Soon, the four of them were seated at the table, Ava’s brother still nowhere in sight.

Orion almost asked whether they should wait for him, but since no one else did, he didn’t either. Besides, after they had served the food onto their plates, it seemed Micah had decided to see what was taking him so long.

“He’ll be back in a moment,” Mary reassured Orion with a small smile. Judging by Ava’s reaction, this wasn’t an unusual situation, so the blond nodded.

Mary and Ava continued eating without concern, and so the only remaining man at the table followed their example. After a while, however, it became hard to eat in peace when shouting started coming from the next room.

“You’re not my son!” was the first thing Orion could make out.

“Dad—”

He didn’t recognize the second voice, but it unmistakably belonged to Ava’s brother. Even from that single word, he could hear crying in his voice. Whatever had sparked the argument had clearly brought out two emotions—anger and sorrow.

“Don’t you dare call me that!”

Micah sounded almost furious, and Orion couldn’t understand why his daughter and wife looked as if this were normal. Both kept eating calmly, and when the blond glanced at them, they gave him smiles meant to reassure him that everything was fine.

“Please, Dad, please—”

Now the sobs were unmistakable, breaking through after every word Aiden spoke, and even though Orion didn’t yet know what the boy looked like, something in him urged him to feel compassion for him.

“No son of mine will commit sin. You’ve shamed this entire family!” Micah sounded more and more enraged, and it didn’t seem like he intended to restrain himself for Orion’s sake.

“I didn’t mean to—”

“What didn’t you mean to? Fuck that boy? You led him down the path of damnation! You’re the reason he’ll go to hell!”

Orion froze, and it was a good thing he was gripping his cutlery tightly, or it might have slipped from his hands.

“Dad—”

“I’m not your father anymore. Pack your things and get out of my sight!”

“Please—”

The sound that followed rang louder in Orion’s ears than it probably was in reality. It unmistakably sounded like something heavy hitting the ground, and his mind jumped to the worst possible scenarios—especially since Aiden’s sobbing was still clearly audible.

“I don’t want to see you in this house again! Go pack your things!”

The strangest part of the entire interaction was that neither Ava nor Mary seemed to think this was unexpected—let alone wrong. Both continued eating calmly, and when the head of the family finally appeared in the doorway of the dining room, he automatically took his seat at the head of the table as if nothing had happened and carried on eating.

A storm of emotions churned inside Orion, and slowly but surely, resolve and disgust began to eclipse his confusion.

The only sound cutting through the suffocating atmosphere—which he was clearly the only one feeling—was the clinking of cutlery against plates. Everyone ate in silence, as though the argument they had just heard hadn’t affected their appetites at all.

Orion didn’t understand it, and when he cast another glance at his girlfriend, he felt as though he didn’t even know the woman sitting beside him.

Why was she still sitting there, while her brother was packing next door and crying?

Orion suddenly felt sick and as if he had been thrown several years back. This time, however, he was present in the moment when his mother had decided to throw Teo out of the house, and he stepped in before Teo could leave for his father’s and go through the trauma he still refused to talk about.

“Excuse me.”

He tried to look just as calm as they did, pretending he only needed the restroom as he stood up from the table and headed out of the room. Judging by the fact that he heard no whispering or footsteps following him, he had succeeded.

With quick steps, Orion changed direction, and what had seemed like a path toward the bathroom quickly turned into one leading to Ava’s bedroom.

He did not hesitate. The moment he stepped inside, he grabbed his travel bag, took out all of Ava’s things she had not yet unpacked, and started throwing his own belongings in. He did not intend to leave anything behind, since he doubted he would ever return and had no desire to leave something of his in that house.

Before he managed to zip up his bag, he heard the front door slam downstairs. He paused for a moment, listening for footsteps, but it seemed no one in the family intended to say goodbye to their son, let alone call him back.

That left it to Orion.

He grabbed the packed bag and, without sparing the room another glance, headed for the stairs and from there straight to the front door. Unlike Aiden, he opened it more quietly, so the people at the table would not hear and rush to see what was happening.

Even though he hurried to catch Ava’s brother, it seemed he did not need to. The young boy, with the same dark brown hair as his sister, stood in the middle of the sidewalk. The way he wiped his face with his sleeves instead of calling someone to pick him up made it clear he was lost.

Before addressing him, Orion pulled the car keys from his pocket. The car was fortunately parked by the curb, ready for a quick escape, and he pressed the button to unlock it.

The unlocking sound echoed and the lights flashed, causing Aiden to lift his head in confusion. He was still standing with his back to Orion, and it was only the sound of his voice that made him turn around.

“Do you have somewhere to go?”

Orion took a few steps closer, but when Aiden did not answer, even after looking at him for several seconds, he walked to his car instead. He opened the back door and tossed his bag inside, far enough to leave space for Aiden’s.

“Do you have somewhere to go?”

He turned and repeated the question.

“I—”

The young boy looked helpless, and it seemed to take all his strength not to start sobbing out loud. Moreover, Orion was still a stranger to him, so it was obvious he did not trust him. Especially since he was dating his sister, and she did not seem to be running to his rescue, even though she must have heard what had happened.

“If you don’t have anywhere to go, you can come with me.” Orion did his best to sound kind and gentle. The boy had had enough shouting for one day.

He stepped slightly aside so Aiden could see the bag on the back seat and know where to put his own if he decided to come with him.

“You’re Ava’s boyfriend,” Aiden said. It was the first full sentence he had spoken to him.

“And now I’m glad I didn’t get to introduce her to my brother,” Orion replied, still holding his gaze. “Or his boyfriend.” Although she had met Rick, she did not know about his relationship with Teo.

Understanding appeared on the brown-haired boy’s face, and he suddenly seemed a little more certain in Orion’s presence.

“Do you have somewhere to go?” he tried again.

This time Aiden shook his head.

“You can stay with me. For as long as you want,” Orion assured him. “Come on.” He nodded toward the car and, without waiting for a reply, opened the other door on that side before walking around and taking the driver’s seat.

A few seconds later, a larger travel bag landed on the back seat. After the door closed, Aiden moved to the front and sat in the passenger seat. As soon as he fastened his seatbelt with trembling hands and shut the door, Orion started the engine and drove forward.

The sound of the engine was not something that could easily go unnoticed, so he did not doubt they would soon have company. Still, he had no intention of waiting for the rest of the family, and after pressing the gas, he saw them running out of the house in confusion only in the rearview mirror.