Exposed (#wattys2016)

chapter fifteen

I woke up the next morning thinking about money. Thinking about family. It was almost Thanksgiving.

Levi was making breakfast in the kitchen with Gina when I got downstairs. They both gave me short glances, their eyes narrowed.

I stood in front of the counter and looked at Levi only. He was going to be a father and I was going to be an uncle. There was no adult figure in our lives anymore besides ourselves, and that was frightening.

I was clearly thinking too much and I turned around to leave out the kitchen door.

I saw Ed standing on the other side of the sidewalk and I flashed him the middle finger from across the street, although I'm not sure he even noticed who I was.

I reached Caspian's house and knocked three times on the door before his father answered.

"Whaddya want?" He said in a rough voice. He only had blue boxers on, exposing his hairy chest and gold necklace.

I tried to peek around his body to see inside, the view unflattering in front of me.

"I'm here for Liv. We have a school project we're doing together."

He started laughing and he opened the door for me, "No fucking."

I rolled my eyes once I got past his almost nude body.

The house still smelled like beer and cigarettes but I simply made my way upstairs to Casp's room without thinking about the scent. I knocked on his door and he slowly opened it, quietly peeking out, his eyeballs darting around.

"Come in, quick," he closed the door and immediately pinned me against it.

"What are you doing here?" He stared directly at me, his big hands pushing into my shoulders.

"I missed you," I raised my eyebrows and his tense grip loosened a bit.

He dropped his arms to wrap around my waist, bringing me in for a kiss.

He kissed me a few times before backing away slightly, "Nobody ever missed me before."

He had a half smile on his lips as he talked, his hands slipping into his pockets.

I looked up into his eyes, which seemed content. "Can you admit that you're gay now?"

He shook his head, rolling his eyes as he turned around to sit on the end of his bed.

"I guess I'll just declare us boyfriend and boyfriend." I crossed my arms to try and meet his demeanor, coming up sub par.

He rain his fingers through his hair and shook his head again, shrugging while he looked up at me with a tired stare. "I'm never admitting that I might be gay."

I came home to an empty house. A note was attached to the fridge, written in chicken scratch. It read:

The old lady down the street said she could take better care of us than you.

I pondered the note for a while, crumbling it up in my fingers and tossing it into the wastebasket. "What kind of old lady steals little kids?" I thought.

I soon realized there really wasn't anyone home with me. I cracked open a beer and enjoyed the quiet house, putting on a random movie, my feet elevated on the coffee table. Although the serenity was nice, Levi came storming through the front door with Gina clutching her stomach.

"We're having a baby!" Levi exclaimed almost too happily, hugging Gina as her hands rose from her stomach to hug him back.

They danced around the living room excitedly as I stayed in my same spot, finishing my beer in a matter of seconds.