So as a little recap. Mike has been kicked out of his home for being gay by his mother and is now living with Jay and his parents. Leo came out to his mother and they told her about their relationship. Jay's father gave Leo and Mike the rundown of the rules for when they are together at the house.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter of Boise ID! I know it's been a while but having the Job I do takes up a lot of time.
Mike wakes up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat with his sheets drenched from a bad dream. He gets up and goes to the guest shower to get the sweat off his body, so he doesn't stink. As he's taking a shower, he tries to remember the dream but can't as if his brain is keeping him from recalling the dream.
After the shower, Mike walks to the bathroom counter and wipes the steam off the mirror so he can get ready for the day. He opens a drawer to find a brush his hair with but instead finds a pair of scissors but pushes them to the side, finds a brush and starts brushing out his hair and putting it in a ponytail. When the mirror is now clear enough, he sees that his ribs are getting a lot worse after sleeping on them, and that means he will have to go to the doctors soon to get it looked at. He finishes off by brushing his teeth then heads out to the living room to after getting dressed in some more of Jay's clothes that his mom dropped off before going to bed.
He walks to the living room and sits down on the sofa. Still, he then looks at the time and sees that its barely 2 am and that everyone will be asleep for a while longer, so he goes to the backyard and sits out there looking out at the stars and again starts contemplating everything that has happened. "How did everything go so wrong with just saying two words to the people I thought I could trust in life, and they just abandon me."
When he's done saying that, Jay walks out and joins Mike in the backyard and wraps a blanket around him to keep him warm. They sit on the ground and look up into the stars with Mike laying his head on Jay's shoulder, now looking at the pool water move with the wind slightly.
"Why can't people accept people like Leo and me just for who we are? Its been like this for decades now, and I don't see it stopping any time soon unless they make a big enough deal of it." Mike says, looking now up at the sky, enjoying the view of the early morning sky.
"I'm not sure little bro, but you need to remember that many people in this world were brought up with religious backgrounds or grew up in hateful areas where this is not normal. It's hard to say, but it may take a long time, little bro." Jay says, rubbing Mike's back.
"I think we should change the subject... I was taking a shower, and I was thinking about something that may be hard to bring up to your parents." Mike says, looking at jay now.
"I don't think our parents need to know that you have started puberty, dude."
"I don't mean that, bro. I mean, talk to them about adopting me and to be an official part of your family."
"I think we should bring that up tonight at dinner after we get your stuff... If I know my parents well enough, they would agree to it and will be 100% on board with it." Jay says in a confirming tone.
"That's good to hear from you, bro, and with your parents already being foster parents will help out so much in the adoption process. I hope that your parents will agree to it..." Mike says, now sitting up a bit.
Mikes phone goes off in his pocket, and when he looks at it, he does not recognize the number, so he hangs up his phone. After several seconds the number calls again, so out of frustration, he picks up the phone. "Hello? Who is this, and how did you get my number?"
"Don't worry about how I got your number faggot... Just know that if you ever touch my son in any way while at school, I will personally put you in a shallow grave. Do you understand what I'm telling you faggot?" The man on the other end says in a low demanding voice.
"I don't know who you are or who your son is but know that what you are doing is a very poor thing for you to do at your age. And if I find out who you are, I will not hesitate to sue for a hate crime. Do you understand me, you ignorant prick!" Mike says in an angry tone, and once he's done, he hangs up the phone standing up with his arms crossed, holding his chest.
"What the fuck was that about Mike! I never heard you so angry before" Jay says with a concerned voice.
"Some parent called me and told me if I ever touch his son in any way, he will put me in a shallow grave, oh, and he called me a faggot twice" Mike says pacing back and forth rubbing his chest.
"Dude, that's a death threat! We need to tell someone about this; we need to tell mom and dad at least!" Jay says, now rushing over to Mike.
"No... They don't need to know about this or any other threat I get. I don't want to seem weak or anything like that, so I am going to get my stuff today and that I am going to school the next day to confirm any rumors that may have started about me."
