Che was 5 years old when he realised he wasn't a shifter like his brothers. He was 8 years old the first time he threw up from his nocturnal issues.
He was 19 when he met Nathan.
And he was 23 when they got married.
This novella explores Che's past...
"Hey Ryan, can you hand me that?" I asked and pointed at the bowl.
He handed it to me without a word. He sighed deeply and glanced up at me. "Why are we doing this?"
"Because the school asked for cookies for the bake sale so you could go on that field trip," I replied and measured the flour before pouring it into the bowl.
"But why are you doing this? And why do I have to to do this? Alejandro wanted to hang out."
"You can hang out with your boyfriend when we've finished this." I poured some baking soda into the bowl too and smiled at my kid.
"Dad," he groaned and rolled his eyes. "We were gonna go watch a movie."
"And you will later then. I'll even drive you. Or you could ask him to come over and we'll eat some of the cookies."
Ryan sighed again but didn't reply. He never would when he got what he wanted. He wasn't the gloating type. Or chirpy. He had turned into a real grumpy teenager. Che had been exactly the same and Ryan was even keeping his hair long now like my little brother. Except Ryan's was too curly and ended up just sticking out in every direction. He liked it himself though, so who was I to judge.
"How's school?" I asked and cracked some eggs into the bowl.
"It's okay."
"Yeah?" I wanted to dig a little. Aaron had had some issues with bullying and I wanted to make sure Ryan wasn't going through the same.
"I scored three goals at practice."
"That's awesome, Ryan. Good job." I smiled and patted his head as I passed him and grabbed the sheet pan to pour the cookie mix on. "And everyone's still treating you and Alejandro nicely?"
"Yeah, you don't have to worry. Everyone's cool."
"You sure? You know you can tell me if anything's happening."
He pulled himself up on the counter and picked up an apple from the fruit bowl, while I put the cookies in the oven.
"It's nothing. Alejandro is so cool. If anyone says anything he's on them immediately. It's just..." He bit down on his lip and shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know. Everyone are totally cool with Uncle Che and Uncle Nate, so why can't it be the same for me and Alejandro?"
"Well, your uncles are grown-ups. Things are just a little easier after high school, you know? And it will get easier for you guys too."
"It's not like it's hard right now. It's just... People stare. Even when we're just eating lunch. Alejandro doesn't notice it, but I do. It's annoying."
"I can imagine. I could talk to the other teachers about it, if you want?"
He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. "No, I just gotta get out of high school already."
