His Death Awakened Me (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 15: Family Ties

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I fished it out and looked at the screen, wondering who it was. The word 'Dad' lit up the screen. I took a shaky breath and glanced at Sean, who was humming along to a song on the radio as he drove us...well somewhere. I didn't know where we were going for dinner. Sean refused to tell me.

"My dad is calling," I told Sean as I held the phone in my hands, wondering if I should answer it or not. I was filled with dread because I knew Sean's mom had sped off to have a chat with my mother over what she had said, how she had reacted to my 'coming out' so to speak. Reaching over and turning down the radio, Sean glanced at me briefly before returning his eyes to the road.

"You should answer it Jake," he said, his tone even and calm. I took his word for it and swiped across the screen, picking up the call. Holding the phone to my ear, I braced for what was going to come through from the other end.

"Dad," I answered. My voice sounded calm and relaxed but my hands were shaking in my lap and my foot was tapping in anticipation. Sean reached over and gave my hand a tight squeeze, letting me know he was there for me.

"Jake where are you?" He asked. He sounded exhausted, like he hadn't slept at all lately. He probably hasn't been sleeping, but I haven't been home much so I wouldn't know.

"I'm out with Sean why?" I asked, imagining him cringing at my words. I mean, my dad had seemed fairly okay with everything unlike my mom, but I doubted he was genuinely cool with all of this. I couldn't blame him though, everything had happened so quickly that even I hadn't had much time to process it. When I looked at Sean though, all my worries seemed to melt away and I felt as light as a feather. My parents however, needed to process things in a very different way. I hadn't given them any time to think about things, and considering they had just lost their oldest child, was I being selfish? Was I too harsh on them when I left after what mom had said? Maybe they just needed more time that's all. They would come around, I convinced myself.

"Jake are you there?" came dad's voice from the other end. I sighed. I had spaced out with all the thoughts swirling in my head.

"Yeah," I answered, not wanting to say more fearing my voice would waver. It's been so emotionally draining lately and I'm sick of it.

"Well could you come home please?" He asked slowly, his voice betraying the sadness and weariness he must be feeling. I looked over at Sean.

"I'll be home later," I replied. "Sean and I are just getting some dinner."

"Okay," he said flatly. I waited for him to say more but he didn't.

"Dad I'm-"

"Everything is fine Jake. I'll see you at home," he said cutting me off and ending the call. I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at the screen.

"What did he say?" Sean asked cautiously, his tone soft. I closed my eyes and sighed loudly. I've been doing a lot of sighing lately.

"He just wants me to come home later. I told him I would but..." I trailed off, turning to stare blankly out the window.

"You aren't planning on going back home," Sean finished for me. I shook my head slightly. "Jake...." He started to reason with me, but I stopped it.

"Let's just focus on us okay?" I asked quietly, more like requested. He nodded knowingly. "So are we almost there?" I asked in a lighter tone, trying to change to mood. We had been enjoying ourselves so much and I didn't want my dad's phone call to ruin the evening. Sean's smile returned to his face, and his eyes sparkled in amusement.

"Yeah we're almost there. You're so impatient Jake," He said teasingly. I shrugged.

"I guess I am," I replied. "I just like knowing where we are going."