"Hey Neil, you ready to practice talking." I nod to Dr. Wilson. He sits down in a chair beside my bed. This time, Todd was aloud to stay which made me very happy. "Okay Mr. Perry. Can you show me what happiness is?" I point to Todd. The doctor shakes his head and chuckles. "Can you tell me what happiness is?" I point to Todd again. "Neil, what is happiness." I struggle to get the words out of my mouth, they fumble in my brain, I only say one word and even that was difficult to do. I say it with each syllable. "Todd..." He perks up in his chair. That was the first word I'd said since what ever happened.
Tw: Mr. Perry, Mention of suicide and homophobia and homophobic slurs
I few weeks go by and I had learned to walk again and on Monday, my father showed up out of the blue. If I can even call him that... I could now say an almost perfect sentences. Not that I ever wanted to talk to him again but I did say one thing. "I am going back to Welton and I don't give a shit what you say." His eyes darken. "I beg your pardon?" I swallow the lump in my throat but the words still struggle to get out. "I-I'm going back to Welton Academy and I am not going to Military School." An evil grin spreads across his face. "I'd doesn't surprise me that you don't remember, so I am going to jog your memory. At Welton Academy, you decided to be an actor, then, you tried to commit suicide by shooting yourself in the head. And you accepted yourself as a faggot." With that, he leaves. I lay there, trying to comprehend what he had just said. Was it true? Did I actually shoot myslef in the head... I remember the pain in my scull when I first woke up. And the head aches that I have been getting. I did... I shot myslef in the head. It starts to feel as through the steril white walls are closing in on me. I carefully get up and walk to the lobby.
My mother is sitting in a leather chair, wiping her eyes. I sit beside her, although she she never stood up to my father, I knew she wanted to. "Mom?" The words felt unnatural, the usual word that I used to address her was mother. But something clicked in that moment. Right now she wasn't a mother, she was mom. She seemed vulnerable as a mom would be. Her head turns to look at me. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying. She gives a faint smile and cups the side of my face. Something she hasn't done in a while. This entire situation felt strange but in a good way. "Oh my sweet boy... my sweet, sweet son." Her hand has travelled to my shoulder and she gives it a light squeeze. When she said these words, they sounded real... truly real. "I told your father to move out of the house..." I look at her in shock. Has she really just said that? Was I just imagining it? She must have seen the shock on my face because she lets out a small chuckle. "I couldn't bear to look at him after what he did to you... after what we did..." her voice trails off. I sigh and look down. "You did nothing wrong... it was all him. I promise. I know how much you wanted to put him in his place. Especially on that night when I was eleven." She nods and pulls me into a comforting hug. I smile. I don't remember either of my parents hugging me before. I mean sure she talked to me on the night. But this was our first hug.
