Knowing Me, Knowing You

One Little Lie

Dante hung up his phone, tossing it onto the counter in front of him as he dropped his head into his hands. Jessica's words had been in his head all day. It wasn't just her confession about Xander having slept with Missy, as he knew Xander planned to take care of that.

I'm really worried about living together.

With where we're heading, it's obvious we're eventually going to get married.

I just know he's planning to propose after high school.

We've been together this long. Marriage is bound to happen.

Jessica excitedly talked about how she wanted to marry Trevor, truly believing with all her heart that he was going to propose after graduation. And while she lived on in bliss, he knew the truth. She would never be his wife, because Trevor wanted him to be his husband. And he had to lie through his teeth that he was happy for her, a very blatant lie.

Since they began dating, Dante felt guilty over Trevor lying to Jessica. He knew Trevor felt even guiltier, but no matter how much he hated to hurt her, he didn't want Trevor to suffer either. While Jessica would one day be able to find a new man to love, someone who would love her properly, Trevor had to live in a constant state of fear over his parents eventually kicking him out for being gay.

He only knew what sort of horrors Kennedy had to endure when she came out based on what Trevor had told him, but it was impossible to picture without him wanting to break down and cry. First, his parents yelled at her, scolding her for making horrible life choices. The moment she began to retaliate, her mother slapped her. She still held her ground, saying they couldn't stop her from loving her girlfriend, and her father punched her repeatedly until she was a broken, sobbing mess on the floor. Without giving her any time to recover, they kicked her out and threatened to call the police if she didn't get off their property, which was near impossible for her to do without injuring her body even more.

It wasn't until a few days later that Trevor wound up spotting her in town, hiding behind a bakery in its alleyway. He was able to call her girlfriend and have her come pick Kennedy up, taking her to her place in the city. She was treated as soon as Tilly found her, but there were scars that would never fully go away.

Dante knew for a fact that if Trevor were to come out, his parents would give him the exact same beating and kick him out. He refused to let his boyfriend get hurt, so he never expressed his guilt over what they were doing to Jessica, as he understood that if he were to suddenly break up with her, his parents would be suspicious. Being with Jessica gave him an extra layer of protecting, because with how in love they appeared to be, his parents believed he was straight.

The problem with acting too in love with Jessica was that she now believed they were truly in love with each other, and that they would get married once they graduated. He didn't like hurting Jessica, and he no longer wanted to be part of the equation that caused her to continue to get hurt. Dante liked Jessica; he found her to be a sweet, caring person. Trevor liked her, too, thinking of her as a good friend all these years. She didn't deserve to get hurt by them.

When Trevor finally arrived, Dante led him into the kitchen and explained what happened the prior day after he left for practice. He told him about how Jessica mentioned her and Trevor moving in together and getting married, and Trevor dropped his head into his arms on the table.

"I really fucked up. I never should have kept this going this long."

Dante reached for his hand. "I know why you did what you did. I'm not mad about it, I'm just disappointed it's come to this."

Trevor patted Dante's hand, flashing the most encouraging smile he could muster up in his depressed state. "We'll get through this. The moment I move out, I will explain everything to her, and then we can move to the city. We don't have to see her ever again. She's going to Notre Dame. She'll make new friends and find somebody else to love. It'll be okay. She'll be okay. God, I hope she'll be okay."

"I can't keep supporting this," Dante insisted, shaking his head as he tore his hand away from Trevor's. "Once she finds out, it will kill her. It's better to rip off this Band-Aid now and tell her the truth."

"What?"

"Not the part about you being gay, obviously. Just the part about how you don't love her that way and don't see a future with her."

"Dante, love, you know I can't do that. My parents love her, and they think I see a future with her. If I break up with her now, they are going to get very suspicious."

Sighing, Dante shook his head and brought his hand up to his mouth. "I don't like doing this, you have to know that."

Trevor's eyes widened, panicking as he stood up from the kitchen stool and grasping onto both his hands. "We don't have to."

"I don't want to be part of the reason she's going to get hurt anymore. She doesn't deserve it, and I know you don't deserve what your parents will do to you either, but this is becoming way too much to bear. I can't keep it up anymore." Staring directly into Trevor's eyes, Dante stated, "Until you break up with Jessica, we're no longer together."

"Dante-"

"Please leave," he whimpered as he pulled his hands out of Trevor's grip, turning away from him as he sobbed.

Trevor cried, too, wanting to beg and plead for Dante to reconsider, but he knew his boyfriend's mind was made up. The only way to be with him again was to break up with Jessica. As much as he wanted to, he was petrified of the repercussions that would soon follow.