And Marco.
"Jake? You're awake!" my brother says, hugging me gently as if he's afraid I might break.
I think I already did.
There's a slight pause, and then he asks, "Why, Jake?"
I definitely saw that one coming.
"I...Tom...you will...not hate me, no matter what, right?" I ask, biting my lip and twisting the bedsheets around. Odd, I never used to have these nervous habits. I could control my emotions better. Well, as we're so fond of saying, the war changed us all. And it's probably what the doctors are blaming my suicide attempt on- some sort of shell shock.
Tom has been staring at me for a minute, before he replies, slowly, "Jake, I don't know what could be so bad that you won't tell me. But I could never, ever hate you. Unless, of course, you steal my girlfriend."
This earned him a small chuckle, mostly forced. It was funny, but I think somewhere down the line I forgot how to laugh. Of course, it was ironic in a way.
"Um...actually...I can promise you that won't be a problem."
Tom raised an eyebrow at me. He's not that thick. "I think I see where this is going."
"Good, then I don't have to explain."
"Oh yes, you do. I want to hear it straight from you, so there's no confusion later." A pause. "No puns intended."
That earned a real laugh. "Tom...I'm gay."
"And passionately in love with Marco, right?" he said, ruffling my hair.
I blinked, suprised. "How did you know?"
Tom choked. "I was kidding!"
"Oops. You didn't hear that, then." But I was happy that Tom still accepted me, and quite easily, too.
A soft knocking came at the door. "Jake?" my mother said. "The nurse said you were awake. Can we come in?"
"Yeah, sure," I said, sighing and getting ready to face the music.
"Jake...why did you do this?" my dad asked softly, turning over my hands to reveal my stitched wrists.
I winced. "That's kinda....personal," I whispered. Here we go again.
"C'mon, Jake! You can talk to us, you know that!" my mom says, in her mother-hen tone of voice. Not that I can really blame her. "Does it have something to do with the war? Or- because you broke up with Cassie last week?" I cringed. I'd hoped she wouldn't find out about that.
"No...well, sort of," I conceded. "Cassie's just like a sister to me- especially lately. I care about her very, very much, and I do love her- but _only_ as a sister."
"Lately?" Mom asked, sounding more puzzled by the second. "What's happened lately?" I realized that I was going to have to tell them now, before they got any more confused. A reassuring hand landed on my shoulder, and Tom grinned at me, squeezing my shoulder in comfort.
"I-" My voice sounded quiet and squeaky, even to my own ears, so I cleared my throat and tried again. "I- I'm gay," I said softly, my voice only trembling a little this time.
There was a moment of stunned silence, and I looked at my lap, embarrased.
And then my mom was hugging me as best as she could, without disturbing the IV's and other medical equipment, and my dad was patting my back awkwardly.
"Jake," My mother whispered, and I suddenly got the impression that I was the grown-up and she the teen, "I can't claim to really understand, but I'm relieved. I was afraid that maybe you were doing drugs, or-" she broke off for a minute. "But I'm very, very proud of what you did and nothing could ever change that."
My dad nodded agreeance, with a hint of a smile on his face.
There was another slight moment of silence, before Tom said, "Sooooo, does Jakey-poo have a boyfriend?"
I smacked him, and I suddenly knew everything would be all right.
