Richie left a little while later. He said he had something he wanted to talk to me about tonight. But I wasn't worried about it. After what he said this morning, having him want to break up with me would be my last guess.
So I went grocery shopping with my mom and my brother. On the drive there, I was given a lecture about 'safe sex' after my mom saw the bruises on my neck. She heard me mumble, "You should see my chest." So she forced me to lift up my shirt in the middle of the parking lot. I saw a couple of people giving me dirty looks, but I wasn't ashamed of anything. I didn't regret this.
"You promise you used a condom?" she asked, not caring how loud she was speaking. "Because if you get an STD, I swear-"
"Richie is clean, mom." I groaned. "But yeah, we used a condom. Chill."
She just gave me a look that said, 'I'm watching you.'
After shopping, I went and got some lunch with Sara. She tried to get me to tell her all the details of my sex life, but I just dodged her questions. What was I supposed to say? Okay, Sara, this is what it felt like. This is how long it lasted. Oh, and have you ever made a guy moan before? Because once you have, I swear you'll never be the same person. She dragged me around the mall with her so I could help her pick out a dress for her uncle's wedding. Even though it was kind of stereotypical for a gay guy to help his female best friend shop, I didn't mind it.
While I was sitting outside the dressing room waiting for Sara, one of the shop's workers started talking to me.
"Your girlfriend is lucky she's got a guy to help her shop. Most guys hate this place." she smiled, putting a dress on a hanger.
"Oh, she isn't my girlfriend." I said, smiling back politely.
"Really? Then let me guess... She's your sister, and some other girl gave you all those hickys."
I felt my cheeks turning red.
"Aw, that's so cute. You must really like her. Sorry if I'm being nosey, but this is the most interesting part of my day. So, what's her name? Is she your age? Older? Younger?"
"Uh, his name is Richie, and he's three months older than me."
"Oh, sorry for assuming." she said.
"It's okay."
"I know I hate it when people assume I like guys. Of all people, I should be the person to think before I speak."
Little things like that helped me remember that there were going to be people who accepted me. There were going to be people who didn't. But there were also going to be people who understood.
I took a shower when I got home. As soon as I was finished drying off and changing, my phone rang.
"Hey, Richie." I answered.
"Hey, sweetness." he replied, the smile on his face audible. "Come outside. Let's go get some dinner."
"What kind of dinner?" I asked, even though I didn't really care.
"I'm thinking Veggie Grill."
"Cool. I'll be right out."
I always tried to pay for my own food when we went out to eat. But Richie never let me. The most I could do was leave the tip. It made me feel bad, but he knew he could ask me to pay if he needed to. So saving my money wasn't hard. After dinner we went and sat on the swings at the elementary school for a while.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked, watching the sun setting behind the building.
"Oh, yeah." he smiled, then looked over at me. "Would you be up for getting out of here until like, a few days before school starts?"
YOU ARE READING
Ripped Away
Teen Fiction"He was the best part of me, you know? He was so much more than I deserved. And he was real. He was so real it's insane. How do you go from having something so amazing, to having nothing?" ***Note: I wrote this story a while ago so the quality...
