Under the Rainbow

Part 16

            I made it to James’ grave in a little under 10 minutes and saw Riley leaning against a nearby tree. She jogged over, panic and hate in her eyes as she saw me. “What the fuck happened? Who did this to you?”

            I looked away and she gently pulled my chin to make me look at her. “Riley…”

            “Sam, you can tell me what happened.”

            I cautiously sat on the grass and sat forward slightly so I didn’t press my back against the tree and cause more pain on my back than was already there. “Sit.” I said as I patted the dark green spot beside me with a plain white bandage.

            She sat beside me and took my hand in hers. “Please tell me Sam.”

            I looked away and began the story. “I watched you walk away, and when you were gone, I didn’t hop on my bike and leave. I stood there a while longer, marveling at how great parts of my life were going. These two guys came up. And you saw me earlier, I scream dyke. I practically shout it to the world ‘cause I don’t give a damn who knows. I thought they’d just try and rough me up, call me a few uncreative insults, and leave. Like always when stuff like that happens. But they didn’t.” I pulled at the waxy grass in front of me before saying, “They raped me. They did everything they could to violate me. To own me.”

            “Sam…” Riley said as she gently touched just beneath my swollen eye. I started to pull away, but then remembered this was Riley. The girl I felt so connected to even though I barely knew her. She pulled her hand away and stood up. “Come on. We’re going to tell my parents. Let’s go.” She held her hand out to me.

            I took her hand and let her help me up, but then I shook my head. “You said you didn’t want to, I don’t want you to have to ‘cause of me.” I said grumpily.

            She moved in front of me and looked me dead in the eye and said, “When I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it. While, yes, I am a total lesbian and future baby dyke, I am also a girl and have the right to change my mind fifty times if I want to. I want to tell my parents. Now, you can come with me or I’ll take you home and do it on my own. Your call.”

            I sighed. “You’re so stubborn.” I said as I took her hand and let her walk me to her house.

            “And you’re so odd. In a good way.”

            “We don’t have to do this now if you change your mind again.” I whispered in her ear when she hesitated as her house came into view.

            “No. I’ve got to do this sometime, so I’ll do it now.”

            I shook my head and let her lead me up to her house. She dropped my hand and opened the door. “Mom, Dad, can we talk?”

            Her mom poked her head out of the kitchen and I felt her eying me up and down. I probably looked like a troublesome boy who got majorly screwed up in a fight or something. “Your father is out buying milk. He should be back in a few minutes. You and your friend can have a seat over on the couch.” She said, narrowing her eyes at me.

            Riley waited until her mother had gone back to the kitchen to grab my hand and sit me down on the couch, sitting on my right side so I could see her. She put her head in her hands and I tried to wrap my bandaged arm around her. I leaned forward and kissed her temple and whispered, “I’ll be right here okay? And we can go straight home after.”

            “Shouldn’t I be comforting you? You’re the one who got fucked up.” She quietly replied.

            “Yeah, but this is a big part in your life. I’ll still be like this tomorrow. Tomorrow you’ll be an official baby dyke who lives with me. See the difference?”

            She nodded and kissed me gently on the mouth, trying not to make me wince in pain again.

            I scowled when I heard the doorknob move and quickly slid a seat over on the plain black couch, putting distance between me and Riley.

            Mr. Clark. A porky, gray haired, balding man with a bushy mustache. He glared over at me. I was probably dirtying his clean white house with my blood. “What happened to you, boy?”

            Boy. It didn’t bother me that he though I was a boy, wouldn’t be the first time someone made that mistake, but it bothered me that he addressed me as Boy. Like I wasn’t worth a name. He might as well have said thing. But I brushed it off and said in a slightly deeper voice, not too obvious though. “Fell."

          “Nasty fall.” He said as he walked into the kitchen and came back out a few seconds later. “What’s going on Riley? Your mother said that you wanted to talk to us.”

            Mrs. Clark walked in and sat stiffly next to her husband.

            They aren’t comfortable around one another. Not like me and Riley are. And I don’t even love her! And they fear that gay couples like me and Riley will ruin love. They’re the ones masquerading like they like being around each other. You can see it in the way they sit, how they don’t like at each other, they practically ignore one another! And I’m the one incapable of love here? I’m not here to complain though. I’m here to support Riley. I started to lean back against the back of the couch but was quickly reminded of how much that hurt so I went back to leaning a bit forwards.

            “Promise you won’t be mad at Sam. She didn’t do this okay?” Riley said as she put her clenched fists on her knees.

            “She? You’re friend is a girl? Did she get gum in her hair too? Or is she some lesbian dyke Satanist?” Her mother said with a sneer.

            I clenched my jaw and didn’t say a word. The last thing I wanted was to make things worse.

            “That’s not the point here. Promise me.”

            “Fine. I promise not to get mad at your friend here.”

            “Dad?”

            “Sure.” He said as he leaned back in his chair unhappily. I could see how much he wanted this to be over already.

            “Remember how James brought home Ryan to tell you he was gay?” Her parents tensed up even more if at all possible. “This is me bringing home Sam. My girlfriend.” She said slowly, as if to let it sink in for them.

            Her father stood up and started walking up the stairs across the room. “Get out.” I heard him say to us.

            Her mother sat in silence before she stood and glared down at me. “Get the fuck out of my house you abominations. Don’t you ever think about coming back either.”

            I stood up and said, “I haven’t been having a good day. I got the text that you wanted your daughter back at 10 this morning, got raped, got fixed up, didn’t take the damn pain meds because I don’t want to be numb again no matter how bad this hurts, had to tell my girlfriend that I had been raped, and then I came here and couldn’t sit too close to her for fear of you guys finding out before she told you. So, Mrs. Clark, you can back off and be proud that your daughter is able to be who she is instead of hiding in her closet. You are the evil one here. You are the one in the wrong.” I held out my hand for Riley who grinned sadly and took it as we walked out the door, leaving her mother in a shocked silence.