HATE HIM, TILL I NEED HIM
He just sat there, thinking, the silence stretching between us like a confession neither of us wanted to name.
We started talking again — about life, about how hard it is for people like us. I told him about my parents, how they’d disowned me when I told them the truth. “It hurt,” I admitted, “but I’d rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I’m not.”
He was quiet for a while, then said softly, “That’s brave.”
“It’s not bravery,” I said. “It’s survival. And if your friend wants to live, really live, he has to stop hiding.”