You Can't Choose (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Thirteen

Collier had been staying with his mother since Friday, so five nights (well technically four since he spent one at Henry's) and that was still five nights too long.

Despite living in the same house as her, he barely saw her, not that he necessarily wanted to, it was just ironic that she forced him to come home and then was gone all the time. She was always either out with Ron, or shopping these days, and the few times she had talked with Cole had been to tell him that he needed to try to get along with the family better.

The family. He got along fine with Emerson, especially since the boy spent most of his time around Sarah, so when Cole was with him, he was also with his best friend. It was Ron who Cole had problems with.

The man was clearly trying to get on his good side, but Collier really didn't care. He would be moving out in a few months, and becoming friends with his mother's new boyfriend really wasn't that important to him at this time.

Which is why he was very, very annoyed to be sitting between Ron and Sarah on the couch Wednesday as he watched his mother put in a movie. 

When he had gotten home from school that afternoon with Emerson and Sarah, he should have gone straight up to his bedroom. It was what he wanted to do, having almost completed the painting he was working on, but he had lingered a bit to indulge Sarah and Emerson. They had at first been the ones who wanted him to stay down stairs, so he had agreed to stay with them for ten minutes before leaving.

Of course, within these ten minutes, his mother and Ron had returned home from shopping, which they seemed to do every day after Ron got out of work so Cole suspected it was just sex in Ron's office. The second his mom had seen him sitting on the couch next to Sarah, she had exclaimed "we're all together now!" And then declared that she would be putting in a movie, and made Collier stay despite his protests.

"What genre of movie do you like, Cole," Emerson's dad asked. For a second, Collier contemplated blowing him off, but decided against it since he'd be sitting next to this man for the next two hours.

"Horror".

"Sounds like someone we know," Emerson whispered to Sarah, though loud enough for Cole to hear and he glared at the two of them.

"Really?" Ron asked him and Cole nodded.

"Oh yes," His mother said, pressing play on the DVD player before joining them all on the thankfully spacious couch. Collier could remember just a week ago standing before their couch as his parents told him about the divorce. Oh how quickly things hand changed. "Cole has the strangest taste in films, and books. He only reads murder mysteries".

Cole wasn't really sure how this was strange. "At Henry's-" Cole began, turning to address Sarah and her eyebrows raised, "I watched a movie about a guy who skins people".

"Awe man," Emerson groaned. "He let you watch that?" Cole nodded. "He never lets me watch any of the gross ones. I can only watch like, things with low-key paranormal activity and cheesy 80s stuff".

"He doesn't want you to get scared," Collier teased and Emerson scoffed at him. "I don't get scared-"

"My room is right next to yours, Cole. I heard you up all last night," Emerson said and Sarah giggled and Cole's annoyed expression.

"Whatever".

"You were up all night, baby?" Cole's mother asked him, reaching around Ron to place her hand on his knee. The movie was just beginning, some romantic comedy that Cole knew he would hate, so he wasn't as bothered as he usually was when people talked during movies. "Are you feeling well?"