Lucas Carter is struggling to find his place after moving to Seacrest and enrolling in Seacrest High.
As he settles in with a new group of friends, Lucas becomes caught in a complicated love triangle with Tyler, a closeted jock, and Alec, a my...
The world around me was a blur as Dad carried me inside and set me down on the couch. I felt like I was floating, disconnected from everything. Mom came rushing down the stairs, her voice frantic, "Baby, what's wrong?" But I couldn't focus on her words; they were just noise against the whirlwind of thoughts in my head.
Tyler's anger. Alec's hurt. The fight. It all spiraled inside me, a storm of emotions I couldn't control. And then I heard my brother's voice, casual, teasing, cutting through the fog, "What the hell is the matter with you?" But a touch of concern laced his voice.
Something snapped inside me though. All the pain, confusion, and heartbreak twisted into something hot and fierce. Before I knew it, I was yelling, "Fuck off!"
My mother's reprimand was swift. "Lucas, language!" she scolded.
Feeling a surge of anger and frustration, I lashed out, my words spilling out before I could stop them. "Just leave me alone," I spat, my voice trembling with emotion as I headed to my room.
My father's stern voice rang out, his authority unquestionable. "Lucas Elijah Carter, if you take one step up those stairs, you are grounded until graduation," he declared, "Tell us what's wrong with you!"
I knew his words weren't meant to be anything but an attempt to comfort me, but I had reached my breaking point. "Stop acting like you care, you moved us all here and expected us to adjust to it like there was nothing wrong and now you think you have the right to ask what's wrong with me," I cried out, my anger boiling over.
"What's wrong with me!? What's wrong with me is that I'm fucking gay."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
As the words hung in the air, I realized the magnitude of what I had just revealed. The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the sound of my own ragged breathing and the distant echoes of my parents' shock.
As my yelled confession settled in the air, I faced my stunned family, heart pounding with a mixture of fear and anger. "There, are you happy now, I finally said it? Now leave me the fuck alone," I spat, my voice trembling with emotion.
Without waiting for a response, I stormed up the stairs to my room, slamming the door shut behind me. I flung myself onto my bed, the tears flowing without end.
My body shook with sobs as I allowed myself to succumb to the overwhelming tide of emotion that threatened to consume me, but I didn't care, I'd let it consume me.
One by one, I had managed to push away everyone I cared about, and now I was left to face the consequences alone. The thought of spending another night drowning in my own sorrow was almost too much to bear, but I knew I had no choice but to endure.
As the hours passed, the night stretched on like an eternity, each passing moment a painful reminder of everything that happened.
I didn't know I'd fallen asleep until I woke up the next day, my tear-stained face bathed in the soft glow of the morning sunlight streaming through the window.
