Chapter 29

“Luke, what are you doing here?” Carl frowned, looking up from his seat on the sofa when he heard the front door open and saw his grandson come in on his crutches.

“Is Jenny in?” Luke asked, looking at his grandfather.

“She is, she's upstairs in her room working on her homework,” Carl replied, getting up from the sofa and walking over to where Luke was standing. “How is your ankle? Your Papa called to tell us you got hurt.”

Luke rolled his eyes, not really surprised that the family grapevine had worked once again. “It's just a sprained ankle. I am fine. It's nothing serious.”

“That's good,” Carl nodded, then looked at Luke closely. “And apart from that ankle... Are you okay, son?”

Luke met Carl's gaze and shrugged.

“You know that Debbie and I are here when you're ready to talk to us. Whatever you have to say or ask... we'll both be here, Luke.”

Luke nodded, then looked around the house, obviously surprised that he hadn't been hugged to death by his grandma yet. “Grandma Debbie not in?”

Carl shook his head. “She's at her weekly PFLAG meeting.”

Luke nodded, thinking to himself that it was probably for the best that she wasn't in. After the afternoon he had had and the conversation with his father earlier, he wasn't quite sure if he could have dealt with her and really, he had come to see Jenny, not his grandparents. It just so happened that Jenny now lived with them.

“Do you mind if I go up and speak to Jenny?” Luke asked, nodding towards what he knew was her room.

“I can call her down, that way you won't have to go up the stairs with your crutches,” Carl offered, but wasn't surprised when Luke shook his head.

“I'll be fine. I am not an invalid.”

“Alright, go on then, son,” Carl said, recognizing so much of Brian in that statement that it was almost eerie. And just like with Brian, he knew better than to force Luke into a conversation he obviously didn't want to have.

Luke nodded, then made his way up the stairs to Jenny's room. He knocked and waited for her to let him enter. When he heard her voice a few seconds later, he shifted around a bit with his crutches until he was able to open the door.

He could see the surprise on her face when she saw him. It was obvious by the headphones on her head that she hadn't been aware of his conversation with Carl and hadn't known that he was the one that wanted to see her. Her surprise immediately changed to anger when she realised who it was.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Luke started, nodding towards the room she was in. “Can I come in?”

Jenny shrugged, then nodded slowly.

Luke made his way into the room and plopped down on her bed. He took off his backpack and his jacket, then looked at Jenny from apologetic eyes. “I am sorry.”

“What exactly are you sorry for?” She asked, clearly not impressed by his apology so far.

“I am sorry for my behaviour on Friday. I know that it was an emotional day for you and... I made it all about me when really, it should have been about you. I am sorry we fought and that I made you angry,” he said, looking at her from sad eyes.

Jenny just shrugged. “Shit happens.”

Luke could hear a certain coldness in her voice and he didn't like it. “I am sorry you cancelled the family celebration to spend time with me and that I reacted the way I did... It's just... this last week and a half haven't been easy for me either. It's not an excuse, but I hope that you might take pity on me... and then there's my ankle, so... another pity point, right?” He looked up at her from what could best be described as puppy dog eyes and she couldn't help but laugh even though she still felt slightly angry with him.

“Grandma told me you got injured at your game yesterday,” Jenny just said, meeting Luke's gaze.

“Yeah, it was a stupid foul. Thankfully, it is just a sprained ankle and nothing is broken or torn.”

“That's good,” Jenny agreed, looking at Luke. “So as far as pity points go, it's not really much to feel sorry for, huh?”

Luke shrugged. “I guess not, but I am an eternal optimist, so it was worth a try.”

Jenny smiled, shaking her head in amusement. “You came here to apologise, so I guess you definitely deserve points for that.”

“I am sorry. I... know I didn't act like it on Friday, but... I know I was an ass and... I am sorry I ruined your day.”

Now it was Jenny's turn to shrug. “I still made it in time for dessert, so it wasn't a total waste.”

“That's good,” Luke said quietly. He shifted uncomfortably, before he spoke again. “Have you heard from your mom since then?”

Luke could see how Jenny's body tensed and his heart broke for his friend when he saw her shake her head. “No.”

“I am sorry, Jenny.”

“Why? It's not like she cared much before...”

“Maybe not, but...you deserve a lot better than that from her and I am sorry she treats you like this.”

“It's nothing I am not used to,” Jenny said quietly, though Luke knew that she was merely acting like she didn't care. He could easily hear the pain in her voice. And he felt sorry for her and the pain she had to be in when it wasn't even her fault.

“Still,” he said quietly. “I can't imagine what it must feel like... Nobody should be treated like that.”

Jenny shrugged. “I am not the only child to ever make it through something like this... And I have a family now, so... that's something to be happy about.”

