Warm.
Steady.
“Come on,” she says.
And it just — slips out.
Before I can think about it.
Before I can decide whether I’m ready.
“I think I’m gay.”
• • •
Silence.
Then —
“Oh, honey.”
My mom glances at my dad.
Already smiling.
“We see the way you look at Cass.”
I groan, dragging a hand over my face.
“Is it really that obvious?”
My dad huffs out a quiet laugh.
“We’ve known for a while.”
Great. Love that for me. So glad my lifelong secret was open to the public.
“But we’re really glad you told us,” my mom says softly. “We’re here. Always.”
“I was kind of hoping for at least a little shock,” I mutter.
That does it.
They both laugh.
“Okay,” I say, half-smiling despite myself. “I wasn’t expecting to get laughed at either.”
But I’m laughing too.
Because that’s what it’s always been like here.
Easy. Safe. Light.
The three of us on the kitchen floor together.
My mom’s hand still on my shoulder.
My dad looking at me like I’ve given him something.
