Unfinished

Twelve

The Ross house was one of the few places Becca felt safe. I think it was also the only place she ever felt entirely at home, the only place she felt like she truly belonged. I thank the Ross's a million times over for every second of sanctuary they gave her.

She had so many happy memories there, and some not so happy ones, and a few that were...indescribable. For me at least. One of my favorites was when Josh came out as gay to his family. I will only say this once, some human religions believe that being gay is a sin and should be punished. Heaven - I am not privy to God's thoughts on the subject - believes that all love is holy, with no exceptions.

I will not say that Josh came out to the girls before anyone else, but I will say that he came out to them before the rest of his family.

It was morning, Becca had spent the night at the Ross house. It was Saturday, and everyone else was busy. Grace had ballet and Drew had a soccer game, which Mr. Ross was attending. Mrs. Ross was out with friends, because her children were all old enough to take care of themselves for one morning a week at the very least.

Josh had stepped into Ella's room, telling them that breakfast was in the kitchen if they wanted it. Ella had thrown a pillow at him, being one of those people who dislike waking up early in the morning, despite the fact that they always do. Becca had just blinked at them sleepily, herself being a person who was never truly awake until about an hour or two after their first caffeinated beverage.

The girls had dragged themselves down the stairs after Josh, in their pajamas and bed head because it was a Saturday morning and they were fourteen, if only barely.

"So," Josh said as they slipped into the stools at the counter. "I have something to tell you."

"Sure. Tell me after I have food and tea," Ella said, half laughing.

Josh slid two plates of eggs and pancakes across the counter to them. Ella raised an eyebrow, giving her brother a look.

"It's still steeping."

"Why do you always have reasonable excuses?"

"Because I usually tell the truth."

"Usually. "

"Like you never lie."

"Touché."

"Anyway. Josh tell us what you were going to say, because this is getting boring." Becca interjected.

"Well," Josh fidgeted. "I, um, I was just going to say, uh..."

"Yes?" Ella raised an eyebrow in a semi amused fashion. Becca was just waiting expectantly.

"I think, that is, I know that...um. I'm gay." Josh looked down, drumming his fingers nervously on the counter.

"Oh." Ella said. Becca didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say.

"You do know that we don't care right? I mean, Becca and myself. Mom and dad won't either. Grace and Drew...you know what? Drew is probably gay too. They'll both want to know all the sordid details of everything that you should absolutely not mention to anyone ever. Especially me."

Josh looked at her, surprised but before he could say anything Becca cut in.

"It's not like we hadn't guessed already anyway. I mean, you didn't really try to hide it."

"I didn't know!" Josh finally said. The girls just looked at him. "I didn't want to know, and then I wasn't sure, and then..."

"If you want to tell us the whole story you can give me a cup of tea. And Becca can give me ten dollars because I just won the bet. And then we'll help you not be embarrassed to death when everyone else already knows, too. And then you can bring your boyfriend over so I can meet him, and then I think I will spend the rest of the day in my room reading, and you can stop by to chat if you have something worthwhile to say. And Becca can sleep over again if she wants to, but only if she finishes her trig homework. Did I cover everything?"

"Yeah, Ella. I think you got everything," Becca said dryly.

"What makes you think I have a boyfriend?" Josh asked, curious.

Ella just snorted.

And that, as they say, was that.

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A/N:

I updated! So yeah, that's a good thing. I hope you like this. I'm going to try to actually make a schedule for when I should write so that I have more regular updates, but, I don't know. It may happen or it may not. I will definitely keep updating, though, even if they are really slow. I try. School ends in June, so I'll have more time after that. Probably. I don't know my summer schedule yet. On the other hand, this is pretty much my last month as a middle schooler. I'm going to be a freshman next fall, and am equal parts terrified and excited. Any tips on highschool, writing, books, and life in general are welcome.

Cheers,

Ellie