I feel you, mom and dad. He is, most definitely, intriguing. That’s putting it mildly.
“What about you, Ren?” My dad asks.
“Oh, I’m gay as fuck,” he says casually, forking salad into his mouth.
I choke while my mom snickers and my dad shakes his head.
“No…” he chuckles, part mortified, part engrossed.Again… yea.“I mean, what happened with your arrest? Did they pretend you were dead, too?”
Ren’s amusement falls and he shoots me a nervous look. Because getting into his issues couldset fireto how much they’ve been liking him so far.
“Uh, yea…” He nods, sipping some iced tea. “Yes. They definitely… did that.”
“Have you spoken to your parents?” My mom looks sad for him.
But Ren just looks uncomfortable.
“No…” He shifts.
“We came straight to California,” I jump in to save my man from having to talk, or think, about his shitty parents.And how murdered by him they are.
“Right, no, that’s what weshouldbe talking about,” my father lights up. “How are you here??”
“Are you in danger?” Mom adds.
Steeling myself for theAlabaster-explanation, I start, “So, basically, the prison is on an island outside of US jurisdiction…”
“Think Guantanamo meets Alcatraz meets… Arkham Asylum,” Ren rumbles.
I’mvisiblydelighted by this comparison, and my parents are grinning subtly.
“There was this storm,” I go on. “It smashed through part of the building and we used the opportunity to—”
“Break out??” My dad gasps.
“I know it sounds crazy.” I rub the back of my neck.
“Not as crazy as our eighteen-year-old son the hacker being kidnapped by the government,” Mom mumbles.
Point well made.
“Anyway, as crazy as it definitely sounds, it’s real. And against all odds, we made it out… together.” I smile at Ren.
“Well, what matters most is that you’re here now,” Dad sighs. “And we’ll do whatever we have to do to keep you safe.” He takes my mom’s hand. “We’re not losing you again, Lexington.”
My smile falls fast. Ren’s does too.
Crap…
Welp, there goes that good mood.
I gulp, fidgeting. “About that…”
“What…?” My mother is dripping with visible worry.
“We’re going back.” I expel the words, immediatelyhatinghow it makes them look.
“What?!Why??” My dad barks.
