Page 31 of Heal Me, Love Me
“No.”
“Not even a little?”
“They weren’t upset about me being gay. They were hurt that I’d felt like I couldn’t tell them. Mom cried, and Dad apologized.”
Keaton blinked. “Your dad apologized?”
“Yeah.”
“For what?”
“For making me feel like there was only one way to be his son.”
“He said that?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn.”
I gave a small nod. “I know.”
Keaton looked down at the ground between us. “And they know about high school?”
I pulled in a breath. “They do.”
“All of it?”
“All of it.”
His head lifted slowly. “Why?”
“Because I was tired of you being the only one who had to carry the truth about what I did. And because if I was going to tell them about us, I wasn’t going to clean it up to make myself look better. I admitted I lied, and explained that when Ridgway walked in, I shoved you away, and that I let everyone think you’d come onto me. I told them you were bleeding, and I still didn’t do a damn thing about it.”
“Fuck,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry.”
He turned toward the water. “I don’t know what to do with that.”
“You don’t have to do anything with it.”
“Yeah, I do.” He faced me again. “Your parents know now. They know about me.”
“They do.”
“And they’re okay?”
“They’re more than okay.” He didn’t say anything, so I asked, “Are you mad?”
He shook his head. “Your parents knowing doesn’t bother me. I mean … Yeah, it’s weird to think they know we’re together, but it’s not abadweird.”
I huffed out a small breath. “When Mom sees you, she’s probably going to pull you into a hug before you make it through the door.”
He grinned. “Okay, that sounds like her.”
“And Dad will probably be awkward as hell for five minutes before asking about your fight.”
“I can handle that.” Keaton stepped closer, not enough to touch me, but enough that I felt the space between us change.
