~Treyden's POV~
I felt a lot better after talking to my Dad about things concerning Hunter. I knew who I was referring to the night of Hunter's birthday, but I didn't even stop to think he was talking about liking me. Sure, Hunter and I said we'd put it behind us and were still the best of friends, but things weren't going to stay that way now that I knew Hunter wanted to be with me. I wondered if Hunter remembered that last bit of us talking before getting into the sex? We saw one another daily at work but kept that night out of public places and also, Hunter was still with Audrey and unaware of the unfaithfulness on Hunter's part. I had to see him outside of work; I needed to know if he recalled what I did and knew I told him that I liked him. Today was Sunday, April 21st, 2019. I knew Hunter was having some get together at his place, but he never mentioned what it was for, only that he hoped it went well.
My Dad's theory was that perhaps Hunter was about to come out of the closet so to speak and tell everyone the truth, I only hoped that was the case. If it revealed me as gay, I didn't care. I knew I couldn't hide forever either; my real friends would stand by me. The time was 12:30 pm, Hunter said the gathering would be at 1 pm, so I guessed I had a little time to see him real quick. I got in my car and headed the fifteen minutes to Hunter's house.
(Haddock Residence)
I pulled up outside Hunter's house and saw easily recognizable cars there already. Shane's, Hunter's Uncle Shawn and Aunt Mikayla's, Gregory's, Drew's, and I think the last one was Fisher's who just got it for his eighteenth birthday in September 2018. If they were here, I had to also assume that Eddie, Heather, Renee, and Travis were too. Why would all of them be over, seemed a little odd and strange there were on time too. I shut the car off and got out while heading to the living room door and knocked twice. After a minute, it opened and I saw Hunter there.
"Trey?" Hunter said a little surprised to see me there. "Is everything okay?" he asked afterward.
"I wanted to talk to you. Can you or...has your get together thing started?" I asked him.
"Not yet, waiting on Audrey. Come in, head to my room," Hunter told me as I breathed out a little relieved and walked inside to see everyone, they waved so I did it back and kept going to Hunter's room while Hunter followed behind. Once in his room, he shut the door and faced me. "What's wrong? Not like you to just show up?" Hunter inquired.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think anyone would be here yet. I know we said to pretend it didn't happen but I...can't stop thinking about that night, Hunter," I whispered so no one else would hear our talk.
"I-I know. I haven't been able to either, Trey. I remembered more of it too. Right before we made love, I told you I liked you, and you said it back. My...feelings haven't changed," Hunter admitted calmly.
"That's...why I came over. I remembered that too. We were both talking about each other, but I-I know you're with Audrey, so I won't interfere. But I do...like you, Hunter. A lot. We were friends first; I'm still your best friend as you are to me," Treyden said. "As long as you're with her then I suppo-" I was stopped short by Hunter putting his finger to my lips and smiling at me gently. Gods, I loved it. Hunter cupped my cheek, and then he kissed me lightly on the lips, I returned it.
"Ssh. You talk too much," Hunter chuckled after he pulled away and I blushed. "Don't worry about Audrey, she knows. I told her at the end of March when she tried to sleep with me. She and I broke up agreeing things weren't the same, and that we're better off as friends. We have only been acting since she's covering for me so no one would figure out I was bisexual yet. That's why I have everyone here today, I'm telling them," he added as I blinked a little. Hunter and Audrey were broken up already and didn't tell me? Well, he did just say why. They were acting so no one would discover the truth that he planned on revealing today. Knowing this made me beyond happy.
"A-Are you saying we...can be together?" I asked him.
"Not right away. I'm going to tell them today; the give it a chance to settle before getting into a relationship. I don't want it to be overload, you know?" Hunter explained, of course, I understood. This wasn't going to be easy for Hunter to tell them that he was bisexual. Throwing on that we're together too might just be a bit much to process in one day.
"I understand," I replied softly. There was a knock on the door.
"Son, Audrey is here," Salvatore mentioned.
"Be right out, Dad. Thanks!" Hunter called to him then he kissed me again, and again. "I'll...call you...later, okay?" he said between the kisses.
"I'll be waiting," I replied with a smile as we kissed again before breaking apart and him opening the door to let me out with him following again.
