Denial

Chapter Nineteen: Family Reunited

"I don't know what happened between them, but they miss him. Maybe this will be good for them, all of them." I just shrugged. "Talk to him, Reed. He's your boyfriend, and you brought him home for a reason, right? You can actually talk to him like a normal human being?"

I watched Reya leave my room without waiting for me to answer before I sat down next to Quincy. Gently tucking his hair behind his ear, I placed a kiss to his temple. I wanted to ask what had happened between them, but I didn't know the right words to say.

Turns out, I didn't have to ask. "I told you my parents died, right?" he asked. He hadn't looked at me at all, keeping his chin resting on the top of his knees.

"Yeah."

"I was six when it happened. After the accident, I went to live with Karen and Dave who never should have had to raise a kid, first because they never wanted one and secondly because they were awful at it. I'm actually surprised she still knows my name, with how little she said it while I was growing up."

I felt bad for Quincy. I really did. I may have hated my dad for years, but at least I knew he cared about me. Him and my mom. Quincy didn't have anyone.

"Hey," Quincy started, turning his head to look at me. "Have I ever told you that I love you?"

"No."

He gave me a small smile. "Well I do. Just thought you should know."

I didn't know how to feel about that. Prior to Quincy, I never really thought about love before, even though I've told a couple of my past girlfriends that I loved them, nothing really felt like the way I felt about him. Was that love? Yes, I did care about him a lot, and I wanted to spend as much time as I could with him, and buy him whatever he wanted, and I brought him here, to meet my parents when I haven't even brought my old girlfriends home from college. I'm getting over the fact that I was actually dating a guy, and liked him. But how much did I like Quincy? Did I love him?

Quincy

Reed was staring at me with this blank look on his face after I confessed my feelings to him. I didn't mean to break him! I just wanted him to know how I felt, even though I had just figured it out myself, when he kissed my temple. That tiny action alone is what tipped the scale, sending my heart into the frenzy that was love.

"It's okay if you can't say it back," I said softly, giving him a small smile. "I get it."

"Why?" he finally asked.

"Why what? Why do I love you?" He nodded, so I took my legs away from my chest and turned to face him. "Because, even though you're an asshole, you're not always one. You have the sweetest heart, when you find it in you to let that shine through. You care about me, Reed. No one has ever done that before, and I couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend. Maybe one who was a little less homophobic at times, but I love that you're working on getting better with that. I just..." I hesitated, trying to find the right words. "I just love you, Reed."

A full minute went by with neither of us saying anything. I was started to wonder if maybe I shouldn't have told him yet when his lips landed on mine and I felt myself being pushed onto my back.

As much as I wanted this, and as good as a distraction it would be, we couldn't.

"Reed stop," I said, pushing against his chest. "We can't. Your parents, my aunt and uncle. They're waiting on us."

Reed groaned, but sat up, pulling me back up as well. "As soon as we get back to campus, you're mine."

I smiled. "I'm already yours. But deal, so long as we survive tonight."