I understood what Zeke was saying. Easily. Marie and Kaylee didn't have parents that were like his. They sounded controlling and strict. They had no problems scolding children that weren't theirs too.
"I didn't like them either."
Zeke laughed at my comment, surprising me. "You don't have to. You don't have to like everyone you come across, but you have to respect them because they're adults. That's what Dad taught us growing up."
"I don't think I disrespected them...but the mom wasn't happy when I didn't excuse myself from the table like you did." I looked down at my hands in my lap. Is that disrespectful?
"If Mom didn't scold you, then you're in the clear."
A sense of relief washed over me, and my shoulders relaxed. I didn't think I was so tense when leaving the dinner table, but I guess I was.
"Jake? You're in here?" Noah stopped in the doorway. He saw the two of us sitting together, chatting as the laptop was playing baseball highlights. "Oh. You're all watching today's highlight reel?"
I patted the s.p.a.ce between me and Zeke.
Noah smiled and came over. He squeezed between us. "Thanks. Man, I couldn't stand Marie's parents. I know it's rude to just leave Kaylee down there with them, but we aren't that great of friends where I'm willing to put up with her parents."
"Noah." Zeke slapped him upside the head.
"Ow." He rubbed his head. "I asked her discreetly if she minded first. I didn't flat out ditch her. Plus Mom and Dad, and the twins, are down there. And it's her own family. She's good."
I didn't even think about Kaylee when I left, does that make me a bad person?
"I don't know how she stands them." Noah sighed. "I'd probably run away from home."
"It's how she was raised." Zeke replied.
Noah opened his mouth to say something, but held back after he glanced at me. He shut his mouth. He then reached to the laptop and turned it up. "Let's watch. I like to hear the broadcasters too. They can be funny sometimes."
"Zeke said the A's are playing right now." I told Noah so he wouldn't look for their highlights.
"Yea, I know. I'll turn that game on downstairs after they all leave." He focused on the little laptop screen.
I zoned out as I stared at the screen blankly. I wonder what Noah had to say and why he held back. He was talking about Kaylee and her parents, so maybe it would have had something to do with me and my mom.
Dave came out half an hour later, looking a little haggard. "You punks. You all left me down there to suffer with Kyle so you could watch some baseball?"
Noah stood up and stretched his legs. "Hey, did they already leave?"
Dave flopped on his bed, but with care so he wouldn't jiggle his wrapped-up finger. "Yea, I said goodbye unlike you ingrates. Kyle and Marie were the first to leave so they could catch their movie. Kaylee and her parents should be saying goodbye to Mom and Dad now. Ughh, I need Advil for this headache."
Zeke got up, went to the bathroom and came back with a pill bottle. He dropped it on Dave's stomach. "We're going downstairs to watch the game if you feel better."
Dave grunted.
Noah tugged my sleeve and I followed him out. We headed for the stairs, but about halfway down, Noah suddenly stopped. I b.u.mped into him and started falling. Noah caught me by the arm and held a finger to his lips to shush me.
I wasnt even making noise.
"—just don't think something is right with that boy." Diana was saying.
"Oddly quiet." Greg added. "Only spoke to Noah."
"Yes, Jake is a very quiet kid." Mr. Atkins said. "Nonetheless, we think nothing is wrong with him."
"It's not like he's your son." Diana said.
A heavy silence. I couldn't breathe. Noah had sucked in air, but had yet to release it. We couldn't see Mr. and Mrs. Atkins expressions, but the fact that they didn't speak already spoke volumes.
"No need to lie to us. We could see that he was different." Greg gave a short laugh. "All your kids look just like you two."
"Noah saying he was his twin was quite unsettling. Not only was it a lie, but it creates a closeness between them that isn't normal."
"Isn't normal?" Noah's face was filled with fury. He moved like he was about to charge down there, but a heavy hand on his shoulder held him in place. "Zeke??"
Zeke stood on the step above us, apparently listening in as well. He held up a finger.
"Please leave." Mrs. Atkins was clear and concise. She didn't raise her voice, nor did she sound mad. She just sounded cold.
"Excuse me?" Diana sounded stunned.
"My wife is right. We don't welcome guests that judge our sons unjustly." Mr. Atkins spoke in a tight voice, like he was trying to hold back.
"Wayne, he isn't your son. And the way he hangs onto your youngest son doesn't look good. Young men should have some dignity, respect, and pride." Greg lectured. "We're just telling you that the boy might corrupt your son in some way. You don't want that, do you?" He sounded like he was accusing Mr. Atkins of something, but I wasn't following very well. I was feeling sick to my stomach and my head started to pound like it was my heartbeat.
"Greg. Diana." Mr. Atkins sounded strained. "I'm asking you to please leave. Now. We don't accept people like you into our homes. Your skewed vision of my boys will only leave bad impressions on us. Seeing as our kids are dating, I'll let your rude comments slide this time."
"People like us?!" Diana screeched, scaring me. I stumbled back, hitting the stair. Zeke grabbed my shoulder and held me in place like he did for Noah. He was stopping one of us from going forward and the other from falling back. I couldn't see the reasons in his actions. "People like you are what's wrong in society! That boy will corrupt your son and you'll regret it! See if I don't end this relations.h.i.+p between Marie and your boy by the end of tonight."
"Fine by me." Mrs. Atkins was cold, not giving a care that the lady threatened to end her son's first relations.h.i.+p. "Leave."
A huff could be heard and footsteps could be heard leaving the foyer. Soon a heavy slam of the front door made me jump in place.
Zeke let go of our shoulders and Noah took off. He sprinted down the stairs just as his parents were walking to the bottom of the stairs.
