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Chapter Eight
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On Friday afternoon, Marco invited Ellie over to his house to work on their school project early in the weekend. She arrived at the front door, dressed in a black and bright green tulle dress, her red hair pulled into pigtails on her head. His mother smiled at her from the entrance of the kitchen. "Good afternoon, Ellie. Do you want something to drink?"
She shook her head, smiling back and replying, "No thank you, Mrs. Del Rossi." His father watched her go upstairs and patted Marco on the back, winking. Marco resisted rolling his eyes. He went up into his bedroom. Ellie said as he shut the door behind him, "...You still haven't told them."
Marco frowned at her frustrated tone. "What am I suppose to say... 'Ma, Pa, I'm gay. Please don't kill me.'" She smacked his arm.
"Quit being so dramatic! Come on, you have to tell him some day or else they'll find out on their own. That might be worse than telling them."
'She's got a point.'
She gave him an irritated look. "Let's have this discussion later. We have to work on our science project." They began working but half of Marco's mind was drifting away to what Ellie had said. An half an hour passed and Ellie noticed that he was staring off into space, she called out, "Marco? You still alive over there?" He looked at her blinking.
"Um...yeah. Listen, I'm going to get a drink. Want anything?"
"Just some water, thanks. Hurry back so we can finish this."
Marco went downstairs and grabbed two glasses, pouring water from the purifier into them. Before he could return to the stairs, his parents pulled him aside. His mother's eyes were apprehensive.
"Marco, we got a call from your school. Something about your locker being vandalized...?"
His heart pounded against his Adam's apple.
"Uh..."
They sat him down, and his father asked with his thick accent, "What happened?"
"Nothing, just, nothing."
His father's face turned red. "What do you mean nothing?"
Marco whispered, "Can we talk about this later?" His mother touched his shoulder.
"Darling, what is going on? You know you can talk to us about anything."
'No Ma...not everything...not even anything.'
He lowered his head in defeat.
"I kind of have something important to tell you..." Their eyes focused on him so intently and Marco couldn't say the words. He was going to chicken out. This was such a bad idea.
"Well?"
He got up to leave the room, to flee, but his father grabbed his arm, "Marco- !" It slipped out.
"I'm gay! Alright?"
Marco squeezed his eyes shut, hardly believing that he had said it. He opened them to his parents gawking at him. Unable to move and unable to respond to him. Suddenly, his father's face turned purple and he began swearing loudly at him in Italian. His mother had a firm grip on her husband. She said to her son hurriedly, "Go upstairs. Now." Marco ran.
Ellie looked up at him from their poster in his bedroom. "What took you so long - Marco, what's wrong?" She asked, eyes widening, "You're pale."
He sat down, murmuring, "I told them."
"How'd they take it?"
"Not so good. I should have-" Marco stopped in the middle of his sentence. The downstairs noise had gotten quiet. Much too quiet. His father should have been raging. Abruptly, a rumbling sounded as someone marched up the stairs. Marco's door was hurled open as his father came barging in.
Both teenagers froze as Mr. Del Rossi roared at the top of his lungs, "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" He seized Marco by the arm and hair roughly, dragging him down the stairs. It was all a blur. The pain of being gripped... Ellie and his Ma shouting... the cloudy outside sky in his view as he was thrown headfirst into the front lawn. Ellie rushed out to help Marco upright as his father slammed the front door. The clicking afterward meant that he had locked the front door. One or two tears of throbbing pain fell down Marco's face. His own Pa hated him now.
'I should have never told them.'
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Ellie walked him slowly to her house, sitting him in the kitchen and providing the ice for his bruise
"Ok, I'll go call Dylan-"
"No!" His dark eyes bugged out impossibly large and his features paled. "Leave him alone, he doesn't need to deal with this!" Ellie took him by the shoulders, forcing a smile.
"Breathe, Marco, please breathe or you are going to faint on the kitchen floor. Fine, I'll call Jimmy or someone."
He nodded, laying his head on the table with a thump.
