Page 54 of Meet You Half Way
It didn’t matter that I’d already told Mama that Amelia was the most psychopathic girl I’d ever met, or that she was cruel and judgemental. None of that had mattered to my mama. Amelia had all the attributes she cared about such as her Italian heritage and functional vagina. The fact she was borderline psychotic with a frighteningly intense crush on me did not matter as much.
“I can’t next week,” I said anyway.
“You can. Whatever you have on, rearrange it. I promised the Zanotti’s you’d be there,” Mama scolded.
“I’ll be in Sydney that weekend,” I replied.
Both my parents sighed dramatically at my announcement before Papa levelled me with his speciallook. “No woman wants a man who is prettier than her or who spends more time on skincare than she does,” he stated. “Honestly, I don’t know why you keep at that silly career. It’s not going to provide an honest income for your wife and children.”
“I made five thousand dollars at my last photoshoot,” I told them. I never really bothered all that much to stand up for my side career with my parents. They’d made their opinions on the matter abundantly clear. Many times.
“Selling your body,” Mama spat. “It’s vile and disgusting.”
“Rearrange, son. Your mama wants you here next weekend,” Papa added.
“It’s nice you think I actually have that kind of power over a photoshoot. There are twenty or thirty other people involved who do not take their orders from me. Besides, I’m going up with Nick and Rob so it’s not just for the photoshoot.”
“Nick?” Mama repeated, exchanging a shocked look with Papa, one that had me stilling. They’d never had a problem with my friendship with Nick in the past. Mostly because I’d carefully concealed both our truths from them.
“Tell him,” Papa nodded as lead sunk to my stomach.
“Giana was here last week,” Mama began, sitting down heavily after collecting our plates. “She told me Nick was seen with a boy on the high street. They werekissing. In plain view of everyone on the entire street.”
She delivered the news as though she was telling me a loved one had been diagnosed with an incurable disease and they both waited for my reaction, no doubt expecting my shock and outrage.
I just shrugged, the movement forced. “Probably his boyfriend,” I said as dismissively as possible.
“You knew?” Mama exploded.
“Yeah. So?”
“So? So? So what are you doing planning a trip to Sydney with that boy?” she argued.
“Why? Are you worried I’ll catch the gay?” I scoffed, stomach churning and adrenaline pounding.
“You know what those people are like, Mateo,” Papa cut in. “Predators. All of them.”
I sat there listening as the two of them spouted their closed minded ignorance aboutthose people, the ones who were actuallymy peopleand something broke inside me. I’d heard their narrowminded views all my life and I didn’t want them levelled at Nick any more than I wanted them levelled at me. Or Jamie for that matter. Neither of them deserved their hate. And neither did I.
I slowly stood to my feet, knowing what I said next was going to fracture any chance at a future relationship with my parents. But I’d hidden from them for most of my life and I could not keep hiding anymore. I was done.
My parents watched me cautiously as I stood before them, faces still dark with anger as they demanded I cut Nick out of my life.
“Well you know what, Mama? Papa?” I said, holding onto the edge of the table for support as I looked down at them. “None of that matters because it’s too late for me. Looks like I caught the bug after all so if you want me to cut Nick out of my life, you’ll have to do the same to me because I am as gay as he is.”
Their mouths dropped but I took no pleasure in what I’d said, no pleasure in leaving them looking at me as though I was a plague they wanted out of their lives.
“And now I’m going to go drive to my boyfriend’s house and I’m going to let him tell me there’s nothing wrong with me, that I’m fine the way I am. And maybe this time I’ll actually believe him. Because you know what? I am actually okay with who I am. It’s taken me a really long time to get here but I know now that there’s nothing wrong with me. I can love whoever I want to love and I’m not going to have your hatred and your closeminded views shape mine anymore.”
And with that, I walked out of their house and down to the street to my car, the image of their shocked and disgusted faces the last thing I would likely see of them.
CHAPTER 22
jamie
It was late on Friday evening. I’d just arrived home from an evening shift and jumped straight into the shower and I already felt a hundred times better. It had been a good week though, at least as far as work went but I was ready for the coming weekend and a full two days break.
I was really hoping to see Mateo sometime too but he’d been a little quiet on the communication front after last weekend. It was no different than usual but I had kind of thought afterthatnight that things had changed between us. At least, things had changed for me but I wasn’t sure that was such a good thing as I sat alone on a Friday night, absently flicking through the Netflix offerings.
