You Taught Me to Fly

The moment we stepped inside, Autumn spotted the injuries on my face. She immediately launched into a tirade against Elijah.

She ranted about how awful he was for letting this happen to me, how I had trusted him, and so on.

Elijah paid her no mind, his focus on getting me to a bathroom to clean me up. I didn’t resist, and Autumn trailed behind us.

While Elijah went to dampen a cloth to clean the dried blood from my face, I took hold of my still-venting sister by the arms and interrupted her:

“Autumn, stop! Please! He didn’t start it! He stopped it. He saved me.”

She shrugged off my hands. “You’re so naïve, Luke! He might not have thrown any punches, but he set it up!”

“Luke,” Elijah said softly, drawing my attention so he could tend to my wounds. His touch was an otherworldly experience.

He was so close I could feel his body heat. His skin was soft, his touch gentle and warm. I barely felt any pain.

What struck me the most were his eyes; they were a storm of emotions, and I couldn’t tear my gaze away.

It didn’t take long for him to clean my wounds. When he was done, he looked into my eyes, held my gaze for a quiet moment, and then murmured:

“There. That’s better.”

My heart rate spiked, and butterflies took flight in my stomach.

I might have foolishly leaned in to kiss him if Autumn hadn’t made a disgusted sound and stormed out, reminding me that she was the one I needed to focus on in this situation.

So, I thanked Elijah, my hand lingering on his arm a bit too long before I went after my sister. I managed to catch her just as she was about to head upstairs.

“Sis, hold on, you’re not being fair.”

“Luke, he can’t be trusted!”

“Autumn, just because he’s popular doesn’t mean he’s a jerk!”

“That’s exactly why he’s a jerk!”

I let her go, stunned by her narrow-mindedness. Of all the people I knew, I had always thought Autumn was the least likely to be prejudiced.

“You really can’t see that he’s one of the good guys?”

“You got hurt while you were with him. That’s all I need to know.”

I was about to call after her, growing angry with her stubbornness, when a hand rested on my shoulder, and Elijah said:

“Let it go, Luke. I’m used to it.”

I looked at him. “But you didn’t set it up.”

“I know that. You know that. Your brother knows that. But she needs to cool down before she can see that, before she can really hear it. Now, can I use your phone to call a cab?”

I shook my head. I was feeling better now. I could drive. He gave me a puzzled look.

“I’m taking you back to your car,” I explained.

His confusion turned to concern. “Luke—”

“Elijah, I’m fine.” I held up my hand, which was steady. “See? No more shakes.

“Speaking of shakes,” I smoothly transitioned as an idea struck me, “how about we stop at DQ on the way? My treat.”

Despite his best effort, a smile spread across his face.

“You’re smooth, Lucas Sullivan.”

Like a milkshake, I thought but didn’t say.

“Yeah, I’d love that,” he said, “but I’m paying.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he quickly silenced me with a finger to my lips.

Every touch from him sent a thrilling sensation down my spine, leaving me craving more.

“My friends are the ones who beat you up, so I’m paying for the damn milkshakes. You better get the biggest one they have.”

I moved his hand away.

“Fine, but on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“That you get the biggest one, too.”

He playfully punched me on the arm.

“I never get any other size.”

I grinned at him and led the way out.

We had a great time at DQ, getting to know each other a bit; you know…in between brain freezes.

It was surprisingly easy being around him. He was relaxed, laughed easily, didn’t judge, and actually listened.

It was easy to forget that he was popular and I wasn’t. When it was just us, it was just two teenage boys hanging out, having a good time. Things were simple.

We said our goodbyes after reaching the park. He thanked me for the enjoyable afternoon, I returned the sentiment, and then headed home.

I had a fire to put out, and no, that wasn’t a pun because of Autumn’s red hair.

She was in her room, glaring at her computer screen, her fingers flying across the keyboard at an impressive speed.

Okay, so it was a human speed, but it was faster than anyone else’s I’d ever seen. I stood just outside her doorway, and lightly knocked on it.

“Go away, Luke,” she snapped, “I’m busy.”

“Autumn, we both know I will stand here until you acknowledge that I’m here to talk to you about Elijah, so you might as well talk now and get it over with.”

She sighed heavily and slammed the laptop screen down. I winced a little, hoping she hadn’t accidentally damaged it. The thing was brand new.

“What, Luke? Nothing you say will convince me.”

I was determined to try anyway, because she was wrong about him. I just knew it. It was one of those gut feelings they always tell you to trust. Elijah was good. It was his friends and the ridiculous social standards at school that were bad.

