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Silas wanted time alone. He kissed us goodbye and left, and I could see it written across Redix’s dropped shoulders: he’s heartbroken.
We’re not completely healed either, and now he feels he’s lost Silas, too.
I wanted to be there for Redix, but he wanted to be alone, too. Like a fresh wound opened for him, and I fear he blames me for it. So we all need some time apart.
But something. A nightmare? A feeling? Like that night on the beach. That horrible night when they took Redix, and I wouldn’t stop searching for him.
That same eerie feeling wakes me while I throw my clothes on. I’m so close to him, we’re so connected, and I know…
Redix is in danger.
The console on my car glows 1:40 am when I park outside Redix’s house. It’s almost dark inside the house. Only its exterior lights illuminate the night. A summer storm is blowing in over the ocean, thunder rumbling nearby.
His night guard, Keith, must be on the other side of the house, checking the perimeter.
I don’t want to wake everyone up inside. His sister, nephew, and Mama have their bedrooms on one wing of the house. Redix’s owner’s suite is on the other. I could go around and tap on his sliding glass door, but that’ll scare the shit out of him.
Fuck it. I call him.
Two rings, and he picks up. “Hey.” He wasn’t asleep. I can tell.
“I’m outside. Can you talk?”
“Yeah, be right there.”
I meet him at the front door. He swings it open, wearing pajama pants and a white T-shirt. His body is perfect, but his face is wrenched with pain.
“Come in.” He steps aside.
A couple of table lamps glow in his open living room while he closes the door behind me. The ocean flashes outside under a blast of lightning before thunder rolls while the rest of the house is quiet.
I turn to him. “You okay?”
“I’m sober if that’s what you’re asking.”
He knows me too well. His bare feet aim toward the sofa in his living room. I follow him, watching him fall into the cushions before he buries his head in his hands.
“We scared him away,” he mutters.
“He was never going to stay.” I don’t sit down.
“Why would he?” He looks at me. “Hell, we don’t even stay. We fight all the damn time.”
“Let’s not start one now.”
I didn’t come here for this. Silas is right—me and Redix fall into this too easily, taking our love for granted. We’re tired, frustrated, and still hurting, and we take it out on each other. Like we’ve known each other for so long, we assume we’ll always survive the damage we do.
We won’t.
Something has to change.
“Look, can we just—”
I’m about to sit down. I’m about to put my ego down when a loud boom of thunder hits the air, and we both turn our heads toward the windows.
“Dammit, Nicolas.” Redix jumps up. “He keeps leaving the damn doors open.”
The sliding glass door between his living room and pool outside is open a foot wide.
