FORGIVENESS

"Why didn't you tell me?" Wilder breaks the silence of the room. After Jessica spilled the beans about yesterday's events, Casey walked into the room thinking everything is still a secret and now Wilder is calling him out on his bullshit.

"Tell you about what?" Casey feigns innocence as he chews on the leftover pizza of last night.

"Seriously?" Wilder glares at him, letting him know he is pissed, really pissed.

Casey turns to his Cousin who he suspects would have told him, she's currently pouting like that's supposed to make everything better. He averts his gaze back at Wilder.

"Well for one, you hate him." Casey defends.                                            

"Bullshit, try again." Wilder counters.

Casey drops the pizza in the box, "Okay fine, if I told you I was with Cole and I begged you not to tell. Will you or will you not tell Ivy?"

Not even taking a second to think about it, "Of course I will, she deserves to know." Wilder says.

"Oh boy," Jessica mutters under her breath.

"Yeah, but your best friend is really happy, and telling her could ruin that."

Wilder takes a second before replying, "How can you be happy when he's hiding you to the world."

"H-he is not, he's confused and...."

"Nonsense!" Wilder yells.

"This is the reason why I didn't tell you." Casey's voice matches his.

"Because I'll call you out on your bullshit."

"No, because you find any reason to justify you betraying your friend to tell her and there's only one reason, which is, you will do anything to make her choose you. Which is sad isn't it? Because she dumped your ass, yet again."

Wilder pauses for a while as he tries to control himself from but he can't, "And you think he chose you?" Wilder spits spitefully.

"Guys, do you want pancakes?" Jessica tries to stop the argument but to no avail.

"He's here right now, isn't he?"

"Oh please, don't you for a second think he chose you. When Ivy saw you both together, there was no going back, there was no pretending, their marriage is over. He is stuck with you, he didn't choose." Immediately those words roll out of his mouth and with one look at Casey, Wilder wishes to take it back.

"Wow, great talk buddy," Casey says as he walks away and heads towards the door.

"Case, I am..." Casey slams the door before Wilder can complete his sentence.

Wilder turns to Jessica and she's already giving him the "you are an asshole" look.

"I know." Wilder rolls his eyes.

~~~


Wilder walks into Casey's room with the intention to apologize for this morning only to see Cole seated on a couch. Wilder isn't Cole's biggest fan at the moment and same for Cole

"Where's Casey?" Wilder asks, hoping he can talk to Casey and get the hell out of here before he ruins a certain human's face with punches.

"Why? Personally, I think you've said enough."

Wilder won't lie, he is a bit taken aback by Cole's boldness but he is still going to punch him in the nose if he doesn't stop talking.

"Tell him I came to check on him." Wilder decides to take the high road.

"I won't actually," Cole stands up with this newfound confidence. He really wants to hit Wilder's perfect face. He has been wanting to punch him since forever and maybe today is the day.

"Okay," Wilder lets out a low laugh "Whatever," Wilder attempts to leave.

"How does it feel?" Cole says immediately to stop him from leaving.

Wilder stops and turns to Cole with an unimpressive look on his face.

"She chose me over you, how does it feel?" Cole moves closer to each word.

He is now inching close to Wilder, now he realizes it was a bad idea trash-talking as, apart from the height difference, Wilder has his fist balled, veins popping from his forehead.

So much for wanting to take the high road.

Cole takes a step back as he gulps nervously, but he isn't going to back down. For every time   Wilder shoved him against a locker, for every punch and mocking, Cole sends his fist flying to Wilder's face.

Wilder's face turns to the direction of the punch and he won't deny that hurt. Wilder turns back to Cole, with a smirk on his face as he cleans a little blood on his lip.

"How long have you been waiting to do that?" Wilder asks.

"A very very long time," Cole answers as he feels the rush and adrenaline.

He just punched his high school bully and damn it felt really good.

"Nice," Wilder comments before he throws his own punch which sends Cole falling on the nearest couch.

~~~

"Enough," Cole coughs, he hasn't been beaten like this since high school but this time he can say "you should have seen the other guy."

"I think I fulfilled my high school fantasy," Cole says cleaning the blood on his face with his black shirt.

Wilder sits on the couch with the knowledge that he will have bruises on his face for a few days.

The men both sat in silence with the pain inflicted on each other before Wilder speaks, "I was a jerk in high school. I wish I can tell you that I had the worst parents so I had to inflict pain on others to feel better but there's no story like that. I was just a jerk who wanted a girl and she chose you, so I made it my life mission to make your life miserable."

"Gee, thanks," Cole says sarcastically.

"You were a better man, she chose a better man," Wilder admits, even though he hates to.

"No, I wasn't and I am not. She deserves  so much better."

"Yeah, she does," Wilder whispers.

Cole turns painfully to Wilder, "I want you to know that if Kitty wasn't in the picture, she would have chosen you. She will do anything for our kid."

"But you chose Casey, in spite of your kid."

