My house really wasn't all that bad. I had two parents who loved me so much and a brother who was my best friend. We grew up together being homeschooled by my mom he we always played games together and read books together, it was great.
One of my favorite memories was on Mikey’s seventh birthday. We snuck downstairs and stayed up all night just drawing in my notebook. Of course, we were yelled at the next morning when my parents found us passed out on the rug. We didn't mind getting extra chores though, it was worth it.
I didn't mind reading the Bible before bed and following all the rules my mom and dad told me to and not being able to use the internet. It all changed though when I was seventeen. I resented my parents and all the things they believed in.
My little brother was sick, he was so sick. He was only fifteen years old. I tried taking care of him as much as I could but my parents wouldn't let me give him any medicine. I begged them to let me take him to a doctor but they wouldn't. ‘Let God do his work’, they always said that. I watched Mikey get worse and worse until one day when I went to bring him breakfast he didn't wake up.
I was so upset. I couldn't understand why they wouldn't just let me take him to the hospital where he could get real help. He was so sick, I had to carry him to the bathroom and give him baths. And when he died, they hardly did anything. Barely even blinked an eye, they only said, ‘this is what God wanted’. They buried him in the backyard under the tree me and him used to climb when we were younger. I go out there everyday to pray that he has moved onto something better.
“Gerard, come inside, it's time for lunch,” my mom said.
I sighed, standing up, wiping dirt off my pants.
“You know I don't like you getting yourself all dirty in that mud,” she said.
I sat at the table with my parents. They talked but I just ate quietly. Neither of them ever talked about Mikey, even though he only passed away two months ago. It was liked they didn't even care, that made me so upset. I just wanted to tell and scream sometimes.
“Can I go to the corner store when I'm finished eating to get some bubble gum?” I asked.
“You know how I feel about that, it'll rot the teeth right out of your head,” my mom stated.
“Please, mama?” I begged.
“Fine,” she agreed.
I smiled softly. Mikey and I rarely got to go to the corner store to buy bubble gum, it was a treat when we were little.
After I finished, I helped clear the table before I grabbed some money and walked out of the house. The store wasn't too far from our house. It was small and has been owned by this couple for almost forty years. Sometimes they used to give me and Mikey little toys like yo-yo’s when we were younger.
“Hello, Gerard,” Mr. Smith said. “I heard about what happened to Mikey in the paper, I’m so sorry.”
If my parents had just let me take him to a doctor where he could get medicine then he would still be here right now.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
I walked out, hearing his wife behind me.
“Such a shame,” she whispered. “Poor boy died from something that could've been cured in a week.”
I know she didn't mean for me to hear or hurt me but it did. That only made me more angry at my parents.
“Come on, man, don't be such a f*****g drag,” I heard someone complain.
I looked over and saw them. They were the group of kids my mama and papa never let me talk to. They were leaning up against a fence as they smoked. I don't know why, but I found myself walking up to them. Oh, I bet it would make my parents so mad knowing I talked to them.
“What can I do for you, sugar?” One of them asked.
He had hair that was shaved and bleached on the sides. Piercings were on his lip and nose and ears and tattoos littered his pretty skin. He was a little bit shorter but looked about my age, maybe a year older.
The other one had a big head of curly brown hair. The third one was also on the shorter side with blond hair and a black fedora on his head.
“Have s*x with me,” I stated.
They raised their eyebrows, looking at each other. They laughed and I blushed.
“Why don't you head back home, kid,” the one with the bleached hair suggested.
“I'm serious,” I said. “Please.”
“Look, if you're wanting money then I don't have any,” he said.
“I'm not looking for money, I just want s*x,” I said. “Please, I-I’ll pay you. I only have about five bucks, though.”
“Come here, beautiful,” He said.
I felt my heart skip a beat as he took my hand, leading me off somewhere. He sat down on the hood of a car and I stood in front of him nervously, wringing my hands.
“What brings you here?” He asked.
He dropped his cigarette down on the ground, crushing it out underneath his shoe.
“I-I wanna make my parents mad,” I said.
“I can relate to that,” he said. “What happened, they wouldn't let you get a new cell phone?”
“They let my little brother die,” I whispered, feeling my voice crack.
His hand, that had been tapping against his knee, stopped suddenly.
“God, that’s some heavy s**t, kid,” he said.
“My parents are really religious, you'd get twenty extra chores just for using God’s name in vain,” I said. “M-my brother was sick. They wouldn't take him to a doctor or give him medicine. They let God do his work. He passed away from something that could've been so easily cured. I-I miss him so much and I hate that they didn't save him even though he could, he was my best friend.”
He opened his arms and I fell into them. I sobbed into his shoulder as he ran his fingers through my hair comfortingly.
