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Prodigal

3.14

~3.14~

I was on Facebook that night, and when I was on I was able to see a lot of people sending their condolences for Cole and his family. His basketball team all got together in a video, collectively saying goodbye and that they’ll miss him.

Strangely, a lot other people did not like that video of the basketball team.

There was an image that was being shared around. One girl, who’s profile picture was of her and Cole, wrote, “Don’t listen to the sympathies of the West Sydney Basketball Team. These players weren’t his friends. They made fun of him for being gay. They did horrible things to him. They are the reason he’s dead.”

After the message, a haunting, graphic image followed.

The top of the image said “THESE ARE COLE’S KILLERS.” It had three pictures of basketball players in their jerseys. Next to each picture was a line or two of words.

“He called Cole a fag.” It said next to one picture.
“He taunted Cole in the locker room.” It said next to a different picture.
“He wrote ‘dick licker’ on Cole’s locker.” It said next to the final picture.

On the bottom, it read, “Cole’s teammates were NOT his friends. Cole’s teammates were his tormentors! Bring them to justice! #JusticeForCole”

The entire picture was black and white, except there was the image of blood being spattered all over the photo, and the blood was a vibrant red color.

This picture had over a hundred shares. I looked to see what people wrote about the picture. Another girl, who also had a profile picture with Cole, posted a video next to the #JusticeForCole picture. In the video, she said,

“One day, not that long ago, I was going to hang out with Cole when he was done with practice. I walked into the gym once practice ended, and there were several players that were circling around him, chanting ‘Silly faggot, dicks are for chicks!’ They barricaded him in this circle, not letting him escape. It wasn’t until I announced my presence that they dismembered. That night, Cole was visibly upset. He said that this sort of thing was happening a lot since he came out. He thought that these guys were his friends. He trusted them, he thought it was safe to come out. But it wasn’t. This torment, abuse, it was a betrayal. He trusted his most vulnerable secret with the people he thought he could trust, and they respond like this? It’s no wonder that Cole slit his own wrist! Don’t listen to his teammates when they say they’re sorry for his death. They caused it! It’s because of them!”

Several people shared this video as well.

After seeing all this, all I could think about was what Jeffery was going though on the basketball team. I thought about all the things that his teammates say to him, and all the torment he goes through. What if he does something like this? What if he’s feeling suicidal?

In a rush of panic, I ran out of my house to go to his house. In that moment, I had to go see him.