Page 49 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
Oneof these books had to tell me what I needed to know.
With my luck, it was probably going to be the last book I opened.
I stretched my arms above my head, and then I went back to reading.
25
Zim
I'd been back homefor two weeks when things went to shit over dinner. Honestly though, I'd expected that it would happen sooner or later. I hadn't told my parents anything about dating a dragon or being gay, but the air in our home had been tense ever since I got back. It was as if somehow, they already knew that I was doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing, that I wasn't telling them the truth. Since I didn't want to lie too much, I pretended to be busy with something else whenever they asked me about my trip. That wasn't hard to do; I still had college work after all. But itwassuspicious.
I had never kept anything from my parents before.
At least, not anything important.
I hated doing this.
Lowen and I talked on the phone almost every night, and even that, I had to keep hidden from my parents. Whenever I thought there was someone near my door or passing by outside my room, I pretended to be talking to Kathy.
In reality, I hadn't talked to Kathy in a long time. She'd texted me to ask if I was okay once, and that was it. After what I'd done to her, it was really more than I could expect.
At first, our nightly dinner seemed to be going like any other dinner. My mom served mashed potatoes and sausages with peas and gravy on the side. It was a good meal, even if my appetite wasn't great. For some reason, I'd been feeling a little bit sick lately, and the smell of the sausages on my plate seemed way too aggressive to my nose. I made myself eat anyway. Something inside of me knew that I could absolutely not tell my parents about feeling sick—that I just had to keep smiling through this.
One more week. Just one more week and then Lowen would be here and I would have that conversation with my parents that I was dreading so much.
They would be so disappointed.
No, I had to focus on my meal now instead of thoughts of the future. I'd never be able to get any food down if my mind kept going down that path.
"Maximilian," my mother addressed me while I was chewing on a bit of sausage, "did you see that email I sent you earlier?"
Email? I shook my head. "I haven't checked in a few hours, sorry." I'd been busy doing an assignment for college. If I had to disappoint my parents by being gay, I could at least keep my grades up and be the perfect son they'd always wanted insomeway.
Besides, completing school work meant I had less time to worry about all the other things in my life I should be worrying about.
"Your father and I have been looking at houses," my mother informed me in a tone of voice that sounded way too cheerful.
"Why were you looking at houses?" I took a sip of water from the glass next to my plate. My family already owned a lot of property. My father told me it was one of the few sound investment choices you could make in this day and age, so I wasn'tsurprisedwhen my mother spoke about looking at houses. I just didn't know why she was so happy about it. Buying real estate had become something pretty common place. Why would she send me an email about it?
"Well," she said, glancing at my father who was looking up from his plate now too. "Your dad and I were thinking that Kathy and you would need a good home once you're married and all."
Wait, what? I nearly choked on my water and had to knock on my chest to regain my composure. My parents were trying to pick out a home for me and Kathy?
"Is everything all right?" my father asked.
I glanced at him, my hand still on my chest. "Yeah, I'm only..." Only what? I didn't even know how to end that sentence. What was I supposed to tell my dad? Kathy and I weren't an item anymore.
Sorry, Dad, I broke up with my fiancée when she figured out how much I like dick.
I was pretty sure my mom would not consider that polite dinner conversation.
"We know it might seem a little early," my mom said, "but there's no reason for you to be so shocked. You should know your dad and I are always going to provide for you. We want you to have the best possible start in life. The two of you won't have to worry about anything but advancing your careers and building a nice little family." My mom had the warmest smile on her face as she said it. She truly meant it.
And I just couldn't go on lying to her. It was too hard.
"Mom... Dad..." I looked at the two of them and they answered my gaze with expectant ones. I took a deep breath. "Kathy and I aren't going to be married. We broke up."
I could tell them that much at least, right?
