American Differences

American Differences 12

**Disclaimer:

All other content or otherwise are works of my own imagination. All events are fictitious in nature.

****Any similarities to persons living, dead, or otherwise are purely coincidental.

This story contains strong themes of homosexual content, if this offends you in any way, please refrain from reading further. If you are not of legal age to read this, please leave now.

**A/N: I'd like to thank TalonRider for editing this chapter. His unparalleled brilliance and tiresome effort applied to my work is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

American Differences
-By Emulated

Chapter 12: Judico

I sat there for a while, with Amanda holding me close. The closeness comforted me, yet I was plagued by thoughts of my own mother. Despite her homophobic attitude, I used to have quite a close relationship with her. Even though we didn’t spend that much time together, as I was either out with friends or at school, and she was at work, the time that we did spend together was usually pleasant. I say usually because of her occasional anti-gay outburst, but that aside, we used to get on great. Whether it was just us sitting there watching TV, or me helping her out in the kitchen, it was ‘usually’ great to be around my mum.

But being held by Connor’s mum, Amanda, caused me to feel some uneasiness. With my thoughts of my mum on my mind, I began to wonder if she’d ever hold me like this again, hell, would she even touch me again? Or would she keep at bay, not wanting to associate me with the other Matt, the straight Matt that she used to know.

I looked up at Amanda, focusing on her dark brown eyes. She wasn’t that tall a person, a good two or three inches shorter than myself. Her dark brown hair ran down past her shoulders and gave her quite an approachable and friendly appearance. Her facial features were quite subtle and sat in proportion to each other. You could look at her once and know immediately that she was Connor and Adam’s mother, because of the similarity.

“What are you going to do?” I asked, looking over at Terry. Like his wife, Terry also shared a similar dark brown eye colour, but unlike her, his hair was black and cut short. He was of average build but stood at a nice 6’2” tall. He was quite a good looking guy, and again it was clear from his appearance that he was the father of both Connor and Adam. His looks aside, Terry was a very good parent, not just that, but he was always quick to include Josh and me into anything that we might enjoy, like taking us to football matches, or taking me on that short getaway. He had always been very outgoing like that, which quickly made me think of him as a second dad.

Amanda looked over at Terry and paused, “I’m not sure yet. Let Terry and me talk for a while.” She looked back at me, “You go on upstairs with Connor, we’ll call if we need you.”

I nodded, “Ok.”

Connor flashed me a quick smile before he stood up. I followed suit and headed out of the room, but just before I reached the stairs, I turned around and looked at Amanda and Terry, “Thanks guys. I really mean it.”

Terry smiled, “It’s alright, mate. We’ll get things sorted.”

I nodded at them before continuing up the stairs, following Connor into his room.

“You ok?” He asked, as he closed the door behind us.

“Yeah.” I glanced at him, “You guys are amazing, you know that?”

He cocked his head, “What d’ya mean?”

I walked over and sat on his bed, “You know, just being really cool about me, and wanting to help me out and stuff.”

He smiled and sat down beside me, “Don’t be stupid. You’re practically family, of course we’ll help you out!”

I returned his smile and looked down at the floor, “It’s really messy, isn’t it?”

He was silent for a moment before he spoke, “Yeah, yeah it is. But Mum and Dad won’t give up until everything’s settled down.”

I turned to him, “What if things don’t ‘settle down’?” I asked quietly, “What if they want me to move out?”

“You can’t keep asking ‘what if’, that doesn’t solve anything.” He said, looking at me.

While Connor was always mature for his age, I was still quite taken aback by some of the things that he had said over the past few days. It was as though I was speaking to an adult, not a fifteen, nearly sixteen-year-old. It all served to further remind me why I cared about him so much; why he was my best friend.

I sighed, “You’re right, but I can’t help it.” I paused, “Everything was fine last week, now I could end up losing everything.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder, “Not everything.”

I smiled at him, “Thanks, Connor.”

He nodded, “And I doubt that your American boyfriend would do a runner either.”

I smiled at the mention of Jamie, “Yeah.” I paused, “But I have lost some things. I’ve lost Max.”

Connor shook his head, “Forget about him, if he wants to sulk about it that’s his problem, not ours.” He looked at me, “What about the things you’ve gained? Ayo was pretty cool about everything, wasn’t he? And Josh too, he still loves you.”Shit. I’d forgotten about Josh, “What will happen to him if they kick me out?”

