Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 73002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“Oh no,” he murmured before pulling out his phone and going into their family chat.
Wells: Did Wren just go into labor?
Mom: I was just about to ask you.
Dad: Is she okay?
Vaughn: WREN IS IN LABOR!!!!!!!!!!
Vaughn: We’re going to the hospital. Come ASAP!
Oh. Oh, shit.
Gunner Cade Monroe was born before anyone could get there.
Wells met his parents at the airport since their flights were thirty minutes apart, and the three of them rode to the hospital, all too excited to even think. No one had gotten a picture of the baby yet since, apparently, Wren wanted everyone to be surprised when they saw him. Wells couldn’t even sleep. He was so excited to meet his nephew, which sucked since his new flight hadn’t left until the following morning. He guessed that was good though, since he really couldn’t sleep anywhere but in his bed. Or Matty’s.
And that was another reason he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about Matty. He’d continued to text Wells all throughout the night, but Wells just couldn’t answer him. He was too upset. Too hurt. And he wasn’t sure what to do with all his emotions. He believed so greatly in them as a couple, and Matty had let him down. It was killing him, honestly, since he didn’t know what to do next.
“Why didn’t Matty come?” Wells looked up and met his mother, Elaine’s, curious gaze. “Could he not make it?”
Wells shrugged. “Yeah.”
Winston, his father, laughed. “Wow, that was believable.”
His dad always could see right through him. “What?”
“You two are fighting, I’m guessing. He’s got that lying face on,” Winston teased, and Elaine examined him more closely.
“He sure as hell does. Wells, lying to your mom. That’s rude.”
Wells laughed, shaking his head. “Shouldn’t you two be thinking of your brand-spanking-new grandson and not me?”
“One thing at a time.” Elaine waved him off. “What happened? He was a darling at your wedding that turned into Wren’s.”
“A little quiet, but nice. You two seemed all in love,” his father added, and Wells shrugged.
“Same problem as before. He doesn’t want to fully come out… Or, no, wait, he does. He’s just thinking too much. He wants to control everything, and no matter how much I explain to him that you can’t control life, he doesn’t seem to want to listen.”
Winston’s brow rose. “If you know that about him, why are you so upset?”
Wells paused. “Because I want him to be all in.”
“Maybe he is, but he’s trying to navigate it?”
Elaine nodded. “Matty isn’t like you, honey. He hasn’t been out and proud like you have been for the last fifteen or so years. This is new for him. This is hard. Didn’t you say his parents don’t know?”
“His dad walked in on us yesterday morning, sleeping, and lost his mind. He called us faggots, he ripped Matty a new one, it was ugly. He said Matty’s family wouldn’t love him if he kept on with this lifestyle and that he didn’t raise any gay.”
Winston rolled his eyes. “I’ve been there, and it was not one of my finer moments.”
Elaine grimaced. “Not at all. I still get palpitations thinking about it.”
Wells swallowed hard, not sure what to say, but then his father went on, “I don’t know that there is a father out there who wants to raise a homosexual son, but sometimes it doesn’t work out the way we want. The thing that sucks is we don’t know how to act. We get scared our boy will get hurt, not just emotionally but physically, by stupid people who aren’t open-minded. Soon your anger bubbles over, and the next thing you know, everyone is just screaming and nothing is being done.”
Wells nodded. “That’s how it was yesterday.”
“And that’s how it was when I found out you were gay,” Winston said. “It’s hard. It’s not an easy pill to swallow. You blame yourself. You blame the other guy. It’s crappy, but let’s hope Matty’s father doesn’t do what I did because I missed out on some key years with my boy. Didn’t I?”
Elaine tapped Winston’s hand as Wells sighed. “You were there.”
“Nah, I sucked,” he answered, waving her off. “But I’m making up for it.”
Wells smiled as Elaine nodded. “I think what your dad is saying is that this isn’t easy. Matty’s probably feeling so much, and he doesn’t understand all those emotions. Just think how it was for you when your dad found out.”
Wells looked away and bit his lip. He had been scared out of his mind and wanted to run. He wanted to be alone and figure out what he had done to make his father so damn mad. He’d wanted to fix it, but he refused to change who he was. Was Matty feeling all that? And had Wells just walked out on him when he needed him the most?