"Where have you been?"
Looking up, I frowned while seeing the concerned eyes of Francine staring at me. I was currently sitting under a tree on campus, trying to study. "Here and there."
"Come on Noah, what happened? You've skipped a lot of classes this week. What happened?"
I tried to keep the tears from falling, honestly I didn't know how I still had tears left. Ever since Wes had broken up with me, things had not been okay. I basically had a mental breakdown, simply because I didn't know what I did wrong. There were reasons why I never told Wes, or anyone, about my brother. He had never been nice to me, especially when I started doing well in school. I never wanted anyone to know how broken I had been.
"Wes broke up with me," I whispered while Francine gasped.
"He broke up with you? Why?"
Staring up at the brown leaves above my head, I bit my lip to keep my sobs in. "He got upset when I didn't tell him something about my past."
Francine sighed before she sat down and wrapped her arms around me. Resting my head onto her shoulder, I let more tears fall as she pulled me closer towards her body. "Oh Noah, I'm so sorry."
"No," I said while shaking my head. "Don't be sorry. I was the one who didn't tell him."
She gave me a look before saying, "I'm assuming there was a reason you didn't tell him. You guys haven't even been together very long, you don't really talk about personal things that early on."
"It was different with Wes," I whispered. "I wanted him to be the one I shared my life with. I know most people won't understand, especially because we haven't been together long. He actually made me feel safe and... loved. And I blew it."
"Noah, no don't think like th-"
"I'm going to go back to my room," I said while suddenly standing up. I gave her a small smile as she looked up with me sad eyes. "I actually want to go to bed early."
Francine stood up as well, before wrapping her arms around me in a bone crushing hug. "I'm always here if you need anything."
I slowly nodded before walking away. After walking into my dorm, I dropped my bag off in my room before heading to the bathroom. After doing my business, I started to wash my hands while the door opened behind me. I didn't pay any attention to it, until I heard a familiar voice.
"Oh look, it's one of the fags."
Turning around, my heart sunk when I saw the guy who harassed Wes and I earlier. The same two guys were also behind him, making me sweat when one of them locked the door. "W-what do you want?" I nervously asked as they started to stalk towards me.
"Oh are you scared? Don't have your boyfriend to protect you?" The guy asked while pinning me against the sink.
"Get off!" I yelled while trying to push him off my body.
"What's wrong? Don't you like having guys this close to you?"
My eyes widened when one of the guys behind him handed him a small pocket knife. "Please get off of me."
"Don't be scared," of the guys smirked behind him.
I closed my eyes when they threw me onto the ground. I could hear fabric ripping, as many fingers were poking me. When a fist was suddenly connecting to my face, I screamed from the pain. It had been a while since someone had punched me in the face.
"Shut him up!"
"Someone's going to hear!"
When I wouldn't stop screaming, I was suddenly being picked up. I opened my eyes to see the guys carefully carrying me out of the bathroom. They were moving very slowly, probably not to attract any attention. One of the guys put his hand over my mouth, making it hard to breathe.
Once they had carried me outside, they threw me down onto the ground. They started kicking and punching me again, making me officially give up. Why did I deserve any of this? Because I liked guys more than girls? How was that fair?
"Luke, let's get out of here."
"Lets's go!"
I was barely keeping my eyes open as I heard them scurry away. When my eyes finally shut, a small piece of me hoped they never opened again.
**
Opening my eyes, I squinted while looking around the hospital room. It didn't really surprise me that someone found me, I guess it was only a matter of time. It was then that I realized the entire room was filled with roses. They were everywhere in this hospital room. Red roses were all around the bed, by the dozen. There were also pink and white roses mixed in with them. The room smelled amazing.
"Wow," I whispered before flinching when my lips hurt.
"Did you hear from him?" What sounded like my mom's voice said from somewhere.
"He said he'll be okay," my dad's voice said.
"Mom? Dad?"
Their heads popped up from the sea of roses, both smiling. "Oh honey," my mom said while coming over and gently hugging me. "How are you? Are you okay? Do you need the nurse? Can you breathe okay?"
"Honey, let the boy talk."
"What's going on?" I whispered while carefully pointing to the roses.
I watched my parents sit down onto my bed before my mom said, "They're from Wes."
"Wes?" I whispered, my heart instantly skipping a beat.
"He was the one who found you," my dad said while gently running his hand over my hair. "He brought you here then called us." He had to stop talking when tears were forming in his eyes. He took a deep breath before he continued. "He told us not to worry, but he might be in trouble. He actually went back to campus and found the guys who did this to you. Since he's nineteen and they're only sixteen, he was charged as an adult when security found him."
My mom was nodding before he even finished talking. "He called your father a little bit ago. He wanted us to know he would be okay."
"He's in jail?" I whispered with a frown.
