Author's Note: Hello everyone! There's one chapter left before this story is done. A bonus chapter will also be included, so stay tuned! I'm going to miss them.

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There have been a few times where I remember my mom getting angry at me.

When I was 7 years old, I was playing with my friends. We were in school's playground. There was this one kid who kept making faces at me and I punched him in the face. My teacher had to call in my parents. My mom was pissed at me that I ended up getting spanked with a plastic hunger on my butt. She hit me 4 times before making me eat together with them, and I was a crying mess. I was crying while I was eating.

When I was 10 years old, I got caught cheating on a test. My teacher was furious at me because I wasn't supposed to ask my friends for the answers. As much as I tried to be invisible, the teacher caught me checking a piece of paper that was given by my friend sitting behind me. I was sent to the principal's office, and they had to call my parents. I received a scolding from dad, and I received a slap of tsinelas from mom.

When I was 13 years old, my mom caught me stealing money from her bag. She was tired after work, and while she was sleeping, I stole 50 pesos. My savings at that time weren't really that good. I had to carry pack lunches, and my mom only gave me 20 pesos for commute. I was the type of guy you would always see in the computer shop. I was playing DOTA, O2Jam, Audition, RAN, and many more. I made friends when I was in a computer shop, and I got to play with them. My mom knew him. I was at that age when I had a bad hand where I would just steal money so I could play with my friends. I'm ashamed to admit it, but that was who I was when I was a 13-year-old kid living in Pateros who had a lot of friends that I wanted to play with.

We weren't really that rich that time. I was studying at a public school. My mom was working in a BPO company, and my dad was a gas delivery. My life wasn't really that good. I almost lacked of everything, and I was really an insecure kid. What my classmates had, I wanted it. If they were playing in a computer shop, I had to as well. So instead of asking money (and knowing that my mom wouldn't give me some), I resorted to stealing. I'm not really proud of it, but I was that way.

My mom found out that I stole from her, and she beat me up with a hanger and I was crying because it really hurt. Normally, she would only beat me on my butt, but at that time, she slammed the hanger on my arms, legs, and my body was sore. Then she cried because I couldn't understand that our life was hard. She had to be stopped by my aunt who came rushing to stop what was going on. I was so ashamed at myself on that day.

Additionally, on that same day, my relationship with my mom wasn't really good. I had no idea what it was, but I wasn't more open. If I had problems, I would only keep it to myself. If I had issues with someone, I would only keep it to myself.

But then, as I grew older, the more I realized that whatever she was doing to me was her way of disciplining me, and looking at myself now, I can see the outcome of it. I mostly tell her things, what I want to do, why I love travelling, and ever since I became more mature and constantly received good grades, she loosened up a bit. Although my relationship with my mom isn't really exactly the best, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

"Why... why were you... hold on, I'm confused." My mom says as she paces back and forth. "Chad. Isaiah. Could you explain to me what... what we've seen?"

She places her hands on her temples, massaging it. Bill remains silent as he stares at Isaiah, who has stood frozen. My heart is racing, nervousness kicking in as I watch my mom pace around the kitchen. I hang my head low, unable to look my mom and Bill in the eyes. Uncomfortable silence fills the room, and the more I stay here, the more I get suffocated. I want to run away. I want the ground to swallow me whole to save me from this moment.

"Did we just see what we just saw?" Bill asks, his voice neutral.

Isaiah and I remain silent, not having any idea what to say. Mom looks at me with utter shocked, and she stops pacing while Bill, on the other hand, runs a hand across his face, frustration evident on his face. Words get stuck in my throat, my heart beating like a fucking drum. I want to reach out to my mom and tell her how much this is scary for me, but I can't even form a coherent and logical thought inside my head.

"How long?" Bill asks as this all finally sinks in his head. "Isaiah, how long?"

"Dad... I... I don't know." Isaiah stutters, looking between Bill and mom. Mom just stares at him with wide eyes, then shakes his head. "It just happened. I... I'm not sure what to say. I can't explain it... but..."