"I didn't get a chance to choose. You are right at one thing, there was no going back when she saw us. But you are wrong, I am not stuck with him, I love Casey." Cole admits.

"You better," Wilder says as he stands up from the couch and heads towards the door.

"Cole?" Wilder turns, "If I ever in high school made you feel like you couldn't come out of the closet..."

Cole interrupts, "You did many things in high school but that wasn't your fault."

Wilder nods before he walks out.

~~~

Thinking about reasons why he didn't get a chance to figure out his sexuality, Cole finds himself in front of his childhood home. He knew he had to come here after his plane landed.

Cole opens the door, leaving his luggage outside since he doesn't have plans on staying long.

"Cole is that you?" His mum says in surprise as she drops the wool she was knitting. "You could have told me you were coming sweetie, I would have had Louisa bake you muffins."

"I am not staying long, I just wanted to talk," Cole says as he walks towards her direction.

"What happened to your face?" Mrs. James stared at her son in horror. "Come sit near me," She pats the side of her couch. It's surprising how the couch is till white after years of using it but then again, with Mrs. James living it, everything has to be perfect.

Cole grudgingly walks over to sit with his mum, even though he is fully aware that he shouldn't be in close proximity to her when he says what he wants to say.

"Who did this to you?" Mrs. James asks like Cole is still in kindergarten.

"Not important...."

"What do you mean not important," Mrs. James places her hand on Cole's jaw. "I knew that stupid vacation with that stubborn wife of yours will end up in a disaster."

"Since you don't like her very much, I guess you'll be happy to know that I think our marriage is over." Cole spits out.

"Sweetie," Mrs. James says lowly, "Don't say that, Ivy might be a band full but a divorce is never an option in the James family. You won't believe me if I tell you no one in our family has ever gotten a divorce."

Mrs. James might not like Ivy but she's grateful that they are married because there's a point she thought a little boy was going to end up alone.

"Imagine what people would say, just think about your little daughter..."

Cole interrupts, "I am thinking about her, that's why I don't want to pretend anymore."

"Ughh, Ivy must have screwed up really bad. Don't worry I'll fix it, let me just call..."

Cole interrupts again, "Ivy's not the problem. In fact, she's perfect. I am with a problem.

"Oh Cole," Mrs. James puts her hands' softy on Wilder's cheeks. "You can never be a problem."

"I am in love with someone else."

"Nonsense," She dismisses him as she always does.

"His name is Casey, if you remember, you caught us kissing in high school..."

Cole barely finishes before Mrs. James her hands start slipping off his face.

"You are kidding right?" The smile on Mrs. James's wrinkled face turns to her frown.

"No..." Before Cole can speak any further, his dad walks in.

"Cole wasn't expecting you." His father says before sitting down.

If you thought Cole was nervous telling his mother, he currently wishes the ground to open up and swallow him up. His father is the worst, judgmental, and stuck up.

"It's okay, I am leaving anyway." The man in his thirties says nervously.

"No you are not, why don't you tell your father about the joke you just cracked." Mrs. James urges.

Fuck this, Cole isn't going to sit here for their judgments. Their opinions don't matter anymore and it should never have mattered.

"Let me on it," Mr. James says.

"Your son wants to divorce that precious woman..."

Of course, now Mrs. James thinks Ivy is precious because she has a vagina.

"Oh, you are separating from Ivory?" Mr. James turns to his son.

"Her name is Ivy," Cole says irritably.

"Honey, it gets better. Apparently, he's in love with a man." Mrs. James says after which she burst into laughter.

Mr. James isn't finding it any funny as he stares at his son with an unreadable expression on his face. They both lock eyes and for once Cole wishes his father acts like a father, not the asshole he grew up with.

"So, my son is a faggot." Mr. James spills out.

And all his hopes come crashing down. He can't believe he came here, they are the worst people in his world. Whatever approval he was wanting to get from them, they don't deserve to give it.

"Yeah, he is. You must be disappointed, right?" Cole yells, getting rid of his nervousness. "I don't care because now the truth is out, I am free and I can be truly happy." Cole stands up from the couch and heads towards the door.

"Son," Mr. James calls out to Cole who pauses to hear what his father has to say. "Sit son, let's talk."

~~~

"Don't call her," Jessica whines, tired of seeing Wilder stare at his phone for hours.

"I am not going to," Wilder says staring at her name on his contacts.

"Good, she made her choice and now you have to make yours," Jessica says rubbing her baby's bump. All these advice-giving his trying her out.

"Sure," Wilder says even though he isn't pay attention to what she was saying.

"You are defiantly going to call her aren't you?" Jessica says in a bored tone.

"I just want to see if she's okay? She must be devastated." Wilder mutters, barely finishing his sentence before he clicked her name.

"Ughh, why do I even try."

"Hello," Wilders's heart skipped a beat when he hears that tiny voice. It's amazing how the sound of her voice can get him so worked up.

"H-hey, hi..." He replies stupidly. He is totally forgotten the " Who chose who" situation because all that mattered is that he is talking to her.

~~~~