ALL THE STRINGS ATTACHED | COMPLETED

13.

DANIEL.

"Nope," I said, popping the 'p' in the word.

"Come on, let me have it. I NEED it. Like now," he begged. Fuck, his puppy eyes were gonna be the death of me.

I pushed him away because he was too close for my comfort right now. I might just give in.

"Aren't you being a little too aggressive right now?"

He licked his lower lip and smiled. "Always aggressive when I'm with you."

"Pfft," I couldn't help but laugh. "Fuck off, Theo. I said no."

He hooked his arms around my waist and pulled me close. "Why won't you just give it to me?"

"Because you don't need to see it."

"Come on man. I'm even begging like this. Why don't you let me see our pictures?" he whined.

"Because there's no need to take a trip down memory lane. Besides, that box is no longer important."

Theodore presses his lips together and furrowed his eyebrows, clearly irritated by the fact that I was being stubborn.

"I'll get that box back one day, you ass. Those are technically mine you know," he said as he walked towards the kitchen.

I plopped myself down onto the sofa and threw my head back. Ever since Theodore recovered his memories, I have been exhausted from his asking about the things that happened between us and him asking for his things back.

I mean, it's in the past. Why does he want those stuff anyway?

Maybe I should question myself why I even have those things in the first place.

Fuck, if only Trinity kept her mouth shut, I wouldn't be stuck in this situation. That lady tattled on me faster than you could count to three. 

Sounds of pots and pans clinking together came traveling from the kitchen and Theo said something about making dinner. I only hummed in response, my brain currently too occupied to process any other external information. 

I recalled the past. Just weeks before the incident, all my insecurities kicked in with full force. He went on about having children and a happy family. It was a contributing factor to me overthinking, but that wasn't all. 

My parents were about to disown me for being together with someone of the same gender. They were not only very traditional thinking but highly religious. When I first told them who I was dating, their response was anything but jolly. 

Initially, they didn't say anything much but they did try to make me go to church more. They believed that it would help me 'rid of my sins' and allow me to be 'clean' again. When that didn't work, they tried sending me to conversion camps. And when they realized that nothing they were doing to make their only son 'normal', all hell broke loose. 

"How could you betray the trust we had in you?! God would NEVER create an atrocity like you! Do not call us your parents if you decide to be with that boy!"

That was the last of it. Compared to the amount of disgust and disapproval that I got from the people that gave birth and raised me, the homophobic slurs that I got in the hallways were much easier to handle. 

Of course, I didn't tell Theo anything about this. I would dodge the questions that he asked about my family. I have never brought him to see them and thinking back, they may have been for the best. 

I sighed a heavy sigh as I closed my eyes. That was more than a decade ago. Since then, I moved out and fended for myself. Not once did they try to contact me. I did send home letters and tried calling on couple occasions but it never got through.