Essays/August 2026
The bully inside the closet
Inner homophobia is still bullying. It just happens in a quieter room — the one you carry after the hallway goes still.
We accept the love we think we deserve. That is how a lot of us come to accept a closet. Nobody has to shove you if you will do the shoving yourself: edit the story, drink so you don’t have to hear it, wait for a permission slip that is not coming.
I came out later than I wished I had. For years the fear was larger than the actual family. When I finally told the truth, the room was kinder than the one I had built in my head. That is not a promise that every room will be. It is a reminder that the first person who has to stop bullying you is you.
Room 308 is the story version of that work. Josh learns it with a vampire who will not let him off the hook. Rhiannon learns it while keeping her father alive. The book is funny on purpose. Coming out is hard enough without being lectured.
If you are still in it: you do not owe anyone a speech. You do owe yourself one true sentence. Start there. The novel is for the nights that sentence is not enough.