Unbroken {Solangelo}

chapter 28.

.:Will POV:.

"NAOMI!" The door swings open less then a split second after ringing the doorbell, revealing a tall, curvy woman with her hair in a turban and a wide grin spread across her face as she screams my mum's name.

"Hi, Aunt Em." I greet with a fake smile plastered on.

"Hi, sis." Mum says.

"Well don't just stand on your lazy asses out here. Come in, come in!" Aunt Em ushers us and our bags in ecstatically.

* * *

As I'm unpacking inside the little makeshift bedroom Aunt Em provided for me, I overhear Mum explaining the situation.

"He's gay?" Aunt Em screech-whispers just loud enough for me to hear through the thin walls.

I can't hear Mum's response. She must know I most likely can hear, so she's mumbling.

"Ooh, so you just wanted him away from his boyfriend?"

"Yes." Mum clarifies audibly, louder to make sure I hear this, "After all, it's not normal for boys to date other boys. I won't have my son be a fag, Em."

"I see. Okay. You may stay here until you have a job and enough money to pay for your own place, Naomi."

I groan, dropping the pillow I had in my hand and plopping down on the blow-up mattress I had just been making into a bed. Rubbing my temples with my hand, I think, good luck with that.

Great. Another homophobe; in the family, too.

* * *

I'm just drifting to sleep on the incredibly lumpy, musky mattress--seriously, how can an air mattress have this many lumps?--when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Will? Will. Get up, hun." The hand shakes me gently until I sit up.

"Huh?" My voice comes out deep and groggy. "Aunt Em?" I wipe my eyes so my vision clears. Sure enough, my aunt is perched on the end of the bed, her eyes wide in the dark.

She nods. "Yes. Now, come with me, hun. I want to talk with you."

A dreading feeling settles in the pit of my stomach, but I oblige anyway. If this woman starts preaching to me about being gay and shit I won't be able to take it.

I follow her through the dark outside, only running into the wall twice as she leads me.

Aunt Em takes a seat on the swinging bench on the front porch and pats the space next to her, but I hesitate as a wave of longing washes over me. The swinging bench reminds me of the Place. Reminds me of Nico.

I finally sit down, and Aunt Em turns to me. "So, Will, you're gay?" She asks, and I'm stunned silent for a moment at her bluntness.

I throw my head back, resting it against the chair and staring up at the starry sky. I sigh, "Yeah. Well, bisexual, at least."

My aunt nods slowly, then I wait for her to start scolding me. Instead, she asks curiously, "Tell me about him."

I bolt upright. "Who?"

"Your boyfriend."

I open my mouth but she beats me to it, "and don't try to tell me you don't have one. I know you do. You're always caught up in thinking with a dorky smile on your face, when you're not moping, and I know you're thinking about him."

"Why? You're just like Mum. You'll just yell at me, tell me how awful being gay is."

Aunt Em scoffs. "Yeah, right. You're mother is a fucking close-minded, alcoholic bitch, Will. I take it as quite an insult if you think I'm anything like her."

My eyes widen more and my jaw falls open. "W-what? You mean, y-you don't care that I'm dating a guy?"

"Of course not. Honey, I've been with more women than you ever will. Now, tell me about your boyfriend."

It feels like my jaw is going to come unhinged from my face from gaping so I shake the astonishment off of my face and it's replaced by an, indeed, dorky grin at the thought of him.

"H-his name is Nico. He looks all dark and stuff but he's really not. Actually, he has the most bright, beautiful smile. He used to never show it, though. He was depressed and shit and he never spoke. But then we met and now, here we are. He broke out of his shell and now he will laugh and jump on me in front of everyone."

"And you did that, Will. You two helped each other together and now you deserve to still be together. You deserve to go back to him."

I laugh at the idea, but it sparks a hope in me. "How do you suppose that will happen?"

"Well, I'll take you!"

The spark ignites into a fire in my stomach. "What?"

"I mean, I won't be able to actually drive you there, but I can give you money and a map and send you off."

I beam, "really? When?"

"Why not tonight? Your mum isn't going to care enough to go looking for you, and I won't say anything."

I nod eagerly and before I can stop myself I lurch forward and engulf my aunt in a hug, rambling 'thank you' a million times into her chest.