24

NINTH HOUR

He was fifteen when he met the woman, and he never was a fan of her. In his view, the entire family couldn't see a single shiny spot in Elena's person, but everyone kept their mouths shut because Grace seemed to like her.

It wasn't until the summer that he was due to leave for Harvard that her parents confronted him. Elliot had made a stupid comment about how an old lady had tried to seduce him when he was young, then he let it slip that it was Elena. Christian could murder him for spilling the beans, because his encounter with Elena had disgusted him and he had learned to channel his anger through kickboxing. And now, Elliot had dug up the dirt, so his parents decided to confront him.

Christian was surveying his room one last time to make sure that he didn't forget anything. He wasn't the most organized, but he was private and as someone who valued his privacy, he needed to make sure that he had hid everything. Not that he had anything to hide, but he just didn't want to leave anything on the surface for people to look at.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He turned around to look at the slowly opening door. His family had gotten used to knocking before entering without him answering.

"Mom," he called when he recognized the woman who entered the room.

"Hey," she greeted back. "Do you have everything?"

"Yeah, I think so." He looked around once again and turned back, sighing, he took a seat on the edge of his bed waiting for her to join him. He was leaving for Cambridge, Massachusetts tomorrow and it was his last night with his family because he insisted on going to college himself.

"Can I talk to you?" Grace asked tentatively. From the look on her expression he knew it wasn't a small talk that she was looking for. Nodding just as warily, he scooted to the side to invite her to the bed.

"What do you want to talk about?" He prompted, somehow realizing that he wasn't going to like their impending talk. When she didn't speak, he ruffled his head in frustration, having already guessed the topic. "Mom, stop beating around the bush. Just- tell me."

"Is it true?" She asked.

"What is?" He knew what she was talking about but he was just stalling time right now. He could kill Elliot for that slip and for him to open his big mouth.

"What Elliot said," she said.

Usually, Christian would say that Elliot had said too much over dinner but this time, he had only made one comment, unfortunately, the one that he wasn't supposed to say.

Christian sighed, leaning forward with his elbow on his knee. "Yeah," he breathed out. "It is," he confirmed.

"So, Elena did make a move on the two of you." It was more of a statement than a question, but it was still a statement that needed an answer. He nodded for confirmation.

"Elliot turned her down," he decided to tell her about the one mistake that he had regretted and would be regretting for the rest of his life. It was a one-time thing for him but it was still evidence that he had given into hormones. He only accepted because he was horny and was unable to find a girl who would be fine to have sex with him without being able to touch him. He had made too many mistakes in his life, but this would be the only one that he'd ever regret.

"What about you?" His mom asked even though his silence had been pretty obvious that he got lured by the bait.

"It only happened once, I swear."

"You were only fifteen, Christian. Oh dear, she seduced you." Grace sank into herself, he could see the gears turning in her mind and the start of the self-blaming that he wanted to avoid.