-- Chapter 17 --

The freedom felt incredible.

Levi pedalled along Beachside Lane, the morning sun warm on his back and the wind whipping through his hair. Matt had given him the green light the night before – he could ride to school as long as he was careful and promised to call if he needed picking up. For the first time since arriving in Thompsonville, Levi was beginning to feel a real sense of independence.

He cruised through town, down Main Street and out over the weir, then up the gentle hill toward Thompsonville Public. Matt’s old bike, that he had pulled from amongst the cobwebs in his parent’s garage back home, did rattle a little, but Levi didn’t care. He was moving under his own power. It felt like a small victory.

When he locked the bike at the racks, a couple of older boys nearby smirked.

‘Nice ride, mate,’ one of them called. ‘Vintage much?’

Levi shrugged it off with a small smile. ‘Gets me here, doesn’t it?’

He found Jimmy and Dan waiting near the front gates. Jimmy grinned when he saw him. ‘You rode? Nice one.’

‘Freedom!’ Levi replied, with a grin.

Dan gave a half-hearted nod, his expression a little more open than the day before.

Pastoral class was the usual mix of roll call and announcements. But the moment Levi sat down, the scrutiny began again. Whispers. Sideways glances. Someone had already scribbled Gay House Kid on the corner of his desk in black pen. He rubbed at it with his sleeve, but the words only smeared, and left a dark smudge on his sleeve as well.

Throughout the day the barbs continued.

In Science, Riley and Jake – the two boys who had sat with him on the first day – slid into seats nearby.

‘So . . . you really live with those guys?’ Riley asked, voice low but eager. ‘Matt and Luke?’

Levi nodded, keeping his eyes on his notebook.

‘And they’re really . . . you know . . . gay?’ Jake added in a whisper, leaning in.

‘Yeah. They are . . . not that it’s any business of yours.’

The two boys exchanged a look. ‘Have you seen them . . . you know . . . doing stuff?’ Riley asked, half-curious, half-hoping for something juicy.

‘And have you ever . . . you know . . .?’ added Jake.

‘Fuck off!’ Jimmy snorted. ‘What sort of questions are those? You think they’re all kinky or perverted or something? Bet you’re just looking for something juicy for your own spank bank!’

Levi grimaced. His face burned. ‘It’s not like that. It might go against what I believe, but they’re family, and they’re just . . . normal people.’

The conversation left him unsettled. Were they genuinely curious, or was there, like Jimmy suggested, something else behind their questions?

Even some teachers seemed to probe. Mr Price during English asked how he was settling in, ‘…with such a unique family situation.’ Levi gave short answers and tried to focus on the work.

At lunchtime he bumped into the principal, Mrs Ryan, near the admin block.

‘And how are you settling in, Levi?’ she asked, her eyes kind but observant. ‘No trouble so far, I hope?’

‘It’s okay,’ he replied, forcing a smile.

She studied him for a moment. ‘Well, if the other students are giving you a hard time, you can always come and talk to me. I know how cruel kids can be sometimes.’

Levi nodded, but he didn’t say more. Everyone seemed fascinated by the boy from the bush who lived with the gay men. It was like he was the main character in some gossip-filled soap opera.

He liked reading, and he enjoyed writing as well. Maybe he should write his own life story sometime?

The crude taunts kept coming. ‘Hypocrite!’ someone yelled as he walked past a group near the oval. ‘Preaches against sin but lives with them anyway!’

Casey Thompson said hello a couple of times in the hallways, friendly as ever. But his crew were among the worst of the tormentors – loud comments and laughter following Levi wherever he went. He noticed that Casey didn’t seem to stoop to their level though, so that was something at least.

During a break between classes, a girl named Brooke, from his English class, approached him near the lockers.

‘Don’t let them all get to you,’ she said quietly. ‘Some people around here are just idiots. Especially the Thompson crew.’

Levi looked up. ‘Thompson crew?’

‘Casey and his mates. Some of them are his cousins as well. They think they own the town because their family founded it.’ She shrugged. ‘Just be careful. Casey can come across all nice, but he can still be trouble.’

