sue me | joshler ✓

THIRTY SEVEN

it was thursday and tyler was exhausted to say the least. state championships for basketball were in a few weeks, so, to get prepared, coach ike had conditioning at 6:30 every morning and practices everyday after school until 7.

practice had just ended and tyler was so sore. he couldn't wait to take a hot bath tonight and sleep because he hadn't done that much, lately.

"good practice everyone. we still have a lot to go over before state, but I think we will be just fine. see you guys tomorrow at 6:30." coach ike said to the team before dismissing them.

tyler headed to the lockeroom to grab his bags out of his locker. as he was gulping the last of his water, his teammate, gabe, walked over to where he was standing.

"I heard you and jenna broke up." he told.

"ha yeah.." tyler trailed awkwardly.

"does that mean she's available now?" gabe replied smirking.

tyler scratched the back of his head before answering. "I mean yeah but I don't think she's looking for another relationship at the moment." he answered honestly.

gabe nodded his head understandably before patting him on the back and walking away.

tyler really missed jenna. not in a romantic way, but he missed their friendship. he really hoped that one day they could be friends again. that's all he really wanted.

when he got home, tyler sat his bag down by the door. he noticed his mom was in the kitchen making dinner.

"uh hi?" he said confusingly while walking into the kitchen.

his mom smiled at him. "hi! dinner is almost done." she told him.

tyler cocked his head. "why are you cooking?" he asked. his mother never cooked.

"does there have to be a reason, tyler? go change. your father will be home in 5 minutes." she said sternly.

he complied and ran upstairs to get out of his practice clothes. he changed into a white shirt and basketball shorts before heading back downstairs. when he got to the end of the stairs, he saw his dad sitting at the table and his whole mood changed.

"hi son. how was practice?" chris asked him.

"fine." tyler replied quietly as he sat down at the table next to his family.

his mom brought out the food and they all began making their plates. while they were eating, his father spoke up.

"how's jenna? she hasn't been over in a while." he asked while filling his mouth with a meatball.

tyler's whole body stiffened and he let out a nervous laugh. "we broke up." he mumbled quietly.

kelly's eyes widened. "you broke up? why? she was such a lovely girl." she asked him.

anxiety began flooding through tyler as he tried to come up with an excuse but stopped himself. his parents deserved to know the truth. he deserved to do this for himself.

"because I don't like girls." tyler said quickly.

his dad cocked his head. "pardon me?"

"I said," tyler started confidently. "I don't like girls."

bad idea.

kelly gasped and clutched her cross necklace that laid around her neck. "you're a homosexual?" she said disgustedly.

regret soaked through tyler as he slowly nodded his head.

"gross." maddy replied to her brother.