I watched him as he moved, showing me how to swim as we went around in lapse while he tried to show off his skills. We played around for a while until Lily came back outside to leave the towel on the chair and after a while, it was so quiet that we took that cue to get out of the pool. I handed Elliot the towel and we moved to sit on a chair while we waited to dry up before going inside. Elliot pulled off his shirt setting it aside and I glanced over at him feeling shy that I wasn’t comfortable taking off my own shirt.I shivered, starting to feel cold. “Let’s go inside. I’m freezing now…”“Yeah,” Elliot said, getting up and we quietly made our way inside.“Just be careful on the stairs,” I whispered as we made our way towards the stairs. “You shower first.”“Are you sure? You said you’re cold.” Elliot asked.“I can wait,” I answered as I opened t

“So, you felt sick last night? Was it from swimming at night?” My dad asked.I shook my head, looking down at my plate, as I felt nervous explaining to him.“No, It's just that… Um, I couldn’t sleep.”“I’m sure with Michael’s history that you know that he has some health complications,” Elliot said, cutting in after seeing my hesitation.“Well, briefly after discussing with his mother and she’s told me a few events that have happened. Is there more that I’m not aware of?” My dad asked, glancing over at me.“I get panic attacks when I'm stressed and get anxious that I have a hard time breathing.” I tried to explain fringing with my hands trying to calm myself.“Should we send you to see a doctor? Is it that serious?” Lily asked.“It’s actually a bit common to develop these traits after such a traumatic past. There are moment

I pulled his hand so he could follow me, “Yeah… Seeing Caesar like that made me realize a few things.” I said as we both started walking.“And what’s that?” He asked, curiously.“Forgiveness,” I answered, squeezed his hand lightly for encouragement as we started making our way back to the house.“Can I ask for more details?” Elliot asked.I took a deep breath as I tried to figure out how to explain it. “I’m still mad about my dad for not understanding my situation, but that doesn’t mean I can be mad at him when I might never explain to him about what happened to me or learn more about my health. Also, if Caesar can apologize then that means people can change as well.”Elliot came to a stop almost pulling me back to face him, “Does this mean that you can forgive yourself as well?” He asked with a serious expression.I stood there before leaning ov

Elliot pulled on the sleeve of my shirt to lead me in the house and we made sure the doors were locked before going upstairs. We took turns to use the restroom preparing ourselves before getting in bed and the whole time I waited outside my bedroom until Elliot was done because I didn’t want to be alone in my room. I wanted to say that the room felt tense, but I also think that it was just me as we moved to lay down and laid down closer together as we realized that the bed was a bit small. Elliot wrapped his arm around me to hold me closer as I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, as I tried to remain calm and hoped that I could fall asleep soon.“Do you want to know what I worry about when I can’t fall asleep?” Elliot asked me as he leaned his head closer towards me and I can feel his fingers brushing across my palm as if trying to get my attention.“What?” I asked him.“Before meeting you, I wondered a few times about

We all started making our way to an ice cream parlor and we got in line. “I know how hard it is coming out and it can be hard when they don’t understand. It’s harder when they don’t want to accept it.”Elliot sighed as he hugged me, “How did it go when telling your mom? You always talk about how it went with your dad, but you never talked about coming out to your mom.”“I never really did. She found out while I was recovering and I’m sure they told her everything after my therapy sessions. I didn’t have to say it to her.” I told them and glanced at Luis. “She was pretty open about it which surprised me, but I think she was just accepting to help me be comfortable around her and also to be living with her.”“How old were you when your parents divorced?” Luis asked.“Um, six, I think,” I tell them as I try to remember. “I was in both of their custody