Trigger Warning: homophobic/unsupportive parent, homophobic slur
Chapter 18-3rd person pov
*timeskip of about one month, brought to you by well, when a pony does a good deed, he gets a horn and he becomes a unicorn and then he poops out cotton candy until he forgets he's magical*
Life had been going well enough for everyone. Martha's secret was safe, John got to see his siblings every weekday after school, James Reynolds has been leaving everyone alone for the most part, everyone's relationships are going well, John has been worrying less every day, and he hadn't cut since the time Alex caught him on the floor of his room with a pencil sharpener. Alex bought him a pack of mechanical pencils a couple of days after the incident. Everyone was happy, for the most part. Of course, things weren't perfect, but they were better than expected. That's why no one expected this to happen.
Martha was sitting in her room, listening to the Falsettos soundtrack while drawing. She had just finished a big assignment for school and wanted to relax. She was singing along with the music and Mary was kind of dancing next to her. Peggy and Maria were helping Henry Jr and James do their homework. They didn't think Henry would be home for a few hours since he usually worked late. The door opened but Martha and Mary didn't hear it. Peggy got to the door and found Henry walking in.
"Hello," she said in a fake cheerful voice. She and Maria always pretended to not hate him so that they could continue keeping an eye on the younger Laurens siblings.
"Hello," Henry replied. He was usually indifferent to Peggy and Maria. He didn't know that they were dating or that either was queer.
"Martha and Mary are up in their room, most likely doing homework and the boys are with Maria, we were helping them with their homework," Peggy informed him.
"Ok. You two can go if you'd like, I got off work early and can finish from here," Henry said.
"Thank you," Peggy said as she went to tell Maria. Peggy and Maria left as Henry walked past Martha's room and towards his. Peggy and Maria went out for coffee together. Henry heard the music and recognized it. It was music that John had listened to regularly, he heard it sometimes when he walked past his room.
"Martha, why are you listening to that music?" Henry asked.
"I-I just like the songs," Martha said nervously.
"Is that so?" Henry asked. He wasn't happy at all.
"Yes," Martha answered.
"John used to listen to this music. John is gay. Are you gay?" Henry asked. Now Martha was really scared. What was he going to do to her, she wondered.
"N-no, I just like the music," Martha said. She was frozen with fear and still hadn't paused the music.
"This music is going to make you gay like it made John gay. Or maybe he listened to it because he was gay. Are you gay?" Henry demanded.
"N-no, I'm not," Martha answered quickly. The music she was listening to decided that right now was a good time to have the song end and the next song come one. The next song was none other than Falsettoland/About Time.
"Then explain this!" he demanded while gesturing to her computer. The first word of the song was 'homosexuals' and Henry was now completely convinced that Martha was gay. Martha opened her mouth to talk but instead, she started crying. Mary had been in the bathroom and was currently standing out in the hallway but she ran downstairs so that she wouldn't have to hear them fight. She didn't tell Henry Jr or James what she had heard since she didn't know what to say so they just gave her a crayon and spare piece of paper to keep her busy.
"Don't cry! You are just a disappointing fag like your brother!" Henry yelled at her.
"P-please stop," Martha begged.
"I should say the same to you. Change your ways or leave like John!" Henry yelled. Then he slapped Martha right across the face.
"I-I don't have a-anywhere to go," Martha said, still crying.
"Leave! Now!" Henry yelled. Martha ran out of the house until she got to the nearby park. She figured that he couldn't hurt her there. She called Alex and he picked up on the first ring.
"Hey, Martha! Sorry, John and I couldn't come over today, some of our friends had planned something for today during the time that we would usually see you. We'll stop by tomorrow. Martha? Are you there?" Alex rambled.
"H-hi," Martha said.
"Why are you crying? What happened?" Alex asked.
"C-can you come g-get me?" Martha asked.
"Where are you? And can I tell John or did you call me for a reason?" Alex asked.
"Th-the park near m-my house. T-tell John if i-it won't freak him out," Martha said.
"Ok. I'm coming and we can tell him later once I actually know what's going on. See you in a few minutes," Alex said.
"P-please don't h-hang up," Martha begged.
"I'm still here," Alex assured her. He stayed on the phone the whole walk there. It wasn't really a walk, more like a run. Why was she at the park? Where were Peggy and Maria? What was going on? Was Martha ok? Alex's mind raced on at a million miles an hour and too many questions ran through his head. He got to the park and saw Martha sitting on a bench, crying.
"Hi. What happened?" Alex said as he hung up the phone. Martha didn't answer and Alex sat down next to her. He let her have a minute to collect herself, then he asked again, "What happened?"
"Falsettos. I was listening to the music and dad heard me," Martha said.
"Why is that so bad?" Alex asked, very confused.
"John liked that music so dad thinks it's for gay people. Then Falsettoland came one and he yelled at me for being gay. When I cried and denied it he told me to leave and he hit me. I can't go back," Martha said, struggling not to cry.
"Look at it this way. Now, you don't have to hide who you are anymore. Now you don't have to deal with Henry. Best of all, now we have something new to tell CPS. They will have to listen to us and the five of you will be safe," Alex said.
