Heaven

13: The Old Man Needs a New Hobby

   Same Love- Macklemore and Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert

He was confused and unsure, so I took his wrist and led him into the house. He looked around at my parents and his aunt and uncle.

"Caspar?" His aunt scowled. "What's going on?"

"Are you sure about this?" He looked to me. He was still at a safe distance for them to not be suspicious.

"I'm tired of hiding." I took a deep breath, trying to steady my heart. "Mother, Father, this is Caspar. My...my boyfriend."

The room was silent for 54 seconds. It was still. No one moved or made a sound. Even the world outside had seemed to go quiet. Glass smashed. The glass in my mother's hand had been shattered against the counter. She was shaking. April's parents were huddled together on the couch. My father was as placid as ever. I didn't understand how he was able to keep his composure when I knew full well that he was furious. I didn't know what to do, so, naturally, I rambled.

"We've been dating for about two months. He's really sweet and cute and I'm really happy. I know how you feel about it and I'm sorry to put you through this, but I really like him. And I do love April, just not in the way you want me to. I realize this is probably a lot to handle, and I-."

"Theodore," my mother's voice was broken. "Go pack your things. We're taking you up to Brother Fletcher in the morning."

I knew the tales. I knew the tales of Old Man Fletcher beating gay kids into heterosexuality until the sight of the same gender made them sick. I knew that's where they had taken Grey.

She continued, looking to April's parents. "Greg, Lisa, I apologize for the inconvenience. April, it's best that you take Caspar home."

"No," Cass spoke before I could. "Teddy is going to come back home with me. You obviously have no concern for your son's well being, so I will take him, my boyfriend, into my home and he can stay as long as he'd like. April, you coming?"

She nodded and sarcastically saluted her parents before going to her car.

"I always knew that kid would be a fag." My father spoke for the first time since I got here. "Get it out of my sight."

It was refreshing, in a way, that they acted exactly how I expected them to. I popped upstairs and grabbed the bag of my possessions that was in my closet. The closet seemed emptied now that I wasn't in it. I went back to where my boyfriend was patiently waiting for me, and went home.