Death-Wish Kids

I was already in the living room when The Ways and Frank pulled into the driveway. I was up and off the couch in seconds, passing Micah to Noah and calling a quick goodbye, hoping to make it out before my dad came back into the living room through the kitchen.

“I’ll see you later tonight!” I called in that direction.

“Wait!” he said back as he stepped through the swinging door, “Cyren!”

I slipped my arms into my jacket and pulled the strap of my bag across my chest. “I don’t want to keep them waiting,” I answered without meeting his gaze, “I’ll be back in a few hours. Thanks, Dad, bye.”

“I want to meet them before you go,” he said.

“I’ll ask them when they drop me off,” I said, my tone rushed and slightly pleading. I half-paused for an answer, but Ryder stepped forward and began speaking, and that was my cue to leave, shooting her a grateful look as I closed the door behind me.

Donald was driving and Donna was in the passenger’s seat. Mikey and Frank were in the back and I watched as Frank slid into the center seat as I walked around and pulled open the back door. My nerves were acting up as I sat down and pulled the door closed, greeting everyone as I reached to buckle my seatbelt.

Gerard had mentioned me to his parents, and in more of a girlfriend capacity and less of a ‘she’s Mikey’s friend’ way. But I didn’t know how much he’d told Mikey or Frank or if it had even come out purposefully or if they’d stumbled on the truth. When Gerard said he’d told his parents, I hadn’t even thought of my friends, and now, faced with both of them and the Ways, this was the first time since then that their feelings about all of this came to me.

“Hey, guys,” I said, smoothing my dress down over my bare legs.

Frank grinned and slid his arm around my shoulders. “You don’t look too bad,” he said, his tone purposefully bewildered, “I’m surprised.”

I grinned and pushed my elbow into his ribs.

Donna turned around in her seat and smiled at me. “Frankie, don’t insult her,” she reprimanded, reaching back to pat my knee, “It’s obvious that she’s a gorgeous girl. She doesn’t need a dress and heels for anyone to see that much. Obviously Gerard figured it out right away.”

My lips parted in surprise and my gaze darted nervously to his mother’s. I was glad that Donald was driving and couldn’t make eye-contact. Facing both of Gerard’s parents head on definitely would’ve been too much. “I forgot he told you,” I said, although I hadn’t, “We were planning on telling you, but it just sort of came up and I didn’t want to cause any trouble and I know that I’m younger than him and that’s an issue but-.”

“Cyren, relax,” she interceded, “We’re not upset that you and Gerard kept this to yourself. Honestly, Don and I think it’s best that you two didn’t bring it up until you decided it was something that was going to stick for awhile. There’s no reason to make a commotion if it’s not going to be worth it.”

I was too scared to make eye-contact with Frank and Mikey. The latter hadn’t said a word since I’d gotten in the car and the reason for his silence made me nervous. “I don’t want to keep secrets from you,” I spoke, pointing my words in Donna and Donald’s direction but meaning all four of them, “But I wasn’t sure when the right time was and I didn’t know what you’d think of it.”

“We understand, sweetheart,” Donna answered, turning back in her seat to face the front of the car, “We trust the two of you to make your own decisions, so don’t worry about us thinking anything bad of the two of you. Does your father know about Gerard?”

“No,” I said softly, fingers tangled together in my lap, “I’m not sure how he’s going to react when he finds out.” I knew they’d understand the reason why without me having to say it.

“You need to tell him,” Donald spoke, eyes trying to catch mine in the rearview for a split second, “We understand that you care about Gerard, but your father has a right to know and decide what he thinks is best for you.”

“Gerard is an adult, sweetheart,” Donna spoke, adding on to her husband’s words, “So we let him make his own decisions when it comes to things like this. But the issue is that you’re not, so your father needs to know about you and our son before we can let this continue.”

“You know Gerard,” I said quickly, surprised by their words, “You know what he’s like. There’s nothing with with us being together. He’s not that much older than me.”

“He is when it comes to the law,” Mikey said, speaking for the first time since I got in the car, “And even more than that, I told you not to do this, Cyren. You don’t know him like I know him. You should’ve listened to me.”

“Michael,” Donna reprimanded, “It’s none of your business. She’s her own person and you’re not the one that she needs to get consent from, so stop it right now.”

“Mikey,” I sighed, looking at Frank and then leaning over him to the other boy, “I’m sorry,” I said, knowing it needed to be spoke, “I know that you didn’t want me and your brother to get close, but it just happened.” I flushed, embarrassed to speak about Gerard with his parents in the car. Even when he was mad at me, it was still easier to talk to Mikey than Donna and Donald.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Mikey said, eyes grazing mine for a moment before they turned away. He turned to the window and looked relieved to see that we were pulling into the parking lot of the familiar art building on Gerard’s campus. He unbuckled his seatbelt and was out of the car before it even completely stopped. Earning a shout from his mother.