Mr. and Mrs. Atkins looked surprised to see him, then horror covered their faces as they looked up at me, stopped in the middle of the staircase.
"Mom! Dad!" Noah yelled. "What was that?! What's wrong with those people! We-we-we need to do something!" Noah stuttered when he was unable to come up with a course of action.
Mr. Atkins put an arm around his shoulder. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough to know they're sc.u.m!" Noah shouted.
Mrs. Atkins was staring at me with worry in her eyes. Her face was pale and she looked to be frozen. After staring at her for so long, I wondered if she was my reflection. I hesitatingly took a step back to see if she would do the same. Instead, she took a step forward. "Jake?" Her voice cracked. "You-are you okay?"
Am I? I looked down at my body. There were no wounds, no physical wounds, yet it hurt. The flat out rejection of strangers. I didn't even know why. Was it really just because I was too quiet? What did they mean that I was too close to Noah?
"Speak up." Zeke rest his arm around my shoulders like Mr. Atkins did for Noah. "Mom can't hear you."
Speak up? I haven't said anything. "I-I don't know...what to say." I sputtered.
"Come down, get off the stairs." Mr. Atkins waved with his free arm.
Zeke took a step down, but I felt as frozen as Mrs. Atkins. She didn't look good and I didn't feel good. Was she...regretting? Regretting having me here?
"What did she mean by corrupt? That I'm corrupting Noah?" I asked, voice shaking almost as much as my body.
Mrs. Atkins looked scared.
"I'm not corrupted." Noah spoke up. "Just come down and I'll tell you what they meant."
Both his parents looked down at him.
Noah shrugged. "I'm a teen. I know what they meant. What they implied." He looked up at me and tapped his foot impatiently. "Are you coming or not? Come on!"
Seeing Noah be his usual self helped ease my anxiety. I was scared. If I was corrupting Noah, would Mr. and Mrs. Atkins send me away? I took a step forward. Zeke did as well, not letting go of my shoulders. It was like he was guiding me off a cliff. The people at the bottom were all telling me to come down, and then there was him patiently walking me down like he would catch me if I fell.
We reached the bottom of the stairs, and both his parents looked relieved.
"They were implying that we were gay for each other." Noah said out of nowhere. My jaw dropped. "Exactly. Unbelievable." He rolled his eyes.
"Noah...we could have phrased that a little better." Mr. Atkins told him, letting go of his shoulders. He looked down at me. "Jake, don't mind those kind of people. Even if you were-"
I shook my head vehemently. "I'm not! I'm-I'm not!"
"No need to tell us either way." Mr. Atkins smiled. "We know-"
"Know what?!" I screeched, feeling on edge. "I don't! I don't like boys!" I don't even think I liked girls.
"Jake." Zeke's grip on my shoulder tightened. "We know that." He let out a laugh, almost making me jump out of my skin. Zeke, who hardly shows his emotions, is laughing right now?
Noah was laughing too. He walked over to me and gave me a noogie on the head, messing up my hair. "I treat you like a brother. I a.s.sume you're doing the same, aren't you?"
I am? I tilted my head to make him stop touching the top of my head. "I want a brother like you." I whispered.
"And you have a brother like me!" Noah smiled. "I'm your brother. Zeke and the twins can be your brothers too."
Can they?
Mr. Atkins stepped closer. "I was trying to tell you Jake, we know how you feel. We're a family aren't we? We see you like a son. It's only right for brothers to be close to one another. Just look at the twins. They're even closer than you and Noah. Greg and Diana just have twisted minds with warped ideas."
It felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, yet Zeke's arm was still there. "So...you're not mad at me? You won't kick me out?"
"Oh, Jake!" Mrs. Atkins sniffled and wiped the corner of her eyes. "No, no, of course not. I was so scared that you would run away after hearing those morons. We wouldn't leave you. We won't leave you. Like Wayne said, you're like a son to us."
"Wow, Mommmm.." Noah stretched out. "I can't believe you just called them morons. What would Jesus think?"
"He would forgive me, of course." Mrs. Atkins smacked him on the head. "But not you. You're just a kid. You shouldn't say that at all. Even if you're repeating after me."
Noah laughed and I cracked a smile.
Then I remembered what they said about Kyle and Marie. My smile fell away. "What about Kyle?"
"Yea." Noah agreed, looking up at his parents. "Will they cut their date short? They aren't going to attack Kyle or something right?"
Mrs. Atkins looked worried again.
The house phone started to ring, making all of us flinch as a group. Mr. Atkins went over to answer it.
"h.e.l.lo?"
"Yes, something did happen. Come on home and we'll have a talk."
"No, we didn't sabotage your date on purpose."
"We had conflicting views on parenting. Just come home for a talk, okay?"
"Drive safe."
He hung up and looked at us. "That was Kyle. He's coming home. Apparently Marie was called home by her parents." He sighed. "He probably won't take this very well if her parents decide that they can't date."
Noah shrugged. "It's not like she was a good person anyways."
Both of his parents immediately stared him down.
I kicked his foot and gave him a look, widening my eyes. Kyle didn't want us to mention that.
Noah noticed his error right away and started an awkward laugh. "Ha, ha, oh, I mean, she, they-uh..."
"Marie comes off pretty strong like her parents." Zeke spoke up.
"What? We let Kyle date someone like that?" Mrs. Atkins looked at me worriedly. "Did she also say something mean to you? Is that where her parents got those ideas?" He looked to Noah. "Is Kaylee like this as well? I don't want to ban you all from hanging out without anyone, but I pray that you boys can tell right from wrong."
I looked to Noah helplessly. Way to go. Now Kyle is really going to kill us.