The Chaotic Interim (boyxboy)

Chapter 31

When Josiah showed up at Ayden’s parents’ house for dinner a few days after the blonde had been released from the hospital, he had his mind all made up.

The day Carson had broken up with Josiah, the older man had almost never felt so lost and alone. And when he had returned from a lazy day of watching movies with Ayden in her old bedroom, he had almost never in his life felt more like crying than he did when he walked through that apartment door.

Seeing the place completely empty of all things Carson had hit him hard. It was almost as if the cheery and witty brunet had tried to erase his existence from the place. Because the way it was left, it looked as though Carson had never been there.

Josiah took a deep, steadying breath before he knocked on the Michaels' front door. He knew he was going to drop an atomic bomb on his girlfriend tonight, but he wanted to get through one last dinner before he ruined their perception of him forever.

Keri was the one to open the door, her face instantly forming into a bright smile as her eyes took in the young man on her doorstep. She opened the door wide and ushered him inside the house. Closing the door behind him, she turned to face him.

"Great to see you again, Josiah," Keri said, pulling him in for a brief hug. When they separated she pointed down the hall. "Ayden's still upstairs, she should be down soon. Walt is in the living room if you wanted to join him. Dinner will be ready shortly."

"Sounds great, thanks," Josiah said with a soft smile.

They both walked further into the house, Keri continuing through to the kitchen while Josiah went into the living room. He spotted Walt sitting on the couch watching television and made his way over.

When the older man noticed him, he looked up and said, "Hey kiddo. Sit down." He gestured to the cushion next to him and Josiah took the seat. "How have you been?"

Josiah shrugged and stared blankly at the television in front of him. "I'm alright, I guess."

Walt glanced at the other man curiously. "How are things with Carson?"

"We broke up."

"Really? What happened?"

Josiah sighed and looked at Walt with tired eyes. "I don't really know. He just decided he was done." He ran his hand roughly through his hair a few times before dropping it back down on his leg, shaking his head. "I don't feel like talking about it, if you don't mind."

Walt nodded and turned back to the television across the room to take the pressure off of the younger man. "No worries, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, me too," Josiah mumbled.

They sat in a tense silence for a couple more minutes before they heard Ayden coming down the stairs. Josiah eagerly jumped up from the couch and let his long legs carry him across the room to the doorway in a handful of strides to meet the blonde.

"Hey, Joe," Ayden said with a bright smile as he enveloped her in a hug.

Josiah placed a kiss on her cheek and smiled back. "Hey. How are you?"

"I'm doing well. Not as weak as when I first woke up, but I'm getting better . My doctor said that by the end of the summer I should be pretty much back to normal."

"That's great, Ayd," Josiah said.

Just as the blonde was about to reply, Keri entered the room from the other doorway and called everybody into the kitchen for dinner. Walt turned the television off and stood up. Josiah stepped back from Ayden and they held hands as they followed the older man into the dining room.