I love me

Chapter 25

-Aiden

I massaged my neck, letting the hot water seep into my skin. Kyle reluctantly left earlier this morning after I had to convince him I'd be fine. After all, Tay and her parents are on their way back, and he needs some clean clothes anyways.

As much as I would've loved being around him a while longer, I also desperately needed to be alone so I could think about everything.

I finished my shower, stepping out into a steam-filled bathroom. Taking my hairbrush from the vanity, I started brushing my hair while thinking about Kyle. What would be the pros and cons of letting him go?

I winced as the brush got caught on a tangled strand of my hair. I took it as a sign to stop trying to figure the world out, at least for now. I should let myself rest mentally, especially because Taylen was acting so weird over the phone earlier. When I say weird I mean more weird than normal.

The sweet smell in the bathroom made me hungry for some cereal. I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, spotting the red cardboard box on the counter. I guess I forgot it there sometime yesterday.

Then it dawned on me that I didn't even eat cereal all weekend, and I'm sure Kyle didn't either. I immediately thought the worst and prepared to find an intruder in the house.

I flinched at a sound coming from the front door. The hairs on my neck stood up as I slowly and quietly made my way to the archway of the kitchen. It leads straight to the entryway of the front door.

I finally took a peek. There was nothing there. Sometimes I can't believe how paranoid I get. I turned around to find a prominent figure hanging over me. My body instantly jerked back making me fall to the ground. The figure followed me as I crept away until my back hit the railing of the stairs. His face was deformed beyond the point of recognition.

"P-please you don't have to do this! I'll give you anything!"

"Oh Aiden, don't you remember me?" He said through a twisted smile.

"Who the fuck are you!?" All I got from him was maniacal laughter. I looked around the room for any way I would be able to escape. I won't be able to make it out of the door fast enough if I sprint from here. He's too close.

I could make it to the living room and find some way to slow him down so I could circle back through the kitchen and straight out the door.

"Okay, that's enough. Taylen! I'm done with this!" The man looked in the direction of the living room. Is Taylen here? He looked back at me and then proceeded to peel his face off. It was a mask, and underneath it was none other than Nathan.

"Nathan? Are you going to kill me?!"

"What? Of course not! Taylen forced me to do this."

"Forced? I didn't force you to do anything! He's lying Addie!" Taylen appeared from the living room. I pulled myself up with the help of the railing. This might be the worst prank I've ever been put through. I hate Tay for this, and I will get my revenge one day.

I looked over at her. "I hate you, and I will never trust you again." She stared at me nonchalantly. I'd have to do a lot more than that to intimidate her.

The atmosphere in the room started to feel a lot more serious as she made her way over to me. We didn't break eye contact. "Addie, we need to talk." The stern tone in her voice confirmed the seriousness of this 'talk'.

Nathan looked between the two of us before slowly trying to escape through the staircase. "Dad, you and mom need to hear this too."

With a sigh from Nathan, we all followed Taylen into the living room and sat down while we waited for her mother. "Dad, could you maybe go get her? This is serious." Instead of getting up to go get his wife, he stayed in his seat and yelled for her.

"Jenna! Our daughter needs to talk to us!" His scream was ear piercing and it nearly took me out. Surprisingly it did speed her up. She was with us in the living room within the next few minutes.

"Okay sweetie, talk to us. We're here to listen!" Tay looked extremely nervous and it seemed to go unnoticed by her parents. I gave her a supportive smile to hopefully calm her nerves a bit. She went on to speak.

"Okay so, I know we weren't away for a long time, but I've discovered quite a few new things about myself. Well, I wouldn't say it was entirely new to me since it's kind of always been there below the surface. I- I think I always knew about it-"

"Taylen, breathe honey." Her mother said. It looked like it helped her collect her thoughts. I could feel how nervous she was, it was like I could feel her struggling to catch her breath.

She looked around the room while fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. She was wearing a black graphic T-shirt with a picture of an anime character on it. It was from Howl's moving castle.

"Uh, okay. Mom, Dad, you remember that girl I was with the whole time? Her name is Sheila!" She said with a bit more confidence. Her parents looked at each other to confirm they were thinking of the same person.

"Ah yes, Sheila! She's quite a lovely girl." Jenna said. "Well, yes mom. She is a nice girl." There was a big pause after that and I knew she was probably about to drop a big bomb on us. Taylen never gets nervous.

She sat with her thoughts for a while longer before standing up to make her big announcement. She dusted herself off and gathered all of the courage she could find. "Okay everyone. I want you to know that Sheila is my- well, Sheila is- you see, she is a really nice friend."

"You called us all here to tell us Sheila is a nice friend?" Her father said as he looked at her unamused.

"I don't even know who this Sheila is because you left me alone with Kyle!" This whole conversation was starting to confuse me more by the second. "Can everybody please shut up!" She said. Her patience was running low.

"I'm sorry Tay, you can talk." She gave me a small nod and continued.

"Okay everyone, I just want you to know that I am... Gay." Everyone gasped at the same time while Tay tried to keep her composure. Sure Jenna and Nathan would be supportive, right?