Connor raised his hand, “ I thought I told you to stop that.” He paused, “Why don’t we just wait until your parents have spoken to Mum and Dad, then we’ll know what’s going on. Ok?”

“Yes, Dad.” I retorted, smiling at him.

He reached out and ruffled my hair, like he had seen my dad do on several occasions, “That’s a good boy.”

I giggled at him. Trust Connor to be the one who lifts my spirits.

We had been upstairs in his room for about a half hour or so when his parents called us down. We headed downstairs to see what they had decided to do. Amanda looked at us as we sat down in the lounge, “Ok, we’re going to go over to your house and have a talk with your parents.” She said.

I nodded, “Ok.” I paused, “When are we going?”

She shook her head, “Terry and I are going. We think that it’ll be best if you stay here.”

I was about to reply, but paused and thought about it for a moment, “Yeah. I think you’re right.”

Amanda nodded and continued, “We just think that your parents might react better if it’s just us.”

I nodded, “That’s fine.” I smiled at them, “Thanks guys, for doing this.”

Amanda came over and gave me one of those motherly hugs again, “Oh, it’s ok sweetie. We’ll sort things out now.”

I pulled back and smiled again at her.

She turned to Connor, “Adam’s over at Jacob’s house.” She looked at me, “I think Josh is there too.”

I nodded, “Yeah, I think they’re staying there for dinner or something.”

“Yes.” She replied, looking at Connor, “So you shouldn’t have to worry about him calling to be picked up or anything.” She paused, “We shouldn’t be that long, but dinner’s on the stove if you get hungry.”

Connor nodded, “I’ll take care of it.”

She smiled at him and then at me, “We’ll see you guys in a little while.” She said as she pulled on a jacket. ”Bye.”

Terry grabbed the car keys, “Yeah, see you guys later.”

“Bye.” I called out, as they walked out of the door, before closing it behind them.

I stood there for a few seconds, suddenly aware of what they were doing for me. And how quick and willing they were to come to my aid. I’ll never forget what they did for me, never.

*

Terry stopped the car outside Matt’s house and looked over at his wife, “You ready?”

She nodded, her face one of determination, touched with a streak of anger, anger at what her friends were doing to their son. “Yes.” She replied, unbuckling her seatbelt, “I’m ready.”

Terry nodded and stepped out of the car, closing the door and locking it. He waited until Amanda walked over before they headed up the path together. Once they reached the door, Terry reached out and hammered his fist against it. Several seconds passed before the door unlocked and Joe’s face appeared. He stared at their faces for a moment, trying to figure out the reason behind their unplanned appearance.

“We’re here to talk to you and Monica.” Said Amanda, pausing slightly, “We know about Matt.”

Joe seemed to think for a second before he stepped aside and allowed them to enter.

“Thank you.” Said Terry as he stepped in, followed by his wife. They stood in the hall before Joe led them into the lounge, where Monica sat on a sofa. She looked up as they walked in, giving Joe a questioning look.

“They’re here to talk.” Said Joe, as he cast the visitors a sideways glance, “They know about Matt.”

Monica flinched slightly, “So he’s out telling everyone now, is he? Making our family sound like we’re all deviants and misfits.”

While Terry was generally quite a passive person, he couldn’t stand people who made discriminatory remarks, and was about to make a quick reply when Amanda noticed his budding anger and turned to him, “Why don’t you and Joe go outside to talk, while I talk to Monica?”

He stared at Monica for a few seconds before he nodded, “Ok.” He looked over at Joe, “Is that alright?”

Joe glanced over at his wife and then back to Terry, “Yeah.”

Amanda watched as they walked out of the room before she went and sat down at the opposite end of the sofa, where Monica was sitting. They sat there for a few seconds before Monica spoke up.

“There’s really no need for you to…worry about Matt. He’s just confused. He’ll meet a girl soon, and then-“

Amanda raised a hand, “Stop it there.” She said quickly, cutting her off.

Monica looked at her, startled by the interruption.

Amanda spoke, “You have to begin to accept the fact that Matt IS gay. He’s not confused, or waiting for the right girl to come along. He has a boyfriend.”

Monica wrinkled her nose at the mention of Jamie, “I hate that boy, coming in here, doing those dirty things to MY son.”

Amanda looked at her, “They were kissing each other, not doing dirty things.”

She shook her head again, “No! That boy is trying to confuse Matt, trying to get him to act all queer with him.”

“Why do you find it so hard to accept the fact that Matt is gay?” Asked Amanda.

