Out of the shadows

He’d once been in an area filled with hypocritical bigots. People who never once practiced what they preached. In a house where he wasn’t seen as himself on top of that. His own dad didn’t love him for who he is. Or acknowledge the fact he’d been transitioning for the last ten years. Not once had his dad been comfortable talking about anything LGBT. His dad wasn’t even taking care of himself. Avery took a step back. Michael didn’t seem to want help. Avery stopped helping as a result. You can’t help someone that clearly doesn’t want it after all. His mothers death when he was a kid changed him. It’d changed his life. He remembered everything his mother told and taught him. 

“You’re pathetic. My mother would be ashamed of you” Avery yelled at Michael
“Avery-” Michael began
“You’re not even listening to your Cardiologist! He TOLD you the surgery you chose wasn’t the right one. You went through with it anyway. Why do you think he ended that appointment so abruptly. It was because YOU chose a surgery that wasn’t right for you. YOU chose it because of what your friends said about it instead of choosing what’s best for you. You’re in stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease. It means some things are, I don’t know, OFF LIMITS to what you’re able to do” Avery retorted
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing” Michael responded
“NO. I’m not. YOU’RE downplaying everything UNNECESSARILY-” Avery screamed before being cut off by Michael
“Get out. You don’t seem to-” Michael began
“Fine by me. YOU aren’t getting it. You clearly don’t want the help, have Dementia to some extent whether you want to acknowledge that or not. There’s a lot of things you need to have dealt with that you CLEARLY don’t want to deal with. I hounded you to get stuff dealt with only for you to scroll through Social Media instead. You don’t want the help, FINE, you want me gone, FINE, I’m gone” Avery yelled before storming out

Avery had gone into a deep Depression after leaving. The little money he had wasn’t going to last very long. He had nowhere near enough to survive regardless of where he went. He left for Miami Beach at first. He’d fallen in love with the area during his brief time living in South Florida. There were no shortages of jobs there. He found one days after arriving. Only to be let go after a month. Performance issues being cited. The real reason being he said things people didn’t want to hear. He’d been openly Trans the entire time. The few odd jobs he completed left him with enough money to leave Florida entirely. He’d been no contact with the relatives in the area he’d grown up in. Their actions spoke far louder than anything they’d ever said. The few friends he kept in touch with worried about him. Rightfully so. They worried he’d go through with his thoughts. 

“You’ve come a long way” Jude texted him
“Thanks, it doesn’t feel that way” Avery texted back
“I know. Look what you’re doing though” he replied
“Yeah. I’ll be happier in New York” Avery mentioned
“Yeah, you will be. You may not have as many friends as before. They let their actions speak for them. You’re better off. You’ll find people that love you for who you are” Jude texted him before going to bed

Jude had become his only friend after moving to Miami Beach. He’d let Avery stay with him as often as he could. It wasn’t always possible. Jude had gotten Avery the help he needed. The odd jobs mainly. Jude knew far too many people that needed some help. He knew Avery was up for all of it. It’d been the only way he’d been able to save money to leave. He knew the severe trust issues Avery had. Everyone else understood that about Avery. They let their actions speak, letting Avery know there were people that love him for who he is. He hadn’t cared that he was homeless. He stayed in Hostels most of the time. He’d wandered around most of the time. He found beauty in the simple things. The Hostels were filled with people from everywhere across the globe. He asked about their culture while learning different phrases. He loved learning about other countries and languages his entire life. That was the only part he was going to miss. He knew he’d be far happier in New York.

“I’m going to miss you” Jude sighed
“I’m going to miss you too. I’m going to miss everyone” being the only thing Avery could choke out through the tears
“You’re better off in New York. All of us know that” Jude replied
“Yeah, I am. I don’t care that I’m going to be on the streets homeless at first. I’ll find something though. It’s not like there’s any shortage of jobs there either” Avery laughed

Jude knew just how right Avery was. He also knew Avery would be okay. He wasn’t going to let the harsher things in life kill him. He saw a more hopeful Avery instead of someone that had given up on life. He’d seen Avery go from no longer wanting to live to having a far better life than he’d ever thought he’d have. He knew Avery being homeless was temporary. Avery didn’t have to say anything for Jude to know he had a plan of some kind. It was Avery after all. He also knew Avery may not even have a clue what he was doing. Avery had a knack of figuring things out on the go. Jude had become the only person that understood Avery when it seemed like he wasn’t making any sense. He’d been able to make sense of everything and tell people what Avery was trying to say. He worried about Avery in New York because of that. He knew Avery would figure that out also.