Page 115 of The Goat in the Bedroom
“You're family,” she said simply. “And nobody threatens our family.”
God she was hot when she got all protective.
When Xander walked in here looking like a lost puppy, I thought I was going to have to protect him, try to save him, like I always did with everyone in my life. But Artie had been the one who stood so fiercely by my side, and I didn’t have to do anything by myself anymore.
I squeezed Xander’s arm. “Listen, I want to bring in some help. This is bigger than us, and I don’t think we can do anything without a whole shit ton of support. I won’t if you’re not ready for anyone else to know. But if you can trust anyone, it’s family.”
“You… you want me to come out to your family? To Hayes and Willa?” Old fears and hurts flashed through his face. His face went pale. “I can't—they don't even know?—“
Artie sat down beside him. “You deserve to have support through this.”
“Willa doesn't even know,” he whispered. “My own sister doesn't know.”
“What about Liam and George?” I asked carefully. “Your uncles?”
Xander's face crumpled. “They would have supported me. They would have understood. But my mom... she said it would ruin my career. Said I couldn't be like them if I wanted to succeed in football. She made me promise never to tell anyone, especially not them.”
“Xander,” Artie said softly. “Would you consider telling them now? Just the family? They need to know what they're fighting for.”
He was quiet for a long moment. “What if they hate me for hiding it? For not trusting them?”
“They won't,” I said with certainty. “That's not who the Kingmans are. Or who Liam and George are.”
“You're already family,” Artie repeated. “This just makes it official.”
My own coming out had been easy breezy. I told Flynn, then Jules first. They both acted as if I’d told them I like Cheerios and Fruit Loops instead of coming out as bisexual. No one in my family treated it like a huge deal, or something they needed to think about and process. It was just a part of me that they understood and loved.
But not everyone’s family was like mine. “You don’t have to if you can’t yet, and we’ll work hard to figure out another way.”
“No. Shit.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I’m really goddamn tired of feeling so alone in this. I think Willa might already know, or at least has a clue. Hard to hide something this big from your twin.”
“That it is.” I pulled out my phone to start calling the Kingman cavalry, but it started buzzing before I even could. “It’s Flynn.”
I answered and didn’t even get to say hello before he asked, “What's wrong?”
Twin telepathy proving the point. “Sloane has blackmail material on Xander. And me. And others.”
There was a pause. “Emergency game night?”
“Yeah. Call everyone. I’ll start with Jules, you start with Dad, and we’ll work our way to the middle.” God, was I grateful for my family. “Flynn?—“
“Nobody threatens our family, Gryff. Nobody. I'll call Chris and the others. They can take the jet. Kelsey has her plane too. We can have everyone here in two hours.”
Two hours later, our living room was packed. When Flynn said emergency protocol, the Kingmans had mobilized like an army. Dad, Chris, Declan, Everett, Hayes, and Isak had taken the Kingman jet. Kelsey had flown down with Penelope, Trixie, Willa, her father, and her guncles George and Liam on her private plane. Jules just drove on over from UCLA to be here.
Everything felt like another Kingman family gathering, but it got instantly emotional when Xander’s father and uncles, Liam and George, who were being towed by his twin sister, Willa, walked in.
“Where is he?” Willa demanded the moment she walked in. “Where's my idiot brother?”
Xander stood up from where he'd been hiding in the corner, and Willa crossed the room in three strides, pulling him into a fierce hug.
“Whatever it is,” she said into his shoulder, “we're here. We're all here.”
The room settled, everyone finding seats, and Xander stood up. “Before we start, I have something I need to tell everyone.”
Xander looked terrified. I moved to stand beside him, Artie on his other side.
“I'm… gay,” he said, the words coming out in a rush. “I've always been gay. I've been hiding it my whole life because I thought... because I was told it would ruin everything. And now someone's trying to blackmail me with it.”
