All Chapters of The LInes We Crossed: Chapter 11

I like what I see when I look in the mirror. He likes it too. That’s why he keeps me close. I’m an ugly, horrible teenage boy. The girls never bother turning my way. The boys shove past me like I don’t exist. But him–he always notices.My lacrosse teacher.He says I’m special. Sweet. He told me he loved me last week. As long as I make him feel good, he’ll keep loving me. He’s the owner of my body. Maybe my soul too.HOSEA I promise Xavier I’ll let go.He made me swear on it this morning while half asleep, tugging my blanket over my head and mumbling, “You’re making yourself crazy, Hosea. Just stop.”So I say I’ll stop. I say it because he won’t leave me alone otherwise. Because his eyes are tired of narrowing every time I bring up Matthew’s name. I mean it too. Or at least, I want to mean it.The dormitory buzzes with morning noise–people late for class, others too early for breakfast. Xavier yanks me out of bed with more energy than I know he has this early in the morning. “You’re