Page 41 of Quiet
“You may be a great actor, but you’re a terrible liar, hon. Tell me what’s going on, or I won’t let you hide here.”
Isa looked back at the closed door behind him and winced. “It’s nothing big, just . . . trying to get some space from someone.”
“Is this a someone I know? Perhaps a big, quiet, sexy someone who’s been trailing after you like you give the best blowjobs in the world?”
“Will!” Isa fought the urge to hide his face, it would only encourage his dirty-minded, uninhibited friend. He’d made a terrible mistake in coming here.
“I thought so. Listen, sweet cheeks, I’ll let you stay tonight, but unless he’s actually scaring you, you’re going to have to pull up your panties and figure this out on your own. You can say you’re unavailable all you want, but all your friends know that’s just code forterrified of dating.
“Now, if you want to share with me what has you running like a small, but beautiful woodland creature, I’ll extend my invitation for another night. Nothing less than that will convince me to put my precious ass on the line for you. Because if Briar thinks you’re shacking up with me, he might rip it apart. And not in the good Las Vegas way.”
Isa shifted uneasily. He needed more than one night to hide. He really needed time to think in order to figure out what to do. However, spilling his family issues all over his friend wasn’t his favorite idea.
But he couldn’t handle keeping it all inside anymore. “It’s just . . . my family isn’t safe, Will. Not for—for people like us.”
“Say the word, Isa. It won’t bite you.”
Isa took a deep breath and blurted out, “My family doesn’t know I’m gay. Wait, just listen.” Isa stopped Will before he could start in on being true to himself and being proud of who he was. “If they knew I was gay, it would go very badly for me. I know this because of what happened to my uncle.”
Will’s expression did a swift about-face. His body language went fromI’m about to give a rousing speechtoI will listen to my friend because I love him more than almost anything.
“I wasn’t very old at the time, but I can’t forget it. They hurt him, Will. Bad. My dad nearly killed his own brother when he came out to the family. I have no reason to believe he’d spare me just because I’m his son.”
“So, you don’t tell them. They live in a different state. You deserve to be happy, Isa. And Briar clearly wants to make you happy.”
“It’s not fair to do that to someone. And even if it were, my family will still find out. They believe family is more important than anything—straight, Christian family, anyway. They keep coming here and checking in on me. Honestly, I’m surprised they haven’t discovered I’m not really a religious history major and shown up in the middle of the night to drag me back home.” The thought kept him up at night. It was the main reason he had such a hard time sleeping—only managing it when he was so exhausted his body demanded it. “I can’t have them hurting someone I care about.”
Will nodded thoughtfully, and Isa could see it on his face as he slotted all the new puzzle pieces he’d been given into place. He was familiar with Isa’s ruse about his major, but Isa had never told him the dark and dirty details about it. “Is that why you don’t hang out with us outside of class projects?”
Oops. Isa had really thought no one had noticed him avoiding unnecessary socializing. He’d tried his best to be sneaky about it so no one would get their feelings hurt.
Isa nodded and ducked his head, trying to pretend like there weren’t tears spilling onto his cheeks.
“Jesus, Isa.” Will pulled his friend’s unresisting form into his side. “Have you considered dropping them from your life? You don’t have to live this way.”
“What am I supposed to do, Will? They’re the only family I’ve got.” He sniffed and tried to laugh it off, but it sounded more like a sob. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“You’re not alone, Isa.” Will tightened his arms. “No matter what, you’ve got us. You’re our precious pumpkin. Do you think we’re just pretending to be so protective of you?”
This time Isa did laugh. “I thought it was because you’re all insane.”
“That’s only one reason among many. We all adore you, Isa. If you want to date Briar, we’ve got your back. And if you don’t want to date him, we’ll help you get rid of him.”
Isa pressed his face into his friend’s shoulder and sighed raggedly. “Thanks,” he said against the fabric of Will’s shirt, earning himself a mouthful of black and purple sequins.
Will stroked Isa’s hair. “We’ve got you.”
* * *
After their heart-to-heart, Will ended up giving Isa more than two nights. It helped—a little. Isa wasn’t able to dodge Briar entirely, he had finals, after all. But since it was the last week of the semester, his schedule was different, so he only ended up seeing Briar once a day.
It was for hours, though.
“Don’t you have a painting to finish?” Isa asked desperately after Briar pulled Isa down into his lap when he got too close.
“Already done.” Briar continued to paint one-handed as he put the finishing touches on a last-minute prop.
Isa shivered. Briar still rarely talked around other people, so when he did speak, it continued to be devastating to Isa. When he got Isa alone, he was far more uninhibited.
