Shadows of the Past

Chapter 2

 Waking up in a room that isn't my own was an experience that I forgot the oddness of. It had been 6 years since I'd slept anywhere but the cute 2-bedroom apartment in the small college town Dez and I lived in, and I wish I could just go back home but there were things I had to handle first, and I refuse to put it off any longer. It took a while before I was able to rouse Dez, but eventually we were on the road again with coffee in our hands and a quick breakfast in our laps from the first drive-thru on our path. Thankfully we were only a couple of hours away now, and with Dez driving I didn't have to worry about getting lost thanks to his luck with GPS systems. Mine almost always malfunctions but he never seems to have an issue, which is a talent I'm not ashamed to admit my envy for. In the comfortable quiet, warm, and calm, I ended up dozing off in my seat.

I woke up a little while later when we were finally pulling into town and tried to shake the sleep off, rubbing my eyes and stretching as far as I could without accidentally hitting Dez in the face.

"Did I ever tell you why I left?" I idly asked, not sure if I was ready for this part of my past to come up yet, nonetheless he deserved to know what drove me away and why it's so hard for me to go back, even 6 years later.

"No, you just said it was a town filled with hatred and small-minded people you never wanted to see again. I figured it was something you would tell me when you were ready to talk about it and not a second before." He glanced over at me, warmth and concern shining in his eyes.

"Her name is Jackie, and she was my everything. She was my other half and the calm to my storm, I thought we would be together for the rest of our lives. She was the town preacher's only child and the valedictorian of our graduating class. We were actually planning on running away together a few weeks before everything fell apart, but my best friend Luke had apparently fallen for her and decided that if he couldn't have her, he would just ruin her life instead." Surprisingly my voice held strong even as my chest ached, and my heart broke a little bit more with every word. "Her family didn't know we were anything more than close friends. Her parents are very church oriented and couldn't believe that their perfect daughter would ever love another girl, let alone plan to live out her life with someone like me." I cleared my throat and wiped my eyes, determined to make it through my story without completely breaking down in hysterics.

"Blake, it's okay if you're not ready to talk about this. I know this trip is already hard for you, I don't need an explanation for why that is," he pulled the truck over and turned the hazards on, parking on the side of the road and turning towards me.

"No, I need to tell you now or I won't ever be able to make the words come out. I need to do this," I sniffled slightly but pressed on. "Luke was the only person that knew about us and was supposed to help us get out of town, he was going to pick Jackie up from her house and meet me near the edge of town where I was waiting in my car with as much of our clothes and belongings as I could fit, and all of my savings so that we could get an apartment a few states over. Instead, he told her dad about us and our plans. He made sure that everyone in town knew that we were trying to run away together and decided to make everyone believe that I had brainwashed her into being with me. Within an hour I was bombarded with calls and texts from my family members telling me I wasn't welcome at home anymore for what I did to the poor preacher's daughter. Only the owners of the diner I had worked at for literal years even cared where I went, they're the only people from this god-awful town that I kept in touch with. Last I heard, Jackie's parents sent her to one of those horrid church camps to 'pray the gay away and rid her of those sinful ideas I put in her head' and Luke became the town hero for outing us." I took a deep breath and held it for a second before slowly letting it out through my nose. Closing my eyes, I let myself slump back into my seat and just focused on my breathing. After a moment I felt a hand on my shoulder, warm and strong. I turned to face Dez and was immediately enveloped in a crushing hug, and I finally let the tears I was holding in fall, sobs wracking my chest.

"I had no idea it was that bad, Blake. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that alone, no one deserves to be treated like a pariah because of who they love," he pulled back and I saw tears in his eyes mirroring my own. "Last chance to turn around and go back home now, it's not too late yet and I don't want you to have to face the people that made you feel so terrible if it isn't absolutely necessary. You're my best friend and I don't want you to feel like you need to relive all of that all over again," he pulled me back in for one more quick, tight hug before letting go and sitting back in his seat to look at me.

"Thanks, but I'm okay and I really do have to do this, if not for anything else then to finally get the closure I need to live happily far, far away from here." I took one last deep breath and wiped my eyes, eliminating any trace of the few remaining tears still lingering on my face. "There will be time to freak out after this is all over, for now let's just get this whole thing over with." With that, I turned away from my best friend and stared through the windshield at the road ahead of us as he began driving towards town, hoping that this wouldn't take too long.