Freedom's Heart

Chapter 25

Ellis's POV

Before I was born into this world, my life was hell. My father was a drunk, and my mother only yelled at everyone and thing. Then there was my brother growing pot in his room and constantly getting into debt with the wrong people. I spent countless nights so fearful that someone would break into our home for their money, lying wide awake in my room. That even happened once.

Luckily I was spending the night in the park after my mother threw me out of the house. My brother was beaten so severely that he spent the week in the hospital and yelled at me for not being home at the time. He said if I were they, he could have cleared his debt by handing me over to the men who beat him. After he told me that, I was thrown out of the hospital and nearly arrested for assaulting my brother.

At school, things were no different. The girl I once called my best friend would bully me. The teacher didn't care. They always turned a blind eye to my tormenters as long as there were no injuries. The rest of my classmates would usually join in on the bullying. I could deal with the insults and threats, but what made my blood boil was that they claimed it was for my own good. They kept insisting that as soon as I stopped pretending. The thing was, I wasn't pretending.

I was never like the other girls I knew. I felt nothing when they talked about hot guys and showed pictures of their crushes. At first, I thought something was wrong with me. I didn't like the topless men or the models in bathing suits my friends gushed over. I never felt what they felt towards boys, even when a handful confessed to me. I was so worried I might be broken, but then I met her.

It was when my family went on holiday that we met each other. My drunk ass father forgot to fill up the car, and we were focused to stop in some village in the middle of nowhere. There was a queue to get to the only fuel pump in the place, so I went for a walk to stretch my legs. I didn't go far, fearing my parents might leave without me, but I found a quiet spot to sit and wait until I saw my family's car pull up to the pump.

Unfortunately, the local girl gang had already claimed that spot. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by five girls holding baseball bats. One of them shoved me to the ground and started demanding I pay them for sitting in their spot, but I had no money on me. Telling them that only infuriated the girls. The one that shoved me even raised her bat, but someone grabbed her arm.

She was so pretty and looked just like the girl with the bat, but I felt something looking at her I had only heard my friends describe before. The new girl talked the other into leaving before she helped me up and apologised for her sister's behaviour. I could barely speak when I responded and blushed when I stuttered my words. I was so embarrassed, but the girl kindly assured me there was nothing to worry about.

I wanted to stay in that moment forever. The girl's eyes were warm and gentle, while her hand was soft and reassuring. Unfortunately, my mother yelled at me to get in the car, forcing us apart. I regretted not asking the girl her name and a way to stay in contact with her. If I had known that would be the last time we saw each other, I would have never left her side.

When I returned from our family's holiday, I was upset we didn't stop in that village again. For the first time, my father managed to remember to fill up the car in his life, and it came at my expense. I never forgot that girl. I even sketched once. I really wish I could have seen her again. I never felt what I felt with that girl with anyone else. Not my boyfriend in school or whenever someone showed me pictures of handsome men. It was only when I looked up only that I realised why.

At first, I denied it. At first, I refused to believe what I had found. Still, after reading a few stories and gathering more information online, I couldn't deny that I was gay. I didn't tell my parents. My father would have been too drunk to understand, and my mother would have likely hit me. as for my brother, we never got along, so this wasn't something I could talk to him about.