Young & Beautiful

Another silence.
Charles stares hard.
Louis stares just as hard.
“You really haven’t changed at all since I’ve last seen you,” he finally replies, delicately. “And
you were just a boy then.”
“Don’t patronize me.”
“I’m not.”
“Fuck’s sake,” Louis breathes, turning away.
“What are your plans, Louis? What do you plan on doing with this opportunity I’m giving you?”
This opportunity.
“Pissing it away.”
“I’m being serious.”
And Louis knows it, knows that his father wants to talk and be proper and Louis absolutely
detests it, so he wanders around the room, fidgeting with everything, inspecting everything,
refusing to stay still because he doesn’t want to play this game, doesn’t want to give him what he
wants. And he doesn’t want to surrender.
“I’ll figure it out, won’t I?” he says offhandedly, inspecting his curtains.
“You need a career.”
“I’ll get one. I’m charming. I’ve got some smarts. I’ll be fine, Chuck.” He pokes at the handle on
his wardrobe.
“I’m not going to support you financially, you know.”
“You haven’t in nearly a decade. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to. Don’t want to strain the
checkbook.”
Charles’ jaw clicks. “So your plan is to be homeless, then.”
Louis sighs, inspecting the glass on his bedside table. “Listen. I’ll be fine, all right? Just fucking
fine.”
“And how will that work, exactly?” he asks, beginning to follow Louis around the room. “Where
will you go? What will you do? Who will speak to you?”
Louis blanks, the questions pelting at him too fast. He doesn’t like thinking about this, doesn’t
want to think about this. It makes him feel…inferior. It makes him feel panicked, almost. Just
uncomfortable. Incompetent. Young.
He hates this. He hates this about his father.
“Louis,” Charles says, low. Almost like a threat.
Louis ignores it.