I gasped with revelation. “Andthat’swhat you were doing when you went out ‘for a smoke’ on the balcony afterward, wasn’t it? You were talking to my dad, weren’t you?”
Leo’s shameful frown was all the confirmation I needed.
“You’re unbelievable,” I said. “And to think, that night, I told you the whole story about me and Dakota. Yet you had the gall to sit there, as myfriend,and act like it was all news to you?”
He hung his head. “For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry.”
“Bullshit. No you’re not,” I hissed. “Does Dad know I’ve been staying with Dakota for the past few months? That we’re serious about each other? That I lost my virginity to him?”
“Like I told you, Sal knowseverything,” Leo muttered.
Outraged, I asked, “Is there anything hedoesn’tknow?”
“It’s not like Iwantedto tell him everything, Tavi.”
“Yet you did.”
“Yes, I did, but you don’t understandwhy.”
“What could you possibly tell me that would make me understand why you’d run around behind my back, reporting back to my father every little thing about me?”
“Because,” he said, drawing a deep breath, “Sal knows I’m gay.”
My jaw fell open, unable to form a coherent response.
“Sincewhen?” I finally managed to utter.
Leo sighed, his gaze distant as he recounted the memory. “Since the time he caught me with another boy.”
My heart skipped a beat as I tried to process the implications of his words. “And when was that?”
“Oh, gosh, years ago. Back when you and I were still dating.”
The revelation hit me like a tidal wave, crashing over my understanding of our past.
“W-who did he catch you with?” I stammered, my voice trembling.
“Remember Victor?”
Victor. Leo’s best friend. The one he was always hanging out with, always spending all his free time with. Back then, Iloathedmyself for being jealous of Victor, but I couldn’t help it; I always felt like Leo would rather hang out with his best friend than me.
“Of course I remember Victor,” I mumbled. The pieces of the puzzle were quickly falling into place, but I still didn’t want to believe it.
“Yeah … Vic was more than a friend, Tavi.”
“Thatwhole time?”
He nodded, whispering, “Sorry.”
The floodgates of buried emotions from our teenage days burst open within me. Insecurities about my self-worth, the lingering doubts about Leo’s faithfulness—it all resurfaced with a vengeance. Before I knew it, my hand connected with Leo’s cheek in a sharp slap, the sting reverberating through the room.
“You should’vetoldme,” I said, my voice quivering with anger and hurt. “You didn’t have to lie to my face! Do you have any idea how much pain you caused me? Iknewsomething wasn’t right, and you were gaslighting me that entire time by pretending everything was fine.”
“Okay, yeah, I deserve that.” Leo winced, his hand soothing his reddening cheek. “But to be fair, Tavi, you simply don’t know how hard it is for a confused teenage boy to come to grips with his sexuality. Especially when his entire family is putting all these expectations on him to marry his beautiful girlfriend.”
I took a deep breath, my anger subsiding slightly as his words sank in. It was easy to be angry, but I had to remember that Leo was a victim in this situation, too. It didn’t excuse his actions, no, but it helped to understand them from a new perspective.
I let out a guilty sigh.
