"May they Rest In Peace, amen"

I sigh as the preacher closes his bible and everyone lifts their heads. I reluctantly get up and assume my position by the casket as I wait for people to filter through to give me what I would call their "half-assed" condolences. Don't get me wrong, the people of this town loved my parents, but their little gay son they attempted to ship off 6 years ago, not so much.

Halfway through the line I glance up at Eva giving her what I hoped to be my best puppy dog look. She sends me an encouraging smile and gives me a thumbs up. She knew how much I had been dreading today and practically drug me out of bed this morning.

I was still trying to beg Eva with my eyes as the end of the line came closer and I grimaced when I saw who it was. I took a deep breath and prepared myself.

"What a shame, your parents having to pay the ultimate price for the sins you choose to commit, little faggot."

My eyes widened at the insult but I kept my smile polite. "Thank you for your kind words, my parents will miss you and your judgmental outlook."

Jett's eyes narrowed as he took a step forward, the back of my neck immediately began sweating. Have I mentioned yet how bad my 5'4, 130 pound frame is at fighting?

"Don't make me wipe the funeral home with your ungodly ass, disgusting," he snarled as he reached for me.

"That's quite enough, Jett. No matter your opinion, this boy has been through enough and I will not allow you to threaten him at his own parents funeral," a deep baritone sounded from behind him.

Luke Richards, Eva's dad, also known as the main focus of all my naughty dreams was standing directly behind him, staring him down with a look that would make any man cower. Especially considering his broad 6'4 frame and powerful aura that emanated off of him at all times.

For me personally, however, all it did was stir up naughty thoughts that I quickly tried to forget. Popping a woody at your parents funeral would probably be frowned upon. I giggled at the thought as Jett attempted to not look intimidated by Mr. Richards as he walked away.

I watched Eva leave her seat and make her way towards me and I felt eyes on me as people slowly started clearing the gravesite. I looked up into the rich brown eyes and could feel my cheeks turn pink. "Thanks for that, I know defending the gay disappointment of the town never earns you many friends."

His eyes darken as he stares at me. "Don't do that. Don't belittle yourself just because they do. These people wouldn't know an open mind if it bit them on the ass."

I giggled loudly and the few remaining around the tent frowned at me disapprovingly. One of those frowns belonged to my parents neighbor, whom they had known for many years. She tsked as she walked toward me.

"Do you really think laughing at your parents' funeral is very appropriate?" She asked, the disdain clear in her voice.

I scoffed as I looked at her, "I hadn't seen them in over 4 years, I feel much more like laughing than crying today. Not that my feelings are really any of your business, but they weren't gonna win a worlds best parent award anytime soon."

She gasped and took a step back as if I had offended her. "You ungrateful little shit! Your parents did everything they could for you up until you decided to go frolicking around as a homosexual and think that was okay. You just don't want to admit that you hate how disappointed they were in you. And I know for a fact they were, we talked about it every morning over coffee."

Despite how much I said I hated my parents, her words struck a cord in me as my eyes began to well up. I blinked rapidly to try and keep them at bay but it only made the first one fall down my cheek.

I felt a reassuring hand on my lower back as Mr. Richards stepped forward. "That's quite enough, Mrs. Hodges. Regardless of his feelings, he did just lose his parents and standing here lecturing him on how he chooses to live his own life, when, quite frankly, it's none of your goddamned business what he does, will not solve anything. You want to respect the dead so much, how about you try and respect the living first," his deep voice washed over me as he placed his other hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

"Humph, no wonder Amanda left you Luke. Defending the gays, preposterous!" She huffs as she turns on her heel and stomps away.

Gaping at what she said I turned to Luke, my eyes tearing up again. "I'm so sorry, please don't defend me to them. It'll only make it worse for you, really. I'm a big boy and I can handle it."

He tilts his head to the side as he stares at me. "Can you though?" He questions as he brings a tissue from the breast pocket of his suit. "I'll defend you every chance I get, regardless of what you say. You want to come to our house tonight? Me and Eva were thinking pizza and movies."

I look over to Eva as she enthusiastically shakes her head. "Yes!! Please Manny can you? I go back to Uni tomorrow, you can even spend the night!"

I watch his frown as she says this and realize his offer was out of sheer politeness rather than him actually wanting me there. My face falls for a  second at this realization before I quickly school my features. "I think I'm actually just gonna go home and start boxing all their stuff up. I've got a whole house I'm not sure what to do with yet so I need to get started."

"Are you sure you want to be alone tonight?"

I smile at her worry for me, trying to seem reassuring. "Yes, I'm sure."

Eva frowns and huffs. "Okay fine, but I'm coming over tomorrow on my way out of town to see you, okay?"

I nod my head, "Of course, please come see me! I'll never turn down your company."

"Just mine, right?" Luke asked beside her as I turned away.

I nervously chuckled and kept walking, not knowing what to say.

I found the funeral director and spoke with him about the last few details of the funeral, setting up the date for the headstones to come in and agreeing to come by next week to set up a payment plan. Thanking him for his time I zipped up my jacket and started in the direction of the house.

I had no car, nor did I even have a license. Driving had always scared me, and after moving to an even larger city, it was much easier to walk than to drive so I never bothered trying.

When I got the call telling me of my parents accident, I immediately packed up and headed back home. It wasn't like I wanted to be back here, but if I was honest with myself, I wasn't enjoying my time in the city anymore. Nobody was hating on me for being gay, but I was so lonely. The only friend I had managed to make moved away about 3 weeks before I got the call and I had no one else.

At first, I didn't know how to feel about their death. Of course, my instinct should be to be sad, but our relationship was so nonexistent I considered myself already without parents.

Now I was here, back where I started, in their home with no game plan. I looked around as I walked down the sidewalk, admiring the houses as I passed them. It really was a lovely neighborhood. Well, on the outside, anyway.

I laughed to myself as I went around the corner right by the house. I looked at the two story house as walked up to it and sighed. I still didn't know if I wanted to sell it or keep it or just fucking burn it to the ground. Thankfully they each had hefty life insurance policies, which I had to get together before the appointment with the director next week.

I sighed as I unlocked the door and let myself in. I had been so busy the last few days with their arrangements, I hadn't had time to think about what to do. This was, overall, a very nice house. Spacious, nice yard, more than enough room if I were to have a family one day. Could I stay in my childhood home? I didn't have any particular negative feelings towards the house, it was always more just towards my parents, so maybe I could.

I looked around as I made my way to my room. Redecorating would be the first thing to do. I shut the door to my bedroom and removed my clothes, leaving my underwear on as I got into bed. It was still early, but exhaustion was creeping up on me and an early night sounded like just what I needed. I smiled as I remembered Eva would be by in the morning, happy to get to see her again before she left to head back to university.

Now if I could just decide what to do with this house.