“I’m his mother, I think I would know if my son was…one of those.” She retorted sarcastically.

“Or he was so scared by how you’d react that he did all he could to hide it from you.”

Monica looked as though she pondered it for a second, before she cast her an angry look, “No! Matt doesn’t hide things from me.” She frowned, “He’s not gay.”

“You can keep saying that until you’re blue in the face but it isn’t going to make it any more true.” She paused, “What is it that scares you so much? What’s so bad about Matt being gay?”

“It’s sick. That’s why.” She replied, “What those…people do to each other. It’s unnatural.”

She paused, “Matt’s gay, and you have to deal with that.”

“I can’t.”

“You have to, for his sake.” Reiterated Amanda.

“No, I have to help him.”

Amanda frowned, “Help him? He doesn’t need help, he needs your love, as a mum.”

“As a mum, I can’t let him do this to himself. I’ve seen it on the telly, how all those people get sick from what they do. It’s dirty and disgusting. Matt’s better than that.”

“You’re blowing this out of proportion, we’re talking about Matt here, your son. Just because he’s gay, it doesn’t mean that he’s going to be sleeping around with any old person, or not take the necessary precautions if he decides to be with someone-“

Monica shook, “Stop it.” She frowned, “Matt’s a good boy, always has been. I don’t understand why he’s letting this boy-“

“He’s in love, Monica.” Interrupted Amanda, “He’s in love with Jamie.”

“He can’t love another boy.”

“What if he can? What if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not.”

Amanda raised her voice, “I’m only going to tell you this once so bloody well listen: What you are doing to Matt, right now, is hurting him. It’s hurting him in ways that you can’t imagine. Your talking out against who he is, what he’s allowed to do. No one has the right to tell him that he can’t love another boy, even his mum.” She leaned closer, “And you keep up this damned stupid attitude and you’ll end up losing him, Monica. One day he’ll just go, out that door and leave you lot.”

Monica looked at her, remaining silent.

“Is that what you want? Do you want Matt to leave, to walk out?” She shook her head, “That’s the question you have to ask yourself now, because believe me, it will happen. As long as you sit there doing nothing, he’ll go.”

*

Joe leaned against the railing of his patio and exhaled the smoke from his lungs, “Why?” He asked quietly, “Why would he do this? We’ve given him everything he ever wanted. He’s got a nice home, good friends. He goes to a good school.” He looked at Terry, “Was it us? Did we do something wrong?”

“No.” Replied Terry, “You didn’t do anything wrong. Matt just happens to like boys. That’s it.” He said, eyeing the cigarette. He was certain that Joe never used to smoke before, evidently he found some refuge in the tobacco.

Joe took a drag of the cigarette again, “I’ve been reading, online, about how the lack of…” He paused, “A father figure, it makes them gay.”

“Nothing makes someone gay, Joe.”

Joe threw the cigarette on the floor and stamped it out, “I failed him, Terry. I’ve fucked up my son’s life.”

“I told you, noth-“

“No!” Replied Joe harshly, “I should have been there for him more often. I should have been harder, not so soft with him.” He looked at Terry, “I should have made him a man.”

“He is a man.”

“No…” He shook his head, “He’s…he’s…” He paused, “I done this to him.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, except turning your back on him now.”

Joe shook his head, “I can’t help him.”

Terry looked at him, “He doesn’t need any help. He needs to know that his parents still love him.” He paused, “Do you still love him?”

“I love both my sons…but…” He began, “…he likes boys…”

Terry watched him closely.

Joe spoke again, “I…I just don’t understand.”

“Then why don’t you talk to him, to try to understand?” Asked Terry.

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“He…I…” He turned to him, “He…what he does, with boys…” He took a breath, “It makes me sick.” He muttered.

Terry frowned, “It’s not sick for Matt.”

“But it is to me. Every time I look at him, I see him and…that boy.” He spat, scrunching his face.

“Then don’t think about it. You think that Matt pictures you and Monica together? I don’t think so.”

Joe thought for a moment, unsure of what to say next.

“Come on, let’s go back inside.” Said Terry.

Joe nodded and followed him back inside. They walked into the lounge and sat down opposite the women. Amanda spoke up.

“I’ve just told Monica this, but I wanted both of you to hear it. While Matt is persisting at the moment, he’ll reach a point where he will just stop. He won’t try to help you understand, he’ll turn away from you. You’ll lose him.” She looked at them, “And as confused and as angry as you are right now, nothing can be as bad as losing a son. Especially when you had it in yourself to keep him close, to show him that you love him.”

