The Medium Kid

Chapter 22

The staring only happened for around five seconds before Koda climbed off of Alfie. But to Alfie, it felt like hours. Koda leaning to kiss him, the heat building in their chests, the door shifting across his carpet, his mother's gasp, Alfie turning to see his father appear in his doorway too. All of it dragged through time agonisingly slow.

Alfie sat up when Koda was far away enough that he wouldn't headbutt him. He wanted to stand, but the sudden shock had frozen the muscles in his legs. His mother reached up and rested a gentle hand on his father's shoulder. Alfie couldn't see the same soft tones in her eyes; he could see... humour?

"I told you that making Koda a bed on the floor was pointless," Molly said to Tom, shaking her head with a smug smile. "You owe me a bottle of wine." She patted Tom's shoulder and left the doorway like nothing interested had happened.

"You- what?" Alfie said without his control, gripping onto the duvet until his knuckles turned white and his fingers pulsed.

Tom, who was holding some blankets, piled them on the nearest chest of drawers. "I'll leave you both to it," he smiled, and as he reached for the door handle, his son was already on his feet, hurrying towards him.

"What?" Alfie said again. His eyes were big and worried.

Molly returned to the door and crossed her arms. "What, what?"

"You-" Alfie turned back to Koda who was sitting on his knees on the bed. His fingers were slotted together, and he sat so still, he could easily blend in with the lifeless furniture around the room. "You walked in on me almost kissing another guy, and you don't care?"

"A long time ago, when you were still very young and drew all over the walls before we used that chalkboard paint, you used to draw these two stick figures over and over until I asked you who they were, thinking they were ghost related," Molly said like it happened only yesterday. Then she chuckled. "You said it was you and your sidekick boyfriend."

Alfie heard Koda's quiet laugh behind him. His head was spinning like he was stuck in a washing machine. "Sidekick boyfriend?" he repeated. "I could've just meant a friend that happened to be a boy."

"No, because you would talk about how you'd marry him when you were older and kiss him after a hard day of helping ghosts," Molly grinned at her son's embarrassment.

"I had an imaginary assistant boyfriend?" Alfie wanted to laugh at himself, but he was still too shocked by his parent's reaction.

"He wasn't your assistant. You said he was a sidekick for the person who sucked souls out of people, and that's why you were such a good couple, because he took the souls, and you helped the souls with their unfinished business and eventually guided them to the light."

"Damn," Alfie ran a hand through his dark brown hair. In the natural light, it looked black. "What was wrong with me?"

"With that story, you basically told us that boys were your thing. Your father thought your views would change, so we bet a bottle of wine on it."

"I obviously lost that bet," Tom said, walking up to his son and hugging him. Alfie's eyes were still wide and cautious. "And before you get defensive about me thinking your views would change," he quickly added when Alfie frowned and opened his mouth to speak, "I know now that it's not a choice. I didn't know that back then. I was very closed minded."

Alfie closed his eyes and squeezed his father back, resting his head on his chest and listening to the beat of his heart. Finally, the truth was out. Even though his parent's already had their suspicions, he should've known. Deep down, maybe he did know that his parents would be okay with him being gay. Times are changing, and they are flexible people and eager to learn.