Freedom (The F-Word #5) - E. Davies Page 0,30

and he grabbed a bottle of cold water to pour over the burn before any of the others had even reacted.

Concern flooded in immediately. “Are you okay?”

“You got an ice pack?”

Henry had to bite back every ounce of sarcasm. I’d be a lot better if you hadn’t said that stupid shit. He couldn’t blame an accident on them, even if it was their fault he’d been so distracted. It was his job not to be distracted, no matter what.

“I’m fine,” Henry said shortly instead, but he let one of the guys pass him another bottle of water. He’d have to purify more water in the morning.

He ignored the scorching heat that crawled along the back of his hand as he finished pouring and passing out mugs of coffee.

That had distracted them from their jokes, at least. The energy wound down and everyone headed to bed—the others guys split up, two to a tent, and Trip and Henry in their own pup tents a short distance away.

Thank God, because Henry wouldn’t sleep a wink sharing space with anyone who thought those things.

I’m in charge here, Henry reminded himself as he banked the fire so they could safely get to sleep. I call the shots.

He waited until everyone else was in their tents. Even if only sheer fabric separated them and he could hear the guys talking amongst themselves, he could take a moment to just breathe and be by himself. Then he idly rubbed his hand before flinching. Frustration coiled like a hot snake in his belly as he grabbed his pack to get out burn ointment.

Once his hand was treated, Henry unrolled the thin, blow-up mattress and the ultra-light sleeping bag in the tent before crawling into it. There was barely enough space to turn around, but he knew how to manage it by now. He wanted his head by the entrance of the tent so he could gaze up at the sky.

And he was rewarded handsomely for it. Although Henry could only see a sliver of the sky from here, with the woods surrounding the clearing, he was breathless at the sight.

As night darkened to deepest black, stars crept out of hiding, twinkling gently through the millions of miles.

And once more, Henry felt small in the best possible way.

What did a couple guys’ thoughtless jokes mean in the big scheme of things? Fuck all, that’s what, he thought. What mattered was him living life the way that made him happy.

And like that, his thoughts were on Jaden.

He accepts me exactly as I am. No stupid jokes. He clearly hadn’t known what to say or how to respond, but he’d tried. He’d cared. He’d made Henry come, for crying out loud.

If he told other people, he could help Damien advertise to other groups. Not just gay groups, but trans people and families. They took parents and kids into the wilderness all the time. Maybe some other trans people wanted to know they were safe with someone who understood their needs and wouldn’t make them feel like shit out of the blue.

Damien wasn’t dumb—and neither was Trip. It was plausible they’d already guessed. They’d seen Henry’s scars plenty of times, and trans people were showing up in more TV shows and magazine covers lately.

If they already knew, then what did he have to lose? Henry didn’t want to stay locked away in a trap of silence, trading his self-respect for his safety.

He shifted restlessly, watching the thin boughs at the tops of trees blotting out the stars as they rustled in the light wind.

Maybe what Henry wanted was someone to see him and love him just the way he was. And the price was letting people hurt him.

He snuck his phone out of the sleeping bag with enough wiggling and smiled. Signal. That was a rare treat. Kind of like a sign.

He tapped out a message to Jaden. At the campsite, and the stars are beautiful. Wish I could take a photo for you.

Almost no sooner had the message sent than he got a reply: I wish I could see. Can we put that on the bucket list?

Do we have one of those now? Henry asked, turning onto his side to curl up with his phone. The air mattress wasn’t the most comfortable for first-timers, but he’d spent countless nights on it. In a pinch, he could sleep on bare ground.

We could start one :) Though right now it just says “everything” LOL. How was today?

Henry bit his lip, but he