Fire and Freedom - Book One of the Café Latte Trilogy

Chapter Ten - Ross

"Don't talk to me like that, boy," he warned me.

"I'm not a boy, and I will speak to you in the way you deserve," I said firmly, though I could feel my control beginning to slip, the terror running through my veins like ice water. "You and my mother felt nothing for me the moment I differed from what you wanted from me."

"You left," he said coldly.

I shook my head. "You kicked me out."

"We gave you a choice," he snapped. "And you chose to leave."

"I didn't choose to leave!" I snapped back. "I chose to be openly gay, rather than hiding it away and trying to suppress it, and you kicked me out."

I saw his hand twitch, and he retorted, "You chose to live your life exactly how you wanted to."

I paused, swallowed and took a deep breath. Anger wasn't going to get him out of my life, and neither was violence. The only thing I could do was the only thing I ever did; walk away from him.

"You made your decision," I told him, holding up my hands. "And I made mine. It's been ten years, and just because a woman I once loved died, does not mean that I have any obligation to pretend I love her now."

"Don't you dare say a word against your mother," he stepped forwards.

"I'll say a word against any mother that rejects her child," I said firmly, glaring at him as he stopped moving towards me. "And I won't go to the memorial of a woman who spent the last ten years wishing I had never existed."

"She loved you more than anything," he hissed at me. "You rejected her love, and you ran away to live your disgusting-"

"-lifestyle, I know," I finished for him in exasperation. "Well, you got what you wanted back then – you got your queer son out of your life. Don't try and drag me back into it because you've lost Mum and you're losing Raven."

My father looked at me as if I was the most sickening sight he'd ever seen, and I smiled in grim satisfaction. "Now please," I said, heading towards the elevator. "Leave me alone, and go back to your own life. You don't belong here. You can beg all you want, but I'm not mourning the loss of a woman that never mourned the loss of me."

I got into the lift and pressed the button calmly, but once the doors were closed and he was out of my sight, I just wanted to throw up. I leaned against the wall, wishing that it had never happened. Wishing that I'd never seen him. As the lift doors opened again, I walked into my living room and collapsed on the sofa, breathing heavily. Replaying the conversation in my mind, I was proud of myself. I had said everything calmly, firmly, and I was glad I had. But I still felt shaken, even admitting to myself that I had felt afraid.

When I checked my phone, desperate for some distraction, I saw I'd missed a call from Edward. I sighed, and called him. Edward's anxious voice came down the line. "Ross! I need a huge favour, and I mean huge – I'll pay you if you'll do it. I need a place to get changed for tonight's show, because a pipe burst at my place and there's builders literally everywhere - and yes, usually I wouldn't mind, because they're all muscular and wearing tank tops, but it's not the most calming environment to be-"

"Bring your stuff over," I told him.

Edward paused and then asked in a completely astonished voice. "Really? Can I bring Harper?"

"Yes," I said, smiling slightly although I didn't feel like smiling.

"You mean I can bring all my things over?" he asked in disbelief. "You're letting me trash your apartment with diva clothes and makeup? The sequins? The glitter?"