"Listen to this," Martha said while handing her phone over. As soon as she got to the park, she realized that she had still been recording with her phone. The school project required a form of presentation and she wanted to make a video. She stopped the recording when she noticed that she was still recording. Now it might be useful. Alex listened to the recording.
"I'm guessing that this was for school? I'm sure you'll get a good grade. And the recording of the fight, can you send it to me?" Alex asked.
"Sure," Martha said. She sent it. Alex cut out the fight at the end and sent that version back to Martha for her school project. He sent the other recording(he cut out the school assignment)to his dad and informed him of the situation.
"Thanks. I sent you the assignment part of the video and the fight to my dad. He will tell CPS and help sort everything out. You can stay with us for now," Alex said.
"Thank you," Martha said. They walked home together. Neither had told John anything so he was very surprised to see his boyfriend and sister walk into the house together.
"What's going on? Also, you two are oddly similar in height," John said.
"I'm taller than her!" Alex said with(mostly)fake annoyance.
"I'm 5'2''," Martha said.
"Ha! I'm 5'4''," Alex yelled triumphantly.
"She's 11, no what is going on?" John asked.
"I'm going to send you a video and then I have to talk to dad for a minute, take her to our room or something and watch the video," Alex said.
"You're worrying me, but ok," John said.
"Sorry. And I'm sorry for the content of the video," Alex said and then walked off towards his dad's study. "Hey dad?" he asked.
"What do you need, son?" Mr. Washignton asked.
"I sent you a video. It's of Martha and Henry. Can you contact CPS again? Now we have evidence. Also, Martha, an 11-year-old, was kicked out. Can she stay here please?" Alex begged.
"She can stay here if she doesn't mind sleeping with John," Mr. Washington said, "and as for CPS, I will deal with that."
"Thank you," Alex said.
"Go tell John and Martha that she can stay," Mr. Washingto said.
"Ok, thank you," Alex said as he walked out. He walked in on John and Martha crying in his room.
"Are you guys ok?" he asked, knowing that the answer was probably no.
"I-I'm fine," Martha answered. John stayed silent.
"Well, dad said he would take care of things. In the meantime, Martha, you can stay in the guest room. John's stuff is in there but he sleeps in here so you kind of have your own room," Alex informed them.
"Thanks!" Martha said. She was relieved to be free from Henry.
"Why don't you go and get some dinner? Leftover pasta is in the fridge if you want some," Alex said.
"Ok," Martha said. She ran into Aaron on the way and he ate with her.
"Are you ok?" Alex asked again, this time directed at just John.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," John said.
"I really don't know why I asked. I know you're not. Talk to me," Alex said.
"I'm fine, really," John said unconvincingly.
"It's ok to have emotions, John. It's ok to not always be ok," Alex said. That broke John.
"I-I'm not o-okay," John whispered while tears streamed down his face.
"That's ok. What's wrong in particular?" Alex asked.
"I f-failed," John cried.
"No, you didn't. You're a great brother and you couldn't have done anything to change what happened," Alex said.
"She g-got kicked out o-of her house and sh-she told you f-first!" John said.
"She only did that so that she wouldn't worry you too much," Alex said.
"I'm s-supposed to be th-there for her!" John said.
"You don't have to feel bad about this. I know you aren't going to believe me but it's not your fault and you couldn't have stopped this from happening. You are an amazing brother and she thinks so too. She looks up to you. Don't make her look up to someone who eats themselves up over nothing," Alex said.
"It's just- I could be so much better, she could have so much better," John said.
"No. Humans aren't perfect, but you are the most perfect thing in this world. You're more perfect than a four-leaf clover or a double rainbow," Alex said.
"Imagine if she had a rainbow four-leaf clover as a brother," John said in an attempt to change the subject. He failed.
"You are not changing the subject," Alex said.
"But I get your point," John said.
"What is my point then?" Alex asked.
"That you don't think I suck?" John asked.
"No, it's that you shouldn't think you suck. It's that you didn't fail and that you didn the best you could. It's that not everything is your fault. It's also that you need to talk to me more," Alex said.
"We're talking right now. Can we talk about Martha?" John asked.
"Of course," Alex said.
"Well, she's staying here now," John said in the way that one would say an afterthought.
"Yes," Alex said.
"What about my other siblings? They aren't safe either, are they?" John asked.
"CPS will take care of that. You guys will probably get to live with a relative or something," Alex said.
"Yeah, probably. Martha doesn't have any of her stuff," John said.
"Well for tonight she can probably wear my clothes and the same for tomorrow. Could one of your siblings bring her stuff to school for her?"
"She's a middle schooler, they are elementary schoolers. Also, I can't contact them. We can get her stuff tomorrow after school," John said.
"She should probably take a day off to process things anyways. Mom will be home, as usual, so that should be fine. We can get her clothes and school supplies after school tomorrow," Alex said.
"Yeah, you're probably right," John said. Martha agreed with their plan and so did Mrs. Washington, who appreciated having another girl in the house.
Word Count: 2113
A/N: Heyyy! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed that! Have a great morning/noon/night and a gay day!