Seven Minutes in Heaven

Chapter Four

Some of the most painful memories of Jeremy's life came flooding back. Images of him being shoved into lockers, his belongings stolen, constantly being taunted, and getting humiliated at the hands of Brett flashed through his mind rapidly, overwhelming him. The sense of being powerless was back, and stronger than ever.

"You know, with everyone else I've encountered so far, I've hoped that they didn't do what I did. However, I'm praying that you killed yourself." Jeremy said, locking eyes with Brett, and was suprised to not see the cruel glint that normally occupied Brett's eyes. Angel-Brett sighed.

"Now, I know you hate me, and you have every right to. But let me explain something to you." Angel-Brett looked open and vunerable, so much unlike the Brett that Jeremy knew.

"There is nothing you can say that can make what you have done okay. So let's just get this over with. I can't wait to see what bitter end you turn out to have." Jeremy spat cruelly. Even though the angel had taken the form of three others so far, Jeremy was still having trouble separating the angel from the real person.

"Trust me, you want to hear this. It will help explain some of the events later on as well." Angel-Brett explained warily. After a few moments of tense silent Jeremy gave a curt nod of approval.
"Alright, best to come right out with it. I'm in love with you. I have been since last year." Jeremy's mouth fell open in shock. "So yeah, I'm gay. And I hate myself for it. And I hated you too, because somehow I twisted it around in my head so I believed that you made me gay. I wanted you to suffer. So, I started bullying you. I was also pretty awful to your girlfriend, because she could have you and I couldn't." Jeremy did remember Brett spreading rumours about Cordelia, and harassing her repeatedly. Jeremy had put that down to Brett just being a sexist asshole, but apparently not.

"Why wouldn't you just talk to someone about it?" Jeremy asked quietly, and Angel-Brett chuckled dryly.

"You don't know my father Jeremy. All my life I've been told that I have to be the prime example of a man. I've grown up learning that men are superior to women, whites are better than everyone else, and anyone who isn't straight deserves to go to hell. My father would have disowned me, or worse, if I came out to him. So, I pushed the feelings away. I was the man he wanted me to be." Angel-Brett appeared to be finished speaking. Jeremy could barely believe what he was hearing. Brett Cotton, the boy that everyone who wasn't popular feared, was far more messed up than anyone could have realized. Angel-Brett, apparently realizing that Jeremy wasn't going to say anything else, approached the white screen.
"After you." He smiled, with a hint of his old cockiness. Jeremy walked up to the screen for the fourth time, once again getting sucked into the colour.

Shockingly, the colour was a bright, passionate yellow, so vivid it hurt his eyes. With a thump, he landed in the school gym, mingling with hundreds of other students. Actual Brett was in the back, surrounded by his cronies and with a girl tucked under each arm. They weren't paying attention to anyone around them, instead amusing themselves by arm wrestling and throwing paper balls at each other. After a few minutes the school principal stepped up the microphone, a somber expression plastered across his face. He took a look at the paper in front of him and took a deep breath.

"It is my deepest regret to share this news with you all. Some of you might be upset at learning about this, and I implore you to pay attention." Another deep breath. "Sometime last night your fellow classmate Jeremy Donavan committed suicide. He was rushed to the hospital, but died shortly after being reached by paramedics. I understand that this is distressing news, and there will be a grief counselor available for all of you. In the aftermath of this event, school is cancelled for the remainder of the afternoon." The principal stepped down, and the auditorium stayed in a stunned silence. Jeremy watched Brett's face turned from relaxed to horrified, and he quickly ran out of the auditorium.

"Ready to go?" Angel-Brett asked.

"I've never seen this scene before." Jeremy muttered, watching the expressions of his classmates, seeing some of them wipe away tears. They were crying because he was gone. Jeremy had thought that no one would miss him, but clearly people did care. Still, there was a nasty voice deep inside him saying: they are only crying because they are afraid about what people might think, not because they miss you. But Jeremy pushed that voice down inside him successfully, for the first time in weeks.

"Well I was told with the general population. Because of the personal connections that the other three had, they were alerted almost immediately." Angel-Brett explained matter-a-factly. "Now let's go to the next scene." Jeremy nodded, and the two joined the sea of teenagers leaving the auditorium, and Jeremy actually felt like one of them again.

Luckily there was not another funeral scene with Brett. Jeremy had been getting tired of seeing his dead body everywhere. The next scene was mildly suprising. It was Brett, now older and more tired looking, maybe in his early twenties. He was standing up in front of a massive crowd, perhaps a couple thousand. The crowd was incredibly colourful, with almost everyone decked out in rainbow clothing and pride posters. Jeremy connected the dots and realized that he was a some form of pride rally. Brett then began to speak, giving a speech of inclusion and acceptance, one that moved most of the crowd to tears. It was magnificant. Then another man came onstage with a baby in his arms. Brett kissed the man on the cheek and waved at the cheering crowd. The image dissolved, and it was night, in a small but clean apartment. Brett and the mystery man were on the couch cuddling, while the baby, who was now a toddler, played at their feet. Just then there was a knock at the door. Brett went up to get it, and Jeremy followed. He had an overwhelming sense of dread come over him. Something terrible would happen to the family if Brett opened that door. Jeremy was right. As Brett opened the door, a gun was shoved in his face.

As the next hour progressed, Jeremy would have thrown up surely, if he wasn't dead. After the door was opened four men barged into the apartment, tying up everyone inside. What followed was truly horrific, with a variety of tools being used on Brett and his family, including the little girl. The men kept calling them names that were so vile and filthy that Jeremy cringed everytime he heard them. Ironically, they were the same names that Brett had once called many others in his youth.

"I thought you said that your future wouldn't nearly be as heavy as my mothers!" Jeremy shouted, after watching one of the men cut off the fingers of the child.

"Well, I figured that seeing your own mother commit suicide would be more traumatic than watching your bully get what was coming to him." Angel-Brett said bitterly, and a feeling of guilt washed over Jeremy.

"Look man, I'm sorry. No one deserves this, not even you. I want you to know that I forgive you." Jeremy said, speaking words that he never thought he would say to someone like Brett, even if the angel wasn't really Brett.

"Make sure you tell him that once you come back." Angel-Brett said cryptically, and smiled broadly. "See you later Jeremy."

"Bye Brett." Jeremy felt more at peace, like a huge weight had come off his shoulders. So the voice that came next didn't fill him with anger, rather it filled him with happiness.

"Four down, three to go." Jeremy turned around to see his brother's closed off face greeting him.

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It has been over two months since I last updated. That is embarassing. But now it is summer, and I going to finish this thing, I swear. There are four chapters to go, as this is going to be a much shorter book than my other one. If you enjoyed this chapter, please give a vote, comment, and share this story with your friends.

Cat