Dallas spent the rest of the day in a daze, trying to convince himself that he did trust that Nate would be OK, but it was impossible not to imagine all the terrible things that could be happening to him at that moment. He was barely aware of anything until he walked through the front door and Rico ran over for his hug. Dallas took one look at his brother’s expectant face and burst into tears.

“Mama!” Rico cried, grabbing Dallas’ pant leg. “Mama, Dallas is crying!”

“Dallas, sweetie?” Rosalie’s soft hand touched his arm. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“Not me,” Dallas sobbed. “It’s Nate...”

Distantly, he heard Rosalie tell Rico to go watch TV upstairs before she pulled him into the kitchen. She tugged Dallas’ backpack off and gave him a glass of water.

“Mijo…” she said gently. “Tell me what happened.”

So Dallas told her everything: about Nate’s locker, what Roy Kearns had done, Nate’s plan to come out to the Reverend, and more.

“I’m in love with him, Rosalie!” Dallas sobbed. “I love Nate so much and I wanted to tell him, but I couldn’t because he needed a friend!”

Rosalie’s arms came around his shoulders and despite the fact he was already taller than her, Dallas rested his forehead on her shoulder.

“I know, darling,” she said, stroking his hair. “I know you love him, but you did the right thing. Nate knows where you are when he needs you again. Trust him, because I know he trusts you.”

Dallas nodded and then buried his face into his mother’s neck as his tears swept through him.

* * * * * * * *