“At the end of the block,” Bentley said.

He sat quietly as Mr. Edwards slowly drove towards the end of the block, parking his pickup truck outside of the two-story tan and white home. Bentley looked up from his sweaty palms and turned to get a good look at the house he grew up in. The bright blue Chevy that his father had gotten his mother for her birthday one year was parked in the driveway, catching shade under a palm tree from the neighboring yard. That meant she had to be home. Bentley didn’t remember the last time he’d been this afraid.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to wait for you?”

Bentley turned to Matthew and forced a smile. It was probably obvious. Matthew continued to stare at him as he awaited an answer, and Bentley took a deep breath, drying his damp hands on his jeans.

“I’ll be good. You’ve got a busy day ahead of you.” Bentley undid his seatbelt and opened the passenger door. “Thanks again for the ride. I’ll see you tonight.”

He got out of the pickup, but not before sending Mr. Edwards another wave. Trying to convince himself to stop stalling, he walked up the path to his mother’s front door and exhaled long and hard before ringing the doorbell. He didn’t feel comfortable using his key after the disagreement he had with his mom, so this would have to do.

Mr. Edward waited for someone to open the door before honking twice and pulling off. Bentley smiled at his sister – he’d only been gone a couple weeks, but she looked so different. Older and wiser, almost.

“Benny? Come in, you dork!”

Bentley stepped in and hugged her tightly. “I’ve missed you, dweeb. Please don’t tell anyone about this hug.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that…” She playfully shoved him away before closing the door. “Does mom know you were coming? She got home a couple hours ago after more overtime and of course, she’s fast asleep.”

Bentley stepped out of his sneakers and lined them up with the other shoes by the door. “I didn’t tell her. I was afraid she’d tell me not to come.”

Ariel shook her head. “I don’t think she’s that upset. Come on. I’ll get you something to drink.”

It felt strange. Like he was a guest in his own home. Bentley walked inside and looked around before plopping down on the sofa. He dried his hands on his jeans once more and turned to look at his sister in the kitchen. “How’s senior year going?”

“Meh. So far, so good I guess. I have volleyball tryouts on Friday, so I’m excited for that.”

Bentley hummed. “You know there’s a possibility that you’ll sweat if you participate in a sport, right?”

Ariel smiled. “Well, Adam Benson mentioned that he likes athletic gals, and I really want him, so I figured I’d meet him halfway. Volleyball seems like a good low-contact sport. How hard could it be?”

Bentley rolled his eyes. “I explained to you years ago that you’re not allowed a boyfriend until after you graduate college.”

“And I explained to you years ago that I’m ignoring you.” She walked back into the room and handed him the glass of water. “In other news, I’m still on punishment. I’ve been taking it like a champ, but it’s getting old.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to Mom about that. It’s not fair that you suffer because she’s pissed at me.”

Ariel nodded. “I agree. But, it’s not a big deal. I really am proud of you, dummy. And I don’t care what she says, I’m going to be at your competition this weekend.”

Bentley took a long drink of his water. It felt good having his sister on his side like this. Maybe he could change his mother’s view on the situation as well. “I appreciate that.”

“And thank goodness for Facebook. I know you have a semi-permanent place to stay because of it. You don’t tell me anything…”

“That’s hardly true. I just don’t want you to worry. Or to get in trouble.” He placed the glass down and turned to face her, smiling when he saw Ariel glaring like she didn’t trust him even a little bit. “I have a date on Sunday.”

Ariel quirked an eyebrow. “Okay… congrats?”

“Thanks.”

“I’m guessing it’s not with Zoey?”

“It isn’t.” Bentley pushed his dark hair back. “It’s with a guy, actually. He works at Uncle Don’s shop, and he’s Noah’s roommate, and he’s gay… and I… I don’t know. I’m really feeling him.”

Ariel didn’t answer, unless you considered the blank stare on her face as she looked at Bentley an answer. He scratched lightly at the stubble growing on his face before clearing his throat.

“His name is Kit. You may’ve seen him on Facebook –”

“I have. I… wow. I didn’t know you liked him. He’s fucking hot, with that blond swoopy hair and that gorgeous smile, but … since when do you like guys? Are you bisexual? Are you… I don’t even know. You like girls, I know that. But –”

Bentley hushed her before her voice could get too high. “I do like girls. But I’m also very much attracted to Kit.” He reached for the glass from the coffee table and downed the rest of it before continuing. Ariel was uncharacteristically patient as she waited for him to resume. “I don’t know if this makes me bisexual or what, but I do know that I’m going out with him on Sunday and I do want to see where this goes. You’re like the only one I’m telling outside of the guys, and Kit’s dad, and I hope you don’t think it’s weird or anything.”

“Well, yeah it’s weird.” Ariel laughed softly. “You like a guy, Benny.”

He looked up at her.

“But, I also think it’s awesome,” she continued. “You’re not trying to sneak around and keep him hidden. You’re being open. I respect that a lot.”

Bentley slowly began to smile. “Yeah. I don’t think I’d ever be with someone I’d want to keep hidden.”

