Hi, everyone! Sorry for not posting something for such a long time. I wasn't really in the writing mood, and I've been preparing for the vacation I'm having this Thursday. I also have another thing going on right after this vacation, so there won't be any new updates for about another week or so. But, I promise that when I can, I will update immediately. 729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAxzu0yBqn
I hope you're liking the story so far, and enjoy!
When I entered, my eyes were drawn to Haven, Angelica, and Mr. Bronx sitting at their glass dining table. Slowly, I made my way over to the empty chair next to my ex-girlfriend, and then gave her a tight smile. For the first time, it was odd to see worry in her eyes as she took my hand from under the table.
“I didn’t mean it, Ezra,” she whispered. Her voice was quiet enough so her parents wouldn’t hear, and it almost reminded me of my mom whenever she would speak. She looked me up and down before shaking her head.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQMVOst763
This is overrated. “I’m a gentleman, Haven Bronx,” I told her. It’d be even more cowardly to just stand and walk out now, so I had to come up with something that could possibly work in my favor. “Your parents are going to find out, anyway. There’s no reason for me to just hide the truth anymore. At least, not with your family.”
I hate all of this.
Pulling my hand away from Haven, Mr. Bronx smiled to his wife as she sat down at the dinner table. “Hello, Ezra,” Mr. Bronx said. “Nice to have you joining us for dinner.” I smiled to him and then looked over to Haven, who was nodding in return. It bothered me to think about how we were pretending everything was still fine, like the two of us were still together.
For some odd reason, I wondered if this is how my parents felt. Pretending everything in their lives was fine, pretending they loved each other when the tension in the room changed, when everything just seemed to change. But my situation was different compared to the one my parents had.
I cheated on Haven, because I didn’t want to tell her. Her parents should hear the truth from me before it leaves Haven’s mouth.
“I’m sure you’ll be happy to know my parents didn’t prepare seafood tonight,” Haven said, just as her mom stood back up to get something. Moments later, Mrs. Bronx walked back into the kitchen, carrying a casserole. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it smelled good, it was food, and that’s all that matters.
I gave Haven a smile, just like always. “Cool,” I told her.
As dinner started, a thousand different scenarios ran through my head. I was thinking way too fast, like I was on drugs or something, and as the clattering of the plates seemed to get louder in my head, I finally came out with the dumbest words ever.
“Haven and I aren’t together anymore,” I said, all the air coming out at once.
Everybody at the table stopped and looked at me. Mrs. Bronx’s confused eyes were on Haven, who had her head down, while Mr. Bronx was looking between Haven and I. They were more confused than I was in 6th grade. I quickly shifted my eyes to Angelica, who had a small smile on her face.
“What do you mean, darling?” Mrs. Bronx asked me, slight caution in her face. Mr. Bronx had put down his silverware (which was custom made from the Philippines. I don’t understand why, but it cost more than three grand) and was giving me a hard stare. It was odd to think about how just two months ago I had been told I was one of Mr. Bronx’s favorite boyfriends his daughter had dated. And it felt even worse to think about how hard I was trying to be into Haven, while all I was doing was thinking about Delcan. I hated how much he was on my mind all the time, but there was seriously nothing I could do to change it.
Believe me, I’ve tried.
“I don’t love your daughter,” I said, the words coming out of me quickly. “I-um...I never did.”
Haven leaned into me. “Sly,” she whispered.
“You gave me nothing to work with,” I whispered back angrily.
Mr. Bronx stood up. “Now young man-” he started. I had the odd feeling I was about to get punched in the face or something. But to be honest, right now, I deserved it. He never even called me young man.
“Control yourself, Preston,” Mrs. Bronx said, surprisingly keeping her voice at level. “Give him time to talk before I punch him. What do you mean, Ezra?”
This is wonderful. The words continued to come in and out of my mouth, over and over again. I closed my mouth for the third time before finally talking. “It’s really nothing against you, Mr. and Mrs. Bronx,” I said, giving them a reassuring nod. “It’s just that...I never really loved Haven like that. I never loved any girl like that.”
Mrs. Bronx raised her eyebrows. “Teen love is confusing and all, Ezra, I know that, but if you love someone...you shouldn’t be worried about your emotions being shown,” she said. I rolled my eyes, and Mr. Bronx sat back in his chair, confused.
“You’re not getting it, Mom,” Angelica said.
Haven snapped her head up. “Shut it,” she threatened. “Ezra, seriously, you can stop now. Dinner was great, Mom. Can’t say the same about the conversation, though…”
“Sit down, Haven,” Mr. Bronx said. Haven sighed angrily as she sat back down and looked at me.
“What am I not getting?” Mrs. Bronx asked.
I sighed, then said the words that still broke me sometimes. “I’ve never loved a girl because I’m not into them.”
Angelica sat back in her chair as Haven turned her head away from me. Mrs. Bronx rubbed her hand on her temple as I waited for her to finally understand it. “I’m still-”
“He’s gay, Abigail,” Mr. Bronx said. While his wife sat back in her chair, finally understanding it, he turned his head to me. “How long have you known, Ezra?”
I gave him a kind smile. “Does it matter?” I asked. “I mean...I’m telling you, so now that everyone knows, I don’t feel like details are really necessary.” Mr. Bronx and Mrs. Bronx tilted their head as I sat back for a second.
“Is that all?” Mrs. Bronx asked.
I began digging my fingernails into my palm. “Please don’t tell my parents,” I said. “They...they can’t know.” I didn’t even realize I had started to cry until I felt something wet on my face. I wiped them away with my hands before putting my head down on the floor.
