Part III

III.

Well the hospital visit flew by, and to my relief they didn’t ask any serious questions. She wasn’t hurt to bad, but they said we should put some ice on it.

“ Rick, even though they didn’t ask any questions this needs to be reported to the police.”

“ But why? She’ s okay.”

“ It doesn’t matter if she’ s okay. Somebody hit her, wait no, not just somebody Jason, that asshole Jason hurt your baby girl. He put his drug-ridden hands on your only child. He …”

“ Okay Daniel. I get it. You can tell the police.”

“ No. I’ m not going to tell the police. I wasn’t there when it happened. You need to tell them.”

“ I don’ t know if I can do it.”

“ Why not?”

“ He didn’t mean anything by it Dan.”

“ He meant to hurt her. And you are going to tell the police. We are going to drop Bri off at my mom’ s and we are going to the police station.”

That is Daniel, always trying to lead me in the right direction. I usually listen, but this time I don’ t want to. I don’ t want Jason to go to jail. He didn’t mean anything, did he? It was the drugs. He is usually a really nice person, and he loves Bri, it’ s just the drugs…

“ Rick!”

“ Huh? What happened?”

“ You were daydreaming or something.”

“ I guess I’ m just a little stressed.”

“ Pull over. Let me drive.”

So Daniel drove the rest of the way to the station. I think he was talking to me but I wasn’t really listening. I had to figure out how to tell the police what happened. Do I just come out and say ‘ I’ m filing a child abuse report against my ex-boyfriend for hitting my child.’ ? Will they do anything? This whole town is biased against homosexual people. Can I trust them? Everyone of authority I know has betrayed me; can I bring myself to trust them again?

As we went in I decided I was going to tell them exactly what happened.

*Disclaimer* All events stated are  fictional and any similarity with anyone’s actual life is purely coincidental.

Part II

II.

“ What happened?”

“ He was doing drugs in front of Brianna.”

“ He was doing drugs in front of my god-daughter!?”

Daniel is Brianna’s godfather. I had to make sure someone would take care of her if need be, and Daniel was the perfect candidate since one he is my best friend and two he really wanted to be.

“ Yeah, he did and he hit her.”

“ The bastard! I’ m going to kill him! Why are you still with him!?”

“ I’ m not. He ended it. I guess he thought I would plead for him to stay with me. But that did not and will not happen. I can’ t be with him anymore.”

“ Good, but I think we need to take Brianna to the doctor, her face is swelling up pretty bad.”

“ I know. Let’ s go.”

As we were driving I thought, they are going to ask questions about how this happened, who hit her. Should I tell them it was Jason or should I just say she fell or something. Just then Daniel turned to me.

“ I know what you’ re thinking Rick, and if they inquire about what happened you have to tell them, or they will think you did it and hit you with child abuse charges.”

That’ s Daniel. He knows me too well.

“ But …”

“ No buts Rick, you have to.”

“ But I don’ t want him to go to jail.”

“ You don’ t want him to go to jail!? Rick he just hit your only child, hurt her maybe badly. And you’ re worrying about that asshole going to jail!? I think you’ve got all your priorities mixed up. You care for your child first, assholes never.”

“ C’mon Daniel, you know he’ s not like that. It was …”

“ The drugs. It’ s always the damn drugs Rick. He’ s always doing them.”

“ But I can fix him Daniel. I know I can.”

“ No you can’ t. He can’ t be fixed. He is addicted to heroin Rick. Heroin!”

Yeah Jason is addicted to heroin. But I always thought I would be able to get him off drugs, and I know this sounds cheesy, but get him high on love. As you can see it didn’t work.

“ But I can make him go to rehab and…”

“ No! We’ve gone through this before, he doesn’t want to let go of heroin. That is his life. That is what he works for, what he lives for.”

“ Well I guess you’ re right. Jason won’ t be in my life anymore.”

“ Good.”

“ Well here we are.”

“ Okay, c’mon.”

As we walk in I’ m still thinking about whether or not I should tell them that it was Jason who did this to her.

“ You have to tell them who did this”

“ How do you always know what I’ m thinking?”

“ I don’ t know, I guess I’ve been around you long enough to know your perspective on things, and from there predict what you’ re thinking.”

“ And you’ re usually right.”

Part I

“I’m trapped in a town where no one understands, because I am a man who wants to be with another man.”

I.

My name is Richard O’Neil and I have lived my childhood wondering what it would be like to be with a boy. I am 19 years old and my parents cannot accept the fact that I am gay. They think if I was supposed to be with a man God would have made it acceptable in the bible, that it is a sin to be a gay man. But I think differently, I think you should follow your heart and be who you want to be. Ever since I expressed the feeling of wanting to be with a guy the people in my small town of Gale, Idaho have shunned me. I was an all around athlete, every girl wanted me and every guy wanted to be me, but that all changed when I told a close friend I that I might be gay. He then told my coach who cut me from the football team, and made sure I wasn’t on any other teams. This hurt my chances of a good education in college. I was angry, outraged, I mean here I was the best athlete this town had to offer, I was good at everything, yet no college would accept me because I was gay. Every person, except my best friend, Daniel, has treated me differently. Daniel is the only person I can trust in this screwed up world. I first met him in the sixth grade we weren’t really close friends I was friends with his more athletic brother Ike. I told Ike and he told our coach and all that happened. I turned to Daniel and we’ve become best friends, though he is not gay and I can trust him with everything. We live together and he has no problem with me bringing my boyfriends around. He encourages me to go out and meet people who can understand me, because sometimes he can’ t fully understand what I’ m going through. So through his encouragement I met this guy, his name is Jason. We’ d been together for seven months. He is really nice but he does drugs. I have tried to get him to stop but he doesn’t, and it has turned into a problem.

“You never used to have a problem with me shootin’ up!”

“ I have always had a problem with it, I just never said anything. But now you have gone too far! Doing it in front of my daughter!”

Yes, I have a daughter, she is two years old, her name is Brianna, and she is the product of me trying to hide the fact that I was gay, but I still love her. She is my only child.

“ Well send the damn kid to her room!”

“ No this is her home, and she would like to watch TV in the living room.”

“ I don’ t care what the kid wants send her to her room let her watch the walls.”

At this point Brianna was crying.

“ Shut up!”

And just like that he slapped her, slapped my little girl to the ground.

“ Get out! Get the fuck out of my house! And don’ t you ever in your pathetic life put your hands on her again!”

“ You know what Rick; I don’ t think we should see each other anymore.”

“ Good I don’ t want to see you anymore!”

Daniel had just walked in.

“ What’ s goin’ on?”

He sees Brianna crying with a welt growing on her face.

“ Did you hit her!?”

“ I did. So what.”

“ Daniel, he was just leaving.”

“ No I wasn’t.”

“ Why not!? You need to leave! You are a pathetic loser who does nothing but spend his money on drugs! You are already gay; you have no room for any other problems!”

“ Fuck him and fuck you! I’ m outta here!”

“ Good!”

And just like that Jason was gone, and at that moment I don’ t think I cared. I thought he was a good person, but I guess not. He was a jerk, an asshole.

 

*Disclaimer*All events stated are purely fictional and any similarity with anyone’s actual life is coincidental.