Nathan
The plain white walls of the hospital room didn't look familiar, I thought they were blue with little Disney characters on them? I swear, right before I fell asleep the walls had Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Alice from Alice and the Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh characters... I remember it perfectly.
"M-mom." I stutter, shifting my eyes to her. She was sitting on a small couch near the window of the room, reading a thick book. She lifted her head. "I... th-thought the." I spread arms out, gesturing to the walls since the small word was hard to say.
Sometimes my tongue just feels like it goes numb or I forget how to pronounce the rest of the word. My tongue gets tied when I try saying a sound that requires my lips, tongue, or teeth to touch. So I can't say much without stuttering or having to change the word completely.
"Walls?"
I nod, "yeah... I t-thought they were Dis-sney?"
She furrowed her brows, her brown eyes shifting from me to the walls around us. "No, honey. Never were."
"B-but... I swear..."
My mom then let out a surprised noise, "oh! When your sister was born, the walls had little Disney characters that you were so fascinated in. You would get so excited when you saw more than 2 of the same thing..." She smiled to herself, setting her book aside. "You were so tiny and adorable. Now... You're all grown up. Dating people and staying out late. Partying and spending time with friends... You grew up too fast, Nathan."
I shrug, "I don't p-party."
My mom just smiled in reply, standing up from the window sill. "Still, you're all grown up." I just nod and smile. "You're going to find a girl, get married, settle down. Have kids and live your life... It feels like just yesterday God gave me you, a true little miracle."
Two guys can't have kids, Mom..., I wanted to say, but I pursed my lips to resist blurting anything out. She's in such a good mood, I'm not going to ruin it for her with something that will upset her for her entire life.
"Have you been seeing any girls?" My mom asked, raising one of her brows. Ha, you wish...
"S-sorta." I've been fucking a guy for months instead of going to the library to 'study' or just going out to see a friend. It sucks having to keep stuff from my mom, but I don't want to disappoint her. I don't want her to be mad. I want her to just smile as she remembers things from my childhood and ask about girls.
"Nathan." My mom started, rolling her eyes. "You're gay, aren't you?'
My eyes widen. Did I hear her correctly? Am I sleeping still? Am I daydreaming? Did those words really come out of her mouth?
"Huh?"
"It's obvious that you're dating that guy... what's his name? Brent? Blake? Brady?"
"Bryce," I whisper, furrowing my brows. Is my gayness so obvious that my mom, the lady who will throw a bible at me for cussing figured it out? "I..." I don't know what the fuck to say. I'm confused. Utterly confused. "You... what...?"
"You are dating him, aren't you?"
I furrow my brows, "why aren't you... sh-shouting or... Th-throwing a bible or..."
"Honey, if you don't remember your grandma telling you, I dated a few girls through 8th grade til my 2nd year of college." I thought she was talking about my uncle or something. "The only reason I'm so religious is your dad. He came from a religious family, so, in order for him to marry me, I had to agree to... kinda switch religions, join one...But none of that matters anymore."