Mrs. Bronx sighed. “Of course we won’t tell John and Sarah,” she said. I wasn’t used to hearing my dad’s name all the time, not like I was with my mother. “It isn’t our secret to tell anyone about, Ezra. I just-who did you tell?”
“Haven’s known since the day we were alone together and um…..” I paused before I said anything about Haven unbuttoning my pants. “My sister and my older brother know, along with Evvie, and Del-” ⟴. I said it.
Mr. Bronx growled angrily. “You’re cheating on my daughter with Delcan Heslop?”
I bit my lip, hating myself for thinking about Delcan as he would always kiss me and runs his hands through my hair. Of course he knew who Delcan was. That didn’t surprise me one bit. I was still trying to decide if I was mad that he didn’t assume Delcan and I were friends, or if I was surprised about how quickly he realized it.
Then again, it’s not like Delcan is a common name.
“I guess you could say that,” I said, trying my best to sound normal. When I saw how Angelica was leaning in her chair, and how Mrs. Bronx was mixing her vegetables with the casserole while Haven was digging her nails into her arm again.
I grabbed her hand.
“I had no intention of hurting you,” I told Haven first. Genuinely, I don’t want to give an apology, but there’s nothing I can do. “Nor did I mean to cheat on your daughter. I started getting feelings for someone else, and I didn’t know exactly how to break that news to Haven.”
Mrs. Bronx was still looking at me. “So why did cheating seem like the better result?”
“It wasn’t,” I said, sounding annoyed. Instantly, I pulled myself together. “Could we stop talking about this? You know I cheated, you know that Haven and I aren’t dating anymore. There’s really no reason to talk about this.”
The room was silent, and I took a sip of the iced water. Angelica also took a sip of the sparkling water she’d gotten herself, then she smiled. “Well,” she said, standing. “That was a great dinner.”
Haven’s head went straight to her sister. “You knew!” she cried out. “And you lied to me about it. You lied to freaking Mom and Dad about it!” My ex-girlfriend’s voice was filled with anger and sadness all in one, but I ignored her and looked at Angelica. Her face was the same as my sister’s once she was caught in a lie.
“I-no,” Angelica said, her voice rising by an octave. “I just now found out like you did.”
Haven rolled her eyes, and I felt a ping of satisfaction from seeing Angelica caught in a lie. “Please,” Haven said, dragging out her words as if she was drunk. “You’re just as good a liar as Mom and Dad.” Though both of Haven’s parents looked at her with their mouths open wide, they didn’t say anything to their daughter.
“Thank you for dinner,” I said, awkwardly standing up as I began walking. When Mr. Bronx held up his hand, I stopped everything I was doing.
He smiled. “You could leave if you’d like,” he said. “But I would rather you stay until the end of dinner, considering the P.T.A meeting tomorrow.”
What is wrong with this man? I heard myself asking, just as I gave him a tight smile. I sat back down in my seat as Haven pulled her eyes away from me, and then back to her sister. Mrs. Bronx sat back, sighing, as all of us watched Haven and Angelica bicker to death.
Once dinner was over, my guilt had been building up inside of me, and I vowed to help with the dishes. Mrs. Bronx volunteered to help out, but Haven forced her to turn it down. From the look my ex was giving me when she walked over, I assumed she was about to kill me with a butter knife.
As Haven and I began washing the dishes, she sighed dramatically. “They actually took that pretty well,” she said.
If that’s how her parents take good news, I’m okay with that. Well, I’m okay with it, as long as my parents don’t find out. “Make sure they don’t say anything about it, please,” I muttered. “But I hope they aren’t mad at me.”
Haven’s eyes met mine, and she smiled. “Ezra,” she said, saying my name like it would cure something. “I think it’s kinda hard to hate you. I mean, trust me, I want you dead sometimes...but it’s pretty hard to, Ez. Not even I can pull it off.”
That must be a compliment.
“Cool,” I said. “It’s understandable if you hate me, though. I ruined all your expectations.”
She smiled. “Not exactly,” she said. When I didn’t understand exactly what she was saying, Haven looked at me again, her face serious. “How long have you been seeing Delcan for anyways?”
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, and I gave her a smile, hoping it would change the mood. “That pep rally during volleyball season.” Haven’s eyebrows went up, because she knew that was more than 5 months ago. “But...h-he kissed me.”
“Did you want him to kiss you?” Haven asked, her head down. I wondered if this made her uncomfortable, because it sure did for me. What I remember from that night was Delcan constantly flirting with me, and it got on my nerves. I knew that I had a girlfriend and all, but I thought it would make him stop.
The kiss felt so much better than I thought it would.
“Not really,” I lied. I’d wanted him to kiss me (better yet, for me to kiss him, since that’s how my mind planned it) since the moment we met. “But I knew it was wrong. Don’t worry, I hated myself for it afterwards.”
Haven rolled her eyes. “I’m mad that you cheated, especially with Delcan Heslop-” she said his last name wrong. “But hating yourself for it will make me feel bad. And seriously, I don’t really hate you too much anymore.”
Good. “Do you have anyone in mind?” I asked her, trying to change the conversation to someone else.
Haven stopped washing the dishes, and I felt the mood change quickly. She wasn’t blushing like I thought she would, since there was clearly someone else she was into. Her hands did drop the glass plate she was washing (thank God it didn’t break).
After a moment of silence, she looked at me, lifting her chin. “I can do the rest of this, Ezra,” she said, sounding like my mom when she was trying to hide the fact that she was crying. “See ya at school.”
“Bye,” I said, not wanting to get into whatever she was so quiet about. I set down the towel I had been using and then walked out, not turning around to see if any of Haven’s family was in the living room.
Silently closing the door behind me, I took a deep breath before calling an uber, since I wanted to tell Eric I walked home.
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