"This isn't going to work," Mom says as she stomps her foot on the ground. Mom stares at me hard, her expression blank. "We're going back to the Philippines. I'm taking you with me. You're not allowed to talk to him or... you need to stay away from him."

"Honey, don't make a haste decision here." Bill says to mom.

"Mom, no. Please, you have to under –" I try to argue with her, but she shakes her head rapidly. Disappointment crosses her face. Isaiah is in full-blown panic now, his eyes frantically scanning the area, switching between me, Bill, and mom.

"No, Bill. They are supposed to be brothers!" Mom shrieks, then starts pacing back and forth again. She looks tired and stressed, and the fact that they found out about us when they saw us kissing is embarrassing. "Chad and I are going back to the Philippines so we can separate them. This should not happen. They are brothers!"

"Sarah, please, Chad and I are step-brothers." Isaiah says.

"Shut it, Iasiah." Bill yells, pointing his index finger at his son. Bill is furious, his brows drawn together as he looks at his son with utter disappointment. His eyes flick to me and he shakes his head. "We're going to have a long talk about this. Sarah, please, honey. Let's talk this through. There has to be another way."

"No, Bill." Mom turns around, her chest heaving up and down. "Chad is my son, and I know what's best for him! And him having a relationship with Isaiah is not. Chad, you need to set your distance from Isaiah. This is just... you're straight, remember? You were in a relationship with... what's her name? Richie or Rachel. I don't care, Chad. He's not gay."

If mom sets her mind to something, it's hard to convince her to do the opposite. Tears prick my eyes as I look at my mom. I look at Isaiah, and he has a cold expression as he looks at his dad and Sarah. He grits his teeth, his hands clenched.

"Sarah, that's unfair." Isaiah tells her.

"Unfair? What's unfair about it?" Mom shoots back, glaring at Isaiah.

"I love Chad!" Isaiah yells. Bill's eyes widen, mouth agape. Mom puts her hand on her temple, massaging it. She shuts her eyes for a moment before flicking her eyes from me to Isaiah. "I don't know how it happened, but I love him! And it's unfair to us that you want to separate us just because you don't deem it fit! I know we were supposed to be step-brothers, but we have no control over what we feel. Invalidating someone's feeling is wrong, and you're just downright being homophobic."

"Isaiah!" Bill shouts, glaring at his son. "Apologize to Sarah. Now!"

"No, dad." Isaiah shakes his head, refusing to say sorry to my mom. I remain silent, wishing I could just be gone from here. It's too embarrassing, and I'm so ashamed of myself. This isn't supposed to happen. "What did she mean by telling Chad he's straight? He had a girlfriend, all right, okay. But that doesn't mean he's supposed to only like girls throughout his life. I liked girls. I liked girls! But I fell for him and I had no idea why but now, I'm seeing how amazing Chad is and he doesn't serve being invalidated by his mom."

Isaiah grabs my hand, dragging me, as we both run to the garage. Bill yells at Isaiah, telling him to stop, but Isaiah just keeps dragging me to his car. He tells me to climb in, and I do so with numbed hands. Isaiah opens the garage, turns on the engine of the car, and drives away. He looks at Bill who runs after us through the wing mirror, and he shakes his head as he picks up speed.

Isaiah grabs my hand a squeeze as he drives, and that's when I sob in silence. Isaiah just keeps on driving, make sure we're far enough from them. I let myself cry, feeling how awful I am for not being transparent with my mom. What's worse is the fear creeping up on me about me being separated with Isaiah. I love him too much that I don't want to be away from him thousands of miles. Just thinking about it is enough to make my heart hurt.

We're in the middle of the road, with no houses nearby, when Isaiah stops driving. He turns to face me, leans forward, and wraps his arms around me, running his hand across my back. I bury my face in his chest as I cry my heart out, grabbing onto his biceps. Tears stream down my cheeks, my heart in pain. Mom's words replay in my head like a broken record. I look at Isaiah and see that his eyes are teary as well; he looks just as miserable as I am.

