Thicker Than Water - 44. Chapter 44

The court date was looming causing all kinds of stress in the Padilla household. Diego focused on work, which made his employees uneasy, as his temper was worse than ever. Steve was finding being a high school teacher challenging. He remembered having a good time in high school, and seemed to have forgotten how obnoxious teenagers were, though it did make him appreciate Bryan and Caleb more. The brothers fought more than normal, as well. It seemed that anything Caleb did got on Bryan's nerves, and Bryan's bossiness was upsetting Caleb.

“How was school?” Diego asked as Bryan and Kenny got into the truck.

“Fucking sucked,” Bryan muttered.

“What did you say?” Diego snapped.

“Sorry,” Bryan replied with a bit of an attitude, not having realized that he spoke his thoughts. “Can we just go home...please.”

Kenny had noticed the tension and, for once, was really happy he lived with Billy and Trevor.

“How about you, Kenny? Got any profanity you want to get off your chest?”

Kenny blushed, not sure if Diego was joking or not. He didn't like being put on the spot like that and wondered if he could go home early. “No, Sir. I'm fine,” he managed to say.

They drove in silence, contemplating their misery. Diego went to Five Guys for dinner. Bryan was being indecisive about what he wanted on his burger, so Diego ordered for him. Bryan felt resentful and tried talking to Kenny about it, but he got angry with his boyfriend when Kenny pointed out, “Your dad got you what you always order, though.”

“Maybe I wanted something else? He didn't give me a chance!”

Kenny knew that wasn't entirely true. Bryan never ordered anything different, ever, and they had been standing to the side for almost five minutes. Kenny wanted to say all of that, but he dropped it, knowing it wouldn't make a difference.

Bryan's mood didn't get any better, when Kenny got a text from Quinton. He brooded as Kenny's face lit up and excitedly returned the message.

“What does your boyfriend want?” Bryan asked, pouting.

“I don't know,” Kenny said, recognizing Bryan's coming attitude, “you won't tell me, but if you're being a dick and talking about Quinton, he was just telling me about the latest Hermitcraft video he found. It's all the times that Goodtimeswithscar died in Season 9.”

“Whatever,” Bryan said. He didn't understand Kenny's obsession with Minecraft or those YouTubers.

“Mr. Padilla,” Kenny said before they got back in the truck, “could you drop me off at Billy's?”

“Why? What's wrong?”

Everything, Kenny thought, holding his tongue. “I forgot that I have some chores to do, and I have a ton of homework, and I can get all that done before bedtime.”

“Uh, sure, kiddo,” Diego said. He looked in the mirror and saw Bryan's sour expression and wondered if they'd been fighting again. Diego took Kenny home, gave him a hug and made sure he took his dinner with him.

“Front seat, now,” Diego ordered.

Bryan struggled to not roll his eyes but did as he was told. Once buckled in, he crossed his arms and looked out the window.

“What's your problem today?” Diego asked.

“Nothing.”

“Don't 'nothing' me, Chico. Are you and Kenny fighting?”

“No.”

Diego sighed. He knew the real answer was yes, but let it go for the moment. “Talk to me, Bryan. What's going on?”

Tears formed at the corners of Bryan's eyes. He didn't want to talk about it. He felt that if he did, he'd never stop and would only make things worse.

Diego pulled up to the house and told Bryan to stay put. He took Steve and Caleb their food and came back out. He got back in and drove off. Diego decided it was time to coax Bryan to open up. They came to a light, and Diego paired his phone to the stereo system. Normally, he didn't listen to music while driving, and it was mostly for the reason he was about to do. It was something his father had done to him, and he was about to do it to his son.

Bryan looked over, still being stubborn. He was very confused as music came through the speakers. It was pretty, an orchestra opened the song, it was slow and melodic at first, with a small build. He focused on the lone violin that repeated some simple notes, and wondered how long this was going to last. There were some bird chirping sounds just before drums picked up a steady beat. Then a male voice opened up with, “'Cus it's a bittersweet symphony, that's life...”

Diego caught glimpses of his son. He fought back his own tears and memories, as the song played. The tears that lingered at the edges of Bryan's eyes fell in droves as the lyrics and music washed over him. Soon Bryan was sobbing. Diego just let his son have his moment.