"Everything alright, Treyden?" Viola asked.
"Oh, yes. Hunter just...whacked his head yesterday at work. Harry asked if I would remind him that he has to get the recruits for Alpha Hooligan Platoon integrated with us. The last batch ended up having to handle a situation before being separated," I lied, although, perhaps it wasn't because that was something that happened. We had a new group of recruits to get joined up with the platoon, but it wasn't going on until May, go figure.
"Good thing you thing you told me because I completely forgot. You'll be there with me since you're my second in command," Hunter patted my shoulder and I smiled wide. "Alright, I got these things to take care of so I'll hit you up later," he added.
"Got it," I replied and left the house to return to mine. I couldn't wait, Hunter and I would be together soon.
~Normal POV~
Hunter was glad Treyden came over today, it brought him a joy like no one would believe to know he remembered Hunter telling him he liked him. Everything was going to work out for them, but first, Hunter had to tell everyone the truth about being bisexual, Audrey and him breaking up because of a night with Trey, also that Hunter was going to be with him. Hunter wasn't telling Trey that though, it was going to be a surprise. Hunter glanced around the room; everyone was there, so it was time to get this over with.
"Start talking, boy. What is so important that we all had to come over?" Uncle Shawn started as Hunter took a breath.
"Give him a minute, Shawn. Hunter hasn't even had a moment to greet his girlfriend," Viola sighed. Audrey got up and hugged him lightly; she looked Hunter in the eyes.
"You ready for this?" Audrey asked.
"No, but they need to know, so I'm going to do either way," Hunter whispered as Audrey returned to her spot on the couch with a smile.
"Alright, there's...a few things that I wanted everyone to know at the same time regarding Audrey and myself. For starters, we wanted to announce that she and I are-" Hunter began.
"Going to have a baby!" Viola cheered as Hunter's eyes widened. Where in the hell did she get that idea from!? Hunter fought the urge to facepalm, and it didn't work, so he ended up doing it hard. "And the second announcement is that you're getting married too, right? Oh, I knew it! You two have been together for three months, I knew it wouldn't take for you two-" she continued, but Hunter gave an irritated look.
"Gee, Ma, you think maybe I can make the announcements?" Hunter asked sarcastically.
"Is...she right? Are you and Audrey having a baby, brother?" Caitlyn pushed.
"A-And getting married?" Renee added in.
"You'd find out if someone would let me talk!" Hunter growled out. The room got quiet again as Hunter relaxed, he couldn't believe this was the idea they came up with; thinking Audrey and him were having a baby. Were they completely out of their minds? It didn't matter; it was time to give the first announcement. The breakup. "For starters, no. Audrey and I are not having a baby. Matter of fact, we haven't even had sex since getting back together," Hunter saw his mother frown in disappointment, as well Caitlyn too and maybe Heather. "Secondly, we're not engaged either," more frowns and heavy sighs.
"I don't see why you're sighing heavily," Salvatore muttered.
"They've been together three months; we just thought things would go back to how they were," Renee stated.
"For the record and not to open old wounds here, but I don't expect Hunter to be ready for those things given what happened to cause our breakup in the first place. We discussed that before getting back together, to take it slow and weren't jumping back into all that," Audrey mentioned.
"Can I finish now?" Hunter grumbled, and they put their attention back on him to keep going. "On what Renee said, things with Audrey and me will never be what they were, unfortunately. There was a lot of hurt and pain in that, and I admitted that to her a few weeks ago; that things won't be the same because she did earn my trust back and I forgave her but I won't and can't forget what happened. With that known, I should add that in the time Audrey and I were broken up, I started developing feelings for someone else,"
There was a profound set of gasps by the girls, Fisher, and Travis. Shane, Eddie, and Drew just stared. "Who else could you have started liking?" Heather asked quickly.
"Who doesn't matter. My feelings changed, and it's another reason why things with Audrey aren't the same. Also, and I'm still sorry about it, Audrey," Hunter paused as she only smiled and shook her head as if to say don't worry about it. "I pursued those other feelings and accidentally cheated on her. So, back to first announcement. Audrey and I are broken up," Hunter informed, more looks of shock and surprise.
"Oh, my Gods! You cheated on her!?" Caitlyn exclaimed.
