Chapter 3 - Wading The Marsh

Liam

I leave the jock room and breathe a sigh of relief. Did Dale honestly think I was going to tell everyone what we did over spring break? I was more embarrassed about it than he could ever be. I let myself get defiled by yet another closeted jock.

How original.

Then Mr. Royalty himself had to walk in right after Dale made me feel small, just adding to my already glorious day. His hazel eyes seemed to bore into me as he regarded me with curiosity and a head cocked to the side. My heart did a little flip when he looked at me, then I noticed his glorious half-naked body and had to get out of there. Did he hear Dale’s exchange? If he did, he showed no outward signs.

Trust me, I get it. All American jocks are not supposed to like guys, it’s taboo. But for some unknown fucking reason they gravitated towards me as if I was some sort of fucking light of experimentation. Half the football team had suppressed homosexual feelings, and they came to me to live it out - only to push me around when they congregated. It was only an alpha display though; I know this, but it didn’t hurt any less. I try to maintain my nonchalance but deep down my self-worth is taking a knock.

I get into my car and drive home in silence - not even Taylor Swift could lift my mood right now.

What was with that look Asher gave me? It looked like pity and if there’s one thing I hate; it was the look of pity. The hell was up with him today, anyway? Every time he passed me, he would look away as if my gaze alone could turn him gay. Oh, well. Whatever.

I pull up outside my house and park my car before heading inside, spotting the stack of mail laying on the porch. I walk towards them slowly and my heart does a flip when I see three thick, large envelopes addressed to me.

Yale. Brown and Dartmouth.

Oh, my god. Oh, my god!

I run inside and rush up to my room, ripping the letters open as I go along, and when I reach my room, I am holding all three of them with trembling fingers. My eyes were closed and when I opened them my heart stopped - I had been accepted to all three Ivy League schools on full-ride scholarships.

WHAT?!

I hear screaming all around me, only to realise later that the screaming was coming from me. My mother bursts through my door with a look of distress and when he sees me, I run up to her and swing her around. She was still wearing her white hospital coat and faintly smelled of disinfectant.

“I got accepted, mom! All three accepted me on full rides!” I exclaim and see her eyes widen, then tear up.

“Oh, honey!” She exclaims, holding a hand over her mouth and crying tears of happiness as she looks at me with pride. It’s always only been my mom and me, and her acceptance and pride meant the world to me. She takes me in her arms and holds me tight.

“I am so proud of you, Liam.” She says through hitched breaths and we just stand there embracing.

“This calls for a celebration! I will make all your best meals for supper!” I giggle as I see her do a little dance on her way out of my bedroom. Flopping down on my bed, I breathe out a sigh of relief. Three Ivy League schools deemed me worthy enough - the thought alone had me floating on a cloud! But now… which one do I choose?

A sudden wave of anxiety breaks over my skin in hives. I never expected to be accepted by all three. Now I had to choose where to go. Yale was the obvious choice, but Brown had always been my first love because of their biomedical programme. Yale would get me places and was my mother’s alumni, while Brown had my heart.

Hmm. This is going to need more than a moment’s thought. I get up from my bed and walk over to my computer to do research that I can recall right off the top of my head. But in the end, I decided on Yale because with them I could get my Bachelor’s and Master's simultaneously.

With a smile on my face, I headed downstairs to share my news with my mother - she was the only one rooting for me, anyway.

***

My fog of happiness only lasted until the third period the following day.

Dale, Brock, and Matthew had me up against the lockers yet again. The blows to my stomach had me reeling and I nearly dropped my glasses. I didn’t want my mom to replace them yet again, so I just took the beatings. I know why they were doing this - all three of them were in the closet and scared I would say something.

“Got nothing to say now, faggot?” Dale says, but all I could do was grin before he clocked me one in the eye. Ah, fuck. That’s what I get for being cocky, I guess.

“What the fuck is going on here now?” I look up and see Asher behind the three stooges, looking more pissed off than before.

“Ah, just knocking him around a bit, you know the deal,” Brock says as he pushes me against the locker again. Asher pinches the bridge of his nose then grabs Brock, throwing him against the opposite row of lockers.

“You dickheads are so original, jocks picking on the gay guy. Break this up and let’s go.” He says and walks away before they could comment. They follow him reluctantly, but not before Dale lands a final blow to my abdomen.

“Ah, fuck!” I exclaim again as my glasses go flying and I run after them, snatching them up before the jocks could break them again. I get up and remove a tissue from my pocket to wipe away the stray blood and tears.

Was this because of my comment on the field yesterday? Fuck, I never know when to keep my mouth shut. Sighing, I dragged myself to my next class, knowing full well that my eye would be shut by the time the period was over. How do I explain this to my mother? She knew I was getting bullied but was under the impression that it had stopped. If only she knew how worse it had gotten since Spring Break two years ago.

Half of the football team were in denial about their sexuality and blamed me for making them feel the way they do; as if it was my fault they were closeted gay or bi. I seriously could not wait to get out of this stupid, backward town.

After that, the day goes by in a blur, and by the end of the day; I drag myself to my car and sigh in frustration. Today was supposed to be a good day, a happy fucking day instead it turned into the worst day ever. I don’t know why today’s round of bullying hurt more than usual, but it did.

The parking lot would be empty by now because, being the complete dork that I was, I stayed behind to finish my extra credit assignment - not that I really needed it, but I was getting bored with the school curriculum. The next few months would be hell, then I would finally be free of this small town and its jock assholes.

Speaking of which, was that Asher leaning against my car?