There’s something so thrilling every time Valentino says he’s gay. I feel like the room should’ve lit up in rainbows so I could’ve seen the word fly out of his heart-shaped lips. But honestly, the darkness makes sense, like there’s a storm still following Valentino wherever he goes because he has parents who aren’t giving him the love he deserves. I wouldn’t win the fight, but I’d still want to swing at someone in his defense.

“You know that’s all bullshit, right?”

“Mostly.”

“Look, I don’t fuck with religion, but anyone hating on gay people because of shit the Bible apparently doesn’t even say can go fuck off.”

“I like how you can swear so freely and not come off furious.”

“It’s a gift.”

“Thanks for your not-quite-impassioned take. It’s been really hard to have leaned on my faith for so many years and to have literally prayed to God that my parents would love me anyway and to have been wrong.” He rests his hands on his chest and takes a deep breath. “Getting away from them was one of the main reasons I left. It’s part of my job to feel comfortable in my skin. To own my bones. How could I do that if I can’t be myself at home?”

And now here he is, in bed with another guy on his first night.

“I haven’t told my parents I’m dying,” he says.

Everything about this is shocking, but for me, the biggest shocker is how I forgot he’s going to die today. I got so sucked into his history and cheering on his future that I felt like I slipped into another universe where Valentino is going to have the chance to discover himself the way he’s been dreaming about. But he’s not, because he is going to die today and his parents who drove him away have no idea.

“Are you going to tell them?” I ask, even though it’s not looking good that he hasn’t already tried to drop this big news.

“What’s the point? Their priest has convinced them that only God is omniscient and that Death-Cast is the work of the devil.”

I almost turn on the lights so Valentino can personally watch me roll my eyes.

“Maybe they’re watching the news and know better by now,” I say.

“I’m still undecided. You’ll probably think I’m a monster if I don’t.”

“No the hell I won’t. Why do you think I would?”

He gets really shifty. “I don’t know. You’ve lost family unexpectedly, and I’m sure you have a lot you would’ve said to your parents had you known it was the last time you were going to see them. . . . Did you ever get the chance to talk to them about your heart?”