Summertime Haze
Part 1.1 - Escaping the Past
A beat-up sneaker hit the icy sidewalk. It was quickly followed by the other. Both skidded on a particularly icy patch as their owner, Henry Doyle, reached a street corner.
The image from earlier that day was still vivid in his mind. The school had been treated to a late spring snow, which, although unusual, was very appreciated. As an 18 year old, and a senior who was about to graduate, Henry saw fit to announce something he’d been keeping inside for the last 18 years.
He’d become friends with one of the more popular girls in the school. Her name was Tatiana, but she had everyone call her Tiki. As someone who hadn’t truly had many friends growing up, he appreciated her friendship more than anything. So, when he went up and whispered his secret to her, the last thing he’d expected was for her to laugh in his face, stand up, and announce it to the whole school.
“Henry’s gay everyone!”
Henry had wanted to collapse. He saw the guy who’d always bullied him, Jaxon, giving him a look before the school counselor, Mrs. Bowers, blocked his view by asking him if it was all true and what she could do to help the situation. Ever since her husband died a few years back, Mrs. Bowers had been paying special attention to Henry. Henry guessed she picked up on the fact that he didn't have any real friends and was just trying to do her job.
After checking to make sure the intersection was clear, Henry continued to flee through the snow, trying not to cry.
He hadn’t intended on running. Not in the slightest. It was only when Jaxon had shown up at the front door of his foster home that Henry had started to consider bolting.
“Hey homo!” He’d taunted through the window.
Henry pulled the blinds.
Tiki came later. “Henry, I’m sorry, sweetie!” she said in a sickly sweet voice. “I had no idea shouting it out like that would cause such a fallout!”
That’d been enough for Henry. He scribbled out an apology note to his foster parents, asking them to not come looking for him. He then pulled a tin out from his closet, which was stuffed full of thousands of dollars he’d saved up from working at the local fast-food restaurant for the last three years. The original intention had been to use it all for college, but plans change.
He’d left the house in the dead of night, everything he was able to bring with him shoved into one suitcase.
Tears streaked his face as he ran further and further from all that he’d ever known, heading towards a brand new future. When a bus pulled up, and the driver asked where he was going, Henry said the first place that came to mind.
“Willow Creek!”
There’d been stories of some up and coming author from around those parts. If someone had risen to fame so quickly, maybe there was a chance for a high school dropout.
By the time he reached Willow Creek, the sun had risen, and the humidity of Willow Creek nearly made Henry choke. It was such a shock after the snow of Newcrest that one of the first things he did was slip into the bathroom of the nearby museum, and change his shirt. But he wasn’t going back. He called up a real estate agency, and the only thing he could afford to do was rent. He somehow had just barely enough to rent a charming little place right by a river. The best thing about it? The air-conditioning.
He knew he could start a new life here, away from the mistakes he’d made back in Newcrest. There was no way anyone could find him, an 18 year old who now rented a home several hours away in Willow Creek. He could start fresh.