"Where the hell have you been? And why do you have a black-eye? Look at me when I talk to you!"

I stood in front of my mother utterly and completely terrified. After Wyatt left my apartment a few hours ago, I figured it was only a matter of time before he ended up showing up again to bitch at me for not talking to our parents. I wanted to get this over with so I could go back to my apartment and just be by myself for a while.

I didn't even bring my cell phone with me. I got tired of looking at it just to see that Grant hasn't called or texted me. I didn't blame him, though. I'm the one who told him I wanted nothing more to do with him and not to reach out to me. But...fuck, I missed him.

I looked into my mother's blue eyes and exhaled a deep breath. "I'm sorry, mom. For everything. But that's why I'm here—I want to explain everything to you."

She arched a brow at me before pulling me into a firm hug. "I've been so worried about you." She pulled back and popped me on the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Don't ever disappear on me again," she threatened.

"I won't." I had no idea if I could keep that promise. With the way everything was going right now, all I wanted to do was run away.

I just wanted to go somewhere—anywhere—where it didn't hurt. Where I didn't hurt. I wanted to get far enough away from this godforsaken city that my mind wouldn't be plagued by the cruel memories of what I've lost. But deep down I knew the truth—such a place didn't exist.

"So, what's been going that you had to worry us like this?"

I shifted my weight on my feet before I gestured to the couch. "Maybe you should sit down."

The corners of her mouth dropped to a frown, but she took a seat on the plush sofa anyway. "I'm sitting down now, Logan. What's this about?"

How could I put this? "Mom, Amelia and I are not getting married."

Her mouth dropped. "What do you mean you aren't getting married? I've been planning this wedding since the engagement!" Her eyes narrowed. "Explain everything to me right now, Logan Thorne."

"Okay, uh...yeah. Okay." I took a seat next to her and swallowed the lump in my throat repeatedly. "You remember Grant, right?"

"Yes. He's your friend from college. I invited him to the party we had, but he didn't show up."

"He did show up, but he and I argued and—"

"Don't you dare tell me that..." she rose to her feet. "Did Amelia have an affair with him? Is that why you called off the wedding?"

When I went to speak, she cut me off. "I cannot believe this! I'm going to call both of them right now and te—"

"It was me!" I blurted. Thankfully, that seemed to shut her up. "I was the one who had the affair, mom."

She sat back down next to me on the couch. "That doesn't make any sense, Logan. Who did you..."

I knew the instant she made the connection. Her eyes went wide, sending her brows nearly into her hair. Her mouth parted slightly as she covered it with her hand.

My heart was banging against my rib cage in the silence that hung between us. My mouth went dry and I tried to swallow multiple times.

When she finally spoke again, her voice was low and soft. "You're telling me..."

"I'm gay," I finished for her. I turned away from her and leaned back against the couch. "That's why Amelia and I called off the wedding. I tried to ignore how I felt and be normal, but I couldn't keep lying anymore, mom."

"Logan, what do you mean 'be normal'? You are normal." When I didn't answer, she asked, "Why didn't you ever tell us? Did Wyatt know?"

I shook my head. "No one knew. Well, except Grant, of course." I started picking at my fingernails—anything to keep from looking at the heartbroken look on my mom's face. "I guess I was ashamed. I wanted to be the man you and dad raised. I wanted to make you guys proud. Dad had done so much for me with joining his company, and you were so happy planning the wedding..."

"Fuck." I pressed the palms of my hands to my eyes, trying and failing to not break down in front of my mom. I couldn't help it—everything I had been feeling over the past few days came to a head and it was unbearable. The pain. The sorrow. The feeling that I failed my parents. Everything.

"Logan, look at me."

I didn't move an inch.

"Logan, look. At. Me."

When I dropped my hands and turned towards her, I had never been more surprised in my life. It wasn't anger or disgust on her face—instead, it was the purest love I had ever seen.

She reached out and placed her hand on the side of my cheek. "I never cared who you loved, Logan. I only wanted you to be happy. You are my son—and there is nothing in this world that would change that."

She pulled me into her arms and I let the tears fall this time. I never realized how much I actually wanted my parents to know about me until now. Opening up like this and telling them the truth, somehow made it feel like I'd been set free—and nothing compared to how that felt.

When we pulled apart, my mom gestured to my black-eye. "Now, please explain this."

I chuckled and wiped at my wet eyes. "Well, Wyatt came by my place and—"

"Did you two get into a fight? What have I always said about fighting?"

"Its okay, mom," I assured her. "We worked it out."

"I still don't like it," she said with a firm tone. "How's Amelia handling all this? With the wedding being cancelled? Is she okay?"

Oh....yeahhhh. She didn't know about Wyatt and Amelia. Should I let Wyatt tell her? Or should I? I decided to let my brother have that one.

"Amelia's okay. But you should call Wyatt. He has something he wanted to tell you, too."

"More secrets?" She got to her feet. "I'm going to call him now."

"Honey?"

My father's voice echoed through the house and my heart nearly stopped. Shit. I still needed to talk to my dad.

My mom placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "We're in here!" she called back before looking at me. "It's alright, sweetheart. Tell him the truth."

My father entered the room, walking straight to my mom to give her a kiss. He looked at me with a disapproving frown.

"Logan. You're back. Where have you—"

"I've already talked to him about that," my mom said to my dad. "Let him explain himself." She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "I have to go make a call."

Poor Wyatt, I thought as she left the room. My father sat in the chair across from me and leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees.

"Well, son, let's hear it."

Once I gathered enough courage, I told my father everything. I explained that I was attracted to men, and that I always have been that way. I explained that I was scared about coming out. I told him how much joining his team meant to me, and I was worried that this would affect that.

I also told him that he was right when he suspected that I was having trouble accepting the engagement. I explained that that was when I had reached out to Grant to come meet me and talk. I also explained who Grant was—minus the intimate details. Yeah, not talking about that.

The last thing I told him, was that Amelia and I called off the wedding for obvious reasons. At that point, I think he expected it. Now I was curious what that meant for my future.

"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked.

That was always the first question, wasn't it? Why, why, why.

"For many reasons, dad. Mainly I was scared." After the emotional talk with my mom, I couldn't do that again.

My father pinched the bridge of his nose before he looked back at me. "Son, you should know that we love you no matter what."

I did know that. Now. "I wanted to join your team—"

"What makes you think that you can't now?" My father asked incredulously, like my reasoning was ridiculous.

"Your company is all about family values. Marriage and kids. I didn't think it would be appropriate."

My father was the CEO of an advertising company. A lot of their business was associated with summer camps for kids, after school clubs for kids, and even high school sports teams. The one thing my father's business stood for, was family values.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean thay we don't..." when he paused, I knew he was seeing things the way I did. His shoulders fell. "I never implied that it was only 'straight' couples, but I can see why you would think that."

When his eyes met mine, the regret was clear. "I'm sorry, Logan. Of course you can still take that position." He shook his head repeatedly. "I'm going to have to make it clear that our business welcomes all family values."

I cleared my throat. I honestly wasn't expecting this reaction. "Thanks, dad."

My father and I both got to our feet and he clapped me on the back. "You're my son and I love you."

"I love you, too, dad."

Once we separated, my father took a step back and looked at me with a perplexed expression. "What are we going to do about—"

My mother's surprised tone cut through everything.

"You and Amelia are what!"

Oops. I guess she got a hold of Wyatt.