Questions for the Media

The morning after the breakup

The night was long and the room turned warm as the air cooled it down. The sky was a bright crimson-orange, the sun setting to transition into the evening. The drapes of the open window spiraled as the wind flew into the room.

It was the silence, she thought, that woke her. The silence, and the emptiness.

Erin had grown deeply accustomed to Jack's sleepy mumbling and soft snuffling next to her, not to mention his endearing habit of snuggling close to Erin in his sleep. Even if the two of them started out on opposite sides of their bed- which they rarely did, anyway- Jack would migrate to Erin's side of the bed within fifteen minutes of being asleep, as if magnetized to the touch of Erin's smooth, warm skin against his own. Erin certainly was not complaining about Jack's penchant for cuddling. Erin herself was very affectionate, and she would have been lying had she claimed that she didn't get a little thrill at the way Jack needed to be close to her. It made Erin feel good, to feel necessary to Jack's existence like that.

Erin and Jack had been a happy couple for 6 months now sure they had hurdles in their relationship but they loved each other most of the time. The time they spent together was magical, rather what little time they shared with each other, it seemed Jack was always busy studying. Erin had decided it was time to put a stop to it after she heard from her friend what Jack had actually been doing.

But she had come so accustomed to lying next to someone she loved, feeling his chest under her head; it was the little things like the warmth from his hoodies that made her miss him the most. The little things he picked at is something she missed.

Therefore, when the still silence crept into Erin's consciousness in the middle of the night, it drew her from peaceful sleep. Pushing herself up on her elbows, Erin blinked away sleep and looked around the dark, shadowy bedroom, lit only very faintly by the pale glow of the streetlight that filtered in through the blinds on the window. The room was empty, and the wrinkles on the sheets were the only indication that Jack had ever occupied the vacant space beside Erin a night before. Reaching out, Erin brushed her fingers over the soft fabric, finding it cool to the touch. She frowned slightly, and glanced across at the bathroom door. It was wide open and the room inside was as dark as the bedroom. Erin frowned, and then decisively slid her long legs over the side of the mattress, dropping her feet to the floor. She shivered against the cool air and frowned again. She grabbed her blanket and wrapped it around herself smiling at the slight warmth, Erin wasn't sure what it was but the warmth made her feel a sense of comfort.

She headed through the dark corridor into the kitchen of the place she called home. The floor underneath her feet was like she was walking on ice. As she reached the kitchen she pulled the coffee machine out from where it was kept by the wall and started making coffee. It was 4am and she couldn't sleep. It wouldn't be the first time she was eating cereal with a coffee with almond milk at 4am. Yes you heard me an 18 year old girl drinking coffee with almond milk her dad said it would be better come long term and he insisted pulling the personal trainer card all the time.

Now don't mistake this for her complaining in any way about Kevin but he was more the intellectual, strict, caring about you long term dad whereas Dean was the fun dad who lived every day as if it was his last. She grew up with them as the only parents she needed, sure the surrogate was still close to them family being more of a close friend but after Erin was comfortable without her she took more of a step back. Kevin and Dean were the best parents Erin could ask for and they gave their lives for her and her older sister Loki. Loki was born with the same surrogate meaning the girls had a similar gene even though...we haven't got time to get into that.

Kevin and Dean were so supportive and were the best role models to have growing up. They took no shit, even though we are living in the 21st century homophobia still exists and ever so often you would be out as a family going on a shopping trip and get ridiculed because 2 men were holding hands and kissing in public. One memory that haunted Erin was from when she was 16 and the family decided to go on a family trip to the park; this was when Loki had just moved out for college. But a man came over as soon as he saw Kevin and Dean being affectionate and started calling them slurs; Erin was called an abomination amongst the slurs which did nothing for her confidence. He had said something along the lines of "People like you shouldn't have kids. The poor kid is an abomination and deserves a real mother. Which poor mother did you pry the kid off she can't be yours after all you're just 2.." she always cut it off there before the slurs started again.

But Dean wouldn't have it sure insult him all you wanted to but talk shit about his baby girl and he wasn't going to hold back. Erin was quite content with sharing Dean's sharp tongue and Kevin's smartness sometimes but this time Dean's sharp tongue went out the window and he punched the man in the face before collecting his things and walking back to the car calling for Kevin and Erin to follow. Since that day she only looked up to her dads even more they were a force to be reckoned with and for that Erin was grateful.

Sure being raised by 2 gay men was always going to be a hate topic but she was proud to say she was raised by them. Erin was proud to say her name was Erin Rosanna Tolan-Owens yeah it was a long name and impossible to fit on test papers but she loved it. Her name was unique and consisted of both her dad's surnames and her middle name came from Loki which connected them as siblings even more.

Erin got lost in her thoughts and didn't even realize it was now 6am and Kevin was up. He turned on the light and waved in front of Erin's face "Earth to Erin, Houston we have a problem i think we have lost contact with the mission" he chuckled as Erin snapped out of her trance

"Huh? What? Oh hey dad" she smiled a little "Why are you up?" as soon as she looked at the clock she realized "Ohhhh...Damn i must have zoned out." her brown eyes were a little red from crying but she was ok "I just gotta get it off my chest Me and Jack broke up because frankly he was a player and that wasn't cute" she sighed "I just couldn't sleep he used to come over every Wednesday and we would cuddle it just didn't feel right" she sighed again leaning on her wrist "So how'd you sleep?"

Kevin chuckled softly making a coffee "I didn't. Your papa decided we would have a hobbit marathon and it was mandatory i stayed awake because i made him watch Queer Eye with me again so i didn't sob. I of course threatened to leave him for Antoni per usual but that is a different matter" he put a hand on Erin's shoulder "I'm glad you did what was best for you sweetheart. But you are gonna get over him soon enough" he kissed her forehead "Now i gotta head out. I have a PT session with Claire at 6:45am" he grabbed his keys "Tell your papa his lunch is in the fridge and there's coffee in the pot" he ran out the door

"Bye dad! Love you!" Erin shouted and once again she was left alone with her thoughts. Kevin was always on the go and was always on schedule but Dean never had a schedule and went with the flow as if on cue...

Dean walked into the kitchen rubbing his eyes "Don't look at me i look like a gremlin" he chuckled "And not the cute kind the one. The one where you feed them after midnight and they go all gross and green" he ruffled Erin's hair "Didn't you sleep again? You know as much as I support your binge watching of friends and the ability to take after me and eat your feelings when you hit the final season sleep is mandatory and you need to do it" He sat in front of her "What's up pumpkin?"

Erin chuckled "But Joey and Rachel were endgame and the wedding makes me cry" she looked at Dean "Ok well i broke up with jack for reasons. He was pulling a Jamie Wellerstien on me" she folded her arms "So i had to do what was best and move on, so i dumped him. But I miss him" she pouted "I don't know what to do Papa, I loved him and committed every ounce of free time I had to him. Now I suddenly have spare time and it's like What do i do with it?"

Dean chuckled a little "Get a hobby or get ready for school and talk to your friends about it. I'm sure they have some good ideas on how to cope. Please make sure its legal" he chuckled

"Dad" Erin laughed "Love you" She ran to her room and got ready for school