Ryan's Hero by Gary Cottle

The path through the woods was near Ryan’s house, and it led to a pond. Ryan liked to go swimming there in the warmer months. He hardly ever saw anyone there, but he liked the solitude. But one day, after swimming for about an hour, he got out of the water and twisted his ankle on a root while drying off. Ryan discovered that every time he put his weight on the ankle, it hurt so much that it brought tears to his eyes. Since no one else was around, and because he had neglected to bring his phone, he had no choice but to try to limp the mile and a half back to his house. He could usually cover this distance in less than twenty minutes, but if he limped all the way, it was going to take more than an hour. Getting home was going to be very painful, and he feared that he was going to cause even greater injury to his ankle. Summer was just starting, and he didn’t want to spend his vacation hobbling around on crutches.

Ryan had only went a short distance when he ran into Landon, but rather than being relieved, Ryan was actually terribly embarrassed. That’s because a mortifying incident involving Landon occurred a couple of weeks before. Everyone at school knew Ryan was gay. He had come out when he was still a freshman. But he was fairly circumspect about telling people about the guys he was crushing on. However, not long before school was let out for summer, he was at a party with Landon, he had too much to drink, and he told a couple of people he thought Landon was hot. The next Monday, he found out that everyone in school knew he had a thing for Landon…including Landon.

So when Ryan’s dream boy got close, Ryan lowered his gaze, tried to pretend nothing was wrong and quietly said, “Hi.”

Ryan hoped the boy would continue on his way. He didn’t want to add humiliation to the physical agony he was experiencing, but Landon noticed something wasn’t right.

“You’re limping.”

“I turned my ankle, but it’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. You can hardly walk.”

Much to Ryan’s surprise, Landon offered to escort him back to his house. Ryan tried leaning on the boy for support, but it just wouldn’t work. It hurt too much.

“Maybe you should go back and get some help.”

“That would take too long, and I don’t want to leave you here. I’ll carry you.”

Ryan reluctantly agreed to let Landon pick him up, and he apologized several times for being a burden, but Landon insisted that it wasn’t any trouble and that he was stronger than he looked.

“Okay then,” Ryan said. “But surely this must be awkward for you…considering what happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know.”

“Oh, that. Why would that make me feel awkward? Didn’t it ever occur to you that I might think you’re hot, too? Getting to carry you like this is the highlight of my day. …week even. Maybe it’s the highlight of my life.”

Photographer: Mikko Puttonen
Subjects: Unknown
Fictional Story by Gary Cottle