Blossomed in Love (ManXboy)

Everybody hates Math.

Four years Later

Marco

I sigh in frustration at the math problem, I hate math so much and understanding what the question is asking is a whole struggle on its own. The quiet house reminding me how much things have gone downhill over the past couple of years.

My mommy has gone back to the Philippines refusing to live life in America without my dad, with enough persuasion she allowed me to stay in the U.S with the promise of yearly vacations to San Juan.

The Carter-Chen's, Uncle George, and Bess have taken me in like their own making sure that I lack nothing and I have access to my mommy anytime of the day I feel like calling which is nothing less than two times a day. Trip, and Dash have always treated me as a brother, people have told us about the resemblance even though none of us see it, only the different last names would set us apart.

However two years ago, Dash came out as Bisexual and I don't really understand what that means but I guess it's a bad thing because it's like an Elephant in the room whenever Dash comes back from University. Trip had also been staying later than usual at school and I understand he's a senior and also doing sports but he just goes to bed when he gets home and repeats the same process the next day.

Then there's him, there's Dee, well Day or Damon, he used to help me with my math homework before he went to university, he would explain it and break it down for me to understand it. He never got angry if I didn't grasp it fast enough. Although he thought homework were the ploy of the aliens to distract us so they could take over the world, he'd still help me do mine so I don't get bad grades at school.

Now Dee is gone, Dash is gone, and Trip is kind of avoiding everybody so there's nobody to help me with my math homework. Tears make it down my face at my frustration at the ugly subject called mathematics.

Minutes or maybe hours later, I'm still struggling to make sense of the homework when Bess enters my room.

"Marco I made you a snack to munch on while you stu.......goodness, have you been crying?" Her tone goes from normal to frantic in like a millisecond. I quickly wipe at my eyes again although I know it's more about the redness of my eyes that exposes me.

I shake my head vigorously that I haven't been crying but she sees right through.

"Tell me why you're crying Marco, your eyes are so red and puffy so please tell me why you're crying." Her voice is so soothing and soft, she and practically everyone else know how much I detest noise or just unnecessarily loud things.

I'm unable to tell her why i'm crying because it makes me sound like a baby and i'm twelve years old now, I shouldn't be crying for the smallest things. I point to my journal and she comes around to where i'm sitting to see what i'm pointing at.

"Oh my, that looks difficult sweetie." Her face is scrunched up trying to understand what's on the sheet given to us in class. "Maybe we can search it up or we could check YouTube on how to do it." I nod in newly found determination at her suggestion. I pull out my iPad and together we snack on the warm brownie fudge cookies and milk while figuring out the problems.

Some three hours later, we finally finish the twenty question homework and I can say I understand the topic now and I can do it if I see it again.

"Thank you Bess." I say with a smile before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"You're welcome sweetie, always come to me when there's a problem okay?" I nod before extending my pinky finger to her and she crosses it with hers. You never break pinkie swear and now I've promised to always go to her when I have problems. "Oh and uhm.... Dashiel is coming home next week." She says while wiggling her eyebrows, I stare at her blankly trying to will the heat rising in my body to go away.

If Dash is coming home, it means he is coming home too. Dee is coming home next week, I can't explain why a feeling of excitement courses through my body but it does and I...... I like it very much.

I continue watching videos on YouTube for the next minutes till Bess calls me down for dinner.

Uncle George is not back from the office yet as well as Trip so it's just me and Bess at the table. Trip comes in a few moments later.

"Hey Bess, hey buddy." He ruffles my hair and I furrow my eyebrows at him with an angry pout at roughing up my hair.

"Join us for dinner Caleb." She says to Trip but he gently declines.

"Maybe some other time mom, love you guys." He yells while going upstairs. I know something is wrong with my brother so definitely Bess does too but Trip is not one to talk about feelings.

"Have boys, they carry on the family legacy they said." She says with a mild head shake. A giggle escapes my lips at that.

After dinner I help Grace with the cleanup even amidst her complaints not to. I always helped my mom with the dishes since I was younger when this was her job, so it's a form of leisure for me now. The washing, rinsing, drying and arranging them in the right place just puts me at ease.

After my night time shower and putting on my onesie and carrying my cuddle bear Lilo that Dee gave to me four years ago. I make my way to Trip's room and after knocking he lets me in.

"Buddy is everything okay?"

"Yes, can I sleep here tonight?"

"Of course go on, I'll join you in a minute." I enter his oddly cold room and get on the bed instantly. I cuddle under the blankets as my eyes zero on the Vampire sucking the girls blood. An involuntary wince escapes my lips and in an instant, Trip removes the show. "Sorry Marco." He puts an episode of Lab Rats on and I watch it gleefully.

Close to the end of the episode Trip puts off the light and climbs on the bed next to me.

"Are you still watching it?" He gestures towards the T.V. I shake my head in reply and he puts it off.

"Are you okay?" I ask quietly into the silence after a while. It's dark and I can't see anything so if he lies to me I won't know but I wish he would tell me what's wrong. I miss my brother.

"I'll be fine buddy." He replies a long time later and it's quite distant but maybe it's not and I'm the one that's already too far into unconsciousness to make meaning of it but I do hope that he's telling the truth.