The morning air still held a hint of crispness as Marilyn finished up breakfast. The aroma of pancakes and coffee filled the kitchen, a comforting scent that almost made me forget the awkward encounter with Caleb. Alex was humming softly as he helped clear the table, and Tristan was already buzzing with excitement about the parade. I could tell that he was happy as much as I was.I still felt like I needed to talk to him, and I needed to tell him just how much I was grateful. Soon I was going to be a woman and it was all because of him and strangely enough, Caleb.I smiled as my mind flashed the image of me slapping him to the ground. That felt amazing and I wish I could slap him a little bit again. The poor thing had turned as red as a tomato.Tristan, after gushing over what he couldn't wait to see finally excused himself to go upstairs and get dressed. Alex came out of the kitchen after dropping off the dishes."Where did Tristan go?'' He asked."He went to take a shower and get
The sunlight filtered through the curtains, dancing atop my closed eyelids. I blinked, stretching out on the comfortable blanket that I didn't remember being there the night before.The fluffy pile of little pillows lay around Tristan, Darling and I. Tristan was still sound asleep, his hand on the floor after falling off my shoulders as I got up. Meanwhile, Darling lay on his thigh, snoring softly. I smiled at the scene before me. Looking at them now after all the things that had occured over the past weeks it was hard to imagine that I once believed that Tristan was cheating with Darling.They loved each other yes but it was like the same way that I loved Nico and Rita. Besides, Tristan had told me how Darling was moving to Thailand and how this sleep over before the pride parade was like a goodbye.It was beautiful.Even better, they got to go to pride together as did I. My first pride parade with my boyfriend. I smiled and let out a grateful sigh.Careful not to disturb them, I q
The living room was a delightful mess of blankets, discarded snack wrappers, and the sound of the dialogue from a truly horrible C-rated zombie movie. Alex and Tristan were cozied up nicely while all three of us shared laughter, loud and free. It had been a long time since I had joy like this bubbling from my chest without fear of it being violently stomped on.All three of us had been through the ringer these past few weeks. I had left and exposed my abuser, Alex had lost a friend and I could still sense the grief in him and Tristan had dipped his feet into the murky waters of a past, secret life that he had left behind me.It was an eventful few days and it was exactly what I needed. It was what we all needed to be honest. A break, an escape, a horrible zombie movie and late night snacks.Tristan had outdone himself, pulling out every cheesy horror movie he owned. The one that we were currently watching was made over two decades ago and it seemed more like comedy than actual horror
The drive to Darling's apartment felt different today. Not laden with the usual anxiety that had gripped me since the Thomas Rowler incident.Before, in the beginning of the Thomas Rowler exposure incident, Darling had been different. He was scared and always looked over his shoulder, fearing that Thomas would want revenge.Of course that would never happen. Thomas had been defeated, extorted and humiliated for good measure. The world knew just who he was and what he was capable of so doing anything to hurt Darling was not in his best interests.After a while, Darling had left my house and return back to his house but I still constantly checked in. At first, to pacify my own heart and be certain that he had not hurt himself but now all those tense feelings had evaporated.Regardless, I wanted to have some time with my friend. It had been quite an eventual two weeks with the passing of Hayley Oaks, the sister of my colleague, girlfriend of Alex's best friend and a friend to Alex himsel
The quiet hum of the car engine was the only sound that for some reason was the only thing that could calm the storm that was brewing within me. I tried to focus on it a lot more.The rotation of the tires, the smooth movement of the wheel, the gravel being crushed under the weight of the vehicle. It was a welcome distraction from the echoes of the events of the past two weeks.Hayley had passed away in a manner that was terribly unfair, she had been buried and on her way to being forgotten. That was the scary part about death. The high possibility of being forgotten.I would never forget her. I suspect neither would Nico and the rest of her family. But what happens when we were gone too?The entire situation still felt incredibly unreal to me. It was a bad dream that I tried and failed to wake up from. It just didn't make any sense that things would happen this way.She was so young, so full of life.Nico had thrown himself into his studies, locking himself up and everyone else out
The air was heavy with the crushing weight of grief and sorrow that hung over the heads and shoulders of all who stood with her heads bowed and their eyes covered with dark shades to hide the tears. Rows of people in black attire enveloped my eyes and each of them mirroring the pain and raw grief of the other person. It had been a week since Hayley had bid this world and we that she left behind, goodbye. A week that felt like a painful eternity. Each waking day felt like the horror had just unfolded. Each day you wake up hoping that you had finally escaped that bad dream. That you could pick up your phone and dial her number and she would answer after the third ring in her usual, cheery voice and ask you if you missed her. I did miss her. We all did. The green canopy over the grave cast long, somber shadows. The sun was bright but it did nothing to brighten the darkness in our hearts. Nico stood beside me unmoving and staring at the dug hole where the casket that held the rema