Terry nodded, “Matt doesn’t need you to jump up and down acting all fine and dandy, all he wants is your love. The question is, can you find it within yourselves to love him, regardless of his sexuality? Or are you ready to declare him a lost cause?” He paused, “We’ll help out as much as we can, but only you can decide that. Only you can decide if Matt’s worth it.”

*

I walked down the stairs behind Connor, watching as his parents walked through the door. They seemed to be quite calm so I figured that things must have gone ok.

“What happened?” Asked Connor, as we entered the lounge.

Terry waited until we sat down before he spoke, “We spoke to them and as difficult as they seem at the moment, I think that they’ll listen to you if you go and talk to them.” He said, looking at me. “They’re acting this way because they don’t understand. They don’t understand what you being gay means and how it affects them.”

I looked at them, “It means I like boys. That isn’t so hard to understand.”

Amanda piped in, “They know that much, but they also have their own impressions and stereotypes of what a gay person is like. And then you told them that you’re gay, but you don’t fit to those stereotypes. That’s why they’re finding it hard to understand.”

I thought for a moment, “So they want me to go over there to talk to them, about being gay?”

“Yes.”

“Will it do any good?”

Amanda nodded, “I think it will. All they need is to see that their son hasn’t changed, that he’s still the same person that they’ve raised all these years.” She looked at me, “Just talk to them, tell them that you’re just the same, tell them that being gay doesn’t change who you are.”

“We’ve told them those things, but they need to hear it from you.” Said Terry.

“Ok.” I said, pausing, “I’ll talk to them.”

*

I sat in my usual spot opposite them, only this time I didn’t feel like their son, I felt like a defendant in a courtroom. I was there to tell my story, and to be judged by it. They had heard from the witnesses, but now it was my turn. There was no jury, no judge, just my mum and dad. And Matthew Blake on the stand.

“Are you guys gonna talk, or are you just gonna stare at me all night?” I asked.

They quickly averted their eyes from me.

“I’m here because Amanda and Terry said that you wanted to talk about this. About me.”

Mum turned to me, “Why did you tell them?”

“Why did I tell them that I’m gay?” I asked, wanting to see her reaction.

She froze for a second before she nodded slowly.

“Because I thought that they could help you guys understand.”

She seemed to ignore my reply, “What about us, Matt? Are you even thinking about what could happen?”

I looked at her, “What? What do you mean, ‘what could happen’?”

She frowned, “If people find out about you. The rest of the family could find out, people at our work could find out.”

“Seeing as Jamie’s dad’s your boss, I think you’ll still have a job.” I retorted.

“What about Josh?” She replied quickly, “What will the kids at school say to him?”

“W…What?” I asked.

“When they find out that his brother is gay.”

“That’s not fair!” I replied.

“It’s not fair on US, Matt.”

“How dare you!?!?!” I shouted, “You sit there, not giving a shit about anyone but yourself!” I fumed, “All I wanted was for you to try to understand, but would you do that?” I looked at their faces, “No, instead you kick me out, decide that I’m not worth it.”

My mum looked at me, “We’re not your enemy, Matt. We want to help you.”

“Help me?”

“Yes. There’s some people who might be abl-“

If I wasn’t so angry, I’d have probably burst out in laughter. But people who could help me? No way. NO FUCKING WAY! “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”

“You watch your language!”

I ignored her, “Are you both really THAT stupid to think that those people can help me?”

Mum hesitated for a second, “If they can help, why don’t you take it?”

I shook my head at her. Never in a million years would I have guessed that my parents, my parents would have been sucked in by those FUCKING MORONS! I looked at them sitting opposite me. They weren’t stupid people, hell, they were both bloody smart, yet they seemed to believe that someone can help sort out my problem. “Ok, this is getting ridiculous now.”

She nodded, “I agree.”

“What?” I snapped.

“Something has to be done, we need to sort this out.” She replied.

“No, what we need is for you two to deal with this like decent people.”

She shook her head, “Decent people? What you were doing with that boy wasn’t decent!”

A snide remark was at the tip of my tongue, but I withheld it and turned to Dad, “What about you? Do you agree with…her idea, that I need help?” I asked, looking at him.

He was silent for a moment, “We both…decided.”

I nodded, “So you are both stupid then.”

They sat there silently.

