Denial is the Way

They stepped out of the car, walking to the door as Nevan knocked on it. A few seconds passed before the door opened. On the other side was a teenager. 

 

Her long black hair was down as she currently had on a school uniform. She looked similar to Nevan, but her nose, lips, and eyebrows were different from him. Her eye color was even different as they were a light grey. 

 

When she saw Nevan, she brightly smiled before jumping onto him and wrapping her arms around him. "Big brother!" 

 

Nevan hugged her back, patting her back, "Hey, Leah." 

 

They stayed like that for a long time until Nevan pried his little sister off of him. "That is enough. I still need to breathe." 

 

"Sorry, I got too excited." Leah moved back before glancing at Ender. Her eyes stopped at Ender's protruding stomach, not looking away as she said, "And you are?" 

 

Ender reached out his hand, "Hi, I am Ender, Nevan's boyfriend." 

 

Leah grabbed his hand, absentmindedly shaking it. She could not stop staring at Ender's stomach. 

 

Ender pulled his hand back while Nevan sighed, grabbing his sister's shoulders and turning her around. He pushed her into the house, walking in. Ender followed, closing the door behind him. 

 

As they walked in, another woman started to make her way towards them. There was an apron wrapped around her as she wiped her hands with a towel. 

 

She also had long hair, but hers was up rather than down like Leah's. She looked older than Nevan by a few years. Her features were different from Nevan and Leah's, but her eye color was the same as Leah's. 

 

Leah moved out of Nevan's hold, running towards the woman with a jump in her step, "Big brother showed up, Mina." 

 

Mina hummed, looking at Nevan as she took in her little brother. "I see you finally decided to grace this house with your presence." 

 

"Don't act like you didn't beg me to come here," Nevan responded as he walked towards Mina. 

 

He hugged her, not caring that the apron she wore was dirty. Mina hugged him back while saying, "Mother and father won't like you getting your clothes dirty." 

 

"You know I don't care." 

 

They let each other go as Nevan moved back towards Ender, who awkwardly stood there. Well, he moved towards something sturdy and started leaning on it. 

 

Mina turned her gaze towards Ender, surveying him as her eyes stopped at his stomach. She raised her eyebrow, "Oh, this is going to be a fun dinner, I see." 

 

She walked towards Ender, bringing her hand out. "I am Mina, the oldest of the two idiots. And you are?" 

 

Ender shook her hand, "I am Ender, Nevan's boyfriend." 

 

"And his baby momma, too, I supposed," Mina added. 

 

Ender pulled his hand back while Nevan cleared his throat. "Mina, are mother and father in the back?" Nevan changed the subject. 

 

"They are. You should talk to your mother and father before they see your boyfriend. Try to lessen the drama for today." Mina answered. 

 

Nevan grabbed Ender's hand, whispering in his ear, "Are you fine being right here while I go talk with my parents?" 

 

Ender nodded. 

 

"Okay." Nevan kissed Ender's cheek before walking off. 

 

"Oh, I want to hear this!" Leah shouted as she followed Nevan. 

 

"Well, we are alone. Why don't you join me in the kitchen, Ender? There is a chair in there you can sit on." Mina asked Ender. 

 

Ender nodded, following Mina to the kitchen. 

 

Ender instantly sat on the chair when they entered, leaning back in it as Mina went back to cooking. The atmosphere seemed heavy, but Ender could deal with it. 

 

"So, where did you and my brother meet?" Mina asked, starting the conversation. 

 

"In college. During our first year, we had three classes together until I changed my major. But we instantly became close friends, so we always hung out." Ender answered. 

 

"Hmm, he never really talks about his friends with us. Well, he doesn't tell us a lot of things. He is either busy with work or actively avoiding coming home." 

 

"Nevan is a workaholic." However, Ender thought about how Nevan hasn't worked as much for the past few months since he started helping Ender. 

 

"Yeah, he got that from his father. So, I can see you are one of the males that can get pregnant?" Mina changed the subject. 

 

Ender rubbed his stomach, moving a bit in the seat to make himself comfortable. "Yeah, I am." 

 

"Your stomach looks quite big. Are you already nine months pregnant?" 

 

Frowning at the question, Ender responded, "No, I am seven months pregnant. I am having twins." Ender thought it was best to stay utterly honest. 

 

"Ah, twins, congratulations." 

 

"Thank you." 

 

Once again, it was silent before Mina turned the stove off, moving the pan to the side with the cooked food. She turned around, looking at Ender with crossed arms. 

 

"So, I am going to be honest here and ask what is on my mind. My brother is a successful man with money and looks. Many people want a piece of him, and they will get him by any means necessary. 

 

"Tell me, are those babies his, or are you lying to get his money?" 

 

Ender pushed back the anger surfacing in him. He knew that she was only concerned about her brother being taken advantage of. 

 

It is not a bad concern. There are people out there who would lie about who the parent is or get pregnant, with sneaky tricks, to a rich, successful person. 

