Close Your Eyes

four; ❝no one will care❞

Aurora's POV

I pass by Rosa's house to see if she wants a ride to school again. I was extremely happy when she asked me to do so the other day, and selfishly, I enjoy the time I get to spend with her.

I look around at her large light yellow house with a well kept garden that leaves flowers overflowing, bringing color to this otherwise gloomy day. I get out of my car, and approach the front entrance while trying to gather all of the confidence available in the entire world. I quickly try to fix the folds and wrinkles on my shirt, and I knock on her door, which she opens a moment later.

"Do you need a ride?"

She bites her lip, saying, "come inside, Aurora."

I enter inside, and I'm overcome by confusion as I question why she wants me here.

A feeling of comfort rushes over me as I follow her to what I believe is the living room. I've never been inside her home. It's cozy, pictures of her and her family crowd the walls and I can tell that her and her family are close.

She sits down on a dark brown sofa, and I take the seat next to her. I try to calm down any of my worries by staring intensely at the lamp in the corner of the room, as if any problems will disappear by doing so.

"What's up? We might be late for school," I finally say to break the silence.

"Are you gay?" She quietly asks me.

The question takes me completely by surprise.

How does she know? I bet she hates me now.

  I start tearing up because of that, even though it might seem dramatic. I don't want to think about losing another person, especially since I just met her.

Rosa grabs my hand suddenly, and I feel a swarm of butterflies in my stomach. It's a temporary cure to my worries, but they don't take long to appear again.

"Hey, you shouldn't be ashamed of who you are. I accept you no matter what," she tells me warmly.

  She lets go of my hand and gives me a reassuring smile, making me sniffle as I wipe away the leftover tears. I've always been an extremely emotional person, and I can't even hide that. I feel better about it though, knowing that she's okay with who I am.

"How did you know?"

"Rumors," she simply responds.

"What are the rumors?"

Deep down, I don't want to hear them. I know that I need to hear them though in order to know what exactly is happening.

"One of them was about your dad and why you moved. Another was about you being interested in me," she explains.

"I'm not," I say as my face heats up.

"I know, that's why they're rumors."

"The rumor about my dad and why I moved here must be true," I say.

"Why would you say that?"

I take a deep breath before launching into my lengthy explanation, "My dad found out about my sexuality after he went through my phone. After he attacked me with words and all of that, he packed, took the car, and never came back. My mother had bills that were getting higher and pay checks from her job that were getting smaller. She got a job offer here and so we moved."

It feels good to get that all out in the open. It feels as if a part of me is free from keeping that burden to myself. I've willingly never mentioned it to anyone.

"Does your mother accept you?" She asks me.

"I don't know, actually. She never talked about it with me and I never talked about it with her."

My mom has been silent about it. She accepted that my dad was gone, and that was that. She moved on, and we moved here.

"Well, I accept you no matter who you are."

"Thank you. Maybe I shouldn't give you a ride today though."

"Why not?" She asks, frowning.

"If we are seen together, then more people will think the rumor about me being interested in you is true. They might even think we are a couple and neither of us wants that."

I actually wouldn't mind people thinking we are a couple though.

"You're right. I guess I'll take the bus for today."

Her saying that only confirms that she doesn't view me in that way.

I don't know why I'm surprised, considering that she has a boyfriend. And she's straight. I think.

"I should get going now. Don't miss the bus!" I warn her.

It's ironic for me to say that since I'm the one that's always late and the only one that should worry about that kind of thing. Rosa is the opposite of me in that way.

"I won't. Bye!"

I close the door behind me and I get in my car, then driving to school. I hope that the stupid rumors have gone away, but I'm never too sure of anything. When I arrive at school, my doubts are proven correct.

I enter the school and everyone gives me a disgusted look, making me confused as my attempts to ignore the stares fail. I walk over to my locker, but someone shoves me against the lockers before I can even get to my own. I turn around and find a very angry guy has shoved me.

On purpose.

I have no idea who it is, and I don't feel like finding out. It's a white guy with the most basic appearance of dull blue eyes and plain blonde hair, and a typical set of clothes that practically scream "I'm an asshole!"

"Listen, dyke, you better not be interested in my girlfriend. She isn't like you so back off," he warns me.

Of course, it's Rosa's boyfriend.

I don't think that she knew this was going to happen because if she did, she would have told me.

I think.

I hope that she didn't know so that I don't have a reason to not trust her, and she doesn't have a reason to feel guilty. I feel strange for worrying about her in this moment, but I don't dwell on it for too long.

Her boyfriend's reaction is like a direct parallel to how my dad also badly mistreated me for being gay.

I never thought that I would face something evil like this again. I wanted to be stuck in my own bubble, but this is just a reminder that I will never truly be at peace. Not in a world like this.

"I-I-I-I won't," I stutter.

He leaves, allowing me to cry as I run out of the school. I instantly decide that showing up for class isn't with it. I get into my car, and I drive away.

That's all that's left for me. My only option is to run.