I stood up and walked over to the table in the middle of the room before I sat on it, facing them. I breathed deeply, “Look, I always knew that this wasn’t going to be easy, but part of me liked to think that you guys would eventually understand.” I paused, “I know that this is hard for both of you. I get that. But at least hear me out, let me explain this from my side.” I looked at them, “Because believe it or not, I am still your son, not some devilish creature that just sleeps with men.”

They remained silent for what seemed an eternity before my dad spoke, “Ok.” My mum quickly shot him a look, but backed down when she realised that he was serious. He wanted to hear what I had to say.

“Ok.” I said, trying to figure out where to begin, “I really began to notice that I was…different when I was twelve years old. It wasn’t anything big then, but small enough for me to notice. While the other guys, Connor and Max would talk about girls, I would think about boys.”

They seemed to be slightly uncomfortable about it, but I kept on.

“I knew what ‘being gay’ meant back then, but I didn’t associate it with myself. I just liked guys and that was it.” I paused, “When I was thirteen, nearly fourteen, I started to notice boys more and more, but I never liked girls. At all. So I started to think that, you know, I might actually be gay. I might be one of those people that everyone makes fun of.” I looked at them, “I knew what you guys thought of gay people, I knew that you hated them, so I tried to ignore it. I tried to put it aside.”

Both mum and dad seemed to be taking an interest in what I was saying. They were both watching me and for the first time in nearly a week, I didn’t feel threatened by their stares. “Whenever I’d see a guy that I thought was good-looking, I’d look away and think about something else.” I paused, “But that idea didn’t work, it made it harder than doing nothing, so that’s what I decided to do: nothing. I just lived with it.” I shook my head, “It wasn’t easy, I had to watch everything I did: what I said, how I talked, hell, I even had to make sure that I didn’t walk in a way that could make me look gay. It was so hard. Sometimes I came really close to messing up, or someone almost caught me looking at a boy or something.”

“You guys have no idea what it was like. For nearly four years, I’ve had to keep this a secret, just in case someone found out. I couldn’t risk that happening. Again, I knew that you guys thought about it, so I was scared about what could happen, what you’d do if you found out.” I paused, “And in school. I was scared about what the other kids would say to me, what they’d do to me if they found out that I liked other boys. That’s why I worked so hard to hide it from everyone. It was too big a risk.”

“And for a time everything was going well. I was ok with being gay and I was even pretty good at hiding it.” I paused again, “But that all changed in January. You see, there was this new kid, this really good looking boy from America who came into my class, and I knew, from the moment that I saw him, that things were going to get really hard, real quick.” I looked at my parents and thought that it’d be best if I skipped over a few things, “Long story short, I found out that he was gay, and even better, I found out that he liked me too. So we started dating, if that’s what you call it.”

“And once again I thought that it’d be easy, I mean, who would think that Jamie and I were together? He had all the girls chasing him, so who’d suspect it, right? We could walk around town, go to the park together, and no one would suspect a thing.” I shook my head, “But it wasn’t easy. There were times where I’d look at him or something and I’d want to hold his hand or even give him a small kiss. But I couldn’t do that. Not in public, not where other people could see.”

I looked at my parents, “I know that you guys don’t understand, but whenever I’m with him it feels like I’m free. That I’m being who, what I’m supposed to be.” I paused, “It doesn’t feel wrong or indecent. It feels right. I…just…” I paused, “I really wish you would understand, just so you could know what it’s like for Jamie and me.” I said, looking at them. The ball was in their court now.

They sat there for a good few minutes before my dad spoke, “Matt, we…Terry and Amanda said that you could stay over at their house if we thought…”

“Thought what?” I asked, frowning.

“We’ll need time to talk about this…and it would be best if you…weren’t here.” He replied.

I thought for a moment, I had assumed that they’d say something like that, but I was through arguing, I just wanted this whole thing to be over and done with. “Ok, I’ll go over to Connor’s.”

“Thank you.” He replied.

I stood up and walked to the door, “I’ll get some of my things, and then I’ll go.”

They both nodded at me before I turned and headed up the stairs. It didn’t take that long for me to pack my things, I only took what was needed for the night. Mostly it was just my school uniform and a change of clothes. Once I had everything packed, I flung the bag over my shoulder and headed downstairs. I didn’t bother to say anything to my parents, I just took my things and walked out of the door, heading to Connor’s house.

*

I looked at him, suddenly feeling very tired. It had felt as though I had fought against the whole world that afternoon. And I was exhausted.

