Page 105 of Attractive Forces
I just shrug because, yeah, I’m not planning on changing my reaction to Logan anytime soon.
“You ready to go?” Logan asks.
“Yup.”
Logan and I attract a lot of stares as we walk out of school together. It’s one of the things I’ve had to accept in the last two weeks. I’ve gone from being pretty much invisible to the whole student body gaping at me like I’m some kind of unicorn-alien hybrid.
It’s been worse for Logan, of course.
I’ve been amazed by Logan before, but nothing prepared me for the absolute awe I’ve felt watching him face down everyone without flinching.
That first day back at school after Aaron’s accident, he picked me up for school so we could arrive together. When we pulled into the student car park, Logan stiffened when he saw Brewer and a bunch of other guys from the rugby team waiting there.
“What are they here for?” I asked.
Logan stared out the windshield at his teammates. “I’m not sure.”
He gave me a tight smile, then reached for the door handle. I quickly opened my door because there was no way I was letting him face this alone.
“Hey,” he said cautiously as he shut his car door.
Brewer stepped toward us. “Hey, man. I thought we’d walk in with you guys today.”
Logan’s eyebrows almost flew off his head. “Really? You organized this?”
Brewer shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Yeah,” he said. He raised his gaze off the ground to look at Logan. “You’d do it for me.”
“Yeah, I would.” Logan’s voice came out hoarse.
And so we walked into school flanked by half of the rugby team, which definitely reduced the amount of flack we got from other students.
Not all the rugby guys have been completely supportive though. Smithy acted strange around Logan but denied anything was wrong when Brewer called him on it, and Logan felt a few of the other guy’s support was fake.
There has also been some snickered comments incorporated into coughs from other students, but generally, the presence of glowering rugby players seems to make most people decide to keep any homophobic remarks to themselves.
We jump in Logan’s car and head to his house.
But when we pull up in his driveway, Logan curses.
“Fuck, my dad’s home.”
“You want to go to my place instead?” I ask.
Logan shakes his head. “No. We shouldn’t have to do that.”
I bite my lip. Shit. It’s going to be the first time I’ve seen Logan’s dad since the hospital, where he led a prayer for Aaron’s recovery. He’d left soon afterwards, obviously uncomfortable seeing Logan and me together.
I know things have been tense between Logan and him since then. His dad tried to get him to read some Bible verses, but Logan flatly refused. After a few days of not speaking to him, his father finally told him that he’d been praying about it, and he realized Logan’s sexuality was ultimately between Logan and God.
Logan’s pretty sure his mother has been in the background constantly lecturing his father, and that has been a big part of him coming around to that position.
I try to keep my legs from trembling as we walk up to the front door. I notice Logan's hands are shaking slightly as he unlocks the front door with his key.
And we don't have any time to prepare ourselves because his dad is in the entranceway, sorting through some mail on a side table. His eyebrows fold together when he sees me.
Next to me, I can feel Logan square his shoulders as if he’s braced for a fight.
“Hello, Jake,” he says.
