12: The Consequences of Recalling

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Surprise update because
why not? :)

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Royce remembered it was raining that day.

Even though his heart was thudding furiously inside his chest and he was running as fast as his small feet can carry him, the sound of pitter patter soothed his soul. Royce only slowed down when he found Nate alone at the park near their house.

Eleven-year-old Nate was sitting under the tree, face hidden behind his hands. The clouds roared above them but Royce could never miss the sound of his best friend's hiccups and the way his shoulders shook.

"Nate . . . they know." Royce begins slowly, his voice was laced with panic, breath coming out in pants. "Everyone h-hates me. How'd they know?"

There were only two people in the world that knew about him being gay. Nate and Wren. Royce trusted both of them enough to keep their lips shut and never mention it to anyone. He had it all sorted out . . . then what went wrong? Why did everything he built fell apart in the blink of an eye?

"I'm sorry." Were the first words Nate spoke, his voice sore as if he had been crying for hours. "It was me."

Royce felt his knees buckle, felt the ground beneath him shift. The droplets seemed like sharp objects now, tearing through his clothes and cutting across his skin. Nate didn't even try to deny. He just accepted, for both of them and that hurt a lot more. No more words were exchanged between them.

Royce walked out with not only his body bruised up but heart as well.

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