NANCE: I don’t know if you can see this, baby, but Serena just called to tell me you’re in trouble. We’re seeing what we can do. Jace is talking to a lawyer now.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I had to assume that along with seeing the news, they must’ve heard about the picture.
I sent a quick text to Steve, Casey, and Serena to let them know I was okay and that I’d call them after I talked to Nance and Jace, whom I FaceTimed right away.
“Keeg?” Nance’s worried voice answered, the phone a little too close to her face as she seemed to be trying to inspect me to ensure I was all right.
“I’m fine, Mom.”
Jace rushed up beside her—she must have called him over right before answering. “You okay, bro?”
“I heard you’re in the dungeon,” Nance went on. “It’s on the news. Steve and Casey said they couldn’t get ahold of you.”
“I’m not exactly in a dungeon,” I said, scanning the phone around the room. “But I am in the palace.”
“What? I’m so confused, baby. What happened?”
I told them about the misunderstanding that had taken place in Town Square, which had led to my arrest, leaving out the part about kissing the Prince of Parlaisa, which I felt warranted a separate conversation.
“But you’re fine?” Nance reiterated, as though she needed to hear me say it again.
I hated when she treated me like I couldn’t take care of myself.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
She took a breath, and Jace appeared to finally look a little less tense.
“I guess now’s the time for me to go ahead and tell you something else, while I’m at it.”
They quieted. It was clear by the way they were silent, waiting for me to go on, that they already knew something, something that should have been mine to share when I was ready, but there was no use being frustrated about what I couldn’t change.
And really, this was long overdue.
“I’m…” I thought it would be easier to spit the words out, but a lump formed in my throat, meaning I had to really force the words past my lips. “I’m…gay.”
And the moment I said it, as uneasy and uncomfortable as I was, I finally felt as though I’d caught my first good breath of air.
“We love you for the amazing person we know you are,” Nance said, “and we’ll love whoever you choose to be with.”
Jace’s face twisted up. “I know it’s not an easy thing to talk about, but after I told you guys I was bi, you didn’t feel like you could talk to us?”
“Not everyone can come dancing out of the closet, Jace. You made it look so easy, and there I felt like I’d been struggling with it for so long. I don’t know…I guess it just made it that much harder. And the longer I went without saying anything, the more awkward it became. I was planning on telling you guys when I got back to the Falls, but life had other plans.”
“Hey, man. I get it,” Jace said. “And we all have to do it in our own time, but I’m sorry if anything I did made you feel like you couldn’t talk to me about it.”
“Dude, I’m still trying to talk to myself about it, let alone other people.”
He smirked and nodded. “Yeah, I get that, Keeg. And I love you.”
“We both love you,” Nance reminded me.
We chatted some more as I assured them that I was fine and told them about my adventure after kissing Sexy Robin, when I heard a knock at the door.
“Hey, you guys mind if I call you back?”
“Of course,” Nance said. “Let us know if you need anything else. And remember, we love you, and Crawford would be proud of you too.”
