ALL THE STRINGS ATTACHED | COMPLETED

20.

DANIEL.

To say that everything is okay would be a lie, but I am comfortable where we are now.

I've been meeting up with my father often, perhaps trying to mend the gap of not talking for many years. I've learned that he and mum fought badly after I left the house. He said that mum was the one who couldn't accept who I was, while he was struggling to choose between the two of us.

In the end, he left mum because he hated the fact that he couldn't see me anymore. The family was torn apart, as he would say.

Dad remarried, which is not surprising, considering the fact that Xander showed up and decided to blabber about who he was. Other than him being my senior, I am still at a loss as to how he found out who I was, much less who Theo was. I'm still guessing it was my dad who told him everything.

Regarding Xander, I didn't know why I was so afraid of Theo finding out who he was in the first place. I gave it some thought and concluded that it was because I was overthinking things. There was nothing wrong with my dad remarrying and all that shit. I probably just didn't want to let Theo know now I had a crazy-annoying stepbrother who came out of nowhere.

As for my stepmom, Xander has shown me a picture of her before so I do know how she looks like. I asked him why she seemed so familiar. I've met her before when we were still schooling. "She was a proud volunteer for the school's events. Big or small, she would be there! It's no wonder that you find her familiar!" Xander proudly said.

However, dad said I wouldn't be seeing her just yet. She's currently having her 'long deserved holiday', as he would call it. She booked so many tours around and flights around the world that my dad is clueless about how and where she got the money from. I guess I'll see her when I see her.

Oh, another update. Ever since that day, Dad has been asking me more and more about Theo. To be honest, I'm not so sure about how much I should share. The fact that I held on to him for so long, the part where he still followed me around even though he had no idea who I was in the first place, or the fact where he is still chasing me even AFTER finding out about all that happened.

The story sounded so complicated and insane when I tried to process whatever happened that I instantly just gave up trying to explain.

"We're not together," was the answer I gave because it was true. Up till now, I still have yet to accept his advances.

Dad was surprised because he thought we would be out in the open without any restrictions by now. Whatever he said next, however, definitely caught me off guard.

"If this is about the things that happened in the past, you probably should learn to let it go. To be very honest with you, I can't 100% say that I am okay with whatever is going on because I am, until now, trying to process this. But I want to let you know that you are you. You are my son. I am not going to let your sexuality change that fact ever again. I'd rather gain a son than lose one at this point. Let me know how it goes between the two of you."

And now here we are. Theo sitting across me at the dining table in his apartment, head propped onto his left hand while he held a stack of papers on his right. He had his eyebrows furrowed together, most likely irritated at the fact that he was reading his student's work.

I recall meeting him when it was marking season and he had a pile of papers on the table. It was his god-knows-what-number marking season now. Time has passed since we first met face-to-face. Back then he didn't know who I was, even though I remembered clearly who he is. I was thrilled to see him again but was at a loss because I was torn between being with him and sticking to my initial plan of leaving.