Ellie left the room with the phone. She hated to lie to him but right now she knew what was best. The other line rang and the person picked up.
"Hello?"
"Dylan, it's Ellie. You need to get over to my house. You know the address, right?"
"Yeah, what's going on?"
"Marco finally told his parents and his dad didn't take it well."
"He didn't..." Dylan's voice hardened. "He hurt him, didn't he?"
"Just get over here."
"Alright, I'm on my way."
Ellie ended a phone call and checked on Marco. He was still sitting in the chair, head on the table. She paced her living room until a black convertible with red stripes on the hood pulled up into her driveway. She greeted a rumpled-looking Dylan who asked at once, "Where is he?" She motioned to the kitchen and they went down the hallway.
"His dad threw him out of the house. . ."
Dylan's features softened. He laid a hand on the other boy's shoulder who looked up both surprised and relieved. "Marco?"
"Dylan?"
The older boy enfolded him into his arms, feeling an uttermost reassured that he was okay. Marco didn't pull away and felt instantly safe with him. As Dylan let him go, he turned to Ellie who was leaning against the doorframe. "Thanks for calling me." She nodded, looking straight into Marco's eyes.
"I figured you know what to do."
At that moment, Marco was thankful he had a friend as great as Ellie Nash even though she was at times secretive about what she was up to. The phone rang and Ellie went to answer it. As she left, Dylan asked him, "Are you alright?"
"I think so. I just blurted it out at them. They had found out about my locker."
Dylan rubbed the other boy's shoulders gently. "It was bound to happen, Marco." His easy smile only made the tears he had been holding back stream down the younger boy's face. Dylan wiped them away patiently and held him close. Marco felt his heart beat against his own and sighed, sniffing.
Ellie came back from the other room, her voice was detached, "Marco's mom just called. Your dad is on his way here."
Marco moaned, losing all feeling in his body, "Oh God..."
"Nothing is going to happen, okay?" Dylan said firmly, "Ellie, maybe you should call the police."
Marco murmured, looking terrified, "They'll never make it in time." He remembered how scary his dad would get when he misbehaved as a child. How he was a towering mass of rage and would yell so loud that it even alarmed the next door neighbors. He never had laid a hand on him in the past but the thought had always been there... what if? What if today was the day?
The older boy gave him a calming look.
Ellie's front door rattled.
She went to answer it, already knowing who it would be as they all stepped into the hallway. And there Mr. Del Rossi stood, on the mat, and growled, "Where is he?"
Ellie said to him with a straight face, "Mr. Del Rossi, please, Marco hasn't done anything wrong." He ignored her and simply knocked her aside, sending her sprawling onto the floor.
Marco bellowed, "ELL!" His father spotted him and yanked him up by the shirt collar. Marco pleaded, "Pa-!"
"SHUT UP, YOU, YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO YOUR MAMA AND ME! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!"
Marco's face went completely drained.
...
That phrase...
...
From his dream...
...
Dylan ripped the man away and kept the younger boy behind him. He said evenly, "Mr. Del Rossi-"
"YOU! YOU TURN MY SON INTO A FRUITY BOY! YOU DID THIS TO HIM!"
"No, Papa," Marco's courage returned as his Father raged at Dylan, "I knew I was gay before I met Dylan! No one made me do anything! I just was! Leave Dylan alone!"
His father turned a red-violet and raised a hand. Dylan stopped it. Comparing the both of them, Dylan could easily win but the fury in Mr. Del Rossi was chillingly strong. He gave Dylan an unexpected punch in the face and Dylan was thrown back by the impact. Marco was now alone to face him. He tried to get away but the man strike him upside the head and looked about ready to kill him.
Out of nowhere, Ellie hit Mr. Del Rossi across the head. He fell unconscious in the middle of the hallway. Marco gazed at her stunned as she tossed the small statue aside, as if this was no big thing.
He hugged her.
"Ell, you saved us!" She flinched and wrapped an hand on her side. There was blood on her fingers. "Oh my God, Ellie, you're bleeding!"