“You need to listen to me, baby girl. He did not set this up. When his friends showed up, he was genuinely shocked.

“Before you say he’s an actor, he could’ve faked it, I’ve worked around him enough to know he’s not that good; maybe someday, but not right now. He wasn’t faking it. He didn’t set that up.

“Luke, you didn’t let us tell you the whole story. One of his buddies held him back while another pinned me down. The other three? They were busy beating the crap out of me.

“Elijah was yelling at them to stop, struggling against the guy holding him back. He was on my side, not theirs.

“Afterwards, he really let them have it. The emotion I saw on his face was real. He was so angry he was shaking, on the verge of tears.

“You know I like him. Well, that’s grown. He seems to enjoy my company. I enjoy his.

“It might happen more in the future and it would be great if my favorite sister didn’t want to rip him to shreds every time he’s here. He’s an ally, sis.

“Forget about his popularity. That’s not who he is; he’s so much more. Just give him a chance to show you that. Please.

“He didn’t beat me up today. He stopped them from doing more damage. I got lucky.”

She was quiet for a long moment, then she looked up at me. To my horror, I saw a tear roll down her cheek. Guilt gnawed at me.

“Oh, Autumn—”

“I’m so sorry, Luke!” She jumped off the bed and ran into my arms. “I’ve been such a jerk!”

I held her close, pressing kisses into her hair.

“You thought you were protecting me. I love it when you do that. But Elijah isn’t the threat. Dave is.”

She pulled back, shocked. “Dave?”

“That’s the other part you didn’t let us tell you. He told those guys where we were.”

Her eyes widened. “Why?!”

My mouth set in a grim line. “I intend to find out.”

Dave didn’t get home until around six that evening. Our parents were home, our sister, too, but I was the only one in the living room to greet him.

Autumn had warned our parents that Dave and I were about to have a fight. I think they were in their room watching something with headphones in.

If they didn’t hear us yelling, they wouldn’t feel compelled to intervene. As they saw it, he and I were old enough to work out our problems ourselves, and that was exactly what I intended to do.

I looked at him after he shut the front door, and the split second after he saw my bruised face, he stopped short just past the front doorway, looking shocked.

“What the hell happened to you?”

I stood up, went over to him, and punched him in the face. My fist struck his jaw, sending a jolt of pain I hadn't expected through my hand.

“You happened to me, you son of a bitch!”

Ouch, I thought, trying to ignore the pain; I couldn’t afford to look weak right now.

On a side note, I hoped Autumn was wearing headphones, too. She’d had enough stress today.

“I didn’t do a damned thing to you!” Dave yelled back at me as he straightened, hand over his jaw. “Luke, what the hell?!”

“Oh, you didn't do a thing to me? Really??” I pointed to my face. “THIS IS YOUR FUCKING FAULT. Why the fuck would you tell his friends where we were?!

“What Elijah and I were doing in the park, which was just running lines to help him practice by the way, was none of their business!

“And what the fuck were you hoping to accomplish by telling them I was with him and that I’m gay?!”

Never mind that it wasn't his damn place to out me like that.

“I don’t know, alright?! I was mad at you! I didn’t think!”

I grabbed his shirt, letting the anger take over. “You’re god damn right you didn’t think, you fucking moron! They beat me up because I’m gay!

“They beat me up for hanging out with the most popular guy in school! Elijah only barely got them to stop. You didn’t just hurt me, bro.”

I shoved him back against the front door. “You hurt Elijah. You hurt our sister. She freaked when she saw me, and then she took it out on him when she really should’ve been taking it out on you!

“You should’ve seen the look on her face when she found out you were the reason those guys showed up.” I studied him as I released him. “I swear, I don’t fucking know you anymore.”

He shoved at me then. “Then you know how I fucking feel! Five fucking years, Luke! You hid this massive secret from me! You think that didn’t hurt me?! I don’t understand why you couldn’t trust me!”

“Because I was afraid you’d do something like this! It’s up to ME who I tell, and when I tell them! I was afraid you’d run to mom and dad.

“I was afraid you’d spread the news before I was ready for others to know! I was afraid of you reacting the exact way that you have!”

I saw the tears he held back. “Then you never really knew me, Luke.” A single tear escaped as he brushed past and headed towards his room.

Tears snuck up on me as I watched him disappear up the stairs.

I couldn’t tell him why I had even thought that. I didn’t know. I wiped away the tears that had escaped and went to the couch to try to distract myself.

I began to wonder if Dave and I would ever be able to overcome this. It felt like our bond was permanently severed, forever.

I guess only time would tell.