Rebounds

-19-

Quick Author's note(totally unimportant): ik i'm writing a lot of these but damn. The story has changed a lot from what it originally was. It started as a simple story about a girl and a boy to something that explores things like suicide, homophobia, rocky relationships with your parents, and addiction. There's much more to come and I'm glad to take you on this journey with me. It truly means a lot for you to read up till here. :)

~

On the walk back Adam talked about his football games, catching me up on everything I've missed. I listened as attentively as I could but the memories of the nights I spent with 'Reid' came to mind. I remember the things he said about his family. His sister with cancer, his parents talking about divorce. Everything just clicked suddenly. My eyes widen for a short moment before I hid my surprise and kept listening to Adam chat away. Could he be the Reid I know?

Once we came back I looked for Reid. I quickly told Adam I loved talking to him before sprinting upstairs. I was right about him being upstairs.
Reid was on my bed, scrolling away on his phone. He noticed me.
"Where'd you go without me?" He pouted. "Adam was gone too. I didn't know what to do by myself."
"I'm sorry. I just needed to talk to him. Like I wanted to before." Reid nodded. "Walking helped me remember something too."
"Yeah? Like?" I sat down on the bed and Reid propped himself up.
"I used to talk to this boy at night. I snuck out of my house and went to walk just to vent to him and listen to him vent." Reid didn't seem to care much and I sighed.

Reid's pov

I listened to her talk, getting lost in my own thoughts. For a second she looked disappointed I had nothing to say. I guess I could tell her about Syd. We did the same thing...
I almost gasped. No way. I told myself there was no way it could be her. That's too much of a coincidence. Meeting in the woods one night, in school, and then a random cafe. Too many coincidences. So there's no way it was her.
"His name was Reid too but that isn't his real name. It was the name of his old friend. Was that friend you?" My heart felt like it was crashing in on itself. It is her. Syd.
"Maybe. That'd be funny, huh?" I looked down and smiled. We both fell silent. I thought to myself. I could tell her. I should tell her. I watched her look out the window. I told 'Syd' too much. Things Maeve can't know yet. I gripped the sheets of the bed and bit my lip before changing the subject.
"How was talking to Adam?" Maeve looked at me with tired eyes.
"It was good but sometimes I wish I never came back. Loving him is hard because loving him means I need to love my parents too. I'm just not there yet. Forgiving them isn't something I've thought about doing until now. It's just overwhelming." She sighed deeply.
"They care. You just need to reach out to them and break the awkwardness," I replied. Maeve frowned.
"I know they care. I know they love me. I just wish they could love all of me. Why push away parts of me I can't change?" I rubbed her back.
"At least they're there. You can't keep pushing them away. They're your parents." Maeve looked away.
"Just because they're there doesn't mean they're good parents. They cared a little too much. They cared too much about me being gay, my grades, my failures, my every move. It had to be perfect. I had to be perfect. I'm not though. I suffered everyday because of them. I don't care if they were there because they weren't there for me. They just wanted to show me off."
"Yeah, because they were proud of you. They wanted to see you succeed," I assured. I reached out to Maeve but she pulled away.
"No the fuck they were not. Once I came out they hid me. They were ashamed of me because of something I couldn't control. I may have never visited or called but they've never reached out either. My mom only called for my brother. She doesn't actually want to see me. Why can't you see that?" She raised her voice and I snapped.
"You have no idea what it's like growing up with no one who cared about you. When Maddy died it was over for me. My family broke apart. I didn't have anyone at my games. I spent every birthday alone. I ate dinner by myself. The house was always empty. I had no one. You have them but that's not enough for you. Just be grateful they haven't abandoned you," I argued.
"Did you not listen to me?" Maeve got out of the bed. "They did abandon me. I can't even say that though because they were never really there for me."
"I didn't listen to you. You're always complaining Maeve. You're lucky. So fucking lucky. You just don't get it." I turned away from her hiding my frown and glare. I glanced at her quickly and my anger dissipated at the sight of her disgusted. By me.
"Get out of my house." I stared at her. She pulled her keys out of her pocket. "Take my car and go. Brooke can drive me home."
"Maeve-" She threw the keys on the bed.
"I want you gone before sunset." She turned and I jumped to grab her before she was gone. "You should start packing."
"Maeve, please-" She glared at me.
"I don't want to hear my name coming out of your mouth." I was frozen. Shit. What did I do?
She glared at me before turning away and leaving me all alone.