Soul Catcher by G.P. Ching

off a certain vibe. Like he’s a little light in the loafers.” His dad made a rude gesture with his hand.
    Dane stood up, knocking his chair back from the table. “You mean it bothers you Ethan is homosexual. That’s the word for it. Yes, he’s gay. He’s also one of my best friends.” And maybe more.
    His father’s mouth fell open. “What’s gotten into you? Listen, boy, you don’t want people thinking you’re a faggot.”
    With a small gasp, his mother shot his father a piercing look.
    A sudden rage washed through Dane. He leaned forward, resting his fingertips on the table, until his face was close to his father’s. “I’d rather be a faggot than a bigot.”
    Bam . His cheek stung from his father’s slap, but not as severely as it might have. Either he was holding back, or whatever illness he had was weakening him. Judging by the expression on his face, it was the latter.
    Rubbing his jaw, Dane tossed his backpack over his shoulder and stormed out to the sound of his mother’s sobs. He didn’t care, he couldn’t. He slammed the door behind him and leapt into the cab of his black Dodge Ram. Good thing there wasn’t much traffic in Paris at that hour because Dane cruised to school on autopilot, trying his best to calm down. He turned a sharp corner into the parking lot.
    “Whoa!” Jacob’s muffled yell filtered through the windshield as he dodged the advancing vehicle.
    Dane slammed on the brakes and rolled down the window. “Crap! Sorry.”
    Jacob chuckled, although his face looked more annoyed than he was letting on. “Where’s the fire?”
    “My parents are giving me a hard time about Friday.”
    His friend’s face fell. “Do you think you’ll be able to convince them?”
    “I don’t know.” He rubbed his cheek where his dad had slapped him.
    “We really need you.”
    “That’s just it. I don’t think you do. But it doesn’t matter because I need to go. I need to get away from here, and I’m eighteen, so...” Dane shrugged.
    “So, you’re going whether they like it or not.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Are you sure you want to do that? I can tell you from personal experience a solid family is hard to come by.”
    Staring straight ahead, Dane’s jaw tightened. “I can’t be who they want me to be.”
    Jacob shook his head. “Sorry, dude, I don’t open for identity crisis convos until nine. Want to park and get something to drink before class? The cafeteria has a coffee machine now.”
    “What are you doing here so early, anyway?”
    “Malini helps me with my homework since our evenings are pretty much shot and she knows everything.”
    Dane lifted a corner of his mouth. “Yeah. She does.”
    “Ahhh, those are loaded words. Are you going to tell me what your talk with her was about Friday night?”
    “Nope.”
    “She won’t tell me either.” Jacob backed up a few steps.
    Dane parked in the closest spot and climbed out from behind the wheel. Abruptly, he stopped in the middle of the parking lot to stare at a patch of concrete.
    “What’s going on? Looks like you’ve seen a ghost.”
    “This was where Auriel beat the crap out of me, and you saved my life.” Dane tipped his face up. “Did I ever say thank you?”
    “Like a million times.”
    “Then, did I ever tell you I’m sorry? For putting you at risk by giving Auriel the information I did.”
    Jacob laughed. “Um, also like a thousand times.”
    With a deep sigh, he joined Jacob on the sidewalk and started toward the school. “Well, here’s one I don’t think I’ve told you. I’m sick of having everyone else save me. I’m sick of having nightmares every night and feeling powerless to defend myself against the evil I know could be lurking around every corner.” As they reached the door, Dane turned to look Jacob in the eye. “Do you know I can’t even look at an attractive girl anymore without thinking about Auriel and how she tortured me? How she drugged me?”
    For a moment, Jacob didn’t do or say anything,