Next week, I also plan to start setting up my non-profit and apply for some grants. It’ll take a while, so no time like the present, right? Get the ball rolling as I gain more experience.
Willow tears down the stairs, nearly knocking me over, to greet Wesley. He bends down to her eye level and gives her a pet. He laughs and stands, holding out his fist to me. I bump it, and we head into the kitchen.
“Wes, are you eating breakfast?” Mom asks, wiping her hands on a dishtowel before plating several strips of bacon and setting the platter on the table.
He kisses her cheek, and she shoos him away, giggling. “Yes, ma’am. Give meallthe bacon.”
Dad and Aaron are already sitting down with their own plates stacked with pancakes. When Willow starts begging for food, Mom shoos her outside. “Out! No begging princesses in the kitchen.”
Since Dad promoted Mike, he gets to go to work later these days, while poor Mike has to get up at the ass-crack of dawn.
“What are you boys doing today?” Dad asks, sliding a fork through his pancakes, taking a bite.
Mom sets a plate in front of me with two pancakes, smothered in melted butter and syrup. I snatch two pieces of bacon and put them on my plate. “Wes and I are going fishing.” I look over at my brother, who’s scrolling through his phone while sipping some orange juice. “Wanna go, Aaron?”
He looks at me and shrugs. “Maybe. Amanda just texted me that she’s got to cancel our plans for today.”
“Cool,” I say, forking some pancake. Mom makes some of the best pancakes in town, cooking them in a cast-iron skillet. There’s enough butter on them to give a horse a heart attack, but they’re the best.
Mom finally sits down, always the last one to do so, since she cooks for everyone. “How’s job hunting, honey?” she asks.
My fork hovers over my mouth as all the stress comes rushing back to me at full force. “Well, I interviewed over at Siuslaw National Forest.”
“I still think that’s kind of far, Den. We talked about this already,” Aaron said.
“No shit!” I instantly regret snapping. Everyone’s faces are in shock because I never talk like that. “Sorry,” I mumble. How do I explain that if I get a job so far from home, it’s going to be hard to have a real chance with Mike?
I sigh, setting my fork down, taking a long gulp of orange juice.
“Dude,” Wesley says.
“Dennis?” Mom’s tone is firm but gentle, a sure sign that a lecture is coming on.
It’s time to come clean about everything. I think I’m okay enough that I’m not going to weep like a damn baby when I talk about it. Or at least, I hope so.
Everyone grows quiet, and they’re all staring at me. Yeah, they need to know what’s been going on with me. I wish I could talk about Mike, but we haven’t discussed telling our parents about us yet, even if his momkind of figured it out. “Sorry,” I say again. “I’ve been… kind of a mess lately. Stressed out. I… didn’t tell you the full truth.”
“Truth about what?” Aaron asks. “About you and—”
I give him a slight shake of my head to shut him up because I know what he’s about to say. Now isn’t the time to mention Mike. At least he’s got the brains to stop while he’s ahead.
“About what happened at school close to graduation,” I admit. It still makes me itch thinking about it all, but I think I’m ready to tell them without needing to hide in my room for all of eternity.
Mom’s chair scrapes against the floor as she stands. She walks to the coffeemaker and pours herself a cup. “Iknewsomething was off with you. You haven’t been yourself for months. Something felt wrong during graduation. I see that now, looking back. We were just so excited and…”
“It’s okay, Mom. I tried to hide it. Ididhide it.”
Aaron leans back in his chair, eyeing me carefully, scrutinizing, making me squirm. He’s going to make a good lawyer one day. “What are you talking about?”
Dad huffs. I can tell he’s getting impatient. Not in an angry way, but he’s dying to know what I’m talking about. He prefers things to be simple and straightforward. “Hide what? And what does this have to do with you looking for a job? Or snapping at your brother?”
I lean back in my chair, stretch out my legs under the table, and stare at the ceiling as everyone has their eyes pinned on me. “It’s like I’ve been struggling to breathe. Everything just got dumped on me all at once, it seems.” I sit up, take another bite of bacon, procrastinating because this shit is hard to admit, especially since I’ve been hiding everything for so long. “First it was Geoff, then it was my professor, then I lost my job…”
I eye Wes, who’s frowning and narrowing his eyes. We pretty much tell each other everything, and I’ve kept this huge secret from him. It’s not that I don’t trust anyone with what happened, but it was easier tocompartmentalize it all. Telling people would force me to relive it again and again. It was painful enough telling Mike.
As I pick at my pancakes, not looking at anyone, I plow through it, like ripping off a bandage. “You remember my boyfriend Geoff from college? Well, we didn’t just break up. He cheated on me. I caught him getting it on with another dude.”
Mom sets her mug on the counter and heads my way. “Oh, honey, I’m—”
