Mark My Words

21 | Gay Crises

Copyright © 2018. All Rights Reserved.

Rosalie came home from the Berry's socially exhausted and too tired to put emotional effort into the movie night she had planned with Sami and Isaiah. However, she was always up to spend time with Sami, regardless of her exhaustion levels. He tended to adapt to whatever her vibe was at the time, and decide what to do from there. Too much energy meant running around downtown. Too little energy meant scrolling through social media until one of them passed out.

She yawned as she walked through the garage door, picking up Khoshekh as she went. She kissed his white patch of fur on his forehead and started towards the kitchen in search of food.

"Any plans for tonight?" her mother asked, just as Rosalie was thinking about Sami and Isaiah.

Rosalie halted, eyes going wide. She played it off as having changed her direction, heading for the cabinets instead. She turned towards one such cabinet and knew she had to say something now or risk stalling or hesitating.

"Um... yeah, I was thinking about inviting Sami over for a movie," she confessed, reaching for a glass with her one free arm. Khoshekh nuzzled his face into her neck. "Has Tante Bee told you he's grounded?"

"We talked about it," she said. Rosalie glanced at her mom, who slid into one of the bar stools and propped her chin upon her hand. "Do you know why?"

"Yes," Rosalie confessed. Her mother remained stoic as ever, blinking calmly as Rosalie glanced at the refrigerator and back at her mother before heading to fill her glass with orange juice. She set Khoshekh on the counter to do so. "Um... Are you okay with it?" she asked.

"I don't see why it's any of my business," her mother confessed.

Rosalie pursed her lips, pushing the carton back into the refrigerator. "Would it be any of your business if I also asked Isaiah to watch a movie with us?"

"Perhaps a little. It is my house, anyways. And Henry doesn't want Sami hanging around Isaiah," her mother said.

Rosalie turned to her with hurt eyes. She wished her mother wouldn't side with Mr. Griffin, but... she couldn't ignore the facts. Mr. Griffin and her mother were too similar to have differing opinions on a topic as large as Sami's sexuality.

Her mother raised her eyebrows, and lowered her hand to the counter. She splayed her fingers out with a deep inhale. "But... what Henry doesn't know won't hurt him. I'm happy that Sami figured it out on his own. And that Isaiah's willing to stick with him."

Rosalie perked up immediately, and nearly spilled her orange juice on the way to hugging her mother. Her mother wrapped an arm around Rosalie's waist and gave her a squeeze. "Tell Isaiah that as long as he's on Sami's good side, he can come over whenever he and Sami want to meet up."

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Rosalie said, cheeks hurting from smiling so wide. She kissed her mother's temple before hurrying off with her juice. "I'll be down in a bit! Just gotta get changed!"

Isaiah arrived with a batch of cookies to share during the movie. As if that wasn't already winning Rosalie over, he even brought Scott Pilgrim Vs The World to celebrate the senior class's Homecoming theme. Before the movie could even start playing, they became distracted by regaling Sami of that week's events.

"—So now I have to deal with Woodrow in my lane. And you know exactly how well that's going from what he put Mark through," Isaiah said, wrapping his arms around his knees. He tucked his chin against his arm and hid his smile in the crook of his elbow. Sami beamed at him from across the floor. "I miss having you in my lane."