“I'm sorry,” he whispered, placing a soft kiss to my temple.
I picked my head up, reaching for his belt.
“B-but we can have s*x now,” I said.
“I don't think you want s*x,” he said. “Don't go that far. Come on, maybe we can, like, go eat some food your parents didn't let you eat or watch a horror movie or smoke pot or some s**t like that.”
I sniffled and nodded as we got into his car. I sat nervously, twiddling my fingers.
“I'm Frank, by the way,” he said.
“Gerard,” I replied.
“Well, Gerard, is it okay if we head over to one of my friend’s houses?” He asked. “I've got this friend and she has this huge movie collection.”
“Y-yeah, that's fine,” I agreed.
I knew my parents would be worried but they should be. They didn't bother worrying about Mikey, maybe he'd still be alive if they had worried.
“Relax,” Frank said with a small smile, turning on some music.
My parents never let me listen to music like this, they said this music was for sinners. But it sounded so good.
We pulled up to a house that was rather nice looking. I nervously followed him inside the house, looking around. It wasn't too big but very comforting. Rather than crucifixes and pictures of Jesus, there were photos of a happy family and pets.
“Mia!” Frank called.
I heard footsteps as someone walked in. She was short and had short black hair. She was really pretty and came over to give Frank a hug.
“Hey, this is my girlfriend, Jamia,” Frank said. “Jamia, this is Gerard.”
I felt my cheeks burn red. Oh god, I asked someone with a girlfriend to have s*x with me.
“Hey, Gerard,” she said, giving me a hug.
Oh god, she's gonna hate me. But she's so nice, I don't want her to hate me.
“We we're gonna watch movies and eat junk food,” he said.
I nodded excitedly. My parents never let me eat junk food because they said it was bad for me. We sat on the couch with chips, cookies, ice cream, and pie.
I was sitting on one end of the couch while the two sat on the other, cuddled up together underneath a blanket. I munched happily as we watched horror movies.
“Gerard, I know a way to get your parents mad,” Jamia said and I looked over at her curiously. “I'm pretty sure crossdressing would piss them off to no end.”
I nodded quickly and she smiled. I followed them up to her bedroom and looked around. There was a messy bed and an open wardrobe. A vanity covered in makeup and a bra hanging from her doorknob.
“You've got a pretty good figure,” she said. “Maybe I should start eating healthy too.”
“I think you're beautiful,” Frank said, giving her a soft kiss.
I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Frank was so kind and pretty. Jamia was too but something about Frank made me like him just a smidge more.
“Here, you go put these on,” Jamia said, handing me some clothes.
I took the clothes and went into the bathroom to put them on, blushing when I saw on the top of the pile was a pair of black lace panties. I found with it a black leather mini skirt, a white t-shirt, a black leather jacket, and a pair of black fishnets. I put them on and looked in the mirror. It didn't look that bad on me, I had to admit.
When I walked back into the room, Frank wolf whistled and I blushed. Jamia sat me at her vanity and started pulling out all different makeup stuff. I scrunched my nose up when she started applying all sorts of things and just kept saying ‘turn your head’, ‘close your eyes’, ‘open your mouth’, ‘stop scrunching your face up like that’.
“Perfect,” she said.
I looked in the mirror and saw that i had black smoky eyes and bright red lipstick.
“I can drive you home,” Frank offered.
I nodded excitedly. I wanted to be alone with Frank again. We got into his car after he gave a goodbye kiss to Jamia. I watched Frank as he drove, noticing the way the muscles in his jaw moved or his tongue would run over his lip ring every now and then.
“You're really pretty,” I whispered.
Frank looked over at me and smiled.
“You are too, sweetheart,” he said.
We pulled into my driveway and my heart was racing.
“C-can I kiss you?” I asked.
“I have a girlfriend, Gerard,” he said softly.
My eyes watered as I nodded. Oh god, I felt so stupid.
“Don't cry, sweetheart,” he said, holding my hand. “I know there's some other boy out there who’s gonna love you and make you happy.”
Tears ran down my cheeks and I knew I was probably ruining my makeup.
“You're gonna find someone who’s gonna treat you well and love you with all his heart,” Frank said. “It won't be me but it'll be someone even better than me.”
I sniffled and he leaned over to softly kiss my cheek.
“Are you okay?” Frank asked.
I nodded slowly and he smiled. He grabbed a notebook and pen from his console, writing something down and handing it to me.
“Call me anytime you want,” he said.
I nodded and he gave me another soft kiss on the cheek.
“Now, you go in there and piss your parents off,” he said.
I smiled and nodded, getting out of Frank’s car. I saw my parents in the window and the look on their face made this all worth it.