Page 27 of Breaking Free

“Okay, that’s just one thing, but to be serious, the opportunity to be yourself. To break free from the shackles of what society thinks we all need to be. You deserve the opportunity to be happy with whoever brings you that happiness, regardless of what’s between their legs.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. You know you’ll always have us even if all your other friends turn out to be pieces of shit.”

I laugh. “I appreciate that. I gotta call Jay back, so I’ll hit you up later.”

“All right, man.”

I end the call, head inside, and call Jay.

“Hey, man,” he answers right away.

“Hey.”

“So, I feel kinda bad for leaving you out of last night’s festivities, because it was a pretty fun fucking night.”

I snort. “Thanks.”

“So, I was thinking we could go out tonight.”

“You know I’m not twenty-one for another month. Why don’t we have a party here?”

“How about both?”

I groan. “You want to go to that lame ass bar?”

“It’s the only place that allows eighteen and up in.”

“Yeah, and I have to wear a bright green wristband to alert everyone I’m underage.”

Jayden laughs. “It’s not that bad. Wear a long sleeve shirt. And the bar isn’t that lame.”

“You literally called it the shittiest bar in America.”

“Maybe I was exaggerating. It’s not like I’ve been to every bar in America.”

I run a hand through my hair. “Ugh, fine. But I don’t want to stay too long. We’ll drink a little and then come back here. I don’t even know why we go out when we can drink in the comfort of our own homes.”

“It’s called socializing, Trev. We might make new friends.”

“Don’t you have enough friends?” I grumble.

“No, and you definitely need more.”

“Fine. When?”

“Ten?”

“All right.”

I end the call and realize I have several hours before then, so the plan is to do some homework, call my parents, take a nap, eat, shower, and get ready to go.

I briefly wonder if telling my parents I’m gay over the phone is acceptable. Definitely seems easier. Problem is, they live nearby, so it’s not like I have a good excuse. Mom would be over in a heartbeat.

We moved here from West Virginia when I was twelve. I love this part of Michigan, and South River is top notch, so I never felt the need to leave the state to go to college. My relationship with my parents isn’t bad either, but I still have this overwhelming sense of dread weighing heavy on me at the thought of telling them.

Maybe when I call, I’ll make plans to go over and visit next weekend, and I can tell them then. It gives me a week to figure out how to go about it.

---