All Chapters of PINNED BY MY STEPFATHER (MxM): Chapter 101

Chapter 102 Derek’s POVMom stepped aside to let me in. The hallway looked the same, same light, same scuff near the baseboard but the air had the particular quiet of a place that had been running without me. She didn’t reach for the bag. She waited until I set it down inside the door, then pulled me into a brief, firm hug that ended before either of us could turn it into something heavier.“You look like you worked,” she said.“I did.”“Good.” She glanced at the bag, then at my face. “Unpack. Shower if you want. There’s food in the kitchen. I’m not starting anything tonight. I need to see you in space for more than a minute before we open the rest of it.”“Okay.”“I mean it, Derek. Land first.”“I will.”She nodded once, as if she had needed to hear the words out loud, and went toward her room. The door didn’t close all the way. I stood in the entry with the bag at my feet and the apartment settling around me in layers of detergent, the faint leftover of coffee, the soft tick of th