Prompt- Alexis sees his mom at a dinner party (I'm sorry I'm on mobile and I forgot to copy the prompt to paste it! But this was the main point of it!)
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"Ah, you look sharp, Alexis!" Mrs. Holden said.
"Thank you, ma'am," I said.
"So polite! Alexis, you and Jonas have been dating for months, you don't have to be so formal with us," Mrs. Holden said, laughing.
She was here for the company's dinner party as her husband's date. Mr. Holden had asked me and Christian to come so we could help with a presentation after the dinner.
Christian entered the room, dressed as neatly as I was. We both had on black slacks, white button up shirts, and black ties.
"The dinner is starting," Christian said.
"Ah, then we'd better head out there!" Mr. Holden said, leading us out of the room.
He led us to a smaller hall where tables were set up. He led us over to one with nametags at it.
"We'll be sitting with..." He checked the other name tags and his face paled a little. He cleared his throat. "Um, we'll be sitting with..."
"Mr. Holden. Mrs. Holden."
At my father's voice, I mentally sighed. Of course. Would it really have happened any other way?
I turned around and froze, feeling as though someone had just struck me. My mother looked at me with the same shock.
I felt my eyes going wide as I looked at her. Growing up, I'd been surrounded by her love and warm looks. Now her eyes were pushing away shock and replacing it with a hardened look similar to the one she'd worn the night she kicked me out of her home and her life.
"Alexis." Christian touched my shoulder. "Let's sit."
"It's nice to see you two," Mr. Holden said, shaking my parents' hands. "This is my wife. And these are two of the company's assistants, Alexis and Christian."
"Pleasure to meet you," Christian said, voice dry.
"Mr. Beirne," I said, nodding at him politely as I replaced my thoughts with a numb state. "Mrs. Beirne."
"Alexis." Mom's voice was detached, no hint of love when she said my name. I remembered the exasperated way she'd always say Calla's name, but as exasperated as it was, it always had love in it, no matter what Calla had done wrong. And me. God, she'd always said my name with the love only a mother could have for her child.
And now it was gone. All because of my sexuality.
I felt myself slipping rather quickly back into a numb state. I felt all feelings leaving me. Back into the polite robot I'd been before finding Micah, before finding my friends.
"Alexis." Christian shook my arm a little. He gave me a knowing look. "Your tie is loose."
He reached out, fixing my tie for me, his hands bumping against my chest as he did so. The contact assured me that while my emotions were slipping away from me, at least I could still feel human touch. That meant I was there, I existed, I wasn't gone. I could come back mentally because I was here physically.
I peeked and saw mom eyeing me carefully. Her eyes lingered on my figure, on the way my shirt hung from my shoulders, the exhaustion permanently pressed into my face, the way I'd grown since I was 15.
Was she remembering the healthy boy she'd last seen? Could she remember the vicious emotions claiming me as I cried and begged them not to cast me out? Was she wondering where that storm of emotions had gone?
"Excuse me, Mrs. Beirne, did you need something?" Christian asked. His voice was polite, but I knew there was a warning there.
"You're a bit rude. Didn't your parents teach you manners?" mom said.
"My parents died in an accident when I was 10, ma'am," Christian said. Mom's face flushed.
I sipped on a glass of water to hide the small smile I felt coming. Leave it to Christian.
Still, seeing my parents here together was shaking me to my core. My mom also looked aged, just like my father. Was it because of me? Had they ever once regretted disowning their son? Could they really just stop loving me because of something as insignificant as my sexuality?
"Alexis, would you mind grabbing us some silverware? It's right over there," Mr. Holden said.
"Of course, sir," I said politely, getting up and walking away from the table.
I took a few calming breaths. It didn't matter anymore. My mother and father didn't matter anymore. I'd built a family for myself when they made it clear they didn't want me anymore.
"Alexis."
I grabbed some silverware. "Mrs. Beirne, did you need something?"
"You've grown," mom said.
"I'm 22 now, ma'am," I said, voice polite.
"I'm aware how old you are," she said. "I almost didn't recognize you. Your hair always gave you away." She crossed her arms. "You look sickly."
"I work quite a lot, ma'am," I said.
"Are you still mentally ill?" she asked.
"I never was mentally ill, Mrs. Beirne," I said, knowing she meant my sexuality.
She curled her lip. "Alexis, do you still think you're a homo?"
I paused and turned to face her, doing what I hadn't been able to all those years ago. I met her eyes.
"Pardon me, Mrs. Beirne, but sexuality isn't a decision. As for your question, I live with a man, and I'm very happy," I said. I began to walk away from her and stopped. "Ma'am, some children do have real mental illnesses, and their parents still love them."
I went back to the table, handing everyone silverware before sitting back down next to Christian. I saw mom disappear into one of the bathrooms.
"Hey, Alexis," Christian said.
"Yes, Christian?" I asked.
"We miss you at home," he said.
The meaning was clear. My parents had thrown me out and never wanted me back. I left my friends, and they wished that I hadn't.
I watched as my mother came back out a few minutes later and sat down next to my father. Neither of them looked at me. Christian flicked a glance to me every couple of minutes.
I felt a lot better despite my current situation. The blood of the covenant was thicker than the water of the womb. With that in mind, I turned away from my parents to talk to Christian.
