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“Actually, it is.” Marcus growls this time. “Rhys isourbusiness, and we won’t stand by while you keep her captive anddrugher.” Another look over my shoulder shows that Garrett, Shaun and Marcus are now blocking my parents from getting to me.
“Oh my goodness. This is not how it seems.” Cynthia sounds distraught. “She is just grounded. She’s not being held captive. And the drugs were a threat. I would never use them on her unless she was out of control.”
“She was out of control! She was going to masturbate in the theatre and watch porn while the rest of us go about our day around her. That’s not normal.” Will hisses, and I lose my shit, leaping off Simon and pushing through the wall of my guys as I scream.
“I AM NOT NORMAL! STOP TRYING TO CHANGE ME!”
My scream is piercing, echoing across the neighbourhood as everyone falls silent.
“What the fuck is going on?” Charlotte steps up, having pulled up in her car at some point to come home to this commotion.
No one speaks, so I do.
“I need everyone to stop trying to change me. Just because I’m different doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with me, and I refuse to be in the company of anyone who can’t accept me the way I am.” Even though I’m trying to be strong, a sob escapes as I push out the last word, and Charlotte pushes past Simon to hug me.
“That’s exactly right, Rhys. People who don’t accept you don’t deserve a minute more of your time.” She says loud enough for everyone to hear, holding me close as I bury my head in the crook of her neck.
“Charlotte. There’s a lot at play here.” Cynthia speaks, but Char shakes her head.
“You’re making it harder than it needs to be. Making it hard for Rhys to cope with all of this stuff that she’s drowning in. You need to take a step back and let her breathe. You’re smothering her, and yes, it’s because you care, but it’s doing more harm than good.” Charlotte rubs her hand up and down my back, offering me support as she continues. “You can’t tell Rhys who to care about and who not to. It doesn’t work like that. I can’t tell you to not care about Will. If I say a bad word about him, you will feel insulted because you care for him so dearly. Each time you say something bad about someone Rhys cares about, you are pushing her away even more. Is her whole group relationship thing going to work? No one knows. All she can do is try. She needs to follow her own path, make her own mistakes, revel in her own wins, and know that no matter what happens, you will be there for her. Good or bad. Threatening to drug her to make her comply is not supporting her.”
“I…” Cynthia is lost for words, and if I’m being honest. So am I.
I slowly pull back from Char, and she peers down at me with more care towards me than I’ve seen before.
“You are perfect just the way you are.” She smiles, tears glistening in her green eyes as she brushes back some of my hair.
I nod because I can’t speak, and we step away from each other to face the six sets of eyes watching our interaction.
“Here.” Cynthia holds out a box, and my eyes widen as I take it in. “I want you to get rid of these. You don’t need them, and I want you to trust that I will never use them on you again.”
My guys step aside, giving me more room as I move forward to accept the box of potent sedatives, and I glance between my parents, knowing that I brought a lot of this on myself.
If only you were normal, you wouldn’t annoy everyone so much.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I was desperate and acted like a brat, and I could have gone about that whole situation differently. I’m sorry it’s so hard to understand why I need the things I need and why I care about multiple guys. People get scared when they don’t understand something. I know. But that’s who I am, and Char is right about everything she said.” I swallow the lump in my throat, blinking back the hot tears that want to fall. “So, I’m going to go now.” I take a step back, away from my parents. “I’ll see you around.”
Turning my back on everyone, I force one foot in front of the other as I walk down the dirty path at the front of my house toward the street. The sounds of footsteps behind me give me comfort, knowing they belong to my four guys.
“Wait!” Cynthia cries, and I stop as my bare feet hit the footpath that runs along my street. As I turn to look over my shoulder, I see Cin disappear into the house. While I wait to see what she wants, the warmth of Simon’s hand comes to rest on my lower back, and I lean into it, needing the comfort it brings.
Cynthia appears again, passing Will, who looks rattled and confused, and she runs up the path holding out my phone.
“Please stay safe.” Her voice is laced with so much worry as she hands me my phone, and I take it while watching her eyes pool with tears. “Your home ishere,Rhys. Always. Come back soon, ok?”
My lower lip trembles as I give a slight nod, hoping her words are true, and before I can give in to the need to stay, I turn my back on her again and tears stream down my face as I walk away.
I don’t even have shoes on, but the concrete path is warm from the mild spring day. My sweatpants aren’t my usual get-up, and neither is the fitted superman t-shirt I’m wearing. I didn’t actually think I’d be seeing anyone today, but oddly enough, I don’t care about how I look. My hair is in a messy knot on top of my head while strays float in the breeze, and there’s not a smudge of makeup on my face. I don’t look likeme, but right now, I feel more me than I ever have.
“Kitten.” Shaun links his fingers with mine as we walk, and I glance at him through my tears, giving him a smile as I continue to cry silently. I don’t have words right now, and he doesn’t need to hear them. He just wants me to know he’s there, and so are the others as we walk through my neighbourhood in silence.
I have no idea where we are going. I just walk and follow the direction the guys lead me until we eventually turn up at Simon’s house. It makes sense. It’s the closest to my house and school, and it’s the biggest to accommodate our group. Garrett is probably still avoiding his house, and I don’t think I’d be all that welcome at Marcus’ house. Shaun’s is out of town a little, so the only place for us to go is Simon’s.
One by one, we pass through his oversized front door, ignoring his mum as she steps into the foyer, looking confused. None of us pay her any attention, and we head into the rumpus room, where Simon closes the door behind us, giving us privacy.
“What can we do, Rhee?” Marcus asks, and I turn back to look at the four of them.
Usually, I need sex. It was only an hour ago that I was setting my sights on my vibes, needing a release, yet now, that need is gone. In its place is something I don’t really know how to voice.
