Chapter 7 – Coming Home to Dad

"Come in." Lorenzo heard his dad's voice from the other side of the door. Lorenzo slowly turned the doorknob and gently pushed the door open, seeing his dad sitting at his desk, wearing his reading glasses and going through some paperwork. He looked up to see his son standing in the doorway, covered head to toe in bandages and bruises.

"Lorenzo." He said, taking off his glasses. "I see Alice already got to you."

Lorenzo smiled half-heartedly (but it looked like he was wincing).

"Can I sit down?" Lorenzo asked quietly.

"Of course." His dad replied. Lorenzo walked over to the corner and flopped down into the other chair, while his dad set his paperwork aside and walked over to the mini fridge, pulling out a bottle of red wine and grabbing two glasses, setting them on the desk. Lorenzo looked at his father with a confused expression.

"Chet told me about the wine you drank at the reception." His dad answered his thoughts. Lorenzo rolled his eyes and sighed, while his dad poured them both a glass, handing one to Lorenzo. Lorenzo took the glass and slowly drank it. It made some of the pain go away, but it was mostly dulled. When he finished, all he said was:

"That's a good year."

His dad chuckled. "I have a few beers if you want to try those." He suggested.

"No, I'm okay. This is better." Lorenzo responded. "I wanted to talk to you about… me and Chet. You know, with the whole soul mate thing and all." He stated.

"I heard about that. Why didn't you ever tell me?" His dad asked.

"I… I knew you really loved Alice, so… yeah. I wanted you to be happy, I guess."

"But that's not the real reason, is it?"

"…No."

"So what was it?"

"I just thought you… I thought that it wouldn't matter."

"You thought I wouldn't care."

"Yes, but I also wanted to hate Chet. I thought if I saw him everyday, it would be easier for me to hate him, but then you made us participate in the Race… it made it harder."

"And how do you feel about Chet now?"

Lorenzo didn't reply, instead looking down at his feet, mumbling something under his breath.

"Come again?" His dad asked.

"I love him. A lot. He's not just my soul mate, he's my friend and my stepbrother, and I don't ever want to be without him." Lorenzo stated. "Please don't be mad?" he asked, feeling like a child again. The last time he said that was when he was 12. He'd come home late, around 10 o'clock at night, because he tried to leave town, to where he didn't know, just as long as it was away from home, preferably somewhere sunny and warm, like California or Mexico. But he couldn't bring himself to do it, and so he walked back home. His mom flipped her shit, and he asked his dad to not be angry. Well, he wasn't, not really, he was just disappointed. Lorenzo was grounded for a month.

His mom might be gone now, but he could still expect his dad to ground him for longer this time, or disown him at worst. He hated to disappoint his dad, and he never wanted to do it again, but that's what he was really good at, it seemed.

"I promise I won't be mad." His dad replied.

Lorenzo didn't expect that. Not in a million years would he expect to hear those words come from his dad's mouth. Lorenzo looked up at his father, at his greying hair that was once darker, at his crooked nose that Lorenzo inherited, and finally at his eyes that were so dark that they seemed black, but the coldness had left them after so many years.

"Lorenzo, does being with Chet make you happy?" his father asked. Lorenzo nodded. "Then it's fine with me." His dad stated.

Lorenzo stood up and set his glass on the desk before giving his dad a hug, which his dad returned. Lorenzo didn't realise he was crying until his dad pulled away and brushed a tear away with his thumb.

"Lorenzo, I really do care about you, and I'm so sorry if you ever felt like I didn't." he stated, making eye contact with his son. Lorenzo sniffled and rubbed his eyes, wincing when he touched his black eye.

"However." His dad began.

That didn't sound good.

"I think we should set up some rules while you and Chet are still living here." His dad stated, setting his wine on the desk.

Lorenzo groaned. "Really? Rules?" he asked.

"Yep." replied his dad. He opened the door and walked out. "Come on, Lorenzo." He called from the hallway.

Lorenzo rolled his eyes and reluctantly shuffled out of the office. Why did there always have to be rules?

End Chapter 7