Chapter 30

He feels exposed, vulnerable.

“Were you sexually assaulted?” Jamie asks.

“I was raped when I was eighteen.” Zeke sees that even though she asked, and must’ve suspected, that Jamie is shocked by his words.

“Why doesn’t your family know?” Jamie looks so confused and upset.

“I didn’t want them to look at me differently. And I knew they wouldn’t want to let it go. You see, the police didn’t want to take the case further. Mom and dad wouldn’t have been happy with that. I wanted to pretend it’d never happened, and I knew if they knew, they would always see me as a victim.” Zeke pauses and takes a breath. “I love my parents, but they’ve never really understood me. The love of books and literature, liking school so much. I was always different, too sensitive, too quiet. Being gay already made me different than them. I didn’t want another thing setting me apart,” Zeke says.