The first time Diego had heard the Verve classic, he had gotten into a fight with Luis, who had found Diego's journal. Diego was so pissed he punched his little brother in the face, breaking Luis's nose. Their mom was pissed and blew up at Diego, who wouldn't explain why he had hit his brother or what was so damn important about the journal that it was worth sending his much younger brother to the hospital.

Diego was the most upset that he had ever been. It was so bad he couldn't articulate a single word. While their mom took Luis to the ER, their dad told Diego to get into the car. Back then, they didn't own smartphones; however, the elder Padilla did have a mix tape. He put the slim piece of plastic into the stock cassette player and the first song that came up was Bittersweet Symphony.

Diego listened to the lyrics, and just like his son, found a connection. It seemed to say everything he was feeling and he broke down. It was then that he finally came out to his father. He had only ever mentioned his attractions in his journal, and Luis violated that by taking it and refusing to give it back. Luis started to read passages out loud and when he got too close to discovering Diego's secret, and that was when Diego punched him. It wasn't to hurt his brother but to make his brother stop hurting him.

“Chico,” his dad said, “I'm glad you told me, but we've always known.”

“What?” Little Diego asked, shocked, through his tears. “How?”

Diego's dad chuckled and said, “Oh there were many signs over the years. I would have to say the first time I questioned it was the second time we watched the Wizard of Oz. You got a little too excited. For some reason you gay boys love Judy Garland.”

Diego blushed and laughed. It was then that Diego's father said that everyone pretty much assumed he was gay but wanted to wait till he was comfortable enough to come out on his own. Nobody thought to mention anything to Luis, given that he was about six years younger than Diego and thought Diego would've come out before the need to say anything to Luis.

Diego looked over at his own little boy and waited to see what Bryan was desperately wanting to say.

“I'm sorry,” Bryan said, trying to calm himself.

“I know, Chico,” Diego said, taking hold of Bryan's hand. “You can't bottle things up. They'll fester and eat at you and those who love you. Come on, Chico. Talk to me, buddy.”

“I don't know how to say it.”

“Okay. Tell me what's going on with you and Kenny, then. Are you two fighting?”

“I don't think so.”

“Then why did he want to go home? You looked really mad about something.”

“He's been spending a lot of time with Quinton.”

Ah, Diego thought. “And why is that upsetting you?”

“I don't know. It just is.”

“Do you think you're jealous?”

“No,” Bryan said resentfully.

“Do you think Kenny will leave you for Quinton?” Though Bryan didn't say a word, he reflexively squeezed Diego's hand, which gave it away. “Chico, Kenny loves you, but you are also very young. I know you have issues with people leaving you, but the odds of you two being together for the rest of your lives is so slim.” Diego didn't have the heart to tell him that they might not even be friends after high school.

“I know, but what if he decides to leave me for Quinton. James said that Kenny wasn't his type, but that doesn't mean that Quinton isn't his.”

“It doesn't really work that way. Kenny doesn't seem the type to pine for a guy who isn't into him.”

“I guess.”

Diego found a park and pulled into a parking spot. He turned off the engine, while Bryan scooted over next to his father. Diego put an arm around his son, as rain began to fall. Music was still playing, but neither paid much attention to it.

“What else has been bothering you?”

Bryan sighed and said, “The LatinX Student Union at the high school is doing this open house thing and wants the Spanish Class at my school to come visit for the day.”

“That actually sounds awesome,” Diego said, confused by Bryan's reluctant tone. “What's the problem?”

“Well...I'm not really Mexican, though.”

“Chico. Being Mexican has little to do with being Latino. Yes, there are a lot of Mexicans in America, but being Latino doesn't make you Mexican.”

“I get that, but....”

“You don't need to have Latin blood to be Latino. The fact you were raised in a Latin household and around Latin Culture is enough. Hell, you're fluent in two different dialects of Spanish, which is more than most LatinX people, including me. You have nothing to worry about, Chico. Has anyone been teasing or harassing you about it?”

“No. They actually think I don't want to go because I'm pan.”

