***Blake’s POV***
“Guys, I’m so worried about Connor,” Luka whispered.
“Hey, I’m sure he’s okay,” Felix said, patting Luka on the back. But even he looked like he didn’t believe it.
I couldn’t get the image of that bruise out of my mind. Were his parents abusing him? Now that I had seen that bruise, it was hard to think that they weren’t.
If I could prove that his parents were abusing him, it would ruin everything for him and Luka. Luka would realize that Connor wasn’t as honest as he seemed to be. That would put doubt in Luka’s mind.
And then I would raise that oh so important question of where it was Connor had been when he claimed to be with his parents. I wasn’t afraid to admit to our little affair. What did I have to lose? Some friends?
I had already lost Connor, and nothing could be more painful than that. I’d been in love with him before he had ever come out as gay. He’d been my best friend for years, and somewhere along the way, I had fallen deeply in love with him.
But now he had showed me what kind of a person he truly was. I never would’ve imagined that he could be so cruel and manipulative. But I had experienced it first had, and it was fueling me to reveal him to Luka. To crush Connor. To take away what he loved so he could feel the pain I did.
Still, I did love him. Even if I hated it, I knew it was true. So the thought of him being abused at home drove me crazy.
As if reading my thoughts, Luka looked up at me and Felix. “Do you guys think his mom and dad hit him?” he asked, barely audible. “I mean, he says that they don’t…but…”
“Luka, if he says that they don’t him, then they don’t hit him. Would Connor lie to you?” I asked.
“No,” Luka said with a sigh. “Connor would never lie to me, not about something as important as that. It’s just…I want to know who’s hurting him. I can’t stand the thought of someone actually hurting Connor. Who would do something as cruel as that? Connor is such a nice guy. Why would anyone ever want to hurt him?”
I nearly laughed at the irony of that.
“It’s probably one of the homophobes at school,” I said. “You know how violent they are.”
“Blake’s probably right, Luka. They’ve harassed me before and I’m not even gay. They’ve harassed me just for defending you guys,” Felix said with a frown. “They probably went after Connor afterschool since we weren’t with him.”
I nodded, barely paying attention to what he was saying. I had to find some way to prove that Connor was being abused at home.
I guess the only way to really do that was to go to his house and record it if I saw it happening. But it would be hard to do that, unless it happened it Connor’s basement. The windows there were ground level, and I could easily hide and record anything there.
But how the hell was I supposed to get Connor down there? If his parents really were hitting him, he would probably stay holed up in his bedroom.
Unless…
Hm, his laundry room was in his basement. His mom would be in the basement fairly often. If I lured him down there…
A plan exploded in my brain and I sat up. I knew Luka was planning to have us all sleepover his house this weekend-Connor included-and I could use this to mess with him there. Drive him crazy with paranoia. If I had a video of him being abused…
Luka and Felix left my house after hanging out a while longer. The next day during lunch, I watched as Connor pulled out his cell phone, texting someone.
“Connor, come get a slushie with me!” Luka said, tugging on his arm.
Connor sighed and shoved his cell phone in his backpack, smiling at Luka and getting up. I watched as they left the cafeteria together.
“Hey Felix, can you get me a napkin?” I asked him.
Felix nodded and got up, walking over towards the napkins. I quickly reached my hand into Connor’s backpack, snatching his phone and stuffing it into my pocket.
Connor and Luka returned, holding hands. They sat down together, Luka sipping on a slushie. Connor broke off a piece of his poptart, offering it to Luka.
Luka opened his mouth and Connor put the poptart in, laughing. Neither of them had mentioned the bruise, and neither had I. Because I was about to have proof of where it came from.
“Here lazy,” Felix said, sitting down and handing me a napkin.
“Thank you Felix,” I said, taking the napkin from him. I was suddenly afraid that any moment now, Connor would reach into his bag for his cell phone.
But the lunch period passed by, and Connor didn’t touch his backpack. He didn’t reach for his cell phone during our science class either.
The end of the day came and I knew that Connor would drop Luka off at home. I had to drop Felix off, which would actually work out just fine.
“Blake, you’ve been kind of quiet. Don’t tell me that something’s wrong with you too,” Felix said, glancing at me as we got into my car together.
I flashed him a smile. “Nothing’s wrong with me Felix. I’m just worried about Connor, I guess. Luka’s fear is spreading.”
“You know Connor better than I do. He’s been your best friend for years. Do you think his parents hit him?” Felix asked nervously.
I shook my head. “No. That means that Connor’s been lying to us about it for a long time now. Connor wouldn’t lie to us. We’re his friends, and Luka’s his boyfriend. Connor’s not a liar. He only lied about the bruise because he didn’t want us to know someone had hurt him. He probably lied so that we didn’t think it was our fault for leaving him alone after school.”
“Yea, I guess you’re right,” Felix said with a sigh. “Still, something is up with him lately and it’s making me worried.”
“Me too,” I said, nodding. “But I’m sure whatever it is, Connor’s got it under control.”
What a lie. I knew for a fact that Connor didn’t have any of this under control. This situation was entirely in my hands.
I dropped Felix off before making my way towards Connor’s neighborhood. I parked in the parking lot of an elementary school and made my way past the sports fields behind the school.
I walked along the fence enclosing the school until I came to an opening in it. I slipped through the opening and pushed branches out of my face until I had made it to Connor’s backyard.
He always took us through this little shortcut when we wanted to hang out on the playground at the school. He had never imagined what I was about to use it for.
I moved into his neighbor’s backyard, sticking close to the fence that divided the neighbor’s house from Connor’s house. When I reached the front yard, I hurried over and buried myself into Connor’s bushes.
