Out Of Our Control (High School Shoey)

Ch 10- Final Act

 ~TWO DAYS LATER~

~JOEY’S POV~

 “Shane, wake up. We have to go to school.” I shake his shoulder but he just buries his face further into my pillow.

 “No,” he mumbles. “Remember what your mom said? She said I can stay here for as long as I need to and we don’t have to go to school if I’m not well enough.”

 “You’re well enough.”

 “Boy, I have a freaking black eye. I’m not going anywhere until I get some foundation my skin color to cover this mess up.”

 “Are you ever going to tell me who did that to you?”

 “Maybe.”

 “Was it your mom? Your dad? One of your brothers?”

 “Why do you assume it was someone in my family?”

 “Because no one gets beat up and then run away from home unless the source of the problems are at home. If I have a problem, I try to get as close to my family as possible because I know everything is going to be all right when I’m with them. I don’t move out of the house and move in with my boyfriend.”

 “Well maybe I’m just weird like that. We can be weird together if you want.” He grabs me by my waist and pulls me closer to him. I pull the duvet over my shoulder and place my hands behind his neck as I rest my head on his chest.

 “You know I love you, right?” I ask him.

 “Of course. I love you, too.”

 “Shane, I don’t like seeing you in pain. You’ve been getting these mysterious injuries since we started dating two months ago and it breaks my heart every time I see you hurt like this. I know you cut, too, because I see the scars on your legs when you sleep in your boxers. Please, Shane, just tell me what’s going on. I want to help you.” Aaaaaaaand now I’m crying. I choke out the last couple sentences through my tears. I don’t even know if he understood what I said.

 “Shhh. don’t cry, Joey. I know you want the best for me and trust me, things will get better. Do you really want to know the truth?” he asks.

 I just nod into his chest and tighten my grip behind his neck as he wipes the tears out of my eyes and run his hands through my hair.

 “Forewarning: I’m not going to sugar coat anything. My dad is an alcoholic and abusive asshole. He beats up my brothers, my mom, and me. He gets me the most because I don’t like seeing my family in pain so I’ll take some beatings for them or I’ll take the blame for whatever pathetic thing he’s getting worked up over.

 He’s a huge homophobe, too. My mom and my brothers know I’m gay and they try so hard to not let my dad find out. They accept me to the fullest because they already know I get enough rejection at school. Well my dad knows now. He found the text messages between you and me from a few days ago and now I have a bounty out on me. He’s out to get me and he’s going to get me.”

 “No he’s not. You can stay here with me forever.”

 “No I can’t. While I’m gone, he’s going to take all his anger out on my mom and brothers. Jerid is always out working and Jason is never really home so my mom is going to get most of the beatings. I can’t let him get my mom like that. I won’t be able to live with myself knowing that my mom is going through so much physical mental and emotional pain all caused by that dickhead.”

 And now Shane is silently crying along with me. We lay in complete silence for literally about ten minutes before I speak up.

 “Why does life have to be complicated? Why can’t we just have peace?”

 “Life is like a play with no rehearsal. Some are comedic, some are romantic, some are dramatic, and some are tragic. No matter what genre your play is or who your scriptwriter is, you have to live every night like it’s your final act. Don’t just worry and cry over the little scenes. You have to live big because you want that standing ovation when those curtains go down. You don’t want people asking for a refund. We can get the applause we’re looking for because we have each other, Jay. We are stronger together and we can make the best play the world has ever seen.”

 “Yes we are stronger together. But what if we’re alone?” I ask him, my voice cracking from trying to choke back my tears.

 “Then we can be alone together.” I snuggle closer to him and let his body heat warm my heart. “You know you still have to come out to your parents, right?”

 “Don’t ruin the moment.” I mumble into his shirt.

 Life is a play with no rehearsal. We all auditioned when we were born and you have no understudy for your part.

 I don’t think I’m ready for the final scene yet.