Leanne is like the mom of our group.Landon’s the rebellious dad, Nat’s the snarky sister, and I’m the nerdy kid—the naive one, always caught in the middle.
“I’m good,” I say, though my voice lacks conviction.
“You’re not saying anything,” she presses.
Before I can reply, she changes the subject abruptly.“Okay, sorry to cut this short, but can someone tell me what’s going on between Landon and Blaze?”
Landon stiffens, his soda halfway to his mouth.I chuckle inwardly, knowing how hard he’s worked to keep their relationship under wraps.Nat, however, doesn’t look the least bit surprised—she’s known for a while.
“I know you two are dating,” Leanne says, matter-of-factly.
Landon chokes on his drink, spraying it across the table—and onto my face.
“For fuck’s sake, Landon!”I glare at him as he grabs a napkin, handing it to me apologetically.
“Sorry!Seriously, Cam, I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s fine,” I mutter, wiping my face.
Nat raises an eyebrow.“If you already knew, why did you ask?”
“I wanted to be sure,” Leanne says with a shrug.
Nat rolls her eyes.“Why are we talking about Landon’s love life when we’re here for Cam?”
“Because both are equally juicy topics,” Leanne teases, earning a glare from Landon.
Landon sighs, leaning back in his chair.“Fine.Yeah, Blaze and I are together.Sort of.”
“Sort of?”Leanne asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Okay, fine.We’re together,” he admits.“But Blaze isn’t ready to come out, so we’re keeping it low-key.People are shitty, and I don’t want him dealing with that yet.”
Leanne nods thoughtfully.“Wow.I never would’ve guessed Blaze was bi.”
Nat snorts.“Blaze wasn’t always serious.Back in high school, he chose some hot, popular girl over Landon and broke his heart.It’s a miracle they’re together now.”
“Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Nat,” Landon grumbles.
Leanne smirks.“I love it.High school drama at its finest.”
“Can we get back to Cameron now?”Nat cuts in.She turns to me, her expression softening.“How are you holding up?”
I hesitate before answering.“I’m fine.”
“You’ve skipped work three days in a row.Leo was ready to fire you, but I convinced him not to.”
“Thanks, Nat.Really.”
“So?Spill.”
I take a deep breath, fiddling with my straw.“Well, you guys already know about the Lexi thing.But… my parents.They rejected me.Disowned me, actually.”
A stunned silence falls over the table.
“What?”Landon asks, his voice low with disbelief.
“They kicked me out,” I say, shrugging like it’s no big deal.“My dad said he couldn’t accept a fag as a son.But it’s fine, really.I’ll survive.I’m not the first kid this has happened to.”
