Chapter 28

Jinxx was woken out of a deep sleep to the sound of laughter. Wondering where the noise was coming from, Jinxx decided to grab a glass of water first. Finding Lee in the kitchen with Jeffree and Jayy, Jinxx was confused about what they were laughing over.

“Oh, mierda,” Jayy whispered out. He knew Jinxx would probably kick both of them out just for being there.

“You’re finally up!” Lee exclaimed as she got up from her seat on a barstool, “Jeffree w-was s-showing me the video of Lilith’s first w-word. W-would you like to s-see it?” Lee asked as she met Jinxx on his way to thе kitchen.

Jinxx chuckled and gently noddеd, “Sure honey. Can you at least give me a simple hint on what she said?” Jinxx asked quietly, hoping Jeffree and Jayy didn’t hear him.

Lee shook her head, “Nuh-uh baby,” Lee replied, gently teasing Jinxx, “You’ll have to find out on your own.”

Sitting down to watch the video, Jeffree skipped to the part where Lilith said her first word.

“Daddy!” Lilith screamed out in the video. Jinxx gasped with excitement as Lee just giggled.

“That’s why I told you that Jinxx would be proud, Lee,” Jayy said after a few minutes, “Her first word was just for you, Jinxx,” Jayy added as he gave Jinxx a warm smile.

Jinxx chuckled deeply, “You know, Jayy. Through everything we’ve all been through, I am,” Jinxx paused to exhale deeply, and to gather his thoughts, “I am truly proud to call you my brother-in-law. No matter what, we’re family, and family is all we have left.”

“And?” Lee questioned as she looked over at Jinxx.

“And I’m willing to put the past behind us, and accept both you and Jeffree. I realized while I was in the hospital getting treated for covid that no matter who you’re with, and what gender you are, we are all people in this world. Truly, I know you won’t say this back, but as my brother-in-law, I honestly love you,” Jinxx added as Lee handed him a glass of water.

Jayy chuckled breathlessly, “You truly mean it?” Jayy asked, a huge smile plastered on his face.

Jinxx nodded, “Yeah. I truly mean it,” Jinxx replied, a smile spreading across his face as well.

“I- I don’t know what to say. This means a lot to me, Jinxx. You said I won’t say it back, but you’re wrong. As my brother-in-law, I love you too. Thank you for accepting both Jeffree and myself,” Jayy replied as he caressed Jeffree’s right cheek.

“Like Jayy said, thank you, Jinxx. This is incredible news,” Jeffree spoke up as he wrapped Jayy in a hug, “I cannot thank you enough.”

Jinxx looked back up at both Jayy and Jeffree, “You’re extremely welcome boys. I know it’s taking me awhile to realize this, but sometimes time is all one person needs.”

“¡Esta es una gran noticia! Lee, ¿por qué tomó tanto tiempo?” Jayy asked as he turned his attention back to his sister.

“Realmente no lo se. No hagas preguntas, Jayy. Jinxx podría cambiar de opinión,” Lee replied as she got up from her barstool to get something to drink.

Jinxx looked up at Jeffree, who was as confused as he was, “Any idea what they’re saying?” Jinxx asked as the siblings kept their conversation going.

Jeffree looked over at Jayy, then back at Jinxx, “I don’t know. Jayy never taught me Spanish. Lee never taught you Spanish either, did she?” Jeffree replied with a quiet chuckle.

“No,” Jinxx replied, “She knows over twenty different languages. I only know two out of the twenty. They might give us the translation soon,” Jinxx added with a chuckle.

“¡Mira! Se llevan bien y están tan confundidos acerca de lo que estamos hablando,” Jayy exclaimed with a laugh.

“¿Crees que deberíamos parar? Estamos confundiendo a los niños pobres. Quiero decir, realmente no tenemos que parar. Es divertido verlos confundidos,” Lee replied with a laugh.

“Hey Jeffree? Do you want to go shopping? I need to pick a few things up from the store, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me,” Jinxx asked, hoping Jeffree would agree.

Jeffree looked up at Jinxx, finally snapping out of his thoughts, “Sure! I need to see something else besides the counter of the pet store. Besides, it’ll give me a chance to get to know you better,” Jeffree replied.

Nodding gently, Jinxx got up from his seat, and went to grab his car keys, motioning for Jeffree to follow him. Finally making it to the car, Jinxx and Jeffree were on their way to the store.

“So how’d you get Lilith to say her first word?” Jinxx asked sometime into their trip.

Jeffree began to look out the window, hoping to avoid eye contact with Jinxx, “I’d rather not say how we did it. Let’s just go with Jayy and I got her to say it,” Jeffree replied with a deep sigh.

“Alright. I guess all that matters is Lilith said her first word. Off that topic, where are you from?” Jinxx asked, hoping to get, and stay on Jeffree’s good side.

“London. I’m from London England. Years ago, I found a school that specialized in helping drop accents. I attended there for years just trying to drop my accent,” Jeffree replied, finally looking over at Jinxx, “What about you?” Jeffree asked.

Jinxx smiled faintly, “I’m from Iowa, but my parents are from Germany. When I was little, my parents began learning English while I started learning French and German. Quite strange, really. I had never heard so many different languages running through the house. We usually tried to speak the same language, but I didn’t know German at the time, and my parents didn’t know English,” Jinxx replied with a laugh as he relived the memory.

“Germany, huh? That’s pretty cool. How is Iowa anyway? I’ve hardly traveled,” Jeffree asked with a chuckle.

Jinxx began telling Jeffree more about his homelife, and how Iowa was as a state. Finally arriving at the store, the boys went in, hoping to get everything they needed. After getting some food for the house, the boys stopped over at Hot Topic to buy Lee some new clothes, as well as getting Lilith some too.