[OLD] Say You Love Me | Boy x Boy

Ben - The Road To Hell Is Paved With Broken Families

I really wish I didn't have to have this conversation. I also wish I'd thought to do it sooner. More than anything, I wish my family wasn't so fucked-up that I would need to have such a conversation, but I push my pride aside and pull Asher close enough that Mia won't hear what I'm about to say.

"Can we wait to explore until tomorrow?" I plead, painfully aware of the desperation tugging at my vocal cords. "There are certain areas of this place--and certain things and people--that are unsuitable for Mia's eyes that I'd rather tell not you about until after she's sound asleep. The aforementioned topics are crucial to the exploration of the house in terms of who, what and where will be inappropriate for the eyes and ears of a small child. And if my parents appear, you two go. Anywhere but where they are."

Asher bites his lower lip, getting visibly tenser by the second as he thinks this over. "It's almost 10:00, so Mia should have been in bed by now, but it's been an off day for her. We'll get her settled in then she'll probably want to eat a snack, then play. I'd call it fair to give her until 10:40 before she has to call it a night, but she'll probably fall asleep sooner then wake up again 15 minutes to an hour later. Usually I'd be working the night shift by now, but now that I'm here, I'll have to stay with her overnight. Knowing her sleep habits, I'd say it'd be safe to meet at about 3:00 in the morning. If not, she can take a bath tomorrow morning before we go back to the old house--we have to get our belongings, and everything else, along with the house, isn't legally ours to sell or keep unless Natalie Portman pulls through on the court case."

"Natalie Portman?" I ask.

"The lawyer for everything but the child possession case. That one is separate--the defense lawyer is Julienne Clarkson. We can put exploring off until Saturday afternoon: after we've retrieved what's legally ours from the old house." I thank Asher, who just nods quickly and heads a few feet in the opposite direction to talk to Mia. When he finishes, he turns to me again. "She wants to pick out our room tonight and see what kind of snacks you have, but she's willing to do the rest tomorrow."

"You said room, singular. Don't you mean rooms, plural? Asin, two?"

Tears spill down Mia's cheeks as she shakes her head no. Asher quickly scoops her up into his arms, kissing her on the forehead and murmuring comforting words to her until she calms down. She buries her head in his chest, and he continues to comfort her as he turns to me and begins to explain in a low voice.

"We weren't in the best financial state after mom first got cancer a month after Mia was born. We've had to share a room from the time she left the hospital as a newborn, and ever since she was old enough to sleep in a regular bed instead of a crib, we've shared a bed, too. Some kids had security blankets, but she told me that if a blanket couldn't bring mom back or make dad happy, she didn't want it: she'd rather have me. Even when I was gone the entire night working the late-night shifts, I was always there with her to put her to bed and wake her up in the morning, even if I got fifteen minutes of sleep or less each night. No matter what happened, I was always there when she woke up. When she started Pre-K this year, I was always there to make breakfast and hug her good-bye before I had to drive to school--an hour before her bus came, but she was always there when the bus came like a responsible little lady. Right, puffy?"

"Yeah." She nods dutifully. "One time, daddy waited with me, but usually the door to his room is locked, and he's grumpy and smells like that funny stuff in the glass bottles. That time when he waited with me, he let me have some and it made my head feel fuzzy."

Asher flinches, eyes widening. The color drains from his face and he suddenly looks at least 20 years older; he tries to act calm, but his facade is breaking quickly. "What funny stuff are you talking about, bugger?" He asks tersely.