FALLING | MxM (completed)

Chapter 40

edited

Edwin was at the hospital, taking care of a few reports and being bored as hell. Somehow the hospital wasn't the place he preferred to be when he woke up anymore.

It'd been four days since he had last seen Aiden, which was at his own house after the Halloween party. When he woke up the next morning, Aiden wasn't there, but had made coffee and left a note that said 'Sorry I had to go to a company meeting.'.

He couldn't help feeling sad and disappointed, but he was strong enough not to contact the other first. It wasn't because of pride, it was simply because he didn't want to push himself on Aiden, although he loved the guy so much.

His phone started ringing, and the singer's name appeared on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Edwin. What's up?"

"Nothing, just the usual."

"Listen, how's Vincent's condition? Is he stable?"

"Yeah... Why?"

"Is Chad there?"

"Yes, why are you asking?"

"I'll be there in a bit. I'll tell you when I get there."

And so he was left with all the curiosity in the world.

He was walking along the hallway when someone entered. He was looking at the person from the corner of his eyes. The body seemed familiar, but something wasn't right. Turning to them, he nearly shouted with how shocked he was! "YOUR HAIR IS BLACK!!!"

Aiden got taken aback by his outburst and his body jerked at his tone, but then he chuckled cutely. "Yours is still blue. Is Chad in his office?"

"Yeah, why did you dye it black? Blond looked so good on you." Edwin hadn't had the chance to appreciate the blond hair up close as much as he wanted, so he was really, really sulky and annoyed at the change of color. So annoyed that he didn't even look closely to see if it suited the singer or not. Walking fast toward Chad's office, Aiden knocked twice and opened the door without waiting for permission. Somehow, he enjoyed provoking the doctor, and it had become obvious by then.

"Hey, doc."

"Aiden! Long time no see. What gives me the honor?"

"You should thank Vincent for the pleasure of seeing me right now." He chuckled and sat down.

"Vincent? What about him?"

"Hmm... You know about Christian, right?"

Chad was surprised to hear the name. "He told you about Christian? Really?"

Aiden nodded. "Yeah, well, the whole thing sounded a little fishy to me, so I've been looking around for him and I finally found him. He's actually in the car. So if Vincent is stable, I think it's best if we let them meet."

Chad and Edwin both were looking at him with confusion. The singer cared more than they thought he was capable of.

"Edwin, go get Vincent."

Edwin nodded and ran out.

"We need to talk to him and prepare him first, though. Did he tell you why he left?"

"I think it's better if you hear it from him."

"How are you, though? Have you visited your parents?"

Aiden was tapping his fingers on the table next to him repeatedly, looking around from spot to spot.

"Why are you so stressed out, Aiden?"

As if the question made Aiden come back to his senses, he stopped all his movements at once and stared at Chad as if he hadn't understood the question fully.

"Oh... Just some work stuff. Why is it taking him so long?" He started tapping his feet unconsciously.

Chad looked at him closely. There was something wrong. He was so stressed that he couldn't sit still, but knowing him, he wasn't going to talk unless he wanted to.

The door opened, and Vincent ran to Aiden, hugging him tightly.

"You promised to visit! How many months has it been?" he whined.

"Sorry, Vin. I was on tour, you know that. We still talked, right?"

"Yeah, I'm happy you're here now! Will you stay a bit?"

"Actually, I really gotta go, but there's someone here who wants to see you."

"Who?" Vincent let Aiden go as if he knew something was up.

"Vin, would you like to see Christian again? Like, what would you do if he came in through that door right now?"

Vincent was quiet. He just kept looking at Aiden with a frown. After a minute or two of not replying, Aiden grabbed Vincent's shoulders and squeezed them while looking into his eyes.

"Listen, Vin, he didn't leave you. Not the way you believe he did. I searched for him. I found him. He's in my car outside right now. He really wants to see you. He thought you were sent to Australia. Your parents lied to him."

Aiden looked at his watch and frowned. "Vin, I don't have much time. I really have to go. Should I tell him to come inside?"

Vincent had tears in his eyes when he nodded slowly and hesitantly. Aiden nodded back and left after caressing the boy's hair for a second, saying a brief goodbye to the doctors and not really looking at Edwin the whole time he was there.

The door opened shortly after Aiden left and a very handsome, disoriented boy came in. He froze when he saw Vincent standing in the middle of the office, as shocked as he himself. After what seemed like several minutes, Christian started walking toward Vincent, who was still glued to the floor.

"Vin, what have they done to you?" He broke into tears and hugged Vincent as tight as he could. The other was hesitant at first but then hugged back with the same intensity, crying desperately as well.

"Why... why did you leave me?" He asked between the sobs.

Christian loosened his grip and leaned back so he could look into Vincent's eyes. "I didn't. I thought you left me. One day while I was working at the studio, a middle-aged guy came there and told me someone wanted to see me. It turned out to be your parents. They told me I had to leave you. That you were sick, and you had told them to tell me you didn't wanna see me again. They said you left for Australia to both live and get treated. I called you a million times and went to your place and asked everyone I knew, but no one knew anything. So I..." He exhaled sharply. "After months of nothing, I decided I had to go where you were and search for you there. So I went to Australia and searched every hospital. If only I knew what they meant by being sick. I didn't even think of checking psychiatric hospitals or none of this would've happened. I'm so sorry, baby. I'm really, really sorry I wasn't there for you."

Vincent stood there listening to Christian as he talked. Somewhere along the way, the tears had stopped. When the handsome guy finished his last sentence, Vincent turned his face to Chad. He looked serious. Unlike always.

"You still think I should try to forgive my parents? I'll hate you if you do. I wanna leave. And I don't want you to tell them where I'll go or that Christian was here. Do the paperwork. I'll be with Christian in my room." Vincent grabbed Christian's wrist and led him out of the office. He was totally different from the Vincent they knew. This guy appeared very mature, unlike the childish one they had grown accustomed to. Was he like this before everything?

"Are you gonna let him go?" Edwin asked Chad.

"If he wants to leave, we should let him. He doesn't even take that many pills anymore. He could leave many months ago."

"I know but, is it safe to let him go just like that?"

"Edwin, you saw his face. There's no way we can keep him here anymore. I should really thank Aiden for this. By the way, do you know what was up with him? He was really stressed."

Edwin shook his head, chewing on his cheek. Why was Aiden in such a hurry?