Bitter Affectionate

Chapter 9

As Christmas rolled around, things became different. Brent and Piper lost contact. Hally barely spoke to me, or kissed me for that matter. But, Joseph and I became friendlier, and Calvin and I spoke on a daily basis.

There was something about those two boys that made me want to be someone else; not the person I've wanted to be since the day I found out I liked boys, but a guy who embraced it. Someone who was actually proud of who they are.

I wasn't sure if I could do that, though.

I went to Calvin's house on one of the first days of Christmas break. There was frost outside, and I felt chilled to the bone as I hopped in my truck and drove to meet him.

His house was as cliche as any other families; I was surprised it was devoid of a white picket fence.

I got out of my truck and was greeted by a little girl running out of Calvin's house, followed by the man himself.

"Hey, get back here, you little monster!" Calvin called, chasing the little girl and picking her up. She squealed, and giggled, and pointed at me.

Calvin looked up, just noticing me as I smirked at him and the girl.

She looked nothing like Calvin. She had pale skin, and red hair in messy braids, not to mention a face full of freckles. She reminded me a bit of Piper, with her red hair and freckles. Not to mention the smile; pure, innocent.

"Right on time," Calvin said, then turned his attention to the girl. "Elsie, this is Drew. Drew, this is my little sister, Elsie."

I gave her a friendly smile, "Hello, Elsie."

She said nothing, but giggled and hid her head in Calvin's shoulder. Calvin simply chuckled, then lead me inside.

He sat Elsie down on the floor, surrounded by dolls and blocks. He then turned to me.

"Hey," He greeted. I laughed.

"Hey."

"Want some tea?"

"Sure."

We walked into the kitchen and I sat down on a stool by the island in the middle of the room while he turned on the kettle.

"Sorry about Elsie. I thought my mom would be home by now to take care of her."

"It's fine," I replied. "She's adorable."

"I know. She's a little sweetheart, too. She gets a bit shy, but once she gets to know you, you can never get rid of her. In fact, one time--"

He was cut off by three children running into the room, a boy and girl with jet black hair and light skin, followed by a younger boy that resembled Calvin more than any of them; his dark skin and hair matching Calvin's almost perfectly.

They ran around the island, yelling and swatting at each other before Calvin got in the way.

"Hey!" He shouted over them. "What are you guys doing? If mom was home, you'd all be in for it. You really think you can take advantage of me?"

When the children said nothing, Calvin sighed frustratedly and turned to me.

"Drew, these are my other siblings. The twins, Lincoln and Leanna. And, the littlest one is Taylor."

I offered them a smile, to which Taylor and Lincoln smiled back, and Leanna stuck her tongue out at me.

"Leanna! Stop being a little weasel and be nice," Calvin scolded. "Now, what were the three of you running around for?"

"Lincoln and Leanna took my comic books!" Taylor tattled, his little face scrunched in an angry pout.

"Why are you two always picking on him?" Calvin held a hand out to them and the two rolled their eyes and handed him three rolled up comic books. He snatched them back and handed them to Taylor. "Now, all of you, go to your rooms."

They trudged up the stairs and a moment later, I heard their room doors slam shut. I chuckled as I looked at Calvin.

"These kids are going to make me go grey at nineteen."

"As if you aren't already," I teased.

"Hey!" He pushed my shoulder and pouted. "Do I need to send you to your room, too?"

"I hope not. I just got here, I'd hate to leave."

Calvin smirked and turned around to pour the tea before handing me a cup. He opened his mouth to speak, and he looked serious for once, but the front door opened and a woman cut him off.

"Calvin!"

He groaned loudly, "What now?"

A woman with a short black affro wearing a zip up hoodie and leggings stepped into the room, a bag on her shoulder and an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, my dear, the class ran late and.." She trailed off as she met my eyes. "Oh, hello. Calvin, who's your friend?" She practically sang. Calvin rolled his eyes.

"This is Drew. I told you about him before."

"Yes, of course. Nice to meet you, Drew. I'm Monika, Calvin's mom." She shook my hand and gave me a big smile. 

"Nice to meet you too, Monika," I replied.

"My husband is around here somewhere. I'm sure he'd love to meet you. One second - Harvey!" She shouted his name, and in no time, a man walked into the room shaking his head.

"No need to yell, I'm right here," He told her.

"Harvey, this is Drew."

"Drew?"

"Yes. Calvin's Drew."

His eyes widened like something had just occurred to him. "Oh, Drew," He said, then shook my hand the same way his wife had. "How do you do?"

"I'm good, sir, and you?"

"Fine. Just fine, thank you."

"Alright, not that this isn't sufficiently awkward, but we're going to go upstairs," Calvin cut in, grabbing both of our teacups with one hand and my arm with the other and pulling me up the stairs and into his room.

He kicked the door shut behind him, then handed me my tea as he released me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it'd be so chaotic here," He said, plopping down on his bed, splashing tea onto his hand.

"No, it's fine," I replied. "Actually, it's kind of nice. It's just me and my uncle home, so this is pretty cool. I mean, I go to Brents, but his parents are never home, so it doesn't really feel like a family."

"Well, if you need a family fill, you're welcome here. My parents are the most family oriented people I know. After they had me, they loved having a kid so much, they wanted to start fostering. But, they fell in love with every kid they took care of and were always broken hearted when they left."

"Oh, so, your siblings at fosters?"

"Yes, and no. Lincoln and Leanna were fosters, but we adopted them. Taylor is my biological brother, but Elsie is still just a foster. My parents want to adopt her, though."

"What's stopping them?"

"It's a long, difficult process. They want to make sure we can give her the best life possible, especially with me in college and my parents working. It'd be difficult to be there with her all the time."

I nodded in understanding. "Well, if you ever need a babysitter, I'd be more than happy."

"Really?" Calvin raised a brow at me. "Do you have any experience with kids?"

"Well... no, but there's a first time for everything, isn't there?"

A tiny smirk overtook his face. "Idiot."