Rejections

Warning: strong language

That Monday would be as hard for Leon to forget as Saturday was for Lucas. He should have gotten up much later since on Mondays he went to college around 9:30 a.m. but due to unknown reasons his mother shook him awake at 7 a.m. He rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on his bed.

"Mum for God's sake, it's 7 am!

"I know but your father is waiting for you downstairs. He wants to talk to you before he goes to work."

Leon hid his face in the pillow, he didn't know the reason but it couldn't mean any good.

He got up, and went to the bathroom to wash his face. He went down the stairs wearing only his underwear on. He entered the large dining room still half awake, breakfast was already served as every morning.

His father was pacing back and forth like a caged beast.

When he saw him coming in, went at him, but his mother got in the way.

Furious, his father grabbed the newspaper from the table and threw it to his face.

" HOW THE FUCK DO YOU EXPLAIN THAT!

If Leon was still a little asleep, that woke him up. He picked up the newspaper from the floor, on the first page was his photo, one of him dressed in a suit at a lunch a few weeks ago at the presidential house, next to it in huge letters was the following headline:

"Scandal: Leon Mariani, the homosexual son of the renowned official arrested for public disturbances in a well-known gay nightclub".

This was followed by a short summary of what happened, clearly exaggerated.

He run out of words, that was a big problem but he was never going to show that to his father. He looked up defiantly, he was not going to let a simple scandal go make his life miserable.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you, it's all very clear in the newspaper, isn't it?" 

"Do you want me to explain it to you?

"But what the hell is wrong with you? Are you stupid?" the father approached him to rip the newspaper out of his hands, "Is that all you know how to do, bring trouble to the family? You should be ashamed of yourself! „

"Why should I?"

"But how can you be so calm? Don't you realize that a scandal like this can have serious consequences? Of course, you give a shit, you go around with those fucking homos and you give a shit about your family."

"What family are you talking about? Your political career? I don't see mom being traumatized by the news in the paper."

"ENOUGH. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Oh no, now I'm the one who wants to talk about it: tell me what family are you talking about? The only thing you do is to shield your real interests in your political career. It was always the most important thing for you, above mom and above me."

"Leon, please," his mother's voice sounded slow.

Leon looked at her for a moment.

"But it's true, isn't it?" he faced him seriously, "Didn't you ever think that maybe it's your fault that I'm gay? Maybe it's due to the lack of a male role model in the house."

His father's hand fell heavily on his face, a heat flooded his left cheek.

"Oh, that was an attempt to impose you as a father. It's too late now, there's no turning back, I'm gay."

His father looked him straight in the eye, he could tell he wasn't just listening to what he was saying, it was getting on his nerves.

"I told you once, but you didn't listen to me. Now it's too late. You have a week to leave, you'll still have plenty of friends to sleep over."

Leon lunged at him, his mother let out a scream and rushed to grab him, but Leon had grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and was holding him tightly.

"You know what? You're lucky that mom is here because otherwise I'd smash your face in. A son of a bitch like you can't be my father."

He pushed him away, his father staggered, but he kept his balance.

"I hate you!"

He turned around and left the room, went upstairs to get dressed, he felt like he was about to burst, he hit the wall hard as tears of rage slid down his cheeks. He had to find a way to leave before the end of the week. He felt like the world was falling apart.

He knew that his mother usually didn't get involved in their arguments but at that moment so much silence on her part bothered him. Was she on his side? 

He packed his bag with some clothes, threw in a few books and decided that the first thing he would do would be a brief visit to the bank. That son of a bitch was going to regret kicking him out. 

He felt the rage consuming him.

Once ready, he went downstairs, in the kitchen was the girl who was in charge of the housework.

"Carmen, is there any coffee?

The young brunette turned and looked at him a little embarrassed, it was obvious that she had heard the whole discussion.

"I left your breakfast on the dining room table."

"Thank you."

She smiled at him as she headed that way, in the living room she discovered her mother sitting there, her face covered with her hands, his father already left. He knelt down in front of her as he took her hands and removed them from her face. 

"Mum, don't cry. I'm a big boy now. I won't starve to death living alone, I promise, I'll live on boiled eggs but I'll survive."

His mother laughed softly.

"Then you'll die out of of cholesterol," she commented softly.

"All right, I'll try to make rice once in a while to balance it out. Don't be sad, I'll come visit you."

"It's not that Leon, it's just that the fights between you two devastate me, I understand both sides but I can't divide myself, although I would if I could. I'll try to talk to him tonight so you stay..."

"No mom. I don't want to live here anymore. Even if you ask him I won't stay, one day we'll have a bad fight and I don't want to because you're the one who always ends up suffering."

"I wanted you to be independent but not like this, a week is too little time."

"It's ok, don't you remember that I have friends, as dad says."

"Leo, I don't like you talking like that."

"Mom, I don't have friends like that, I'm gay but not a taxyboy as the old man thinks" kissed her both cheeks "I have to go now. And at the end of the day it's better I become independent once and for all, don't you think so?

He got up, and leaving the breakfast aside, he went out, put his bag in the back seat of the car and sat behind the wheel. He sat there for a few moments thinking. His head was spinning, at that precise moment the image of Numa came to his mind and he kept thinking that it was the first time in which he felt the need to talk about his things with someone. Why did Numa seem to be, from one moment to the next, someone so important in his life? He started the car, a long day lay ahead of him and he still had to find a place to spend the night because he didn't want to go home.