"Ray was my best friends, partially because he didn't have anyone else. Scrawny, quiet, kinda ugly to be honest. I could be around him and not be attracted to him the entire time. Some of the other boys, I had these strange feelings for, almost as bad as those to Chris." Jim nods towards me as says this. "But with Ray, none of that mattered. With him, I could be me. Our friendship started to fall apart when he asked me about doing something similar to what he was planning to do to you, bro."
"Wait, what," Will chimes in.
"It was a few weeks into senior year. Ray never had brought up with what happened with you Will. During one of our, 'sessions' together, he suggested that we might want to try something different. Now, we had being doing our own thing since eighth grade, every few weeks. Just watching and working it off. Out of nowhere, Ray wanted us to try 'that,' just to see what would happen. Now, I would never consider doing that, not ever. I just find the idea unpleasant. When I said 'no,' Ray got all weird. He may have thought I would go for that, I don't know. Anyway, he got his clothes and left. I tried to talk to him the next day, we had four classes together that year, but he avoided me. After awhile, I stopped trying and hung around with you guys for the most part. It wasn't until spring that Ray and I started to talk again. We started to make plans for college, together, but when he disappeared that summer, I just gave up one him. I still wanted to see him, at least one more time, just to tell him what he meant to me, you know."
Yeah, I know, all too well.
I try to look at the other guys faces in the darkened restroom. In the soft glow of our phones, I can just make them out.
Pete's on my right. I have been holding a grudge against him for no reason besides taking over my old friend's house. Now, he is so beyond me. The big lug, a jock all this time. He could have had so much.
Rick is just to my left. He's keeping quiet, probably trying to guess how to help out Jim, if he's done what we suspect. I knew he had been keeping quiet on something and that it was starting to gnaw on him. I was just so far away.
Will is tending to his brother's wounds. I had noticed how timid he had been yesterday, and this evening, but I would never had guessed what had happened to him. He's going to need therapy himself to get over all of this guilt.
And Jim.
"I hope Sam hasn't cost you your family. What he did was wrong." I say.
"Don't worry too much. I called over to my sister-in-law as soon as you left, Jim. She is going to make sure that your kids are going to stay where they are. Your wife isn't going to take them. At least not tonight." Will responds.
"I knew you would be looking out for me not-so-little bro," Jim adds as he reaches up to mess up Will's hair. "As to Sam, I think I'll be able to forgive him, in time."
"Thank you."
"Chris, I think I saw Sam on my way here."
"What, Jim?"
"Yeah," Jim answers. "I think I saw him ducking his head out the ladies' restroom. I can't be sure, but he's the only male around here that tall. You might want to check on him."
"I've got to check on Sam. Be back soon."
I rush from the restroom to find Sam.