New Beginnings

Chapter 31

It was their second day of being in Canada. The sky was blue, and the breeze was pleasantly warm. Marley felt something was off about Alexander during the afternoon the day before, after they had seen his parents. He wanted to help — of course he wanted to. But it felt like there was nothing to say or do that could make him crack a smile. 

Marley got up from under the covers, and gently tucked them back in as he got out of bed. He peeked through the curtains to see a glimpse of what the day ahead looked like. The sky was blue — and the sun shined over the city. He could spot people on the streets starting their day already. 

The golden-haired man looked over his shoulder to see his lover sleeping soundly. He told Alexander to tell him when he felt out of sorts. He made sure that his partner was comfortable with telling him anything. But it seems as if that isn't enough sometimes. Marley walked to the bed, and sat on the edge of it where Alexander slept. His worried eyes gazed upon the dark-haired man. Marley softly brushed away the hair that fell onto his face as he thought over and over again how he could help Alexander. 

A gentle breeze awoke the sleeping man. It softly blew the curtains which made a slight ruffling sound. Alexander reached for his glasses on his nightstand before checking the time on his phone. It was nine O'clock. 

The man looked to his right and saw Marley was absent. He slowly got up from the bed, and made his way to the bathroom, but his lover was not present there either. Alexander looked around the empty hotel room and felt a slight tinge in his chest. The only sounds heard were the cars driving past and the trees rustling in the summer's breeze. 

Alexander dug in his pocket for his phone to see if there was any messages from Marley. He refreshed the page again and again, but there was nothing new.  Where is he?

He sent a message to his lover but no reply was received. Alexander sighed as the unpleasant feeling inside of his chest began to grow.  He quickly looked through his clothes, picking an outfit to wear for the day. It was slightly warmer that day, so he wore a short sleeved button up shirt instead of what he'd wear in the cooler weather. Those days he would wear his usual long shirt with a jersey on top of it. 

Just as he did the last button on his light-blue shirt, the keycard to unlock the door was heard, and in came the man Alexander had been worrying himself over. "Where have you been?"

The red-haired man shut the door behind him, and passed his lover the things he had been carrying. "I was out buying you breakfast," Marley smiled. "I didn't want to wake you, and I thought I'd be back before you woke up."

Alexander held a cup of coffee in his right hand and a bagel in a bag in the other. "Thank you."

Marley placed a gentle kiss on Alexander's lips before replying. "You're welcome." His blue eyes flickered to the different colour his lover wore. "Since when have you worn light shades?"

"I've always owned this," Alexander sipped his drink. 

The golden-haired man tidied up the collar with a smile dancing on his lips. "I like it. It matches my eyes."

Alexander rolled his eyes as he found a plate to eat his bagel off of. "Not everything's about you," he muttered.

Marley chuckled contently. "Can we go on a date tonight?"

"Why so suddenly?" Alexander mumbled with the food in his mouth. 

"I saw somewhere I want to take you as I bought breakfast."

"Sure. What is it though?" Marley took a bit out of his boyfriend's bagel from the opposite end. "Hey-"

"I'll show you later," Marley beamed.