Rhianna reiterated what Eli had told her and soon Sandy was worried. “What if he’s gonna confess something? He could be turning himself in.”
“Sandy!”
“Sorry, Eli, but it’s true. You said he was into some iffy shit back when you were boning.”
Rhianna huffed, “Oh god, Sandy, why did I think you would help?”
“What if it is?” Eli breathed the words, said them, even if they were barely a whisper. He thought of Lee, going to prison, being hurt inside those walls. He couldn’t take it.
“I’m sure it’s not, Eli,” Rhianna suggested, trying to comfort him, but it was no use. Her voice said she thought Sandy might be onto something.
That plagued him all night, and the little sleep he got wasn’t enough, but after slugging down four strong cups of coffee, he thought he may be able to watch the press conference without puking.
His roommates, except for Chester, of course, sat with him, flanking him on the couch. Each took a hand as the news announced Lee was about to speak, and again, commentators guessed relentlessly about what he could be announcing.
Only one said he may be announcing that he was in trouble too, reminding the watcher about his father and all the legislation he’d himself killed because it would be too hard on the budget. In other words, the party line for the good of them and not the voters.
Eli’s stomach flipped around, and he nearly turned off the television, but then, Lee came onto the stage outside of the capitol in his home state.
“Here we go,” Eli whispered. “Please, Lee…please.”
“Please what?” Sandy asked.
“I don’t know.”
From the television, after Rhianna raised the volume, Eli heard the familiar voice of his former boyfriend. It was as sexy as he remembered.
“Fellow Americans, thank you all for coming. I have some…some news that I’ve been sitting on for an awfully long time, and I thought it was time to come out with all of it.
“Since my life as a Senator started, I have lied, cheated, and manipulated the system.”
Eli’s head dropped, knowing Sandy had been right.
“Eli, look.”
Eli did look and, on the stage, walked an African American man that Eli had never seen. “Who is that?”
“I think he’s about to introduce him.”
Lee went on, “This is Agent Terrance Hill of the FBI. He knew of my crimes and went on to ask me to finally stop with my greed and power-hungry climb in the government and help him. So, I did. That doesn’t make up for my mistakes, however. I am a criminal, and a liar, and for that, to all those who voted for me, and those who I represented in the Senate, most of all, I want to apologize.
“It pains me to remember things I’ve done, and it’s worse that I took a deal of immunity to get the other criminals out of our government. I never paid the price I should have, but I have paid. One lie I told hurt me and others in ways I can’t even imagine right now.”
Eli gripped their hands tighter, and both his friends squeaked from the pain, but he couldn’t let go. He was afraid to.
“My fellow Americans, I’m…I’m gay.”
Eli sat up straight and both his friends gasped loudly enough for him to shush them.
After the murmuring of the crowd died down, Lee went on, “I am gay, and I fell for someone once, someone who made me see myself through his eyes. He, uh, hated my guts for a long time and he made me want to change. Yes, it should have been my duty and my privilege to serve that did it, but alas, it was him.
“So, I’m stepping down from the Senate and retiring from public life.”
Even as tears sprang up in Eli’s eyes, the crowd that was gather there with Lee started booing and calling out to him. Eli couldn’t watch anymore, couldn’t see them treating Lee so badly, so he hurried to pull from Sandy’s hand and grab the remote, turning off the television.
“Holy fuck,” Sandy whispered.
“For once, Sandy, I agree with you,” Rhianna said, then repeated, “Holy fuck.”