"He did but I wasn't mad at him, I knew things were different in our relationship, so we agreed to end it and stay friends because it seemed like we were happier that way after the first breakup," Audrey informed gently.
"Who is this other woman! You only know the people in your platoon and us as close friends," Renee demanded.
"And how was the cheating accidental? I mean you know when you're kissing someone else, son," Viola asked now.
"Because it wasn't just a kiss or making out. It was sex and accidental due to the fact I was hammered drunk on my birthday this year when everyone else was busy, out of town, or sick," Hunter informed with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Odin no, don't you dare tell me you had drunken sex with another woman and got her pregnant!" Viola screeched.
"Fine, I won't," Hunter shrugged.
"This is not a joke, Hunter! Why are you so calm about it? You got another girl pregnant, and you don't care?" Viola yelled at him.
"For the love of-I DIDN'T GET ANOTHER GIRL PREGNANT, MOM! It's not even another woman, it's a man! Ugh, fuck it. I had sex with Treyden! Happy now?!" Hunter yelled back as the room fell into a dead silence, all eyes widening and settling on Hunter's figure in shock, except for Salvatore. "That's what this is all about. Okay? I cheated on Audrey with Trey and before you ask because I know it's coming. No, I'm not gay," he took a breath.
"So, it was just drunken sex that you don't remember or is he the gay one and took advantage of you?" Caitlyn asked now.
"It was wasted level of drunken love-making," Hunter said as it remained quiet.
"You said...love making. That means you both consent-But you just told us you aren't gay nor did you deny Trey being gay," Heather mentioned.
"I'm not gay, but I am bisexual," Hunter admitted, "And Trey is gay," he added.
"I don't...understand this. How did you being drunk lead to Treyden and you having sex?!" Viola ordered.
"Because with six-No, wait, seven shots of Southern Comfort and four beers in both of us, I told him I wasn't happy with Audrey anymore, also that I liked someone else who I assumed was straight and didn't want to ruin our friendship. I told Treyden I was bisexual that night and he came out as gay to me saying he liked someone who was taken and happy. We started talking about a few other things regarding sex. Trey said he'd never been kissed, so I kissed him and then told him it was him I liked, he told me I was the one he liked, and it went from there, for two hours," Hunter explained with the shortest version he could.
"So wait, you and Trey are...a thing, like dating?" Shane blinked.
"No, but we want to be. I told him I needed time to tell everyone about being bisexual. And yes, Trey is the one I started developing feelings for while broken up with Audrey. That's why he came over earlier, to tell me he remembered what we said that night because the next morning, we hadn't. But we agreed initially, to put it behind us and that we were still the best of friends. Over time, the guilt of cheating bothered me, so I told Audrey the truth and when I didn't know what to do about Trey, I talked to Dad and-" Hunter started as Viola snapped her head up.
"Again? You went to your father again instead of telling everyone?!" Viola yelled.
"Oh, Mom, don't start, please? You know I go to Dad with everything. And what does it matter? I'm telling everyone now," Hunter stated.
"The point is that once more, you show who you care about more! Does the word mean family mean anything to you?" Viola huffed.
"Does it fucking mean anything to you!? Don't you dare get on my case about this again. Families are supposed to love and support one another, and you don't support a god damn thing I do. Like now, your reaction to finding out I'm bisexual and had sex with Treyden, that I like, maybe even love him. Let me guess, one more thing you won't support because you don't think it's right!" Hunter retorted.
"It's not! A man and a woman, Hunter! That's how it's supposed to be! I will not tolerate this...behavior of yours any longer. This was never a problem before the army. I say that you're not bisexual, that Treyden has...brainwashed you into thinking that to serve his fantasies. Everything was fine; you were with Audrey and thing were going great until you decided to let another man rape you," Viola sobbed.
Hunter's eyes widened a little, then narrowed. "Are you fucking kidding me. I already said that Trey didn't rape me! For Odin's sake, I was the one who started making love to him first because I WANTED TO!"
"Vi! That's not how it went; Hunter's been bi since he was a teenager. I know because he told me the day he came home after being kissed by another student in the bathroom who liked him," Salvatore interjected now.
