Jock Next Bed (BL)
Chapter 191: Cracking Dam

Chapter 191: Cracking Dam

His mother turned to him, "Sweetheart, I think what your father means is... we just want to understand. You’ve never really talked much about Chris to us before, and now suddenly, people are bringing his name up with yours."

Sky ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. "I’m sorry, but I really don’t have time for this right now."

His father scoffed. Loudly. "You do not have time for this!?" He bellowed.

Sky shut his eyes briefly, trying to steady himself. He wasn’t going to get anywhere with this.

"We can talk when I get back," he said, forcing himself to stay calm. "I promise. Right now, I have to go."

His mother looked at him carefully. "Return? What do you mean return?" She frowned. "Where are you going?"

He hesitated.

All their gazes were heavy on him once again.

His father’s expression darkened. "You’re not—" He let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "You’re not going to meet Chris, are you?"

Sky met his gaze. "I... am?"

His mother inhaled sharply. "What?" she asked carefully. "Southend?"

He nodded.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" his father barked, sending all of them flinching.

Sky stiffened, his fingers curling into fists.

"Tell me something, Sky," he said, his eyes drilling into him. "These rumors going around... the things people are saying about you and Chris..."

Sky felt his pulse hammering against his skull.

His father took a step forward. "Are they true?"

Sky’s throat felt dry.

"When he stayed over the other night..." his father continued, his voice slow, deliberate. "Was that just a friendly thing?"

Rain quickly stepped in. "They’re just close friends," she said firmly, her voice cutting through the tension. She turned to her brother, her eyes telling him to back up her claim.

But Sky said nothing.

And that silence spoke louder than anything.

His father’s eyes bore into him, and maybe it was the exhaustion on Sky’s face—or the way his shoulders sagged just slightly—that made his mother move. She quickly stepped between them, her hands raised in a calming gesture. "Let’s all just—calm down."

His father wasn’t having it. "Calm down?" he snapped, his eyes still locked on Sky. "Calm down while my son—" He exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face. Then, quieter but no less furious, "Are you gay now?"

He still gave no answers.

"Is that what this is?" his father pressed. "You like boys? You’re throwing your life away because of him? Is that why you suddenly wanted to break it off with Mei? Without even giving us a good excuse?"

Sky didn’t flinch at all the accusations, but his fingers twitched at his sides.

His father’s voice rose again, raw with frustration. "I told you, didn’t I? I told you to break off that friendship with that gay boy! But you didn’t listen! And now—" He let out a sharp breath, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe it. "You caught the disease. That’s what happened, isn’t it? Hanging around that boy, refusing to listen, wearing—" His glare dropped to the piercings in Sky’s ears, the the tiny stud on his nose. His lips curled. "Wearing jewelry like you’re some damn drag queen—"

Sky exhaled heavily, tilting his head back slightly, staring at the ceiling like he was forcing himself to stay still. To stay quiet.

Rain looked at him, then back at their father. "That’s enough," she said, voice firmer now. "Just—stop it."

Their mother placed a hand on their father’s arm, speaking in a low, soothing tone, trying to settle him.

But Sky knew it wouldn’t end here.

And he was so tired.

Sky’s voice cracked as he finally spoke. "What did I do wrong?"

The room went still as his voice suddenly came out after choosing to remain quiet for so long.

Sky swallowed hard, his throat burning, his hands still curled into fists at his sides. "Why—" He exhaled shakily, shaking his head. "Why do I have to be talked to like this just because I like Chris?"

His mother let out a soft, pained sound, like she wanted to reach for him but wasn’t sure if she should.

His father, on the other hand, reacted like Sky had slapped him across the face. His eyes widened, then darkened, his expression twisting with disbelief, with anger.

"Are you really confessing to me that you do!?" he thundered, his voice shaking with barely restrained fury. Then he turned to Rain. "Did you know about this?"

"Rain has nothing to do with this!" Sky interjected before Rain could stammer out something. She looked torn being thrown in the spotlight like that.

"Do you hear yourself?" His father glared at him darkly. "You like Chris?" He stepped closer, his presence heavy, suffocating.

"Chris is a boy, and so are you. So are you!"

"I know that," Sky said, his voice low, trembling—but not from fear. From something deeper. Something breaking.

His father let out a hollow, bitter laugh, shaking his head. "Then what did I do wrong?" His voice cracked slightly, but it wasn’t from sadness. It was from rage. "What did I do so wrong that my own son wants to be with a man? What did your mother do that made you choose not to be with a woman?"

Sky’s chest felt tight, like something was crushing him from the inside. His father looked at him like he was something ruined. Like he had been normal once and then—somehow—he had been corrupted.

Like this was his fault. .

Sky’s mother whispered his father’s name, reaching for his arm, but he pulled away, his hands trembling as they curled into fists.

Sky’s lips parted, but the words wouldn’t come. His father was staring at him like he wasn’t even his son anymore. Like he was something wrong.

And that hurt more than anything.

The words came tumbling out before Sky could stop them.

"I’ve always done my best," he said, his voice thick, raw.

"Sky," his mother said softly, reaching for him, but he took a step back.

Rain’s eyes widened in alarm, and she opened her mouth to say something, but he didn’t let her. He couldn’t stop now.