Upside Down (COMPLETE) Inside Out, Book 2 [BoyxBoy]

Keith

When the sun had risen, Keith woke up feeling fabric being thrown into his face again and again.

He opened his eyes to find Nathan standing a few steps away from the opened door of the spare room he was in, like he was being cautious not to approach Keith at a close distance. Nathan had thrown a towel at him, and before he could pull himself up off the futon, Nathan tossed something looked like a traveler's package of toothbrush and toothpaste, sending it sliding on the floor across the room towards him.

"Wake up, Stone Cold," Nathan said in a jeering tone, the bruises on his face had started to fade. "Your beloved new dad insists on your presence downstairs or else all of us can't have our breakfast. Clean the fuck up and be quick."

Nathan left, and Keith started to despise everything. He felt like shit after yesterday, and he was both angry and guilty at Nathan. Everything felt like a mess and he didn't know if he should clear things up to Anthony about the truth or not.

As soon as Nathan left yesterday, Anthony had been oddly sweet and super remorseful to Keith. He apologized on Nathan's behalf again and again, not giving him any chance to clear up the truth. Keith had also noticed the look of disgust coming off Nathan's sisters after the incident, like they knew something was up.

Keith had requested a separate room, and Anthony brought him to a spacious study area in the house right above the bedrooms just for the night. The study room held bookshelves and a desktop computer, placed aside the glass windows in the room. Here was also the staircase that led up to the rooftop patio of the house, and Anthony had given Keith a few Japanese futons for him to continue his sleeps. "You can't sleep here forever, though," he had said. "Especially now ... I think it's best for you and your brother to share a room and bond up a little more."

Keith hadn't said anything the night before, because he planned to call Tessa the next day. He needed to be at her house now, because shit had gotten messy and he needed space.

He undressed, only wrapped in a towel when he navigated the house on his own. Somehow, the house felt familiar and cozy to him, contrary to the awkwardness he assumed before he came here.

Keith placed the towel and the toothbrush package on Nathan's bed. Right at the end of the bed was his backpack that Tessa managed to prepare yesterday. The bedside lamp had been repositioned, and Keith gasped seeing the shattered framed photograph of Nathan and his sisters on it. More guilt came into his chest remembering the fight.

He cleaned up and dressed in a plain 'I heart Paris' T-shirt that Tessa had gotten him and some knee-length pants that he liked to wear at home. He walked barefooted downstairs, assuming it was a part of the family's culture here from observation the night before. Nathan and his family did possess delicate Asian features.

The whole family was already waiting on the dining table in the kitchen. There were sausages, beef jerkies, eggs and baked beans waiting on each of their dining plates there, and one spot was left empty for Keith right beside Nathan.

Damn it.

"Hello," he said as he took his seat—it came more like a whisper. "Sorry for taking so long ... um, you don't have to wait for me, actually."

"Good morning, Keith," said Anthony, while the rest of the ones at the table had started to gorge on their breakfast already.

Keith started on the baked beans slowly, feeling a bit awkward sitting beside Nathan. Nathan didn't seem to care about his presence though; only the food mattered so much to him. He took a bite at the sausage and surprised by the smoky goodness of it.

"This is good," Keith said. "Wow."

"It's nothing ... you're just too hungry," Nathan said with his mouth full.