Chapter 54 The First To Know

Silence. Only the sound of the tick and tock of the clock echoed in the room. The mother and son pair stared at each other. One in hope and one in utter disbelief. Xavier was sure his brain short circuited from the shock. His mother's expression remained unchanging; she was not joking.

"Excuse me?" He looked at his mother as though she had grown two heads.

"Be gay Xavier, for your brother", Victoria responded calmly.

He grew more confused by her response and a pulled on a disgusted face. "Mom! That's disgusting! Even if you don't approve of whoever it is, asking me to be gay so I can get with Zach is-"

"No! No! What kind of a mother would I be if I asked you to do that? I love you both but I definitely don't see you together!" She frowned when she realized how far Xavier's thoughts had strayed.

He opened his palms gesturing at the situation they were in silently asking her 'then what is this?' Victoria closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm down. She opened her eyes and looked him dead in the eye. "I'm simply asking you to be gay."

"As in I should change my sexual orientation?" He arched his brow. Victoria nodded in response.

He looked at her, thinking she was not serious but Victoria's expression remained serious. A humorless chuckle escaped his lips and he shook his head in disbelief. He also looked her dead in the eye when he spoke.

"I'm sorry but I am naturally drawn to pus-" He cleared his throat when his mother's deadly glare challenged him to finish his sentence. "Women. I love women. You're asking for the impossible."

"But it's for your brother! I think", Victoria sighed. She looked even more pitiful now. "I think your brother resorted to this because of you."

"Me? What did I do?"

"You've practically slept with all the girls in this city. I wouldn't be surprised if you've already slept with his potential wives. So I'm asking you to be gay so he can go back to being straight. Who knows? There might be a girl he'll find that you haven't touched."

"Do you have something against gays? Why can't Zach be gay? Why should I be gay?" He took a defensive stance and crossed his arms against his chest.

"I'm not against them otherwise I wouldn't ask you to be one! And you break women's hearts left and right, don't think I don't know about your little nickname of the One-nighter! Give the women a break!"

"Aha!" Xavier started laughing. He walked to the lounge and settled on the sofa whilst still laughing. Something must be wrong with his mother! She surely must have hit her head when she collapsed. Of all ideas and conclusions, this is what she could come up with? Xavier could feel a headache coming on.

Seeing his silence, Victoria wanted to further convince him when a knock resounded before the door was pushed open. She wanted to dig a hole and hide when she saw the person who walked in with a 'sad' smile.

"Torrie, my gosh look at you", Kris quickly rushed to her side. Xavier took that chance to leave. Victoria tried to signal him to save her from Kris but Xavier misinterpreted her actions for wanting him to stay so she could continue selling him her idea.

"Good to see you again Mrs. Howell. I'm sorry but I have to run back to the office", he announced.

"Don't worry dear, I have all day to keep your mother company. You go on now", she gave him a kind smile.

Xavier kissed his mother on the cheek before quickly leaving the room. Neither he or Kris noticed the look of distress on Victoria's face. Once the door was closed, Kris turned to look at her friend who now had a neutral expression.

"Look at you, I quickly rushed over once I heard that you were hospitalized. What happened?"

Victoria ignored the quirking of Kris's lips. If she was not mistaken, Kris was probably happy to see her in the hospital. Victoria's face turned cold when she responded through gritted teeth. "My blood pressure must have gone up."

"How's that possible? You're as strong as a bull. If anyone is susceptible to high blood pressure, it's your husb-" She caught Victoria's glare before she could finish her sentence. She awkwardly cleared her throat and rested a palm on Victoria's thigh. "How pitiful. You had hopes and dreams but no, one son is a helpless womanizer and the other", Kris dramatically gasped with a hand covering her mouth as she whispered, "is gay."

Victoria's eyes widened. "You... How did you....?"

"One of the girls whom you invited is a daughter of a friend. She was as shocked as I was by the turn of events."

Victoria hid her clenched fists under the sheets. Why does it have to be Kris of all people to be the first to find out among her friends? Victoria had thought of at least a thousand ways to silence Kris in the short time they've conversed. Push her off a cliff, push her in front of a moving train, run her over with a car; five times at least to make sure she's- Kris saw how Victoria tried to keep her calm and suppressed a smirk.

"My son's sexual orientation is nobody's business. It's nothing for anyone to be shocked about", Victoria retorted in a voice as calm as possible.

"Then why are you here?" Kris asked innocently.

"..."