18 Years

Hitting Send

Sebastian

But if you could make that mistake and press the send button so the whole world could see it forever
-Greg EasterBrook, and American writer

I made that mistake. I was just scrolling through Twitter while doing homework with Sharky, then I heard a notification sound. Huh, I got a direct message, that's weird. No one ever really texts me. Even weirder, the message was from Clyde. It read:
Clyde: Sup Seb, what homework practice did we have for math help?
Sebastian: Oh, hey Clyde. All we had to do was page 72.
Clyde: Cool, thanks man.
After that, Clyde and I just started chatting, in a friendly way. It was so strange to me, him being nice and all. But the conversation took a twist. We started chatting about Beij, which I got worried about. Clyde starting saying all this nonsense about how he doesn't really like Beij, and all he wants is math help. How could he do this to her? I needed to tell Beij, I just needed to.
I talked to Sharky about what I should do, and he said I should tell her what happened.
"Tell her exactly what he said, man. He can't just keep stringing her along." Sharky said this so matter-of-factly. I nodded, and opened up my Twitter tab once again. I clicked Beij's little alien icon. I numbly pulled up the screenshots I took of the DM . "No, I can't be a snitch. I can't do this, it would be wrong. Beij and Clyde need to work this out among themselves." Sharky now agreed. "You're right, you should just stay out of it and not cause any trouble." I nodded. I was about to delete my message, when my door swung open. I heard a screech.
"What the fuck is going on down here?! Who the fuck is that?!," My drunken foster father swayed down the basement stairs, pointing a beefy finger at Sharky. I mouthed "run" at Sharky, and he bolted out the basement door. Now it was just me and my foster dad. He swung his half-empty beer can right at my head. I ducked, and grabbed my backpack. I was about to leave through the same door Sharky ran out of, when my dad grabbed my wrist. "You're not going anywhere. Now what was the fuck was that gay ass freak show doing down here again. I kicked your scrawny ass about him being here last week, I'll do it now. " I winced with every hateful word he spoke. I felt a eye-watering sting on my arm. I looked down at my burning flesh, and saw a cigarette being buried into my pale skin. I cried out in agony. A grin was forming on my foster father's face. He proceeded to punch me in the gut, and slug me in the face. I touched my lips, and felt the hot, sticky blood oozing down my face. I wiped away tears, grabbed my phone and backpack, and ran out the door.
I met Sharky by the little clearing that was once his campsite/living place. He was panting, and wiping sweat from his brow. He looked up at me, and his eyes widened. He ran to me, and embraced me in his protecting arms. His long, piano player's fingers wiped away the blood from my lip. He looked up into my eyes, and before we knew it, our mouths were interlocked. He held me, and I held him. His soft skin was pressed against mine, and I wrapped my hands around him. Hot tears were pooling up in my eyes, and my hands were becoming warm and tingly. We pulled apart, and he rubbed my cheekbone. I leaned against him as we walked to no place in particular. I glanced at my phone, and more tears flowed.
"Hey, what's wrong Sebastian?" Sharky asked me in a soothing voice. I shakily handed him my phone. My text that I meant to delete, actually sent when I didn't notice. Everything Clyde said about Beij was now exposed.
"Everyone is going to hate me, more than they hate me now," I sobbed. Sharky put his arm around me, and patted my shoulder. "Everything is going to work out, I promise." I smiled a weak smiled, and looked into his eyes. "I really hope it does," I said. "I really hope it does."

-R