My Brother's Best Friend - LGBT, boyXman

16

“Oh, thank Christ that’s over.”

I covered my face with my hands and sighed heavily.

David patted my shoulder.

“Jesus.” He muttered.

“I think I’d prefer to have needles stabbed into my eyeballs than go through that again,” I told him.

Matt had left a few moments before, to drive Leanne home.

She’d insisted they leave almost immediately after dinner had finished.

“What was her problem?” David demanded. “God, she’s more spoilt than Karen.”

“Karen was nice,” I said. “Up until your divorce, anyway. She wasn’t all ‘rich bitch’ until then.”

David nodded his agreement.

“Come on. I think there’s a football game on TV.”

We grabbed a couple of beers and went through to the living room, each of us too annoyed to be bothered with the washing up.

David flicked through the channels until he found the football and settled back on the sofa with a sigh.

“You shouldn’t listen to her, you know,” he said after a few minutes silence. “That was one of the best home-cooked meals I’ve had. And my mama’s a damn good cook, so that’s saying something.”

“So, the chicken wasn’t too dry?” I asked. “And the potatoes weren’t burnt?”

I remembered some of Leanne’s comments and scowled.

“Not at all, Triss.” David smiled and nudged my arm affectionately.

I smiled at him.

“Oh, God, what if he marries her?” I asked, wincing.

“You can move in with me,” David said immediately. “I don’t want you to become ‘rich bitch’ spawn.”

“As soon as you find a place.” I reminded him. “He seems to really like her, so I guess you’d better start looking harder.”

I heard Matt's car pull back onto the driveway and nudged David.

“Happy faces,” I said firmly.

“If my teams scores in the next five seconds, I won’t have to fake it.”

David watched the screen intently for a moment, before sighing and forcing a fake smiled onto his face.

Matt came into the living room and looked at the TV for a moment, before shooting me an uncharacteristically hard glare.

David looked between us for a moment.

“She was… pretty.” He told Matt.

“I know,” Matt said. “Can I talk to you?” He pointed at me.

“I guess.”

I got up and went back into the kitchen, Matt right behind me.

“So, Leanne had something interesting to tell me in the car.”

“Oh?” I was confused. He sounded so angry with me.

“Yeah. She said you looked a lot like her friend’s little brother’s boyfriend.”

I blinked.

“Oh… And her friend’s brother is…?”

“Dale Marran.”

I felt my breath constrict in my chest. My stomach dropped down to my feet.

“He’s in my year at school,” I said once I managed to make my throat work.

“And…?”

“And…?” I repeated.

“Are you going out with him?” Matt demanded.

“I… Yes,” I whispered.

Matt let out a disgusted sigh.

“I didn’t… know how to tell you.”

“It’s just two short, simple words, Tristan,” Matt spat. “‘I’m gay’. That’s all you had to say.”

“I… I was scared about…” I stuttered.

“About what, Tristan?” Matt hissed.

“About this!” I shouted suddenly, pushing him back from me. “About the way you’re looking at me right now.”

The kitchen door opened and David looked in.

“Everything alright?” He asked, his voice mild. His eyes, however, were looking at me intensely.

“Yeah,” I managed to say.

“No,” Matt snapped. “Did you know about this?” He turned to David, glaring.

“Know about what?”

“About Tristan.”

“What? That’s he’s a better cook than your girlfriend can appreciate?” David asked coolly, his blue eyes turning hard.

“You leave Leanne out of this,” Matt growled. “This has nothing to do with her.”

“It has everything to do with her,” David snapped back. “Is she the one who changed your attitude on this?” He asked. “You never used to be against homosexuals.”

“That was before I found out my brother was one,” Matt hissed, shooting me a dirty look.

“You’re a shallow sonofabitch,” David said. “Just like your girlfriend.”

“Leave her out of this!” Matt roared.

“No. Do you realise she didn’t say one nice thing at all this evening?” David said. “Not one. Tristan took the afternoon off school so that he could make you two dinner, and clean the house nicely. And you didn’t see at all, did you? You were so busy hanging onto her every word, without actually listening to the poisonous things she was saying, you didn’t notice how your own brother was feeling.”

“David,” I managed to butt in quietly. “Leave it.”

I pushed past the pair of them and made my way towards the stairs.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Matt snarled, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back.

“My room,” I said wearily.

“What makes you think you’re staying here tonight?” Matt growled.

“What?”

“Matt-” David try to separate us.

“Get out,” Matt told us. “Both of you, just get out.”

“But I-”

“Get out!” Matt roared, shoving me back roughly. “I’m not sharing my house with a faggot.” He hissed. “Get out.”

I stared at Matt for a moment, not quite believing he’s just called me that, before I ran up to my bedroom.

Tears blurring my vision, I pulled as many clothes as I could in one armful from my cupboard and shoved them into my sports bag, before grabbing my laptop and its charging cable, and my iPod, and leaving.

I took my phone from my pocket as I slammed the front door shut, and texted Ava to come and pick me up.

She’d passed her driving test three weeks before and was taking any opportunity to drive anywhere and everywhere.

I walked to the end of my street and sat down on the low wall of one of the front gardens, dropped my bag at my feet, and burst into tears.

I buried my face in my hands and sobbed until I thought I would be ill.

I was sick at heart.

I heard a car come around the corner and quickly dried my eyes as best as I could, and managed a small smile for Ava when she stopped the car in front of me.

I pulled open the boot and threw my bag in, before clambering into the front seat.