Lost In Reality

Luke

Lying in bed, rereading the same line of The Great Gatsby, over and over again attempting to force my brain to place meaning behind the squiggles on the page since my mind was elsewhere, I listened to the floor creak repeatedly as my older brother Mason paced in front of me.

"I'm gonna throw up."

"Please don't, I live in here."

"This was a mistake, a huge mistake, do you think this is a mistake."

"No, man, you're twenty-four, who cares what Mom and Dad think, you an adult."

"I care what they think! What if they're disgusted?"

"They'll be surprised, probably a little weirded out, but not disgusted. Mom watches Rue Paul's Drag race."

"Dad doesn't."

I shrugged.

"I should have done this sooner."

"Probably."

"I didn't mean for it to happen like this, I figured I'd be alone the rest of my life and wouldn't have to tell them. Or that I'd kill myself or something."

"Hey." I interjected, sitting up.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

"Don't say shit like that." I grumbled, flopping back down on the bed, "You can't do that, even if Mom and Dad are complete tools about the whole thing you have Ashton, and his Mom, she loves you guys, from what you've told me, and what the hell am I, chopped liver or something?"

"Or something." He joked, sitting down next to me and letting out a nervous laugh before popping up and resuming his pacing, looking to be on the verge of tears.

"You should be happy." I informed him, "You're engaged."

"SHHHHH!" he hissed.

"They're outside!" I laughed, able to hear the two on the deck, arguing about the burger to hot dog ratio, "They can't hear us. But you should be happy, just think, first a wedding, then a fancy house with all kinds of weird artsy shit like you like, then you can adopt kids."

"We want to use a surrogate."

"Cool, do whatever that is, but quit stressing out, you're freaking me out. Everything will be fine."

"But what if it's not."

"Then tonight will suck, we'll cut ties with the homophobes and get the heck out of dodge."

A sigh leaving his lips Mason sank down in my desk chair and buried his face in the University of Michigan hoodie lying on the desk.

"I'm going to miss you when you go to school." He muttered.

"You can visit." I assured him, "Michigan isn't that far away."

"A few hours."

"What if you miss me?"

"I'll use this crazy new thing, where you put in a code of numbers and are able to talk to someone from anywhere in the world."

Mason smirked, "Wow, crazy, what's it called."

"A cellphone, maybe you've heard of it?"

"Nope, never, I'll send my pigeon."

"Sad, that you have a pigeon. I have a falcon."

"Did I say pigeon, I meant an owl?"

"Okay Harry Potter."

Smiling genuinely, Mason ran his fingertips through his hair, "It's going to be okay."

"It's going to be okay." I assured him.

"Luke!" a voice shouted from downstairs, causing the two of us to jump.

"What?" I shouted back.

"Can you come here please?"

"I'm changing!" I lied, earning an eyeroll from Mason.

"Do you want a hamburger or a hot dog?"

"He wants a hamburger!" Dad's voice snapped.

"Shut up Warren." Mom spat back, "He likes hot dogs."

"Are they serious?" Mason mouthed.

"I'm a vegetarian!" I yelled, "So neither."

"He's a what?"

"Oh my God I completely forgot."

"Sweetheart I knew that I think I have some mushrooms in the fridge I saw this great recipe on the food network for a burger using a mushroom instead of meat."

Tuning the two of them out, I turned to Mason, "This is going to go horrible wrong." I informed him, "They're complete idiots."

His face as white as a sheet he nodded.

"We'll figure it out though." I promised, "Whatever happens, we'll figure something out."