Like a million other young gay men, Bryan keeps his sexuality hidden because it’s safer that way. Yet other guys know he’s different -- they sense it, and make Bryan’s life pure hell. At home, things aren’t much better. He barely acknowledges his alcoholic father, and his mother has little time to spend with her family. So Bryan is alone, with no support, no shoulder to cry on.<br><br>Years of torture and torment, of name calling and humiliation, have taken their toll. Bryan does what he can to make new friends, but in trying to be something he’s not, he makes a huge mistake. Unable to cope with the repercussions, Bryan spends more and more time in a fantasy world he has created for himself. In this private world he is handsome, an object of desire. He is loved.<br><br>Is the hiding place as perfect as it seems? Or will Bryan go too deep and not be able to come out again?

The Hiding Place

“But that’s the old me. While I was in hospital I did some thinking. I’m not going to take anyone’s crap anymore.”


Francesca nodded, the late afternoon sunlight shining on her beautiful chestnut hair as she did so. “I think you’re going to be okay,” she said with a wink.


Bryan was of the same opinion. More changes were needed and he was going to make certain they were. For the moment he had put his plans to overdose again on hold. Getting sleeping tablets was something he could do anytime he needed to, but chatting to Francesca, getting his story out into the open, had been like therapy. Confession had filled him with a renewed energy. Taking his own life was something he had tried and failed, but more importantly it was something that was no longer a priority.


Chapter 20