‘Thanks,’ Levi replied, as her warning stuck with him. He thought about the easy smile Casey had given him on the beach – and the way it had made him feel.

After the final bell, the teasing followed him out the gates.

‘Hypocrite!’ someone yelled as he walked toward the bike racks. ‘Says being gay is a sin but lives with them anyway!’

It seemed like it was the same message over and over again. Was there a reason for that, he wondered?

He walked with Jimmy and Dan away from the school, pushing his bike in silence, the knot in his chest tighter than ever.

They stopped at the auto store so Levi could let Matt know that he was heading to the beach with his friends for a bit. As his friends waited outside, Levi went in search of his father. When he found him, it only took one look at Levi’s face and Matt sighed.

‘That bad?’

‘They all know,’ Levi said, voice tight. ‘Now everyone knows I live with you and Luke. And Tim and Guy. They’re calling me a hypocrite.’

Matt leaned on the counter. ‘I’m sorry, mate. People can be cruel when they don’t understand something.’

‘I defended you,’ Levi said. ‘I told them you’re family, and that you’re good to me. But . . . part of me wonders if they might not be right. You know, about me being a hypocrite. If I say I don’t approve of homosexuality . . . that it’s a sin, because of my religion, because of what I was brought up with, then they find out who I live with . . .’

His voice cracked slightly and he felt his stomach churn.

‘I can accept you and Luke. You’re my family. And you know I’m still struggling with the others . . . but now everyone thinks I’m okay with all of it. Or that I’m . . . like that too! I even got asked if I . . .’

‘Got asked what? If you are gay as well?’

Levi nodded, as he felt the beginnings of a tear form.

Matt looked at him with steady, patient eyes.

‘You don’t have to defend us to anyone,’ he said gently. ‘And you don’t have to have all the answers right now. You’re fifteen, Levi. This is a lot to carry. As for your own sexuality . . . that’s your own business, and nobody else’s. And when you do decide, no matter where you fall, you will have our full support. I promise you that.’

Levi nodded, but the knot in his chest didn’t loosen. The word hypocrite and the memory of Casey’s smile kept circling in his head.

He was starting to realise that moving to Thompsonville wasn’t just about finding a new home.

It was about surviving it.

***

The days that followed settled into a gentle rhythm. Home. School. The beach. It was certainly a different life to the one he’d led back in the country, and despite the challenges he was facing, he was glad that he had made the move to live with his father and Luke.

He continued riding his bike to school. The freedom still felt good, even if the barbs from some students hadn’t stopped. Jimmy and Dan remained his main companions, and his friendship with them seemed to be deepening. Even Dan seemed to be coming around, with the three of them starting to find an easy balance.

They ate lunch together most days and Levi found himself beginning to pick up on the nuances of the relationship that his two friends had with each other. Their casual touches, the easy laughter, the way Jimmy and Dan sometimes looked at each other when they thought no one was watching.

Now the touch of jealousy that Dan had shown when he first met Levi was beginning to be understood.

Were they more than just friends? The thought both intrigued and unsettled him.

One Thursday afternoon, Levi came home earlier than usual. Matt and Luke were both still at work. As he walked through the house toward his room, he heard soft voices and laughter coming from the living room.

He paused in the hallway.

He could see that Tim and Guy were on the couch, and Tim had pulled Guy onto his lap, one hand resting possessively on the back of his neck as they kissed – slow, deep, and unhurried. Guy made a quiet sound of pleasure, his fingers threading through Tim’s hair. As the kiss grew more heated, bodies pressing closer, Tim’s other hand slid down Guy’s bare back, his fingers dipping into the top of Guy’s shorts, while pulling him in tighter.

Levi stood frozen, unable to look away. His breath caught. His stomach flipped. A rush of heat flooded his body, and he felt himself hardening almost instantly. The sight was raw and intimate, in a way he had never witnessed before. It confused him. It fascinated him. And it terrified him just how much he wanted to keep watching.

This is wrong, he told himself. But his body didn’t seem to agree.