Frank smiled apologetically and followed his friend.

I took a deep breath and got out through my own door, checking my bag for my phone and readjusting my bag’s strap across my chest. The glass building was just as I remembered it. The pole-lamps still circled the entire building and the path to the main entrance lit up tonight as well. The double doors were propped open and people flooded through them. I was glad I decided to dress up too.

Donna came to my side and slid her arm through mine. “I’m so proud of him,” she said, eyes on the art building. She looked to me then. “Lets go in.” She called for Donald and the boys and they came around the car to us, Mikey hanging back aways, and we ascended up the slanted path to the art showcase.

There were students just inside the doors handing out pamphlets as we walked in. The woman on my side handed me a colorful booklet and smiled brightly. “Welcome to the Brookdale College of Art student showcase,” she said, “Please take the stairs to the left and follow the signs and people to the gallery.”

I thanked her and followed Donna and Donald like I didn’t know where I was going.

When we walked in, I was sandwiched between Donna and Frank. Gerard was across the room, standing in a semi-circle of other young people in nice clothes. And even from behind, my gaze landed on him first, the line of him drawing me in, the black vest over the black button up shirt. The sleeves pushed to his elbows and the sway of his body as he spoke, scuffing his shoes against the floor, the legs of his dark jeans just a little too long.

I stayed at Donna’s side and she was talking, but I wasn’t listening to the words and I hoped that it wasn’t to me. She called for Gerard then, his name bringing me back into focus. I watched the conversation stop as the people he was with recognized his name coming from someone else.

When he turned around, maybe it was his eyes, or maybe his smile, or maybe the way his gaze flickered from his parents and then to me next to his mom, and then back to his parents, but there was just something about him that had me grinning. He turned slowly back to them and I watched the shapes his mouth made as he excused himself and started in our direction.

I could feel Donna looking at me, watching me watch him, but I didn’t look at away from her son. Gerard’s eyes were on me and I could feel my insides tightening as he smiled at me. He looked so different, but yet so much like himself that it was overwhelming. The room around us was lit with bulbous lighting fixtures that were hung in the corners and crevices of the room, bright enough to show every detail of the art that hung on clean white walls throughout the sectioned room.

Gerard greeted his mother first, wrapping his arms around her as she told him how proud she was of him. Then he moved to his dad, who hugged him tightly and said roughly the same thing. I watched as he grinned at this little brother and then made a solid jab at Frank. His fingers slid between mine without a word and my body moved to his side.

“Hey,” he said softly, curving his body towards me without turning his gaze on me.

“Hey,” I said, squeezing his hand in mine.

We both looked up as Donna made an adoring noise. She was looked straight at us and smiling widely. “You two are adorable,” she said, embarrassing both of us and loving every minute of it, “I mean really, Gerard, how ofter do we get to see you with a girl? I can’t believe you tried to hide this from us.”

Gerard rolled his hazel eyes, but he was still smiling. “You know I’m sorry,” he said, sounding adorable as he apologized again to his mother, “Please don’t make me say it again.”

“It’s fine for now,” she relented, “But you know the four of us are going to have another talk about this later.” She gave us a look. “But for now, let me be proud of my talented son and show me your masterpieces.” She opened the pamphlet and flipped to the back to find the one on Gerard and his art.

Gerard reached out and snatched it from her fingers, sliding it into the inside pocket of his vest. “You’ll get to see the real thing in a minute,” he said, frowning at her, “You don’t need to look at photos of drawings that are literally going to be right in front of you.”

Donna shot her son a look. “I want that back, Gerard. That’s going in the book and you better believe that I’m mailing a couple to your grandparents too.”

Gerard rolled his eyes and turned around to lead the way to his section of the art gallery near the center of the room. The photos were placed on two separate walls opposite each other, and I couldn’t see one without turning my back on the other. Gerard stood next to me silently as I looked at his drawings. They were incredible and ranged from photo realistic to something I had no name for and didn’t yet understand. They were gorgeous and I could see pieces of Gerard in them. There were aspects that were reminiscent of his older sketches, but the quality was far beyond anything he’d tacked up on his walls.

His parents were raving about him within minutes. Donna wrapped her arms around her son and pulled him down to her. “We are so proud of you, Gerard,” she spoke, “So proud of all these accomplishments. You’re so talented.”