"You don't speak to me. You're always on his side and going behind my back, Sal. No, I refuse to believe my son does these kinds of things. Hunter is just acting out because he knows I hate the homophobes and he's trying to see how far he can go before I snap," Viola retorted as Hunter had enough.
"Treyden didn't rape me! Alright, it wasn't him who started the sex! It was me because I wanted to! You would that if you listened to me just ONCE! Drunk or not, I had the chance to be with the man I'm falling in love with so I took it! This is who your son is, a bisexual in love with a gay and happier than ever before. This is ME, and I'm damn fucking proud of it. So fuck you. I don't need your permission to live my life so why don't you fucking get over yourself and just accept that there isn't a thing you can do to-" Hunter was cut off by Viola rising to her feet, tears in her eyes, and slapping Hunter across the face hard.
~Hunter's POV~
I instantly froze after my mother's hand made contact with my face. It wasn't a tap, not even slap really. My mom actually smacked me across the face as hard as she could, and the room hushed instantly, shocked that she didn't something like that. In all my nineteen years, my mother had never laid a hand on me and apparently learning I was bisexual and in love with Treyden was enough to make her hit me. I didn't even know what to say, the stinging sensation was there, and it hurt. My head was still off to the side, eyes full and in disbelief of what happened.
"You will not take that tone with me. I don't know who you think you are; choosing to go behind my back, never asking my permission, doing whatever you want. That is not how things are done in this house and not how children treat their parents. I raised my son and daughter to respect their elders and obey rules. I raised my kids straight, the way it should be. First, you join the army with no regard for me, I can't even tell you all the remarks I got at work. But this...being...that way and giving up the opportunity to have a wife and children of your own. I work for the mayor! How does it look on me that I failed as a mother for my son to end up this way. No, I won't have it. If you want to be bisexual and have sex with your friend or whoever he is, go ahead. But you will not do it in my house because my son wouldn't hurt and embarrass me like this," Viola stated coldly.
After she said that, her hand whirled around again, backhanding me with her left and splitting my lip open. I touched it to see blood. That was the final straw. "Viola Haddock! Take that back, right now. Hunter, she doesn't mean it, son. It's just...a lot of information to process in one sitting," Salvatore said getting closer to me but I backed shaking my head. I couldn't believe she said those things, and hit me, TWICE at that. "Everyone just needs to calm down," my father tried to soothe.
"I DO mean it, Salvatore. I want this...strange boy or thing out of my house. He isn't my son anymore," Viola demanded.
"Who said I still wanted to be your son when you're just a hateful, spiteful, unsupportive, unloving, hypocritical, and now abusive bitch, " I remarked in a low, cold tone. I saw her eyes widen a little at what I said. I'd cursed before but I'd never gone as far as calling her names, but I didn't care anymore. My mother crossed a line, and I wasn't going to be so easy this time, I closed my eyes before walking to my room and grabbing everything I could.
I packed all my clothes into my two suitcases. I put all my army dress uniforms in a suit bag, then all my ACU's and PT wear in the black bag the military issued me. I packed my tablet, laptop, and chargers into my backpack then everything else into the duffle. Thankfully, it was only about a few big things to carry, and I could make it in one trip to the truck. I made sure I had everything I wouldn't need to come back for, including my posters, movies, music, and bed sheets. I could hear my parents arguing, and I was honestly fighting back crying. I wouldn't, not here. When I had everything ready to leave, I left my room and headed to the door.
"Hunter, please! Don't go," Salvatore hurried over to stop me. He saw my face; the bleeding lip, red cheek, and the other one that was going to bruise.
"I'm not staying here anymore, Dad. She made it clear I'm not wanted, so I'm moving out," I stated opening the door.
"Where are you going to go?" Audrey asked.
"I don't know, and I don't care. I'll live in my truck if I have to, but anything and anywhere is better than here," I stormed out of the house and tossed my two suitcases and black bag in the bed of the truck. My garment bag, duffle, and backpack went into the back seat. I shut the doors and looked at the house one more time; I saw my mother about to cry as if she wanted to take back what she said and have me stay. "I sincerely hope you did mean what you said, Viola Haddock, because you don't get the chance to take retract your statement this time and you will never see me again," I glared before getting into the driver's side, starting up my truck and taking off down the road. I was hurt, and I was done.
