Elián;
I never thought coming out about my sexuality would get me kicked out at 1 a.m., dragging my bag across a rain-soaked bridge with nowhere to go.
But then again… I didn't exactly come out, did I?
My family found out about my secret, because my so-called best friend ratted me out.
He found out that his girlfriend had a crush on me, and the fool thought I was trying to seduce her.
Well… That's what she told him, and the fucker believed.
What part of being GAY did he not understand??
I like men. MEN.
Not women. Especially not his… plastic ass girlfriend.
But here I was. Homeless because he trusted a liar over his best friend of five years. He even went as far as showing my parents chats from when I came out to him. He made sure I was entirely trapped with no way to deny it.
My father looked at me like I was the most disgusting thing on the face of the earth, and Mom just kept crying. She couldn't even look at me…like seeing my face would confirm her worst nightmare.
They treated me like I had some horrible, contagious disease.
Dad kicked me out and told me to come back when in his words "I was sure that I was ready to be his son. Not whatever the fuck I currently was."
He didn't care that it was past midnight, that I had nowhere to go… or that I was his only child. He practically had me running out of the house at gunpoint.
I always knew I had homophobic parents, so I never said a word about my sexuality to them.
I had been keeping that secret for three years.
But tonight, the cat got out of the bag, and I got kicked out of the house.
I had nowhere to go, and no freaking money, cause Father snatched my cards saying he wouldn't sponsor "the life of a fag".
So here I was. On the busy bridge at 1 am, dragging a travelling bag behind me with no destination in mind.
The rain was cold and relentless, soaking through my hoodie, my jeans… my soul. Soaking through every source of warmth and protection I ever felt.
My fingers were numb. My heart even more so. It all still felt like a dream. I felt betrayed not just by my stupid best friend Liam, who might still reach out to me in a little while and tell me he's sorry... But also by my parents.
All my life, they told me they'd always love me. Always protect me. I knew they were lying, but I never expected them to cut all ties with me in a heartbeat just because I'm not attracted to girls.
The betrayal stung like acid. One minute, I was having a silent dinner with them, and the next minute, they kicked me out like I was some piece of rag they were disgusted by.
Twenty minutes ago, I was safe and warm in a cosy mansion, and now, I was homeless in the merciless rain.
Ironic.
I couldn't think straight. Still couldn't believe it. Or maybe I just couldn't process it? In one night, everyone I've ever held close to my heart... broke my trust. Collectively.
They didn't even care what happened to me, where I'll go, or how I'll survive this. I didn't have time to grab my phone or any other important things. All I had were clothes.
I was stuck.
Going back home was obviously out of the picture, so I just stood.
Soaked, too shaken to cry, too perplexed to take another step.
Maybe it was all the tears in my eyes, or all the voices in my head screaming that my life was over and I had to deal with it... But I didn't see it on time.
It came at me like a lightning bolt. Blaring headlamps and the smell of burning tires as the driver tried to pull the truck to a halt.
All I could see was white, and motion left every muscle in my body as fear gripped me.
The truck collided with me, knocking me off the mercilessly high edge of the bridge.
I broke through the water below, with so much force it felt like all my bones shattered on impact.
Everything became blurry and muffled at once. My head was throbbing, ears ringing, and all I could hear, feel, taste and see… was water.
I was being pulled deeper into the crashing waves, and in that moment, I remembered why I've been so scared of water.
I can't swim.
An odd calmness began to embrace my body.
Is this what dying felt like?
It felt… gentle.
Like I was being pulled not into water… but into soothing darkness.
Thick, black heavy darkness… and silence. Silence that was soon ruined by words that I will never forget.
"One thousand gold bars for this one! Untouched, healthy, good-looking and with a breeding rate that's through the roof!"
I should have died. Given how hard I was hit, how high the bridge was, and how much water filled my lungs… But instead, I woke up here… somewhere else entirely.
A bizarre world of beastmen who were about to entirely rewrite my fate.