Be My Life Jacket

The next day, I invited Sam over after school after much scolding from my aunt and uncle. They were upset that Sam and I had become so close and yet they hadn’t met her yet.

My bruise had only gotten worse and I’d been the center of most rumors. I tried to ignore it as much as I could, but it was so hard when people accused you of being gay, but you denied it even though they were right.

After dinner, Sam and I headed up to my room to work on our homework together. We sat on the ground, each of our bags beside us. We talked a bit before pulling out our homework and deciding to actually get some done.

She reached for a pencil from her bag, her sleeve moving up a little bit, showing a gruesome slice across her wrist. No way. She couldn’t have.

"What are these?" I growled, after yanking her sleeve up further to reveal multiple scars and scabs on her wrist.

"Nothing." She mumbled, pulling her arm away and pushing her sleeve down before crossing her arms defensively. She stared down at her feet as if I'd disappear once I was out of her sight. But she was very wrong.

"Why didn't you tell me?" My voice softened. "What made you do this?"

"My dads got in a fight over me. Okay?" She whispered, on the verge of tears. "I just wanted to fix the problem. Go away forever." It almost broke my heart seeing my Sam so broken and fragile. Her head was still bent down, her hair creating a curtain between us.

I reached out to touch her. To comfort her, but she shrugged my hand off. Finally, she looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot from crying and her nose red from running. She wiped it on her sleeve before she got up and started to walk away.

"Sam." I pleaded. "Just wait. We can talk about it if you want."

"There's nothing to talk about. No one wants me. How do you think I ended up in an adoption center?" She sobbed after turning back to me. "And now my dads are talking about how they think I should live a normal life, so they want me to go live with a male and female couple. But I know that’s not the reason. They just don't want me."

"That's not true and you know it!" I nearly shouted. "Have you ever thought that maybe you parents couldn't support you at the time that they had you? So they have you up for adoption to give you a better life." She started walked back to me, slowly but surely. "And your dads. They only want what's best for you. You're an amazing person, Sam. And I know that they know they raised an amazing person. They wouldn't love and care for so much if they didn't want you." Sitting next to me, she buried her face into my chest, gripping fistfuls of my shirt and yanking on them as her tears spilled onto me. "Sam, I love you." I said. "And just because I'm not in love with you, doesn't mean I can't love you." I kissed the top of her head, lifting her chin up and pushing her stray hairs away from her face. "Don't ever think for a minute that no one wants you."

"I love you too." She whispered, glancing down at her injured wrist. I picked it up, kissing each one of her wounds.

"I kissed it. It supposed to start feeling better now." I explained, cracking a small smile.

She smiled back broadly, wrapping her arms around me and giving me the biggest hug I'd received in my 16 years of life.

"Promise me you won't do it again." I admonished, receiving an eye roll.

"I pinky promise." She obeyed, holding her pinky out to me. I wrapped mine around it and we shook, making it official.

No more self inflicted injuries. Ever.

After about an hour of doing homework, Sam’s head suddenly popped up and she gave a mischievous smile.

“Be my boyfriend.” She blurted.

“W-what?” I stuttered, taken aback.

“Everyone will stop thinking you’re gay if you have a girlfriend.” She explained.

“Oh.” I laughed, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Do you want to?” She asked excitedly.

“It’s worth a shot.” I smiled. “Girlfriend.”

“It sure is.” She smiled back. “Boyfriend.”