Skurdulka's House (a LGBTQ chosen-family thriller)

Part 12: Skurdulka

Sitting in the backseat of the Camry, Storm watched the trees and houses drift past. When he pictured running away—or being thrown out, he hadn't quite decided what had happened—he didn't picture going back to school in the suburbs. It was a different school, sure but... was any school really different?

"This is so stupid," he muttered. "The moment my name goes on that record, my dad is going to find me."

Sitting in the passenger seat beside Chris, Ari was filling out papers. "Your name is Storm Vander—sen? Is it S-E-N or S-O-N?"

Storm leaned forward, trying to study Ari. "S-E-N," he said cautiously. "How did you know that?"

Ari gave a sly smile. "I found you on Facebook. Not too many Storms out there." Then they chuckled. "Well, I hear Hurricane Hubert is going to make landfall soon, but..."

Drumming their fingers lightly on the steering wheel, Chris let out a sigh through their nose, shaking their head. "Punny."

"I thought you weren't on Facebook?" Storm said.

"I'm not. But," Ari twisted around, raising their eyebrows at Storm, "all of my kids are."

Storm frowned, looking at Chris in the mirror. "You guys ratted me out? Really?"

Chris shrugged. "Your Facebook profile's not exactly a state secret."

Storm crossed his arms over his chest. "It's still stupid. My dad's gonna find me."

"Schools aren't really in the habit of giving out their students' names to random men," Ari replied. "Especially drunk angry ones." 

"What about the police? They'll check for sure."

"They won't."

"Why wouldn't they? It's only one district over."

"Because you're not a missing person. You dad never filed a police report."

Storm opened his mouth to speak, but the breath puffed out of his lungs. "Oh." He didn't even look for me. That was a cut across the heart. He's probably glad I'm gone. That one was worse.

Chris parked in the first space, right next to the front doors. "I'm gonna meet Rennie in the library." They tossed the keys to Ari. "Text me whenever you're done. I'll meet you back here."

"Chris, did you ever apologize to Ella?" Ari asked. "I know it's difficult, but Ella's a nice person and a good friend of yours. You should do what you can to patch things up."

"I..." Something caught between hesitation and panic made a grimacing smile on Chris's face. "I've gotta go. Good luck!" They stepped out.

Ari leaned over. "This conversation isn't over!"

Chris shut the door, half jogging, half speedwalking towards the school's doors.

Storm frowned, watching them through the window. "That Rennie girl must be something. Never seen anybody walk into school that fast."

"Okay, this is all set." Ari finished the stack of papers with a paperclip and twisted around in the seat. They took a deep breath. Their sharp features and green-brown eyes were oddly solemn. "All right. Now. There's something I haven't told you. It's going to come as a bit of a shock. Probably more than a bit. I wanted to tell you before, but it didn't seem like the right time."

Storm studied them, confused. "Oh-kay."

"Although..." Ari glanced at the school. "This probably isn't the best time either. But it's now or never." They chuckled. "To be honest, there's no easy way to explain it."