He'd been sitting in the driveway for a full five minutes staring at the house. Alyssa knocked on the window and he gave a start before he opened the door and got out.

"You can't sit out here all day."

"Yeah, I know." He frowned. "Where's Josh?"

"He went down the block to the shopping center, he's gonna dumpster dive for boxes in case you need to pack up and move out. He figured it's better to have them than not, especially if you need to get out fast. He's a quick text away if we need backup."

"I didn't even think about what I'd do if I have to pack. See, this is why I need you guys I'm a mess."

She hugged him. "Nah, it's overwhelming that's all. This is a huge decision."

He blew out a breath. "Yeah, maybe I should wait?"

She arched a brow. "I see a chicken surfacing. Do you want to put it off, Zay?"

"No, I don't. I don't like what I see in my future if I keep hiding it. I need to do this."

She linked her hand with his. "Okay, let's go then."

He allowed her to tug him up the driveway and into the house. His parents were in the living room, his father had his laptop balanced on his knees while his mother was flipping through a magazine.

He took a breath and let it out slowly. "Mom, Dad, I need to talk to you about something."

They looked up curiously and his mother smiled. "What is it?"

Alyssa squeezed his hand and he knew no matter what happened she'd be there. "I've been wanting to talk to you about this for a while, but I wasn't certain how to tell you."

"Dear, whatever it is you can tell us," his mother said.

"Yeah, I'm not sure this is something you'll want to hear."

His father set his laptop aside with a frown. "Are you in some sort of trouble, Zayden?"

"No, it's nothing like that. I'm ..." He looked down at Alyssa and she nodded. He refocused on his parents. "I'm gay."

His mother released a shriek and began fanning herself with the magazine while his father scowled. "This is not funny, Zayden," his father said.

"This isn't a joke, Dad. I am gay."

His mother stood, a hand over her heart and a glare directed at Alyssa. "This is your doing, isn't it? You and that cousin of yours! You have corrupted Zayden!"

Alyssa snorted. "Being gay isn't contagious. Also, Zay has never even met my cousin."

"Liar!" His mother focused on him. "We'll fix this. Let me call Pastor John, you can sit down and talk to him."

"No, a talk isn't going to do anything. This isn't a choice, this is who I am and it isn't going to change. I'm sorry if you can't accept that."

"You're going to Camp Genesis," his father told him.

"I'm not going to the camp," he replied firmly.

"You are! There is not going to be an argument about this!" his father screamed. "You will do as you're told!"

"I'm eighteen you can't force me to go." He was a little surprised that he was able to reply so calmly. He had expected to be in a full-blown panic by now.

"We are your parents and we can do as we please!"

He looked at Alyssa. "Get Josh here."

With a nod, she sent Josh a text.

"You get out of our home, whore!" his mother yelled at Alyssa.

"Excuse me? You have no basis to insult my character simply because you're upset and can't accept Zay for who he is. I'm his friend and I am here to support him!" Alyssa yelled back.

"Get her out of our home, Zayden!"

"No, Mom, Lyssie is my friend and I'm not banishing her from my life because you're in a snit about the fact that I'm gay!"

"You are not gay!" his father bellowed. "I won't allow it! The church won't allow it!"

"I don't give a shit what the church allows. It's bullshit."

"Watch your mouth, young man!" his mother told him.

"No. I'm done watching everything I say out of fear of a church that's more of a cult! Alyssa's church accepts same-sex couples! There are a lot of churches that do! Your church is crap and I'm through with it! If you can't accept who I am then I guess I'm through with you too."

Alyssa's phone made a small ding and she looked at the text. She released his hand and went to the front door to let Josh in.

"Hey, I'm here with boxes," Josh announced as he stepped through the door. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Walker."

"Get out of our house!" his father screamed.

"Uh, yeah no can do. I'm here to help Zay pack."

His mother grabbed her phone from the coffee table. "I'm calling Pastor John!"

"Call the police too," his father told her.

Zay snorted. "The cops won't do anything." He turned away. "Come on, guys let's go pack my shit and get out of here."

"You aren't going anywhere, young man," his father told him.

"And how do you propose to keep me here? Tie me up? Throw holy water on me?" He snorted and led the way up to his room and ignored his father's shouts.

Josh shook his head. "Dude, that did not go well."

"Did you expect it would?"

"Uh, no not really."

"Let's pack and get out of here. I don't want to be here anymore," Zay told him. He began pulling his clothes from the closet and tossing the piles on the bed while Lyssa and Josh packed things into boxes. They were roughly halfway done with the packing when a police officer stepped into the room and cleared his throat.

Zay sighed. "Hello, Officer."

"Can you tell me what went on here today?" the officer asked him.

"I told my parents I'm gay. Their reaction was to demand I accept being shipped off to a conversion therapy camp posing as a religious retreat for teens run by a couple from their extremist church. My reaction is to move the hell out."

"Your father is claiming you fought him when he tried to keep you from leaving."

He snorted. "I was standing across the room the entire time. I never got near either of them."