"Honey, don't worry. You should be more worried about yourself, are you sure you're okay?" My mom asked with a sad expression.
"I'm fine. What's going to happen to Wes?"
"We'll figure something out."
Resting my head back against the pillow behind me, I sighed while gently touching my face. "He wanted to make sure you woke up to something that would make you happy. Since he wasn't able to be here."
"Oh, I have to take this call," my dad suddenly said as he walked out of the room.
When he was gone, I looked over at my mom who was still frowning. "I was so worried about you. I wasn't sure what I was going to walk into when I got here. Noah, what happened?"
"The guys who harassed us from before, they cornered me in the bathroom. One of them had a knife and started cutting my clothes open. Do I have scratches?" I asked while slowly lifting my gown up to look at my skin. I frowned while seeing all the little cuts over my chest. I could feel more on my legs as well. "I don't get why they did it. Just because I like guys? Why would they do that?"
She frowned before slowly running her fingers through my hair. "I don't know honey, I really don't. I wish people were more accepting." Her eyes started to get watery as she took a deep breath. "But I know that your children will be in a more open minded generation. I just know it, I know people will start to change. But listen to me. I don't want anyone to make you feel bad about yourself. Do you hear me? There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, nothing. It doesn't matter that you're in love with a man. No one can make you feel less of a person. Be proud of who you are, because I'm so damn proud of you."
Feeling my eyes get watery, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me. "I love you Noah."
My eyes then slowly closed, my body still hurting so much. I tried to stay awake but that didn't happen as I slowly fell asleep.
*
After my eyes opened, I looked over to see a doctor standing by my bed. "Hello Noah. How are you feeling?"
"Sore," I said while watching him look at my face.
"The swelling in your face is going down nicely. Now you have a few broken ribs so I'm going to be giving you a prescription for pain medication. I'll be sending this home with you. Now, I don't want you to do any strenuous activity for awhile. Also, make sure you have a friend who can help you get around."
He started to say some other things but I ignored him, not really caring. After awhile he left, leaving me alone with all the roses. I gently picked one up from the bedside table and held it up to my nose.
When the door opened again, I looked up expecting to see my mom or my dad. Instead, I saw those blue eyes I loved. "Wes?" I whispered while watching him walk over to my bed. He had multiple bruises over his cheeks, instantly worrying me.
"Noah," he said while gently wrapping his arms around my body. "Are you okay?"
I nodded into his chest, his manly scent instantly calming me. He pulled slightly back to kiss my forehead but I pulled him back to me.
"What happened to you? My dad told me you went after those guys."
He nodded before sitting down onto the mattress. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. I wasn't there to fight them off, I should've been there. But I promise I will never leave you again." He ever so gently kissed my forehead again, tears filling his eyes. "I remembered the guy who corned us before, because he's in one of my classes. His name is Luke Kelly. When I found you, I knew he was behind it. So after I brought you here, I found him and his little friends. I may have kicked the shit out of them, when security found me. I really didn't care that they called the cops on me, they hurt you so it was worth it. Plus, I deserved it. I hurt you first."
I instantly shook my head before whispering, "But, that'll go on your permanent record. What about law school?"
He gave me a look before saying, "You're the only lying in a hospital bed and you're worried about my future?"
"I care about you."
His face instantly softened as he said, "I love you Noah. God I'll never forgive myself for acting so stupid. I know this isn't an excuse, but I really don't know how to control my emotions. I'm always so worried about people hurting me, that I forget that I hurt people so easily. Especially you, which shouldn't have happened."
"So what happened?"
He took a deep breath before gently rubbing his thumb over my hand. "I knew I'd be going to jail, so I quickly called Francine. Thank god she gave me her number. I gave her my credit card and told her to buy as many roses before the card declined. Then I got hauled off to jail, where I called your parents. Your dad came to bail me out, but the case got thrown out."
"How come?"
"Apparently one of Luke's little friends had a warrant out for his arrest. He's into some sick shit, I guess he had child pornography charges already agaisnt him. And he's twenty so he'll be charged as an adult."
I started to wrap my arms around his neck when I winced, my ribs instantly hurting. "Do you need the nurse?" He instantly asked, looking very concerned.
"No," I started to say as my ribs were hurting like no other. "Okay maybe."
Wes quickly called the nurse in, who gave me more pain medication. When the pain meds were starting to kick in, I sighed while feeling the pain go away. "I'm really glad you're not going to jail."
"I'd go to jail for you Noah, I'd do anything."
"Anything?"
"Of course."
I slowly patted the mattress next to me, as my eyelids were growing heavy. "Snuggle."
"Yes sir."
He carefully slipped into the bed next to me, his warm arms wrapping around me. Snuggling my head into his chest, I happily sighed before falling asleep.