Let Live (An Austin Carlile Love Story)

Let Love Bleed Red

After I walked around for a while longer I made my way back to the living room where the building manager was seated on the couch, typing away at her phone. I cleared my throat and she looked up at me, smiling. "I'll take it," I declared and she stood up, motioning for me to follow her down to the office. We sat in the office for a good two hours going over the lease and all of the paperwork. I wasn't too excited about the area of town it was located in; it wasn't a horrible neighborhood, but there were far better areas.....the problem was I couldn't afford anything there so this would have to do. We went over the entire lease, discussed the payments for rent. She told me about the cable and internet providers for the building. After we went over everything I signed my life away and wrote her a check for first and last months rent, making me feel poor already. I would be able to move in tomorrow, and I thanked her before turning to go back to my car, clutching my copies of all of the papers in my hands.

I drove home trying to keep my mind focused on my excitement about finally having my own place, but nervousness about this evening was creeping its way in, as well as feelings of dread about having to say goodbye to Austin in a week. I trudged into the house, tossing my keys and papers down on the coffee table before collapsing on the couch for a while, trying to calm myself down.

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"Babe?" I heard Austin holler as he walked in the front door, slamming it behind him. I wandered out of the bedroom, closing my door behind me, and walked to the living room to meet him. I saw him sitting on the couch reading over the aparment contract that I had left on the table. He looked up at me and I gave him a small smile, biting my bottom lip. "You found a place?" I nodded my head slightly as his gaze returned to the papers. I was hoping he wouldn't be mad that I had went without him; he had been pretty adament about tagging along to make sure I wasn't getting "screwed over". He looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed, and he looked a little angry. I cringed.

"I know you wanted to be there, but - I mean you've been busy. I couldn't wait forever....." I paused, mentally kicking myself for the way that sounded."I'm sorry," I murmered. He set the papers down on the table and stood up.

"It's fine, babe. Ready?" He asked as he kissed my forehead lightly. I could tell he was still a little pissed, but I let it go not wanting to make things worse. I nodded my head and followed him out into the night, getting into his car and speeding off towards Alan's house.

There were fewer cars parked outside of his house than I had anticipated; I could feel the bass of the music flowing through me as Austin and I walked towards the door. I reached to let myself in, but Austin grabbed my wrist stopping me. I turned to look at him and he flashed me a sad smile. "Are you okay?" He asked me finally.

"Yeah, why?" I asked, a little confused because he was the one who had been a little peeved with me just a half an hour ago. He just stared down at me for awhile and I looked towards the ground. "Just a little nervous about all of this," I finally stuttered out, motioning towards the house. Austin took a step towards me, eliminating any space between us as he pulled me into a tight hug.

"They will love you, Ty. They will love you because I love you. You have no reason to worry, alright?" He said reassuringly and I nodded my head against his chest. He pulled away a little and leaned down, kissing my lips softly. I kissed back and he interwinded our fingers as he pulled away and opened the door, pulling me inside with him. I was immediately hit by the strong stench of weed, but what had I really expected? This was Alan's house after all.......

Austin and I walked towards the kitchen to grab a drink. I leaned against the counter as Austin rummaged through the cabinets until he found what he wanted. I walked over the fridge and pulled out a soda for me; I wasn't really in the mood to drink tonight, especially since I was going to spend all day packing and moving tomorrow. I opened Alan's pantry and pulled out a bag of jalapeno cheetos and chowed down on them.