"I don't know how to respond to that little bro... But if anyone tries to hurt you or Leo, know that I will protect you guys with all that I got." Jay says, trying to sound tough with his changing voice.
"Thank you big bro, but I don't want to rely on anyone to fight my battles... But if I need help I will call for you. Anyway, we should head inside because you have school today, and I want to see you do good this year instead of just passing by." Mike says walking to the back door now.
"Okay bro. I need to ask how your ribs are? They looked pretty bad the last time I saw them." Jay asks joining Mike walking to the house.
"They hurt a little bit but its nothing to worry about. If my ribs hurt, I would have told mom and dad already so they can take me to medical alert." Mike says as he enters the house and sits on the sofa.
"Okay little bro."
When they get into the house they see someone outside on the front lawn, so they hide behind the sofa. Mike looks to jay then points to the kitchen, so they crawl there and stand up to see the person without being seen themselves, but they get up to see the man was gone. They go back to the living room and sit in silence as they watch some TV on low volume.
After watching some TV, they see it's about 6 am so they start to breakfast. As they make it, Jay's mom walks in and sees them making some eggs and backs away slowly going back to her room to get dressed. When they are finished making themselves breakfast, they sit and enjoy it watching some TV from the kitchen table. When they are finished their breakfast, they clean up after themselves and sit in the living room once said and done.
Mike goes to the front window and looks out, watching all the new freshmen start their first day of high school. But all he can think about is how his first day of junior high will be with him now being publicly out and how people will react to his relationship with Leo. His mind now wonders to the future of him and Leo going to prom together, graduating, going to college, getting an apartment, then finishing it off with them getting married. As his mind is going over all this, he starts to smile for the first time since everything happened.
Jay goes over to him and points out that Leo is walking up the front lawn, and Mike almost jumped out the window seeing him if Jay didn't stop him. Mike opens the door for Leo, and they instantly go into a tight embrace. As they hold each other, Jay returns to his room to get his school stuff as Mike and Leo go to the table to talk.
"Good morning babe." Leo says as he looks sat Mike with a smile.
"It's a good morning now that you are here" Mike says, holding Leo's hand across the table.
"What do you mean by good morning now'?" Leo asks, a bit concerned.
"I don't really want to talk about it. But this morning when I was taking my shower I was thinking about asking Jays parents to adopt me when the time is right." Mike says, rubbing his thumb on Leo's hand.
"Wow Mike thats a big thing to ask for, are you sure you want to go through with that plan? Like what if your mom wants you back? Or what about your dad?" Leo says with a look on his face that says he knows something.
"My father already gave up parental rights, you know that babe. Why would my mother wants me back after what she did to me not even 24 hours ago! Babe do you know something that I don't know? You have it all over your face."
"Don't get mad babe, it was out of my control..."
"Why would I get mad?"
Leo pulls his hand away. "Last night your mom came to my house just as I was about to go to bed, she wanted to talk to us about you... She asked us if we could keep her updated on you and if you want to come back to her, my mom told her that she made her choice to kick you out not you leaving the house. Babe I think your mom realized her mistake and now wants you back home." Leo says all this in the calmest voice possible, so he doesn't agitate Mike as he hears this.
Mike gets up from the table and goes to the bathroom, locking the door before turning on the shower on hot and sits in the growing steam. As the room fills with steam, Mike gets angry at himself, his mother, and his father... Himself for being gay... his mother for what she did to him and for wanting him back after what she did to him... His father for abandoning him and his mother for a younger woman and leaving them with nothing. Mike goes over the pair of hair scissors in the drawer and holds them open to his braid, crying when he's about to cut it off. Ben barges in and turns off the shower. "Mike, hand those to me and go lay down in bed."
Mike nods and walks away, handing the scissors to Ben, then goes to his room lying in bed in the fetal position and passes out almost instantly from being up so early. Mike wakes up several hours later, seeing that its practically 10 am, so he goes and uses the bathroom before going to the living room to find Jay's parents sitting at the table with Dr. True talking about Mike in a quiet voice. "So you think him and his mother should talk things over?" Jay's mom asks Doc.
