M.J.'s room at his dad's house was stripped of any personal touches. He knew that if he revealed his true self, his father would likely disown him or worse. The custody agreement between his parents felt suffocating, and M.J. longed to live full-time with his mom. Despite his stepfather, Christian Claxton, being a complete asshole, he had formed a bond with his step sisters, Cindy and Mindy, and adored his youngest half-sister, Melanie. Christian's parenting style, or lack thereof, suited M.J. just fine; he was largely left to his own devices and treated with a cold indifference that M.J. found preferable to his father's strict control. In his mother's household, M.J. enjoyed a freedom that was impossible to have at father's place.

"Time to eat, M!" his half-sister Miranda called out, beckoning M.J. to dinner.

He took a deep breath and headed to the dining room, taking his usual seat - the one farthest from his father. Brett took her place on his right with their three children; Peter, his older brother and undeniably their father's favorite son, sat to his father's left.

For years, Mickey had mentored Peter on the ways of the syndicate, hoping Anton would eventually offer him a permanent position when the time was right. Peter idolized his father and obediently followed him.

"Bow your heads," Mickey instructed, and the family complied. "Dear Heavenly Father..." As his father's voice droned on, M.J.'s mind began to wander. His father's Catholicism was as deeply ingrained as his Irish heritage, and he expected all his children to adhere to the faith with equal devotion.

But M.J. harbored doubts about God's existence, anxiously wondering if the hellfire and brimstone talk about gays was just a scare tactic. He pushed the thought away, refusing to even entertain the idea of his own homosexuality while under his father's roof. The risk of being discovered was too great, and M.J. had learned to compartmentalize his true self in order to survive.

"Amen," his father finished. "I hope you all enjoy it, and there's plenty more for seconds," Brett said, smiling.

M.J. watched as Brett's triplets enthusiastically dug into their food, while his other siblings were slower to start eating.

While Brett loved to cook, her dishes were often either under seasoned or completely unseasoned. Since she insisted on doing all the cooking by herself, her skill hadn't improved over the years. “How can you fuck up spaghetti,” Peter muttered under his breath in Irish Gaelic.

Mickey had taught most of his children Irish Gaelic, but Brett and the triplets didn't know the language. M.J. didn't appreciate how Peter would use Gaelic to trash-talk Brett in front of everyone, taking advantage of the fact that she couldn't understand the insults, but their father never chastised him for it. “She did her best. Just eat it,” Mickey replied in Gaelic before switching back to English, “School is about to be back in; are all of you ready? M.J.?” M.J. quickly nodded his head, “Yes, sir, I'm ready.”

“I expect to hear nothing but good things from your professors,” Mickey said in a warning tone.

M.J. nodded again. Peter's cell phone began to ring and he looked at the number before silencing the call. “Da, I have some business to take care of. Do you mind if I take off?”

“Go ahead. Everything okay?” Mickey asked as Peter hastily stood.

“Yes, Da,” Peter said without elaborating. Once he was gone, Miranda turned to their father. “His ‘business’ is probably a girl; there's been rumors all over campus.”

“What sort of rumors?” Mickey asked curiously.

“I heard he's dating an underaged girl,” she answered.

Even in M.J.’s high school, the rumor about Peter was being spread, but he wasn't convinced it was true, given his brother's personality. Beyond the work their father gave him within the syndicate, Peter didn't have a real job, and instead spent his spare time partying with his fraternity buddies, despite having dropped out of college ages ago. Mickey's reaction to the rumor was a flash of displeasure, but he didn't say anything more about it and swiftly changed the subject.