Alyssa held out her phone. "I recorded the entire thing."

Zayden sent her a startled look. "You did?"

She shrugged. "I thought it might be wise considering how we thought they'd react." She looked at the police officer. "It was volatile."

The cop took her phone and watched the video. "All right, I don't see any reason to detain you. You've done nothing wrong. They are your parents, if they don't want you to move out I can't stop them unless they become violent."

"I'm eighteen," he told the officer.

"That makes a difference. We'll remain for a few minutes, I can't guarantee how long, but if they try to prevent you from leaving we'll intervene."

"Thank you."

The officer nodded. "I'll go and speak to them."

Zay looked at Alyssa and Josh. "Let's hurry up. I'd prefer to leave before the cops do."

"Yeah, good plan. You pull everything out you want to take and pile it on the bed, we'll pack at super speed," Alyssa told him.

While they packed whatever he tossed onto the bed, he moved around the room rooting through his things and deciding what was most important to him. Whatever he left behind he had the feeling his parents would burn it all immediately after he left.

"Zayden, may I please speak with you?"

Zay turned with a scowl. "Hello, Pastor John."

"Yes, your mother called me." The pastor told him with a small smile.

"Of course she did. You're not needed you can leave."

"On the contrary, I think I'm very much needed. You seem to be in crisis and I'd like to help."

"Oh right and how are you going to do that, by shipping him off to your little torture camp and shaming him into telling you he isn't gay anymore?" Alyssa sneered.

Pastor John sighed. "I'll pray for your soul, young lady, you seem to have a lot of hatred in your heart."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, hatred for people who would force their beliefs on others." She turned away and closed up the box she'd finished packing, stacking it with the rest in the hallway.

Her comments didn't seem to faze the pastor he continued to smile. "Zayden, please sit down and talk to me, I'm certain we can straighten this all out and end the distress you've caused your parents."

Josh scooted past them. "I'll start taking boxes out to my truck."

Alyssa nodded. "Good idea, I'll keep packing."

Zay tossed several more items onto the bed before he looked at the pastor. "There will be no discussion. I'm gay and there's no changing that. I'm done pretending."

"What has brought this on? Has something happened to make you believe you're this way?"

"Yeah, you want to know what happened? I'm attracted to guys, I think they're hot and always have. This isn't some identity crisis, Pastor, this is who I am. No one has tried to convince me I'm gay, I didn't see a porn movie with two guys and decide 'hey I like that, I think I'll be gay'. I'm sorry but that isn't how it happens. It's part of who I am and it can't be changed."

"You're wrong. If you'd give Camp Genesis a chance you'd see how it can help you. The couple who runs the camp can tell you how it helped them. They both believed they were as you are and now they're happily married and have devoted their lives to helping others."

"They're in denial if they believe they've been "fixed"," he replied with a snort. "I'm not going and you can't force me to. I'm eighteen and the cops are on my side."

The pastor inclined his head. "Then I'll pray for your soul." He turned to leave, paused, and looked back at Zayden. "You might want to consider what this is doing to your parents. They're very upset by this development."

Zay threw down the pile of things he was carrying and spun to face the pastor. "What it's doing to them? What about me, huh? How do you think I feel about not having their support, knowing they would rather condemn my soul to Hell than listen and understand what I'm feeling? You and your church can go fuck yourselves, you condemn what you can't begin to understand because you don't want to understand! You hate anything different and cloak it in a tidy little package you call religion. Fuck you and get out of my room!"

Pastor John shook his head, sighed, and left the room.

After a few minutes, Alyssa moved over and pulled Zay into a hug. "I'm sorry," she told him quietly.

He returned her hug before he stepped back. "Let's finish and get the hell out of here."

They shoved everything else into boxes and helped Josh carry the rest down to the truck. As they were packing the last of the boxes into the bed of Josh's pick up the police got another call and were forced to leave.

Zay shook the officers' hands and thanked them before they left. He turned to Alyssa, Josh was already behind the wheel of his truck. "Let's go." She climbed in beside Josh and he went to get into his car.

"You aren't taking the car," his father told him as he stepped out of the house.

"It's my car. I paid for it and it's in my name!"

A sly grin appeared on his father's face. "Well, it's going to be hard to drive it without insurance."

"Yes, but I'll get insurance on my own." His father continued to stand there smiling. "You canceled my insurance already, didn't you?"

"Yes. You are no longer part of this family."

"Right." He pulled his phone out.

"What do you think you're doing?" his father growled.

"Calling a tow truck to haul my car over to Josh's house. I may not be able to drive it, but it's still mine." He dialed the number of the first company that popped up in the search and asked for a truck to be sent to his parents' address.

Alyssa leaned out the window of Josh's truck. "What's the hold-up?"

He answered without taking his eyes off his father. "It would seem someone chose to cancel my insurance coverage. I need to wait for a tow truck."

"Great." She pulled her head back into the truck.

He and his father stood there glaring at one another for twenty minutes until the tow truck pulled up in front of the house. Zay backed his car out of the driveway to make it easier to hook up.

