Tainted Fruit (Wattpadprize14)

Chapter 1

     He took one last look in the mirror and slowly opened the door in his room. He walked down the stairs, dreading coming face to face with his parents.  

     He didn't want to face the harsh treatment they gave him, or see the disappointing looks they both wore whenever they saw him.

   All he ever wanted was to be accepted by his family and society. To have someone that would help him bear all the pain.

    He just wished he could be who he really was without having to face judgement.

        With his head hung low, he trudged into the kitchen.

    The boy froze in shock and awe seeing his little sister sitting at the kitchen table. His sister had finally came home after three years.

     His parents had forbidden him to ever lay eyes on their precious daughter. They didn't want her to see what her older brother had become.

    So she was kept hidden from him. They sent her off to a christian boarding school to finish her studies and also keep them away from each other.

     His mother was shocked, she was not expecting him to be down so early. She wanted to at least have time to send Rachel off somewhere before he came down.

   She looked at her daughter and smiled, glad that she was finally home. She frowned as she thought about how she would be going back to school in a few more weeks.

    She didn't want to be so far from her little girl anymore but she knew it was for the best. She didn't want him rubbing off on her.

   She looked at her son and shame filled her. While all of her other friends had sons that played sports and dated girls, she was stuck with a son that wore dresses and makeup.

  Shaking her head in disgrace, she vowed to never allow her daughter to become such an abomination.

    "Rachel honey, why don't you go upstairs and change", she told her 10-year old daughter. 

    "Yes mommy", the little girl beamed.

    This was the child his mother and father had always wanted. She was their pride and joy.

    The boy stood there still shocked and in awe at how big and grown up his little sister had gotten. The last time he saw her she was only six years old.

     Her once shoulder-length brown hair now stopped at the middle of her back.

    What shocked him the most was the look his sister gave him on the way towards her room. Her little features was scrunched up in confusion and disgust as she stared up at him.

   His heart sank, they had turned his sister against him as well. They made her follow in their footsteps.

He truly was alone.

    His mother smiled at the look Rachel gave him right as she walked by. In her eyes, the little girl had done right. 

    She and her husband had fed the girl countless lies about how he was a disgrace to God and was to be avoided at all costs. That God was ashamed of him and his evil ways.

    The girl had ate those lies right up. Growing up, she was taught to obey thy mother and thy father.

    So whatever rules her parents set had to be followed accordingly. Even if it meant never speaking to her only other sibling.

    His mother looked back down at the pan of bacon sizzling before her. 

   "Are you hungry?" She asked her son. No emotion could be traced in her voice. This was the way her voice always was every time she spoke to him

   The boy winced at the lack of emotion his mother had towards him but shook his head nonetheless. He didn't want to have breakfast with his mother if the tension in the air was this thick.

     "Are you going to speak or should I add that to the long list of things wrong with you?" His mother asked coldly.

    The way she said that sent shivers throughout his spine. The fact that his mother hated him that much brought pain to his nearly broken heart.

    "N-no ma'am", he stuttered quietly, still remembering the manners his parents had taught him -back when he was still loved. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. The tension in the air grew thicker. 

     "Okay then, off to school you go. We'll talk about what happened when your father gets home", she said blankly, still not looking up from the stove.

     The boy nodded and turned around. He grabbed his messenger bag  and proceeded out the door.

     He stood in front of the school building, debating whether to go in. He was afraid, afraid to face his tormentors. Terrified of the judging looks he was sure to get the minute he walked through those doors.

     He didn't want to hear the whispers as people talked about him behind his back. He didn't want to read the awful notes that he knew would be taped to his locker.

    He just wanted to go home and lock himself in his room, just so he could get away from everyone. To hide from the world and become invisible to the human eye.

      He quickly dismissed the thought, he couldn't skip school. He didn't want to add that to the long list of reasons why his parents were disappointed in him.

     Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he pushed through the double doors.

    All eyes turned towards him once he walked into the building. He faced forward, keeping his eyes focused on his target, his locker.

   The noise picked back up and whispers spread through the school like a wildfire. Ignoring the name calling and taunting of his classmates, the boy walked through the hallways. 

    He stopped in front of his locker and his stomach churned. Nervousness filled his body as he saw the three football players chattering and hanging around his locker.

     He didn't want to hear the comments they would say about him. It was the first time they had seen him in all this makeup and he was afraid of what they would do.

    Hearing the teasing whistles and cat-calling the boys made, he kept his eyes glued to the ground. He tried shuffling to his locker but was blocked by the three bulky boys in front of him

    "Excuse me",  he whispered timidly. His soft voice barely audible over the noise in the halls.

    "Is that, is that make-up?" One of the jocks asked skeptically, using his thumb to smudge the boy's face.

     The boy knew who the person was. He was one of the teenagers that went to the teen ministries in his father's church.

     "I always knew he was a fag, but this just proved it",  another one laughed. The boy kept his head down, trying to ignore the insults they were throwing.

    He felt his right arm being roughly grabbed and winced. His small and frail body was violently flung to the wall on the opposite side of the hallway.

    He screamed as his body came in contact with the wall. The sickening crunch that his body made was heard throughout the hallway.

     The boys left all chuckling away and calling him different names. They had left him there not even turning back to ask him if he was okay or not. He knew the students nearby heard his screams but yet no-one came to his rescue. No one helped him up. 

    He was a nobody and no one would risk their reputation to help a nobody. 

    He just wished at least someone would care, someone would be his knight in shining armor and whisk him away from the life he was living now. He wished he wasn't the way he was. Maybe then people would like him and his parents would actually come to love him.

   These were all the things he always hoped would happen, but even with all that wishing none of them ever came true.