"Maybe... But I'm not sure its a good idea to do so early after the event. Talk to him about it in a few days but make sure you tell me before you do so I'm up to date on it all." Dr. True says, pointing at them to get the point across.
Just as he puts his hand down to his cup of coffee, Mike makes himself known to them by sitting at the table with them. "You guys know that I will never talk to her ever again... I don't care what she says I don't want ti see her ever again."
"Hello Mike its good to see you again. Now I know that you are pissed at your mother right now but maybe in a few days it will change and you will want to talk to her about why she acted that way, and maybe can get your father in on this as well? Only if you want to Mike." Dr. True says now sitting closer to Mike, knowing that he likes to be close to someone while being counseled.
"I never want to see her or talk to her ever again. And why would I want to see my father? He dropped me and my mother like a sack or potatoes so thats a no for both Doc." Mike says, leaning back in his chair.
"Listen to me Mike, you need yo understand that your mom was scared so she maybe just freaked out... I wasn't here so I don't know exactly what happened so do you mind telling me so I can help you better?" Doc asks Mike as Ben and Stephani leave so they can talk in private.
After they left, Mike takes a few deep breaths before telling Dr. True what happened. "After waking from my recovery I called my mom to come pick me up and to bring some dinner for us so we can eat and talk. When she came over with the food she saw me looking like complete shit so she freaked out a bit but Jay and Leo calmed her down so I can tell her... After she calmed down I started telling her that I am still the little boy that sang songs
with her and that I loved her before telling her that I'm gay. After that she took a step outside and started smoking a cigarette before coming back in the house and telling us that after some thinking she doesn't want a faggot under her roof then just left. Like who in the hell seriously does that to their injured son!" Mike says all this with tears rolling off his face rubbing his hands together hard.
"So what you are telling me is that she abandoned you the same way your father did 2 years ago? Wow so she did think it over then, so maybe she saw the error of her ways and wants see if you can forgive her for what she did to you. Do you think you could forgive her?"
"No... I'm sorry Doc but I don't think I can ever forgive her for that... I have already moved on and I don't intend on looking back any time soon. I want to hold onto this for a long time." Mike says, now sitting up and wiping his eyes and his face of all the drying tears.
"Thats all I needed to hear from you Mike. I want to set up a meeting for the three of you. But you need to understand that being under the age of 18 you will be put into the system... but I can make a few calls and see about putting in here instead of across town away from Leo and Jay."
"Thank you so much Doc... I'm sorry that I didn't give you the answer you probably wanted about my mother and father but its my final answer on the subject." Mike says, getting up from the table and going to the window.
"Its okay Mike I completely understand where you are coming from so I wont push the subject. While I'm here do you have anything else you want to talk about."
"How should I go about bullies and things like that? How can I control my emotions better because I seem to be melting down a lot lately with lots of crying and how do I get adopted?" Mike asks True, saying the last part quickly and quietly so True won't pick it up.
"I would just let them say what they want to say and just not let it get to you, as for the emotions this is a emotional time so I would expect you to not really control them right now... But when it comes to you getting adopted thats up to your foster parents and the court." Dr. True says, putting a calm face on to show that he figured the last question would come up.
"Okay Doc..." Mike says, getting an apple from the fruit bowl and starts eating it.
"So I brought my truck if you want me to take you to get your stuff. I drove by your house and your stuff is not out front so its up to you right now." Dr. True says, pointing outside to his truck.
"Lets go... I need new clothes because the ones I have here are really small for me since I starting growing a few weeks ago." Mike says, blushing a bit.
Dr. True goes to Steph and Ben to tell them that he is taking Mike to his house to get things. Mike goes outside to the truck to wait for True talks to the parents. When Mike gets in the truck, he sees someone watching him from a distance, so out of fear, Mike hides on the truck's floorboard, thinking it was the guy on the phone this morning. After a few moments, True comes back and is surprised to see Mike hiding. "Mike why are you hiding? Did something happen?"
