Life Sucks and Then You Die (boyxboy)

Oops!

Hey guys! Here is my first new chapter since getting back to this story. Hope you all like it!

Chapter 9:

ETHAN'S POV:

I wake up in Greyson's bed, one of his arms draped protectively over my waist. I look over to see Greyson, still asleep, his mouth partly open. I smile at the sight. Last night, after putting Nate to bed, Greyson had texted his moms to ask if I could spend the night. After they said yes, I checked with my mom and she said the same thing, but said that next time, Greyson should come to our house so she can meet him. As much as I love both Greyson and my mom and would love to have them get to know each other, I'm not sure how it would go because I still haven't spoken at home, and I don't want things to be weird if I'm silent in front of Greyson for that long. Even if he did handle last night really well. And besides, I never want Greyson and my step-father to meet. I shudder at the mere thought. My movements cause Greys to stir and he slowly opens his eyes. He looks at me and breaks into a sleepy grin. "Morning," he says in a rough, tired voice. "Morning," I smile back. "So," he looks as if he's thinking about something. "My moms said they and Nate are spending the day at home today," he says slowly, and I realize what he's getting at. "I'm going to meet your parents?" I ask, nervous. "Hey," he says gently, putting an arm around me again. "They're gonna love you. Besides, they've been asking to meet you." "You've told them about me?" I smile. "Of course I did!" he says happily. Panic washes over me again. "Do they know...?" "All they know is that you're my boyfriend and I'm crazy about you," he reassures me and I smile. "But... what are they going to think when I don't talk to them? I don't want them to think I'm being rude." "Babe," he says, looking into my eyes. "I have your back, okay? And if it's too much, just text me about it and we can leave. Okay?" "Okay," I agree, slightly relieved. "Come on, lets get dressed," he says.

After getting dressed and ready for the day, Greyson and I walk downstairs together hand-in-hand. We walk into the kitchen to see Greyson's moms and Nate sitting at the table, eating pancakes. One of the women looks up and smiles. "Good morning, you two. Pancakes and bacon are on the counter. Help yourselves." "Thanks, Mom." Nate says and we go get plates of food and put them at the table. Before sitting down, I nudge Greyson and he nods. "Right. Mom, Mama, this is Ethan. My boyfriend." "I knew it!" yells Nate and everyone laughs. "Well, it's lovely to meet you, Ethan," the woman Greyson had called "Mama" says. "I'm Caroline," she adds as she reaches out her hand. I shake it and smile. "Yes, it's nice to finally meet the young man Grey has been telling us so much about," Greyson's other mom says. I blush a little at the thought of Greyson telling his moms about me and shake her hand. She introduces herself as Jenna and tells us to sit down. After taking a few bites of food, Jenna speaks again. "So, Ethan, Greyson tells us you live nearby. As I'm sure you know, we moved here a couple months ago. How long have you lived here?" I swallow my pancake a little too hard and cough. Well, this was it. Time for awkward silence and confused faces. "Ethan doesn't know how to talk!" Nathan says loudly and everyone turns to look at him. Greyson jumps in, "It isn't that he doesn't know how," he says quickly, "he just doesn't do it," Greyson says, placing a hand on my knee that I hadn't realized had started bouncing. "Oh, okay." Caroline says. "Do you sign?" She asks in Sign Language. I sign, "Yes," and she smiles. "I work as a guidance councilor at a school for deaf children," she signs. "Cool," I sign back, surprised to have found another person who knows ASL. "What are you guys saying?" Nate asks impatiently. Caroline tells him what we said, before signing the question Jenna had asked before, "How long have you lived here?" "I moved here with my mom when I was 10," I sign back, and then add, "It's fine if you talk. I can hear you. I just don't speak." "Oh, alright." She says aloud. "It's just nice to have someone else in the house who knows ASL," she smiles and then tells Jenna what I had said about how long I've lived here. "Where did you live before that?" Jenna asks and I sign, "New Hampshire." "Oh, New Hampshire is beautiful!" Caroline says.

We finish breakfast and I answer any questions I'm asked with Sign Language. After we put our dishes in the sink, we spend a couple hours playing board games in the living room and as strange as it is, I'm really enjoying myself. Shortly after starting a new game of Uno, Caroline brings us all some lemonade and puts the glasses on the table. I sign, "Thank you," and she smiles and says, "You're welcome." "My turn!" Nate says and reaches across the table to place his card in the pile. He accidentally knocks my lemonade over and it spills all over my sweatshirt. "Oops!" Nate says and Caroline and Jenna immediately apologize for him. Greyson gets a towel and starts cleaning the table and floor where the lemonade dripped, and Caroline brings me into the laundry room. She gets one of Greyson's sweatshirts and puts it on a table for me and tells me to give her mine so she can wash it for me. I sign, "Thank you," again and remove my sweatshirt and give it to her. I quickly realize my scars and bruises are exposed and slip Greyson's sweatshirt on, hoping she won't notice, but by the face she's making, I can tell she did. I curse in my head and turn to walk away. She calls my name, but I keep going, and just walk right out of the house. I'm walking fast, my vision blurry from tears. I can't go home like this, so I just keep walking. I head to the beach and just walk and walk until I can breathe normally again. At this point, it's starting to get dark out and I decide I'd better head home. When I get there, I see that my mom's car is here, but my step-father's truck isn't. There's another car in the driveway that I've never seen before. Maybe my step-father got a new car? I head into the house and hear my mom call, "Ethan?" I ring the bell beside the door and she calls, "Come into the kitchen, please." I do as she says and walk into the room to find my mom and a man and woman I'd never met before sitting at the kitchen table. "Hey, sweetie," Mom says quietly. Her eyes are red and her face is puffy. She'd been crying. "Hello, Ethan." The man says to me. "My name is Jonathan, and this is my associate, Kathleen. We're with Child Protective Services. Is it alright if we go chat in the living room?"

Sorry for the cliff hanger, but I'll have another update soon. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. Please remember to vote and comment.

Don't forget to floss,
A.J.