Page 119 of All Roads Lead to You

My stomach twisted and turned hard enough to make me nauseous. I needed to trust our parents with the recent news. I’d already dumped that I was gay on them, but how would they take this new arrangement? Would Mia hate me for ‘corrupting’ her son? She’d been so nice to me, and I’d hate to ruin this tentative relationship we’d been forming before it even began.

I glanced at Nick, whose dark eyes read me so well. He could tell I wanted to say something soon.

God, did we really have to tell them? Nick said he didn’t care either way. Before I could back out, Nick put down his fork, wiped his mouth with his napkin, and grabbed my hand under the table.

“Wyatt, Mom? Logan and I have something to tell you.” Fuck, he was so much braver than me. Despite my all-consuming fear, I let him run the show. He looked at me for permission, and I nodded.

My dad and Mia glanced at each other with knowing eyes and grabbed each other’s hand. Oh, hell no. There's no way they figured it out. Nick and I had been fucking careful.

“Are you going to tell us that you and Logan have developed more than a friendship while on your trip?”

I swore that Nick’s jaw dropped straight into his dinner plate of spaghetti. “H-how did…? Wh-when? Huh?”

“Well said, Nick,” I chuckled, despite my growing nausea.

Mia looked at my dad and then back at us. “We’ve been meaning to talk to you both about it, but the timing hasn’t been right. Since we’re here now, let’s talk. Wyatt, do you want to start?”

“I’m going to admit, I’m confused. You two never got along. Suddenly, you return not only as close friends, but you’re… dating? Is that what this is?”

My heart hammered so hard in my chest that I rubbed it to ease the pain. Dad’s face was blank and unreadable. His tone was too neutral. What did that mean? He wasn’t screaming, so that was a bonus. But sometimes he seethed in silence when he was pissed.

God, should I admit my feelings for Nick from early on? Or treat it as something new?

“It just sort of happened,” Nick admitted. “We hadn’t planned any of this, but… Logan admitted he was gay, so things just fell into place for me about why he was so closed off and broody. We started really talking and learning about each other in a more profound way. But then I found myself falling for him. I know it’s totally weird to be crushing on your stepbrother and that I’d never been interested in a guy before, but I feel so comfortable around Logan. Once we got past our issues, I wanted to explore things. But we’re beyond that now.”

Mia’s eyes were wide as they pinged back and forth between us. I swallowed the growing lump in my throat and directed my attention at her since it was her son, who she always believed to be straight.

“Nick and I didn’t get along because of me. I’ve loved Nick for years and always believed it was impossible. I’d been in the closet and he’s my stepbrother… It’s a disaster in the making, and it turned me volatile, taking it all out on poor Nick. So, don’t let him tell you it was all him.”

Nick squeezed my hand and smiled softly. “We both went into this with eyes wide open and totally amazing communication. We talked about all of this, the consequences, whether to tell you everything.”

“I-I don’t understand, Nick. You’re straight. You were with Lauren for years,” Mia said.

He shrugged as if it were no big deal when this was massive and life changing. “Apparently, I’m pansexual. I can fall for whomever, regardless of gender. I just have to find the right person, I guess. It’s not that I’m attracted to men per se—only Logan, at least that I’m aware of. And please know that Logan fought me on this at first, so don’t believe for a second, he coerced me or talked me into it. No matter his feelings for me, he never wanted to disrupt this family.”

Wyatt sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “There are some things I need to say here. While I don’t understand sexuality like this at all, Mia and I love you both. Never question that. But this… You two are stepbrothers, and you share a sister. I… I’m not sure how to explain this to the outside world so that they understand. I’m not even sure I fully understand. This relationship is all a bit taboo, and we live in a small town. People gossip and distort the truth all the time.”

Mia nodded. “This is a lot, but we love you. It’s just…”

You could cut the tension in the room. Still, our parents weren’t yelling at us and didn’t disown us… Silver linings. “So don’t tell anyone. Nick and I don’t plan to be open with our relationship like that, if that’s what you’re worried about. We want to be careful about this.” I glanced at Nick and pulled his hand tighter. “We met two gay men while on the road. They still live in secret because of their jobs, but they've been together for over a decade, and they’re happy. The difference is one of them lost their family over it, and I never wanted that to happen here. Nick and I wanted to be honest, but we don’t want to lose you as parents.”

We sat quietly at the table for a while, processing all this before Dad finally spoke up. “That’s all well and good, but what about Hannah?”

Nick stood and took his plate to the sink, dropped it in, and leaned against the counter, folding his arms and looking at our sister. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. We won’t be living at home as she grows up. As she gets older, we can decide how to handle it.”

“You’re adults, and you’re not related by blood. We won’t tell you what to do, and while Wyatt and I are pleased you both have been talking a lot about this, life won’t be easy,” Mia said. “And it’s going to take adjustment on our part.”

“We’re prepared, Mom. We know.” Nick walked back to the table and squatted in front of his mother. “Logan and I aren’t asking you to understand, but please forgive us. Don’t resent us. And… don’t hate us. Please.”

Her eyes watered, and she touched her son’s face. “We don’t resent you, sweetheart. Wyatt and I are only worried about your well-being.”

“That’s all we ask.”

He sat back down with me, grabbing my hand again, which instantly had me at ease. I swear, his touch was fucking magic or something.

“How did you figure it out? Nick and I were so damn careful.”

“I was the first to notice. When I mentioned it to Wyatt, he started to see it, too. You two may not have been touching or close to each other all the time. But you couldn’t hide how you two looked at each other.” For the first time, Mia chuckled. “Remember, you two have been at each other’s throats for years, then suddenly you have moon eyes. It was quite obvious, really. We both wondered if you would tell us or not. If you didn’t, Wyatt and I would’ve brought it up, regardless.”

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