A Long Road Ahead

Chapter 7

Once Sunday comes and goes, as does Monday, when Massi and I both have to go to work, Tuesday finally arrives.

Everyday off we always just seem to end up on Massi's couch.

Today is no different.

"Chloe. I need to tell you something." Massi tells me, and based on his tone, this is serious.

"What is something wrong?" I question.

"There is something that I never told you, and I probably should." He lets me know.

"What?" I ask, can this boy just tell me already.

"Two years ago, you were over here, and you were sleeping. My sister came home early and she saw you." He admits.

"Two years ago? You haven't told me in two years?" I ask him.

We never hide things from each other.

He had two years to tell me this and he never did.

"I'm sorry." He tells me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask him, starting to cry.

"I don't know. I know how scared you were about the reaction of our families and I know you didn't want them to know yet and I didn't want to tell you that I ruined that." He tells me.

"It's not your fault she came home early. But you should have told me." I tell him as tears leave my eyes.

"Chloe, I'm sorry." He repeats. "I never should have kept this from you. I didn't want you to be upset." He tells me, starting to cry as well.

"It's okay." I say, knowing that he didn't have malicious intentions.

"Sorry." He repeats.

"It's okay." I say once again, wiping the tears from his face. "I love you." I remind him before quickly kissing him.

"I love you too." He returns.

"What did she say?" I ask, wanting to know what Malia has to say about me.

"She told me that she wants me to tell our parents, but she also wants me to keep you safe." He tells me.

"I have to tell my parents. We have to tell your parents, soon." I tell them.

"Chloe, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do." He says to me.

"I want to. I want to stop hiding us. I am tired of sneaking around, I just want to get this over with." I tell him.

"Whatever you want, Chlo." He responds.

"We are telling your parents first." I request.
"Okay. They might be a bit upset at first, but they are going to love you." He assures me.

"Really?" I ask him.

"Yes, Chloe, they may be upset that I hid this from them, but they also ate going to love you. You are an amazing person." He assures me. "No matter what you look like." He adds.

"I wish I could say the same." I counter. "You aren't allowed to ever meet my parents. That won't end well." I tell him. "When I do tell them, we are going to need a plan, I need to get everything I need from my house, and I need to hide it, and I'll need a place to stay. Once I leave, once I tell them about you, that's it. Massi, I am never going to see them again. And I don't care about that, but this is going to be way messier than you think." I respond.

I'm not going to tell him that physical abuse is going to come when I tell them. They don't hit me, or kick me, or anything too often, but I know that once they hear this news, I am going to get the worst physical beating of my life.

But the bruises on my face are only going to be temporary.

My happiness will be forever.

But at the same time, I don't want to just run away. I want to give them closure.

I want them to know that they are the reason their only daughter left.

I want them to know that their hatred and evil beliefs drove away their only child. And I don't want them to try and find me.

If I just leave, they may try to find me. But, if I tell them this information, they are never going to want to see me again, and I will be free.

"Are you okay?" Massi asks me as I get lost in thought.

"Yeah." I confirm with a nod. "When did you want to tell your parents?" I ask him.

"Whenever, I'm ready whenever you are." He tells me.

"Okay, tell them when you want, I guess." I tell him.

"Are you sure?" He asks.

"Yes. Malia already knows, and we should just tell your parents, they deserve to know. Especially if they are going to support us, you think." I tell him.

"They are going to love you, trust me." He says.

"Okay." I tell him, cuddling up to him.

I do trust him, but I am still terrified.

I don't want them to hate me. My own parents are going to and I don't want to be the reason Massi's parents hate him.

As scared as I am, I am kind of excited to tell my parents. I won't have to live in fear anymore. I won't have to be terrified of getting caught, or what will happen the next time my father gets angry after drinking too much.

I have never told anyone that my dad has hit me, but it is rare, so it isn't a constant worry for me.
I am going to be free from them, and I have an amazing group of friends that are always here for me.

"What are we going to do when I tell my parents? Where will I go?" I ask.

"I don't know. We will figure something out." He assures me.

"I don't want your parents to hate you because of me." I blurt out.

"They won't, Chloe. They are going to love you and everything will be fine." He says to me.

"Okay." I give in.

In some ways, I am a bit jealous of him. I know that I have all the love I need between him and all our friends. However, I am jealous that his parents are going to accept us.

My parents' racism outweighs their love for me and  that is something I am positive of.

"I love you." He reminds me, switching our positions so he is now laying on me, resting his head on my shoulder.

"I love you too." I say, falling asleep shortly after he does.

Guys, story time has arrived. So, I'm in college. I'm taking a public speaking class this semester. We have a group chat and it is just the best thing ever. Last week he gave us a history lesson and we all were just talking the entire time.

So yesterday, he gives us a lesson about swimming(his examples turn into lessons on unrelated subjects). So here I am, having a panic attack over zoom. One girl in the group chat goes, 'Sophie, what is so funny?' And then goes, 'or are you crying?'.  And then this other girl, THIS IS THE SWEETEST THING EVER, she adds me on Snapchat(where the group chat is) and private messages me to ask if I am okay. It was so sweet. And then this boy in the class has been snapping me for days already, and he was messing me the whole time telling me that like everything is okay, go get some water, turn your camera off and go wash your face, it's okay, I'm here if you want to talk. So shoutout to the frat boy that might like me and is being super nice. I just love the environment of that class, even though the professor and the material suck.