Chapter 13 #3
"For both sides," I agreed. "Which means they can't let him just disappear quietly. They have to respond. Publicly."
Jamie's crying got louder. "What does that mean for him?"
"It means they'll break him down again," I said, the words tasting like ash. "But this time everyone will be watching."
"There's something else," I continued, remembering the rest of Rebecca's revelation. "Rebecca's been protecting him. All this time, their relationship—she knew he was gay. She's been planning to marry him anyway, to give him cover, to keep him safe from his parents and the church."
"She was going to sacrifice her entire life for him," Elijah said quietly.
"And he doesn't even know. He thinks their relationship is just what his parents want." I buried my face in my hands. "I didn't just destroy Jesse's protection. I destroyed the one person who was willing to give up everything to keep him safe."
The room stayed quiet for a long moment.
"That's why she was so angry," Diana said softly.
"She's lost him too," Sam added, their earlier hostility replaced by something like sympathy. "Everything she's been planning, everything she was willing to sacrifice—it's all gone now."
"Because of me," I said. "Because I couldn't leave well enough alone. Because I had to push and push until—"
"So what now?" Diana asked gently.
"Now I find him," I said, grabbing my jacket. "Now I make sure he's okay."
"Adrian—" Elijah started.
"I know you think I should give him space. I know you think I'm the last person he wants to see right now. But I can't sit here wondering if he's—"
I couldn't finish the thought. Couldn't voice my fear about what Jesse might do to himself, faced with losing everything he'd ever known.
"What if his family won't let you see him?" Jamie asked quietly.
"Then I'll figure something else out. But I have to try."
Diana stood up. "We're coming with you."
"Diana—"
"No arguments. If Jesse's family is as bad as you say, you're going to need backup. And if Jesse needs help..." She straightened her shoulders. "Well, that's what family is for."
"He's not family," Sam pointed out, but their voice was soft.
"He is now," Diana said firmly. "Anyone who kisses one of us in front of two hundred people and faces down Topeka Covenant Church for it? That's family."
I felt something loosen in my chest. Hope, maybe. Or just gratitude for having people who would stand with me, even when I'd fucked everything up.
But first, I had to try calling him one more time. Just in case.
I tried his apartment first. Knocked on the door for five minutes, called his name. Nothing. The place felt empty, abandoned.
The library was my next stop. Our table in the back corner sat vacant, two chairs pushed neatly under the surface. No sign he'd been there since this morning.
The student union, the coffee shop, the gym, the law building—everywhere we'd ever been together. I retraced our entire relationship, looking for some sign of him.
Nothing.
Jesse Miller had vanished.
By the time I made it back to the house, the sun was setting and my phone was dead from calling him every twenty minutes. My friends were waiting in the living room, looking like they were holding a wake.
"Anything?" Diana asked.
I shook my head, slumping into the nearest chair. "It's like he never existed."
"He's probably at home," Jamie said hopefully. "With his family. They'll take care of him."
Phoenix snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure the Topeka Covenant Church is super supportive of their golden boy kissing dudes on camera."
"Phoenix," Andrew warned.
"What? I'm just saying, his family isn't exactly the 'love and acceptance' type. They're the 'pray the gay away' type. If they're lucky."
A chill ran down my spine. Phoenix was right. Jesse's family wasn't going to comfort him through this. They were going to try to fix him. Again.
I was reaching for my charger when my phone rang. Unknown number.
For a split second, hope flared in my chest. Maybe Jesse was calling from a different phone, maybe—
"Hello?"
"Adrian Costas?" The voice was cold, authoritative. Familiar from news clips and interviews I'd seen over the years.
Every person in the room went deadly still.
"Yes?"
"This is David Miller. Jesse's father."
My blood turned to ice. "Mr. Miller, I—"
"You stay the hell away from my son," he cut me off. "Do you understand me? You've done enough damage. If I see you near him again, if you call him, text him, or so much as look in his direction, I'll have you charged with sexual harassment."
"Please, I just want to make sure he's okay—"
"He will be. We're getting him the help he needs to overcome this latest... setback. The same help that worked so well before until you came along.” The man's voice was ice-cold, absolutely certain. "This is your only warning, Mr. Costas. Jesse is going to be fixed. Permanently this time."
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone, my hands shaking. Around me, my friends had gone completely silent.
"What did he say?" Diana asked quietly.
"They're sending him back," I said, my voice hollow. "To fix him. Permanently this time."
And I knew, with horrible certainty, that this time Jesse might not survive it.