My breath caught in my throat the moment those two words fell out of Ember's lips. We're dating. I wanted to sink into the floor and hide away, not because our parents knew, but because I felt like shit for putting everyone through this. Ember shouldn't be dating a boy she has to be ashamed of. Mom and Carl shouldn't have to be embarrassed by their children.


"You're what?" Carl slammed his fists down on the table, making Ember jump back. "Have you been touching my daughter, Jack?"


"Uh-" I was trying really hard not to freak out, for Ember's sake, but it wasn't very fair how Carl was attacking me. "Is that really a necessary question?"


"What would happen if you got her pregnant?!"


"Then you would each have a grandchild," Ember countered, placing her hand on top of mine. Of course we hadn't even talked about ever having kids, but she did make a good point. "It would be a part of each of you."


"Yeah," Carl snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Just like if my daughter were sleeping with her brother, right?!"


"We are not brother and sister!" I couldn't take it anymore. I had to speak. More than anything, I needed my mom to understand my feelings before she took Carl's side. My chair slid across the floor and my hands slammed down on the table, making Ember wince. "You guys are of no relation, therefore we are of no relation. I mean, seriously, what did you expect? Did you think you could put two teenagers under the same roof without them getting curious about each other?"


"Jack," Ember warned, trying to tug on my arm to make me sit. "You can leave the room."


"No, fuck that," I growled, still trying my best to get a grip on my emotions. "Sex has nothing to do with this, anyway. I love Ember. Either you can support that or you can't. But if you don't, you'll be losing your kids. You might be able to stop us from seeing each other now but graduation is right around the corner. We will be together, no matter how you feel about it."


With that, I sat down, breathing the way Ember had made me do before my mom got here. Carl got up and began pacing the kitchen, but my mom just sat there, staring at the table with tears in her eyes. It scared me. I never wanted to disappoint my mom.


"All of this, getting help, it's all for her, isn't it?"


"Y-Yeah," I answered honestly, locking my fingers with Ember's. "Mom, I love you and I'm sorry if I've done anything to upset you, but Ember's the one for me. She's.. I don't even know. She just is."


"You know, when I first got with Carl I was afraid to tell you, Jack," mom sniffed, wiping a tear away from her face. This seemed to capture Carl's attention, because he stopped pacing and locked his eyes on my mother. "He's so much different from the way you grew up, then there was the fact that he had a daughter and I'd spent so long protecting you that I didn't want to rush the time we had alone together. But I just knew that the love you had for me would overpower any of those bad feelings you had toward Carl when I first introduced you two. It was hard and you didn't like it but you came around, for me."


Ember gave my hand a squeeze as my mom stopped to wipe her eyes and exhale a deep breath. Her tears made me feel like the worst son in the world.


"Ember, honey, I love you to death," mom smiled, choking back a sob. "I'm not going to say this isn't weird, because it is. But I'm not going to stand here and lecture you. If you make each other happy, be happy." She got up from her seat and walked around the table to Ember. She pulled the brunette up and wrapped her arms around Ember's tiny frame. Her tears were falling harder now, but it was then that I realized they weren't sad tears. "Thank you for saving my son."


My heart completely shattered with those words. I couldn't figure out if I was happy or sad, scared or content. I was just there, watching my mom find a bit of hope in my future, wondering how I ever let her worry so much about me in the first place. I'd put this family through Hell.. Ember was our only hope of finding Heaven again.


"Am I the only one that has a problem with his?" Carl stepped forward, which made my mom pull away from Ember. "This is not okay. I don't want your son pawing at my daughter."


"Daddy, it's not even like that."


"I don't care. This is not okay. Ember, I want you to go upstairs and pack your bags."


"But dad-"
"Now, Ember!"


I sank into my seat as Ember shot him a glare, her feet hitting the floor so quickly I barely got to watch her leave. My emotions were spinning out of control and I knew I was going to go off. Mom took notice, because the moment Carl left us alone, she placed her hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.


"I'll talk to him. Don't give up, Jack, we'll figure this out."


And I was alone again.

Notes

What's going to happen?!