Touch ☞☜ Phan

Chapter Thirteen

"YOU'RE ENGAGED?," Amelia shouts, shocking everybody at our table.

"Basically," Phil says.

I laugh and roll with it. I don't mind people believing that Phil and I are engaged.  It's true that we basically are anyway.

Amelia shakes her head. "That's crazy, and even though I'm mildly upset with you, Dan, I support you and Phil."

"Thanks?"

Amelia nods. "You're welcome. Lacie, Asha, and I can be groomsmaids. Reo and Imani can be groomsmen since you and Phil are obviously the best men of each other despite being the grooms."

"If you haven't switched yet, then who tops?  You're a couple of twinks," Lacie says.

Asha snorts for the fourth time this lunch period.  "I think we all know who bottoms."

Everybody at our table stares at me.

"It's true," Phil confirms.  "Dan loves to moan my name.  I love how it sounds on his lips as I'm thrusting into his—"

"PHIL, SHUT UP. NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR THAT."

Asha laughs. "Actually, I can confirm that everybody at our table wants to hear that."

Reo, Imani, Lacie, and Amelia all nod.

"You guys are a bunch of perverts, and Phil, you're not going to be able to boast about topping me after I dominate you so hard that you'll be limping for a week. I'll have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm sure you can help me."

"I consider that a promise," Phil says.

"Then you can see how it feels to ache every time you're touched."

Asha snorts for the fifth time this lunch period, and Lacie says, "Asha snorts when she's giddy.  She's talking to a guy."

Everybody at our table turns to Asha.

"Heck yeah I am!  You were off getting me paper towels when Reo struck up a conversation with me, Dan."

Reo blushes and smiles.

"I love tall, intelligent guys with senses of style," Asha says.

"And I love tall, intelligent girls with senses of style," Reo says, beaming.

"Awww," Phil gushes.

"Everybody at our table is taken. Speaking of which, here comes the girl Imani's talking to," Asha says as a girl with extremely curly hair, dark olive skin, freckles, and green eyes approaches the table. She sits down beside Imani.

"This is Natasha," Imani says. Natasha gives a small wave.

"'Not Asha' is my nickname for Natasha," Asha says.

Everybody at our table exchanges introductions with Natasha, today's friend.

"Natasha is the new babysitter of my nieces since Asha and I are too busy to look after them every day," Imani explains.

"Dan, can we talk?," Amelia asks.

I nod as Phil gives me a sympathetic facial expression. I follow Amelia around the corner.

"How did you know that my abuser was Kara? The school didn't suspend her as I assumed they would upon finding out."

"What? That's so—"

"Kara's expelled."

Well, that's a relief. "The school must've figured out that she had been bullying you by checking the cameras after I reported the incident," I lie.

Amelia shakes her head. "The dean told me that somebody came into her office and told her about what Kara had been doing to me."

Oh no. "Well, she was walking out of the restroom when I left the closet. She was homophobic toward me."

"Plenty of people are homophobic, Dan. It's the sad truth. Plenty of people also use that restroom. Why did you assume that my abuser was Kara? I don't think you did—I think you knew."

I shrug. Why is Amelia being so persistent?

"I only told you about my abuse, Dan. I only trusted you."

"Amelia Jolina Miller!," Lacie shouts. Why does that last name sound so familiar? I mean, it is a common last name.

"Yes?," Amelia asks.

"I refuse to suffer another lunch hour without you. Please wrap up whatever this is," Lacie says.

As Lacie begins to walk away, Amelia says, "I will figure this out, Dan."

A flashback appears in my mind of the strawberry blonde-haired woman at the lingerie shop showing me her ID with "Starla Miller" printed onto it.  I wonder how she's doing.

"Amelia, are you related to a Starla Miller by any chance?," I ask.

Amelia stares at me before replying, "Starla is my sister.  You and Phil didn't...run into her at the outlet mall, did you?"

"Phil and I did run into Starla at the outlet mall, yes," I confirm.

"Starla told me that a gay couple helped her get Rodney in trouble," Amelia says.  "My sister's ex-boyfriend had been abusing her for months.  She didn't tell anybody because she was afraid of what he'd do to her.  If I had known Rodney was the boyfriend who Lacie always says 'almost killed her,' I would have been worried months ago.  Lacie didn't realize that he had been released from jail.  I'm so thankful that he didn't hurt Lacie like this as well."

"Me too," I say.  "How's Starla doing?"

"Starla's healing.  How did you know that Rodney had been abusing her?"

"Starla had a bruise," I lie.  Well, Starla did have a bruise on her face, but I knew that she had been abused by Rodney because of my power.

"Dan, you couldn't have known that simply because of a bruise that you noticed on Starla after having a brief encounter with her," Lacie says.

"Fine, I admit it—I'm a mind reader," I say, pouring as much sarcasm into my tone as I'm able to muster despite this only being a slight stretch from the truth.

"I'm beginning to believe that," Amelia says, shaking her head. "Rodney didn't even say a word around you.  You didn't know anything regarding him, and I don't know how you could've assumed this based on something as simple and as small as a bruise."

"What are you implying, Amelia?"

Amelia sighs.  "I don't know what I'm implying, Dan.  I just know that there's something off about you.  I have this feeling.  I just don't know what it is."

"See? You're making an assumption just like how I've been make assumptions. It's a normal human instinct to assume things.  If I have an assumption that pertains to something as crucial as abuse, I act on it because it's better to assume that there's abuse than to allow an abuser get away with what they're doing. Are you sure that feeling isn't just your gaydar?," I ask, attempting to lighten the conversation a bit.

"Those are some assumptions," Amelia says, shaking her head.  "I'll figure this out, Dan."

Author's Note

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