Mr. and Mrs. Atkins rounded us up at the kitchen table. Zeke was sent back upstairs to get Dave from their room, and Mrs. Atkins hurried to clear off the leftovers from dinner.
"We'll be holding a family meeting on this one boys." Mr. Atkins told us as he got rid of the folding table and spare chairs. "It seems like you boys are getting better at keeping secrets. And I'm sure Kyle will have something to say when he gets home as well."
Noah and I sat back in our usual seats. Zeke returned with a bewildered Dave, Mr. Atkins finished moving the spare furniture, then Mrs. Atkins was the last to join us after clearing up all the dishes.
"Why don't you tell us more about Marie?" Mrs. Atkins stared Noah down.
Noah glanced at me, then at Zeke and Dave on the other side of the table. "I don't know anything about her. Really. Kaylee's nice. We have some of the same teachers, but none of the same classes." Noah looked and sounded like he was hiding something.
"Dave? Anything to add?" Mrs. Atkins asked.
Dave still looked confused. "Uh, no? Did something happen?"
"Marie's parents pissed off Mom and Dad." Noah told him.
"Noah." Mr. Atkins said in a warning tone.
"Wow, that takes effort." Dave blinked.
"They were really mean." Noah cracked a grin. "They accused Jake of corrupting me."
Dave tilted his head. "What? Like to his face? What kind of corruption?"
"Turning me gay." Noah replied simply before bursting out in laughter.
Dave let his words sink in and then started to laugh too. He laughed even harder than Noah.
"You guys have the nerve to be laughing right now!" Someone yelled from the front door. A heavy slam of the door, followed by stomping, revealed that Kyle was home. He was red in the face, fists clenched and reminded me of a volcano, ready to blow. I shrunk in my seat.
Noah and Dave sobered up and quit their laughing.
"We're having a family meeting." Mr. Atkins repeated for Kyle.
"Fantastic!" Kyle said, but not with joy. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the table. "I'd like to have a meeting to find out why my family keeps putting obstacles on my first date. First, it's because I'm grounded. Fine. My bad. Second, you all want this family dinner to happen. Whatever. I survived. Now, Marie gets called home because her parents were disrespected here? It's like you guys want me to be single for the rest of my life!"
"So dramatic." Dave mumbled.
"What?!" Kyle focused on his twin. "I'm being dramatic?? I didn't even have time to buy movie tickets before the call."
"You heard me." Dave stayed calm, not even concerned about his twin's anger. "You're attacking us unjustly. You didn't even ask what happened. You just jumped into thinking that whatever it was, it was our fault. It's not like you love Marie. Heck, you didn't even like her until she kissed you at the party. If it wasn't for me, you'd still be single."
Mrs. Atkins rubbed her temples. "Okay, that's enough of the yelling. Kyle, take a seat. Like Dave said, you don't know what has happened."
Kyle looked like he was about to argue, but after a glance from his father, he just stomped to his normal seat beside Zeke. "Okay, let's hear it. What is so bad that you had to chase her parents away?"
"We had disagreements in how we raise our children." Mrs. Atkins told him. "You know I'm a firm believer in being open-minded and including others. They didn't have the same thoughts."
"Is this going to be about Jake?" Kyle interrupted. He glanced at me with a dead expression. "Did they say something that upset you?"
"Hey, are you saying it's Jake's fault?" Noah glared.
"I just feel like it's always about Jake." Kyle sighed. "Whenever something happens, it's because Jake got upset. It's not like I'm against him, but." He looked at me. "You've got to toughen up. Not everyone will like you and you don't have to like everyone. I'm not saying this to be mean, but I'm tired. I just wanted to go on one lousy date, okay."
I felt my eyes sting and fought off the urge to cry. I would just look even more fragile in Kyle's eyes.
"You're a freakin dick." Dave stood up. "God damn it. I've had enough of your high and mighty attitude. All you do is complain. You got to pitch six innings, and then still complained. You even got the win. You get to go on a date even though we're grounded? Sure it came with a stipulation, but you still got to go. It's none of our faults that Marie's parents are jerks. Yet you still dare to attack us? Your own family? Jesus Christ." He looked at his mom. "Sorry Mom, but I've had enough. I'm out of here." He turned away ready to go.
"Sit. Back. Down." Mr. Atkins ordered. He stood up and towered over everyone. "No one just gets to bail when they want to." He looked at Dave. "Jake didn't run away, so why are you?"
"Dad, Kyle was basically saying that Jake gets special treatment!" Dave faced him. "There's only one of us here that's getting treated differently and he's acting like the prince of the family."
"What!" Kyle stood up as well. "I just want to live my life. Is that too much to ask? Everything I do or want to do, has to have you guys included??"
"Mom! You want to know what we first thought of Marie?!" Noah jumped in. "A bully. On the school bus she bullied me and Jake to change seats. At least Kaylee made amends with us after accusing Jake of faking his claustrophobia. She never once apologized."
"You brat!" Kyle got even louder. "I told you to keep it to yourself. Marie is a good person and you know it!"
"No. I don't." Noah stood firm. "She doesn't talk to us. She never apologized. And now her parents made accusations against Jake that could affect his future. What if they told other parents that he's gay, and they tell kids, and he gets bullied at school!? You're not thinking of us at all!"
"ENOUGH!" Mr. Atkins clapped his hands once, silencing the table. "Sit. Down. I won't ask again."
The three boys sat down obediently.
"We won't tell you who you can hang out with." Mr. Atkins looked at Kyle. "We just ask that you use good decision making. Jake and the boys weren't around when we had the disagreement. They may have overheard quite a bit, but they weren't present. This was something between adults. They made a suggestion and we refused. It's on them if they wanted Marie to come home."
"You guys could have just brushed it off." Kyle mumbled.
"No one will tell me how to raise my boys." Mrs. Atkins stood firm.
"They called us gay, Kyle." Noah huffed. "We aren't. Could you imagine what I'm feeling? What Jake is feeling? If that isn't enough, they implied it was something bad and to be ashamed of. What if I was really gay? Would you be okay with your girlfriend's parents despising me for it?"
"So her parents are a little judgmental. Big deal." Kyle huffed.
Dave glared at his twin, but didn't speak. Noah was in the same boat.
"Um." I cleared my throat. "Can I say something?"
All eyes went to me.
"Go ahead Jake." Mrs. Atkins encouraged.