Homebound (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 21

"I want to take you out on a date," Javi blurts out on our daily FaceTime call. My eyebrows furrow in confusion and a huge smile lights up his lips when he sees it. "what?"

After spending almost the whole day with him, he still made sure to call me exactly at our usual time. I thought that dealing with my horrible mood all day would deter him from calling, but apparently not. Instead, he seems even more desperate to talk to me. 

When I showed up to the house after telling Lukas and Paige that I spent the day at a coffee shop, I received the biggest hugs in the world, especially from my twin sister. I know I should've stayed home and held in my anger and sadness for a day since it's not only my birthday, but it's hers too. I should've given her a good day, but with how angry I was, I know that that wasn't possible. But it doesn't take away from the guilt deep in my heart.

After Lukas and Paige made sure I was okay, I opened up the gifts that they had gotten me. I mostly got clothes and things to decorate my room since it's still pretty much a blank slate with a bed and some clothes. My heart feels full with their love, but there was a gnawing feeling in my chest to just go lay in bed and sleep the bad memories away the entire time. 

I know this whole day has taken a huge toll on my mental health and my therapist is definitely going to hear a lot about it when we meet next.

I make sure to keep my voice low because even if they can't hear Javi talking, they can certainly hear me. Wynter's only one wall away, so I lower my voice to a whisper as I usually do. "How are we supposed to do that when we can't even tell Lukas and Paige that we're together? From what I've seen, there are so many people in this town that know them and-"

"Then we'll go somewhere else," he says with a simple shrug of the shoulders.

"Somewhere else?"

"Let's just say, I have a plan and where we'll be going, no one will know us. It's kinda far away," he says with a smirk, not providing any more information about his plans.

"Now, that sounds great and all, but what am I supposed to tell Lukas and Paige?"

"Say you're meeting with Rosa or something. Maybe she's meeting you halfway between your homes and she's getting a hotel room for the two of you. That way, you can stay with me for the night and maybe some of the next day," Javi says with another shrug. I chuckle lightly before nodding my head.

"Okay, that sounds wonderful," I say sincerely. "but are you going to tell me what we'll be doing?"

"Hm," he says, looking up while using his index finger to lightly tap against his chin. "I don't think I'll tell you. Let's just call it a birthday surprise."

"Javi," I warn him, my smile dropping from my face almost instantly. That makes Javi quit his act and his smile falls as well, replaced with a frown. He tilts his head to the side a bit before watching me while my mouth opens and closes for a few moments, trying to figure out what to say. "I don't... my birthday... I don't-"

"It's okay," Javi interrupts me in a soft voice while nodding his head. "it doesn't have to be a birthday surprise. We're just going on a date, that's it. Okay?"

I smile with a nod of my head, somehow feeling better about the whole thing if it has nothing to do with my birthday. Sure, I know that I'll have to get used to this whole birthday thing eventually, but it's still raw and talking about it is rubbing it the wrong way. It's still a new thing to hear that you've been lied to your whole life, so accepting it will take some time. "Okay."

"Next weekend," Javi tells me with a wink. "tell Lukas and Paige that you're meeting up with Rosa, okay?"

"Okay," I repeat, not being able to hold back the smile that graces my lips.