“Tell me about him! Besides the fact that he’s hot…”

Bentley laughed. He was totally relieved that she wasn’t going to disown him or something. But, this kind of tolerance and acceptance ran in the family. Unless you wanted to ride BMX…

“Kit’s an aspiring fashion designer at UCLA, though he’s majoring in psychology. He came here from Ohio for school, and people weren’t kind to him back there, so the guys and I were trying to show him that not all straight people are asshole bullies. Somewhere along the line, I started thinking about him a lot…”

Ariel grinned. “Oh my god.”

“He didn’t believe me at first, and that sucked. But he came around and we’re going out this Sunday. I’ve been trying to pretend like I don’t care, but I’ve been excited since we made the plans.”

“Wow. I really don’t know what to say. You’re being adorable right now and it’s making me uncomfortable.”

Bentley smiled. He sat back, letting go a long breath. “Shut up.”

“Can I meet him?”

“I don’t see why not. If you get to come to my competition, he’ll be there.” Bentley stared at her. “Just, don’t show him any old embarrassing pictures or anything. I will find this Alex Benton guy and kick his ass if you do.”

“Adam Benson, first, and secondly, I won’t do that. Maybe.”

Bentley smirked. “Yeah, okay.”

There was a noise from upstairs that sounded a lot like things being shuffled around, and then footsteps. Ariel tucked her curls behind her ears as she looked at Bentley.

“I guess she’s up.”

Bentley sighed, rubbing anxiously at his forehead. “Can you go tell her I’m down here and then give us a minute? I’ll probably get kicked out immediately, but that’s okay. I have to practice for the gig this weekend anyway.”

Ariel smiled in a sad sort of way before she stood to her feet. “Hey. Can I have another hug first? I promise I won’t tell anyone it happened.”

Bentley laughed, standing to his feet as well. He pulled his younger sister in closer and closed his eyes as he squeezed her tight. Long gone were the days where they threw action figures at one another and drew on each other’s faces while they slept. Now they were growing up and having talks and supporting one another. It was nice.

Ariel pulled away, grabbed her phone, and headed upstairs. Bentley stood there for a moment, eavesdropping on the conversation she was having with their mother while his heartrate picked up a bit. This could either go badly or terribly wrong. He hoped it was the former.

After another couple minutes, Bentley heard footsteps approaching the staircase. He fiddled with his hands, listening to the rhythm of his pounding heart echo in his ears. Though his mother came down the stairs slowly, it took no time at all for him to see the exhausted look on her face. Bentley didn’t know if it was because of work, or because he’d been stressing her out so much lately.

She came to a stop on the third step up, leaning on the handrail as she looked at him.

“Hi, Mom.”

Clarissa nodded; her flowy dark curls brushed messily back into a bun, and her brown eyes slowly taking in the sight of him. Before replying, she let out a sigh through her slightly chapped lips and pulled her bathrobe tighter around her midsection. “Hi, Bentley.”

Bentley wasn’t sure what it was he was expecting. A hug hello definitely wasn’t it … but this emotionless stare wasn’t it either. He looked down at his Adidas and tried to find the confidence to begin this conversation.

The quicker you get this over with, the quicker you can leave, he told himself.

“I know you don’t exactly want to see me right now, and that almost stopped me from coming. But the competition is this weekend, and I don’t feel comfortable going through with it without speaking to you first.”

“I’m not sure what you want me to say, Bentley.”

Bentley wasn’t sure what he wanted to hear. He didn’t want her to repeat that she wouldn’t support him, but he didn’t want to be lied to, either.

“When your father took that fall, our lives changed for the worst. You know that.” She crossed her arms across her chest; her face wearing a mixture of disappointment, fatigue, and heartbreak. “You don’t know how many nights I begged him to quit riding. It kept him away from us, travelling and touring and barely keeping a roof over your head. Sure, it was good when it was good, but there were times that it was really bad, Bentley.”

He shook his head. “If it wasn’t for Dad, we wouldn’t be in this house right now.”

“Do you know how many years it took him to get to the point where he actually made a living? Why do you think that I’m so against this for you, Benny?” She stroked the curls away from her forehead in frustration. “It’s not because I want to see you be a doctor, or a lawyer. I want you to be able to take care of yourself one day. I don’t want you to have to come to me for a loan in 10 years, battered and bruised.”

Bentley looked away. Maybe Ariel and Kit were right. Maybe his mother was concerned about his wellbeing. Still, he made the choice to be happy, and he wanted to pursue that happiness.

“I know this probably means nothing to you, but I’ve been sponsored by a company already. We filmed a video this past Sunday. People are paying attention to me.”

She didn’t respond. Bentley took a step closer.

“If I come in first on Saturday, I’ll be leaving with $25,000. On top of that, Red Bull wants me to sign with them. Money isn’t going to be an issue. They see the potential in me and I’m going to be the best –”

“This all sounds familiar,” Clarissa replied, cutting him off. “Until you fall and hurt your spine, and then all of that is gone.”

Bentley swallowed hard. The more time he spent worrying about the mistakes he could potentially make, the less time he spent focused on winning and being the best damn BMX rider Southern California had ever seen. “I organized for a ticket to be left at the box office in your name, Mom. If you want to come, you’re more than welcome.”

Clarissa was quiet yet again. Bentley noticed water in her eyes when he looked at her, and it killed him to think that him wanting to pursue a career as a rider brought his mother to tears. He shook his head and decided it’d be best if he walked out. The deed was done. He said what he needed to say. He extended the olive branch.

It was up to his mother to accept it or not.