Confrontations

The confrontation with his relatives had been a long time coming. Not once had they ever genuinely loved him anyway. He was, by all accounts, the black sheep of the family. Simply because he went against their beliefs. He challenged them. Reagan put his argumentative Aunt in her place more than once in recent years. He’d called her out by asking a question she couldn’t answer. She’d stutter each time she attempted to. His health issues left him no longer able to work. He’d done what was best for him. Without them. Something they didn’t like. He no longer cared. 

“We were just trying to help” Addie said
“Help? That’s what you call it? You and two others in here “analyzed” recent results that are wayyy above your understanding. I proved that to you when dad and I asked you over and asked questions you didn’t have the answer to” Reagan retorted
“But-” Aunt Margaret began
“I don’t even want to hear from you. I’m not going to argue with YOU of all people because all you want to do is ARGUE and I’m just not interested. In fact, I’m done being around all of you. Not once did I ever feel loved by anyone in this room. I’m not going to keep you guys in my life when your actions have spoken far louder than anything any of you will ever say. No contact from this point forward” being the last thing he said to them

LATER THAT DAY WHEN HE GOT TOGETHER WITH HIS BEST FRIEND

“Wow. I’m not surprised. At all. Then again, it sounds about right” Sasha giggled
“Yeah, I know. I never felt so empowered before” Reagan mentioned
“They had it coming though” Sasha said
“Yeah, I’m far happier and better without them” Regan sighed

Both knew it was a matter of time before the confrontation with his dad would happen. Reagan was Trans after all. He’d been socially transitioning for the last eight years after all. Not once had his dad accepted him. Or even wanted to talk about it. It was a subject he was too uncomfortable with. It didn’t help that Sasha, his best friend, is Lesbian. They’d been friends since High School. She’d been openly Lesbian since then. Reagan had already prepared for the inevitable. He’d gotten rid of nearly everything he owned in the event he had to leave quickly. 

The days passed by. Life was happening. Reagan saved everything he could. His job as a Dishwasher paid him well enough he was able to save enough to leave aside from the few bills he had. He didn’t get paid enough to live on his own. Nowhere near enough. It was minimum wage after all. He didn’t mind. His minimalist mentality kicked in. His urge to leave motivated him to save every penny he could. His dad wasn’t taking care of himself. Things he would say didn’t help. He’d packed everything he didn’t regularly use. Just in case anything happened. 

“How dare you say that” Reagan angrily said
“What?” Owen nonchalantly said
“What would possess you to say something like that? That is so wrong to say” Being the only thing Reagan could get out without hitting Owen
”I don’t know why you’re so angry” Owen replied without a second thought 
“You’ve said more than a few things that are judgmental. You’re so set in your ways that you don’t even love me for who I am. You’ve always been obviously uncomfortable around LGBT conversations I’ve had with others. Not to mention being uncomfortable around all my LGBT friends. Sasha included. Mom would be ashamed of you” Reagan replied before storming out of the room 

His mother died over twenty years prior from a Brain Aneurysm. Reagan hadn’t come out to her yet. Reagan had known the confrontation was going to happen anytime. He’d felt it. The recent judgmental comments from his dad were comments he didn’t agree with. At all. Reagan kept his mouth shut knowing he didn’t have the bare minimum goal of savings to leave. He was one hundred dollars away when the confrontation happened. He didn’t care. He had enough to leave despite knowing he’d be homeless. He’d let Sasha, as well as his job, know what was going on. That he was leaving in the next few days. Hayden, his boss, along with Sasha had known for a while it was going to happen at some point soon. It was Sasha that took him to the train station. He’d stayed with her until he left. It hadn’t even taken long for him to pack after the fight. He’d even gone in for what would be his last shift the day after the fight. His last words to his dad being he was on his own. 

“What are you going to do?” Constantine (Sasha's mom) asked
“I don’t know yet. I don’t even have a plan. I’ll probably stay in a hostel until I find a job and my own place. Most of them, from what I’ve seen anyway, are affordable” “Reagan mentioned
“How much do you have saved?” Sasha asked
“Not enough. Almost four grand if you must know” Reagan nonchalantly replied
“That’s a decent amount saved though. It’ll help for long enough anyway” she smiled
“I hope so. I know I’ll be okay though. There’s plenty of jobs in Miami Beach” Reagan smiled back

Sasha and her family had done what Owen never would. Love him for who he is. It was her family that let him know just how safe he was with them. Parties at their house were always hard to move through with Owen there. They didn’t care over time. They used Male pronouns after a while. Everyone but Owen anyway. They were going to miss Reagan the most. He wasn’t really close to anyone else in town. Not anymore anyway. He was okay with not saying goodbye to anyone else. Or having one last lunch with anyone. Aside from a few. They let him know they’d come down when they could and celebrate him. He moved to Miami Beach with a sense of freedom he’d never felt before. Three months passed in the blink of an eye. He’d sold drawings he made as time went on. Several restaurants paid him for some of his drawings. One of which gave him a job as a Dishwasher. Two months later, eight months after moving to Miami Beach, he was able to move into a spacious studio near the restaurant. It was more than enough for him. He was far happier than he’d ever been.