Baited

Chapter 16. The End of life as I knew it

Cooper knelt down beside me, rubbing circles on my back as I continued dry-heaving into the small trash can. The sound of cries coming from our Mothers downstairs while our fathers attempted to console them only added to the anxiety building inside me. They have yet to call us down but from what we've heard, it was clear they knew.

Mama Sophia had burst into the house sobbing uncontrollably. We heard her mention a porn to my Mother but she was so inconsolable, my parents were having difficulties understanding what she was saying. It was not until Cooper's Dad, Papa Ray, came in that my parents were fully briefed on the topic.

Cooper and I couldn't hear his father tell them. He spoke low, as though he was too shaken-up to speak. But he did. It was evident when my Mother let out the same cringe worthy screaming sob Mama Sophia had when she arrived.

"Breath, Spence. Breath." Cooper attempted to ease me.

I looked up into his concerned eyes, not caring that my head was just in a trash can and I had been throwing up. He looked broken and scared. I understood how he was feeling and it was at that moment that I realized, things would never be the same again.

"W-We." I tried speaking but the lump in my throat made it difficult. I felt the water building in my eyes and my chest tighten. "Th-they. They know, Coop. They know!" I swallowed and sat, letting my backside meet the floor and held my head low.

An eerie silence fell within the house. More fear and panic began to set in. Cooper just looked at me with his sad puppy dog eyes.

"I guess they do." He whispered into the air. I'm not sure his response was directed at me or if he was just reconfirming the obvious aloud so that it would fully sink in. He then stood up.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking up at him from my seated position on the floor.

He began pacing my room, taking small strides from one end of the room to the other. He held his chin and bit down on his bottom lip. I then noticed him eyeing the window.

"Spencer! Cooper! Down here NOW!

The sound of my fathers voice, calm but stern, echoed throughout the house. As though it was some type of signal to a race Cooper had been waiting for, he rushed over to the window and began opening it.

I sprung to my feet and rushed over to Cooper, grabbing his shoulders and tossing him back. He landed safely on my bed with a light thump but jumped back out just as quickly as he landed. "Move Bro!" He looked at me and demanded that I step aside, away from the window.

I took a moment to catch my breath, still on the verge of a full blown panic attack. "W-What do you think you're going to do?" I asked him in disbelief. "Jump out the window? And leave me here to deal with it?"

He shook his head yes and then said, "Spence, you're welcome to come with but that." He pointed to my door. "No go Bro. Not happening. Not when our mothers are still reeling. Thy need to calm the fuck down before we have this conversation."

"You can't." I was actually considering his escape plan as I spoke. "If we." My mind was racing. "Do you?"

My door flew open at that very moment. My father stood in the doorway looking between the two of us with a blank expression on his face. With his right hand, he gestured for us to follow him. "Come on boys. I think we all need to talk." He spoke so calm, it scared the ever living shit out of me.

This is not going to be good.

"Papa Greg." Cooper had the balls to speak before moving. "We could hear that our Mothers may be a bit upset right now. Maybe we should ya know... just give them some..." He paused to think about his next word. "Space?" He suggested. With a shrug he also attempted a small smile my father's way. "Women. Am I right?"