Luke knew that she was right. Just looking at his own family, his fathers, his brother, many of his uncles had been abandoned by their parents and had been treated badly by them in the past. No, Jenny wasn't the only child this had ever happened to, but that still didn't make it any better in his opinion.

“I am glad you found a family here,” he said, then looked up to meet her gaze. “They are a good family and I know that they love you and will always have your back.”

Jenny looked surprised by that statement. “That's not what you said on Friday,” she pointed out.

“I know,” Luke sighed. “I was angry at my dads and... everyone really and... I let that anger get the best of me. Instead of supporting you, I was an ass, but... they are a good family. And I know they love you. You should have seen how worried everyone was about us fighting...”

“What do you mean?” Jenny now frowned.

“Well, my dads... Emmett... They certainly tried to make me see your side as well,” Luke started, then stopped when he saw the confusion on Jenny's face.

“How would Emmett know anything about our fight? I only told your Dad.”

Luke shook his head slowly. “I guess you're not used to what they call the gay grapevine yet. No matter what happens in this family, everyone will know about it within ten minutes. There are no secrets in this family,” he took a deep breath before he continued, “My Dad told Emmett, so he could check on me and see if I was okay. And I guess he also told my Papa because... that's what they do. They tell each other everything and from there... it probably just took five minutes until everyone knew. Just look at my ankle. You didn't even seem surprised to see me on crutches and I only injured it last night.”

“Grandma told me,” Jenny repeated her earlier statement. “I have no idea though how she would have found out.”

Luke shrugged. “Grandpa said that Papa called her today... But she could have also heard from Grandma Jen or my Dad or God knows who... You never know... it's just one of those things in this family.”

Jenny nodded, seemingly accepting that statement.

“You'll get used to it,” Luke chuckled when he saw Jenny's face.

“So... you've been talking to your dads?” Jenny asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Yeah,” Luke nodded. “My Dad was at the game and he was the one who took me to the hospital to get my ankle checked which means that my Papa also knew and immediately showed up at Emmett's to make sure that I was okay.”

“That's nice,” Jenny said.

Luke shrugged. “I guess.”

“They really care,” Jenny said quietly, turning her gaze away from Luke and towards her hands. “It's obvious how much they both love you.”

Luke stayed quiet for a while, then nodded. “I know...”

“I mean... your Dad came to your game when you're not even talking to him... My mom couldn't even be bothered when things were okay between us. She never showed up for anything...”

“I am sorry, Jenny,” Luke said quietly, knowing better than to point out that he hadn't asked for his dad to be at the game. “You would have deserved a better mom.”

“Well, it is what it is. No point crying about it.”

“You know that from now on you'll never be alone again at a game or play or whatever you'll do... You'll have at least ten people show up to support you at everything you will do if that's what you want.”

“I wouldn't go that far,” Jenny said quietly.

“You don't know this family,” Luke said firmly. “Once you're part of the family, you'll never get rid of them. Believe me, I've tried,” he tried to joke, though the joke fell rather flat.

Jenny raised her head to look at him. “I don't think I want to. I really appreciate them and everything they've done for me and how nice everyone has been.”

“I know and... I know that I should probably be more appreciative of them, but right now... it's not that easy.”

Jenny nodded, knowing that now it was her turn to apologise as well. “I am sorry for what I said on Friday. I know you and your dads and everyone have problems and... it was wrong for me to act like that didn't matter.”

“You have a right to your opinion and I guess... we are coming from very different backgrounds where parents are concerned. If I had grown up the way you did... maybe I would have felt the same if someone had acted the way I did, but... we're not coming from the same background and I guess I should have been more accepting of where you were coming from.”

“Yeah, I guess I shouldn't have dismissed your feelings like that either,” Jenny agreed. “It just made me so angry to see that...,” she stopped, then seemed to force herself to go on,”you obviously have parents that love you so much and instead of being grateful for that, you just seemed not to care, but... I get that that wasn't really fair under the current circumstances with everything going on.”

“So, I guess we're both sorry, huh?” Luke asked, smiling slightly as he met Jenny's gaze. “Can we just forget about it and move on?”

Jenny smiled as well, then nodded. “Yeah, I think we can.”

Jenny made her way over to the bed as well and sat down next to Luke. She allowed him to hug her and hugged him back. “I didn't like fighting with you,” she said quietly while he was still holding her.

“Neither did I,” Luke agreed, before he let go of her.

“So...you and your Dads?” Jenny asked him as she looked at him with a question in her eyes.

Luke shrugged. “I talked to both of them, but... it's not like everything is okay again or anything...”

Jenny nodded, her eyes full of understanding. “But it's a beginning that you talked, right?”

