Before I Break Read Online Free PDF

Pleasant?”
    He shrugged as we headed toward the bookstore. “It’s better than Summerville, but I don’t really like the South. It’s too hot.” He opened the door for me and I stepped through and into the store, thinking about what he said. Avery had a tone in his voice that made me think that maybe the heat wasn’t the only thing he didn’t like about it here. Deciding not to worry about it, we walked around, looking for new things to read.
    The night was a blast as I expected. After we left Barnes and Noble, we headed over to the frozen yogurt place across the street. We talked about a lot of things—well, I talked a lot while Avery listened. It was weird, really, having someone else listen to me for once. I told him about all of the advanced classes I was taking, the football team that I wasn't on, and my family. I even mentioned our church, shockingly.
    “Would you like to come with me to Youth Group tomorrow?” I asked. “My mom offered, so it’s okay if you want to. We can pick you up.”
    Avery’s mood suddenly seemed to shift to something much darker. “I appreciate the offer, but no thanks,” he said with a hint of annoyance.
    “Is everything okay?”
    “Great,” he said. “I just didn’t know you were…a Christian.” He looked as if he was going to vomit as he said the C word.
    “Is that a problem?” I asked, feeling defensive. I should have just dropped it then, but I had to antagonize him.
    “No. No, no,” he said, taking a bite of his cotton candy fro-yo. “I have no issue with that at all. I’m actually a Christian, too. I just don‘t necessarily believe everything that the Bible says.” There was something else he wanted to say, that much I could tell, but he definitely wasn’t the type of guy who had a lot of confrontation to bring to the table. So, stupid me decided to pry.
    “Come on. Tell me what’s wrong.” Even though I had never felt like this about a friend, I really did care about his opinion, especially if it involved something I may have been doing wrong.
    Avery sighed and put his fro-yo down. At that moment I could have stopped it from going any further, I knew that. But his opinion mattered—all the way up until he said, “I’m gay, Cyril.”
    My first reaction was to laugh—probably not a very good idea—but I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I snorted, leaning back in my chair, trying hard to keep my chuckles under control. There was this part of me that told me he was kidding, although I should have known otherwise. He glared at me as I did, and then I saw the look in his eyes that said he was telling the truth, and he was pissed. “Oh…you’re serious.”
    I didn’t know what else to say. This guy, Avery Branson, who I thought was cool and nice and fun to hang out with, turned out to be…gay? There had to be some mistake. Bile seemed to rise in my throat, though I forced it down the best I could. This was sickening. He used me. There was no way he would have just brought me here to be friends. Lots of thoughts were racing through my head at the moment, but the one thing I was thinking was—
    “Did you think this was a date?” The anger was clear in my voice. I laughed again almost sarcastically and leaned back in my chair again. “So wait, let me get this straight. You’re gay. As in, you like dick?” As soon as I said it, I wanted to feel guilty, but it was almost like I couldn’t. So many emotions were raging inside of me at that moment, and guilt was not one of them. I waited for his response as I put my arms on the table, crossed them, and listened.
    Avery frowned. “Yeah, I guess. I didn’t really think it was a big deal since we’re friends now.”
    “Friends?” I asked, my voice getting louder as I spoke. The amount of tension filling the air was unbelievable. This went from being a great time to being hell in less than a couple seconds. “I asked if you wanted to hang out and you think that makes us friends? Maybe more