The Things I Love About You (Completed)

C h a p t e r F i v e

For a few seconds, I stand and stare at the shut door in utter shock as tears well in my eyes. Slowly, my hands come up to cover my mouth and the overwhelming amount of tears start to fall as I sob. This continues for a long time. At some point, Scott comes over to me and holds me against his chest. I hear my mom talking outside the door to my dad, who is trying to inquire about what happened.

"That's why I didn't want her to find out." I say quietly once I stop crying.

"I know. I'm so sorry, baby, I didn't know she would react like that."

"I did. At least she knows, I guess." My arms tighten around his waist when the door slowly creaks open. My dad stands there with a sympathetic expression on his face.

"Are you gonna disown me, too?" I blurt before I can stop myself. He shakes his head sadly and closes the door.

"Listen. Your mom, she didn't really mean it."

"It sure as hell seemed like she did."

"Mitch." he says sternly, causing me to lower my gaze. "Come here." Tentatively, I let go of Scott and walk over to him. He put his hands on my shoulders. "I can't speak for your mom, but what I've always said holds true. No matter what, no matter who you fall in love with, I will always love you, okay? You're my son, and I can respect whatever path you go down in your life. If you woke up one morning and decided that you were a girl, I would be fine with that, too. Like I said, I love you, okay? Make sure you remember that." I am so relieved that I don't know how to react, so I just pull him into a tight hug. After he leaves, I tell Scott, "Can you just leave me alone for a few minutes?" He sighs and leaves, shutting the door gently behind him. I bury my face in my hands and sit in my favorite spot of the house, ironically, the closet.

****

I take out my phone and call Kirstie.

"What's wrong? Scott told me something happened between you and your mom." she says before I get the chance to speak.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Then why did you call?"

"Can't a girl call her main bitch just to say hey?" We both break out in laughter.

"Oh, hang on." I hear, muffled, "Hey, baby. It's Uncle Mitchie. Oh, okay. Here."

"Hi, Uncle Mitchie!" The voice of her five year old son, Peyton, brings a smile to my face.

"Hey, Peyton!"

"I miss you!" I conceal a chuckle at his slight lisp from just having lost a tooth.

"I miss you, too. I haven't seen you since you started school. Do you like it?"

"Not really."

"Why not?" I say, knitting my eyebrows together at the sound of disappointment in his voice.

"There's a kid who's really mean."

"Is he mean to you, or just mean?"

"He's nice to everyone but me. I didn't even do anything to him, and he's a first grader. He pushed me the other day."

"Have you told your mommy and daddy?"

"No." he mumbles.

"Peyt, you need to do that, okay? Promise me you will."

"Okay, I promise. Oh, Mommy's back."

"Okay, I'll see you when you get back." I say.

"Bye."

"Hey, did you have a nice conversation with my son?" Kirstie asks, the smile clear in her voice.

"I always do."

"What did you guys talk about?"

"I'll let him tell you. It's not mine to tell."

****

At dinner, the table is tense. I debated for a long time whether I wanted to go down or not, but eventually my hunger got the best of me and I sat down between two of my sisters. During the whole meal, we are all sitting in a less than uncomfortable silence, and I keep my eyes on my food despite. Even though Scott keeps nudging me under the table with his foot, I do not look up. As soon as I finish eating, I retreat back to my bedroom under the cold stare of my mom and the sympathetic gaze of my dad. I hear a chair start to scratch against the wood floor when I get to the hallway, but hushed voice bring it to a halt.

"No, I'm going." I hear Scott say firmly, making me break out into a sprint. I just want to be alone. Instead of going into my bedroom, I go into the bathroom and lay down in the bathtub, where Scott probably won't look for me.

"Mitch?" he calls, his voice echoing through the hallway. I close my eyes and don't answer. Eventually, I hear the sound of his footsteps pass the door and go back down the stairs. I nearly start sobbing when I hear the sound of the piano swelling through the house, and quietly sing to myself, "I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now."

****

After I hear my parents' bedroom door slam shut, I venture out of the bathroom and find my dad, Rick, Connie, and Scott sitting in the living room, talking.

"I hope you don't mind, Mitch, I told them what happened." Scott said. I take their knowing as an opportunity to sit in Scott's lap rather than inches away from him on the couch.

"Not that this is necessarily any consolation," Connie starts, "But we'll always be here for you. Besides, I think y'all are pretty adorable."

"I'm happy we don't have to hide it anymore, I guess." I say. Scott turns my head and kisses me, making me feel like we are the only two in the room. I shut my eyes and let the sensation of kissing him take over. I breathe in his scent deeply and let our lips move together while my hand comes up to cup his jaw. My dad clears his throat and I jump away from Scott a little, a blush taking over my cheeks. "Sorry." I say with a giggle. My smile disappears, however, when my mom shows up at the mouth of the hallway.

"Mitch, can we talk for a second?" I kiss Scott again briefly before stand up and following her out of the room.

****

A/N

I might update a fluffy one shot later 😊 Beware the Friday fluff