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

“Bryan Trethowan? Are you Bryan Trethowan?”


Bryan could see the twin lights of a parked car several metres behind the officer and the forms of two or three people standing in front of the car.


“Why don’t you come out of the water?” said the officer. “You must be freezing.”


Bryan stared at the officer. “How did you get there?” he asked in genuine surprise.


Bryan looked down at himself. He was naked and dirty. His jaw ached and his throat was raw from shouting. “How did I get here?” he asked.


The officer reached out. “Come on, Bryan. Wash all that mud off and come with me.”


“I can’t wash it off,” he replied. “It’s part of me. I’m mud.”


Chapter 30