chapter 10: sullivan

~sullivan~

       Even though my parents only need to stay at my house for two my doors, I'm very tempted to kick them out and tell them to find another place to stay for the remainder of days. They've gotten even more inconsiderate and have been treating this like some vacation.

       I refuse to cook for them and clean up after them but unfortunately, that only meant they would try to get Caelus to do what I refused to. I don't know if Caelus just wants to keep the peace or he just didn't want to say no because he would always cave in. Only when I wasn't home. If I was, I would say no for him.

       I thought that I would at least be able to get some sleep now that I'm staying in the guest room, but that's far from the truth. My parents have been going in and out of my bedroom, closing the door loudly. The white noise Caelus and I have playing in the guest room isn't loud enough to drown it all out.

       Then comes the noise that no child wants to hear come from their parents. It's subtle, just the bed creaking and the headboard banging against the wall connecting my room to the guest room, but it's enough to know what's going on.

       And it's nauseating.

       "You've got to be fucking kidding me," I mutter. "In my bed?"

       "This would be the part where I would blast music, but I doubt your neighbours would appreciate it since it's two in the morning," Caelus says from where he's lying on the bed.

       I sit up on the air mattress, trying to drown out the sound, but it's near impossible since I'm right beside the wall separating the two bedrooms. "I want them gone."

       "Then kick them out," Caelus says. "It's your house. It doesn't matter that they're your parents. They should respect your space, but they're not."

       "They said they couldn't afford a hotel stay because of the fumigation," I say.

       "They couldn't afford a hotel stay for five days. They've got two days left. Surely they can afford a hotel then."

       Caelus does make a good point. I'll probably feel a bit bad kicking out my parents, but I can't handle them anymore. Expecting me to cook for them and clean up after them is one thing. Having sex in my bed is highly inappropriate.

       It gets worse when I can start to hear their moans.

       "Oh my God," I say. "I'm going to be sick."

       "It's not that bad," Caelus says. "I mean, sure, it's not something you want to hear, but it's just the bed."

       "No, I can hear them from here."

       "Oh." Caelus is silent for a few moments. "Just come on the bed, Sully. It's not that loud here."

       I look at Caelus, who sits up and scoots over to the left side of the bed, his favourite side, in order to make room for me. "I'm not sharing a bed with my ex-husband." I know there isn't anything wrong with sharing a bed with Caelus, but it will feel weird. I know it will just remind me of our marriage, which I'm trying so hard to forget about.

       And yes, allowing Caelus to stay here until he can find a place of his own isn't helping, but it's not like I can just abandon him right now. I still care about him. I think I'll always care about him. He's not someone I can just stop caring about.

       "So you would rather hear your parents going at it than sleep in a bed with me?" Caelus asks.

       I feel like vomiting. "Can you please not phrase it like that?" I still get up from the air mattress and move onto the bed with Caelus. I can hear my bed moving in the opposite room and the bed frame hitting the wall, but that's it.

       "I'm sorry they're giving you a hard time," Caelus says.

       "It's fine," I say. "At least they're not as bad as your dad and stepmom."

       Caelus gags. "Can you please not refer to her as my stepmom. She is not a motherly figure. If anything, she's just my dad's wife."

       "How are things going with them?" I ask.

       Caelus shrugs. "Dunno. I cut them all off last Thanksgiving. Shit went down and I realized I would feel a lot better, healthier even, with them out of my life. It's why I came here after I got evicted. I figured I would have a better chance staying with you than with my dad and Ruth. The last thing I need is Ruth trying to parent me even though I'm twenty-six."

        Caelus's dad and stepmom got married when Caelus was twenty-three. At that time, Caelus had not only moved out but was married to me. Even then, his new stepmom tried to parent him and control his life. And me, even. Ruth didn't like us. Not because for a homophobic reason like most people would suspect, but because we didn't agree with her marrying Caelus's dad.

        "Well, I'm glad you decided to come here instead of subjecting yourself to your family," I say.

        Caelus smiles at me, but the moment is ruined when the bed in my room starts creaking even louder. I sigh heavily as Caelus says, "We should have sex."

       I furrow my eyebrows as I look at Caelus. "What the fuck, Caelus?"

       "Hear me out," Caelus says. "Your parents will probably feel equally as mortified as you are right now if they have to hear their son having sex with his ex-husband."

       "We're not having sex, Caelus." I turn around so my back is facing Caelus, hoping I can actually fall asleep soon.

       "Well, duh," Caelus says. "I was just teasing you. Good night, Sully."

       "Whatever."

       Thankfully, I'm able to fall asleep soon, but I don't get nearly as much sleep as I would like to since I usually wake up at five in the morning to go for a run with Kona. I don't want to change Kona's schedule, so I suck it up and deal with it.

       When I get back home after the run, I make breakfast for Kona before I get into the shower. After I get out, I go to the kitchen to make breakfast for me and Caelus. In the process, my parents walk out of the bedroom and, like always, expect I'm making breakfast for them.

       "That smells good," Mom says, sitting at the table. "When will it be done?"

       "Soon, but it's not for you," I say.

       "Is it really so hard for you to make breakfast for your parents?" Dad asks.

       "I warned you that I'm not going to be your butler while you stay here," I say. "And speaking of, I don't appreciate you two constantly getting Caelus to cook and clean for you. He's a guest just like you."

       "He never said no," Mom says.

       "He's too nice to say no," I say. "Actually, I'd like to talk to you about your visit. I don't think I can have you two stay here anymore. Surely, you can afford to stay in a hotel for two more days."

       "Are you kicking us out?" Mom says.

       Part of me wants to turn back but after last night, I need to put my foot down. "Yes, I am. I'm sorry, I love you two, but you have been horrible guests. Showing up to stay for five days without warning, refusing to clean up after yourselves, slamming doors in the middle of the night, having sex in my bed."

       Mom's face turns red. She clears her throat. "I didn't know you were able to hear us."

       "The bed was slamming into the wall," I say. "Of course I heard. If you really can't afford to stay in a hotel for two days, then I'll gladly pay for it, but I can't have you hear anymore."

       "Fine, whatever," Dad says. "We can tell when we're not wanted."

       They both head into my bedroom to pack, but before they close the door, I say, "Please throw my bedding into the wash. That's the least you can do." The door closes behind them and honestly, I don't feel bad. I don't know if they'll ignore me or complain to my sister about 'how horrible I've been to them', but I'd much rather have that than have them stay here for two more days.

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i love the "a fell first, b fell harder" trope so i wonder who's going to be who here????? (or really "a fell again first, b fell again harder" since they've already fallen for each other in the past lol)