The driver of the tow truck stepped out with a grin. "Zay."

"Seth?"

"Uh, yeah, my uncle owns the tow company. I had no idea I was coming to tow your car," he said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, it needs to go to Josh's house." He sent a glare in his father's direction. "My dad canceled my insurance so I can't drive it until I get new coverage."

"Dude, that's harsh. Why would he do that?" Seth asked as he began hooking up the car.

"Because I told my parents I'm gay."

Seth froze before he looked up. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, after our conversation I realized I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not."

Seth smiled. "Does that mean you'll reconsider going to a movie with me?"

Zay smiled. "I might. Give me a little time, being out is gonna take some getting used to."

"Of course. Hey, if you need to talk about shit I'm a phone call away."

"Thanks."

Seth slapped him on the back as he moved around to continue hooking up the car. After a few minutes, he stood straight. "All set to go. You want to ride with me or with Josh?"

"I can ride with you," he replied with a grin.

"Cool." He lifted the car and they went to the cab of the tow truck.

"This isn't over, Zayden!" his father called out.

"It's very over," he shot back and climbed into the truck beside Seth.

"Wow, is he always that much of a dick?" Seth asked as they pulled away from the house.

"Pretty much. My parents belong to a church that's more of a fanatic cult than an actual church. Being gay is strictly forbidden."

Seth released a whistle. "That sucks."

"Yeah, and that is why I was afraid to tell them. Their reaction was pretty much what I expected. They threatened to pack me off to a conversion camp and force the gayness from me."

Seth chuckled. "Gayness."

Zayden laughed. "Sorry."

"Nah, don't sweat it. There are a lot of people who have nothing better to do with their lives than to judge and hate others. It happens, man." He shrugged. "My mom spends a lot of time condemning my motorcycle."

Zay chuckled. "I can understand why. You do belong to a motorcycle gang."

"Eh, Darrel isn't that bad." At Zay's snort, he grinned. "Okay, so he is."

"Why do you hang out with the guy if he's so awful?"

"I don't know, maybe cause they accept me. Maybe cause I need a place to belong or maybe I just like them."

"That's a lot of maybes. What's the real reason?" Zay asked.

"I can't say. Maybe I like being a bad boy." He bounced his eyebrows.

"Idiot." Seth might be an idiot for hanging out with Darrel and his crew but it didn't cancel out the fact that he was cute. For the first time in a long while, he forgot about Weston and was seriously considering taking Seth up on the offer of a movie night. Seth might not be male model material like West but he was good-looking. Much closer to Zay's height, he didn't tower over him like West did. His hair was black and hung to his collar in waves. Seth was the opposite of West, darkly handsome while West was fairer, with sandy-colored hair and storm gray eyes.

"Yes, but I'm a loveable idiot." He flashed a grin.

Zayden laughed. "Still an idiot."

"So, what are you gonna do now?"

"Josh's dad already told him I can move in with them."

"Hey, they definitely have the space."

"Yup. I'll have to figure the rest out at some point, but not today. I'm done emotionally for a bit."

"I can imagine you would be. I can't believe your dad wouldn't even leave the insurance until you got your car someplace safe to park it." Seth was shaking his head.

"Whatever they can do to show me I'm wrong they'll do it," he replied with a deep sigh.

"That sucks."

"Not much I can do about it. They're set in their ways and they'll continue to look to that damn church for answers and support."

"Again, that sucks."

Zayden shrugged as they pulled up Josh's driveway to the house.

Seth jumped from the cab of the truck and went around to let the car down and unhook it. Zayden climbed out and smiled at Alyssa as she came over to him.

"Well, I'm free. Sort of."

She looked past him. "Is that Seth Bradford?"

"Yeah, his uncle owns the tow company."

"And why did you call him?"

"I didn't. I mean, I did, but I didn't know it was his uncle's company. I called the first one that popped up when I searched for a tow truck." He shrugged.

"Oh, I was worried there for a minute."

"Worried about what?"

"That you were gonna head out and rob another convenience store," she answered.

"Come on, have faith, besides, Seth's a good guy. Not sure why he hangs with Darrel, but I like him."

Before Alyssa could say anything more Seth came over to where they stood. "All set."

"Great, thanks. How much do I owe you?"

"Eh, don't worry about it. What are friends for?"

"Seth, come on, I don't think your uncle wants you giving away tows for free."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," he said with a wink. "Here." He held out a piece of paper. "Call me if ya want to talk things through. I gotta go, I got another call!" he turned and walked away.

"Did he seriously give you his number?" Alyssa asked. "What the hell was that?"

"That was called flirting," Josh said as he came to stand beside her. "Didn't know Seth was on your team," he told Zay.

"Har har. Yeah, he is."

"So that's why you think he's a good guy," Alyssa said with a groan.

"Lyssie, drop it. He's nice. Can we get my shit inside now?"

"Fine, I'll drop it for now."

They spent the next hour dragging his stuff up to his room and unpacking.