Fear (Gone, #5)

by Michael Grant

“What are you going to do?” Edilio asked. “Why didn’t you tell me you were gay?” Sam demanded. Edilio looked like he’d been punched. But he recovered quickly, to go to an expression that was half-wary, half-embarrassed. “You got enough stuff to deal with.” “That’s not something I have to ‘deal with,’ Edilio. My girlfriend lost, the world ending, having to go out there after Drake, that’s stuff I have to deal with. Me finding out you’ve got someone to care about like that? How is that something I have to deal with?” “I don’t know, I just . . . I mean, it took me a while to kind of figure it out. You know.” “Does everyone except me know?” Sam asked. He realized this was a stupid concern; this was hardly the time to worry about seeming out of touch. But no one had been closer to him than Edilio, almost from the first day. It bothered him to think everyone knew something he didn’t. It hurt his feelings. “No, man,” Edilio reassured him. “No. And it’s not about me being, you know, ashamed or whatever. It’s that . . . look, I have a lot of responsibility. I have to have people trust me. And some kids are still going to call me a faggot or whatever.” “Seriously? We’re about to be plunged into eternal darkness and you think those kids out there are going to worry about who you like?” Edilio didn’t answer. And Sam had the feeling maybe Edilio knew more than he did on the subject. He let it go.