TV alone. The man shuffled into the kitchen, making sure to be out of ear shot. "It's just like...ever since dad died, you've been too much." The man attempted to reason.

His mother huffed. "Because I'm alone, Eli. I miss him—and when you left, I couldn't wrap myself in anything. I had to grieve again; it felt like I lost my title as a wife and mother left shortly after." He seemed to deflate at this information, suddenly upset as he began to sympathize with his mother. He hadn't thought about it like that.

"I understand," He sighed. "Have you talked to Tessa?" His mother exhaled loudly—annoyed at the sudden subject change.

"No," She said curtly. "Why on Earth would I?"

"She's your daughter," Elijah frowned. "What is with you and your attitude towards her?" The man snapped.

"I have nothing against the girl; she hates me." She simply responded, probably shrugging off the thought of her daughter.

"I really think we need to sit down. It's clearly some deeply rooted issues going on, mom."

The two talked for a while before Elijah grew bored of her usual guilt tripping tactics and made up a quick excuse to end the call. He joined Rayan on the couch, deciding to cuddle against the obviously grouchy man—he held a look of disdain as he stared daggers at nothing in particular. It was evident that he wasn't focused on the television. "Are you okay?" He turned to Elijah, noticing the man's silence.

He wasn't.

Elijah was upset about the phone call with his mother. It made him miss his father—things seemed to be intact when he was alive; he was the glue that kept their small family together. At dinner, he would joke and make everyone laugh, he'd come to Elijah's games and ceremonies—he was there. When he left, the light in the home seemingly fizzled out; his mother grew cold, dinner was quiet, his mother didn't bother to attend his important gatherings—it shook his world.

"No." He admitted. "My mom–"

"I don't understand why you'd give that woman the time of day," Rayan snapped, his finger roped around one of his flat twists as he grew a bored expression. Elijah was taken aback at Rayan's reaction.

"Well, she's my mom, Ray." Elijah reminded him, glancing over at him with a look of distaste. "It's not like I can cut her the hell off."

"She's mildly homophobic and she has a shit attitude." Rayan continued.

"She wasn't always like that," He expressed, now sitting up. "When my dad died, things changed and we're all having a hard time adjusting—I don't think you have a right to speak on that."

"I don't?" Ray raised an eyebrow, glaring over at Elijah. "I'm your boyfriend and I've had a first hand experience of how she is. She's extremely fucking bitter. Sometimes you're too damn nice for your own good."

"You don't understand what it's like to lose a parent," Elijah was growing defensive due to Rayan's sudden animosity. "It's hard. I'm still grieving."

"Your dad's death is starting to sound more like a reason for her to guilt trip you and less of an actually catastrophic event."

"Excuse me? What's your problem?"

"What?"

"Your attitude. You've been like this for the past two days; what's going on with you?"

"Nothing." Rayan practically sneered. "I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

"Well, I am fine." He stood up, slicing his boots on. "I actually think I'm just going to head to my place—I have an early morning." Elijah shook his head at this and opened his mouth to object.

Rayan spared him a glance—one that dared the man to say anything else. Elijah didn't bother to say anything else. He watched as Rayan left, bewildered at his sudden behavior.

His phone buzzed and he turned to grab it. It was the work group chat.

Drinks anyone?