Adam pulled some clothes on, whilst Luc disappeared downstairs to use the bathroom. His heart was still racing, as was his mind, trying to make sense of why their parents were outside. It had been two weeks and all they'd had was dead silence. Okay, so Luc had visited a couple of days earlier, but he'd said it hadn't gone well. But now... now their parents were here. His flesh went cold. Maybe their parents had brought the rest of his stuff.
"Your turn," Luc said, wrapping his arms around Adam from behind. "Try not to stress."
"Easier said than done." Adam dragged a T-shirt over his head. He twisted in Luc's arms and kissed him, tasting mint on his brother's breath.
"Go on," Luc urged.
As tempting as it was to ignore the inevitable and drag Luc back to bed, Adam knew it wasn't an option. He half climbed, half slid down the ladder and headed to the bathroom, where he quickly washed and brushed his teeth. He got the tips of his fingers wet and ran them through his hair, giving the messy dark strands more definition.
As he left the bathroom, Luc was waiting for him. "Ready?"
Adam shook his head. He took a deep breath. "But we have to face them."
He joined Luc and held his hand and, together, they opened the door.
Their parents weren't standing there with a bunch of bags. In fact, they had nothing out of the ordinary with them at all.
"Can we come in?" their dad asked.
"Sure," Luc said, standing aside and pulling Adam with him.
Their parents strode in, making their way to the sofa, before sitting down.
Luc squeezed Adam's hand. "It'll be fine," he whispered. "They obviously want to talk."
Adam nodded, but he didn't feel his brother's confidence at all. Maybe all his belongings were in the car and this was just the build-up to being told they never wanted to see him again. He swallowed a couple of times, trying to make his mouth moist, but his tongue still felt dry and heavy as Luc tugged him over to stand in front of their parents.
"Sit down," their dad said.
Not that there was anywhere else to sit, so Adam and Luc sat on the floor, with their backs to the TV. They were still holding each other's hands. Adam squeezed Luc's tightly, seeking comfort, or maybe a shield.
"We've come to apologise." Both their parents spoke at the same time, their words a garbled mess. They laughed nervously and then Deborah motioned towards her husband, giving him the green light to speak first.
"We've come to apologise," he repeated, after clearing his throat.
Adam's eyebrows crawled up his head.
His dad rubbed his hands over his thighs. "We treated you both very badly," he went on. "We overreacted and took far too long to come to that realisation. Yes, the two of you being together came as a shock, but we shouldn't have acted the way we did. We shouldn't have told you to leave." He hung his head.
"Dad..." Adam began.
"Parents make mistakes too," Deborah said, her voice shaking as tears gathered in her eyes. "We're not saying we fully understand, but we don't want to lose you, either of you. We love you both too much. We just... we hope..." Her voice broke.
"We hope you'll be able to forgive us," their dad said.
Adam didn't know what to say. He glanced at Luc, looking for some clue. Luc was smiling ever so slightly. He cupped his other hand over Adam's.
"We love you too," Luc said firmly. "Does this mean you can accept the two of us being together?"
Their dad nodded hesitantly. "If that's what it takes to keep our sons in our lives, then yes."
Adam felt his chin wobble. It wasn't the unreserved outpouring of acceptance and love he might have hoped for, but it wasn't a rejection, either.
"You can come home, if you want," Deborah said, looking directly at him.
He shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. The sadness in Deborah's eyes made his stomach lurch. He dipped his gaze, feeling sick, because he knew he was going to disappoint her.
"You're happy here?" his dad asked.
