Free Sara by Greg Herren Page A

it’s just so cool.”
    I bit my lower lip as he went on babbling about how great Sara was.
    To be honest, I felt like a bit of an asshole. It never occurred to me to try to find other gay teenagers or support groups for Glenn. Yeah, I knew that some of the kids had been dicks to him after he came out, but had I ever really thought about what he was going through, how hard it was on him?
    I just assumed everything was okay because he never really complained about anything.
    I could feel my face getting hot.
    What kind of person was I, anyway? This Sara girl had just met Glenn on Friday night, and already she was being a better friend to him than I was—and I was supposed to be his best friend.
    It’s easier for a girl to deal with a gay guy than it is for a straight guy, though , I thought, and was immediately ashamed of myself.
    â€œThat sounds great,” I said lamely, not knowing what else to say and hating myself for it. “I’m glad.”
    â€œAre you?”
    â€œOf course I am,” I replied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
    â€œSometimes I get the feeling you aren’t—oh, never mind.” He laughed hollowly. “Look, I got to run. Sara and I are going to run into town—”
    â€œAren’t you going to call Laney?” I cut him off.
    â€œWhy?” He sounded genuinely surprised.
    â€œWell, you two kind of used to date, and I would imagine she could use her friends right now, don’t you think?”
    He sighed. “Look, Tony, I know what you’re trying to do here, and I get it, really. But Laney knows how Noah and I felt about each other, and trust me, she’s not stupid. If I called her saying how sorry I was about Noah and all that, she’d know it was all bullshit, you know?”
    â€œYou don’t feel bad for her at all?” I crossed my arms.
    â€œLook, I gotta go,” he replied impatiently. “If I don’t get going now I’ll be late.”
    â€œHave fun,” I said, but he had already hung up.
    I put my phone down.
    I got cleaned up and got dressed, and headed out the front door. Mom had left a note on the kitchen table—she’d gone into town to run errands—and so I left her a note letting her know where I was going.
    I’d always thought, from the very beginning, that Laney had treated Glenn bad. She never seemed able to make up her mind as to whether she really liked him or not. I always got the impression she liked having him around, so she would always have a date for Homecoming or Prom or Valentine’s—if someone better didn’t come along. I’d grown up with Laney—had known her since we were kids, and she’d never been that way with anyone ever before. It never made any sense to me. She was a nice girl, always had been.
    So why was she such a bitch to Glenn?
    I got on my bike and started pedaling.
    The bike was old and rusty—I’d gotten it when I was in junior high, and it had been used already. I hardly rode it anymore, but I didn’t feel like walking all the way over to Laney’s. She lived on the other side of town, and I wanted to get there as fast as I could.
    The Nortons lived only a few blocks away from Glenn, actually. I wondered if I might see him drive by on his way into Kahola—but I didn’t.
    Laney was sitting on the swing on their front porch when I rode up. Their driveway was full of cars, and there were cars parked on the road in front of their house. I was a little surprised that she was outside, but once I put my bike down in the grass I could hear the adults talking inside. I glanced in the living room windows as I climbed the steps to the porch—her parents were in there along with some others I didn’t recognize. She looked up at me, and I could tell that she had been crying. “Hi, Tony.” Her voice quivered a little bit. “Thanks for coming by.”
    I put my arms around her and gave her a big