What Kills You (Percico)

Chapter Eight

Percy

I didn't try to correct anything she said after that bicker in the tailors store.

Sure, mom was never excited about the fact that I'm gay or that Peter is bi or that Penelope never gave a fuck when we were younger. But I didn't really consider if she'd be homophobic. Our pastor isn't. After his daughter came out as bi, he changed a lot of his ways of now he viewed that.

But some people don't, and it never occurred to me that Mom wasn't okay with it. I mean, she brought us on a date when we were like 6.

Then again, she probably thought of it like a play date.

It made me feel really shitty, though. Like, he's my boyfriend. Gay marriage legal in New York now. Even if we don't married, I'm not marrying some chick because Mom wants us to be perfect LDS kids. That's not how this works.

Paul has been pretty cool about all of this. Nico and I and me being gay. I think he might've noticed it from the start, he never did ask me if I had a girlfriend. Just if I was dating. He's good friends with our pastor. He comes over for dinner here or there. His daughter used to until she went to college. Moved out. His wife is a sweetheart, too. They actually care about each other and love each other, and they had a blind marriage.

I wish my life worked like that. But it just doesn't. I'm not that lucky.

Mom talked to me after we got home and she wasn't happy, of course. She wants me to just be straight. Not be with Nico. Keep dating Annabeth. She loved Annabeth.

The problem was that I didn't.

So of course, it turned into a huge fight because I have a boyfriend and I won't leave him and it's wrong and I'm going to hell for all of this.

I don't blame the other two for staying in their room. Especially with Peter being bi.

I texted Nico about it, what my mom said and Paul was trying to calm her down now and I explained the whole LDS thing to him and how I'm supposed to go on a mission in three years and I don't want to because of this bullshit and then I'm supposed to marry a girl and it's not like we can just get married and cheat, because that won't end well.

He asked if I wanted him here and as much as I did, I knew it'd piss off my mom.

So I mean, I told him if he really wanted to risk pissing her off, sure. I called my dad, though. To talk.

"Hey, kid," dad said as he answered the phone. It was 8:45, still early. "What's up? Normally you never call unless it's an emergency."

The fact that my cheek still stung and so did my back made me feel like maybe this qualified.

"I know, but I need some help and Mom can't really help."

I could already feel the bruise on my ribs form, do that'd be fun tomorrow.

"Okay..." He said, sounding a little unsure about this. Which I get. I've never really come to him about it before. "What kind of problem are we talking about? Is it a guy or is it school or camp or...?"

"It's Mom," I explained to him, laying in bed, feeling shitty. "I thought being the church is cool with gay people, Mom would be. But she was talking about how I haven't gone to service and like I went missing, I can't help it, but she blamed it on me being distracted with Nico because we like just started going out and she went on this tangent because he's a guy and he's not LDS so I didn't even being seeing him which..."

I paused and took in a breath.

"That part didn't bother me, you weren't the happiest when it came to Annabeth." I went on. "Mom can't like everyone. But we got back home and she wanted to talk and so I said okay and she wanted me to call Nico and break up with him. And I said no, I'm not doing that. I don't want to break up with him. And she told me if I don't, I'm going to hell and I said okay and she slapped me and then like it carried on and she asked me why I'd want to be a freak and I said I didn't want to and she called me a list and then she paddled me and yeah. A couple time. Once on my ribs, a few to the back. And we're supposed to go to church in the morning."