Diego smiled. “See. They're accepting you as you are, and not who you think you should be. That's better than when I was your age. You should go. Do I need to sign anything?”

“Probably. I'll think about it.”

“Whatever you decide, I'll support it, but you have nothing to worry about as far as qualifications go. What else is bugging you?”

“Uh, this stupid English assignment!” For the first time since they dropped Kenny off, Bryan's anger flared. “We got split into groups of two, and we're supposed to write a short story. The kid I'm stuck with wants to do this lame story, and I can't get him to write anything else.”

“Yeah? What's his idea?”

Bryan rolled his eyes and said, “He wants to write this lame story about a kid who's parents come back after years of being gone and want to take him away from the only family he knows. It's so lame.”

Diego looked back at Bryan and said, “I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think it'll be.”

“Yeah it will! It's a dumb premise that's been done to death. There's no originality, the characters seem to be alright, especially the main character, I guess. It just seems like some self-indulgent trash you find on a dodgy website.”

“It's just a short story, Chico. What's the harm in letting him write it?”

“Oh, and that's the worst part! John thinks it would make a good enough novel to post online. I mean, who the hell wants to read trash like that?!” Bryan and Diego look back, over their shoulders at you.

Diego looked back at Bryan and asked, “How about you write your own story and submitted it? It sounds like this John person will be writing his story for probably longer than he should.”

“Uh, don't I know it! He's been working on it for months and still hasn't gotten to the exciting courtroom drama he's promised. He keeps writing filler, like he's afraid to come up with the goods. I keep telling him that everyone will get tired of his expositions, but he insists that character development is still needed. 'It's coming in the next chapter,' he says, yet every time I look at his updates, still no courtroom scene.”

“I'm sure it's difficult.”

“Whatever. Oh! And the worst part is there's just too much self-referential humor in it and subtly breaking the fourth wall. It's so meta!”

“Could be worse. The main character could think he's in someone else's story?”

“Too soon, Dad. Too soon.”

Diego laughed and hugged his son. “I love you, Chico.”

“I love you, too. Can we go home now? I'm hungry.”

“Of course.”

*     *     *

Everyone's spirits were lighter, once Diego and Bryan came home. Bryan hugged Caleb and apologized for being an ass. Caleb hugged his brother back and apologized for being annoying.

Bryan took out his phone and sent Kenny a text apologizing for earlier and asked if they could talk about it the next day after school. Kenny sent a text back accepting the apology and agreed to talk. It was about that time, Bryan got a notification. He opened his email and cussed.

“What's wrong?” Steve asked, looking over Bryan's shoulder.

“He did it again!”

“Who did what again?”

Diego chuckled and said, “Still no courtroom scene?”

“He said, 'It's the next chapter, I promise!' This is so annoying!” Bryan said, annoyed.

“Well, I guess you'll have to wait till the next chapter.”

“And it gets worse! The chapter he sent is loaded with ever more meta humor than before! It's like he's trying to be annoying! It started off as this nice, heartfelt moment and turned it to trash with his stupid meta references.”

“Maybe he's putting the readers at ease before setting them up for a huge fall?” Steve suggested, while reading the chapter John sent.

“Maybe, but he's not that clever. Besides, why not build suspense instead of tipping everyone off?”

“It could be a double bluff. Make them think there won't be any tension by having the characters think there will be, while the readers know there won't be.”

“Okay. That just hurt my head,” Bryan said, rubbing his temples.

“Mine too,” Diego said. “You got homework before bed, so get moving.”

Once the boys were out of the room, Steve kissed Diego. “Do you think they know?”

“No. I didn't have the heart to tell Bryan. I'm guessing you haven't told Caleb yet.”

“No. I was in the same boat. Should we tell them before bedtime?”

“Probably, but I don't want them having to sleep on this kind of news.”

“They'll need to know sooner than later,” Steve said, holding Diego tight.

“It'll crush them.”

“It's going to crush them, either way.”

“Are we sure Billy couldn't fix this?”

“Quite. He's already run out of options with Judge Crusty Pants at this point.”

“Fuck. I guess we have no other choice then. We'll have to tell them Calvin got unsupervised visits starting this weekend and they'll have to go.”