Liam’s pov: Complicated issues

I had just closed the door to the house when my dad’s voice sliced through the air. "Where have you been?" His tone was like a whip, sharp and demanding. I froze, my chest tightening.

"I was... I..." My words stumbled over each other, and I couldn’t get them out right. My dad's glare was burning holes into me. I had no excuse ready. Not this time.

"Where have you been?" His voice cracked through the silence again. "I won’t ask you again."

My heart raced. I wasn’t prepared for this. Not now. Not when everything felt so heavy. "I was with Jayden," I blurted out, not really thinking about the consequences of those words.

"What did you just say?" My dad’s voice dropped lower, more menacing. "Didn’t I warn you? Didn’t I tell you not to hang around with that boy?" His face twisted in disgust, like he had just bitten into something rotten.

I backed up a step, instinctively feeling the tension build. "I... I had a group assignment. We were working on school stuff."

"Group assignment?" My dad scoffed. "You think I’m stupid, Liam?" He stormed towards me, his steps thundering on the floor. "I told you not to ever be seen with him, and you ignored me. Again."

The room felt smaller. My breath became shallow. "Why? Why don't you want me to be friends with him?" I asked before I could stop myself. The words tumbled out, full of frustration and confusion. "What did he ever do to you? He's my friend."

My dad stopped in front of me, his chest rising and falling with the anger that pulsed through him. "What the hell are you saying, Liam?" His voice was low, dangerous. "Do you mean to tell me that you are now gay? That you have feelings for a guy?"

I blinked, his words hitting me like a slap. No. No, that’s not what I meant. "No, that’s not what I mean," I said quickly, shaking my head. But my dad didn’t let me finish. He was already on a roll, not listening to anything I said.

"That's what you mean, isn't it?" His face twisted with disgust. "Kids these days—always saying they're ‘close’ to another guy and then they turn around and say they're gay. I won’t have it." His hands clenched into fists, his knuckles going white. "I’m raising you to be a strong boy, not some... whatever the hell you want to call it. Stay away from him, Liam."

His words hit hard, deeper than anything he had ever said to me. I felt a rush of anger flare up in me, but I kept it inside, swallowed it down. "I’m not gay, Dad," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady, even though my insides were shaking. "I never said I was."

But he wasn’t done. "If you keep getting closer to him, who’s to say you won’t end up... whatever you’re thinking you are?" His voice was cold. "And don't think I don't know what's been going on. I’ve got all the pictures. Botox has sent them all to me. I know what you've been doing."

My stomach twisted, nausea flooding me. Botox. The pictures. I had forgotten about that. I hadn’t even thought about it. What had I gotten myself into?

My dad’s face grew darker, his eyes narrowing as he took another step closer. "Tell me, have you and Jayden kissed yet?" His voice was almost a growl now, the words like acid in my ears. "I want to know every detail."

The question hit me like a punch. My mind spun, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Had we kissed? I remembered the closeness, the way our lips had  touched that day. But did that make me... gay?

I didn’t know. I wasn’t ready for this. I didn’t want to face this right now. "No," I said quickly, trying to push the thought away. "No, we haven’t kissed." My voice was shaky, but I hoped my dad wouldn’t notice.

He scoffed, not buying it for a second. "I don’t want my son to become some... whatever you call it. I want you to be a man, not some... freak." His words slithered into my skin, making me feel like I was suffocating.

"And just to make sure you understand," he continued, his voice like ice, "You’re getting engaged to Mara. She’s coming soon, and she’ll be transferring to our school. You’re going to marry her. End of story."

My head spun. An arranged engagement? With Mara? I had never asked for that. I hadn’t agreed to any of it. But my dad wasn’t giving me a choice.

"You’ll go back to your room," he ordered, his voice colder than ever. "And don’t you dare think about seeing Jayden again. Not unless you want to deal with the consequences."

I stood there, unable to move, unable to say anything. My heart was hammering in my chest, my mind a mess of confusion and fear. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Why couldn’t I just have one person who understood? Why couldn’t I have someone who didn’t care about all this crap?

But my dad didn’t care. He was already turning away, his voice rising as he shouted, "And if I catch you with that boy again, you’ll regret it. Stay away from him. And don’t even think about causing trouble over those stupid pictures from Botox. You’ll be sorry."

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. The words were stuck in my throat, heavy and thick.

Turning away, I rushed up the stairs, not wanting to be in the same room as my dad anymore. I slammed the door behind me, falling onto my bed, my hands pressed against my face. I didn’t want to cry. I refused to. But the tears came anyway, hot and fast. They blurred everything around me.

I couldn’t breathe. My dad didn’t understood. My life was nothing like Jayden’s. He had a family who cared about him. He didn’t have to deal with this.

But me? I was stuck. In a family that wanted to control everything. In a life that was a mess. I couldn’t escape it. And I didn’t know how much longer I could keep pretending it didn’t hurt.

I closed my eyes, the weight of everything pressing down on me. And all I could think was: Why did everything have to be so complicated?