I peeked over the top and saw that Connor’s car was parked in the driveway. I grinned to myself and crawled along the bushes until I had found the window that showed through to his basement.
I peeked in and quickly pulled my face away. Mrs. Brennan was just making her way downstairs with a laundry basket.
I peeked back over and slowly pushed on the window, expecting it to creak as it opened. But luck was on my side, and the window opened without any noise.
Pulling Connor’s cell phone out of my pocket, I turned the sound all the way up and chucked the phone onto the couch that was directly across from the window. It thumped onto it and I held my breath, glancing at the open door that led to the laundry room. But Mrs. Brennan didn’t seem to have heard the phone.
I quietly shut the window, leaving it open a tiny crack, and pulled out my own cell phone, and my iPod. I turned on the record on my iPod and positioned myself so that Connor wouldn’t be able to see me.
I dialed his number, my own number restricted. Connor’s phone burst into life, blaring his ringtone.
“Lies spread, like your legs did, take it back it’ll stop this track right here. Can’t keep my name out your mouth, I know it’s getting hard, but isn’t that the way you liked it?” his phone sang. I bit my lip so that I wouldn’t laugh at the irony of that song being his ringtone.
I heard the sound of Connor rushing down the stairs. He went over to the couch and grabbed his phone just as it beeped to announce he had a missed call.
“Damn,” he grumbled. “How did my phone get in the basement?”
He shook his head after checking the call. He slid the phone into his pocket and turned to head towards the stairs.
I watched as his mom came out of the laundry room, carrying another laundry basket. Connor hadn’t noticed her. He had pulled his phone back out and was reply to a text message, slowly heading towards the stairs as he did so, probably thinking he was alone in the basement.
I watched, slightly horrified, as Mrs. Brennan hit Connor with the laundry basket. He cried out in pain and surprise as the impact sent him flying into the corner of the wall. He stumbled backwards, only to be run into again as his mom slammed by him to get up the stairs.
Connor fell backwards as his mom disappeared up the stairs. He put a hand over his lightly bleeding nose and slowly got to his feet.
He winced and pulled his shirt up, inspecting his back, which had slight cuts from the laundry basket. He bit his trembling lip and took a deep breath.
He got down on his knees, fumbling to pick his cell phone back up. I watched as his dad came down the stairs, promptly kicking Connor and knocking him back to the ground.
Connor sucked in a breath and whimpered, carefully rubbing his already bruised side. His dad was humming as he walked over and sat down on the couch, completely ignoring his son.
Connor scrambled away from the stairs in fear as his mom came back downstairs. He looked like a trapped animal.
He grabbed his phone and shoved it in his pocket, managing to get to his feet. He basically sprinted up the stairs and out of the basement.
I turned my iPod off after saving the video. I shakily leaned against the side of Connor’s house. The worst part wasn’t even the fact that he was, indeed, being hurt by his parents.
It was the look in their eyes.
It was like they didn’t even realize that Connor was there. They had just stumbled over something in their way. Like Connor didn’t even exist to them.
No. Stop feeling bad for him, Blake. There were other ways to deal with that kind of situation. He didn’t have to go off and screw me to get his mind off of his home situation. Was that what he had used me for? Just to feel like someone was paying attention to him? Fucking me because me moaning in pleasure and screaming his name meant that he wasn’t some invisible boy?
Angrier than ever, I crawled out of the bushes and carefully made my way back the way I had come. I reached my car and got in, watching the video to make sure I had recorded it all.
Now another thought had entered my head, fueling my anger even more.
If Connor had just used me to feel like he wasn’t invisible, was he using Luka for the same purpose? I knew he and Luka had an active love life. Was he just substituting physical love to feel noticed?
I drove myself to my house and went inside, my thoughts racing. I would be doing Luka a favor by revealing Connor to him. Revealing who Connor truly was. It would hurt Luka, sure, but the truth would hurt him far less than Connor would in the long run.
“Blake, why are you home so late?” my mom asked curiously as I walked upstairs.
“I got talking to Felix,” I lied with a shrug.
“Oh. Well, dinner’s going to be late because your father has to work late. So go work on your homework now,” she said before disappearing into the kitchen.
I rolled my eyes and went to my bedroom, shutting the door. My phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my pocket.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Blake!” Luka’s happy voice said. “Blake! Blake!”
“Hi Luka,” I said, laughing. He was such a happy-go-lucky guy.
“Do you want to sleepover this weekend? You, me, Felix, and Connor,” he said, his tone taking on a loving tone as he said Connor’s name. He really loved Connor.
Just like I had.
Hell, just like I still did.
But now I had seen who Connor truly was. And my hate for him was overpowering that desperate love for him I still held.
“Sure Luka! It’ll be fun,” I said, grinning and gripping my iPod tightly. I would have to backup the video on my computer in case Connor got a hold of it.
I didn’t plan to show Luka right away. No, I planned to drive Connor crazy with the knowledge that I had the video. I wanted him to lose sleep over it. I wanted him to beg me not to show Luka, the way I had wanted to beg Connor not to leave me.
“Yea it’ll be fun!” Luka said brightly. “Awesome! Friday night! See you tomorrow Blake!”
“Bye Luka,” I said and hung up the phone. I fell back on my bed, staring at my iPod. A grin slowly made its way onto my face.
Maybe it was cruel of me, but did someone like Connor Brennan deserve anything less? When I said I was going to crush him, I meant it.
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A.N.- Do you guys think Blake is taking his revenge too far? :c