 

Ender is not one of those people. He didn't want to be pregnant nor be able to get pregnant in the first place. Plus, from his family to his successful books, he didn't need to snatch a rich person. It would be the other way around. 

 

"I understand your concern, but I swear it is not like that. I care for Nevan a lot and would never intentionally hurt him. I would still be/go for him even if he was poor. Also, the babies are his. 

 

"Plus, I am a successful author and the youngest son to the Long family; I don't need Nevan's wealth."

 

Mina was surprised at the last part, "You are part of the Long family? Damn, maybe I should be questioning my brother and not you." 

 

Ender blushed at Mina's words. The atmosphere started to lighten as she uncrossed her arms. 

 

"Your brother is with me for all the right reasons," Ender spoke. 

 

Mina hummed, "Okay. Well, once again, congratulations to you both. Hopefully, you won't run away when you meet my parents." 

 

"I'm sticking through." 

 

Mina laughed, "Not bad." 

 

Minutes passed when Mina finished in the kitchen. Ender helped her set up the table as they continued talking. Once they finished, Nevan and Leah walked into the dining room with food in their hands. 

 

They set it on the table. 

 

Nevan walked towards Ender, asking in a low voice, "How was your time with Mina?" 

 

"It was good," Ender replied, "how did it go with your parents?" 

 

Nevan frowned, "Terrible." 

 

Before Ender could say anything else, the parents entered the dining room. 

 

They looked like strict and scholarly people. Ender could see that Nevan and Leah got their looks from their father while Mina got her looks from her mother. The father was handsome while the mother was beautiful. 

 

Nevan's father looked at Ender, causing Ender to try and straighten his posture as much as possible. But all it did was leave him with some back pain. The father's glance stopped at his stomach before shaking his head. 

 

"Why don't we sit?" The mother spoke into the quiet room. 

 

Everyone took a seat but did not touch the food yet. 

 

"Can we sing happy birthday right now? Nevan might end up leaving in a second." Leah spoke. 

 

"Leah!" Mina and the mother scolded. 

 

"We can." The father responded. 

 

Leah gave Mina a smug look, too scared to do the same to her mother. 

 

The atmosphere was almost suffocating as they started singing happy birthday to Nevan. Ender reached under the table while they were singing and grabbed Nevan's hand. 

 

Nevan intertwined their hands as they both tried to relax in the terrible atmosphere. 

 

Once they finished singing, the father told everyone they could dig in. Nevan automatically started filling his and Ender's plate as he grew used to getting Ender food at times. 

 

His father did not like it as he commented, "Is the boy's hand broken, Nevan? Why are you preparing his plate?" 

 

Nevan's lips thinned. 

 

"Can we not fight for today?" The mother brought up, stopping an argument from happening. 

 

Ender leaned closer to Nevan and whispered, "I can do it." 

 

Nevan wanted to say he had it but stopped himself and let Ender serve himself. His fingers still itched to do it. 

 

Once the food was on the plates, everyone started eating in silence. Ender and Nevan felt uncomfortable but stuck it out. 

 

After a few more minutes passed, the father spoke up, "So, do you two plan to get married before the babies come? Or are you going to disgrace your children by having them out of wedlock?" 

 

The table became too quiet as the mother slammed her fork on her plate while everyone else, minus the father, stopped eating. 

 

"Father, I finally come home, and all you do is try to get me to leave. If you don't want me here, just say it." 

 

The father grabbed a napkin, wiping his mouth, "It is not that I don't want you here; I am just getting tired of you still keeping up with this rebelling phase." 

 

"You act like I am on the streets, joining a gang, or selling myself. I am doing well in life, and I did it without following your plan." Nevan responded, clenching his fist. 

 

Ender grabbed his thigh, squeezing it to calm Nevan down. 

 

His father snorted, "If you followed my plan, you wouldn't have come back home with a pregnant male that you aren't married to." 

 

Nevan stood up, throwing his napkin on the table, "Thank you for the birthday meal, but I forgot that I need to get some things done." 

 

"Almost an hour," Leah commented. 

 

The mother quickly stood up, "Son, please stay." 

 

Ender got up from his seat, using the table to help him as he felt a bit bad for not finishing the food the family made. But he could understand Nevan's need to leave. 

 

Mina sighed, shaking her head as she went back to eating. 

 

The father said nothing. 

 

"I love you, sisters, and will see you later. Mother, father, bye." Nevan said. 

 

Ender grabbed Nevan's hand, using his free one to wave Mina goodbye. They walked out of the house with Nevan's mother, trying to stop him but failing. 

 

When they reached the car, getting in, Nevan took a few seconds to breathe in and out. 

 

"Are you okay?" Ender asked.

 

Nevan opened his eyes, looking at Ender, before smiling, "As long as I have you, I will always be okay." 

 

Ender smiled back, hitting his arm, "So cheesy. We should go home so that I can give you a good memory for your birthday." 

 

"Hmm, I love a good time." 

 

Ender rolled his eyes, "Keep it in your pants and start driving."