Awkward (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 11

I nervously swallowed the half-chewed bite of macaroni in my mouth, then washed it down with some water. My dad walked through the door and didn't even look up. He began walking to the living room, passing the kitchen on the way. I could feel the tension in the air. When I looked up at Zach, I could tell he could feel it too. He was looking back and forth between dad, mom, and me. He looked very confused.

I gave a mental sigh. That must mean that mom and dad didn't tell him yet. Good. I wanted to tell him myself, somehow. Sometime. Later. I wasn't ready for him to potentially hate me yet. Finally, I decided to try and break the tension.

"H-hey dad," I said. I tried to keep my voice steady but failed slightly.

He didn't even look up. He simply ignored me. Well this was turning out great. Suddenly, I lost my appetite. I got out of my seat and pushed the chair in. It scudded across the floor, making an annoyingly eerie sound.

"Aren't you hungry, honey?" mom asked me. 

"Uh, not really. I'm just going to my room."

She sighed, then said, "Alright."

Zach looked around and then said, "What just happned?"

I ignored him and started walking to my room. Aparently everyone else had ignored him, too because then he said, "Hello, I may  be dumb, but I'm not stupid. Something's going on. And don't think you guys can keep it a secret from me."

I heard mom sigh again then tell him something, but I didn't hear what because I shut my bedroom door. She was probably going to tell him. I didn't want to hear what he said when she did. I went and sat on my bed and stared out the window.

I watched as everyone else's lives went on by just as it did every other day. I saw a few people jog by on the sidewalk. A few birds landed on the windowsill and then flew away again. I sighed and wished I could have been born as a bird. Then I could just live day by day surviving, eating bugs, pooping on people's cars... Ah, that would be the life.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard yelling. First I heard Zach.

"Why won't you guys just tell me what's going on?! I have a right to know. I'm a part of this family too, you know!"

"Zachary! Calm down. We will tell you later. Now is not the time. And if you keep yelling like that, you're going to get yourself grounded!" mom yelled.

"Why should I stop yelling? You're yelling too! Just tell me what's going on already!"

Then I heard dad's voice. "You want to know what's going on? You're brother is a fucking faggot, that's what. Now shut the hell up and let me watch the news!"

Silence. Then I could hear my mom scolding my dad and muttering something at him. Why wasn't Zach talking? What did he think? Did he hate me?

I got up and walked to my door, putting my ear right up against it. 

"You didn't have to do that. You should have let him tell Zach on his own, in his own way," I heard my mom say. So I guess Zach wasn't in the room anymore. 

"Doesn't matter now," dad muttered.

"It does matter," mom began, but she was cut off when dad said, "I don't want to talk about it anymore. I don't want to hear any more about it. Just stop."

"We'll discuss this later," mom said, and dad just grunted in reply.

I felt like I was going to die not knowing what Zach thinks. Did he accept me? Did he think I was disgusting? I would just have to wait to find out. How long would I have to wait? Until precisley four-thirty the next night.