I came out to my parents, and it caused their marriage to break down.

 

                                                                        

PART 2 👇 

My aunt asked if I had a girlfriend and my mom said, not yet. And my dad said, tell her why not. And nobody ate the pie. My mom started calling me your son when she talked to him. Like I was his project. Like she'd returned me. At dinner, she'd say, when you have kids and look right at me. Louder every time. I tried to fix it. I did the dishes before anyone asked. I never brought anyone home. I quit the club at school. I stopped texting the guy from chemistry. I left for school before she got up so she wouldn't have to see me. Around the six month mark, I told my dad I could just tell her it was a phase. Say I was wrong. Make it small again. He looked at me like I'd hit him he said you are not doing that so I didn't and they kept fighting two years of that then my dad on the couch and a lawyer the lawyer asked me where I wanted to live and I said with my dad and it took two seconds my mom didn't even look up she never asked for custody which somehow hurt worse than if she'd fought for me and lost and boxes then me and my dad in a rental in Ohio with walls so thin I could hear him breathe he got a new job he learned to cook he seemed fine that made it worse the first week there he asked if I was okay. I said yes. He said okay. We're good at that. I said thank you so much. He told me to stop. I was sure it was my fault. I never said it to anyone. The school counselor asked once, and I said my parents just grew apart. I didn't say I was the thing they grew apart over. Last week, he picked me up from work. Same truck. Different Taco Bell. Same parking lot feeling. I don't know why it came out then. I just said it