Deborah nodded and waved her hand towards the sitting room. "In here. You both look really serious. What's wrong?"
Luc stepped round Adam and went into the sitting room. For a moment, Adam stayed where he was. This was it, the moment everything would change for good or bad. His stomach felt heavy, his mouth was dry, and his feet didn't want to move. There was so much anxiety spiralling inside him, that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to throw up or scream; probably both.
"Adam?" Deborah was still standing before him, her eyebrows pinched together.
There was no turning back. He and Luc had to face their parents.
"Let's go sit down," he said, finally managing to pick up one foot then the other.
He felt like a dead man walking as he shuffled into the sitting room and sat in one of the armchairs. Luc was sitting in the other, which put unwelcome distance between them. Their dad was sitting on the sofa. Still frowning, Deborah moved to sit beside her husband.
"What's wrong?" she asked again, concern making her voice shake.
Adam and Luc glanced at each other.
"There's something we have to tell you," Luc began.
It would have been easy for Adam to stay silent and let Luc do all the talking, but he had been the one who had instigated this moment.
"We're in love," Adam said, the words rushing out of him.
Their parents stared at them, unblinking. Time seemed to freeze. Adam's heart clenched.
"I'm sorry—what?" Deborah asked, as though she hadn't heard.
"We're in love," Luc repeated. "With each other."
“Of course you are!” Deborah exclaimed. “Your brothers. Why wouldn’t you love each other?” She laughed nervously. “I’m glad you two have finally sorted things out. It’s about time, isn’t it Ken?”
“No,” Luc said as their dad started to nod in agreement. “Listento us. We’re not talking about brotherly love. We’rein lovewith each other. We want to betogether.”
“Romantically,” Adam added in a pained whisper.
Deborah's eyes widened. Their Dad's jaw clenched. Adam wanted them to say something but at the same time he hoped they wouldn't. Whilst they were silent, they weren't shouting, screaming or crying. They weren't outpouring hate and condemnation. He braced himself, expecting the worst.
Deborah smacked her hand to her mouth. "In love?" she repeated. "With each other?" The shock and disgust were all too evident in her tone of voice. She began to shake and then stood. "I'm sorry, I can't." Then she fled the room.
Adam glanced at Luc, saw the pain in his stepbrother's eyes and wanted nothing more than to go to him and embrace him.
"In love?" their dad roared, standing. "You can't be. You're brothers."
"Stepbrothers," Luc growled out. “We aren’t related by blood.”
"You think that makes a difference? You were raised together as brothers."
That was enough for Adam. His dad, who was his flesh and blood, hated him. Deborah, who had raised him since he was four years old, couldn't stand to be in the same room as him.
"Have you..." their dad swallowed. "Have you slept together?"
"Yes," Luc said, his chin raised in defiance.
In contrast, Adam bowed his.
"Disgusting," their dad hissed. "Utterly disgusting." He shook his head. "I'm going to speak to your mother. You two had best wait here." He marched out, slamming the door behind him.
Adam dropped his head into his hands and clenched his hair, not caring that his scalp burned with pain as he did so. He'dknownthis was how it would be. His body shook as he let out a violent sob. He couldn't remember the last time he'd cried, but now he couldn't hold back the tears. They poured out of him as though a floodgate had been opened, and he bawled like a baby. His parents hated him, thought he was disgusting; maybe he was. Maybe everything he had done with Luc made him a monstrous deviant. He shouldn’t love his stepbrother, but he did. Shame filled him, which only made him cry harder. He let go of his hair and pressed his fists against his eyes, pressing so hard he made stars explode behind his closed eyelids. He hated himself for doubting what he and Luc had, but he still found himself wanting to wind back the clock and take back everything they’d just said to their parents. But he couldn’t, anymore than he could erase the hate and disgust he’d seen on their faces from his mind. Because of a decision he’d made—to give in to his lust for Luc—his world was about to shatter around him and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
