Page 66 of Inevitable

Ezra nodded mutely.

“I’ll see you later,” Drew said.

Ezra nodded again, but Drew had already turned around and was walking away.

* * *

Ezra’s bedroom door opened quietly. He wouldn’t have heard it if he hadn’t been straining his ears to detect any sound from outside his room.

He was lying on his side, his back to the door. Soft steps echoed in the room as somebody moved closer.

Ezra held his breath, waiting for what would happen next.

For long moments, there was only silence, but then the bed dipped, and in a second, Ezra was wrapped in Drew’s arms. Drew pressed his nose against Ezra’s neck, and Ezra felt like he could breathe again for the first time since their lunch.

“I’m sorry,” Drew whispered, lips moving against Ezra’s skin.

Ezra turned in Drew’s arms so the two of them were nose-to-nose. Ezra closed his eyes for a second and just enjoyed the feel of Drew against him. His heart beating against Ezra’s chest. His breaths moving over Ezra’s skin. For the first time in hours, Ezra felt himself relax.

“What happened?” he asked softly.

Drew sighed and pressed himself closer to Ezra. His skin was icy, so Ezra wrapped himself around Drew as best he could and held him.

“I told you how my parents reacted when I came out.” Drew had pressed his cheek against Ezra’s chest.

“Mm.” Ezra nodded and kissed the top of Drew’s head.

“Yeah, so… it was hard. My parents were always pretty conservative, but I never expected them to react like that. It was as if I died all of a sudden. There was only the bare minimum of communication. We’d go days without talking at all. I’m not sure what they expected would happen. It’s not like I was going to reconsider.”

Ezra swallowed. They had that experience in common. Being abandoned. Not that his brothers had exactly been in love with the idea of raising Ezra in the first place, but they were family. Sure, they were the kind where they barely seemed to tolerate each other, but being kicked out had still come as a bit of a shock.

“How did you manage?” Ezra asked.

“I didn’t. Everything at home was tense. None of us really spoke to each other, and I just started spending more and more time with Bas. Then I started staying the night. My parents didn’t care. I thought they’d look for me after the first time I was gone the whole night without telling them. I guess I figured they’d be worried, and it would make them realize what they’re doing. They didn’t. So eventually I couldn’t take it anymore, and I just moved out and in with Bas.”

“His parents were okay with it?”

Drew sighed, turned on his back, and stared at the ceiling. “They let me stay in the apartment they have above the garage,” he said. “They were pretty cool about the whole thing, to be honest.” He threw his arm over his forehead and sighed. “Madeline and Griffin are difficult to explain if you haven’t met them. They love Bas a lot, and they accept everything about him. I’m talking acceptance to the point where Bas could turn out to be a serial killer, and they’d still bring him cookies in prison. But they’re also extremely dedicated to their careers. His dad is a real estate developer, and his mom is in marketing. Griffin spent most of his time on the road, dividing himself between Boston, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Madeline spent half her time in Singapore and Seoul. Basically, they’ve required Bas to grow up very quickly. I don’t think they really got the memo that you have to make some adjustments to your life when you have a kid. Then again, maybe they did, and then they just figured they could outsource. There have been a lot of nannies over the years to allow them their jet-setting lifestyle, and by the time Bas was sixteen, he was pretty much left to his own devices. Don’t get me wrong, they did try. They tried their best to be there for the important events. At the same time, being there for graduation isn’t the same as being there every day. But there were good times, too. They used to take a family vacation every summer. Three weeks without any commitments. Bas used to look forward to that every year. Still, it’s a bit hard not to resent them when you realize just how lonely Bas has been most of his life.”

“Well, he had you, didn’t he?”

Drew looked surprised at that comment, but Ezra was not going to let Drew downplay his role in Bas’s life. “You were his best friend, and you were there for him. Every single time. I bet he didn’t feel lonely with you.”

Drew looked completely taken aback, almost as if the thought had never entered his mind. Ezra couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Drew’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and then he nodded.

“Maybe,” he said slowly.

“So Bas took you in?” Ezra prompted. He could pretty much figure out the rest of the story himself, but he was sure Drew didn’t speak about that time of his life very often, if at all, and sometimes it helped to let some of the pain out.

“Yeah. It took Madeline and Griffin a few weeks to figure out I was living in their house, and I wasn’t even hiding it, to be honest.”

“They were cool with it?”

“Cool enough to give me the keys to the garage apartment.”

“Most parents probably wouldn’t be happy to see their son living with another boy while still in high school.”

Drew shrugged one shoulder. “We were just friends, and even if there had been something more going on, they wouldn’t have cared. It’s not like they were spending enough time in their home to enforce any rules on Bas, even if they had disapproved.”