His Death Awakened Me (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 13: Out in the Open

My dad cleared his throat, shifting on the couch slightly. Mom's lips were in a thin line and she didn't say anything. Both of their eyes were glued to Sean and I.

I motioned for Sean to sit in the chair while I sat on the ottoman in front. "Jake I uh..." Dad started, scratching the back of his neck. I gulped, bracing myself. "I don't know quite how to approach this." I decided to play dumb a little.

"Mom, Dad, what's going on?" I asked, tipping my head slightly.

"Why don't you tell us Jake?" Mom piped up. She didn't have a mean tone to her question, but it certainly didn't seem happy and light either.

"Um..I'm not sure what you mean," I replied, looking down at my hands, which were starting to sweat.

"Look I know you've been through a lot lately kiddo, we all have. Your mother and I just couldn't help but notice certain...things," he said, putting special emphasis on the last word.

"We weren't gonna say anything at first honey because, well because," Mom attempted, creasing her forehead in thought. I knew what she was thinking. I glanced back at Sean who looked at me nervously.

"Because what?" I answered. "Because I'm so fragile?" I huffed in frustration. Sean winced, clearly remembering the conversation we'd had earlier.

"Well we just didn't want to upset you and didn't wanna say anything until we knew for sure," Mom replied, looking at me intensely. Dad shifted uncomfortably again.

"Knew for sure?" I asked, trying to remain calm. Inside I was dreading hearing the words, dreading the moment I would see the disgust on their faces.

"Jake is there something you want to tell us?" Mom wavered, clearly trying to avoid saying it. I sighed loudly, pausing for a few minutes. A silence settled over the room. None of us even moved. My eyes darted around, looking everywhere but at my parents faces. Sean gave me a sympathetic look.

"Jake, you know, I talked to Sean," he announced suddenly, eyeing Sean carefully before turning towards me. "Look at me son," he demanded. My calm demeanor began to crumble. My eyes pricked with tears as I fought to hold them back. I suddenly looked at him fiercely, causing him to recoil somewhat.

"What are you wanting from me?" I snapped. To be your perfect son!?" I waved my arms around slightly, expressing my frustration. Both of my parents' eyes widened. Sean's did too.

"Honey we just want you to be honest with us. You can talk to us. We want you to. It's not healthy for you to keep everything inside," she began, but I cut her off.

"I'm not! I have Sean, he's done nothing but support me, help me, and you guys wanna talk about what? How I've been spending a lot of time with him!?" I was almost yelling now.

"He hasn't always helped," Dad mumbled.

"What was that?" I asked sharply, even though I heard what he said. Dad looked back at me.

"He hurt you," Dad stated calmly, his eyes flicking over to Sean who remained quiet.

"It was a misunderstanding," I dismissed, waving my hand. My dad stood up suddenly.

"A misunderstanding? You passed out and were depressed and ended up hospitalized! Did you honestly thing we weren't worried sick? Wondering what had caused it? I knew Collin's death had affected you, but I wasn't stupid. I knew something else had happened Jake!" He exclaimed, pointing a finger at me. I suddenly felt extremely defiant.

"Stop! Just stop!" I yelled, standing up too. "I'm trying my best to pick up the pieces. You don't understand!"

"Then help me!" He snapped, training his eyes fiercely on my face.