Treasure Hunt (boyxboy) [Rewrite]

Treasure Hunt | Twenty

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By the time I had gotten the referral, filled her prescription for pain meds and gotten home, Treasure was passed out. I carried her in the house, laying her on the couch. She stirred, turning to lay on her side facing the couch, but otherwise didn't wake up.

Loran wouldn't be home for another few hours, so it was just Zach and I sitting at the table while he worked on his homework.

"What you said to me this morning, Zach," I said, quietly.

He stopped writing, his pencil slowly lowering as his cheeks flushed, "Did you tell Dad?"

"No."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"No." I repeated.

"Do you promise?"

I held out my pinky towards him. "You know I don't break these."

He hesitated, "Marco kissed me, first," but looped his around mine, sealing the confidentiality. "We were the last two in the locker room after practice on Friday, and we were about to leave and then he kissed me and then I kissed him back without thinking about it."

"So that's why you didn't want to take the bus?" Marco had been his best friend since kindergarten. They damn near did everything together.

"He's been texting me and trying to call me all weekend, but I'm too scared to talk to him, what if he hates me now?"

"I guarantee he doesn't hate you. He's probably thinking the same thing you are, right now." I pushed his hair from his face. "You don't have to be afraid to talk to him. Learning about your sexuality can be a scary time, but it doesn't have to be."

"I'm not gay." He almost seemed desperate to prove it, his bottom lip trembling like he was on the verge of tears. And it reminded me of when he was just a little boy, his emotions too big for him to understand.

"No one is saying that you are." But I think I could see it deeper than that, "Just because your father likes men, doesn't mean that you do, too. Only you know what you like, and even if you didn't, that's okay, too."

He hesitated and then hugged me, tight. "Thanks, Dalton."

♡

He finished his homework and went up to his bedroom while I started dinner. T was still asleep on the couch, I figured I'd let her sleep, even if that meant she'd be up all night. Tomorrow I would have to pull her from physical school on a doctor's order.

And there was still the matter of Adam.

A pair of arms snaked around my waist, a stubbled chin burying itself into the crook of my neck. I jumped, nearly screaming, but reduced it to a loud shriek, instead, instantly hearing Loran laughing from behind me.

"I'm so sorry for scaring you," he said inbetween laughs. "But that was too good."

"Speak for yourself." My heart felt like it was about to burst through my chest. "I didn't even hear you come in."

"I guess it's a good thing I'm not an actual intruder then, huh?"

"I guess so." I grumbled and he pecked my cheek.

He let go of me; standing next to me, leaning against the counter with his back instead. "What are you making?"

"Steak and rice." I shrugged, going back to rinsing the vegetables. "How was work?"

I could see him shrug from the corner of my eye. "Sold two houses today, and got another one listed."

"Sounds like you've been busy."

"You could say that, and you could say the same for yourself, you didn't call me, earlier. How did her appointment go?"

"She needs surgery." I said, cautiously.

"Surgery?" He questioned, shocked and confused. "For what"

"Because her kidney is failing. She has kidney disease."

"Kidney disease?" He practically shouted at me. "She went in for UTI's and now all of a sudden she has kidney disease?"

Oh no. I could feel it coming. "There's uh, more that I have to tell you."

"Like what?"

"Please don't get mad at me when I tell you."

"Get mad at you?" He turned me around to face him, but I didn't want to look at him. "What, are you breaking up with me or something?" He said it jokingly, but I could see the very real fear in his eyes.

"No, nothing like that." I put my hands on his chest.

He tilted my chin up, kissing me. "Baby, then what is it?"

My hands were shaking. "Adam Wright is Treasure's biological father." I said it quietly, just in case she woke up from the couch. I could feel his body tensing under my hands. "Not like that, Loran."

"Not like that?" He scoffed.

"We had sex before that happened." I was getting more tense, starting to pull away from him. "I didn't remember, I didn't know."

"How the fuck do you just forget sleeping with someone?"

"I was drugged on top of already being drunk! I'm surprised I even woke up!" Now I was yelling. "You can be pissy at me all you want, him and Peter told me about what happened with Ellie and Molly." The color drained from his face. "And Adam told me about you and him..."

Now it was more of a look of betrayal than anything. He pulled away from me, completely, recoiling into himself. "Now why the fuck would he tell you any of that?"

"First of all, don't you dare talk to me like that." I crossed my arms over my chest. "He asked to meet her." Just add insult to injury, why don't I. "And I said yes."

Nope.

There it was.

The look of betrayal.

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" He demanded.

"I'm not."

"I'm the only dad she's ever known, Dalton. Why the fuck are you doing this?"

"Are you being serious right now?" I shot back.

"Why him? Out of everybody - why Adam?"

"I could ask you the same question, couldn't I?" I demanded. "Whether you like it or not, she's his daughter, too, and he has a right to know her!"

"A right?" He scoffed. "What right, Dalton? She's our daughter." He waved his hand between the two of us.

"Imagine if the roles were reversed, and it was you and Zach, instead. You're telling me you wouldn't want to meet him after you just found out about him?"

"That's not the same."

"It is the same. You're just being too fucking stubborn to see it!" And then it hit me. "You're mad because he's willing to be there for Treasure when he wasn't for Zach."

"That's not it." He stared out the window, doing seemingly everything he could to not make eye contact with me.

"You can't lie to me." I got in his face, forcing him to look at me. "That is too it."

"What are you, a fucking psychologist all of a sudden?"

"Listen to me," I rested my forehead against his, my hands resting on either side of his face, letting my thumbs brush across his cheeks. I was surprised he even let me this close to him right now. "I understand what happened between you and him hurt you, I really do. But you also have to understand that you asked him to do something huge, that he wasn't capable of doing. But he's trying now, and for the right reasons, and that's worth it to me."

He exhaled hard, pulling away from me once again. "I can see that my feelings about the situation don't mean anything to you."

"Loran, please—"

"Just..." he put his hands up, stopping me in my tracks. "...just give me some time alone."