Milo & Judah

Chapter 22 - Never Enough

When Milo returned home, he went straight up to his room. He didn't want his family to see his breakdown. After crying for fifteen minutes in the airport parking lot, he forced himself to pull it together so he could drive home without tears in his eyes. The last thing he wanted to deal with was getting into an accident.

He froze in his tracks, startled by the pair of boots hanging through the slats at the end of the bed. Ellie laid on his bed, scrolling through her phone. "Hey," she said, setting her phone aside.

Milo's lip started quivering, his eyes filling with the tears he'd been struggling to keep at bay. He tried to say, "Hi," but his voice hitched and it just sounded like a drowning man's desperate gasps for air.

Ellie rushed over and hugged him tight, smoothing his hair. "It's gonna be okay, M&M."

Ellie led him over to the bed, where he collapsed into a heap of heartache and despair, letting it all out until there was nothing left to feel but a wearying numbness.

"How did you even know to come over?" Milo's voice was a harsh croak.

"Mercer thought you might need a friend."

Milo would have to thank his brother for that. Because as much as Milo had wanted to be alone when he got home, he was glad now that she was there.

Milo took a deep, shaky breath. "It's stupid to be this upset. It's not like we broke up."

"He's still gone. It's still sad." Ellie rubbed his arm and gave him a squeeze.

"Can we get out of this room? Go somewhere. Just being in here makes me think of him."

They had spent so much time in this room together, talking, kissing, joking. Then, after what happened this morning, this room was intrinsically linked with Judah for him.

Ellie patted his leg. "I think that's a fantastic idea."

As they were heading out, they ran into Mercer. Milo felt compelled to show his gratitude. He went over and hugged his brother. "Thank you."

Mercer patted his back. "Are you okay?"

"No," Milo said, pulling away. "But I will be."

Mercer looked from Milo to Ellie and back again. "You guys going out?"

"Yeah." Milo said. "We're just gonna wander around downtown. Try to take my mind off everything for a while."

"That's good."

"Want to come with us?" Milo asked.

"I'm actually going over to Alana's."

"Mercer. Come on. That isn't going to end well."

"Look, I appreciate you caring, but I'm fine." Mercer said. "Not all of us intend on making lifelong commitments to our holiday flings."

Milo rolled his eyes. "Okay."

Ellie hooked her arm around Milo and led him outside. "Don't worry too much about him. Some people just have to make the same mistakes over and over before they learn from it."

After rambling around town for a bit, Milo and Ellie stopped for an early lunch. Milo didn't eat breakfast, too distraught at losing Judah to even think about food. But his stomach seemed concerned with that plan, going on the offensive, reminding him that he needed sustenance.

As they were finishing up their meal, Milo's phone rang. It was Judah. Milo's heart beat faster at the mere sight of his name. Milo took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Hello."