Misinterpreting Fate (Book 2)

26. It's Not Easy

Chapter 26: It's Not Easy

Sam

"You can't be serious, Allen."

I paused when I heard Poppa say that. I was just outside their bedroom, their door slightly ajar. I had been about to go in to ask if I could go to Ryan's for a bit, but now I was curious.

"Why not?" Dad replied. "You saw the same thing I saw today."

Poppa sighed and the bed creaked a little, like he sat down on it. "I don't know. We'll never win, even if we do try. And think about the long-term here, Allen. That's a lot of responsibility and we're only getting older, especially you."

I had no idea what they were talking about, and I knew I wasn't going to figure it out when Dad changed the topic. "Hey, don't play that age card again, Mika," he said.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it, old man?"

I could tell what direction that conversation was turning in, so I pushed open the door before whatever was about to happen could. Dad quickly took a couple steps back from Poppa, who was sitting on the edge of the bed just like I had thought.

"What's up, bud?" Dad asked.

"Well... I wanted to ask if I could go over to Ryan's for a bit."

Poppa's answer came as soon as I finished the sentence. "No."

"What? Poppa, please?"

Dad shook his head. "Your poppa's right. You're not going. It's a school night. Did you even finish your homework yet?"

"I was going to do it with Ryan."

Poppa frowned. "So you were going to go to your boyfriend's house - who just got suspended from school - to do homework?"

"Yes?" When it was said like that, it didn't sound that great. Although the part about Ryan being my boyfriend sounded really great. We hadn't used that word yet.

"No," Dad said. "Go finish it up, okay? You can see Ryan later this week."

"Well..." I started, smirking a bit. "I thought you would have wanted me out of the house for a bit while you continued whatever was about to happen before I walked in?"

"No," Poppa said sternly, obviously trying to hide his embarrassment. "Homework. Now."

I loved messing with them, since it was so easy to do. It wasn't as much fun as it was before they realized I wasn't so innocent anymore. I knew what they did with each other when they were alone, I wasn't dumb. And yeah, it was a little weird to think about them doing that stuff, but at least I knew they loved each other. That was the type of love I aspired to have with someone one day.

Walking back into my own bedroom, I pulled out my phone. I haven't heard from Ryan since I left him and Shawn together at the lake yesterday. It felt like forever though, especially after seeing Regal in the park this afternoon. I just really wanted to know how the talk between the two of them went.

The longer he took to tell me, the more anxious I got. What if it went wrong? What if Ryan decided he didn't want to be with me anymore? What if Shawn hurt him somehow?

I dialed Ryan's number and brought my phone up to my ear, waiting for him to pick up. After a few rings, he did.

"Hey, Sam. What's up?

"What's up?" I demanded. "How did talking to Shawn go? I haven't heard from you since I left the two of you at the lake yesterday. What happened?"

He sighed. "I don't really want to talk about it, Sammy."

"Ryan..." I whined, sitting down on my bed. I didn't care if I sounded like a child. This was important to me and I needed him to talk to me. "Please?"

A soft knock on my door frame made me look up. Dad was standing there. "Homework, Sam," he said.

"I'm just telling Ryan I can't come over," I replied, barely hearing Ryan saying he didn't want to talk about it. "Then I'll do it. Promise."

"You have two minutes before I take away that phone." He then walked away, leaving me with Ryan saying my name over the phone.

"Sam? Were you actually going to come over here?"

I chuckled a bit. "Yeah. I hadn't heard from you, so I was worried. I knew your mom would let me in."

"Probably not today, actually. She's not in a good mood. She, um... she found out that I'm gay. Sam, she..." He took a shaky breath. "She's not happy about it."

"Oh." I didn't know what to say about that. I never expected her to be mad at Ryan for being who he is, but then again, she did have those weird mood swings recently. Hopefully she'll get over herself soon. I didn't want Ryan to be hurt because of this.

"Sam. Homework."

I sighed as Dad passed by my door again. He didn't even stop when he said that, but I knew he'd be upset if I didn't listen this time.

"Ryan, I..." I let out another sigh. "I'm really sorry to hear that. And I'm going to come by after school for a bit tomorrow, okay? We'll talk, if you want to. Or not. Right now, I need to go or my dads are going to kill me for not doing my homework yet."

He let out a dry chuckle. "Sometimes I'm jealous at how easy you have it."

I shook my head, thinking about Regal and Sarah and Owen and all the struggles I've had, especially recently. "It's not easy, not really. I don't think anyone's life is ever really easy."

"Maybe, but your's is easier than mine right now. You'll never have to deal with parents who hate you for being gay."

"I just have a crazy, possibly murderous mother and a little sister that I only just met." The words I overheard my parents saying earlier echoed through my head. "And I don't know for certain," I added, lowering my voice, "but I think my dad wants to adopt Regal. Don't say anything to anyone. I overheard part of a conversation I wasn't supposed to hear."

"Sam!" Dad called from the other room. I knew he was upset. It was already late and I haven't done any homework yet this weekend.

"I really need to go," I told Ryan. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah." He was silent for a moment and I was about to hang up, but then he spoke again. "Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Ryan hung up the phone before I could respond. I didn't know what I would have said anyway. I just sat there on my bed with a huge smile on my face. He loved me. I didn't know if I loved him back yet, but I definitely knew that I was getting there.