“This place is…nice” the woman commented while walking around. She was occupied by looking at every corner of the living room, probably focusing heavily on the decoration. Amelia Clement once was a very dedicated decorator back in the day, and even though she stopped working when Theodore graduated, she was still following every new trend and offering her professional advice whenever it was needed or not. Amelia believed hard that interior design was the main asset of a peaceful mind. Although the average cost of hiring a professional could reach close to a thousand Australian dollars, she’d say over and over that it was an investment worth making. Teo, on the other hand, couldn’t give a rat’s tail. Carla was the one focusing entirely on decorating the place, and the only room that was left in his hands was his study room where all the collectibles he had bought were kept safely along with his books, DVDs, and the large collection of PC games; vintage and new ones.

His mother was not impressed with the outcome.

“Thank you, mother” Teo answered nonchalantly and threw his glance at his father. That man, Bryan Clement, was sitting comfortably on the sofa, with an expressionless face, holding his cigarette and scanning his son from head to toe with those dark eyes of his.

“Straighten your back, Theodore. All these hours you spend in front of the computer can only ruin your posture and your eyesight. Why in the world would you allow yourself to go through this? For a childish hobby, perhaps?” his voice was firm yet the tone remained low. That was his father after all; a terrifying figure of awkward and threatening calmness.

Teo rolled his eyes and shook his head, following, however, his father’s command. Arguing would get him nowhere. He was aware that these people would never accept any of his life choices. The vision they had for him was something along the lines of a CEO or an important investor; a lawyer perhaps but not a doctor. According to his father, anyone could become a doctor nowadays. But not his sons. No. They would aim higher than that, and god forbid, they wouldn’t dare say no to him. Well, Devon turned out to be everything they were hoping for, and Teo… Teo followed his path, a fact that deeply hurt their pride. As a result, whenever there was a chance to discourage him, they would do it effortlessly and without an ounce of regret.

Teo clapped his hands and looked at both of them. “So, do you want anything to eat or drink?”

No, we have made a reservation for brunch downtown. Your mother is quite excited about coming all the way here, so we want to walk around a bit and-”

“Do some shopping,” Teo completed his father’s words, and the last one threw him a look of disapproval. The young man sighed and mouthed a forced “sorry.”

“But we will come tomorrow for tea. Don’t forget that we need to meet your wife. It was such a shame we missed your wedding.” His mother said with a half smile.

“Speaking of which, where is she?” Bryan wondered.

“She...she is working at this hour. She tried to get the day off but it didn’t work out.”

“Right.” Bryan didn’t care for that many details and he was afraid to show it. He asked politely just to keep up appearances. They both knew that.

“And no, mother, you didn’t miss the wedding.” his attention was now on his mother “You chose not to come.” His words were thrown out there without thinking, driven by the same overwhelming emotions that had drowned his heart for more than just two decades. The moment that he realized what he had just said stroked him hard, like some powerful lighting. Noticing the pretending shock on his parents’ faces, Teo chuckled a little to lighten up the mood and maybe erase any negative aura within his previous statement. “I mean, you were too busy and so far away. Returning would be a true pain and in such a hurry. You did send your wishes, though, which both my wife and I appreciated.”

Lies; terrible, disgusting lies.

“If I am not mistaken, Theodore, we sent more than just a card.” It was time for Bryan to step in. His tone was raised; rather unusual for his well-maintained composure. “I believe this house was bought with our special gift, but please correct me if I am mistaken.”

His father was many things; a very devoted husband, a hard-working man, not the ideal father, and certainly not a man who would accept defeat, even in a conversation, so easily. That’s why there was no reason in arguing with them; because of that middle-aged guy who believed he could bring anyone down with just one look and one single word.

“I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful, father. I am sorry.”

“Come on now, darling. Don’t give Theodore a hard time, alright? I am sure that he is used to not having his parents around. Unlike his brother, Theodore always was after his independence.” Her words were true yet he could sense a hidden tone of irony.

Bryan said nothing. Instead, he stood up, grabbed his coat, and put it on, while Amelia was already in front of the door, waiting for her husband.

“Tomorrow evening, then?”

Teo nodded. They didn’t shake hands, and neither shared a nice warm hug. He simply waved them goodbye and remained at the door until they got inside the elevator. The moment they were gone, Teo leaned with his back against the wall and let out a heavy sigh, grasping his chest tightly. It hurt so bad all this time. It was a wonder how he managed to survive this level without losing his life. Well, some of his pride was damaged and his remaining self-respect was crushed by his father’s critical hit. There was no chance of dodging it.

Maybe things would be better if they didn’t frucking existed-

“Rough morning, ey?” Teo lifted his eyes and looked at Nick who was holding a medium-sized, dark blue garbage bag. Why did that detail matter? Teo simply shrugged at himself.

“Mhm, for the past month, yeah. I gotta get used to it. That way the blows will hurt less.” he chuckled and Nick tossed him a genuine smile.

“ ’Righty. Listen now, as to what we can do to ease that pain in the arse called ‘parents.’ You will stay right where you are.” Teo looked at himself and then with an eyebrow raised and his head tilted to the side he pointed downwards. “Right there, yeah. While I go to throw these bad boys out. I’ll come to your rescue later on. Deal?”

Their eyes locked for a few seconds. Teo got lost for a bit in those sparkling honey orbs of the boy in front of him. Nick kept his smile wide and warm. For those seconds, which felt like moments, they shared no more words. In the end, it was Teo who lowered his head and nodded with an awkward chuckle escaping him. It wasn’t uneasiness that he was feeling. On the contrary, the young man managed to do something truly unbelievable with just a couple of words.

“Alright?”

Teo held his mouth with a hand, probably a desperate move to hide his flustered face whilst he was struggling to hold back his tears. He just nodded.

“Alrighty then. Take care of yourself till I come back.” and just like that the boy disappeared dragging along with him the nasty bags.

“A bit too late for that” Teo whispered as he entered his apartment, leaving the door slightly opened and allowing those painful tears to pour down his face.

At the very end of it, Nick didn’t keep his part of the deal and Teo never admitted to himself that he waited for him the entire day.