1. Chapter - Welcome back "home"
For those who care my name is Rick. I hated that name most of my life but as with many things one just deals with it. When I was kid, I thought it sounded like name for old man and when I got to high school, I hated it mostly cos my parents named me after my homophobic and despotic grandfather. I never really liked him till the day he died. He was biggest reason I rebelled, even though I was too afraid to admit in front of him that I am gay, and I hated him for the way he talked about them.
I suppose every family has its own and in the 90's it was not that easy to get accepted as it is today. Hell, I was worried most of my teenage years, that if I told my parents, they'd tell him, and he would make them send me to one of those camps where they brainwash you or beat you into being straight. You know those good, nice Christians, who love all gods' creations... Nothing against Christians in general, just those who think their Bible interpretations are more important than their children.
So, when he died, I was nearly 21 and on day of my birthday I gave my family last chance of deciding for themselves and told them I am gay. I will not go into detail about the worst day of my life but as you can figure out, I moved out that day.
On those rare occasions I had the chance to speak with my sister she informed me that no one is allowed to step into my room and father acts like his son died and mom sometimes cries and hopes her straight son will come home... My sister in general hated me for "ruining my family", she said she doesn't care who I fuck, but she finds the image repulsing. I replied that I find the image of anyone sleeping with her repulsive, and that those were probably the last words spoken between us until our parents' funeral.
They died in a car accident about a decade later, for some reason they never wrote a will, so I was informed by a lawyer that I was entitled to the same part of inheritance as my sister. She of course tried her best to cut me out, but after all that dirt she pulled I decided not to leave her anything of mine. So, we sold the car, but she was adamant to keep the house. She was living there and planning to stay there after her wedding which I of course wasn't invited to. I allowed it, knowing she is too cheap to pay me half of market price and she would rather wait till I die. So, I made it very clear that half of the house is mine and one day I will come for it.
Honestly, I was pissed, but in the end, I really couldn't be bothered enough to spend my life energy on ruining hers... So, for 4 years we lived in the same city without any contact, and I was fine with renting until I'd find someone worth having a mortgage with.
But then covid came... My landlord once called if he could stop by for a chat, given all restrictions at the time I was not excited but agreed. When I invited him in, we spent a couple minutes in some small talk, he told me then that his daughter had a few issues, and he will need my house for her. And so, in a few days, I received an email that my lease will not be prolonged as usual, and I must find a new place within 2 weeks.
I was looking, but I had a tough time finding anything suitable in the area. I didn't feel like bothering my friends for who knows how long and paying for a hotel seemed also a bit much. So, I decided to call one person I hoped that I would never talk to again. I suppose she picked up only because she didn't have my number saved.
I informed her about the situation and told her that I will come live in my room within 10 days and if she decides to make it troublesome for me, I don't mind calling some of my friends in local police and we can make a spectacle for our curious neighbourhood.
As I promised on that Friday morning I parked in front of our house and for a long while just sat there looking at it and questioned my life choices. After a long while I took a deep breath and made my way to the door. As I expected my key didn't fit and no one was answering when I knocked. When I tried to call Ashley on her phone she wouldn't pick up. So, I wrote her a message.
- Hi Ash. I am pretty sure you know I am here. My key is not working. Are you going to open the door for me, or should I call Carl and Steve? They know about our situation and are waiting if I will need them
Carl was a good friend of mine who worked at the police force and Steve was my first boyfriend when it all had to be hush-hush and now was married to an amazing man and owned a business in Locksmithing which was extremely convenient right now. Even though it was a bit weird calling him after all this time for such a favour but because he knew our family history, he was more than willing to help.
When she didn't reply I send
-if you don't come out in 10 min I am calling them, I am sure both will be glad to see you after all these years.
After 10 min I came to the door again and dialled the number.
"Hi Steve, so yeah I will need a new lock."
"Hi Rix, yeah, I had a bet with Mark and suppose he owes me dinner." I could hear smile on his voice
"I don't remember when last time someone called me Rix" I laughed
"Well, and I remember that when John called you Rick back in high school you nearly punched him."
"John was an asshole that doesn't count." This short flashback to teenage years made my day after this drama with the door open. I would rather spend this time chatting with him reminiscing about the old days, but everything I owned was in my car and I didn't feel like driving it to a hotel.
"When could you be here?"