When their lips parted, Guy said something that made Tim laugh, then leaned in and kissed him again – slow, gentle, and full of affection. It wasn’t anything explicit, just a tender moment between two people who Levi could see clearly loved each other.

Guy must have sensed movement. He broke the kiss and glanced toward the hallway, eyes widening slightly as he saw Levi.

Levi turned and fled, cheeks burning with embarrassment. He grabbed his shoes and headed straight out the back door, running down the path, and through the gate to the beach.

When he finally stopped running, he slowed to a walk, before eventually stopping towards the northern end and dropping down onto the sand. Waves crashed before him, as he tried to push the image out of his head. The guilt was crushing. His body was still reacting, and he hated himself for it.

He didn’t hear them approach until they were right behind him.

‘Levi?’ Tim’s voice was gentle.

Levi didn’t turn around, but Tim and Guy came up on either side of him and sat down on the sand.

‘You okay, mate?’ Guy asked.

Levi shrugged, staring at the water. ‘I’m sorry . . . I didn’t mean to . . . I wasn’t trying to spy or anything like that.’

‘We know,’ Tim said. ‘It’s alright.’

There was a long, kind silence before Guy spoke again.

‘We know this is hard for you,’ he said. ‘Living with us. Seeing us together. We’re not trying to make you uncomfortable. It’s just that it’s our home as well, and we all need to be comfortable in our own space.’

‘Yeah, I get that. And I’m sorry if how I feel made it difficult for you.’

‘It’s not a problem, Levi,’ Tim said.

When Levi spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper. ‘What you were doing . . . is that . . . normal for you two?’

Guy nodded. ‘Yeah. We love each other. That kind of closeness, sharing your life with somebody, on all levels, is all a part of it.’

Levi’s face burned. ‘It looked . . . intense. I didn’t know it could be like that.’

Tim smiled softly. ‘It can be beautiful when it’s with the right person. But it’s also private. We’re sorry that you walked in on that. We were trying to be discrete by choosing a time when there was nobody else home.’

Levi gave them a weak smile, before looking back out towards the waves. ‘Please don’t tell Matt or Luke. I’d die if they knew I saw you like that.’

‘Your secret’s safe with us,’ Guy promised.

Levi swallowed. ‘It’s not that I think you’re bad people. You’re not. You’ve all been so good to me. It’s just . . . everything I was ever taught says it’s wrong . . . and then I see you two like that, looking so happy. I just don’t know what to think anymore.’

Tim nodded. ‘That’s a lot for a kid to carry. We’re not asking you to change your beliefs overnight, Levi. We respect them, and we respect you. It’s tough for anyone to lose somebody close, let alone it being someone your age who has gone through a loss like that. Your dad said he just wanted you to keep an open mind about everything, and that’s how we feel as well. So we just want you to know that if you ever want to talk about it – or about anything else that’s bothering you – we’re here for you as well.’

Levi nodded slowly. The knot in his chest loosened just a little.

They sat together for a while longer, the three of them watching the ocean. No pressure. No judgement. Just a quiet understanding.

And for the first time, Levi felt like Tim and Guy weren’t just his dad’s housemates.

They were starting to feel like people he could trust. They were starting to feel like family too.

***

The days and weeks that followed brought a welcome sense of normalcy, even if there was still something in the back of Levi’s mind telling him to err on the side of caution.

There was a darker side to the town, and possibly some of the people he already knew, and if there was any truth to some of the stories he had already been told, then the town wasn’t quite the idyllic paradise it seemed on the surface.

Still, he was beginning to think of the place as home, and that was something.

His bike rides to and from school became routine, providing welcome time to think about what lay ahead of him, or those things that worried him most. Even the locals knew him by sight now, often giving him a wave as he would pass, which he always returned.

He was also slowly getting to know some of Matt and Luke’s other friends as well, after having previously met Tony and Aaron, and Scott and Justin. While his position on their relationships hadn’t really changed from his original teachings, he was beginning to better understand the world in which he now lived, and the people he shared it with.

