Patrick faltered; he hadn’ttalkedto him. “No…”
Brian looked up, brow cinched. “You hesitated.Haveyou talked to him?”
“No… but…”
“But what?”
Releasing a heavy breath, Patrick mumbled, “I tried to call him today after I left you at the diner.”
“What?” Brian frowned. “Youjustchanged your number. Why would you immediately turn around and call him? I don’t get it.”
“I’m not sure I do, either,” Patrick admitted. “But it doesn’t matter. He didn’t answer his phone, one of his friends answered. Derek wasn’t there. I didn’t leave a message. I realized my mistake and hung up. Even if his friend tells him I called, he can’t call me back because he doesn’t have my new number. I shouldn’t have called, I know that now, but I’m in the clear.”
Brian stared at him, confused and skeptical. “What would you have said to him if he had answered?”
“I… I’m not sure. Mostly, I just wanted to apologize for running out on him. I know you said it was better if I didn’t, but it kept bugging me and I felt bad about it.”
“And what if he’d asked you out again? Would you have gone?”
Another hesitation that unnerved Patrick. “No… of course not. I’d planned to tell him that I couldn’t see him again.”
“Why did you need to call him up to tell him that? Just keeping your distance—and changing your number—would have clued him in.”
“Like I said, I wanted to apologize as well. Make acleanbreak, without any loose ends.”
“Are you going tokeepcalling him until he answers, and you talk to him directly?”
“No. I told you, I realized my mistake during that call. That’s why I hung up without leaving a message. It’s done and over.”
Brian pursed his lips and nodded.
He doesn’t believe you.
A sudden rush of emotions he didn’t fully understand swept over Patrick. He cleared his throat and rose from his chair. “I need to use the bathroom,” he mumbled and left the kitchen.
He closed the bathroom door and sat on the closed toilet lid, his throat tight and vision blurred. It hurt his heart that he regretted confiding in his best friend. Next to God, Brian was therockin his life. The one person he could always count on. All of a sudden, it seemed like their friendship had become unstable, and in danger of crumbling. And it terrified Patrick. Hecouldn’tlose Brian. He had to fix this—repairtheir relationship. To do so… he had to let Derek go—for real and for good. And hewould.Patrick refused to choose a stranger over his best friend.
The landline phone in the kitchen rang.
Patrick ignored it; most calls that came directly to the house were for his parents. Anyone trying to reach him would call his cell.
The phone rang twice more before Brian answered.
From the bathroom, Patrick couldn’t hear the one-sided conversation and didn’t care to; it was just someone calling for his mom or dad.
A couple of minutes later, all was silent, the call over.
Patrick returned to the kitchen to find Brian where he’d left him, the cordless phone receiver on the table before him. “Who called?”
Brian shrugged. “Wrong number.” He finished off his soda and stood. “I’m gonna take off,” he mumbled. “I forgot I needed to run by the store and pick up some groceries. Robby’s having some friends over and I told him I would grab the soda and snacks.”
Robby Marx—Brian’s roommate. AstraightChristian and ally to the LGBTQ community. Patrick liked him.
“Yeah, okay,” Patrick murmured. Brian’s reason for leaving felt like anexcuse, but Patrick let him go without inquiry.
. . .
“Hello?”
