Where We Began

Hayden North

I saw the same thing Liam did. His father and another man, going at it in his father's car. I did not see that coming. Liam's father is having an affair with a man? Liam's face is stuck in place. I'm not sure if he had come back from his thinking. I turn to him and shake him gently.

"Earth to, Liam hello?" I yelled a little too loud. Liam's eyes snapped to mine just as his father saw him. He is watching us in horror with a man that looked all too familiar. This cannot be.

"Our Principal," we both said at the same time. Liam didn't look angry. He was just surprised by what he saw. None of this has anything to do with me. I wasn't upset either but at least glad the truth came to light now than never. It would hurt Liam's mother if she saw him moving on.

Maybe, his father didn't feel okay with coming out or being seen by a man. I've been in the situation so I am not sure what I would do. Liam blinked a few times before saying, "I'll you later, Hayden. I think I need to go talk with my father." That's all he said with a short kiss to my temple. Liam walked in the direction of the car.

The sun is still up in the sky. My house is only a block or two from here. Walking did nothing but give me more time to think about what I saw. Liam's father shouldn't feel the need to hide about being gay. Unless he isn't? I don't know but from his looks, he was kissing my principal. It's pretty quiet by the time I reach my street. My keys come out of my purse. I push it into the keyhole and the door unlocks. The first thing I do is remove my shoes.

Suspiciously, the room is silent. My body turns to face the eyes of my mother. She doesn't look like her state has cooled down at all.

"You're home. Have you seen the way you left your room?" My mother tried to start an argument.

"Bridget, what did I say?" My father sternly put his foot down to my mother. Her grumbles are kept under her breath. I never feel welcomed at home anymore. I would have rather stayed outside.

"Hey, you're back. There are leftovers in the fridge. I wanted to ask if you would like me to decorate your graduation cap?" He asked, showing me the packaging with my graduation gown and cap. My mood lifts at what he wanted to do.

"Yeah, let me just eat and we can get started on it," I told him. He nodded, smiling.

"Why must I always be the bad guy?!" My mother raised her voice. Her eyes couldn't take what she saw between the both of us. He was only asking me a question. I pulled open the fridge to take out the container of food.

The container is placed on a plate as I warmed it up. The television has the news playing as it does every evening. My father trudged to retrieve his supplies. My mother left the kitchen to their room.

Alone, I ate and finished my food. Then I sat with my father in the living room, decorating my graduation cap. We added baby blue ribbons with pink diamonds glittering all around. Once we were done, it looked beautiful with the white gown. I'm excited to see how Liam will look. The final weeks are counting down.

For summer break, I won't have to come to therapy as much because he believes socialization is key. I won't have to force confess my bad deeds all the time.

Next week or so, my father wants me to try out the pills my therapist recommended. I don't think it matters to him how many times I say that my disorder has improved. He has a way of proving anything he says is right.

My bedroom closes to the mess I made the day my mother slapped me. There are drawers on the ground and my blanket is in disarray. Christ, this will take a while to clean. After, I've got to get my yearbook ready for tomorrow. The final days of school coming up. There's so much I can't wait to do once I am out of high school.

Especially, this summer. I head to bed once everything is done where it needs to be. My mother never came to apologize. The light went down to show a crescent moon in the night sky. The next morning, I wake up to get my uniform on and have breakfast. Lately, the hot weather has been probing me to leave my beanie at home.

Now, I wear a hat instead. I've switched sneakers for sandals. There's a bowl of cereal waiting for me with a sticky note. It wrote,' I'm sorry.' At the bottom, it is signed by mom. She chose to not say it to my face. The slap she gave me still rings in my ear.

Before leaving for class, I check the views of the recording. Almost 200,000 have seen the recording that was posted. That is crazy. It's finally coming to light.

There's also a comment below it from a detective asking if we would like them to look into this. His contact information is listed too. Should I send him a message? My thoughts run wild if he were to show up at my door. My parents would be upset that I didn't tell them. I want there to be light on this situation.

The digits are saved on my phone as I send him a message that I am interested. I hurry out of my room before I am late for school. The hot summer days are cutting into the spring season. Everyone loves summer.

In record time, the school doors are about to close as I slip in. The custodian watched me with a bored expression. The school feels colder with the air conditioning running. I see my principal watching around as if he was looking for me.

"Hayden North, will you please come over here?" He beckoned me with his hand. I walk over to him. I know exactly what he wants to talk about. His head bends to me.

"I know what you saw was a lot to take in. You can't tell anyone you saw us doing that. People don't that I'm," my principal gestured to his sexuality. Not another secret for me to hold onto. I should start asking for everyone's password to their phones while I'm at it.

"I won't, this has nothing to do with me anyways. Don't be afraid to say when you're ready," I pat his shoulder and leave.