Mike gets up and looks around and doesn't see the guy and seems to relax a bit. "Sorry Doc... I saw someone and I got scared and hid because this morning I got a phone call and I thought it was the same guy... I'm really sorry for not telling you about that earlier."
"Its okay Mike, just next time you need to tell me when things like that happens. DO you understand me?" Mike nods in understanding what Doc is saying.
"Good... Now lets go get your stuff from your mothers place." True says that he backs up from the driveway and drives off to the house, putting on some music to distract Mike from his emotions. The song "How to save a life" By the Fray came on the radio as Mike looks out the window watching the cars and houses pass by them.
As the song ends, they pull into the driveway of Mike's old home, and they see there are no boxes out front on the porch like Mike thought there would be. All Mike could do was stare at the house where he grew up the past five years of his life. He got out of the car and walks over the green grass with the tree swaying slightly in the September wind. He goes up the door opening it up with the key to finding that the house is getting boxed up like she's moving away. Mike looks around and finds a letter with a key on the kitchen table with his name on it.
The letter reads...
Dear Michael,
Son, I'm very sorry that I left you like that. You need to understand that giving you this letter doesn't excuse what I did to you. I know you're mad, and you have every right to be, and I don't expect you to forgive me for a long time, so as a sign of moving on, I'm going to move to a new apartment that is going to be easier for me to live alone in. I left the address and a key to the apartment with the letter if you ever want to come to see me. I don't expect you to forgive me right away... I haven't touched your room just in case you ever come here to get your things. Bye Mikey
He puts the letter down and goes to his room with a few empty boxes from the living room and starts packing as True reads the message so he can help Mike properly if he needs it. He takes the letter with the key just in case if Mike ever wants to see her in the future. Doc joins Mike in his room and helps him pack up his things in silence until they pack up both boxes with the things that Mike needs the most, including his clothes, music sheets, and essential items that have meaning to Mike, such as his first ukulele and his sock monkey.
As they are packing, Doc looks around the room, he finds Mike's old therapy journals, and he packs them away in one of the boxes that still has room in it; he looks at Mike and smiles. "I have an idea you might like." He says, sitting on Mike's bed.
"Whats that?" Mike is asking him as he sits on the bed next to him.
"Well... I found your old Therapy journals and I think now might be a good time for you to start that doing it again as a way for you to cope with things going on right now."
Mike thinks for a second. "I like that idea. I will pick one up in a few days and get started."
Doc smiles. "Also this might be a hard question to answer but when did you know that you were a homosexual? You don't have to give the specifics but you can if you want to."
Mike stays still for a moment looking at something in one of the boxes, then takes a deep breath before saying something. "Umm... It was the summer my mom went on that trip and I was staying at Leo's place because Jay was also on a trip to the Bay. Anyway me and Leo decided to share the bed insted on having to set up the air mattress every night becuase it was super annoying the first night. So it started out as me anf him sleeping head to foot but over time we eventually began to sleep normaly that turned into us cuddling at night and one night we forgot to set out our pajamas before we took our showers so we just slept in our undies and continued to cuddle like that. After that day I began to question things like if I liked guys more then girls and such. It was only a few weeks ago that I came to the conclusion that im gay." As Mike tells True this, he holds his pillow close and tight, thinking about this subject.
"So it was after you stopped coming to me? Well overall it seems like you have it figured out at a younger age then a lot of other people twice your age. For that im proud of you Mike for finding yourself and for having the strength to come out at such a young age as well." Doc says, now looking around the empty room.
"Thanks Doc, it means a lot coming from you. But it was so hard to igure out that im gay or that I like Leo to be specific, but overall it hurt so much when I figured it out to the point I didnt leave my room for two days becuase I was scared of how my life will turn out because im gay." Mike says, putting the boxes together but stops when he hears the front door open and hearing his mom talk on the phone to someone.