After Theo comes out as gay to his best friend, his life becomes a living hell. Ruthlessly bullied, Theo falls deep into his depression, and is ready to give up on life. But then an unlikely ally steps in...
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-Theo-
Would I ever run out of tears?
I cried my eyes out while holding Deon in my arms, trying to convince him that everything was going to be alright. I knew I was lying, even though I had promised I wouldn't lie to him.
Nothing was going to be all right.
We spent a long time on that cliff. We just stared at the sea without speaking much. The sun was setting, making the view even more breathtaking. The red glow around us made everything so beautiful, but the thought of not being able to return to that place with Deon was killing me inside, so it was hard to appreciate the amazing nature.
The drive back was filled with silence. Deon was deep in his thoughts, and he wasn't being himself. He seemed like he had given up and lost his will. I was scared he would do something stupid if I let him be alone.
"I want to make another deal," I said to him. "I won't hurt or kill myself, if you promise to do the same."
Deon looked at me with tired eyes and nodded. "Deal," he said shortly.
I wanted to believe him, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong in him when we were at the cliffs. When Deon stopped his car in front of my home, I turned to look at him.
"Are you all right?" I asked quietly.
Deon looked at me and nodded. "I'm just tired. I'll be all right tomorrow."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive," he said and tried to smile.
"Okay then... I'll see you at school tomorrow," I said.
"I'll come pick you up," he said in return. "Don't make me wait."
"I won't," I promised and after hesitating a moment, I hugged him.
Deon patted my back awkwardly. "Just go already," he chuckled.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then," I said, getting out of his car.
I watched him driving away before walking to my home. My dad was watching TV in the living room when I stepped in, and I decided to go say hello to him. I wasn't sure why I wanted to do that all of a sudden. Maybe Deon's condition had made me realize that life was too short to hold grudges. My dad was at least trying to do better now – I noticed he had tried to clean up the place while I was out. It was really odd to see the living room so clean and without the empty beer cans lying around. The house didn't even smell that bad anymore.
"Hey, where have you been?" Dad asked, looking a bit excited. "I made dinner! It's just macaroni and cheese, but I'm learning! Tomorrow I'm going to try lasagna," he said, closing the TV.
"That's great, Dad," I said. "I was out with Deon."
"Out, you mean like on a date?" he asked. Now that was just weird. He looked at me like he had just asked about the weather.
