Chapter 8

       I was really happy I didn't have a shift at work today. I wanted to sleep in just a tiny bit for once, and I was too lazy to go into work today. I really loved my job, but everyone always wanted a day off with their job, no matter how much they loved it.

       When I woke up, I laid in bed for a while before finally getting out of bed and heading downstairs. I heard someone in the kitchen and I thought it was Cleo, but it wasn't.

       It was Holden.

       "Holden?" I asked, and he quickly turned around. "What are you doing in my house? How did you even get in here?"

       "Spare key," Holden said.

       I furrowed my eyebrows as I finished walking down the stairs before heading to the . "How did you get your hands on a spare key?" I only had one, and I gave it to Cleo after she and Celeste moved in.

       Holden only shrugged in reply. "What's with all the baby stuff around the house?"

       "Oh, Cleo and Celeste moved in with me," I said. "She was having money problems and wasn't going to be able to pay for the rent, so I'm letting her stay here."

       "And I can't?" Holden asked. "That's rude."

       "She's a single mom who needed a place to stay, Holden," I said. "You have a place to stay."

       Holden sighed. "Unfortunately, that is true."

       "So, why are you in my house anyway?" I asked. "Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?"

       "What's the point of going to school if I'm just going to fail?" Holden asked. "I might as well drop out of school. That will make things easier. Maybe I can work at The Gold Mine. I'm sure Shaw can get me a job there."

       "Holden, don't start with this again?" I asked. "Why are you so against getting the extra help you need in school?"

       "I told you, the extra help isn't going to do anything," Holden said. "It's just going to waste my time. I'm going to fail either way. I'd rather just barely pass by with my C minuses and be down with school at the end of the year."

       I sighed. I really shouldn't force him to get the extra help he really needs at school, even though I was a doctor and knew exactly what he needed because of his condition. No matter what, he wasn't going to listen to me though.

       "Well, if you're not going to school, you really need to tell me why you're in my house," I said.

       Holden shrugged. "I don't want to go to school, and I'm more than likely to run into Mom and Dad no matter where I go since this is such a small village. I figured this will be my safe space."

       "You figured I won't force you to go to school?" I asked.

       "I was hoping you wouldn't, since you're the only one in the family who really understands me and tries to listen," Holden said. "I mean, Julian and Noah do too, but not as much as you do. I....also kind of want to talk to you about something that I don't want anyone else knowing."

       "If you're going to tell me that you're gay, don't bother," I said. "I already know."

       Holden furrowed his eyebrows. "I....wasn't going to tell you that I'm gay. I'm not even gay."

       "Really?" I asked. "Huh....Well, then what were you going to tell me?"

       Holden sighed and looked down at the ground. "You're right. That's....that's what I was going to tell you."

       "Wow, I'm right about everything," I said. "And don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone. I haven't told anyone for ten years, so there's no point of me telling anyone know."

       Holden looked up at me, a confused expression written on his face. "What are you talking about?"

       "I'm talking about you asking me if it was okay for boys to fall in love with boys when you were seven," I said. "Since then, I've had my suspicions, and I've caught a few other clues. Like you always having male celebrity crushes, never being interested in girls, and my personal favourite is last year when I heard you say 'Dang, he's cute' under your breath when some guy walked by. I'm just surprised nobody else caught on yet."

       "I really hope they don't," Holden muttered.

       "You will think Mom and Dad will care?" I asked. "Dude, we have a gay cousin. A gay, married cousin. Mom and Dad were so happy for Calvin when he announced his and Kenny's engagement."

       "It's not that I'm worried how Mom and Dad will react," Holden said. "It's just....I don't know. It's hard to come out for me, even if I know Mom and Dad will accept me. I just had to tell one person, you, so I get a little bit of weight off my chest."

      "Fair enough," I said. "Now, moving on from all of that, this is the only day I'm letting you skip school since you're still early into the school year. If I find you skipping again, I will personally go to the school and get you the extra help."

       Holden groaned. "I don't want the extra help, Josh."

       "Then don't skip again," I said.

       "Whatever," Holden said before going to my fridge to find something to eat. I was going to be eaten out of my own home soon with him spending the day here.

       I heard Cleo come down the stairs, so I looked over at her, seeing her walk carefully as she carried Celeste. "Hey," I said. "How'd you sleep? I heard Celeste crying a few times during the night."

       "I'm so sorry," Cleo said.

       "Don't be, I was on my phone anyway watching a lot of videos," I said. "I was able to fall asleep perfectly fine afterwards. By the way, this is my brother Holden. Holden, this is Celeste's mom, Cleo. Don't disturb them while you're staying here."

       "Don't worry, I'll be out of sight and out of mind," Holden said.

       Which didn't happen at all.

       Holden was making scrambled eggs, but there was something funny he saw on the TV show I was watching and ended up sitting on the chair, completely forgetting about the eggs until I smelled something burning.

       I looked at the stove, seeing a tiny bit of smoke rising from the eggs. "Holden?" I asked. "Did you forget about the eggs?"

       "What eggs?" Holden asked.

       "The scrambled eggs you were making?"

       Holden still looked quite confused, until he looked at the stove to see the smoke. He quickly got up and turned off the stove before placing the pan in the sink to let it cool off. He then sighed heavily. "I can't do anything right. I can't even do something as simple as making eggs."

       "Holden...."

       "Can I go nap in your room?"

       "Go ahead."

       After he was upstairs, Cleo said. "He seems stressed. Is he okay?"

       I sighed. "Yeah. Well, kind of. He got a brain injury a while ago, and now he suffers from short term memory loss. It's just hard for him to do simple things like cooking or remembering what he learned at school. And at times, he just gives up because he doesn't think he can get better even though I keep telling him he can. It's just a long process."

       "Oh, wow," Cleo said. "Well, I really do hope he does get better soon."

       "Yeah, me too," I said, even though the possibility was very low because of the way Holden was looking at the situation and the way he acted upon it.

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It seems like this is the only book I'm updating. cx OOPS. (theres just a part i really want to get to lol)(i dont even know what chapter it will happen)

So I'm kind of mad. (jk really mad) The sweater I wanted to order from Jackson's clothing brand SOLD OUT and I can't order anything until Tuesday rip. I have one in my cart, so I'm hoping that was like 'putting it on hold'. I loved all the clothing so I really don't mind getting something else, but that was what I really wanted because I love roses on clothing. cx I hope it gets restocked at least. I mean, I assume it will since it's an actual clothing line and not merch or something like that, but I wouldn't know when it will restock.

If everything sells out, I'll cry. cx