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“Your brothers are expected to go into politics whether they want to or not.”
Whether I wanted to or not. The only difference was that I could maybe pick what college to run away to in the meantime. Perhaps it was a bad idea, but I figured that if I got much-needed distance from my father, it would somehow make my balls grow ten times their size and just tell him to fuck off.
“I don’t even get that option,” Lea spat. “No speech and debate for me because prepping me to be bimbo arm candy is more important.”
“They can’t prep you for something you already are,” I teased with a laugh. When I started laughing, she began to punch my shoulder with both her fists.
“Is there anyone that doesn’t beat you up, Lyons?”
Both Lea and I turned to look at the mocking tone that came behind us.
Sal was smirking at me. My stupid stomach dipped, and I cursed myself because this was not supposed to be how I should be reacting. He looked good. His uniform tie was now loose with the top button of his shirt undone. Next to him was Armando. Our gazes locked, but unlike Sal, his face was not mocking nor smirking, it was blank. His eyes went from mine dismissingly to Lea. I saw him do a quick sweep and then turn around like he couldn’t be bothered with us.
“Anyways,” Lea said, recovering much quicker than I had. “You want me to come back and pick you up?”
I shook my head.
“I can Uber home,” I let her know.
She nodded.
I began to walk away, but she held on to my sleeve. “Theo.” Not Teddy, so this was her being serious. “Don’t let yourself go back there, okay?”
“It’ll be okay, I promise,” I lied with a wink, hoping it made it more believable. Or maybe I wanted to believe it as well.
The speech and debate classes were held in the lower levels. When I made it to the double doors, I took a deep breath before I walked in. Truth be told, I loved coming here. During freshman year, this place was my safe haven. Everyone in this class was in my father's social circle. It allowed me to get away without actually going anywhere. As my father's career grew, so did the disdain outside of these walls, but here, it was okay because we were all on the same side of the law—the right side. Being on the ‘right’ side didn’t matter in this school. Not when everyone either wanted to sleep with or be friends with the ‘enemy’ because having a friend like that would benefit you down the line when you had to toe the gray line for your career. So when I was made a pariah, everyone followed the lead. But somehow, here it was okay because here they knew what the right thing was.
Then last year, everything changed.
Shaking my head, I pulled open the door, knowing I was already late.
“Ah, Theodore, there you are.” William Henderson greeted me with a saccharine smile covering the poison in his eyes. “You will need to stay after class to go over a few things since you missed the summer meetings.”
I was so fucked.
“Sounds good,” I managed to choke out as I went for my seat.
My mind was spinning, I just knew I needed to get as far away as I could to think. I used to like sitting in the front rows. Relished in having the attention this place provided. With ease, I pulled at my tie, trying to let more oxygen in. As if that would help my brain articulate better thoughts.
Someone pulled a chair out for me, and without thinking, I sat down as I regained my breath. I couldn’t look up, and I didn’t want to see if Mr. Henderson was looking at me.
Not that I needed to see, for I could feel the burn of his stare penetrating every inch of my body that had already forgotten about him.
William Henderson, or Will as everyone in here called him because he liked to be on a more personal level with his students. He was the ‘cool’ teacher. Someone we could all look up to because he was us—or who we would be in a few years. His father was in the DC political clique. He got this job as a way to enrich his résumé. Twenty-four years young with piercing hazel eyes, dark hair, all the proper schools and etiquette, plus looks that rivaled a model’s. He was charming and intelligent, and he was also gay.
A fact that not everyone knew because you know he had responsibilities, and as much as everyone wanted to believe that there was a change, and we were evolving, the elites and the politicians sure praised that change but didn’t apply it.
I gave myself a mental pep talk and dared myself to look up.
Fuck.
He was looking at me.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. At first, I thought he was finally the friend I had been looking for. Lea was great and all, but she didn’t have a dick, so she didn’t get half the shit I put up with. He was nice to me, a little touchy-feely, but when you didn’t get love anywhere else, it kind of felt nice. So, I let myself believe he was just friendly. The first time he flirted with me, I couldn’t believe it. It had felt nice, and it went without saying that it wasn’t exactly easy to explore my sexuality in these circles.
William had the same idea.
In a couple of months, he went from being a friend to my everything. But making someone your whole world when you were nothing in theirs wasn’t healthy at all. My cheeks burned, and my throat constricted with humiliation at the way I let William treat me.
