Read Online Before I Break by Alec John Belle - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Alec John Belle
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my prejudice from you, but…” But what? I tried to find the right words to say. “Jesus loves us all, whether you believe in him or not. Homosexuality should not be a religious issue, or even an issue at all. Love is not an issue with God, because that’s what he wants from us.” Dropping the mic, I held up my hands in defense. “So stone us all, Pastor Morrison. Stone us all for going against Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. I’m sure God would appreciate it.”
Seconds ticked by that felt like hours. I didn’t know what to do next and clearly did no one else. Then, the strangest thing happened. I expected applause like in the movies. The cheers. The joy. But the next thing we got was a hot coffee thrown on the stage.
Right at Avery.
My gasp seemed to ring out across the room but Avery remained very still, looking genuinely sad. Melissa reached out for him, but he pulled away, the tears forming in his eyes, and he ran off the stage, leaving us alone as he ran out of the loft and down the stairs. All of us—Melissa, Morrison, Goth, Lauren, and I—were left on the stage alone.
“Go,” Morrison told all five of us. He sounded exasperated, like this tired him out. What a dick. “Leave and do not come back to this church again.”
“But—” Lauren started but Morrison held up with hand.
“You defy the Word of God and embarrass me in the House,” he went on. “You are no longer welcome here. Any of you. And be sure to never bring a homosexual here again. Any of you, even those not involved in this show tonight.” That was directed toward the audience.
Melissa, completely enraged, said, “Fine. You’ll see us again soon, though, I promise.” She grabbed me by the hand and we got off the stage, exiting the room with Lauren and Goth behind us. Outside, Avery was nowhere to be seen.
“I can’t believe we just got kicked out of our own church,” Lauren said, looking confused. Sitting on the side bench, she put her head between her legs. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid.”
“Same here,” I replied. “I can’t believe that just happened and Pastor Morrison let it.”
“I can,” Melissa said. She received a text a second later and sighed. “He’s okay; he’s sitting in the car waiting for me to take him home. He says to tell you all thank you for helping support him tonight.”
We sat in silence for a moment before I said, “So what do we do now? Are we just going to leave things like this?”
Melissa smiled, and I knew that look, too. “What do you have in mind?” I asked.
“I have a plan,” she replied. “A good one.”
I stepped quietly inside, hoping that no one would hear me. Closing the door softly, I headed into the living room, hoping to avoid confrontation tonight—more than I already had, anyway. Just as I was about to walk up the stairs, a light flicked on, and standing behind me were Mom and Dad.
“Hey,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Uh, how are you guys?”
My father stepped forward with an angry gleam in his eyes. “I think we could ask the same of you. Pastor Morrison called about a half hour ago.”
There went avoiding confrontation. “So you know?”
My pointed to the chair and said, “Sit.” Taking the seat at the kitchen table, Dad and Mom sat on each side of me, staring me down. Dad particularly looked pissed, but Mom looked unsure of what to say.
I didn’t want to have this conversation. I wanted to just go upstairs and go to sleep, but I knew they weren’t going to let me right now. Right now it was more important that we discussed this, although I didn’t want to.
“What were you thinking?” Those were the first words out of my father’s mouth, and I felt kind of sick to my stomach. I let him down. I let everyone in my life down tonight all because I wanted to support Avery. Now that I was banned from the church, I was sure they’d never let me see Avery again.
“I was thinking…that I wanted to help a friend,” I
Seconds ticked by that felt like hours. I didn’t know what to do next and clearly did no one else. Then, the strangest thing happened. I expected applause like in the movies. The cheers. The joy. But the next thing we got was a hot coffee thrown on the stage.
Right at Avery.
My gasp seemed to ring out across the room but Avery remained very still, looking genuinely sad. Melissa reached out for him, but he pulled away, the tears forming in his eyes, and he ran off the stage, leaving us alone as he ran out of the loft and down the stairs. All of us—Melissa, Morrison, Goth, Lauren, and I—were left on the stage alone.
“Go,” Morrison told all five of us. He sounded exasperated, like this tired him out. What a dick. “Leave and do not come back to this church again.”
“But—” Lauren started but Morrison held up with hand.
“You defy the Word of God and embarrass me in the House,” he went on. “You are no longer welcome here. Any of you. And be sure to never bring a homosexual here again. Any of you, even those not involved in this show tonight.” That was directed toward the audience.
Melissa, completely enraged, said, “Fine. You’ll see us again soon, though, I promise.” She grabbed me by the hand and we got off the stage, exiting the room with Lauren and Goth behind us. Outside, Avery was nowhere to be seen.
“I can’t believe we just got kicked out of our own church,” Lauren said, looking confused. Sitting on the side bench, she put her head between her legs. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid.”
“Same here,” I replied. “I can’t believe that just happened and Pastor Morrison let it.”
“I can,” Melissa said. She received a text a second later and sighed. “He’s okay; he’s sitting in the car waiting for me to take him home. He says to tell you all thank you for helping support him tonight.”
We sat in silence for a moment before I said, “So what do we do now? Are we just going to leave things like this?”
Melissa smiled, and I knew that look, too. “What do you have in mind?” I asked.
“I have a plan,” she replied. “A good one.”
I stepped quietly inside, hoping that no one would hear me. Closing the door softly, I headed into the living room, hoping to avoid confrontation tonight—more than I already had, anyway. Just as I was about to walk up the stairs, a light flicked on, and standing behind me were Mom and Dad.
“Hey,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Uh, how are you guys?”
My father stepped forward with an angry gleam in his eyes. “I think we could ask the same of you. Pastor Morrison called about a half hour ago.”
There went avoiding confrontation. “So you know?”
My pointed to the chair and said, “Sit.” Taking the seat at the kitchen table, Dad and Mom sat on each side of me, staring me down. Dad particularly looked pissed, but Mom looked unsure of what to say.
I didn’t want to have this conversation. I wanted to just go upstairs and go to sleep, but I knew they weren’t going to let me right now. Right now it was more important that we discussed this, although I didn’t want to.
“What were you thinking?” Those were the first words out of my father’s mouth, and I felt kind of sick to my stomach. I let him down. I let everyone in my life down tonight all because I wanted to support Avery. Now that I was banned from the church, I was sure they’d never let me see Avery again.
“I was thinking…that I wanted to help a friend,” I
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