Chapter 21: Confession

Jovanni checked at the opposite room, but it was already empty. King and the others had already left, so Jovanni went out. At the parking area, he found King, Gio, and Leandro facing off against Eman, Carl, and Earl. The ladies were already gone.

Jovanni walked closer. The atmosphere between the two groups was tense.

"Jovanni!" Gio yelled as he saw him approaching. The other five also turned their heads.

"Jovanni, are you alright?" Gio reached and hold him. King and Leandro walked towards him too.

"I'm alright. I'm sorry I troubled you."

"Jovanni, this bastard Eman is spouting nonsense about you. Now tell us that it's not true and I will immediately beat him into black and blue!" King was furious.

"Who is that bastard you are beating huh?! Jovanni don't you dare lie to this dumb friend of yours!" Eman retaliated.

"Jovanni, tell me that this scum is lying and I will smash his face!" King roared.

"Who is afraid of you. Come and I will show you who's beating who!" Eman countered.

"King... Let's go back." Jovanni softly said.

Gio tugged Jovanni's arm. "Jovanni, don't be afraid of them. If they bullied you, we will fight back for you."

"Bullied? How can we bully our Lord Kirt's boyfriend huh?"

"Shut up!" King yelled. Stressing every word, he turned to Jovanni. "Jovanni, tell us that it is not true!"

Jovanni paused. He was afraid to tell them the truth. His friends are straight men, they might distance themselves to someone like him.

"Jovanni!" King yelled.

"It's true!" Jovanni uttered and bowed his head after. He was nervous and worried. He considered these three people as brothers, and their opinion matters to him.

King, Gio, and Leandro were silenced for a short while, not knowing what to say.

"What now? Dare to beat me?!" Eman taunted. King shot him a furious gaze.

"Let's go back!" King was suppressing his rage.

The four sat inside the car in the same order, but the atmosphere was cold unlike the cheerful one earlier. When they passed on the road at the seaside, Jovanni spoke.

"King, please stop the car. I want to talk to all of you before going back."

King didn't respond, but he drove the car to the side. They all got out and sat at the sea wall. For few minutes, no one initiated a talk. They just sat there watching as the waves smashed at the sea wall.

"I'm sorry..." Jovanni's soft voice said. Everyone heard it, but none of the three responded. Jovanni's words were swallowed by the sound of the smashing waves.

"I'm really sorry..." Jovanni uttered again. This time, his voice was hoarse and broken.

"What are you sorry for?!" King responded.

"I lied to you..."

"Jovanni, tell us. You told us before that Kirt bullied you, so how did you end up having a romantic relationship with him." Leandro calmly asked. He is the cool-headed one in their group. He is the one who advised the hot-tempered King and impulsive Gio.

"He indeed bullied me at first, but later I fell for him."

Gio was confused. "When did he start bullying you. How did he bully you?"

"It was in our acquaintance party..."

"The one that you stayed overnight at the hotel?" Gio asked. "You said that you and your classmates were drunk, so you stayed there overnight, could it be that you were with Kirt that night?"

"Yes. After the program, Kirt ordered alcohol and turned the party into a disco. I wanted to go home first, but Kirt blocked me at the door. He recognized me as the one who stared at him at the InfoTech entrance. He said I owed him for staring at him. He made me drunk four glasses of strong wine. I was knocked out. When I woke up. I was already in a hotel room and Kirt..."

"Kirt violated you! He forced you?!" King roared.

Jovanni meekly nodded. The faces of his friends were distorted.

King was furious. His fist smashed at the concrete seawall. "That scum! Why didn't you fight? Jovanni, you're a man, how can you let another man humiliate you!"

"Kirt is stronger than me. I was also drunk and dizzy. It was the first time I got drunk."

King clenched his fists. Gio and Leandro were silently grinding their teeth too.

"After that, I was hoping that I won't encounter him again, but a week later, he was waiting at the entrance looking for me. "Jovanni continued. "When I saw him I ran away. I escaped that time, but he was very persistent and was able to find me. I was cornered and was violated again...inside the utility room..."

"That bastard!"

"That time that you came back and took sleeping pills, what did he do to you?" Leandro asked.

"He applied some aphrodisiac on me."

"To hell with that scum!" Gio exclaimed.

"So, how did you end up liking him. He clearly humiliated you?" Leandro asked.

"When he followed me at my hometown last semester break, I discovered that I have fallen for him."

"That's it. He just followed you there and you fell for him?! You forget the awful things he did to you." The enraged King was clenching his fists hard.

"No. It's because he cared for me. Though he was humiliating me, he was also caring for me. That warmth and care made me fall for him."

"It's bullshit!" King yelled.

"I know. King, I know you won't understand but I learned to love him." Jovanni said. Everyone was silent again.

"But it's over now." Jovanni meekly said.

"What do you mean?" Leandro asked.

"He thought I was dating that lady. He was furious and grabbed a woman and kissed her in front of me, later he brought her to bed. I was hurt. I can't accept what he did, so I broke up with him."

These words shut Leandro's mouth. King wanted to yell that it was a good thing, but when he saw Jovanni's pained and crying face, he swallowed those words. Gio was helpless too. None of them knew how to comfort a man who cried for another man. Not to mention that the man Jovanni wasted his tears for is scum, so they just sat there listening to those subtle sobs, silently supporting and comforting.

Few minutes passed, Jovanni calmed down. "If you are not comfortable living with a person like me, I will find another place."

"What are you talking about." King replied. His tone turned soft and gentle. "It was my fault that you suffered. If not for my mischief that day at the InfoTech, you won't encounter that scum."

"It's not your fault. It was probably because I was born unlucky." Jovanni smiled bitterly.

"No. Don't think yourself that way. Jovanni, It's a good thing that you ended your affair with him. From now on, I, King Enrique, vowed to defend you against that scum. I will prove to that bastard you are not someone he can toy with."

"But King, avoiding him is enough. Don't make any aggressive moves. Kirt Valdez is not someone that we can touch easily." Leandro said.

"Don't worry, I won't initiate a battle with him. I will just make him regret toying Jovanni.

"Save those plans later. Our Jovanni is broken-hearted. We must help him mend and heal his broken heart first."

Gio jested that eased the heavy and lonely atmosphere.