Breaking Free (ManxMan)

Chapter 24

The bed sheets can wait for later.

It was exactly half an hour before I stopped the car by the curve where the park is. Ian was sitting on a slightly rusted swing, using his leg to slowly sway himself back and forth, kicking the sand beneath his feet. The hood of his navy blue sweater is up so i couldn't see his face. I honked the car, startling him enough to almost cause him to fall off the swing. Luckily he found his balance and saved himself. I waved my hand and he answered back with the same wave as he grabbed his bag and a duffel from a nearby bench and headed over to the car.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to startle you." I greeted him as he shut the door behind him and buckled his seat belt.

"No problem. If you didn't honk then i would have never noticed that you were already here." He gave me a smile that didn't reach his eyes, giving me a glimpse of a split lip and discoloring on his left cheek. My suspicions are correct; something must have happened to him. I really want to ask him what happened, but i didn't want to be nosy and pry into his personal life, but I'm sure that he'll tell me when he's ready and there are times where asking right off the bat would be counterproductive if I wanted to know the details. I would know since I'm like that as well.

"So where do you want to go?" I asked as i maneuvered the car back onto the road.

"Anywhere. I don't have school tomorrow and my parents are out of town so i don't have a curfew to worry about." Ian mumbled softly. Shadow whined from the back seat and pressed his wet nose against Ian's cheek, nuzzling him as to comfort. He could also sense Ian's negative emotions.

"Then you can come with me to do some errands. I need some new sheets since someone tore them up." I said pointedly, causing Shadow to lick my cheek. "then you can come over to my place and i can cook you up some grub."

"Sounds good." He replied with little to no enthusiasm.

I parked the car a half hour later by a strip mall and we got out, heading over to Ross. To take Ian's mind off of things and make his mood lighter, we decided to have a competition to see who can find the most ridiculous item in the store, to which he won since he found a see through button up shirt in the men's section. It was such a vibrant pink, I'd almost gone blind. But the most ridiculous part of the shirt were the blue cartoon tropical fish and pineapples with googly eyes patterning the entire thing. Why in the world would anyone want to wear that monstrosity, i have no idea, giving me another insight on how much i do not know about fashion these days.

The both of us mounted the shopping cart with a pile of bed sheets that were on sale, a toy bone that Shadow adores, some bath essentials like towels and soap, some Pokemon toys -- i may be old, but that doesn't mean I've given up my love for Pokemon -- i couldn't help but buy due to my rekindling love for the popular game, and a few other random things like plates, ties, and some snacks before we purchased it all and headed over to my place.

Ian seems to be in a better mood now that we're both settled into my place, sitting on the loveseat in the room, snacking on random things we grabbed from the pantry while watching One Piece -- an anime about some guy who ate a fruit and turned him into a rubber man, going on a journey to become king of the pirates. Shadow and Mochi curled up with us, Shadow smothering Ian's lap with Mochi on top of his head.

There was silence once the latest episode we were watching ended, the credits rolling on the screen before Ian said in a low voice, almost a whisper. "My parents found out about me being gay."

I didn't say anything, knowing that he wanted to say more.

"They found out yesterday after school. I don't know how, but they did. I was wondering why the house was so eerily quiet this morning. The place was deserted of my parents. They never told me anything, but left me a note saying that they were leaving for a few days and wanted me to pack up my things and leave before they got back or else, so i grabbed whatever i could and left as fast as i could." His voice cracked at the end. "I didn't know what to do so i went to school, and even there it's painful. I have no where else to go and no one to count on, but when i was scrolling down my contacts on my phone, i saw your number. I couldn't help but call you because you've helped me so many times before and I--" His voice got shakier and shakier as he continued to explain.