TRIGGER WARNING: homophobia, argument
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"Dad, could I have some gas money?" Rodrick asked his father. It was almost midnight, the lazy evening air filling the living room of 12 Surrey Street. "The van's been acting up."
"You know what, Rodrick, can you come here, please?" Frank asked, pulling up a chair for his son to sit in. The normally-airy dining room of the Heffley family felt claustrophobic and airless in the evening, and Rodrick's chest tightened as he took the seat beside his father.
"Yeah..." Rodrick trailed off, confused. He passed his classes with B's and C's, and was reasonably content with what he had accomplished thus far; he couldn't think of a reason why Frank would be upset at him. "What's up?"
"We need to have a talk, son," Frank stressed, standing up from his seat, "About your future. Your brother already has a job, kid! What are you planning on doing with yourself?"
"I'm gonna drum," Rodrick shrugged. "And if that doesn't work out, I'll sell my...plasma," he said, half jokingly.
"Very funny, Rodrick, but what if you lose an arm and can't drum anymore? Where are you gonna get the money for travel fees? Instrument repairs? Are you just gonna sit around all day and not do shit?! How are you gonna provide for your family?!" Frank retorted, suddenly losing his temper.
"What if I don't want a family?!" Rodrick said, with the sole intention of provoking his father. "What if I don't want kids? What if I just wanna make music with my friends?! I don't want your life, Dad. Just let me live my dream."
The tense atmosphere of the room seemed to crumble all at once, everybody's emotions flying out like a stab wound to the heart.
"That's how you wanna act, huh, friend," Frank sighed, getting down to Rodrick's level. "How are you supposed to live your dream if you're nothing?! You have no motivation. You have no future. Don't expect Susan and I to save you when you're at the bottom of the barrel. And don't expect any sane woman to, either."
"And what if I don't end up with a woman, huh, Frank?! What the hell would you do?" Rodrick scoffed, spitting at Frank. Having never thought about his sexuality before, Rodrick only sought to spite his father.
"We don't talk about that unnatural behavior under this roof!" Frank roared, standing up to face his son. "It's that Ben kid, isn't it? And his sorry excuse for parents. You're so impressionable, Rodrick. Don't let a kid like that influence what you do with your life! Do you wanna be a lowlife, good for nothing piece of work like his sister is?!"
"What are you gonna do?" Rodrick played along, clearly under the impression that his father believed him to be queer. "Send me to Spag Union? Your worst fear just might come true."
Frank's face reddened. "Fine. You wanna see what it's like in the real world? Wanna see how hard it is to live the idiotic life that you want? Wanna end up like Segal or that idiot Bill Walter? Get out. And don't come back until you've re-evaluated yourself."
"That's just what I wanted to hear," Rodrick said, almost sarcastically. "At least I don't have to deal with you."
Susan and Greg's footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, clearly confused as to why there was so much rukus coming from the dining room. Greg held a Wii controller in his hands, while Susan cradled her youngest son, who looked on the verge of tears.
"What is going on here?!" Susan retorted, frustrated.
"Your son is asking me for gas money, Susan! His fourteen year old brother has a job before he does!"
Greg shifted uncomfortably from where he stood, but remained silent.
"Fine, Frank. You want me to get out? I'll get out." The sound of heavy footsteps filled the air as Rodrick stormed upstairs, leaving the rest of his family behind in the dining room. He returned, almost ten minutes later, hauling a duffel bag and a wad of cash out the door.
The sound of the engine of the ancient filled the quiet dining room before anybody could speak.
"What were you thinking?!" Susan exclaimed, frustrated. "You were able to mend your relationship with one son, why not try to do the same with the other?!" She lowered her voice to a whisper. "What are you gonna do when that kid leaves home and doesn't come back, huh? You always say that you wished that you were able to reconnect with your father before he passed away. Be the father you wish your father had been."
