Free The Suicide Project (Rebirth Book 1) by Yazz Ustaris

felt disgust over Sam’s classmates and their prejudiced beliefs.
    “My parents were fanatical, religious freaks, and flat-out refused to accept that I was gay. They said homosexuality was one of the sins of God and they wanted to send me to some Bible Camp over the summer in hopes that I could be “fixed”. I refused to go so the emotional gap between me and my parents grew wider and wider because they didn’t know what to do with me. They no longer knew how to relate to me. Simon was the perfect son, so they adored him and showered him with affection, but when it came to me all they felt was shame. I saw their disappointment in me every time they looked my way. Rumors about me being gay started circulating around our church and my Mom was scandalized. She said I was an embarrassment and that I was besmirching the family name.” A single tear leaked out and trickled down Sam’s cheek, and I clenched my teeth in anger and disgust at the treatment Sam suffered at the hands of his parents. Just the thought of the kind of living environment Sam had been subjected to seemed abhorrent to me, especially since I had been brought up in such a warm and loving household.
    “Hey,” I exclaimed while gently grasping Sam’s jaw and forcibly turning his face so I could look him directly in the eye. “It is NOT your fault that your parents are assholes. Screw them! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you. We all love you just the way you are so don’t ever change.” My attention shifted to Sergeant Ramsey as I heard him cough, and I saw that he was staring right at me with his eyebrows furrowed in disapproval. Crap! I sighed guiltily as Sergeant Ramsey shook his head at me in censure. Being as how the sergeant was a gentleman from the South, he was raised with the belief that women should talk and act a certain way. He did not approve of me swearing like a guy. I try to censor what I say around him since I know my swearing bothers him, but sometimes I just can’t help it. It just slips out. Defensively, I argued, “Well, they are assholes!” I heard a couple sighs of exasperation from around me as I turned my focus back on Sam.
    He sniffled as he looked at all of us and commented with a weak smile, “Well, looking on the bright side… I only had to suffer through that treatment for one year.”
    “You shouldn’t have had to suffer through that treatment at ALL!” I declared angrily with disgust. I rubbed his back as I leaned my forehead against his shoulder. I was positively seething on the inside on his behalf. In that moment I wanted to smother him with hugs and offer solace in any way I could to help appease the trauma of his past.
    “I had my two best friends with me at school and they helped me to keep my spirits up when the going got tough. It was great having non-judgmental friends who accepted me the way I was.” He looked pointedly at me and Gideon before remarking with a soft grin, “You two remind me of them in that way.”
    “Is there anything else significant you can remember about your past? Can you try to remember the very last time you saw your friends or family?” Dr. Duffy prodded gently. Sam inhaled and then blew out his breath in a long, drawn out exhalation as he contemplated the question.
    “I remember being in the hospital,” he announced suddenly. “Geez…why was I in the hospital?” he mumbled quietly under his breath, almost like he was talking to himself. We all watched expectantly as Sam tried to put the pieces together. “I was in the hospital because someone had beaten me up very badly. It was a classmate.” Sam stood up and restlessly started to pace the Common Room floor as his story began to take shape. “Someone had started a nasty rumor that I had a massive crush on one of the guys on the football team. His name was Brandon and he was one of the popular guys at my school. He heard the rumor and for some reason he was outraged to have his name linked to mine, even though