"Hey," he speaks up after a few minutes of being silent. I look at him, my eyes probably puffy and red from crying. "Everything's going to be all right."

"I don't think so," I reply, hiccupping and Isaiah has the audacity to laugh. I glare at him. He tweaks my nose. "When mom decides, it stays. You would have to argue with her real hard to change her mind. I'm scared, Isaiah. I don't want to be away from you."

"We'll figure something out,"

"I love you, Isaiah." I cry.

"I love you, too." He rests his chin on top of my head as he tries to calm me down by running his fingers across my back. I continue to cry, pouring my emotions out, letting him know how scared I am to be away from him. "I guess it's a good thing they walked in on us kissing. Had they arrived a little earlier, they would have found us having sex. I don't think they'd recover from that." He chuckles.

"That's not funny, Isaiah." I whine while I cry.

My voice is croaky, and my throat is already drying. I always have runny nose when I cry, so I have to sniff a few times as I hiccup. Isaiah turns off the engine of the car, then lifts me up to him. He captures my lips with his, going gentle at first, then his kiss becomes rough and needy. His fingertips trail across the side of my body, lifting my shirt in the process, sending shivers down my spine.

Electricity courses through my veins as I kiss him back, my fingers gripping his hair as Isaiah kisses me passionately. He runs his tongue across my bottom lip that has me gasping, and once my lips are parted, he slips his tongue in and tastes every bit of me. I moan in his mouth as he gives me butt a light squeeze, pulling me close. He lets out a moan when I begin grinding on his lap, feeling his thick and hard length on my butt.

"Horny son of a bitch," Isaiah mutters as he puts a trail of kisses on my jaw to my neck. Butterflies erupt in my stomach as he showers my face and neck with his lips. I grip his shoulders, liking how firm and broad his shoulders are. "I love you, Chad. I love you. If I have to talk to Sarah every single day, argue with her just to let you stay with me, I would do it. I can't have you going too far away from me."

I rest my forehead against his, feeling his hot breath on my face. He puts his hand on my hips, keeping me in place, and looks at me in the eyes. My breath hitches when I see how intense they are on me, emotions swimming in his orbs. He gently places another kiss on my lips, and I sigh in contentment.

"Would you like to go back? You've cooled down, right?" Isaiah asks me.

Nodding my head, I smile at him and get off his lap. "Yeah."

"We'll talk to them together, okay?"

"Okay,"

Isaiah gives my hand one last squeeze before turning on the engine. He tries to turn on the engine a few times, but it keeps dying down. Isaiah's brows furrow in confusion before he lets out a frustrated groan. He runs a hand across his face and glares at the steering wheel.

"What? What happened?" I ask him, putting a hand on his arm.

"Damn it," Isaiah grunts, smacking his forehead. "I forgot I was supposed to get the fuel filter a replacement. I should have prioritized it first. Last time I checked, the fuel filter is quite clogged and I completely forgot about it."

"What does that mean?"

"It means the car won't start," he lets out another groan. He pulls up his phone, dialing a number before placing it over his ear. He waits for a few minutes before rolling his eyes. "Of course, they are closed. Something about winter storm."

"Winter storm?"

"Yeah, winter storm." He chuckles, then his eyes widen in horror. "Winter storm! Oh no, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad." He dials another number, but this one goes to busy line. "Fuck, dad's not picking up. I think his phone is turned off. Could you call Sarah?"

"I didn't bring my phone,"

"Fuck,"

We look outside through the window and see the weather getting bad as each time passes by. Isaiah lets out another groan before slamming his forehead gently on the steering wheel. The road is covered in snow, as well as the field around us, and they thicken as the snow pours over us. I can also tell how the wind is so strong, and a shiver runs down my spine in a different way. I wrap my arms around myself. Isaiah watches me before letting out a frustrated sigh.

At some point, we move at the back seat so we can cuddle, the weather getting really bad. The only thing keeping me warm is Isaiah's touch as his body is pressed against mine. We wait for hours and hours before the storm finally kicks in, and I swear we're freezing to death.

Well, at least Isaiah and I are together in this bad weather.