Chapter 1 ✔
Welcome and thank you for choosing to read my story! Before you begin reading I have a small note regarding the use of AI.
I have never and will never use AI to write my stories. I did not work my ass off to get my bachelors degree in creative writing to cop out with my stories. I put my heart and soul into my books, they are 100% me.
With that, I hope you enjoy! Please feel free of comment/like spam and leave a review once you’ve finished reading 😁
AIDEN
“Aiden Star Smith! Why have you not been eating properly? You can’t live off new baking recipes.” My dad, Ace, started to yell as he walked into my shared apartment, to which he had a key. It’d been 12 years since he had woken up from the coma, and yet every time I’d see him; I’d still get overfilled with joy. Living that year without my dad was the most horrible thing I had ever experienced.
“Cato, when we trusted you to live with our son, we were expecting you to take care of him” My papa, Kade, scolded my boyfriend, Cato.
Cato and I had been together since we were 5 and 4 respectively, but we had been dating since we were 11 and 10. 11 years together with the rest of our lives to go. I thought dreamily.
“Sir, you know I will always take care of him. And I care about Aiden just as much as you do. But I can’t stop him from doing this, I’ve tried, trust me.” Cato said holding his hands up defensively.
“Don’t you wanna try this, triple chocolate cake surprise?” I said holding a plate with a piece of cake and a fork.
“Depends on what the surprise is,” Papa said while eying the cake in my hand suspiciously.
“Can’t tell you until to try it,” I said in a sing-song voice. People always get thrown after learning about the surprise.
“Son, the last time you tried that on me, the surprise was that there were maggots blended into the filling…. But dammit it looks too good. Baby, I’m doing it. If I don’t make it out of this one alive, I just want you to know that I love you, and the only regret I have is not saving myself for you” Papa said to Dad making him roll his eyes playfully.
Papa has gotten pretty dramatic over the years. He used to be a very serious and prideful teacher. I’m not sure why he has gotten so much goofier, could it be old age? Love? Or maybe it’s all the sweets I have him test for me? I thought while handing the plate to papa.
Papa took the slice of cake and the fork from my hands and took a big bite. Once the piece was in his mouth, he seemed skeptical at first but soon he was shoving the whole thing into his mouth aside from one piece that he held out to dad. “Baby, you gotta try this. It’s too good to be bad!”
“Kade Smith, you know I am trying to watch my figure. Why must you tempt me with something that looks so good.” Dad stomped his foot, like the overgrown child he is, before opening his mouth for the bite of cake. Once it was in his mouth, he moaned with the delight of my amazing baking.
“Alright, break it to them, babe. Tell em the surprise.” Cato said stepping up to take the spotless plate and fork.
“The cake you just ate is 100% vegan!! Did it taste like a regular cake? What about texture?” I started to ask while grabbing my notebook. ′gotta write all this down.′ being my only thought. Something I did every time I was testing a recipe, new or old.
“Sweetheart, you did great!! It tasted just like a normal chocolate cake and both the cake and frosting had the perfect texture. Just right. Now lemme have another piece” Papa said causing both me and dad to giggle. It was amazing how papa wasn’t fat from all the sweets of mine he’d become addicted to. After I had started baking in high school, papa’s sweet tooth grew like no other. Every time I’d make anything that had even a gram of sugar, he’d be at my side begging for a taste.
“So. Are we gonna get some grandkids anytime soon? You two have been together for ten years. I want some grandbabies.” Dad said with a pout making me look over at Cato with a small nod.
“We have been talking… and we are going to start taking classes to foster a child. Or more, we don’t know. All we know is that we think we are ready to make this new change in our lives.” Cato said while grabbing my hand in his. I gave his hand a tight squeeze before glancing at the clock.
“Oh, shit!! I have classes in fifteen minutes!! I gotta go! I love you, Dad, love you, Papa!! Bye baby, I’ll see you later” I shouted in a hurry. Gave Cato a quick kiss and I was out of the door. Thankful that all my supplies were already in the car.
CATO
I watched as my Aiden ran out of the door in a hurry. He was my everything. I couldn’t be thankful enough for him.
“We know what you did.” Ace begins to speak. Grabbing his husband’s hand for comfort. “We know that you took advantage of our son.”
“Ace, Kade. We’ve been over this. You need to stop bringing it up every time we are alone. It was a drunken mistake. I should have never done what I did to Aiden. But I was a teenager. I didn’t know any better at the time. I’ve defended myself countless times. What do I have to do for the two of you to let this go?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm. Hard thing to do when they do this every time, we are alone I thought.
“Forgive us for not wanting to forget about the fact that you drugged our son,” Kade spoke in a harsh tone. His anger was so clear that he was almost growling.
“I’ve told you multiple times that I didn’t touch him while he was out. It was a sick prank that I was forced into, and it will never happen again. How many times do I have to tell you this?” I snapped back. I loved their son with every fiber of my being, and I trusted him with my everything.
“You don’t need to keep telling us this, we don’t care. We don’t believe you either. Once you tell our son the truth about what you really did that night. Then, and only then, will we stop bringing up this horrible topic,” Ace spoke with tears in his eyes.
“If you don’t trust me or believe me. Then why not tell Aiden yourself? Or better yet, why did you let him move in with me?” I asked with a smirk.
“We love our son more than anything. But he loves you, and he is an adult. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have the right to know what happened that night. What really happened.” Kade said before pulling a crying Ace out of the apartment.
