#rrl01d84

Gen One, Day Eighty-Four

The family spent the night talking at the kitchen table. Robyn made them some tea and cookies and they talked about how Charlie had known. Talked about why Johnny had said he wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t planned on telling them about Josef, but they were so supportive of him that the topic came up. He left out some of the more...adult details of the whole ordeal, but when they found out what had happened, Johnny looked like he wanted to go beat up the other kid, while his Mom praised him for keeping such a level head during it all. 

It felt good to get those things off his chest. Felt good to know that his parents were behind him 100%. He wasn’t naive enough to think that everyone’s parents would be like this. Maybe that’s why Josef hadn’t come out, or had even done some of the things he’d done. But Charlie still couldn’t find it in himself to forgive him. Forget, yes. But the hurt would always be there. Would taint every relationship he had moving forward and for that, he’d never forgive Josef. 

As he and his Mom cleaned up after they were done talking, Charlie looked around at the dogs, his Mom and Dad, and thought of Eris off at college. Man, he had a great family. That’s all he could think of tonight. How wonderful and supportive they were of each other. He wished this kind of family connections on the whole world. Everyone should experience something like this, he decided. 

Gen One, Day Eighty-Four

It was going to be different, not having Eris around. Eighteen years was a long time to spend with her daughter to have her move out and be on her own. Robyn wasn’t sure what the future held, but she remembered all the fond memories with her daughter as she stepped into her room, feeling extra empty and lonely. 

All those memories came flooding back. From the first time she’d held her in this very room, to her first steps. From her first day of elementary school to the first day of high school. She was going to miss living with Eris, miss her daughter dearly but it was a part of growing up. And it was a comfort to know that she’d raised her right, that she’d be okay out there on her own. 

Household Change: Eris Thorne-Zest moved out

Gen One, Day Eighty-Four

After he hung up with Touya, Charlie sat in his room for a long while, feeling his heart pounding and his cheeks flushed. If he was crushing on this boy, he was crushing hard. A shame they were worlds apart, with Touya being in Mt. Komorebi. He chewed his lip, looking to the door of his bedroom before he got up and headed downstairs. 

“Hey guys?” he asked, finding both of his parents sitting on the couch, watching the news while Robyn read a book. 

“Yeah, hun?” she asked, not looking back at him. 

“Uh, can we talk?” 

That got both of their attention. Robyn set her book down and Johnny reached for the remote, shutting the tv off as he turned around to eyes his son. “You okay?” Johnny asked, looking worried. 

Charlie took a breath. Why was he so nervous about this? He had no doubt that both of them would be okay with this, with him, but it was still nerve wracking. Maybe because it made it real. A reality that he would be living with other people in it, instead of just himself and the few, close-knit people he’d opened up to. 

“Kinda, but um, I have something I need to say.” He swallowed thickly, looking between the both of them for a long, pregnant moment. Both of them looked worried, so Charlie decided to just pull the band aid off. “I’m gay.” His mouth felt dry and both his parents sat there for a moment, like they were waiting for him to say something else, so he cleared his throat. “I, uh, I just...I wanted you to know.” 

That seemed to snap Robyn out of it. Immediately, she stood up off the couch and came over to him. “Oh, honey,” she said. “Thank you for telling us,” she said, pulling him into a hug. He relaxed immediately at the touch, feeling his Mom’s hand run over the back of his neck. “It’s okay, sweetie. That’s perfectly okay with us,” like she knew what he needed to hear. 

“Yeah,” Johnny said, standing up as well. “Honestly, I been waiting for you to say something.” 

Charlie frowned at his Dad, but it was playful in nature. “You have?” he asked. 

Johnny snorted. “I mean...” he scrubbed at the back of his neck, like he’d been caught but then shrugged. “Would it be better if I was surprised?” 

“I...don’t know?” Charlie said, confused, but he chuckled all the same. He didn’t know if it would be better, but he didn’t care. He accepted the hug from his Dad all the same and there was such a sense of relief on his shoulders. He didn’t know why he’d waited so long. Eris had pushed him to try and be okay with it, he should have just listened. He was glad to have such understanding parents like them.