He wants to just be friends

[Geminize]

Joelover, it pains me to read the situation you and your friend are in. You need to be very careful, for yourself and especially for him. No one knows how this might turn out eventually. He is an adult now, and can choose to leave his parents.

My main concern is his attempted suicide. You don't recover from that in a matter of days or weeks. He has some serious healing to do, and it sounds like he does not have any support from his family. They are in denial of his identity, his needs, and the harm they are causing. I encourage you to offer just to listen to him if he is ever ready to reach out. His parents may have blocked your number on his phone, so you may not even know if he receives your texts at this point. Please remember he is emotionally fragile. Your offer should simply be to listen if he ever needs you -- no pressure on him.

I think it's important for you to separate your desire to be together from your concern for his well-being. If you can't do that, it may be better to leave him alone. If you can, then an occasional (not too often) reminder that you are available to listen if he wants to talk, seems like a good idea to me.

Your profile says Salt Lake City, so I'm guessing his family is LDS. Coming out in that religious community is even harder than it is for most of us. Someday I'd like to see the church elders tried for crimes against humanity, along with the pope and any surviving ex-popes. </rant>

[megumidesu]

remember that friendship is a good thing ~
it's not a consolation prize or crappy alternative to a romantic / sexual relationship .

and hey , maybe in time your friendship will develop into something more . but if it doesn't , that's okay . you can still have a wonderfully close relationship as friends . i'm closer to my best friend than i am to anyone else , including my girlfriend

[joelover]

Thank you everyone for the responses. I appreciate them all.