He was also finding that the tribe that his father had spoken about on the day when they had all first met, was a very social bunch, enjoying each other’s company on a regular basis, and this seemed to help him better understand the people around him. Maybe there was hope that he might be able to get past those original teachings of his church.

Since moving here he hadn’t visited the priest again, or gone back to church, other than one Sunday when he had made the trip alone, so he figured that he really needed to get back to the church and Father Costas again, for a Sunday mass.

At school, life went on in much the same vein as always. The barbs from some students continued, but they no longer cut quite as deeply. What seemed to be deepening, however, was his friendship with Jimmy and Dan, while at the same time he even began forming tentative connections with a few other kids as well.

And while Jimmy and Dan were his main guys, he sometimes found himself studying them, in much the same way he studied his father and Luke, or Tim and Guy, or their other friends. There was something about their interactions that at first had puzzled him, but then he slowly began to piece it all together. It all began to make sense. He just wasn’t sure what to do with all these pieces.

Matt’s old bike provided him with freedom, and often when he wasn’t spending time with his friends, he would bike his way around the town, exploring the sleepy hamlet. He loved Lighthouse Point to the north of Main Beach, and he loved Hospital Point, at the southern end of Main Beach, with its manicured gardens around the hospital that sat upon it. He also loved the road that led all the way around the lake.

The town was like a fairy tale, and despite the loss of his mother and all the upheaval in his life that had followed, he was happy that this was the place that he had landed. Thompsonville was slowly starting to feel less like a foreign land and more like a place he could belong, and a home he never thought he would get the opportunity to experience.

Then one afternoon Matt received a call at work, from the real estate agent back home. There was a solid offer on the old house.

That night, after dinner, Matt and Luke sat down with Levi at the kitchen table. They went through the details together. The offer was good – better than they had expected. After a long discussion, they decided the three of them should head back up country for a couple of days to finalise things, and so they left early on Friday morning, with the aim of getting there by lunchtime.

First stop in town was with the real estate agents, who were expecting them. After discussing the offer, and all the details, they signed the necessary paperwork.

‘Before you put it all through, I’d like to let Levi have one last look at the old house, if you don’t mind,’ Matt said.

‘Sure thing,’ the agent replied, before he then passed over the keys.

‘Thank you,’ Matt replied.

A short time later they pulled up in front of the old house. Matt glanced back at Levi, sitting in the back seat and staring through the window at the house.

‘You okay, bud?’ he asked.

Levi looked at him and gave a tight smile.

‘Maybe you should ask me that when we’re leaving,’ he said.

‘I’ll do that,’ Matt replied.

To Levi, the rooms felt strangely hollow now. He moved from space to space, memories flashing through his mind – his pop sitting in his favourite single-seater lounge, watching the Saturday horse races on TV, his mum in the kitchen or hanging washing on the line, almost always smiling. Some memories made him smile too. Others he chose to gently push aside.

He paused briefly at the doorway of his old bedroom, took a quick look, and then moved on.

Matt placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘This is the last time you’ll be able to walk through here, Levi. Do you want to spend some time alone?’

Levi glanced around one final time, then shook his head.

‘No. I’m good, thanks,’ he said quietly. ‘I think it’s time I put this all behind me. I have enough memories to hold onto . . . and I have a new home now, where I’m making new memories. I think I’m okay now with the place being sold.’

Matt pulled him into a hug. ‘I’m proud of you, son.’

‘I think I would like to visit mum again, though, before we go home.’

‘Of course,’ Matt replied, while also taking note of the fact that he was now referring to Thompsonville as home.

Once they were finished, they headed over to Matt’s parents’ place, where they found that Luke’s parents were visiting as well. The evening turned into a warm, lively family gathering, with both sets of Levi’s new grandparents fussing over him, asking about school and life in Thompsonville. For perhaps the first time in his life, Levi felt truly surrounded by a family, and while his mother could never be replaced, he now had something new to fill that void.

As the three of them drove back toward the coast the next day, Levi watched the familiar inland landscape once again give way to the mountains and then the coastal plains. He felt a quiet sense of peace settle over him.

The past was behind him. The future – however complicated – lay ahead.

To be continued . . .