Disowned
by Victor Thomas
Chapter 11
Javier
Somewhere in the distance, the kitchen door slammed. Loud intelligible chatter bounced off the tile floors all the way down the hallway to my room, waking me up. Slowly, I opened my eyes, but the brightness forced me to pull the blanket on top of my head.
"Javier, breakfast is ready," moms voice came from the kitchen.
I raised myself to sitting on my bed and searched for my clothes. They seemed to be where I had left them the previous night; all around the floor. I was about to pick them up when the door opened.
"Morning, fagster," Jorge smirked, looking around.
I froze and squeezed the blanket on my lap with both hands. He noticed it and took hold of the edge. He tried to get the blanket, but I was able to prevent him from taking it. I wrapped it around myself.
"Fuck off," I snapped.
"Oh, you're naked there." He began collecting my clothes from the floor. "What if I take these to the kitchen?"
"You're a sick perv."
"If someone is sick here, it's you." He laughed and continued whispering. "You should think of mom. You being a fag is hard for her."
He tossed my clothes on the shelf so that the miniature airplane on top of it fell to the floor and broke into pieces. I closed my eyes and let my breathing calm down. The airplane, or what was left of it, had been a Christmas gift from my grandparents. I had visited the mall with them and begged them to buy it until they agreed. I had been ten years old, and the next summer, grandpa had died.
As soon as the asshole left, probably to get another beer from the fridge, I slammed the door. The rage that boiled inside me was blinding when my finger searched for the lock. Still, the broken airplane was the smallest of my concerns. My thoughts shifted back to Kenny, who had ditched me right before our date. I still couldn't understand why.
I took my phone and noticed the icon indicating a message from Kenny. I had been too angry to read it yesterday, but now I pondered whether I should still check what kind of lousy excuse my boyfriend had come up with. I hesitated a moment too long, and the dark thoughts got a grip on me again.
We were supposed to go on a date; I fumed and was about to throw the phone on the floor. Still holding it, I decided to check what the bastard had written. Thanks to Jorge, my morning was ruined already, so it could hardly get worse.
I read the message three times and only then had I calmed down enough to sit on the bed. He didn't explain his weird behavior in the message, but at least he said he loved me, which caused a small smile to grow on my face. Perhaps I should have answered his call the day before.
I sighed and put the phone away.
"I love you too," I whispered.
In a few minutes I had dressed and was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal. There was an awkward silence in the room, and me and Jorge were mainly glaring at each other while our father focused on reading the newspaper. The sound of Jorge's laughter broke the silence.
He filled his mouth with tobacco smoke and blew it straight toward my face.
"Javier got cured. I saw his pretty girlfriend yesterday," he said with a smirk on his face.
"Oh really?" mom said.
"Yeah. And Jorge got a job," I said.
The table jerked when he stood up. He fisted his hands and glared at me. I was also preparing for a fight. With my spoon as my weapon, I waited for him to make the first move. The handle of the spoon was sticking out between my fingers, ready to hit his big stomach.
"Boys, sit down," dad yelled.
The tone of his voice surprised me. I couldn't remember the last time he had raised his voice. It was a welcome change, however. Perhaps the old man had found his balls and would kick the loser from the couch to search for a job. My hopes weren't high though.
"Do you and Kenny have plans for after school?" dad asked.
I blushed.
"Um, I don't…"
"They're probably going to suck each other's cocks," Jorge interrupted.
"Yeah. Beats jerking off alone," I smirked at my brother.
He stood up again and walked to the door.
"You're dirty and a disgrace to his family," he said before he left.
I saw a suppressed smile on dad's face. I still wasn't sure what my mother thought, but at least I had one ally in the family. It meant I didn't have to fight all my battles alone. Dad raised his gaze from the paper and patted me on the shoulder.
"Kenny seems like a nice guy," he said.
Heat radiated through my chest. I smiled and nodded at him. When I turned to look at mom, she had already stood up and was collecting plates from the table. She gave me a small glance before going to the kitchen to wash the dishes. I kept staring at dad, unsure what to think.
"Give her some time," he said in a quiet voice.
I raised my eyebrows.
"What do you mean?"
"She loves you. She's just not used to the idea that she'll one day have a son in law."
I digested my father's words. He was probably right, and time would sort things out. On the positive side, even though she might have been a bit guarded lately, she hadn't said a single hostile word since I came out. Not that I had expected a strong reaction from either of my parents. The aggressive gene had clearly jumped over one generation.
"Shit," I cursed. "I should go or I'll be late."
"First time I've seen you leaving for school this early," dad commented.
I need to talk to someone about yesterday, I thought. I ignored my father's comments and rushed to my room to get my backpack.
When I got to my room, I saw something in the front yard that got my attention. The familiar Mustang was parked by the road in front of my house, and Joshua was leaning against it. He noted me looking out the window and waved his hand. He looked handsome in his pink hoodie and white jeans. Someone wasn't afraid of showing his true colors.
I waved back and began collecting my books from the floor. When I had everything, I hurried to the hallway, but halfway there, turned back and returned to my bedroom and opened the closet. If my memory served me right, somewhere on the top shelf was my favorite shirt.
Dressed in the shirt, I stopped to check that my hair looked good before I walked out the door. After the rain the night before, the air was fresh, and the sunshine warmed my skin. Joshua greeted me, smiling broadly, and took a few steps toward me.
"How did you find my house?" I asked.
He grinned.
"I'm a resourceful guy."
"So, what brings you here?"
"Actually, I wanted to apologize."
I stared at him, puzzled. As far as I could remember, he had done nothing he should apologize for. If someone should be sorry, it was my boyfriend who had stood me up just before our date. I forced my thoughts away from Kenny and gestured for him to continue.
"You seem like a really nice guy, and cute too," he said. "But I might have been too pushy, and I don't want to kill what this is."
He pointed back and forth between us.
I nodded, not sure what I should say.
"The fact is, there aren't many gay jocks at school," he said. "I would like to have you as my friend."
"Yeah, we're probably the only ones."
He laughed and touched my shoulder.
"Also, I don't want to come between you and Kenny."
"Oh. Did he tell you we're dating?"
He glanced at his sneakers and puckered his lips. He shook his head and pushed his hands into the pockets of his white jeans. Our eyes met, but I couldn't read what he was thinking. Then, he turned around, opened the door of his car, and sat behind the steering wheel.
"See you later," he said with a wide smile on his face.
I stared at the back lights of his car until it turned off my street. There was something mysterious about the guy, but I was glad that he wanted to be my friend. Maybe me, Kenny, and Joshua could see a movie or do something else together sometime.
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