“I guess,” Luke agreed. “I mean... you are right. They obviously love me and I guess some of the things you said on Friday were also right. I spoke to both of them about what the alternative would have been if they hadn't worked things out back then and... I guess none of that would have been as good as what they...what we have now, but... it doesn't change the fact that they lied to me. That my Dad lied to my Papa...”

“No, it doesn't, but it's up to you to decide if that's something you can forgive him for one day or not,” Jenny said quietly.

“It just feels like I don't have a choice. My Papa forgave him, Gus also forgave him and the rest of my family was in on it... How would it make me look if I didn't?” Luke muttered.

Jenny shrugged. “I don't think you should worry about that. I don't think your Dad would want you to forgive him just because you felt like you had to. I think he would want you to do what felt right to you, no matter what that might be in the end.”

“He seems really sorry,” Luke said quietly, looking at the hands in his lap. “Like he really regrets what happened.”

“I don't doubt it,” Jenny said, taking one of Luke's hands and giving it a squeeze. “It's obvious how much he loves your Papa, how much he loves you and your siblings and... I guess it can't be easy to live with the knowledge that he has hurt the people he loves the most. He basically failed on the one promise he made to himself and to the people he loves: That he would never hurt you like he has been hurt by his parents. How can he not regret that?”

“I guess,” Luke muttered. “It's just so hard to... to just ignore what happened...”

“I don't think anyone wants you to ignore it,” Jenny said. “Moving on from something painful and ignoring it are not the same.”

“I guess I haven't really figured out the difference yet,” Luke admitted, hanging his head. “To me moving on seems like ignoring what happened.”

“Maybe you just need to give it more time then,” Jenny suggested. “It's not been that long since you found out and you only started talking to your Dad again... Maybe this needs more time and can't be rushed.”

“Yeah, maybe... it's just that... I don't want things to stay like this forever,” Luke admitted on a whisper, his voice very low. When he looked up to meet Jenny's eyes, she could see tears in his own. “I hate how things are now and...I miss them...I don't want to because I am angry with them, but I do... I miss them and... I miss Vicky and... I just wish they would have never told me and things could have stayed the way they were before...”

“It might feel that way now, but I think in the long run... you'll be glad that you know the truth. And... I guess it only hurts so much because you love them just as much as they love you. And why wouldn't you? They have been good fathers to you. Even now they are still there for you, supporting you in whatever you do, whenever you need them... I don't blame you for missing that...”

Luke nodded as he leaned his head on her shoulder and started crying quietly. Jenny let him, knowing that he probably needed to let go of his emotions.

“Just give it time and only do what feels comfortable to you... don't rush things because you feel you have to... You know your fathers would be the last people to want you to do anything that wouldn't feel comfortable to you. If you want to talk to them, talk to them. If you don't, don't! Just go with what feels right to you.”

Luke nodded, then tried to get himself back under control. After several minutes, he raised his head and looked up at Jenny. “Sorry... I made it all about myself once more when really... you have enough shit on your own to deal with.”

“Don't worry. It makes for a nice distraction from my own problems. What's the point in constantly wishing for something I know will never happen... I wish things with my mom were different, but after so many years of her basically ignoring me, I can't really say that I am even surprised...”

“That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt,” Luke said quietly, now taking Jenny's hand and giving it a squeeze.

“Yeah, it does, but... I try to focus on the good, you know? On my new family here. My new life here...”

Luke nodded, once again impressed by the strength Jenny showed through all of this. “Just know that you can also talk to me if you want to. I don't want you to think that you can't.”

“I know,” Jenny smiled. “I know.”

Luke nodded, then nodded towards the desk where Jenny had been working on her homework. “Have you heard anything about your new school yet?”

“I will start tomorrow,” Jenny said, sitting up straighter. “Grandma and Grandpa took me to the school yesterday to enroll me and I will start tomorrow.”

“So, what's with the homework? Is it still for your old school?” Luke frowned.

Jenny chuckled. “Yeah...and no, I don't know why I am still doing it. It just felt wrong not to finish the assignment for some reason...”

“That's crazy,” Luke laughed. “You're not even a student there anymore. Why care about the homework assignments they gave you?”

“That's what Gus said as well,” Jenny chuckled. “I don't know. It just felt wrong not to finish it and I guess... it won't do any harm to stay in the subject matter, will it?”

“You're crazy,” Luke shook his head in amusement.

“Yeah, so I've heard,” Jenny agreed with a smile.

“How about I save you from yourself and we go and watch a movie instead?” Luke suggested, his voice suddenly sounding nervous again. He didn't know why, Jenny had said she was okay with moving on from their argument, but Luke guessed he still wasn't sure if they were really okay.

“Sounds good. In fact it sounds a lot more tempting than that French essay,” Jenny said, smiling at Luke.

Ten minutes later they had gotten Carl to give them a ride to the movie theatre and were on their way.