Runaways- Runaways 1

Two Years Later... Chapter 6: Marcus

I was getting a facetime call from Luke. It was uncommon for him to contact me so late at night, so I picked up thinking something might be wrong. Then Aaliyah dialed. I sighed. What was going on? This couldn't be good. When Luke's camera turned on, his face seemed tear streaked.

"Oh my gosh, Luke, are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"No! Seriously Marcus? Do I look okay? Why do you think I called you at 11:30 at night?" He rubbed his eyes trying to dry some of the tears. "They know. I didn't tell them. They found out. They found out about you, about us, about everything." He squeezed his eyes shut as if to keep more tears from coming.

"How? We tried so hard. We kept it from them for over two years!" I could feel my hands getting sweaty. If his parents knew, it was only a matter of time before mine found out. Why was this happening? Why now? My junior year had just finished. It had gone so well. But now this? I shook my head, thinking I heard him wrong, even though I knew I didn't.

"They—Marcus, they—they said if I don't change then they're going to kick me out. Everyone agreed, even Maisie."

"I didn't even think your sister was at home," I told him.

"She is now. She came back from college about two weeks ago. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you."

"No, it's fine, it's fine. Luke, are you okay? I'm so sorry. How long ago did they find out? How did they find out? I don't understand." I shook my head again, trying to keep myself from crying for his sake.

He sighed and drew in a shaky breath. "My dad. He found a journal I was keeping. Marcus, everything was in that journal. I'd written so much in it from the day I'd figured out I was bi. It was nearly full. And being a nosy parent, he read every page. He confronted me about it at dinner. In front of everyone. And I'm sorry, it sounds stupid, but I didn't call you sooner because I was crying my eyes out. Geez, I'm an eighteen-year-old guy. I should be better than that." Luke took in another sharp breath, barely holding himself together.

"I'm so sorry. Have they told my parents yet?" The question sounded more selfish than I had intended. Tears were pricking at my eyelids now. They couldn't take him from me. No one was going to take him from me. Ever.

"Not yet, but they said they would first thing tomorrow. I've lost my phone starting tomorrow and everything's going to be monitored. I'm eighteen. I don't get it. This is all dumb." Then he gave in. A fresh round of tears began flowing from his eyes, pulling my own out with them. His voice quivered as he spoke. "I'm really not supposed to talk to you. I managed to convince them I was calling someone else."

"Oh my gosh. Luke, I'm sorry I did this. I'm sorry I told you. I'm sorry about everything. We'd been so much better off if I hadn't opened my big mouth. This is my fault."

"No! Marcus, it's not your fault. I promise. I can't imagine how we hid it for so long. Maybe it's better off they found out."

I groaned. "I know. You made life easier, no matter how bad things got. Coronavirus destroyed this country, but you managed to hold me together at least." I felt my chest squeeze at how vulnerable I was being. "When my dad got laid off, your family helped mine. When they prevented everyone from leaving their houses, you still managed to call me almost every day. And, more recently, after the huge economic crash when almost everyone lost their jobs and they switched everyone to online-schooling indefinitely, I was able to help you with it and we got through school together. And it's like that was all for nothing."

"It wasn't for nothing Marcus. Don't say that. I'm not going to let anyone take me from you."

That brought more tears to the surface, making it seem like there was a fountain behind my eyes. The tenderness of his words was more than I could take. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."