The G(r)ay Area

Part Three

Part Three

"Aiden! We need to talk!" Mom yelled.

I took a deep breath and texted Lucas. Be careful when you come over. Mom's livid.

Your mom loves me.

She loves me too but right now I'm scared for my life.

I'll pray for you.

I tossed my phone onto my bed and headed up the steps. "I take it you found out."

"Expelled? How did you get expelled?" She shrieked, her voice high and screechy.

"Look, mom, it's stupid-"

"I can't believe this, Aiden."

"Mom, stop. Listen to me."

She narrowed her eyes at me from behind her glasses.

"From what I was told, I got expelled because I'm gay. Not because I exhibit any gay behavior or anything. Just because I am."

She sighed and sat down at the kitchen table. "What are we going to do? You can't not go to school."

"Isn't there any way to get me back into school? Like petition or something?"

"There's no guarantee it would work. We don't have the money to even try."

"We'll figure something out." I said softly, leaning against the counter behind me.

She ran a hand through her hair before standing up. "I'm going to go take a nap."

I watched her go, hating the sluggish way she moved, the hopelessness in her voice. She was counting on me more than I realized. Maybe more than she did herself.

A light knock came from the backdoor and I walked over to see Lucas standing there, his backpack on and a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He was still in his school uniform.

I raised my eyebrows. "Where'd you get the flowers from?"

"The florist." He said, rolling his eyes.

I took his hand and led him down the steps to my room.

"They're for your mom, actually. I figured she could use something to cheer her up."

I sighed and put the flowers in a coffee mug full of stale water. "I think she's getting worse."

"Do you think she'd want to come over for dinner some time?"

"I don't know. She's been spending a lot of time by herself lately. Being around other people might not be good for her."

"My mom went through the same thing. She'd always talk to your mom, you know."

I sat down on the edge of my bed. "I don't know if she's even up for that. She spends most of her time alone."

Lucas sat down beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Have you tried talking to her?"

"I don't think she'd want to talk to me."

"Why not?"

"This is grown up stuff. Stuff you don't talk about with your child."

"Who says?"

I shrugged. "I just... I don't want to push her if she doesn't want to tell me. Or if she isn't ready."

"Then let my mom talk to her."

I groaned and let my head fall on his shoulder. "Why can't everything be normal?"

"If things were normal, we wouldn't have moved in beside you and you wouldn't be gay."

"Okay, maybe everything else could be."

He kissed the top of my head. "I'll talk to my mom, okay?"

"Please tell me that isn't homework in your backpack."

He laughed and unzipped it. "Definitely not. Though I didn't bring any extra clothes with me so I hope you have something."

"Oh, sorry. I just tossed out my whole closet. Looks like you'll just have to wear your underwear."

"I'm not wearing any."

I laughed. "Even better."

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