"I'm fine. I landed on my bag, I-I'll go clean up." She practically fled from the room, gripping her schoolbag tightly at her chest. He was about to go after her but instead turned to Dylan, who stood up, carefully fingering a reddening mark forming on his cheek. Marco gaped.
"I...am so-"
Dylan cut him off, by placing his fingertips over Marcos' lips, "Talk later." He softly pressed his lips against the younger boy's mouth. Marco's eyes grew round and he was breathless, turning crimson. Ellie had emerged from the kitchen, scowling at them, but smiling after. She was amazed frankly on how irritatingly adorable they were.
Ellie broke the silence. "I'm gonna go call the police, guys." She did just that and it wasn't before long when another knock came from her front door.
It was Dylan's parents and Marco's mother.
She let them in, and realized, it was a mistake.
Mrs. Del Rossi started screaming when she saw her husband on the floor. Mrs. Michalchuk began fussing over Dylan. Her spouse gave Marco a stony glare as if he blamed him for everything. Ellie stuck her fingers in her mouth and let out a piercing whistle, they all shut up. "Can I have your attention? Really. Okay, here's what happened. Marco told his parents that he was gay. His dad threw him out. Marco came here. I called Dylan over here. Then Marco's dad came here and they tried talking to him, but he hit Dylan and went after Marco. I knocked Mr. Del Rossi out. The police are coming. And I would appreciate it if everyone would calm the hell down before they get here!"
The adults stared at her and she released an exasperated breath. "...and we've lost them."
Everyone else frowned confused and focused on where she was staring. Marco and Dylan. Embracing. Marco whispered to him, "I'm glad you're here."
"I'm glad I could be here for you," Dylan answered, nuzzling his forehead against the other boy's, and they both grinned like idiots.
Ellie cleared her throat and they pulled away, blushing.
Mr. Michalchuk admitted after a moment, "... So I guess you both have strong feelings for each other."
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The police came in and escourted away a slowly less unconscious Mr. Del Rossi. Marco watched from the living room window and Ellie asked, "Did you want to stay over?" He shook his head.
"No thanks, I've got to talk to Ma. I'm surprised your Mom hasn't came downstairs from all this commotion."
She made a fake laugh,. "Yeah, she's a pretty heavy sleeper." Ellie added silently to herself, 'When she's drunk as shit.'
Dylan came over from talking to his parents.
"Hey Marco, I was wandering..."
Marco said with a half smile, "I just got through telling Ellie that I can go home. I have to spend some time with my Ma." Mrs. Del Rossi grinned from his side and Dylan shook her hand politely before leaving. Marco went home. His mother ran him a bath, after they ate together, and Marco sat with her in the family room.
She pulled him into a hug.
"I am so proud that you told us. Your father will understand one day."
"You don't hate me?"
She kissed his head.
"Of course not. I knew that you were different from the other kids when you were younger. It was how you acted around strangers and your friends."
He raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"You remember your cousin Rosalie?"
Marco nodded. She was his favorite cousin from Italy. All of his cousins were nice but she was the oldest and they shared a special friendship. When he had to move from Italy when he was four. . .it had been hard to leave her. Mrs. Del Rossi sighed. "She, too, is gay." This hit him as a total blow.
"Wh-Why didn't you tell me?"
"We wanted to tell you when you were older. Your Aunt Esta almost disowned her. She thought she was a demon child because she was attracted to other woman." His mother held his face. "I promised to never do anything like your father or Esta would do to you if you had turned out to be the same." He smiled after a moment.
"Thanks for telling me, Ma."
She kissed his head again, "Remember you can talk to me."
"I know that now."
His mother cooed, "Get some sleep."
"What's going to happen to Papa?" Her face darkened.
"I do not know. . . but we are going to have to have a talk."
That face was never good.
She then smiled, her face going back to a normal cheery.
"Do not worry, darling."
He went upstairs and climbed into his bed, his thoughts wandering.
What if his father couldn't handle himself, would his parents get. . .a divorce? The idea gave him the shivers.
'Stop worrying,' he told himself, 'Go to sleep.'