Connor looked at us, “I’ll give you two a few minutes.”

I smiled at him, “Thanks, Con.”

He nodded and walked out, closing the door behind him.

I walked over to Jamie and hugged him, instantly revelling in his warm embrace, “It’s so good to see you.” I whispered.

He pulled back and looked into my eyes, “Are you ok?”

I nodded, unable to stop a tear from rolling down my cheek.

“Oh, babes.” He said, brushing it off my cheek.

I looked up at his face. He was so beautiful in every single way, not a single flaw in sight. And yet, I was being punished for falling in love with such beauty; not just that I could see, but that underneath his complexion, the part that melted my heart. All these thoughts and feelings cumulated into something that my parents tried to destroy, that they tried to brush away as ‘unnatural’ or ‘sick’. But they were wrong. Every fibre of my being was telling, screaming to me that they were wrong. That I was right. That these feelings for Jamie, those genuine, raw emotions that I experienced were natural.

“I wish I could make everything better for you.” He whispered.

“You do. Everything’s fine when you’re here.”

“Still…” He began, as he stroked the side of my face, “Why can’t your parents see the beautiful person that I see?” He paused, “Why can’t they love the person that I love?”

I looked at him, “They never loved me. They loved who I was pretending to be. Straight, heterosexual Matt.”

Jamie smiled, “Well, I’m glad you’re not ‘straight Matt’.” He said, “Otherwise some things could be quite uncomfortable.”

“What kind of things?”

He inched closer, “These kind of things.” He whispered, just before his soft lips pressed tenderly against my own. I instinctively reached out and held onto him as I returned the gentle kiss.

I pulled back and grinned at him, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He smiled.

I ran my hand through his blond hair, revelling in it’s smooth and sleek feel, “I swear you get more beautiful every time I see you.”

“Then maybe I should come back in a week.” He joked.

I shook my head, “Don’t you go anywhere.”

He smiled, “So you’re staying here, tonight?” He asked, looking around Connor’s room.

I nodded, “They need more time to talk.”

“I’m so sorry.” He replied, squeezing my hand.

“Don’t be. It’s their problem, not mine.” I said, echoing Connor’s words from earlier.

Jamie’s eyes flicked to the clock on the wall, “It’s getting late, I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”

My heart sank at that, I wanted him to stay longer, but he was right, it was late. I smiled at him, “You’re so perfect, you know that?”

He squeezed my hand again, “You’re perfect, Matt.”

“Come on.” I said, tugging his hand, “I’ll walk you downstairs.”

Jamie nodded as he followed me down the stairs and to the door, I opened it for him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asked, as he stepped outside.

I glanced out, noting that Noah was waiting in the car outside, “Of course.” I replied smiling.

Then he surprised me as he leaned forward and stole a kiss from my lips, “Goodnight, babes.”

I stared at him for a few seconds, “Goodnight, Jamie.”

He smiled again before he turned and headed to the car. Noah didn’t seem to notice us kiss, but I doubt that he would have minded anyway. I watched as Jamie opened the door and got inside. I waved at him and Noah as they drove off, but Jamie, being the little romanticist that he was, blew a kiss at me instead. I giggled at him and watched as the car vanished into the night.

“Matt!” Called out Josh.

I closed the door and turned around, looking at Josh standing next to Adam, “Yeah?”

“We’re going to bed now.” He replied.

“Oh, ok then.” I walked forward, “I’ll see you in the morning, don’t keep Adam up all night snoring.”

Josh rolled his eyes at me, “I don’t snore.”

“Or talking. We’ve got school tomorrow.” I replied.

He nodded, “Ok.”

“Goodnight, Josh.”

“Night, Matt.” He replied, wrapping me in a hug, before he ran up the stairs after Adam.

“Connor says that Jamie popped in.” Said Terry as he walked out of the lounge.

I nodded, “Yeah, he just wanted to see how I was doing.” I looked at him, “Thanks again for letting Josh sleep over, the last few days have been bad for him.”

“Don’t worry about it, you’re both welcome to stay as long as you want.” He replied.

I smiled, “Thanks, but we should be at home tomorrow. Hopefully.”

He walked forward and squeezed my shoulder, “Give them time to digest what you’ve told them. I’m sure they’ll come round soon.”

I nodded, ‘ I hope so.’ I thought to myself, ‘not just for my sake, but for everyone else involved.’

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter of American Differences.

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