It felt like years before Simon came back into their room. His eyes were red, and he looked like he’d been through the inquisition. As soon as he shut the bedroom door, Gabriel gathered him up in a hug.
“Oh my God, are you okay?” Gabriel whispered, not wanting to be overheard.
“Yeah, for now.” They separated and sat on their respective beds in case anyone came barging in.
“What happened?” Gabriel kept his voice low, just in case.
“They found the magazine, obviously, so they freaked out and called Father John over.” Simon pulled his knees up to his chest, a self-comfort mechanism that Gabriel hadn’t seen since last summer when they had started their friendship. It made Gabriel want to punch something. “So, they asked me where I got it and why I had it.”
“What did you tell them?”
“I co
