Page 24 of Catch Me
Fucking ridiculous. How the hell did anyone think things like conversion therapy were acceptable? It was 2025. Every time I heard shit like this, I was appalled. It shouldn’t have surprised me anymore, but it did.
When we got to the lobby, I whistled and Tessa came running. She trotted at my side, then leapt into the Jeep when I opened the door. We drove for thirty minutes in silence, and I was aware of Roman looking over a few times, but I ignored him.
“Are you good?” he finally asked when I pulled off the freeway.
“Mhm.”
“That’s clearly a lie.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be angry or amused by his statement. It wasn’t something I’d share with him. There was no point, and I didn’t need to vent to a stranger.
“So, this illustration,” he ventured. “Since I’m going home this afternoon, I’m not sure how to do this.”
“Do you need me to pose or can you use your imagination?”
“Well, it’s just an example, so I guess I can figure it out. There are pictures of you online and stuff.”
“Cool. If you need anything else, just text me.”
“Yup. Will do.”
I pulled up to the house, but I didn’t get out of the car. It was a bad idea to be home right now, especially with Roman around. His general presence was fine, but if he adopted his dickish attitude again, I might snap.
“I’ll be back to get you at two,” I said.
He hopped out of the Jeep without a word and headed up to the house. I rolled down the windows to breathe the fresh air as I turned around.
“Wanna go for a run, Tessa?”
She leapt into the front seat and stuck her head out the window. I took that as a yes.
*****
“They want you to stop?” Sen asked, sounding shocked.
I pinned the phone between my ear and shoulder while I flipped my omelet. “They want me totone it down.”
“How can they ask you to do that?”
“Because they see it as political.”
He huffed a laugh. “Tilian said you should blow up the stadium.”
“Tell Tilian to smoke another bowl.”
“I think his anti-establishment principles just get worse when he does. Oh, he wants to know if Roman got ahold of you. He asked for your number.”
“Yeah, he did.”
“Are you guys working together on something?”
“Not my family, not my information to share.”
“Fair,” Sen replied. “What? Tilian...Ugh. He wants me to tell you not to let Roman’s bitchy attitude get to you. He’s secretly a messy bottom in need of a doorknob and therapy.”
I nearly dropped the pan as I transferred my omelet to a plate. Had he fucked his stepbrother? That added a new layer to things. When West said Roman was in love with Tilian, I took it mostly as speculation or even a joke. I wasn’t interested in determining if he actually was repressing his sexuality, but it was starting to feel like less of an ‘if.’
It was impossible not to feel bad for him. I wondered where his opposition to homosexuality came from. His mom was obviously okay with it. Maybe it was his dad or the people he hung out with. He told me he’d played baseball in high school, and I knew firsthand how hard it was to be ‘the gay kid’ on the team. A lot of them had been fine with me, but there were enough who had been assholes.
