The New Girl

Bennet

Bennet

I had texted the guys, Dakota and Colton, since they were over Ayden's to let them know I was going over his house to talk to him.

Now here I am, with Dom at my side, standing at Ayden's door to his house.

He has open door policy with us all, but I don't if it still applied to me after what I had said to him.

Therefore I knocked.

Colton opened the door and allowed me in the house. Dom and I followed him to the kitchen where Dakota was in the midst of talking to Ayden.

"Look, it's the man himself." Dakota announced when I came in. The room fell silent.

"You two need to talk." Colton chimed in.

"Please, Ayden, just let me explain." I pleaded. "I'm not the same guy I was freshman year and you know it."

That seemed to hit the spot because he sighed.

"Fine." At that, Colton and Ayden said their goodbyes and left. They did their part that I asked them to do - help me get Ayden to talk to me.

Now, it was just me, Ayden and Dom.

I took in the largest breath my lungs could withhold before I let it out.

I can do this.

"What?" Ayden demanded.

"I haven't always been honest with you about something." I began.

Start from the beginning, just like I did with Ms. Roberts.

He rose his eyebrow.

"When I was 13, my dad didn't kick me out because I reminded him too much of my mom, though that may have played a factor on it. He kicked me out because I told him that..." these next three words could potentially change my life forever.

Losing Ayden as a friend would be like losing my dad all over again. I couldn't fucking do that.

Dom sent me a reassuring look and it was enough to keep me going.

"I am gay." That is the first time since I was 13 years old I have uttered those three words out loud.

Ayden didn't say anything and I was glad he didn't. It made finishing this whole story a lot easier for me.

"I'd kind of known all my life when all these guys were getting girlfriends and I was wondering why I didn't feel that. So I told my dad, hoping to get some fatherly advice, but all I got was a boot to the side of the road. It scarred me. I kept it a secret after that and I thought I was masking it pretty well, until Gabby came to town."

Gabby Roberts changed my life. Maybe for the better, maybe not, but I'm about to find out.

"I met Dom and he found out I was gay. Then, Gabby walked in on our conversation, promising to keep it a secret. That's what she did, she kept my secret for me. Her and Dom convinced me to tell her mom and I did that recently. She was the first person in 4 years I told. She told me I was allowed to stay at their place if I ever wanted or needed, so that's what I did both those mornings I drove Gabby to school." Here came my explanation.

Ayden was staring at me, showing me he was listening intently. It was mildly reassuring.

"You asked why we were spending so much time together and I didn't know what the fuck I was supposed to say because I couldn't say the truth. It pissed you off that I couldn't answer your question and I tried controlling my temper, but it got the better of me when I said that comment." The one where I made it sound like I slept with Gabby, when that was surely not even close to the case. "So now I can answer your question, honestly. Gabby, and Dom too, have been endlessly there for me since they found out. She was someone I trusted immensely and one of the very, very few people that knew the truth about me. That is why I had been spending so much time with her. I promise you there was never anything more. That girl is crazy about you, Ayden."