Page 243 of For the Fans

Exhaling to stop my awkward rambles, my eyes swoop over to my mother, and she’s staring at me, brows raised.

“Okay…” she says, leaning forward. “And?”

“Oh… uh… alright.” I clear my throat. “I just thought you might need to digest that for a second. But I guess not.”

“Aviel, I’m so happy that you’re telling me.” She rubs my arm. “I’m proud of you for being so brave. But it’s not something Iwould need to process. I just loveyou. Who you love doesn’t matter as long as you’re happy with them.”

I gulp, my lips curving into a soft grin. “Thanks, Mom. I love you too.”

“Are you forgetting that your uncle Elijah is gay?” she asks, blinking at me. “And your father’s brother, Dominic.”

“No, I didn’t forget about Uncle Eli…” I mumble. “But I didn’t know about Uncle Dom…”

“Well, Elijah came out to me when he was fourteen, so I don’t appreciate you thinking I’m some old-fashioned person who wouldn’t understand,” she grumbles like she’s annoyed with me, and I have to chuckle.

“Trust me, Ma, I know you’re not old-fashioned whatsoever.” I grin at her and she smiles back. “But hold that thought, because here’s where it gets a little tricky…”

Her eyes are wide as I take a deep breath and puff out the words.

“Kyran and I have been…” That’s all I get before I pause to clear my throat again. “Together.”

Her brows zip, and she tilts her head. “Really?” I nod. “For how long?”

Biting on the inside of my cheek, I squirm a little. “About three months.”

Watching her face, it looks like a lot of things are dawning on her right now. “Sothat’swhy you two have been getting along lately. I should have known something was up! You couldn’t stop staring at each other when you were here.”

“I’m sorry…” I shift to face her. “I know it’s weird because he’s Tom’s son. But I… I just…”

“You love him?” she asks softly, and I nod glumly. “I can tell, sweetheart. I’ve never seen you like this… all torn up over someone. I’ve been waiting for it to happen.”

She’s grinning, looking all excited for me, but I can’t help rolling my eyes.

“Thanks, Mom. I really love feeling this way,” I grunt out the sarcasm.

“Well, what happened? Did you have a fight?”

“No, that’s just it. Everything was going great. He killed it at the game, and then we were at the party afterward and he told his teammates about us. It finally felt like we were a real couple. But then he took off… He left me in California without a word. He won’t answer my calls or texts… and now he’s left school.”

My mom stares at me for a moment, as if she knows I’m holding something back. “Aviel… please be honest with me. Is Kyran the one you’ve been making those videos with?”

My fingers twist in my lap, severe discomfort making me fidgety.

Oh God… This is weird. This is super weird.

I don’t want my mom to know Kyran and I have been fucking on camera.

“Avi…” she scoffs and shakes her head. “I really can’t with you.”

I give her one of my innocent looks, batting my eyelashes. “I swear I didn’t do anything too bad, Mama.”

“You’re too much, son of mine…” she breathes.

“But I’m telling you… if it weren’t for making those videos, we might never have…” My voice trails. “I mean, you know he always hated me before. So it was like it… brought us together. And now Ilovehim, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh, sweetie.” She wraps her arm around me, pulling me into her side. “You know what they say… there’s a fine line between love and hate. I bet Kyran was only ever mean to you because he cared for you, and he was scared.”

I nod. “I think so…”