Page 97 of Attractive Forces

I grab his arm, tugging him over to the corner of the waiting room.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“We came to get you.”

My spine stiffens. “I’m not leaving.”

“Listen,” Dad says in a low voice. “I understand you want to be here for your friend. But blowing off the championship game isn’t going to help anything.”

This is it.

As I stare at my father, at his receding hairline, at the little patch of stubble he missed when he was shaving this morning, a truth dawns on me.

He’s just a man. When you strip away the authority that comes with his job, the idea that he speaks for God, he’s just a man, as fallible as everyone.

“You don’t get it,” I say.

My father tilts his head, his eyes narrowing. “What don’t I get?”

“Jake’s not just my friend.” My words are barely a whisper. But then I get angry. Livid.

Jake doesn’t deserve to just be whispered about. Jake deserves to be claimed, loud and proud.

I find my voice, stronger now. “He’s not just my friend.”

I see the moment when my father realizes the truth. When he realizes exactly what I’m saying.

I don’t fucking care anymore. I’ll take out billboards proclaiming I’m gay. I’ll tattoo ‘I like dick’ on my forehead. Nothing matters except Aaron pulling through and Jake not blaming himself for what happened.

Dad stumbles back in horror, his arms up like he can physically shield himself from the truth. “Not my son,” he says.

And part of my heart shatters. This is my nightmare coming true. Seeing my father’s opinion of me change. Seeing his pride in me overshadowed by my sexuality.

I don’t know if his words are my official disowning or simply an echo of his disbelief.

Either way, I know what my response needs to be.

I straighten my shoulders and look him directly in the eyes. “This is who I am. And I’m not changing.”

My father sucks in a breath.

I flick a glance at my mother, who is watching from a few feet away, her face pale. I can’t look at her for long though. I don’t want to see rejection stamped on her face. I can’t handle being rejected by both my parents at the same time.

Suddenly Jake’s mother stands. She steps toward us, her swollen eyes and blotchy face somehow making her steely expression even more fierce.

“Let me provide you with some perspective,” she says in a low voice, her gaze not leaving my father’s. “One of my sons is fighting for his life as we speak. At this point, I wouldn’t care if he announced he’s in love with a goat.

“If you want to throw your child away because he doesn’t conform with some outdated beliefs written down over two thousand years ago, that’s your business. But your son will always be welcome in my home.”

My father’s eyes swing between Jake’s mum and me and then to Jake.

“I can’t…” He staggers backward. He shakes his head as he backs away through the double doors. They swing closed behind him with a bang.

I close my eyes, pain ripping through me. Fuck.

The next thing I know, a hand is on my arm. I open my eyes to see Jake standing next to me. The warm weight of his hand settles something inside me.

When I can rip my gaze away from Jake’s, I realize my mother hasn’t left with my father. Instead, she’s gone over to Jake’s mum.