“Thanks, Mom,” he said, eyes greener tonight than recently, “I’m really glad you guys came tonight.”

“Are these for sale?” Don asked, stepped around his wife to stand next to her in front of their son. He reached back to pull his wallet out of his pocket, “Because one of these deserves to go in the house.”

“Dad, no,” Gerard answered, pushing the wallet away, “You don’t need to buy anything. I can come up with something specifically for you if you want to put something up in the house. Although I’d rather you didn’t.”

“We all know you’re talented,” Frank said, “But man, Gee, do you have to be so fucking humble too? It makes you look like an artsy wuss.” He grinned at his best friend and then turned away, suddenly super interested in one of Gerard’s paintings as Donna warned him about his language.

“Do you mind if we step away?” Gerard asked his parents, grabbing my hand again, “There’s a couple things I want to show Cyren while she’s here.”

“No, go ahead,” Donald answered, “We’ll be here.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Gerard turned around instantly and switched hands, leading me away from his section and over towards the corner of the room.

“Where are we going?” I laughed as we weaved through groups of people. “Gerard, slow down, you’re going to pull my arm out of the socket.”

He grinned over his shoulder at me and stopped walking, turning to face me instantly as he backed up against the wall and our momentum led me into him. He wrapped his arms around me and his lips were on mine. His mouth was warm and slow, and I could feel him smiling. His fingers brushed my chin and then he pulled back, glancing past me to make sure no one had seen our PDA.

“Sorry,” he said, grinning as he wiped the corner of his mouth, “I want to do that when you walked in with my family, but I figured it’d be rude if I ignored my parents and went straight for you.”

“I wouldn’t have minded,” I answered, taking a step back from him to clear my head.

He grinned, biting his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Gerard,” I spoke, glancing back in the direction we’d come, “Your art… it’s incredible. I can’t believe you created those things out of nothing. It’s inconceivable.”

“They’re alright,” he said, “but thank you. I’m really glad you like them.”

“I’m not the only one,” I said, surprised by his overt modesty when it was just the two of us, “I mean, they’re hanging in a gallery. In the center of a gallery. I mean, I’m sure there’s tons of art students at this college and you’re the one this entire room is centered around. I’m so proud of you.”

He grinned and pulled me to him, slipping his arms around my waist and leaning in until his lips were at my ear. “Careful now,” he spoke, “If you say you’re proud of me one more time you’re going to start sounding like my mother.”

I scoffed and pushed away from him, eyes widening at the joke. “I’m serious!” I complained, turning from him, “You don’t even realize how good you are or how much of a big deal this is.”

He grabbed for me before I could get too far. “This isn’t the only showcase I’ve been a part of,” he said nonchalantly, “And yes, my mom makes this big of a deal every time.”

“That’s because it is a big deal,” I said, sprawling my fingers against his chest to keep from tumbling into him as he leaned back against the wall and pulled me with him. His palms pressed into my hip bones and he looked up at me through his lashes.

“I’m just glad you’re here,” he said, “That’s honestly the best part.”

I stepped back immediately as another couple rounded the corner into our space. They paused when the spotted us, watching as Gerard straightened up.

“Gerard,” the woman said after a moment, surprising me. “I was wondering where you’d run off to. I just met your parents and your brother. I have to say, Mikey looks just like you.”

“We get that a lot,” Gee answered honestly, eyes following the woman’s gaze to me.

“This is my husband Mark,” the woman introduced. Mark smiled genuinely and reached to shake Gerard’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, “I’ve heard a lot about you from Cathleen, and from what I’ve seen tonight she wasn’t exaggerating about how talented you are. Your work is incredible.”

“Thank you,” Gerard answered, pleased by the praise. “This is my girlfriend, Cyren. Cyren, this is my professor, Cathleen Hurtado, and her husband, Mark.”

I was surprised by the way Cathleen’s eyes landed on me. She scrutinized me and I stood there uncomfortably, wondering if it was an artist thing to just stare at people. After a moment, she seemed to realize what she was doing and smiled, apologizing immediately.

“I’m sorry,” she said, leaning into her husband, “I was just trying to place when I’d seen you before. I took me a minute to realize that you’re the young woman from Gerard’s last assignment.” She looked at Gerard, smiling knowingly. “I wondered if the girl in the photos was a real person. That wasn’t your son too, was it? I wasn’t aware that you have a child.”

Gerard stepped up to answer immediately, “No, he’s not, he’s-“

“What child?” Donna asked, frowning as she stepped around the opposite corner and stood to the left of the Hurtados. She glanced at the two people that she’d met briefly and then frowned at Gerard and I. “What’s she talking about, Gerard? What photos? What baby?”