"You told me the same thing before," Frank sighed. "What the hell do you want me to do? Turn myself into some weird third gender? How do you even bond with a kid like that? He believes in whatever those alphabet people are teaching him—that 'you can be whoever you wanna be' bullshit. We need to start teaching him about the real world, Susan!"
"What we need to do is understand him. Maybe he'll listen to you if everything that you two do together doesn't end in a fight. I'm gonna invite the Segals over for dinner," Susan took Frank's hand. "They aren't as bad as you think. When Rodrick comes back, promise me that you'll make a change, Frank. Please. You're acting like a child."
Frank was speechless. "I'm just teaching him to become a better person. If he doesn't make it out there, he's just gonna come crawling back to us. And I mean, if you want a broke musician for the next decade, be my guest. You're the one acting like a child, Susan! Am I so wrong for just wanting the best for my kids?"
"The best for your kids?!" Susan began, furious. "Or the best for you?! You can't take away everything that they love and disappear downstairs! Who cares if Rodrick's dream 'isn't realistic?' He's not a senior yet. It's okay to want to push him in the right direction. But you need to get to know your son before it's too late."
"He's turning into one of those f—"
"Frank," Susan sighed, attempting to calm herself down.
"But he's—"
"Frank."
"He's not—"
"Frank!" Susan finally exploded, angrily. "I know that you don't agree with the Segals' lifestyle, but exposing Rodrick to variety is what's going to help him succeed. What's gonna happen if he isn't happy working an office job, with a partner he's not attracted to, and lives the rest of his life wishing that he had pursued music?"
"He'll be better off that way," Frank scoffed. "At least society isn't gonna push him to the side."
"Is that all you care about, Frank?" Susan looked at him, accusingly. "I—"
"I'm still here, you know," Greg laughed, nervously.
"Oh, I'm sorry, honey," Susan apologized, passing off her youngest son to Greg. "Could you put Manny to sleep for me, please? Love you, Greg."
Greg trudged up the stairs, and opened the door to Manny's room. It was quite unusual seeing the perfect space in complete serenity, as the air was usually polluted with the sound of Rodrick's drumming a story above Manny's room. The silence was almost melancholy, further rubbing Rodrick's absence into Greg's head.
"Bubby?" Manny asked, from a bed that was in significantly better condition than Greg or Rodrick's. It was littered with little stars, the mark of a child with dreams of becoming an astronaut.
"Hmm?" Greg hummed, tucking the child into his fluffy blankets, and opening the door to depart.
"Why does Roddy keep leaving?"
Greg cringed, stopping in his tracks, wondering how he was supposed to explain the complexity of the situation to a kindergartener.
"Er...do you remember Ben?"
"Benji!" Manny exclaimed, raising his arms up in the air.
"Well, Daddy thinks that people who live like Ben and his family do are monsters. And that, uh, God doesn't love them. And Daddy's scared that Ben will turn Rodrick into one of those monsters. But they aren't monsters. They're just...different, I guess? I dunno, Manny. Why don't you ask Mom."
"But Mommy says that God loves everyone!" Manny pouted.
"Well, yeah, but people like Daddy think that God loves everyone except certain people or whatever," Greg said. "Mommy doesn't agree with Daddy about anything, honestly, so they'll fight over it. It's not that bad, Manny." Greg attempted to comfort him.
"Will they ever stop fighting, Bubby?" Manny asked, remorsefully.
Greg's face softened. "Of co—I...I don't know."
Manny curled up into a ball on his bed. "I don't get grown-ups, Bubby." The young boy began to cry. Greg, sucking up all of his pride, layed down on the bed with his brother.
"I don't understand them either, Manny. No one does."
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a.n.
this is based off of a personal experience of mine and is a very heavy vent chapter so please be gentle in your comments thank u <3 also it's not indented because it isn't proofread, because like i said, it's a vent. i'm projecting. none of the characters in this situation are meant to be completely in the wrong or right. thank u for being understanding.