Page 61 of Quiet Confessions: Part Two

“The effort is admirable, but honestly, it’d be easier if you had just stayed there,” Dad groans. “Your very existence is an issue for me. You need to leave and never come back. Do your dear, old dad a solid, would ya? You had the nerve to be a fucking fag, Rooke. This is a problem for me.”

This can’t be happening at school right now. My eyes prick with tears ,but I force myself to breathe. I will not allow him the satisfaction of breaking me. I need more answers if Nixen and my father are working together. I can fall apart later.

“Please, tell me more about my failures,” I insist, my tone as dry and disrespectful as possible. “What is in this for you?”

My father would never have left the house for anything less than a payoff.

“Nixen promised to pay me thirty grand if I dumped you outside of town with the understanding that you’d never come back,” he sneers. I want to say that he was a good man once, but that would be a lie. He’s always been a small, greedy man.

“How are you supposed to keep me from ever coming back?” I ask. “Kidnapping? Selling me to someone else?”

“There are some men who promised to break a few of your bones for fun.” He shrugs. Dear God, this man is an asshole. “They don’t like no queers either. I don’t even have to pay them anything for it.”

“You’re a small minded asshole,” Cal growls behind me, startling me. Usually I’m better about listening to my surroundings, but I’m so damn angry. “Rooke isn’t going anywhere with you, so go fuck off. You’re trespassing currently, and I’ve alerted the campus security that you’re here.”

Thank God for Cal. I want to sag against him in relief, but I can’t yet.

“I have a new home now, with people that believe in me and love me. I’ll never go back,” I promise. “You’re no longer my father and I owe you nothing.”

“You ungrateful little flamer,” he slurs. My jaw drops because I’m not at all ostentatious about my sexuality. I think I’m in shock. My father is just dropping all of the most hurtful slurs that he possibly can right now. Damn.

“And, I’m done. Sorry, baby,” Cal says, moving to punch my dad in the face. “You will not disrespect the man I love.” Kicking him in the stomach, he pushes my father further away from me so he falls to the ground. “Just because the word exists, does not mean you should ever use it!”

Cal stomps on my dad’s chest and I swallow thickly. I think this is the most romantic thing that he’s ever done for me. Is it wrong that I’m incredibly turned on by him at the moment? Probably. But this is equally one of the worst moments of my life and the most healing.

“Cal,” I bark, because I don’t want him to kill my father. There are people watching around us, but not a single phone is filming. Thank fuck. Our luck isn’t going to last for long, though. “Baby, stop! He isn’t worth going to jail over.”

Breathing hard, Cal forces himself to move back. Catching him around the waist, I throw my arms around him. “Thank you,” I whisper with my lips against the shell of his ear. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“It was a long time coming,” he growls. Security starts to walk over and Cal stiffens.

“It’s okay,” I mutter, but I’m worried since he attacked an officer of the law.

“What’s going on here?” the security guard asks. I’m frozen in fear, but a bystander steps forward.

“Sir, the man on the ground was attempting to hurt his son. He threw the first punch and Rooke’s boyfriend ended it. This man shouldn’t be here on campus. He’s trespassing,” he says. My heart is in a vice as I listen to him lie.

I’m not used to people trying to help me and I can’t breathe. Cal clings to me. Holy shit.

“Did everyone else see the same thing?” the guard asks.

Every single person who watched what happened nods in agreement.

“Students here should be protected better,” a girl from my English class says. “Take the trash out, please.”

“No! I’m not leaving without my son,” my father roars. I know he’s pissed that he won’t be getting the money that’s been promised to him, but I’m not sacrificing my life for him.

Not anymore.

As the guards drag my father away, I find it slightly easier to breathe. “You’re safe,” Cal promises softly.

Looking over at the other students, I say the only thing I can think of. “Thank you.”

They just smile and walk away to continue their day. They’ll never understand how much this means to me.

“That was intense,” Cal grunts, kissing my forehead. It’s a sweet gesture after such a traumatic experience, and I fall even harder for this man. “I think it’s time to talk about taking my father out. Let’s go home. I think we’re both done with school for today.”

I’m glad that football practice is over and that I can get the hell out of here. Cal had a meeting with a teacher, which is why he was even here this late. This school is known for their after school programs, and is why it’s one of the best schools in the area.

---