I'm Not Gay, I Swear! | McPriceley

Chapter Nine

"Mom! Mom! I think I'm in love!" a young boy, maybe around the age of ten, said excitedly, dancing around the room.

His mother laughed, a kind smile on her face. "Are you now? What happened today?"

"A classmate of mine. They're just so amazing. And kind to me. I want to spend my life with them forever."

"Well isn't that lovely. Who is this little girl who you like so much?"

"That's the thing, Mom. It's not a girl, it's a boy!"

A moment of silence broke throughout the room as the mother took that information in. She furrowed her brows as she thought deeply about this. The young boy stared at her with worry.

"What is it, Mom?"

"Connor, you cannot love a boy," she told him sternly.

"But Mom, I do! I feel it deep inside me. I really care for him!"

"Well then obviously, you are just confused. Connor, boys can't love other boys. It just can't be done. And Heavenly Father disagrees with it very much. Do you want to upset Him?"

The younger Connor shook his head. "No, I would never want to upset Heavenly Father."

"Good. Now you go into your room and pray. I'm sure Heavenly Father will help you sort this all out."

"Yes, Mom." He nodded, before turning to go back into his room, heartbroken at the thought that he could never love the boy he liked so much.

. . .

"Connor... what do you have to say for yourself?"

The young boy stayed quiet, staring down at his feet. He'd disappointed his parents. He knew he would eventually. But he never expected it to happen like this.

"We thought that by teaching you how sinful things like this are bad, you would finally have some common sense. But I guess we were wrong."

Tears slowly started to swell in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't fix things like this. This was the last straw. I'm sorry, but you must be fixed."

Connor glanced up at his mother and father, trying not to fully break down in front of them. "F-fixed? What do you mean by that?"

"We're sending you to a conversion camp for the summer. Maybe that will finally teach you how to finally not be a failure to our family."

The boy's eyes widened as the news was broken to him. "B-but, do I have to go? I-I can try harder to fix myself! I'll make sure to never let you down again!"

"I'm sorry, Connor, but we can't trust you enough anymore. This is our final option. Now go and pack your bags. We're leaving tomorrow."

Reluctantly, he nodded, and rushed off to his room, immediately falling onto his bed and sobbing into his pillow. A disappointment. That's all he ever was. Ever since that day back in fifth grade, he knew his family had doubts about him. And he was right.

Sometimes he wished he could just end his suffering. Then his parents wouldn't have to worry so much about him. They obviously loved his other siblings much more than they did him. They probably wouldn't even miss him.

He'd messed up so many times before, too. Even before this whole "gay" incident. He was just a clumsy mess in the first place. Not to mention he was too "feminine" for a guy. But he couldn't help it that he was much more interested in sewing, like his mother, than building things in his father's workshop.

He finally let out one last shattered breath before lifting his head, wiping the tears from his face. Maybe he would just have to work twice as hard, to make up for all of the wrongful things he'd done in his life. Maybe then he could finally make his parents proud of him.

Slowly, as time went on, Connor took all of those gay thoughts and ripped them apart, making sure he didn't have a single one left in his brain. If he was going to impress his parents, he would need to start at the thing that they were most disappointed about, before steadily making his way up.

Years passed, and Connor was now nearing the age of twenty, taking a new job opportunity his parents had told him about. They had been so proud of the progress he had made over time, delighted to call him their son again. And Connor hoped for things to stay this way, even if it meant not truly being happy himself.

But this new job that he'd taken into consideration would certainly prove to his parents that he in fact was no longer gay. A Straight Companion, someone to help other troubled people like he had once been and put their thoughts back in the right place. He was sure he was doing the right thing by applying for it, and was ecstatic to find out that he had been accepted, and that a client was already looking for him.

Soon, he packed up his things, saying goodbye to his family, then headed off towards the new house that he would be staying at for a few weeks. He was sure that in no time this person would be as cured as he.

He stepped up to the door of the address he'd been assigned, taking a deep breath before knocking to the tune of the Jet Song from West Side Story. He hadn't even realized he'd done it, but it'd been stuck in his head all day. Silently, he waited at the doorstep before there was a sudden click, and he instantly smiled for the gentleman who now stood in front of him.

Connor was sure that this was all going to go well. He'd be in and out of the Price residence in no time, with having helped Kevin through all his problems.

Though a single mishap interrupted his plan, which he had certainly not been planning on. There was no procedure he could follow to help it, and he had no answers of his own.

So what was he supposed to do when he suddenly started getting strange feelings for his new client?