If we didn’t feel like going out, we would cook together, cuddle up on the sofa in her living room to watch TV, or read together. It was genuinely the happiest time in my life despite what was going on in school. Although we carefully tipped around that subject, I loved her, and I was pretty sure she knew that as well. She always seemed to hold back though, since I was still only sixteen and we couldn’t be reckless until my birthday. Or until we moved to another country.
My happy life drastically changed shortly after her birthday in early April. I was still a sixteen-year-old boy, and she had now turned thirty. I didn’t know if she was bothered by the age gap, or wanted a family, or whatever. It wasn’t lost on me that, even before her birthday, she was remarkably apprehensive about me meeting her family. But after she had turned thirty, it seemed like she wanted to distance herself from me emotionally in one moment, and then went full on “Let’s get married!” the next. The sex was the same. Some days she was insatiable, to the point my dick actually hurt the next morning, on other days she refused to get within three feet of me, no physical contact at all!
We still practically lived together while enjoying each other’s company, and even though these changes irritated me, I was determined to stay with her for as long as she would allow it. I was silently hoping, if I could just make her realize how little of a shit I gave about the age difference, we could keep it going until I graduated. Then I would have been perfectly happy to marry her, even start a family with her. The people at work already knew about us anyway and nobody had ever given her crap or even so much as teased her about it.
It just wasn’t meant to be. In early June, I came home to Tess’ apartment to find her sitting in the silent living room. She didn’t look too happy when, for the first time in my life, I was confronted with the four words every man fears.
“We need to talk.”
I sat next to her on the sofa and waited.
“I’ll have to leave town.”
I was stunned. My stomach felt like I was falling. I needed Tess, and I didn’t know why this happened now, or why so suddenly.
“Look, Tess, I know this isn’t perfect. But it’s not gonna be much longer before my birthday. Please, we were so good together, and things got so much better over the past few months.”
“It’s not anything like that, Tim. I really like you; I don’t want to leave you.” She hesitated before she continued. “My sister called ... Mom’s sick. They ... diagnosed her with pancreatic cancer, and ... She’s going to need someone to look after her. For a while, at least. With my sister having her own family, she can’t just uproot her entire life to do it.”
She was crying. But there was nothing I could do to truly help. I would go with her, switch schools, quit school, do whatever I could to support her. But I was still only sixteen. I couldn’t just up and leave on my own accord without the constant threat of being dragged back here. I didn’t even have full control over my own damn bank account. And what about Tess? If she was apprehensive about me meeting her family before, she sure as hell won’t confront her cancer stricken mother with the news of her dating a kid now.
There was no discussion. I made sure she knew I would be there if she needed me. All it would take was a phone call, and I would get the next plane, consequences be damned. And once she returned, I would be waiting for her. She had already talked to Bill and would leave on the first of July. For the rest of the month, while sorting out her apartment, getting everything packed, and preparing the move, we spent as much time together as humanly possible.
With Tess gone, I had nothing but school and work in my days. I don’t know if I actually earned it, or if Bill wanted to help me distract myself, but I found myself in a lot more meetings with clients to discuss surveillance installations. In addition to that, he spent quite some time personally teaching me a lot of the administrative aspects of the job; writing reports, proofing risk assessments and even drafting IT-Security Guidelines for a few clients.
Aunt Danielle kept showing up regularly, trying to get me to talk to her. She kept insisting that her question from Christmas wasn’t addressed at me specifically, but at me and my family, and certainly wasn’t meant as any accusation. She just wanted to find a way to mend our relationship. I still didn’t care, though. She had a higher chance to get me talking when she first tried, because by now I was pissed at the family, dejected with school, and missing Tess.
I also was in no mood to discuss any of it with a damn shrink who was rolling in bed with the very people who put me into this mess in the first place. Namely my parents, grandparents, and siblings. There was no fucking way I could ever trust or even respect Danielle again.
